Wicked Thoughts

I didn’t want that arm anyway

Apparently it’s all part of a show (in Thailand) and he DOES get his arm back
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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

British businessman faces lashing for ‘pinching woman’s buttocks’ while on holiday in Singapore: “A British businessman on holiday in Singapore faces being lashed with a cane after being accused of squeezing a woman’s bottom in a nightclub. Austin Cowburn, a recruitment consultant, is alleged to have pinched the woman’s buttocks while partying in the upmarket Boat Quay area at 4am. It is understood he was visiting the island from Doha, Qatar, where he works as a senior executive for international recruitment company NES Global. According to local reports, Mr Cowburn, 34, was charged on Friday with outraging the modesty of the woman at the China One club on April 3. He is due to appear for a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday and, if convicted, could be jailed for two years, fined up to £6,000 or be sentenced to a lashing with a 4ft rattan cane.”

Canada geese to be eaten: “The Canada goose, one of Britain’s most hated birds, could soon be served as an alternative to turkey for the traditional Christmas dinner. Natural England – the Government’s advisers on wildlife – want the law changed to allow meat from the bird to be sold for the first time in Britain. The birds, with their distinctive black heads, are a common sight in parks and on lakes but are seen as pests. They can already be shot and eaten, or given as a gift to cook at home. However, it is illegal to sell them. Restaurateurs who serve them can be fined up to £5,000 and face six months jail. Natural England will make its recommendation to the Law Commission, which is conducting a review of wildlife statutes. It is believed that the law may be changed in time for Christmas. Thousands of the birds are killed lawfully every year to prevent them from fouling parks. The low-flying geese are also the scourge of farmers and pilots as they feed on crops and are a hazard to planes. Many in the countryside eat the gamey bird as a roast at home and don’t understand why it is not sold.

I didn’t realise I had a 12″ spike in my head, says Oslo blast victim: “As the dust settled in the ruins of her 11th floor office in Oslo after the devastating bomb blast, Line Nersnaes knew she had to get out. But while the 50-year-old Justice Department advisor realised she had to struggle through the shattered glass and twisted metal to make her escape, she had no idea a 12-inch wooden spike had lodged in her head. The spear-like fragment from a shattered wooden window frame had narrowly missed her brain, having entered under her chin and exiting at the top of her skull. It was not until she could no longer ignore the pain of a piercing headache that she started to wonder what had happened to her.

Prostitution takes off at Dutch airport: “With the prospect of duty-free shopping, casino gambling and upscale restaurants, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has always had plenty to offer the weary traveller. However, a new pleasure is on offer to those waiting to board flights, according to De Telegraaf, which reported that a fleet of prostitutes had touched down. The paper says enterprising hookers are taking advantage of cheap air travel to jet into the bustling Dutch airport from Eastern Europe. Having arrived, they pick up male travellers and typically take them to a handful of budget hotels set up to allow passengers to rest and wash. As soon as they’re finished, the women simply hop back on a plane and fly home. They “can earn lots of money, much more than in their own countries,” the Amsterdam Prostitution Association told Radio Netherlands.

Big snake in Australia’s wild North: “A MAMMOTH 90kg python has found a new home – the Northern Territory. The 5m-long Burmese python, Bari, is “definitely a candidate for Jenny Craig,” Crocodylus Park chief scientist Charlie Manolis told the Northern Territory News. Park guide Gareth Jarman said visitors to the Darwin zoo and crocodile research centre were blown away by her size. “It’s the biggest snake in the Territory,” he said, adding it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to touch the giant reptile. Mr Manolis said it was unusual for Burmese pythons to get that heavy in the wild but Bari led a celebrity lifestyle with five-star treatment. He said the 14-year-old python was “daunting” compared with the other snakes at the park. “She could knock back five or six rabbits in one go without so much as a burp,” Mr Manolis said.

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Some autocorrect bloopers

Original story here

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

British man cuts off own head with chainsaw: “A man chopped off his own head with a chainsaw in an intricate plan involving a timer, snooker table and sticky tape because he didn’t want to get kicked out of his home, his inquest has heard. David Phyall, 50, went ahead with the suicide because he was “irrationally opposed” to being moved out, a British inquest heard. He tied the Black & Decker tool to a leg of a snooker table in his lounge with string, taped up the on button and plugged it into a timer. Mr Phyall then lay down under the snooker table face up and placed the chainsaw against his neck. The hearing heard Mr Phyall’s block of flats was to be demolished. He had refused 11 offers of alternative accommodation. Eventually it had gone to court to repossess the property.”

Must not cry on aircraft?: “Two sisters on their way to visit their father, who had just suffered a heart attack, claim they were removed from a US flight after one of them began to cry. Ricci Wheatley said she broke down on the jet and asked a Southwest flight attendant for a glass of wine to help ease her nerves (she’s scared of flying). However in the end she and her sister Robin were kicked off the plane following a “misunderstanding” with the cabin crew. Robin said her sister cried quietly so as not to disturb fellow passengers. “She was very quiet, softly crying. It was not a crying that anybody would hear.” The airline has not yet commented on the incident. It paid for their accommodation and a meal, and the sisters were expected to board a plane today.”

Police smash their way into car to rescue a DOLL: “When police heard reports of a baby trapped in a car, they rushed to rescue it. And on realising that the only way to get into the car would be to break a window, they quickly did their duty. But moments later, they were embarrassed to realise that the baby they had gone to such lengths to save was in fact a doll. The police caused £200 damage to the car in order to save Sam, a doll so lifelike it even has anatomically correct veins. Mother-of-three Victoria Cristofis bought the ‘Reborn’ doll for her daughter Chanel’s birthday in June. But within a month the doll – which looks and even smells almost exactly like a real baby – has caused all manner of confusion in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.”

