Resuming Its Annual PR Mission, NORAD Tracks Santa Claus (cnn.com) 82
An anonymous reader quotes CNN:
The U.S. military command that is charged with protecting the airspace for North America is on alert this Christmas weekend for a man with a white beard and a red suit. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is tracking a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer around the world as it heads for U.S. airspace Sunday night. The public can access NORAD's official Santa Tracker to watch Santa Claus' voyage... [NOTE: The site will request access to your physical location before revealing Santa's whereabouts...]
The public can also call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) and speak live with NORAD trackers. People stuck in the car on the way to Grandmother's house, and with an OnStar subscription, can access the tracker by hitting their OnStar button... Marine Col. Bob Brodie of the 601st Air Operations Center said fighter jets will "fly along (Santa's) wing" in a "close escort," and that the center will "monitor him with our satellites and even have infrared trackers to follow Rudolph."
CNN reports NORAD first began tracking Santa in 1955 when a Sears ad misprinted the telephone number for children to call for updates on Mr. Claus's progress. "On December 24, 1955, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup was on duty, and instead of hanging up on countless children that night, Shoup checked the radar and updated the eager children on jolly old Saint Nick's location." But Gizmodo reports a different origin story: that one child had simply dialed the number incorrectly (in November), and weeks later that gave NORAD the idea for "one of the most successful military PR campaigns of the last century."
This year fifteen of the children's calls to NORAD were remotely answered by President Trump and first lady Melania.
The public can also call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) and speak live with NORAD trackers. People stuck in the car on the way to Grandmother's house, and with an OnStar subscription, can access the tracker by hitting their OnStar button... Marine Col. Bob Brodie of the 601st Air Operations Center said fighter jets will "fly along (Santa's) wing" in a "close escort," and that the center will "monitor him with our satellites and even have infrared trackers to follow Rudolph."
CNN reports NORAD first began tracking Santa in 1955 when a Sears ad misprinted the telephone number for children to call for updates on Mr. Claus's progress. "On December 24, 1955, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup was on duty, and instead of hanging up on countless children that night, Shoup checked the radar and updated the eager children on jolly old Saint Nick's location." But Gizmodo reports a different origin story: that one child had simply dialed the number incorrectly (in November), and weeks later that gave NORAD the idea for "one of the most successful military PR campaigns of the last century."
This year fifteen of the children's calls to NORAD were remotely answered by President Trump and first lady Melania.
Santa is a distraction (Score:2, Insightful)
Santa is a distraction from the real reason for Christmas. Kids should be focused on the birth of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. None of the other stuff like receiving presenrs matters in the least. I'll pray for all of the atheists here that you will start believing in Jesus Christ and be saved. Jesus is truly the Son of God. Most historians believe the Bible is true, which is why it's the most studied book in history. I'll pray for all of you to have a joyful Christmas. But I'll especially pray for
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His words are more important than his existence.
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This is why the words (at least the good ones) are more important than the existence of a god or not.
If you start to bicker about "who's right", well, you end up with bloodshed, even when the words of your god tell you to not.
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Absolutely. They should be thinking about these things. Like why Jesus was born on the same day as Mithras. And how the Christ Mass falls on the same day as the feast of Sol Invictus.
The presents are just a distraction.
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We do teach them why the Church decided to celebrate Christmas on Mithras' birthday, and honor St. Mary on May Day, Candlemas on Imbolc, and celebrate All Saints' Day on the day after Halloween. It was part of our Embrace-Extend-Destroy strategy. See people celebrate a pagan feastday, put a Christian overlay atop it, gradually shift focus to the Christian deity and demi-deities, wait a couple of centuries, and Poof! All the pagans and witches are polishing crystals in New Age bookstores struggling to make e
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Hold on, Tex. Most historians agree it was influenced by actual events, but that's not the same as being 100% accurate.
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[[Citation needed]]
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Well, if it wasn't for Ceasar Constantine merging all the Roman religions at the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), then us atheists would still have been able to celebrate Yule and Saturnalia in peace, without meddlesome Christians and their Mithra myth co-opting it.
Re:Are Santa mall dudes pedophiles? (Score:4, Insightful)
Because not everyone's brain works the way yours does?
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I suspect in many cases because they'd otherwise be unemployed and it's a paying gig.
In others, it's people who like kids - which is a perfectly natural and socially beneficial thing except in the rare case of pedophiles where it's sexual.
