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Thursday, March 31, 2011
French school students taken to hospital after eating hashish 'breakfast bars'
French police are investigating how a bag of hashish resin blocks, eaten by children who mistook them for breakfast cereal bars, came to be left in the grounds of a school.
The students told teachers that they found the package containing the "leafy-flavoured breakfast bars" hidden between a bush and the school fence during recess on Friday.
One child from the school for six to 11 year olds in Tarentaize, near St. Etienne, in central France, was rushed to the hospital later that evening by his worried mother, along with a piece of the "leafy" bar. Tests confirmed the bar that contained cannabis resin, and the boy was sent home. None of the other children who ate the bars became ill.
The mother of the boy who got sick filed a police complaint against the school for the "admission of harmful substances." But Inspector of Schools Pierre-Michel Brunel said that the "school team responded with vigilance but could not assume that the children had eaten [cannabis]."
The students told teachers that they found the package containing the "leafy-flavoured breakfast bars" hidden between a bush and the school fence during recess on Friday.
One child from the school for six to 11 year olds in Tarentaize, near St. Etienne, in central France, was rushed to the hospital later that evening by his worried mother, along with a piece of the "leafy" bar. Tests confirmed the bar that contained cannabis resin, and the boy was sent home. None of the other children who ate the bars became ill.
The mother of the boy who got sick filed a police complaint against the school for the "admission of harmful substances." But Inspector of Schools Pierre-Michel Brunel said that the "school team responded with vigilance but could not assume that the children had eaten [cannabis]."
Man finds dead mouse in Monster energy drink
A Federal Way man has filed a lawsuit against the maker of Monster Energy Drinks. He claims he found a dead mouse at the bottom of his can, and he has the lab work to prove it. "Anytime anyone talks about monster, I just get that sick feeling in my stomach," says Vitaliy Sulzhik.
It happened March 20, 2010. Sulzhik remembers it like it was yesterday. He went into the Fred Meyer in Des Moines, and bought himself a Monster Energy Drink. When he finished drinking it, he didn't realize another monster would be at the bottom. "I put it down and I felt it was still heavy. So I backwashed it and all this debris went into my mouth," says the 19 year old. "Then I looked in the can and I saw the tip of the tail and I vomited everywhere."
It was a dead mouse inside the can. His attorney sent the can to MDE Inc., a forensic and engineering laboratory in Seattle, which cut open the can. They conducted a series of forensic tests on behalf of his client, and Monster's insurance company. X-rays and autopsies showed the mouse didn't suffer any trauma, like from a mouse trap, nor was it killed using poison. In other words, there were no signs the mouse was killed and then forced through the opening.
"You hear these wild stories out there. Sure, you're a little skeptical at first," says Reed Yurchak, Sulzhik's attorney. "But everything here has checked out." Yurchak says Hansen Beverage Company is aware of the findings, but still refuses to believe his client. Sulzhik hasn't drunk anything from a can since.
Video.
It happened March 20, 2010. Sulzhik remembers it like it was yesterday. He went into the Fred Meyer in Des Moines, and bought himself a Monster Energy Drink. When he finished drinking it, he didn't realize another monster would be at the bottom. "I put it down and I felt it was still heavy. So I backwashed it and all this debris went into my mouth," says the 19 year old. "Then I looked in the can and I saw the tip of the tail and I vomited everywhere."
It was a dead mouse inside the can. His attorney sent the can to MDE Inc., a forensic and engineering laboratory in Seattle, which cut open the can. They conducted a series of forensic tests on behalf of his client, and Monster's insurance company. X-rays and autopsies showed the mouse didn't suffer any trauma, like from a mouse trap, nor was it killed using poison. In other words, there were no signs the mouse was killed and then forced through the opening.
"You hear these wild stories out there. Sure, you're a little skeptical at first," says Reed Yurchak, Sulzhik's attorney. "But everything here has checked out." Yurchak says Hansen Beverage Company is aware of the findings, but still refuses to believe his client. Sulzhik hasn't drunk anything from a can since.
Video.
Wonder cure sparks rush to Tanzanian village
The multitudes crossing river Engaresero in northern Tanzania is akin to the annual wildebeest migration at River Mara. The only difference is that the people in their thousands have no time to hang around the banks, waiting for the courageous one to cross over first because each second is precious.
Not even the bursting bank of the river that has swept several vehicles is a cause to worry.
YouTube link.
And the mad rush is about a potent brew that has baffled science and yet said to cure all ailments, being dispensed by Ambilikile Masapile, 76, who is a retired pastor Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.
The news of the supposed power of his brew has spread like wild bush fire and captured the imagination of Tanzanians and the rest of East Africa.
Full story here.
Not even the bursting bank of the river that has swept several vehicles is a cause to worry.
YouTube link.
And the mad rush is about a potent brew that has baffled science and yet said to cure all ailments, being dispensed by Ambilikile Masapile, 76, who is a retired pastor Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.
The news of the supposed power of his brew has spread like wild bush fire and captured the imagination of Tanzanians and the rest of East Africa.
Full story here.
Man set pregnant ex-girlfriend's apartment ablaze in bizarre faecal rampage
He took matters into his own hands. A 24-year-old Stapleton man was so enraged by the mother of his unborn child, police say, that he smeared his own excrement on her apartment door in Clifton and lit it ablaze — all while she, her two young children, and two other people were trapped inside.
Rasheen Harrison, of Hill Street, now faces arson and other charges in connection with the bizarre Sunday incident. Harrison’s rampage began shortly before 5:30 a.m., police allege — he stripped naked inside the elevator of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment building on the 300 block of Vanderbilt Avenue, then defecated, according to authorities.
He then went to the woman’s sixth-floor apartment, wiped the excrement on the door, and lit his clothes and the door on fire. "I’m going to set your house on fire and this whole building down with you in it," he screamed, capping off the remark with a string of expletives. The woman and her two young children were inside at the time and couldn’t leave, since the door and the doorknob were hot to touch, police allege.
She’s also six months pregnant with his child, according to a law enforcement source. Later, Harrison was taken to a cell in the 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George where, a law enforcement source said, he defecated a second time. Harrison is charged with second-degree arson, third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief, five counts each of second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree menacing, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, said Peter N. Spencer, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.
There's a news video here.
Rasheen Harrison, of Hill Street, now faces arson and other charges in connection with the bizarre Sunday incident. Harrison’s rampage began shortly before 5:30 a.m., police allege — he stripped naked inside the elevator of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment building on the 300 block of Vanderbilt Avenue, then defecated, according to authorities.
He then went to the woman’s sixth-floor apartment, wiped the excrement on the door, and lit his clothes and the door on fire. "I’m going to set your house on fire and this whole building down with you in it," he screamed, capping off the remark with a string of expletives. The woman and her two young children were inside at the time and couldn’t leave, since the door and the doorknob were hot to touch, police allege.
She’s also six months pregnant with his child, according to a law enforcement source. Later, Harrison was taken to a cell in the 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George where, a law enforcement source said, he defecated a second time. Harrison is charged with second-degree arson, third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief, five counts each of second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree menacing, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, said Peter N. Spencer, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.
There's a news video here.
Australian pensioner trapped in home for six days by snake
A frightened woman was a prisoner in her own home for six days after a large black snake set up camp at her front gate. Disabled pensioner Meredith Schetrumpf, of Delia Ave, Budgewoi, phoned numerous organisations for help but without success. She’s now campaigning for the establishment of an emergency snake recovery service, similar to the ‘vicious dog’ collection service provided by council rangers.
Ms Schetrumpf receives a disability pension and lives alone with her pet dog, Jack, following the death of her husband. On March 18, she looked out her window to see a 2m king red-bellied black snake curled up at the gate on the path outside her front door. Terrified it might enter her house she phoned police, her local MP and Wyong Council who gave her several numbers to call for help.
However the numbers were either disconnected or didn’t answer. One organisation that did answer the phone was WIRES which said they would only come out if the snake was injured. Scared and frustrated Ms Schetrumpf was eventually put on to a snake handler at Maitland the following Wednesday who for an $80 fee came to her rescue.
“For six days I was a prisoner in my house,” she said. “I know many of our local organisations are volunteers and they’re very busy. But not to be able to get anyone at all locally to help was very disappointing. Why can’t the council have someone on staff who is adept at handling snakes and can help in these emergencies?”
Ms Schetrumpf receives a disability pension and lives alone with her pet dog, Jack, following the death of her husband. On March 18, she looked out her window to see a 2m king red-bellied black snake curled up at the gate on the path outside her front door. Terrified it might enter her house she phoned police, her local MP and Wyong Council who gave her several numbers to call for help.
However the numbers were either disconnected or didn’t answer. One organisation that did answer the phone was WIRES which said they would only come out if the snake was injured. Scared and frustrated Ms Schetrumpf was eventually put on to a snake handler at Maitland the following Wednesday who for an $80 fee came to her rescue.
“For six days I was a prisoner in my house,” she said. “I know many of our local organisations are volunteers and they’re very busy. But not to be able to get anyone at all locally to help was very disappointing. Why can’t the council have someone on staff who is adept at handling snakes and can help in these emergencies?”
Bus caught on CCTV in near-miss
Commuters in Guangdong, China narrowly avoided a horrific crash after a disused aqueduct collapsed on a highway just metres in front of their bus.
YouTube link.
CCTV footage from the bus shows the aqueduct crashing to the ground after a glancing blow from a truck on the same road. The driver's fast reactions averted a collision with the bus stopping less than three feet from the downed structure.
YouTube link.
CCTV footage from the bus shows the aqueduct crashing to the ground after a glancing blow from a truck on the same road. The driver's fast reactions averted a collision with the bus stopping less than three feet from the downed structure.
Doctor tried to run down man smoking near his car
A Dallas physician is accused of trying to run over someone he allegedly saw smoking near his car.
Police say 54-year-old Dr. Jeffrey Reed Thompson faces a felony charge of aggravated assault with a vehicle. Friday's incident began in a medical office parking garage.
The 48-year-old smoker, Donald Zuelly of Rowlett, told police that Thompson told him he couldn't smoke in the garage, yanked the cigarette from his mouth, threw it down and stepped on it.
Police say Zuelly told the doctor not to touch him and threw down a soft drink can. Some liquid splashed onto the doctor's pants. Zuelly says Thompson then hopped into his car and drove at him. Zuelly scraped his arm trying to flee.
With news video.
Police say 54-year-old Dr. Jeffrey Reed Thompson faces a felony charge of aggravated assault with a vehicle. Friday's incident began in a medical office parking garage.
The 48-year-old smoker, Donald Zuelly of Rowlett, told police that Thompson told him he couldn't smoke in the garage, yanked the cigarette from his mouth, threw it down and stepped on it.
Police say Zuelly told the doctor not to touch him and threw down a soft drink can. Some liquid splashed onto the doctor's pants. Zuelly says Thompson then hopped into his car and drove at him. Zuelly scraped his arm trying to flee.
With news video.
Jesus Christ appears in three-cheese pizza
In a purported "miracle'', the face of Jesus Christ has appeared on a three-cheese pizza made at Posh Pizza in New Farm, Brisbane, Australia. Posh Pizza's Maree Phelan said her pizza oven was seemingly blessed with the presence of Jesus Christ, who chose a three cheese pizza as his medium.
