Post by: Me! on March 28, 2006, 09:33:50 pm
link (http://newsoftheweird.com/archive/index.html)
a couple examples......
Quote
Victoria Lundy, 41, in custody in Chillicothe, Ohio, in January for a barroom shooting, apparently smuggled her gun into the jail at the time of her arrest by putting it inside her vagina. A shot was fired in a holding cell, and according to a fellow prisoner interviewed by the Chillicothe Gazette, the gun had gone off when Lundy sat down on a bench in the cell. (No one was hit.) [Chillicothe Gazette, 2-1-06]
Quote
Andrew Thurnheer, 45, was elected in January as the highway superintendent in Danby, N.Y., even though he still lives with his parents. He doesn\'t sleep in his old bedroom, though; he sleeps in his tree house, 40 feet up, which he built nearly 20 years ago, and which has a generator-powered elevator, a shower and a propane heater, according to a January Associated Press dispatch. (Mr. Kapila Pradhan, also 45, has also been living in a tree, for the past 15 years, but that is in a village in Orissa state in India. He sought solitude after a fight with his wife, according to a January BBC News dispatch.) [WTSP-TV-AP, 2-2-06; Ithaca Journal, 1-5-06] [BBC News, 1-25-06]
Quote
Readers\' Choice
A February BBC News story, citing a local newspaper in Upper Nile state in Sudan, reported that village elders had required a Mr. Tombe, as punishment for having been caught having sex with a female goat, to pay a dowry to the goat\'s owner and to care for the nanny as if they were "married." (The story ran worldwide, with Australia\'s News Limited\'s Web site reporting it with a file photo of a goat, adorned with a black bar across its eyes, to protect its privacy.) [BBC News, 2-24-06]
Post by: sallyalli on March 28, 2006, 09:56:28 pm
Post by: Spacey on March 28, 2006, 10:09:15 pm
Quote from: sallyalli
horny goat...
Post by: obsession600 on March 29, 2006, 09:54:51 pm
Post by: jocelyn on March 30, 2006, 12:19:43 am
Post by: Me! on March 30, 2006, 03:57:31 pm
Quote
Because perhaps hundreds of Japanese Yakuza gangsters are nearing retirement age, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has drafted rules for the former gambling, loan shark, and protection workers to qualify for benefits, according to a March dispatch from Tokyo in The Times of London. Since organized crime leaves no employment paper trail, ex-mobsters must supply a letter of retirement from their crime boss in order to sign up, although local governments are expected to accept as partial proof gang tattoos, criminal records, demonstrations of missing finger tips (the sign of traditional Yakuza punishment for mistakes). [The Times (London), 3-3-06]
----------------
wish I had this teacher...
Quote
In January, history professor David Weale of Canada\'s University of Prince Edward Island offered B-minus grades to any students in his overcrowded class if they would just go away, and 20 of the 95 accepted. (However, the administration found out, and Professor Weale, who had retired last year but returned to teach that one course, re-retired.)
-------------
Post by: Me! on April 14, 2006, 05:19:18 pm
Quote
In earnest testimony in March, Douglas Dyer explained how it was just bad luck that his married girlfriend got shot twice, fatally, in the middle of her back by the rifle he was holding. Dyer said he had originally intended to kill himself, but when she grabbed at the gun to stop him, it fired into her hand. Then, as she ran out a door, he followed and bumped the door open with the gun, causing it to fire and accidentally hit her flush in the back. As his body flinched from the shot, banging into a wall, the rifle again accidentally fired, putting another bullet in the center of her back. (The Rockland, Maine, jury apparently didn\'t believe a word of it and convicted him of murder.) [Bangor Daily News, 3-3-06, 3-4-06]
---------------------------------------
Quote
Driving While Nude
Recent drivers who decided, for reasons known only to them, to get naked before taking the wheel: (1) A woman, her toddler and her mother (all naked), Norwood, N.Y., sitting in a parked car (February). (2) John Persico, Providence, R.I., smashed into several cars naked (February). (3) Natalie Peterson, 23, Roy, Utah, shucked her clothes after an argument with her aunt (March). (4) Eric Wayne, 57, Pocono Township, Pa. (An officer who knew him said Wayne "tends to get a little weird" when he\'s been without sex) (arraigned in March). (5) A man and woman, ages 59 and 70, Cologno al Serio, Italy (joyriding nude) (March). [New York Daily News, 2-13-06] [WKMG-TV (Orlando)-AP, 2-23-06] [KTVX-TV (Salt Lake City), 3-26-06] [Pocono Record (Stroudsburg), 3-16-06] [Reuters, 3-16-06]
---------------------------------
Quote
Outstanding Police Work: (1) A 40-year-old man in Cedarburg, Wis., was arrested on suspicion of DUI when police noticed the severed hose of a gas station pump sticking out of his car\'s fuel door. (It belonged to a Kwik Trip station.) (2) Daniel Nordell, 52, with a history of DUI, was arrested in March when police saw him driving through downtown Waupaca, Wis., in reverse (because he said the other gears wouldn\'t work). (3) A 44-year-old man was arrested for DUI in Australia\'s Northern Territory in March after he asked a police officer how to get to the hard-to-miss Uluru (Ayers Rock, the huge, 1,000-foot-high rock formation that appears red in sunlight), which was about 300 feet in front of him, illuminated in his headlights. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2-26-06] [Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wis.), 3-3-06] [Reuters, 3-29-06]
Post by: FreeSpirit on April 14, 2006, 10:27:42 pm
Quote
John Melo\'s lawsuit demanding re-sentencing was rejected in March by the Middlesex County, Mass., Superior Court. Facing a term of "10 years," Melo had complained that a couple of "Feb. 29\'s" were included in that time, and since a "year" is usually 365 days, he should not be serving 366 days during leap years.
Quote
According to the Hartwell (Ga.) Sun, state Sen. Nancy Schaefer, speaking at an "issues day" event in February, said one reason illegal immigrants find work in the United States was because "50 million" abortions have caused a U.S. labor shortage: "We could have used those people."
Post by: Todd on April 14, 2006, 10:38:16 pm
Quote from: Me!
QuoteDriving While Nude
Recent drivers who decided, for reasons known only to them, to get naked before taking the wheel: (1) A woman, her toddler and her mother (all naked), Norwood, N.Y., sitting in a parked car (February). (2) John Persico, Providence, R.I., smashed into several cars naked (February). (3) Natalie Peterson, 23, Roy, Utah, shucked her clothes after an argument with her aunt (March). (4) Eric Wayne, 57, Pocono Township, Pa. (An officer who knew him said Wayne "tends to get a little weird" when he\'s been without sex) (arraigned in March). (5) A man and woman, ages 59 and 70, Cologno al Serio, Italy (joyriding nude) (March). [New York Daily News, 2-13-06] [WKMG-TV (Orlando)-AP, 2-23-06] [KTVX-TV (Salt Lake City), 3-26-06] [Pocono Record (Stroudsburg), 3-16-06] [Reuters, 3-16-06]
:hscratch: What?? Driving while nude is wrong or something???
Post by: obsession600 on April 15, 2006, 01:25:37 pm
Quote from: Todd
Quote from: Me!Quote(1) A woman, her toddler and her mother (all naked), Norwood, N.Y., sitting in a parked car (February).
:hscratch: What?? Driving while nude is wrong or something???
apparently you can\'t even sit in a car while nude
Post by: Me! on May 16, 2006, 11:36:09 am
Quote
A Texas jury decided in 1991 that Steven Kenneth Staley, now 43, should be put to death for killing a restaurant manager, but three days before his February 2006 date with destiny, psychologists testified that he is mentally ill, and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a mentally ill person cannot be executed. The solution, declared state judge Wayne Salvant in April, is for the state to inject Staley with enough psychotropic medicine to make him sufficiently sane to understand why he is going to die, at which point he can be killed. (In similar cases, drugs improved Charles Singleton enough for his 2004 execution in Arkansas, but have failed since 1999 to restore Texan Emanuel Kemp\'s competency.) [Fort Worth Star Telegram, 4-15-06]
unfuckin believable
Post by: Jim Cobb on May 16, 2006, 11:50:49 am
what exactly do they use as "psychotropic medicine"?
Post by: wildcoyote on May 16, 2006, 11:58:07 am
1. With the appeals process it costs more to execute someone than to keep them in prison for life.
2. Every now and again the courts make a mistake!
On a more uplifting note, check this guy out.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12811777/?GT1=8199 (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12811777/?GT1=8199)
Makes you feel like a slacker doesn\'t it?
Post by: derickw on May 16, 2006, 12:11:34 pm
Quote from: Jim Cobb
:wah:
what exactly do they use as "psychotropic medicine"?
didn\'t the government use to use ***
Post by: Me! on May 25, 2006, 04:25:38 pm
Quote
Stacy Steel, 38, the former executive director of the Humane Society in Oceanside, Calif., was arrested in April and charged with fraud for using the organization\'s authority to buy 3,600 Vicodin tablets (a prescription pain-reliever), which she said were for her dog. [San Francisco Chronicle-AP, 4-13-06]
Quote
Not My Fault: (1) Ms. Tyler Bauer, 18, sued TGI Friday\'s in Frederick, Md., in March, asking $200,000 for serious facial injuries from falling out of a moving pickup truck. Bauer, who registered a .238 blood-alcohol reading, was given beer and liquor by an adult patron of TGI Friday\'s and claims the restaurant should have found out and stopped him. (2) In March, a jury in St. Louis awarded Gretchen Porro $100,000 for the loss of two fingers at the City Museum\'s Puking Pig attraction. Although the exhibit was closed, Porro nonetheless crossed a railing and stuck her hand inside the machinery to get it to release a vat full of water. (The jury valued the injury at $500,000 but said Porro was 80 percent at fault.) [WTOP (Washington)-AP, 3-31-06] [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4-1-06]
Quote
Yes, My Fault: Michelle Srun, 34, testifying for leniency for her accused-rapist husband in a Montgomery County, Md., court in March, said she must be partly responsible for his attacks on several underage girls, in that she belittled and abused him for years with her overbearing personality and had multiple affairs during their marriage (six simultaneously during one stretch). (Unimpressed, the judge gave Mr. Pov Srun 27 years.) [Washington Post, 3-16-06]
Quote
Simon Hamilton, 35, admitted in Canterbury (England) Crown Court in April that he took furtive "upskirt" photos of women standing in public places and even acknowledged having an extensive collection, but he denied that the pictures gave him sexual gratification. Rather, he said, he was merely a habitual collector of things and spent his time cataloguing the photos rather than looking at them. "It was the sort of gratification of a job well done," he explained, telling the judge that he came from a long family line of collectors. (Besides, Hamilton said, his upskirt days ended around 2001, when he decided to re-enter the practice of law and realized that upskirt photography was "no longer ... appropriate." (At press time, no verdict had been reported.) [BBC News, 4-26-06]
Post by: Me! on June 13, 2006, 09:07:22 pm
Quote
In a May dispatch from Atlanta on Southerners\' notoriously unnutritious, fat-laden cuisine, a Chicago Tribune reporter watered readers\' mouths with descriptions of the "hamdog" and the "Luther" (prized dishes of Mulligan\'s restaurant in Decatur, Ga.), which are, respectively, "a half-pound of hamburger meat wrapped around a hot dog, which is deep-fried and served on a hoagie topped with chili, bacon and a fried egg," and "a half-pound burger served with bacon and cheese on a Krispy Kreme doughnut." The 11 states from Washington, D.C., to Florida, west to Texas, have the nation\'s highest mortality rate from strokes, but, said a University of Mississippi professor, "Food is a strong emblem of identity for Southerners," uniquely shared across racial lines. [Chicago Tribune, 5-16-06]
those sound like the dinner version of what Spaceycame up with in VT, god I still wish I could have heard that phone call
Post by: Spacey on June 13, 2006, 11:53:39 pm
Quote from: Me!
QuoteIn a May dispatch from Atlanta on Southerners\' notoriously unnutritious, fat-laden cuisine, a Chicago Tribune reporter watered readers\' mouths with descriptions of the "hamdog" and the "Luther" (prized dishes of Mulligan\'s restaurant in Decatur, Ga.), which are, respectively, "a half-pound of hamburger meat wrapped around a hot dog, which is deep-fried and served on a hoagie topped with chili, bacon and a fried egg," and "a half-pound burger served with bacon and cheese on a Krispy Kreme doughnut." The 11 states from Washington, D.C., to Florida, west to Texas, have the nation\'s highest mortality rate from strokes, but, said a University of Mississippi professor, "Food is a strong emblem of identity for Southerners," uniquely shared across racial lines. [Chicago Tribune, 5-16-06]
those sound like the dinner version of what Spaceycame up with in VT, god I still wish I could have heard that phone call
I should have patented my idea and concept. Damn it!
Post by: ChrisF on June 14, 2006, 02:30:43 am
Quote from: Spacey
I should have patented my idea and concept. Damn it!
pffft!!! they already had their shit on the menu while you were still grappling with the pickle matrix! :lol:
Post by: FrankZappa on June 14, 2006, 05:57:05 am
Quote from: ChrisF
Quote from: Spacey
I should have patented my idea and concept. Damn it!
pffft!!! they already had their shit on the menu while you were still grappling with the pickle matrix! :lol:
classic. Frink is the best.
"Pi is exactly 3!... I\'m sorry it had to come to that."
"Well there are two ways to invent things. First, come up with something that people need but doesn\'t exsist yet, or second take two things that do exsist and put them together to make something new."
"Like Hamburger earmuffs!"
(http://homepage.smc.edu/nestler_andrew/pickle.gif)
Post by: wildcoyote on June 14, 2006, 09:22:49 am
Post by: Spacey on June 14, 2006, 10:04:10 am
Excellent Simpson reference.
Post by: FreeSpirit on July 01, 2006, 02:36:31 pm
By Associated Press
Sat Jul 1, 7:45 AM
HANOI, Vietnam - Physicians removed 119 nails _ many of them rusty _ from a woman\'s stomach months after she apparently swallowed them, a doctor said.
The 43-year-old woman arrived Wednesday at Hospital No. 121 in the southern city of Can Tho City, complaining of a severe stomachache, Dr. Tran Van Nam said Friday.
"After having her stomach X-rayed and scanned, we found a stack of strange objects and decided to operate as soon as possible," he said.
During surgery, doctors removed 119 nails, each about 3 inches long. Many were rusty, indicating they could have been in her stomach for months, Nam said.
The woman\'s stomach was scratched by the nails, but she did not suffer any major injuries, he said.
"Her life is not at risk now, and she is recovering," Nam said, adding that the patient was expected to be discharged soon.
Post by: High RPM on July 01, 2006, 08:17:17 pm
ADVERTISEMENT
On Wednesday night, doctors brought Mohammad\'s misery to an end after a one-and-a-half hour operation to remove the object.
"Thanks Allah, now I feel comfort. Today, I had my breakfast. I was just drinking water, nothing else," Mohammad, a grey-beared man in his mid-40s, told Reuters from a hospital bed in the southern central city of Multan.
"We had to take it out intact," said Dr. Farrukh Aftab at Nishtar Hospital. "Had it been broken inside, it would be a very very complicated situation."
Mohammad, who is serving a four-year sentence for making liquor, prohibited for Muslims, said he was shocked when he was first told the cause of his discomfort. He swears he didn\'t know the bulb was there.
"When I woke up I felt a pain in my lower abdomen, but later in hospital, they told me this," Mohammad said.
"I don\'t know who did this to me. Police or other prisoners."
The doctor treating Mohammad said he\'d never encountered anything like it before, and doubted the felon\'s story that someone had drugged him and inserted the bulb while he was comatose.
Post by: Todd on July 02, 2006, 10:06:33 am
Quote from: High RPM
he woke up last weekend with a glass light bulb in his anus.
:wah:
Quote from: High RPM
He swears he didn\'t know the bulb was there.
:fucktard:
Post by: wildcoyote on July 19, 2006, 11:16:32 am
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9511801/detail.html (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9511801/detail.html)
Post by: obsession600 on July 19, 2006, 02:06:49 pm
:lol:doesn\'t sound like too bad of a trip. Well, until the cop showed up and hit him with his own golf club.
Post by: SlimPickens on July 19, 2006, 02:17:19 pm
Post by: Me! on July 19, 2006, 02:47:50 pm
Quote from: News of the Weird
Inexplicable: (1) The Rhode Island Supreme Court in June affirmed a $400,000 judgment for Charles Lennon, 68, who had sued the now-bankrupt Dacomed company after his Dura-II penile implant remained constantly erect for 10 years. Lennon said embarrassment had forced him to become a recluse. (2) In Waupun, Wis., in June, a 36-year-old man filed a police complaint against a female bartender at the Alcatraz Pub because she injured him by aggressively nuzzling him to her bosom during horseplay at the bar. [Tampa Tribune-AP, 6-23-06] [Fond du Lac Reporter, 6-19-06]
Post by: SlimPickens on July 19, 2006, 03:00:32 pm
Quote from: Me!
Quote from: News of the WeirdInexplicable: (1) The Rhode Island Supreme Court in June affirmed a $400,000 judgment for Charles Lennon, 68, who had sued the now-bankrupt Dacomed company after his Dura-II penile implant remained constantly erect for 10 years. Lennon said embarrassment had forced him to become a recluse. (2) In Waupun, Wis., in June, a 36-year-old man filed a police complaint against a female bartender at the Alcatraz Pub because she injured him by aggressively nuzzling him to her bosom during horseplay at the bar. [Tampa Tribune-AP, 6-23-06] [Fond du Lac Reporter, 6-19-06]
Mr. Permaboner probably coulda made more money if he went to the porn industry first.
and that second fruitcake just needs a smack. doesn\'t he know he\'s ruining it for the rest of us?!!
Post by: wildcoyote on July 19, 2006, 03:07:33 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on July 23, 2006, 09:23:49 pm
Quote from: Associated Press
Man in Chicken Suit Cries Foul Over Abuse
Sat Jul 22, 7:10 AM
SEARCY, Ark. - To Steven Turnage, it was bad enough to dress up in a chicken suit and stand along a city street in 105-degree heat. Having passers-by shoot bottle rockets at him has him crying foul.
"People don\'t take this costume seriously," said Turnage, who wears the suit to promote a fast-food restaurant. "They need to understand that there\'s a human underneath that suit. It\'s getting to the point where this is really a dangerous situation."
One rocket nearly hit him in the eye and another burned part of his suit. Police have heard Turnage\'s complaints but haven\'t issued any citations.
"Obviously it is against city ordinance to shoot fireworks inside the city limits," police spokeswoman Amber Dillon said.
Turnage said that during the two weeks he has worn the chicken suit people have thrown smokeless tobacco cans at him and tossed frozen drinks. After a bottle rocket attack, he called police.
"It\'s challenging," Turnage said. "You\'ve got to be very dedicated and have a high tolerance for heat. You almost have to have a calling from the Lord to do this type of work."
Post by: Todd on July 24, 2006, 12:20:07 am
Quote from: FreeSpirit
Quote from: Associated Press
Man in Chicken Suit Cries Foul Over Abuse
Sat Jul 22, 7:10 AM
SEARCY, Ark. - To Steven Turnage, it was bad enough to dress up in a chicken suit and stand along a city street in 105-degree heat. Having passers-by shoot bottle rockets at him has him crying foul.
"People don\'t take this costume seriously," said Turnage, who wears the suit to promote a fast-food restaurant. "They need to understand that there\'s a human underneath that suit. It\'s getting to the point where this is really a dangerous situation."
One rocket nearly hit him in the eye and another burned part of his suit. Police have heard Turnage\'s complaints but haven\'t issued any citations.
"Obviously it is against city ordinance to shoot fireworks inside the city limits," police spokeswoman Amber Dillon said.
Turnage said that during the two weeks he has worn the chicken suit people have thrown smokeless tobacco cans at him and tossed frozen drinks. After a bottle rocket attack, he called police.
"It\'s challenging," Turnage said. "You\'ve got to be very dedicated and have a high tolerance for heat. You almost have to have a calling from the Lord to do this type of work."
rotfl rotfl It takes a tough man to make a great chicken!!!
Post by: obsession600 on July 24, 2006, 01:50:23 pm
Quote from: FreeSpirit
Quote from: Associated Press
You almost have to have a calling from the Lord to do this type of work."
If the Lord showed up and told me that my calling was to wear a chicken suit and stand on the side of the road, I would tell him to f*ck off.
Post by: Me! on July 24, 2006, 01:52:44 pm
Quote from: obsession600
Quote from: FreeSpiritQuote from: Associated Press
You almost have to have a calling from the Lord to do this type of work."
If the Lord showed up and told me that my calling was to wear a chicken suit and stand on the side of the road, I would tell him to f*ck off.
^^fuckin classic!! :lol:rotfl:lol:
Post by: wildcoyote on July 24, 2006, 02:11:10 pm
Quote from: Me!
Quote from: obsession600Quote from: FreeSpiritQuote from: Associated Press
You almost have to have a calling from the Lord to do this type of work."
If the Lord showed up and told me that my calling was to wear a chicken suit and stand on the side of the road, I would tell him to f*ck off.
^^fuckin classic!! :lol:rotfl:lol:
Agreed.
And now for this idiot:
Quote
"My daughters like to be accessorized. Isabella doesn\'t like to leave the house without a purse.\'\'
-- Jean Strahan, who became the ex-wife of Giants defensive end Michael Strahan last week at a family court in Newark, N.J., commenting on why she needed to spend $27,000 on clothing for her twin daughters, who are not yet two.
Post by: FreeSpirit on July 24, 2006, 02:30:38 pm
Quote from: newhaven.craigslist.org
Anyone have an hour to spare @ 3:00am tonight
Reply to: pers-184741714@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-21, 6:16PM EDT
I have to dig a ditch and throw a rolled up carpet in it tonight. I promise the carpet won\'t way much more then 150lbs, the ditch only has to be 6x6x3 feet. I\'ll provide a shovel and coffee.If i accidently call the carpet Joanna it\'s nothing, I swear, I just had an emotional attachment to it, the carpet not what\'s rolled up in it.
Serious offers only and like Clinton said, "Don\'t ask, don\'t tell"
Post by: Me! on July 24, 2006, 02:32:41 pm
Post by: derickw on July 24, 2006, 02:47:13 pm
Quote from: Me!
:shock1: I dont\' know wether to laugh or be very very afraid
why i\'m sure you weigh more than 150lbs:duck:
Post by: Me! on July 24, 2006, 02:49:07 pm
Quote from: derickw
Quote from: Me!:shock1: I dont\' know wether to laugh or be very very afraid
why i\'m sure you weigh more than 150lbs:duck:
yeah, ALOT more.......
Post by: Spacey on July 24, 2006, 04:44:36 pm
Post by: Me! on July 24, 2006, 05:18:21 pm
Post by: Spacey on July 24, 2006, 05:45:37 pm
Quote from: Me!
was there a reply to your reply?
yep, need to meet in New Haven at a location I can not disclose. Told me the money is will be in unmarked bills and that he will see to it that I am rewarded in a few weeks for my trouble. All I have to do is dig a hole, no moving the rug.
Post by: Todd on July 25, 2006, 01:19:16 pm
Post by: Spacey on July 25, 2006, 01:46:54 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on August 01, 2006, 09:58:01 pm
Quote from: associated press
Waitress Gets Own ID When Carding Patron
Tue Aug 1, 7:35 AM
WESTLAKE, Ohio - A bar waitress checking to see if a woman was legally old enough to drink was handed her own stolen driver\'s license, which was reported missing weeks earlier, police said.
"The odds of this waitress recovering her own license defy calculation," police Capt. Guy Turner said Monday.
Maria Bergan, 23, of Lakewood, was charged Sunday night with identity theft and receiving stolen property. She was arrested at her home in suburban Cleveland and was jailed in Westlake to await a court appearance.
The 22-year-old waitress, whose name was not released, called police last week and said she had been handed her own stolen driver\'s license by a woman trying to prove she was 21. The woman, who became suspicious of the delay as the waitress went to call police, fled the Moosehead Saloon, but her companion provided her name.
The waitress said she had lost her wallet July 9 at a bar in Lakewood.
The victim also had a credit card stolen. The stolen card has been used to make $1,000 in purchases, Turner said.
Post by: MakisupaPJ on August 01, 2006, 10:15:58 pm
Post by: derickw on August 02, 2006, 08:46:07 am
Quote from: FreeSpirit
Quote from: associated pressWaitress Gets Own ID When Carding Patron
Tue Aug 1, 7:35 AM
WESTLAKE, Ohio - A bar waitress checking to see if a woman was legally old enough to drink was handed her own stolen driver\'s license, which was reported missing weeks earlier, police said.
"The odds of this waitress recovering her own license defy calculation," police Capt. Guy Turner said Monday.
Maria Bergan, 23, of Lakewood, was charged Sunday night with identity theft and receiving stolen property. She was arrested at her home in suburban Cleveland and was jailed in Westlake to await a court appearance.
The 22-year-old waitress, whose name was not released, called police last week and said she had been handed her own stolen driver\'s license by a woman trying to prove she was 21. The woman, who became suspicious of the delay as the waitress went to call police, fled the Moosehead Saloon, but her companion provided her name.
The waitress said she had lost her wallet July 9 at a bar in Lakewood.
The victim also had a credit card stolen. The stolen card has been used to make $1,000 in purchases, Turner said.
why would she use a fake id she\'s 23, freak\'n idiots
Post by: davepeck on August 02, 2006, 09:20:02 am
Post by: derickw on August 02, 2006, 09:40:18 am
Quote from: davepeck
my guess is, when you get into identity theft, you essentially have to \'become\' the person who\'s ID you stole.. so you wouldn\'t be carrying your \'real\' credentials on you anymore..
that\'s pretty stupid, what if you get pulled over, your gonna give a fake id and hope the cop dosen\'t notice. stupid people deserve to get caught
Post by: Todd on August 02, 2006, 01:39:34 pm
Quote from: derickw
stupid people deserve to get caught
Post by: derickw on August 02, 2006, 03:13:00 pm
Quote from: Todd
Quote from: derickwstupid people deserve to get caught
is that a .confirmed
is it with in the confirming rules and guidelines to be able to confirm someone\'s confirmation of your own statement
Post by: Todd on August 02, 2006, 04:33:22 pm
Quote from: derickw
Quote from: ToddQuote from: derickwstupid people deserve to get caught
is that a .confirmed
is it with in the confirming rules and guidelines to be able to confirm someone\'s confirmation of your own statement
.ConSERmerFried
Post by: davepeck on August 07, 2006, 08:05:42 am
:rolleyes:
Post by: Me! on August 07, 2006, 10:34:57 am
Quote
People With Issues
In July, Cory Neddermeyer, 42, was turned down for unemployment benefits in Iowa, after a judge ruled that he was fired for cause. His employer, the Amaizing Energy ethanol plant, suffered a massive spill that created a pond of fuel alcohol, and Neddermeyer (a recovering alcoholic), after resisting as long as he could, gave in and started drinking from the pool (causing him to pass out and later register an 0.72 blood-alcohol reading). [Des Moines Register, 7-9-06]
Quote from: newsoftheweird.com
Least Competent Criminals
Not Cut Out for a Life of Crime: (1) Lawrence C. Lawson, 60, was charged with robbing the Lasalle Bank in Troy, Mich., in July, which was an easy collar because, as he emerged from the bank with his loot, he spotted a passing police car and promptly fainted. (2) Pierre Barton, 20, was arrested in Cleveland following the robbery of Georgio\'s Pizza, shortly after he had accidentally dropped his two "cheat sheet" cards containing his robbery speech (reading "Give me the money" and "Tell I\'ll kill your family (sic)"). (In fact, Barton apparently was a poor ad-libber: Although his makeshift "gun" had come apart and was lying on the floor, he still threatened to shoot the manager as he was fleeing.) [Oakland (Mich.) Press, 7-15-06] [Plain Dealer, 7-11-06]
Post by: FreeSpirit on August 09, 2006, 12:16:07 am
Quote from: http://www.desmoinesregister.com
Woman Wakes Up, Finds Tattoo on Ankle
4 hours ago
DES MOINES, Iowa - Hillary Snyder said she isn\'t going to let her boyfriend\'s antics get under her skin. Snyder, 20, awoke recently to find she had been tattooed by her boyfriend while she slept.
She said she took a painkiller with a sleeping pill before she went to bed Saturday night. When she awoke, she discovered a tattoo of a five-pointed star on her right ankle.
Snyder said she had previously told her boyfriend she didn\'t want a tattoo. He wanted her to get a tattoo of a five-pointed start to match one of his own, she said.
"At least he didn\'t flub it up," she said
The boyfriend wasn\'t identified. No arrests had been made. The investigation was continuing.
A police report accuses the now-former boyfriend of domestic assault. But Snyder isn\'t so sure.
"I mean it\'s not like he beat me up. There were no bruises or blood or anything. I\'m just not going to see him again."
Post by: Todd on August 09, 2006, 12:35:58 am
Post by: Me! on August 14, 2006, 11:21:44 am
Quote from: newsofthewierd.com
Despite education campaigns by women\'s groups, about one-fourth of girls in Cameroon still undergo ritual "breast-ironing" at puberty as their families attempt to squash their developing bosoms to make them sexually unattractive to boys and reduce their temptation to marry. The most popular "ironing" instrument is a heated wooden pestle, mashed painfully against the chest. Some girls are supportive, however, like the one who told BBC News in June that she just "wanted to (stay in) school like other girls who had no breasts." [BBC News, 6-23-06]
-----------------------------------------------
Quote from: newsoftheweird.com
Least Competent Criminals
People Who Believe Marijuana Is Odorless: Two men were arrested at the drive-thru window at a KFC restaurant in Buffalo, N.Y., in June by narcotics officers who were eating inside; one of the men had what an officer said was "the biggest marijuana cigar you ever saw," which was making so much smoke that it was wafting into the restaurant. And in Tucson, Ariz., in June, after police were called to one home, they noticed an overpowering marijuana smell coming from a neighbor\'s house; Jose Ortega Mendez, 35, was arrested when 220 bails of marijuana, totaling two tons, were found inside. [Washington Post-AP, 7-3-06] [KVOA-TV (Tucson), 6-19-06]
I bet it wasnt\' the biggest one I ever saw
Post by: FreeSpirit on August 17, 2006, 05:57:51 pm
Quote
Sebastian the Cat Gets \'Grilled\'
By Associated Press
Wed Aug 16, 11:58 PM
ALEXANDRIA, Ind. - This cool cat has traded in his catnip for some bling. Sebastian, a one-year-old Persian with long black hair, sports gold crowns on his two bottom canines, which grew sticking out from his lips in an underbite similar to a bulldog\'s.
His owner, dentist David Steele, said he gave Sebastian gold crowns to help strengthen the fanged feline\'s teeth. Steele said he was worried the unique canines would break off or become a problem.
"It\'s possible to work on animals the same way we do humans," he said. "I did it to strengthen (Sebastian\'s) teeth, but it had an excellent cosmetic result. The cat gets a lot of attention now. Everyone is tickled to death when they see him."
Sebastian\'s two gold teeth protruding from his furry face make him seem a little menacing, like a hip-hop star\'s guard-cat or a movie villain\'s pet. The feline didn\'t seem too happy with his new look at first.
"He\'s normally around me all the time," Steele said. "After I put the crowns on, he didn\'t \'speak\' to me for two days."
When Sebastian was tranquilized about a month ago to get his coat trimmed, Steele used the occasion to take impressions of his teeth. He then sent those impressions to a company that prepares crowns for his human patients.
"They called back and asked me what I was up to," Steele said.
Two weeks ago, veterinarian Larry Owen tranquilized the cat at the Alexandria Animal Hospital about 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis so Steele could do the dentistry work, which took about 15 minutes to complete.
Owen said putting gold crowns on teeth can be done for any pet with a dental problem.
"Mostly, though, it was a fun thing to do," Owen said. "(Steele is) always up to something or trying something new."
Steele said he has put a crown on a cat once before, after the animal was hit by a car. He also put a gold crown on his Boston terrier.
Steele said the cost for each gold tooth is about the same as for humans _ about $900 each.
(http://www.comcast.net/data/br/2006/08/16/br-57474.jpg)
Post by: Jim Cobb on August 17, 2006, 06:08:13 pm
Post by: Spacey on August 17, 2006, 06:10:20 pm
Quote from: Jim Cobb
only in america....
naturally.
though, :wtf2:
Post by: Todd on August 17, 2006, 06:54:30 pm
Quote from: FreeSpirit
QuoteThe feline didn\'t seem too happy with his new look at first.
"He\'s normally around me all the time," Steele said. "After I put the crowns on, he didn\'t \'speak\' to me for two days."
Gee, maybe because he was fuckin\' PISSED!!!!
Post by: jocelyn on August 17, 2006, 07:55:26 pm
I wonder if it was really to protect his teeth or if that is bullshit and it was purely for cosmetic reasons. Either way, I would love to see that cat.
Poor little dude.
I wonder what other cats think of that.
Post by: derickw on August 18, 2006, 08:44:58 am
Quote from: jocelyn
That is kind of hilarious I must say. Hilarious, and terrible.
I wonder if it was really to protect his teeth or if that is bullshit and it was purely for cosmetic reasons. Either way, I would love to see that cat.
Poor little dude.
I wonder what other cats think of that.
maybe the same thing we think of when we see people with gold teeth..... MOMO!!!! and at $900 a tooth.... i say let\'em fall out
Post by: FreeSpirit on September 01, 2006, 07:23:29 pm
Quote
"Tomkitten\'s" \'first poop\' goes on display in New York
Wed Aug 30, 3:46 PM ET
NEW YORK (AFP) - Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have yet to show their baby daughter off in public, but eager fans were given an unusual preview with the chance to see a bronze cast depicting her first solid stool.
ADVERTISEMENT
The scatological sculpture -- more doodoo than Dada -- is purportedly cast from 19-week old Suri\'s first bowel movement and will be shown at the Capla Kesting gallery in Brooklyn, New York, before being auctioned off for charity.
The artist behind the work, Daniel Edwards, previously courted controversy with a life-size nude sculpture of pop star Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug. That work was shown at the same gallery in April.
"A bronzed cast of baby\'s first poop can be a meaningful memento for the family," gallery director David Kesting said, adding that he hoped the work would attract bids of up to 25 or 30,000 dollars.
The sculpture, which sits on a wooden mounting with a glass casing, is to be sold on eBay next month with proceeds from the sale going to infant health charity March Of Dimes.
As of Wednesday it had attracted a top bid of 41 dollars.
"Mission: Impossible" star Cruise and Holmes announced Suri\'s birth in April. The entertainment press, which dubbed the pair "TomKat," has shown a seemingly insatiable appetite for news of the pair and their "TomKitten."
A spokeman for the couple was not immediately available Wednesday to comment on the sculpture.
(http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20060830/capt.sge.ivd65.300806212449.photo00.photo.default-512x368.jpg?x=180&y=129&sig=2DJYEs_RMWaBXAxN6z6KZA--)
Post by: Todd on September 01, 2006, 07:40:13 pm
Quote from: FreeSpirit
Quote"Tomkitten\'s" \'first poop\' goes on display in New York
Wed Aug 30, 3:46 PM ET
NEW YORK (AFP) - Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have yet to show their baby daughter off in public, but eager fans were given an unusual preview with the chance to see a bronze cast depicting her first solid stool.
ADVERTISEMENT
The scatological sculpture -- more doodoo than Dada -- is purportedly cast from 19-week old Suri\'s first bowel movement and will be shown at the Capla Kesting gallery in Brooklyn, New York, before being auctioned off for charity.
The artist behind the work, Daniel Edwards, previously courted controversy with a life-size nude sculpture of pop star Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug. That work was shown at the same gallery in April.
"A bronzed cast of baby\'s first poop can be a meaningful memento for the family," gallery director David Kesting said, adding that he hoped the work would attract bids of up to 25 or 30,000 dollars.
The sculpture, which sits on a wooden mounting with a glass casing, is to be sold on eBay next month with proceeds from the sale going to infant health charity March Of Dimes.
As of Wednesday it had attracted a top bid of 41 dollars.
"Mission: Impossible" star Cruise and Holmes announced Suri\'s birth in April. The entertainment press, which dubbed the pair "TomKat," has shown a seemingly insatiable appetite for news of the pair and their "TomKitten."
A spokeman for the couple was not immediately available Wednesday to comment on the sculpture.
(http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20060830/capt.sge.ivd65.300806212449.photo00.photo.default-512x368.jpg?x=180&y=129&sig=2DJYEs_RMWaBXAxN6z6KZA--)
:sigh: When are people going to get fucking lives???
Post by: jocelyn on September 01, 2006, 07:40:26 pm
On a side note... when trying to post that ^^^ I got this message:
The following errors occurred when this message was submitted:
The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 5 characters.
Has this always been a rule? Because I could swear I have posted just that smiley before...
Post by: Todd on September 01, 2006, 07:45:54 pm
Quote from: jocelyn
:no:
On a side note... when trying to post that ^^^ I got this message:
The following errors occurred when this message was submitted:
The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 5 characters.
Has this always been a rule? Because I could swear I have posted just that smiley before...
I got that same message earlier today when trying to post a four letter word. Whassup???
Post by: FreeSpirit on September 01, 2006, 07:50:35 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on September 08, 2006, 09:23:55 am
Quote
\'Goat-free roads made me speed\'
Police said goats had not been reported on eastern Ontario\'s roads
A Swiss man caught speeding on a Canadian highway has blamed his actions on the absence of goats on the roads.
The man was caught driving at 161 km/h (100mph) in a 100 km/h (60mph) zone.
A traffic officer\'s notes said the Swiss driver had said he was taking advantage "of the ability to go faster without risking hitting a goat".
Canadian police spokesman Joel Doiron said he had never found a goat on the highways of eastern Ontario in his 20 years of service.
"Nobody\'s ever used the lack of goats here as an excuse for speeding," Mr Doiron told the AFP news agency.
"I\'ve never been to Switzerland, but I guess there must be a lot of goats there," he said.
The driver was ordered to pay a fine of C$360 ($330; £175) for speeding.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5322302.stm
Post by: Me! on September 14, 2006, 06:49:19 pm
Quote from: newsoftheweird.com
The Christian Retail Show in Denver in August demonstrated, said a Los Angeles Times report, nearly a parallel commercial universe, with hundreds of "Christian" versions of products and services, such as sweatbands, pajamas, dolls, health clubs, insurance agencies, tree trimmers and fragrances ("Virtuous Woman" perfume). One Retail Show visitor, though, was dismayed at the efforts to just "slap Jesus on (merchandise)." (Among the tougher sells would appear to be Book22.com, a Christian sex-toy Web site that sells condoms, vibrators and lubricants to married couples, but stocks no pornography or toys that encourage multiple-partner scenes.) [Los Angeles Times, 8-5-06; Toronto Star, 7-8-06]
Quote from: newsoftheweird.com
Randy Bailey was on house arrest in St. Paul, Minn., with an ankle monitor that alerts police if he strays more than 150 feet (but also with a little-understood 4-minute delay before notification). Hungry on Aug. 12, Bailey thought he could race to the Burger King (nearly a mile away), yet get back in time. However, the drive-through line moved slowly, and an irate, impatient Bailey allegedly kicked in the restaurant\'s window before he sped away. Employees got his license-plate number and alerted police, but since Bailey had made it back home in just under four minutes, he claimed to be house-bound and never to have left. However, police soon figured it out and charged Bailey with felony destruction of property. [St. Paul Pioneer Press, 8-16-06]
Quote from: newsoftheweird.com
Least Competent Criminals
Joshua Shores, 34, a Subway restaurant employee in North Platte, Neb., who was allegedly caught on surveillance video pocketing the $502 he was supposed to drop into the restaurant\'s safe, tried to tell police and a judge in August not to worry, that he is not a thief but an undercover CIA operative and that the agency would reimburse the money. (He had lost his CIA badge, he said, which is why he was working at the Subway, waiting for the agency to send him a new one.) [North Platte Bulletin, 8-11-06]
Post by: FreeSpirit on October 03, 2006, 08:41:18 pm
Quote
Ark. Woman Shows Up Drunk at DWI Hearing
By Associated Press
4 hours ago
LITTLE ROCK - A Little Rock woman facing her fifth drunken-driving charge in the span of a year and third in less than a month showed up to a court appearance drunk Tuesday morning, a court official said.
Susan Marshall, 55, was arrested for contempt of court after a brief appearance in Little Rock District Court, said chief probation officer Sheila Farley. Marshall later had a blood-alcohol level of 0.147 percent, Farley said. The legal limit for adult drivers in Arkansas is 0.08 percent.
Marshall said she did not drive to her court appearance and had no keys when arrested, Farley said.
Marshall, who had three drunken-driving arrests in September, was taken to Pulaski County Jail. She was scheduled for another court appearance Wednesday.
:wtf2:
Post by: Spacey on October 03, 2006, 08:43:28 pm
Post by: Jim Cobb on October 04, 2006, 10:10:41 am
Post by: Me! on October 10, 2006, 03:19:55 pm
Quote from: newsoftheweird.com
At the Wimbledon Magistrates\' Court in England in July, Andrew Curzon was charged with wrongfully attempting to cash a neighbor\'s pension-adjustment check, in the equivalent of about $220,000. The explanation by Curzon (who is a law student) is that he has "dyspraxia," which renders him unable "to engage in logical thinking." [Boston Herald-The Times (London), 8-17-06]
I think I know a few people with that disorder ;)
Post by: Spacey on October 12, 2006, 02:03:17 pm
Quote from: Reuters
[/SIZE][/FONT]
HANOI - A death-row inmate held in solitary confinement in Vietnam for almost a year is pregnant and is seeking a pardon to give birth, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
The Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper quoted a police doctor as saying tests in September confirmed that convicted heroin trafficker Nguyen Thi Oanh, 39, was then 11 weeks pregnant.
The report said it was the first time that a death-row prisoner had become pregnant in Vietnam and that police were investigating how it had happened.
Oanh\'s husband was serving a jail sentence at another prison in another province, the newspaper said.
Oanh was due to face a firing squad this year after losing her appeal against the death sentence she received last year for possession of a billion dong ($63,000) worth of heroin.
Trafficking more than 600 grams of heroin in Vietnam is punishable by death or life imprisonment.
Post by: derickw on October 12, 2006, 02:10:37 pm
Post by: Me! on October 12, 2006, 02:23:27 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on December 07, 2006, 11:22:49 am
Quote
Chocolate-smelling \'Got Milk?\' Displays at Bus Shelters Draw Protests
By Alice Z. Cuneo
Published: December 06, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- A new "Got Milk?" ad campaign that gives off the scent of chocolate chip cookies around bus shelters here has caused a reaction among those with allergies, with diabetes -- and even without food.
Special-interest groups representing the homeless, the obese, diabetics and citizens who just don\'t like scents have succeeded in scuttling an outdoor campaign from California Milk Processor Board involving some new scent technology. The Metropolitan Transit Commission yesterday ordered the scent strips removed.
\'San Francisco story\'
"This is such a San Francisco story," said Jeff Goodby, co-chairman, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the milk board\'s ad agency. "It could have gone either way: We celebrate the hippy nostalgia of cookies in the oven, or we excoriate the possible effects on select health minorities. It\'s 2006. We went the latter way," he wrote in an e-mail, adding: "I guess The City has once again made herself safe for bus shelters that smell like urine and vomit instead."
The project involved five downtown bus shelters that carried a stark black ad with the words "Got Milk?" on it. Hidden around the shelter were the carefully placed scent strips set for optimal downwind distribution. The subliminal scent was to entice those waiting for the bus to smell the cookies and think about having a cookie and a glass of milk. The campaign kicked off with distribution of cookies and milk around the bus shelters during the day.
But before it officially launched, publicity generated by the milk board\'s public-relations shop resulted in a story in the San Francisco Chronicle. ***** Ireland, a milk-board spokeswoman, said the story got the attention of a number of activist groups, which initiated a letter-writing campaign. Some said the campaign "was cruel to the homeless because they have no food," Ms. Ireland said.
Several complaints
Diane Rovai, systems-change coordinator for the Independent Living Resource Center, San Francisco, said several complaints to her office led her to e-mail city officials once news of the campaign was out. "We have no problem with chocolate chip cookies," she said. "Our function is to make the world a more accessible place for people" with disabilities, from those in wheelchairs to people with chemical sensitivities such as allergies and asthma, she said.
Ms. Ireland noted the scent strips contained "flavor-based oils found in many of the foods we eat today." Mr. Goodby said the strips did not contain distasteful chemicals.
Ms. Ireland said the board isn\'t giving up on using the nose for marketing, and is considering moving the campaign to another city. "We\'ve begun a dialogue on using scent in outdoor" advertising, she said.
But a number of San Francisco residents hope the conversation is over. Sara Linnie Slocum said the campaign was "insulting" and that it was ludicrous to think a passenger who inhaled a chocolate-cookie scent would get on a bus, go home and drink a glass of milk.
source (http://adage.com/article?article_id=113643)
"I guess The City has once again made herself safe for bus shelters that smell like urine and vomit instead." :P
Post by: derickw on December 07, 2006, 12:11:09 pm
"the blueberries taste like blueberries and the snozberries taste like snozberries......."
what the hell is a snozberry anyways
Post by: Stephengencs on December 07, 2006, 05:12:49 pm
Quote from: derickw;127816
what the hell is a snozberry anyways
I will never tell.....i think you are in cahoots with Slugworth.....
Post by: derickw on December 15, 2006, 10:03:34 am
Quote
Wisconsin hunter bags deer with 7 legs
Thu Dec 14, 10:12 PM ET
FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Rick Lisko hunts deer with a bow but got his most unusual one driving his truck down his mile-long driveway. The young buck had nub antlers — and seven legs. Lisko said it also had both male and female reproductive organs. "It was definitely a freak of nature," Lisko said. "I guess it\'s a real rarity."
ADVERTISEMENT
He said he slowed down as the buck and two does ran across the driveway Nov. 22, but the buck ran under the truck and got hit.
When he looked at the animal, he noticed three- to four-inch appendages growing from the rear legs. Later, he found a smaller appendage growing from one of the front legs.
"It\'s a pretty weird deer," he said, describing the extra legs as resembling "crab pinchers."
"It kind of gives you the creeps when you look at it," he said, but he thought he saw the appendages moving, as if they were functional, before the deer was hit.
Warden Doug Bilgo of the state Department of Natural Resources came to Lisko\'s property near Mud Lake in the town of Osceola to tag the deer.
"I have never seen anything like that in all the years that I\'ve been working as a game warden and being a hunter myself," Bilgo said. "It wasn\'t anything grotesque or ugly or anything. It was just unusual that it would have those little appendages growing out like that."
Bilgo took photos and sent information on the animal to DNR wildlife managers.
John Hoffman of Eden Meat Market skinned the deer for Lisko, who wasn\'t going to waste the venison from the animal.
"And by the way, I did eat it," Lisko said. "It was tasty."
:rooster: :no: :vomit2:
Post by: Todd on December 15, 2006, 05:12:08 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on January 13, 2007, 05:21:46 pm
So far, this guy\'s up to $20.48
Quote
If you double a penny every day, how long before you reach a million dollars?
