For 'tis the sport to have the enginerThe oft mis-referenced quotation from above was meant to be more of a bawdy pun by Shakespeare on the French noun, "Peterade" - "An act of breaking wind; a fart or series of farts." (Oxford English Dictionary) than the literal English meaning of "Petard," - "A small bomb made of a metal or wooden box filled with powder, used to blow in a door, gate, etc., or to make a hole in a wall. Now hist." (Oxford English Dictionary)
Hoist with his own petard, an't shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines
And blow them at the moon.
- Hamlet Act 3, scene 4, 202–209
Below I give you recent examples, enjoy!
GOP cuts support after Mo. lawmaker Akin's rape remarks
Facing a growing controversy over his comments on the abortion rights of rape victims, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., is under heavy pressure from the senior ranks of the GOP to bow out of the race by Tuesday in order to nominate a candidate who faces better odds of defeating Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the chairman of the Senate Republicans' campaign operation, did not outright call for Akin to step aside, but said he should take 24 hours to "carefully consider what is best for him, his family, the Republican Party and the values that he cares about" before deciding to go forward with his campaign.
Further, the National Republican Senatorial Committee will pull $5 million in reserved airtime if Akin remains in the race. Crossroads GPS, a major Republican super PAC, also announced they were withdrawing from the state after already investing millions in ads to defeat McCaskill.
Akin has been under fire since a Sunday interview with KTVI-TV in St. Louis in which he discussed his opposition to abortion rights even in the case of rape, and said a woman's body could prevent pregnancy in the case of "legitimate rape" because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
Boxer’s Bloody Nose Leads to Bank Robbery Charges
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSPublished: July 19, 2012 at 4:12 PM ET
The FBI said it obtained a swab used to stop the bleeding and found that DNA matched Tucker's DNA on other evidence from a 2009 robbery at Monroe County Community Credit Union in Temperance, near the Michigan-Ohio border.
In a court filing, agent Robert Schmitz said he was aware of Tucker's bout in April in Toledo, Ohio, and obtained the "discarded" Q-tips swab.
Tucker's DNA matched DNA from a mask believed to have been used in the robbery and from the steering wheel of the getaway car, the FBI said.
Hungarian far-Right leader admits Jewish origins
A leader of Hungary's far-Right Jobbik party, known for its anti-Roma and anti-Semitic rhetoric, has admitted having Jewish origins.
Csanad Szegedi, a member of the European parliament and regional leader of Jobbik, said he learned "not long ago that I had parents of Jewish origins, that's the big news."
"I'm not saying I wasn't surprised by this news," he added, noting it would take a while to "digest" the information.
Mr Szegedi has repeatedly used anti-Semitic rhetoric in the past and also got attention when in 2009 he attended the first session of the European parliament in a uniform of the Hungarian Guard, a paramilitary branch of Jobbik which has since been banned.
In his latest interview he noted however: "I think that what counts is not to know who is a pure race Hungarian, the important thing is the way one behaves as a Hungarian."
"To be Hungarian for me has always been a responsibility (towards my country), that has nothing to do with racial supremacy."
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/hungary/9370194/Hungarian-far-Right-leader-admits-Jewish-origins.html)
NY motorcyclist in helmet protest hits head, dies
ONONDAGA, N.Y.—A man riding bareheaded on one of about 550 motorcycles in an anti-helmet law rally lost control of his cycle, went over his handlebars, hit his head on the pavement and died, police said Sunday.
The motorcyclist, 55-year-old Philip A. Contos, likely would have survived the accident if he'd been wearing a helmet, state troopers said.
http://news.yahoo.com/ny-motorcyclist-helmet-protest-hits-head-dies-225710487.html (Retrieved 07/04/2011)
Ashland man arrested on firearm charges  |
| Stephen Consigli |
The MetroWest Daily News
FRAMINGHAM —
Police say an Ashland man's home security system showed him firing a gun into the air at his house Saturday and then hiding the gun after he heard police radio calls saying officers were at his house.
Stephen Consigli, 48, pleaded not guilty to several firearm charges at his Framingham District Court arraignment yesterday, posted $10,000 bail and was released.
Segway owner dies after falling off river cliff
LONDON --All police found at the bottom of a cliff was a man's body in a frigid river and a Segway, the two-wheeled electric device that was supposed to revolutionize personal transport.
It was Jimi Heselden, a one-time laid-off coal miner turned self-made millionaire who had bought the Segway company only 10 months earlier. He apparently fell to his death while riding one of the sleek black-and-silver scooters. Authorities said Monday his body was found in the River Wharfe at the base of a 30-foot cliff.
Jeffrey D Mintz
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