Couple astonished as plant in their front garden suddenly shoots up 25 feet: “A homeowner has been left overwhelmed after a ‘dormant’ plant in his garden sprouted for the first time – and shot up 25 feet in just four months. Ian Spencer, 57, saw his agave plant flower for the first time this spring but was stunned when it continued to sprout higher. He filmed the growth of the massive plant, which now towers above his three-bedroomed property in Penzance, Cornwall. ‘It is at least 25 feet and the stalk is about 12 inches in diameter and covered in sharp leaves.” Agaves are used to make tequila in their native Mexico – the flowers, leaves, the stalks and the sap are all edible. A spokesman for the Royal Horticultural Society said, ‘The plants build up their resources over the years and when strong enough shoot up a great big stem. This uses up all its energy and it dies.”

Brazilian cow braves crocodile field in search of tasty treat: “This silly moo was lucky the only snap he suffered when wandering into a field full of carnivorous crocs was from a camera. Showing the confidence of a catwalk model, but with more than a hint of udder idiocy, the barmy Brazilian bovine avoided stepping on the crocodile moos in his search for tasty vegetation. Photographer Robert Mooney, of Arlington, Virginia, took the incredible photograph on the tropical Pantanal swamps in the western state of Mat Grosso. The 50-year-old said: ‘I was amazed the cow dared to stroll among the crocs with such apparent ease.’ The Pantanal is the world’s largest wetland area – covering 88,803 square miles – an area larger than France.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Spiky snow

In parts of Chile and Argentina, snow on the surface is high and sharp because of a strong wind in the Andes Mountains

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

‘Killer seaweed’: “It smells like rotten eggs, attacks the respiratory system and can kill in minutes. This silent killer is rotting seaweed lurking off beaches in Europe and has officials scared. The culprit can be found at some beaches in Brittany, western France, which is popular with locals and tourists and well-known for its seafood. Three dead boars were found at the mouth of the Gouessant estuary in Brittany, bringing to 31 the number found this month, floating in the water or washed up in the area. The nearby beach has been closed for safety, its cove stinking with algae which give off a poisonous gas when they rot. “This is a very toxic gas, which smells like rotten eggs,” Brittany marine biologist Alain Menesguen said. “It attacks the respiratory system and can kill a man or an animal in minutes.” While seaweed, which is a form of algae, is common on French beaches, it releases hydrogen sulphide when it comes into contact with nitrogen waste that flows into the sea from pig farms.” [Very odd. It’s not only algae that generate H₂S. It’s what gives farts their smell]

Australian army officer desperately wants to get shot at: “An army officer claims he was discriminated against and blocked from combat positions in Afghanistan and Iraq because he stutters. Major James Sproles claims he suffered clinical depression as a result of the posting refusals and is seeking $200,000 in damages. In 2005 he had been due to be deployed first with the al-Muthanna Task Group in Iraq and then the Reconstruction Task Force to Afghanistan in 2006 as a legal officer. On both occasions, he was removed from the deployment group before it left Australia. In a claim submitted to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Major Sproles says senior officers, including the then Afghan taskforce commander Lieutenant Colonel Mick Ryan, who now works at the Pentagon, blocked his postings to Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Australian politician gets his cat to drink tea: “He’s adept at foisting political tripe on the unsuspecting, but getting a cat to drink a cup of tea? – now there’s a challenge worthy of our Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd. In an online video posted on his Facebook page, Kev gets his cat Jasper to try a special blend of tea that he’s created out of a rather dainty but utilitarian pink cup and saucer. And he encourages his dog, Abby, to have a slurp as well. No peanut butter in sight, mind you. Kev’s mad catter tea party was filmed by him, in his Brisbane home, apparently in sane mind, to boost his chance of having his own blend of tea released by Twinings. In the video he nudges the cup and saucer closer to Jasper, giggling in delight when the pussy eventually succumbs. In fact, Jasper goes back again for a victory lap.” [Video at link. Patience needed]

A real life caped crusader in Britain: “During the day Roger Hayhurst is a mild-mannered gardener – but when night falls, he becomes crime fighting superhero the Kight Warrior. Dressed in a custom-made £200 blue-and-black lycra costume which his mother helped him buy from a firm in America, the 19-year-old patrols the streets of Salford, Greater Manchester, helping to break up fights and prevent anti-social behaviour. “When people see me coming up it does tend to stun them into silence. I just carry on trying to get them to calm down, and eventually most of them do,” he said. “If I think things are getting a bit hairy, I just back off and phone the police. They know what I am doing and have been very kind to me.” The idea came to Roger when he stumbled across a society of real-life superheroes on the internet performing good deeds in their communities.” [Video at link]

British garbage collectors bin a “meat-free-Monday”: “Binmen have rebelled against a ‘meat-free Monday’ brought in by the first Green council. A protest was staged by the ‘disgusted’ workers when their canteen removed bacon sandwiches and lamb chops from the menu. The veggie day was part of Brighton and Hove Council Green Party’s successful election manifesto in May. The seaside city is a magnet for people with liberal views wanting to live alternative lifestyles, boasting a number of vegetarian restaurants, including Heather Mills’ vegan cafe in Hove. One worker said: ‘As a result of potential grievances and general disgust at being told no meat would be served in the staff canteen, the policy has been abandoned and they will return to serving meat every day from now on.'”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Pelican gets lucky?