Phelan isn't convinced it's the son of God, but she's certain it got there on its own. "I can definitely say this isn't a fake," she said.
"The three-cheese pizza always comes out with very different colours." It's already proven a good luck charm. After discovering it, the owner of the store parked in a loading zone and didn't get a parking ticket.
Australian Catholic University associate professor and director of the Institute for Catholic Identity and Mission, Patrick McArdle, said the pizza was "almost definitely not a miracle"and would be hard to prove.
Phelan isn't convinced it's the son of God, but she's certain it got there on its own. "I can definitely say this isn't a fake," she said.
"The three-cheese pizza always comes out with very different colours." It's already proven a good luck charm. After discovering it, the owner of the store parked in a loading zone and didn't get a parking ticket.
Australian Catholic University associate professor and director of the Institute for Catholic Identity and Mission, Patrick McArdle, said the pizza was "almost definitely not a miracle"and would be hard to prove.
USC fraternity member suspended after allegedly having sex on campus building roof
A fraternity at the University of Southern California has suspended one member who allegedly had sex on the roof of a campus building, an incident that was photographed.
Kappa Sigma suspended the man "for conduct unbecoming of a Kappa Sigma and a gentleman." University officials also are considering whether to take disciplinary action against the student.
"There is an alarm system in place for roof access, which is how we were first notified of the intrusion," Denzil Suite, associate vice president at USC for student affairs, said. "We will be following up. However, the university does not publicly discuss issues of campus discipline because of prevailing privacy laws and concerns."
Photos of the student and a woman who reportedly wasn't enrolled at the university were posted online on Saturday.
Kappa Sigma suspended the man "for conduct unbecoming of a Kappa Sigma and a gentleman." University officials also are considering whether to take disciplinary action against the student.
"There is an alarm system in place for roof access, which is how we were first notified of the intrusion," Denzil Suite, associate vice president at USC for student affairs, said. "We will be following up. However, the university does not publicly discuss issues of campus discipline because of prevailing privacy laws and concerns."
Photos of the student and a woman who reportedly wasn't enrolled at the university were posted online on Saturday.
8ft-long shark jumps onto fishing boat
Three fishermen got the shock of their lives when a huge shark landed in the back of their boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Jason Kresse, 29, from Texas, and two crew members were fishing for red snapper about 50 miles out to sea in the early hours of Monday morning.
They were throwing fish guts over the side when they heard two big splashes and "all of a sudden something hit the side of the boat". It was an 8ft-long mako shark which, in a rush to start feeding, "ended up landing on the back of the boat". The shark was thrashing around so badly that the fishermen could not get close enough to free it and put it back in the water.
It died hours later, but not before doing more damage to the boat. The crew did not have a permit to catch sharks, so Mr Kresse contacted officials on shore.
Mike Cox, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman, said there was no violation because the shark's death was an accident. The creature is currently on display in Freeport, about 55 miles south of Houston. "I'm going to get a mount of it," the fisherman said. "A fish jumping in your boat, 400lb, that's unbelievable."
They were throwing fish guts over the side when they heard two big splashes and "all of a sudden something hit the side of the boat". It was an 8ft-long mako shark which, in a rush to start feeding, "ended up landing on the back of the boat". The shark was thrashing around so badly that the fishermen could not get close enough to free it and put it back in the water.
It died hours later, but not before doing more damage to the boat. The crew did not have a permit to catch sharks, so Mr Kresse contacted officials on shore.
Mike Cox, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman, said there was no violation because the shark's death was an accident. The creature is currently on display in Freeport, about 55 miles south of Houston. "I'm going to get a mount of it," the fisherman said. "A fish jumping in your boat, 400lb, that's unbelievable."
Couple welcome 3 granddaughters from 3 daughters in 3 days
Mike and Joan Benda’s St. Cloud home buzzed with children on Saturday. Three toddlers squealed as they ran through their grandparents’ home. Meanwhile, three tiny newborn granddaughters slept, oblivious to the laughter that surrounded them.
This family grew quickly. The Bendas welcomed three granddaughters in three days this month from their three daughters. MaKenna Larson was born March 14 to Katie Larson, 30, and Andrew Larson, 31. She joined sister Alexa, 1. Katie Larson is the Bendas’ oldest daughter, and lives in Minneapolis.
Taylor Orth followed the next day. Michele Orth, 29, is the next-oldest daughter. She and her husband, Jesse, 30, live in Otsego, and have a son, Cameron, 2. Michele Orth’s younger identical twin sister, Melissa Valen, 29, and her husband, Andrew, 28, welcomed baby Lyla on March 16. They live in Albertville and have an older daughter, Faith, 7, and 2-year-old son, Jakob.
“It’s cool that I’m finishing the trifecta,” Melissa Valen said. All the newborns are healthy, their families said. And their family is ecstatic, if not busy. The granddaughters were born in their mothers’ birth order. The babies also fall in order for height and weight. MaKenna Larson weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and was 21 inches long. Taylor Orth weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. Finally, Lyla Valen weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces and was 19 inches long.
This family grew quickly. The Bendas welcomed three granddaughters in three days this month from their three daughters. MaKenna Larson was born March 14 to Katie Larson, 30, and Andrew Larson, 31. She joined sister Alexa, 1. Katie Larson is the Bendas’ oldest daughter, and lives in Minneapolis.
Taylor Orth followed the next day. Michele Orth, 29, is the next-oldest daughter. She and her husband, Jesse, 30, live in Otsego, and have a son, Cameron, 2. Michele Orth’s younger identical twin sister, Melissa Valen, 29, and her husband, Andrew, 28, welcomed baby Lyla on March 16. They live in Albertville and have an older daughter, Faith, 7, and 2-year-old son, Jakob.
“It’s cool that I’m finishing the trifecta,” Melissa Valen said. All the newborns are healthy, their families said. And their family is ecstatic, if not busy. The granddaughters were born in their mothers’ birth order. The babies also fall in order for height and weight. MaKenna Larson weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and was 21 inches long. Taylor Orth weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. Finally, Lyla Valen weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces and was 19 inches long.
Baltic message in bottle gets reply 24 years on
A Russian boy has answered a message in a bottle from a German child nearly a quarter of a century after it was dropped from a ship into the Baltic. Daniil Korotkikh, 13, spotted the beer bottle glittering on a beach in Russia's Kaliningrad region, and found a letter inside from Frank Uesbeck, 5. "If you find this letter, please write back to me, and I will write back to you," the letter said. Since Daniil made contact, he and Frank, now 29, have chatted online.
The German gave his surprise correspondent a new address to write to and promised to write back when he received his letter. "He'll definitely get another letter from me," said Frank. "It's really a wonderful story and who knows? Perhaps one day we will actually be able to arrange a meeting in person." Daniil found the bottle while out walking near the village of Morskoye on the Curonian Spit, a 100-km (60-mile) stretch of sand shared between Russia and Lithuania.
"I saw that bottle and it looked interesting," he said. "It looked like a German beer bottle with a ceramic plug, and there was a message inside." His father, who knows schoolboy German, translated the letter, carefully wrapped in cellophane and sealed with a medical bandage. The message was dated 1987 and included an address in the German town of Coesfeld, where Frank's parents still live.
"At first I didn't believe it," Frank said about getting Daniil's response. In fact, he barely remembered the trip on which he had cast the bottle from a ship while travelling to Denmark. His father had actually written the then five-year-old's letter. Daniil said he did not believe that the bottle had actually spent 24 years in the sea because it "would not have survived in the water all that time". He believes it had become hidden under the sand where he found it.
The German gave his surprise correspondent a new address to write to and promised to write back when he received his letter. "He'll definitely get another letter from me," said Frank. "It's really a wonderful story and who knows? Perhaps one day we will actually be able to arrange a meeting in person." Daniil found the bottle while out walking near the village of Morskoye on the Curonian Spit, a 100-km (60-mile) stretch of sand shared between Russia and Lithuania.
"I saw that bottle and it looked interesting," he said. "It looked like a German beer bottle with a ceramic plug, and there was a message inside." His father, who knows schoolboy German, translated the letter, carefully wrapped in cellophane and sealed with a medical bandage. The message was dated 1987 and included an address in the German town of Coesfeld, where Frank's parents still live.
"At first I didn't believe it," Frank said about getting Daniil's response. In fact, he barely remembered the trip on which he had cast the bottle from a ship while travelling to Denmark. His father had actually written the then five-year-old's letter. Daniil said he did not believe that the bottle had actually spent 24 years in the sea because it "would not have survived in the water all that time". He believes it had become hidden under the sand where he found it.
Lorry crash caught on camera
This is the terrifying moment a lorry driver came face-to-face with a motorist driving the wrong way down a dual-carriageway. The female driver of the Vauxhall Corsa is seen joining the busy A90 in Scotland via the exit slip road.
YouTube link.
She then swerves to avoid one lorry leaving the road and ends up heading straight into the firing line of the other juggernaut. The Corsa driver then turns away from the 44-tonne truck and collides with the first lorry.
The driver of the second lorry loses control of his truck which rolls onto its side, spewing cement bags all over the road. Amazingly, no one was injured when the incident took place last Tuesday outside Aberdeen, with the whole event captured on the lorry driver’s Roadhawk GPS camera system.
Grampian Police shut the road for six hours while highway workers cleared the carriageway. A 20-year-old woman has been charged with dangerous driving.
There's video showing the aftermath here.
YouTube link.
She then swerves to avoid one lorry leaving the road and ends up heading straight into the firing line of the other juggernaut. The Corsa driver then turns away from the 44-tonne truck and collides with the first lorry.
The driver of the second lorry loses control of his truck which rolls onto its side, spewing cement bags all over the road. Amazingly, no one was injured when the incident took place last Tuesday outside Aberdeen, with the whole event captured on the lorry driver’s Roadhawk GPS camera system.
Grampian Police shut the road for six hours while highway workers cleared the carriageway. A 20-year-old woman has been charged with dangerous driving.
There's video showing the aftermath here.
David Livingstone letter reveals explorer ate elephant
A letter which describes how David Livingstone killed and ate an elephant during a African expedition has sold for £28,800 at auction. The Scots-born explorer wrote the 12-page missive to British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston in November 1861.
It tells how his party on the famous Zambezi expedition of 1858-1864 killed an elephant for food and then saw the rest of the herd apparently mourning. The letter fetched more than treble its estimated price at Bonhams in London.
In it, Livingstone reveals a series of incidents, including being robbed by "professional" thieves who struck just before dawn. He said the local people appeared to be afraid to kill elephants for the ivory, as the animals were "not disturbed by the presence of man".
"When we killed one for food the rest of the herd stood a mile off for two days," he wrote. "Elsewhere they would not have stood within 30 or 40 miles."
It tells how his party on the famous Zambezi expedition of 1858-1864 killed an elephant for food and then saw the rest of the herd apparently mourning. The letter fetched more than treble its estimated price at Bonhams in London.
In it, Livingstone reveals a series of incidents, including being robbed by "professional" thieves who struck just before dawn. He said the local people appeared to be afraid to kill elephants for the ivory, as the animals were "not disturbed by the presence of man".
"When we killed one for food the rest of the herd stood a mile off for two days," he wrote. "Elsewhere they would not have stood within 30 or 40 miles."