Here\'s the deal: I have one penny, a very shiny, clean penny. Anyone who wants to have their photo here can double it for me by adding one more penny(email me), and i\'ll come over, take a few photos, and post them on the site. And then the next person who wants their photo here can double the two pennies I have to four, and so on. It takes a penny doubled 27 times to reach a million dollars. When the stakes get high and we reach a few hundered or a few thousand dollars, is anyone going to be willing to double it? Who knows. Maybe Bill Gates or Donald Trump wants to have their photo featured here. Maybe not. Or maybe some large corporation wants to advertise on this site. I really don\'t know. But it\'s an interesting experiment. So anyhow, onto the age old question. How long before you can double a penny to a million dollars? Lets find out.
Post by: jocelyn on January 15, 2007, 01:13:20 pm
How old does something have to be before it is "age old?"
Post by: davepeck on January 15, 2007, 01:45:05 pm
Quote from: jocelyn;131000
How old does something have to be before it is "age old?"
ask todd.
Post by: Mamalakabubadaya on January 15, 2007, 02:18:56 pm
Quote from: davepeck;131007
ask todd.
(http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/large/pwned-48495.jpg)
Post by: Todd on January 15, 2007, 02:21:04 pm
Quote from: davepeck;131007
:point: ask todd.
:lol: I would have no idea, because I\'m yet to get there!! (but I may be close)
Post by: FreeSpirit on January 31, 2007, 07:58:05 pm
Quote
Jimi Hendrix Gets Canned
Mon Jan 29, 1:03 PM
(http://www.comcast.net/data/entertainment/eonline/images/news/2007/01/29/2007/01/29/br-63475.jpg)
The Jimi Hendrix experience will soon come in a bottle.
A Los Angeles-area beverage company has obtained licensing rights to the rock legend\'s name and image to market a new line of nonalcoholic energy drinks called the Liquid Experience.
The drink line\'s name is, of course, a reference to Hendrix\'s 1967 breakthrough album, Are You Experienced? The product is slated to debut in April.
As a product of the pre-Red Bull era, the late "Purple Haze" singer might seem an unlikely selection for the role of energy drink pitchman. However, Beverage Concepts, the company behind the Liquid Experience, vowed that the line would compliment the musician\'s lingering mystique.
Lost Hendrix Up for Grabs
The Battle for Jimi Hendrix
Hendrix Bassist Noel Redding Dies
E! Online
"Beverage Concepts is committed to providing in our beverage line the same level of excitement, undefined coolness, rock \'n\' roll feel and unprecedented taste that is synonymous with the Jimi Hendrix image," Beverage Concepts CEO Josh Glass said in a presentation at the NAMM show in Anaheim, California, earlier this month.
Glass told E! Online that he found Hendrix to be the "perfect selection" to serve as the inspiration for the venture, based on the musician\'s ability to transcend social boundaries and unite people from all backgrounds during his lifetime.
"Jimi is such a powerful image," Glass said Monday. "He really changed history."
He said he hoped the Liquid Experience would act as a tool to educate a new generation about the Hendrix legacy, adding that a portion of the proceeds from beverage sales will be donated to an as-yet unnamed charitable foundation.
"What we are looking to impress upon the world is that by using Jimi\'s legendary status and ability to unify people, we can continue this even though Jimi is no longer with us," Glass said.
"There is a direct relationship here that can be positive."
After releasing the initial line of energy drinks, Glass said the company plans to launch lines of Hendrix-inspired herbal tea and vitamin-infused water.
Though the Hendrix family has voiced support for the beverage venture, some fans have expressed dismay over what they perceive to be the ongoing commercialization of the rock legend by Authentic Hendrix, the Seattle-based company that controls use of his name and image.
In the years since Hendrix\'s death in 1970, Authentic Hendrix, has authorized products ranging from Hendrix-brand air fresheners to a diaper cover reading "Are You Experienced?" across the rear.
Additional items stocked by the Authentic Hendrix online store include official Hendrix lava lamps, Christmas tree ornaments, cell phone covers and an array of coffee mugs and water bottles.
That Authentic Hendrix has donated some of the proceeds from past licensing deals to causes including the United Negro College Fund serves as little consolation to the late rocker\'s most dedicated fans.
"To see his image and the beautiful feelings it has created during my lifetime cheapened by base advertising is very disappointing to me," Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea told the Los Angeles Times last week.
Post by: Stephengencs on February 01, 2007, 03:17:10 am
definitely a sad day however with all the crap music in the popular arena, hopefully just the image and association of "hendrixized merch" will help steer some kids to his music and all that was that scene in rock and roll history.....
Post by: skalnbyc on February 01, 2007, 11:27:19 am
Quote from: Stephengencs;133129
hopefully just the image and association of "hendrixized merch" will help steer some kids to his music and all that was that scene in rock and roll history.....
Dude, I work with a girl who hasn\'t had any exposure to music outside of hiphop. Not even a little rock or 80\'s pop. As F.Waht would say, "Sad Really".
Post by: FreeSpirit on February 10, 2007, 11:24:21 am
GPS sneakers (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070209/D8N64ESG0.html)
Science is able to read minds!!!??? (http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2009229,00.html)
Post by: FreeSpirit on February 15, 2007, 02:50:31 am
Quote
Judge rules government supply of marijuana is inadequate
By Michael Doyle
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
WASHINGTON - Medical researchers need more marijuana sources because government supplies aren\'t meeting scientific demand, a federal judge has ruled.
In an emphatic but nonbinding opinion, the **** Enforcement Administration\'s own judge is recommending that a University of Massachusetts professor be allowed to grow a legal *** crop. The real winners could be those suffering from painful and wasting diseases, proponents believe.
"The existing supply of marijuana is not adequate," Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner ruled.
The federal government\'s 12-acre marijuana plot at the University of Mississippi provides neither the quantity nor quality scientists need, researchers contend. While Bittner didn\'t embrace those criticisms, she agreed that the system for producing and distributing research marijuana is flawed.
"Competition in the manufacture of marijuana for research purposes is inadequate," Bittner determined.
Bittner further concluded that there is "minimal risk of diversion" from a new marijuana source. Making additional supplies available, she stated, "would be in the public interest."
The DEA isn\'t required to follow Bittner\'s 88-page opinion, and the Bush administration\'s anti-**** stance may make it unlikely that the grass-growing rules will loosen. Both sides can now file further information before DEA administrators make their ruling.
"We could still be months away from a final decision," DEA spokesman Garrison Courtney said Tuesday, adding that "obviously, we\'re going to take the judge\'s opinion into consideration."
Still, the ruling is resonating in labs and with civil libertarians.
"(The) ruling is an important step toward allowing medical marijuana patients to get their medicine from a pharmacy just like everyone else," said Allen Hopper, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.
Based in the California seaside town of Santa Cruz, the ACLU\'s **** Law Reform Project has been representing University of Massachusetts scientist Lyle Craker. Since 2001, Craker has been confronting numerous bureaucratic and legal obstacles in his request for permission to grow research-grade marijuana.
An agronomist with a doctorate from the University of Minnesota, Craker was asked to grow bulk marijuana by a small, five-member group called the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. The psychedelic studies group wants to research such areas as developing vaporizers that can efficiently deliver *** smoke.
"This ruling is a victory for science, medicine and the public good," Craker said. "I hope that the DEA abides by the decision and grants me the opportunity to do my job unimpeded by **** war politics."
The latest research made public this week indicated that marijuana provided more pain relief for AIDS patients than prescription ***** did. The Bush administration quickly dismissed those findings as a "smokescreen," and it has remained hostile to Craker\'s research efforts.
During the trial, for instance, DEA attorneys secured an admission from Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies head Richard Doblin that he has smoked marijuana regularly since 1971.
"Can you tell us the source of this marijuana?" DEA attorney Brian Bayly asked Doblin, before withdrawing the question under objections.
The DEA originally claimed that it lost Craker\'s research application. Then the agency said that his photocopied follow-up lacked a necessary original signature. After a year, Craker tried again. He then had to wait another year before the DEA started processing the application, in which he proposed to grow about 25 pounds of marijuana in the first year.
Craker sued after the agency rejected his application. That brought his case before Bittner.
She oversaw the trial, which featured witnesses such as former California legislator John Vasconcellos.
"People have a right to know more about what might help them in their suffering and pain or illness, whatever it might be," Vasconcellos testified, in words repeated by Bittner. "The more research, the better."
The University of Mississippi has monopolized government-grade marijuana since 1968. The university also contracts with North Carolina\'s Research Triangle Institute, which runs a machine that can roll up to 1,000 finished marijuana cigarettes in an hour.
The government-grown *** is too "harsh" and filled with stems and seeds, researchers testified.
"The material was of such poor quality, we did not deem it to be representative of medical cannabis," researcher Dr. Ethan Russo said.
Post by: FrankZappa on February 22, 2007, 05:44:29 am
Quote
Wis. man’s good intentions die by the sword
He breaks into apartment, mistaking porn screams for actual rape
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - A man said he broke into an apartment with a cavalry sword because he thought he heard a woman being raped, but the sound actually was from a pornographic movie his upstairs neighbor was watching.
“Now I feel stupid,” said James Van Iveren, who has been charged in the case. “This really is nothing, nothing but a mistake.”
According to a criminal complaint, the neighbor told police that Van Iveren pounded on the door and kicked it open without warning Feb. 12, damaging the frame and lock.
“Where is she?” Van Iveren demanded, thrusting the sword at the neighbor, the complaint said. “Where is she?”
The neighbor told police Van Iveren became increasingly aggressive as he repeated the question, insisting that he had heard a woman being raped. The complaint said that, with the sword pointed at him, the neighbor led Van Iveren throughout the apartment, opening closet doors to prove he was alone.
The neighbor later played for police the part of the DVD he believed Van Iveren heard downstairs.
Van Iveren, 39, of Oconomowoc, was charged with criminal trespass, criminal damage and disorderly conduct, all while using a dangerous weapon, and is due in court March 5. Together, the misdemeanor counts carry a maximum sentence of 33 months in jail.
Van Iveren said Tuesday that he heard a woman “screaming for help,” grabbed the sword, bounded up the stairs, kicked in the apartment door and confronted the man who lived there.
“I intended to hold it behind my back and knock. But I froze and instead, what happened happened,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Contesting his neighbor’s account, Van Iveren said he didn’t look anywhere in the apartment except the front room, and that he never threatened the neighbor with the sword.
“I had the sword extended. But that was all,” he said.
Van Iveren, who lives with his mother in the downstairs apartment, said he did not call police when he heard the noises because he does not have a telephone. He said he barely knew the upstairs tenant.
Police seized Van Iveren’s sword, which he said was a family heirloom.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17261433/
Post by: Spacey on February 22, 2007, 03:57:08 pm
Quote from: Reuters
BOGOTA - Two clowns were shot and killed by an unidentified gunman during their performance at a traveling circus in the eastern Colombian town of Cucuta, police said Wednesday.
The gunman burst into the Circo del Sol de Cali Monday night and shot the clowns in front of an audience of 20 to 50 people, local police chief Jose Humberto Henao told Reuters. One of the clowns was killed instantly and the second died the next day in hospital.
"The killings had nothing to do with the show the victims were performing at the time of the incident," Henao said in a telephone interview. "We are investigating the motive."
With an entrance fee of under 50 U.S. cents, Circo del Sol de Cali attracts mostly poor Colombians. It pitched it tents in Cucuta, near the border with Venezuela, earlier this month.
"The clowns came out to give their show and then this guy came out shooting them," one audience member told local television. "It was terrible."
Post by: jocelyn on February 22, 2007, 05:18:52 pm
Post by: Spacey on February 27, 2007, 02:04:32 pm
Quote from: Reuters
HYDERABAD - A teenage girl in southern Pakistan, whose late father lost her in a poker game when she was 2 years old, has asked authorities to save her from being handed over to a middle-aged relative.
Rasheeda, 17, said she has filed applications with the police and a local councillor asking them to prevent Lal Haider, 45, from taking her to his home.
Her mother, Nooran said her husband racked up a debt of 10,000 rupees ($151) to Haider playing cards.
"My husband didn\'t have money to pay, and instead he told Lal Haider that he could take Rasheeda when she grows up," she said.
Despite being paid his money last year, she said Haider still insisted the girl should be given to him because of tribal customs.
While both families live in Hyderabad, a city 160 km (100 miles) north of the southern city of Karachi, they belong to the same tribe in Baluchistan province.
The girl\'s uncle, Dur Mohammad said Haider apparently wanted to marry the girl to his son.
Khalid Rajput, a local councillor dealing with the case, said the decision that Rasheeda should be handed over to Haider was taken late last week at a tribal council meeting
"We know some tribal elders from Baluchistan came for the meeting in which the girl\'s family was told to give her as per their customs," he said.
Irfan Bhutto, a police officer in Hyderabad, said Haider had been summoned. "We will ensure the girl does not have to do anything against her will."
Reuters Oddly Enough (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSISL10009220070226?pageNumber=1)
Post by: Spacey on March 05, 2007, 06:22:37 pm
Quote from: Ed Stoddard
DALLAS (Reuters) - Texas police said on Monday they were shocked by the video recording of a pair of toddlers aged two and five being encouraged to smoke marijuana by their uncle and a friend of his.
Police discovered the video last month as they searched a house in the Texas town of Watauga for stolen goods. Local television station aired the video during the weekend.
"Our investigators are shocked. Many if not all of them are parents themselves and they cannot believe that someone would do this to a child," said Bruce Ure, the director of Watauga\'s department of public safety.
In the recording shown on the local Fox news channel, two young adult males can clearly be seen lighting marijuana cigarettes and encouraging the two baby brothers to puff on them. The faces of the children are blacked out.
Police say the young adults are Vanswan Polty, 18, and Demetris McCoy, 17. McCoy is the toddlers\' uncle.
"The two have been charged with two counts each of injury to a child with bodily injury," Ure said. The charges could land them in prison for up to 10 years.
Ure said the pair had admitted that the substance in question was marijuana. They appeared affected in the recording, in which they are shown laughing and with slurred speech.
Ure said police discovered the video while executing a search warrant on the house related to a burglary case in nearby Fort Worth.
The children\'s mother lives in the house where the recording was made, but local media reported that her sons had been put in the care of child protective services.
The toddlers\' great-grandmother, Shirley Russell, was quoted on Fox as saying that she wanted the boys to come home but was mortified by the situation.
"It\'s very shocking ... I just wish it hadn\'t happened," she told the network.
Watauga is a town of around 24,000 located just outside the city of Fort Worth.
Post by: FrankZappa on March 07, 2007, 05:29:32 am
Dog\'s dinners prove popular in Nigeria (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6419041.stm)
Post by: Spacey on March 07, 2007, 03:29:07 pm
Quote from: Yahoo! News
A Dutch daredevil is to tackle the world\'s highest peak wearing just boots, shorts, gloves and a cap, the expedition leader told AFP Wednesday.
Wim Hof, known as the "Iceman," holds nine endurance records and recently ran 21 kilometres (13 miles) barefoot above the Arctic circle in Finland.
Hof claims to have special abilities to withstand freezing temperatures.
His website innerfire.nl shows him cross-legged and semi-naked, meditating on ice.
"He will not climb all the way in shorts, only in sections, but we plan to set many new world records," said expedition leader Werner de Jong by telephone from the Netherlands.
For the attempt on the 8,848-metre (29,014 feet) peak, Hof will strip off for climbing, but don clothes while resting, de Jong said.
"He has four extra Sherpas (high altitude mountain guides)," the team leader said. "Overnight and during tea breaks he will wear clothes."
Last May, Lakpa Tharke Sherpa caused a media furore when he claimed to have briefly stripped off on the summit of Everest, considered a holy mountain by Tibetans.
The main season on Everest gets underway in late April and May when a small window between the spring and summer monsoon make climbing Everest most feasible.
Temperatures on the summit during spring range between minus 25 and minus 30 Centigrade. The upper reaches are littered with corpses of climbers who have been killed.
The expedition, which includes four clothed climbers, leaves the Netherlands on April 1 and hopes to make a summit attempt on May 16th, de Jong\'s website says.
Ten mountaineers died last year trying to reach the roof of the world, first summitted by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
But De Jong is sure that the ascent can be undertaken safely.
"I am the one who will decide when he can continue, and I have enough mountaineering experience," he said.
Hof claims an unexplained ability to control his skin temperature from within and resist frostbite.
"He has trained for years and I am sure that he is the only man in the world who will be able to do this," de Jong said.
Dutch Climber (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070307/wl_sthasia_afp/nepalnetherlands2_070307143553)
I would love to see this guy on Everest TV show this upcoming season.
Post by: skalnbyc on March 07, 2007, 03:41:07 pm
Post by: Spacey on March 10, 2007, 09:22:10 am
Quote from: Reuters Life!
BERLIN - A 43-year-old German decided to settle his imminent divorce by chainsawing a family home in two and making off with his half in a forklift truck.
Police in the eastern town of Sonneberg said on Friday the trained mason measured the single-storey summer house -- which was some 8 meters (26 feet) long and 6 meters wide -- before chainsawing through the wooden roof and walls.
"The man said he was just taking his due," said a police spokesman. "But I don\'t think his wife was too pleased."
After finishing the job, the man picked up his half with the forklift truck and drove to his brother\'s house where he has since been staying.
Reuters Oddly Enough (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL0920001720070309)
Post by: Gfunk on March 10, 2007, 02:16:02 pm
Post by: Spacey on March 10, 2007, 02:48:59 pm
I remember Tales From The Crypt. I also remember the episode you speak of. Nice jogging of the memory, buddy.
Post by: derickw on March 12, 2007, 11:36:27 am
18 minutes ago
Train tank cars explode in upstate N.Y.
ONEIDA, N.Y. - A train carrying liquefied propane derailed Monday morning, setting off an explosion and fire that forced evacuations from this small central New York city and shut down a section of highway.
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The 7 a.m. blast sent a huge fireball into the dawn sky. Thick smoke continued pouring out hours later as about half a dozen propane tanker cars burned, said Police Chief David Meeker. He said the explosion followed the derailment of about 15 of the train\'s 80 cars.
Fire crews fought to keep the flames from spreading to other tanker cars, about half of which carried propane.
"There is danger of further explosions," said Fire Department Lt. Kevin Salerno.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or fatalities.
The derailment occurred in an unpopulated area on Oneida\'s north side. Officials were evacuating an area of about a one-mile radius, covering most of the downtown area of the city of 10,000. Up to 4,000 people live within that area, but the evacuation was mandatory only for homes closest to the blast.
A 23-mile stretch of the state Thruway, which passes within a mile of the explosion, was closed in both directions as a precaution, said Patrick Noonan, a spokesman for the Thruway Authority.
Amtrak suspended service between Syracuse and Albany.
The CSX Corp. train that derailed was headed from Buffalo to Selkirk, just south of Albany, said company spokesman Robert Sullivan. He said the cause of the accident hadn\'t been determined.
Sullivan said that in addition to propane, two cars were carrying hazardous materials. One contained a flammable liquid and the other carried a corrosive, but he had no other details on the materials.
___
Associated Press reporter Chris Carola contributed to this report from Albany, N.Y.
Post by: Spacey on March 12, 2007, 03:17:08 pm
Quote from: Reuters
AHMEDABAD, India - An Indian woman, despairing over her lover\'s accidental death when he fell down a well soon after their engagement, insisted on ceremonially marrying his corpse just minutes before the cremation.
"It was for just few minutes the girl was dressed as a bride and then as a widow," K.M. Kapadia, a police officer in the town of Anand in western Gujarat state, said on Saturday.
Wedding attendees sat the corpse up by a fire, the traditional center of Hindu wedding ceremonies, and chanted some marriage prayers before cremating the body, police said.
"The girl refused to give away the body of her lover for the cremation till she tied the knot with him," Kapadia said.
The bride\'s parents opposed the marriage but later attended the wedding ceremony and gave their 22-year-old daughter Tulsi Devipujak clothes and utensils as gifts, according to the Hindu tradition.
Woman weds corpse (http://http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSDEL28165120070312)
Post by: Todd on March 13, 2007, 01:13:57 pm
Quote from: yahoo.com
BELFAST, Northern Ireland - In Ireland, they bury people quickly — and now they\'re harnessing the speed of the Internet to help families grieve across the globe.
A Northern Ireland mortuary director has launched a pioneering service of broadcasting funerals on its Web site for mourners too distant, ill or busy to make it in person. It\'s reckoned to be the first of its kind worldwide.
"We have one camera to give you the perspective of the minister looking out to the congregation, one showing the hearse and cortege of mourners outside, and one that looks like you\'re sitting in amidst the mourners," said Jim Clarke of Clarke & Son undertakers in Newtownards, an eastern suburb of Belfast.
The family-owned firm, founded in 1918 by Clarke\'s grandfather, began experimenting with streaming audio and video of funeral services two years ago at its other mortuary and chapel in another nearby suburb, Bangor.
It is launching new software and a suite of cameras at its second funeral home in Newtownards this week — a development that, to the surprise of Clarke, has spurred international interest.
Clarke said more funeral homes should take advantage of the Internet, particularly in places like Ireland, where funerals typically happen within three days of a death — and a tradition of emigration can mean cousins from Calgary to Canberra.
"It used to be that we\'d be asked: Is there any chance you can take a tape recording of the service for our friends in Canada? We always did that. Now we can offer so much more," he said.
About 20 percent of the company\'s clients use the Web broadcast, or about 50 funerals so far at the two chapels beside the mortuaries, according to Clarke. It carries no additional charge.
He said the service last year proved invaluable for two brothers — one living in New Zealand, the other in the United States — who had traveled back to Northern Ireland to visit an ill relative who then died.
"They said, `There\'s no way we can get our wives and families here at such short notice,\' and we had the solution to hand. It really removes a burden for some families," Clarke said.
Just last week, he said, the funeral home negotiated with an internet service provider in New Zealand to upgrade one woman\'s connection temporarily to high-speed broadband so that she could see her sister\'s funeral without freezing screens or dropped audio.
Not just anybody can log on to eavesdrop on the grief. The service requires special software downloads and password access controlled by Clarke & Son.
"We\'re trying to use the latest technology to help families in a time of need," Clarke said. "We\'re not trying to encourage morbid curiosity. There is far too much of that on the Internet already."
yahoo.com (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070312/ap_on_fe_st/nireland_web_funerals)
What will they think of next?
Post by: Jim Cobb on March 13, 2007, 01:35:42 pm
Post by: Spacey on March 13, 2007, 01:59:48 pm
Post by: jocelyn on March 13, 2007, 04:37:20 pm
Post by: Spacey on March 15, 2007, 12:38:18 pm
Quote from: Reuters
BERLIN - A brothel in Germany hopes to capitalize on the growing number of retirees by offering them a 50 percent discount for sex in the afternoon.
The "Pascha" in the western city of Cologne has introduced reduced rates for sex sessions for clients aged 66 and above -- provided they can prove they are old enough.
"All clients need to do is show us some proof of age," said a spokesman for the brothel\'s managing director Armin Lobscheid. "A \'normal session\' costs 50 euros with us -- and we\'re now paying 50 percent of that for these older guests."
"We don\'t earn as much money, but we\'re establishing ourselves across a broader range of age groups," he added.
After testing the water with reductions for senior citizens once a week, the Pascha decided earlier this month to offer 50 percent off sex services between midday and 5 p.m every day.
"There\'s been plenty of demand and people have certainly been taking advantage of the offer," the spokesman said. "Older folks are more active than you think."
The brothel\'s Web site is keen to stress this point.
"Life begins at 66!" it says in an advert for its "senior citizens afternoon" next to a picture of a motorcycle rider.
Brothel Sex (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1452056020070315)
Quote from: Reuters
NEW YORK - A New York restaurateur has cooked up the world\'s most extravagant pizza -- a $1,000 pie topped with six kinds of caviar and fresh lobster.
Nino Selimaj, who runs six pizza restaurants in the Big Apple, on Wednesday unveiled the Luxury Pizza, a 12-inch (30-cm), thin crust topped with caviar, lobster, creme fraiche and chives. Cut into eight, it works out at $125 a slice.
"I know this won\'t be for everyone but there are people in New York who can afford it and once tried, they\'ll be back for more. It is delicious," said Selimaj, who moved to New York from Albania about 29 years ago.
"Sure, some people will say it is just a publicity stunt but I have researched this for over a year and think there is a demand. I have already sold one," he told Reuters.
Selimaj said Nino\'s Bellissima in Manhattan, the only one of his restaurants to offer the dish, needs 24 hours notice for the gourmet dish because it orders the caviar in advance.
"But where better to experiment with pizza than in New York where people love their pizza?" he asked.
If diners are still hungry after the Luxury Pizza, they can always head over to nearby restaurant Serendipity, which sells a $1,000 ice-cream sundae called Golden Opulence that is covered in 23-karat edible gold leaf.
Fishy Pizza (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1429852020070315)
Post by: Todd on March 15, 2007, 01:05:15 pm
Post by: Spacey on March 15, 2007, 01:54:58 pm
Post by: Spacey on March 19, 2007, 03:07:58 pm
Quote from: Reuters
LONDON - A passenger in first class woke up to a shock when he found himself sitting near a corpse on a British Airways flight, British newspapers reported on Monday.
Paul Trinder, 54, said cabin crew moved the body of the elderly woman from the economy section where she had died after take-off, the Mirror and Sun tabloids said.
"The corpse was strapped into the seat but because of turbulence it kept slipping down on to the floor," Trinder, a businessman, was quoted as saying. "It was horrific. The body had to be wedged in place with lots of pillows."
The woman\'s daughter was also upgraded and spent the rest of the nine-hour flight from Delhi to London grieving next to her dead mother, the Sun reported.
The Guardian newspaper said the incident happened last week.
British Airways has apologized for any distress suffered, according to the reports. The Mirror quoted BA as saying: "We apologize, but our crew were working in difficult circumstances and chose the option they thought would cause least disruption."
Post by: Jim Cobb on March 19, 2007, 03:30:24 pm
Post by: Spacey on March 20, 2007, 03:08:10 pm
Quote from: Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. restaurant chain Hooters, known for waitresses in low-cut blouses and short skirts, will open its first branch in Israel this summer, in the Mediterranean seaside city of Tel Aviv.
"I strongly believe that the Hooters concept is something that Israelis are looking for," Ofer Ahiraz, who bought the Hooters franchise for Israel, told Reuters Monday. "Hooters can suit the Israeli entertainment culture."
At Hooters, waitresses the company calls Hooters Girls serve spicy chicken wings, sandwiches, seafood and drinks.
Ahiraz said a specific location in Tel Aviv, Israel\'s most cosmopolitan city, had yet to be chosen, but he said it would not open restaurants near large religious populations, and they would not be kosher.
He said his plan was to open as many as five Hooters restaurants in the next few years, including one in the southern resort city of Eilat.
The Tel Aviv version of Hooters is expected to mimic most of the chain\'s other 430 restaurants in the United States and in 23 countries including China, Switzerland, Australia and Brazil.
Ahiraz said, however, he expected some minor modifications to meet Israeli tastes since U.S. chains have had a mixed response in Israel.
Food chains such as Starbucks, Dunkin\' Donuts and Hard Rock Cafe failed, Kentucky Fried Chicken closed many locations, while others such as Burger King and McDonalds have thrived by altering their offerings to suit the Israeli market.
"It shows that if you are flexible and listen to your customers you can be a success story," Ahiraz said.
The opening of Hooters in Israel is part of the chain\'s global expansion. Privately held Hooters said it planned to open 17 restaurants in Colombia, Dubai, Guam, New Zealand and India in the next two years.
"International expansion is a major focus for our company, and we are very excited to add Israel to our family," John Weber, executive vice president of franchise operations for Hooters of America, said in a statement.
Hooters heading to the Holy Land (http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSL1951990120070319?pageNumber=1)
(http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20070319&t=2&i=481138&w=192)
Happy for my sister and mother, work is looking up for them.
Post by: Stephengencs on March 20, 2007, 03:33:03 pm
Post by: Mamalakabubadaya on March 20, 2007, 03:39:27 pm
apparently tel aviv is a cool city. i have known people who studied abroad there and loved it. i think a hooters would probably do well there.
Post by: Spacey on March 20, 2007, 03:42:38 pm
Post by: Todd on March 24, 2007, 12:02:12 pm
Quote from: AP
Fri Mar 23, 9:38 PM
SAO PAULO, Brazil - A Brazilian housewife was convicted and sentenced to 19 years in prison Friday for killing her husband, chopping his body into small pieces and frying it. Rosanita Nery dos Santos, 52, drugged her husband in his sleep, then stabbed him to death two years ago in Salvador, about 900 miles northeast of Sao Paulo, said police spokesman Idmar Bonfim.
She then hacked Jose Raimundo Soares dos Santos\' body into more than 100 pieces, which she boiled and fried before hiding in plastic bags beneath a staircase in her house, Bonfim said. He said police discovered the body parts after receiving an anonymous phone call.
Bonfim said the killing was either part of a black magic ritual or an attempt by the wife to collect life insurance worth about $34,000.
Citing testimony from the woman\'s relatives, he said she may also have committed the crime "to avenge many years of humiliation from her husband." He did not provide further details.
Santos denied killing her husband but said she chopped up his body, Bonfim said.
"She claims masked assailants entered her house, killed her husband and then forced her to cut up the body and fry it because that would prevent the stench of a decomposing body from alerting neighbors," he said.
:wah:
Post by: FreeSpirit on March 25, 2007, 03:03:29 pm
Quote
Man pleads guilty to stalking woman he knew in grade school
March 16, 2007
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. --A Minnesota man pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges that he stalked and threatened to kill a former elementary school classmate in Connecticut.
Anthony Perone, 20, of Fairmont, Minn., pleaded guilty to sending threatening letters to the home of the woman\'s grandparents in Bridgeport in May 2006, according to federal prosecutors.
The letters included professions of love, cryptic clues about the sender, threats and colored-pencil drawings, including a drawing of a heart with a chunk bitten out of it, a rifle, and a tombstone bearing the woman\'s name.
Kevin O\'Connor, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said Friday that Perone pleaded guilty to two counts against him, and faces up to 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines when he is sentenced June 5.
Perone and the victim attended third and fourth grade together, although she did not remember him until after she received the threatening letters. He told police he found her address at the library.
"For 20 years you lived a rich life with everything. Money, family. Being popular. It\'s now gonna end. Your gonna learn about suffering and having nothing. Pain you will feel. Fear, Being alive," one letter read in part.
The letter was signed, "Love, Death Stalker."
Both envelopes contained Perone\'s name and return address.
Perone confessed to writing the letters and said he gave them to his mother to mail, according to an arrest affidavit. His mother told authorities she had no idea what was in the letters, so she added a name and return address to the envelopes and mailed them off.
source (http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2007/03/16/man_pleads_guilty_to_stalking_woman_he_knew_in_grade_school/)
Post by: Todd on March 25, 2007, 07:08:48 pm
Post by: derickw on March 27, 2007, 10:16:49 am
2 hours, 35 minutes ago
DARWIN, Australia - An environmental group said Tuesday it had captured a "monster" toad the size of a small dog.
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With a body the size of a football and weighing nearly 2 pounds, the toad is among the largest specimens ever captured in Australia, according to Frogwatch coordinator Graeme Sawyer.
"It\'s huge, to put it mildly," he said. "The biggest toads are usually females but this one was a rampant male ... I would hate to meet his big sister."
Frogwatch, which is dedicated to wiping out a toxic toad species that has killed countless Australian animals, picked up the 15-inch-long cane toad during a raid on a pond outside the northern city of Darwin late Monday.
Cane toads were imported from South America during the 1930s in a failed attempt to control beetles on Australia\'s northern sugar cane plantations. The poisonous toads have proven fatal to Australia\'s delicate ecosystems, killing millions of native animals from snakes to the small crocodiles that eat them.
As part of its so-called "Toad Buster" project, Frogwatch conducts regular raids on local water holes, blinding the toads with bright lights then scooping them up by the dozen.
"We kill them with carbon dioxide gas, stockpile them in a big freezer and then put them through a liquid fertilizer process" that renders the toads nontoxic, Sawyer said.
"It turns out to be sensational fertilizer," he added.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070327/ap_on_sc/odd_monster_toad
!["Image]("http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/3915/monstertoadii8.jpg")
anyone wanna lick
Post by: Todd on March 27, 2007, 11:08:26 am
Post by: Spacey on March 27, 2007, 01:57:38 pm
Quote
LOS ANGELES - Maybe Eddie Griffin should leave the driving to his chauffeur.
The comedian destroyed a rare million-dollar Enzo Ferrari on Monday when he crashed it into a barricade while promoting a movie. He was unhurt in the low-speed incident, at Irwindale Speedway, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles.
"The brother\'s good at karate and all the rest of that, but the brother can\'t drive," Griffin told reporters.
He was practicing for a celebrity charity racing event tied to his upcoming film, "Redline."
The car, one of just 400 manufactured, belonged to the film\'s producer, Daniel Sadek. Sadek estimated that the car was worth $1.2 million, and seemed philosophical about the loss, saying he was just happy that Griffin was unharmed.
The real-estate investor has put up his own money for the $26 million picture, and allowed one of his two $200,000 Porsche Carreras to be destroyed for a scene in it.
Post by: Me! on March 29, 2007, 02:33:36 am
From the Darwin Awards page (http://http://www.darwinawards.com/)
Quote
(2000, Denmark) A young man who works a few desks away had some car trouble shortly after he got his first driver\'s license. Exhilarated by the freedom a new license allowed, he borrowed a car from his uncle, a car collector, and took his cousin out for a spin.
Denmark winters are usually very mild, but this particular year was so cold that the Baltic Sea surrounding our island, Als, froze over. They drove down to the shore and found that Ketting Bay had iced over. The cousins took a quick walk on the ice, tested it by jumping up and down, and decided that it was thick enough to drive on.
A few hundred yards out, they discovered their error. The ice cracked, and the car sank. Luckily, Ketting Bay is shallow, so the boys suffered no worse than wet pants as they escaped through the car windows. Up to this point, their misadventure could be considered a bad estimate.
The looked the half-submerged car over, and decided that they had better pull it out before Uncle got mad. So they walked back to the farm, found a coil of rope and a strong car, drove back to the beach--and out to the submerged car!
Sploosh.
At this point, we would not be wrong to talk about the foolishness of youth.
The boys climbed out of Submerged Car #2, walked back to the farm with sodden pants and chattering teeth, and fetched a farm tractor. They drove back to the beach--out onto the ice--and sank the tractor, too!
Sinking the first car could be called an accident. Sinking the second could be called plain daft. But sinking the third one seems to indicate some genetic error. Especially since the boys agreed on the actions, and they are blood relatives...
:rolleyes:
Post by: peaches626 on March 29, 2007, 09:56:11 am
regarding the toad thing... i actually just watched a movie in my ecology class about cane toads.... they are an exotic species to australia, as it says, brought in from hawaii to help control beetles that were eating crops... but the toads and beetles ended up filling different niches in the australian environment, resulting in massive toad population growth, without any significant decline in the beetle population... there were scenes of peoples houses, where hundreds of toads were in their backyards croaking as the people tried to sleep... definitely quite a failed attempt at biological control
Post by: Me! on March 30, 2007, 01:13:24 am
Post by: jocelyn on March 30, 2007, 04:10:39 pm
Why anyone thinks introducing non-native species into an environment is a good idea I will never understand.
Fucking idiots.
Post by: FreeSpirit on March 30, 2007, 04:48:57 pm
Post by: Todd on March 30, 2007, 06:57:07 pm
Quote from: jocelyn;140650
Why anyone thinks introducing non-native species into an environment is a good idea I will never understand.
Fucking idiots.
Multiflora rose was another failure. Initially introduced for soil conservation, now it overtakes EVERYTHING. And it\'s a bitch and a half to hack through while trying to survey a piece of property!
Post by: FrankZappa on April 05, 2007, 09:38:28 am
(http://www.chrisabraham.com/orly.gif)(http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2894/orlyct9lr.gif)
Post by: FrankZappa on April 05, 2007, 11:55:46 am
Quote
ATHENS, Greece - Archaeologists on a Greek island have discovered a large Roman-era tomb containing gold jewelry, pottery and bronze offerings, officials said Wednesday. The building, near the village of Fiscardo on Kefalonia, contained five burials including a large vaulted grave and a stone coffin, a Culture Ministry announcement said. The complex, measuring 26 by 20 feet, had been missed by grave-robbers, the announcement said.
Archaeologists found gold earrings and rings, gold leaves that may have been attached to ceremonial clothing, as well as glass and clay pots, bronze artifacts decorated with masks, a bronze lock and copper coins.
The vaulted grave, a house-shaped structure, had a small stone door that still works perfectly — turning on stone pivots.
On a nearby plot, archaeologists also located traces of what may have been a small theater with four rows of stone seats, the ministry said.
Previous excavations in the area have uncovered remains of houses, a baths complex and a cemetery, all dating to Roman times — between 146 B.C. and 330 A.D.
source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070405/ap_on_sc/greece_ancient_tomb)
Post by: Stephengencs on April 05, 2007, 07:36:46 pm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keith Richards says he snorted father\'s ashes
Stones guitarist mixed remains with cocaine — ‘it went down pretty well’
LONDON - Keith Richards has acknowledged consuming a raft of illegal substances in his time, but this may top them all.
In comments published Tuesday, the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist said he had snorted his father’s ashes mixed with cocaine.
“The strangest thing I’ve tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father,” Richards was quoted as saying by British music magazine NME.
“He was cremated, and I couldn’t resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn’t have cared,” he said, adding that “it went down pretty well, and I’m still alive.”
Richards’ father, Bert, died in 2002, at 84.
Richards, one of rock’s legendary wild men, told the magazine that his survival was the result of luck, and advised young musicians against trying to emulate him.
“I did it because that was the way I did it. Now people think it’s a way of life,” he was quoted as saying.
“I’ve no pretensions about immortality,” he added. “I’m the same as everyone ... just kind of lucky.
“I was No. 1 on the ‘who’s likely to die’ list for 10 years. I mean, I was really disappointed when I fell off the list,” Richards said.
The rocker, who underwent an operation in New Zealand last year after reportedly falling out of a tree in Fiji, also took a swipe at some of the big musical acts of today.
“Everyone’s a load of crap,” he said. “They are trying to be somebody else, and they ain’t being themselves. Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party? Load of crap, load of crap. Posers, rubbish.”
Post by: FrankZappa on April 11, 2007, 07:41:38 am
David Brown, 24, says he woke up one morning after a night out with friends with a telephone number constantly running through his head. He decided to contact it, sending a message saying "Did I meet you last night?."
Random recipient Michelle Kitson was confused and wary at first but decided to reply and the two began exchanging messages. Eventually they met and fell in love.
"It was really weird but I was absolutely hooked," Kitson told the Daily Mail newspaper. "My mum and dad kept saying \'But he could be an axe murderer\', but I knew there was something special about it."
After a long courtship, the oddly matched couple -- he\'s six foot seven inches tall and she\'s five foot four -- have just returned from their honeymoon in the Indian resort of Goa.
A love-struck Brown said: "I\'ve no idea how I ended up with her number in my head -- it\'s only a few digits different from mine."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070409/od_nm/britain_text_dc
:shrug:
Post by: Spacey on April 17, 2007, 11:14:32 am
Quote
BERLIN (Reuters) -
Business is booming for a Berlin entrepreneur\'s unique service -- delivering break-up messages for a fee.
Bernd Dressler, who charges 50 euros ($68) to tell people they have been dumped, says he has helped end 200 relationships in the last 11 months.
"I almost never get invited in for a coffee," he told the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper on Monday. "Most of the time they\'re totally surprised."
Breaking the bad news only takes about three minutes and often leaves the message recipients in a state of shock, said Dressler, a trained economist.
People wanting to dump their partners in person can make use of coaching sessions given by Dressler, who also offers help for those wanting to save their relationships or apologize for going astray.
Reuters Link (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1619174120070417)
Post by: FrankZappa on May 02, 2007, 09:30:52 am
Quote
NORTH HAVEN, Conn. -- Three North Haven police officers were suspended 10 days each for drinking in a department vehicle during the St. Patrick\'s Day parade.
The vehicle, a Hummer, serves at the town\'s DUI enforcement vehicle. NBC 30 News reported that a civilian made a complaint that officers were drinking inside it during the parade. The police union president said three female civilians were also in the car along with an off-duty Hamden officer.
The punishments were handed down at a special closed-door hearing of the police commission held at the department. The police chief did not name the officers and did not comment about the police commission\'s decision to suspend the officers. The suspensions are unpaid.
The union president said the commission\'s decision was unanimous and that there were no allegations whatsoever of drinking and driving. The union president added that while the allegations are serious, the union is fighting the punishment.
The three officers were still on the job, and it was not clear when the suspensions would begin.
source (http://www.nbc30.com/news/13239750/detail.html?dl=headlineclick)
:sigh:
Post by: Stephengencs on May 02, 2007, 09:44:40 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;144147
QuoteNORTH HAVEN, Conn. -- Three North Haven police officers were suspended 10 days each for drinking in a department vehicle during the St. Patrick\'s Day parade.
The vehicle, a Hummer, serves at the town\'s DUI enforcement vehicle. NBC 30 News reported that a civilian made a complaint that officers were drinking inside it during the parade. The police union president said three female civilians were also in the car along with an off-duty Hamden officer.
The punishments were handed down at a special closed-door hearing of the police commission held at the department. The police chief did not name the officers and did not comment about the police commission\'s decision to suspend the officers. The suspensions are unpaid.
The union president said the commission\'s decision was unanimous and that there were no allegations whatsoever of drinking and driving. The union president added that while the allegations are serious, the union is fighting the punishment.
The three officers were still on the job, and it was not clear when the suspensions would begin.
source (http://www.nbc30.com/news/13239750/detail.html?dl=headlineclick)
:sigh:
We should all stop and learn a quick lesson from Mr Mike Brady via the Brady Bunch Movie. I feel it pretty appropriate here.......
"Cindy, you know by tattling on your friends, you\'re really just tattling on yourself. By tattling on your friends, you\'re just telling them that you\'re a tattletale. Now is that the tale you want to tell?"
Fitzy had the same thing happen to him at the Wallingford Park and Ride off Exit 13. Friggin Narcs. Fitzy was sitting in his back seat waiting for us to come pick him up and some lady called the cops on him because he was drinking a beer in his car. He didnt get in trouble however.....
I dont care that these were cops. I hope whoever snitched on them gets their house robbed.
Post by: FrankZappa on May 02, 2007, 09:55:52 am
Post by: Stephengencs on May 02, 2007, 10:28:01 am
I dont know, its not like the cops were raping the girls in the hummer..... I just dont think narcing on cops during a parade during a holiday where drinking in public is allowed 1 day out of the entire year is necessarlly right......
I do see where you are coming from Paul, but I just dont see the need for someone to squeal on them.....But maybe that person saved the girls or some other civillian from trouble that may have come from intoxicated on duty cops....
Just being the ying to your yang........
Post by: Spacey on May 02, 2007, 11:26:28 am
Post by: Stephengencs on May 02, 2007, 11:27:25 am
Post by: Todd on May 02, 2007, 11:52:17 am
Post by: Stephengencs on May 02, 2007, 12:12:38 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on May 10, 2007, 07:29:23 am
Quote
NEW PORT RICHEY - For about eight minutes on Tuesday, through the streets near downtown, police chased a driver who had no arms and one good leg.
He got away.
He is used to this sort of thing.
Authorities say the driver was Michael Francis Wiley, 40, who overcame three amputations, taught himself to drive with stumps and proceeded to become one of Pasco County\'s most accomplished traffic violators.
His license has been suspended so many times that driving itself has become a felony.
Which brings us to Tuesday, about 12:50 p.m., when a New Port Richey Police officer spotted Wiley in a suspicious vehicle - a blue Ford Explorer - at a convenience store off U.S. 19, according to Capt. Darryl Garman. When the officer went to investigate, the Explorer took off.
The chase, eventually joined by a second officer, led down the highway to Sunset Road and Veterans Drive, back to 19, back to Sunset, and finally over the bridge into Port Richey.
But the Explorer was spotted a minute later on Grand Boulevard, Garman said. From there it went to River Gulf Road, then south on Washington Street to Massachusetts Avenue. About 1 p.m., the officers broke off the chase because it could have put others in danger, Garman said. The Explorer was last seen heading south on Grand.
Police will seek an arrest warrant for Wiley today; charges could include fleeing to elude and habitually driving with a revoked license.
If it really was Wiley behind the wheel Tuesday - and it is hard to imagine him being confused with another driver - this was not his most spectacular car chase. In 1998, while driving a green Corvette, he led deputies down Interstate 75 at nearly 120 mph.
According to court records, Wiley has stolen a car, kicked a state trooper and attacked his wife headfirst. He is awaiting trial on separate drug and illegal-driving charges. He faces up to five years in prison.
Most Ford Explorers have automatic transmissions, though several people say Wiley is perfectly competent with a stick shift.
"He is one of the best drivers I\'ve ever seen in my life, " said Lee Michie, a longtime acquaintance. "But he\'s the worst person I\'ve ever met."
(http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/09/images/large/PT_243050_holm_wiley_1.jpg)
source (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/09/Pasco/Armless_driver_eludes.shtml)
Post by: Spacey on June 14, 2007, 02:37:47 pm
Quote from: Reuters
JAIPUR, India - A 73-year-old Indian farmer who vowed not to marry before passing his high school exams has failed to get through for the 38th time.
Shiv Charan Yadav has been taking the exams -- normally given to schoolchildren at the age of 15 -- every year since 1969, without success.
He was in his 30s when he first decided to better himself through education.
This year, he failed everything except Sanskrit, scoring only 103 out of a possible 600 points.
He said he found mathematics especially hard, blaming the subject for dragging down his score.
"Once I pass I want to get married to a girl who\'s under 30," Yadav, who lives alone in Kohari village in the western desert state of Rajasthan, told Reuters.
He is now revising for his 39th attempt next year.
Ignorant Farmer (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSDEL9263220070614)
Post by: Spacey on June 21, 2007, 02:18:49 pm
Quote from: Reuters
NEW DELHI, India - An India couple have been accused of trying to get their 15-year-son into the Guinness Book of World Records by allowing him to perform a caesarean operation, local newspapers reported on Thursday.
The parents, both doctors from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, screened a video recording of the operation on a 20-year-old woman to other doctors in the hope of attaining the record as the world\'s youngest surgeon, newspapers reported.
Family members said the boy was only helping out in the operation, handing his father medical instruments. Indian medical authorities are investigating the case and could revoke the couple\'s medical licenses.
Reuters Doogie (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSDEL13094020070621)
#1 - 84-year-old man drove 67 years without license
Quote from: Reuters
AMSTERDAM - An 84-year-old Dutch driver astonished police this week when he admitted during a random check that not only was his car uninsured but he had been driving without a license for 67 years.
Dutch media said Wednesday the man had escaped detection because he had never got a speeding ticket or been involved in a crash.
The man promised police he would ditch his car, which had also never been put through a vehicle safety test, reports added.
Reuters Driver (http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL2016676220070620)
#2 - Woman loses in court after losing lottery
Quote from: Reuters
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch woman has lost her compensation claim for mental distress she suffered from missing out when her neighbors won a lottery windfall.
Prize winners are chosen by postal code and Helene de Gier would have shared in the 14 million euros ($19 million) if she had bought an 8.50 euro ticket -- as her seven neighbors in the town of Heusden did.
She had accused the organizers of "emotional blackmail" and demanded compensation, but court documents showed Thursday that she had lost.
The judgment said lottery organizers cannot be held responsible for those who fail to take part and later regret it.
Reuters Lotto (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL2153017720070621)
Has to be some good smoke.
