Weird News Thread .... [Archive] - Page 10 - Big Big Forums

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 07:23 AM

:eek:

Millions of Locusts Swarm Into Egypt
By PAUL GARWOOD

http://channels.netscape.com/fotosrch/2/20041116XHJ104.jpg

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - In an echo of the biblical plagues, millions of locusts swarmed into northern Egypt on Wednesday for the first time in 50 years, prompting authorities to order emergency pesticide spraying to protect the region's important agriculture industry.

Clouds of the red insects, up to 2 3/4 inches long, flitted about over Cairo, while others hopped around on rooftops. By evening, the skies were clear.

Christian Pantenius, program coordinator of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization office in Egypt, said the swarm was an offshoot of a serious locust infestation in West Africa that was blown by strong winds across the Sahara. He said locusts also were spotted in Crete and Lebanon.

Pantenius said the locusts were showing no sign of moving farther south along the agriculturally rich Nile River valley, and he predicted the swarm most likely would head southeast toward the Red Sea coast, which is an annual locust breeding ground between November and March.

Locusts, which normally live between two and six months, eat their weight - about 0.07 ounces - in crops every day. They can travel as much as 120 miles in a day.

``People are very afraid that it may cause damage to agricultural production, but to what extent the agricultural sector could be damaged is difficult to say,'' Pantenius told The Associated Press.

Agriculture Minister Ahmed el-Leithy said the locusts appeared to pose no serious threat to Egypt's crops ``because the swarms are continuing to move and are not fully grown.'' But he said 50 pest eradication teams had been rushed out to spray pesticides in farm areas.

Farmers without pesticides set smoky fires and made loud noises with machinery in hopes of keeping locusts away from their fields.

The FAO described the insect clouds as a ``medium density swarm of locusts numbering several million, if not a billion,'' covering several square miles.

Pantenius said it was the first time locusts in such numbers had hit the region around Cairo since the 1950s. Small numbers of the ravenous insects were spotted in Egypt during a locust plague that struck countries from eastern to western African in 1986-89.

The swarms in the late 1980s were West Africa's most serious outbreak until this year's infestation. Huge swarms are still present in Mauritania and Niger, but the insects have also moved northward in search of food in the Maghreb region of North Africa, which includes Morocco and Algeria.

The FAO said big locust outbreaks like that now afflicting western and northern Africa generally last for several years.

11/17/04 21:03

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1107&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041117%2F2103057645.htm&sc=1107

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 02:51 PM

The Most Annoying Part of Any Job Is...

...smelly co-workers. At least, that's what they think in Germany. The German business magazine Junge Karriere polled 254 office workers and 38 percent said they were "most bothered" by how their colleagues smelled.

Other causes of on-the-job dismay:

--15 percent said they were annoyed by their colleagues socializing too much.

--14 percent said they were bothered by their co-workers' untidy desks.

Is anyone happy at work?

Yes!

It turns out that fully 26 percent are so content with their jobs they have no complaints at all. Chances are, these employees have a boss who supports them. Employees who feel they are supported by their supervisors actually have lower blood pressure during work hours, particularly during times of stress, than those whose bosses do not give them that support, according to a new study by researchers at St. John's University in Jamaica, New York. "The data suggest that when employees feel that supervisors care about them, they are less stressed on the job," study author and psychologist Elizabeth Brondolo told Reuters Health. "I would like to see employers aware that perceived support makes a difference." That's right, your psychological well-being and your physical health could ride on how well your boss treats you.

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 02:55 PM

One Person Gets More Spam Than Anyone

You think YOU have it bad when it comes to spam littering your e-mail box. Bill Gates has it the worst of all. Reuters reports that the Microsoft Corp. head honcho gets a whopping 4 million e-mails a day, making him very likely the most "spammed" person in the world.

On the other hand, only a few of those millions of junk e-mail messages actually make it through the anti-spam technology filters and into Gates's inbox, according to Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.

Here's the dirty little secret of spam e-mail, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Internet traffic: It works. The astonishing fact is that while 78 percent of us delete the spam that clutters up our e-mail boxes, 20 percent of Americans actually click on it, read it, and then buy something advertised in it. That's the word from a Yahoo! Mail global survey of about 37,000 Internet users in 11 countries, reports The Associated Press.

Fun facts about spam (Yes, there is something fun about spam):

--In Japan, almost half of all e-mail users actively express their displeasure with spam by sending the spammers angry replies.

--Australians say receiving spam e-mail is more stressful than visiting the dentist, sitting in traffic jams, or Christmas shopping. But they did acknowledge that moving into a new house or going on a first date are both more stressful than unwanted e-mail.

--Favorite ways to fight spam include using a spam filter, getting multiple e-mail addresses, and installing anti-virus software.

Your spam messages are changing. You're seeing fewer come-ons for penis enlargements or lascivious offers for a peek at pornography. Click to find out the most popular spam messages.
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/tech/package.jsp?name=fte/illicitspam/illicitspam&floc=wn-np

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 02:57 PM

Creepy Trend in Facelift Operations

The latest and greatest facelift technique that is rapidly gaining popularity in New York City is for the patient to remain wide awake while the plastic surgeon cuts into his or her face.

Wireless Flash reports that Long Island-based plastic surgeon Dr. Zachary Gerut allows patients to opt for a wide-awake facelift in which the face is numbed with just Novocain while he does his work. He says he has performed about 25 of these procedures in the past six months, which helps calm many patients' fears about the hazards of general anesthesia.

Another advantage to a Novocain-only facelift is that patients recover significantly faster from the swelling and bruising--just two to three days instead of two to three weeks, according to Gerut. He insists, "There's nothing scary about being awake." Of course, awake patients can still hear--specifically, the noise of the scalpel. Gerut says the sounds are no scarier than the "snip-snip" of a haircut.

Last Jan. 15, best-selling author Olivia Goldsmith, who wrote "The First Wives Club," died after a facelift went very wrong. She was 54. The Associated Press reported at the time that Goldsmith's attorney, Steven Mintz, said she had been in a coma since Jan. 7 after complications resulting from anesthesia during the plastic surgery. She died eight days later.

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 02:58 PM

92% of Teen Girls Who Date Do THIS

A whopping 92 percent of teenage girls who date have admitted to verbally abusing their boyfriends, according to a new study from SUNY Stony Brook in New York. They aren't alone. Eighty-four percent of the boys confessed to insulting and swearing at their girlfriends.

The New York Post reports that experts acknowledged that aggression between dating couples is still most likely to come from males, since they can use physical intimidation. "Men have physical intimidation on their side that can speak volumes, so girls are more likely to use words," Stephanie Nilva of Break the Cycle, a group that aims to raise awareness about abuse and violence in young relationships, told the Post. "A boy can intimidate a woman without taking a single step or opening his mouth."

Nilva said that about 40 percent of teens have experienced physical violence in a relationship, which is usually accompanied by aggressive behavior that includes verbal abuse, insults, suspicion, and jealousy. "We are seeing young women who are in boyfriend-girlfriend relationships who have experienced being punched, hit, grabbed, and threatened with weapons," Nilva explained to the Post. "We also see a lot of emotional abuse which can be crippling, particularly for young people because they are in a very specific developmental stage. A boy will give his girlfriend a cell phone then call her constantly to see where she is. Or teens will criticize their partner's clothes, weight, family, or friends."

Here's one positive outcome: In the SUNY-Stony Brook study, the researchers found that the teens often realized the difference between how they behaved and how they should have behaved. Of the 70 percent of the males who had reported being suspicious of their girlfriend or checking up on her, 45 percent said their conduct was justified. Of the 94 percent of girls who shouted at their boyfriends, only 63 percent said it was justifiable. In a follow-up survey conducted three months later, it was found that the teens who realized the discrepancy between their behavior and the fact that they could not justify it had reduced aggression in their dating conduct.

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 03:03 PM

Playing Dead Is an Art on 'CSI'

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (AP) - In the makeup trailer for ``CSI: Miami,'' the coroner and the murder victim sit side by side.

Vibrantly tinted lipstick and blush are applied to series star Khandi Alexander, who plays Dr. Alexx Woods. In the next chair, actress Megan Boye sits quietly as death is painted onto her face.

Delicately drawn green veins, a cosmetically induced bloodless pallor and autopsy ``scars'' turned Boye into an eerily believable corpse. ``Hey, everybody dies. I get to practice,'' said Boye, nonchalant about her ghostly appearance as well as the morgue examination scene that awaited her later in the day.

The proliferation of ``CSI'' series, along with other forensic dramas, has created a graveyard full of actors who played dead. ``CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' which reaches its 100th episode Nov. 18, ``CSI: Miami'' and newcomer ``CSI: New York'' do use dummy corpses, but often it's real people who occupy the autopsy table.

Episodes for the trio of CBS' hit crime dramas show the discovery of a victim and then flash back to the events surrounding their death. That requires a living actor.

Stiffs with the right stuff are ``extremely important. That's what people tune into, the reality of what we deliver here,'' said Scott Shiffman, a ``CSI: Miami'' producer.

It's the job of makeup department head Cheri Montesanto-Medcalf and her staff to fake death for ``CSI: Miami'' (10 p.m. EDT Mondays).

For Boye's character, asphyxiated in the Nov. 29 episode after a sex game goes awry, an ivory-toned base sponged onto face, lips and upper chest is the first step.

The prominent veins and hidden bruising around the mouth that will show up on the autopsy table under blacklight add to the illusion. The victim's body and face are well-preserved because she was discarded in a peat bog, slowing decomposition. ``They still want her to look beautiful,'' Montesanto-Medcalf said of the 23-year-old actress with flowing blond hair - destined to be matted with debris.

Not bad, considering how gruesome it gets for other ``CSI'' victims. Photos decorating the makeup trailer at Raleigh Studios show one victim, dragged by a bus, with deep and bloody simulated abrasions. An actor transformed into a decomposed corpse is another pinup.

Laverne Munroe, helping transform Boye, created a gunshot on a squeamish actor's face. ``He said, `I've got to step out. I'm going to throw up,''' recalled Munroe. ``We were a little surprised. It was just a bullet hole.''

Others are far more relaxed about the process, including one cadaver who recently shared a scene with Alexander and series star David Caruso, who plays Miami police Lt. Horatio Caine. ``It was myself, David and the table between us with the corpse,'' Alexander recalled. ``And the guy starts snoring, loudly. In the middle of the scene. And David just turns beet red because he's trying to get through the scene and not laugh.''

Alexander much prefers a real actor to a fake body. ``Because my character speaks to the dead, it gives me something to feed off. A lot of our dummies don't have faces molded; it's just a foam body. We don't get anything back.''

Is she ever fazed by the transformation of a performer into the violently departed? ``The only time it's odd is during lunch, and they're sitting there eating and their brains are blown out,'' she said.

The autopsy scene with Alexander proved a snap for Boye, who had experience as a body in a short film - and one other time ``if you count when I was undead as a vampire in a high school play,'' she said.

What happened to Boye's character before she got into Dr. Woods' tender hands was a different matter. Boye rattled off what she faced during early morning shooting at a Los Angeles area botanical garden. ``It was freezing and I die in this very skimpy lingerie,'' she said. ``And I'm dragged across the road and then vomited on and then buried and then vomited on again and then unburied and then laid out in a body bag in 40-degree weather,'' she said.

Despite that, and the head cold she ended up with, Boye called the experience ``so much fun. ... I don't get icked out easily.''

What she found difficult, besides trying not to shiver from the chill while lifeless, was a surprising empathy for her character. ``I was laying there for so long and so exposed. There's about 75 people standing around, and I'm just in my underwear, and I started to really feel like this dead body - which was very violated and very much forgotten about.''

The makeup artists take a cooler, analytic approach: Given the inventive deaths the ``CSI'' writers dream up, they must figure out how to realistically render a variety of corpses.

They turn to experts for help, among them David Campbell, a 23-year-veteran of the Los Angeles county coroner's office. He's advised a number of shows, including NBC's ``Crossing Jordan'' and CBS' ``NCIS.''

Campbell admits he's been stumped by scripts. Bogs, for instance, may be common in the Florida Everglades but aren't part of the Southern California landscape, and he couldn't describe how a body encased in one would look. ``If I'm asked and I don't know, I'll do research,'' he said. ``There's a great book called `Spitz Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death.' I encourage most people in filmmaking or TV to get a copy.''

At times, though, even the best-intentioned series has to cheat on death. ``Sometimes it is too gross to see on television ... so we shoot over or shoot around,'' producer Shiffman said. In other cases, a wound may be made more exaggerated than it would be in fact.

Campbell takes in stride the gap between his work in the coroner's office and Hollywood: ``One thing I have learned is that you tell the director what is real and the director decides what works.''

On the Net:

http://www.cbs.com

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 10:32 PM

Poached fish off Australia's menu
Thu Nov 18, 8:44 PM ET

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20041119/thumb.sge.hhi01.191104014439.photo00.photo.default-384x232.jpg

PERTH, Australia (AFP) - The government has unveiled the latest weapon in Australia's battle against poachers who haunt its Antarctic fishing grounds, a high-speed patrol boat equipped with twin .50 calibre machine guns.

The 105-metre (350-foot) 9,000-tonne (9,900 ton) "Oceanic Viking" has been commissioned to deter or catch the illegal foreign fishing boats plundering stocks of the valuable but endangered Patagonian Toothfish found in Antarctica's Southern Ocean.

Equipped also with high-speed boarding craft, it will aim to prevent episodes like the 21-day, 6,300 kilometre (4,000 mile) chase through some of the world's most treacherous seas that preceded the apprehension of a Uruguayan boat last year.

The hot pursuit of the Viarsa 1, which had allegedly poached 97 tonnes of rare Patagonian toothfish from Australian waters, ended only when armed South African and British fisheries vessels came to Australia's assistance.

Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald and Justice Minister Chris Ellison declared war on the poachers as they boarded the new patrol boat in the Perth port of Fremantle. "Australia is deadly serious about protecting its borders, (and) protecting its fisheries," Macdonald told reporters.

"Those Patagonian toothfish pirates who think that guns are just window dressing will simply be blown away by our response.

This vessel means business, we are determined to protect our waters and we won't have illegal fishing operations -- pirates, international criminal cartels -- pinching Australia's fish."

Prime Minister John Howard announced the two-year armed patrol program a year ago with spending power totalling almost 90 million dollars (70 million US) confirmed in the Federal Budget earlier this year.

When not engaged in Southern Ocean operations, the vessel may also be deployed in support of other customs and fisheries operations in other parts of Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041119/sc_afp/antarctic_australia_041119014447&e=4

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 10:37 PM

:eek:

Millions of Locusts Swarm Into Egypt
By PAUL GARWOOD

http://channels.netscape.com/fotosrch/2/20041116XHJ104.jpg

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - In an echo of the biblical plagues, millions of locusts swarmed into northern Egypt on Wednesday for the first time in 50 years, prompting authorities to order emergency pesticide spraying to protect the region's important agriculture industry.

Clouds of the red insects, up to 2 3/4 inches long, flitted about over Cairo, while others hopped around on rooftops. By evening, the skies were clear.

Christian Pantenius, program coordinator of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization office in Egypt, said the swarm was an offshoot of a serious locust infestation in West Africa that was blown by strong winds across the Sahara. He said locusts also were spotted in Crete and Lebanon.

Pantenius said the locusts were showing no sign of moving farther south along the agriculturally rich Nile River valley, and he predicted the swarm most likely would head southeast toward the Red Sea coast, which is an annual locust breeding ground between November and March.

Locusts, which normally live between two and six months, eat their weight - about 0.07 ounces - in crops every day. They can travel as much as 120 miles in a day. ``People are very afraid that it may cause damage to agricultural production, but to what extent the agricultural sector could be damaged is difficult to say,'' Pantenius told The Associated Press.

Agriculture Minister Ahmed el-Leithy said the locusts appeared to pose no serious threat to Egypt's crops ``because the swarms are continuing to move and are not fully grown.'' But he said 50 pest eradication teams had been rushed out to spray pesticides in farm areas.

Farmers without pesticides set smoky fires and made loud noises with machinery in hopes of keeping locusts away from their fields.

The FAO described the insect clouds as a ``medium density swarm of locusts numbering several million, if not a billion,'' covering several square miles.

Pantenius said it was the first time locusts in such numbers had hit the region around Cairo since the 1950s. Small numbers of the ravenous insects were spotted in Egypt during a locust plague that struck countries from eastern to western African in 1986-89.

The swarms in the late 1980s were West Africa's most serious outbreak until this year's infestation. Huge swarms are still present in Mauritania and Niger, but the insects have also moved northward in search of food in the Maghreb region of North Africa, which includes Morocco and Algeria.

The FAO said big locust outbreaks like that now afflicting western and northern Africa generally last for several years.

11/17/04 21:03

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1107&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041117%2F2103057645.htm&sc=1107

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20041117/mdf758675.jpg

Swarms of locusts obscure the Giza pyramids near Cairo, November 17, 2004. The pink locusts that swept through Cairo recalled the plague of biblical Egypt, flying high above tall towers and scaring pedestrians who stamped on them or ran for cover.
Photo by Aladin Abdel Naby/Reuters

Jolie Rouge

11-18-2004, 10:48 PM

Bush Pardons Election-Winning Thanksgiving Turkey
Thu Nov 18,10:23 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush expressed a common bond with a broad-breasted turkey named "Biscuits," which won a White House election to become national turkey for this year's Thanksgiving holiday. "This is an election year and Biscuits had to earn his spot at the White House," Bush said Wednesday at an annual Rose Garden ceremony at which he pardoned the 44-pound white tom turkey from a center-stage appearance on the Thanksgiving dinner table.

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20041118/amdf758891.jpg

The president, who won re-election on Nov. 2 after a tight race against Democrat John Kerry, joked that Biscuits and his running-mate, "Gravy," had run "neck-and-neck" against a rival ticket of "Patience" and "Fortitude."

The vote for the national turkey was conducted on the White House Web site at www.whitehouse.gov. Thanksgiving Day is Nov. 25.

Bush, with Vice President Dick Cheney looking on, said the national turkey election had several parallels with the 2004 presidential race, which featured attacks on Kerry by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the anti-Bush movie "Fahrenheit 9/11" by filmmaker Michael Moore.

"It came down to a few battleground states," the Republican president said.
"It was a tough contest and it turned out some 527 organizations got involved, including Barnyard Animals for Truth. There was a scurrilous film that came out, "Fahrenheit 375 Degrees At 10 Minutes Per Pound," he said.

