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You are here:  Home / Odd News / UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

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UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Published: Oct. 24, 2007 at 6:00 PM
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French bloggers proud to be lazy

PARIS, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Self-professed lazy Internet users in France want personal "lazing around days" to protest the French government's call to be more productive.

The French enjoy 11 national holidays and 5 weeks of paid vacation annually, along with 35-hour work weeks. Recently President Nicolas Sarkozy called for workers to "work more to earn more," the Daily Telegraph reported from Paris.

A woman who identifies herself only as "Julie, a lawyer" set up a Web site in protest. The headline reads: "Lazy bones of the world, unite!"

The site offers guidelines on loafing and lazing on a personal day.

"Obviously, getting up is prohibited," the site says, adding baths and showers are out, and the dress code is pajamas or tracksuits, the Web site said.

The site recommends spontaneity in selecting lazing days, but also some courtesy.

"By midday one should start thinking about phoning the boss to inform of one's absence," the site says.


Romney makes Obama-Osama muddle

GREENWOOD, S.C., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Former Republican Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney startled South Carolina reporters by twice confusing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., with bin Laden' title='Osama bin Laden' class='tpstyle'>Osama bin Laden.

Speaking to the Chamber of Commerce in Greenwood, S.C., the Republican presidential hopeful apparently had Obama, a Democratic presidential hopeful, in the back of his mind.

"Actually, just look at what Osam -- uh Barack Obama, said just yesterday. Barack Obama calling on radicals, jihadists of all different types, to come together in Iraq," Romney said.

Startled reporters sat upright and glanced around at one another, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported.

Soon after, Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden explained the remark.

"Gov. Romney simply misspoke. He was referring to the recently released audiotape of Osama bin Laden and misspoke when referencing his name. It was just a brief mix-up," Madden said.

Obama was campaigning in New Hampshire later in the day and was asked for his reaction.

"I don’t pay too much attention to Mitt Romney," Obama said.


3 Lincoln documents surface in courthouse

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Three documents signed by President Abraham Lincoln while he was a lawyer have turned up in a county recorder's office in Illinois.

The documents have been hanging on an office wall in the Sangamon County Courthouse in the state capital, Springfield, for years, The State Journal-Register reports. Recorder Mary Ann Lamm said she remembers a flap in the 1960s when her predecessor, Russ Gibbs, removed them from ledgers and used public money to get them framed.

Lincoln autographs are fairly common and can be bought for as little as $4,200. Documents with his signature are rare because autograph hunters went through legal archives immediately after his assassination, slicing off the signatures.

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Lincoln Presidential Library apparently assumed anything from Sangamon County would already be in the archives.

The three documents involve ordinary financial transactions. In one, a woman signed a loan document after borrowing $125 from Lincoln to buy a house.

One is of some interest because it is dated June 9, 1860. At the time, Lincoln was winding up his legal practice as he prepared to run for president.


Dallas campaign targets 'lame' saggy pants

DALLAS, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A cultural advocacy group called Hip Hop Government in Dallas launched a campaign Wednesday that puts down pants that reveal gluteal cleavage.

The group had the support of Deputy Mayor Dwaine Caraway, who has had no success in getting the city council to address the issue since he was elected in May, The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported.

The group unveiled a design that will appear on 17 billboards citywide, donated by Clear Channel Outdoor.

It features the back view of a youth wearing pants so low, the happy faces on his underwear are clearly visible. The logo says: "Don't Be Lame, Elevate Your Game. Pull 'em Up!"

"We represent the citizens, and the citizens were having a problem looking at people with dirty underwear," Caraway told the newspaper. "Now we've found it doesn't take an ordinance nor does it take a resolution, because they're now seeing for themselves the need to respect themselves and a respect for society."

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