Post by: derickw on July 06, 2007, 03:32:12 pm
!["Image]("http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/176/clubbingsealsiz6.jpg")
Shot at 2007-07-06
Larger Namibian seal hunt prompts outcry
Quote
By RODRICK MUKUMBIRA, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
WINDHOEK, Namibia - Saying it wants to save its fishing industry, this southern African nation is letting seal hunters club more seals than last year in an annual hunt that began this week.
ADVERTISEMENT
But animal rights activists says killing thousands of adult males and tens of thousands of pups is cruel and unnecessary because fishing boats are the real culprits behind the decline in Namibia\'s fish stocks.
The sparsely populated country is famous for the wildlife and desert landscape of its Skeleton Coast. Among the tourist attractions are the 850,000 seals that live on roughly a dozen rocky, remote islands off the southwest Atlantic coast.
The government says the seals are consuming 900,000 tons of fish a year, more than a third of the fishing industry\'s catch. The seals are also an important source of skins for leather and fur goods, and meat for animal feed.
The hunt started July 1 and runs for five months. The start follows a government announcement last week that it would allow the killing of 6,000 adult males and 80,000 pups, up by 20,000 in 2006.
Francois Hugo, a spokesman for the Namibian conservation group Seal Alert, said the government was trying to push fish catches to more than 1.5 million tons a year, a level last seen three decades ago.
"This is now impossible, as the government keeps on increasing the fishing quotas. It\'s not the seals that are at blame here. It\'s the many trawlers on its waters," he said. "Namibia is culling nursing pups still suckling on their mothers\' milk, which have nothing to do with fish"
The government accused the activists of "deliberately distorting information," and said controlling the seal population was important for both the fishing industry and to the people who worked in jobs created by the hunt.
Namibia maintains that the country\'s seal population is healthy and hunting will not lead to the extinction of the species. But Seal Alert calls the method — clubbing, to maintain the quality of skins — inhumane.
Culling of seals in Namibia goes relatively unnoticed compared, for example, to the large hunts for the white harp seal in Canada. Hugo accused the government of barring press from the hunting areas to keep the world from focusing on it.
Moses Maurihungirire, director of resources management in the fisheries and marine resources ministry, would not comment on whether there was an official ban on reporters in the hunting region. But reporters often have been chased away from the remote and well-guarded sites.
Nangula Mbako, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, said the overnment would not be deterred by Seal Alert\'s objections. He said all nations\' economies "are hinged on the exploitation of living natural and nonliving natural resources.
"The rural poor, women, children and the most vulnerable societies are the ones mostly affected by withholding exploitation of sustainably managed resources such as seals," said Mbako, adding that the seal culling industry created 149 jobs.
Post by: Spacey on July 06, 2007, 03:44:03 pm
Post by: jocelyn on July 07, 2007, 03:27:43 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on July 10, 2007, 02:52:33 pm
Quote
Methane Gas Kills Family Of Four, Hired Worker
Sheriff Calls Death \'Tragic Event\'
POSTED: 9:31 am EDT July 3, 2007
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- A farm accident killed four members of a Mennonite family and a hired hand at a dairy farm several miles west of Harrisonburg, Va., in Rockingham County authorities said.
Sheriff Don Farley told reporters a couple and their two young daughters and a farm worker died early Monday evening from methane gas emanating from a manure pit at their farm in the Briery Branch community.
Farley identified the victims as Scott Showalter, 33; his wife, Phyillis, 34; Shayla, 11; Christina, 9; and Amous Stoltzfus, 24, who worked at the Showalter\'s dairy farm.
Click here to find out more!
Farley told the Daily News-Record that the deaths were "just a tragic, tragic event."
Emergency dispatch received a rescue call at 6:47 p.m. from the dairy farm. Local fire departments and rescue squads also responded, he said.
Following the end of the days work, Farley said, Scott Showalter apparently was transferring manure from one small pit to a larger one measuring 20 feet by 20 feet and 8 feet deep.
At some point, the pipe that was transferring the manure from the smaller pit to the larger became clogged, and Scott Showalter climbed inside to fix the blockage, Farley said.
When he went into the pit to clear the obstruction, he apparently was overcome by methane gas, which is one byproduct of the liquefied manure, Farley said.
Emergency workers speculate that Stoltzfus climbed into the pit in an attempt to rescue Showalter, according to Farley.
When the two men didnt come out, Phyillis Showalter and then the couples two daughters apparently made their way in, all succumbing to the deadly gas.
"It was a domino effect with one person going in, the second person going after them," Farley said.
He said the bodies of the victims were taken to the state medical examiner\'s office for autopsy.
Farley said this type of accident was rare on area dairy farms.
Apparently the gas couldn\'t go anywhere and turned deadly, he said.
"I\'ve worked here my whole life and I cant remember a gas situation in a manure pit like this," Farley told reporters.
Post by: Jim Cobb on July 10, 2007, 04:06:05 pm
Post by: derickw on July 10, 2007, 04:23:31 pm
Quote from: Jim Cobb;151882
shitty.
:rimshot:
Post by: Jim Cobb on July 10, 2007, 04:50:12 pm
Post by: Spacey on July 11, 2007, 02:46:17 pm
Quote from: Reuters
LONDON - Teacher Dave Barclay flew thousands of miles across the Atlantic to Wales to attend his friend\'s wedding, only to discover he was a year early.
Barclay, 34, was told about the wedding earlier in the year and assumed it was to take place in 2007.
It was only when he had flown into Cardiff from Toronto, Canada, and rang the bridegroom seeking details of the venue that he discovered the wedding was in 2008.
"I am a year early -- yeah, my mates are loving it, aren\'t they," he told BBC Radio Wales.
The groom, Dave Best, had emailed his friend at the start of the year.
"He just said July the 6th and I assumed it was this year because if you tell the guy July 6th, they\'re going to think it\'s this year," Barclay said.
Barclay, who has been teaching in Toronto for three years spent 500 pounds ($1,015) on his premature flight.
"At least it\'s assured me a mention in the speech next year," he added.
Premature Flight (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC15572620070711)
Not sure if I would laugh, be pissed or ask for a refund from the groom. Perhaps all of the above.
Post by: Spacey on August 01, 2007, 02:52:41 pm
Quote from: Reuters
- A lottery winner doubled his share of the jackpot to nearly 1 million pounds after he mistakenly bought two lucky tickets for the same draw, organizers Camelot said Wednesday.
Derek Ladner, 57, from Cornwall, and his wife Dawn, 60, won with their usual numbers in the mid-week draw, sharing the 2.4 million pounds jackpot with four other tickets.
A week later, he found a second identical ticket in his wallet and realized he had absent-mindedly entered twice.
Their double-share of the jackpot is worth just under a million pounds.
The pair have handed in their notice at work and are taking a break to decide how to spend their windfall.
"It\'s beginning to sink in," Ladner told a news conference. "We are going on holiday first...and then think about what we are going to do for the rest of our lives."
Post by: derickw on August 03, 2007, 08:56:16 am
Dispute between neighbors - true story
A city councilman in Utah, Mark Easton, had a beautiful view of the east
mountains, until a new neighbor purchased the lot below his house and built
a new home.
The new home was 18 inches higher than the ordinances would allow, so Mark
Easton , mad about his lost view, went to the city to make sure they
enforced the lower roof line ordinance. The new neighbor had to drop the
roof line, at great expense.
Recently, Mark Easton called the city, and informed them that his new
neighbor had installed some vents on the side of his home. Mark didn\'t like
the look of these vents and asked the city to investigate. When they went to
Mark\'s home to see the vent view, this is what they found...
!["Image]("http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7341/middlefingershutters3td8.png")
Shot at 2007-08-03
!["Image]("http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8301/middlefingershutters1yt3.png")
Shot at 2007-08-03
!["Image]("http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/2724/middlefingershutters2po8.png")
Shot at 2007-08-03
(http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/graphics/utahhouse1_small.jpg)
(http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/graphics/utahhouse2_small.jpg)
Post by: SlimPickens on August 03, 2007, 09:47:27 am
Quote from: derickw;154001
http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/ventcover.asp
Dispute between neighbors - true story
A city councilman in Utah, Mark Easton, had a beautiful view of the east
mountains, until a new neighbor purchased the lot below his house and built
a new home.
The new home was 18 inches higher than the ordinances would allow, so Mark
Easton , mad about his lost view, went to the city to make sure they
enforced the lower roof line ordinance. The new neighbor had to drop the
roof line, at great expense.
Recently, Mark Easton called the city, and informed them that his new
neighbor had installed some vents on the side of his home. Mark didn\'t like
the look of these vents and asked the city to investigate. When they went to
Mark\'s home to see the vent view, this is what they found...
Shot at 2007-08-03
Shot at 2007-08-03
Shot at 2007-08-03
Mark Easton sounds like a douche and his neighbor is my new hero.
Post by: derickw on August 03, 2007, 11:04:45 am
Post by: Spacey on August 03, 2007, 11:42:19 am
Post by: Spacey on August 18, 2007, 10:06:37 am
Quote from: Reuters
BEIJING - A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@," claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, an official trying to whip the national language into line said Thursday.
The unusual name stands out especially in Chinese, which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke characters to represent words.
"The whole world uses it to write e-mail, and translated into Chinese it means \'love him\'," the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the State Language Commission Li Yuming.
While "@" is familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word "at" to sound it out -- which with a drawn out "T" sounds something like "ai ta," or "love him," to Mandarin speakers.
Li told a news conference on the state of the language that the name was an extreme example of people\'s increasingly adventurous approach to Chinese, as commercialization and the Internet break down conventions.
Another couple tried to give their child a name that rendered into English sounds like "King Osrina."
Li did not say if officials accepted the "@" name. But earlier this year the government announced a ban on names using Arabic numerals, foreign languages and symbols that do not belong to Chinese minority languages.
Sixty million Chinese faced the problem that their names use ancient characters so obscure that computers cannot recognize them and even fluent speakers were left scratching their heads, said Li, according to a transcript of the briefing on the government Web site (http://www.gov.cn).
One of them was the former Premier Zhu Rongji, whose name had a rare "rong" character that gave newspaper editors headaches.
Bou Named @ (http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSPEK36827920070816)
Post by: bellbottomtear on August 18, 2007, 12:57:27 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens;154005
Quote from: derickw;154001http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/ventcover.asp
Dispute between neighbors - true story
A city councilman in Utah, Mark Easton, had a beautiful view of the east
mountains, until a new neighbor purchased the lot below his house and built
a new home.
The new home was 18 inches higher than the ordinances would allow, so Mark
Easton , mad about his lost view, went to the city to make sure they
enforced the lower roof line ordinance. The new neighbor had to drop the
roof line, at great expense.
Recently, Mark Easton called the city, and informed them that his new
neighbor had installed some vents on the side of his home. Mark didn\'t like
the look of these vents and asked the city to investigate. When they went to
Mark\'s home to see the vent view, this is what they found...
Shot at 2007-08-03
Shot at 2007-08-03
Shot at 2007-08-03
Mark Easton sounds like a douche and his neighbor is my new hero.
I would absalutely NOT like Mark!"DOUCHE" the vents and his neighbor :yay:
Post by: FrankZappa on September 18, 2007, 09:32:27 am
Quote
Nebraska state senator sues God
LINCOLN, Neb. - The defendant in a state senator\'s lawsuit is accused of causing untold death and horror and threatening to cause more still. He can be sued in Douglas County, the legislator claims, because He\'s everywhere.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God last week. Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he\'s trying to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody.
Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth\'s inhabitants."
The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused "fearsome floods ... horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes."
He\'s seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty.
Chambers said the lawsuit was triggered by a federal suit filed against a judge who recently barred words such as "rape" and "victim" from a sexual assault trial.
The accuser in the criminal case, Tory Bowen, sued Lancaster District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront, claiming that he violated her free speech rights.
Chambers said Bowen\'s lawsuit is inappropriate because the Nebraska Supreme Court has already considered the case and federal courts follow the decisions of state supreme courts on state matters.
"This lawsuit having been filed and being of such questionable merit creates a circumstance where my lawsuit is appropriately filed," Chambers said. "People might call it frivolous but if they read it they\'ll see there are very serious issues I have raised."
U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf, in an order last week, expressed doubts about whether Bowen\'s lawsuit "has any legal basis whatsoever" and said sanctions may be imposed against Bowen and her attorneys if they fail to show cause for the lawsuit.
The Associated Press usually does not identify accusers in sex-assault cases, but Bowen has allowed her name to be used publicly because of the issue over the judge\'s language restrictions.
Cheuvront declared a mistrial in the sexual assault trial in July, saying pretrial publicity made it impossible to gather enough impartial jurors.
source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070918/ap_on_fe_st/odd_suing_god;_ylt=AltORGsCslYdOzOee3n7o_Dq188F)
Post by: Spacey on September 18, 2007, 05:32:34 pm
Post by: Lexington on September 18, 2007, 08:20:28 pm
Post by: Spacey on September 18, 2007, 08:53:15 pm
Quote from: Lexington;159073
f dat, God is my boy
God is nothing more than a massive black hole in the middle of the universe sucking in anything thats comes within its path, eventually, he will explode and create more life.
He does not like to be called a boy!
Post by: skalnbyc on September 19, 2007, 12:19:11 am
Quote from:
A muslim dentist made a woman wear Islamic dress as the price of accepting her as an NHS patient, it is alleged.
Omer Butt is said to have told the patient that unless she wore a headscarf she would have to find another practice.
Later this month, Mr Butt will appear before a General Dental Council professional misconduct hearing, which has the power to strike him off.
It is claimed that the 31-year-old dentist asked to speak to the woman in private after she turned up for an appointment at his clinic in Bury.
According to the charges, he questioned her on whether she was a Muslim and told her that if he was to treat her she would have to wear Islamic dress.
He is also said to have read out a number of religious rules to her.
He then told his nurse to give the patient her own headscarf to wear, the accusation says.
It is not known whether the woman was a Muslim.
The charges to be heard by the General Dental Council say that Mr Butt undermined public confidence in his profession by discriminating against a patient and failed to act in her best interests.
Mr Butt is the older brother of former Islamic extremist Hassan Butt, who once declared he had \'no problem\' with terror attacks on Britain and who said that September 11 "served the pleasure of Allah".
He has since recanted and now calls for all Muslims to abandon violence.
The dentist also featured in immigration hearings involving an asylum seeker suspected of providing a safe house for Kamel Bourgass, an Algerian terrorist jailed for life for stabbing PC Stephen Oake to death in Manchester in 2003.
Mr Butt, the immigration hearing was told, was introduced by his brother to the asylum seeker, who at various points claimed three different identities.
The tribunal was told that Mr Butt was "a respectable and responsible person who wishes to help devout and practising Muslims in difficulty".
He "did not regard the use of false names as unusual for asylum seekers".
The headscarf incident is alleged to have happened in 2005, at a time when between 4,000 and 8,000 people in Bury were unable to find an NHS dentist.
According to the charges, Mr Butt "asked to speak to Patient A in private.
"In the course of conversation with Patient A you: (a) asked whether she was Muslim; (b) told her words to the effect that, in order to receive treatment from you, she needed to wear appropriate Islamic dress; (c) quoted to her parts of the Ahadith."
The Ahadith is a series of instructions on behaviour attributed to Prophet Mohammed but not written as part of the Koran.
The charge continues: "You told Patient A that, if she did not wear a headscarf, she would need to register with another dentist. You instructed your dental nurse to give Patient A her headscarf.
"The dental nurse took Patient A to another room where she was given the nurse\'s headscarf to wear.
"In seeking to impose an Islamic dress code on Patient A in order for treatment to be provided you undermined public confidence in the profession by discriminating against Patient A."
If the charges are upheld, the Porsche- driving dentist will be found guilty of serious professional misconduct.
Penalties can range from a public warning to suspension and being struck off.
Tory MP Sir Paul Beresford, a former minister and a dentist, said: "When a patient comes to see me I have no concern with their religion. I do not ask Muslim patients to read the Bible.
"My practice tries to respect religious belief. For example, during Ramadan we try to help Muslim patients by making sure they do not have to swallow water when they are fasting. We do not ask patients to become Christians."
Women staff at Mr Butt\'s Bury practice do not routinely wear headscarves while at work.
One female patient said: "I think it is a pretty outrageous thing to ask but I have never felt as if I am being discriminated against at this practice as a Western woman.
"If I was then I would certainly make a full complaint. If it is true then it shows a reverse prejudice bordering on racism."
Mr Butt was involved in another controversial incident earlier this year when police stopped his Porsche 911 and said they could not read its customised number plate.
The dentist recorded the subsequent search of the car on his mobile phone and passed the video to the BBC, which broadcast it on a local news bulletin. It shows Mr Butt asking an officer: "Are you a racist?"
The dentist was then arrested for racially aggravated behaviour. There were no charges, and a complaint against the police by Mr Butt is still being considered.
Mr Butt was unavailable for comment yesterday. Staff at his practice said he was on holiday.
Post by: skalnbyc on September 27, 2007, 05:46:23 pm
Quote from: SFGate.com;159091
Feds bust alleged munchie operation in East Bay
OAKLAND - Four people were charged in Oakland federal court today with growing marijuana that became the not-so-secret ingredient in treats resembling popular candy bars and other packaged food, including barbecue sauce.
Authorities say the four were connected with an operation known as Tainted Inc. that made marijuana-laced candies, cookies, ice cream, peanut butter, barbecue sauce, granola bars and brownies.
"Tainting candy and other products with marijuana is not sweet, it is criminal," said Javier Pena, special agent in charge of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in San Francisco. "These items could have harmful effects on a user, especially the unsuspecting ones."
Authorities said Tainted Inc. grew from a small outfit that cooked marijuana leaves in butter for chocolate truffles into a large enterprise that supplied marijuana-laced candies to cannabis clubs in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver and Amsterdam.
Over the past two years, Tainted Inc. ordered nearly four tons of chocolate from suppliers, investigators said. Its candies and other food items sold for $2.50 to $20 apiece, depending on the strength of the product, authorities said.
The investigation bears similarities to DEA raids in Oakland last year in which five people connected with a company called Beyond Bomb were convicted of making marijuana-laced treats with names like Buddahfingers, Munchy Way, Rasta Reece\'s and Puff-a-Mint Pattie.
Federal prosecutors charged Tainted Inc.\'s alleged owner, 33-year-old Michael Martin of El Sobrante, with conspiracy to manufacture or distribute controlled substances. Also accused of those charges were the operation\'s alleged manager, Jessica Sanders, 30, of San Leandro, and couriers Michael Anderson, 42, of Oakland and Diallo McLinn, 35, of Oakland, authorities said.
Martin is a fugitive; the other three defendants are to appear this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Oakland.
Drug agents said they searched homes or warehouses Wednesday on the 900 block of 61st Street, where Tainted Inc. products were made; the 300 block of 40th Street in North Oakland, where an alleged marijuana-growing operation was located; Martin\'s home on the 3300 block of Brentwood Avenue in El Sobrante; Anderson and McLinn\'s home on the 4100 block of Howe Street in Oakland; and Sanders\' home on the 600 block of Black Pine Drive in San Leandro.
During the raids, investigators seized hundreds of marijuana products, 460 marijuana plants, a handgun, an undetermined amount of cash and a 2005 GMC truck, Pena said.
E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.
Post by: Lexington on September 27, 2007, 05:55:12 pm
genius.
ps, great bandname
Post by: Me! on September 28, 2007, 01:14:30 am
:drool:
Post by: FrankZappa on October 01, 2007, 11:46:24 am
Quote
MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Three Mexican minors detained in California on suspicion of smuggling drugs stole a U.S. Border Patrol car while still wearing handcuffs and drove it back across the border to Mexico.
Police in the Mexican border city of Mexicali said on Tuesday the three boys had been driving a pick-up truck on a remote Californian highway when a Border Patrol agent stopped them.
Suspicious they were carrying marijuana, he handcuffed them and put them in his patrol car while he searched their truck.
"As the agent was doing his search, he left the vehicle running and the keys in the ignition, so one of the lads, still wearing handcuffs, grabbed the steering wheel and they headed back to Mexico," a police spokesman said.
The Border Patrol, which plays cat and mouse around the clock with illegal Mexican migrants and drug traffickers, confirmed the vehicle was stolen in southern California on Sunday and driven over the border near Mexicali.
Mexican police used a helicopter to locate the patrol vehicle in a remote agricultural area near the border.
Post by: Spacey on October 01, 2007, 10:44:47 pm
Quote from: Me!;160837
marijuana Barbeque sauce?????
:drool:
me too.
almost as :drool: as the crazy pancake escapde in Burlington 2 Aprils ago.
Post by: Me! on October 02, 2007, 01:05:36 am
Quote from: Spacey;161420
Quote from: Me!;160837marijuana Barbeque sauce?????
:drool:
me too.
almost as :drool: as the crazy pancake escapde in Burlington 2 Aprils ago.
I think the :drool: factor of the Brahlington pancake escapade can\'t be compared to anything.
Post by: FrankZappa on October 02, 2007, 09:13:32 am
Quote
No hugs allowed at Ill. middle school
OAK PARK, Ill. - If you need a hug, you won\'t get it at Percy Julian Middle School. Principal Victoria Sharts banned hugging among the suburban Chicago school\'s 860 students anywhere inside the building. She said students were forming "hug lines" that made them late for classes and crowded the hallways.
Post by: davepeck on October 02, 2007, 09:27:17 am
Post by: FrankZappa on October 02, 2007, 09:54:56 am
Post by: derickw on October 05, 2007, 03:38:07 pm
Quote
DULUTH, Minn. - The recording industry hopes $222,000 will be enough to dissuade music lovers from downloading songs from the Internet without paying for them. That\'s the amount a federal jury ordered a Minnesota woman to pay for sharing copyrighted music online.
ADVERTISEMENT
"This does send a message, I hope, that downloading and distributing our recordings is not OK," Richard Gabriel, the lead attorney for the music companies that sued the woman, said Thursday after the three-day civil trial in this city on the shore of Lake Superior.
In closing arguments he had told the jury, "I only ask that you consider that the need for deterrence here is great."
Jammie Thomas, 30, a single mother from Brainerd, was ordered to pay the six record companies that sued her $9,250 for each of 24 songs they focused on in the case. They had alleged she shared 1,702 songs in all.
It was the first time one of the industry\'s lawsuits against individual downloaders had gone to trial. Many other defendants have settled by paying the companies a few thousand dollars, but Thomas decided she would take them on and maintained she had done nothing wrong.
"She was in tears. She\'s devastated," Thomas\' attorney, Brian Toder, told The Associated Press. "This is a girl that lives from paycheck to paycheck, and now all of a sudden she could get a quarter of her paycheck garnished for the rest of her life."
Toder said the plaintiff\'s attorney fees are automatically awarded in such judgments under copyright law, meaning Thomas could actually owe as much as a half-million dollars. However, he said he suspects the record companies "will probably be people we can deal with."
Gabriel said no decision had yet been made about what the record companies would do, if anything, to pursue collecting the money from Thomas.
The record companies accused Thomas of downloading the songs without permission and offering them online through a Kazaa file-sharing account. Thomas denied wrongdoing and testified that she didn\'t have a Kazaa account.
Since 2003, record companies have filed some 26,000 lawsuits over file-sharing, which has hurt sales because it allows people to get music for free instead of paying for recordings in stores.
During the trial, the record companies presented evidence they said showed the copyrighted songs were offered by a Kazaa user under the name "tereastarr." Their witnesses, including officials from an Internet provider and a security firm, testified that the Internet address used by "tereastarr" belonged to Thomas.
Toder said in his closing argument that the companies never proved "Jammie Thomas, a human being, got on her keyboard and sent out these things."
"We don\'t know what happened," Toder told jurors. "All we know is that Jammie Thomas didn\'t do this."
Copyright law sets a damage range of $750 to $30,000 per infringement, or up to $150,000 if the violation was "willful." Jurors ruled that Thomas\' infringement was willful but awarded damages in a middle range; Gabriel said they did not explain the amount to attorneys afterward. Jurors left the courthouse without commenting.
Before the verdict, an official with an industry trade group said he was surprised it had taken so long for one of the industry\'s lawsuits against individual downloaders to come to trial.
Illegal downloads have "become business as usual. Nobody really thinks about it," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, which coordinates the lawsuits. "This case has put it back in the news. Win or lose, people will understand that we are out there trying to protect our rights."
Thomas\' testimony was complicated by the fact that she had replaced her computer\'s hard drive after the sharing was alleged to have taken place — and later than she said in a deposition before trial.
The hard drive in question was not presented at trial by either party.
The record companies said Thomas was sent an instant message in February 2005 warning her that she was violating copyright law. Her hard drive was replaced the following month, not in 2004 as she said in the deposition.
"I don\'t think the jury believed my client regarding the events concerning the replacement of the hard drive," Toder said.
The record companies involved in the lawsuit are Sony BMG, Arista Records LLC, Interscope Records, UMG Recordings Inc., Capitol Records Inc. and Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Post by: davepeck on October 05, 2007, 03:45:42 pm
people who kill people while driving drunk get a couple years in jail, and this woman\'s life is essentially ruined for sharing music. did she break the law? sure. but did she ruin anyone\'s life?
come on.
Post by: derickw on October 05, 2007, 03:56:21 pm
Post by: Spacey on October 24, 2007, 12:28:56 pm
Quote from: Reuters
CANBERRA - An Australian barmaid has been fined for crushing beer cans between her bare breasts while an off-duty colleague has been fined for hanging spoons from her friend\'s nipples, police said Wednesday.
Police in Western Australia said the 31-year old barmaid pleaded guilty in the local magistrate\'s court to twice exposing her breasts to patrons at the Premier Hotel in Pinjarra, south of the state capital, Perth.
The woman "is alleged to have also crushed beer cans between her breasts during one of the offences," in breach of hotel licensing laws, police from the Peel district of Western Australia said in a statement.
The barmaid and the hotel manager were both fined A$1,000 ($900), while an off-duty barmaid was fined A$500 for helping to hang spoons from the woman\'s nipples, police said.
"It sends a clear message to all licensees in Peel that we will not tolerate this type of behavior in our licensed premises," local police superintendent David Parkinson said.
Beer Can Jugs (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN247838820071024)
Post by: derickw on October 24, 2007, 12:36:39 pm
Quote from: Spacey;165641
Quote from: ReutersCANBERRA - An Australian barmaid has been fined for crushing beer cans between her bare breasts while an off-duty colleague has been fined for hanging spoons from her friend\'s nipples, police said Wednesday.
Police in Western Australia said the 31-year old barmaid pleaded guilty in the local magistrate\'s court to twice exposing her breasts to patrons at the Premier Hotel in Pinjarra, south of the state capital, Perth.
The woman "is alleged to have also crushed beer cans between her breasts during one of the offences," in breach of hotel licensing laws, police from the Peel district of Western Australia said in a statement.
The barmaid and the hotel manager were both fined A$1,000 ($900), while an off-duty barmaid was fined A$500 for helping to hang spoons from the woman\'s nipples, police said.
"It sends a clear message to all licensees in Peel that we will not tolerate this type of behavior in our licensed premises," local police superintendent David Parkinson said.
Beer Can Jugs (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN247838820071024)
shoot where\'s the nearest non-licensed place
Post by: Spacey on October 24, 2007, 12:39:57 pm
Spoons hanging from nipples?
Breasts crushing beer cans?
where?
Post by: Rujah on November 09, 2007, 08:46:11 pm
Victoria E. Freile
Staff writer
Post Comment
(November 7, 2007) — A Batavia man accused of giving marijuana to trick-or-treaters in Geneseo on Halloween is facing felony charges.
Joshua Balduf, 22, a senior at the State University College at Geneseo in Livingston County, was charged with second-degree criminal sale of marijuana, a felony, first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors, said Eric Osganian, Geneseo\'s chief of police.
Four teens dressed in costume allegedly knocked on the door of 72 Court St., Apt. 1, about 8 p.m. Oct. 31 and asked for candy.
Balduf told the teens that he did not have any and turned them away, Osganian said.
About an hour later, the teens allegedly returned to the apartment.
Balduf allegedly invited them inside, gave them some marijuana and smoked it with the teens, Osganian said. The teens were between ages 15 and 17.
The father of one of the involved teens alerted Geneseo police of the alleged incident that night, after his daughter returned home, he said.
On Friday, officers executed a search warrant at the apartment and also arrested Balduf\'s roommates — Nicholas Watson, 21, of Orchard Park, Erie County, and Jesse Schulman, 21, of Larchmont, Westchester County, who are also SUNY Geneseo students, Osganian said.
Both were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to Geneseo police.
Watson and Schulman are scheduled to appear in Geneseo Village Court on Dec. 4.
Balduf was arraigned last week in Geneseo Village Court and was remanded to the Livingston County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond, officers said.
Additional charges may be pending.
College officials were notified of the incident, said Tony Hoppa, a spokesman for SUNY Geneseo.
The three involved students, who are all seniors, are subject to campus disciplinary action, Hoppa said.
Osganian said he did not know if Balduf shared marijuana with any other trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
Anyone with any information about drug activity at the Court Street apartment is asked to call Geneseo police at (585) 243-2420.
Post by: Todd on November 09, 2007, 10:25:26 pm
Quote from: Rujah;168181
charged with second-degree criminal sale of marijuana, a felony,
If he gave it away, how then is that selling? I call nannies on those charges! Also...imho...I think it\'s all a set-up.
Post by: FrankZappa on November 26, 2007, 06:36:52 am
!["Free]("http://img251.imageshack.us/my.php?image=37707223zu1.png")
Post by: Spacey on November 26, 2007, 11:26:08 am
Post by: skalnbyc on November 26, 2007, 03:34:40 pm
Quote from: SFGate.com;170144
Psychic charged with bilking S.J. woman to drive out the evil within
(11-26) 12:00 PST SAN JOSE - A South Bay psychic and fortune teller known as "Miss Donna" has been charged with bilking $445,000 from a woman by telling her she was cursed and needed to pay up so she would be cleansed of evil, prosecutors said today.
Santa Clara County prosecutors say Lola Miller, also known as Donna Miller and Miss Donna, read the San Jose woman\'s fortune in August 2004 and, over the next seven months, extorted $350,000 in cash and another $95,000 in goods and services from her.
Miller told the woman that she and several of her relatives were cursed and that she needed to pay the money to be purified of evil, said Deputy District Attorney Stan Voyles. She also threatened the woman, according to Voyles.
At the time, Voyles said, Miller worked the area around Santana Row. She previously worked in San Francisco, where she was convicted of similar charges several years ago, he said.
Miller fled the Bay Area in 2005, said Voyles, "when the cops started to get on to her."
She was arrested about six weeks ago in New Jersey, Voyles added, and was extradited to California a month ago. Miller is to appear in court Dec. 5 to set a date for a preliminary hearing.
Voyles said prosecutors are interested in talking to clients of Miller\'s who may have been taken in by similar scams.
Anyone who may have given money to Miller should call district attorney\'s investigator Dennis Brookins at (408) 792-2851.
Post by: jocelyn on November 26, 2007, 03:36:48 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on November 26, 2007, 07:59:37 pm
Post by: estahwhaddup on November 27, 2007, 01:50:26 pm
http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/17756562.html#cutid1
Post by: derickw on November 27, 2007, 02:02:57 pm
Post by: ds673488 on November 27, 2007, 02:08:00 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on November 27, 2007, 08:02:53 pm
Post by: derickw on November 28, 2007, 08:54:22 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;170317
wait, todd\'s pic is a girl? :wah:
i was thinking the same thing
Post by: Todd on November 28, 2007, 02:03:08 pm
Quote from: AP
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Highway Patrol says anyone missing two big bags of pot can call their Tampa area office. A crew picking up litter from along Interstate 4 near Tuesday morning made an unusual find: two big plastic garbage bags stuffed with freshly harvested marijuana.
FHP Trooper Larry Coggins says the 60 pounds of pot might be worth around $54,000 on the street. It probably fell off or was thrown from a car on the interstate.
The plants appeared freshly picked and some had intact roots.
Coggins says it\'s not the largest amount of pot ever dumped along a roadside, but it\'s certainly not a common find.
(http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20071128/capt.ba686a584e6c42a796347b9da7eb2f67.florida_snapshots_pot_ny126.jpg?x=380&y=285&sig=ggLf3V7EgdnYAlQ8WuaDgA--)
:doh:
Post by: Jim Cobb on November 28, 2007, 02:47:19 pm
someone\'s pissed.
Post by: Me! on December 17, 2007, 11:20:27 am
Quote
Flying High: Traveler Almost Kills Himself Chugging Vodka
By now, most airline travelers have figured out the deal: no liquids, pastes or gels are allowed in your carry-on bag because someone might try to hide a nuclear explosive in your Nair.
Evidently, a 64-year-old German man who was switching planes on his way home from an Egyptian holiday hadn\'t gotten the memo. He realized, suddenly, while standing in line, that the liter of vodka he was carrying was verboten, so he took it upon himself to swig the entire thing at once.
What happened to the thirsty German?
The chug resulted in a totally unnecessary brush with death (let that be a lesson to you frat boys flying home for the holidays). After downing the liquor, the man "was quickly unable to stand or otherwise function," police said.
The guy\'s name wasn\'t released, but he\'s said to be doing OK, and will finish his trip home in a few days.
source (http://www.asylum.com/2007/12/14/airport-idiot-man-almost-kills-himself-chugging-vodka/)
Post by: Spacey on December 17, 2007, 11:44:51 am
:chug:
got to give it to the guy. Rather drink it and face death than have them pour it out.
Post by: Todd on December 17, 2007, 12:56:42 pm
Post by: jocelyn on December 17, 2007, 01:06:54 pm
Quote from: Todd;173337
Pansy can\'t handle a liter??
That\'s what I was thinking. He clearly hasn\'t aged well.
Post by: Spacey on December 17, 2007, 01:09:43 pm
Post by: tyzack on December 17, 2007, 02:24:23 pm
I acciedentally left something in my shoes on my way into Egypt...
But, fair warning, booze in Egypt sucks. If you are going to go there, do yourself a favour and select an intermediate stop, so you can get booze at that duty free and at the duty free in Cario.
Post by: jocelyn on December 17, 2007, 06:20:23 pm
Post by: Me! on December 18, 2007, 12:12:07 pm
Quote from: Danbury News Times
Update: Police say woman groped Santa
Danbury resident charged with fourth-degree sexual assault
By Eugene Driscoll STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 12/18/2007 11:12:33 AM EST
DANBURY -- A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.
Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, is charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, according to Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas Michael.
Two messages seeking comment were left on Lamy\'s answering machine.
Details leading up to the alleged fondling are sketchy.
"I don\'t know what the deal was. It was just bizarre," the mall Santa told a reporter, referring all other questions about the incident to Cherry Hill Photo, the company that runs the Danbury Fair mall Santa photo setup.
Cherry Hill Photo did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
According to information provided by the Danbury Police Department, officers were dispatched to the mall Saturday at 8:45 p.m.
The mall Santa told police that Lamy touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap.
"The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," Michael said.
Lamy was also charged with breach of peace.
"She must have caused a commotion over there," Michael said.
Lamy was released on a promise to appear Jan. 3 in Danbury Superior Court.
Danbury Fair mall spokeswoman Melissa Eigen called the alleged groping "an isolated incident."
"The safety of our guests and employees is a top priority, and we strive to create a safe and enjoyable shopping environment at all our facilities and Danbury Fair specifically," Eigen said.
2007 has not been a great year for mall Santas.
Earlier this month in Missoula, Mont., a mall Santa was assaulted with a pumpkin pie.
Meanwhile, a department store Santa in Australia claims he lost his job earlier this month because he said "Ho, ho, ho."
His bosses had asked him to say "Hi, hi, hi."
"Santa Tim" Connaghan is the president of RealSantas.com and teaches hundreds of people a year how to be Santas.
He said the Danbury Fair mall incident, if true, is one of kind.
Santas usually have to worry about kids tugging beards and teens throwing pennies from the mall rafters.
"I have been doing this 40 years, and I\'ve never heard of charges being lodged either way -- by a guest against a Santa or a Santa against a guest," Connaghan said.
It isn\'t unusual for an adult to sit and pose with a picture with a mall Santa.
"I\'ve had some very nice ladies sit on my lap," Connaghan said.
A harmless flirtation isn\'t out of the norm.
"Once in a while they\'ll say \'I hope Mrs. Claus isn\'t going to be upset.\' You have to be discreet and kind and say \'Oh no, she\'ll be OK. You can sit here, but only for one photo.\'"
source (http://www.newstimes.com/latestnews/ci_7749222)
Quote from: newstimes.com
Woman accused of Santa groping: \'I did not do anything wrong\'
By Eugene Driscoll STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 12/18/2007 11:59:14 AM EST
DANBURY -- The woman accused of groping Santa at the Danbury Fair mall denies she even sat on the man\'s lap.
"I don\'t know what\'s going on. I don\'t know if he was confused, it was a false report," Sandrama Lamy, 33, said this morning.
Lamy said she was window shopping at the mall Saturday with a friend when she decided to get a picture with a man playing Santa Claus.
A woman -- apparently working with the mall Santa -- made a comment after the picture was snapped, Lamy said.
"I did not sit on his lap. A woman there said \'Be careful, that\'s my husband.\' I said \'What does that have to do with the picture?\'" Lamy said. "That\'s all I said, and I left."
"A couple of hours later," security officers stopped Lamy, who was still in the mall.
Lamy said she worked as a sales associate in a retail store at the mall for nine years, but is currently out of work due to an injury.
"What would I do this? There were so many people there. If he (Santa) needed a few extra bucks I would have given it to him," Lamy said. "I\'ve never been involved in a crime or anything. This is shocking to me."
Lamy said she paid for her photo with Santa, but declined to share it with The News-Times.
"It doesn\'t matter, because I did not do anything wrong," Lamy said.
Danbury police charged Lamy Saturday with fourth-degree sexual assault, after the mall Santa contacted police and said the woman touched him in an inappropriate manner.
She is scheduled to appear in Danbury Superior Court Jan. 3.
source (http://www.newstimes.com/latestnews/ci_7751062)
Post by: Spacey on December 18, 2007, 01:01:21 pm
Quote from: Me!;173497
Details leading up to the alleged fondling are sketchy.
The mall Santa told police that Lamy touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap.
Earlier this month in Missoula, Mont., a mall Santa was assaulted with a pumpkin pie.
Meanwhile, a department store Santa in Australia claims he lost his job earlier this month because he said "Ho, ho, ho."
His bosses had asked him to say "Hi, hi, hi."
Santas usually have to worry about kids tugging beards and teens throwing pennies from the mall rafters.
"I\'ve had some very nice ladies sit on my lap," Connaghan said.
A harmless flirtation isn\'t out of the norm.
"Once in a while they\'ll say \'I hope Mrs. Claus isn\'t going to be upset.\' You have to be discreet and kind and say \'Oh no, she\'ll be OK. You can sit here, but only for one photo.\'"
She can grope me.
Sucks to be Santa it seems.
solid quotes in that article
Quote from: newstimes.com
"I don\'t know what\'s going on. I don\'t know if he was confused, it was a false report," Sandrama Lamy, 33, said this morning.
Lamy said she was window shopping at the mall Saturday with a friend when she decided to get a picture with a man playing Santa Claus.
Why would anyone lie about this?
Interested to see what comes of this.
Keeping with the tough life of Santa.
Quote from: Reuters
RIO DE JANEIRO - Not even Santa Claus is safe as the violent Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro celebrates the Christmas season.
Drug traffickers in a Rio slum opened fire on a helicopter carrying a Santa to a children\'s party, apparently mistaking it for a police helicopter, police said Tuesday.
"They thought it was a police operation and started shooting. Luckily, nobody was hurt," a police official said.
The helicopter had to return to its base after the attack. Two bullet holes were found in its fuselage.
Police said the pilot, contracted to take an actor dressed as Santa to the party in the Nova Mare slum, was flying over the neighboring Vila Joao shantytown when it was fired upon on Sunday.
Santa later returned to Nova Mare by car to distribute Christmas presents.
Most of Rio\'s 700-plus slums are controlled by drug traffickers and are not regularly patrolled by police, who instead go into the slums in military-style raids, often using helicopters and armored vehicles.
Source (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC85598720071218)
Quote from: AP
A postcard featuring a color drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl was mailed in 1914, but its journey was slower than Christmas. It just arrived in northwest Kansas.
The Christmas card was dated Dec. 23, 1914, and mailed to Ethel Martin of Oberlin, apparently from her cousins in Alma, Neb.
It\'s a mystery where it spent most of the last century, Oberlin Postmaster Steve Schultz said. "It\'s surprising that it never got thrown away," he said. "How someone found it, I don\'t know."
Ethel Martin is deceased, but Schultz said the post office wanted to get the card to a relative.
That\'s how the 93-year-old relic ended up with Bernice Martin, Ethel\'s sister-in-law. She said she believed the card had been found somewhere in Illinois.
"That\'s all we know," she said. "But it is kind of curious. We\'d like to know how it got down there."
The card was placed inside another envelope with modern postage for the trip to Oberlin — the one-cent postage of the early 20th century wouldn\'t have covered it, Martin said.
"We don\'t know much about it," she said. "But wherever they kept it, it was in perfect shape."
93 YEAR OLD CARD (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071215/ap_on_fe_st/odd_long_lost_card)
Post by: SlimPickens on December 18, 2007, 02:39:19 pm
Quote from: Me!;173497
Read this in this mornings paper had to pass it on.Quote from: Danbury News TimesUpdate: Police say woman groped Santa
Danbury resident charged with fourth-degree sexual assault
By Eugene Driscoll STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 12/18/2007 11:12:33 AM EST
DANBURY -- A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.
What kinda fruitcake Santa they hiring up there?
Post by: Me! on December 18, 2007, 11:04:34 pm
Post by: Me! on December 23, 2007, 12:38:38 pm
Quote
Masturbating student blames exam stress
A student masturbated in changing rooms in Kmart because he was under exam stress, a Palmerston North court heard yesterday.
But a judge said he doubted this was the whole story because he had a report that suggested the 24-year- old was sexually aroused by trying on new trousers.
However, Judge Gregory Ross in the end decided not to convict the masturbator, who admitted offensive behaviour in the store, and banned publication of his name. He ordered a $100 payment toward the cost of prosecution.
It happened in the middle of the day on December 5, Sergeant Chris Whitmore told the hushed court.
The student went into the changing rooms with two pairs of trousers, pulled down his own trousers, sat on the floor of one of the rooms, and began his venture into onanism.
But there was a metre gap between door and floor and two people saw what he was doing.
The police were called and the man confessed, Mr Whitmore said.
Defence lawyer Steve De Vorms said stress before his client\'s final exams was the most likely explanation for what he did, which came "completely out of the blue".
But Judge Ross then said there was a suggestion in a report he had that it might also have come about through the defendant trying on new trousers.
"This was a private act in a public place." he said.
Mr De Vorms said the masturbation was an aberration, something his client wasn\'t proud of.
A conviction could have "very, very far-reaching effects" on him as he sought work, he said.
For this reason he asked for a discharge without conviction, with the defendant making a contribution towards prosecution costs.
Judge Ross said the defendant\'s offending was at the lower end of the scale.
People could see him, but he couldn\'t see them.
A conviction would be "out of all proportion" to the seriousness of the offence, especially with the defendant seeking a job at a district health board, he said.
Judge Ross told the man publication of his name would also have had "huge consequences", and discharged him without conviction.
source (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/20/1197740452428.html)
Post by: SlimPickens on December 26, 2007, 11:47:10 am
Quote from: Me!;173590
^^ my assumption is that she is butt ugly.
I heard over the weekend that the groping was reported because Santa\'s wife was there and witnessed it.
Hmmm, I always thought mall Santa\'s were lonely perverted drunks with drug and alcohol problems.
Post by: Spacey on December 26, 2007, 12:16:14 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens;174427
Hmmm, I always thought mall Santa\'s were lonely perverted drunks with drug and alcohol problems.
just in your perverse sexual fantasy\'s
Post by: derickw on December 26, 2007, 12:30:36 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens;174427
Quote from: Me!;173590^^ my assumption is that she is butt ugly.
I heard over the weekend that the groping was reported because Santa\'s wife was there and witnessed it.
Hmmm, I always thought mall Santa\'s were lonely perverted drunks with drug and alcohol problems.
i\'d be perfect for that job........
Post by: Spacey on December 26, 2007, 01:23:21 pm
Post by: SlimPickens on December 26, 2007, 01:41:17 pm
Quote from: derickw;174438
i\'d be perfect for that job........
(http://abordaje.net/imagenes/km_santa_bender.jpg)
Post by: Lexington on December 26, 2007, 08:48:43 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on December 28, 2007, 11:24:43 am
The daughter of Cookeville\'s Daryl Hill was thrilled to find that Santa had left an MP3 player under the tree, until she turned it on.
"Within 10 minutes, my daughter was crying," said Hill.
There were video clips of XXX rated sex scenes, and the pornography was so graphic that Channel 4 could not broadcast it.
"I wish I could take the thoughts and images out of her head," said Hill.
The Hills had bought three MP3 players for their children that came from a Wal-Mart store in Sparta, Tenn. It turns out one of the MP3 players had been returned to the store from a previous owner who loaded sex clips, graphic war scenes and lyrics about using drugs.
The Hills want to know why Wal-Mart would sell used merchandise as new in the first place, which is in violation of its own policies.
"If they want to be a major retailer, they need to act like it," said Hill.
The manager at the Sparta Wal-Mart declined comment on the matter, and referred Channel 4 to Wal-Mart\'s corporate office.
A Wal-Mart spokesperson e-mailed Channel 4 confirming that stores are not supposed to return opened packages to the sales floor. They said they are working to get to the bottom of the problem.
The Hills said they have declined Wal-Mart\'s offer to replace the MP3 player. They\'ve already bought their daughter a new one and are hanging onto the controversial one until they talk to a lawyer.
source (http://www.wsmv.com/news/14933203/detail.html)
Video (http://www.wsmv.com/video/14934330/index.html)
Post by: derickw on December 28, 2007, 11:42:05 am
Post by: FrankZappa on December 28, 2007, 11:49:18 am
Quote from: derickw;174671
wow, why were they complaining
Quote
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.
Quote
The family of a 10-year-old girl
10 year old girl in tennesee (moreso her FATHER) might have different ideas of what is ok to look at from a 29 year old robot in rhode island.
Anyway, he\'s looking to sue. Wants to get as much money out of this as he can. If I had bought it, I would be doing the same thing. Probably would have said it was a gift for my niece just to make it more believable.
Post by: sallyalli on December 28, 2007, 01:16:13 pm
Post by: booztravlr on January 08, 2008, 01:18:54 pm
Didn\'t know this was possible.
Another Picture of the "Melting Man" (http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/1584/meltdownboyem4.jpg)
Post by: ds673488 on January 08, 2008, 01:29:27 pm
Post by: jocelyn on January 08, 2008, 02:13:24 pm
Post by: Lexington on January 08, 2008, 03:13:17 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on January 09, 2008, 05:01:49 am
Quote from: Lexington;175884
i just cried a little. count your blessings folks
:that:
Post by: derickw on January 09, 2008, 08:36:04 am
!["Free]("http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jabbathehuttiv0.jpg")
Post by: ds673488 on January 09, 2008, 09:31:11 am
Post by: davepeck on January 10, 2008, 10:07:13 am
Quote
Woman raped 200 times in 18 months
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) - January 9, 2008 -- A man raped a woman nearly 200 times over a 13-month period at her home and his, threatening to cause her further harm if she ever told her husband or police, authorities said.