The 22-week-old Biscuit, who was more interested in the Rose Garden shrubbery than the ceremony, will spend the rest of his days at a Virginia petting farm called "Frying Pan Park."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=10&u=/nm/20041118/od_nm/turkey_dc

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 01:52 PM

Are You Kidding Me?

BERLIN (Reuters) - Thieves have stolen scantily clad garden gnomes from a gnome peepshow in an eastern German amusement park, park manager Frank Ullrich said on Thursday. "The gnomes display naked body parts -- the same ones you'd expect to see in a human peep show," Ullrich said of his missing stars.

The adults-only attraction at Dwarf-Park Trusetal, where visitors peep through keyholes to see the saucy German miniatures in compromising poses, was smashed open early on Thursday morning.

Ullrich said he feared the gnomes would not be traced.

"I doubt they're standing in someone's garden, they'll have to have been hidden inside."

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20041119%2F0920183825.htm&sc=reodd

11/19/04 09:19

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 01:59 PM

Seinfeld's puffy shirt in Smithsonian
Joins Archie Bunker's chair, Fonzie's jacket
Friday, November 19, 2004 Posted: 2:42 PM EST

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/19/people.seinfeld.ap/story.seinfeld.ap.jpg
Jerry Seinfeld and Smithsonian American History Museum Director Brent D. Glass with the infamous puffy shirt.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Move over, ruby slippers. That puffy shirt's moving in.

The outlandishly unfashionable shirt worn by Jerry Seinfeld on his hit TV show went on display Friday at the Smithsonian, alongside Kermit the Frog, Archie Bunker's chair and Dorothy's magic slippers from "The Wizard of Oz."

At the end of its nine-season run, "Seinfeld" -- the "show about nothing" -- left lots of well-loved lines but few tangible relics suitable for enshrinement in the National Museum of American History.

Thus, The Puffy Shirt, which appeared briefly in a single episode. What makes that bit of wardrobe so memorable is that it serves as an icon, not only of "Seinfeld" but American popular culture.

"It looks funny and it sounds funny, and that's a good combination for a joke," Seinfeld told The Washington Post at a donation ceremony Thursday night. Before the puffy shirt episode aired in 1993, Seinfeld said, he had no idea it would become a classic.

On the air from 1989 until 1998, "Seinfeld" won 10 Emmy Awards and was TV Guide magazine's pick for the greatest show of all time.

In episode No. 66, comedian Jerry nods politely even though he can't make out what his pal Kramer's girlfriend is asking -- she's a "low talker." Later to his horror, he learns he's agreed to wear the goofy, puffy shirt she designed when he appears on the "Today" show.

The white shirt, looking like a pirate's ruffled nightmare, was designed in real life by the show's costumer, Charmaine Simmons. "This might be the first joke inducted into the Smithsonian Institution," Seinfeld noted.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/19/people.seinfeld.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 04:04 PM

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20041118/capt.sge.hgc66.181104195401.photo00.photo.default-270x389.jpg

The odd couple : A tigress walks along a piglet at the Sri Racha tiger zoo, the world's largest tiger breeding centre in Thailand, as it reopens following a bird flu outbreak.

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 09:00 PM

Rich & Famous Author Sued for Plagiarism

Kitty Kelley, the author of several high-profile, best-selling unauthorized gossipy biographies, has been sued for plagiarism by an Alabama freelance writer. Glynn Wilson alleges that Kelley lifted 219 words from his Web log, or blog, and included them in her newest book, "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," without crediting him as the source, reports Washington Post "Reliable Source" columnist Richard Leiby.

Wilson, 47, is suing the Washington, D.C.-based Kelley for $5 million in damages. His federal lawsuit for copyright infringement was filed last month in Birmingham. "This is blatant theft. It's got to stop. I'm down here, a poor reporter trying to make a living," Wilson told The Post. Kelley denies the allegations. Her publisher, Doubleday, has called the suit "meritless."

The Post explains exactly what is at issue: In a section of "The Family," Kelley describes George W. Bush's activities in 1972 when he was in the National Guard and working on the U.S. Senate campaign of Winton Blount of Alabama. Wilson insists that the material Kelley used in her book originally appeared in February 2004 in his blog, called Southerner Daily News. It was titled "George W. Bush's Lost Year in 1972 Alabama." He says certain wording Kelley used is identical to that in his blog. "It's a cut-and-paste job, man," he told The Post. "When you lift whole passages, you have to put it in quotes. If they had just rewritten it and given me credit, that's a different story. I taught journalism for nine years. I know what plagiarism is."

Kelley isn't buying it. She insisted to the Post: "I don't see it as plagiarism at all. I think that's such an overreach." And she says the chapter notes cite Wilson in a long list of sources.

What about the accusation of copyright infringement? Kelley told the Post's Leiby that the case comes down to "219 words out of a 4,200-word article" by Wilson. "I really think this falls under the legal concept of fair use."

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 09:02 PM

Entire Class Suspended for Food Fight

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A cafeteria food fight on ``meat loaf day'' led to the suspension of the entire eighth-grade class at a Memphis school. The students were suspended after refusing to clean up the mess they caused. ``Given an opportunity first to apologize for their behavior and help with the cleanup, most of the class refused to cooperate,'' school spokesman Vince McGaskill said.

The food fight broke out Wednesday at Geeter Middle School, which has 637 students in grades six through eight. Meat loaf and chicken were on the menu.

Principal Jada Meeks suspended students who were in the cafeteria during the fight, meaning the youngsters' parents must meet with school officials before the children can return to class.

The cause of the disturbance was not immediately known. No serious injuries were reported. ``Suspending students is never desirable,'' McGaskill said. ``In this case, the principal felt that strong, some may say shocking measures, were called for to spur change.''

Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.gomemphis.com

11/18/04 17:28

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 09:16 PM

Boston's Big Dig Tunnel Riddled With Leaks
By STEVE LEBLANC

http://channels.netscape.com/fotosrch/2/20040915NY117.jpg

BOSTON (AP) - The Big Dig is a Big Sieve. In a burgeoning political and engineering scandal, Boston's gleaming new underground Interstate 93 highway is riddled with hundreds of leaks. And the builders may have known about serious flaws in the $14.6 billion project as early as 1997.

The disclosures add to a long list of woes for the colossal highway, bridge and tunnel combination, already the most expensive road project in U.S. history. The Big Dig - formally the Central Artery project - opened five years late and billions of dollars over cost and has been plagued by allegations of waste and mismanagement.

Massachusetts' attorney general is looking into the case, and Gov. Mitt Romney has called on the head of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to resign. ``Somebody obviously messed up big-time,'' Romney said last week. ``And that's just one more example of a long list of blunders related to the Big Dig.''

Transportation officials have given repeated assurances that the underground highway is structurally sound. But some drivers are steering clear of the tunnel. ``I'd been worrying about it. If there was any chance of the wall caving in, it would be like that movie `Daylight' with Sylvester Stallone,'' said 39-year-old house painter Peter Carroll, referring to the action movie about motorists trapped in a flooded tunnel.

The first sign of trouble came when a wall deep underground sprang a leak in mid-September, sending water pouring into the tunnel and creating a 10-mile rush-hour traffic jam. Investigators found dirt and other debris had become trapped in the wall during a botched concrete pouring job in 1999. Over time, the debris washed away, sending ground water and dirt through the hole.

It turned out to be a drop in the bucket.

Closer investigation of additional panels in the tunnel have turned up four other wall panels with defects that could cause holes. One of those panels has the same kind of defect, although on a smaller scale, as the one that sprang a leak. To make matters worse, project officials have conceded they are struggling to plug 400 or 500 smaller leaks in the tunnel.

Over the past week or so, memos and reports have dribbled out showing that Turnpike officials and the project's manager, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, were aware of the leak problem for years. One report by the state auditor and inspector general found Big Dig officials were warned as long ago as 1997 about the potential for widespread leakage. Fixing the leaks could take years, cost untold millions and lead to the closing of some lanes of traffic, at least at night.

Project officials said some leaks are to be expected in a tunnel as large and complex as the Big Dig, especially during the final stages of construction. The project will not be finished until next September, and the roof has yet to be completed on some portions of the tunnel. But they said the big leak that opened up in September and the defects found in other walls are clearly the fault of contractors.

The contractors have defended their work but said they are ready to cooperate with the Turnpike Authority to come up with a solution. Bechtel spokesman Andy Paven said the company is inspecting the tunnel walls and reviewing all records to get to the bottom of the problem.

Matthew Amorello, whose predecessor as chairman of the Turnpike Authority was ousted for failing to report the rising cost of the project in the late 1990s, has refused to resign, and assured the public: ``There is no way that I or the Turnpike Authority or the engineers who work on the project would ever allow citizens to use an unsafe highway network.''

The Big Dig project has transformed Boston: The old, hulking elevated Central Artery was demolished, and the highway was submerged underground. The furor is clouding what Turnpike officials had hoped would be heady days for the Big Dig, which also includes the new Ted Williams Tunnel under Boston Harbor and the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge - with its futuristic web of suspension cables - over the Charles River.

11/19/04 16:43

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001/20041119/1644205285.htm

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 09:45 PM

Frozen Woolly Mammoth Arrives in Japan

TOKYO - World fairs have typically focused on the wonders of the future, highlighting new technologies from glass and steel construction in the 19th century to satellites and computers today. But next year's fair is different.

The Japanese organizers of the 2005 world's fair have shipped a 18,000-year-old frozen woolly mammoth from Siberia to become the centerpiece attraction. Naoki Suzuki, the Japanese scientist overseeing the Aichi Expo exhibit, said Friday the preserved head, tusks and front leg of the mammoth have arrived in Nagoya near the fair site, about 170 miles west of Tokyo.

Experts say the mammoth head, dug up earlier this year, is the most intact specimen of its kind recovered in 200 years. Scientists will conduct tests in a laboratory with a gallery so visitors can watch. Preliminary tests suggest the bull mammoth lumbered across the prehistoric Siberian plains at more than 9 feet tall, weighing as much as 5 tons, Suzuki said. It was probably between 40 and 45 years old when it died.

His team hopes a battery of planned tests will help unravel the mystery of why mammoths became extinct some 10,000 years ago. They will use advanced X-rays to peer inside the mammoth's head and generate a 3-D map of its brain; study muscle tissue to determine how mammoths walked; look at rocks and pollen caught in its fur; cut into the tusks to determine what it ate and whether it was ill; and take DNA samples to answer questions about diseases and viruses.

Mammoths first appeared in Africa as long as 4 million years ago, and they roamed the plains of Siberia for nearly 2 million years before suddenly dying off. Scientists remain divided over the cause of the mammoths' extinction, with theories pointing at human hunters, a killer disease or climate change.

For more than two centuries, mammoth remains have been turning up in the Russian tundra above the Arctic Circle. The Expo's mammoth was excavated north of the town of Yakutsk, about 3,100 miles east of Moscow.

Japanese researchers have for years been searching for mammoth remains in Siberia in a separate project aimed at someday making a clone. So far, no DNA samples have been suitable for such an attempt.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&e=2&u=/ap/japan_expo_mammoth

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 09:49 PM

Stern gives away free stuff -- Sirius-ly
Friday, November 19, 2004 Posted: 10:45 AM EST (1545 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Howard Stern, surrounded by strippers and cheered by thousands of fans, began promoting his switch to satellite radio Thursday at a rally where he handed out free boom boxes and satellite subscriptions. "Down with the FCC!" the shock jock told a legion of sign-waving backers. "They have ruined commercial broadcasting."

The fans agreed, screaming "Howard rules!" as their hero addressed the overflow crowd. Stern supporters spilled into the streets surrounding Manhattan's Union Square, stopping noontime traffic throughout the neighborhood.

"Most people think it, but don't say it," said Stern fan Peter Frankel, the 50-year-old president of a suburban janitorial company, as he walked off with a free Sirius boom box. "Howard Stern says it. It's healthy for society."

Across the square on Fifth Avenue, the culture war took on another slant, with fans of the rival satellite radio XM staging their own rally, hoisting placards touting the shock jock antics of its "Opie & Anthony" radio team.

Stern will be able to say anything he wants once he starts at Sirius Satellite Radio, which is free of Federal Communications Commission restrictions. Stern has battled for years with the FCC over the content of his salacious show.

Last month, Stern announced he was leaving traditional radio for Sirius -- even though his current syndicated show is scheduled to run through December 2005. Stern has hinted on his morning program that his January 2006 start date at Sirius could be pushed up. His current employer, Infinity Broadcasting, has ordered Stern to cut back on his on-air references to his move.

But Stern, who signed a five-year deal with the satellite company worth an estimated $500 million, left no doubt about his allegiance at the event. "Once you start listening to (satellite), it's like crack," Stern said to cheers. "You will be addicted."

Stern personally handed out a free Sirius boom box to the first 500 fans, while he had another 20,000 redeemable certificates for free radios. The equipment allows listeners, for $12.95 a month, to receive 120 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news, talk, entertainment and traffic.

The certificates must be redeemed online by Wednesday, and the redeemers must sign on for a year of Sirius -- which would leave them just short of Stern's January 2006 debut.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/11/19/stern.giveaway.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 09:56 PM

Motor Trend Names Chrysler 300 Top Car
Thu Nov 18, 1:23 AM ET
By JOHN PORRETTO, AP Auto Writer

DETROIT - The Chrysler 300, the "baby Bentley" that has proved appealing to everyone from rappers to grandmothers and helped the automaker revive its U.S. business, has been named Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year.

The 300, which hit showrooms in April, beat out 23 other new or significantly revised models, including the revamped For Mustang, the Buick LaCrosse and the gas-electric version of the Honda Accord.

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20041117/capt.ht10411172255.motor_trend_car_ht104.jpg

"The Chrysler 300 is an extremely compelling combination of power, responsiveness, room and refinement," said Angus MacKenzie, Motor Trend's editor in chief. He called the car "a home run on significance, a slam-dunk on value and clearly superior to its rivals in every way."

The car sells for $23,000 to $38,000 and features a long nose, a short rear and a large, distinctive grille similar to a Bentley's. It has rear-wheel drive and an optional V8 Hemi engine.

In the 300's first six months on sale, the Chrysler Group, a division of DaimlerChrysler, sold about 82,000 of the cars in the United States. Through October, Chrysler Group's U.S. sales were up 2.7 percent from a year ago.

Last year's Car of the Year was the Toyota Prius, the world's first commercially mass-produced hybrid car. Last month, Motor Trend named Land Rover's LR3 as its sport utility vehicle the year. The top truck will be named next month.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=509&e=3&u=/ap/motor_trend_car
___

On the Net:

Chrysler: http://www.chrysler.com

Motor Trend: http://www.motortrend.com

Jolie Rouge

11-19-2004, 10:03 PM

All-New HUMMER 3

http://cdn.netscape.com/wpt_tonr_03/200411191500_mb_hlm1_i1_3_1

HUMMER has applied some practical attributes to the new H3. Due out next year, it gets up to 20 miles per gallon, is smaller and will cost in the $30,000 range.

Jolie Rouge

11-20-2004, 06:01 PM

Illinois Rep. Weds Ex-Dictator's Daughter
By SERGIO DE LEON, Associated Press Writer

ANTIGUA, Guatemala - They met during a trade mission, and despite controversy over their engagement, U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller (news, bio, voting record) of Illinois and the outspoken daughter of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt tied the knot Saturday in a civil ceremony.

About 300 people — including Rios Montt — attended the wedding of the Republican congressman from central Illinois and Zury Rios Sosa, a 36-year-old Guatemalan senator. Security was tight as the two exchanged wedding vows at a mansion belonging to the former dictator.

Rios Sosa wore a creamed-colored, strapless dress, Weller a black suit. U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala John Hamilton also attended. A large security team watched the home, which also was encircled by a high stone wall topped by electrified wire, in this colonial mountain town popular with tourists.

Weller's opponents criticized the engagement because Rios Montt, a retired general who seized control of Guatemala for 18 months in 1982-83, is accused of leading one of the bloodiest campaigns in the nation's 36-year civil war, which killed 200,000 people.

Rios Montt, twice elected president of the legislature after his dictatorship, is under house arrest in the capital, Guatemala City, 30 miles southeast of Antigua. He faces charges of organizing a violent and chaotic protest that saw thousands of his supporters overrun the capital in July 2003, decrying a court order blocking him from running for president.

A journalist had a heart attack and died while covering the riots and dozens of people were injured. Rios Montt, who has denied organizing the protests, was eventually allowed to seek the presidency, but he was defeated soundly at the polls. The former dictator attended his daughter's wedding after obtaining permission to travel outside Guatemala City from a judge overseeing the case against him.

Francisco Paloma, Rios Montt's personal notary public and lawyer, officiated, but the former dictator also led part of the religious proceedings. The sound of his sermon carried outside the mansion, where he could be heard saying "the husband is the brains of his woman ... who should be loved like the church loves Christ." Rios Montt, who embraced evangelical Christianity after leaving the army, also said "the science of marriage is to become one, just like the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

Rios Sosa, who has been married three times before, will move to the United States and live with her husband. But she says she will not give up her seat in the senate, preferring to fly back to Guatemala to fulfill her legislative responsibilities.

Rios Sosa, an active supporter of her father who directed his presidential campaign, also helped Weller campaign after the U.S. Federal Election Commission voted unanimously to let her participate. Weller requested the ruling to clarify a law prohibiting foreign nationals from making a contribution of money "or other thing of value" to candidates.

The couple met while Weller was on a Central American trade mission. They announced their engagement in July, while Weller was running for re-election.

The engagement prompted Weller's Democratic opponent, political science professor Tari Renner, to call for him to step down from his post on the House International Relations Committee. "Why in the world would you get involved in a family like that?" Renner asked in July.

Weller responded by saying Renner's comments were "simply beyond the bounds of decency." "My engagement to Zury is not an issue in this election; nor is my love for Zury," he said in a statement.

Weller arrived in Guatemala on Thursday for the wedding, but he has not commented to local reporters. "Jerry and I are very excited and happy ... everyone is really happy," Rios Sosa told local radio stations Friday.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=589&e=1&u=/ap/guatemala_us_congressman_wedding

Jolie Rouge

11-21-2004, 09:58 PM

Jolie Rouge

11-21-2004, 10:08 PM

Letter from Lincoln's assassin fetches $68,000 at auction
Sunday, November 21, 2004 Posted: 5:50 PM EST (2250 GMT)

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/US/11/21/lincoln.letter.ap/story.lincoln.letter.ap.jpg

This letter from John Wilkes Booth to his friend Orlando Tompkins of Boston sold for $68,000 at auction.