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Dumb Norwegian “911” phone service: “An emergency operator told a desperate father reporting gun- fire on Utoya island that his children would have to report the incident themselves, it was revealed yesterday. Labour party official Geir Johnsen Lavangen called after his son and daughter, both on the island, rang him to say shots were being fired. He complained that it took four minutes for his call to be answered and the operator did not take him seriously. He said: ‘Eventually she said if what I was saying was true then the children must call themselves.’ Thankfully, both survived. This follows criticism of police for taking more than 90 minutes to reach the gunman, who then surrendered.

Model kicked out of Comic-Con 2011: “The winner of the first America’s Next Top Model, Adrianne Curry, has been booted out of Comic-Con for wearing a costume that left very little to the imagination. Curry, the former wife of Brady Bunch star Christopher Knight, picked four costumes for the massive fan convention, including a version of Star Wars’ iconic Princess Leia slave outfit. But Curry’s very revealing homage to cartoon vixen Aeon Flux proved to be too much for event organisers. “Just got stopped by a ton of cops,” the 28-year-old Curry tweeted. “My costume is illegal … the butt … sigh.” Curry’s risqué costume apparently didn’t cover quite enough of her backside with its form-fitting black synthetic top and thigh-high boots. [You can see women wearing less at the beach]

Croc in main street of Northern Australian city “just routine”: “Police and wildlife volunteers are helping to remove a wayward crocodile from one of the main thoroughfares in Cairns, north Queensland. A motorist spotted the crocodile on Mulgrave Rd just after 8am. It’s not yet sure how the reptile came to be there. A QPS spokesman said there were plenty of drains in the area and it was a fairly common occurrence. “I’m not sure why everyone is getting a bit excited about this,” he said.”

Black Teen’s unusual talent – singing Chinese opera: “The teenager from Oakland, California has captivated audiences in the US and China with his ability to sing pitch-perfect Mandarin and perform the ancient Chinese art form. “As soon as he opens his mouth and sings in Chinese, the Chinese are very surprised and then feel very proud of him,” said his music teacher Sherlyn Chew. “When he puts on the costume, and all the acting, you can see that he’s pretty good.” Tyler, 15, is a standout student in Chew’s Oakland-based Purple Silk Music Education program, which teaches children and youth – mostly from low-income immigrant families — how to sing and play traditional Chinese music. The program’s Great Wall Youth Orchestra & Chorus has performed around the country. Tyler has learned to sing several well-known pieces of Chinese opera, a centuries-old form of musical theatre known for its elaborate costumes, clanging gongs and cymbals, wide-ranging vocals and highly stylized movements.”

British government pays £3,500 for a £250 computer: “Whitehall is wasting an ‘obscene’ amount of public money on IT systems, a report by MPs admits. The report cites some Whitehall departments who blow an average of £3,500 on a desktop computer, while they can be bought for as little as £250 on the High Street, 14 times cheaper. Ministers have created a ‘recipe for rip-offs’ by buying from a cartel of suppliers at massively inflated prices, it says. Examples of extraordinary waste have included officials paying £73 for a box of copier paper that can be bought in bulk for just £8. The Public Administration Select Committee described the Government’s overall record in developing and implementing IT systems as ‘appalling’.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Sometimes neither math nor feminism penetrates

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

British invalid riding mobility scooter over level crossing is hit by 100mph train… and SURVIVES: “A disabled man who was hit by a train going at 100mph has miraculously survived with only minor injuries. Dad-of-four Tony Winskill, 43, of Kelvedon, was travelling on his mobility scooter when he drove on to a level crossing. He suffered only cuts and bruises after being thrown free from the scooter when it was clipped by the high speed commuter train. The alarm was raised after the train driver called his control room reporting that he had hit a man in a wheelchair at 100mph. Police and paramedics raced to the crossing and discovered the man had been catapulted from his chair and was lying in the road. At the time of impact the crossing barrier was believed to have been down and the injured man and his mobility scooter inside the safety fence. A spokesman for the British Transport Police said it appeared that the mobility scooter had received only a glancing blow.”

Missing man found in chimney 27 years on: “The remains of a Louisiana man who vanished 27 years ago have been found lodged inside a bank’s chimney. Staff stumbled across Joseph Schexnider’s corpse as they carried out renovation work. He went missing in January 1984 ahead of a court appearance for possessing a stolen vehicle, KATC-TV reported today. Police investigating the grim find in Abbeville, west of New Orleans, have ruled out foul play. They say Schexnider probably died from dehydration and starvation after climbing into the Bank of Abbeville’s chimney and becoming trapped. But why he was there remains something of a mystery. Schexnider, who was 22 when he disappeared and would have turned 49 today, was equipped with gloves, a cigarette lighter, a watch and a wallet – but none of the tools you might expect a would-be bank robber to be carrying.”

Sex is government work?: “She was on a work trip, staying in a hotel booked and paid for by her employer – but does a sex accident count as being injured on work time? That is the question the Federal Court will today begin to consider, as a public servant fights for compensation after being injured during a night of passion. The Federal Government employee, who cannot be identified, was injured when a glass light fitting came away from the wall above the bed as she was having sex with a man on November 26, 2007, The Daily Telegraph reported. The light struck her in the face, leaving her with injuries to her nose, mouth and a tooth, as well as “a consequent psychiatric injury”, described as an adjustment disorder. She claims entitlement to compensation because her injuries were caused “during the course of her employment”, as she had been sent to a country town to stay the night ahead of a meeting early the next day.”

