With the recent news about NSA snooping still ringing in their ears, folks have taken to copying and pasting that year-old, viral "Privacy Notice" on their Facebook walls again, apparently in the belief that a bunch of legalistic verbiage — e.g., "You are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or taking any other action against me with regard to this profile and the contents herein" — magically protects their profile and content from prying eyes.

It doesn't.

Here's a direct quote from a "news story" published yesterday on a website called the National Report, and currently making the rounds on Facebook:

"At about 2:08 pm employees at the National Report were shocked when dozens of black clad machine gun toting DOJ agents wearing black masks entered the National Report office forcing everyone to the ground while demanding they put their hands on top their heads."

Here's a direct quote from that website's disclaimer page:

"All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news."

Apparently, some folks never read the fine print.

Thanks in part to the Internet, a long-lost dog tag belonging to a U.S. Marine who served in the Vietnam War is about to be reunited with its owner.

A photo of the tag (see above), which was found by chance two years ago by an Australian teacher visiting the site of the former U.S. military base in Khe Sanh, was posted online in the hopes that others could provide information leading to the whereabouts of the Marine, identified only as Martinson, L.P., service number 1984025, religion Lutheran.

Diligent sleuthing by an active-duty Marine named Joshua Laudermilk and others led to the discovery that the tag's original owner, former Platoon Sgt. Lanny Paul Martinson, is alive and well in Sugar Land, Texas, and thrilled at the prospect of recovering his lost tag.

The full story has yet to be told.

Read more:
• Lanny Martinson's Facebook Page
• Another Dog Tag Owner Found (SDHarleyRiders.com)

Update:
• Long Way Home for Marine's Dog Tag (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Does this tree in Herefordshire, England look like Elvis Presley to you? Personally, I think it looks more like Abraham Lincoln, but that's the thing about pareidolia: it's in the eye of the beholder.

Check it out:
• Elvis Tree in Herefordshire Has British All Shook Up

Annals of pareidolia:
• Bigfoot on Mars
• 9/11: The Face of Evil
• What's That in Dick Cheney's Sunglasses?
• Pareidolia for Dollars