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- A letter written by President Lincoln's assassin two months before the 1865 slaying sold at auction Sunday for a record $68,000.

In the letter, dated February 9, 1865, John Wilkes Booth asks a friend to send him a picture of himself "with cane & black cravat" -- the one later used in his wanted poster.

The previous high for a Booth letter was $38,000, according to Stuart Whitehurst, vice president of Skinner Inc. auctioneers.

The buyer was Joe Maddalena, a Beverly Hills-based historical document dealer. Maddalena, who bid by phone, said Booth "is the rarest American autograph."

"When he killed Lincoln, anybody who had any relationship with him burned their letters, because they were so afraid they would be linked to him," Maddalena said. "There are only 300 known letters and he must have written thousands and thousands."

Whitehurst estimated that only 17 Booth letters remain in private hands. This letter was addressed to family friend Orlando Tompkins of Boston, an apothecary and part owner of Boston Theatre. Booth tells Tompkins he "will get any letter sent to Fords Theatre."

Booth was retrieving his mail at the theater on April 14, 1865, when he first heard that Lincoln would be attending "Our American Cousin" that evening. Booth, a Confederate sympathizer and former actor, returned during the play to assassinate the president.

"The fact that Lincoln had just essentially won the (Civil War) made the crime even more shocking," Whitehurst said. "So much of what he could have done to heal the nation was ahead of him."

Also on the block at the fine books and manuscript auction Sunday was memorabilia from President John F. Kennedy's personal doctor, Janet Graham Travell, the first woman to serve as White House physician. Kennedy began seeing her in 1955 for the back pain that plagued him throughout his adult life.

He said her treatments gave him "new hope for a life free from crutches if not from backache."

The autographed copy he gave her of his book, "Profiles in Courage," sold for $5,500. The rocking chair, known as the "Kennedy Rocker," which served as the prototype for the specially made chair that helped the president's back pain, sold for $11,000.

Travell's White House medical bag sold for $2,700.

Kennedy was assassinated 41 years ago Monday.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/21/lincoln.letter.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

11-21-2004, 10:10 PM

Stunning Find Deep in the Pacific Ocean

Ancient star dust found deep beneath the Pacific Ocean has led German scientists to make an astounding conclusion. They think it points to our human origins. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich in Germany surmise that the star dust is likely debris from a supernova explosion that occurred some 3 million years ago, reports Reuters. The explosion rocked the Earth so much that it changed our planet's climate--drastically heating it up--and helped bring about human evolution just as our ancestors started to walk.

Study leader Gunther Korschinek speculates that the supernova may have caused an increase in cosmic rays for about 300,000 years, which would have warmed up the Earth's temperatures. Korschinek can tell that the star explosion occurred at the same time there was a significant climate change in Africa when drier conditions caused the forests to retreat and the savannah to emerge, reports Reuters. It's this major climate change that likely caused the hominids to emerge from the trees and begin to walk upright.

Five years ago, Korschinek and his team found star dust in Pacific sediments. This time they looked at a site much deeper in the Pacific Ocean near the equator but away from land. At 15,750 feet below the surface, they found a layer of iron-60, which was stable and easy to date. The age? About 2.8 million years old. Reuters explains that iron-60 is an isotope or chemical variant of iron that is rare on Earth--so rare that scientists are in general agreement that it is unlikely to have come from anything other than a supernova. Iron-60 has a decay rate or half-life of about 1.5 million years, so it's easy to nail down when the star exploded. A bombardment of cosmic rays caused by a supernova explosion could affect the ozone layer, which would have let in more of the Sun's ultraviolet rays. And that would make it hotter and drier on some places on Earth.

Here's the catch: "It has not yet been established that such an increase of the cosmic ray intensity could have had a significant influence on the Earth's climate," the research team wrote in the journal Physical Review Letters. But there is a coincidence. "The African climate shifted toward more arid conditions about 2.8 million years ago," they wrote, adding, "some of the major events in early hominid evolution appear to be coeval with the African climate changes." We may walk upright today because of a supernova explosion almost 3 million years ago.

Jolie Rouge

11-21-2004, 10:13 PM

The Best U.S. City to Visit Is...

...New York City!

Coming in right behind the Big Apple's 38 percent of the vote are ...
San Francisco (22 percent),
Las Vegas (6 percent),
Chicago (6 percent),
and
New Orleans (4 percent).

That's the word from the latest and greatest Zagat Surveys, which polled 110,000 restaurant-goers throughout the country using Zagat's signature 30-point scale to rate food, décor, and service. In addition, 16,413 frequent travelers, including more than 900 travel agents, rated America's hotels, resorts, and spas.

Here are more fun facts to know and tell from the Zagat Surveys:

--The best restaurant tippers live in Philadelphia where the average tip is 19.2 percent of the bill. Coming in a close second with an average tip of 19.1 percent is Atlanta.

--The cheapest restaurant tippers are in Seattle, where the average tip is 18 percent.

--The city where people eat out the most is Los Angeles with an average of 3.8 restaurant visits per week among those polled, followed by Miami with 3.6 visits and Las Vegas with 3.6 restaurant outings. The weekly national average is 3.2 restaurant visits a week.

--The city with the fewest restaurant visits is Philadelphia with 2.6 outings a week on average by those polled, followed by Washington, D.C. with 2.8 visits, and Boston with 3 a week.

--The national average meal cost is up 3.1 percent to $31.51, versus $30.57 a year ago. Compare this to average meal costs in Tokyo, Paris, and London, which are $72.68, $64.75, and $64.67 respectively.

--The average restaurant tip increased from 18.4 percent to 18.6 percent since last year.

--The average hotel room rate is up a modest 1.48 percent.

--The preferred cuisine in every market surveyed is Italian with 31 percent of diners citing it as their favorite fare. This was followed by Asian (25 percent) and French (14 percent).

--Diners' No. 1 complaint about restaurants is poor service with a whopping 72 percent citing it, followed by bad food (5 percent) and prices (5 percent).

--Travelers' top complaint about hotels is also poor service with 59 percent citing it, compared with 17 percent who said dirty rooms and 12 percent who noted noisy guests.

--The most important annuity when traveling is a fitness center, followed by daily newspaper delivery, frequent guest programs, wireless Internet connections, and Club Level floors.

Get more information in Zagat's "2005 America's Top Restaurant Guide" and "2005 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts & Spas Guide."

Jolie Rouge

11-21-2004, 10:22 PM

Do This Now. Prevent Adultery Later

There is probably nothing more devastating to a marriage than infidelity. Rather than just hoping and praying this never happens to your marriage, take charge now to prevent it.

Researcher Peggy Vaughan, the author of "The Monogamy Myth," told Knight Ridder she estimates that fully 60 percent of married men and women have cheated at one time or another. The proliferation of women in the workplace--and the easy accessibility to men--has made infidelity an equal-opportunity marriage buster. "Women don't realize how it escalates," Vaughan told Knight Ridder reporter Michelle Quinn. "They are often blindsided. They aren't looking for an affair. They want to be wanted."

Vaughan and William Harley Jr. have identified four specific things you can do as a couple now to prevent cheating later:

--Talk about attractions.

--Commit to honesty.

--Make your spouse your favorite recreational companion.

--Spend time together, without children or friends, during the week. Watching TV and sleeping do not count as spending time together.

Why do people cheat? Most marriage counselors agree there is usually more than one reason for infidelity, ranging from a search for passion and companionship to a need for revenge or even a sexual thrill. Cheating affects men and women differently. While men are usually more interested in the physical aspect of an affair, women tend to become more involved emotionally as a way to prove their attractiveness or worth.

Here's the good news: With counseling and willpower, your marriage can survive adultery. Vaughan conducted a survey of 1,083 people in marriages where there was an affair, and a whopping 76 percent said they were still married and living with their spouse.

Jolie Rouge

11-22-2004, 11:33 AM

San Francisco Considers Plastic Bag Fee

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - City officials are considering charging grocery stores 17 cents each for grocery bags to discourage use of plastic sacks.

More than 90 percent of consumers choose plastic bags, which are blamed for everything from clogging recycling machines to killing marine life and suffocating infants. But the fee would also apply to paper bags to help reduce overall waste.

Promoting a healthy environment ``means we need to help change people's patterns, and that even means their shopping patterns,'' said incoming city Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who takes office in January. ``This is a sensible user fee.''

The city's Commission on the Environment will consider the proposal Tuesday. Mayor Gavin Newsom is reviewing the idea. The city's Department of the Environment estimates San Francisco customers bring home about 50 million bags each year. That accounts for about 2 percent of waste, at an annual cleanup cost of about $8.4 million.

Grocers and the plastics industry oppose the measure. ``We think essentially it's an unnecessary and misguided approach,'' said Tim Shestek, spokesman for the American Plastics Council. ``This tax is going to hurt those who can least afford it.''

State legislators defeated a bill last year that would have charged 2 cents on each non-recyclable disposable bag. The San Francisco proposal parallels efforts in Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia, Shanghai and Taiwan, which ban plastic bags or charge a fee to use them.

11/20/04 17:58

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041120%2F1758290596.htm&sc=1110

Jolie Rouge

11-22-2004, 09:55 PM

Jolie Rouge

11-23-2004, 05:19 PM

Five hunters gunned down in Wisconsin woods
Police: Dispute over deer stand apparently led to killings
Sunday, November 21, 2004 Posted: 11:31 PM EST (0431 GMT)

(CNN) -- Sheriff's deputies were investigating the killings of five hunters Sunday in northwestern Wisconsin, apparently sparked by a hunting dispute that turned violent.

Three others were wounded, said Julie Veness, an emergency medical technician in Exeland, Wisconsin.

Saturday was the opening of the nine-day deer season, and the shooting appeared to stem from a dispute over land in the heavily wooded area, Veness said. "Apparently, the person was asked to leave and get out of his deer stand, and he didn't take it very well and he fired away at them," she said.

A state police official said a man wanted in connection with the shootings has been arrested, but no details were immediately available. The Sawyer County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the killings, had no comment.

Jennifer Greshowak, spokeswoman for Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake, said three wounded men from the same hunting party were brought to that facility after suffering gunshot wounds. One of the three was transferred to a hospital in nearby Marshfield, she said.

The other two -- identified by relatives as Denny Drew and Lauren Hasebeck -- were recovering from surgery at Lakeview. Drew was in serious condition, while Hesebeck was listed in fair condition, their families said in a statement issued Sunday night. "Our families certainly appreciate the thoughts and prayers of this close-knit community, and encourage you to think and pray for the other families involved," the statement said.

Veness said the killings have shocked Exeland, a village of 219 people about 135 miles northeast of Minneapolis. "It just doesn't happen in this neck of the woods," she said. "We don't expect any of this to happen."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/21/wisconsin.shootings/index.html

Hunter suspect says he was shot at first
, November 23, 2004 Posted: 2:04 PM EST (1904 GMT)

HAYWARD, Wisconsin (AP) -- A man suspected in the killings of six hunters told investigators he began firing after he was shot at first and some of the victims called him racially derogatory names, according to documents filed Tuesday.

A judge set bail at $2.5 million for Chai Vang, 36, of St. Paul, Minnestora, who is suspected in the killings Sunday of six deer hunters and the wounding of two others.

Bail was set after investigators filed documents arguing there was probable cause to hold Vang in the shootings. No charges have been filed.

Vang, a Hmong immigrant from Laos, was arrested Sunday about four hours after the shootings as he emerged from the woods with his empty SKS 7.62 mm semiautomatic rifle.

Sawyer County Sheriff Jim Meier said a dispute over Vang's use of a tree stand -- a raised platform used by hunters -- on private property preceded the gunfire.

Vang told investigators he didn't realize he was on private property when he climbed the tree stand, according to the probable-cause statement released Tuesday.

A hunter approached Vang to tell him he was on private property, and Vang started to leave as other hunters approached, the statement said. Vang said the hunters surrounded him, and some started calling him racial slurs.

Vang said he started walking away but looked back to see the first hunter point his rifle at him and then fire a shot that hit the ground 30 to 40 feet behind him, the statement said.

That's when Vang told investigators he started firing at the group, and some fell to the ground and others tried to run away, according to the statement.

Five people died at the scene and a sixth died Monday in a hospital. Two others were wounded.

The dead were identified as the landowner, Robert Crotteau, 42; his son Joey, 20; Al Laski, 43; Mark Roidt, 28; Jessica Willers, 27; and Denny Drew, 55, who died Monday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.

Willers' father, Terry Willers, remained hospitalized Tuesday in fair condition, while the other wounded hunter was released.

Officials said the victims were part of a group of 14 or 15 who made their opening-weekend trip to the 400-acre property an annual tradition. "This was his first time out with that group. He was delighted to be invited," said Karen Roidt, mother of victim Mark Roidt.

According to an account by authorities Monday, two or three hunters spotted a man in a hunting platform on Crotteau's land, then radioed back to the rest of the party at a cabin nearby, and were told no one who should be there.

One of the men approached the intruder and asked him to leave, as Crotteau and the others in the cabin hopped on their all-terrain vehicles and headed to the scene, according to the account. "The suspect got down from the deer stand, walked 40 yards, fiddled with his rifle. He took the scope off his rifle, he turned and he opened fire on the group," Meier said.

One of the men called for help on his radio, and those who arrived to help also were shot, authorities said. He was "chasing after them and killing them," Deputy Tim Zeigle said. "He hunted them down." There was only one firearm among the eight hunters and it was unclear whether anyone returned fire, authorities had said.

Some Hmong leaders had questioned whether racial differences may have figured in the shootings.

Sang Vang said his family was devastated, and that his brother has lived in the United States for more than 20 years and is a U.S. Army veteran.

Minneapolis police said they arrested Vang on Christmas Eve 2001 after he waved a gun and threatened to kill his wife. No charge was brought because she didn't cooperate with authorities, spokesman Ron Reier said. Police in St. Paul said there had been two domestic violence calls to his home in the past year, but both were resolved without incident.

There have been previous clashes between Southeast Asian and white hunters in the region. Locals in the Birchwood area, about 120 miles northeast of the Twin Cities, have complained that the Hmong, refugees from Laos, do not understand the concept of private property and hunt wherever they see fit.

Vang's arrest left some Hmong citizens in his hometown fearful of a backlash, and a group of Hmong leaders in St. Paul condemned the shootings Tuesday and offered condolences to victims' families. "What happened in Wisconsin is in no way representative of the Hmong people and what they stand for," said Cha Vang, who said he was representing "the greater law-abiding Hmong community." He is no relation to Chai Vang.

About 24,000 Hmong live in St. Paul, the highest concentration of any U.S. city. And the shooting has already provoked racial tension in an area of Wisconsin where deer hunting is steeped in tradition.

Minnesota state Sen. Mee Moua rejected the idea that cultural differences played any role in the shooting. "We're all just speculating that may have been a trigger for him," said Moua, who is Hmong. "We're all searching for answers."

www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/11/23/hunters.shot.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

11-23-2004, 05:23 PM

Man arrested for claiming he was blinded four times
Either Brian Calen has four eyes, or he bilked insurance companies out of more than $1 million.

The Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., vacationer claimed he was blinded four times on cruise ships.

During a 2002 Mississippi riverboat cruise, the 48-year-old claimed a Frisbee struck his head and caused him to lose all sight in his right eye. When he filed a $500,000 accidental death and dismemberment claim, prosecutors found out he was apparently blinded three times before — in the same eye.

Five years earlier, Calen collected $1 million after he claimed an exploding champagne bottle blinded him on another cruise.

In 1992, Calen cashed in on $75,000 when he said a ship's telescope blinded him. Prosecutors claim Calen really lost his sight nearly 20 years ago in an unrelated incident.

Calen was able to file fraudulent claims because the travel insurance policies did not require him to have physical exams, said Anne Marie Corbalis, a spokesperson for the Westchester County District Attorney.

Calen pleaded not guilty to insurance fraud on Nov. 10 and faces up to 15 years in prison.

http://www.courttv.com/people/scm/111904_ctv.html?link=rss

Jolie Rouge

11-23-2004, 05:24 PM

No More Christmas Candles? Church Air Poses Risk

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A visit to church may be good for the soul but not so good for the lungs, a new study shows.

Scientists from Maastricht University found that burning candles and incense in church can release dangerous levels of potentially carcinogenic particles, according to research published this week in the European Respiratory Journal.

"After a day of candle burning we found about 20 times as much as by a busy road," Theo de Kok, the author of the study, told Reuters. "These levels were so unbelievably high we thought we should report it to the public."

The air at a Maastricht basilica contained 20 times the European Union limit of PM10 particles after a simulated mass ceremony. Tiny PM10 particles can be inhaled and are therefore a potential hazard.

The scientists also found high levels of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as well as some unknown types of free radicals released from burning candles and incense. Free radical atoms act as starters and promoters of cancer tumors. "The exposures are worrisome, not so much for the occasional church-goer, but priests, choirs and other people working in churches may have significant exposure," he said.

De Kok said priests at the church in Maastricht had tried to improve ventilation after the study. He also noted some churches had stopped using real candles to protect artwork and delicate interiors. "It could be an alternative to use fewer candles, better candles, use electric candles or improve ventilation," he said.

De Kok called for research into whether priests, monks and others who work in churches were more prone to lung disease. "Particle pollution, whether it be in an outdoor or indoor environment, can be a danger to lung health and cause respiratory diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis," said Richard Russell of the British Thoracic Society (BTS).

11/22/04 09:36

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-odd-12-l11&flok=FF-RTO-reodd&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20041122%2F0936506175.htm&sc=reodd

Jolie Rouge

11-24-2004, 09:56 PM

Colombia police report abduction by C-section
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 Posted: 7:50 AM EST (1250 GMT)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Police said Tuesday they have arrested a woman in the abduction of an unborn baby who was cut from its mother's womb while she was unconscious.

Sol Angela Cartagena said she was with her 2-year-old daughter when she had a drink at a hospital cafeteria in Girardot, southwest of Bogota, and suddenly felt lightheaded. "When I woke up I was in the countryside with my 2-year-old daughter beside me," the woman told RCN TV, adding that someone had performed a Caesarean section on her and taken her baby.