Cake shows Australian Prime Minister being eaten by a croc: “A Northern Territory senator has been accused of being a chauvinist – and introducing politics to a cake-baking competition. Deputy Nationals leader Nigel Scullion won the celebrity cake-making challenge with a cake showing Prime Minister Julia Gillard seemingly being eaten by a crocodile. His victory speech was all about politics. One witness said: “It was a political rant about the carbon tax. Everybody was squirming.” Senator Scullion said the cake wasn’t chauvinistic. “I matched her emerald shoes with her lime tunic and got her hair just right. Everybody thought it was very tasteful.” Labor senator Trish Crossin said her CLP rival had a “bizarre” sense of humour.”

Toilet paper killing tigers?: “GREENPEACE is calling on consumers to boycott IGA toilet paper, saying it’s linked to the destruction of endangered tiger habitats in Indonesia. IGA is the only major supermarket chain in Australia to source paper products from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) through its Australian affiliate Solaris. It is then sold under the IGA Black and Gold, and Signature toilet paper labels. Greenpeace has released video footage which it says shows the death of a Sumatran tiger in a hunting trap whose habitat was destroyed by APP. There are only about 400 Sumatran tigers alive in the wild and they are classified as critically endangered. “This tragic footage is representative of more and more instances of tigers being pushed out of their homes because of increased logging,” Greenpeace forests campaigner Reece Turner said.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Animal, vegetable or mineral?

It’s a scaleworm from deep in the Arctic

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Dumb robber jumps four floors to avoid arrest: “A Sydney man has been left with a punctured lung and a broken rib after jumping from a four-storey building to try and avoid arrest. The 38-year-old, who was wanted for break and enter and bail offences, shut the door on police when they went to arrest him at a Hardy Street unit in Bondi in Sydney’s east yesterday evening. Officers forced their way in but could not find him when they searched the unit. Police said a groaning sound from the rear of the unit block led them to an open window, from where they saw the man wedged between a retaining wall and a neighbouring fence. The man was taken to hospital and remains under police guard. Several laptops, mobile phones, shotgun cartridges and illicit drugs were found in the unit, along with a police badge and warrant card that had been reported stolen earlier in the year.”

UT: Man refuses to give name, police seek help in identification: “A man who doesn’t want anyone to know who he is has been sitting in the Utah County jail for three weeks. Police say he was arrested on minor charges, but they can’t just let him out. John Doe, as they have been forced to call him, was arrested for trespassing after he was spotted hanging around the parking garage of the Provo City offices, looking into cars. Police told him to leave three times, but he refused and was arrested July 1. From that day since, he hasn’t told anyone who he is, where he came from, or what he was doing in Provo.”

Pigs can’t fly… but they can swim: “Pigs can’t fly – but this pair of homesick Tamworth boar crosses can certainly swim. They took to the water like pigs to mud after they were put out to pasture on the uninhabited island of Longa off the North West Scottish coast. Named Mary and Truffle by their owner, James Cameron was startled to discover they had returned home the day after he left them and their swim across the sea was caught on camera. Holidaymaker Jay Goss, 31, watched in amazement from his parents’ seaside cottage at Big Sands in Wester Ros. At first he thought they were otters but soon realised they had snouts. He said: ‘The sea was a mill pond and the two wee chaps swam 1.5km to the mainland. It was incredible. They reached the shore and were shivering and nervous.’ He called Mr Cameron to tell him he had the two pigs but he thought it was a joke at first.”

A Jewish answer to Facebook: “A new social networking site for ultra-Orthodox Jews takes customary segregation of the sexes online and also bars pictures or ads deemed immodest in ultra-Orthodox society. Go to http://www.faceglat.com and the home page has signs in Hebrew and English directing men to click on to the right of the page and women to the left. Sign up and you will see a page identical to those on Facebook, but here photos posted on a man’s wall may only be of other men; likewise for the women’s side. The virtual divide mirrors the practice at Orthodox Jewish synagogues, weddings and other events where the sexes are physically separated. On certain public bus lines running through ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods, women must stand at the back, to the outrage of feminists. Israeli news website Ynet says FaceGlat – Glatt is a term used in kosher food certification – was founded by Yaakov Suissa from the Habad hassidic movement.”

SWAT team raids cat: “US authorities are hunting a man responsible for calling in a fake hostage report that targeted a well-known internet security expert and encumbered about 30 police officers and SWAT team members for three hours over the weekend. The caller claimed to be in a house in Wyckoff, New Jersey, belonging to Parry Aftab, a lawyer specialising in internet privacy and security and a frequent media commentator. The man said he was armed and had two hostages. Police and SWAT team members surrounded the home for about three hours on Saturday and eventually shot tear gas canisters inside, but found only Aftab’s cat inside.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

This sign MAY be unofficial

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Wife tells accident-prone Mr Fix It to quit DIY after one too many bungles: “An accident-prone husband has been banned from DIY by his wife after one too many trips to the hospital emergency room: “Barry Witham has sliced open his thigh with a boxcutter knife while trying to fit a carpet, stabbed himself in the wrist while repairing loudspeakers and fallen through a ceiling while fetching a Christmas tree from his sister’s loft. The 36-year-old former soldier also brought down a substantial chunk of his kitchen ceiling after a repair job on a light fitting went badly wrong. His wife, Donna, has now put her foot down and says he will not be doing anything more strenuous than wallpaper-stripping in future. She said: ‘He can decorate and do all that. I just don’t want him to do the major stuff. It’s not worth it.'”

