Newsbits

Like Timbits, but with half the calories.

Here's a blog about people going into retirement with no savings, and what they are trying to do about it. (Via BoingBoing)

Yahoo News - Oddly Enough: Amazon blames muggles for Harry Potter mixup

"We assure you that howlers have been sent to the muggles responsible for this action and we are investigating the possibility that You-Know-Who may have been involved," the company said in a subsequent apology email to customers on Thursday.

You've gotta watch out for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Fortunately, the Ministry of Magic at least will acknowledge the existence of...Thingy...now.

;>

Japan Today: Rules revised to let foreign students teach languages in Japan

I hate Japan Today's flash ads.

Japan Today: Resident certificates to be issued via convenience stores

No, I really hate them.

The new service will become possible if convenience stores adopt measures to protect personal information and connect their copiers with certificate issuing machines at government offices via the Internet.

Do you think the U.S. would ever put that much faith in convenience stores? (You never know; Costco sells coffins, after all.)

Japan Today: Court accepts priest's touching of girl's breasts as 'religious activity'

Yes, I'm sure it was a very religious experience. (This reminds me of what happened to one of the characters in the novel Christy by Catherine Marshall. I always loved that book, but I always wondered exactly how Christy figured out what was happening to that character...did she have experience? ;P)

And finally, Mainichi's WaiWai: Close-minded tourists slam Japan!

Common complaints about Japan's most repulsive tourist lurks were that they attracted huge crowds, involved enormous expense and never lived up to expectations. Nowhere was this better exemplified than Kyoto, the most plugged place in a country where crass and class are pronounced the same and a city that proves such annunciation an actuality.

Uh...yeah.