The Other Side of Life 24/7: Reuters Oddly Enough Report

Monday, December 31, 2012

Reuters Oddly Enough Report

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12/31/2012

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Spoiler alert: Word enthusiasts want to ban "fiscal cliff"

(Reuters) - Whether or not the U.S. Congress acts to avoid the "fiscal cliff," the much-used phrase tops the list of words language aficionados want banned from everyday speech, according to a Michigan university's yearly roundup released on Monday.

Olympics, elections and horsing around in odd 2012

LONDON (Reuters) - Presidential preening, golden Olympic gaffes, a royal windfall for a skydiving British queen on her diamond jubilee and the endless end of days marked the odd stories in 2012 which pranced across the news in Gangnam Style.

10 days later, man who escaped high-rise Chicago prison missing

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The FBI is still searching for one of two convicted bank robbers who escaped last week from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by lowering themselves on a makeshift rope nearly 20 stories to the street.

So you find certain words annoying? Whatever

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "You know," "whatever" is a really annoying term -- "like" "you know." We're "just sayin'."

Ukraine reminds Santas about tax

KIEV (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Ukraine on Wednesday reminded entertainers making money by posing as Did Moroz - the local version of Santa Claus - and his helpers to pay income tax.

Moutai shares lead alcohol tumble after China bans spirits from army feasts

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese distiller Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd led a tumble in the country's alcohol sector on Monday after Beijing banned its top brass from hosting boozy banquets while working, Communist Party chief Xi Jinping's latest anti-corruption move.

Canada's "Ikea monkey" to spend Christmas at sanctuary

OSHAWA (Reuters) - Canada's most famous monkey will not be donning his tiny Santa suit with his adoptive family this year, after a judge ruled on Friday that the primate should stay at an animal sanctuary until at least mid-January.

Dead passenger found riding in Berlin underground

BERLIN (Reuters) - A 65-year-old man thought to be sleeping while sitting upright on a Berlin underground train as it cross-crossed the German capital was actually dead, police said on Sunday.

Georgian village reinstates Stalin monument to mark anniversary

ZEMO ALVANI, Georgia (Reuters) - Residents of a mountainous village in the former Soviet republic of Georgia reinstated a monument to dictator Josef Stalin on Friday to mark the 133rd birthday anniversary of their famous compatriot.

God's gender divides German government

BERLIN (Reuters) - A minister in Angela Merkel's government has sparked a pre-Christmas row among Germany's ruling parties by suggesting God be referred to with the neutral article "das" instead of the masculine "der".