$80 hot dog? “It’s one of America’s most popular sporting traditions – an afternoon at the ball park with a cold beer and a hot dog. Now a Massachusetts baseball team has elevated the experience to a lesson in haute cuisine. The Brockton Rox have introduced what they claim is the world’s most expensive hot dog to stadium kiosks, an $80 feast made from ingredients rarely seen on a fast-food menu. The club’s McMullen Dog, named for Atlantic City chef Ryan McMullen who came up with the idea, features a half-pound all-beef sausage rolled in truffle oil, coated with the dust of pulverised porcini mushrooms and topped with white truffle shavings. The bread roll is buckwheat blini, hand crafted by one of Cape Cod’s most exclusive bakeries. And in place of the more familiar ketchup and mustard, fans can choose a creme fraiche dressing with a dollop of caviar and salmon roe.”

Welsh clergyman off his brain: “The Rev Geraint ap Iorwerth cut up pages from the King James Bible and burnt the ‘negative, nasty bits’. The artwork was then mounted on a 9ft-by-7ft board and displayed in church. Mr ap Iorwerth, 60, of St Peter ad Vincula Church in Wales, said: ‘I cut out all the nasty bits of that Bible, the language of which is being celebrated this year, because I don’t think you can separate it from the God it is representing.’ Mr Iorwerth defended his actions, however, telling Walesonline: ‘The charred remains were a memorial to the millions whose lives have been destroyed as a result of the cruelty of this kind of God and his followers. ‘It is incumbent upon me as a church leader to launch a national investigation into the fact that so many Christians continue to support the regime of the cruel and vile God that we read about in the Bible.”

It took Norway’s Keystone Kops over an hour to reach the scene of the recent massacre: “Special forces in Oslo did not have an operative helicopter available that could take them straight to the island. And when they finally arrived after a 28 mile trip by road to Hoenefoss, opposite the island, 60 minutes after receiving the first reports of the shooting, they could not find a suitable boat to use. The one they did board almost sank because their equipment was too heavy – and they had to continuously bail out water as they made the crossing.”

‘Corpse’ wakes up in mortuary: “A 50-year-old South African man thought to be dead woke up in a chilly morgue and shouted to be let out, scaring off two attendants who thought he was a ghost. “His family thought he had died,” health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo told the Sapa news agency. “The family called a private undertaker who took what they thought was a dead body to the morgue, but the man woke up inside the morgue on Sunday at 5pm and screamed, demanding to be taken out of the cold place.” This caused two mortuary attendants on duty to flee the building in the small town of Libode in the rural Eastern Cape as they thought it was a ghost, the agency reported. An ambulance was sent to fetch the man, who had “been exposed to extreme cold for nearly 24 hours”, said Kupelo.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

A slender Loris

From India

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Britain hit by condom shortage: “Britain is facing a shortage of condoms following a dispute between leading brand Durex and its key supplier. Sexual health expert Dr Malcolm Vandenburg said the shortage could put the safe sex message at risk, saying: ‘The fear is that if there is a shortage, young people will begin to have unprotected sex. The shortage has been caused by Indian firm TTK Lig halting its supply of condoms in a price dispute with Durex owner Reckitt Benckiser. The Slough-based company launched a High Court bid to force TTK to resume supply, but the claim was rejected. A spokesman said the company was ‘actively managing the situation to mitigate any damage’. Durex is Britain’s most popular brand of condom, accounting for 40 per cent of the market. TTK makes more than half of them.”

Dog barks himself to death: “A bulldog suffocated to death from barking too much after he was left by his owner in a kennel for the first time. In a bizarre tragedy, the English Bulldog, named Cowboy, was found dead at the kennel in Manhattan after carers and vets allegedly ignored its distressed calls. While vets initially said the dog had died of heart failure and there was nothing that could have been done to have saved him, an autopsy following legal action filed by his owner found it had, in fact, barked so much it managed to suffocate itself. The owner, Marie Moore, claims doctors at the Riverside Animal Clinic tried to cover up their failings by painting the death as congestive heart failure. ‘Defendants ignored obvious signs of Cowboy’s distress, allowing Cowboy to continue barking for days without proper care or intervention, until his severely swollen throat suffocated him and caused his death,’ court papers filed by Mrs Moore alleged.”

Wine disaster in Australia like a murder scene: “A McLaren Vale wine maker says he’s “gut-wrenched, shocked and numb” after losing more than $1 million of his flagship shiraz when a container crashed from a forklift. Moollydooker Wines’ 2010 Velvet Glove Shiraz sells for $185 a bottle, but now winemaker Sparky Marquis has lost a third of his production after the mishap which destroyed all but one of the 462 cases bound for the US. As the container hit the ground the force of 12 tonnes crushed the cartons, reducing many to a third of their normal size. “When they opened up the container they said it was like a murder scene. “There was red everywhere. “But it smelled phenomenal. They were really impressed with the smell.” The accident has put a major spanner in the works for Mollydooker’s US launch in September where demand for Velvet Glove was expected to be high. “It’s a massive loss. We’re going through all of the 462 cases at the moment just to see what we can save out of it,” Mr Marquis said. “Really, we’ve only found one carton that has survived intact”

Britons endure 77-minute terror flight as jet engine shoots 30ft flames and repeatedly backfires after take-off from Ibiza: “British holidaymakers last night told of their terror after their plane’s engine burst into flames. Passengers heard an explosion and saw an engine ablaze on the Jet2 flight from Ibiza to Manchester. The Boeing 738, which was carrying 186 people, made an emergency landing in Palma, Majorca. One passenger posted online: ‘Most terrifying moment of my life! So glad to be home safe in the Isle of Man.’ The drama was witnessed by tourists on beaches below. One wrote: ‘On the beach at Figueretas hearing loud popping noise and see the right-hand engine on fire.’ Flight LS170 took off at 11.39am on Thursday and landed at Palma 77 minutes later. The airline said the plane had suffered ‘a technical problem’.”