Roy Chamberlin, 29, would regularly sneak into the woman\'s house after her husband left for work, then rape her, police said.
Most of the alleged assaults took place at her home in the rural borough of Centre Hall, near State College, and occurred up to three or four times a week, sometimes twice a day, police said.
"She was terrified of Chamberlin," a police complaint said. "Chamberlin always told her to never tell (her husband) or to ever call the police."
Chamberlin threatened to cause the woman "bodily harm" if she ever spoke up, Trooper James Ellis said in an interview.
"He took advantage of the fact that she was not a very strong person," he said.
Fearing for her safety, the woman did not come forward and talk to police until after Chamberlin was charged in another crime and she knew he would be in jail, authorities said.
Chamberlin was unemployed and lived with his parents in Centre Hall. He was in jail in an unrelated case when police in December filed 1,100 counts against him in connection with the alleged sexual assaults, including 183 counts of rape.
Police said he first assaulted her in August 2006 while dating her sister, and that the alleged attacks did not end until September.
His court-appointed attorney, Charles Kroboth Jr., declined comment Wednesday.
Chamberlin was jailed on Oct. 1 on a charge of attempted murder and multiple counts of arson, accused of setting fire to a mobile home on two occasions after arguing with the trailer\'s occupants.
Police found him at the woman\'s nearby home while investigating the second fire.
Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall told the Centre Daily Times she was afraid to come forward until Chamberlin was in jail, "so she didn\'t tell anyone."
When she finally did talk with police, she said one alleged assault occurred just nine days after she had undergone surgery. She went to the emergency room and was treated for a bruised chest.
The woman\'s husband told police he saw bruises on his wife about two dozen times and arrived home early one day in June to find her yelling at Chamberlin with the door locked.
Confronted by her husband, the woman declined to discuss the encounter, and her husband said he dropped the issue because of his wife\'s ailing health, police said.
The husband said he also confronted his wife after an encounter at Chamberlin\'s house, but the woman again declined to talk about it.
Post by: tyzack on January 10, 2008, 10:11:40 am
Post by: Drew_Kingsley on January 10, 2008, 10:28:44 am
Post by: sallyalli on January 10, 2008, 11:25:32 am
Post by: ds673488 on January 10, 2008, 11:56:33 am
this is where centre hall is...need i say more?
type in "centre hall, pa"
Post by: SlimPickens on January 10, 2008, 12:37:32 pm
Quote from: tyzack;176060
I know that he is innocent until proven guilty shit, but, if he is proven guilty, I would like to suggest a punishment of castration, followed by men raping him twice as many times as he raped her.
sounds about right
Post by: Drew_Kingsley on January 10, 2008, 01:14:37 pm
Quote from: ds673488;176068
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
this is where centre hall is...need i say more?
type in "centre hall, pa"
Right near Happy Valley... that\'s some GOOOOOD irony.
Post by: derickw on January 11, 2008, 02:34:44 pm
Separated-at-birth twins get married
LONDON (AFP) - Twins who were separated at birth and adopted by different sets of parents later married each other without realising they were brother and sister, a peer has told the House of Lords.
ADVERTISEMENT
David Alton, an independent, pro-life member of the Lords, said the brother and sister were granted an annulment after a high court judge ruled that the marriage had never validly existed.
The Catholic politician -- who discovered the case after talking to a judge -- used it to highlight perceived deficiencies in the government\'s proposed Human Embryology and Tissues Bill, which is currently going through parliament.
The bill is designed to make it easier for lesbian and gay couples to have children through assisted reproduction, recognising same-sex partners as legal parents of babies conceived through donated sperm, eggs or embryos.
blah..... blah..... blah......
Post by: tyzack on January 11, 2008, 02:48:35 pm
"That guy is just like me I\'m totally gonna marry him"
Post by: derickw on January 11, 2008, 02:54:56 pm
"and the sex is amazing......"
Post by: Todd on January 11, 2008, 03:00:12 pm
Post by: phirehead on January 11, 2008, 03:16:01 pm
Post by: ds673488 on January 11, 2008, 03:34:59 pm
They would probably have 3 heads, 5.5 limbs, no teeth, 1 eye, 14 nipples, and a tail
Post by: derickw on January 11, 2008, 04:23:17 pm
Quote from: ds673488;176169
i wonder what those kids would look like (incest-concieved, siamese twin babies)
They would probably have 3 heads, 5.5 limbs, no teeth, 1 eye, 14 nipples, and a tail
so they\'d look like they where from PA
Post by: wildcoyote on January 14, 2008, 04:49:18 pm
Quote
Mary J. Blige named in steroid report
BY BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, January 14th 2008, 4:00 AM
Roca/News
A report on an upstate steroid investigation listed celebrities such as Mary J. Blige...
Djansezian/AP
... and 50 Cent, among several other musicians.
Grammy-winning singer Mary J. Blige blasted a report Sunday night linking her and other A-list celebrities to doctors and pharmacists targeted in a statewide steroid investigation.
Blige was identified in the Albany Times Union Sunday as being among a handful of entertainers who have allegedly ordered performance-enhancing drugs in recent years.
"Mary J. Blige has never taken any performance-enhancing illegal steroids," the singer\'s spokeswoman Karynne Tencer told the Daily News.
The R&B singer leads a roster of entertainers named in a probe by Albany County District Attorney David Soares, the Times Union reported.
Rappers 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean and actor Tyler Perry also allegedly ordered steroids or human growth hormone from doctors and pharmacists targeted in Soares\' investigation, according to the paper.
Authorities have uncovered no evidence the celebrities violated any drug laws. Timbaland, Jean, 50 Cent and Perry could not be reached for comment.
The Times Union, citing unnamed sources, claims Blige and the other stars sometimes used fake names to receive prescriptions allegedly signed by Dr. Gary Brandwein of Florida.
Brandwein, an osteopath, was named last year as the doctor who prescribed steroids to Chris Benoit, the pro wrestler who killed his wife, son and himself. The doctor is awaiting trial in Albany on drug charges.
The unproven anti-aging effects of steroids have tempted entertainers, experts said.
The thrust of Soares\' investigation has been to cut the steroids pipeline by cracking down on suppliers he compared to modern-day cocaine dealers.
So far, 10 people have pleaded guilty to felony charges, including three doctors and the operators of anti-aging clinics in Texas, Florida and New York.
"Pretty much anyone with a computer can go out and obtain ... things that shouldn\'t be obtained without the control or observation of a treating physician," Soares told the Times Union.
Soares\' probe has zeroed in on Signature Compounding Pharmacy of Orlando, whose owners are also awaiting trial in Albany.
Records obtained by the Times Union indicate that between 2005 and 2007, Blige received multiple shipments of HGH and anabolic steroids from an Orlando pharmacy believed to be Signature.
Soares\' investigation into Signature has also uncovered the names of several major league baseball players who have allegedly ordered steroids from the pharmacy, including Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis.
The report claimed that Blige, 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean all allegedly had steroids or HGH sent to Long Island chiropractor Michael Diamond, an anti-aging consultant at the Clay Gym in Chelsea. Diamond, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, could not be reached.
"Clay\'s position on any kind of steroids use would be absolutely zero tolerance," said the gym\'s owner, Robin Brown, adding that Diamond has "done wonderful things" advising members on nutrition and supplements.
Post by: derickw on January 25, 2008, 04:09:54 pm
Post by: ds673488 on January 25, 2008, 05:06:45 pm
Post by: Todd on January 26, 2008, 02:57:46 am
Quote from: ds673488;177630
^what is the point? why not spend 85000 dollars on education, or something else.
Because people are stupid and look for anything to be able to say "look at me, I\'m so cool", "our town is so cool", etc.
Post by: jocelyn on January 26, 2008, 10:31:38 am
Post by: FreeSpirit on January 26, 2008, 04:00:33 pm
Quote
Post by: Lexington on January 26, 2008, 05:37:24 pm
Quote from: jocelyn;177684
What a gross waste of money.
you\'re just jealous
Post by: derickw on January 29, 2008, 10:13:40 am
!["Image]("http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7858/thefonzhl2.gif")
Post by: derickw on February 07, 2008, 04:32:59 pm
• Tests reveal hair, insect parts inside some chocolate candies (http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=6339293&src=news)
Post by: sallyalli on February 08, 2008, 02:00:39 am
Post by: Me! on February 16, 2008, 01:39:29 pm
At first glance, Bluefields in Nicaragua looks like any other rum-soaked, Rastafarian-packed, hammock-infested Caribbean paradise. But Bluefields has a secret.
People here don\'t have to work. Every week, sometimes every day, 35kg sacks of cocaine drift in from the sea. The economy of this entire town of 50,000 tranquil souls is addicted to cocaine.
Bluefields is a creation of the gods of geography. Located halfway between the cocaine labs of Colombia and the 300 million noses of the United States, Bluefields is ground zero for cocaine transportation. Nicaraguan waters are near Colombian territorial limits, making the area extremely popular with cocaine smugglers using very small, very fast fishing boats.
The US military calls them "go fast boats", which is a bureaucratic way of describing these mini-water-rockets. Typically these 12m boats have 800 horsepower of outboard motors bolted to the stern. A Porsche 911 Turbo, by comparison, has 485 horsepower.
While they are very fast, they are also very visible to the array of radars set up by roaming US spy planes, Coastguard cutters and helicopters which regularly monitor the speeding cocaine traffickers.
When the Americans get close, the traffickers toss the cocaine overboard, both to eliminate evidence and lighten their load in an escape attempt.
"They throw most of it off," says a Lt Commander in the US Coastguard. "I have been on four interdictions and we have confiscated about 6000 pounds [2720kg] of cocaine, and I\'d say equal that much was dumped into the ocean."
Those bales of cocaine float, and the currents bring them west right into the chain of islands, beaches and cays which make up the huge lagoons that surround Bluefields on Nicaragua\'s Atlantic coast.
"There are no jobs here, unemployment is 85 per cent," says Moises Arana, who was mayor of Bluefields from 2001 to 2005.
"It is sad to say, but the drugs have made contributions. Look at the beautiful houses, those mansions come from drugs. We had a women come into the local electronics store with a milk bucket stuffed full of cash. She was this little Miskito [native] woman and she had $80,000."
Hujo Sugo, a historian of Bluefields, says the floating coke has created a new local hobby.
"People here now go beachcombing for miles, they walk until they find packets. Even the lobster fisherman now go out with the pretence of fishing but really they are looking for la langosta blanca - the white lobster."
Given the remote setting and lack of infrastructure, there are few roads, few cars and the biggest shop in Bluefields sells nothing more sophisticated than a washing machine or TV set.
So what do the locals do with all this cocaine? They sell it to travelling buyers who cruise the coast, disguised as used clothes vendors.
"We know there are small shop owners who do this," says Yorlene Orozco, the local judge. "We are talking about people without a profession, no home, no job. One day later they have a new car, go to the casino and are building a home that costs I don\'t know how many thousands of dollars."
Law enforcement in Bluefields is practically invisible "I just had a Swiss tourist tell me that when she went to the supermarket they tried to sell her cocaine," says Orozco.
The police and Navy have few resources and less trust from the local public. Bluefields is effectively an anarchist nation - no Government, no organised institutions and the rules are made by community groups.
Given the massive amount of cocaine in town, violence is surprisingly rare. Gunfights are nearly unheard of and most of the town seems to lounge around or play baseball all day and then erupt into a frenzy of energy by late afternoon, fuelled by Flor de Cana, a Nicaraguan rum, fresh fish, an endless supply of native oysters, and "the white lobster".
"Down by Monkey Point, a family found an entire boat ... they stashed it and bought up houses all over town. It was 57 sacks [about 1995kg]," says Jah Boon, a local Rasta man. "Those people have money and still have coke buried in them hills. It is another way of having money in the bank."
At a local price of $3500 per kg, the typical 35kg sack nets a cash sale price of $122,500, which by all accounts is spent immediately.
"Last time bags and bags washed up, everyone [felt like] a millionaire, but that money does not last." explains Helen, who runs a university research institute in Bluefields. Asked how the locals unload their cash, she said: "Beer, beer, beer. You should see the amount they drink here. Go to the pier and see how much alcohol goes out to the islands."
"When the drugs come in, everyone is happy, the banks, the stores, everyone has cash."
Arana, the former mayor, recalled one month when the village bought 28,000 cases of beer.
With literally tonnes of cocaine buried in the hills, stashed in yards and piled up around town, why doesn\'t the Colombian mafia storm into these remote communities and repossess their coke bales by coercion or brute force?
"Hell no," says Peter, a local businessman. "The Miskito [local Indians] are guerrillas. They have been through war. They have AK-47s and up."
The US Drug Enforcement Agency, in a report to Congress, noted: "A unique historical situation and civil conflicts have left Nicaragua with a tradition of armed rural groups and institutionalised violence that greatly complicates counter-drug enforcement."
For hundreds of years, the local Miskito Indians have fished this stretch of the Caribbean. They are master sailors, capable and brave. They endured hurricanes and storms back when GPS still meant "God Please Save me".
Many of their 4000 small fishing boats are still wooden canoes with sails made of coloured plastic, hand-sewn and fragile. But the pros have gone Japanese and switched to the 200-horsepower Yamaha outboard motor, a six-cylinder beast that is the region\'s connection to the world.
Because the Miskito often live in isolated communities, they maintain their own rules, independence and traditions, including the belief that whatever treasures arrive in a river or from the sea are gifts, blessed by God and to be enjoyed and shared. That includes the Caribbean lobster and the white Colombian variety.
The cocaine business is reshaping the face of these Indian communities. Tasbapauni Beach is now nicknamed "Little Miami", because so much cocaine washes up on its long shoreline that it has fuelled a construction boom. Luxurious oceanfront condos protected by security guards now sit side by side with wooden fishing shacks.
"If shit washes up on your shore it belongs to that family. Every family owns their turf," said a Miskito fisherman.
But when a fisherman finds white lobster the entire village shares the treasure, with a percentage going to the community, a smaller percentage to the church and the majority split among the crew of the small boat that found the loot.
"It is like a municipal tax," says Sergio Leon, a local reporter who has been writing about the drug situation in Bluefields for many years. "The schools and churches are not built by the Government, that money comes from the fishermen and their finds."
Drug money has been used to build a school and replace the church roof. "The pastors here get mad when they don\'t get their cut from the find," says Francisco a court official. "If a member of the congregation has found 15kg, the church calculates 15 times $3500, that\'s $52,500, and at 10 per cent they are saying: where\'s the $5250?"
At night, Bluefields wakes up. The locals wander down to Midnight Dream, a reggae bar that locals have nicknamed Baghdad Ranch because of the surreal nature of its party scene. Young black men wear baseball hats, NBA sleeveless shirts and Nike Air sneakers. They are bedecked in gold chains.
My new drinking buddy says: "I got protection," and lifts his Houston Rockets NBA shirt to show off the butt of a pistol. "You won\'t get thieved here."
Tribal music echoes from across the bay while darkened skiffs navigate the shallow waters. Half-sunken boats dot the horizon. Blown in by Hurricane Joan in 1988, these rusty wrecks are now used as guide buoys for captains entering the pier and as mini-apartments by locals.
The waiter offers carne de tortuga - a grilled slice of endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle. While locals insist they only slaughter the older specimens, that did little to ease my sensation that here in Bluefields pleasure trumps morality.
When the lyrics scream out "I feel so high, I can touch the sky", practically on cue the three girls at the next table pile coke on the back of their ebony hands and snort openly, laughing. Then they start the maypole dance the traditional fertility festival for this month, May, which has evolved into a wickedly sexy dirty-dancing routine. A stunning line of 1.8m black women swirl on the dance floor. A Rasta man stumbles by, his nose white, clumps of coke stuck in his beard.
This party is all paid for by the white lobster, which sells for $5 a gram. "Those guys over at that table, they are Miskito, they found seven bags," explains the waiter with the hint of jealousy usually reserved for lottery winners. "He will buy a couple of ranches, two boats and have someone else fish for him."
As the night progresses, the winners slowly disappear behind a wall of Tona beer bottles. No one ever seems to get tired.
* For the well-being of individuals, some names and locations have been changed in this report.
Humble town living in the slow lane
Bluefields is a humble town. Electricity is sporadic: the main generator has been under repair for nine months.
Residents remain so isolated from Central America they speak English and feel closer to Kingston than the Nicaraguan capital of Managua. To get here the traveller must fly a 25-year-old plane that looks like a fat pigeon and doesn\'t fly much faster. The outside of the fuselage is tagged with instructions on how to rescue victims after a crash "Cut Here for Easy Entry".
Even today, the Nicaraguan central government classifies Bluefields as an "Autonomous Area", meaning the government pretty much ignores the region.
At the local casino the payoffs are far less if the bet is placed in Nicaraguan currency, the cordoba. A roulette win, for example, pays 30-1 if the bet is in cordoba and 36-1 if the original bet was made in dollars.
"We don\'t even use the Nicaraguan currency here, to the South we use the colon (from Costa Rica), in the North we use the lempira (Honduran) and everywhere else it is the dollar," said Eugenio, a local fisherman.
"We only see politicians when there is an election - or a hurricane."
The daily schedule rarely changes in Bluefields. The light comes up at 5am though there aren\'t a whole lot of people who notice the town is in slow motion. Streams of children in pressed blue and white uniforms amble off to the Moravian school, their mothers and grandmothers spreading the scent of fresh coconut bread through the village.
The shops sell rum, bananas, sneakers and baseball hats. A man sits by his store, cuts the calluses off his feet with a small knife, then immediately slices into a fresh coconut. The loudest noise is the shriek of a magpie or the yap of a dog.
Snagging shrimp and trapping lobster are the principal - maybe the only form - of legitimate work in Bluefields. But by all reasonable observations, work itself is barely considered legitimate.
Why not just enjoy nature\'s bounty? With so much fresh fish, coconut, bananas and mangoes, the idea of sweating or long-term planning seems foreign. Especially when the daily heat shoots into the upper 90s, and a two-block walk leaves you drenched in sweat. About the only work tool needed in Bluefields is a Yamaha outboard motor. Everyone who wants to search for white lobster has a V6 Yamaha 200 horsepower engine. Often these machines are racked up side by side on the back of a 25-foot fishing canoe so the lightweight wooden or fibreglass craft can practically fly.
By noon, the streets are filled with men playing cards, laying their bets on a card table, and sitting on stools made out of used Yamaha or Johnson outboard motors. On the streets, one man walks around with a bag of white powder the size of a golf ball, dipping his fingers in like he was snacking on popcorn or chips. Casual to an extreme, he strolls up to his friends who dip in for a snack.
Outside the Bluefields prison, two maximum security prisoners have been brought out to the street - no handcuffs - and told to cut the grass with huge machetes. These prisoners are each serving a 30-year term for murder, but they hardly work and instead idly chat with pedestrians, occasionally whack the grass but usually just watch the girls and life go by.
Most of the guards are inside a classroom studying Nicaraguan history with their classmates, the inmates. For the more hands-on prisoners, a workshop churns out jewellery, crafted chairs and green and yellow Rasta-style beanies
Post by: jocelyn on February 16, 2008, 03:49:51 pm
Post by: Me! on February 16, 2008, 06:17:41 pm
Post by: jocelyn on February 16, 2008, 06:35:55 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on February 16, 2008, 06:49:58 pm
Post by: Me! on February 16, 2008, 06:53:12 pm
Post by: jocelyn on February 16, 2008, 06:54:24 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on February 18, 2008, 08:22:35 am
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/72016 (http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/72016)
Don\'t dismiss Raelyn Campbell as a crackpot. Not yet. Listen to her story, and then decide if she\'s doing the right thing by asking Best Buy to compensate her to the tune of $54 million for a laptop that went missing when she took it in to Best Buy for repair under the store\'s own extended warranty.
Like many people, Campbell bought an extended warranty for her laptop when she bought it from Best Buy, and she took advantage of that when the power button broke off after a year. Best Buy accepted the machine for repair and said it would be ready in two to six weeks. But six weeks passed and the computer wasn\'t ready. After three months of ruthlessly hounding the company, Best Buy finally admitted it couldn\'t find the machine.
Ultimately, Best Buy offered to pay her $900 for losing the machine... as a gift card. She countered that it had originally cost over $1,100, not to mention all her data that was now gone for good. She demanded $2,100, and Best Buy simply ignored her.
At this point, Campbell was made aware that all her personal data on the machine could lead to a major identity theft issue, though Best Buy never filed their legally required notice that she was at risk. That was the last straw, and she filed suit for $54 million, representing herself. Best Buy has since upped its offer to a total of $4,100 if she withdraws the case. She says she doesn\'t expect to win, but wants to go to court anyway to force Best Buy to explain how her laptop was lost.
I have to agree that $54 million seems wildly optimistic, but it\'s amazing to hear how smug Best Buy has been throughout this process. Lowball, "go-away" offers that don\'t even value property properly, much less the value of the data inside it, are frankly embarrassing, and good for Campbell for making an issue out of it... even if she doesn\'t ultimately prevail.
Post by: derickw on February 18, 2008, 08:36:59 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;180281
Best Buy Loses Laptop: Owner Sues... for $54 Million
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/72016 (http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/72016)
Don\'t dismiss Raelyn Campbell as a crackpot. Not yet. Listen to her story, and then decide if she\'s doing the right thing by asking Best Buy to compensate her to the tune of $54 million for a laptop that went missing when she took it in to Best Buy for repair under the store\'s own extended warranty.
Like many people, Campbell bought an extended warranty for her laptop when she bought it from Best Buy, and she took advantage of that when the power button broke off after a year. Best Buy accepted the machine for repair and said it would be ready in two to six weeks. But six weeks passed and the computer wasn\'t ready. After three months of ruthlessly hounding the company, Best Buy finally admitted it couldn\'t find the machine.
Ultimately, Best Buy offered to pay her $900 for losing the machine... as a gift card. She countered that it had originally cost over $1,100, not to mention all her data that was now gone for good. She demanded $2,100, and Best Buy simply ignored her.
At this point, Campbell was made aware that all her personal data on the machine could lead to a major identity theft issue, though Best Buy never filed their legally required notice that she was at risk. That was the last straw, and she filed suit for $54 million, representing herself. Best Buy has since upped its offer to a total of $4,100 if she withdraws the case. She says she doesn\'t expect to win, but wants to go to court anyway to force Best Buy to explain how her laptop was lost.
I have to agree that $54 million seems wildly optimistic, but it\'s amazing to hear how smug Best Buy has been throughout this process. Lowball, "go-away" offers that don\'t even value property properly, much less the value of the data inside it, are frankly embarrassing, and good for Campbell for making an issue out of it... even if she doesn\'t ultimately prevail.
i\'d sue for that much. i would say all my photography was wiped away and there was no way to retrieve it. i bet she\'ll get a bunch for all this
Post by: davepeck on February 18, 2008, 08:57:49 am
the only part i disagree with here is offering her the money as a gift card. it also makes no mention of how old the computer is, but like cars, computers depreciate in value. chances are, her $1100 computer isn\'t worth $1100 anymore.
Post by: derickw on February 18, 2008, 09:55:27 am
Quote from: davepeck;180287
yeah, no. i don\'t think people (of sue-happy america) should be rewarded for being stupid shits and not backing up their important data. that\'s not best buy\'s fault.
the only part i disagree with here is offering her the money as a gift card. it also makes no mention of how old the computer is, but like cars, computers depreciate in value. chances are, her $1100 computer isn\'t worth $1100 anymore.
but how pissed would you be if one night you turned off your computer like any other day thinking, i\'ll just save that stuff tomorrow. Wake up to your comp not even being able to be turned on. now give it to the "repair" guys and never get it back. I\'m sure you would be more than 1000 dollars pissed.......
Post by: Todd on February 18, 2008, 11:19:11 am
Quote
Like many people, Campbell bought an extended warranty for her laptop when she bought it from Best Buy, and she took advantage of that when the power button broke off after a year.
It was only a year old. They should have given her a new laptop of comparable specs. And, no, they aren\'t responsible to cover the costs of your data. Dave\'s right, if you don\'t back up your data...sorry Chip.
Post by: FrankZappa on February 18, 2008, 11:38:16 am
Post by: jocelyn on February 18, 2008, 03:33:05 pm
Post by: davepeck on February 20, 2008, 03:02:56 pm
Quote
Wisconsin man guilty of dead deer sex
February 20, 2008
FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
WAUSAU, Wis. — A state appeals court Wednesday upheld a Superior’s man conviction for having sex with a dead deer.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals rejected Bryan Hathaway’s argument that the charge should be dismissed because the law against committing an act of sexual gratification with animals does not apply if they are dead.
‘‘He rather convincingly contends that animal means a living creature,’’ Judge Gregory Peterson wrote. ‘‘However, Peterson pled no contest to the charge. A plea of guilty or no contest waives all nonjurisdictional defects and defenses.’’
Hathaway, 21, pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor a year ago and was sentenced to probation that required him to be evaluated as a sex offender.
In January, Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Michael Lucci sentenced him to nine months in jail for probation violations that included using alcohol and marijuana and having unapproved contact with a minor child.
Hathaway told investigators that he saw a dead deer in a ditch near Superior in fall 2006 as he rode a bicycle by it. He then dragged it into the woods and had sex with it.
‘‘When I was done, I was upset with myself,’’ Hathaway said in a statement to police. ‘‘I know having sex with animals is wrong. But I can’t help myself and I need help.’’
The appeals court ruled Wednesday that police properly obtained the incriminating statement from Hathaway, rejecting the claim that his constitutional rights were violated.
Hathaway was questioned because he was on probation and had returned to a transitional living program in Superior covered in hair and blood with a knife in his pocket, court records said.
Hathaway was found guilty in April 2005 of felony mistreatment of an animal after he killed a horse with the intention of having sex with it. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail and two years of extended supervision on that charge as well as six years of probation for taking and driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent.
Hathaway had just been released from prison for the killing the horse when the deer incident happened, court records said. Hathaway’s attorney, Jefren Olsen, did not immediately return a telephone message Wednesday.
Post by: ds673488 on February 20, 2008, 03:12:49 pm
Post by: Vassillios on February 20, 2008, 03:20:54 pm
Post by: davepeck on February 20, 2008, 03:23:02 pm
Quote from: ds673488;180677
thats one of the best stories ive heard in this thread
wait a minute, does the ds stand for deer sex?!? :wah:
Post by: tyzack on February 20, 2008, 03:24:07 pm
[just saying wow was too short, so here is a history of scrapple]
Scrapple is arguably the first pork food invented in America. The culinary ancestor of scrapple was the Low German dish called Panhas, which was adapted to make use of locally available ingredients. The first recipes were created more than two hundred years ago by colonists, who settled near Philadelphia and Chester County, Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Scrapple is strongly associated with Philadelphia and surrounding eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. Among the Pennsylvania Dutch and in Appalachia, scrapple is known as pawn haas or pon haus, a term hailing back to the old German dish. It can be found in most supermarkets throughout this region in both fresh and frozen refrigerated cases. It can sometimes be found in cities farther from this area, even as far away as Los Angeles, in frozen form.
Post by: davepeck on February 20, 2008, 03:35:29 pm
Last updated at 18:20pm on 20th February 2008
If proof were needed that money can\'t buy everything, look no further.
Rich divorcee Jocelyn Wildenstein spent a rumoured £2million on cosmetic surgery to keep her husband, but succeeded only in ruining the good looks she was born with.
Clearly her strange looks have not completely scared off all male attention, as the scary-looking 62-year-old was out with a male companion enjoying an intimate dinner on last night.
(http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_03/Wildenstein1WENN_468x696.jpg)Scary socialite: Jocelyn Wildenstein looks scarier than ever as she leaves a Hollywood restaurant last night after dining with a male companion
The American socialite has been nicknamed the Bride of Wildenstein and dubbed the world\'s scariest celebrity by a plastic surgery website.
Ms Wildenstein famously embarked on a radical amount of cosmetic procedures after fearing her millionaire art dealer husband would leave her.
(http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_03/Wildenstein2L_468x662.jpg) (http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_03/Wildenstein2L_800x1132.jpg)Changing faces: Jocelyn today and at various stages of surgery going back to the 70s when she first went under the knife fearing her husband would leave her.
Bizarrely she based her remodelled look on exotic wild cats, which he loved, as she decided that he might find her more attractive if she became "more feline".
The first time Wildenstein saw his newly-sculpted wife, he was said to have screamed in horror, unable to recognise her.
According to the Daily Telegraph, he said: "She seems to think that you fix a face the same way you fix a house."
After finding her husband in the marital bed with a 19-year-old Russian model, she divorced him and was awarded millions of dollars.
Ex-husband Alec Wildenstein, died on Monday aged 67.
Post by: derickw on February 20, 2008, 04:07:16 pm
!["Image]("http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/6956/mask036fa3.jpg")
Post by: SlimPickens on February 20, 2008, 04:49:46 pm
Quote from: derickw;180689
is it just me or does she look a little like
LOL!!! "What is that... is that... your forehead? I know I\'m blind Rocky, but this is too much"
Post by: derickw on February 21, 2008, 08:46:13 am
BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese authorities are using algae-munching fish to clean up one of the country\'s most polluted lakes -- and after their diet of toxins they will be sold on to consumers, state media said Thursday.
source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080221/sc_afp/chinaenvironmentpollutionfishoffbeat)
Post by: sallyalli on February 21, 2008, 09:36:03 am
Post by: SlimPickens on February 21, 2008, 10:36:38 am
Post by: derickw on February 22, 2008, 10:13:25 am
Post by: booztravlr on February 28, 2008, 01:41:21 pm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080228/ap_on_re_us/prison_population
Quote
NEW YORK - For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report tracking the surge in inmate population and urging states to rein in corrections costs with alternative sentencing programs.
The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.
Using updated state-by-state data, the report said 2,319,258 adults were held in U.S. prisons or jails at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults, and more than any other country in the world.
The steadily growing inmate population "is saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill afford and failing to have a clear impact either on recidivism or overall crime," said the report.
Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States, said budget woes are prompting officials in many states to consider new, cost-saving corrections policies that might have been shunned in the recent past for fear of appearing soft in crime.
"We\'re seeing more and more states being creative because of tight budgets," she said in an interview. "They want to be tough on crime, they want to be a law-and-order state — but they also want to save money, and they want to be effective."
The report cited Kansas and Texas as states which have acted decisively to slow the growth of their inmate population. Their actions include greater use of community supervision for low-risk offenders and employing sanctions other than reimprisonment for ex-offenders who commit technical violations of parole and probation rules.
"The new approach, born of bipartisan leadership, is allowing the two states to ensure they have enough prison beds for violent offenders while helping less dangerous lawbreakers become productive, taxpaying citizens," the report said.
While many state governments have shown bipartisan interest in curbing prison growth, there also are persistent calls to proceed cautiously.
"We need to be smarter," said David Muhlhausen, a criminal justice expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation. "We\'re not incarcerating all the people who commit serious crimes — but we\'re also probably incarcerating people who don\'t need to be."
According to the report, the inmate population increased last year in 36 states and the federal prison system.
The largest percentage increase — 12 percent — was in Kentucky, where Gov. Steve Beshear highlighted the cost of corrections in his budget speech last month. He noted that the state\'s crime rate had increased only about 3 percent in the past 30 years, while the state\'s inmate population has increased by 600 percent.
The Pew report was compiled by the Center on the State\'s Public Safety Performance Project, which is working directly with 13 states on developing programs to divert offenders from prison without jeopardizing public safety.
"For all the money spent on corrections today, there hasn\'t been a clear and convincing return for public safety," said the project\'s director, Adam Gelb. "More and more states are beginning to rethink their reliance on prisons for lower-level offenders and finding strategies that are tough on crime without being so tough on taxpayers."
The report said prison growth and higher incarceration rates do not reflect a parallel increase in crime or in the nation\'s overall population. Instead, it said, more people are behind bars mainly because of tough sentencing measures, such as "three-strikes" laws, that result in longer prison stays.
"For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling," the report said. "While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine."
The nationwide figures, as of Jan. 1, include 1,596,127 people in state and federal prisons and 723,131 in local jails — a total 2,319,258 out of almost 230 million American adults.
The report said the United States is the world\'s incarceration leader, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars. It said the U.S. also is the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people), ahead of Russia (628 per 100,000) and other former Soviet bloc nations which make up the rest of the Top 10.
Post by: derickw on February 29, 2008, 10:12:35 am
Post by: tyzack on March 03, 2008, 12:50:42 pm
Your Days of Plenty Are Numbered
-The Edukators
Post by: derickw on March 05, 2008, 04:40:01 pm
http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/32067809
That\'s because of its strobe effects, which caused the clip to fail the Harding Test -- guidelines established to prevent TV images from triggering epileptic seizures..........
Post by: jocelyn on March 05, 2008, 05:31:24 pm
Quote
City may ban little baggies
COUNCIL | They\'re \'Marketing 101\' for drug dealers, cop says
March 5, 2008
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Tiny plastic bags used to sell small quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and other drugs would be banned in Chicago, under a crackdown advanced Tuesday by a City Council committee.
Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) persuaded the Health Committee to ban possession of "self-sealing plastic bags under two inches in either height or width," after picking up 15 of the bags on a recent Sunday afternoon stroll through a West Side park.
Lt. Kevin Navarro, commanding officer of the Chicago Police Department\'s Narcotics and Gang Unit, said the ordinance will be an "important tool" to go after grocery stores, health food stores and other businesses. The bags are used by the thousand to sell small quantities of drugs at $10 or $20 a bag.
Navarro referred to the plastic bags as "Marketing 101 for the drug dealers." Many of them have symbols, allowing drug users to ask for "Superman" or "Blue Dolphin" instead of the drug itself, he said.
Prior to the final vote, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) expressed concern about arresting innocent people. He noted that extra buttons that come with suits, shirts and blouses -- and jewelry that\'s been repaired -- come in similar plastic bags.
Burnett was reassured by language that states "one reasonably should know that such items will be or are being used" to package, transfer, deliver or store a controlled substance. Violators would be punished by a $1,500 fine.
Health Committee Chairman Ed Smith (28th) said the ban is part of a desperate effort to stop what he called "the most destructive force" in Chicago neighborhoods.
"We need to use every measure that we possibly can to stop it because it is destroying our kids," he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/826059,CST-NWS-bagban05.article
Post by: skalnbyc on March 05, 2008, 05:44:55 pm
Post by: Gordo on March 05, 2008, 05:48:44 pm
They came back 2 hours later. Matt\'s ear was ringing after getting slapped up side the head by a 10 year-old black kid on a bike who yelled "White bitch!", stirring up the local outdoor liquor line, while waiting for some herb. They got two of ^these^ little baggies, and the hookup, named June, called them \'spaids\' and \'yellows\'. The one bag literally had a yellowish tint and the other was covered in spaids, both the same size and both packed to the max with shitty ass Chi-town ****.
Post by: jocelyn on March 05, 2008, 08:13:19 pm
The law regarding the baggies is especially hilarious because, I am pretty sure, that the corner of a sandwich bag has been used maybe once or twice, and would possibly do the job just fine. Ha ha.
Post by: sallyalli on March 05, 2008, 08:29:24 pm
Post by: Gordo on March 05, 2008, 08:42:28 pm
Quote from: jocelyn;182561
The stamping of the baggies is seen more for heroin purchases. Probably crack too I\'m assuming, but not sure on that one. For heroin, it is common, and will in fact denote the quality of the dope.
The law regarding the baggies is especially hilarious because, I am pretty sure, that the corner of a sandwich bag has been used maybe once or twice, and would possibly do the job just fine. Ha ha.
Yeah, it really is absurd. It\'s so funny to think that they\'re proud of this "revelation" that will be of some great significance.
Post by: jocelyn on March 05, 2008, 09:02:09 pm
Quote from: sallyalli;182568
no more sandwich bags!!
No more sandwiches!
Post by: Gordo on March 06, 2008, 12:04:52 am
Quote from: jocelyn;182576
Quote from: sallyalli;182568no more sandwich bags!!
No more sandwiches!
HAaaaaha!
Post by: FrankZappa on March 10, 2008, 10:53:21 am
Quote
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of "new" sins such as causing environmental blight.
The guidance came at the weekend when Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican\'s number two man in the sometimes murky area of sins and penance, spoke of modern evils.
Asked what he believed were today\'s "new sins," he told the Vatican newspaper L\'Osservatore Romano that the greatest danger zone for the modern soul was the largely uncharted world of bioethics.
"(Within bioethics) there are areas where we absolutely must denounce some violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments and genetic manipulation whose outcome is difficult to predict and control," he said.
The Vatican opposes stem cell research that involves destruction of embryos and has warned against the prospect of human cloning.
Girotti, in an interview headlined "New Forms of Social Sin," also listed "ecological" offences as modern evils.
In recent months, Pope Benedict has made several strong appeals for the protection of the environment, saying issues such as climate change had become gravely important for the entire human race.
Under Benedict and his predecessor John Paul, the Vatican has become progressively "green."
It has installed photovoltaic cells on buildings to produce electricity and hosted a scientific conference to discuss the ramifications of global warming and climate change, widely blamed on human use of fossil fuels.
Girotti, who is number two in the Vatican "Apostolic Penitentiary," which deals with matter of conscience, also listed drug trafficking and social and economic injustices as modern sins.
But Girotti also bemoaned that fewer and fewer Catholics go to confession at all.
He pointed to a study by Milan\'s Catholic University that showed that up to 60 percent of Catholic faithful in Italy stopped going to confession.
In the sacrament of Penance, Catholics confess their sins to a priest who absolves them in God\'s name.
But the same study by the Catholic University showed that 30 percent of Italian Catholics believed that there was no need for a priest to be God\'s intermediary and 20 percent felt uncomfortable talking about their sins to another person.
source (http://green.yahoo.com/news/nm/20080310/hl_nm/pope_sins_dc.html)
Post by: SlimPickens on March 12, 2008, 08:40:22 am
Quote
SPRINGDALE - Hour after hour, for four full days, Adriana Torres-Flores was locked away and forgotten in 8 1/2-by-9 1/2-foot cell in the Washington County Courthouse, with only a metal table, two benches and a light bulb that never went out. She had nothing to eat or drink. There was no toilet. Thursday passed. Then Friday, Saturday and Sunday - although Torres-Flores had no watch to tell the time. She slept on the floor with her head on a shoe....
...Torres-Flores, 38, of Springdale went to court Thursday for a hearing on a plea agreement related to her December arrest on a charge of selling pirated mu- sic CDs at Pleasant Flea Market in Springdale. But she pleaded innocent....
Post by: FrankZappa on March 12, 2008, 11:15:59 am
Post by: Dweasel Weasel on March 12, 2008, 11:26:33 am
Post by: FrankZappa on March 13, 2008, 07:48:11 am
Quote
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/03/12/woman.stuck.on.toilet.ap/
Woman stuck on toilet for two years, police say
WICHITA, Kansas (AP) -- Deputies say a woman in western Kansas became stuck on her boyfriend\'s toilet after sitting on it for two years.
Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman\'s skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.
"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."
Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman\'s 36-year-old boyfriend.
"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."
He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom.
"And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,"\' Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."
The boyfriend called police on February 27 to report that "there was something wrong with his girlfriend," Whipple said, adding that he never explained why it took him two years to call.
Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to her mid-thigh. She was "somewhat disoriented," and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.
"She said that she didn\'t need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave," he said.
She was taken to a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.
Authorities said they did not know if she was mentally or physically disabled.
Police have declined to release the couple\'s names, but the house where authorities say the incident happened is listed in public records as the residence of Kory McFarren. No one answered his home phone number.
The case has been the buzz Ness City, said James Ellis, a neighbor.
"I don\'t think anybody can make any sense out of it," he said.
Ellis said he had known the woman since she was a child but that he had not seen her for at least six years.
He said she had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up. At one time the woman worked for a long-term care facility, he said, but he did not know what kind of work she did there.
"It really doesn\'t surprise me," Ellis said of the bathroom incident. "What surprises me is somebody wasn\'t called in a bit earlier."
Post by: davepeck on March 19, 2008, 10:05:29 am
Quote
Texas Woman Sues American Airlines After Flight Turns X-Rated
Tuesday , March 18, 2008
Harris County, Texas, native Centava Dozier, 21, filed a $200,000 lawsuit Monday against American Airlines, alleging that a passenger masturbated in the seat next to her and then ejaculated on her hair.
Dozier was on her way to visit family and friends in L.A., MyFOXHouston reports.
The suit claims Dozier was sitting in an empty row when the plane took off, and then fell asleep. When she woke up, she says she found a substance in her hair and a man masturbating in the seat next to her.
Dozier claims that when she asked the flight attendants for help, and requested the man be removed and taken back to his assigned seat, the staff did nothing, MyFOXHouston reports.
American Airlines officials maintain that appropriate action was taken and the man was arrested when the plane landed.
Post by: lele on March 19, 2008, 10:49:12 am
Post by: jocelyn on March 19, 2008, 05:52:34 pm
Quote
Student suspended for buying Skittles at school
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) -- Contraband candy has led to trouble for an eighth-grade honors student in Connecticut.
Michael Sheridan was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate.
School spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo said the New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy.
Michael\'s suspension was reduced from three days to one, but he has not been reinstated as class vice president.
Superintendent Reginald Mayo said Wednesday the principal was just trying to keep students safe, but he would review the decision to suspend Michael.
Michael says he didn\'t realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he did notice the student selling the Skittles February 26 was being secretive.
Post by: skalnbyc on March 19, 2008, 06:09:28 pm
Post by: Todd on March 19, 2008, 07:08:21 pm
Post by: skalnbyc on March 19, 2008, 07:20:23 pm
Quote from: Todd;183881
Hahaha!! Back in middle school I used to buy gum by the case and sell it by the piece. I made quite a bit of $$. Each time I was caught, which I think was at least 10-15 times in two years, I was sent to the dean\'s office. Thankfully the dean was a family friend. I just hung out with him for the rest of the period and was sent on my merry way with a verbal "please don\'t do it again". HA!!
I can totally picture a young Todd explaining to the dean: "it\'s just gum, guuyyyyyy"
Post by: FrankZappa on March 26, 2008, 10:08:08 am
Quote
Dr. Pepper is imploring Axl Rose to put out his album that\'s been an astounding 17 years in the making. The creators of the curiously candy-like beverage have promised that if Rose releases Guns N\' Roses\' \'Chinese Democracy\' at any point in 2008, everyone in America will receive a free can of Dr. Pepper.
But free soda aside, the best part about the proposal might just be the way the company is not only relating to, but sympathizing with, the 46-year-old singer. "It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper\'s special mix of 23 ingredients that our fans have come to know and love," said Jaxie Alt, director of marketing for Dr. Pepper -- not even blinking at her nod to the band\'s 1989 hit \'Patience.\' "So we completely understand and empathize with Axl\'s quest for perfection -- for something more than the average album." What\'s more? The "everyone" in their promise comes with a big, wickedly funny asterisk: According to the Dr., both Slash and Buckethead will be left off the gift list. Bet they didn\'t see that coming.
source (http://www.spinner.com/2008/03/25/dr-pepper-to-give-away-free-product-if-axl-rose-releases-chine/)
Post by: ds673488 on March 26, 2008, 10:56:17 am
Post by: derickw on March 26, 2008, 12:31:15 pm
Quote from: ds673488;184417
i bet that album will suck
ya but who cares Dr. Pepper is delicious with Bacardi
Post by: FrankZappa on April 08, 2008, 10:47:12 am
The billboard ad has the slogan "In an Absolut World" slapped over a pre-1848 map showing California, Arizona and other U.S. states as Mexican territory. Those states were carved out of what had been Mexican lands until that year.
Although it was not shown in the United States, U.S. media outlets picked up on the ad, and after a barrage of complaints, Absolut\'s maker said on Sunday the ad campaign would cease.
Defending the campaign last week, Absolut maker Vin & Spirit said the ad was created "with a Mexican sensibility" and was not meant for the U.S. market.
"In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues," a spokeswoman wrote on Absolut\'s Web site.
"Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal," she wrote.
Absolut\'s blog cite has received more than a thousand comments since the ad campaign was launched a few weeks ago, with many calling for boycotts of the Swedish company.
"I have poured the remainder of my Absolut bottles down the sink," one blogger wrote.
A war between Mexico and the United States from 1846 to 1848 started with Mexico\'s refusal to recognize the U.S. annexation of Texas and ended with the occupation of Mexico City by U.S. troops.
At the end, Mexico ceded nearly half of its territory to the United States, forming the states of California, Nevada, Utah and parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Mexicans remain sensitive about the loss and the location of the border. At the same time, the United States is fortifying barriers to keep out undocumented Mexican migrants.
Some Mexicans use the term "Reconquista" (reconquest) to refer to the growing presence in California of Mexican migrants and their descendants.
France\'s Pernod Ricard is taking over Absolut vodka, one of the world\'s top-selling spirit brands, after buying Vin & Spirit from the Swedish government at the end of March.
(http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080407/capt.2a6b7b3f4840461d9344c3ba683280d9.mexico_us_absolut_ads_mxtt101.jpg?x=400&y=320&sig=knvTvQHQCrIZSbRgKYHrOg--)
source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080408/us_nm/mexico_absolut_dc)
Post by: phirehead on April 08, 2008, 10:56:49 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;185850
"I have poured the remainder of my Absolut bottles down the sink," one blogger wrote.
Blasphemy.
Post by: FrankZappa on April 08, 2008, 11:55:39 am
Post by: FreeSpirit on April 08, 2008, 05:58:17 pm
Quote
The Simpsons\' Yanked From Venezuelan TV
10 hours ago
CARACAS, Venezuela — D\'oh! A Venezuelan TV channel has yanked "The Simpsons" off the air because it may be inappropriate for children. Taking its place: "Baywatch Hawaii."
Televen TV station spokeswoman Elba Guillen said Monday that the decision to hand over the daily 11 a.m. time slot came after the National Telecommunications Commission received complaints from viewers.
"It had to be taken off," Guillen said. "They consider it to be a series that isn\'t appropriate for that time because it isn\'t appropriate for children."
The regulatory agency didn\'t specify which elements of the program were deemed offensive, but said showing the animated cartoon series at that hour could violate national regulations prohibiting "messages that go against the whole education of boys, girls and adolescents."
Guillen said it is up to Televen\'s management whether "The Simpsons" may be shown at another time of day.
"Baywatch," which features bikini-clad bombshells and musclebound hunks working as lifeguards on the Hawaiian coast, has been running in the 11 a.m. slot since Friday.
The station has not received any complaints about that show, General Manager German Perez Nahim told the Venezuelan newspaper Ultimas Noticias in its Friday editions. Perez was out of the office Monday and could not be reached for comment.
"We are hoping it will continue to have a good rating, because \'The Simpsons\' worked very well — so much so that it had the highest levels of viewership for that morning timetable in the history of the channel," Perez said.
Post by: tyzack on April 09, 2008, 06:46:44 am
Quote from: FreeSpirit;185867
QuoteA Venezuelan TV channel has yanked "The Simpsons" off the air because it may be inappropriate for children. Taking its place: "Baywatch Hawaii."
Wow.
You have to remember where this is a country in which the owners went on strike, not the workers.
Post by: Dweasel Weasel on April 11, 2008, 08:02:22 am
Post by: Gordo on April 11, 2008, 06:05:38 pm
Post by: tyzack on April 26, 2008, 03:28:23 pm
Quote
PETA offers $1 million for creation of test tube chicken
NORFOLK, Va.