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Children's colouring books used to smuggle drugs into jail
Disney-character colouring books arriving at the Cape May County Correctional Center and addressed “To Daddy” in a child’s handwriting were saturated with a narcotic drug as part of a smuggling operation, authorities have said. Two inmates at the correctional center, a state prison inmate and two others were charged with distribution of a controlled substance after they allegedly turned Suboxone, a prescription drug designed to treat opioid addiction, into a paste. The paste was then painted onto children’s pictures and sent through inmate mail, Cape May County Sheriff Gary Schaffer said.
“In my 38 years of law enforcement, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Schaffer said. The sheriff said he has alerted other jail wardens and county sheriffs about the operation in case it is tried again. The arrests were the result of a two-month investigation that began when Corrections Officer Richard Harron Jr. developed a source who alerted him to the smuggling. As a result, corrections officers began watching the mail for the contraband, Shaffer said.
By February, an officer in the mailroom, William Coombs Sr., had found colouring book pages with what he called “an orangey substance blotted on the page.” The alleged drug smugglers used torn-out pages of children’s colouring books, coloured by a child’s hand and with the words “To Daddy” scribbled across the top, to obscure the presence of the drug. Three pages, two of them of Disney scenes depicting Snow White and Cinderella, were among those seized.
Schaffer said the pages were sent to the county Prosecutor’s Office drug lab for testing, and the speedy turnaround of the evidence allowed for the arrests. Inmates Zachary Hirsch and Charles Markham, and Paul Scipione, a former inmate recently transferred from the jail, were each charged with conspiracy and attempt to commit a crime. Hirsch’s bail was set at $50,000. Bail for Markham and Scipione was set at $15,000 each.
With more photos.
“In my 38 years of law enforcement, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Schaffer said. The sheriff said he has alerted other jail wardens and county sheriffs about the operation in case it is tried again. The arrests were the result of a two-month investigation that began when Corrections Officer Richard Harron Jr. developed a source who alerted him to the smuggling. As a result, corrections officers began watching the mail for the contraband, Shaffer said.
By February, an officer in the mailroom, William Coombs Sr., had found colouring book pages with what he called “an orangey substance blotted on the page.” The alleged drug smugglers used torn-out pages of children’s colouring books, coloured by a child’s hand and with the words “To Daddy” scribbled across the top, to obscure the presence of the drug. Three pages, two of them of Disney scenes depicting Snow White and Cinderella, were among those seized.
Schaffer said the pages were sent to the county Prosecutor’s Office drug lab for testing, and the speedy turnaround of the evidence allowed for the arrests. Inmates Zachary Hirsch and Charles Markham, and Paul Scipione, a former inmate recently transferred from the jail, were each charged with conspiracy and attempt to commit a crime. Hirsch’s bail was set at $50,000. Bail for Markham and Scipione was set at $15,000 each.
With more photos.
RSPCA 'dumbfounded' by man who drove with parrot on windscreen wiper
The Australian RSPCA are "dumbfounded" by the stupidity of a man who recklessly drove with his pet bird grasping his windscreen wiper. The video depicts a man accelerating, then breaking sharply in an emergency lane on the Eastern Freeway with a bird on the outside of his car. It is unclear if he was filming while driving.
RSPCA Manager of Inspectorate Services Greg Boland said he is dumbfounded by the man's stupidity. "He has placed this parrot in a position whereby it is likely to be caused unnecessary pain or suffering, which is an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and can carry severe penalties,'' Mr Boland said.
YouTube link.
"The fact that in numerous clips he deliberately tries to dislodge the bird from the windshield wiper and compromise its safety even further, is beyond unacceptable. The community and the RSPCA will not tolerate idiotic acts that place animals in danger, and urge anyone with information to contact the RSPCA.''
A police spokesperson said it was a stupid thing to do on a busy freeway: "I don't know who would treat their pet like that." The offender could now face reckless driving charges.
RSPCA Manager of Inspectorate Services Greg Boland said he is dumbfounded by the man's stupidity. "He has placed this parrot in a position whereby it is likely to be caused unnecessary pain or suffering, which is an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and can carry severe penalties,'' Mr Boland said.
YouTube link.
"The fact that in numerous clips he deliberately tries to dislodge the bird from the windshield wiper and compromise its safety even further, is beyond unacceptable. The community and the RSPCA will not tolerate idiotic acts that place animals in danger, and urge anyone with information to contact the RSPCA.''
A police spokesperson said it was a stupid thing to do on a busy freeway: "I don't know who would treat their pet like that." The offender could now face reckless driving charges.
Malaysian MP says women drivers are to blame for road accidents
Umno MP Bung Mokhtar Radin has blamed women drivers for road accidents, and in the ensuing debate, described his PAS counterpart Dr Siti Mariah Mahmood as a “monkey.” The Kinabatangan MP who is no stranger to ruffling feathers with his sexist remarks told the House that women drivers do not concentrate on the road. “Just because they are inside a car, they think that the world is theirs, they don’t look or left,” he said, adding that when honked at, women drivers get upset.
“There are times when we honk, and they show all sorts of signs,” he said. This prompted Siti Mariah to demand that Bung retract his remarks, stating that his statement was too general. However, Bung was adamant that he had spoken the truth, and lashed out at the Kota Raja MP for attempting to politicise the issue.
“We are talking about accidents, don’t politicise everything, don’t be a monkey. You want to even politicise deaths,” he snapped. At this juncture, Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS- Kuala Selangor) came to his colleague’s aide and asked Bung what evidence he had to back his claim. He also reminded the Umno MP that his wife and mother were women.
Bung remained unapologetic and argued that he was not being disrespectful to women but merely pointing out that accidents happened to women who had just passed their driving tests. Coming to Bung’s defence, Abdul Rahman Dahlan (BN-Kota Belud) said that the Kinabatangan MP was not being disrespectful to women. “I sympathise with Kinabatangan… there are no negative implications (to his statement). Women are more careful, so they drive slower. There is no discrimination (against women),” he said.
“There are times when we honk, and they show all sorts of signs,” he said. This prompted Siti Mariah to demand that Bung retract his remarks, stating that his statement was too general. However, Bung was adamant that he had spoken the truth, and lashed out at the Kota Raja MP for attempting to politicise the issue.
“We are talking about accidents, don’t politicise everything, don’t be a monkey. You want to even politicise deaths,” he snapped. At this juncture, Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS- Kuala Selangor) came to his colleague’s aide and asked Bung what evidence he had to back his claim. He also reminded the Umno MP that his wife and mother were women.
Bung remained unapologetic and argued that he was not being disrespectful to women but merely pointing out that accidents happened to women who had just passed their driving tests. Coming to Bung’s defence, Abdul Rahman Dahlan (BN-Kota Belud) said that the Kinabatangan MP was not being disrespectful to women. “I sympathise with Kinabatangan… there are no negative implications (to his statement). Women are more careful, so they drive slower. There is no discrimination (against women),” he said.
Woman admits to drinking and driving after failing to recite alphabet
A woman was seen driving over several objects along the road and Alliance police said after they pulled her over, they ended up arresting her for drunken driving.
It happened over the weekend, and police posted a dashcam video on their Facebook page. The video showed Nancy Bodo trying to recite the alphabet.
YouTube link.
Police said after her sobriety test, the woman later admitted to drinking alcohol and taking prescription pills.
They suspended her licence and also cited her for having an open beer can in her car.
It happened over the weekend, and police posted a dashcam video on their Facebook page. The video showed Nancy Bodo trying to recite the alphabet.
YouTube link.
Police said after her sobriety test, the woman later admitted to drinking alcohol and taking prescription pills.
They suspended her licence and also cited her for having an open beer can in her car.
Obese man cut out of house, sat in chair for 2 years without moving
An Ohio man is fighting for his life after he had to be cut out of his house. The 43-year-old morbidly obese man sat in a chair for two years without moving. His skin was apparently welded to the chair with urine and faeces.
"Well, the chair was outside, they had to take a section of the wall down to the house to get him out. The chair was very filthy (grimaces) a lot of odour to it. Going in the house, the house was not clean. The living room where the man lived in his chair was very filthy, very deplorable. It’s unbelievable that somebody lives in conditions like that," said Jim Chase, Bellaire, and Ohio Code Enforcer.
"I instructed the landlord this morning and the two people, the tenants at the house they had to get it cleaned, there's no way they can live in something like that, and so they are working on it. So, I'll be going back daily, checking on it, making sure that they get it cleaned up and serviceable. If not, they must get out."
Some officers said it’s the worst thing they ever responded to. One officer even threw away his uniform.
With news video.
"Well, the chair was outside, they had to take a section of the wall down to the house to get him out. The chair was very filthy (grimaces) a lot of odour to it. Going in the house, the house was not clean. The living room where the man lived in his chair was very filthy, very deplorable. It’s unbelievable that somebody lives in conditions like that," said Jim Chase, Bellaire, and Ohio Code Enforcer.
"I instructed the landlord this morning and the two people, the tenants at the house they had to get it cleaned, there's no way they can live in something like that, and so they are working on it. So, I'll be going back daily, checking on it, making sure that they get it cleaned up and serviceable. If not, they must get out."
Some officers said it’s the worst thing they ever responded to. One officer even threw away his uniform.
With news video.
Colombian football fans took murdered teenager's body to match
Football 'fanatics' took the body of a murdered teenager into a stadium in Colombia's Norte de Santander department. The body of 17-year-old Christopher Jacome was taken in a coffin to the General Santander Stadium in Cucuta, the capital of Norte de Santander, during the Sunday match between Cucuta Deportivo and Envigado.
The boy, a loyal fan of Cucuta who belonged to the fan group "Barra del Indio" - a group known in Colombia for their aggressive antics at soccer matches - was shot several times Saturday while playing football in a local park. After his wake, friends from "Barra del Indio" took the cadaver from the funeral home and paraded it around and then into the stadium in an attempt to pay homage to the slain soccer fan.
The medic for the soccer club, Julio Rivera, said, "They don't let in the "barras" (fanatics) but yes, a cadaver. This is the only part of the world where this has happened." Colonel Alvaro Pico, a local police said that the boy's death had nothing to do with his love for the football team rather it was a consequence of criminal actions in the area where he lived.
LiveLeak link.
The event has generated controversy in Cucuta and stadium officials will hold a meeting to find out who permitted the entry of the cadaver and what punishment will be given. Colonel Pico said they have identified some individuals who took the body from the funeral home.
The boy, a loyal fan of Cucuta who belonged to the fan group "Barra del Indio" - a group known in Colombia for their aggressive antics at soccer matches - was shot several times Saturday while playing football in a local park. After his wake, friends from "Barra del Indio" took the cadaver from the funeral home and paraded it around and then into the stadium in an attempt to pay homage to the slain soccer fan.
The medic for the soccer club, Julio Rivera, said, "They don't let in the "barras" (fanatics) but yes, a cadaver. This is the only part of the world where this has happened." Colonel Alvaro Pico, a local police said that the boy's death had nothing to do with his love for the football team rather it was a consequence of criminal actions in the area where he lived.
LiveLeak link.
The event has generated controversy in Cucuta and stadium officials will hold a meeting to find out who permitted the entry of the cadaver and what punishment will be given. Colonel Pico said they have identified some individuals who took the body from the funeral home.