Suspended office assistant ‘received full salary and benefits for 12 years despite doing no work’: “A woman who has not shown up at the office in the last twelve years and has done zero work for her employers has been collecting an annual salary amounting to more than $300,000. Jill McGlone, from Virginia, was suspended from her job 12 years ago but a book-keeping mistake meant that she was still being paid an annual salary of $24,000 with full benefits. When the mistake was discovered, her payments were discontinued and Ms McGlone was fired. She is now suing Norfolk Community Services Board for wrongful termination and unemployment benefits. Ms McGlone is said to have been suspended from her job as an office assistant twice – the first time in April 1998 for having a weapon at work and then again two months later for disclosing confidential information about a client. According to AOL, her situation was only uncovered recently, when a new supervisor, Maureen Womack, came in to take the reigns of Norfolk CSB.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Crazy times

The following are 39 things that are driving ordinary Americans absolutely crazy right now….

#1 According to Newsweek, close to one out of every five American men between the ages of 25 and 54 does not have a job at the moment. So why is the “greatest economy on earth” unable to provide jobs for nearly 20 percent of the men that are in their prime working years?

#2 Last year, over a million homes were repossessed by financial institutions. This year a similar number of repossessions is expected. Sometimes these evictions are absolutely heartbreaking. Just check out the following excerpt from a recent Newsweek article….

To understand American anger, that roiling storm sometimes dubbed our national “mood,” spend a day with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Since 2006 the unlikely lawman—a tea drinker who listens to Bobby Kennedy speeches on his way to work—has overseen all foreclosures and evictions in the Chicago area, one of the hardest hit nationwide. The process does not always go well. One evictee shot himself in the head, remained conscious, and calmly tried to raise the pistol again as deputies battered the front door.

#3 Companies like Netflix and Chipotle are significantly raising prices. Meanwhile, Ben Bernanke claims that there is hardly any inflation. He must not go grocery shopping much.

#4 The government keeps telling us that the economy is improving, and yet more stores keep closing. The Gap has announced that up to 200 stores will be closed over the next two years. Perkins has announced that they will be closing 58 restaurants. Borders has announced that they will be shutting down their remaining 399 stores and that 10,700 employees will lose their jobs. Yes, the economy is really buzzing right now.

#5 Government services all over the nation are being cut back. An atmosphere of austerity has descended on the entire country. For example, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe says that we may soon have to say goodbye to Saturday mail delivery.

#6 Many broke public school systems are now charging parents lots of money for things that used to be free. The Wall Street Journal says that one family in Ohio has to shell out over $4,000 a year for basic school activities….

Budget shortfalls have prompted Medina Senior High to impose fees on students who enroll in many academic classes and extracurricular activities. The Dombis had to pay to register their children for basic courses such as Spanish I and Earth Sciences, to get them into graded electives such as band, and to allow them to run cross-country and track. The family’s total tab for a year of public education: $4,446.50.

#7 The Federal Reserve gets to give out tens of billions of dollars of nearly interest-free loans to their bankster friends while tens of millions of American families desperately try to survive an economic downturn that was caused by those same banksters.

#8 We have gotten ourselves into a position where we are in so much debt to China that we have to constantly be concerned about how they feel about our financial status. Earlier this week, one top Chinese official urged the U.S. government to do something to boost confidence in the U.S. dollar and in U.S. government debt….

“We hope the U.S. government will take responsible policies and measures to boost global financial market confidence and respect and protect the interests of investors.”

#9 The national debt continues to spiral out of control and our politicians seem unwilling to do anything serious about it. If you combine all sources of income, it is estimated that LeBron James makes about 42 million dollars a year. If he continued to make money at that rate, it would take him 23,809 years to make a trillion dollars. Yet our politicians see no problem with running trillion dollar deficits year after year.

#10 Unless our politicians do something dramatic, the federal government is headed straight toward financial hell. It is being projected that the U.S. national debt will hit 344% of GDP by the year 2050 if we continue on our current course.

#11 It is not just the federal government that is broke. Right now, there are a lot of state and local governments that are teetering on the brink of financial disaster. Moody’s has announced that it will be reviewing, and possibly downgrading, the credit ratings of Maryland, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is such a financial mess that nobody really has any idea how to fix their problems.

#12 All over the United States, highways, water treatment plants, libraries, parking meters, airports and power plants are being sold off (much of the time to foreigners) in order to plug short-term holes in state and local budgets.

#13 The combination of federal government spending, state government spending and local government spending now accounts for a larger share of U.S. GDP than at any other time in our history.

#14 Police all over America have been shutting down lemonade stands run by little children. At least one police chief in Wisconsin was good enough to apologize when it happened in his area. It is too bad that there aren’t more police out there that have a little common sense.

#15 The U.S. housing crash shows no signs of abating. Real estate construction is absolutely dead. In fact, right now we are on track for the lowest number of total housing completions that the U.S. government has ever recorded in a single year.

