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Another Perspective
News Quiz #3
In a bogus world, what story isn’t bogus?
In this contest, readers are again asked to identify the bogus news item. All four items are “reported” in similar style, from The American Spectator News Service (some minor details have been slightly altered). Three of them record actual events. Readers of previous quizzes have been a bit snippy in complaining about the ease of detecting the bogus item. Nevertheless, in News Quiz #2 very few people actually guessed the correct answer. Better luck this time. (And no cheating by looking on the web!) A bottle of bubbly and an autographed copy of the tie new book by American Spectator editor Bob Tyrrell goes to the first three readers who correctly identify the bogus paragraph.
Item 1
TAS NEWS SERVICE, HORSENECK BEACH, MASS. — A few transgendered women caused a stir over Memorial Day weekend by going topless on Horseneck Beach. According to police, complaints were received after several individuals removed their tops and revealed their surgically enhanced breasts. They covered up before the police arrived, but even if they hadn’t, they were doing nothing illegal, the police chief noted. Because they have male genitalia, they can’t be charged with indecent exposure for showing their breasts.
Item 2
TAS NEWS SERVICE, MANCHESTER, U.K. — A transsexual has won a legal battle over the backdating of a pension. The 68-year-old claimant was named Robert when he was born. The claimant underwent a “gender reassignment” operation ten years ago and sought a state pension the following year, upon reaching the age of 60, the age women are eligible for pensions.
Relying on the Recognition of Gender Act 2004, which requires married transsexuals to divorce before the government will recognize their newly acquired gender, the government pensions minister ruled in January 2008 that the claimant was allowed to receive a pension only from the male retirement age of 65. But the couple, who had been married for thirty years, did not wish to divorce.
The government declared that under the Act the claimant was not entitled to be recognized as female while still married to his wife, because one woman could not be married to another.
The groundbreaking decision from the Lord Justices, however, found that the pensions minister was wrong to treat the claimant as a man for state pension purposes, and that the denial was in breach of the claimant’s human rights.
Item 3
TAS NEWS SERVICE, WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following complaints by high-school students and college-age adults that the free Durex condoms offered by the city are not big enough and not of good enough quality, D.C. officials have decided to start distributing Trojan condoms, including the company’s super-size Magnum variety.
“If people get what they don’t want, they are just going to trash them,” said University of the District of Columbia student T. Squalls.
“We thought making condoms available was a good thing, but we never asked the kids what they wanted,” said D.C. Council member David A. Catania, apologetically.
Officials have also begun to authorize teachers or counselors, preferably male, to distribute condoms after they have completed a 30-minute online training course called “WrapMC” — for Master of Condoms.
The city, which has 600,000 residents, expects to hand out more than four million condoms this year, an average of more than six per person.
“We want to support the regularization of condom use citywide,” said Shannon L. Hader, director of the city’s HIV/AIDS Administration. “We are promoting this idea that using condoms is healthy… to try to destigmatize condom use.”
Letter to the Editor View all comments (41) | Leave a comment
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Kitty| 7.19.10 @ 7:18AM
I say #1 is bogus.
Eric Cartman| 7.19.10 @ 9:18AM
A agree - they wouldn't cover their boobs before cops came.
MoneyMatters| 7.19.10 @ 7:45AM
Item #4 is bogus - there are too many facts and the story is not written in the same style of straight, matter-of-fact reporting as other 3 articles.
Monty.Crisco| 7.19.10 @ 12:38PM
I think you are right on the money.
Bill Lannon| 7.19.10 @ 7:51AM
I agree with MoneyMatters. #4 is the bogus, but plausible story.
FTM| 7.19.10 @ 8:07AM
Nah, nah, nah, #3 is the dud. I don't think that there is a company that manufacturers different sized condoms.
FTM| 7.19.10 @ 8:12AM
This one was a joke one time wasn't it? Something like some folks in America were complaining about the baby boom. Something like that. The Russians sent a couple of ship loads of latex condoms and said something of the like that they wanted to be good neighbors and help out, that sort of thing. The Americans sent back a couple ship loads of super-extra large condoms and said something the likes of, "thanks, but do you make any condoms the size that we use here?"
Something like that anyway.
Johan1| 7.19.10 @ 5:06PM
I believe the old joke went as follows:
For propaganda purposes, the Soviet Union ordered American made condoms which were 14 inches long and 3 inches in diameter. A smartazz country boy who was working the line saw who the boxes were being shipped to, stamped 'em all 'medium' and shipped 'em out.