Mother kicked off bus because her baby was laughing too loud
An Australian mother and her 13-month-old daughter have been allegedly kicked off a bus because the young girl was making too much noise. Toni Hay and her baby, Heather, got on the Darwin Bus Service bus at Casuarina to get home to Coconut Grove. Ms Hay said her daughter was loud because she was excited.
She said she was told by the bus driver that if she could not quieten her daughter down she would have get off the bus. "She's 13 months old, what can I do.' "Little Heather was strapped in her pram and Ms Hay said she was making"happy squealing noises."
About eight minutes into the journey she said the bus driver yelled out that if she couldn't keep her daughter quiet then they would have to get off the bus. "Heather was squealing because she was happy and the driver threatened to throw us off," Ms Hay said. A distressed and embarrassed Ms Hay said she apologised to other passengers and gave her daughter a biscuit and a drink and tried playing with her.
"She wasn't screaming or carrying on or anything, she was smiling and happy," she said. The driver threatened to throw her off the bus two more times and Ms Hay said after that she kicked them off. "The woman was like 'Right, that's it. I've been telling you since Casuarina that you're going to have to get off the bus if you can't keep your baby quiet,' " she said. By this time Ms Hay said the next stop was theirs and they disembarked any way.
She said she was told by the bus driver that if she could not quieten her daughter down she would have get off the bus. "She's 13 months old, what can I do.' "Little Heather was strapped in her pram and Ms Hay said she was making"happy squealing noises."
About eight minutes into the journey she said the bus driver yelled out that if she couldn't keep her daughter quiet then they would have to get off the bus. "Heather was squealing because she was happy and the driver threatened to throw us off," Ms Hay said. A distressed and embarrassed Ms Hay said she apologised to other passengers and gave her daughter a biscuit and a drink and tried playing with her.
"She wasn't screaming or carrying on or anything, she was smiling and happy," she said. The driver threatened to throw her off the bus two more times and Ms Hay said after that she kicked them off. "The woman was like 'Right, that's it. I've been telling you since Casuarina that you're going to have to get off the bus if you can't keep your baby quiet,' " she said. By this time Ms Hay said the next stop was theirs and they disembarked any way.
Biologist from central Russia plans to breed cat with five ears
A biologist from Voronezh found a cat with five ears in the street and brought it home to study and perhaps breed.
"The cat has two normal ears, two extra ears are turned 180 degrees and there is a tiny fifth ear," said Vladimir Obryvkov of the Voronezh State University of Agriculture.
The scientist, who has been studying animal anomalies for years, took the cat to X-ray its unusual ears but decided to take her home to his children. Obryvkov said that the cat named Luntya also has big paws but her behaviour does not differ from that of normal cats.
He also said that he wants to mate his new pet with a four-eared cat living in Vladivostok to create a new breed of these fluffy animals. Obryvkov has already studied a calf with two heads, tails and hearts, a one-eyed lamb, chickens with four legs, conjoined pigs, and a colt with two noses and three eyes.
"The cat has two normal ears, two extra ears are turned 180 degrees and there is a tiny fifth ear," said Vladimir Obryvkov of the Voronezh State University of Agriculture.
The scientist, who has been studying animal anomalies for years, took the cat to X-ray its unusual ears but decided to take her home to his children. Obryvkov said that the cat named Luntya also has big paws but her behaviour does not differ from that of normal cats.
He also said that he wants to mate his new pet with a four-eared cat living in Vladivostok to create a new breed of these fluffy animals. Obryvkov has already studied a calf with two heads, tails and hearts, a one-eyed lamb, chickens with four legs, conjoined pigs, and a colt with two noses and three eyes.
German girl finds boa constrictor in toilet
A seven-year-old girl was shocked to find a sizeable boa constrictor staring up at her from the toilet over the weekend, police in Hannover said. The “fugitive” reptile escaped before authorities could capture it.
The girl discovered the snake in the toilet bowl when she lifted the lid on Saturday evening at her family’s apartment in the Linden-Süd district, spokesman Holger Hilgenberg said in a statement. She informed her 39-year-old mother, who called police immediately, they said.
Officers photographed the reptile and consulted with animal rescue services at the fire department. “But before the animal could be retrieved, it disappeared into the drain pipe, and a ‘search’ was fruitless,” Hilgenberg said.
According to the local veterinary school the snake was a boa constrictor, a non-venomous genus that poses no danger to humans. “The reptile probably escaped from a terrarium.” Hilgenberg said, adding that the owner was still unknown.
The girl discovered the snake in the toilet bowl when she lifted the lid on Saturday evening at her family’s apartment in the Linden-Süd district, spokesman Holger Hilgenberg said in a statement. She informed her 39-year-old mother, who called police immediately, they said.
Officers photographed the reptile and consulted with animal rescue services at the fire department. “But before the animal could be retrieved, it disappeared into the drain pipe, and a ‘search’ was fruitless,” Hilgenberg said.
According to the local veterinary school the snake was a boa constrictor, a non-venomous genus that poses no danger to humans. “The reptile probably escaped from a terrarium.” Hilgenberg said, adding that the owner was still unknown.
Man goes on 1,000 mile walk after his paralysed leg is cured at Lourdes
A TV repair man with a paralysed left leg went on a 1,000-mile-plus hike after being cured following a trip to Lourdes. The incredible recovery of Serge Francois, 40, is now set to become the 68th official miracle at the Roman Catholic shrine in the foothills of the Pyrenees, in south west France.
After regaining the use of his leg, Mr Francois walked the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the pilgrim’s route spanning France and Spain, and known in English as The Way of St James. Mr Francois, from La Salle-et-Chapelle-Aubry, western France, said he felt a warm glow spread down his herniated leg during a visit to Lourdes in 2002.
He had been praying at the grotto where local schoolgirl Bernadette Soubirous was said to have had visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858, and all of his suffering suddenly disappeared. Mr Francois reported what happened to the International Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL) and 20 doctors have now concluded that it was indeed ‘remarkable’.
Archbishop Emmanuel Delmas, Bishop of Angers, said: ‘This healing can be considered a personal gift from God to man, as an event of grace, as a sign of Christ the Saviour.’ Archbishop Delmas said Mr Francois’s case would now be examined further before it officially goes down as the 68th miracle. He said that because of advances in medical science it was becoming increasingly difficult to officially class a remarkable healing as a miracle.
After regaining the use of his leg, Mr Francois walked the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the pilgrim’s route spanning France and Spain, and known in English as The Way of St James. Mr Francois, from La Salle-et-Chapelle-Aubry, western France, said he felt a warm glow spread down his herniated leg during a visit to Lourdes in 2002.
He had been praying at the grotto where local schoolgirl Bernadette Soubirous was said to have had visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858, and all of his suffering suddenly disappeared. Mr Francois reported what happened to the International Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL) and 20 doctors have now concluded that it was indeed ‘remarkable’.
Archbishop Emmanuel Delmas, Bishop of Angers, said: ‘This healing can be considered a personal gift from God to man, as an event of grace, as a sign of Christ the Saviour.’ Archbishop Delmas said Mr Francois’s case would now be examined further before it officially goes down as the 68th miracle. He said that because of advances in medical science it was becoming increasingly difficult to officially class a remarkable healing as a miracle.
Binman's rap slams Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's NHS reforms
A binman rapper has slammed Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in a video. The South Cambridgeshire MP has been targeted by rap artist MC NxtGen, aka Sean Donnelly.
The rapper from Loughborough, Leics, has put the controversial subject of NHS reforms into the lyrics of the slickly produced video.
YouTube link.
The 22-year-old said he was inspired to write it about the MP after his family and friends voiced concerns about the future of the NHS. He said: "My family and friends are really worried about what’s happening to the NHS and I tried to put that into words."
"Andrew Lansley, greedy! Andrew Lansley, tosser!" runs the refrain, repeated throughout the song, over a sample taken from The House of the Rising Sun. "The NHS is not for sale, you grey-haired manky codger!"
The rapper from Loughborough, Leics, has put the controversial subject of NHS reforms into the lyrics of the slickly produced video.
YouTube link.
The 22-year-old said he was inspired to write it about the MP after his family and friends voiced concerns about the future of the NHS. He said: "My family and friends are really worried about what’s happening to the NHS and I tried to put that into words."
"Andrew Lansley, greedy! Andrew Lansley, tosser!" runs the refrain, repeated throughout the song, over a sample taken from The House of the Rising Sun. "The NHS is not for sale, you grey-haired manky codger!"
Police dog dies the day before retirement
A police dog has died after falling off a roof as he searched for intruders - the day before he was due to retire. Baz, a six-year-old Alsatian who worked for Northumbria Police, fell off the building in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, while looking for burglars.
His handler, PC Gary Saunders, described the dog’s death as a "devastating experience". He said: "It has been one of the worst things I've encountered in 26 years of policing.
"Baz was a fearless and faithful partner who has, with me, encountered numerous highly dangerous situations but has died doing what most police dog and handler teams consider to be routine operational work."
Baz was born in May 2004 and became a police dog in June 2005. Two years later he started working as a firearms support dog. He was due to retire from general work, and his last operational day would have been March 18, the day after his fatal accident.
His handler, PC Gary Saunders, described the dog’s death as a "devastating experience". He said: "It has been one of the worst things I've encountered in 26 years of policing.
"Baz was a fearless and faithful partner who has, with me, encountered numerous highly dangerous situations but has died doing what most police dog and handler teams consider to be routine operational work."
Baz was born in May 2004 and became a police dog in June 2005. Two years later he started working as a firearms support dog. He was due to retire from general work, and his last operational day would have been March 18, the day after his fatal accident.
Multi-millionaire spared jail for shooting neighbour's burglar alarm
A multi-millionaire told of his "moment of irrationality" when he used a shotgun to silence a neighbours' burglar alarm next door to his £10 million St John's Wood home. Peter Shalson, 54, said to be worth £175 million after selling his coathanger and packaging business, was speaking outside Southwark crown court where he was spared prison.
He said: "This is an incident I deeply regret and was the result of a single moment of irrationality. It happened during a period when I was under extreme business stress and pressure." Shalson was furious that the alarm was ringing incessantly while his neighbours Norman and Cindy Dawood were away. He said his wife Polly was unwell and had been kept awake for hours in January last year.
He took a shotgun from his collection and fired two shots at the alarm box on the wall. He then forced his way inside through their French doors and smashed the device. He sent his neighbours a text message stating: "All quiet now." When the damage was discovered he initially lied about using a shotgun but finally owned up. Shalson admitted having a shotgun with intent to commit criminal damage and damaging property. Judge John Price ruled that he did not deserve a prison sentence and ordered him to do 200 hours' community service and pay £520 in court costs.
The judge told him: "The unlawful use of a firearm in public and causing serious damage is a most serious offence. It was an attack on somebody's home and caused enormous distress." But after hearing of Shalson's charity work, including his support for the London Academy, the judge added: "You are an exceptional man." In 2003 Shalson spent £2 million hiring Sir Elton John to play at the reception of his £5 million wedding to third wife Polly.
He said: "This is an incident I deeply regret and was the result of a single moment of irrationality. It happened during a period when I was under extreme business stress and pressure." Shalson was furious that the alarm was ringing incessantly while his neighbours Norman and Cindy Dawood were away. He said his wife Polly was unwell and had been kept awake for hours in January last year.