An animal rights group wants to keep chickens alive and clucking by offering a $1 million prize for the creation of real poultry meat that could be mass-produced in a laboratory.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it is looking for commercially viable "in vitro chicken" -- taking stem cells and growing them into poultry flesh, presumably without the feathers and bones. The process would eliminate the need to kill chickens for their meat, the group says.
The outspoken group based in Norfolk, Va., says on its Web site that the prize would be awarded to the first people who create such a product in a large quantity and successfully sell it at a competitive price in at least 10 states before June 30, 2012.
Soylent Green, anyone?
Post by: jocelyn on April 26, 2008, 04:09:39 pm
Quote from: Dweasel Weasel;186070
But seriously, Absolute sucks anyway. Kettle One doesn\'t need billboards in Mexico.
*Ding ding!*
Absolut is terrible.
Though it is Ketel, not Kettle. ;)
Post by: jocelyn on April 27, 2008, 02:35:01 am
Quote
Dutch Government Seeks To Ban Magic *********
While dried magic ********* are illegal in the Netherlands, fresh ********* can still be bought openly in so-called "Smart Shops".
Reuters photo: archive The Dutch cabinet has proposed a ban on the sale of all hallucinogenic "magic" ********* because they could induce life-threatening behaviour.
A bill will now pass to the Dutch parliament, where a majority of lawmakers are expected to back a ban after a teenage French girl who had eaten ********* died jumping from a bridge in 2007.
While dried magic ********* are illegal in the Netherlands, fresh ********* can still be bought openly in so-called "Smart Shops".
Posters in Smart Shops outline the effects the ********* have and whether users are more likely to feel chatty or exhilarated, for example.
"The use of ********* can produce hallucinogenic effects which can lead to extreme or life-threatening behaviour," the health ministry said in a statement late on Friday after the cabinet decision.
In February the Dutch association of Smart Shops (VLOS) promised tighter self-regulation and noted the majority of ********-related incidents involved young tourists to Amsterdam mixing ********* with alcohol and cannabis.
Figures from the Amsterdam emergency services show there were 55 call-outs for ********-related incidents in 2004, a figure which had more than doubled by 2006 to 128, with the majority of youngsters involved coming from Britain.
The VLOS said sales of ********* rose by 20 percent last year, while the number of accidents experienced by users rose by a smaller percentage.
In recent years the Netherlands has looked to shed its "anything goes" image and has tightened laws on drug use and prostitution.
"If they succeed with this ******** ban then I am sure they will try to ban things like cannabis as well. This is part of a wider trend," said Freddy Schaap of the VLOS.
Link (http://www.javno.com/admin/redirect/static/drudgereport143754.html)
Post by: tyzack on April 28, 2008, 08:57:38 am
Quote
Dutch Government Seeks To Ban Magic *********
While dried magic ********* are illegal in the Netherlands, fresh ********* can still be bought openly in so-called "Smart Shops". A bill will now pass to the Dutch parliament, where a majority of lawmakers are expected to back a ban after a teenage French girl who had eaten ********* died jumping from a bridge in 2007.
Link (http://www.javno.com/admin/redirect/static/drudgereport143754.html)
Quote
Today a young man on acid thought he could fly and jumped off a building. What a tragedy.
...What a fucking moron. If he thought he could fly why didn\'t he start from the ground? You don\'t see ducks taking the elevator to the top floor.
-Bill Hicks
Post by: jocelyn on April 28, 2008, 10:42:43 pm
Bill Hicks, though sometimes really obnoxious, definitely has a few gems.
Post by: Me! on May 09, 2008, 01:23:56 am
Quote
DAISETTA, Texas (May 8) - Regulators continued monitoring a massive sinkhole which has swallowed up oil field equipment, poles and some vehicles since surfacing just outside the southeast Texas community of Daisetta.
There were no reports of injuries or of any homes being damaged early Thursday.
Investigators with the Texas Railroad Commission were checking pipelines in the area and trying to determine if any regulations have been violated, said agency spokeswoman Ramona Nye.
Officials with Texas Natural Resources and Conservation were monitoring air and water quality. So far, no pollutants have been detected.
"Right now we\'re not concerned about any kind of explosion or any kind of hazard," said Tom Branch, coordinator of the Liberty County Office of Emergency Management. "We are monitoring some other things around the area to make sure everyone\'s OK."
Power provider Entergy cut electric lines Wednesday to prevent power from being cut off in the town.
Sunoco, which manufactures petroleum and petrochemical products, secured two 6-inch crude oil pipelines near the sinkhole that had started to leak Wednesday, said Lester Edwards, hazardous materials coordinator for Liberty County.
Television news footage showed a tractor, some oil field equipment and some telephone poles falling into the sinkhole as it grew near Daisetta, which has a population of around 1,000 and is located about 60 miles northeast of Houston.
The sinkhole was believed to have grown to at least 600 feet long and 200 feet deep by Wednesday night.
Farm-to-Market Road 770 was closed to traffic and vehicles were being diverted to FM 834 over concerns the pit could spread to the roadway.
Officials are trying to determine what prompted the sinkhole near the Liberty County community. But its history as a once booming oil town might be to blame.
The ground might have caved in because of the collapse of an old salt dome where oil brine and natural gas are stored underground, officials said. Daisetta sits on a salt dome, one of the most common types of traps for oil.
Sinkholes are rare and often take up to two weeks to stabilize, said Geoffrey Paine, a geologist and geophysicist with the University of Texas.
Post by: derickw on May 09, 2008, 10:26:44 am
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080509/ap_on_re_us/18_kids
Quote
LITTLE ROCK - It\'s a happy Mother\'s Day for an Arkansas woman — she\'s pregnant with her 18th child.
ADVERTISEMENT
Michelle Duggar, 41, is due on New Year\'s Day, and the latest addition will join seven sisters and 10 brothers. There are two sets of twins.
"We\'ve had three in January, three in December. Those two months are a busy time for us," she said, laughing.
The Duggars\' oldest child, Josh, is 20, and the youngest, Jennifer, is nine months old.
The fast-growing family lives in Tontitown in northwest Arkansas in a 7,000-square-foot home. All the children — whose names start with the letter J — are home-schooled.
Duggar has been been pregnant for more than 11 years of her life, and the family is in the process of filming another series for Discovery Health.
The new show looks at life inside the Duggar home, where chores — or "jurisdictions" — are assigned to each child. One episode of the new show involves a "jurisdiction swap," where the boys do chores traditionally assigned to the girls, and vice versa, Duggar said.
"The girls swapped jurisdictions, changing tires, working in the garages, mowing the grass," she said. "The boys got to cook supper from start to finish, clean the bathrooms," among other chores.
Duggar said she\'s six weeks along and the pregnancy is going well. She and her husband, Jim Bob Duggar, said they\'ll keep having children as long as God wills it.
"The success in a family is first off, a love for God, and secondly, treating each other like you want to be treated," Jim Bob Duggar said. "Our goal is for each one of our children to be best friends, and everybody working together to serve each other makes that happen."
The other Duggar children, in between Joshua and Jennifer, are Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 16; Jessa, 15; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 7; James, 6; Justin, 5; Jackson, 3; and Johannah, 2.
___
On the Net:
Duggar family Web site: http://www.duggarfamily.com
Discovery Health site: http://health.discovery.com/convergence/duggars/duggarfamily.html
Post by: davepeck on May 09, 2008, 10:36:34 am
Quote from: derickw;189141
COME ON NOW.... STOP IT ALREADY
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080509/ap_on_re_us/18_kidsQuoteLITTLE ROCK - It\'s a happy Mother\'s Day for an Arkansas woman — she\'s pregnant with her 18th child.
ADVERTISEMENT
Michelle Duggar, 41, is due on New Year\'s Day, and the latest addition will join seven sisters and 10 brothers. There are two sets of twins.
"We\'ve had three in January, three in December. Those two months are a busy time for us," she said, laughing.
The Duggars\' oldest child, Josh, is 20, and the youngest, Jennifer, is nine months old.
The fast-growing family lives in Tontitown in northwest Arkansas in a 7,000-square-foot home. All the children — whose names start with the letter J — are home-schooled.
Duggar has been been pregnant for more than 11 years of her life, and the family is in the process of filming another series for Discovery Health.
The new show looks at life inside the Duggar home, where chores — or "jurisdictions" — are assigned to each child. One episode of the new show involves a "jurisdiction swap," where the boys do chores traditionally assigned to the girls, and vice versa, Duggar said.
"The girls swapped jurisdictions, changing tires, working in the garages, mowing the grass," she said. "The boys got to cook supper from start to finish, clean the bathrooms," among other chores.
Duggar said she\'s six weeks along and the pregnancy is going well. She and her husband, Jim Bob Duggar, said they\'ll keep having children as long as God wills it.
"The success in a family is first off, a love for God, and secondly, treating each other like you want to be treated," Jim Bob Duggar said. "Our goal is for each one of our children to be best friends, and everybody working together to serve each other makes that happen."
The other Duggar children, in between Joshua and Jennifer, are Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 16; Jessa, 15; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 7; James, 6; Justin, 5; Jackson, 3; and Johannah, 2.
___
On the Net:
Duggar family Web site: http://www.duggarfamily.com
Discovery Health site: http://health.discovery.com/convergence/duggars/duggarfamily.html
(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/45/175866636_d86626afc4.jpg)
Post by: SlimPickens on May 09, 2008, 11:22:24 am
Post by: Me! on May 12, 2008, 11:53:56 pm
Quote
SPIELBERG TO FINALLY EMANCIPATE LINCOLN
Steven Spielberg may be very much in need of a prestige project after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull forces a nation of film geeks to re-examine their will to live and the critical community to remember what they didn\'t like about him a couple of decades ago, so scheduling his long, long, long awaited Lincoln biopic seems like a good idea.
According to Screen Daily, Spielberg will get to work on his Lincoln movie after he finishes his TinTin film, sometime in early 2009. That would mean that The Trial of the Chicago 7 remains off the deck for now, and Interstellar remains somewhere in the triple A leagues, waiting for its big chance at the majors. This also sets up the Lincoln film as a possible release during the president\'s bicentennial year.
One of the things holding back the Lincoln film has been a script, so either Spielberg has a script he likes or the confidence that he\'ll get one together in the coming months. I can see why he doesn\'t like the current iteration; someone sent me a copy and I think the epigraph that opens the screenplay shows you the unusual bent the script takes:
I freed who?
- Abraham Lincoln, September 23rd, 1862, upon waking up from a three day bender
http://chud.com/articles/articles/14687/1/SPIELBERG-TO-FINALLY-EMANCIPATE-LINCOLN/Page1.html
Post by: SlimPickens on May 13, 2008, 09:00:45 am
Quote from: Me!;189489
Quote
Steven Spielberg may be very much in need of a prestige project after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull forces a nation of film geeks to re-examine their will to live and the critical community to remember what they didn\'t like about him a couple of decades ago, so scheduling his long, long, long awaited Lincoln biopic seems like a good idea.
Is this implying that the new Indiana Jones isn\'t very good? I was just saying to Steve last night that I\'m getting a bad feeling about this movie... based on how they\'re promoting it. I have no proof it sucks, it\'s just a gut opinion. But seeing this, makes me think I might be right.
Post by: FrankZappa on May 13, 2008, 11:11:26 am
When we last saw Indiana Jones on screen, it was 1938, and the world stood on the brink of war as Dr. Jones chased down evildoers to find the Holy Grail. Nineteen years later, he’s cracking his whip again, and many things have changed ... but some have remained the same. Again, the world is at a... [More]
When we last saw Indiana Jones on screen, it was 1938, and the world stood on the brink of war as Dr. Jones chased down evildoers to find the Holy Grail. Nineteen years later, he’s cracking his whip again, and many things have changed ... but some have remained the same. Again, the world is at a precipice, this time caused by the specter of nuclear annihilation, and Indy’s struggle is once again to ensure that a precious, mysterious object remains safe from those bent on destroying humanity.
Post by: booztravlr on May 13, 2008, 11:20:29 am
Quote from: SlimPickens;189504
Is this implying that the new Indiana Jones isn\'t very good? I was just saying to Steve last night that I\'m getting a bad feeling about this movie... based on how they\'re promoting it. I have no proof it sucks, it\'s just a gut opinion. But seeing this, makes me think I might be right.
I\'m with you. Everyone keeps talking about how great this movie is going to be. I just don\'t see how it can be any good, especially ~20 years after the last one.
Post by: derickw on May 13, 2008, 12:28:30 pm
Post by: tyzack on May 13, 2008, 01:01:26 pm
Quote from: booztravlr;189533
Quote from: SlimPickens;189504Is this implying that the new Indiana Jones isn\'t very good? I was just saying to Steve last night that I\'m getting a bad feeling about this movie... based on how they\'re promoting it. I have no proof it sucks, it\'s just a gut opinion. But seeing this, makes me think I might be right.
I\'m with you. Everyone keeps talking about how great this movie is going to be. I just don\'t see how it can be any good, especially ~20 years after the last one.
When does it open?
Post by: Gordo on May 13, 2008, 01:22:32 pm
Quote from: Me!;189489
QuoteSPIELBERG TO FINALLY EMANCIPATE LINCOLN
Steven Spielberg may be very much in need of a prestige project after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull forces a nation of film geeks to re-examine their will to live and the critical community to remember what they didn\'t like about him a couple of decades ago, so scheduling his long, long, long awaited Lincoln biopic seems like a good idea.
According to Screen Daily, Spielberg will get to work on his Lincoln movie after he finishes his TinTin film, sometime in early 2009. That would mean that The Trial of the Chicago 7 remains off the deck for now, and Interstellar remains somewhere in the triple A leagues, waiting for its big chance at the majors. This also sets up the Lincoln film as a possible release during the president\'s bicentennial year.
One of the things holding back the Lincoln film has been a script, so either Spielberg has a script he likes or the confidence that he\'ll get one together in the coming months. I can see why he doesn\'t like the current iteration; someone sent me a copy and I think the epigraph that opens the screenplay shows you the unusual bent the script takes:
I freed who?
- Abraham Lincoln, September 23rd, 1862, upon waking up from a three day bender
http://chud.com/articles/articles/14687/1/SPIELBERG-TO-FINALLY-EMANCIPATE-LINCOLN/Page1.html
Man, I wonder who\'s going to play Lincoln? This is really exciting, I\'m obsessed with the Civil War right now.
Post by: Me! on May 16, 2008, 11:27:58 pm
Quote
JetBlue sued for seating passenger on toilet
Well, at least the seat was free.
A man traveling on an employee buddy pass (and thus presumably flying for free) was ordered to sit in the bathroom of a packed JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) flight. He is now suing the company for $2 million.
Gokhan Mutlu claims that the pilot of a JetBlue flight from New York City to San Diego ordered him to sit in the bathroom after a flight attendant claimed his seat. The attendant apparently felt that her jump seat was uncomfortable; since Mutlu was not an employee, he couldn\'t sit in her jump seat. And on a full plane, that left the toilet as the only seating option on the five hour flight.
Mutlu wasn\'t crazy about the idea, but the pilot soon set him straight. According to the lawsuit, the pilot said that "he was the pilot, that this was his plane, under his command that (Mutlu) should be grateful for being on board." So the bathroom it was. Eventually, Mutlu was allowed to return to his original seat.
Whatever really happened, JetBlue can\'t afford any more bad press. The airline is still trying to make customers forget about trapping passengers on their planes for up to nine hours during bad weather last year.
On the other hand, maybe this isn\'t such bad news. It might just show that JetBlue pilots have a wicked sense of humor. Given the crowds expected on planes and runways this coming summer, that could be a good thing. JetBlue could even build an ad campaign around it: JetBlue - there\'s always an extra seat!
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/13/jetblue-sued-for-seating-passenger-on-toilet/
Post by: FrankZappa on May 19, 2008, 10:34:26 am
McKINNEY, Texas - School officials say they are appalled by altered photos — including heads on different bodies — in hundreds of McKinney High School yearbooks delivered this week.
Besides the head and body switching, some necks were stretched, one girl\'s arm was missing, and another girl\'s head was placed on what appeared to be a nude body, with the chest blurred.
A spokeswoman for Minnesota-based Lifetouch National School Studios Inc. said the alterations were "an unfortunate lapse in judgment" by an employee but didn\'t believe it was malicious.
The high school had required Lifetouch to make heads the same size and eyes at the same level in all student photos, company spokeswoman Sara Thurin Rollin said Saturday. The request was "unusual and definitely very particular, but that\'s not to suggest what happened here is acceptable," she said.
Rollin declined to say if the company fired or reprimanded the employee who altered the images. She said Lifetouch is taking full responsibility for the altered pictures, about 30 in all, and will pay to have the publication reprinted before the seniors graduate.
Lori Oglesbee, the school\'s yearbook adviser at McKinney High School, said the yearbook staff would spend the weekend rebuilding the yearbook.
McKinney is about 20 miles north of Dallas.
source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080518/ap_on_fe_st/odd_altered_yearbook)
Post by: sallyalli on May 19, 2008, 03:50:39 pm
Post by: ds673488 on May 19, 2008, 07:27:38 pm
Post by: derickw on May 20, 2008, 08:38:01 am
Quote from: ds673488;190297
that story is incredible...i wish my school had done a gag like that
in my old school they let the students make the year book and they ended up messing with some people sayings and quotes. i don\'t remember anything big coming of it tho
Post by: jocelyn on May 20, 2008, 10:50:13 am
Quote from: ds673488;190297
that story is incredible...i wish my school had done a gag like that
Doesn\'t sound like it was an intentional gag. From my understanding, the school wanted the yearbook company to make all of the students\' heads the same size, with eyes at the same level, so in order to fulfill that request, someone from the company stretched necks, switched bodies, etc, to make it work. Stupid way of going about it, but not an intentional prank.
Post by: Me! on May 21, 2008, 01:53:46 am
Quote
A Video Game That Combines Beer and Peeing? \'Nuff Said
The Belgians love their beer, but drinking it in large quantities (as one is apt to do when Stella is on your local tap) means frequent trips to the loo. So, two beer fans out there have created a video game called "Place to Pee," in which players race down ski slopes and kill aliens while whizzing.
The game is the brainchild of software developer Werner Dupont and electrical engineer Bart Geraets, who were deep in their ales when the idea dawned on them. "This thing had to be invented by Belgian people and that\'s what we are," they said.
Belgian police shut down a previous incarnation of the urinal video game last November, calling it indecent.
The "Place to Pee" booth fits two users at a time, and gamers hit their targets by aiming at sensors at either side of the urinal. The makers say that women can play along, too -- using a special paper cone.
Post by: tyzack on May 21, 2008, 07:31:47 am
Quote
On January 10, 2007, U.S. House Representative David Wu made a speech on the House floor referring to the George W. Bush administration as Klingons with regard to the Iraq War[9]. The last known Congressional reference to Klingons prior to Wu\'s speech was during a February 03, 1992 discussion of the United States\'s role as a world superpower after the Cold War[10].Wow, and I thought I was a nerd
^ "Faux Klingons Sending Real Americans To War", Congressional Record, 110th Congress, 1st Session. 10 Jan. 2007, page H258. Available through http://thomas.loc.gov
^ "United States Looking for a New Path As Superpower Conflict Ends", Congressional Record, 102nd Congress, 2nd Session. 03 Feb 1992, page H204. Available through http://thomas.loc.govQuoteWu said that unlike “the Vulcans of Star Trek”, who “make decisions based on logic and fact”, Rice and her cadre behave more like the warlike Klingons, saying, “there are Klingons in the White House”. Wu continued that unlike “real Klingons”, who are also known for their courage and code of honor, those in the White House “have never fought a battle of their own”. He concludes, “don\'t let faux Klingons send real Americans to war.”[10]
Post by: jocelyn on May 21, 2008, 10:51:11 am
Quote from: tyzack;190497
QuoteOn January 10, 2007, U.S. House Representative David Wu made a speech on the House floor referring to the George W. Bush administration as Klingons with regard to the Iraq War[9]. The last known Congressional reference to Klingons prior to Wu\'s speech was during a February 03, 1992 discussion of the United States\'s role as a world superpower after the Cold War[10].Wow, and I thought I was a nerd
^ "Faux Klingons Sending Real Americans To War", Congressional Record, 110th Congress, 1st Session. 10 Jan. 2007, page H258. Available through http://thomas.loc.gov
^ "United States Looking for a New Path As Superpower Conflict Ends", Congressional Record, 102nd Congress, 2nd Session. 03 Feb 1992, page H204. Available through http://thomas.loc.govQuoteWu said that unlike “the Vulcans of Star Trek”, who “make decisions based on logic and fact”, Rice and her cadre behave more like the warlike Klingons, saying, “there are Klingons in the White House”. Wu continued that unlike “real Klingons”, who are also known for their courage and code of honor, those in the White House “have never fought a battle of their own”. He concludes, “don\'t let faux Klingons send real Americans to war.”[10]
Oh my god. That is absurd.
Post by: SlimPickens on May 23, 2008, 09:47:08 am
Post by: FreeSpirit on May 25, 2008, 11:47:44 am
Quote
Austrians Not Amused
AFP
(http://www.banderasnews.com/0611/images/fucking-austria.jpg)
The local authorities are hitting back with the signs now set in concrete.
British tourists have left the residents of one charming Austrian village effing and blinding by constantly stealing the signs for their oddly named village.
While British visitors are finding it hilarious, the residents of Fucking are failing to see the funny side.
Only one kind of criminal stalks the sleepy 32-house village near Salzburg on the German border - cheeky British tourists armed with a sense of humor and a screwdriver.
But the local authorities are hitting back with the signs now set in concrete, police chief Kommandant Schmidtberger is on the lookout.
"We will not stand for the Fucking signs being removed," the officer said.
"It may be very amusing for you British, but Fucking is simply Fucking to us. What is this big Fucking joke? It is puerile."
Local tourist guide Andreas Behmueller said it was only the British that had a fixation with Fucking.
"The Germans all want to see the Mozart house in Salzburg," he explained. "Every American seems to care only about \'The Sound of Music\' (the 1965 film shot around Salzburg.) The occasional Japanese wants to see Hilter\'s birthplace in Braunau."
"But for the British, it\'s all about Fucking."
(http://www.banderasnews.com/0611/images/fucking-austria2.jpg)
Guesthouse manager Augustina Lindelbauer described the village\'s breathtaking lakes, forests and vistas. "Yet still there is this obsession with Fucking," she said. "Just this morning I had to tell an English lady that there were no Fucking postcards."
We don\'t know how severe the stolen sign problem there really is, but Austria is indeed home to a town called \'Fucking\' (48\' 03"N 13\' 51"E). Pronounced "fooking," the little hamlet of Fucking is named after the man who founded the village in the 6th century. His name? Focko.
(http://www.banderasnews.com/0611/images/fucking-austria3.jpg)
This sign carries the hilarity even further: "Bitte - nicht so schnell!" is German for "Please - not so fast!" (Snopes.com)
Post by: tyzack on May 27, 2008, 12:53:37 pm
Philippine separatist movement the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has dismissed local peace talks as a new government tactic in dealing with the group, Philippine news agency Sun.Star reported May 27, citing the official MILF Web site. A statement on the Web site called the local peace talks a waste of time, saying they will "further estrange the MILF and the National facistic Front into agreeing to talk to an unreliable partner in the peace process."
Quote from: FreeSpirit;190931
this article sent by rickeyroux! :lol:QuoteAustrians Not Amused
AFP
(http://www.banderasnews.com/0611/images/fucking-austria.jpg)
The local authorities are hitting back with the signs now set in concrete.
British tourists have left the residents of one charming Austrian village effing and blinding by constantly stealing the signs for their oddly named village.
Not as funny as fucking, but in the same vein.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.026957,-76.123409&spn=0.079395,0.122566&z=13
Note that there is no road that goes through both paradise and intercourse.
Just an FYI.
Post by: jocelyn on May 28, 2008, 12:39:09 am
Quote from: tyzack;191101
Note that there is no road that goes through both paradise and intercourse.
Maybe not the way you drive.
Post by: tyzack on May 28, 2008, 07:31:58 am
Quote from: jocelyn;191182
Quote from: tyzack;191101
Note that there is no road that goes through both paradise and intercourse.
Maybe not the way you drive.
I take that back, it would apear as though "Old Peacock Rd" will do the trick.
Post by: FrankZappa on June 02, 2008, 11:28:37 am
Brad Jayakody, 30, was shocked when he was told to change his top if he wanted to catch his flight from Heathrow’s Terminal 5.
IT consultant Brad — on a British Airways trip with four colleagues to Dusseldorf, Germany — asked to see the security chief.
He thought the boss would "see sense" — but he backed up the decision and threatened him with ARREST. Aussie-born Brad said: "My mate set off the alarms and was searched.
"But then the guy told me to stop and said ‘you cannot get on the plane because there is a gun on your T-shirt’."
The top has the Transformers film character Optimus Prime on the front.
Brad, of Bayswater, West London, added: "It’s a cartoon robot with a gun as an arm. What was I going to do, use the shirt to pretend I have a gun?
"I was flabbergasted. I thought the supervisor would come over and see sense, but he didn’t. After I changed he said if I changed back I would be arrested."
A spokesman for Heathrow operator BAA said: "If a T-shirt had a rude word or a bomb on it for example, a passenger may be asked to remove it.
"We are investigating what happened to see if it came under this category."
Last year Gatwick guards made a woman hand over a beef sandwich before boarding and last week a PhD student was stopped for wearing a gun-shaped charm necklace at an airport in Canada.
(http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/5858/transformershg7.th.jpg) (http://img78.imageshack.us/my.php?image=transformershg7.jpg)
link (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1234193.ece)
Post by: FrankZappa on June 03, 2008, 09:20:50 am
1 dead as car plows into Mexican bike race
Police say American driver was apparently drunk and fell asleep at wheel
MONTERREY, Mexico - A car plowed into a bike race along a highway near the U.S.-Mexico border, killing one and injuring 10 others.
The 28-year-old driver was apparently drunk and fell asleep when he crashed into the race Sunday, police investigator Jose Alfredo Rodriguez said Monday.
A photograph taken by a city official showed bicyclists and equipment being hurled high into the air by the collision.
Rodriguez said Juan Campos was charged with killing 37-year-old Alejandro Alvarez of Monterrey.
Authorities said the wreck happened 15 minutes into the 34-kilometer race Sunday along a highway between Playa Bagdad and Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas.
Campos said he is an American citizen living in Brownsville. The U.S. Consulate could not immediately confirm that.
"We are looking into the incident in terms of whether American citizens were involved,\'\' consulate spokesman Todd Huizinga said.
(http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080603/080603-bike-accident-hmed-330a.hmedium.jpg)
link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24943229)
Post by: derickw on June 03, 2008, 09:29:59 am
Post by: SlimPickens on June 03, 2008, 11:20:14 am
Post by: tyzack on June 06, 2008, 03:08:24 pm
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hawAKrDVWv8XoitfU1rUXm00azkw
So no one can feel bad abotu hanging out here.
Post by: FrankZappa on June 09, 2008, 08:58:38 am
Quote
Introducing Bowser Beer™!
Does your dog drink responsibly?
Is he sneaking sips of your beer?
It is widely known that alcohol, hops,
and carbonation are not good for dogs.
Bowser Beer™ is made from filtered
water, pure malt barley, and infused
with dog-loving beef extract - without
hops or alcohol. It’s low-cal, like our
pretzel treats, so you can spoil without
guilt.
(http://www.3busydogs.com/beerlabel_small.gif)
source (http://www.3busydogs.com/bowserbeer.htm)
Post by: derickw on June 10, 2008, 03:06:03 pm
Lesbos (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080610/ap_on_re_eu/greece_lesbian_fight;_ylt=AmvV_i94Ok9nwF7nH5JbqtUV6w8F)
Post by: tyzack on June 11, 2008, 11:15:59 am
Quote
facists have laid down the environmental law for their Denver presidential convention this August.
The convention organizing committee is going green to such an extent that any liquid served in an individual plastic container will be banned at all 22 events hosted by the convention. Also banned will be fried foods. Any plates must be reusable or compostable. Catered meals will be expected to follow a strict color code. Such meals must not only be locally or organically grown, but consist of at least three of the following five colors -- red, green, yellow, blue/purple and white. (Oranges and carrots would appear to be have lost out.)
"Blue could be a challenge," Ed Janos, owner of the local Cook\'s Fresh Market, told the Denver Post. "All I can think of are blueberries." Nick Agro, owner of Whirled Peas Catering, is worried. "I question the feasibility," he says, noting that the growing season in Colorado is short and that using "organic stuff pretty much doubles your price."
Then there are ethical dilemmas. Compostable products, such as forks and knives made from cornstarch, usually are imported from Asia on massive, fuel-consuming freighters. Are they a better environmental choice than recyclable plates?
Back in 2003, facists snickered at the intolerance of a facist House chairman who expressed his disdain for France\'s refusal to back the Iraq War by insisting that "Freedom Fries" be served in the House cafeteria. Now, facists are going much further with their political correctness. French fries -- and all other fried foods -- will be banned from their convention\'s parties. Food critics are already wondering what else liberals may have in store for us if they have control of both the White House and Congress next January.
Post by: davepeck on June 11, 2008, 11:30:35 am
Quote
Boy, 11, crashes car -- while being guided by his dad on a bicycle
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Boy, 11, at Wheel During Crash
By Rozanna M. Martinez
Copyright © 2008 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
Usually, it\'s the parent who drives the motor vehicle and the child who rides the bike.
But on Saturday, an 11-year-old Rio Rancho boy and his two younger siblings escaped injury after the boy drove their dad\'s pickup into a busy intersection and collided with a tractor-trailer— as their dad rode a bike on the shoulder in front of them.
The father, Mark T. Marshall, 44, of Rio Rancho, now faces three counts of child abuse, according to Rio Rancho police spokesman John Francis.
Police have no idea why the child was driving— or why Dad was riding the bike in front of him.
A motorist who witnessed the crash told police she was heading west on U.S. 550 and came to a traffic light at N.M. 528. She said a truck was on her right.
When the light changed to green, she and the truck began moving forward when she noticed a Dodge truck turning west onto U.S. 550 from southbound Tamaya Road, the report said. The Dodge failed to yield and the truck collided with it.
The driver of the truck told police the Dodge\'s driver never came to a stop. He said he tried to turn to the left, but he was not clear to do so and instead blew the horn.
The Dodge continued on and struck the truck\'s trailer.
The female motorist said a child wearing a yellow cap was in the driver\'s seat of the Dodge. She said that at first she thought it was going to crash into a bicyclist on the shoulder of the road. But then she saw the bicyclist place the bike in the back of the Dodge after the collision.
The bicyclist, later identified as Marshall, then got into the driver\'s seat of the Dodge and pushed the small boy with the yellow cap into the back of the cab, according to the police report.
After the crash, police asked Marshall who was driving the Dodge and he hesitated, the report says. He was then told a witness saw a small child wearing a yellow cap in the driver\'s seat.
According to the report, Marshall said, "Yeah, that\'s right; that\'s what I was getting ready to tell them." He did not explain why the boy was driving his truck, according to Francis.
Police noticed a small boy wearing a yellow hat in the rear of the Dodge\'s cab. His 9-year-old brother and 6-year-old sister also were in the cab.
After further questioning, police discovered that Marshall had been riding his bicycle along the shoulder of the road and that his son was following him in the truck.
The children were not injured, Francis said. It was not known whether they were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
According to the report, the 11-year-old is 4 feet, 2 inches tall.
The Dodge sustained heavy front-end damage and the front left tire was inoperable, the report says. The truck received no major damage and sustained some scratches.
Marshall made several phone calls to his ex-wife, the children\'s mother, but was unable to reach her so she could pick up the children. He then called a family friend.
The Children, Youth and Families Department did a case history on the friend before releasing the children to her.
Marshall was arrested and taken to the Sandoval County Detention Center. He was no longer there Monday.
Post by: jocelyn on June 11, 2008, 02:37:11 pm
Quote from: tyzack;192667
Quotefacists have laid down the environmental law for their Denver presidential convention this August.
The convention organizing committee is going green to such an extent that any liquid served in an individual plastic container will be banned at all 22 events hosted by the convention. Also banned will be fried foods. Any plates must be reusable or compostable. Catered meals will be expected to follow a strict color code. Such meals must not only be locally or organically grown, but consist of at least three of the following five colors -- red, green, yellow, blue/purple and white. (Oranges and carrots would appear to be have lost out.)
"Blue could be a challenge," Ed Janos, owner of the local Cook\'s Fresh Market, told the Denver Post. "All I can think of are blueberries." Nick Agro, owner of Whirled Peas Catering, is worried. "I question the feasibility," he says, noting that the growing season in Colorado is short and that using "organic stuff pretty much doubles your price."
Then there are ethical dilemmas. Compostable products, such as forks and knives made from cornstarch, usually are imported from Asia on massive, fuel-consuming freighters. Are they a better environmental choice than recyclable plates?
Back in 2003, facists snickered at the intolerance of a facist House chairman who expressed his disdain for France\'s refusal to back the Iraq War by insisting that "Freedom Fries" be served in the House cafeteria. Now, facists are going much further with their political correctness. French fries -- and all other fried foods -- will be banned from their convention\'s parties. Food critics are already wondering what else liberals may have in store for us if they have control of both the White House and Congress next January.
Hooray fanaticism!
Post by: tyzack on June 11, 2008, 05:13:45 pm
Quote from: jocelyn;192713
Quote from: tyzack;192667Quotefacists have laid down the environmental law for their Denver presidential convention this August.
The convention organizing committee is going green to such an extent that any liquid served in an individual plastic container will be banned at all 22 events hosted by the convention. Also banned will be fried foods. Any plates must be reusable or compostable. Catered meals will be expected to follow a strict color code. Such meals must not only be locally or organically grown, but consist of at least three of the following five colors -- red, green, yellow, blue/purple and white. (Oranges and carrots would appear to be have lost out.)
"Blue could be a challenge," Ed Janos, owner of the local Cook\'s Fresh Market, told the Denver Post. "All I can think of are blueberries." Nick Agro, owner of Whirled Peas Catering, is worried. "I question the feasibility," he says, noting that the growing season in Colorado is short and that using "organic stuff pretty much doubles your price."
Then there are ethical dilemmas. Compostable products, such as forks and knives made from cornstarch, usually are imported from Asia on massive, fuel-consuming freighters. Are they a better environmental choice than recyclable plates?
Back in 2003, facists snickered at the intolerance of a facist House chairman who expressed his disdain for France\'s refusal to back the Iraq War by insisting that "Freedom Fries" be served in the House cafeteria. Now, facists are going much further with their political correctness. French fries -- and all other fried foods -- will be banned from their convention\'s parties. Food critics are already wondering what else liberals may have in store for us if they have control of both the White House and Congress next January.
Hooray fascism!
Post by: davepeck on June 12, 2008, 10:38:17 am
Quote
FOXNEWS.COM HOME > U.S.
Police: Man in DUI Crash Said He Was Driving Around to Sober Up
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
LAKEHURST, N.J. — Police have heard many excuses from suspected drunk drivers over the years.
But police say what they heard from a Toms River man is one for the books: He told them he was driving around until he was sober enough to go home, fearing his mother would know he was drunk.
But before he could make it home Monday, police say 36-year-old Edward Defreitas crashed into an ambulance, causing it to overturn in the Route 70 circle in Lakehurst.
Defreitas is being held in the Ocean County Jail on numerous charges, including aggravated assault, drunk driving and drug offenses.
Authorities said the injuries to two paramedics in the ambulance were not life-threatening.
Post by: jocelyn on June 16, 2008, 10:59:09 pm
Quote
Shopper sues Home Depot, claims he was cemented to store toilet
JUNE 13--A St. Louis man claims that he was injured last year after being glued to a toilet seat in a Home Depot and is suing the retail giant for negligence. Haywood Rosales, 31, charges that during an August 2007 visit to a Home Depot in Florissant, Missouri he used a store bathroom and came into contact with a toilet seat "covered with adhesive," according to his Circuit Court lawsuit. Rosales\'s lawyers told TSG that their client did not notice the adhesive before sitting down and that he used his cell phone to alert his wife, with whom he was shopping, after realizing "he was glued to the toilet seat." A copy of Rosales\'s June 11 lawsuit, first reported by Courthouse News, can be found below. When Rosales stood up, the complaint asserts, he "received cuts, bruises, and tearing on his buttocks and thighs," and subsequently "endured the embarrassment, pain, and suffering of the initial injury and its concomitant treatment." Rosales, who claims he was "rendered unable to work" by his injuries, is seeking in excess of $25,000 in damages. Rosales\'s lawyers said their client sued Home Depot after the retailer\'s insurer "summarily rejected" a claim. In November 2005, a Colorado man filed a similar lawsuit against Home Depot, alleging that he was so fused to a toilet seat that paramedics had to remove the seat from the toilet to get him out of the store bathroom. After almost two years of litigation, the Colorado case was dismissed after a federal judge ruled that Home Depot did not have prior "actual or constructive knowledge" of the dangerous toilet, nor was the glue prank foreseeable. Rosales\'s lawsuit refers to the earlier incident, charging that Home Depot should have recognized that "there would be a strong possibility that instances of copycat behavior would occur."
Post by: Todd on June 17, 2008, 02:03:02 am
Quote from: jocelyn;193252
QuoteShopper sues Home Depot, claims he was cemented to store toilet
JUNE 13--A St. Louis man claims that he was injured last year after being glued to a toilet seat in a Home Depot and is suing the retail giant for negligence. Haywood Rosales, 31, charges that during an August 2007 visit to a Home Depot in Florissant, Missouri he used a store bathroom and came into contact with a toilet seat "covered with adhesive," according to his Circuit Court lawsuit. Rosales\'s lawyers told TSG that their client did not notice the adhesive before sitting down and that he used his cell phone to alert his wife, with whom he was shopping, after realizing "he was glued to the toilet seat." A copy of Rosales\'s June 11 lawsuit, first reported by Courthouse News, can be found below. When Rosales stood up, the complaint asserts, he "received cuts, bruises, and tearing on his buttocks and thighs," and subsequently "endured the embarrassment, pain, and suffering of the initial injury and its concomitant treatment." Rosales, who claims he was "rendered unable to work" by his injuries, is seeking in excess of $25,000 in damages. Rosales\'s lawyers said their client sued Home Depot after the retailer\'s insurer "summarily rejected" a claim. In November 2005, a Colorado man filed a similar lawsuit against Home Depot, alleging that he was so fused to a toilet seat that paramedics had to remove the seat from the toilet to get him out of the store bathroom. After almost two years of litigation, the Colorado case was dismissed after a federal judge ruled that Home Depot did not have prior "actual or constructive knowledge" of the dangerous toilet, nor was the glue prank foreseeable. Rosales\'s lawsuit refers to the earlier incident, charging that Home Depot should have recognized that "there would be a strong possibility that instances of copycat behavior would occur."
I don\'t know about the rest of you, but I def. inspect the seat for any "liquid" or impurities and/ or put tp on the seat before parking my ass for the endeavor! This guy should just get a bitch slap for wasting the court\'s time!!
Post by: FrankZappa on July 04, 2008, 06:04:24 am
Police said it all began in May when Linda Urioste\'s black Labrador Scooby disappeared from her Greenacres home.
The dog was picked up by Animal Care and Control and held for five days before being adopted by Jutta Hollar and her husband.
Hollar told WPBF News 25 that they had the pup -- now named "Buddy" -- about two weeks when they received word that Urioste had stopped by Animal Care and Control looking for him.
Hollar said that she and her husband were considering returning the dog until they met with Urioste to discuss the situation.
"But she was very rude and yelled at us and treated us really not very nice," Hollar told WPBF.
She said that they decided that Buddy was staying put when Urioste threatened to sue them.
A few days after the confrontation, Hollar realized that the family\'s cat, Mitz, was gone from her usual outside spot. Hollar began to wonder where the cat could have gone when she received a phone call from Urioste.
"I was the used-to-be-owner, but I was wondering if you were missing a gray hoo haa cat. Because a hoo haa cat ran out in front of my car not far from your house and I saved its life. I almost ran him over. So, I was just wondering how you are enjoying Scooby, because I am enjoying your hoo haa cat while he is in his crate. You call it crate, I call it a cage. Have a nice day," Urioste is heard saying on a answering machine tape.
Greenacres police said that Urioste admitted to them that she had the cat and refused to give it back unless the Hollars gave her dog back.
Urioste was arrested and charged with theft and extortion.
Mitz was returned to the Hollars\' home safely.
"When I realized what she had done, it was just unbelievable. Just unbelievable," Hollar told WPBF.
Urioste did not return a phone call for comment. According to a police report, she told police that she waited so long to look for her dog because she thought he had been stolen.
Post by: jocelyn on July 05, 2008, 05:11:21 pm
By Urmee Khan
Last Updated: 11:17AM BST 05/07/2008
Police in Wales were called to investigate a mysterious flying saucer, only to discover it was the moon.
The confused caller asked: \'If you\'ve got a couple of minutes perhaps you could find out what it is?\'
The moon was mistaken for a "bright, stationary" UFO which had been loitering for at least half an hour, by a confused local in South Wales who made a 999 call to the police.
Today officers released a transcript in order to highlight the time wasted by unnecessary 999 calls.
The bizzare conversation ran as follows:
Control: "South Wales Police, what\'s your emergency?"
Caller: "It\'s not really. I just need to inform you that across the mountain there\'s a bright stationary object."
Control: "Right."
Caller: "If you\'ve got a couple of minutes perhaps you could find out what it is? It\'s been there at least half an hour and it\'s still there."
Control: "It\'s been there for half an hour. Right. Is it actually on the mountain or in the sky?"
Caller: "It\'s in the air."
Control: "I will send someone up there now to check it out."
Caller: "OK."
After the police patrol car arrives, the script reveals the exchange between the control room and the police officer sent to the scene.
Control: "Alpha Zulu 20, this object in the sky, did anyone have a look at it?"
Officer: "Yes, it\'s the moon. Over."
A police spokeswoman said: "This was a recent example of an inappropriate 999 call to South Wales Police.
"Yes, we can all see the comical side but calling 999 with an unnecessary non-emergency call could block a genuine call for vital seconds and put lives at risk."
Other bizarre calls cited by the police force included someone asking for help voting for Rhydian on The X-Factor and another requesting a pound coin for their supermarket trolley.
Post by: FrankZappa on July 10, 2008, 06:12:05 am
St. Petersburg\'s Channel Five said the man\'s wife, upset with her husband for being drunk and refusing to get up, kicked a handle after an argument, activating a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall.
The couch, which doubles as a bed, folds up automatically in order to save space. The man fell between the mattress and the back of the couch, Channel Five quoted emergency workers as saying.
The woman then walked out of the room and returned three hours later to check on what she thought was an unusually quiet sleeping husband.
Police refused to comment.
The St. Petersburg Emergency Services Ministry said a private rescue service removed the man\'s body.
Video on the television channel\'s Web site showed emergency workers sawing away the side panels of a couch to remove a man in his underwear lying headfirst between the cushions.
Emergency workers said the man died instantly.
Post by: tyzack on August 21, 2008, 10:14:10 am
Quote
For the first time that sumo wrestling\'s governing body can recall, one of its revered athletes has been nabbed for drug possession.
Fans in Japan expect humility and dignity from sumo wrestlers.
On Thursday, the Japanese Sumo Association fired 335-pound Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev, better known in Japan as Wakanoho.
Police arrested the Russian wrestler this week after saying they found a third of a gram of marijuana in his wallet -- enough to land him in prison on a diet of forced labor for five years if he\'s convicted.
It\'s the latest black eye for a sport closely intwined with Japanese culture and history. Fans have long expected humility and dignity from their sumo wrestlers, so the arrest stunned people in Japan, where the national sport has taken a beating in the last year or so.
First, police charged three sumo wrestlers and their stable master -- a kind of manager --with beating a teenage sumo to death last year. They deny it.
Then Japan\'s top sumo -- Asashoryu -- apologized on national TV after being caught in an apparent lie. He pulled out of an exhibition tournament, saying he was hurt. But television cameras caught him playing soccer in his native Mongolia days later, apparently without injury.
The Japan Sumo Association suspended Asashoryu -- the first time the country\'s yokozuna, or top sumo, has received that punishment.
Now comes the drug arrest.
Police say they found marijuana in Wakanoho\'s wallet on June 24 and arrested him this week after an investigation. The 20-year-old Russian wrester, who stands six feet four inches, has not entered a plea, authorities said. Yet the arrest prompted the Japan Sumo Association to apologize to fans, pledge to investigate and to fire him.
The sumo association said Thursday that Wakanoho\'s stable master has resigned as an association board member.
Sumo wrestling, which traces it roots back 1,500 years, is struggling not just within its ranks, but in popularity, as well.
Fewer Japanese boys are entering the tough life of sumo, so the Sumo Association is recruiting foreigners like Wakanoho and Asashoryu. Attendance is down at the stadiums, as more Japanese embrace soccer and baseball.
All these struggles may have a silver lining.
"These allegations, be they true or false, this one included, they\'re all turning points to a more open sumo," says Mark Buckton, a sumo analyst for the Japan Times. "It\'s good for the sport in the end. It can open up the sport, make them follow modern society."
Okay, when I first read the title I thought steriods, whatever, at least it\'s global.
but nooooooooooooooooo ONE THIRD OF ONE GRAM OF POT.
that\'s what, enough to pack a one-hitter?
and the guy could get FIVE YEARS?
Note to self: NEVER SMOKE IN JAPAN
Post by: Me! on August 27, 2008, 09:28:04 pm
Quote
Mayhem & Music?
August 25, 2008
Posted by The Agency
Just when you thought you had seen it all, you find out that one of the best movies ever made might become (gasp!)...a musical. That\'s right; Fight Club is slated to become a Broadway musical. In a recent interview with MTV.com, David Fincher expressed interest in a truly theatrical interpretation of the film, which would hit in 2009, 10 years after the film\'s original release.
There isn\'t much else going on with the project, aside from the fact that Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk has agreed to it and Trent Reznor has expressed interest in developing the music. Chuck Palahniuk\'s dark novel was previously turned into a feature film in 1999 by David Fincher, with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in the lead roles. Palahniuk, who will see a film adaptation of his bestseller Choke hit cinemas on November 21, admitted that Fincher is still eager to push the musical into production.
Palahniuk said: "Once a year, for the last two years, [he] has called me and said, \'Are we still doing this?\' And every time I think that it\'s dead, someone tells me that Fincher is still working on it. I thought it was dead this winter until I was talking to a reporter who had just interviewed Fincher and said that he was still talking about it. So, all I know is that Fincher is still talking about it.
http://www.doubleagent.com/article/mayhem-music
btw: that 11/21 date for Choke is wrong
Post by: SlimPickens on August 27, 2008, 11:08:40 pm
Quote from: Me!;200728
QuoteMayhem & Music?
August 25, 2008
Posted by The Agency
Just when you thought you had seen it all, you find out that one of the best movies ever made might become (gasp!)...a musical. That\'s right; Fight Club is slated to become a Broadway musical. In a recent interview with MTV.com, David Fincher expressed interest in a truly theatrical interpretation of the film, which would hit in 2009, 10 years after the film\'s original release.
There isn\'t much else going on with the project, aside from the fact that Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk has agreed to it and Trent Reznor has expressed interest in developing the music. Chuck Palahniuk\'s dark novel was previously turned into a feature film in 1999 by David Fincher, with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in the lead roles. Palahniuk, who will see a film adaptation of his bestseller Choke hit cinemas on November 21, admitted that Fincher is still eager to push the musical into production.