-as told by Jay Hickman (rest his soul)
MoneyMatters| 7.20.10 @ 8:12AM
The condom story is real -- I have friends living in D.C. and they sent me the article from the Washington Post when it was first reported.
terrie| 7.20.10 @ 12:47PM
I remember the story, but with a slight difference. I thought the condoms they were distributing were too BIG for the juvenile deliquents, so they switched brands to bring in smaller sizes for the 12 yr olds that want to have sex,
FTM| 7.19.10 @ 8:13AM
There was another condom joke one time too, the difference between a tire and 365 condoms.
One was a Goodyear and the other is a Great Year.
FTM| 7.19.10 @ 8:14AM
Not that I'd know or anything.
Denver Todd| 7.19.10 @ 8:22AM
I say #2, because the state wouldn't ever require a divorce of a protected class.
Jameson Campaigne| 7.19.10 @ 8:29AM
#3. The rest read like daily dispatches from the NEW YORK TIMES, so they must be true.
R Fuller| 7.19.10 @ 8:29AM
#4 is false. Monica can have O with parents having A & B. If you are A, you have A/O. If you are B, you have B/O (:O). Mom & Dad gave Monica an "O."
Bill Barney| 7.19.10 @ 8:34AM
Number 3 is the false story
R Martin| 7.19.10 @ 9:05AM
You've made your point: when it comes to government behavior it's hard to distinguish believable from unbelievable.
That being said, I'm going with #2 because, even in the UK, I doubt there is a Recognition of Gender Act.
crodgers| 7.19.10 @ 9:17AM
#4 has to be bogus. The lawyer wouldn't be discussing private client information with his wife, doctor or not.
Maddox| 7.19.10 @ 9:19AM
I say they are all true because the world we now live in is absolutely crazy! None of theses stories are more absurd than what we read every day about actions taken by our dear leader and his crowd of crooks.
Bill| 7.19.10 @ 9:28AM
All of the stories are entirely plausible, except I agree with the person whose comment said the transgendered bikini-wearers wouldn't have put their tops back just because the cops showed up.
Bruce| 7.19.10 @ 10:01AM
Definitely #4. parental blood type A + parental bloodtype B can indeed make baby bloodtype O. So #4 is factually incorrect. But THAT'S the only way to tell which one's bogus!!!!!!!
Marv| 7.19.10 @ 10:12AM
#2
MikeN| 7.19.10 @ 11:15AM
The gentic facts on blood type in #4 are wrong.
Joe D| 7.19.10 @ 11:57AM
I say item #1 is incorrect. But to think that 3 of these are correct is really sick. Our world has truely fallen to hell.
Anne| 7.19.10 @ 2:28PM
Story #3 is true -- I remember reading it when it occurred -- some time ago.
Anne| 7.19.10 @ 2:39PM
Oops -- forgot to say -- I think #4 is the bogus one. Reads like a "one-minute mystery" regardless of whether the genetic facts are right or wrong.
Greg| 7.19.10 @ 3:55PM
#4 is the bogus one.
Mike | 7.19.10 @ 4:55PM
My, my, wouldn't it be a much better world if they were all bogus... #3 is my guess, one size fits all...
noneofyourbusiness| 7.19.10 @ 6:38PM
Number 3 is bogus. One size does not fit all. But when it comes to pricing of condoms, size doesn`t matter! :-)
Cheers!
Londie| 7.19.10 @ 10:55PM
I REALLY want number 4 to be bogus. It is too sick to be real (please please PLEASE let it be bogus!!)
David| 7.20.10 @ 11:50AM
Can someone tell what the deal is with the "pingback" posts? Are they as irritating to you as they are to me? Can't the Spectator stop those posts?
Ray| 7.20.10 @ 12:50PM
I was just wondering that myself. There's more "pingback's" than reader comments!
Ray| 7.20.10 @ 12:56PM
Item 2 is bogus. Two different mandatory retirement ages based on gender? Yea right, and I have some oceanfront property for sale in Arizona.
Ray| 7.20.10 @ 12:59PM
I've Chengdu my mind, it's the INTRO that's bogus!
Here's what tipped me off: "A bottle of bubbly and an autographed copy of the tie new book by American Spectator editor Bob Tyrrell goes to the first three readers who correctly identify the bogus paragraph."
Well, there's your bogus paragraph. A bottle of "bubbly," as if!
R Fuller| 7.21.10 @ 10:22PM
Where is my bubbly? I was #3.
Adult toys | 7.4.11 @ 3:33AM
l like the space.support.
thank you.