Free Republic

A Mongolian couple has died of the bubonic plague after eating raw marmot kidney, triggering a quarantine that left tourists stranded in a remote region for days, officials said Monday. The ethnic Kazakh couple died on May 1 in Nogoonnuur soum, in Mongolia's westernmost province of Bayan-Ulgii, which borders Russia and China. A six-day quarantine was declared for people in the region, preventing nine tourists from Russia, Germany and Switzerland from leaving. The quarantine was lifted on May 6 after no other cases of the plague were reported. Authorities have warned people against eating raw marmot meat because it can...

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-farm payroll employment increased by 195,000 in June. nfp070513 Unfortunately, the household survey reported that part-time jobs increased by 360,000 to 28,059,000 – an all time record high. Full time jobs actually FELL by 240,000. June Full vs Part Time Jobs historic As a result, U6 unemployment and marginally attached workers rose to 14.3%. u6070513 At least the labor force participation (of part-time workers) rose. lfp070513 And the employment to population ratio rose ever so slightly. emppop070513 America is realizing the disaster that is Obamacare. the-dude-from-the-big-lebowski-1

The Venice, Calif., property featured in the Coen Brothers’ “The Big Lebowski” is on the market, but it’s undergone a good bit of spiffing up since Jeff Bridges character asked “Does this place look like I’m … married? The toilet seat’s up, man!” Listing agent Winston Cenac told L.A. Weekly that His Dudeness could probably not afford the place now because the group of six one-bedroom houses is being sold as a group for $2.3 million.

So there’s this guy named the Dude, and some dudes break into his apartment and pee on his rug, so the Dude, an LA burnout whose real name is Jeffrey Lebowski, goes to find the other Jeffrey Lebowski, a rich guy the intruder dudes were actually looking for, so he can get him to replace the soiled rug, which totally tied the room together. That’s the basic premise of “The Big Lebowski,’’ the Coen Brothers’ 1998 stoner caper, which also involves bowling, nihilism, a kidnapping, and many, many White Russians - a cocktail whose parts combine more cogently than the...

There's a scene in the cult favorite The Big Lebowski in which Walter, the addled veteran, incensed over possibly losing a bowling match, seizes on a technicality to disqualify his opponent, screaming: "This is not 'Nam! There are rules! ... Am I the only one who gives a shit about the rules?" There's a bit of Walter in George W. Bush this week. Deathly afraid of being challenged on his unraveling Iraq policy, Bush demanded--and won--a series of bizarre rules governing tonight's debate. There will be no rebuttals allowed, for instance. No follow-up questions, no movement about the stage, no...

< snip> LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Real Lebowski lives. And people love him. Jeff Dowd, the inspiration for the main character in the Coen brothers’ 1998 mistaken identity comedy “The Big Lebowski,” joined more than a thousand fans at the second annual Lebowski Fest — a celebration of bowling, white Russians and all things Lebowski. < snip >.