#16 In June, sales of previously-owned homes in the United States declined to a seven month low. Without good jobs, the American people cannot afford to buy homes. Many of those that do have good incomes are being turned down by mortgage lenders.

#17 The supply of existing homes for sale continues to go up. That means that it is going to get even harder for average Americans to sell their homes.

#18 The value of U.S. homes has fallen by a total of approximately 6.6 trillion dollars since the peak of the housing market.

#19 It isn’t just banks that are kicking people out of their homes. All over the country, homeowners’ associations are aggressively using their powers to boot American families out on to the streets.

#20 Instead of being used by families, all over the country thousands of foreclosed homes are rapidly filling up with mold.

#21 Really bizarre thefts are being reported all over the United States right now. For example, it was just reported that some crooks in Pennsylvania ripped up and hauled away about 100,000 pounds of train track.

#22 Authorities continue to insist that violent crime is going down, and yet the number of police officers killed by gunfire is on pace to easily set another all-time record for the second year in a row.

#23 One recent study found that approximately 47 percent of all meat and poultry in the United States “is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant Staph”.

#24 The health insurance companies keep jacking up rates on all of us, and yet they also continue to report record breaking profits.

#25 The Obama administration is now using “mystery shoppers” to spy on doctors. The following is from a report in the New York Times….

Alarmed by a shortage of primary care doctors, Obama administration officials are recruiting a team of “mystery shoppers” to pose as patients, call doctors’ offices and request appointments to see how difficult it is for people to get care when they need it.

#26 Corruption appears to be rampant on every level of American society today. For example, one NYU professor recently discovered that 20 percent of his students were blatantly cheating on assignments.

#27 Thanks to insane tax loopholes, a substantial percentage of the billions of dollars of income that hedge fund managers make is only taxed at a maximum rate of 15 percent. Meanwhile, middle class American families are being absolutely hammered with taxes.

#28 The “too big to fail” banks now control 77 percent of all of the banking assets in the country.

#29 In 2010, the United States had the worst current account balance in the world. The U.S. had a current account balance of negative 561 billion dollars for 2010. No other nation had a negative current account balance that even exceeded 70 billion dollars. The amount of wealth leaving our country and being transferred to the rest of the world is absolutely mind blowing.

#30 One recent poll found that 72 percent of Americans believe that we are involved in too many wars. But the Obama administration seems to think that we should be “the police of the world” and they just keep getting the U.S. military involved in more conflicts.

#31 Startling revelations are starting to come out about a scandal so big that it could shake up Washington D.C. for years to come. Apparently, ATF agents were ordered to get thousands of guns into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels and they were also apparently ordered not to follow those guns to see where they ended up.

#32 The top 5 percent of all income earners in America account for almost as much consumer spending as the bottom 80 percent of all income earners.

#33 The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased by 46% since 2006. But instead of being treated with kindness, many communities are treating the growing ranks of the poor as “outcasts” or criminals.

#34 Despite the promises of our politicians, globalism is absolutely shredding the American economy. According to Forbes, the United States has been losing an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs per month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

#35 There are no signs that our rampant unemployment problem is going to end any time soon. In fact, right now it takes the average unemployed worker about 40 weeks to find a new job.

#36 The vast majority of U.S. consumers are tapped out at this point. Just consider the following quote from the New York Times….

The auto industry is on pace to sell 28 percent fewer new vehicles this year than it did 10 years ago — and 10 years ago was 2001, when the country was in recession. Sales of ovens and stoves are on pace to be at their lowest level since 1992. Home sales over the past year have fallen back to their lowest point since the crisis began.

#37 Right now in Congress there is a proposal to change the way that inflation is calculated. According to The Senior Citizens League, this change would cause the average retiree to lose out on $18,000 in Social Security benefits over a 25 year period.

#38 Our tax system is fundamentally unjust. Just look at the example of General Electric. G.E. is a favorite of the Obama administration and somehow they get away with not paying taxes year after year. Just check out what the New York Times claims G.E. got away with in 2010….

The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.

Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.

#39 The TSA continues to abuse U.S. travelers in some of the most bizarre ways imaginable. For example, one 95-year-old grandmother in a wheelchair that is dying from cancer was asked to remove her adult diaper so that TSA “officials” could feel her up properly. In what kind of a society does this type of thing go on?

Original story here

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Freak umbrella accident kills German teen: “Friends and family of a 14-year-old German girl are in mourning after she was killed in a freak accident involving a broken umbrella thrown by a fellow pupil, police said. Sandra was one of a group of teens who had gathered in their school playground in Delbrueck, western Germany on Tuesday evening, despite it being the school holidays, and started throwing around the discarded item. A 17-year-old boy then threw the umbrella, by then reduced to the wooden handle and the metal pole and spike, over the top of the school building like a spear. It hit Sandra in the chest. Friends performed first aid and called emergency services, police said, but medics at the scene and in hospital were unable to save the girl’s life.”