Carlos Cespedes, a gynecologist, confirmed that someone had removed Cartagena's baby. Apparently Cartagena had been drugged, causing her to black out before the operation. It was unclear where it was performed, but authorities said Cartagena was lucky to be alive. "This is the strangest thing I've seen in my professional career, and I believe this patient had all the luck in the world in not dying before getting to the hospital," he said.

Police officer Gustavo Silva said the woman who allegedly stole the baby was found due to tips and that prosecutors are now handling the case. People who had seen the unidentified woman with a baby wrapped in a sheet called authorities because they knew she had not been pregnant and they did not know where the baby had come from.

The baby was dehydrated but otherwise reported in good condition.

No other details on the case were available.

Colombia has the world's highest kidnapping rate, with more than 3,000 abductions a year, but authorities said they knew of no other case here where an unborn child was abducted.

www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/11/24/colombia.baby.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

11-24-2004, 09:58 PM

Jolie Rouge

11-24-2004, 10:10 PM

Former Hooters Waitress Awarded $275,000

CHICAGO (AP) - A former waitress at Hooters, the restaurant chain known for scantily clad servers, was awarded $275,000 in a lawsuit over peepholes in a dressing room.

Joanna Ciesielski, 26, also alleged she had been sexually harassed by managers who touched her inappropriately and asked her out on dates. ``My mom and dad always told me, 'The truth will set you free,''' Ciesielski said after the verdict Tuesday night. ``It's totally true.''

Hooters attorneys asked the judge to throw out the award: $25,000 in compensatory damages for emotional distress and $250,000 in punitive damages. ``We're disappointed with the verdict. We believe it will be overturned,'' said Barry Hartstein, an attorney for the company.

During the trial, Ciesielski, who worked at the restaurant while attending college, testified she heard laughter as she undressed alone in a changing room at the restaurant near O'Hare International Airport in 2001. The adjoining room was a break room for employees.

11/24/04 23:41

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041124%2F2341738227.htm&sc=1110

Jolie Rouge

11-26-2004, 04:22 PM

Anti-terror law tethers skydiving Santa
Santa will settle for hot air balloon
Friday, November 26, 2004 Posted: 1:51 PM EST (1851 GMT)

ANAHEIM, California (AP) -- Santa Claus can build toys, shimmy down a chimney and harness flying reindeer. But one thing he can't do any more is skydive near Disneyland.

An annual "Jingle Bell Jump," with Santa parachuting to the Anaheim Town Square shopping center with gifts and greetings, was canceled for a second year because of a federal law restricting use of area airspace.

Instead, Santa will float in a hot air balloon tethered to the ground Friday.

Disney officials say the flight restrictions are needed to thwart terrorists who could target the park. Managers of the 50-store shopping center don't buy it.

"The terrorists are not involved in any way whatsoever," said Ryan Williams, promotions director for center owner NewMark Merrill. "This is Santa landing with his elves."

Under the restriction, aircraft are banned from flying below 3,000 feet within 3 miles of Disneyland or the Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida. No other U.S. theme parks have such protection.

The law has also drawn complaints from local pilots who have had to change flight paths and operators of banner-towing planes who can no longer fly above the park.

Last year, Santa arrived in a fire truck.

Williams said he still hopes next year to resurrect the skydive, which began in 1999 and drew a few thousand people a year. He said he will circulate a petition asking Congress to reconsider the law and distribute signs that read, "Let Santa land in 2005."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/26/skydiving.santa.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

11-26-2004, 04:25 PM

Man accused of stabbing relatives over holiday table manners
Friday, November 26, 2004 Posted: 12:36 PM EST (1736 GMT)

WORCESTER, Massachusetts (AP) -- A man was charged with stabbing two relatives after they allegedly criticized his table manners during Thanksgiving dinner.

Police said the fight broke out Thursday when Gonzalo Ocasio, 49, and his 18-year-old son, Gonzalo Jr., reprimanded Frank Palacious for picking at the turkey with his fingers, instead of slicing off pieces with a knife.

Palacious, 24, described by police only as an uncle, allegedly responded by stabbing them with a carving knife.

He is charged with domestic assault and assault with intent to murder, Detective Sgt. Thomas R. Radula said.

Police said Ocasio Jr. suffered stab wounds to the chest, back and right side. A nursing supervisor at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center said Friday she had no information on his condition.

His father was treated for a stab wound in his arm.

www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/11/26/thanksgiving.stabbings.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

11-26-2004, 11:41 PM

Disney uses feng shui for Honk Kong park

LOS ANGELES, -- The Walt Disney Co. set the opening date of its new Hong Kong theme park after consulting with a feng shui master, the Los Angeles Times said Tuesday. The paper said Don Robinson, Hong Kong Disneyland's group managing director, acknowledged the opening date -- Sept. 12, 2005 -- was chosen by a feng shui master, who assured the company it would be "a fabulous day" to open the park. "A lot of our work has gone through feng shui masters," Robinson said. The acknowledgment is an indication traditional Chinese beliefs played a significant role in planning and building the Hong Kong park, the paper said.

The park will be Disney's second Asian theme park, to go along with one in Tokyo. The Hong Kong park will be open in time for China's National Day holiday in October, when large numbers of Chinese usually travel -- both at home and abroad.

Smurfs make TV comeback

LOS ANGELES, -- Andy Heyward, chairman and chief executive officer of DIC entertainment in Los Angeles, has acquired 26 half-hour episodes of The Smurfs. Heyward said Monday that The Smurfs will begin airing in January 2005 on the DIC Kid's Network, a three-hour programming block designed to provide stations with children's programming that meets "core" FCC requirements.

DIC, a leading independent children's entertainment company, has acquired the select episodes of The Smurfs that were produced with an educational basis to meet the standards of the programming block. The Smurfs, produced by Hanna Barbera in the early 1980s, aired on NBC where the series dominated Saturday morning for nearly a decade. A hit television series and a
feature film, The Smurfs evolved into a global brand with a successful line of toys, books and music.

Jolie Rouge

11-27-2004, 01:29 PM

Man Leaps From Empire State Building

:(

NEW YORK (AP) - A man jumped to his death Friday from the 86th-floor observation deck at the Empire State Building, one of Manhattan's busiest tourist destinations, police said.

The apparent suicide forced police to briefly close the landmark on Fifth Avenue to tourists in New York for the holiday weekend.

The man apparently climbed over a security fence that encloses the observation deck before leaping off. He hit a landing on the sixth floor, where he died instantly, police said.

No identification was found on his body.

At least 31 other people have committed suicide at the Empire State Building since it opened in 1931. More than 3.8 million people visit the tourist attraction each year, according to the building's Web site.

It is 1,454 feet to the top of the Empire State Building's lightning rod.

11/26/04 18:52

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041126%2F1852835305.htm&sc=1110

Jolie Rouge

11-27-2004, 10:12 PM

Celebs Shun Once-Famed Hollywood Parade
By GILLIAN FLACCUS

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The biggest stars at the Hollywood Christmas Parade this year will be the marble ones under the feet of spectators.

The annual parade, which winds past the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was once a tradition as rich and famous as the celebrities who graced its floats: Jimmy Stewart, Bob Hope, Mary Pickford and Gregory Peck, to name a few.

But the event's cachet has declined so much in recent years that the Hollywood personality generating the most excitement for the 73rd parade on Sunday is a cartoon character - SpongeBob SquarePants.

The other big names? Female boxer Laila Ali, the winners of the reality show ``The Amazing Race 5'' and out-of-tune ``American Idol'' loser William Hung.

``The parade used to be huge - a million people would come and there were huge stars,'' said Michael Levine, author and publicist to the stars. ``But today there's no sense of obligation to anyone except yourself and the immediate. It's a shame. The celebrities are missing a great opportunity.''

The event has been in such dire straits recently that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce called celebrity impresario and Walk of Fame boss Johnny Grant out of retirement last year to try to resuscitate it.

But even Grant - who rescued the parade in 1978 and kept it going for 20 years - has had trouble restoring its faded luster. The 81-year-old honorary Hollywood mayor said he called ``just about every star in town'' for this year's event, but most were already booked. ``I'm not sure we have the caliber stars today that we had back in the era of the golden days of Hollywood. It has changed drastically,'' Grant said. ``Today the young kids are making a lot of money and they hop the charter jet to Miami or the ski slopes or wherever.''

Grant hopes that with more publicity, the parade will return to its glory days, when he could call the biggest Hollywood names directly and ask them to appear. In those days, he said, celebrities would fight to be in the parade because it was a sign they had arrived. ``Arnold Schwarzenegger told me once that he spent his first night in Hollywood sitting on the curb watching the Hollywood Christmas Parade and wondering if he would ever get in it,'' Grant said. The actor-turned-governor has appeared in the parade, but last year he couldn't commit to be grand marshal.

The history of the parade is as storied as Hollywood itself.

The first, called the Santa Claus Lane Parade, was staged in 1928 by merchants who wanted to drum up holiday business on Hollywood Boulevard. It consisted of a sleigh on wheels pulled by two live reindeer, with starlet Jeanette Loff on board.

In 1946, Gene Autry heard the children along the parade route shouting for Santa Claus and was inspired to write the holiday classic ``Here Comes Santa Claus.'' The parade has been held every year except for 1930 and three years during World War II.

In 1978, the event started to lose its appeal and then-TV personality Grant swooped in with financial backing from Autry to revive it. He renamed it the Hollywood Christmas Parade to draw attention to its star quality and to generate national interest.

But the event has faltered in the five years since Grant stepped down as executive producer, losing live television coverage, corporate sponsors and much of its star power. In 2002, NBC decided to ignore the parade in favor of a one-hour ``variety show'' taped a week earlier.

Grant hopes his involvement this year will show Hollywood's A-list that they have a vested interest in Tinseltown's past. ``I don't think we've done a very good job telling them how important a tradition this is,'' he said. ``They are using the most famous brand name in the world to enhance their career at no cost.''

Grant's former employer, KTLA-TV, agreed to broadcast the parade live locally and on its sister stations in New York and Chicago. Former Laker great Magic Johnson is the grand marshal and ``Desperate Housewives'' narrator Brenda Strong is on board.

Oh, and never underestimate the pull of that larger-than-life invertebrate, SpongeBob.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1404&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041127%2F2004890007.htm&sc=1404

On the Net:

Hollywood Chamber of Commerce: www.hollywoodchamber.net

11/27/04 20:04

Jolie Rouge

11-27-2004, 10:15 PM

Plenty of Room at Inn for Mary and Joseph

LONDON (Reuters) - A British hotel chain is offering couples called Mary and Joseph a free night's stay over Christmas. "We are trying to make up for the hotel industry not having any rooms left on Christmas Eve 2004 years ago," said Sandy Leckie, manager of the Travelodge hotel in London's Covent Garden.

"Our hotel is definitely more comfortable than a stable. I just hope they don't bring their donkey," he said.

But the offer has just one proviso -- the couples have to produce identification showing their names.

11/26/04 09:10

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20041126%2F0910808848.htm&sc=reodd

Jolie Rouge

11-27-2004, 11:25 PM

Gallic war treasure discovered in southern France
Sat Nov 27, 2:58 PM ET

BORDEAUX, France (AFP) - French archaeologists said this week they had discovered an exceptional Gallic war treasure in the south of the country, including rare war trumpets and ornate helmets.

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20041127/thumb.sge.jtt87.271104195716.photo00.photo.default-390x259.jpg
AFP/INRAP-HO Photo

The some 470 objects, or fragments of objects, were found at the end of September during a dig at Naves, in the department of Correze in southern France, in a ditch hollowed out of a Gallic-Roman temple, they said.

"The exceptional character of this discovery lies mainly in the presence of five almost complete carnyx," Christophe Maniquet, an archeologist at Inrap, France's national institute for Archeological studies, said. "They are celtic war trumpets which were used to scare off the enemy, by confusing the battle," he said.

He said it was the first time these ceremonial musical instruments had been found in one piece. The long, bronze tubes, measuring more than two metres long, have flags on the end, four of which bear the head of a wild boar, the fifth a snake. "In all, in the world, there have only been fragments of these instruments, in Scotland and Mandeure (eastern France). We only know these trumpets through drawings," he said, saying they had in particular been seen represented on coins.

The searches of the temple, including into the first occupations, which date back to the first century BC, started in September 2001.

In addition to the traditional warfare -- swords, sheathes and spearheads, the archaeologists made another special discovery: nine war helmets, of which eight in bronze and one in iron, with their rearpeaks.

One of them was particularly original, being decorated with a swan, while another was decorated with golden leaves. "We have only found around 20 helmets in the territory of the ancient Gaul," Maniquet said.

The discovery does not end there.

Also unearthed in the search are bronze animals' heads -- boars and a horse. "These animals could be war signs, placed at the end of the poles which guided soldiers during battles," he said.

There are only five kinds of this kind of sign.

Experts say the experts could be a real "war trophy", and appear to have been buried for religious reasons. "The fact of having buried them amounts to a ritual of offering," he said.

Most of the collection has been sent to a laboratory in Toulouse to be cleaned, carefully studied by archaeologists and then restored. "We hope to see these objects on show in a museum in two or three years' time," Maniquet said. "All specialists, whether English, German or Italian, of the Celtic period will come rushing to see these exceptional objects."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1540&ncid=1540&e=1&u=/afp/20041127/sc_afp/france_history_041127195805

Jolie Rouge

11-29-2004, 12:37 PM

No. 1 Most Viewed Film of All Time Is...
..."Gone With the Wind," the 1939 epic film starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. That's the word from the experts at the British Film Institute, who studied movie ticket sales in Great Britain since the advent of the talking picture, reports the BBC News Online. This is the first time audience figures for specific films have been compiled in Britain to determine which ones are the biggest cinematic hits.

The top 10 most viewed films are:

1. "Gone With the Wind" (1939)
2. "The Sound of Music" (1965)
3. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)
4. "Star Wars" (1977)
5. "Spring in Park Lane" (1948)
6. "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946)
7. "The Jungle Book" (1967)
8. "Titanic" (1997)
9. "The Wicked Lady" (1945)
10. "The Seventh Veil" (1946)

Fun facts:

--The BBC News notes that a handful of musicals made the top 20, including "South Pacific" and high school romance "Grease" at number 12.

--The only animated film in the top 10 is "The Jungle Book" at number 7.

--Blockbusters "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (2001), "Jaws" (1976), "Jurassic Park" (1993), and "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001) all make the top 20 at 11, 14, 15, and 16 respectively.

Jolie Rouge

11-29-2004, 12:38 PM

Surprise in No. 1! Top 20 Meanest Cities

Genteel and polite Little Rock, Arkansas has been branded the meanest city in the United States of America. That's the word from the National Coalition for the Homeless, a national advocacy group, that has named the top 20 meanest U.S. cities based on how they treat the homeless who live within their city limits, as well as purported civil rights violations, reports The Associated Press. The list was created using data samplings from 179 communities in 48 states.

Little Rock received this dubious distinction due to its efforts to close 27 transient camps for homeless people around the city. Although the plan was tabled after advocates for the homeless objected, the coalition is concerned that the city could still move forward with the plan. This is the third year the report has been issued, and the first time Little Rock made the list at all. Previously, Las Vegas held the No. 1 spot.

The top 20 meanest U.S. cities:

1. Little Rock, Arkansas
2. Atlanta, Georgia
3. Cincinnati, Ohio
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Gainesville, Florida
6. New York City, New York
7. Los Angeles, California
8. San Francisco, California
9. Honolulu, Hawaii
10. Austin, Texas
11. Sarasota, Florida
12. Key West, Florida
13. Nashville, Tennessee
14. Berkeley, California
15. Dallas, Texas
16. Fresno, California
17. San Antonio, Texas
18. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
19. St. Paul, Minnesota
20. Manchester, New Hampshire

The top four meanest states:

1. California
2. Florida
3. Hawaii
4. Texas

Jolie Rouge

11-29-2004, 09:32 PM

Coral Thrives on Sunken WWII Ships in Gulf

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - A University of Alabama scientist and other researchers have found coral growing at extreme depths in the Gulf of Mexico - on several ships sunk during World War II by Nazi submarines.

The research team spent more than two weeks off the coast looking at the war wreckage from U-boat attacks to see if deep-sea reefs are viable.

UA biological science professor William Schroeder said humans have put artificial coral reefs in shallow water with good results, but not much is known how man-made structures fare in deeper waters.

Deeper water is colder and has less food floating for coral, which is made up of tiny marine organisms. The scientists searched for coral grown on six vessels sunk at about the same time at depths ranging from 280 feet to 6,500 feet. They found coral growing in unexpected places - and at least two ships thought to be too deep for growth were partially covered with coral.

Schroeder was impressed with growth on the Gulf Penn, an oil tanker sunk by a U-boat in 1942. The Gulf Penn sank 1,820 feet after the attack that killed 13 of 38 crew members.

``It's only been down 60 years, and here were these massive growths,'' Schroeder told The Tuscaloosa News in a story Monday.

The project was started by the Minerals Management Service, a federal agency in the Department of the Interior that manages the nation's mineral resources in deeper federal waters. The agency chipped in toward the $1.2 million study. Twenty-seven researchers from universities, government and private companies joined the expedition.

Hundreds of hours of videotapes, specimens and data from the project that left from Port Fourchon, La., are still being studied. Findings are due in the spring and could have implications for natural gas and oil rigs operating in those waters that may be converted to artificial reefs when they can no longer retrieve minerals.

Robert Church, the project leader and chief archaeologist, said the project helped map out the wreck sites and fill in some gaps on what is known about the attacks. A 105-mm shell that sank the Alcoa Puritan, a freighter headed for Mobile from Spain, was recovered and is now on display at the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Church said.

Information from: The Tuscaloosa News

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1501&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041129%2F1531121653.htm&sc=1501

11/29/04 15:31

KATinKY

11-30-2004, 04:38 PM

Jolie Rouge

12-01-2004, 10:17 PM

Scary! How Dirty Teeth Can Kill You

Mom was right. You really should brush and floss regularly. Germs found in dental plaque can make their way into the lungs and cause potentially fatal pneumonia especially in the elderly, Reuters reports of new research from the University of Buffalo in New York.

The small study was conducted with 49 elderly nursing home residents in Buffalo who were admitted to a local hospital because of a high risk of pneumonia. There was clear evidence that in more than half of the 14 patients who developed pneumonia, the disease originated from their own dental plaque. "This is the first study to establish unequivocally a link between dental hygiene and respiratory infection," study leader Dr. Ali El-Solh told Reuters.

