Click the image to see 60 years of presidential campaign buttons!

Visit our friends at The FW to see the full list of 2011 mugshots!

This cross-stitch above was done in 1941 by Major Alexis Casdagli in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, just like it says. What it doesn’t say is that the dots and dashes inside the border around the swastikas and Soviet hammer and sickles are Morse code for “God save the King,” and “F**k Hitler.” I never thought I would say this about needlework, but, badass.

Check out the whole story at The Guardian!

A protester carries a sign that reads “don’t use it twice” during a December 24th protest over Vladimir Putin’s party winning the parliamentary elections despite allegations of fraud. It was the first mass protest directed at Putin in his twelve years of rule in Russia. Christmas day twenty years ago also saw the collapse of the Soviet Union. Could this be the collapse of Vladurday as well?!

A protester holds a meme-style poster that says, “get tired! Leave!”

I’m telling you, the guy was great at parties.

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THERE ISN’T ENOUGH ROOM ON MY DVR FOR ALL OF THESE AMAZING KIM JONG-IL TV SHOWS OMG CRYING!!!!!!

Via: Buzzfeed

North Korea has just reported that Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Il died of of a heart attack on Saturday. His son Kim Jong-Un is expected to assume control of government. Kim Jong-Il had ruled North Korea since 1993.

… 2011 was not a good year for dictators.

UPDATE: Here is a news anchor tearfully reporting on his death from North Korean state TV.

Ugghhh, I wish I could just post Phoenix Wright stuff all day and not polit— oh crap did I just type that out loud?

Baby’s first Glenn Beck book. Via Reddit.

Daniel Day Lewis in Abe Lincoln costume walking with Steven Spielberg. IMMD!

What is this I don’t even… thanks to user FingerPuppet!

Thanks to user partygnome!

Lalala.

“C’mon son” written by a TSA agent in lieu of confiscating weed in rapper Freddie Gibbs’ carry-on. Somehow I don’t think he’s going to learn his lesson. Via The Daily What.

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Not bad, moneyfaces. Via Know Your Meme.

Banksy’s latest, entitled “Cardinal Sin.”

So a 0.4 percent decrease in unemployment gets a smaller dip in the graph than a 0.1 percent increase. Fair and balanced indeed.

Today is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Check out Time Magazine’s retrospective, some amazing vintage photos at MSNBC Photoblog, or watch FDR’s famous speech in memory of the 2,403 people killed and the formal entry of the United States into World War II.

Tired of people stealing emergency hammers meant for breaking glass in the event of an accident, the Harbin Public Transport Company in Heilongjiang, China has resorted to equipping their vehicles with emergency bricks.

The bricks are stowed under a back seat and one under the driver’s seat. So far, 300 buses out Harbin’s fleet of 700 are making use of this old-school safety device. No word yet on whether or not the bricks were donated from the people of Oz or just painted that way.

Check out more interesting improvisations at There, I Fixed it!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Vladurday to announce that Herman Cain has suspended his 2012 presidential bid, citing false accusations casting too much doubt over his campaign. This comes just days after Ginger White admitted to a 13-year affair with the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, amidst numerous accusations of sexual impropriety by other women.

Goodnight, sweet Prince of Pizza.

Mental Floss has a great retrospective on Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Through business savvy and merciless killing he rose from poverty to become more powerful than his country’s government and capable of easily alluding CIA and military efforts against him. According to this article, Escobar’s cartel spent $2,500 per month just for rubber bands to wrap all their bricks of cash. Read this and other fun facts for yourself here.

Writer’s block can be tough, I know.

A man turned in a $100 bill to the Sears Store in downtown Seattle, Wash. today with a note that read:

During the late [forties] I stole some money from the cash register in the amount of $20-$30,” the note read. “I want to pay you back this money in the amount of $100 to put in your theft account.

Security cameras recorded the man, but the store has decided not to release the tape to police. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, $30 was worth approximately $281 in 1948. Meaning… HE STILL OWES THEM MONEY. I sincerely hope the cops are combing the streets for this man as I type this.

(I kid, I kid.)

Check out these amazing living murals created by U.S. soldiers during World War I! Each picture was created using more than 15,000 men but took only 30 minutes to get everyone into position. Have to be honest, this is a lot cooler use of their spare time than asking celebrities out on YouTube.

This street art criticizing Black Friday appeared a few days ago in London. Though it closely resembles Banksy’s style, it is unconfirmed as to whether or not he is behind it.

Greenpeace activists in Canada used hundreds of emergency LED lights to spell out “CLIMATE FAIL” on the Parliament Hill lawn in protest of the Harper Government’s failure to take action against climate change. Thanks for the free advertising, Greenpeace!

