Shocker! Government plan to reduce obesity doesn't reduce obesity

When Los Angeles city lawmakers passed a zoning ordinance in 2008 limiting the opening of fast food restaurants in an area plagued by high obesity rates, who could have guessed that it would fail? Well, pretty much everyone with an IQ higher than a Big Mac—which might explain why government officials actually thought it would work.

The AP reports:

The research by the Rand Corp. think tank found that obesity rates in South Los Angeles continued to rise after passage of the law.

"It had no meaningful effect," Rand senior economist Roland Sturm said. "There's no evidence that diets have improved more in South LA. Obesity and overweight rates have not fallen."

I'm sure we can expect lawmakers to ask for more funding and propose further restrictions. After all, there isn't a problem in the world that can't be made worse with more bureaucracy.

Scare your kids with the Hillary Clinton action figure

No, this isn't a joke. Creator Jason Feinberg is a fan of Hillary Clinton, and he wants to immortalize her in the form of an action figure that will surely terrify young kids everywhere.


From Feinberg's KickStarter site:

We started with one simple goal; to make Hillary Clinton into an awesome iconic action figure. Basically, we're hoping to kick off some light-hearted excitement about her campaign and the amazingly cool prospect of America getting its first woman president.

After months and months of work, we're all ready to go!

Actually, this four-inch piece of plastic would be less annoying and a much more effective leader than the real thing. If only this version could get on the ballot next year.

Even the U. S. Postal Service is spying on you

A hidden camera that was set up at a post office in Golden, Colorado, to record the license plates and facial features of customers, vanished without a trace within an hour of being discovered by FOX31 Denver:

Bank of Canada upset at Star Trek fans for increasing value of its currency

Canada's five dollar bill sports an image of the country's seventh prime minister, Wilfrid Laurier. It just so happens that Laurier looks a bit like a hairless Spock, so Star Trek fans have been having a little fun:

Bank of Canada spokeswoman Josianne Menard acknowledges this kind of doodling isn't illegal:

However, there are important reasons why it should not be done. Writing on a bank note may interfere with the security features and reduces its lifespan. Markings on a note may also prevent it from being accepted in a transaction. Furthermore, the Bank of Canada feels that writing and markings on bank notes are inappropriate as they are a symbol of our country and a source of national pride.

Seems to me Ms. Menard should be thanking Trekkers for increasing the value of Canadian currency.