The researchers determined the link between dental plaque and pneumonia after making molecular fingerprints of the bacteria found in each patient's mouth before he or she developed pneumonia. Of the 49 patients, 28 had germs known to cause respiratory disease in their dental plaque samples and 21 did not, notes Reuters. Fourteen patients developed pneumonia; ten of these patients had respiratory disease-causing germs in their mouth. It was determined that the dental plaque caused the pneumonia in eight of them since the DNA of germs in the lungs matched the DNA of plaque germs in their mouths.

The risk, obviously, is highest for the elderly, so it's vital that seniors maintain clean teeth and dentures. But it's never too early to practice good dental hygiene. The study findings were reported the journal Chest.

Jolie Rouge

12-01-2004, 10:18 PM

Quite Unexpected: Stingiest Gift Buyers

Put bluntly: Generation Xers are cheap, at least when it comes to buying holiday gifts. Shopping habits and trends researcher Laura Dias told Wireless Flash that people born between 1965 and 1980, the so-called Gen Xers, are just as frugal as those who grew up during the Depression and World War II.

Why?

They were deeply affected by the dot-com bust in the 1990s. Dias says it jaded them just as much as the Depression impacted their grandparents. So we now we have two penny-pinching, cheapskate generations. Stuck in the middle are the baby boomers who are the most generous (or some might say clueless). "They have never been through hard times really and have always spent their money freely," says Dias. We sincerely hope that a baby boomer gets your name in the family holiday gift draw.

When it comes to buying presents, the hardest person for whom to buy is good ol' Dad, reports Wireless Flash. That's the word from a new survey commissioned by eBay, which determined that 48 percent of us rate our dads as "difficult" or "very difficult" when it comes to buying presents. Grandma and Grandpa aren't far behind with 40 percent stumped on what to get them. The easiest group? Kids. Fully 72 percent say it's "easy" or "very easy" to buy gifts for children.

Jolie Rouge

12-01-2004, 10:20 PM

Stunning, Rare Find in Barren Antarctica

http://channels.netscape.com/wrap/linker.jsp?floc=wn-np&ref=http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/041130/041130_space_moonrock_hmed11a.hmedium.jpg

A rock from the Moon has been found in Antarctica. First discovered a year ago by University of New Mexico geologist Barbara Cohen and a team of eight other geologists, the rock has now been analyzed and determined to be from the moon, reports The Associated Press. It is one of about 30 lunar rocks found on Earth.

Cohen found the rock, a fist-sized meteorite, while trolling on a snowmobile on the La Paz ice sheet during the Antarctic summer, which is December and January. The trip was part of a National Science Foundation program to collect meteorites. The meteorites fall on the ice and are easy to find because they stick out in the snowy landscape. More than 1,000 were found on this six-week trip, and 95 percent of them were from asteroids. Only one of the rocks was from the moon. "We found it almost a year ago, but the analysis wasn't finished until last month," she told AP. "When I found out it was from the moon, I was so elated. The team knew it was something interesting in the field, but we couldn't test there. We just had to wait."

Finding a meteorite is like finding a puzzle piece to the universe because each chunk tells scientists more about how other planets and asteroids developed, Cohen explained to AP. "It's a real primal thrill of discovery, because no one has ever seen that rock before you. If you know the rock you found is unusual, your mind just goes crazy wondering what it could be. It could be the first meteorite ever found from Venus, or it could be from the moon or Mars," she told the news service. Lunar meteorites are important because they give scientists samples from other parts of the moon.

Jolie Rouge

12-01-2004, 10:22 PM

Two teams of researchers recently made spectacular finds in frozen Antarctica--so spectacular that the National Science Foundation calls their discoveries evidence of a lost world.

Two teams of researchers, working separately thousands of miles from each other but both defeating incredible odds, have made stunning finds in frozen Antarctica -- so stunning that the National Science Foundation calls their discoveries evidence of a lost world.

The researchers found what they believe to be the fossilized remains of two species of dinosaurs previously unknown to science. One is a 70-million-year old quick-moving meat-eater found on the bottom of an Antarctic sea, while and the other is a 200-million-year-old giant plant-eater that was found on the top of a mountain, reports Reuters.

The lost world in which these two dinosaurs lived was very different from the Antarctica we know now. Their Antarctica was not frigid and frozen. Their Antarctica was warm and wet.

The 70-million-year-old carnivore was small for a dinosaur at just 6 to 8 feet tall. Scientists believe it is an entirely new species of carnivorous dinosaur that is related to the enormous meat-eating tyrannosaurs and the equally voracious, but smaller and swifter, velociraptors. Think "Jurassic Park." Now scream in terror! Found on James Ross Island off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula by a team led by Judd Case from St. Mary's College of California, it likely floated out to sea after it died and then sank to the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Reuters explains that its bones and teeth show that it was a two-legged animal that survived in the Antarctic long after other predators took over elsewhere on the globe. "One of the surprising things is that animals with these more primitive characteristics generally haven't survived as long elsewhere as they have in Antarctica," Case told Reuters.

The 200-million-year-old herbivore, a primitive sauropod that had a long neck and four legs, was found by a team led by William Hummer from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois on the 13,000-foot high Mt. Kirkpatrick near the Beardmore Glacier. When this dino lived, the area was a soft riverbed. The team found dinosaur bones, specifically part of a huge pelvis and ilium. "This site is so far removed geographically from any site near its age, it's clearly a new dinosaur to Antarctica," Hammer told Reuters. This dinosaur was probably about 30 feet long, but was part of a lineage that went on to produce animals as large as 100 feet long.

Both excavations were supported by the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/package.jsp?name=fte/dinoantarctica/dinoantarctica&floc=wn-np

Jolie Rouge

12-03-2004, 10:25 PM

'Master/slave' Most Politically Incorrect Phrase

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The computer term "master/slave," which was banned as racially offensive by a Los Angeles County purchasing department, was named the most politically incorrect term of the year on Thursday.

Among other terms on the top 10 list of politically charged words and phrases, issued by the word usage group Global Language Monitor, were "non-same sex marriage" to describe heterosexual unions, "waitron" for waiter or waitress and "higher being" for God, a term some people found too religious.

"We found 'master/slave' to be the most egregious example of political correctness in 2004," said Paul JJ Payack, president of The Global Language Monitor.

"This is but one more example of the insertion of politics into every facet of modern life, down to the level of the control processes of computer technology."

In computer terminology, "master/slave" refers to primary and secondary hard disk drives. But a Los Angeles county purchasing department told vendors in late 2003 that the term was offensive and violated the region's cultural diversity. The county's department of affirmative action undertook a hunt to replace it on packages.

After a public uproar, the county backed down. Payack said that while the incident took place in late 2003, debate about it grew enormously in 2004.

The phrase "non-same sex marriage," was used by a former congressman who did not want to offend gay people by using the term traditional marriage, Payack said.

Also on the list this year were "Red Sox lover," to use in place of "Yankee hater," "progressive" for classical liberal, "incurious" rather than more impolite invectives for President Bush, "insurgents" instead of terrorists in Iraq, "baristas" for waiters, and "first year student" rather than freshman.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20041203%2F0914464660.htm&sc=reodd

12/03/04 09:14

Jolie Rouge

12-04-2004, 05:15 PM

Horrific, Gory Find in Mexico Pyramid

A tomb filled with decapitated bodies has been found inside Mexico's 2,000 year-old "Pyramid of the Moon" and may have been the site of horrifically gory sacrifices, Reuters reports. Also found were the bound carcasses of eagles, dog, and other animals.

Located at Teotihuacan, the first major city built in the Americas, the tomb's origins still remain one of history's greatest mysteries. "It is hard to believe that the ritual consisted of clean, symbolic performances--it is most likely that the ceremony created a horrible scene of bloodshed with sacrificed people and animals," Saburo Sugiyama, one of the scientists leading the ongoing dig, told Reuters. "Whether the victims and animals were killed at the site or a nearby place, this foundation ritual must have been one of the most terrifying acts recorded archeologically in Mesoamerica."

Twelve human bodies were found inside the tomb, 10 of which had been decapitated. They were tossed--not arranged--in the burial site. The two bodies that were not beheaded were adorned with beads and a necklace made of imitation human jaws.

The Aztecs, who found Teotihuacan in 1500 A.D., centuries after its original inhabitants burned and abandoned it, thought it was a divine site. Today, it is a popular tourist site, located about 35 miles northeast of Mexico City. Archeologists are still largely clueless as to how the city began, which they think was home to about 200,000 people in 500 A.D. and rivaled the time of Shakespeare's London. They do think the Pyramid of the Moon was used to celebrate state power through ceremony and sacrifice.

Jolie Rouge

12-04-2004, 05:17 PM

Ben Bradlee Reveals a Deep Throat Secret

This may be one of the most guarded super-secrets on the face of the Earth: Who is Deep Throat? Who is the person who gave all that inside information to Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and helped bring down the Nixon administration in the process? We know this much: Deep Throat is a man.

This fact about Deep Throat's gender was revealed on Wednesday when former Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee gave a lecture at Brandeis University's new Institute for Investigative Journalism, reports The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. Still, the time has not yet come to reveal Deep Throat's name.

The Boston Globe quotes Bradlee, who was Woodward and Bernstein's boss at the time of Watergate, as saying this about the legendary source: "I knew where he worked. I knew he was a he. I roughly knew how old he was, and I knew he was right every time. But I didn't know who it was until after Watergate was over when Woodward told me. I won't tell you if I was surprised or not."

Jolie Rouge

12-04-2004, 05:20 PM

Marijuana Bale Found in Food Bank Shipment

AUBURN, Maine (AP) - Drug agents are investigating how a 20-pound bale of marijuana got mixed in with a truckload of watermelons that were delivered to the Good Shepherd Food-Bank. A volunteer came across the marijuana while picking through the watermelons Thursday afternoon. The man said the marijuana, which was neatly wrapped with packing tape, was loaded near the front end of a tractor-trailer that was delivering the watermelons to the food bank's warehouse.

After the bale was discovered, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency was called. An agent quizzed the man who found the bale but quickly determined he had nothing to do with the illegal shipment. ``It was definitely bizarre,'' the volunteer, who didn't want to be identified, told the Sun Journal of Lewiston.

When investigators came to the warehouse, the bale had been unloaded and the truck driver was gone. Agents said they were looking for the driver in the Boston area, but they don't think he had anything to do with the marijuana, either. More likely, a drug trafficker thousands of miles away in Mexico loaded the pot and either forgot about it or was forced to abandon the shipment, they said. The source of the pot isn't expected to be located. The bale was seized as evidence and will likely be destroyed, investigators said. Police estimated the street value at about $20,000.

Good Shepherd Food-Bank distributes food to more than 470 food pantries and soup kitchens in Maine. Last year, the group distributed more than 9 million pounds of food.

Volunteers sort food that is donated from supermarkets and other sources, throwing away the products that cannot be eaten. The rest feed an estimated 50,000 people each month.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-odd-10-l2&flok=FF-APO-1120&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041204%2F1136549324.htm&sc=1120&photoid=20041019CX107

the fugative

12-05-2004, 10:56 AM

:p

Chuck Shepherd: News of The Weird

Orthodox California rabbi Nachum Shifren, 53, cuts a dashing figure on the beach at Malibu, where he is the legendary surfer "Shifty," easily identified by his long beard, according to a September profile in the San Diego Union-Tribune. He has conducted "Passover surfaris" and beach bar-mitzvahs, and his lectures include the observation that "surf punks" paddled out into the Red Sea during the Jews' exodus from Egypt. "The whole religious experience ... is encompassed in the act of surfing," he told the reporter.

Things people believe

The sheriff in Tucson, Ariz., warned the public in August of a gang of women who lure men via newspaper ads into believing that they can buy a starring role in an adult video, citing the recent case of a man who was enticed to send $1,100 to set up a video shoot, then $7,000 more, then $8,000 more, and then another $8,000; he quit only when he learned that the women had persuaded his parents to pay $20,000 more for their son's "acting" career.

Lau Yat-fai, a 5-foot-9, 23-year-old basketball player in Hong Kong, paid the equivalent of about $1,400 for electrical treatments from two "beauty centers" that had promised to make him tall. (After filing a lawsuit, he got a partial refund in October.)

Can't possibly be true

The Muscular Dystrophy Association, a real estate firm in Tempe, Ariz., and two charity promoters were sued in September by Keith Schott, a golfer who had apparently legitimately made a fully witnessed hole-in-one during a charity round but who was allegedly turned down for the widely advertised $1 million prize when the sponsors imposed a rule that the money shots had to be videotaped. "Remarkably," said Schott's lawyer, "the defendants changed the rules on the spot."

North Carolina state Sen. Sam Ellis' bill to change a section of state law that actually gives an enormous right to rapists failed in committee this year, with the result that some rapists may inevitably go free. If a rape victim chooses to carry her baby, and then place it for adoption, state law requires that both parents agree to the adoption in writing, with no exception for babies conceived by rape. Thus, rapists might withhold their consent, thwarting the mother's wishes, unless she agrees not to press charges. According to a September Raleigh News and Observer story, at least three women have recently been in that situation.

The Wall Street Journal reported in September that Spain's El Pais newspaper, in a now-discontinued ad for a 90-day subscription, had run photos of the New York City skyline, before Sept. 11 and after, with the tag line, "You can do a lot in one day. Just imagine what can happen in three months."

Unclear on the concept

Laurie David is the social-activist wife of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" TV star Larry David, well known for speaking out on environmental issues, such as the need for energy conservation. According to a report in the September Atlantic Monthly, David shuns commercial airliners to get to her speeches (even though the increase in fuel usage to carry a person of her size would be negligible), preferring to make special trips each time by private jet, which a New Republic columnist calculated uses as much fuel in one cross-country round-trip as a Hummer uses in a year.

In September, a Roanoke (Va.) Times story documented the righteous complaint of Melissa Williamson, 35, that street construction noise outside her home in southeast Roanoke, especially by jackhammers, would have a harmful effect on her unborn child, then two months from term. The published Times story ignited a firestorm of reader mail because it was accompanied by a candid photo of Williamson in her front yard, looking annoyed at the construction mess, but puffing away on a cigarette.

Least competent criminals

Police in Edwardsville, Ill., charged David Wroten, 20, with fraud in September after, they say, he took out membership in an online dating service by paying with a check drawn on the county jail, where he had been held this year for theft. Wroten, like all inmates, had been issued a check for the cash he had on him when he was booked, and he allegedly copied the check form. Police were confident Wroten was their man because, naturally, he had posted his photo on the dating service site

Almost all true

Three of these four things really happened recently. Are you cynical enough to figure out the made-up story? (a) The government of Vietnam is said to be moving to lethal injection for capital punishment because its firing squads, populated with often-nervous volunteers, frequently miss. (b) An airplane hangar in a Los Angeles suburb was found filled with bags of empty soda cans, to a height of 10 feet, with police believing a gang has been stealing cans from homeless people. (c) A California county is systematically ticketing drivers who appear to be high only on kava herbal tea. (d) A Missouri man fled a court hearing on an animal abuse charge, but was captured a few minutes later hiding in a doghouse.

Readers' choice

In September, according to a report in Tehran's daily Mardomsalari newspaper, a local court ordered a man to stop beating his wife. However, the Iranian woman, identified only as Maryam J, said she would have accepted an order that just limited the beatings to once a week. "Beating is part of his nature," she said, "and he cannot stop it." The disconsolate husband said, "If I do not beat her, she will not be scared enough to obey me."

Answer to Almost all true: (a), (c) and (d) are true.

:p

the fugative

12-05-2004, 11:05 AM

:p

Chuck Shepherd: News of the Weird

New Scientist magazine reported in October that psychologists seem to be reclassifying people who are permanently uninterested in sex, from the old notion that such behavior was a disorder to the emerging position that it is merely a sexual preference of "none of the above." (Asexuals profess no sexual attraction at all, encompassing loners reluctant to associate with people and gregarious, caring people whose natural inclination is to relate to others nonsexually.) Recent research estimated that 1 percent of the population is asexual, and in previous research, 40 percent of asexuals described themselves as "extremely" or "very" happy. An asexuality support group (AVEN) touts its bestselling T-shirt, "Asexuality: It's not just for amoebas anymore."

People different from us

Jackie Lee Shrader, 49, and his son, Harley Lee, 24, had a brief shootout with .22-caliber handguns, provoked when the pair confronted each other over how to cook skinless chicken for dinner (Bluewell, W.Va., September). Niccolo Rossodivita, 62, shot Billy Cordova, 40, twice in the chest after Cordova followed him around their house, prolonging their argument over Jesus Christ's correct name (Wasilla, Alaska, September). Angela Morris, 19, was charged with assaulting her boyfriend by pouring boiling oil on him during an argument over a Bible verse the two had been reading together (Eugene, Ore., May).

More scenes of the surreal

According to a September Washington Post dispatch from a Culpeper, Va., conference of people obsessed with spotting the alleged 7-foot-tall Sasquatch, which is said to be roaming the woods of America, many attendees ("East Coast Bigfoot community") seem consumed by the West Coast Bigfoot community's supposed arrogance. That is, Western witnesses seem to regard Eastern witnesses as delusional, because Sasquatch obviously lives west of the Rockies.

Thomas Patrick Remo, 50, was arrested in September in Dallas and charged with practicing medicine (gynecology) without a license; Remo had a stream of female customers who apparently did not think it odd that the exams were free and that he ran his office out of a self-storage locker.

Our litigious society

Patricia Frankhouser sued the Norfolk Southern railway in Jeannette, Pa., recently as a result of being hit by a train in January as she walked on railroad tracks. Frankhouser, who had various cuts and a broken finger, claimed in the suit that Norfolk Southern should have posted signs alongside the tracks warning people not to walk on them, that trains might be coming.

In August, cardiologist Dr. Lawrence Poliner won $366 million in damages from a federal court jury in Dallas because his practice was virtually shut down through word of mouth for seven months in 1998, a verdict that would reward him with earnings during the shutdown of $39 million per month after subtracting 25 percent in attorney fees. The shutdown came after a hospital peer review panel had found errors in 29 of 44 of Poliner's patient cases. He was reinstated after prominent cardiologists supported him, though the panel did not retract its initial finding.