Actual pedos? They're not hiding behind every corner you know, and pedophile does not equal stupid. You think they're going to seek out momentary non-sexual contact under the gaze of parents? The pedos want to be coaches and priests.
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Lonley widowers who don't get to spend nearly enough time with the grand kids?
Thanks for nothing, CNN... (Score:5, Insightful)
The U.S. military command that is charged with protecting the airspace for North America
That should be US and Canadian military command. You'd have a pretty hard time protecting all of North America without Canada's vigilance in the North, you know.
Yaz
Re: Thanks for nothing, CNN... (Score:1)
Re: Da night afo’ Crizzmus (Score:1)
Wus da night afo’ Crizzmus, and all thru da hood,
everybody be sleepin’ and da sleepin’ be good.
We hunged up our stockins, an hoped like all heck,
dat Obama gunna brang us our checks.
All of da family, was layin’ on da flo’,
my sister wif her gurlfriend, my brother wif some snow ho.
Ashtrays was all full, empty beer cans and all
when I heared such a fuss, I thunk.”Sh’eet, must be da law”.
I pulled the sheet off da window and what I’ze could see,
I was spectin
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This is magnificent.
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Another fun fact re Canada: it unofficially and humbly claims to have the mailing address of old St. Nick:
Santa Claus
The North Pole
H0H 0H0
(The postal code has a nice ring, doesn't it?)
Re:Thanks for nothing, CNN... (Score:4, Funny)
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You can see from this photo that Canadian military command means business:
http://mypullzone.orangepopmed... [netdna-cdn.com]
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Kimmie: 1, Santa: 0 (Score:2, Funny)
Breaking News: North Korea just shot Santa down with a missile.
Re:Kimmie: 1, Santa: 0 (Score:4, Funny)
Talk about a War on Christmas...
You're a mean one, Mr. Kim ... ... the ... uh ...
You really are a grump
You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick Donald Trump, Mr. Kim
Given a choice between the two of you, I'd take the
Can I get back to you?
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And one of the shepherds spoke to the others, why are you afraid? And the shepherd said, science can explain this, it is not an angel, there is no God. And as soon as the shepherd finished those words, he was smitten by the Almighty God. And the shepherds trembled at the sight of this.
Where did this come from? That's not in Luke.
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It came from an idiot who obviously believes that God doesn't want us to use our brains to figure out the universe
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Nice Easter egg.
Re:How it really goes down - NZ Police vs Santa (Score:2)
Are you Santa? https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Really, that's what he's doing? (Score:1, Funny)
This year fifteen of the children's calls to NORAD were remotely answered by President Trump and first lady Melania.
Granted, I do think Trump has a toddler's mindset, but if we're going to let him deal with a bunch of whiny brats, why isn't he talking to Congress instead?
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What you say: "Granted, I do think Trump has a toddler's mindset, but..."
What I hear: "Granted, I have mentally replaced the actual Trump with a propagandistic fabrication designed to feed my smug sense of superiority (at the cost of surrendering all ability to understand or predict objective reality), but..."
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Isn't it a bit toddlerish to insult someone constantly and then say "OMG YOU ARE SUCH A TODDLER FOR RESPONDING!"?
And with an update for the times ... (Score:2)
Santa's progress through cyberspace for all those electronic gift certificates and digital music purchases is being tracked in real-time by the NSA:
Dear Santa,
Hope you and Mrs. Claus are doing well. Please also send my regards to the elves, and you may want to check in a bit on Sugarplum Mary. Some of her recent communications have been a little on the down side, but I may have already said too much.
Thank you for the additional data center you brought our data services division last year. This year, all I want is for my extended family to hate me a little less and not spit on me so much when we get together for the holidays, if it's not too much to ask.
Thanks,
J. Michael McConnell
Director of National Intelligence, NSA
To the children ... (Score:1)
Do not militarize the Merry Christmas!!!
German Police arrested a bearded guy in Hamburg (Score:2)
http://www.der-postillon.com/2... [der-postillon.com] (German)
Translation (by google, I was lazy)
Hamburg (dpo) - Is the DHL million extortionist finally caught? The Hamburg police today arrested an elderly bearded man carrying thousands of suspicious parcels in a sled. To be on the safe side, the entire sled was blown up by specialists following an evacuation of the environment.
According to police, the suspect had penetrated the airspace over Hamburg on Sunday morning with a flying sled. In the subsequent landing in front of a
Is this consensual? (Score:1)