They even let him gas some of the small Jews. Seriously do not let this story of a sad kid fool you… Outside the cattle trains which carried victims to the concentration camps, he handed out chocolate bars to tempt them in.

Alex Kurzem came to Australia in 1949 carrying just a small brown briefcase, but weighed down by some harrowing psychological and emotional baggage.

Tucked away in his briefcase were the secrets of his past - fragments of his life that he kept hidden for decades.

In 1997, after raising a family in Melbourne with his Australian bride, he finally revealed himself. He told how, at the age of five, he had been adopted by the SS and became a Nazi mascot.

His personal history, one of the most remarkable stories to emerge from World War II, was published recently in a book entitled The Mascot.

“They gave me a uniform, a little gun and little pistol,” Alex told the BBC.

“They gave me little jobs to do - to polish shoes, carry water or light a fire. But my main job was to entertain the soldiers. To make them feel a bit happier.”

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So if I’m fat I get more sex and can skip school? Load up the fried twinkies! This can not be true can it?

Obese elementary schoolchildren miss a couple more school days on average than their normal-weight classmates, according to a study that says being fat is a better predictor for absenteeism than any other factor.

Researchers said their results suggest that childhood obesity, in addition to serious medical issues, can lead to a plethora of additional problems down the road.

“It’s clear in all the literature that the more days of school you miss, it really sets you up for such negative outcomes: drugs and AIDS and (teen) pregnancy,” said Andrew B. Geier, a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the study released Friday.

Of 180 school days, researchers found that on average the normal weight students missed 10.1 days, overweight kids missed 10.9 days and obese children missed 12.2 days. For reasons that aren’t clear, underweight children had the fewest absences — 7.5 on average.

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Now if I can figure out how to keep the neighbors cat from killing the chipmonks and rabbits in my yard in the middle of the night…. Seriously though it is a no brainer. Cats are cold creatures. You think your cat loves you? Drop kitty off at uncle Mikes house for a week. After three days it will forget all about you so long as it has its kibble and something to keep its mind on.

Do that to a long time family dog and it would ball its eyes out. Possibly break ol’ yellers heart. I could go on and on for months about this subject but that alone should state my case. Dogs have feelings, cats have instincts only for the most part. Not to mention many breeds of K9 can be amazing protectors.

Nearly six-in-ten (57%) of all adults in this country own a pet or pets of one kind or another, with dog owners (39% of all adults) outnumbering cat owners (23%) – and owners of all other pets trailing far behind, the Pew survey finds.

More whites (64%) than blacks (30%) or Hispanics (39%) have a pet. There is also an income skew to pet ownership: nearly seven-in-ten (69%) adults with an annual family income of $100,000 or more has a pet, compared with fewer than half (45%) of adults with an income below $30,000. Also, rural residents (65%) are more likely than suburbanites (57%) or city folks (51%) to have a pet — though, as noted above, they’re a bit less likely to consider their dogs or cats a member of the family.

Dogs may be known as man’s best friend, but for most of their owners, even that lavish sobriquet appears to undershoot the mark. Fully 85% of dog owners say they consider their pet to be a member of their family, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

And most cat owners (78%) feel the same way.

The pets-as-four-legged-family-member phenomenon helps explain everything from the heart-tugging scenes during Hurricane Katrina last fall, when some Gulf Coast residents risked staying home because they did not want to abandon their pets, to the explosive recent growth of the pet care industry. Americans spent an estimated $35.9 billion on their pets last year, up from $17 billon in 1994, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. Some of that money went for pet cosmetic surgery, pet insurance, pet strollers, pet waterbeds and, yes, pet spas and hotels. (The “Presidential Suite” at the Ritzy Canine Carriage House in Manhattan is available for $175 a night, breakfast included.)

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WTF. This is the 2nd cool thing this man is done in the past two weeks, and to think I used to hate him. He is gaining some serious cool points. Ha ha ha wait a sec, maybe he just wants to take down whitey Bill Gates, lmfao. Well thats cool with me as well. Windows keep tha black man down.

Shiiii-at, homie, them Gentoo brothas banged up a buncha init scripts all in C, no bash, no ksh, no Perl. Mofo tears it up, boots in half the time ‘cuz they ain’t none ‘a that interpretin’ goin’ on.

The Rev Al Sharpton announced today that he would begin campaigning for linux adoption and for more hardware companies to provide linux device driver support as a way of ending the “digital divide” in America.

“Corporate America has to learn that it needs to support everyone in America, and not just those who can afford to spend $400 on Microsoft Office. By supporting free software, we can keep hope alive in America”, said the minister speaking outside his home in Harlem, NY.

###JOKE
//IZ FUNNY RIGHT?
###JOKE
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Do you know what this means?! SQUARE ROAST BEEF!!

A major shareholder who has pressured Wendy’s International Inc. to increase stock value said Tuesday that he is considering a purchase of the third-largest North American hamburger chain.
Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz said his company, which owns fast-food chain Arby’s, would be a “natural, strategic buyer” for Wendy’s, according to a letter he sent to Wendy’s chairman, but that the company is blocking him.
Peltz, who runs the Trian Fund, also revealed in the filing that he and his allies have increased their stake to 9.8 per cent of company shares, from 8.4 per cent.
Peltz’ company Triarc Cos. controls Arby’s, which has more than 3,000 restaurants.
Peltz said in the letter to Wendy’s chairman James Pickett, that he believes Wendy’s would prefer to sell itself to anyone but Triarc.
“While Trian will support the transaction that is best for all Wendy’s shareholders, we believe that Triarc is a natural, strategic buyer for the company and should be encouraged to participate in the process,” he said in the letter, part of filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to show how many Wendy’s shares Peltz owns.

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These guys have no idea what they are talking about…… just get a coat hanger! Cheap, easy and effective. Get ‘em early, that’s my motto.

They are a popular accessory for parents hoping to keep their children entertained on long car journeys.

But back-seat DVD players could kill a child in a crash at only 18mph, safety tests have shown.

The screens - commonly strapped to the back of front seats and costing a few hundred pounds - can easily fly off in a collision, hitting rear passengers in the head.

The problem relates to the systems bought as accessories - rather those which are built into the back of headrests.

In a simulated collision, the DVD screen was sent hurtling from the front- seat headrest into the head of a crash-test ‘baby’ sitting in a child safety seat in the back.

The test showed mobile phones and satnav systems in holders attached to the dashboard or windscreen could also fly loose, hitting passengers’ legs and feet.

The phone holders, which are fixed to the interior using suction pads, stayed in place but the phones inside were thrown out.

A satnav system in a similar holder remained in place but one attached to an air vent flew through car.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate drove a stake Thursday through President Bush’s plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants, likely postponing major action on immigration until after the 2008 elections.
The bill’s supporters fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to limit debate and clear the way for final passage of the legislation, which critics […]

ITALY - The Leaning Tower of Pisa no longer leans quite so much after a £20 million project to save it was hailed a complete success yesterday.
The tower, which was on the verge of collapse, has been straightened by 18 inches (45 centimetres) returning it to its 1838 position.
“It has straightened a little bit more […]

Gordon Brown has begun his first task as Britain’s new Prime Minister, deciding on his cabinet team.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has saved Mr. Brown from one difficult decison and resigned from government.
She said she was stepping down for “personal reasons.”
Although Mr. Brown had offered to keep her in the Cabinet, she felt it was the […]

How times change when you’re no longer running the country. There’s no one there to meet you, the trains don’t arrive on time, and the whole schedule looks like going to pot. Why, even the wife is forced to haul her own luggage around.
That was Tony Blair’s first taste of real life as an ex-prime […]