Frederick Puglisi, 23, was awarded $850,000 by a jury in Ramsey, N.J., in September, for injuries suffered when he got drunk at a party, set out on foot and passed out in a snowbank. The jury determined that his injuries, including a disfigured hand caused by frostbite, were worth $1 million in damages and that Puglisi was only 15 percent responsible. (Ramsey police and the Bergen County police bore greater fault because they had failed to respond quickly enough to a 911 call about a man passed out in a snowbank.)

Least competent criminals

Paul Michael Callahan, 32, was arrested in Boston in August after, according to police, a short career as a bank robber, which started badly when Callahan tried to hold up the copy shop at Boston University, believing it was a bank. The clerk asked, "Do you know you're in a copy store and all we can give you is copies?" Callahan fled but allegedly robbed a Fleet Bank branch a few minutes later, getting less than $200, and then a Citizens Bank branch, clearing about $2,500. But the red-dye pack from Citizens exploded, distracting him, and then his getaway car got a flat tire, and police found him hiding in a gas station.

Update

Among the recent idiosyncratic decrees by Turkmenistan's megalomaniacal president-for-life, Saparmurat Niyazov: No publicly chewing "nas," the country's popular drug, partly tobacco, slacked lime and chicken droppings; television show hosts cannot wear makeup, because the president said he has difficulty distinguishing heavily made-up males from females; and an ice palace will be built in the heart of the country's extremely hot desert so that children can learn to ski.

Almost all true

Three of these four things really happened recently. Are you cynical enough to figure out the made-up story? (a) Municipal officials in Amsterdam tentatively approved a euthanasia-drug home delivery service, provided that all orders are screened by a physician before the driver is dispatched. (b) Boston police arrested a bank robber who uses a wheelchair, who had become paralyzed when shot during a previous bank robbery. (c) Police in Lagos, Nigeria, organized groups of officers into street choirs to help disperse unruly mobs by singing. (d) A British Medical Association official warned that hospitals have recently become "inundated" with serious knife and broken-bottle injuries among barroom-brawling women.

Readers' choice

Initially, Florida artist Maria Alquilar refused to correct a series of misspelled names in a $40,000 historical mural she did for the city of Livermore, Calif., claiming that "words" were not important to her art, comparing her errors to Michelangelo's "David" (imperfect in the sense that one of the testicles is lower than the other). After receiving much hate mail from Livermore taxpayers, suggesting that she must have a learning disability for not detecting "(Albert) Eistein,"(William) Shakespere,"(Paul) Gaugan,"(Vincent) Van Gough," and seven other misspellings, Alquilar agreed to fix her mural in early 2005 (but wants an additional $6,000 for her trouble).

Answer to Almost all true: (b), (c) and (d) are true.

:p

Jolie Rouge

12-05-2004, 08:37 PM

149M Lottery Winner Had 78 Cents in Bank

NEW YORK (AP) - With just 78 cents in his savings account and $44,000 owed to creditors, parking attendant Juan Rodriguez plunked down $1 on a lottery ticket. Good thing he wasn't pinching pennies: He won a $149 million lottery jackpot.

Rodriguez, 49, of Queens, bought his Mega Millions lottery ticket about one month after filing for bankruptcy.

He stepped forward over the weekend to claim his prize, proving to be a man of many dollars but few words. At a news conference, he wore dark glasses and said he was ``excited.'' Asked what he planned to do with his millions, he said, ``I have no idea.''

According to court papers, Rodriguez had exactly 78 cents in his savings account and nothing in his checking account. He owed $19,486 on one credit card and $10,070 on another. And he owed the Internal Revenue Service $2,279.

Rodriguez bought his ticket in the middle of a double shift at his $28,000-a-year job as a parking garage attendant. He immigrated to the United States from Colombia in 1982.

There was one clue that Rodriguez wanted his cash fast: He opted for a lump-sum payment of $88.5 million instead of 26 annual installments.

11/23/04 16:03

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041123%2F1604625531.htm&sc=1110

Winner of $149M Lottery Faces Divorce

NEW YORK (AP) - Money - not even $149 million - can't buy you love.

Juan Rodriguez, who collected the huge windfall in the Mega Millions lottery last month, is now on the outs with his wife, the New York Post reported Saturday. Iris Rodriguez wants a divorce from her husband of 17 years, and she filed the paperwork just 10 days after Juan bought the winning ticket on Nov. 19.

Iris Rodriguez is seeking a portion of her husband's huge lottery check, the Post said. Rodriguez, 49, opted to take his winnings in a single lump-sum payment of $88.5 million before taxes.

Although the couple appeared together at a news conference after Rodriguez matched the winning numbers, his wife had previously given him the boot over his financial difficulties. Rodriguez had filed for bankruptcy a month before his lottery win, and court papers showed he had just 78 cents in a savings account and owed $44,000 to creditors.

The Colombian immigrant bought the winning ticket at a store near the midtown Manhattan parking lot where he worked double shifts as an attendant, earning about $28,000 a year.

12/04/04 16:12

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041204%2F1612559933.htm&sc=1110&photoid=20041121NYJM104

Jolie Rouge

12-06-2004, 02:16 PM

Ohio Church Collapses After Sun. Service

:eek:

CINCINNATI (AP) - The walls of a church fell about 90 minutes after the last of Sunday's worshippers left, causing the roof to drop onto the pews and pulpit, officials said.

Pastor Carl McMullen and his family were the last to leave the Zion Hill Baptist Church at 1:40 p.m. Sunday and got the call about the collapse an hour and a half later. About 50 people had attended Sunday's service. `Lord, have mercy - can you believe it?'' said the pastor's wife, Debra McMullen. ``It's just a blessing that no one was inside.''

The church sometimes has afternoon services and lunch, but not on Sunday.

Fire District Chief Anson Turley said he did not see steel reinforcements within the building's cinder blocks. Members who noticed some ceiling tiles had fallen said they talked about calling the city's buildings and inspections department Monday. ``God must be telling us it's time to move,'' said Jerry Givens, a member for 30 years. ``And that's what we'll do.''

12/06/04 10:13

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-main-6-l2&flok=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041206%2F1013799453.htm&sc=1110

Jolie Rouge

12-06-2004, 10:20 PM

Sect Took Out Loans Ahead of 'Doomsday'
By PAUL FOY

EPHRAIM, Utah (AP) - For more than a decade, a 9,000-member polygamist sect that believed civilization was about to end was borrowing money like there was no tomorrow.

Members of the sect - a renegade Mormon splinter group called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - took out one loan after another from the small-town Bank of Ephraim for business ventures that would prove highly speculative, even half-baked.

One loan went toward a watermelon farm, but not a single melon was ever planted and the bank had to foreclose on the farm. Another loan was taken out by a business that planned to convert military barracks into motels and housing. The venture, in which the church was a partner, collapsed when the barracks were found to have lead paint, asbestos and other hazards. Still another loan was made to a construction company that so underbid municipal sewer and street contracts it was unable to pay for materials, let alone labor. The bank had to write off that loan, too.

Ultimately, the bad loans - along with the embezzlement of nearly $5 million by the bank's head cashier - would lead to the collapse of the 99-year-old bank. Regulators shut it down in June at a cost of millions to shareholders and ordinary depositors who had nothing to do with the sect.

A bank failure was ``the last thing in my mind,'' said Chevrolet dealer Ron Greene, who lost about $100,000. ``I thought of it as the Rock of Gibraltar.''

The Bank of Ephraim had profited for many years from higher-interest loans to the sect, whose members live in the twin cities of Hildale and Colorado City astride the Utah-Arizona state line. But eventually the bank ``got in too deep,'' investing heavily in increasingly risky ventures with sect members who ``didn't have much to lose,'' Utah Banking Supervisor Jim Thomas said. `They were locked into a community that is - not normal,'' Thomas said.

Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., are a jumble of unfinished houses on dirt streets, where residents follow a strict pioneer-style dress code of long dresses, high collars and long hair for the women, and plain white shirts and dark trousers for the men. The men take multiple wives, producing dozens of children who supply cheap labor for business.

The insular sect is run by the reclusive Warren Jeffs, who lives in a compound surrounded by a 10-foot wall. Jeffs, 48, demands total obedience from his flock, and his church takes a share of business profits from members. He is buying ranches in Colorado and Texas for what authorities believe may be an exodus.

Jeffs does not grant interviews, and an attorney for the church, Rodney Parker, did not return calls for comment.

Keith Church, who joined the bank as president in 2000, said that after it failed, he learned from several people in the business community that sect members had taken a secret oath in 2000 to borrow as much money as they could to prepare for the day that civilization - along with the financial markets - collapsed.

Sect members who wanted to take out loans from the bank were allowed to put up a dubious form of collateral: their rights to use church land for business purposes.

At one point, the amount of money borrowed by members of the sect amounted to around $18 million, or about 90 percent of the institution's loan portfolio - three times higher than what prudent bank management dictates, regulators said. According to the state, an embezzlement scheme by cashier Randy K. McArthur finally pushed the bank over the edge. He pleaded guilty in September to bank fraud and is awaiting sentencing.

Investigators blamed the loan losses on poor business decisions, not outright fraud. Church said he puts much of the blame for the bank's failure on a lack of aggressive oversight by regulators. He said he was trying to clean up the mess by calling in bad loans and lining up investors when the state shut the place down.

Many of the bank's customers accused regulators of tolerating the loans until the coming of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics ushered in a renewed crackdown by Utah law enforcement on polygamists.

With the collapse, 13 of 30 bank employees lost their jobs and pensions, and some must sell their houses. The bank's failure also left 50 uninsured depositors, including turkey farmers, the Chevy dealer and a state college, with a combined $3.6 million in losses. Many were small-business owners who learned too late that deposits over $100,000 are uninsured.

At Moroni Feed Co., which sells the Norbest brand of turkey, a $250,000 loss ``comes right out of the pocket'' of 65 family farms already struggling because of depressed prices, cooperative President David P. Bailey said.

``It's gone - our retirement,'' said Terrie Green, co-owner with her husband of Central Utah Title Co., a real estate title service. They lost $84,000.

Small-business owners mourned the passing of a friendly bank that gave them easy terms.

Ernest ``Gus'' Augustus, who opened a new restaurant on Main Street here, no longer has a $15,000 line of credit and said ``you can't get a dime'' out of other Utah banks.

12/06/04 14:20

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001/20041206/1421813873.htm

Jolie Rouge

12-06-2004, 10:23 PM

FBI: House fires may be eco-terrorism
]Dozen homes priced at more than $400,000 are destroyed
Monday, December 6, 2004 Posted: 10:20 PM EST (0320 GMT)

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/US/12/06/homes.destroyed.ap/story.fire.jpg
The fire destroyed a dozen homes in the Hunters Brooke development.

INDIAN HEAD, Maryland (AP) -- More than a dozen expensive homes under construction were burned down early Monday in a suburban Washington housing development that had been criticized by environmentalists because it is next to a nature preserve, officials said.

An FBI agent said the fires may have been set by environmental extremists.

A dozen homes were destroyed and 29 others damaged near the state's Mattawoman Natural Environment Area. No injuries were reported. The damage was estimated at at least $10 million.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Faron Taylor, a deputy state fire marshal, said investigators believe fires were set in at least four of the homes, which were priced at $400,000 to $500,000. Taylor refused to say what led investigators to conclude it was arson. "At this point, our knowledge of the methodology is shared by us and the perpetrator, and we don't want to share that with anyone else," Taylor said.

A Sierra Club report had called the development "quintessential sprawl" because it is far from existing infrastructure and "threatens a fragile wetland and important historical sites near the Chesapeake Bay."

After the fires, the Sierra Club issued a statement saying it "strongly condemns all acts of violence in the name of the environment."

FBI spokesman Barry Maddox said FBI agents were on the scene and would investigate whether the fires were an act of ecoterrorism. "Anything and everything will be considered, but we're not labeling this anything other than suspicious fires," Maddox said.

The blazes were reported before 5 a.m., drawing firefighters from four counties to the subdivision about 25 miles south of the nation's capital. The houses, on lots of about a quarter-acre each, were spread across a 10-acre area, Taylor said. "This was a very, very affluent neighborhood under construction," Taylor said.

Taylor said the fire would be investigated by agents from the Maryland fire marshal's office and the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is routinely brought in to help investigate large fires.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/06/homes.destroyed.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-07-2004, 10:30 PM

University that awarded MBA to cat sued
Tuesday, December 7, 2004 Posted: 2:10 PM EST (1910 GMT)

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) -- The Pennsylvania attorney general's office Monday sued an online university for allegedly selling bogus academic degrees -- including an MBA awarded to a cat.

Trinity Southern University in Texas, a cellular company and the two brothers who ran them are accused of misappropriating Internet addresses of the state Senate and more than 60 Pennsylvania businesses to sell fake degrees and prescription drugs by spam e-mail, according to the lawsuit.

Investigators paid $299 for a bachelor's degree for Colby Nolan -- a deputy attorney general's 6-year-old black cat -- claiming he had experience including baby-sitting and retail management.

The school, which offers no classes, allegedly determined Colby Nolan's resume entitled him to a master of business administration degree; a transcript listed the cat's course work and 3.5 grade-point average.

The state is seeking a permanent injunction, civil penalties, costs and restitution for violating consumer law and restrictions on unsolicited e-mail ads.

Prosecutors said more than 18,000 illegal e-mails were sent out this year with links to Trinity Southern's Web address, including 300 that appeared to originate from the Internet servers of Pennsylvania companies and institutions.

Among the alleged victims are Penn State University and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as numerous Internet service providers, businesses and technology companies.

The defendants are the school; Innovative Cellular and Wireless Inc. of Corpus Christi, Texas; Alton Scott Poe of St. Cloud, Florida, vice chancellor and dean of admission for Trinity; and Craig Barton Poe of Frisco, Texas, president of Innovative Cellular.

A phone message left at Trinity Southern was not returned Monday. None of the other three defendants appears to have a listed or published phone number.

www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/12/07/bogus.degrees.lawsuit.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-07-2004, 10:44 PM

Baby rescuer hits $27 million lottery
Winner: 'Maybe it's the children saying "thank you"'
Tuesday, December 7, 2004 Posted: 9:04 PM EST (0204 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- All too often, the ring of Debi Faris-Cifelli's cell phone means there is another abandoned newborn at the morgue, another forsaken child for her to name and bury in a shoebox-size coffin under a white cross in the California desert.

Last week, though, Faris-Cifelli -- who has had to rely on donations, grants and fund-raisers to give babies a decent burial -- got a very different call.

She had won the California lottery.

The jackpot: $27 million.

"Maybe it's the children saying, `Thank you' for taking care of them when nobody else would," Faris-Cifelli said, bubbling with laughter. "It's a gift and one for which we feel an awesome responsibility."

The money could not come at a better time for Faris-Cifelli and her Garden of Angels, the tiny cemetery in the town of Calimesa where she has buried dozens of tiny children whose mothers didn't hear -- or didn't care -- about California's safe-haven law.

Under the 2001 law, parents have three days to abandon infants without fear of prosecution. California is one of 46 states with such a law.

Faris-Cifelli helped win passage of the law and has made it her life's work to spread the word that scared and confused parents should drop their newborns at firehouses and hospitals -- not in trash cans and alleys. She lobbies in states without such laws, talks to teens and police and has attended 12 trials of mothers accused of abandoning their infants. She also lays the dead to rest.

Faris-Cifelli, 49, does all that with just a three-person staff and $172,000 annual budget covered by donations, grants, car washes and bake sales.

Now the deeply religious mother and her high school counselor husband, Steve, will receive an after-tax lump sum of nearly $9 million. Some of the winnings will go to the couple's seven children, most to her crusade.

It was only the third time she and her husband had played the lottery.

Since the safe-haven law went into effect four years ago, only 67 babies have been safely surrendered in California. Faris-Cifelli has buried 70 babies since she began in 1996. Since the law was enacted, she has buried fewer each year -- though no one knows how many have died.

"This law does work, but it works when there is some kind of campaign going along with it," Faris-Cifelli said. "It just hurts me that we don't talk about it until there's a baby who's lost its life."

If the little kids up there are dancing in heaven and are happy for us, then that's the way it should be ... They're saying, `We want you to do more,' and we're going to do it.
-- Steve Cifelli, husband of lottery winner

The state budgets about $1.5 million for advertising -- not enough to buy even one statewide TV spot, according to Andrew Roth, spokesman for the California Department of Social Services.

When someone finds a dead baby in a three-county area around Los Angeles, the morgue knows to call Faris-Cifelli. Faris-Cifelli goes into the autopsy room alone, where she wraps each infant in a homemade quilt, cradles it and prays over it. She gives each baby a first name that is engraved on the cross. At the gravesite, she releases dozens of doves under the shade of a mulberry tree.

Babies whose remains go unclaimed are cremated, and their ashes placed in a small cardboard box and saved for three years before being put in an unmarked grave with other John and Jane Does.

Faris-Cifelli and her husband are full of ideas of how to spend their new fortune: 140 annual scholarships named after abandoned babies, more efforts to educate the public, and possibly a shelter for pregnant teens.

"If the little kids up there are dancing in heaven and are happy for us, then that's the way it should be," Steve Cifelli said. "They're saying, `We want you to do more,' and we're going to do it."

Karen Moan of Victorville, who adopted one of the first babies surrendered under the safe-haven law, sees more than coincidence in her friend's good fortune.

"Everybody wants to win the lottery, but she truly deserves to win," Moan said. "It seems like it was meant to be."

Jolie Rouge

12-07-2004, 10:47 PM

Tipster turns down $40,000 reward for murder arrest
Anonymous person wants money donated to charity
Tuesday, December 7, 2004 Posted: 1:11 PM EST (1811 GMT)

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- An anonymous tipster who was eligible to receive a $40,000 reward for providing information that led to an arrest in a murder case has turned the money down, asking that it go instead to a charity established in the victim's name.

Ali Kemp, a 19-year-old college student, was strangled two years ago while working at a swimming pool in Leawood, Kansas, an affluent Kansas City suburb. The widely publicized case generated thousands of leads, yet none of the tips produced an arrest.

But information provided by an anonymous caller led to the arrest last month of Benjamin Appleby, a former resident of the Kansas City area who was captured in Connecticut, where he was living under another name.

Appleby, 29, is charged with capital murder and attempted rape. He is being held on $1 million bond.