Shouldn’t he be pursuing The Hamburgler rather than stifling peaceful student protests?

Assistant Chief of Bureau for photos at The Associated Press J. David Ake posted this shot on his Tumblr earlier. An Occupy Wall Street protester slipped President Obama a note as he shook hands in New Hampshire today. The note reads:

Mr. President: Over 4000 peaceful protesters / have been arrested / While banksters continue / to destroy the American economy (with impunity) / You must stop the assault / on our 1st ammendment rights [sic]. / Your silence sends a message / that police brutality is ac(ceptable) / Banks got bailed out. / We got sold out.

UPDATE: The President was also mic-checked by OWS protesters during his speech at the same rally. No doubt he was expecting this to happen at some point because he handles it pretty well.

I wonder what’s happening under the table…
…no, actually I’m pretty sure of what’s going on down there

(Silvio Berlusconi)

LoL by:

senorcapitano

Picture by: Unknown

A poll conducted in New Jersey by Farleigh Dickinson University has found that people who get their news from certain outlets, “Fox News” in particular, may actually be less informed than those who don’t read the news at all. The researchers found that out of the 612 adults sampled, those who watch “Fox News” were less likely to be able to correctly answer questions about current events, such as whether or not Egyptians overthrew their government. Check out their findings here.

Of course, they might have only been successful in proving that people from New Jersey are stupid.

“Black Swan” and “Friends With Benefits” star Mila Kunis attended a Marine Corps Ball with Sgt Scott Moore on Saturday night. Sgt Moore famously asked Ms. Kunis in a June YouTube video, which now has more than 4 million hits. “Benefits” costar Justin Timberlake is said to have challenged her to attend the ball. Timberlake attended another Marine Corps ball last week with Corporal Kelsey De Santis, who also asked him via YouTube.

This will only hurt like a motherf**ker

(Vladimir Putin)

LoL by:

Z.Ender.9

Picture by: Unknown

Yes, this real thing is really real.

More Ronettes after the jump!

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(This last one is The Daily Show’s take)

And the promotional video!

Former Arizona candidate for governor Cary Dolago sold his house and other wordly positions and set off for the Ukraine last spring thinking he was to marry a woman named Yulia he met online. Long story short, she never showed up. With his U.S. bank account frozen and (apparently) no way of contacting anyone for help he ended up homeless on the street in the small town of Chernivtsi. Social workers found him a week ago acting strangely and suffering from pneumonia and took him to a hospital.

The woman believed to be Yulia has since come forward and paid Dolago a visit to offer her sympathy. She maintains that her profile on the dating site was hacked by someone who charged Dolago per e-mail. As of this time the U.S. embassy has been contacted and it sounds like he will be on his way home a single man. Delago ran for governor of Arizona just last year.

Internet dating sites that charge you per e-mail… no red flags there! Hope he gets home safely.

Eighty-four-year-old Dorli Rainey was pepper sprayed by Seattle police yesterday night as they attempted to clear Occupy Seattle protesters out of Westlake Park downtown. She sent an e-mail to local alternative paper “The Stranger” with her retelling of the event:

Something funny happened on my way to a transportation meeting in Northgate. As I got off the bus at 3rd and Pine I heard helicopters above. Knowing that the problems of New York would certainly precipitate action by Occupy Seattle, I thought I better check it out. Especially since only yesterday the City Government made a grandiose gesture to protect free speech. Well free speech does have its limits as I found out as the cops shoved their bicycles into the crowd and simultaneously pepper sprayed the so captured protesters. If it had not been for my Hero (Iraq Vet Caleb) I would have been down on the ground and trampled. This is what democracy looks like. It certainly left an impression on the people who rode the No. 1 bus home with me. In the women’s movement there were signs which said: “Screw us and we multiply.”

Dorli is one tough lady.

Love the Chase Bank sponsorship of HuffPo’s decidedly pro-Occupy Wall Street coverage.

Justin Timberlake made good on his promise to attend a Marine Corps ball in Richmond, VA with Corporal Kelsey De Santis. I think we can say he may have successfully atoned for his N’Sync days now.

Here’s De Santis’ original invitation, posted to YouTube in July of this year.

Ohhhh sick Yelp burn on Rick Perry!!

Click the thumbnail to compare candidates’ popularity on YouTube!

The American people must be watching that Herman Cain smoking ad every chance they get.

Visit our friends at The FW to see the entire list of politically-minded babies!

Check ‘em all out after the jump!

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Stock in Godfather’s Pizza is on the up and up, however.