He took a shotgun from his collection and fired two shots at the alarm box on the wall. He then forced his way inside through their French doors and smashed the device. He sent his neighbours a text message stating: "All quiet now." When the damage was discovered he initially lied about using a shotgun but finally owned up. Shalson admitted having a shotgun with intent to commit criminal damage and damaging property. Judge John Price ruled that he did not deserve a prison sentence and ordered him to do 200 hours' community service and pay £520 in court costs.
The judge told him: "The unlawful use of a firearm in public and causing serious damage is a most serious offence. It was an attack on somebody's home and caused enormous distress." But after hearing of Shalson's charity work, including his support for the London Academy, the judge added: "You are an exceptional man." In 2003 Shalson spent £2 million hiring Sir Elton John to play at the reception of his £5 million wedding to third wife Polly.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Raccoon with peanut butter jar on head gets stuck on pole
A raccoon with its head jammed inside a Skippy peanut butter jar was stuck on top of a utility pole in Long Island for several hours on Sunday. The critter was marooned some 30 feet in the air, balanced on top of the pole, with its face covered by the peanut butter jar.
Local fire and police departments in Ronkonkoma said it was too dangerous for them to attempt a rescue because of the live utilities. They deferred to the Long Island Power Authority. The spectacle created quite a stir on Peconic Street, where children gathered around and began calling the animal "Skippy."
"My husband discovered this around 7 o'clock this morning," said Suzanne Macaluso. "Lots of people in the neighbourhood have been coming around. We've made many phone calls," she said. "We called animal control, they can't do anything."
YouTube link.
The Lakeland fire department was here, the police department was here and basically we were told there was nothing we could do to help the little guy up there." Later on Sunday, a LIPA worker with a long pole knocked the jar off the animal's head and he was free to run off.
Local fire and police departments in Ronkonkoma said it was too dangerous for them to attempt a rescue because of the live utilities. They deferred to the Long Island Power Authority. The spectacle created quite a stir on Peconic Street, where children gathered around and began calling the animal "Skippy."
"My husband discovered this around 7 o'clock this morning," said Suzanne Macaluso. "Lots of people in the neighbourhood have been coming around. We've made many phone calls," she said. "We called animal control, they can't do anything."
YouTube link.
The Lakeland fire department was here, the police department was here and basically we were told there was nothing we could do to help the little guy up there." Later on Sunday, a LIPA worker with a long pole knocked the jar off the animal's head and he was free to run off.
Young boy attempts to break into Australian vets to get himself a kitten
A young boy has been caught on CCTV trying to break into a Whyalla veterinary clinic. In the footage, captured last Friday at about 6.40pm, the boy becomes frustrated after discovering the clinic is closed for the night. Undeterred, he at first uses a small rock then a hubcap to try and break a security window.
Staff believe the boy was trying to steal one of the cats the clinic has up for adoption. After various unsuccessful attempts to break in, he decides to get a bigger rock, which is so heavy he has to stop and rest several times as he hauls it to the clinic, before hurling it at the glass window.
LiveLeak link.
The boy eventually left after being unable to break his way through the window. Whyalla Veterinary Clinic principal veterinarian Dr Andrew Melville-Smith said he was stunned at the determination and audacity of the child. "This heavy duty laminated glass, you would need to ram it with a car to break it," he said.
"What is disturbing is that the video clearly shows this youth knew the difference between right and wrong as he went to great lengths to make sure no one was watching." Initial estimates of the damage to the windows are around $2000.
Staff believe the boy was trying to steal one of the cats the clinic has up for adoption. After various unsuccessful attempts to break in, he decides to get a bigger rock, which is so heavy he has to stop and rest several times as he hauls it to the clinic, before hurling it at the glass window.
LiveLeak link.
The boy eventually left after being unable to break his way through the window. Whyalla Veterinary Clinic principal veterinarian Dr Andrew Melville-Smith said he was stunned at the determination and audacity of the child. "This heavy duty laminated glass, you would need to ram it with a car to break it," he said.
"What is disturbing is that the video clearly shows this youth knew the difference between right and wrong as he went to great lengths to make sure no one was watching." Initial estimates of the damage to the windows are around $2000.
Hit-and-run driver flees scene on roof of passing car
A 24-year-old Milwaukee man faces multiple charges after getting involved in a crash, allegedly fleeing the scene, riding on the roof of a car, and being arrested at gunpoint. The entire incident began at around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. That's when Milwaukee County Sheriff's Deputies and officers from the River Hills Bayside police departments responded to a two-car crash on northbound I-43 near Bradley Road.
One of the vehicles involved in the crash was the 24-year-old man who witnesses say stumbled from his vehicle and into traffic near Brown Deer Road. When a driver, now identified as Bridgette Benavides, slowed to avoid hitting the man, the man grabbed the passenger side of the vehicle and attempted to enter it. The driver of the car keep on moving.
The man jumped onto the roof of the car and held onto the luggage rack; the entire time trying to get into the vehicle by kicking and punching the sunroof. While travelling at full freeway speed, the man was eventually able to break a small window by the rear passenger door. A River Hills police officer stopped the vehicle near Mequon Road, ordered the 24-year-old man off the vehicle at gunpoint, and arrested him with help from Bayside officer.
Milwaukee County deputies transported the man to Froedtert Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries from the initial crash. They also look a blood sample to test for blood alcohol content. The man faces charges of reckless driving, hit-and-run misdemeanor, operating while intoxicated, criminal damage to property and felony recklessly endangering safety.
One of the vehicles involved in the crash was the 24-year-old man who witnesses say stumbled from his vehicle and into traffic near Brown Deer Road. When a driver, now identified as Bridgette Benavides, slowed to avoid hitting the man, the man grabbed the passenger side of the vehicle and attempted to enter it. The driver of the car keep on moving.
The man jumped onto the roof of the car and held onto the luggage rack; the entire time trying to get into the vehicle by kicking and punching the sunroof. While travelling at full freeway speed, the man was eventually able to break a small window by the rear passenger door. A River Hills police officer stopped the vehicle near Mequon Road, ordered the 24-year-old man off the vehicle at gunpoint, and arrested him with help from Bayside officer.
Milwaukee County deputies transported the man to Froedtert Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries from the initial crash. They also look a blood sample to test for blood alcohol content. The man faces charges of reckless driving, hit-and-run misdemeanor, operating while intoxicated, criminal damage to property and felony recklessly endangering safety.
New Zealand airline launches disco inspired safety video
Air New Zealand have released a video featuring US fitness personality Richard Simmons and a leotard-clad cabin crew delivering preflight safety messages.
The country's national carrier hopes that the camp workout video, performed to a version of Yazz’s 1980s hit The Only Way is Up, will ensure that even the most jaded fliers pay attention to the safety rules.
YouTube link.
The airline has a history of imaginative preflight safety videos. "Safety is paramount at Air New Zealand and Fit to Fly will again get our passengers sitting up and taking notice of these important preflight messages in an engaging and fun way,” said Mike Tod, a spokesman for airline.
"Simmons’ fitness moves will definitely ensure that all eyes are on the safety briefing,” he added. The new Fit to Fly safety video went live yesterday on-board all Air New Zealand aircraft.
The country's national carrier hopes that the camp workout video, performed to a version of Yazz’s 1980s hit The Only Way is Up, will ensure that even the most jaded fliers pay attention to the safety rules.
YouTube link.
The airline has a history of imaginative preflight safety videos. "Safety is paramount at Air New Zealand and Fit to Fly will again get our passengers sitting up and taking notice of these important preflight messages in an engaging and fun way,” said Mike Tod, a spokesman for airline.
"Simmons’ fitness moves will definitely ensure that all eyes are on the safety briefing,” he added. The new Fit to Fly safety video went live yesterday on-board all Air New Zealand aircraft.
13-year-old boy hospitalised for a week after doing push-ups at school as a punishment
The mother of 13-year-old Donell Dixon says he's been at Children's Hospital for 7 days after doing push-ups at his school, The David Ellis Academy in Detroit. Vinyanda Mitchell says it was a punishment for running in the hall and closing lockers and her son had the choice of detention or push-ups, Donell says he did 100.
The Director of the school, Sylvia Green says the coach says it was three sets of 20 and the boys were able to pause in between and drink water. The day after the incident the teen says his arm swelled to double its normal size, so his mother took him to the emergency room.
YouTube link.
The medical papers say the diagnosis is Rhabdomyolysis, which is a break down of the muscles, often caused by over exertion. It can lead to kidney problems and blood in the urine and Donell's mother says he has had that.
She says she has talked to a lawyer. The school director says they are devastated and are just hoping Donell will fully recover. His mother of course says she is hoping for the same thing.
The Director of the school, Sylvia Green says the coach says it was three sets of 20 and the boys were able to pause in between and drink water. The day after the incident the teen says his arm swelled to double its normal size, so his mother took him to the emergency room.
YouTube link.
The medical papers say the diagnosis is Rhabdomyolysis, which is a break down of the muscles, often caused by over exertion. It can lead to kidney problems and blood in the urine and Donell's mother says he has had that.
She says she has talked to a lawyer. The school director says they are devastated and are just hoping Donell will fully recover. His mother of course says she is hoping for the same thing.
Teenager in fishnets fined over stab threats after drunken takeaway row
A teenager naked apart from fishnet tights, a ripped T-shirt and a handbag has been fined after a drunken row in a takeaway. Friends stole James McInerney's clothes on a boozy night out in the city centre on February 21 and the hungry 18-year-old stumbled into Quigley's takeaway at 4.30am on St Augustine's Parade. Inside he became aggressive after a female customer told him off for flashing his private parts. At Bristol Magistrates' Court, McInerney, of Teewell Hill, Staple Hill, pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words and behaviour.
Jeremy Oliver, prosecuting, said: "David Davies, Danielle Upton and Richard Martin had been out in Park Street and decided to go and get some food. The defendant appeared wearing just fishnet stockings and a T-shirt and carrying a handbag. When he was challenged about the way he was exposing himself he started shouting and being threatening. He said he would 'stab them up' and told Mr Davies to put 'your dog on a leash' – referring to Miss Upton.
Photo from SWNS.
The defendant repeated threats of stabbing people over several minutes. The friends left and Mr Davies phoned police while McInerney remained inside. "McInerney came outside and continued being aggressive and tried to provoke Mr Davies into a fight." He added that CCTV footage shows the defendant waving his private parts around. He added that McInerney had no previous convictions.
Will Palmer, defending, said: "My client is an idiot – and on the night in question he was a drunken idiot. He went on a big night out with his friends and they thought it would be funny to strip him of his clothes." He said that his client was in fact assaulted twice by Miss Upton during the incident. "At no point did he raise his fist or throw a punch but he was loud and unpleasant." Unemployed McInerney, was fined £100, must pay a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £85 costs.
Jeremy Oliver, prosecuting, said: "David Davies, Danielle Upton and Richard Martin had been out in Park Street and decided to go and get some food. The defendant appeared wearing just fishnet stockings and a T-shirt and carrying a handbag. When he was challenged about the way he was exposing himself he started shouting and being threatening. He said he would 'stab them up' and told Mr Davies to put 'your dog on a leash' – referring to Miss Upton.
Photo from SWNS.
