Merry #&%@*! Christmas: Woman Can Keep Obscene Gesture Christmas Lights On

A Louisiana woman can keep her Christmas light decorations turned on featuring a hand saluting the neighborhood with a raised middle finger, a judge has ruled.

Sarah Childs caused an uproar in her town of Denham Springs, LA, after erecting the lights, apparently in an effort to spread as much Christmas cheer as possible. If she thought her neighbors might take offense at the "flipping the bird" holiday message, they certainly did, immediately notifying local authorities. After police threatened Childs with hefty fines or even jail time if she didn't take down the lights, she contacted the American Civil Liberties Union, who decided to take her case to court.

Childs has been granted the right to turn the Christmas lights back on, in a move that would even make evil old Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life cackle his approval. The judge ruled Childs can put the lights back up, at least until a January 7 hearing. (Who else thinks she'll keep the lights up until then?) I guess some of the parents who live in the neighborhood could explain that Ms. Childs is of the Jewish faith and the decorations are her attempt at fashioning a menorah for the Hanukkah holiday, should they ask the meaning of the festive display.

No word on what the initial neighborhood fight that started the entire incident was about, but I imagine the sentiments "Peace on Earth" and "Love Thy Neighbor" aren't very popular this holiday season on Sarah's block...

Did a Russian News Anchor Flip President Obama the Bird?

"You call this borscht?"
 

Update: The news commentator Tatyana Limanova has since been released from her job with the Russian television network REN-TV over the incident. In an official statement, the network calls the anchor's actions  unacceptable and unprofessional, saying: "On 14 November during the 'News 24' program the presenter Tatyana Limanova made an unacceptable gesture that was a synonym for an offensive expression." No word from Ms. Limanova's camp...

In today's Super Hot to the Extreme Viral Video, we have an interesting clip out of Russia.

It seems a well-respected Russian news anchor decided to give the middle finger in the middle of a story concerning President Obama! The video has been a big hit in Russia, where the relationship with the US is viewed as being as frosty as the Siberian tundra.

In the video, award-winning Russian news commentator Tatyana Limanova is seen reporting a story about Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who had just assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Asia Pacific Cooperation organization. She then mentions that President Barack Obama held the post previously, as she raises her left hand and then slowly extends her middle finger, an obscene gesture commonly referred to as "flipping the bird".  The network, REN TV, has refused to comment about the incident, but reports have stated that the anchor thought she was off camera at the time and was actually making the gesture to crew members in the studio who were playing a joke on her.

The network can be seen in over 120 million homes within Russia and has traditionally been perceived as a more liberal channel in a country where TV content is tightly controlled by the state. You can catch the little birdie fly in the video below: