Wicked Thoughts

The “national” costumes worn by the girls in the current Miss Universe contest are in the main just plain weird but the two below have something

(Puerto Rico)

(Switzerland)

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Russian drunk jumps out of five storey window TWICE: “A Russian man survived after guzzling three bottles of vodka before leaping from a fifth floor balcony – twice. Moscow man Alexei Roskov says he jumped the second time because he couldn’t stand anymore of his wife’s nagging after the first time. His wife Yekaterina watched in horror as her sozzled husband opened the kitchen window of their Moscow apartment, and dived out. Astonishingly 22-year-old Muscovite survived – staggering back upstairs with barely a scratch after the 15m fall. But while his wife called for an ambulance and began to scold him, he decided to jump again. Paramedics treated Mr Roskov for minor cuts and bruises before releasing him. Mr Roskov said he was now teetotal after giving up drinking, and added: “Now I can say just one thing – I was very lucky.”

The cat that swam: “When two-year-old Tootsie was knocked down and left for dead by the side of the road, he was not expected to survive. Vets told owner Sue Wilson that the black cat was unlikely to make a full recovery from his injuries, which included a shattered right leg, and recommended she considered putting him down. But in a last ditch attempt to give the unlucky feline a second chance at life veterinary surgeons suggested the moggie get his feet – and everything else – wet. Now thanks to six weeks of intensive hydrotherapy at a specially designed two-foot deep pool for dogs, Tootsie is back to full fitness. The little black battler swam at the Hereford Canine Hydrocare centre – the first cat to use the pool – every day for more than a month and now has the strength to doggy-paddle unaided.”

Facebook more vital than having a flushing toilet, say Britons: “Here’s a status update that some will find truly shocking – being connected on Facebook is more important than having a flushing loo, according to a survey. The study, by London’s Science Museum, asked 3,000 adults what they couldn’t live without and Facebook ranked fifth, with flushing loos ninth. Being on the internet came second, with sunshine the clear winner. Having clean water came third in the One Poll study, owning a fridge fourth and the NHS sixth. A cooker was considered fairly important, lying in seventh place, with email eighth and possessing a mobile phone viewed as a good call – that came in at tenth. The survey was carried out in conjunction with the Science Museum’s new exhibition, Water Wars: Fight The Food Crisis.”

Man dies in encounter with a clothes drier: “A father died when he became trapped by a clothes horse as he hung his washing out to dry. Brian Depledge, 38, was asphyxiated after tripping and falling backwards into the plastic drying rack, trapping his neck between its rungs, an inquest heard yesterday. A shocked coroner said Mr Depledge had stood a greater chance of being killed by ‘lightning or a meteorite’. The inquest in Bradford was told how the father-of-two fell into the clothes horse after tripping over a stool, and his neck and chest became wedged in its rungs as it collapsed. He struggled to free himself but created a ‘cat’s cradle effect’ that only made the compression worse, the hearing heard. The coroner, Professor Paul Marks, said: ‘I have never come across a case like this. Brian’s was an untimely death caused by the most bizarre set of circumstances – probably rarer than being struck by lightning or a meteorite.’”

Teacher quits to help lead Somalia: “A teacher in Britain stunned colleagues by leaving to take up a new post – as deputy prime minister of Somalia. Mohamed Ibrahim, a 64-year-old teacher at a high school in North London, was appointed to the post in his native land during the summer vacation. Mr Ibrahim, who was employed to help Somali immigrant children improve their English, said in his resignation email that the call to serve was “unexpected” but that he could not refuse given the humanitarian crisis gripping Somalia. The East African country is suffering a deep drought and famine, on top of a long and deadly Islamic insurgency. School principal Richard Kolka said he was “amazed and awestruck” when he heard the news. “I had absolutely no idea he was involved in the political life of his country, let alone at such a high and important level,” he said.”

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

An Obama believer

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Garlic bread murder: “A Teenager in Scotland admitted today to stabbing his girlfriend to death because she had been “moaning at him” over his failure to make garlic bread for their dinner. James Ellis, 18, stabbed Alami Gotip more than 30 times on May 25 as the woman’s two young children, to a different father, lay asleep upstairs. The body of 22-year-old Gotip was later found in the living room of the home in Livingston, West Lothian, Sky News said. Immediately after the murder, Ellis was seen standing in the front garden covered in blood and holding two knives.”

What Australian men want in a woman: “They don’t always say it out loud but men really do want women with sex appeal. Bedroom chemistry is far more important than many men are willing to admit, a study has found. In short, they are highly attracted to nice breasts and a cute backside. Author and D&M Research managing director Derek Jones said the results suggested blokes felt stuck in a politically correct straitjacket that stopped them from speaking their mind. “It may be they have matured through political correctness and have been socialised not to say everything they think,” Mr Jones said. Men openly said they valued traits such as togetherness, honesty, respect, a sense of humour and a best friend but when put to a thorough attraction test, the power of sexual chemistry was also undeniable. “What they actually also want is great boobs, a nice bum, a focus on fashion and similar interests,” Mr Jones said.”

Drunk moose found stuck in tree: “A SEEMINGLY intoxicated moose has been discovered entangled in an apple tree by a stunned Swede. Per Johansson says he heard a roar from his holidaying neighbour’s garden in southwestern Sweden late on Tuesday and went to have a look. There, he found a female moose kicking about in the tree. The animal was likely drunk from eating fermented apples. With the help of police and rescue services, the 45-year-old Johansson later managed to set the moose free in part by sawing off tree branches. But the animal appeared confused and wandered into Johansson’s garden, where she was still resting yesterday. Other neighbours in the Goteborg suburb Saro had seen the animal sneaking around the area for days. Johansson said the moose appeared to be sick, drunk or “half-stupid”.

Man lost in forest ate worms to survive: “A man who became separated from his friends in dense forest during a squirrel hunting trip in western Tennessee says he ate worms and drank muddy water to survive five days in the wild before he was found. Bill Lawrence says he gathered rainwater in his hunting vest and tried to stay calm throughout his ordeal. Mr Lawrence lost sight of his two hunting buddies on August 31 while chasing a squirrel and became alarmed when his shots were the only ones he could hear, The Commercial Appeal newspaper reported. Meanwhile, Mr Lawrence kept walking, searching for food and water. “I was drinking muddy water … eating worms. Yeah, I’d seen that on TV. I ate worms.” He shot his gun whenever he thought he heard someone, but his shotgun shells ran out on Sunday. Mr Lawrence eventually reached a road on Monday, collapsed and was found by some passers-by. Authorities said Mr Lawrence suffered from dehydration and severe insect bites. He was taking antibiotics because of the things he ate in the forest.”

Military dictator three times more popular than Australia’s Prime Minister: “FIJI has gleefully declared its leader Frank Bainimarama three times more popular than Julia Gillard in a media statement designed to put Australia in its place. The military regime has capitalised on a Sydney study that plays up domestic support for its self-appointed prime minister. It was released just a day after a Newspoll that put Ms Gillard’s leadership ratings at an all-time low, with just 27 per cent of Australians keen to vote for her. Fiji has had a strained relationship with both Australia and New Zealand since a 2006 coup and subsequent suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum in 2009, after failing to restore democracy with elections. The regime has long argued that it has the support of its people, and the poll by Australian think tank, the Lowy Institute, supports that view. It shows that two thirds of Fijians approve of Cmdre Bainimarama’s leadership”

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

Speaks for itself

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

CA: Criminals targeting gold stores: “Gus Rodriguez looks more like a soldier than a jewelry store security guard, with a Beretta handgun strapped to his bulletproof vest, shades wrapped around his shaved head and pepper spray bulging from a breast pocket. ‘I am not afraid,’ the former Ecuadorean military man says, patting his pistol. ‘They call me Rambo.’ After a summer of brazen attacks on gold stores, parts of downtown Los Angeles now look more like a militarized zone than a commercial corridor. The gold fever that has driven prices to an all-time high is also fueling a crime spree in the precious metal.”

Great-grandma gets F-cup breast implants: “A Weldh great-grandmother is dating men as young as 24 after boosting her bra size from A to F – at the age of 65. Joan Lloyd, from Abergele in North Wales, went under the knife after motherhood and age took their toll on her breasts, the North Wales Daily Post reported today. The former model had been unhappy with her shape for years, but when her husband David fell ill with various illnesses, looking after him became her priority for 15 years until his death last year. After her husband of 49 years passed away, Ms Lloyd decided to spend £4250 ($6797) of her savings on the operation to take her breasts up to the size they were before she had children. The grandmother-of-13 said, “Now I feel so much more confident about myself. I feel my boob job has actually given me a new lease of life”. She said, “Older people don’t have to sit back and live like an old spinster any more. I have had a few dates, with men from 24 to 50. Some don’t even know how old I am”.

Quake-prone New Zealand turns to wood: “Seminars will promote multi-storey wooden buildings in wake of earthquakes. “Plyscrapers” will be promoted by international speakers visiting New Zealand, advocating the advantages of structural timber in multi-storey high-rise buildings. A series of seminars will start in Christchurch on Friday to promote the wood buildings, including high-rises. One of the keynote speakers is Andrew Waugh, of Britain’s Waugh Thistleton Architects, which designed the high-rise Stadthaus apartment tower, acclaimed as setting new benchmarks in timber construction for its style and height. Wood is seen to be rising in favour after the Christchurch earthquakes. The seminars have been organised by industry organisation NZ Wood, which said the sessions would look at seismic damage-avoidance engineering, fire performance, acoustic qualities of wood buildings, thermal aspects, comfort and sustainability.”

Early British TV still going strong after 65 years: “It has survived 65 years of use and now television’s brave new world after the digital switchover – yet it is still a picture of health. And thanks to a simple digibox one of the world’s oldest televisions is soldiering on with all the latest channels. Retired TV engineer Steve Farley’s vintage goggle box was one of the first post-war sets to be built and was bought by his father. A radio and television engineer like his father before him, 59-year-old Steve says the 1946 Pye B16T telly has only needed minor modifications to keep it working over the years and even still has its original tube. ‘The fact that it still works so well should allay fears anyone has about not being able to watch digital television on their “old” telly after the digital switchover,’ he said. ‘Pye were the Sony of their day, this was the very first model they produced after manufacturing shut down during the war – it is one of the oldest working TVs in the world.”

Chinese factory decked out to look like France’s Palace of Versailles: “It looks more like a view of a luxurious palace for one of the world’s richest leaders – but this is actually the interior of an office building. Even more surprising is that the block is in China, a country more known for its minimalist, functional approach. Harbin Pharmaceutical Group appears to have modelled its factory in Harbin, in the northeast of Heilongjiang province, on the Palace of Versailles. The state-owned drug firm has caused outrage with the lavish decoration, which includes gold-tinted walls and chandeliers. Citizens living near the building have reacted with anger to the pictures, insisting the money should have been spent on sorting out the factory’s sewage problems.”

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

Cannibal father?

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

‘The usual rubbish about equal opportunities’: British government job advert pulled from website after blunder: “It’s probably what a great many think about advertisements for public sector jobs. But the words ‘the usual rubbish about equal opportunities’ were clearly not supposed to be published. A Liverpool hospital trust has begun an inquiry after the phrase was accidentally published on its website. The advert by the Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust invited applications for a trainee anaesthetist. But the familiar provision about equal opportunities that usually appears at the bottom of such adverts was replaced by the rather embarrassing ‘usual rubbish’ phrase. The advertisement has since been updated to remove the statement. A trust spokesman said: ‘The wording on this advert in no way reflects the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust’s position in relation to equal opportunities, to which it is fully committed.”

Miss Universe entrant ‘reprimanded for not wearing underpants’: “As the world’s most beautiful women are busy preparing for the Miss Universe pageant, controversy has erupted after a contestant was accused of getting her crotch out at official appearances. Miss Colombia contestant Catalina Robayo raised eyebrows, and the attention of pageant officials, after reportedly donning short frocks without undergarments. The fashion blunder earned the 22-year-old beauty a strong rebuke from officials who questioned her inappropriate wardrobe choices during last week’s events. Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organisation (MUO), said she was floored when she heard the news from her team. “There were several girls in short dresses which was a little concerning, but when I saw the [commando] picture on the front page of one of the local papers, [I] was very, very surprised,” she said.”

Citroen Tubik: ugliest show car ever?: “We’re used to motor shows being the forum for stunning cars that never go into production – no matter how much we beg. And here’s one we sincerely hope follows that path. We’ll be begging for it to never see light of day. Looking like the misbegotten spawn of an affair between a piggy bank and a bread bin, the Tubik is described by Citroen as a “high-tech, high comfort, highly functional executive shuttle that is shared, intelligent, connected and eco friendly”. “More than a taxi, more flexible than a limousine and as much fun as a trip to beach. Its flexible interiors means it can carry a group of people or a single person and their luggage; the seats can fold down as a bed or swing around for a meeting; entertainment units fold from the roof and privacy is guaranteed.”

Taxi driver locks fare in boot: “A German taxi driver has locked a female passenger in the boot for five hours after a dispute over a fare. The 32-year-old passenger was traveling home in the northern city of Hamburg in the early hours of Sunday morning when she angrily accused the driver of taking a detour to increase the fare, newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost reported yesterday. The 57-year-old driver attacked the woman, punching her in the face and pushing her inside the boot. He parked the vehicle outside his house, and left the passenger trapped inside. The woman called the police on her cell phone, and was freed five hours later when passers-by heard her cries for help coming from the back of the vehicle. The driver was detained yesterday after a major manhunt. The passenger was hospitalised, suffering from shock and severe bruising on her arms and legs.”

Skinny dipper gets stuck in mud off Portsmouth, England: “A SKINNY dipper nearly drowned after getting stuck in mud 76 metres from the shore. The man, 21, was found naked and struggling with the water up to his neck between Tipner and Whale Island, off Portsmouth, England. More than two metres of water had surrounded the skinny dipper as the tide rushed in. His friend, 18, who was also naked, had also been stuck but managed to pull himself free and swam to safety. The Solent Coastguard received an emergency call from a 13-year-old girl who said her brother and his friend were in the water. “We believe he initially became stuck in the mud,” said rescue officer Roley Warmington, who waded in to grab the naked man. The two men were taken by ambulance to Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital while three others, two 13-year-old girls and a 19-year-old man, were dealt with by the police.”

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

Coral reef color

Negative images of coral reefs and fish at the Bunaken Marine Park, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Buttock-loving man jailed for act in library: “A New Zealand man who indecently assaulted a total stranger in a library by pressing his face against her buttocks was jailed Monday for two years and three months for his behavior. Philip Broughton, 50, indecently assaulted the woman in the parenting section of the public library in New Brighton, a suburb in the South Island city of Christchurch, The Press reported. Broughton, who has a long history of indecent behavior and drunk driving, had denied the incident happened and claimed that he had been in the library “looking for books of scientific interest,” but was found guilty of indecent assault. Judge Stephen Erber, who described the incident as “disgusting, bizarre, and humiliating for the victim,” said she was looking for a book in the parenting section when she felt something pressing on her bottom. She found Broughton on his knees with his face pressed into her bottom.

Husband sued by wife for lack of sex: “Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir? The wrong answer to that question has cost one Frenchman more than $13,000. The 51-year-old man has been successfully sued by his ex-wife, who claimed he did not have sex with her enough during 21 years of marriage. The couple, who raised two children in the French Riviera, were granted divorce in Nice, southern France, two years ago, with the wife blaming her husband’s low libido for the split. The divorce court ruled the husband, known only as Jean-Louis B, was “solely responsible” for the break up. London’s Telegraph reported the 47-year-old woman recently took the matter back to court to seek 10,000 euros in damages for the inactive sex life. The woman was successful under France’s civil code, which states that a married couple must share a communal life. In a rare legal decision, the judge in the south of France’s highest court in Aix-en-Provence said it meant that “sexual relations must form part of a marriage”.

Unusual roadblock: “A big, tough-looking fat guy turned up unexpectedly to make a nuisance of himself in Victoria’s west yesterday, but that didn’t stop the townsfolk lending him a helping hand. Locals were captivated when a large male fur seal plonked himself in the centre of Swans Lane at Naringal, near Warrnambool, and wouldn’t budge. Lifelong resident Lawrence Hose said the seal was found yesterday at Ken Jane’s property near the corner of Swans Lane and Rollos Road. “It was found this morning out in the paddock and word soon got around,” he said. “There were quite a few people who lined the road to look at this fat male fur seal. The next thing we knew he went under the fence and up onto the road.” Mr Hose said the seal was thought to have come up the Brucknell Creek from the Hopkins River.”

Gene that makes you a couch potato: “It could be the perfect excuse for those who find exercise something of a chore: ‘I’m not lazy, it’s my genes.’ Scientists have discovered why some of us have the energy to work out for hours while others can barely summon the get-up-and-go to reach for the TV remote. They believe they have pinpointed the genes that produce an enzyme in our muscles during exercise called AMP kinase, which controls the way we turn food into energy. Those who generate large quantities of AMPK have more energy, whereas those with lesser amounts are likely to tire almost immediately. Dr Gregory Steinberg, who led the research, said the discovery could lead to treatments for those who find it difficult to exercise, including the obese and those with asthma. His team found dramatic results in tests on two groups of mice, one bred without the two suspected genes behind AMPK production. The researchers believe the same effect would be seen in humans.”

British driver SUCCESSFULLY sues council for £2,000 after potholes damage his wheels: “A driver has given hope to thousands by securing a £2,000 payout after his car was damaged by potholes. Hamilton Bland, a former BBC sports commentator, took Coventry council to court when they refused to compensate him for the damage to his car caused by a pothole-riddled street in the city. The victory came after the council had threatened Mr Bland with the prospect of thousands of pounds in damages if he pursued his claim. With motorists spending nearly £500million each year on repairing pothole damage, councils could be faced with a hefty compensation bill. But in a time of fiscal austerity, local authorities will be unable to cough up the £13billion which is the estimated cost of filling in Britain’s damaged roads.”

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

A little unkind, perhaps?

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Chilean students stage kiss-in for education reforms: “More than 100 students have held a kiss-in in a central plaza of the Chilean capital as part of a peaceful protest demanding education reforms. Pairs of university and high school students locked lips in front of Santiago’s Metropolitan Cathedral yesterday while passersby stopped to watch. Some onlookers applauded. The kiss-in marked a humorous break from mass student and teacher protests that have at times sparked violence and police crackdowns. The students are demanding higher quality and more equitable education. They’ve also occupied schools, staged choreographed dances and carried giant balls through town to get their message heard.”

Tea with Hitler: “The dark allure of Adolf Hitler has turned his tea house at the top of a Bavarian mountain into one of the most visited sites in Germany. Tourism authorities announced that over 300,000 people visited the retreat on the peak of the Kehlstein mountain which was built for him as a 50th birthday gift by Nazi party secretary Martin Bormann in 1939. Although Hitler’s Berghof home on the mountain was destroyed by the Allies in bombing raids and after WW2, the tea house survived to become a tourism magnet in peacetime. Officials said that most visitors to the mountain are Americans followed by Britons; combined they make up 85 percent of the people who came to see where Hitler ate cream cakes with his mistress Eva Braun and snoozed in chintz chairs as the world war he started raged. Germans make up just a small proportion of visitors to the tea house, preferring instead to enjoy nature and walking holidays in the beautiful countryside of the Obersalzburg all around.”

Bill Clinton ‘kicked off’ beach by cop after ignoring Irene warning: “Former President Bill Clinton was nearly in the doghouse with the East Hampton police while he walked one of Hillary Clinton’s pooches in the wake of Irene. The Georgica and Main beaches — located nearby the Clintons’ rented Lily Pond Lane house in East Hampton, N.Y. — were cordoned off to bar pedestrians following the storm, the New York Post reported. But despite the cordon, Bill Clinton decided it was safe to stroll on the sand anyway and he was soon stopped by a cop who “kicked him off the beach,” according to a source. A Clinton rep did not return calls for comment. [I think I’m on the side of the cigar man over this. The storm had passed and the bureaucracy was too slow to get its ass into gear over that]

The 15,000 British police who never make arrests – because they are too busy doing paperwork: “Nearly 15,000 police officers did not arrest a single criminal last year, a report reveals today. The figures will reinforce concerns that too many officers are stuck in ‘back office’ jobs, doing paperwork and not carrying out front-line police tasks. Research by the Policy Exchange think-tank found 14,500 officers had no arrests against their names in 2010. The findings are from 18 out of the 43 forces in England and Wales, and if repeated across the remainder it could mean tens of thousands more are not making arrests. The report found one in 20 officers – a total of 7,280 – are doing roles which could be carried out by cheaper civilian staff, including work in control rooms, forensics, and administration. Replacing warranted officers with civilians would save around £20,000 a year for every job, the think-tank found.”

Royal Navy’s latest and most technologically advanced warship is launched: “With a red dragon proudly emblazoned on her bow, this is the Royal Navy’s latest technologically wizard warship. She may not breathe fire but she does come so powerfully armed that she will be able to fend off multiple and simultaneous attacks at supersonic speeds. And her highly sophisticated Sea Viper missile defence system is designed to smash even the most vicious aircraft and anti-ship missiles. She will now undergo a series of tests before being declared ready for operations. Captained by Commander Darren Houston, the magnificent vessel is one of a heavily armed fleet being built by BAE Systems. She has now been formally handed over to the Royal Navy. HMS Dragon, which is affiliated to the city of Cardiff, was launched in November 2008 from its Govan shipyard in Glasgow. Since then she has been carrying out sea trials in Scottish waters.”

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

Inventive but wrong

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Indian state mulls ban on black magic: “Chanting to cure snakebites, claiming to be a reincarnated spouse to obtain sex, and charging for miracles could soon be banned by an Indian state seeking to stop charlatans preying on the vulnerable. Many superstitions are widely held in India but a campaign group is lobbying hard for a new law in the western state of Maharashtra to outlaw several exploitative activities, with penalties of fines or up to seven years in jail. But the push to pass the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill has not received unanimous support. Some Hindu nationalists fear the legislation seeks to move beyond the excesses named in its title and might be used to curb cherished religious freedoms. One right-wing association, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, called it "a draconian law targeting faith"

Man ‘chokes to death eating airline meal’: “A 31-year-old man has choked and died while eating an airline meal on a Jetstar flight, reports said today. Robert Rippingale had been eating a beef dinner while watching a movie when his girlfriend noticed him shaking, the New Zealand Herald reports. “I thought he was laughing very hard, then I looked at his face and his eyes were rolling and he couldn’t talk,” Vanessa Preechakul, 27, said. “His lips were turning purple. “One minute we were sitting next to each other kissing, holding hands and the next minute he was choking.” He was pronounced dead 90 minutes into the 11-hour flight from Singapore to Auckland. Jetstar spokesman Andrew McGinnes said the cause of death was still unknown and the coroner would be doing a report to officially determine it.”

IKEA introduces MANLAND, for men with shopaholic wives: “YOU’VE probably seen the “boyfriend chair” in clothing stores for bored shopping companions. Now IKEA has taken the concept one step further by creating a “crèche” for retail-weary men, complete with Xbox consoles, pinball machines, continuous televised sport and free hot dogs. MÄNLAND is being trialled for four days this Father’s Day weekend as a male-only play space to hang out in while wives and girlfriends peruse the aisles. Publicity manager Jude Leon said the idea was modelled on the Swedish furniture giant’s existing child play area, SMALAND. Ms Leon said women were given a buzzer to remind them to collect their other half after 30 minutes of shopping.”

One in 25 bosses ‘is a psychopath’ but hides it: “Business leaders are four times more likely to be psychopaths than the general population, a study has found. One out of every 25 company high-flyers is believed to have the mental disorder but disguises it through their high status, charm and manipulation in the workplace. And only favourable environmental factors – such as having had a happy childhood – prevent their psychopathic tendencies turning them into serial killers. Psychologists say today’s ruthless corporate culture benefits people like Kevin Spacey’s character in the recent movie Horrible Bosses, by rewarding their natural callousness and disregard of others’ feelings. The findings emerge in a survey led by New York psychologist Paul Babiak to discover how many psychopaths had infiltrated major firms.”