The defendant repeated threats of stabbing people over several minutes. The friends left and Mr Davies phoned police while McInerney remained inside. "McInerney came outside and continued being aggressive and tried to provoke Mr Davies into a fight." He added that CCTV footage shows the defendant waving his private parts around. He added that McInerney had no previous convictions.
Will Palmer, defending, said: "My client is an idiot – and on the night in question he was a drunken idiot. He went on a big night out with his friends and they thought it would be funny to strip him of his clothes." He said that his client was in fact assaulted twice by Miss Upton during the incident. "At no point did he raise his fist or throw a punch but he was loud and unpleasant." Unemployed McInerney, was fined £100, must pay a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £85 costs.
Man says he was sacked for using the wrong teabags
A shop worker says he was sacked after using the wrong teabags to brew up. James Alden, 47, was given a written warning and suspended by Co-operative bosses after taking Twinings Lady Grey tea bags to use in the staff canteen.
He said workers were allowed to take the store’s own brand Fairtrade products from the shop floor when making a cuppa. But James, who has worked at the store on Burton Road in West Didsbury for 11 years, was called to a disciplinary meeting when bosses spotted two boxes of Twinings teabags in the canteen.
He was then dismissed after being given another written warning for not recording the ages of people over 25 buying cigarettes and alcohol. In a letter to James, bosses said the teabag offence was ‘misappropriation of company stock by taking items into the canteen without making prior payment’.
Four years ago, he was hailed a hero after tackling an armed raider in the shop, but now claims management were looking for reasons to sack him after he objected to a new clocking-in system. James, of Kingsway, Didsbury, said: “I’m completely flabbergasted. I can’t believe they can sack someone for something so trivial as using the wrong tea bags. In all other respects, I have been a model employee. I have never been late or off sick in 11 years of service. I would have thought at the very worst this would deserve a warning – it’s a storm in a tea bag.”
He said workers were allowed to take the store’s own brand Fairtrade products from the shop floor when making a cuppa. But James, who has worked at the store on Burton Road in West Didsbury for 11 years, was called to a disciplinary meeting when bosses spotted two boxes of Twinings teabags in the canteen.
He was then dismissed after being given another written warning for not recording the ages of people over 25 buying cigarettes and alcohol. In a letter to James, bosses said the teabag offence was ‘misappropriation of company stock by taking items into the canteen without making prior payment’.
Four years ago, he was hailed a hero after tackling an armed raider in the shop, but now claims management were looking for reasons to sack him after he objected to a new clocking-in system. James, of Kingsway, Didsbury, said: “I’m completely flabbergasted. I can’t believe they can sack someone for something so trivial as using the wrong tea bags. In all other respects, I have been a model employee. I have never been late or off sick in 11 years of service. I would have thought at the very worst this would deserve a warning – it’s a storm in a tea bag.”
'Poltergeist' caught on camera moving chair across bedroom
A family have called in a real-life ghost buster – after capturing this video of a poltergeist moving a chair across a bedroom. Lisa Manning and her children Ellie, 11, and Jaydon, six, have fled their house in terror several times because of spooky goings-on. They include pots and pans being thrown around the kitchen, window blinds moving up and down by themselves, lights being switched on and off and drawers being opened. Last week they were even forced to climb out of a window after their being trapped in their living room when the door locked by itself.
Now they have been advised to wear crucifixes by a priest after capturing video footage of a chair moving by itself in Ellie’s bedroom. Carer Lisa, 34, shot the spooky film two weeks ago after putting hidden cameras in the family’s home in Lilley Close, Holbrooks, Coventry. The clip shows a wardrobe door opening before a pink swivel chair moves slowly backwards towards the wall. Lisa, who lives with her partner Anthony, 25, in the house, said she feels like she is ”living in a scary movie”.
YouTube link.
She added: ”One medium came in and said our house is a portal, a kind of bus stop for spirits, which they use to pass into our world. I set up the video camera because I wanted to prove the ghost exists. I couldn’t believe it when I played the tape back, it sent chills up my spine. We called our landlords and they sent in a priest who blessed the house but said himself that we shouldn’t live here, we definitely shouldn’t stay. He gave us all small crucifixes which we carry at all times in the house.
”The problem is because we can’t see it, we don’t know where it’s going to be or what it’s going to do. This is a horror house. It’s like living in a scary movie. The worst thing about it is, even I can’t believe what’s happening myself.” Lisa is now begging her landlord Whitefriars to re-house her family. She scatters the house with salt, puts up crucifixes and wears crystals while she waits to hear whether the family can move to another home.
Now they have been advised to wear crucifixes by a priest after capturing video footage of a chair moving by itself in Ellie’s bedroom. Carer Lisa, 34, shot the spooky film two weeks ago after putting hidden cameras in the family’s home in Lilley Close, Holbrooks, Coventry. The clip shows a wardrobe door opening before a pink swivel chair moves slowly backwards towards the wall. Lisa, who lives with her partner Anthony, 25, in the house, said she feels like she is ”living in a scary movie”.
YouTube link.
She added: ”One medium came in and said our house is a portal, a kind of bus stop for spirits, which they use to pass into our world. I set up the video camera because I wanted to prove the ghost exists. I couldn’t believe it when I played the tape back, it sent chills up my spine. We called our landlords and they sent in a priest who blessed the house but said himself that we shouldn’t live here, we definitely shouldn’t stay. He gave us all small crucifixes which we carry at all times in the house.
”The problem is because we can’t see it, we don’t know where it’s going to be or what it’s going to do. This is a horror house. It’s like living in a scary movie. The worst thing about it is, even I can’t believe what’s happening myself.” Lisa is now begging her landlord Whitefriars to re-house her family. She scatters the house with salt, puts up crucifixes and wears crystals while she waits to hear whether the family can move to another home.
Woman forced to prove she is 'incontinent enough' for free prescription
A man is outraged after his elderly mother was forced to undergo a "degrading" test to see whether she was incontinent enough to continue to receive free pads on the NHS. Blind Edith Braddow, 77, had been receiving the sanitary pads free of charge but new rules mean health staff are having to assess whether people still need them. She was asked to take three soiled pads to her doctors to be weighed, to see if she was losing enough urine.
Ivan Braddow said he and his mother had to stand and watch as they were weighed during an incontinence test at an Ashfield Health Village, in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Mr Braddow said his mother was told she was not incontinent enough and that, due to public sector cuts, she could no longer be supplied with new ones. After contacting Ashfield MP Gloria De Piero following the test on January 13 this year, Mr Braddow's mother was asked to return to the clinic last Thursday.
She was given more pads and told to undergo a further incontinence test at the same clinic on April 7. Mr Braddow, 52, who lives with his mother in Kirkby-in-Ashfield and is her full-time carer, said: "The new assessment is so degrading. It's attacking the elderly. Mum is not only disgusted she also feels really down. Without the use of these pads, she feels she dare not go anywhere. Until last Thursday, she had not been out of the house since the appointment in January. She's virtually housebound."
Before January this year, Mrs Braddow had been given two packets of 28 incontinence pads a month by staff at Ashfield Health Village after being referred there by her GP. He says he was told prior to the January appointment that the assessment for NHS prescribed incontinence pads had now changed, and three soiled pads were required to undergo tests at each appointment. A packet of eight women's incontinence pads costs £2.35 in Boots – around 29p each. On that basis, Mrs Braddow's prescription is worth just over £16 a month.
Ivan Braddow said he and his mother had to stand and watch as they were weighed during an incontinence test at an Ashfield Health Village, in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Mr Braddow said his mother was told she was not incontinent enough and that, due to public sector cuts, she could no longer be supplied with new ones. After contacting Ashfield MP Gloria De Piero following the test on January 13 this year, Mr Braddow's mother was asked to return to the clinic last Thursday.
She was given more pads and told to undergo a further incontinence test at the same clinic on April 7. Mr Braddow, 52, who lives with his mother in Kirkby-in-Ashfield and is her full-time carer, said: "The new assessment is so degrading. It's attacking the elderly. Mum is not only disgusted she also feels really down. Without the use of these pads, she feels she dare not go anywhere. Until last Thursday, she had not been out of the house since the appointment in January. She's virtually housebound."
Before January this year, Mrs Braddow had been given two packets of 28 incontinence pads a month by staff at Ashfield Health Village after being referred there by her GP. He says he was told prior to the January appointment that the assessment for NHS prescribed incontinence pads had now changed, and three soiled pads were required to undergo tests at each appointment. A packet of eight women's incontinence pads costs £2.35 in Boots – around 29p each. On that basis, Mrs Braddow's prescription is worth just over £16 a month.
Zumba dancers banned from community centre for being 'too fat'
Members of a fitness class have hit back after being kicked out of a community centre because some of them are ‘too fat’. Those attending the Zumba lessons at the Addison Centre in Kempston on a Monday night have been told they can no longer have them because of damage to the floor. But Rosa Cristini, who has been running the classes for up to 130 people for the last nine months, said she hasn’t had any concrete evidence to say it was caused by her Zumba classes.
She said: “I got a phone call from a member of the committee who runs the centre on March 14 to say that I couldn’t run the class that evening. Apparently the floor has shifted and they said they had experts in although they haven’t given me a copy of the report.” Zumba – a Latin inspired dance/fitness programme has become popular recently with people who want to keep fit and tone up. On Monday, she met with three members of the committee and claims one of them said that the reason for the floor moving was because some individuals were ‘overweight’.
She added: “There’s probably only a handful of people who are overweight and the thing is some people come to lose a bit of weight. I did say to the committee that it’s for a dance/fitness class.” Kathryn Martin-Harris, 34, from Kempston, has been going for around a month to try to lose a bit of baby weight after having two children.
She said: “We were told it was because we were too fat. I could do with losing a bit of weight but I’m not obese. That’s why I was going to Zumba in the first place, though. I’m probably about a size 16 but there are women bigger and smaller and even some children there. Everyone was so shocked and unhappy about it. I cannot believe that a community centre could come up with something like that.”
She said: “I got a phone call from a member of the committee who runs the centre on March 14 to say that I couldn’t run the class that evening. Apparently the floor has shifted and they said they had experts in although they haven’t given me a copy of the report.” Zumba – a Latin inspired dance/fitness programme has become popular recently with people who want to keep fit and tone up. On Monday, she met with three members of the committee and claims one of them said that the reason for the floor moving was because some individuals were ‘overweight’.
She added: “There’s probably only a handful of people who are overweight and the thing is some people come to lose a bit of weight. I did say to the committee that it’s for a dance/fitness class.” Kathryn Martin-Harris, 34, from Kempston, has been going for around a month to try to lose a bit of baby weight after having two children.
She said: “We were told it was because we were too fat. I could do with losing a bit of weight but I’m not obese. That’s why I was going to Zumba in the first place, though. I’m probably about a size 16 but there are women bigger and smaller and even some children there. Everyone was so shocked and unhappy about it. I cannot believe that a community centre could come up with something like that.”
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Return of the Rockers
Click for bigger.
I'm going to be experimenting with the timing of posts this week. Some days they will be earlier, others not so.
Trees cocooned in spiders webs reducing risk of malaria in Pakistan
Millions of spiders have crawled into trees in Pakistan to escape flood waters, shrouding them with their silky webs. The eye-catching phenomenon is an unexpected side-effect of last year's flooding which claimed the lives of almost 2,000 people.
