From Reuters.com
This week we get naked and go flying
What do you get when you cross an economist, the Olympics and lots of naked people? An odd assortment of popular stories for the week. They obviously don’t make for a very funny punchline but they did get you clicking. Here are the stories that warmed your cockles (okay, maybe not, but “cockles” is a fun word, isn’t it?).
1. Winter storms to distort U.S. jobless figures-Summers
Nothing triggers a good panic like a stern warning from the White House. Maybe that’s why this story made the top of the most popular list this week. Economic adviser Larry Summers said on Monday we should all look past Friday’s monthly unemployment numbers. The winter blizzards that zapped swathes of the U.S. in February would also do a number on the jobs report, making it seem worse than it really was. Maybe you, like me, thought, “Uh-oh, this is going to be way bad.” But wait, the actual report was better than expected. What are we to think now? Should we continue to disregard it? I’m so confused.
2. Joking Canada closes Games with moose stampede
Those crazy Canucks. Leave it to them to take the gaffe seen round the world at the opening ceremony and turn it into a fun piece of comedy for the closing. Oh, there was laughing and dancing and music. So much fun. So much goodwill. But I can’t help but ask myself: What if they had lost the gold in hockey?
This video about a hovercraft that acts like a boat until it hits a certain speed and then takes to the skies had everyone in our newsroom saying, “I want one!” That is, however, until we heard about the “Jesus pin”. As the hovercraft’s inventor says, “The pin comes out, you see Jesus.” Hmm, I’ll pass.
Tragedy tops most popular list
Tragedy, folk dancing and one mammoth-sized dog were among the story lines that grabbed your attention in a week that also saw high drama in Congress — or maybe that was low drama. In either case, here are five of the most popular picks for the week.
1. Orca kills SeaWorld trainer
Dawn Brancheau, a trainer with 16 years experience at SeaWorld in Florida, was killed when a killer whale grabbed her by the waist, thrashed her about and took her underwater. Brancheau, 40, was patting the Orca’s head at the time. A follow-up story provided more clues to the tragic tale. Astonishingly, the same whale had reportedly been involved in deadly incidents in the past.
2. Toyota chief grilled by Congress
As if things weren’t bad enough for beleaguered automaker Toyota. First the speed pedal gets stuck, then all those recalls, followed by your expected assortment of lawsuits. Then this week the guy who’s name is on each and every one of those cars is pretty much forced to sit before a bunch of Congressional lawmakers and pretend there’s nothing wrong with being a punching bag. Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota and the founder’s grandson, came to Washington and ended up in tears.
3. Arizona dog is world’s tallest
And in this corner, Giant George! The 4-year-old Great Dane from Tucson, Arizona, stands 3-feet 6-inches tall and weighs in at a whopping 245 pounds. Giant George eats about 110 pounds of food every month and sleeps in his very own queen-size bed — alone, according to the big pooch’s website. For perspective, remember Sadie? The Scottish Terrier that won Best in Show at Westminster last week? Well, this pup is at least 11 times bigger. What else is that height and poundage? I have no idea. I don’t want to know. I also don’t want to be the dog walker charged with yanking Giant George’s chain.
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Graphic: Rio de Janeiro’s winning bid
View a larger version of this graphic here.
Follow the live blog on the Olympic decision.
People from Brazil, and those who love it, will always try to minimize the horrific situation in Rio. But the testimonies are true, I’ve been there. We were staying at the expensive Marriott right on Copacabana Beach (adjacent to Ipanema), and my friend was robbed of his camera right there in front of the hotel at 5 p.m. One guy wrapped a jacket over his head while another took a knife and slit the camera strap off his arm, which my friend had wrapped round and round his arm to avoid theft.
Then, in broad daylight, I was accosted by a band of kids right on the beach. I managed to get my whistle out of my pocket and I blew it and pretended to wave to someone in the distance, as if I were an undercover cop. They got scared and ran away. I would have been helpless without that whistle.
I visited a club just 2 blocks from my hotel, and when I left, the doorman warned me not to walk, but take a taxi… for just two blocks in the expensive, well-kept part of Rio.
Read countless similar horror stories (and worse) all over the web. Brazil and similar countries do not deserve our tourism until they clean up their act.
Sure they’ll clean it up for the Olympics, but I will advise everyone not to go there unless and until it is proven over a period of time that they’ve finally decided to crack down on crime in a meaningful and lasting way.
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