Man bites snake: “A snake bite left the victim seriously hurt, but the injured party isn’t whom you’d expect. US police say a python underwent emergency surgery after a man allegedly bit the creature twice. Officers were called to Del Paso Heights, in the US city of Sacramento, after a passer-by reported that a man was lying on the ground and may have been assaulted, according to Sergeant Andrew Pettit. When they arrived, officers found David Senk, 54, still lying there — but police say he wasn’t the one who was assaulted. Another man approached officers and accused Mr Senk of taking two bites out of his 1m-long pet python, Sgt Pettit said. Mr Senk was arrested on suspicion of unlawfully maiming or mutilating a reptile and booked on $US10,000 bail. In a jailhouse interview with KXTL-TV today, Mr Senk said he had no memory of the incident and that he had a drinking problem. The snake was turned over to the city’s Animal Care Services, where it was recovering today after losing several ribs.”

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

A very funny cat

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Cops drop car on cyclist they were trying to rescue: “A young motorcyclist pinned under a car that had collided with him died today after rescuers accidentally dropped the vehicle on him in a tragic incident in New York. Karam Rampersaud, 21, was on his way to class at 8.46am local time when a Ford Taurus collided with his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle at an intersection in Brooklyn, the New York Post reported. As a result, Mr Rampersaud was pinned under the car, police said. Witnesses said seconds after cops and firefighters lifted the car, it slipped and crushed Mr Rampersaud. “The car was about four feet [1.2m] up,” said James Selder, 41. “Then the car just dropped right back down. Right on him. Everybody in the crowd screamed.” Mr Rampersaud was rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where he died. The driver of the Taurus was a 70-year-old woman. She was issued a summons for failure to yield, police said”

Man arrested for trying to shoot ‘UFOs’: “A Swedish man has been charged with firing gunshots into the night sky in what he told police was an attempt to thwart an alien invasion. The 23-year-old grabbed his pistol after becoming convinced UFOs were circling his apartment in Dalarna, central Sweden, reported The Local Sweden yesterday. He leaned out of his window, fired off several live rounds and succeeded in scaring off the extra-terrestrial aggressors – or so his story went. In reality, he merely succeeded in terrifying his girlfriend and landing himself under arrest. Nobody was hurt but the Dala-Demokraten newspaper reported that police charged him with illegal weapon possession and threatening an officer. The gunman continued to insist he had landed a direct hit on one spacecraft – causing it to explode – and was taken in for psychiatric evaluation.”

NY man ‘tried to rob’ dad to buy drugs for constant erection condition: “A New York man suffering from a condition called priapism – which causes painful erections that can last for hours – was busted for allegedly trying to steal money from his father to buy painkillers he hoped would grant him relief. David Miller, 30, was so hard up for drugs that he allegedly broke into dad Tommy’s place on Manhattan’s Upper East Side last month, pulled a knife and snarled, “I want you out, and I want money,” the New York Post reported yesterday. His father stood firm, however, calling the police and having him arrested on charges of burglary and attempted robbery, according to court documents. The elder Mr Miller said his son became addicted to painkillers because of his excruciating erections. “My son has a very rare disease, he has a priapism, which means he gets an erection that lasts five or six hours, and it’s very painful,” Tommy Miller, 57, said.” [Some ladies might be willing to help out]

Croc in pool in Australia’s wild North: “Swimmers at a Darwin pool got more of a wake up than usual from their morning laps when a crocodile appeared. Parap pool lifeguard Tim Dupe says he didn’t notice anything unusual when he did his morning checks and opened the pool. So it came as “a bit of a surprise” when someone told him there was a 40 centimetre [16″] freshwater croc in the shallow end. He fished it out with a leaf scoop. “When I caught it in the net it snapped its teeth and tangled in the fine mesh.” He says it was probably a pet, left as a prank, as it was fairly healthy. Parks and Wildlife Rangers have taken it away.”

The cleverest cow in the world? “It was a daring escape that captivated Germany for months, as Yvonne the beef cow charged a 4,000 volt electric fence, then teamed up with some deer in her life on the run. Her bid for freedom captured the imagination of a nation but last night it seemed that loneliness got the better of Yvonne the cow, as she turned herself in after three months at large. The six-year-old beef cow, which escaped the slaughterhouse in May and survived a shoot-to-kill hunting order, wandered back into a farmer’s field where she was said to be healthy and calm after her summer adventure. It was on May 24 that Yvonne broke out of a farmyard 16km away from her eventual hiding place by charging through a 4,000-volt electric fence with Waltraud, her sister. While Waltraud ambled home the following day, Yvonne kept on going. She took up with a herd of deer and, like them, began to forage at night. “She is the cleverest cow in the world, no doubt about it,” said Britta Freitag, of the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary. The recapture efforts involved trying to lure her out using the attractions of a renowned bull named Ernst, the scent of her own calf Friesi and her sister, and by laying trails of grain, but all to no avail.