Palahniuk said: "Once a year, for the last two years, [he] has called me and said, \'Are we still doing this?\' And every time I think that it\'s dead, someone tells me that Fincher is still working on it. I thought it was dead this winter until I was talking to a reporter who had just interviewed Fincher and said that he was still talking about it. So, all I know is that Fincher is still talking about it.
http://www.doubleagent.com/article/mayhem-music
btw: that 11/21 date for Choke is wrong
This ... um... blurb, makes me wish that there was a "News of the disturbing" thread. As a director David Fincher has done some impressive work. If this "idea" became a reality, it would flush all of his achievements right down the twalet.
Post by: sallyalli on August 28, 2008, 12:30:33 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on September 01, 2008, 01:12:35 pm
Quote from: http://www.showbizspy.com/news/Winehouse-Suffers-From-Marijuana-Poisoning/09012008
Amy Winehouse Suffers From Marijuana Poisoning?
September 1 2008
(http://www.showbizspy.com/files/imagecache/small/files/amywinehouse150x150_24.jpg)
Amy Winehouse\'s hospital dash in July (08) was the result of marijuana poisoning and not a reaction to medication, a British tabloid report has claimed.
The Rehab singer was admitted to a London hospital on 28 July (08) after falling ill at her home.
Her representative subsequently released a statement blaming her condition on an adverse reaction to medication she is taking to help kick her drug addiction - which the star\'s father Mitch has also backed.
But now The Sun newspaper is claiming Winehouse had in fact become sick after allegedly smoking pot for more than a day.
And pals fear Winehouse\'s reported addictions will leave her needing medical help for years to come.
A source tells the publication, "Mitch does everything he can to protect his daughter - but his \'explanation\' for Amy\'s hospital dash in July was simply untrue.
"She had smoked an inhuman amount of hash which resulted in acute cannabis poisoning. You have to take a s**tload of pot to suffer that severe a reaction.
"It\'s thought she had been smoking it for 36 hours... She is in need of years of psychiatry and medical treatment if she has a hope (of fully recovering)."
rotfl (http://420.com/headlines/single/473)
Post by: FrankZappa on September 04, 2008, 01:27:00 pm
Quote
AP-CA--Severed Penis Jump
(News Directors: Note contents)
Man cuts off own penis and jumps off bridge; hospitalized
(Geyserville-AP) -- Geyserville fire department workers say a
man stripped down naked, ran around in public a bit, cut off his
own penis and dove off a bridge on state Highway 128 over the
Russian River today.
A fire department worker says the man and his severed part have
been transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. His condition
there is unknown.
The 20-foot-high bridge spans the Russian River but the injured
man didn\'t hit the water. He hit a cement block below instead.
Emergency workers tried talking to the man as they readied to
transport him, to find out why he had done what he had done.
A worker with the fire department says the mutilated man --
quote -- "wasn\'t really in a talking mood."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-03-12-04 2241EST
Post by: Gordo on September 04, 2008, 07:58:32 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on September 04, 2008, 09:00:41 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on September 13, 2008, 02:39:31 pm
Quote from: silive.com
Two men have been arrested and cops are searching for a third suspect in the early-morning shooting of Officer Damion Lawrence, 27, in Staten Island\'s Port Richmond neighborhood yesterday, however Lawrence himself may be in hot water as cops say he was carrying an eighth of an ounce of marijuana on him at the time of the shooting.
A pair of 18-year-olds, Allan Floyd of Harrison Avenue and Javon Rivera of Huedsen Street, were arrested yesterday and charged with robbery assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
According to the NYPD, staffers at Richmond University Medical Center found the marijuana in Lawrence\'s pocket when he arrived after the shooting. His injuries are not life-threatening and he may face disciplinary charges as a result of the pot possession.
Cops are still searching for Naquan Thomas, an 18-year-old who stands about 5-foot-11 and weighs about 146 pounds. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is being asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or text 247637 (crimes) and enter tip577. All information will be kept confidential.
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/cop_shot_on_staten_island_stre.html (http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/cop_shot_on_staten_island_stre.html)
Post by: FrankZappa on September 15, 2008, 10:33:23 am
Quote
Green Bay Press Gazette:
A 33-year-old woman who enrolled at Ashwaubenon High School posing as her 15-year-old daughter and practiced with the cheerleading squad told police she was trying to relive her high school years.
Wendy Brown was charged Friday in Brown County Court with identity theft, a felony, after using her daughter\'s documentation to become a student at the school. Officials said the woman stopped attending school after the first day, prompting a truancy investigation and leading to the discovery of the woman\'s true identity.
Brown enrolled using her daughter\'s official transcript, Social Security card, birth certificate and other personal identification, according to court documents.
School officials and teachers said the student appeared older but had a teenage-like demeanor. Brown had told teachers and some school officials that she and her mother had to leave Nevada to get away from her father.
"In school you see a lot of children who look older and dress older," said Don Penza, liaison officer. "At what point do you say, \'You\'re lying\'?"
Brown listed herself as the parent and an employee at a day care, but did not provide a phone number on school forms. During the investigation, officials were unable to contact Brown, and contacted the Nevada school listed on the transcript she provided.
School officials there said Brown\'s daughter was currently attending school. Brown\'s mother, who is the legal guardian of Brown\'s daughter, confirmed that and alerted them to Brown\'s history of fraud and identity theft.
School and law enforcement officials later discovered Brown was arrested Sept. 3 by Green Bay police and booked into the Brown County Jail on an unrelated misdemeanor charge. Brown admitted to the lie and said her daughter was unaware of the scheme.
"We find it not funny at all," said Lt. Jody Crocker.
The woman told officers she wanted to get her high school diploma and become a cheerleader because she had no childhood.
Crocker said he\'s not buying the story because of her lengthy history of fraud.
Brown County Assistant Dist. Atty. Beau Legois said Brown has a 2007 conviction for deceptive practices, a 2004 conviction for obstructing an officer and a 2002 burglary conviction. She was sentenced to five years in prison for the two older cases.
Brown is now jailed and bail is set at $9,500 on three criminal complaints.
Post by: inthewhitelodge on September 15, 2008, 11:02:46 am
Quote from: derickw;105591
Quote from: Jim Cobb:wah:
what exactly do they use as "psychotropic medicine"?
didn\'t the government use to use ***
I have heard it confirmed that Timothy Leary worked in liason with several psychiatric/psychological professionals and used ***. I remember the name Aldous Huxley involved; perhaps by way of his written works? Anyhoo, it was apparent that certain "psychoses" were treated using *** therapy to explore some of their inner demons/selves...etc.
Some of the psychoses treated included homosexuality (when it used to be treated as a psychosis) and schizophrenia. Now that\'s pretty strange therapy.
Post by: FrankZappa on September 15, 2008, 11:28:03 am
:biggrin:
Post by: Me! on September 29, 2008, 11:31:29 pm
Quote
Ping-pong ball saves girl\'s life
by Roger Sinasohn Sep 29th 2008 3:00PM
Categories: Toddlers, Medical conditions, Weird but true
I\'m a big fan of finding new uses for things, and this is a great example. A two-year-old Australian girl, born with biliary artresia, was undergoing surgery to receive a liver transplant when Dr. Albert Shun found a problem. It seems that the adult-size liver was too big and was putting pressure on the girl\'s blood vessels -- a potentially deadly situation.
Dr. Shun came up with a creative way to solve the problem. "I rang my wife and asked her to go to Big W and buy me some ping-pong balls," he said. The doctor used the ping-pong ball to keep the liver off the arteries and relieve the pressure. "There shouldn\'t be any complications. We are in a unique situation in Australia because we have a low donor rate so we have to be adaptable," he said.
The young girl is now up and running about like a normal two-year-old. "She is so normal now. She is a happy kid," said the girl\'s mother. Sounds like a good use of a ping-pong ball to me
Post by: tyzack on September 30, 2008, 07:48:13 am
Quote from: Me!;204997
QuotePing-pong ball saves girl\'s life
by Roger Sinasohn Sep 29th 2008 3:00PM
Categories: Toddlers, Medical conditions, Weird but true
I\'m a big fan of finding new uses for things, and this is a great example. A two-year-old Australian girl, born with biliary artresia, was undergoing surgery to receive a liver transplant when Dr. Albert Shun found a problem. It seems that the adult-size liver was too big and was putting pressure on the girl\'s blood vessels -- a potentially deadly situation.
Dr. Shun came up with a creative way to solve the problem. "I rang my wife and asked her to go to Big W and buy me some ping-pong balls," he said. The doctor used the ping-pong ball to keep the liver off the arteries and relieve the pressure. "There shouldn\'t be any complications. We are in a unique situation in Australia because we have a low donor rate so we have to be adaptable," he said.
The young girl is now up and running about like a normal two-year-old. "She is so normal now. She is a happy kid," said the girl\'s mother. Sounds like a good use of a ping-pong ball to me
Central/Western Mass has a store called the Big Y.
Worcester used to have a store called the Big D.
Therefore, Big W is funny.
Post by: tyzack on October 10, 2008, 09:30:53 am
Quote
RBANA, Ohio (AP) -- A defendant had a hard time facing the music.
Ludwig van Beethoven\'s music fails to appeal to a man fined for playing rap music too loudly in his car.
Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin.
Vactor, 24, lasted only about 15 minutes, a probation officer said.
It wasn\'t the music, Vactor said, he just needed to be at practice with the rest of the Urbana University basketball team.
"I didn\'t have the time to deal with that," he said. "I just decided to pay the fine."
Champaign County Municipal Court Judge Susan Fornof-Lippencott says the idea was to force Vactor to listen to something he might not prefer, just as other people had no choice but to listen to his loud rap music.
"I think a lot of people don\'t like to be forced to listen to music," she said.
She\'s also taped TV shows for defendants in other cases to watch on topics such as financial responsibility. As she sees it, they get the chance to have their fine reduced "and at the same time broaden their horizons."
Post by: Spacey on October 10, 2008, 10:07:16 am
There is so much honesty in this article.
Post by: derickw on October 10, 2008, 01:08:55 pm
Post by: Spacey on October 10, 2008, 01:14:12 pm
Quote from: derickw;207314
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081010/ap_on_re_us/connecticut_same_sex_marriage
You are a mean hearted bastard.
Fags?
Really?
I hear Poland has the highest per capita of fags in the world.
Truth?
Post by: SlimPickens on October 10, 2008, 01:26:36 pm
Quote from: Spacey;207316
Quote from: derickw;207314http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081010/ap_on_re_us/connecticut_same_sex_marriage
You are a mean hearted bastard.
Fags?
Really?
I hear Poland has the highest per capita of fags in the world.
Truth?
i heard they\'re the highest per capita beastiality in the world
Post by: derickw on October 10, 2008, 01:30:03 pm
Quote from: Spacey;207316
Quote from: derickw;207314http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081010/ap_on_re_us/connecticut_same_sex_marriage
You are a mean hearted bastard.
Fags?
Really?
I hear Poland has the highest per capita of fags in the world.
Truth?
45 41 54 20 41 20 44 20
Quote from: SlimPickens;207326
Quote from: Spacey;207316Quote from: derickw;207314http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081010/ap_on_re_us/connecticut_same_sex_marriage
You are a mean hearted bastard.
Fags?
Really?
I hear Poland has the highest per capita of fags in the world.
Truth?
i heard they\'re the highest per capita beastiality in the world
it\'s all good as long as it\'s your dog.....
!["Image]("http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/8022/kinkykellygy1.jpg")
![]("http://g.imageshack.us/img262/kinkykellygy1.jpg/1/")
Post by: jocelyn on October 10, 2008, 10:20:40 pm
Quote
A woman in Italy was kept a prisoner in her own home by her husband for 50 years, police have revealed.
The wife was only allowed out of the house when accompanied by him, and was not allowed to speak with anyone else.
She raised the alarm when she was admitted to a hospital at Trento, a few miles from her home in the nearby Val di Non in northern Italy, for heart trouble.
She told doctors that her jealous husband had kept her a prisoner in their home virtually since the day they married in 1958.
The couple, who were not identified, are both in their seventies and are believed to have two grown-up children.
He locked her inside the house when he went out, and would not even let her watch the television.
A police spokesman said: "Once the hospital informed us of the woman\'s story we acted immediately and informed the local prosecutor.
"It appears that the woman was kept a virtual prisoner in her own home for 50 years. She was only allowed out when her husband was with her and if he went out on his own he would lock all the doors and windows.
"At 5pm when he came back he would lock the place down, She was not even allowed to see her children and they were not allowed to visit.
"The TV was also forbidden and there were also times when he would beat her.
"It\'s a very sad story and the woman\'s life has been made a misery by her husband – if it wasn\'t for the fact she was admitted to hospital and bravely decided to speak out her ordeal would have continued."
Trento prosecutor Fabio Biasi requested an order for the man to be removed from his house and taken to secure accommodation while the investigation continued.
:(
Post by: bezerker on October 11, 2008, 12:08:34 am
Post by: FreeSpirit on October 11, 2008, 02:38:29 pm
Quote
Wow...
Raw Foodists Charged with Smuggling Chocolate
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 10. 8.08
Business & Politics (news)
Absurd but true – Ron Obadia and Nadine Artemis, two owners of the Toronto-based raw food and beauty care company Living Libations were arrested last month at the US-Canadian border on their way to Arizona, after drug-sniffing dogs found their 2.5 pounds cache of raw, unrefined chocolate – which officials mistook as hashish. After hours of intimidating interrogation tactics and threats of “life in jail” by Canadian enforcement authorities, a drug test returned a false positive, identifying the raw chocolate as hashish.
After ... other dishonest tactics used by law enforcement to try to get them to "admit" to drug trafficking, they were finally released on bail. Their baby son was returned to them, and they went home. For the next 30 days, they were subjected to surprise visits by Children\'s Aid employees (the Canadian version of Child Protective Services), who were told by law enforcement authorities that Ron and Nadine were drug smugglers.
Over this 30 day period, as felony drug trafficking charges were pending against them, Ron and Nadine managed to connect with legal help. Their lawyer, Marcy Segal, was able to persuade the Crown Attorney to send the chocolate "hashish" sample to a proper lab for testing. And wouldn\'t you know it: The test showed that chocolate is chocolate, not hashish.
But that’s not all – after being cleared by the lab tests, the couple attempted to travel again – they do a lot of business in the US – but this time it was US customs that stopped them:
Their lawyer had contacted U.S. authorities in advance, advising them that Ron and Nadine were bringing chocolate through their security checkpoints as they crossed from Canada to the United States. "Watch out, it\'s chocolate!"
They were told everything was understood, and the chocolate would be allowed through. Imagine their surprise, however, when Ron and Nadine were once against arrested at the airport and accused of -- guess what? -- smuggling hashish disguised as chocolate!
U.S. law enforcement authorities boost their careers when they take part in big drug busts, and 2.5 pounds of hashish was a huge bust by anyone\'s accounting. So they had every incentive to try to make this bust stick.
Desperate to prove themselves right, the American drug enforcement police ripped though Ron and Nadine\'s luggage and clothing, opening every vial, asking questions about all the "strange" things they found there.
What kind of strange things? Sea salt. Zeolites. Tea tree oil. Essential oils. Hemp seeds. Probiotics. Raw cacao nibs. You know, dangerous superfoods and supplements.
They were questioned at great length about all these "strange" substances. Apparently, law enforcement personnel have actually never seen superfoods! Subsisting on a diet of processed foods and diet soda, they apparently believe real food is a foreign substance... a criminal substance, in fact. It is a strange world, indeed, when those who claim to uphold the laws of the land have zero familiarity with food harvested from the land...
The couple now face $22,000 in legal bills, even though they have done nothing wrong. They plan to sue the Canadian government for false arrest. Maybe raw chocolate is so good that it is criminal?
http://www.treehugger.com/files/200...e-smuggling.php (http://www.treehugger.com/files/200...e-smuggling.php)
Post by: davepeck on October 12, 2008, 04:59:16 pm
Quote
In an elaborate robbery scheme that\'s one part The Thomas Crowne Affair and one part Pineapple Express, a crook robbed an armored truck outside a Bank of America branch in Monroe, Wash., by hiring decoys through Craigslist to deter authorities.
It gets better: He then escaped in a creek headed for the Skykomish River in an inner tube, and the cops are still looking for him. "A great amount of money" was taken, Monroe police said, but did not provide a dollar value.
It appears to have unfolded this way, according to a Seattle-based NBC affiliate: Around 11:00 a.m. PDT Sept. 30, the robber, wearing a yellow vest, safety goggles, a blue shirt, and a respirator mask went over to a guard who was overseeing the unloading of cash to the bank from the truck. He sprayed the guard with pepper spray, grabbed his bag of money, and fled the scene.
But here\'s the hilarious twist. The robber had previously put out a Craigslist ad for road maintenance workers, promising wages of $28.50 per hour. Recruits were asked to wait near the Bank of America right around the time of the robbery--wearing yellow vests, safety goggles, a respirator mask, and preferably a blue shirt. At least a dozen of them showed up after responding to the Craigslist ad.
"I came across the ad that was for a prevailing wage job for $28.50 an hour," one of the unwitting decoys, named Mike, said to the NBC station. As it turns out, they were simply placed there to confuse cops who were looking for a guy wearing a virtually identical outfit.
Authorities eventually found the getaway inner tube (a getaway inner tube!) and suspect that accomplices may have picked up the robber in a boat. According to the NBC affiliate, police hope to track him down by figuring out who posted the Craigslist ad in the first place.
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark was not immediately available for comment.
http://tech.msn.com/news/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=11018138>1=40000
awesome.
Post by: freddiewaht on October 12, 2008, 05:11:29 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on October 14, 2008, 10:53:49 am
Quote
From FOXsports.com (do NOT credit)
Olympic table tennis medalist Wang Hao will undergo team-mandated counseling after reportedly getting into a fight with a security guard who was trying to stop him from urinating outside a karaoke club.
"I am the famous Wang Hao! I am the world champion! Does it matter if I beat you?" the 24-year-old said, according to one witness.
A Chinese table tennis team spokesperson downplayed the incident, saying it was only a heated exchange of words.
"There was no drunkenness or brawling. There was just an argument," China national team manager Huang Biao was quoted as saying in Monday\'s Shanghai Morning Post.
"Because Wang is a celebrity, the story has been amplified."
Wang, a two-time Olympic singles silver medalist, recently won a gold medal in the team competition at the Beijing Games.
Post by: derickw on October 14, 2008, 11:15:10 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;207755
QuoteFrom FOXsports.com (do NOT credit)
Olympic table tennis medalist Wang Hao will undergo team-mandated counseling after reportedly getting into a fight with a security guard who was trying to stop him from urinating outside a karaoke club.
"I am the famous Wang Hao! I am the world champion! Does it matter if I beat you?" the 24-year-old said, according to one witness.
A Chinese table tennis team spokesperson downplayed the incident, saying it was only a heated exchange of words.
"There was no drunkenness or brawling. There was just an argument," China national team manager Huang Biao was quoted as saying in Monday\'s Shanghai Morning Post.
"Because Wang is a celebrity, the story has been amplified."
Wang, a two-time Olympic singles silver medalist, recently won a gold medal in the team competition at the Beijing Games.
!["Image]("http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/7574/biotchslapuh9.gif")
![]("http://g.imageshack.us/img48/biotchslapuh9.gif/1/")
Post by: SlimPickens on October 17, 2008, 01:04:41 pm
Quote
CLARK COUNTY
Student Arrested For Terroristic Threatening Says Incident A Misunderstanding
A George Rogers Clark High School junior arrested Tuesday for making terrorist threats told LEX 18 News Thursday that the "writings" that got him arrested are being taken out of context.
Winchester police say William Poole, 18, was taken into custody Tuesday morning. Investigators say they discovered materials at Poole\'s home that outline possible acts of violence aimed at students, teachers, and police.
Poole told LEX 18 that the whole incident is a big misunderstanding. He claims that what his grandparents found in his journal and turned into police was a short story he wrote for English class.
"My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It\'s a fake story. I made it up. I\'ve been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies."(http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/night-of-the-living-dead.jpg)(http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/06/shaun_of_the_dead_xl_02.jpg)
Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it\'s a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill.
Poole disputes that he was threatening anyone.
"It didn\'t mention nobody who lives in Clark County, didn\'t mention (George Rogers Clark High School), didn\'t mention no principal or cops, nothing,"
said Poole. "Half the people at high school know me. They know I\'m not that stupid, that crazy."
On Thursday, a judge raised Poole\'s bond from one to five thousand dollars after prosecutors requested it, citing the seriousness of the charge.
Poole is being held at the Clark County Detention Center.(http://politicsoffthegrid.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/night-of-the-living-dead.jpg)(http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/techchron/2007/10/18/zombie220x264.JPG)
http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=2989614 (http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=2989614)
Post by: tyzack on October 17, 2008, 01:26:54 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens;208308
QuoteCLARK COUNTY
Student Arrested For Terroristic Threatening Says Incident A Misunderstanding
A George Rogers Clark High School junior arrested Tuesday for making terrorist threats told LEX 18 News Thursday that the "writings" that got him arrested are being taken out of context.
Winchester police say William Poole, 18, was taken into custody Tuesday morning. Investigators say they discovered materials at Poole\'s home that outline possible acts of violence aimed at students, teachers, and police.
Poole told LEX 18 that the whole incident is a big misunderstanding. He claims that what his grandparents found in his journal and turned into police was a short story he wrote for English class.
"My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It\'s a fake story. I made it up. I\'ve been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies."(http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/night-of-the-living-dead.jpg)(http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/06/shaun_of_the_dead_xl_02.jpg)
Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it\'s a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill.
Poole disputes that he was threatening anyone.
"It didn\'t mention nobody who lives in Clark County, didn\'t mention (George Rogers Clark High School), didn\'t mention no principal or cops, nothing,"
said Poole. "Half the people at high school know me. They know I\'m not that stupid, that crazy."
On Thursday, a judge raised Poole\'s bond from one to five thousand dollars after prosecutors requested it, citing the seriousness of the charge.
Poole is being held at the Clark County Detention Center.(http://politicsoffthegrid.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/night-of-the-living-dead.jpg)(http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/techchron/2007/10/18/zombie220x264.JPG)
http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=2989614 (http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=2989614)
Wow, how much the world has changed.
I remember when I was in 7th grade on a bus trip to NYC, a kid who was already on the wrong side of the law, skipped school that day, then called in a bomb threat on the bus.
The bus pulled over at a McDonalds in CT. We were not allowed off the bus for 30 minutes while the school figured out it was this deliquent kid.
He was expelled (no criminal charges).
There was no police response.
Post by: Gordo on October 17, 2008, 03:25:04 pm
Post by: gitCHu ONe. on October 17, 2008, 05:46:23 pm
Quote from: alexanderzurflu;133156
Quote from: Stephengencs;133129hopefully just the image and association of "hendrixized merch" will help steer some kids to his music and all that was that scene in rock and roll history.....
Dude, I work with a girl who hasn\'t had any exposure to music outside of hiphop. Not even a little rock or 80\'s pop. As F.Waht would say, "Sad Really".
I have this Jimi Hendrix action figure dealio...
(http://gitchuone.com/images/Jimi_black.jpg)
and my friend and his girlfriend were sitting on my floor, when the girlfriend looks up, sees this sitting on top of my tv and annouces, "Jimi Hendrix is black!? I didn\'t know Jimi Hendrix was black!" All of our jaws dropped to the floor. My roommate was walking down the hallway when this occurred and from the distance you hear him say, "WTF!?" She\'s lucky we didn\'t kick her out of the house right then and there for being so dimwitted. Needless to say, my friend broke up with her shortly thereafter.
Post by: Gordo on October 17, 2008, 06:23:02 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on October 18, 2008, 10:20:11 am
Quote from: SlimPickens;208308
Quote
"It didn\'t mention nobody who lives in Clark County, didn\'t mention (George Rogers Clark High School), didn\'t mention no principal or cops, nothing,"
I think this high school has bigger problems than creative literature on it\'s hands. :sigh:
Post by: SlimPickens on October 18, 2008, 01:09:21 pm
Quote from: FrankZappa;208395
Quote from: SlimPickens;208308Quote
"It didn\'t mention nobody who lives in Clark County, didn\'t mention (George Rogers Clark High School), didn\'t mention no principal or cops, nothing,"
I think this high school has bigger problems than creative literature on it\'s hands. :sigh:
Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing while reading that article.
Post by: Me! on November 01, 2008, 01:01:50 am
Quote
Motorist stunned by dashboard porn
Dalson Chen, Windsor Star
Published: Friday, October 24, 2008
When Windsor motorist Dikran Ohanyan bought a rear-view camera system for his car, he never suspected that its monitor would pick up unwanted broadcasts -- like hardcore pornographic video.
"It\'s not for kids to see," said Ohanyan, 52, from the driver\'s seat of his SUV while an oral sex scene flickered on the dashboard-mounted monitor.
The explicit images only appear on Ohanyan\'s monitor when he drives on Forest Glade Drive in the immediate area of Esplanade Drive.
Ohanyan -- who operates a Naples pizza parlour -- said he first noticed the phenomenon a couple of weeks ago when making a delivery in the area.
A few days later, it happened again when he drove down the road with his twin nine-year-olds in the backseat. "I was really afraid that they\'d see it."
"Luckily, they did not notice," Ohanyan said.
Ohanyan said no one believed him at first, including his wife, so he took a picture with his cellphone camera the next time it happened. "She said, \'Oh my God\' when I show her."
"You put passwords at home for the kids not to see, but now here, on the street, you see."
Ohanyan bought the wireless rear-view camera system about a year ago from Canadian Tire. He installed it himself. Normally, the monitor only activates when Ohanyan backs up, receiving a signal from a rear-facing camera.
While Ohanyan recalls the manual mentioning it\'s possible for the monitor to receive outside signals, he\'s stunned that pornography is being broadcast so carelessly.
"How does this come out without any securities?" Ohanyan said. "I don\'t blame the technology, I blame the person who is supplying it."
At car electronics specialists Factory Auto Sound on Tecumseh Road East, owner Darren Fuhr and sales representative Andy Lech couldn\'t help but chuckle at Ohanyan\'s predicament.
"I have never heard of that in my life," Fuhr said.
Fuhr said it\'s unlikely other drivers with rear-view camera systems will be able to see the things Ohanyan sees when they drive in the area.
According to Fuhr, what\'s probably happening is a residence in the neighbourhood has a satellite dish hooked up to a transmitter, and the television sets in the home are equipped with wireless receivers. It just so happens Ohanyan\'s monitor operates on the same frequency as the private transmitter.
Fuhr said Factory Auto Sound only sells wired rear-view camera systems. "All the systems that we use are hard-wired and self-contained in the vehicle, so there\'s no possibility of a signal intruding," Fuhr said.
"Any time you use something wireless, you obviously have the possibility of losing signal, or in this case -- which seems to be pretty unique -- gaining a signal you maybe weren\'t looking for."
Ohanyan said he\'s not personally bothered by pornography, but he\'s worried for his children\'s sake. "If I have my kids, I don\'t go around there."
He\'s also concerned that the graphic sexual images might distract other drivers who have the same system as him.
"It\'s a safety issue, in my opinion," Ohanyan said. "I can imagine cars rear-ending each other over there."
and right outta good ole Milford....
Quote
Conn. police arrest driver on trip to meet Beyonce
Oct 21, 2:50 PM (ET)
MILFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut police say a Detroit-area man was arrested after driving erratically and nearly hitting a police car, saying Beyonce was waiting to meet him. Officers say a 33-year-old Michigan man was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
Police said he nearly hit a police car early Sunday, asked the officer for directions to Detroit, then drove over a sidewalk and grassy area.
A police spokesman said the man - who had flowers and teddy bear in the car - also asked if the officers were escorting him to New York City, saying the singer agreed to meet him at the George Washington Bridge.
The man was charged with reckless driving, speeding and other traffic offenses.
He is scheduled to appear Nov. 4 in Milford Superior Court.
Post by: skalnbyc on November 02, 2008, 01:44:07 pm
Quote from: Oakland Tribune;209546
How S.F. may, uh, honor George W.: Measure would rename city\'s sewage plant
Lincoln has a tunnel. Washington a monument. Even Hoover has a dam.
What about George W. Bush?
In San Francisco, "W" may soon stand for "wastewater." On Tuesday, voters will consider commemorating the 43rd president\'s legacy in a less than exalted way: renaming the city\'s Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant as the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.
In a city where only 9 percent of voters are registered facists, organizers of the tongue-in-cheek idea had little trouble gathering 12,000 signatures to put Proposition R on the ballot.
"People were lining up to sign it," said Brian McConnell, a phone systems designer who hatched the idea last year in a Mission District bar with friends. "One way to look at a sewage plant is in terms of its contents — what we got stuck with — the Iraq war, a $10 trillion debt and a huge mess that needs to be cleaned up."
The measure needs only a simple majority to pass.
In a brand of civics you won\'t see as part of festivities in say, Lubbock, Texas, the Yes on R news conference at City Hall on Election Night will be hosted by a drag queen named "Peaches Christ."
And as part of the official ballot arguments, supporters offered a haiku:
Need Bush memor\'l?
Sewage plant available
How appropriate
Needless to say, the city\'s beleaguered facists are not embracing the methane memorial.
"I don\'t think it is funny. It\'s a waste of time. It\'s a waste
of money," said San Francisco facist Party Chairman Howard Epstein.
"It\'s disrespectful to the office. Are we going to name a brothel in Nevada after Bill Clinton? If you don\'t like George Bush, OK, you don\'t like him. But this has gone too far."
City leaders say if the measure passes, it will cost about $50,000 to put up new signs and change all the stationery and letterhead. At first, managers of the city-owned plant said the election was disrespectful to the hardworking employees of the plant. But then their union, the SEIU, endorsed it.
The fecal fracas has gained worldwide attention.
"I just don\'t think it dignifies a response,\'\' said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino in June when asked about the president\'s position.
Supporters plan to commemorate Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 with a synchronized flush of hundreds of thousands of San Francisco toilets, an action that would send a flood of water toward the plant, as Bush leaves the throne of power.
In recent weeks, they have asked San Francisco shop owners to tape posters in their windows that feature a picture of Bush emerging from a toilet, Alfred E. Neuman-like, with the words: "Help put the #1 guy on the #2 building."
McConnell says if the sewage plant — which sits along Ocean Beach near San Francisco Zoo and treats 17 million gallons of effluent a day — is renamed, it will become a tourist attraction and a fitting memorial for the man he considers the worst president in history.
"The contents of the facility represent the quality of what we got in the last eight years," he said.
Post by: Mamalakabubadaya on November 12, 2008, 09:51:05 am
Quote
Jersey City Councilman Arrested for Urinating on Dark Star Orchestra Crowd
From http://www.nydailynews.com:
Jersey City Councilman Steven Lipski is No. 1 threat at Washington club
BY RICH SCHAPIRO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
(http://images.jambase.com/other/lipski_1.jpg)
Steven Lipski
A drunken Jersey City councilman was arrested for urinating on a crowd of concertgoers from the balcony of a Washington nightclub, police and club sources said Saturday.
Councilman Steven Lipski was caught relieving himself onto several revelers at the 9:30 Club during a concert by a Grateful Dead [Dark Star Orchestra] tribute band Friday night, club sources said.
"He was very drunk," the source said, noting that it wasn\'t the first time Lipski had caused a ruckus at the popular concert venue.
"We\'ve dealt with this man before," the source added. "He\'s never peed on anybody, but he gets really belligerent and drunk."
Lipski, 44, was hauled out of the club about 9:50 p.m. after staffers spotted him in the act on the concert hall\'s second-floor balcony and called the cops.
The crass councilman, who is serving his second term in office since getting elected in 2001, was charged with simple assault, police said.
Attempts to reach Lipski were unsuccessful Saturday night. His aide, Irina Zaki, said the councilman was in Washington Friday night, but she had no knowledge of his arrest.
The lurid incident marks the second time in recent years that a Jersey City pol was caught with his pants down.
Photos showing Jerramiah Healy, still a councilman at the time, naked and passed out on his front stoop were widely circulated in 2004 days before he was elected mayor.
rschapiro@nydailynews.com
http://www.nydailynews.com
[Published on: 11/10/08]
Post by: tyzack on November 12, 2008, 09:53:33 am
Post by: derickw on November 12, 2008, 09:59:31 am
Post by: Me! on November 22, 2008, 05:34:17 pm
Florida teen commits suicide in front of webcam
http://www.http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gtO167ywBhMURgOmp4ScpR7rBdvgD94JFG600
Post by: Lexington on November 22, 2008, 07:13:46 pm
for me anyways. that is pretty bad. is that a link to the article or the vid?
Post by: jocelyn on November 22, 2008, 07:18:45 pm
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gtO167ywBhMURgOmp4ScpR7rBdvgD94JFG600
Post by: Lexington on November 22, 2008, 07:39:08 pm
Post by: tyzack on November 26, 2008, 08:49:44 am
Quote
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Puzzled zookeepers in northern Japan have discovered the reason why their attempts to mate two polar bears kept failing: Both are female.
A 4-year-old polar bear sent to impregnate a female polar bear at a zoo in Kushiro was found to be female as well.
The municipal zoo in the city of Kushiro in Hokkaido brought in a polar bear cub three years ago. They named it Tsuyoshi, after the popular baseball outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and waited until it reached reproductive age.
In June, the zoo introduced Tsuyoshi to its resident bear, an 11-year-old female named Kurumi, and waited for sparks to fly.
But much to the disappointment of zookeepers, Tsuyoshi never made any amorous advances toward Kurumi.
Earlier this month, zookeepers put Tsuyoshi under anesthesia to get to the bottom of the matter. That\'s when they made their discovery: Tsuyoshi is a female.
Still, the Kushiro zoo plans to keep Tsuyoshi because he -- or rather, she -- has become immensely popular with visitors.
"I have rather mixed feelings, given the need for breeding, but Tsuyoshi is an idol for Kushiro," Yoshio Yamaguchi, head of the Kushiro zoo, told Japan\'s Kyodo news agency.
Tsuyoshi will even keep her name.
"We will not be changing it to \'Tsuyoko\' since it is loved by citizens (by the current name)," Yamaguchi said.
"Ko" is a common suffix for a Japanese female name.
Meanwhile, Tsuyoshi\'s "brother," who was adopted by another zoo, has also turned out to be female, Kyodo reported
Now, I am no biologist, but isn\'t it a rather obivous difference?
Post by: derickw on November 26, 2008, 11:55:14 am
WOW JUST WOW is all i have to say.... oh and......:sperm: :no: :pukedon:
Quote
Semen is not only nutritious, but it also has a wonderful texture and amazing cooking properties. Like fine wine and cheeses, the taste of semen is complex and dynamic. Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants. Despite all of these positive qualities, semen remains neglected as a food. This book hopes to change that. Once you overcome any initial hesitation, you will be surprised to learn how wonderful semen is in the kitchen. Semen is an exciting ingredient that can give every dish you make an interesting twist. If you are a passionate cook and are not afraid to experiment with new ingredients - you will love this cook book!
Post by: Spacey on November 26, 2008, 12:32:02 pm
Post by: tyzack on November 26, 2008, 12:38:00 pm
Post by: Lexington on November 26, 2008, 11:00:53 pm
Post by: tonyajo on December 09, 2008, 08:12:56 pm
http://www.register-news.com/opinion/local_story_336094123.html?keyword=secondarystory
Law enforcement hard at work to keep citizens safe
It must have seemed like a scene from a movie for Montgomery Township, N.J. police last week.
It all started when an alarm inside a local bank went off. Officers say they thought they saw at least one person inside. It was hard to see inside, as the blinds were drawn, according to the Associated Press.
What followed was a standoff, with police evacuating the three nearby apartment buildings, and using bullhorns and the telephone to try to make contact with the suspects — but no one ever responded to their repeated atempts at communication.
It was only after a SWAT team stormed the building it was discovered the possible intruder was actually a cardboard figure.
While the officers will probably laugh along with the rest of the world over the incident, it shouldn’t diminish the danger and work police do every day.
There very well could have been a desperate person or group of people inside the bank — someone who attempted a robbery, got caught and was now even more of a threat to citizens and law enforcement.
Every day police work in the front lines to keep people and their property safe. They see people at their worst, either while committing a crime or victims who are dealing with a crime.
Most days, their work is nothing to laugh about. So, let’s take a moment to laugh, then remember to support our law enforcement officials each and every day of the week.
Post by: zuke583 on December 10, 2008, 01:10:10 pm
Quote from: Lexington;212178
the review are hilarious/ utterly disturbing
CUMMUS RECIPE
2 cups chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours and sprouted 48 hours
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup raw tahini
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon raw semen
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
Combine chickpeas, garlic and 1/3 cup warm water in a food processor until well mixed.
Add tahini, sea salt, semen and parsley and process until very smooth, then gradually add the lemon juice.
Continue to process, slowly adding the water until the consistency is right.
Stir in the red onions, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. ENJOY!
Post by: oldnewbie on December 10, 2008, 01:37:53 pm
Quote from: tonyajo;213188
Saw this on John Stewart last night!!! Wow!!
http://www.register-news.com/opinion/local_story_336094123.html?keyword=secondarystory
Law enforcement hard at work to keep citizens safe
It must have seemed like a scene from a movie for Montgomery Township, N.J. police last week.
It all started when an alarm inside a local bank went off. Officers say they thought they saw at least one person inside. It was hard to see inside, as the blinds were drawn, according to the Associated Press.
What followed was a standoff, with police evacuating the three nearby apartment buildings, and using bullhorns and the telephone to try to make contact with the suspects — but no one ever responded to their repeated atempts at communication.
It was only after a SWAT team stormed the building it was discovered the possible intruder was actually a cardboard figure.
While the officers will probably laugh along with the rest of the world over the incident, it shouldn’t diminish the danger and work police do every day.
There very well could have been a desperate person or group of people inside the bank — someone who attempted a robbery, got caught and was now even more of a threat to citizens and law enforcement.
Every day police work in the front lines to keep people and their property safe. They see people at their worst, either while committing a crime or victims who are dealing with a crime.
Most days, their work is nothing to laugh about. So, let’s take a moment to laugh, then remember to support our law enforcement officials each and every day of the week.
i once responded to the discovery museum in bridgeport along with two engine companies, a ladder company, a rescue company and a battallion chief for the guard shack that they had decorated for halloween complete with a smoke machine and flashing lights. someone got scared and called it in. another time i found a doll in a car seat of a burning car. that one scared the shit out of me.
Post by: FrankZappa on December 12, 2008, 07:27:40 pm
Scientists extract images directly from brain (http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/12/scientists-extract-images-directly-from-brain/)
Quote
Researchers from Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories (http://www.cns.atr.jp/dcn/) have developed new brain analysis technology that can reconstruct the images inside a person’s mind and display them on a computer monitor, it was announced on December 11. According to the researchers, further development of the technology may soon make it possible to view other people’s dreams while they sleep.
The scientists were able to reconstruct various images viewed by a person by analyzing changes in their cerebral blood flow. Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, the researchers first mapped the blood flow changes that occurred in the cerebral visual cortex as subjects viewed various images held in front of their eyes. Subjects were shown 400 random 10 x 10 pixel black-and-white images for a period of 12 seconds each. While the fMRI machine monitored the changes in brain activity, a computer crunched the data and learned to associate the various changes in brain activity with the different image designs.
Then, when the test subjects were shown a completely new set of images, such as the letters N-E-U-R-O-N, the system was able to reconstruct and display what the test subjects were viewing based solely on their brain activity.
For now, the system is only able to reproduce simple black-and-white images. But Dr. Kang Cheng, a researcher from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, suggests that improving the measurement accuracy will make it possible to reproduce images in color.
“These results are a breakthrough in terms of understanding brain activity,” says Dr. Cheng. “In as little as 10 years, advances in this field of research may make it possible to read a person’s thoughts with some degree of accuracy.”
The researchers suggest a future version of this technology could be applied in the fields of art and design — particularly if it becomes possible to quickly and accurately access images existing inside an artist’s head. The technology might also lead to new treatments for conditions such as psychiatric disorders involving hallucinations, by providing doctors a direct window into the mind of the patient.
ATR chief researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani says, “This technology can also be applied to senses other than vision. In the future, it may also become possible to read feelings and complicated emotional states.”
The research results appear in the December 11 issue of US science journal Neuron.
(http://www.pinktentacle.com/images/neuron.jpg)
Post by: FrankZappa on December 16, 2008, 06:16:10 am
Quote
December 16: General Interest
1773 : The Boston Tea Party
In Boston Harbor, a group of Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British tea ships and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor.
The midnight raid, popularly known as the "Boston Tea Party," was in protest of the British Parliament\'s Tea Act of 1773, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a virtual monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the East India Company to undercut even tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as another example of taxation tyranny.
When three tea ships, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver, arrived in Boston Harbor, the colonists demanded that the tea be returned to England. After Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused, Patriot leader Samuel Adams organized the "tea party" with about 60 members of the Sons of Liberty, his underground resistance group. The British tea dumped in Boston Harbor on the night of December 16 was valued at some $18,000.
Parliament, outraged by the blatant destruction of British property, enacted the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, in 1774. The Coercive Acts closed Boston to merchant shipping, established formal British military rule in Massachusetts, made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America, and required colonists to quarter British troops. The colonists subsequently called the first Continental Congress to consider a united American resistance to the British.
(http://therevolutionofamerica.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Boston_Tea_Party.317204916_std.jpg)
no offense boombox. ;)
Post by: derickw on December 16, 2008, 09:36:53 am
Post by: wildcoyote on December 16, 2008, 09:49:50 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;213480
this is just crazy:
Scientists extract images directly from brain (http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/12/scientists-extract-images-directly-from-brain/)QuoteResearchers from Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories (http://www.cns.atr.jp/dcn/) have developed new brain analysis technology that can reconstruct the images inside a person’s mind and display them on a computer monitor, it was announced on December 11. According to the researchers, further development of the technology may soon make it possible to view other people’s dreams while they sleep.
The scientists were able to reconstruct various images viewed by a person by analyzing changes in their cerebral blood flow. Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, the researchers first mapped the blood flow changes that occurred in the cerebral visual cortex as subjects viewed various images held in front of their eyes. Subjects were shown 400 random 10 x 10 pixel black-and-white images for a period of 12 seconds each. While the fMRI machine monitored the changes in brain activity, a computer crunched the data and learned to associate the various changes in brain activity with the different image designs.
Then, when the test subjects were shown a completely new set of images, such as the letters N-E-U-R-O-N, the system was able to reconstruct and display what the test subjects were viewing based solely on their brain activity.
For now, the system is only able to reproduce simple black-and-white images. But Dr. Kang Cheng, a researcher from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, suggests that improving the measurement accuracy will make it possible to reproduce images in color.
“These results are a breakthrough in terms of understanding brain activity,” says Dr. Cheng. “In as little as 10 years, advances in this field of research may make it possible to read a person’s thoughts with some degree of accuracy.”
The researchers suggest a future version of this technology could be applied in the fields of art and design — particularly if it becomes possible to quickly and accurately access images existing inside an artist’s head. The technology might also lead to new treatments for conditions such as psychiatric disorders involving hallucinations, by providing doctors a direct window into the mind of the patient.
ATR chief researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani says, “This technology can also be applied to senses other than vision. In the future, it may also become possible to read feelings and complicated emotional states.”
The research results appear in the December 11 issue of US science journal Neuron.
(http://www.pinktentacle.com/images/neuron.jpg)
Imagine what this could do to the legal system.
Post by: derickw on December 16, 2008, 10:45:23 am
Post by: peaches626 on December 16, 2008, 12:04:06 pm
Post by: Lexington on December 16, 2008, 01:03:52 pm
Post by: FrankZappa on December 16, 2008, 02:30:39 pm
thanks nixon.
Post by: FrankZappa on January 01, 2009, 05:32:26 pm
Quote
BOSTON – There were 124 passengers on Northwest Airlines Flight 59 when it left the Netherlands. There were 125 when it landed in Boston.
Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for Logan International Airport, says a woman went into labor and gave birth to an apparently healthy baby girl over the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday during the eight-hour flight from Amsterdam.
Orlandella said a doctor and a paramedic who were on the flight assisted in the birth. He said the plane landed without incident about 10:30 a.m., and the mother and baby were immediately taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Orlandella said he did not know the nationality of the mother, but said for customs\' purposes the baby was considered a Canadian citizen because she was born over Canada\'s airspace.
Post by: jocelyn on January 01, 2009, 10:20:21 pm
Two rescued teenagers say they were idiots for getting lost for three days in rugged bushland after trying to sneak into a Victorian music festival without tickets.
Harry Wild and Ryan Hurley, both 19, had been trying to find a back way into the Falls Music Festival, near Lorne on the Great Ocean Road.
But their plans went awry when the pair lost mobile phone reception and ended up getting lost.
The youths have thanked police and rescuers for their efforts.
"We can\'t thank them enough,\'\' Mr Wild said at a press conference this afternoon, the Geelong Advertiser reports.
"We know we are idiots, we think we are so silly. I just what to thank everyone who was involved in the process.\'\'
The youths said they fashioned a shelter by leaning branches and foliage against a large log and using leaves for bedding.
The pair huddled together through three cold, wet nights.
"Very close. Very close. It was nice and cosy," Mr Hurley said.
Mr Wild said: "All night. I had my hands inside his little jumper to keep my hands warm."
They had no food but drank water from a nearby creek.
They were found at 10.30am in a clearing by a police helicopter. Rescuers trekked 400 metres through thick terrain to meet them.
Senior Constable Greg Bliss, from the Search and Rescue Squad, said the youths did the right thing by staying in one place.
"They built a shelter, sought water when they needed it and stayed together,\'\' he said.
"In terms of their behaviour, they ticked every box we would expect from someone lost in the bush.\'\'
The parents of the youths said they were relieved and grateful.
"It\'s a fantastic feeling,\'\' Jennifer Wild said.
Police inspector Bill Weatherly, who helped co-ordinate the search, said it was fantastic to see sons and parents reunited.
"Very emotional, a lot of hugs, tears from the mums and even from the dads," Insp Weatherly said.
Police said the teenagers used a mobile phone to contact them about 10am (AEDT) on Tuesday, saying they were lost after trying to sneak into the music festival. This was followed by an exchange of text messages.
The texts stopped about 2.30pm, leading police to suspect the phone had been switched off or the battery gone flat.
Attempts to find the youths using the phone\'s signal failed.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24862245-1243,00.html
Post by: tyzack on January 02, 2009, 09:10:26 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;215032
Quote
Orlandella said he did not know the nationality of the mother, but said for customs\' purposes the baby was considered a Canadian citizen because she was born over Canada\'s airspace.
I\'m telling you, Canada is trying to take over the world.
Post by: FrankZappa on January 02, 2009, 04:10:19 pm
Post by: Lexington on January 02, 2009, 04:16:24 pm
Post by: jocelyn on January 02, 2009, 04:58:42 pm
(http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/NFF2005/images/The_Traveller_jpg.jpg)
Post by: tyzack on January 03, 2009, 11:18:52 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;215179
that line was the first thing I though of while reading it and the answer surprised me when I read it. you forget that the countries claim ownership for like 7 miles out from the coasts.
