Courtesy of MSN

The world’s most famous fish sandwich begins as one of the ocean’s ugliest creatures. Filet-O-Fish, like many of the fish patties used by fast-food chains, is made predominantly from hoki, a gnarly, crazy-eyed fish found in the cold waters off the coast of New Zealand. In the past, McDonald’s has purchased up to 15 million pounds of hoki a year, each flaky fillet destined for a coat of batter, a bath of oil, a squirt of tartar, and a final resting place in a warm, squishy bun. But it seems the world’s appetite for this and other fried-fish sandwiches has proved too voracious, as New Zealand has been forced to cut the allowable catch over the years in order to keep the hoki population from collapsing. Don’t expect McDonald’s to scale down Filet-O-Fish output anytime soon, though; other whitefish like Alaskan pollock will likely fill in the gaps left by the hoki downturn. After all, once it’s battered and fried, do you really think you’ll know the difference?

Germany's sex abuse scandal has now reached Pope Benedict XVI: His former archdiocese disclosed that while he was archbishop a suspected pedophile priest was transferred to a job where he later abused children.

The pontiff is also under increasing fire for a 2001 Vatican document he later penned instructing bishops to keep such cases secret.

The revelations have put the spotlight on Benedict's handling of abuse claims both when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977-1982 and then the prefect of the Vatican office that deals with such crimes – a position he held until his 2005 election as pope.

And they may lead to further questions about what the pontiff knew about the scope of abuse in his native Germany, when he knew it and what he did about it during his tenure in Munich and quarter-century term at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Resign. Repent. On Glenn Beck's TV show.

From MSNBC:

For more than a week, a mysterious pulsating light has been appearing nightly over Lake Erie east of downtown Cleveland — showing up at approximately 7:30 pm and zipping around in the darkness for about two hours before disappearing — reports MSNBC. Captured on film from various angles, it's now drawing nightly crowds at the lakefront. While Nick Pope, former chief UFO investigator at the British defense ministry, calls it a "significant sighting," some of the UFO's fans do not exactly inspire faith: "I have absolutely no expertise in this field, but I can guarantee you that it is not human!" says Eugene Erlich, a local college student who has been videotaping the lights.

The end is nigh.

Narcs pegged the value of the weed at $1.3 million.

That works out to roughly $270 per ounce, which sounds about right if the pot is sold ounce by ounce to 4,800 individual buyers.

Of course, if it's wholesaled at $2,000 per pound, the value works out to only $600,000, which doesn't give the narcs that seem tingly feeling when that number gets printed in headlines.

Now that they've bagged the bud, let's hope it does not go to waste.

Why not donate it as medicine to a marijuana clinic to provide pain relief for the sick?

After all, the game commission donates poached deer meat to food kitchens. And deer meat isn't worth $4,300 a pound, even if it is sold by the ounce.

Instead, he played the abortion card and preyed on fears that the AARP-supported package of cuts in projected spending would gut Medicare.

"I will not vote for the Senate bill," Holden said. "It makes significant cuts to Medicare and Medicaid ... and the restrictions on (federal funding for) abortion are not as strong."

Holden's primary challenger plans to rip him for it, right through the May primary.

Harrisburg attorney Sheila Dow Ford called health care reform "the most critical issue of our time" and blasted Holden for not supporting the current reform proposal before Congress.  She also railed against his "no"  vote on a plan to help families restructure their mortgages as irresponsible.

"He showed willful ignorance about the plight of his constituents," Dow Ford said.

"Willful ignorance" says it about right.

When Elizabeth Warren first met Barack Obama, a strange kind of seduction took place. The encounter occurred at a fundraiser, hosted by a fellow Harvard professor who was supporting his former student, Obama, in his campaign to become a U.S. senator. Warren walked into the house and peered down a long corridor. Obama was standing in a glass-enclosed room with the afternoon sun glowing from behind, silhouetting him: "He was backlit!" As she walked down toward him he turned, stuck out his hand, and said, "Predatory lending! We have to do something about predatory lending!" He raved on as she stood and stared at him, dumbstruck. When he paused, she smiled and said, "You had me at predatory lending."

"Midlevel managers and the professional people -- they are ecstatic for it," said Chris Garner, owner and president of Berks & Beyond Employment Services Inc., Wyomissing. "They are the job sector with the most difficult time finding employment."

Garner has seen a spike in orders for workers in entry-level manufacturing, packing and warehousing jobs.

Midlevel managers might still be struggling, but there is also demand for highly skilled professionals such as accountants, said Debbie Ramsey, a staffing specialist/recruiter at Gage Personnel Services, West Reading....

Other employers are not as optimistic, said Edward J. McCann Jr., chief operating officer of Berks County Workforce Investment Board.

"I hope I am dead wrong and the people I talk to are dead wrong, but I don't talk to anybody who sees the prospect of a lot of hiring at least by the fourth quarter of this year," he said. "Almost everybody I talk to figures we'll end the year with the same 9 or 10 percent unemployment."

I'm starting to like Dennis Kucinich's idea more and more....lower the retirement age, temporarily, to 60, so boomers on the cusp can clear out and open up a million jobs to unemployed younger workers. (We can deal with the impact on the Social Security trust fund in 2040.)

Otherwise, the buzz phrase isn't "Would you like fries with that burger?" It's "Would you like working on the line where they turn beef carcasses  into hamburger?"

Not only is the text superimposed over an image of the Twin Towers burning, but the event  is a pig roast.

The advertoisement included a photo credit to The New York Times.

Greatest magic secrets revealed. Click here.

Chloe has mastered the deft art of composing sports-based double-entendres, adhering to a strict 140-character for posting on Twitter.

Some samples:

Commenting on a recent Premier League match, she wrote: ‘(Rory) Delap is using a towel to mop up some of the wet ready for those long thrusting balls into the box.’

Another said: ‘Golf today. Played with three boys. I came first, must have been down to good length.’

One posted earlier this year stated: ‘The sign on the ticket machine I am at says: “slot out of action”. I know the feeling.’

Unfortunately, her bosses failed to grasp the humor in the risqué Tweets. Something about how the station wouldn't be taken seriously anymore. Poor Chloe had to clean out and clean up her Twitter account.

Sad, so sad.