Crime Stoppers, a Kansas City agency that operates a hot line to help solve crimes, announced Monday that the tipster who provided the key information asked that the $40,000 go to the Ali Kemp Educational Foundation, which offers scholarships to high school students and self-defense training.

The victim's father, Roger Kemp, said he was "floored" at the news. "It just goes to show how wonderful people in Kansas City are," he said.

Crime Stoppers coordinator Craig Sarver said officials do not know the identity of any tipsters. "Everything is truly anonymous," Sarver said. "We give them code numbers."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/12/07/reward.declined.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-09-2004, 03:04 PM

Whale sings lonely song
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Posted: 3:56 PM EST (2056 GMT)

:(

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A lone whale, with a voice unlike any other, has been wandering the Pacific for the past 12 years, American marine biologists said Wednesday.

Using signals recorded by the U.S. Navy to track submarines, they traced the movement of whales in the Northern Pacific and found that a lone whale singing at a frequency of around 52 hertz has cruised the ocean since 1992.

Its calls, despite being clearly those of a baleen, do not match those of any known species of whale, which usually call at frequencies of between 15 and 20 hertz.

The mammal does not follow the migration patterns of any other species either, according to team leader Mary Anne Daher.

The calls of the whale, which roams the ocean every autumn and winter, have deepened slightly as a result of aging, but are still recognizable.

The study by scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, appears in the New Scientist magazine.

www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/12/08/lonely.whale.reut/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-09-2004, 03:07 PM

Scientists: Volcanism possible on planet-like Quaoar
By Robert Roy Britt -- SPACE.com
Thursday, December 9, 2004 Posted: 9:49 AM EST (1449 GMT)

(SPACE.com) -- A large planet-like object out in the outer solar system shows signs of either a relatively recent collision or perhaps volcanic activity, astronomers said today.

If proven out, it would be the first known volcano on an object other than a planet or moon.

Earth and Mars both have volcanoes, and Jupiter's moon Io is a riot of volcanic activity. Quaoar, as it is known, resides in the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy objects beyond Neptune's orbit.

Astronomers expect most Kuiper Belt Objects or KBOs to be relatively pristine leftovers from the formation of the solar system. They are the comets that have not yet made a close pass around, the wannabe planets that never grew quite big enough. Quaoar is roughly 783 miles (1,260 kilometers) wide, second only in size among KBOs to Pluto, with a diameter of 1,490 miles (2,400 kilometers).

KBOs are thought to be composed of rock, water ice and various other frozen chemicals. Hundreds have been found, but most are too far away and too small to study in detail. Water ice has been detected on a few.

The new study, led by David Jewitt of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, is reported in the December 9 issue of the journal Nature.

Jewitt and a colleague found signs of ammonia hydrate and crystalline water ice on the surface of Quaoar. Both substances should be destroyed over a few million years by particle irradiation, they say. That's a short period of time considering the solar system's entire life of 4.6 billion years. "We conclude that Quaoar has been recently resurfaced, either by impact exposure of previously buried ices or by cryovolcanic outgassing, or by a combination of these processes," the scientists conclude.

Surprise finding

The conclusion is not firm, but intriguing nonetheless. Being so far from the sun, KBOs should not be warm enough to form crystalline ice without some sort of unusual circumstance.

Water ice incorporated into an object at low temperatures ought to be amorphous, rather than having the "highly coordinated architecture of a crystal lattice," explains Caltech scientist David Stevenson. Based on lab work, scientists think water must be heated to about minus 279.7 Fahrenheit (100 Kelvin) in order to form crystalline ice.

The frigid space of the Kuiper Belt, billions of miles from the sun, is even colder than that. "The presence of crystalline ice is surprising," said Stevenson, who was not involved in the new study but wrote a review of it for the journal. "The precise temperature required, however, is not known and may not be the same in laboratory experiments as it is in space," Stevenson cautions. "Yet it might be that we are seeing evidence for 'planetary' processes such as volcanism within these bodies."

More study needed

The crystalline ice was confirmed recently in separate research done by the discoverers of Quaoar, Stevenson said.

The claim of ammonia hydrate is less convincing, Stevenson writes, but he notes that based on theory, Quaoar ought to have some ammonia inside. He said a mixture of ice and ammonia deep in the interior would be less dense than the rest of the object. "It could percolate upwards and perhaps segregate to form a fluid-filled crack," which might propagate to the surface, or near to it," he said. "All of these processes are directly analogous to basaltic volcanism on Earth and other terrestrial planets."

Stevenson stresses that this scenario is speculative, and that more observations are needed.

www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/12/08/volcano.neptune/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-09-2004, 09:12 PM

Students fight for right to bare all
Thursday, December 9, 2004

BENNINGTON, Vermont (Reuters) -- Students occasionally parading buck naked around Vermont's Bennington College campus has been a tolerated, if peculiar, part of the university's student culture here since the 1960s. Now Robert Graves, hired this year as Bennington's dean of students, has embarked on a crusade against public nudity -- one that has run afoul of the school's free-spirited students.

Students have long enjoyed an informal policy allowing them to go naked on campus. Whether it was as a topless sunbather lounging on the lawn or students running naked at an annual bonfire party, college officials turned a blind eye. But when a student strolled around campus naked this summer during an orientation session when parents were visiting campus, the new dean reprimanded him.

More than 200 students, a few of them naked, marched across campus in October to protest against what they saw as a crackdown by the administration on freedom of expression. While the impending onset of the New England winter has put a temporary pause to the dispute, students are preparing for a springtime assault. Lindsey Gage, a Bennington senior leading the fight to preserve what she concedes is an unwritten policy, said she has grown accustomed to public nudity since enrolling here. "It is never lewd but a natural sight," she said.

American liberal arts colleges do not get much more liberal than Bennington. Nestled in Vermont's Green Mountains, the school has a nontraditional approach to education in which students draw up their own curricula. "Bennington does not expect students to conform, but to transform," the college's Web site proclaims.

A little respect?

But Graves has drawn the line at being naked. "Bennington College is not a clothing-optional campus and we don't live in a clothing-optional society," Graves told Reuters, adding he realized he had "ruffled some feathers" by going after unclothed campus denizens. "There is not a nudity policy and we don't condone this behavior. We are a public campus," he said. "There has to be a level of respect here."

Respect has nothing to do with it, countered sophomore Allison Zoll. As someone who has taken part in events with the college's nude activities club, which hosts clothing-optional picnics and outdoor games, Zoll was adamant that there was nothing wrong with going bare. "It's not hurting anyone," she said.

Bennington students are not alone in their undress. Streaking -- that is, running naked -- has long been a staple of American campus life.

Recently, students at Hamilton College in New York turned the pastime into a sport by forming a varsity streaking team and traveling to rival schools to cavort in the buff.

The Hamilton team streaked a dozen colleges in the Northeast earlier this fall and posted results on its Web site.

Despite being banned from Wellesley College, an all-women's school near Boston, and escorted off the grounds of Connecticut College, team members declared the tour a "massive success."

Back across the border in Vermont, there's nothing competitive about nudity at Bennington. Students are too busy trying to preserve what they think is a right, and that suits some local residents just fine. "Oh to be in college again," sniffed Stuart Hurd, Bennington's town manager. "More power to them. We are too uptight about public nudity in this country."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/12/09/college.nudity.reut/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-09-2004, 09:15 PM

Fourth-grader suspended over suspected 'Jell-O shots'
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Posted: 5:27 PM EST (2227 GMT)

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- An 8-year-old girl was suspended for nine days for bringing to school what appeared to be about 30 "Jell-O shots" -- though it was unclear whether they contained alcohol.

The incident occurred November 29, as the girl stood after classes outside Geraldine Boudreaux Elementary School in Terrytown, a New Orleans suburb. A teacher spotted liquid dripping out of the student's bookbag and found what looked like the small cups of alcohol-laced gelatin that are sold in bars, schools spokesman Jeff Nowakowski said.

The girl told the principal that her mother, who works in a bar, makes alcoholic shots at home and sells them at work. The fourth-grader said her mother had instructed her to take the shots to school and sell them, three for $1, to make some money for Christmas, Nowakowski said.

The gelatin was turned over to the sheriff's department for testing to see if it contained alcohol.

The girl was suspended for violating school rules against possessing or trying to distribute a "lookalike," or something that appears to contain drugs or alcohol.

Under the lookalike rule, the girl's suspension will stand no matter what the sheriff's department finds. "The school system's position is, it doesn't matter if it had alcohol in it or not," Nowakowski said.

The names of the girl and her mother were not released. The mother must also allow school officials to test her daughter's hair for signs of drug use, Nowakowski said.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/12/08/jell-o.school.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-10-2004, 08:54 PM

74 American Kids Found in Mexico Schools
By MARK STEVENSON

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexican authorities took custody of 74 American youths who were attending two irregularly operated boarding schools and returned them to the United States on Thursday.

The youths, who were found to be in Mexico without proper travel or residency documents, were handed over to U.S. consular officials and then taken to Los Angeles, the Interior Department, which oversees migratory issues, said in a press statement.

The statement bore the title: ``The immigration institute rescues 74 U.S. youths with supposed behavioral problems.'' U.S. consular authorities were not immediately available for comment on the whereabouts of the students.

The Interior Department said the schools - which it identified as the ``The Mission'' school in Ensenada, Baja California, and the ``Abundant Life Academy'' in the town of Chapala in Jalisco state - were raided because they ``did not comply with sanitary regulations.''

``It is important to stress that none of the raids involved violence, and the human rights and personal safety of the youths were fully respected,'' the Interior Department press statement said. Immigration agents found 57 students at the Ensenada facility and 17 in Chapala. Mexican authorities identified the schools as facilities for children ``with behavior problems.''

An Abundant Life Web site described the Abundant Life Academy at Lake Chapala as ``the answer for the gifted yet immature American troubled teen that is unmotivated and rebellious toward parental authority.'' The slogan of the facility is ``Jesus is the only answer,'' and says the academy ``is essentially a school for students who need to get back on track, to mature emotionally and spiritually, and learn that they are not the center of the universe.''

Chapala is a lakeside community about 230 miles west of Mexico City popular among U.S. expatriates and retirees.

Some schools in Ensenada, meanwhile, have had a history of problems. In September, a lack of qualified doctors and reports that some teens were being abused prompted Mexican authorities to shut down three centers for troubled youths in Baja California.

Mexican officials sent home 564 U.S. teenagers found at the Casa by the Sea and Casa de la Esperanza schools in Ensenada, on the Pacific coast about 60 miles south of San Diego, California, after authorities found no qualified medical personnel worked at the schools and no records were being kept on the teenagers.

At the same time, about 26 teenagers from the Genesis center in Rosarito, about 15 miles south of the U.S. border - were also sent home after Mexican immigration and health authorities carried out a surprise inspection.

All 590 teenagers did not have proper paperwork to be in Mexico.

12/10/04 00:20

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1102&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041210%2F0021156270.htm&sc=1102

Jolie Rouge

12-10-2004, 10:24 PM

Stray Cat's Gravestone Sells for a Fortune

:D

LONDON (Reuters) - A medieval limestone slab which for years was used as a gravestone for a dead cat called Winkle fetched more than 200,000 pounds ($383,200) at auction on Friday.

The stone has a carved image of St Peter on it and dates from the early 10th century.

It was found in a salvage yard by a British man who took it to his home in Somerset, southwest England, and put it at the bottom of his garden to mark the spot where Winkle was buried. It was only when the stone was spotted by local potter and historian Chris Brewchorne that its value became apparent.

"I was walking past the house one day and saw it in the front garden and knew immediately I was looking at something special," Brewchorne told Reuters. "I knocked on the front door, spoke to the owners and told them 'I think you've just won the lottery.'

"At first I thought it was Roman but I noticed the chap's head on the carving was tonsured, which suggested it was Saxon. "I don't think it's an exaggeration to describe it as the finest mid-Saxon carving in the country."

The carving went under the hammer at auctioneers Sothebys on Friday. They had expected it to fetch between 40,000 and 60,000 pounds but a private collector bought it for 201,600 pounds ($386,300).

The man who found it died last year before it could be sold but the money will go to his widow, a former farmer, who has asked not to be named.

As for Winkle, an adopted stray who, according to Brewchorne "spent most of her life hanging around the local cider mills," she will be getting a new headstone. "I'll be making one for her," he said.

12/10/04 09:32

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-odd-12-l11&flok=FF-RTO-reodd&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20041210%2F0932187920.htm&sc=reodd

Jolie Rouge

12-10-2004, 10:28 PM

Nisqually Indian Chief Cleared in Slaying
By REBECCA COOK

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - Chief Leschi of the Nisqually Indian tribe was exonerated by a historical court Friday, nearly a century and a half after he was hanged for the death of a militia soldier in what is now Washington state.

The unanimous verdict by a seven-judge panel isn't binding legally, but it drew cheers and tears from hundreds of people who gathered at the state history museum to hear the decision.

Leschi (pronounced LESH-eye) was hanged in 1858 for killing Col. A. Benton Moses of the territorial militia during the region's Indian war of 1855. The historical court, led by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, ruled that if Leschi did in fact kill Moses, they were lawful combatants in a time of war, so a murder charge was not justified. ``I'm just happy. This is really about the future,'' said Cynthia Iyall, a descendant of Leschi's sister and chairwoman of the Committee to Exonerate Chief Leschi. ``This is for all the kids ... they need to know who that man was and what truthfully happened to him.''

Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, a former prosecutor who helped represent Leschi's descendants before the historical court, agreed that it was important to establish the truth. ``We cannot bring Leschi back to life, and we cannot restore Leschi to his land. We can, we must, restore his good name.''

Over the years, everyone from Leschi's executioner to respected historians had questioned his guilt. He had fought to preserve his tribe's way of life: The government had consigned the Nisqually to a high forest, cut off from their homes by the Nisqually River. The government later returned the tribe to a spot along the river about 50 miles south of Seattle.

After Leschi's first trial ended with a hung jury, the judge in the second trial refused to instruct jurors that killing an enemy soldier in war is not considered murder. Leschi was convicted and sentenced to death. On appeal, the territorial Supreme Court refused to consider new evidence showing Leschi was miles away when Moses was killed.

The Army refused to execute Leschi, as military leaders believed the rules of war should have prevented him from being charged with murder. Instead, Pierce County authorities oversaw Leschi's execution Feb. 19, 1858. His hangman, Charles Grainger, said later: ``I felt then I was hanging an innocent man, and I believe it yet.''

Nisqually Indians have kept Leschi's legacy alive by telling his story to their children and grandchildren, and his name appears on schools, monuments and even a Seattle neighborhood.

Alexander proposed holding the historical court because he didn't think the current state Supreme Court has the power to overturn a decision by its territorial predecessor.

Nisqually tribal member Andreya Squally, 17, who attended the trial, recalled arguing about Leschi at school, insisting he had been unjustly convicted. ``They said it was right because it was in the history book,'' Squally said. ``Now they have to change the history books.''

12/10/04 23:13

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041210%2F2314238122.htm&sc=1110

Jolie Rouge

12-15-2004, 02:31 PM

It's Mean!
PETA's Top 5 Worst-Dressed Celebs

Thanks to her fur wraps, prominently worn to red carpet events, TV personality and newlywed Star Jones Reynolds has been blasted as the No. 1 worst-dressed celebrity, according to the annual list published by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA cited her "appetite for animal destruction." It gets worse. "With the number of dead animals she wore at her wedding, it looked more like a funeral," the group said. Ouch.

This is not like other worst-dressed lists. PETA has just a few criteria, namely wearing fur and leather in public. Star must really like her fur. She now has the dubious distinction of being the only big name celebrity to make PETA's list four years in a row, reports Knight Ridder Newspapers.

Here are the others who round out the top five with the biting comments PETA released on each one:

2. Cindy Crawford: "With that big furry mole on her face, you'd think she'd be more sensitive to the plight of animals."

Crawford made one of those "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" ads a decade ago, but she earned PETA's wrath by signing on earlier this year to pose in pelts for furrier Blackglama's "What Becomes a Legend Most" campaign.

3. Jennifer Lopez: "The lives of the animals she wears are like her relationships: short and painful."

4. Susan Lucci: "Her hideous furs make Emmy's biggest loser one of animals' worst abusers."

5. Ashley Olsen: "Here's a tip on adjusting to life at New York University: The Big Apple is not the Yukon. You don't need to look like Bigfoot in order to fit in."

--------

{ makes me wish I had a fur coat myself ... **

Jolie Rouge

12-16-2004, 02:48 PM

:eek:

NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!!

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Mexican cannibal kills, grills lover for breakfast

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
MEXICO CITY, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A Mexican man killed his lover in a drunken, drugged fight then cooked the man's body in tomato and onion sauce and ate it over three days.

Police found Gumaro de Dios Arias grilling rotting human flesh for his breakfast, including part of a heart, when they raided a shack he lived in near the Caribbean beach resort of Playa del Carmen, a police chief said on Wednesday. "He was preparing stews. There was a grill where he was cooking part of the heart and bits he had cut off the body. It was terrible, terrible," said local police chief Martin Estrada, who was among a dozen police who raided the shack.

Arias told police the victim, a young man, arrived at his cardboard hut in a wasteland area with a mutual friend who then left the two of them drinking and taking drugs. The pair had sex and afterward a fight broke out during which he killed the man with blows to the head, police said.

Police arrested Arias, 25, on Tuesday after a tip off. "They said there was a person eating a person," Estrada said.

"We found him lying on a folding bed and to one side was the corpse which had been torn apart and which it seems he had been eating for three days," he told Reuters. The corpse, which had its back ripped open and its innards pulled out, was missing various parts, like a thigh, he said.

12/15/04 17:59

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0002/20041215/1759718531.htm

Jolie Rouge

12-21-2004, 05:09 PM

Soccer Star Fired for Wedding No-Show

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041221%2F1313269949.htm&sc=1120

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -The star striker of a Malaysian state soccer team has been sacked for failing to turn up for his own wedding, a newspaper said Tuesday - adding that he called off the ceremony in a cell phone text message to his fiancee.

Hasmawi Hassan, who plays professional soccer for the northern state of Kedah, gave no reason in the short message he sent his bride-to-be Norlida Abdul Rahman, hours before they were to exchange vows, the New Straits Times reported. About 1,000 people had been waiting at the bride's home in the southern state of Johor.

Hasmawi has since gone missing. Efforts to contact him by his family and 23-year-old Norlida have drawn a blank.