Errr...I thought it was 90 miles
Post by: FrankZappa on January 03, 2009, 04:57:40 pm
so I had to look it up:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Zonmar-en.svg/300px-Zonmar-en.svg.png) (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Zonmar-en.svg)
Quote
FORT WORTH, Texas – A jail in northern Texas has been closed and its nearly 60 inmates transferred as authorities investigate what they call dangerous conditions for jailers and those behind bars — including cells that locked from the inside or contained recliners. Five inmates had already been moved from the Montague County jail to one in a nearby county this month after an FBI raid, said Jack McGaughey, district attorney for Montague, Clay and Archer counties.
McGaughey declined to say what prompted the investigation, also being conducted by the Texas Rangers. But he said authorities found contraband in the jail. New Sheriff Paul Cunningham moved the inmates to the Wise County jail on Thursday a few hours after he was sworn in.
McGaughey said some surveillance cameras\' cords had been disconnected; recliners were in cells; some bathrooms and cells could be locked from the inside; and inmates had made partitions out of paper towels to block jailers\' views inside their cells. One alarming discovery was a type of rack made of nails, he said.
"This action was taken because there was a concern for the safety of the prisoners and the jail personnel," McGaughey said Friday.
Some inmates had apparently used extension cords to lock deputies out, and unidentified pills were strewn about other jail cells, Dallas-Fort Worth television station WFAA reported.
No one has been arrested, but McGaughey plans to present evidence to a grand jury and said "a number of people" — inmates as well as jailers — could be indicted.
Post by: wildcoyote on January 06, 2009, 11:16:59 am
Post by: FrankZappa on January 06, 2009, 07:26:28 pm
Post by: jocelyn on January 06, 2009, 09:46:39 pm
Post by: Igziabeher on January 06, 2009, 10:16:19 pm
Post by: SlimPickens on January 07, 2009, 07:42:48 am
Quote from: wildcoyote;215496
(http://)
definitely a tough little kid.
what kind of fucking morons does fox have reading the news? that short clip was hysterically bad. Starts out with one of those douches saying "someone else read", then the lady has so much trouble with the word jujitsu that she goes into a coughing fit, requesting someone else to read.
24 hour news is a joke.
Post by: Kaliguitar on January 07, 2009, 08:26:53 am
Post by: FrankZappa on January 07, 2009, 08:31:45 am
Post by: FrankZappa on January 13, 2009, 04:48:40 am
Quote
SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world" -- earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months.
The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the winner\'s home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland\'s state government announced on Tuesday.
In return, the "island caretaker" will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of "a few minor tasks" -- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.
The successful applicant, who will stay rent-free in a three-bedroom beach home complete with plunge pool and golf buggy, must be a good swimmer, excellent communicator and be able to speak and write English.
"They\'ll also have to talk to media from time to time about what they\'re doing so they can\'t be too shy and they\'ll have to love the sea, the sun, the outdoors," said acting state Premier Paul Lucas.
"The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090113/od_afp/lifestyleaustraliatourismoffbeat_20090113032028
Post by: SlimPickens on January 13, 2009, 07:12:49 am
Quote from: FrankZappa;216399
QuoteSYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world" -- earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months.
The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the winner\'s home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland\'s state government announced on Tuesday.
In return, the "island caretaker" will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of "a few minor tasks" -- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.
The successful applicant, who will stay rent-free in a three-bedroom beach home complete with plunge pool and golf buggy, must be a good swimmer, excellent communicator and be able to speak and write English.
"They\'ll also have to talk to media from time to time about what they\'re doing so they can\'t be too shy and they\'ll have to love the sea, the sun, the outdoors," said acting state Premier Paul Lucas.
"The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090113/od_afp/lifestyleaustraliatourismoffbeat_20090113032028
The application link off the news story is already broken. DAMN!! That\'s my kinda of nonwork.
Post by: tyzack on January 13, 2009, 07:34:44 am
Post by: wildcoyote on January 14, 2009, 03:14:46 pm
Quote
By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer Michael Casey, Ap Environmental Writer – Tue Jan 13, 9:18 am ETBANGKOK, Thailand – It seemed like a good idea at the time: Remove all the feral cats from a famous Australian island to save the native seabirds.
But the decision to eradicate the felines from Macquarie island allowed the rabbit population to explode and, in turn, destroy much of its fragile vegetation that birds depend on for cover, researchers said Tuesday.
Removing the cats from Macquarie "caused environmental devastation" that will cost authorities 24 million Australian dollars ($16.2 million) to remedy, Dana Bergstrom of the Australian Antarctic Division and her colleagues wrote in the British Ecological Society\'s Journal of Applied Ecology.
"Our study shows that between 2000 and 2007, there has been widespread ecosystem devastation and decades of conservation effort compromised," Bergstrom said in a statement.
The unintended consequences of the cat-removal project show the dangers of meddling with an ecosystem — even with the best of intentions — without thinking long and hard, the study said.
"The lessons for conservation agencies globally is that interventions should be comprehensive, and include risk assessments to explicitly consider and plan for indirect effects, or face substantial subsequent costs," Bergstrom said.
Located about halfway between Australia and the Antarctic continent, Macquarie was designated a World Heritage site in 1997 as the world\'s only island composed entirely of oceanic crust. It is known for its wind-swept landscape, and about 3.5 million seabirds and 80,000 elephant seals arrive there each year to breed.
The cats, rabbits, rats and mice are all nonnative species to Macquarie, probably introduced in the past 100 years by passing ships. Authorities have struggled for decades to remove them.
The invader predators menaced the native seabirds, some of them threatened species. So in 1995, the Parks and Wildlife Service of Tasmania that manages Macquarie tried to undo the damage by removing most of the cats.
Several conservation groups including the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Birds Australia said the problem was not the original eradication effort itself — but that it didn\'t go far enough. They said the project should have taken aim at all the invasive mammals on the island at once.
"What was wrong was that the rabbits were not eradicated at the same time as the cats," University of Auckland Prof. Mick Clout, who also is a member of the Union\'s invasive species specialist group. "It would have been ideal if the cats and rabbits were eradicated at the same time, or the rabbits first and the cats subsequently."
Liz Wren, a spokeswoman for the Parks and Wildlife Service of Tasmania, said authorities were aware from the beginning that removing the feral cats would increase the rabbit population. But at the time, researchers argued it was worth the risk considering the damage the cats were doing to the seabird populations.
"The alternative was to accept the known and extensive impacts of cats and not do anything for fear of other unknown impacts," Wren said. "Since cats were eradicated, the grey petrel successfully bred on the island for the first time in a century and the recovery of Antarctic prions has continued since the eradication of feral cats."
Now, the parks service has a new plan to finish the job, using technology and poisons that weren\'t available a decade ago.
Wren said plans to eradicate both rabbits as well as rats and mice from the island will begin in 2010. Helicopters using global positioning systems will drop poisonous bait that targets all three pests. Later, teams will shoot, fumigate and trap the remaining rabbits, she said.
Some of the earlier critics are now behind this latest eradication effort, saying it should help the island\'s ecosystem fully recover because it would remove the last remaining invasive species.
"Without this action, there will be serious long-term consequences for the majestic seabirds which nest on the island including the four threatened albatross species, and for the health of the island ecosystem as a whole," said Dean Ingwersen, Bird Australia\'s threatened bird network coordinator.
"We believe that the process they are going to follow uses best practice for this type of work," Ingwersen said. "And that all possible ramifications have now been considered."
Post by: FrankZappa on January 14, 2009, 04:45:30 pm
Post by: tonyajo on January 23, 2009, 04:52:44 pm
From Cnn.com
What is virginity worth today?
Story Highlights
Natalie Dylan has put her virginity up for auction; says top bid is $3.8 million
Idea that virginity has high value not new, professor says
Men and women have different standards for losing virginity, some say
Others say there\'s just too much hype around virginity
By Elizabeth Landau
CNN
(CNN) -- Is a woman\'s virginity worth $3.8 million? That\'s how much a 22-year-old from San Diego, California, said she has been offered through an auction she announced in September.
The woman, who goes by "Natalie Dylan," set up a private auction through the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel in Nevada. The auction has given her lots of "business opportunities," she said.
Her top bid comes from a 39-year-old Australian, but she has no immediate plans to settle the auction, she said in a recent interview with CNN.
Some men may seek virgins because they want them as trophies, or desire purity. But as to why men would bid so much money on virginity, she said she has no answer.
"I honestly don\'t know what they see in it," she said.
If you think Dylan\'s auction amounts to prostitution, she completely agrees. She also said she\'s not breaking any laws -- after all, prostitution in Nevada is legal.
"I feel people should be pro-choice with their body, and I\'m not hurting anyone," she said. "It really comes down to a moral and religious argument, and this doesn\'t go against my religion or my morals. There\'s no right or wrong to this." Watch for more on Dylan »
The idea that virginity has a high value harkens back to the days of early humans -- if a man has sex with a virgin woman, he knows for sure that her children will be his, anthropologists reason. In early civilizations, women were also considered the property of men, said Laura Carpenter, assistant professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
Through the 1950s in America, women were expected to remain virgins until marriage, Carpenter said. But with the availability of the pill and the IUD in the 1960s, combined with youth counterculture and gay rights movements, it became more common for women to engage in premarital sex, she said.
Attitudes shifted toward the conservative side in the 1980s with the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic, which made the stakes much higher for choosing a sex partner, especially for men. Abstinence-based education programs also took off around that time, with government support, she said.
Today, about 95 percent of Americans have sex before they\'re 25, Carpenter said. But worldwide, virgin prostitutes can claim larger fees, certain cultures still attach larger dowries to virgin brides, and some women undergo reconstructive surgery to restore their hymens.
In looking at Dylan\'s auction, "To some extent it\'s not new. The new part is the Internet," Carpenter said.
Dylan is not the first to hold a public sale for her sexual innocence. An Italian model reportedly had plans to sell her virginity for more than $1 million in September. Dylan said she was inspired by a report of a Peruvian woman who put her virginity up for sale.
Some think Dylan\'s auction may be indicative of a shift in the way society treats sexuality.
"In a world that is teeming with brand messages, with sponsorships everywhere, intimacy is really just the next thing to go," said Jon Ray, a 24-year-old marketing consultant in Austin, Texas, and author of the blog Who is Jon Ray?
Brett Austin Vanderzee, a 19-year-old student at Oklahoma Christian University who has pledged to stay a virgin until marriage, finds Dylan\'s actions somewhat appalling, but not shocking.
"It\'s kind of crazy, but I think it\'s the general direction that society has been heading in for a while," he said. "We\'re becoming more accepting of things that normally would have been considered unwise."
Kiara Daines, a 17-year-old from Detroit, Michigan, said she\'s saving herself until marriage for personal and religious reasons. Both Vanderzee and Daines said they have endured teasing from their peers because of their choice to remain abstinent.
Others say there\'s just too much hype around virginity. Martha Kempner, vice president for information and communications for the nonprofit Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S., said telling a young woman to stay"pure" misses the point that sexuality will influence her long after she loses her virginity.
"By putting the emphasis there, [on virginity], we\'re actually devaluing the rest of women, the rest of her, and the rest of her sexuality for the rest of her life," she said.
A recent study in the journal Pediatrics showed that religious teens who take virginity pledges are as likely to have sex before marriage as their religious peers, and less likely to use condoms or birth control when they become sexually active.
Many people say losing one\'s virginity has different implications for men than women. While young women see the act as a symbolic giving of themselves, young men are more prone to want to get it over with and brag about it. Similarly, says Kempner, women are taught to keep themselves "pure" and help men exercise control, while there\'s a "boys will be boys" attitude around men.
Do men really think that virginity is worth millions of dollars?
Audacia Ray, a 28-year-old former sex worker from New York and author of "Naked on the Internet: Hookups, Downloads and Cashing In on Internet Sexploration," is skeptical. She views Dylan\'s auction as a publicity stunt and doesn\'t anticipate she\'ll "continue in the industry."
The importance of a woman\'s virginity may vary in different cultures, but generally there\'s not the high value there used to be, Ray said.
"It begins to be viewed more as a burden over time -- a burden in that losing virginity is an event, so that it has to somehow mean something, which is part of the reason why people are all up in arms about Natalie," she said.
How do Dylan\'s friends and family feel? Dylan, who said she was raised in a conservative, non-Christian religious household, said although her mother doesn\'t agree with her, she still loves her as a daughter. Generally people have been supportive, Dylan said.
"I\'ve talked with my exes, some different guys, and they understand it\'s just a business deal, and they know me, and they know I\'m not this promiscuous girl. Honestly, even if I didn\'t do this, I\'d always be the girl who thinks prostitution is OK," she said. "I would always want to find a partner that can accept me for me."
Post by: wildcoyote on January 23, 2009, 05:04:38 pm
Post by: derickw on January 23, 2009, 07:20:55 pm
Quote
If you think Dylan\'s auction amounts to prostitution, she completely agrees. She also said she\'s not breaking any laws -- after all, prostitution in Nevada is legal.
and Rhode Island. the only two states in the US where prostitution is legal.
and on a side note. when i was younger i chose NOT to have sex with virgins......
Post by: peaches626 on January 24, 2009, 03:39:26 am
I prefer to learn something from an experienced woman anyway.
Post by: FrankZappa on February 02, 2009, 04:04:05 pm
Quote
Cable provider apologizes for porn interruption
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A cable television provider has apologized to Tucson-area customers over a 30-second porn interruption during the Super Bowl. Philadelphia-based Comcast issued a brief statement Monday saying the company is "mortified" and is conducting a thorough investigation. Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury says the initial investigation suggests that the interruption was an "isolated, malicious act."
The company says only customers in the Tucson area receiving the standard definition feed - not high definition - were affected. Tucson media outlets reported that they received calls from irate viewers about the porn, which aired just after the Arizona Cardinals\' Larry Fitzgerald scored on a long touchdown reception during the game\'s final minutes.
Post by: tyzack on February 04, 2009, 10:52:49 am
Quote
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Colorado Springs police are looking for a man who hit two 7-Eleven convenience stores early Wednesday, armed with a Klingon sword.
The first robbery was reported at 1:50 a.m., at 145 N Spruce St. The clerk told police a white man in his 20s, wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and wearing a black mask, entered the store with a weapon the clerk recognized from the Star Trek TV series.
The robber demanded money and left with an undisclosed amount.
A half hour later, police received a call from a 7-Eleven at 2407 N. Union Blvd., where a man matching the previous description entered the store with a similar weapon. He also demanded money from the store clerk. The clerk refused and the robber ran off.
Both clerks described the weapon as a Star Trek Klingon type sword, called a "Batleth."
Neither clerk was injured in the robberies.
(http://www.thedenverchannel.com/2009/0204/18637186_640X480.jpg)
Post by: derickw on February 04, 2009, 01:15:55 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on February 05, 2009, 07:03:20 pm
Post by: wildcoyote on February 11, 2009, 01:46:18 pm
It\'s a hoax.
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/The-great-Atlantic-Ocean-swimming-hoax?urn=oly,140525
I got to say- I\'m a fan of a good hoax. Make the media your bitch. We should create one to get tB a little publicity. Maybe go on Wikipedia and list the Breakfast as an opener for the east coast Phish dates.
Post by: FreeSpirit on February 17, 2009, 11:03:24 am
Quote
A pet chimpanzee - who had appeared in TV commercials and shows - got loose at a home at 241 Rock Rimmon Road in Stamford, Connecticut Monday afternoon and attacked a woman, according to Stamford police. The woman is in critical condition and it was not his first time the animal has been on the loose.
His owner, Sandra Herold, 70, had called a friend over to help since "Travis" was misbehaving. He had taken the keys to the car. The chimp was also trying to open car doors, which he apparently did to indicate he wanted to go for a ride. Herold was able to coax Travis back to the house and she gave him some Xanax-laced tea, said police.
When the friend, Charla Nash, 55, of Stamford arrived minutes later, the 200-pound chimp bolted outside and began brutally attacking Nash as she was getting out of her car, leaving her with severe facial injuries. She is in "very critical condition," said police. She remains in critical condition Tuesday.
Travis\' owner tried to stop the attack by stabbing the chimp with a butcher knife. When that didn\'t work, she called 911, according to police.
When they arrived, officers gave emergency medical personnel an armed escort to the victim. Police evacuated the area because children were playing nearby.
Travis then charged at police, smashed a car window and opened the door to a police cruiser where an officer was taking cover. That officer shot the chimp several times and Travis ran off. Police followed a trail of blood through the house and found Travis dead in his living quarters in the back of the house, said police. He had several gunshot wounds, police said.
This was not Travis\'s first run-in with the law.
On Oct. 19, 2003, Travis escaped from his owner\'s SUV and went running through the streets. More than a dozen police officers chased around after him at the time.
In a newspaper article at the time, police said the chimp, then 10, was toilet trained. He reportedly dressed himself, ate at the table and drank wine. He could use a computer and remote control.
He starred in Old Navy and Coca-Cola commercials and even appeared on the Maury Povich Show, according to an article in the Stamford Advocate.
Travis\'s owner, Sandra Herold, 70, is also hospitalized. She might have had a mild heart attack, people at the scene reported, but Stamford Hospital is not releasing any information about her condition.
Post by: tyzack on February 17, 2009, 11:15:01 am
THIS POST IS MORE THAN FIVE CHARACTERS!
Post by: FrankZappa on February 17, 2009, 02:53:38 pm
Quote
Fake Foreigner drummer allegedly steals Corvette
02/11/2009 5:00 PM, AP
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Authorities said a transient man convinced a woman that he was the drummer for the rock band Foreigner, stole her Corvette and then crashed it. Police said a 48-year-old man befriended the woman at a Tampa hotel, claiming to be Cory James, the drummer for Foreigner.
The band has had more than a half dozen drummers over the years, none of whom were named Cory James.
The two met up later at the Clearwater Hilton, where police said the man conned the valet into giving him the woman\'s 2002 Chevrolet Corvette without her knowledge or consent. He crashed a short time later and ran off, and police say they used a dog to track him down.
The man faces multiple charges, including grand theft auto. He was being held on $27,900 bail.
Post by: bezerker on February 18, 2009, 08:59:57 am
Palm Coast - A Palm Coast couple was arrested Tuesday after a CD showing pictures of a 40-year-old woman having sex with dogs that she adopted from the humane society was turned over to authorities, deputies said.
David Maldonado, 42, and his wife, Carla Maldonado, 40, were arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in connection with an incident that occurred four years ago.
Flagler County sheriff\'s investigators said the Flagler County Humane Society, where Carla Maldonado had worked, turned over the compact disc in November. The humane society terminated her employment upon receipt of the CD.
Investigators have stated that the disc also contained 16 photographs of Carla Maldonado engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old female who was an acquaintance with the family. David Maldonado photographed the sex acts, according to investigators.
Both Carla and David Maldonado were charged with providing the victim alcohol and encouraging the participation in the sex acts. Sheriff\'s investigators said the victim is now 19 years old.
"This case is still under investigation and additional charges may be filed," Flagler County Sheriff Donald W. Fleming said.
Investigators have seized two computers from the couple\'s Palm Coast home.
The duo was being held in the Flagler County Inmate Facility Wednesday morning. His bond was set at $15,000 and her bond was set at $10,000.
Anyone who thinks they may have been victimized by this couple is urged to contact the Flagler County Sheriff\'s Office.
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/mostpop/story.aspx?storyid=95375&provider=top
Post by: davepeck on February 18, 2009, 09:16:50 am
Post by: Spacey on February 18, 2009, 09:18:59 am
If I have learned anything from selling insurance in Florida is that I want nothing to do with Florida. There are so many characters in that state.
Post by: booztravlr on February 18, 2009, 09:57:36 am
Quote
His bond was set at $15,000 and her bond was set at $10,000.
So, explain to me why his bond was set $5,000 higher than hers. According to the article all he did was take pictures. She was the one sleeping with dogs at the humane society (her place of employment) and also the one who had sex with an underage female.
Post by: Drew_Kingsley on February 18, 2009, 09:58:41 am
Post by: FrankZappa on February 18, 2009, 10:09:51 am
Post by: Spacey on February 18, 2009, 10:33:16 am
Post by: Drew_Kingsley on February 18, 2009, 11:46:09 am
And if there\'s anything that can make bestiality even less erotic, it\'s probably that woman right there.
Post by: tyzack on February 23, 2009, 02:39:57 pm
Quote
The Japanese Minister of Finance, Shoichi Nakagawa, has blamed a heavy dose of cold medicine for a slurred and baffling performance at the G7 meeting in Rome, where the man at the helm of the second-biggest economy in the world appeared to be drunk.
Mr Nakagawa claimed to have taken only a few sips of wine – “no more than a glassful” – before the news conference but he seemed too addled to state correctly the current level of Japanese interest rates.
Upon his return to Japan today the Finance Minister was greeted with immediate calls for his resignation by opposition MPs, who said that the affair was an embarrassment to the country and a shame that sent a “message to the whole world”. His embarrassment was compounded yesterday by the revelation that under Mr Nakagama’s stewardship the Japanese economy had nosedived and was now faring worse than at any time in the past 35 years.
Late last night the main opposition facistic Party of Japan agreed on a censure motion against Mr Nakagawa in the Upper House of parliament. If successful, the vote could force Mr Nakagawa from his post less than six months after he took on the role.
Related Links
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There\'s a need for economy in all things
Japan suffers worst decline in 35 years
Multimedia
Asia Exile: \'extraordinary self-humiliation\'
Yukio Hatoyama, the secretary-general of the facistic Party, said: “I think he should be fired immediately. He has damaged the national interest.”
Mr Nakagawa said that he had drunk alcohol during his flight to Rome and had taken some cold medicine – a combination, he said, that may have affected him adversely. He insisted that his performance would not affect Japan’s standing among the other G7 members.
The worst excerpts of his 20-minute press conference were swiftly uploaded to the internet and quickly became the most-watched video on YouTube in Japan.
“I feel terribly sorry for the Japanese public as well as the Diet [parliament] that such footage and words of mine were conveyed to the world,” said Mr Nakagawa in an apology to a parliamentary panel yesterday.
Medical experts suggested that the excuse may have some truth to it because Japanese cough mixture does contain codeine.
Because of Mr Nakagawa’s closeness to Taro Aso, the Prime Minister, the incident provides an increasingly confident opposition with yet more ammunition to use against the embattled Government. The Liberal facistic Party has come under intense public criticism for its lacklustre handling of the economic crisis, with Mr Nakagawa bearing the lion’s share of the blame for failing to come up with a more comprehensive rescue package.
Public support for Mr Aso’s Cabinet now stands at below 10 per cent – a level that has historically forced Japanese prime ministers to resign.
At the press conference in Rome Mr Nakagawa seemed barely able to keep his eyes open and mistakenly answered a question directed, by name, to the governor of the Bank of Japan sitting next to him. His answers frequently trailed off into incoherent mumbling. At one point he said that Japan had pledged $1 billion (£695 million) to the Asian Development Bank, which it has not.
He might, some suggested generously, have been thinking of the $100 billion in loans pledged to the International Monetary Fund.
Mr Nakagawa’s performance was condemned by his party colleague and former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who said: “Since he really loves to drink, I advised him once to be careful about drinking.”
Yasunaga Matsuki, a press officer working in Mr Nakagawa’s office, toldThe Times that he did not think he had ever seen the minister drunk while at work and did not know of him keeping alcohol in the office. He did, however, say that Mr Nakagawa had “suffered from a cold a few times before”.
I guess that the video would be much more funny if i knew japanese.
Post by: davepeck on February 26, 2009, 11:06:52 am
Quote
On November 2, Wayne Burdick (not pictured) was aboard a cruise ship in Miami waiting to depart on a Caribbean cruise. While still docked at the port, he set up his laptop and wireless card and accessed his Slingbox device which allowed him to watch a Chicago Bears game via an Internet connection. When the game was over, Burdick closed his computer, embarked on the cruise and returned home to find a bill from AT&T charging him over $27,000 for the three hours of Internet usage.
Apparently, AT&T had charged Brudick the international rate for the access. At two cents per kilobyte, the total charge was $27,788.93 for the time spent watching the game, which breaks down to about $6,500 per Rex Grossman interception.
Burdick pled his case to AT&T, saying he was still at the port and not in roaming territory. After speaking with nearly a half-dozen people at the company, he managed to get the bill down to $6,000, even though he provided documentation that he was still technically in Miami at the time he used his wireless card.
Eventually, the whole matter was settled after Burdick contacted Team Fixer at the Chicago Sun-Times and they contacted the phone company. AT&T acknowledged its mistake, saying that Burdick\'s device was picking up a signal it shouldn\'t have been.
At least Burdick\'s efforts were worth it. The Bears beat the Lions that afternoon, 27-23.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Man-gets-27-000-phone-bill-after-watching-Bears?urn=nfl,144070
Post by: wildcoyote on February 27, 2009, 09:03:14 am
Quote
(CNN) -- Trading two children for a bird landed three people in jail in Louisiana, authorities say.
The biological mother, who was not involved in the alleged trade, is to be interviewed by authorities Friday. Investigators seek further details about a case that they say unfolded this way:
Paul and Brandy Romero advertised that they were selling their pet cockatoo for $1,500.
A woman named Donna Greenwell responded and said she wanted to buy the bird. Greenwell then told the Romeros that she was taking care of three children whose biological parents were going through a separation.
Greenwell proposed selling two of the couple\'s children to the Romeros for $2,000, saying that her job as a truck driver made it hard to take care of the children, said Capt. Keith Dupre of the Evangeline Parrish Sheriff\'s Office in Louisiana.
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The parties allegedly negotiated a trade involving the two kids, the bird and $175.
An anonymous tipster contacted authorities after the children began living with the Romeros.
As a result, Greenwell and the Romeros were arrested February 21 and charged with aggravated kidnapping, Dupre said.
The children were well taken care of when they were with the Romeros, who badly wanted children, according to Dupre.
Greenwell said she needed the cash for a lawyer to handle adoption paperwork, authorities said.
She had placed the third child with another Louisiana couple, Dupre said, but he didn\'t know whether bartering was involved.
The two children were ages 4 and 5, according to CNN affiliate WGNO.
Police did not identify the biological parents, and no other information was available. The children have been placed in foster care
Post by: Spacey on February 27, 2009, 09:21:35 am
Quote from: wildcoyote;221207
People trade a bird for 2 kidsQuote(CNN) -- Trading two children for a bird landed three people in jail in Louisiana, authorities say.
The biological mother, who was not involved in the alleged trade, is to be interviewed by authorities Friday. Investigators seek further details about a case that they say unfolded this way:
Paul and Brandy Romero advertised that they were selling their pet cockatoo for $1,500.
A woman named Donna Greenwell responded and said she wanted to buy the bird. Greenwell then told the Romeros that she was taking care of three children whose biological parents were going through a separation.
Greenwell proposed selling two of the couple\'s children to the Romeros for $2,000, saying that her job as a truck driver made it hard to take care of the children, said Capt. Keith Dupre of the Evangeline Parrish Sheriff\'s Office in Louisiana.
Don\'t Miss
FBI closing in on suspect in case of pilot thought kidnapped
The parties allegedly negotiated a trade involving the two kids, the bird and $175.
An anonymous tipster contacted authorities after the children began living with the Romeros.
As a result, Greenwell and the Romeros were arrested February 21 and charged with aggravated kidnapping, Dupre said.
The children were well taken care of when they were with the Romeros, who badly wanted children, according to Dupre.
Greenwell said she needed the cash for a lawyer to handle adoption paperwork, authorities said.
She had placed the third child with another Louisiana couple, Dupre said, but he didn\'t know whether bartering was involved.
The two children were ages 4 and 5, according to CNN affiliate WGNO.
Police did not identify the biological parents, and no other information was available. The children have been placed in foster care
Heard about this on my way to work. It is a good deal.
Post by: bezerker on March 01, 2009, 03:10:25 pm
story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/399955_deputyweb13.html
video: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/163025.asp
Post by: SlimPickens on March 06, 2009, 12:30:01 pm
Quote
This gentleman held a woman hostage for ten hours. His weapon? A Sega light gun. Rob has the details over at Boing Boing Gadgets. full story (http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/05/hostage-held-for-10.html)
(http://www.boingboing.net/images/segaguunun.jpg)
Post by: Spacey on March 06, 2009, 12:42:36 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens;222082
boingboing (http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/05/hostagetaker-wields.html)QuoteThis gentleman held a woman hostage for ten hours. His weapon? A Sega light gun. Rob has the details over at Boing Boing Gadgets. http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/05/hostage-held-for-10.html (http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/05/hostage-held-for-10.html)
(http://www.boingboing.net/images/segaguunun.jpg)
That is funny.
Wonder if I can knock off a bank with (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Nintendo_scope.jpg/800px-Nintendo_scope.jpg)
Post by: FrankZappa on March 08, 2009, 09:00:10 pm
Quote
ARGONNE, Illinois — In the basement of a nondescript building here at Argonne National Laboratory, nickel particles in a beaker are building themselves into magnetic snakes that may one day give clues about how life originally organized itself.
These chains of metal particles look so much like real, living animals, it is hard not to think of them as alive. But they are actually bits of metal that came together under the influence of a specially tuned magnetic field.
rest of the story (http://"http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/snakes.html?npu=1&mbid=yhp)
rest of the story (http://"http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/snakes.html?npu=1&mbid=yhp)
Post by: Gordo on March 09, 2009, 02:26:37 am
Post by: SlimPickens on March 22, 2009, 09:39:10 pm
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=551
Post by: tyzack on March 22, 2009, 09:56:40 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens;223762
this is kinda crazy:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=551
I do not understand the public outrage about this entire story.
These people are highly skilled professionals doing a job that none of us can do and deserve to be compinsated for their efforts.
This is all a very unfortunate political theater which is disconcerting to all of us because it sets the precendant that the goverment can, for political reasons, impose punitive taxes on induviuals or groups thereof.
Post by: SlimPickens on March 22, 2009, 10:14:13 pm
Quote from: tyzack;223764
Quote from: SlimPickens;223762this is kinda crazy:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=551
I do not understand the public outrage about this entire story.
These people are highly skilled professionals doing a job that none of us can do and deserve to be compinsated for their efforts.
This is all a very unfortunate political theater which is disconcerting to all of us because it sets the precendant that the goverment can, for political reasons, impose punitive taxes on induviuals or groups thereof.
i agree that it\'s a giant distraction. these people are total targets for the outrage that many people are feeling.
however, i\'m pretty sure that i can financially bankrupt a company... and I\'ll do it for half the price!
Post by: tyzack on March 23, 2009, 09:01:31 am
Quote from: SlimPickens;223762
this is kinda crazy:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=551
Quote
Never mind, too, that such punitive laws were expressly deplored by America\'s Founders. In Federalist 44, James Madison warned that "Bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, and laws impairing the obligation of contracts, are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation."
In 1827 in Ogden v. Saunders, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a similar warning about legislative limits under Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution: "The states are forbidden to pass any bill of attainder or ex post facto law, by which a man shall be punished criminally or penally by loss of life of his liberty, property, or reputation for an act which, at the time of its commission, violated no existing law of the land," wrote Justice Bushrod Washington.
"Why did the authors of the Constitution turn their attention to this subject, which, at the first blush, would appear to be peculiarly fit to be left to the discretion of those who have the police and good government of the state under their management and control? The only answer to be given is because laws of this character are oppressive, unjust, and tyrannical, and as such are condemned by the universal sentence of civilized man."
Rest of the opinion:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123776465612908965.html
Post by: FrankZappa on March 23, 2009, 09:12:14 am
Quote
March 23, 1839 : OK enters national vernacular
On this day in 1839, the initials "O.K." are first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for "oll correct," a popular slang misspelling of "all correct" at the time, OK steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans.
During the late 1830s, it was a favorite practice among younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang when talking to one another. Just as teenagers today have their own slang based on distortions of common words, such as "kewl" for "cool" or "DZ" for "these," the "in crowd" of the 1830s had a whole host of slang terms they abbreviated. Popular abbreviations included "KY" for "No use" ("know yuse"), "KG" for "No go" ("Know go"), and "OW" for all right ("oll wright").
Of all the abbreviations used during that time, OK was propelled into the limelight when it was printed in the Boston Morning Post as part of a joke. Its popularity exploded when it was picked up by contemporary politicians. When the incumbent president Martin Van Buren was up for reelection, his facistic supporters organized a band of thugs to influence voters. This group was formally called the "O.K. Club," which referred both to Van Buren\'s nickname "Old Kinderhook" (based on his hometown of Kinderhook, New York), and to the term recently made popular in the papers. At the same time, the opposing Whig Party made use of "OK" to denigrate Van Buren\'s political mentor Andrew Jackson. According to the Whigs, Jackson invented the abbreviation "OK" to cover up his own misspelling of "all correct."
The man responsible for unraveling the mystery behind "OK" was an American linguist named Allen Walker Read. An English professor at Columbia University, Read dispelled a host of erroneous theories on the origins of "OK," ranging from the name of a popular Army biscuit (Orrin Kendall) to the name of a Haitian port famed for its rum (Aux Cayes) to the signature of a Choctaw chief named Old Keokuk. Whatever its origins, "OK" has become one of the most ubiquitous terms in the world, and certainly one of America\'s greatest lingual exports.
Post by: wildcoyote on March 23, 2009, 08:54:33 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens;223762
this is kinda crazy:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=551
In related news
http://gawker.com/5175745/aig-corporate-securitys-tips-for-surviving-an-angry-mob (http://gawker.com/5175745/aig-corporate-securitys-tips-for-surviving-an-angry-mob)
Quote from: tyzack;223764
Quote from: SlimPickens;223762this is kinda crazy:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=551
I do not understand the public outrage about this entire story.
These people are highly skilled professionals doing a job that none of us can do and deserve to be compinsated for their efforts.
This is all a very unfortunate political theater which is disconcerting to all of us because it sets the precendant that the goverment can, for political reasons, impose punitive taxes on induviuals or groups thereof.
As for this- No. They are not highly skilled professionals. They are the definition of incompetence. When you go to the government hat in had begging for a bailout on a disaster you created, you do not go and take that money to reward yourself for a job well done. No.
This is the first time in my life when I feel like the government actually gets it, and understands how angry the people are. For decades (longer?) our government has bent over for the interest of big business, because of lobbyists, campaign contributions, paid for vacations and other nonsense. The whole purpose of government to serve and protect the people, and for once that is what they are doing.
Post by: tyzack on March 24, 2009, 07:35:25 am
Quote from: wildcoyote;223877
As for this- No. They are not highly skilled professionals. They are the definition of incompetence. When you go to the government hat in had begging for a bailout on a disaster you created, you do not go and take that money to reward yourself for a job well done. No.
The people who received the bonuses were not the ones that got AIG into that mess in the first place. They are in charge of getting AIG out of the mess.
Post by: Me! on April 08, 2009, 11:33:16 pm
[SPOILER]\'House\' actor Kal Penn joins White House team
WASHINGTON – The White House has hired actor Kal Penn as a liaison between President Barack Obama\'s administration and Asian constituents. White House spokesman Shin Inouye said Tuesday that the actor who had a recurring role on Fox\'s TV show "House" and has starred in several movies would join the staff as an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison.
His role will be to connect Obama with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, as well as arts groups.
Penn starred as Kumar in the movie, "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay." His "House" character committed suicide in Monday\'s episode.
Penn backed Obama during the campaign. The White House says a start date for Penn hasn\'t been set.
The White House did not reveal what Penn would be paid. Aides with similar titles earned between $41,000 and $91,000 last year.
The hire was first reported by Entertainment Weekly.[/SPOILER]
Post by: Me! on May 02, 2009, 02:20:31 am
Quote
Dad finds Ecstasy in used Grand Theft Auto IV game case
Lydia Sung - Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 | 11:27AM (PT)
Of all the games, of all the things to find...
Richard Thornhill of Gloucester is pretty upset. He recently bought a used copy of Grand Theft Auto IV from a Gamestation in Cheltenham, only to find four Ecstasy tablets in plastic wrap tucked inside the instructions manual.
The 34-year-old store manager for tool hire company Hirebase is an "Xbox enthusiast" and went to the game store on Sunday, purchasing two used GTA games. Thornhill said he felt a lump in the case when it set it down, and the neatly wrapped tablets fell out when he opened the case to investigate.
"I know they are Ecstasy tablets because they have the Mitsubishi sign on top of them," explained the father of two. "I have two children and my son plays on the Xbox all the time. He could easily have opened the box and found them. I dread to think what the consequences would have been if he had. He\'s only 12. He could have died."
Now he\'s pissed the employees at Gamestation didn\'t check their inventory more carefully.
"It was a used game, but that shouldn\'t make a difference. My wife is beside herself over this because she keeps thinking about what could have happened," he added.
The store did offer to give Thornhill a refund for his purchase, but he\'s not backing down quietly.
"The store asked us to bring back the game and the tablets and told us we\'d get a refund, but that\'s not good enough. They shouldn\'t be asking us to give the tablets back – what are they going to do with them? Their attitude has been awful. It was as though they didn\'t really believe us."
A spokesperson for the Gamestation store stated, "We have rigorous procedures for accepting pre-owned titles and checking them before they are put back on sale. We have launched an immediate investigation and will work closely with Cheltenham police to find out what happened."
The Gloucestershire police have collected the tablets and "will be destroying them at a later date." They believe the drugs are Ecstasy pills and are currently investigating the situation.
Post by: jocelyn on May 02, 2009, 10:22:15 am
Quote
Father tries to cash in on daughter\'s fame
THE poverty-stricken father of Slumdog Millionaire child star Rubina Ali plans to become a millionaire himself-by SELLING his nine-year-old daughter.
In a bid to escape India\'s real-life slums, Rafiq Qureshi put angel-faced darling of the Oscars Rubina up for adoption, demanding millions of rupees worth £200,000.
As he offered the shocking deal to the News of the World\'s undercover fake sheik this week, Rafiq declared: "I have to consider what\'s best for me, my family and Rubina\'s future."
Rafiq tried to blame Hollywood bosses for forcing him to put his daughter up for SALE.
As he tried to fix the illegal adoption deal, real-life slum dweller Rafiq declared: "We\'ve got nothing out of this film."
Then, almost embarrassed to speak it out loud, he whispered to an accomplice the price tag he has put on his innocent young daughter: "It\'s £200,000!"
That was an astonishing FOURFOLD increase on his opening demand. But Rafiq\'s equally demanding brother Mohiuddin insisted: "The child is special now. This is NOT an ordinary child. This is an Oscar child!"
He sees it as his family\'s escape route from the notorious Bandra slum sprawl of Mumbai.
Rafiq revealed his scheme to undercover News of the World reporters posing as a wealthy family from Dubai.
Riches
We travelled to Mumbai to expose the illegal sale after a tip-off from a concerned close family friend and former neighbour.
Shockingly, this sort of transaction is far from unusual in an impoverished nation where human life comes cheap and children are often treated as a commodity.
Rubina won the hearts of film-lovers around the world playing young Latika in British director Danny Boyle\'s movie that picked up eight Oscars and a pile of other glittering awards. It tells the rags to riches story of a young man from the slums who wins the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Filmed in Mumbai\'s seething pauper ghetto it depicts starkly true scenes of poverty and child cruelty, where young orphans are blinded and crippled by Fagin-like thugs and forced to beg on the streets. And with a staggering 11 million children abandoned in India every year, there is no shortage of young prey.
Our informant, now a city tour guide, told us: "Rubina\'s family are furious that despite the film doing so well and their pretty daughter becoming so famous, they are still living in such rough conditions.
"They were approached by one wealthy Middle Eastern family who saw their plight in an item on Al Jazeera TV. The couple expressed an interest in adopting young Rubina and her parents\' eyes lit up.
"Dad Rafiq is streetwise and knows that soon his daughter\'s success will be forgotten and her moment of fame will be over. He has a family to feed and simply can\'t afford it. He is keen to find a rich family to bring up Rubina but only if they are willing to help the whole family to get out of the slums.
"The Middle East family were moved to tears by the plight of the young orphans shown in the film and fell in love with Rubina.
"Just as Western stars like Madonna do, they want to adopt children from poor areas and give them a better life.
"This family wanted to take Rubina abroad. They agreed to come to Mumbai to discuss the adoption in May.
"But the approach has made Rafiq very greedy and he has said that he will consider the highest offer for his child. But they realise that the money will soon stop coming in and Rafiq is open to all offers."
Our investigator made contact with Rafiq and said we had heard he was considering having Rubina adopted. He told Rafiq he was acting for a wealthy Arab sheik who wanted to take the youngster to live with him 2,000 miles away in Dubai.
Rafiq replied: "Yes, we are considering Rubina\'s future.
"Why don\'t you speak to my brother-in-law, Rajan, and he will discuss it with you? I will ask him to call you."
After contacting us, Rubina\'s uncle Rajan More - who speaks good English - confirmed: "Yes, we are interested in securing our girl\'s future.
"Rubina\'s life is miserable and she lives here with her stepmother. Most of the time she stays with me because she is not happy at her parents\' home.
"Obviously if you wanted to adopt we could discuss this, but her parents would also expect some proper compensation in return. We are talking of around £50,000 for this to happen." In another phone call, father Rafiq coolly confirmed: "Whatever you have discussed with Rajan, I agree with. Whatever money is agreed by Rajan, I will accept.
"We can discuss everything about this deal when we meet. There\'s a lot of interest in Rubina, she\'s become very famous."
Without querying the background, intentions, or even the names of Rubina\'s prospective new parents, Rafiq arranged to meet us.
Abuse
And as soon as we said the wealthy family lived in the United Arab Emirates Rafiq suggested: "We would love to come there.
"I have never been there but I have seen it in Indian films. It looks a great place."
Trafficking of poor Indian children to the Middle East, where they are forced to risk their lives as camel jockeys or subjected to sexual abuse, is common in the Mumbai slums. But that did not deter Rafiq.
His first plan was to bring Rubina plus other relatives to visit us in Dubai to discuss the deal. But he had to scrap the idea because he could not get a passport. He is disqualified because he is facing police charges over a knife attack.
That is why he did not accompany Rubina to the Oscars ceremony and her Uncle Mohiuddin went instead.
Rafiq tried to shrug off the problem, claiming: "There is a case against me but it\'s nothing. I\'m trying to get it sorted now. In India you can buy anything if you have money!"
His Plan B was the meeting in Mumbai fixed for Thursday evening. But he arrived late with his little daughter at the luxurious Leela Kempinski hotel at 11.35pm, when most children her age would be in bed.
Also tagging along were trusted sidekick Rajan More, Rafiq\'s brother Mohiuddin, a friend called Dinesh Dubey and two young nephews. "They were all keen to see what the hotel looks like inside," explained Rajan as he entered the £480-a-night suite.
Smiling broadly, Rubina, who was wearing a torn orange and white Indian dress, looked around the room in amazement. She was proudly clutching her new Nokia mobile phone, a gift from a well-wisher.
She said: "My house is as big as the toilet you have here. We live in Gharib Nagar (Poor Man\'s Colony)."
As the young VIP ordered strawberry milk shake and ice-cream, dad Rafiq proudly told how his daughter clinched the part in the international blockbuster film.
Toys
"One of our neighbours where we live took her to the audition," he said. "Around 1,500 kids turned up and my daughter passed. The film took over a year to make and she worked on it for a month."
Slumdog has been a roaring success, raking in a staggering £185 million at box offices around the world.
But Rafiq, 36, again complained: "They haven\'t looked after us. They gave some money at the start but they gave us nothing afterwards. They gave us around 150,000 rupees (£2,040). They\'ve been talking about giving us a house, but all they do is talk." Rubina chipped in: "But I did get toys. When we were filming in Juhu beach I got some crayons."
In fact Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson have set up a trust to ensure Rubina gets a proper education, is well housed and receives support dealing with media attention.
It was reported that Rafiq had spent some of his daughter\'s film fees on medical treatment to a leg he broke while working as a carpenter. He also used her cash to buy a new mobile phone for himself so agents can contact him to discuss work offers for his daughter. Rafiq has two other children - Sana, aged 13 and six-year-old Abbass - as well as another baby on the way by Rubina\'s stepmum Munni. Street-kid Rubina is one of only a handful of youngsters who attend school in her neighbourhood.
Rafiq added: "What they showed in the film is exactly how life is here. The government doesn\'t help us. We get nothing.
"We live in one room, seven of us sleep on the floor. I earn £2 to £3 a day. I have to consider what\'s best for me, my family and Rubina\'s future."
A fortnight ago Rubina and fellow child actor Azharuddin Ismail were each given a £12,000 luxury apartment by Slumdog sound engineer Rasul Pookutty. The property in Kerala, south India, was awarded to Rasul - who himself escaped poverty - by the local council in honour of his Oscar achievement.
But Rafiq dismissed the gesture, complaining: "We haven\'t got anything yet, it\'s all supposed to come later. It\'s all talk. It\'s being built, it\'ll take a year to be finished."
Stardom
And Rafiq insisted he had no intention of moving to Kerala, even when the apartment is complete.
"I won\'t move," he said. "I can never leave Mumbai. My childhood was here, everything I know is here in Mumbai."
As Rafiq spoke, Rubina excitedly looked around the suite, giggling and pointing out a large plasma TV on the wall to her 13-year-old cousin Mohsin.
Then she spoke about her new-found stardom. "I like being famous," she said. "Everyone where I live knows me and likes me now. Some people who I don\'t even know shout my name wherever I go - \'Rubina, Rubina\'!"
She proudly told us how she had worked with the stars on Slumdog and with "Uncle Danny (Boyle)".
When our female investigator, posing as a princess - the sheik\'s wealthy wife - handed Rubina three boxes of chocolates, she was thrilled. She shrieked with delight as we gave her a silver pendant.
"Can I stay in your bedroom?" asked the innocent youngster. "I\'ve never seen a bed like this in real life. I\'ve seen one like it in films though.
"Where we live there are all poor people. That\'s why the area is called Poor Man\'s Colony. There are all small huts, sewers and gutters, and sometimes the dirty water comes in the house. And there are lots of creepy-crawlies. I\'m scared of spiders and mosquitoes. Our house is very small. We sleep on the floor."
As Rubina jumped on the bed and played with the TV remote, her cousins tucked into a bowl of fruit and ice-cream.
Flicking through the channels, Rubina said: "Our TV is clapped out. It hardly works. The sound keeps going, especially when my favourite songs are on."
Excitedly she added: "I\'m going to be in a TV advert with a famous English actress soon!" In fact, she recently finished filming a soft drink commercial with Australian star Nicole Kidman. It was shot in India and Rafiq pocketed £2,000 for Rubina\'s performance.
Rubina was completely unaware she had been brought to the hotel by the men she trusted, those who should love and protect her, to discuss her SALE. We made certain throughout that Rubina did not know she was being offered for adoption in return for cash.
Rubina believed that she was merely at the hotel to meet a wealthy movie fan who wanted to present her with chocolates.
As midnight passed, our undercover reporter pointed out to Rafiq that it would be a good idea to take his youngster home to bed. Together with his entourage, Rafiq eventually left just before 1am.
Trade
"We can talk other matters tomorrow," said Rafiq, as he arranged to return to our suite to discuss business. He then asked for 1,000 Rupees (£13) to cover his cab fare back to the slums.
As Rubina left she asked our man: "Uncle, can I come here again as well? Please, please!"
On the way out Uncle Rajan, a burly man in his fifties with his hair and moustache dyed jet black, also had a request.
He pulled our reporter to one side and said: "Besides Rubina, if you are interested in having a young boy then I can arrange that. There are several available for adoption. Obviously you won\'t have to pay anything like the money for Rubina. Have a think and let me know then I can arrange for you to meet the children and choose the one you prefer."