Most Dangerous Bird in the World’ Escapes: “The gates at the Denver Zoo were temporarily closed on Friday as employees searched for a large, dangerous bird called a cassowary that escaped from its enclosure. A cassowary — a potentially dangerous, large, flightless bird native to Australia — escaped its enclosure. Adult cassowaries grow between 5 and 6 feet tall, weigh around 100 pounds, and are marked by sharp claws and a hard helmet-like crest on their heads. The third tallest and second heaviest bird in the world, smaller only than the emu and ostrich, the cassowary is flightless and can run in excess of 30 mph. Unfortunately for this adventure bird, his life on the lam was short-lived as he was located a short time later on the zoo property. No one was hurt. The San Diego Zoo calls cassowaries ‘the most dangerous bird in the world’ due to their reputation for injuring people and domestic animals. Their toes have long, straight nails which are capable of causing serious injuries, if not death.” [Video at link]

Britain’s biggest-EVER divorce settlement awarded to ex-wife of Russian billionaire after only living together for TWO years: “A billionaire Russian oligarch divorced his second wife yesterday in the costliest marriage split in British legal history. Boris Berezovsky, who did not contest the High Court case, is expected to pay his former wife Galina Besharova ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’. Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, 65, agreed to the massive payout a year after his wife Galina, 52, divorced him in a 45-second divorce on grounds of his unreasonable behaviour. Mr Berezovsky, 65, and his wife were married for 18 years, though they had effectively been separated for the last 16. He was granted political asylum in the UK in 2003 after surviving an assassination attempt, and remains a noted opponent of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.

Batty danger in California: “An dramatic rise in rabid winged mammals has California going batty. It may seem like something out of a vampire film, but officials in two counties are warning for residents to beware of the bat. Just one bite from an infected bat can kill a person or an animal, and the creatures can somehow live with the disease for longer. Steve Spence says he contracted rabies when an infected bat bit him on the foot. John Brand of the Moorpark city manager’s office said the number of infected bats there is growing rapidly. ‘In a typical year, all Ventura County might have seven or eight [rabid] bats. Now we’ve collected 10 in a 60-day period in one neighbourhood.’ Despite the danger, the long arm of the law is on bats’ side, as it’s a protected species that gobbles up thousands of insects a day.

Working replica of Fred Flintstone’s car for sale at rockbottom price: “It’s a replica of an iconic car that is guaranteed to turn heads. The two-seater soft-top car is for sale at the rock-bottom price of 2,200 Euros. And, unlike the original, this working version of Fred Flintstone’s car has its own motor, meaning the driver and their passenger won’t have to rely on their feet to power the prehistoric ride. Instead, passengers can put their feet up in the fully functional version of the world famous car which is being sold by its owner in Paris. The car has been lovingly crafted from wood and in homage to the original, has two rollers in place of wheels. There’s a wooden bench in places of seats, which is guaranteed to give both driver and passenger sturdy support. And just in case the driver is caught in the rain, there’s a cloth ‘roof’ which, conveniently, has a hole cut out in the back in lieu of a rear windscreen.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Chihuahua sees off burglars

Story here

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

IL: Man sentenced to two years for “impersonating a lawyer”:
“An Illinois man was sentenced to two years in jail for posing as an attorney and acting in over 60 cases without a law degree, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday. Tahir Malik, 47, was jailed after he pleaded guilty Monday in Stokie, Ill., to charges of forgery and impersonation of a lawyer. Malik, a convicted felon, was arrested in December after courthouse staff grew suspicious of him. ‘No one suspected anything for years because he did everything right — except obtain a law degree,’ Sheriff Tom Dart said.”

CO: Convicted murderer sues prison for saving his life: “A convicted murderer is suing the Sterling Correctional Facility in Colorado for failing to honor his No CPR order and saving his life while in prison. Daniel Self, 54, who signed a No CPR form on Jan. 22, 2009, was found unconscious in his cell in the Sterling Correctional Facility by another inmate on April 4, 2009.”

Woman finds 12-metre-deep sinkhole under her bed: “Getting out of bed can be a dangerous business. Treacherous sinkholes have made residents of Guatemala City, in Guatemala, increasingly worried about the ground beneath their feet. Inocenta Hernandez is the latest person to get a shock – she found a 12-metre sinkhole under her bed. The 65-year-old described waking up after hearing a loud explosion and thinking it was a gas canister blast at a neighbour’s house. She said: “We rushed out to look and saw nothing. A gentleman told me that the noise came from my house, and we searched until we found it under my bed.” Police and emergency services dashed to visit the site and make it safe. Ms Hernandez added: “Thank God there are only material damages, because my grandchildren were running around the house, into that room and out to the patio.”

Dog saves himself from death row – by singing Happy Birthday: “Poor old Patches’ elderly master passed away and, in the confusion that followed, the 17-year-old ended up in the pound. As relatives desperately tried to find him, it seemed the search for the dog, who used to howl along as his master sang, would be in vain. But then a Victorian Dog Rescue foster carer found a dog matching Patches’ description at Mildura Pound – and was asked to sing Happy Birthday to it. “I started singing to him and at first he got a sad, faraway look in his eyes, just like he was thinking about something or missing someone,” Kaye Grivec said. “Then he put his head back and started howling along with me and I just burst into tears of joy.” “When it was anyone’s birthday, Dad would telephone them and sing Happy Birthday to them with Patches singing along. It was Patches’ favourite song and it became a family tradition for Dad and Patches to sing it together.” [Video at link]

Bangladeshi man has brick tied to penis as punishment: “Bangladeshi police said today they were investigating the case of a man forced to parade naked through his village with a brick tied to his penis as punishment for kidnapping and marrying a minor. The punishment was meted out Saturday to the 30-year-old man by the local council in a village 30 kilometres south of Dhaka. Police said he had kidnapped and then forcibly married a 12-year-old girl, who later managed to escape. “The council chief and some village elders beat him and made him parade with a brick tied to his penis at a river ghat (steps) under the full gaze of at least 200 people,” police sub-inspector Binoy Krishna Kar said.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.