However, since the monsoon weather devastated the nation last July, much of the water has still not yet receded. The tiny insects have sought refuge amongst the trees weaving beautifully intricate webs between the leaves. The branches are now so cocooned in spiders webs it gives the appearance of them being shrouded in a large net.
Photo by DFID. Click for bigger.
People in this part of Sindh, in south eastern Pakistan, near Karachi, have never seen this phenomenon before, but locals are reporting that there are now fewer mosquitos than they would expect, given the amount of stagnant, standing water that is around.
It is thought that the mosquitos are getting caught in the spiders web and reducing the risk of malaria, benefitting local people.
However, since the monsoon weather devastated the nation last July, much of the water has still not yet receded. The tiny insects have sought refuge amongst the trees weaving beautifully intricate webs between the leaves. The branches are now so cocooned in spiders webs it gives the appearance of them being shrouded in a large net.
Photo by DFID. Click for bigger.
People in this part of Sindh, in south eastern Pakistan, near Karachi, have never seen this phenomenon before, but locals are reporting that there are now fewer mosquitos than they would expect, given the amount of stagnant, standing water that is around.
It is thought that the mosquitos are getting caught in the spiders web and reducing the risk of malaria, benefitting local people.
Australian boy's sleepover turns into real life horror movie
Six boys cowered in the dark as a knife-wielding man threatened to kill them during a suburban sleepover from hell. The group of mostly 12-year-olds have told how their neighbour went on a rampage, screaming they "were going to die" and trying to batter down the door to their townhouse in the Brisbane suburb of Capalaba. The three-hour ordeal ended only when Brett Hayes, 50, was shot in the groin by a policewoman after he allegedly lunged at her with six 30cm knives. An investigation has been launched into the shooting as police defended their response to several frantic calls for help. Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett said police had visited the unit block "on a couple of occasions" earlier in the night, but were unable to find the source of a reported disturbance.
He brushed aside reports that police took more than an hour to respond to calls for assistance. "On a busy Friday night, resources are stretched and priority is given to various jobs as they come in," he said. The sleepover was being held at the townhouse of a 14-year-old boy, who had invited school friends aged 12 to 14 over for the night. Just before midnight, the boy said Hayes had knocked on the door and asked whether the boys wanted to take a walk with him. Their refusal sparked a three-hour rampage, during which they cowered in the dark while Hayes threatened to break the door down.
The boy said Hayes returned many times during the three hours, smashing against the lower-floor glass door, pounding on windows and fences and screaming threats. One boy said the scariest moment was sitting in the house with the lights off as Hayes scratched at the door and shouted to the boys that they "were going to die". As well as three calls to police, the boy also made a desperate phone call to his mother, who was working a late shift. She arrived shortly before the shooting. Eyewitnesses say two female police officers ordered Hayes to return to his townhouse, a few doors down from the boy's home. But onlookers watched in horror as Hayes allegedly rushed out of his home armed with knives, lashing at the officers.
One said he was just metres from one of the officers who shot Hayes in the leg just before 3am after he allegedly ignored three warnings, lunging at the officer with a blade within centimetres of her face. The mother of one of the boys at the sleepover said her son was still trying to deal with the terrifying ordeal. "They will have nightmares for ages," she said. "You don't want your 12-year-old around guns, knives and shootings." The mother said she was disappointed with the police response time. No charges had been laid against Hayes, who spent the night in hospital.
He brushed aside reports that police took more than an hour to respond to calls for assistance. "On a busy Friday night, resources are stretched and priority is given to various jobs as they come in," he said. The sleepover was being held at the townhouse of a 14-year-old boy, who had invited school friends aged 12 to 14 over for the night. Just before midnight, the boy said Hayes had knocked on the door and asked whether the boys wanted to take a walk with him. Their refusal sparked a three-hour rampage, during which they cowered in the dark while Hayes threatened to break the door down.
The boy said Hayes returned many times during the three hours, smashing against the lower-floor glass door, pounding on windows and fences and screaming threats. One boy said the scariest moment was sitting in the house with the lights off as Hayes scratched at the door and shouted to the boys that they "were going to die". As well as three calls to police, the boy also made a desperate phone call to his mother, who was working a late shift. She arrived shortly before the shooting. Eyewitnesses say two female police officers ordered Hayes to return to his townhouse, a few doors down from the boy's home. But onlookers watched in horror as Hayes allegedly rushed out of his home armed with knives, lashing at the officers.
One said he was just metres from one of the officers who shot Hayes in the leg just before 3am after he allegedly ignored three warnings, lunging at the officer with a blade within centimetres of her face. The mother of one of the boys at the sleepover said her son was still trying to deal with the terrifying ordeal. "They will have nightmares for ages," she said. "You don't want your 12-year-old around guns, knives and shootings." The mother said she was disappointed with the police response time. No charges had been laid against Hayes, who spent the night in hospital.
Squirrel discovered in hotel toilet
A British man has has told of his surprise at finding a squirrel in his toilet bowl. Duncan Goose was in Malawi to check on the humanitarian aid projects funded by his company's One projects when he came to the animal's rescue. The Edinburgh-born 42-year-old, whose company Global Ethics also produces One-branded toilet roll, got a shock when he lifted the toilet lid in his hotel room one night to discover the squirrel.
He said: "It was a real shock as my immediate reaction was that it was a rat and, particularly in developing countries, they carry lots of disease. I was concerned it was going to jump out and bite me, so I put the lid back down and left it for a minute as I wasn't sure what to do." When he returned to lift the lid on the struggling animal, he realised it was a squirrel and promptly came to its rescue.
Mr Goose, who now lives in Kew, south west London, said: "In the end I put a hand towel down the toilet, allowed it to climb up, put it in a laundry basket, took it outside and released it back into the wild and it didn't seem too much the worse for wear so hopefully it's recovered from the experience and will go on to have a happy life devoid of toilet bowl experiences."
It was not the first time Mr Goose, brother of former Casualty actress Claire Goose, has had a run-in with a wild animal. He said: "I've had scorpions creep into my room, I've had to remove a very large spider in Australia and I once ran into a deer on my motorbike in Canada which was quite an experience - it was a mutual collision in the early hours of the morning - so my luck with animals is not the best."
He said: "It was a real shock as my immediate reaction was that it was a rat and, particularly in developing countries, they carry lots of disease. I was concerned it was going to jump out and bite me, so I put the lid back down and left it for a minute as I wasn't sure what to do." When he returned to lift the lid on the struggling animal, he realised it was a squirrel and promptly came to its rescue.
Mr Goose, who now lives in Kew, south west London, said: "In the end I put a hand towel down the toilet, allowed it to climb up, put it in a laundry basket, took it outside and released it back into the wild and it didn't seem too much the worse for wear so hopefully it's recovered from the experience and will go on to have a happy life devoid of toilet bowl experiences."
It was not the first time Mr Goose, brother of former Casualty actress Claire Goose, has had a run-in with a wild animal. He said: "I've had scorpions creep into my room, I've had to remove a very large spider in Australia and I once ran into a deer on my motorbike in Canada which was quite an experience - it was a mutual collision in the early hours of the morning - so my luck with animals is not the best."
Woman facing bizarre assault charges
A puppy, tobacco and a Virgin Mary statue figured in a fight that left a homeless woman facing assault charges. Dolly Jean Barbara Brown, 27, who is listed as living in “tent city,” faces charges of simple assault, criminal mischief, public drunkenness and harassment. She is in the Lawrence County jail on $2,500 bond. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. June 28 in Lawrence County Central Court.
New Castle police responded to an assault at a residence in the 800 block of Butler Avenue at 5:17 p.m. March 16. According to court documents, the victim told officers she was assaulted by a female wearing dark blue sweatpants and a shirt. She had been seen last on a neighbour’s porch. Police said the woman’s description matched Brown’s. Officers said they already had dealt with her twice that afternoon.
The victim told police Brown arrived at her residence to inquire about a puppy for sale. Brown previously had purchased a puppy from the victim. During the discussion, Brown become upset and began arguing with the victim. She then picked up a bag of tobacco and told the victim, “That’s my tobacco,” and refused to give it back. According to police, when the victim told Brown she was not taking the tobacco, Brown punched her in the face and walked out of the home. Police said the victim sustained minor injury to her nose.
As Brown left, she allegedly grabbed a Virgin Mary statue from the front yard and smashed it against the house. As the victim called 911, she watched Brown walk over to her neighbour’s house and knock on the door. When no one answered, she disappeared between the houses. Police found Brown on Stanton Avenue near Winslow Avenue. She was severely intoxicated, placed into custody and taken to the police station, documents say. Brown was not processed at that time, police said, because of the level of intoxication.
New Castle police responded to an assault at a residence in the 800 block of Butler Avenue at 5:17 p.m. March 16. According to court documents, the victim told officers she was assaulted by a female wearing dark blue sweatpants and a shirt. She had been seen last on a neighbour’s porch. Police said the woman’s description matched Brown’s. Officers said they already had dealt with her twice that afternoon.
The victim told police Brown arrived at her residence to inquire about a puppy for sale. Brown previously had purchased a puppy from the victim. During the discussion, Brown become upset and began arguing with the victim. She then picked up a bag of tobacco and told the victim, “That’s my tobacco,” and refused to give it back. According to police, when the victim told Brown she was not taking the tobacco, Brown punched her in the face and walked out of the home. Police said the victim sustained minor injury to her nose.
As Brown left, she allegedly grabbed a Virgin Mary statue from the front yard and smashed it against the house. As the victim called 911, she watched Brown walk over to her neighbour’s house and knock on the door. When no one answered, she disappeared between the houses. Police found Brown on Stanton Avenue near Winslow Avenue. She was severely intoxicated, placed into custody and taken to the police station, documents say. Brown was not processed at that time, police said, because of the level of intoxication.
Police can't find owner of 1888 gravestone
For nearly a year, Henry Fenske's headstone has sat unclaimed in the Racine Police Department. Apparently unearthed from a cemetery and dropped off in the driveway of a Racine home last April, police haven't been able to find out where the grave marker came from.
Police spokesman Sgt. Marty Pavilonis said the headstone marked the grave of Henry Fenske, who died on Jan. 14, 1888 at the age of 49. It was found on April 18 in the driveway of a home in the 1000 block of Grand Avenue. A neighbour called police and told them he was doing yard work when he spotted the grave marker in the driveway of a nearby house.
"As I further inspected the tombstone it appeared that there was dried dirt on the bottom, leading me to believe that it was removed from the ground," the responding officer noted in his report. The officer said there was green grass under the headstone, indicating it hadn't been there for very long.
The 200-pound marker was removed from the driveway by officers and taken to the police department. Pavilonis said investigators went to the Register of Deeds and state vital records trying to find out who Fenske's descendents are. They've also called all the main cemeteries in the area to see if any of them were missing the headstone. "We've had no luck," Pavilonis said. "We've checked as much as we can."
Police spokesman Sgt. Marty Pavilonis said the headstone marked the grave of Henry Fenske, who died on Jan. 14, 1888 at the age of 49. It was found on April 18 in the driveway of a home in the 1000 block of Grand Avenue. A neighbour called police and told them he was doing yard work when he spotted the grave marker in the driveway of a nearby house.