Although illegal, India\'s sickening baby trade is widespread. Last year we revealed how a local social worker was exploiting dirt poor families and selling their kids for £1,500 a time. She even lined up a poverty-stricken mother willing to sell her unborn child for just £1,000.
On Friday, yet more of Rubina\'s family, friends and even a neighbour\'s kid joined the outing from the slums to the Leela hotel to meet our reporters.
This time the 13-strong party included Rubina\'s 28-year old stepmum Munni Qureshi, who is three months\' pregnant. Staff at the plush hotel looked on bemused as the kids began staging races along the corridor and lobby.
Meanwhile, Rafiq, Rajan and Mohiuddin headed to our suite to talk business. Rubina, in white blouse and jeans, sat next to her dad and Uncle Rajan on the cream sofa, still unaware her fate was being decided by them.
To save her discovering the truth our man suggested she go next door and play with "the princess" - our female investigator.
Then the men, got straight down to business. "Let\'s talk openly," urged Rajan. Our reporter said his boss the sheik was willing to adopt Rubina and take her to Dubai and asked the men what their demands were.
Rajan explained that no deal could go ahead for a few weeks because the family have been promised a house by the Indian government. If Rubina went abroad they would lose the house.
The governing Indian Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi - currently campaigning for the general elections later this month - has vowed to help them find a home.
Calculating Rajan explained: "Rafiq is about to get a property which will be in his name after Rubina is 18, so it\'ll take a bit of time. The other thing is about the amount. He wants to tell you. Listen to him." Rafiq looked visibly uncomfortable and returned to the theme of the free government house.
"We need time, until after the elections," he insisted. "We need two or three months."
Again Rajan chipped in: "You have to give time. . . you have to wait. Until then we can negotiate the amount. We\'ll come to Dubai, the girl will come and go."
Bitter
Rafiq said he too would be able to get his hands on a passport but only if we paid Rajan 35,000 rupees (£475) to bribe an official. "It\'ll be ready in eight days," said Rajan.
After all the extra demands our man asked about the final price for the adoption. And that\'s when they upped their demand over FOUR-FOLD. "Just tell them," said Rajan. Coyly Rafiq insisted: "You say it." Then Rajan said: "Whisper in my ear!"
Eventually Rajan announced: "It\'s 20 million rupees, £200,000." (In fact 20 million rupees is £270,000, but their calculations were wrong.)
When reminded that this deal was illegal, Rajan promised: "This discussion will not go beyond the three of us." Asked if Rubina\'s birth mother Khursheed might object and interfere, Rafiq insisted he had divorced her seven years ago and that she had no rights on the child.
"It\'s nothing to do with her," he said. And brother Rajan chimed in: "She\'s nothing! It\'s over!"
In fact Rafiq\'s family have been involved in a bitter row with Khursheed, who walked out on Rafiq when Rubina was just four. She showed up in the slums to reclaim her daughter on her return from the Oscar ceremony in February.
Rafiq and Khursheed had to be pulled apart after brawling. Khursheed also had a catfight with new wife Munni. Rubina has had little contact with her real mum.
When our man asked Rafiq if he had any questions about the proposed adoption he said calmly: "No, there\'s nothing more to say."
With the deal seemingly struck the party headed down to the imposing hotel lobby, decorated with a huge chandelier, for a buffet lunch.
Two of Rubina\'s pals were larking about doing headstands in the lobby as Rubina slid along the shiny marble floor to the restaurant. "Come on, everybody follow me!" she shouted. "We\'re having dinner here. I\'ll tell you what to do!"
The party - all in the dark about the deal except the dad and two uncles - were escorted to a long dining table in the lavish restaurant.
Stepmum Munni, wearing a white sari, sat with her feet up on the chair until her husband told her to sit properly. Then they all raced to the buffet, piling their plates high with food - a change from their usual diet of cheap rice and lentils.
"We can eat anything we like here," said Rubina excitedly.
After several main courses the party descended on the desserts, washing it all down with glasses of mango juice - each one costing more than Rafiq earns in a day.
Delighted Rubina grabbed our man by his arm and told him: "You are the best uncle ever!"
Touchingly she then took photos of everything from the food to the hotel armchairs on her mobile phone, to remind herself of her big day out. "This hotel is like the big ones in America," she said. "One day can I stay in an hotel like this?"
Tout
But after dinner it was back to reality. The group clambered into two people-carriers to be ferried back to the slums.
On Friday evening Rajan met our undercover reporter again - to escort him to another shanty town to tout two MORE children for sale.
In the coastal Mumbai suburb of Madh Island, an hour\'s drive from Rubina\'s home, several thousand people live in a similar sprawling slum. Rajan led our man thorough the dirty narrow streets to another single room shack where decorator Akbar Khan lives with his wife and four children. There was just one straw bed in the cramped room.
"Look at the pretty girl over there and see if you think she is suitable," whispered Rajan as he pointed to a nervous 10-year old called Rukhsar.
"This family want to have their daughter adopted. They have three girls and a son and cannot survive on their income. Take a photo to see if the sheik likes the look of her."
Outside in the rubbish-filled alley soft-spoken dad Akbar begged: "Please consider my daughter for adoption. We are poor people and want her to have a better future."
Later conniving Rajan added: "I can let you have their girl, or you can take their seven-year old boy. These people are desperately hard-up and will take less money."
Last night Rajan phoned us and demanded: "Have you decided which child you want besides Rubina? If you want these kids we have to get moving straight away."
The News of the World yesterday contacted Save The Children, a charity with a strong presence in Mumbai, to seek their help with Rubina\'s case.
Director of Campaigns Adrian Lovett said: "Save the Children pays tribute to the News of the World for highlighting this awful reality. We will do all we can to help Rubina.
"The Indian government must sign up to the International Labour Organisation\'s convention for abolishing the worst forms of child labour and trafficking."
Post by: FrankZappa on May 19, 2009, 05:26:22 am
Quote
Bodybuilders flee drug testers; event canceled
BRUSSELS (AP) - The Belgian bodybuilding championship has been
canceled after doping officials showed up and all the competitors fled.
A doping official says bodybuilders just grabbed their gear and ran off when he came into the room. "I have never seen anything like it and hope never to see anything like it again," doping official Hans Cooman said Monday.
Twenty bodybuilders were entered in the weekend competition. Cooman says the sport has a history of doping "and this
incident didn\'t do its reputation any good."
During testing of bodybuilding events last year, doping authorities of northern Belgium\'s Flanders region found that three-quarters of the competitors tested positive.
Post by: FrankZappa on May 20, 2009, 08:49:30 am
Quote from: Yoda;230392
Quote from: derickw;230388http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_pfizer_free_drugs
i don\'t know what you guys think, but my personal opinion is if you don\'t have a job and are collecting the last thing you should be doing is having kids..... :no:
Pfizer has more than 150 prescription drug that are not for erectile disfuction... Some of them include:
Lipitor - for cholesterol
Celebrex - painkiller
Lyrica - for fibromyalgia
Zithromax - antibiotic
Are you telling me that at some point, you haven\'t been prescribed a Z-Pack? This isn\'t costing taxpayers any money and will do well to repair some of the ill-will that people have towards the pharmaceutical industry... Unless Pfizer increases the cost of their products to cover the cost of this effort, I don\'t see how this is a bad idea (once you get past the fact that Viagra is only one of many drugs that Pfizer produces)...
I have never been prescribed any of these nor would I take them. Other than bayer asprin on rare occasions or once or twice a year when I get a REALLY bad cold something like nyquill, I pretty much never take medication.
moving on, from the only in texas file;
Quote
--------
AP-TX-XGR--Anti-Abortion Plates,0090
Senate votes for \'Choose Life\' plate
Eds: APNewsNow; Will be led.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Senate has voted to add "Choose Life" to the state catalog of specialty license plates. Supporters, including anti-abortion groups and facist Gov. Rick Perry, have said the "Choose Life" plates will help raise money for non-profit groups that support pregnant women considering adoption. Abortion rights groups say Texas should not put a political message on license plates. The Senate\'s preliminary vote was 22-9 but there was no debate. The bill needs a final Senate vote before it goes to the House.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-04-30-09 1420EDT
Post by: tyzack on May 26, 2009, 06:47:52 pm
Quote
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian security forces have arrested 104 "devil worshippers" and seized drugs and alcohol during a party in a southern city, a semi-official news agency reported Monday.
"Cutting (their own) skin and sucking up the blood was among the indecent behavior of the group," Mehr News Agency quoted Colonel Abbas Hamedi of Iran\'s Revolutionary Guards in the city of Shiraz as saying.
He said a Guards intelligence unit launched an investigation into the all-male group about one year ago, leading to their arrest Sunday evening.
"The group\'s aim was to promote irreligious behavior," Hamedi, adding they had posted footage of their parties on the Internet.
The Islamic Republic, which bans alcohol and narcotics, last year said it would launch a crackdown on "indecent Western-inspired movements" such as rappers and satanists.
That move signaled a widening of a clampdown on "immoral" conduct launched in 2007 against women flouting rules dictating that they cover their heads and disguise the shape of their bodies in public, in line with Iran\'s Islamic system.
The crackdown against what clerics see as corrupt Western influence coincided with rising pressure on Iran by the West over its nuclear program. The United States and its allies say Iran wants to build an atomic bomb, which Tehran denies.
(Reporting by Hossein Jaseb and Hashem Kalantari; writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Post by: FrankZappa on June 15, 2009, 08:47:35 pm
Quote
WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa - An umpire emptied the stands at a high school baseball game, ejecting the entire crowd of more than 100 fans for being unruly.
Umpire Don Briggs said he had no problem with any of the student athletes during Thursday\'s game between Winfield-Mount Union and West Burlington.
He said he had to take action because fans were being unruly, yelling and arguing.
However, West Burlington Superintendent James Sleister said he didn\'t see any unusual behavior and said he thought the umpire overreacted.
The game resumed after a 40-minute delay. West Burlington won 12-11.
The umpire called police as a precaution. West Burlington police officer Al Waterman says there were no arrests.
http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=955927
Post by: Spacey on June 16, 2009, 09:01:57 am
Post by: tyzack on June 16, 2009, 06:55:33 pm
Does anyone here know what the number is and what the significance of finding it is?
I thought the big task was to find the pattern to primes, not all of them (since there are, of course) and infinite number.
Post by: FrankZappa on June 16, 2009, 09:20:19 pm
my favorite thing is finding perfect formulas, they are the palindromes of the math world. my favorite is fibonacci sequece. a+a=b, a+b=c, b+c=d, c+d=e...
or 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...
tool used it in writing the rhythm and lyrics to lataralus:
(1) Black,
(1) then,
(2) white are,
(3) all I see,
(5) in my infancy,
(8) red and yellow then came to be,
(5) reaching out to me,
(3) lets me see.
(2) There is,
(1) so,
(1) much,
(2) more and
(3) beckons me,
(5) to look through to these,
(8) infinite possibilities.
(13) As below so above and beyond I imagine,
(8) drawn outside the lines of reason.
(5) Push the envelope.
(3) Watch it bend.
and yet I\'m still single. :lol:
Post by: tyzack on June 17, 2009, 09:44:22 am
Post by: Spacey on June 17, 2009, 09:48:55 am
Quote from: tyzack;233711
I meant what is the new prime number that they found, the digits.
Brimley, here you go.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/27/science/sci-prime27
13 Million digit. Not typing it.
Post by: weekapaug19 on June 25, 2009, 09:24:44 am
Post by: davepeck on July 08, 2009, 02:07:22 pm
Quote
Woman left newborn in portable toilet, police say
By Jason Kessler
CNN
(CNN) -- A 44-year-old Maryland woman faces charges of child abuse after police say she gave birth in a portable toilet and dropped the newborn into the waste tank.
After exiting the portable toilet in Long Wharf Park in Cambridge, Candy Vigneri got a cigarette from a construction worker and sat at a picnic table, police Lt. Wayne Bromwell said.
As she sat, a male passer-by approached the toilet but Vigneri warned him, "Don\'t go in there, I just had a baby there," police said.
The man immediately called 911. Vigneri returned to the toilet and retrieved the newborn from the foul liquid at the base of the tank.
The baby was unresponsive and covered with a blue antibacterial chemical agent when emergency responders reached the scene, police said.
Vigneri told officers that she didn\'t know she was pregnant.
She was arrested Wednesday on charges of child abuse and reckless endangerment and is being held on a $50,000 bond.
The baby is in stable condition at Easton Memorial Hospital. Dorchester County social services will take control of the newborn after she is released from the hospital.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/02/maryland.toilet.birth/?iref=mpstoryview
Post by: Yoda on July 08, 2009, 02:19:28 pm
Post by: peaches626 on July 08, 2009, 02:34:05 pm
Quote from: Yoda;235585
I\'m sorry but that is not it\'s downright fucking unforgiveable... How do you not know you\'re pregnant after carrying the baby for 9 months (if she was full term)... Even if she didn\'t know she was pregnant, she knew she had the baby and let it sit in the filth and chemicals of a rent-a-john? I have no pity for this woman... Send her straight to county w/out a trial...
sorry, but thats not how we do it here yoda
Post by: Yoda on July 08, 2009, 02:41:09 pm
Quote from: peaches626;235588
Quote from: Yoda;235585I\'m sorry but that is not it\'s downright fucking unforgiveable... How do you not know you\'re pregnant after carrying the baby for 9 months (if she was full term)... Even if she didn\'t know she was pregnant, she knew she had the baby and let it sit in the filth and chemicals of a rent-a-john? I have no pity for this woman... Send her straight to county w/out a trial...
sorry, but thats not how we do it here yoda
Must be a Mason/Dixon thing... I take this seriously because it happened in the town next to where I grew up and I knew the people involved...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Grossberg_and_Brian_Peterson
Amy Grossberg (born 1978) delivered a baby at a Comfort Inn in Newark, Delaware, on November 1996, assisted only by her then-boyfriend Brian Peterson, who later threw the baby into a dumpster. In March 1998, Peterson pled guilty to manslaughter and served a two-year sentence; on April 22, 1998, Grossberg agreed to a plea bargain, and was sentenced to a two-and-a-half years in prison on July 9, 1998.
Grossberg and Peterson dated while at Ramapo High School, growing up in the affluent suburb of Wyckoff, New Jersey. Amy successfully hid the pregnancy from her parents, particularly her mother, who was the person Amy most wanted to shield it from. Grossberg wore baggy clothes and avoided her parents for the course of the nine months.
In November 1996, the eighteen-year-old\'s water broke. She and Peterson checked into the Comfort Inn and delivered the unnamed child on November 12. Conflicting stories have made the subsequent events a mystery to anyone except the couple, but Peterson and Grossberg claim they believed the infant to be stillborn, wrapped him in a garbage bag, and disposed of him in a dumpster.
The bloody sheets were discovered by a cleaning woman, who immediately contacted police. K-9 Police dogs found the body in the dumpster. Upon returning to school, Grossberg began to have severe seizures as a result of not having expelled the placenta. She was taken to a hospital, and it was clear to the doctors that she had just given birth. Not long after, police officials and the hospital put the two incidents together.
The couple’s initial claim that the child was stillborn was quickly shot down. An autopsy proved that the infant was delivered alive and that the cause of death was several head fractures and Shaken Baby Syndrome. The cause of the injuries was inconclusive. Peterson and Grossberg, who at first seemed to remain a loving couple, quickly turned on each other and began the finger pointing. In December 1996 they were indicted for the murder. Peterson stated emphatically that Grossberg told him to “get rid of it!”; Grossberg claimed that Peterson acted alone in putting the boy into the dumpster.
In March 1998, Peterson pled guilty to manslaughter in exchange for his testimony against Grossberg at her trial. Other than his initial claims, he also stated that he tried to get her to a hospital, but she refused. When Grossberg heard Peterson\'s statement in detail, she agreed to a plea bargain on April 22, 1998. She admitted to unintentionally causing the death of the infant and said that she and Peterson never planned to kill the baby. A concern of attorneys for both defendants regarding going to trial was that the pictures of the baby\'s head (it was noted on Court TV that such pictures could not be shown on television) would be displayed in court and lead to more severe penalties.
While Peterson was sentenced to two years, Grossberg was held to be more responsible and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years.
Not all forensic pathologists agree with the fact that the baby was born alive, some feel that infant was likely stillborn or drew breath once or twice before dying. Bruising to a baby\'s head can also occur during birth, particularly if the mother is young, it\'s her first child, and the mother has a small pelvis. The Grossberg baby also had congenital abnormalities, increasing the likelihood of stillbirth.
Post by: tyzack on July 08, 2009, 03:03:53 pm
Quote from: Yoda;235585
I\'m sorry but that is not it\'s downright fucking unforgiveable... How do you not know you\'re pregnant after carrying the baby for 9 months (if she was full term)... Even if she didn\'t know she was pregnant, she knew she had the baby and let it sit in the filth and chemicals of a rent-a-john? I have no pity for this woman... Send her straight to county w/out a trial...
Agreed w/Yoda.
Partially...about the reaction to the baby and the need for county. Actually, fuck that, spade her, or whatever.
Apparently (??? I am still somewhat amazed by this ???) not knowing you are pregagnat is common enough for there to be a show about it:
I saw it on {edit} TLC {edit}
http://tlc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=2.15574.127107.36836.1
Post by: wildcoyote on July 08, 2009, 03:53:54 pm
Post by: derickw on July 09, 2009, 09:46:55 am
Post by: FreeSpirit on July 09, 2009, 10:05:43 am
Quote
SYDNEY — Residents of a rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and their wallets have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first community in the country — and possibly the world — to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry.
Residents of Bundanoon cheered after their near-unanimous approval of the measure at a town meeting Wednesday. It was the second blow to Australia\'s beverage industry in one day: Hours earlier, the New South Wales state premier banned all state departments and agencies from buying bottled water, calling it a waste of money and natural resources.
"I have never seen 350 Australians in the same room all agreeing to something," said Jon Dee, who helped spearhead the "Bundy on Tap" campaign in Bundanoon, a town of 2,500 about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Sydney. "It\'s time for people to realize they\'re being conned by the bottled water industry."
First popularized in the 1980s as a convenient, healthy alternative to sugary drinks, bottled water today is often criticized as an environmental menace, with bottles cluttering landfills and requiring large amounts of energy to produce and transport.
Over the past few years, at least 60 cities in the United States and a handful of others in Canada and the United Kingdom have agreed to stop spending taxpayer dollars on bottled water, which is often consumed during city meetings, said Deborah Lapidus, organizer of Corporate Accountability International\'s "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign in the U.S.
But the Boston-based nonprofit corporate watchdog has never heard of a community banning the sale of bottled water, she said.
"I think what this town is doing is taking it one step further and recognizing that there\'s safe drinking water coming out of our taps," she said.
Bundanoon\'s battle against the bottle has been brewing for years, ever since a Sydney-based beverage company announced plans to build a water extraction plant in the town. Residents were furious over the prospect of an outsider taking their water, trucking it up to Sydney for processing and then selling it back to them. The town is still fighting the company\'s proposal in court.
Then in March, Huw Kingston, who owns the town\'s combination cafe and bike shop, had a thought: If the town was so against hosting a water bottling company, why not ban the end product?
To prevent lost profit in the 10-or-so town businesses that sell bottled water, Kingston suggested they instead sell reusable bottles for about the same price. Residents will be able to fill the bottles for free at public water fountains, or pay a small fee to fill them with filtered water kept in the stores.
The measure will not impose penalties on those who don\'t comply when it goes into effect in September. Still, all the business owners voluntarily agreed to follow it, recognizing the financial and environmental drawbacks of bottled water, Kingston said.
On Wednesday, 356 people turned up for a vote — the biggest turnout ever at a town meeting.
Only two people voted no. One said he was worried banning bottled water would encourage people to drink sugary beverages. The other was Geoff Parker, director of the Australasian Bottled Water Institute — which represents the bottled water industry.
Australians spent 500 million Australian dollars ($390 million) on bottled water in 2008 — a hefty sum for a country of just under 22 million people.
On Thursday, Parker blasted the ban as unfair, misguided and ineffective.
He said the bottled water industry is a leader in researching ways to minimize bottled beverage impact on the environment. Plus, he said, the ban removes consumer choice.
"To take away someone\'s right to choose possibly the healthiest option in a shop fridge or a vending machine we think doesn\'t embrace common sense," he said.
But tap water is just as good as the stuff you find encased in plastic, said campaign organizer Dee, who also serves as director of the Australian environment group Do Something!
"We\'re hoping it will act as a catalyst to people\'s memories to remember the days when we did not have bottled water," he said. "What is \'Evian\' spelled backwards? \'Naive.\'"
link (http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090709/AS.Australia.Bottled.Water.Ban/)
Post by: tyzack on July 09, 2009, 10:31:45 am
*unless you are in an area of the world where you cannot trust the well/public water.
Post by: FrankZappa on July 09, 2009, 03:49:41 pm
Post by: tyzack on July 09, 2009, 03:56:00 pm
Post by: wildcoyote on July 09, 2009, 05:18:47 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Post by: FrankZappa on July 13, 2009, 12:20:53 pm
Quote
A cat piano or Katzenklavier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katzenklavier)(German) is a musical instrument designed by Athanasius Kircher. It consists of a line of cats fixed in place with their tails stretched out underneath a keyboard. Nails would be placed under the keys, causing the cats to cry out in pain when a key was pressed. The cats would be arranged according to the natural tone of their voices.
The instrument was described by German physician Johann Christian Reil (1759-1813) for the purpose of treating patients who had lost the ability to focus their attention. Reil believed that if they were forced to see and listen to this instrument, it would inevitably capture their attention and they would be cured (Richards, 1998).
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ed/Katzenkavalier.jpg/800px-Katzenkavalier.jpg)
Post by: Yoda on July 13, 2009, 12:27:36 pm
Even I know that comment was wrong...
Post by: booztravlr on July 23, 2009, 10:16:03 am
Written by Richard English
Some amazing man or woman, past or present, who stands colossus-like atop the Big Keg, the ground below littered with crushed empties and the blacked-out carcasses of lesser beings? A verging demigod, whose prowess with a bottle leaves you shaking your head in pop-eyed adoration? Lots of us do.
In addition to their wrist-raising abilities, we deify great drinkers because they indulge their lust for intoxication while simultaneously operating at the peak of their powers in whatever their chosen profession. In other words, great drunks are also great writers, actors, athletes, scientists, statesmen, philosophers, and so on.
I have a favorite drunkard. He was an athlete—a professional wrestler in fact—but he was also a gifted entertainer and a true artist. His parents named him Andre Rene Rousimoff, but we knew him as The Eighth Wonder of the World, Andre the Giant.
For two decades, from the late 1960s through the mid 1980s, Andre the Giant was the highest paid professional wrestler in the business and a household name across the globe. Promoters fought tooth and nail to book Andre, as his presence on a card all but guaranteed a sell-out. Fans cheered his every move, and mobbed him on the street as if he were a great big Beatle.
For proof of his drawing power, look no further than Wrestlemania III in 1987. The main event was Andre vs. Hulk Hogan. The show drew the first million-dollar gate in wrestling history, set a pay-per-view record that lasted a decade, and set the all-time indoor attendance record for any live event ever—78,000+ butts in seats at the Pontiac Silver Dome in Detroit—destroying the previous record set by some rock band called the Rolling Stones. His rematch with Hogan two months later, broadcast live on NBC, attracted 33 million viewers, making it the most watched wrestling match ever.
Known to his friends simply as “Giant” or “Boss,” Andre was born on May 19th, 1946, in Grenoble, France, the child of Russian immigrants. Shortly after his birth, he was diagnosed with a rare glandular disease, acromegaly, which caused his body to over-produce growth hormones. As a result, Andre grew to a height of somewhere between 6’11” and 7’5” and a weight of over 500 pounds (his actual height and weight have been speculated about for decades—the business is notorious for inflating wrestlers’ statistics—but Andre’s illness sometimes made him slouch or bow his shoulders, so he might well have been the advertised 7’5”). He first wrestled as Andre the Butcher, but it was Vincent J. McMahon Sr., owner of New York’s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), who christened him “Andre the Giant.”
While it can be argued that a miniscule handful of professional wrestlers matched Andre’s in-ring achievements (Gorgeous George back in the ‘40s and ‘50s, perhaps; Dusty Rhodes in the ‘70s, and Hulk Hogan, without a doubt, in the ‘80s), no other wrestler ever matched his exploits as a drunkard. In fact, no other human has ever matched Andre as a drinker. He is the zenith. He is the Mount Everest of inebriation.
As far as great drunkards go, there is Andre the Giant, and then there is everyone else.
The big man loved two things: wrestling and booze—mostly booze—and his appetites were of mythic proportion.
First, consider the number 7,000. It’s an important number, and a rather scary one considering its context, which is this—it has been estimated that Andre the Giant drank 7,000 calories worth of booze every day. The figure doesn’t include food. Just booze.
7,000 calories.
Every day.
I don’t know about you, but it makes my brain turn somersaults. Hell, it makes my brain perform an entire floor routine, complete with colored ribbons.
When Andre arrived in New York to begin his long working relationship with the McMahon family, his reputation as both a serious student of the nightlife and an extravagant spender was already a topic of speculation and wonder among East Coast wrestlers and promoters. Andre might make $15,000-$20,000 for a single appearance at Madison Square Garden, and a substantial amount of that went to settling the bar tabs he piled up as he boozed his way up and down Manhattan until sunrise. Andre’s generosity matched his size. He often invited a gang of fellow wrestlers along for the ride, as he disliked drinking alone, and picked up some truly staggering tabs. Andre was going to have a good time and went out of his way to make sure everyone else did too.
Worried about his headliner, Vince McMahon Sr. assigned a “handler” to the Giant—long-time wrestler, manager, and road agent, Arnold Skaaland, whose only job when Andre was in town was to keep him out of serious trouble and get him to the arena in time to wrestle. Skaaland was an old-school drinker in his own right, but Andre blew his mind. On one occasion he could only watch goggle-eyed as Andre went about demolishing a dozen or so quarts of beer as a “warm-up” for a match.
With Skaaland on the job, Vince Sr. knew Andre was in capable hands, but the promoter still worried about how the Giant would cope with the insane amount of travel required of a wrestling superstar. Andre loathed flying—no commercial airliner could accommodate such a massive man without resorting to the luggage compartment—and his opinion of most cars wasn’t much sunnier, because aspects of his disease caused intense pain in his knees, hips and lower back when he remained too long in a cramped position. When a tight schedule left a plane or car as the only option, Andre eased his discomfort by getting good and hammered.
Vince Sr. pondered the situation and arrived at a novel solution. He wanted to keep the big man happy, so he bought a trailer and had it customized just for Andre. With plenty of room to spread out and relax, Andre could now travel in a semblance of comfort, which allowed him to do some serious boozing. During trips Andre consumed beer at the incredible rate of a case every ninety minutes, with bottles of vodka or top-rate French wine thrown in for variety.
Sadly, the trailer wasn’t available outside the WWWF territory; Vince Sr. wasn’t about to do the competition any favors. Andre didn’t expect other promoters to pony up a trailer just for him, so he commissioned a customized Lincoln Continental. With the front seat now positioned about where the back seat would normally be, Andre had a little leg room. He carried his luggage and wrestling gear in the trunk and towed his necessities in a trailer. Lined with plastic tarps, the rickety trailer was filled with ice and cases of Budweiser tallboys. As he cruised the nation’s highways, Andre kept a case on the seat beside him, stopping only for food, more ice, and another case or two if he ran low.
As famous as Andre was in this country, he was even bigger in Japan. He spent a few months out of every year over there, where he was treated like a living god and pocketed five-figure payoffs for a single night’s work. That being said, Andre didn’t really like Japan. Everything was too small. Hotel beds were like bassinets and it was all but impossible for him to shower or go to the bathroom in their Lilliputian facilities. He was known to rip the door off his hotel bathroom and make use of the toilet by sitting sideways with his legs sticking out into the main room.
Getting from show to show presented its own problems. Japanese promoters preferred to transport the gaijin wrestlers by bus, vehicles which steadfastly refused to house giants. In order to placate their star import, promoters removed several rows of seats from the back of the bus, creating something of a private cabin for Andre, a place spacious enough for him to stretch out or catch a nap. Mostly, though, Andre used the space as a comfortable spot to do his drinking.
A very green rookie wrestler named Hulk Hogan toured Japan several times with Andre and witnessed the Giant’s alcohol consumption first hand. According to Hogan, Andre drank, at a minimum, a case of tall boys during each bus ride. When he finished a can Andre would belch, crush the can in his dinner-platter-sized hand, and bounce the empty off the back of Hogan’s head. Hogan learned to count each thunk, so he could anticipate when Andre was running low. Whenever the bus stopped, it was Hogan’s job to scamper off to the nearest store, buy as many cases of beer as he could carry, and make it back before the bus departed, a sight that never failed to make Andre roar his bassoon-like laugh.
On one tour, Andre’s Japanese sponsors rewarded him with a case of expensive plum wine. Andre settled down in the back of the bus and started drinking. Four hours later, the bus arrived at the next venue, and Andre was polishing off the last bottle of wine.
Sixteen bottles of wine in four hours is a considerable feat, but it gets better. Andre proceeded straight to the ring and wrestled three matches, including a twenty-man battle royal. The 16 bottles of plum wine had no discernible effect on Andre’s in-ring ability. By the end of the evening, Andre had sweated off the wine and found himself growing cranky. He dispatched Hogan for a few cases of beer. Hogan hurried to do as Andre asked, knowing from painful experience that a drunken Giant was a happy Giant, and a happy Giant was less likely to fracture some vital part of an opponent’s anatomy in a fit of grumpiness.
In 1977, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes wrestled Andre at Madison Square Garden. Afterwards, the old friends went out on the town. They adjourned to one of Andre’s favorite watering holes and took stools at the bar (Andre occupied two). Several hours and some 100 beers later (around 75 of them were Andre’s), they decided to head back to their hotel. Andre looked at taxis with the same scorn as most other conveyances and announced that he and Dusty would walk, which was problem because Dusty was having trouble maintaining a vertical position. Andre studied the situation, and a twinkling grin blossomed across his huge face. People who spent any time with the big man quickly learned to watch for that grin. It was a harbinger of danger. It meant that Andre was contemplating something risky, something with potential legal ramifications, but also, most assuredly, something fun.
A moment later, the two huge wrestlers attacked a pair of horse-drawn carriages. Dusty threw a handful of paper money at one driver while Andre hauled the other from his seat with one hand. While one driver cursed and the other scrabbled around on the ground collecting his windfall, Andre and Dusty thundered off in the carriages. They raced through the Manhattan streets, dodging cars and pedestrians for fifteen blocks before ditching the carriages and lathered horses a block from their hotel. By the time the cops arrived, Andre and Dusty were enjoying snifters of brandy in the hotel bar, appearing as innocent as angels. The next day, they main-evented another card at the Garden. Another sell-out. Two pros at the top of their games.
Another time, in the ‘70s, Andre was holding court at a beach-front bar in the Carolinas, boozing it up with fellow wrestlers Blackjack Mulligan, Dick Murdoch, and the inimitable Ric Flair. They’d been drinking with gusto for hours when Flair goaded Mulligan and Murdoch into some slap-boxing with Andre, who had poured over 60 beers down his gullet. One of the two “accidentally” sucker-punched Andre. The Giant became enraged, grabbed both Mulligan (6’5”, 250 lbs.) and Murdoch (6’3”, 240 lbs.) and dragged them into the ocean, one in each hand, where he proceeded to hold them under water. Flair intervened, and Andre released the men, assuring them he was only playing around. Murdoch and Mulligan, who had nearly drowned, weren’t so sure, but neither messed with Andre the Giant again. They also picked up the tab.
On another occasion, Andre was touring the Kansas City territory and went out for drinks after a show with Bobby Heenan and several other wrestlers. When the bartender hollered last call, Andre, slightly annoyed, announced that he didn’t care to leave. Rather than risk an altercation with his hulking customer, the bartender told Andre he could stay only if he was drinking, imagining, surely, that he would soon be rid of the big fella. Andre thanked the man, and proceeded to order 40 vodka tonics. He sat there drinking them, one after another, finishing the last at just after five in the morning.
When ill health forced Andre to largely quit wrestling in the late ‘80s, he accepted the role of Fezzik in Rob Reiner’s movie The Princess Bride. Everyone on the set loved the big man, with the possible exception of Reiner himself. Ever the sociable fellow, he kept fellow cast members Mandy Patinkin and Carey Elwes out night after night, drinking and otherwise goofing around. The actors were incapable of matching Andre’s intake, but certainly gave it a serious try. As a result, they often showed up on set still loaded or suffering from the sort of hangovers that make death seem a pleasant alternative. Reiner tried to get Andre to leave the actors alone, but Andre could only be Andre, and the other cast members continued to pay the price.
The shooting schedule required Andre to be in England for about a month. When his part wrapped, Andre checked out of his suite at the Hyatt in London and flew back to his ranch in North Carolina. His bar bill for the month-long stay?
Just a shade over $40,000.
Now, if everything I’ve described so far isn’t proof enough that Andre the Giant was the greatest drunkard who ever lived, these last two stories should set my claim in granite.
You won’t find it in the Guinness Book of World Records, but Andre the Giant holds the world record for the largest number of beers consumed in a single sitting. These were standard 12-ounce bottles of beer, nothing fancy, but during a six-hour period Andre drank 119 of them. It was one of the few times Andre got drunk enough to pass out, which he did in a hallway at his hotel. His companions, quite drunk themselves, couldn’t move the big man. Fearing trouble with cops, they stole a piano cover from the lounge and draped it over Andre’s inert form. He slept peacefully until morning, unmolested by anyone. Perhaps the hotel people thought he was a piece of furniture.
Think about it: 119 beers in six hours. That’s a beer every three minutes, non stop. That’s beyond epic. It’s beyond the ken of mortal men. It’s god-like.
Giants are not made long for this world, and toward the end of his life injuries and health problems caused by the acromegaly caught up with Andre. It became difficult just to walk, let alone wrestle, so he retired to his North Carolina ranch to drink wine and watch the countryside. He declined myriad requests for a comeback, despite promises of lavish payoffs. He was simply in too much pain to perform at the level he demanded of himself. Then he received a call from Vince McMahon Jr.
McMahon was in the midst of taking his WWF promotion national. He’d scored big-time with his Wrestlemania events on pay-per-view, and as Wrestlemania III approached, Vince Jr. was hot to make it the biggest thing yet. To make that happen, he needed Andre the Giant.
Andre was in France visiting his ailing father when the call came. He thanked Vince Jr. but said there was no way he could get back in a ring, even though he very much wanted to. Not willing to give up, Vince Jr. flew to France to speak with Andre in person. He took Andre to see doctors specializing in back and knee maladies. Radical back surgery was proposed. If successful, the procedure would lessen Andre’s pain and perhaps make it possible for him to get in the ring for Wrestlemania. If Andre was game, Vince Jr. agreed to pay for the entire cost of the surgery.
The time arrived, and the anesthesiologist was frantic. He had never put a person of Andre’s size under the gas before and had no idea how much to use. Various experts were brought in but no solution presented itself until one of the doctors asked Andre if he was a drinker. Andre responded that, yes, he’d been known to tip a glass from time to time. The doctor then wanted to know how much Andre drank and how much it took to get him drunk.
“Well,” rumbled the Giant, “It usually takes two liters of vodka just to make me feel warm inside.”
And thus was a solution found. The gas-passer was able to extrapolate a correct mixture for Andre by analyzing his alcohol intake. It was a medical breakthrough, and the system is still used to this day.
Five months later, Andre the Giant wrestled a “body-slam” match against Hulk Hogan and brought down the house.
Two liters of vodka. Warm and fuzzy. Side by side like that, the two sentences hardly make any sense. For most of us, two liters of vodka means a one-way ticket to Blackout Island aboard the good ship Regurgitania.
After Wrestlemania, Andre retired for good. His beloved father died in 1993 and Andre returned to France to be with his family. He was still there when, on January 26th, 1993, Andre died in his sleep of heart failure at the age of 47.
The key to Andre the Giant is this — even as a youth he knew that his disease would dramatically shorten his life. He knew there was no cure, and lived every day with the understanding that death could shamble around the very next corner. Knowledge of this sort can darken a life.
It did not darken Andre’s.
He chose instead to pack his days with as much insane, drunken fun as they could hold. Instead of languishing in the darkness, he chose to walk in the sun.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now. Andre the Giant was an inspiration. I would pay a fortune for the opportunity to go back in time 30 years to watch such a master practice his craft, in the ring and at the bar.
Andre the Giant was the very embodiment of what being a drunkard is all about.
—Richard English
Post by: Stephengencs on July 23, 2009, 12:14:41 pm
Post by: tyzack on August 06, 2009, 01:01:29 pm
Quote
Two expats have been arrested in Abu Dhabi after offering to double an
undercover agent’s money using a magic powder, according to the
Ministry of Interior. The suspects are accused of claiming that a
“magic blend” sprinkled over banknotes contained in a bag would double
the amount. Laboratory tests showed that the powder consisted of flour
and washing powder (true money laundering!).“They would put some of
the powder on the notes they want to double. They would then put the
notes in a bag and ask their victims not to open the bag until the
blend takes effect.” The usual method was to give the victims, an
initial “demonstration” of the powder’s inflationary properties before
being asking them to hand over a larger number of notes. However, that
money would be switched with fake notes that would then be covered
with the powder and closed in the bag. Last month Ajman police
detained a Russian, who was allegedly operating a similar scheme.
Post by: FrankZappa on August 07, 2009, 11:47:47 am
Bird experiment shows Aesop\'s fable may be true
By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer Malcolm Ritter, Ap Science Writer - Thu Aug 6, 12:06 pm ET
NEW YORK - From the goose that laid the golden egg to the race between the tortoise and the hare, Aesop\'s fables are known for teaching moral lessons rather than literally being true. But a new study says at least one such tale might really have happened.
It\'s the fable about a thirsty crow. The bird comes across a pitcher with the water level too low for him to reach. The crow raises the water level by dropping stones into the pitcher. (Moral: Little by little does the trick, or in other retellings, necessity is the mother of invention.)
Now, scientists report that some relatives of crows called rooks used the same stone-dropping strategy to get at a floating worm. Results of experiments with three birds were published online Thursday by the journal Current Biology.
Rooks, like crows, had already been shown to use tools in previous experiments.
Christopher Bird of Cambridge University and a colleague exposed the rooks to a 6-inch-tall clear plastic tube containing water, with a worm on its surface. The birds used the stone-dropping trick spontaneously and appeared to estimate how many stones they would need. They learned quickly that larger stones work better.
In an accompanying commentary, Alex Taylor and Russell Gray of the University of Auckland in New Zealand noted that in an earlier experiment, the same birds had dropped a single stone into a tube to get food released at the bottom. So maybe they were just following that strategy again when they saw the tube in the new experiment, the scientists suggested.
But Bird\'s paper argued there\'s more to it: The rooks dropped multiple stones rather than just one before reaching for the worm, and they reached for it at the top of the tube rather than checking the bottom.
The researchers also said Aesop\'s crow might have actually been a rook, since both kinds of birds were called crows in the past.
Post by: tyzack on September 02, 2009, 05:01:33 pm
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10594014
Quote
An Auckland accountant was sacked for sending "confrontational" emails with words in red, in bold and in capital letters.
Quote
ProCare told the authority Walker - who was fired in December 2007 after two years of employment - had caused disharmony in the workplace by using block capitals, bold typeface and red text in her emails.
Post by: Spacey on October 09, 2009, 12:23:58 pm
Quote from: ESPN
Golfer loses arm in gator attack
BEAUFORT, S.C. -- Officials say an alligator bit off part of a golfer\'s arm as he leaned over to pick up his ball at a private South Carolina course.
The man, who is in his 70s, was retrieving his ball from a pond when the 10-foot alligator bit him at Ocean Creek Golf Course in Beaufort County. The gator pulled the golfer into the pond and ripped off his arm in the struggle. His golf partners were able to free him.
Wildlife workers killed the alligator and retrieved the arm in the hopes it might be reattached.
The man has not been identified. He was being treated at the Medical University of South Carolina, but officials there would not release any information about him.
A call to the golf course was not immediately returned.
Chubbs (http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4545614)
(http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3356/537b3624fm2.jpg)
Post by: SlimPickens on October 09, 2009, 02:41:26 pm
its all in the hips
its all in the hips
Post by: Vassillios on October 21, 2009, 03:17:47 pm
Quote
She\'s not going to be ignored, Steve!
ESPN analyst Steve Phillips had a fling with a 22-year-old production assistant, who, after being dumped, taunted his wife with "Fatal Attraction"-like phone calls and a letter that bragged about her sexcapades with Phillips while taking pot shots at their "loveless marriage," The Post has learned.
The former Met general manager, whose tenure with the team was rocked by admissions of infidelity, confessed to his wife and local cops that he had slept with ESPN assistant Brooke Hundley several times this past summer before dumping her.
In retaliation, the jilted young woman repeatedly phoned Phillips\' wife, Marni, saying, "We both can\'t have him!" an explosive police report claims.
Hundley\'s desperate actions -- including accidentally smashing her car into a stone column while speeding away from the Phillips\' home after leaving the letter -- terrified the family, according to the Wilton, Conn., police report.
"I have extreme concerns about the health and safety of my kids and myself," Steve Phillips said in a police statement, adding that the woman became "obsessive and delusional" after he dumped her.
But Phillips, 46, declined to pursue criminal charges against Hundley, a Bristol, Conn., woman who cops learned may have used an ESPN computer to contact Phillips\' 16-year-old son on Facebook while posing as a high-school classmate.
Phillips -- who admitted having multiple affairs with women while working for the Mets -- is now being sued for divorce by his 40-year-old wife, the mother of his four sons. Two months ago, Phillips deeded the family\'s five-bedroom, multimillion-dollar Wilton home to her.
A source told The Post Phillips has been suspended for a week by ESPN -- which hired him in 2005 as a baseball analyst -- because of the scandal.
ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said: "We were aware of this and have already taken appropriate action. We have no further comment."
Phillips did not return calls seeking comment.
Hundley, too, refused to talk when reached by The Post last night.
The bombshell developments come 11 years after Phillips took a brief leave of absence as the Mets\' GM after admitting to having sex with a team employee, Rosa Rodriguez, who sued him for sexual harassment, a case later settled out of court.
(http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2009/10/21/news/photos_stories/phillips_gal120324--300x300.jpg)
funny comments (http://theproducers.weei.com/sports/boston/dennis-and-callahan/will-people-ever-learn/)
Post by: booztravlr on October 21, 2009, 03:27:52 pm
Post by: skalnbyc on October 21, 2009, 03:51:31 pm
Quote from: booztravlr;244345
Her ?
Ha
Sounds like Michael on Arrested Development, in reference to Ann.
Post by: Vassillios on October 21, 2009, 03:57:50 pm
Post by: FreeSpirit on October 21, 2009, 04:36:52 pm
Quote from: funny comments
"ouch talk about hitting everybranch when falling out of the ugly tree!"
"She looks like she boiled a few bunnies, and ate ‘em. . . ."
"petunia pig has nothing on her…too many trips to the piggly wiggly she needs to mix in a salad somewhere…"
"she looks like someone lit a fire on her face and put it out with a brick."
"Hopefully ESPN will fire this turd. Not for having sex but having sex with an ugly broad. Have some respect, MAN! You suppose to use your position to get hot chicks, not ugly ones."
Post by: Yoda on December 04, 2009, 12:26:24 pm
http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&source=hp&q=marc+ecko+star+wars+hoodies&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=2UQZS8yjEYjanAfixejbAw&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CC8QrQQwAA
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478043v250.jpg)
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478037v250.jpg)
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478067v250.jpg)
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478055v250.jpg)
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478049v250.jpg)
Post by: skalnbyc on December 04, 2009, 04:12:53 pm
Quote from: Yoda;247869
Check out these sweatshirts...
http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&source=hp&q=marc+ecko+star+wars+hoodies&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=2UQZS8yjEYjanAfixejbAw&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CC8QrQQwAA
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478043v250.jpg)
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478037v250.jpg)
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478067v250.jpg)
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478055v250.jpg)
(http://ecko.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pECKO1-6478049v250.jpg)
Which one did you get? My guess would be the last one.
Post by: Yoda on December 04, 2009, 04:31:50 pm
Post by: Yoda on December 11, 2009, 03:35:47 pm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091211/ap_en_ce/us_celeb_herman;_ylt=An60_LWGUrGYOIW5f0RAsvJxFb8C;_ylu=X3oDMTJrNGNjaXN2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMjExL3VzX2NlbGViX2hlcm1hbgRwb3MDNARzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3BlZS13ZWVoZXJtYQ--
Post by: Spacey on December 11, 2009, 04:00:00 pm
Post by: SlimPickens on April 23, 2010, 04:50:25 pm
Quote
BRIDGEPORT -- The executive director of the Gathering of the Vibes wants the city to adopt an ordinance banning laughing gas at local parks, including the waterfront setting for his annual music festival.
Ken Hays told the City Council on Monday night that nitrous oxide, a euphoria-inducing gas that is shipped in large tanks from Philadelphia, the Bronx and Boston, and sold to concertgoers in balloons, has been a growing problem for years at the Vibes, a four-day music and camping festival held for the past five years at Seaside Park.
"It is a problem that is more and more prolific throughout the Northeast," Hays told the council, adding that organized dealers have become increasingly aggressive. "We need your help."
Hays said he\'s been discussing a ban on nitrous oxide with city leaders and police, including stiffer penalties for those caught possessing the substance, over a couple of years.
Nitrous oxide is a restricted substance, but not a controlled substance by state law. That means that it\'s not criminal to possess it, only to misuse it. The substance has several legal purposes, including use as a dental and surgical anesthetic; an oxidizer to increase combustion in rocket and race car engines and an aerosol can propellent.
Using the drug to get high, however, is not among the legal uses.
Hays anticipates supportive action from the council before this year\'s festival.
Post by: jking on May 25, 2010, 09:40:01 am
Quote
BERVARD COUNTY, Fla. [sic] — The Brevard County doctor who was arrested for groping a woman while dressed as Captain America with a burrito in his pants will not go to jail.
(http://cdn.fd.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/BurritoCaptainAmerica.jpg)
Post by: Yoda on July 23, 2010, 12:24:28 pm
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/07/22/2010-07-22_darth_vader_robber_and_thats_no_lightsaber_hes_wielding_at_li_bank.html
(http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/07/23/alg_vader_bank.jpg)
(http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/07/23/amd_vader_bank.jpg)
Post by: Spacey on July 23, 2010, 01:03:30 pm
Quote from: Yoda;259611
Darth Vader Robs Bank in LI
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/07/22/2010-07-22_darth_vader_robber_and_thats_no_lightsaber_hes_wielding_at_li_bank.html
(http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/07/23/alg_vader_bank.jpg)
(http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/07/23/amd_vader_bank.jpg)
heard about this on the radio this morning.
Very creative idea for a bank robbery.
Post by: booztravlr on August 24, 2010, 02:16:21 pm
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/23/article-0-0AE08AFF000005DC-75_233x372.jpg)
+
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/23/article-1305336-0AE2BE4C000005DC-486_468x307.jpg)
=
(http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/darwin.jpg)
Post by: bdfreetuna on August 06, 2011, 11:01:35 am
(video)
http://www.therundown.tv/videos/wtf-files/asian-girl-snorts-a-suicidal-ammount-of-cocaine/
wtf??