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

A very “modern” school?

..

..

THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Pilots are ‘forgetting how to fly’: “Pilots’ “automation addiction” has eroded their flying skills to the point that they sometimes don’t know how to recover from stalls and other mid-flight problems, say pilots and safety officials. The weakened skills have contributed to hundreds of deaths in airline crashes in the last five years. Some 51 “loss of control” accidents occurred in which planes stalled in flight or got into unusual positions from which pilots were unable to recover, making it the most common type of airline accident, according to the International Air Transport Association. “We’re seeing a new breed of accident with these state-of-the art planes,” said Rory Kay, an airline captain and co-chair of a Federal Aviation Administration advisory committee on pilot training. “We’re forgetting how to fly.”

Drug trafficker arrested after burglar alarm sounded for 12 hours: “The court heard on May 18, 2009 police went to the man’s home in response to an alarm that had been sounding for 12 hours. Police entered through an open rear garage door and found the house was empty. But they found a bag full of cannabis sativa in the laundry area. They then conducted a search during which the man and his partner arrived home. The court heard police located a pump action shotgun, a safe containing $18,000 in cash, nine bags containing cannabis weighing about a pound each, scales, a heat sealer machine, clip seal plastic bags, a pipe for smoking cannabis, and a bowl containing some cannabis remnants. It was estimated in total the man had sold about 118 kg of cannabis with a turnover at $3800 per kg for a total of just under $1 million. His profit was between $48,000 and $60,000.

iPlank! Woman pays $180 for a black market iPad… and all she gets is a piece of wood: “A woman thought she got a bargain when she bought what she thought was an iPad in a McDonald’s parking lot. Ashley McDowell, 22, only discovered after she got home that she’d splashed out $180 – for an iPlank. Instead of the cutting edge tablet, she got a block of painted wood with an Apple logo. Miss McDowell told the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s office in South Carolina that she was scammed by two men who approached her on Monday night and offered to sell her a cheap iPad. The men claimed they bought the computers in bulk and were selling them at a cut rate $300 each, well below the regular list price of $499. Although Miss McDowell said she only had $180, the men quickly agreed to the additional discount and she paid out the cash without checking inside the box. It was only later that she opened the FedEx packaging to find she’d been duped.”

Free entry offered to virgins at China park: “A NATURE park in China’s Hunan province is offering free admission and prizes to virgin females aged 22 or older, according to the state-run Global Times.The park, you see, is displaying flowers that are “pure and simple”. Just like a woman who is born before September 17, 1989, and has never had sex. (Those are the rules, so says the Shanghai Daily in an article reprinted by the Shanhaiist blog.) The Zhoulou Scenic Resort boasts waterfall views and lovely, fragrant flowers. The genus seen here, a tea olive flower, is the highlight of an upcoming botanical exhibition. How will the ticket booth know if its female guests are, um, experienced? According to a tourism official quoted by Global Times, they’re going with the honour system. “We are simply trusting in their honesty,” the official said.”

Snagged bracelet causes freak death of motorist: “An Indian motorist was horrifically dragged to his death when he dangled his arm out of a window and his bracelet became entangled in a passing car, The Times of India reported Wednesday. The jewelry became snagged as the two cars passed one another on opposite sides of the road, wrenching 20-year-old Devraj Rabari out of his seat and catapulting him into the road. Rabari was taken to the hospital following Monday’s freak accident in Rajkot, western India, but was subsequently pronounced dead, The Times said. “Rabari who had kept his right hand dangling out of the window was hit by the vehicle,” a local police official explained. “A metal band the victim was wearing apparently got entangled in the door of the other vehicle and the victim was pulled out of his car before crashing on to the road.”

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