SNIPPETS

OCTOBER 25,  2009

From The New York Times:   Parent alert: the Walt Disney Company is now offering refunds for all those “Baby Einstein” videos that did not make children into geniuses.  They may have been a great electronic baby sitter, but the unusual refunds appear to be a tacit admission that they did not increase infant intellect.

Apparently, the parents, who fell for it, weren't geniuses either.  Where do the kids get a refund?

OCTOBER 24,  2009

BERLIN, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Hotels, stores and other attractions in Berlin are catering to Cold War nostalgia 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  Adam Greis, a Berlin tour guide who moved to the city from the United States 1 1/2 years ago, said Checkpoint Charlie, the central border crossing from democratic West Berlin to communist East Berlin, inspired Snack Point Charlie, a cafe and souvenir stand near the former crossing specializing in Russian hats and other Cold War-era items, USA Today reported Friday.

Ah, in Germany there's always nostalgia for some war, cold or otherwise.