That sure is a folksy analogy, but will it be enough this time, Rick? Will it?

Anna Grodzka, Poland’s first transgender official elected to office, took her seat in parliament for the first time today. Grodzka was born a man but underwent a sex change. She was also joined by Robert Biedron, the first openly gay man to be elected. Sure, she might look a little funny here, but how many of those men in suits are secretly wearing women’s panties underneath? I’d bet there’s a few.

Above: a young Silvio Berlusconi singing on a cruise ship in 1960. Below, Berlusconi in 2009. Via The Guardian

After failing to win the support of parliament for routine budget cuts, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has agreed to step down after a series of economic reforms meant to help Italy’s debt woes are passed. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the country’s wealthiest man and most notorious playboy is down for the count indefinitely. But for the time being it would seem that not even his charm and knack for survival can save him in these desperate financial times.

You can read about the whole story here.

You can join us in saying ciao to one of our most colorful builder subjects after the jump!

By Johnnyjedi

By Outamyhead

By Unknown

By Unknown

By Wagon81

By Firebert7

And my personal favorite:

Gonna miss you, big guy!

Click the thumbnail to see the entire image!

My money’s on Blanka.

Probably not “honest to elected,” however.

A thief attempted to steal a statue of former President Ronald Reagan from Bonita Canyon State Park in Newport Beach City, Calif. The statue was the subject of controversy and protest in the local community before it was erected a few months ago. The culprit attempted to haul it away attached to a pickup truck, and is now the subject of a police manhunt.

Chinese artist and protester Ai WeiWei, who was recently jailed for 81 days without any charges, has received over $800,000 in donations from people to help him pay a tax bill of $2.4 million. Mr. Ai has claimed the tax bill is government harassment and the donation represent the people’s feelings about how the government has treated him. So far, 18,829 people have donated to his cause after it was announced via social media. Meanwhile, a state-run newspaper suggested that Mr. Ai be charged with “illegal fundraising,” and internet search terms relating to donations have been censored. Mr. Ai is thanking donors by sending them porcelain sunflower seeds which were a part of his London art installation at Tate Modern.

A report by “Euronews”:

Condoleezza Rice reveals she was aware of Gadhafi’s admiration for her on The Daily Show. HE MADE A MUSIC VIDEO OF HER.

LOL by Greybeard55

“Two Brazilian Police Officers Ram Their Car into a Plane Attempting to Take Off with Stolen Electronics Inside.” Directed by Michael Bay.

Comment by user Dave:

Bad boys bad boys
O que você vai fazer?
O que você vai fazer quando eles vêm para você?

Avid correspondence fan Louis Schlamowitz exchanged letters with Moammar Gadhafi from the time he seized power in Libya in 1969. According to The New York Post, 81-year-old Schlamowitz and Gadhafi wrote candidly about their viewpoints on America and Israel through the years, and not surprisingly, there were times when they didn’t see eye to eye. However, the lifelong New York resident stopped communicating with the former Libyan dictator upon learning of his involvement in the 1988 Pan Am bombings. He sent Gadhafi a letter six months ago when the Libyan Uprising began, but it was returned to sender. Schlamowitz’s thoughts on Gadhafi’s demise?

“I felt bad about how he was slaughtered. They really gave him the one-two-three. “But that’s politics.”

Read the rest of the story here.

This video is going around Reddit at the moment. Members of the Occupy Wall Street protest confront a video crew and accuse them of giving out bongs and other marijuana paraphernalia in order to marginalize protesters on conservative networks. Maybe they just thought that rolling paper with images of Che Guevara is what you give protesters for Halloween instead of Milk Duds?

The U.S. government removed the uranium from the one remaining B53 bomb yesterday, disarming the last of its most powerful “megaton” nuclear bombs. The B53 was first put into commission in 1962 during The Cold War with the goal of destroying deep underground facilities. It was 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Japan at the end of World War II.

Seventy four-year-old grandmother Joann Davis no doubt had the bejeezus scared out of her when she found herself caught in a NASA sting operation for attempting to sell a moon rock in her possession. Upon presenting this “hot cheese” in a Denny’s in Riverside, CA to a federal agent she thought was a potential buyer, armed sheriff’s deputies stormed in to arrest her.

Mrs. Davis asserts that she’s done nothing wrong in trying to sell the moon rock, (which is actually just a tiny speck encased in a large paperweight), because it was a present from Neil Armstrong to her husband. However, NASA persues anyone attempting to sell lunar material as it is considered government property and cannot be sold for profit. So far, no charges have been pressed again Mrs. Davis and her sinister celestial peddling operation.

Read an in-depth account of this bizarre story from the AP!