"As I further inspected the tombstone it appeared that there was dried dirt on the bottom, leading me to believe that it was removed from the ground," the responding officer noted in his report. The officer said there was green grass under the headstone, indicating it hadn't been there for very long.
The 200-pound marker was removed from the driveway by officers and taken to the police department. Pavilonis said investigators went to the Register of Deeds and state vital records trying to find out who Fenske's descendents are. They've also called all the main cemeteries in the area to see if any of them were missing the headstone. "We've had no luck," Pavilonis said. "We've checked as much as we can."
Elderly man who lay dead for over three years was still paying his bills
An elderly Swedish man was found dead in his apartment in Tumba in southern Stockholm last Wednesday with police believing that he could have been dead for over three years without anyone having noticed. The man, who is reported to have been born in 1928, was found when a broadband technician turned up to complete an installation in the building and found the apartment door unlocked.
"Two men went into the apartment and found the man dead. They called me and we discovered that we had lain there a while," project leader Thomas Martinsson said. "It is very tragic," Åsa Johannesson at Flemingsberg police said. Exactly when the man died can not be established for certain but police found unopened mail from late 2007 and the food in the fridge was dated early 2008.
Furthermore the man's advanced state of decay indicated that he had been dead for around three years. The man's pension had continued to be deposited to his account and his bills had been paid by direct debit throughout the time he lay dead in his apartment.
The man is reported to have relatives and police are trying to get in touch with his next of kin, a son. "He lived alone but there are relatives. But they obviously had no contact," Åsa Johannesson said. The police have confirmed that there is no suspicion of any crime having been committed.
"Two men went into the apartment and found the man dead. They called me and we discovered that we had lain there a while," project leader Thomas Martinsson said. "It is very tragic," Åsa Johannesson at Flemingsberg police said. Exactly when the man died can not be established for certain but police found unopened mail from late 2007 and the food in the fridge was dated early 2008.
Furthermore the man's advanced state of decay indicated that he had been dead for around three years. The man's pension had continued to be deposited to his account and his bills had been paid by direct debit throughout the time he lay dead in his apartment.
The man is reported to have relatives and police are trying to get in touch with his next of kin, a son. "He lived alone but there are relatives. But they obviously had no contact," Åsa Johannesson said. The police have confirmed that there is no suspicion of any crime having been committed.
Pregnant woman told to give up seat so Gordon McBroon can fly Club Class
A heavily pregnant woman was left furious after she was told to give up her British Airways seat so former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown could fly Club Class. Brown sparked a dispute on the flight from Abu Dhabi to London after he was blamed for an attempt to downgrade the seven months pregnant woman and a Red Cross doctor into more cramped seats. The extraordinary scenes unfolded when the passengers lost their seats before the Brown's six-strong entourage got on board. It prompted an angry war of words with an 'aggressive' Brown aide, and led to a formal complaint to BA and an offer of compensation described as 'derisory' by those involved.
The dispute flared when passengers were told they would have to move to a lower class of seats because of a sudden 'overbooking' problem. When they checked in at Oman, where the flight originated, some of those in business class were told they would have to switch to premium economy, some in premium economy moved to regular economy - and an unlucky few in economy were kicked off the plane altogether. The seven-months-pregnant woman, who had bought a £700 premium ticket to secure extra legroom, refused to budge, but her husband was persuaded to shift to economy. The doctor reluctantly agreed to be moved from business.
During the first, hour-long leg from Oman to Abu Dhabi, the displaced passengers stared resentfully at the six empty seats in business class, known as Club World by BA. At Abu Dhabi they were livid to see Brown board the plane with his team and take up the £3,000-a-head places. The passengers immediately concluded that they had been 'bumped' to make way for Brown, a suggestion the airline strongly denies. Infuriated, the pregnant woman approached Brown and his aide, Kirsty McNeill, and took a picture of the pair on her mobile, prompting a furious response.
The pregnant woman said: "Ms McNeill was seriously aggressive. She came over and said, "Why are you taking a photo of Gordon?" "I said, "I have no interest in Gordon but I have a problem with BA as I suspect we have all been downgraded and messed around because of his and your arrival on this plane. She said, "You wouldn't like it if someone took a photo of you while you were asleep. I responded that if I were the ex-Prime Minister I would be used to people taking my picture and no, I wouldn't be bothered if someone took my photo while I was asleep."
The dispute flared when passengers were told they would have to move to a lower class of seats because of a sudden 'overbooking' problem. When they checked in at Oman, where the flight originated, some of those in business class were told they would have to switch to premium economy, some in premium economy moved to regular economy - and an unlucky few in economy were kicked off the plane altogether. The seven-months-pregnant woman, who had bought a £700 premium ticket to secure extra legroom, refused to budge, but her husband was persuaded to shift to economy. The doctor reluctantly agreed to be moved from business.
During the first, hour-long leg from Oman to Abu Dhabi, the displaced passengers stared resentfully at the six empty seats in business class, known as Club World by BA. At Abu Dhabi they were livid to see Brown board the plane with his team and take up the £3,000-a-head places. The passengers immediately concluded that they had been 'bumped' to make way for Brown, a suggestion the airline strongly denies. Infuriated, the pregnant woman approached Brown and his aide, Kirsty McNeill, and took a picture of the pair on her mobile, prompting a furious response.
The pregnant woman said: "Ms McNeill was seriously aggressive. She came over and said, "Why are you taking a photo of Gordon?" "I said, "I have no interest in Gordon but I have a problem with BA as I suspect we have all been downgraded and messed around because of his and your arrival on this plane. She said, "You wouldn't like it if someone took a photo of you while you were asleep. I responded that if I were the ex-Prime Minister I would be used to people taking my picture and no, I wouldn't be bothered if someone took my photo while I was asleep."
Shocking abuse of Britain's last circus elephant caught on camera
Animal rights campaigners have called for a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses after undercover video footage revealed shocking abuse of the UK's last circus elephant. Annie the Asian elephant was filmed being struck with a metal pitchfork, kicked in the face and body and shackled by heavy chains in the winter quarters of the Bobby Roberts Super Circus. Images show the elephant being hit 48 times and reveal a poor feeding regime, said Animal Defenders International (ADI). The pressure group, which has previously campaigned for Annie to be released from the circus, shot the covert video over three weeks earlier this year amid concerns for the 57-year-old animal's wellbeing.
Jan Creamer, ADI's Chief Executive, said: "Annie's tragic story symbolises the plight of circus animals and is a shocking indictment of the circus industry at a key time as government considers a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses. We have presented successive governments with extensive evidence from our undercover investigations over the years into UK circuses that proves conclusively that routine violence and deprivation is endemic within the industry. To Lord Henley, the Minister responsible, we say enough is enough. It is now time for him to act decisively to stop this appalling suffering. It is time for him to enact a total ban once and for all."
YouTube link.
She added: "I have no doubt that it will be claimed that this is an 'exception' and or that the owner was not aware of the abuse, but the evidence is now conclusive. Each time we expose the cruelty, the circuses give a similar range of excuses. "ADI has been concerned for Annie's welfare for many years and have followed her tragic plight. Poor Annie has been with the circus for over 50 years since she was baby, having been caught in the wild and torn from her family. Elephants are social and extremely intelligent so this has been a living hell for her. At last we have managed to expose this circus operation for the cruel farce that it is and never again can Roberts preach about animal welfare and how well his animals are cared for."
Moira Roberts, 72, who runs the circus with her 68-year-old husband Bobby and their family, said they reacted with "shock and horror" when they saw the footage of Annie being abused. She said they knew nothing of what was going on, adding that the Romanian groom employed to care for the animal had left the circus overnight. She said: "I presume he is on his way back to where he came from. We wish we had been given the opportunity to prosecute him and hand him over to the police. What has upset us more than anything is the fact that this filming took place five weeks ago. Why didn't they tell us, why have they left it until now? We don't know what Anne has gone through in the last five weeks."
Jan Creamer, ADI's Chief Executive, said: "Annie's tragic story symbolises the plight of circus animals and is a shocking indictment of the circus industry at a key time as government considers a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses. We have presented successive governments with extensive evidence from our undercover investigations over the years into UK circuses that proves conclusively that routine violence and deprivation is endemic within the industry. To Lord Henley, the Minister responsible, we say enough is enough. It is now time for him to act decisively to stop this appalling suffering. It is time for him to enact a total ban once and for all."
YouTube link.
She added: "I have no doubt that it will be claimed that this is an 'exception' and or that the owner was not aware of the abuse, but the evidence is now conclusive. Each time we expose the cruelty, the circuses give a similar range of excuses. "ADI has been concerned for Annie's welfare for many years and have followed her tragic plight. Poor Annie has been with the circus for over 50 years since she was baby, having been caught in the wild and torn from her family. Elephants are social and extremely intelligent so this has been a living hell for her. At last we have managed to expose this circus operation for the cruel farce that it is and never again can Roberts preach about animal welfare and how well his animals are cared for."
Moira Roberts, 72, who runs the circus with her 68-year-old husband Bobby and their family, said they reacted with "shock and horror" when they saw the footage of Annie being abused. She said they knew nothing of what was going on, adding that the Romanian groom employed to care for the animal had left the circus overnight. She said: "I presume he is on his way back to where he came from. We wish we had been given the opportunity to prosecute him and hand him over to the police. What has upset us more than anything is the fact that this filming took place five weeks ago. Why didn't they tell us, why have they left it until now? We don't know what Anne has gone through in the last five weeks."
Grandad used National Trust membership card to burgle stately homes
A grandad who used his National Trust card to case stately homes before stealing antiques from them has been jailed for nine years. Grey-haired Geoffrey Harkin’s biggest haul was more than £1million of porcelain. He was caught by police after attempting to claim a £20,000 reward for a £200,000 antique clock he had previously stolen.
Harkin, 58, was sentenced for handling the clock and for stealing tens of thousands of pounds of antiques from other Trust locations during Raffles-style raids across the UK. When officers arrested him at services on the M62, they found the clock in the boot of his BMW along with his phone, which placed him at the scenes of his crimes.
They also found his National Trust membership card, “an essential bit of kit for a country house burglar”, prosecutor Tim Evans told Carlisle crown court. He added: “Mr Harkin is a professional country house burglar. There is nothing charming or entertaining about these crimes. They are not like the books featuring Raffles.”
Harkin, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has a long criminal record for theft and dishonesty. Judge Peter Hughes QC told them: “You carefully selected your targets and, posing as an ordinary member of the public, you were, to put it colloquially ‘casing the joint’.”
Harkin, 58, was sentenced for handling the clock and for stealing tens of thousands of pounds of antiques from other Trust locations during Raffles-style raids across the UK. When officers arrested him at services on the M62, they found the clock in the boot of his BMW along with his phone, which placed him at the scenes of his crimes.
They also found his National Trust membership card, “an essential bit of kit for a country house burglar”, prosecutor Tim Evans told Carlisle crown court. He added: “Mr Harkin is a professional country house burglar. There is nothing charming or entertaining about these crimes. They are not like the books featuring Raffles.”
Harkin, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has a long criminal record for theft and dishonesty. Judge Peter Hughes QC told them: “You carefully selected your targets and, posing as an ordinary member of the public, you were, to put it colloquially ‘casing the joint’.”
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