Kedah Football Association vice president Chong Itt Chew said Hasmawi's two-year contract would be terminated because his behavior had tarnished the state's image, the report said. ``I was shocked when I found out our player had done such a terrible thing,'' it quoted Chong as saying.

``It is heartbreaking, especially when I look at the wedding gifts,'' the paper quoted Norlida as saying.

The two had been dating since 2001, when she was studying to be a nurse.

12/21/04 13:13

Jolie Rouge

12-21-2004, 05:13 PM

Jolie Rouge

12-21-2004, 05:15 PM

Three houses threatened as crews wait for hole to stop growing
Sunday, December 19, 2004 Posted: 4:27 PM EST (2127 GMT)

DELTONA, Florida (AP) -- A sinkhole ate a 160-foot chunk of a four-lane road and cracked walls at a nearby home as emergency crews waited Sunday for it to stabilize -- by growing wider.

Three of 20 houses evacuated as a precaution Saturday stayed empty. One of them was especially vulnerable, as deep gouges in the Earth aimed for a backyard pool deck that tore away from the house. Neighbors pitched in to quickly empty the threatened houses. "What if insurance doesn't cover it? What if they say it's salvageable?" asked Asher Sherkow, who faced losing the home he and his wife bought shortly after their wedding two years ago. "The difficult thing is not knowing one way or another."

Large cracks in the road pavement on the edge of his side yard had formed -- 20 feet from the steep edge of the hole. "It could be every bit of 300 to 350 (feet) in diameter before it's all said and done," Deputy Fire Chief Robert Rogers said. "In our area we haven't had anything like this before."

He said he expects the size to rival a sinkhole that opened up 23 miles away in Winter Park in neighboring Orange County in 1981. That sinkhole was more than 300 feet wide.

Rogers believes the recently widened feeder road to Interstate 4 less than two miles away from the sinkhole will stay closed for two to three weeks, and possibly longer.

Experts estimated it would take 1 million cubic yards of dirt to fill the hole, the equivalent of 100,000 dump truck loads. As it stands, trucks are not allowed to approach the unstable edge.

Utility workers labored to reroute power around a major electrical line through the area, and survey crews drove in pins to check for fresh signs of shifting ground.

"Until those sides start to level off some, they're not going to be able to get close to it," Rogers said. "They're just waiting until it stabilizes and the ground finishes swallowing up whatever it's going to swallow."

Sinkholes are a common geologic phenomenon in central Florida. They form when underground water dissolves bedrock, creating caverns that collapse when the dome cracks opens. About 500 mostly small sinkholes open up each year in Florida.

"Three hurricanes and now this," neighbor Jimmy Hernandez said. "What's next? Is it going to snow?"

The Volusia County forecast called for freezing temperatures Sunday night, but no precipitation.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/19/florida.sinkhole.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-21-2004, 05:17 PM

Bush pardons 4, bringing total to 31
Tuesday, December 21, 2004 Posted: 5:50 PM EST (2250 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush granted four pardons Tuesday, bringing to just 31 the total of pardons and sentence commutations he has issued during his first term, the Justice Department announced.

The number of clemency orders issued by Bush is far off the pace of most modern presidents and less than half the 77 granted by his father, President George H.W. Bush, during his single term from 1989 to 1993, according to statistics collected by the University of Pittsburgh law school.

President Clinton, by contrast, granted clemency for 456 people during his eight years in office, including 176 on his last day at the White House. One of those was the contentious pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich who is now implicated in the UN Oil for Food Scandal and is the former husband of Democratic Party donor Denise Rich.

Bush also was reluctant to grant clemency while he was governor of Texas, granting only 16 applications during his term in office. That compared with 70 for his immediate predecessor, Democrat Ann Richards, according to the Pittsburgh statistics.

Most presidents since the beginning of the 20th century have granted hundreds if not thousands of pardons and sentence commutations, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt's 3,687 over four terms. Only two presidents never used their constitutional authority to grant clemency: 19th century chief executives James Garfield and William H. Harrison.

Those granted pardons Tuesday were:

• Kristan Diane Bullock Akins, Raleigh, North Carolina, embezzlement by a bank employee. Sentenced in August 1990 to three years' probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine.

• Ronald William Cauley, East Providence, Rhode Island, misapplication of bank funds by an employee. Sentenced in November 1980 to one year of probation.

• Stephen Davis Simmons, Austin, Texas, possession of counterfeit obligations. Sentenced in 1981 to five years' probation and a $2,000 fine.

• Roger Charles Weber, Northridge, California, theft from interstate shipment. Sentenced in February 1969 to two years probation and a $200 fine.

www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/21/presidential.pardons.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

12-21-2004, 10:53 PM

Rowling's sixth Potter novel due July 16

NEW YORK (AP) — The sixth novel in J.K. Rowling's blockbuster Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will go on sale in Britain and the United States on July 16, publishers said Tuesday. In other words, her fans will have to take the book off their Christmas gift lists, and make it part of their New Year's resolutions. "We are delighted to announce the publication date," which also will take place in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, said the joint announcement by Nigel Newton, the chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in England, and Barbara Marcus, the president of Scholastic Children's Books in the United States.

"J.K. Rowling has written a brilliant story that will dazzle her fans in a marvelous book that takes the series to yet greater heights. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince delivers all the excitement and wonder of her best-selling Harry Potter novels," they said.

The announcement not only pleased Rowling's millions of followers, it also delighted the British stock exchange.

Bloomsbury shares surged 7% to a new all-time high of $5.69. Sales of Harry Potter titles have provided the company with a significant boost in the past, although in September it said the absence of a new Rowling release this year had held back its annual rise in profits to 4.5% at $7.16 million.

In an earlier message on her Web site, the British author wrote: "I know you all expected this to happen on Christmas Day, but I was sure that those of you who celebrate Christmas have better things to do on the day itself than fight your way into my study, whereas those of you who DON'T celebrate Christmas would definitely prefer not to wait until the 25th." (Related site: www.JKRowling.com ) Rowling, 39, noted that while she is pregnant with her third child, she has had the time "needed to tinker with the manuscript to my satisfaction, and I am as happy as I have ever been with the end result. I only hope you feel it was worth the wait when you finally read it."

The 2005 publishing date means that fans will be spared the seemingly interminable three-year wait between Potter IV, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Potter V, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which came out in summer 2003.

The publishers' statement and Rowling's Web site did not say whether the new book's length would top the industrial-sized 870 pages of Order of the Phoenix.

As the London stock market indicated, the new book in the series should be great news for booksellers, who have endured another year of slow sales. More than 100 million copies of the fantasy series, which debuted in 1997, are in print, and Order of the Phoenix sold an astonishing 5 million copies within 24 hours of publication. Sales have remained phenomenal even as Rowling's books have grown longer and darker, reflecting the boy wizard's maturation into adolescence. The first three Potter books have been made into hit movies. The books also have inspired countless Potter paraphernalia, including candy, cakes, capes and toys.

Rowling has said that one of her characters will not survive her sixth book, but she refused to identify that character. Potter himself is safe, at least for now. Rowling has said her teenage hero will survive until the seventh and final book in the series, but has refused to say whether he will reach adulthood.

Only recently, the book's completion seemed far away. In a message posted Dec. 10, Rowling said she had nothing "noteworthy to report, because I have been spending nearly all my time sitting in front of my computer writing, rewriting and taking the occasional break to bang my head off the desk in frustration or else rub my hands together in fiendish glee (I think the latter has happened once)."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/2004-12-21-rowling_x.htm?csp=24&RM_Exc lude=Juno

Booksellers wild about Harry pre-sales
The wizard of Wall Street might be Harry Potter.
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY

News of a release date for the sixth and penultimate novel in J.K. Rowling's blockbuster series wasn't single-handedly responsible for Wall Street's best closing in more than 31/2 years on Tuesday. But it lent a hand.

Immediately after it was announced that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince would go on sale in the USA and Britain on July 16, sooner than expected, stocks of its book publishers and some booksellers shot skywards:

• Scholastic. Shares of the U.S. publisher of the Potter books advanced 4.2% or $1.51, to close at a 52-week high of $37.44.

• Bloomsbury Publishing. Shares of the British publisher of the Potter books surged 16.7% to a high of $5.95.

• Barnes & Noble. The giant bookseller saw its shares jump 2.5% or 78 cents, closing at $31.63. Pre-orders made Half-Blood Prince the No. 1-seller at barnesandnoble.com.

• Borders Group. Its shares rose 1.4%, closing at $24.02, up 32 cents.

• Amazon.com. Shares for the online retail giant rose 1.1% or 44 cents, to close at $39.39. Half-Blood Prince was Tuesday's best seller at Amazon, as well.

Marketing gurus say wide appeal makes the Potter books such hot numbers. "They appeal to parents and children," says Jennifer Aaker, marketing professor at Stanford University. "Parents love the spirituality and intelligence. Kids love the adventure and mysticism."

Time Warner, with a fourth film coming and merchandise rights, loves Harry's magic, too. "Potter is a brand that can stretch well beyond books," Aaker says.

***

Already, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Amazon have put 40% discounts on the book's $29.99 price to grab a share of the action. "Sales of the last Harry Potter book grossed as much as a major Hollywood movie in its first week of release," Steve Riggio, CEO of Barnes & Noble, said in a statement.

www.usatoday.com/life/books/2004-12-21-rowling_x.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno

Jolie Rouge

12-21-2004, 10:58 PM

J.K. Rowling hints at what's to come in 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'

We've cobbled together some of the information in J.K. Rowling's earlier statements and information posted on her Web site (www.jkrowling.com) about the hotly anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, her sixth installation in the popular series.

Q:: Is it true that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the working title of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?

A: "Yes. I was delighted to see that a hard core of super-bright fans knew that the real title was once, in the long distant past, a possibility for Chamber of Secrets, and from that deduced that it was genuine. Certain crucial pieces of information in book six were originally planned for Chamber of Secrets, but very early on I realized that this information's proper home was book six. I have said before now that Chamber holds some very important clues to the ultimate end of the series. Not as many as six, obviously, but there is a link."

Q:: Who is the Half-Blood Prince?

A: "The Half-Blood Prince is neither Harry nor Voldemort. And that's all I'm saying on that subject until the book's published."

Q: Who are the half-bloods in Harry Potter that we know about so far?

A: From Harry Potter Lexicon (fan site): Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Hagrid (wizard dad, giantess mom), Remus Lupin and, according to some malicious people, Harry (both of Harry's parents were wizards, though as JKR explains, his having Muggle grandparents was enough to make him a half-blood to the more biased among the wizarding world.) Tonks is also a half-blood, but unless she has been extremely crafty with her metamorphmagus abilities, she probably isn't going to be named a prince.

Q: Has J.K. Rowling released any portions of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?

A: On Halloween, the JKRowling.com "Do Not Disturb" door opened to reveal three chapter titles: Chapter 2: "Spinners End"; Chapter 6: "Draco's Detour"; Chapter 14: "Felix Felicis."

In August, J.K. Rowling put behind the mysterious "Do Not Disturb" door on JKRowling.com: "He looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of grey in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp."

Q: From J.K. Rowling World Book Day chat: Is there going to be a new Minister of Magic in the next books?

A: "Yes. Ha! Finally, a concrete bit of information, I hear you cry!"

Q: Was Voldemort born evil?

A: "I don't believe that anybody was born evil. You will find out more about the circumstances of his birth in the next book."

Q: Does anyone die in the rest of the series?

A: From JKRowling.com FAQ Section: "Yes. Sorry."

Q: Is every book going to keep getting bigger?

A: From JKRowling.com FAQ section: "No. Definitely not, or book seven would be around the weight of a baby hippopotamus. According to the plan for book six, it will be quite a bit shorter than Order of the Phoenix. I am not going to swear on my children's lives that is going to be the case, but I am 99% certain of it."

www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2004-12-21-potter-qa_x.htm

Jolie Rouge

12-29-2004, 11:25 PM

International Space Station's snack attack uncovered
By Traci Watson, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The two residents of the International Space Station ran short of food and had to cut back their meals this month thanks in part to unlikely food thieves: the previous station crew. Leroy Chiao, the American now living on the station, confirmed during a news conference Wednesday what Russian space officials had been saying: The previous crew ate food meant for Chiao and his Russian crewmate, Salizhan Sharipov.

The previous crewmembers, American Michael Fincke and Russian Gennady Padalka, had found that their rations had grown monotonous. So flight controllers let them break into the food supply reserved for Chiao and Sharipov. But Fincke and Padalka did not accurately report how much of it they ate, Chiao said.

In November, NASA realized the station's cupboard was almost bare. So it asked Chiao and Sharipov to cut their calories by about 10%, or 300 calories a day, while they waited for a cargo ship to bring more food. "Both of us ended up losing a few pounds, but that's something I guess we can't really complain about," Chiao said. "We looked at it as kind of a challenge, a camping adventure."

The adventure ended when the cargo ship, a Russian-made vehicle called the Progress, arrived Christmas Day as planned. If it hadn't, Chiao and Sharipov would have been forced to abandon the station in early January.

To get by until the Progress docked, Chaio said, "We had to cut back to half rations of what I will call 'real food,' that is, meat, potatoes, vegetables, that kind of thing." The crew made up for the loss of "real food" with a diet that any 6-year-old would love: more candy and desserts, which were abundant. "Not an ideal diet," Chiao admitted. "We were both very happy to see the Progress get on board."

The station has been running short of food, water and other supplies because the U.S. space shuttle fleet has been grounded since the shuttle Columbia broke apart, killing its seven crewmembers, on Feb. 1, 2003. The shuttle is the station's main supplier because it is big enough to haul enough cargo for long durations.

www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2004-12-29-space-station-usat_x.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno

Jolie Rouge

01-05-2005, 12:12 PM

Top 10 Odd College Courses
Information provided by Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions

College courses aren't all Econ 101 and The History of Europe: 1500-Present. A trend among many colleges and universities is to offer courses that are slightly off the beaten track. Many of these courses draw their themes from pop culture or sports, or they may be the brainchildren of professors who want to share their passion with students. They may be no less serious than traditional courses, but they certainly cover new academic ground.

Students take these offbeat courses for a variety of reasons--hoping for an easy A, to try something fun, or to explore a new interest. Underwater Basket Weaving 101 may be an urban legend, but these ten unusual courses are for real:

1) You can boldly go where no other philosophy student has gone before in Georgetown University's "Philosophy and Star Trek" course, where students discuss the nature of time travel, the ability of computers to think and feel, and other philosophical dilemmas facing the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

2) Discover how Brick really felt when Opal left him for his neighbor's best friend's sister in the University of Wisconsin's course entitled "Daytime Serials: Family and Social Roles." Students analyze the plots, themes, and characters of daytime soaps and discuss their impact on modern life.

3) If you've been longing to research how hot dogs, theme parks, and the five-day workweek have impacted American leisure culture, check out the University of Iowa course "The American Vacation." This course pays particular attention to how American families' varying backgrounds shape their vacation experiences.

4) Bowdoin College students can delve into "The Horror Film in Context" in the school's English Department. Students read Freud and Poe and watch Hitchcock and Craven, all while discussing the horror genre's treatment of gender, class, and family.

5) At Williams College, students can learn more about those in the cement shoe industry by enrolling in "Comparative History of Organized Crime," which compares the work of goodfellas from the United States, Italy, Japan, and Russia.

6) If you've got a romantic urge for adventure, check out Barnard College's course on "The Road Movie," which studies Easy Rider and Thelma and Louise, while also discussing the genre's literary precursors, like On the Road and The Odyssey.

7) If hitting the road doesn't satisfy your rebellious streak, sign up for Brown University's course on "American Degenerates," in which students discuss how early British-American writers embraced the grotesque, monstrous, "not our kind" status bestowed on them by the mother country and reflected their zeal for cultural and physical degeneracy in their literature.

8) Those artsy types at the Rhode Island School of Design can put down their paintbrushes and take "The Art of Sin and the Sin of Art," which contemplates the relationship between sin and the art world. The course catalog invites you to "lust with the saints and burn with the sinners."

9) If talking about death several times a week in class sounds like a good time to you, try Purdue University's "Death and the Nineteenth Century" course. Every poem and novel in the course deals with the 19th-century conception of mortality and the world beyond.

10) At Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, students can take "Art of Walking," in which students not only read literature by noted perambulators like Kant and Nietzsche, but go for neighborhood strolls with their professor and his dog.

Most college programs offer interesting courses to introduce you to new and fascinating subject matters. Take advantage of the many possibilities offered to you by sitting down with your advisor to talk about course options and then really thinking about the courses you choose to take.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/college/default.aspx?Article=OddCourses&GT1=6065

CatrinaF25

01-06-2005, 06:06 PM

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/US/West/06/17/offbeat.pizza.ap/story.pizza.ap.jpg
:mad: :mad:

I think that is so sad.. many times foster kids have no where to turn and they end up on the streets doing what ever they can to get by( not assuming that is why they are there just saying)
and ppl a lot of times wont give the homeless a chance ( I KNOW i have been there) Dont judge them please. it is awful sad this young couple is having to do this :( i also think the pizza place could of gave them ajob that paid more if they really wanted to help. They could clean the place take trash out and such . there is a lot more they could of done. JMO ofcource

CatrinaF25

01-06-2005, 06:08 PM

exactly.

Why don't ya get a job delivering the pizzas ?

Maybe they dont have a car?

Jolie Rouge

01-06-2005, 08:44 PM

This was originally posted -- when ??

I have been homeless too. You make a choice.

And I am making one now .... :rolleyes:

CatrinaF25

01-06-2005, 09:45 PM

This was originally posted -- when ??

I have been homeless too. You make a choice.

And I am making one now .... :rolleyes:

I have no idea what it was Orgiinally posted nor do i care. it was the first time i read it and i wanted to respond. I am assuiming there is not a problem with that....

Jolie Rouge

01-06-2005, 09:58 PM

Man divorces wife before claiming lotto prize
Thursday, January 6, 2005 Posted: 7:57 AM EST (1257 GMT)

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/US/01/06/lotto.delay.ap/story.rswofford.jpg
Robert G. Swofford Jr.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- It took Robert G. Swofford Jr. more than a month to come forward and claim his $60 million Lotto prize, but he had to take care of some unfinished business -- divorcing his wife.

Swofford, a postal worker from Seminole County, claimed his prize Tuesday in a $34.7 million lump sum payout, ending weeks of mystery about who won the November 24 drawing.

Swofford, 53, and his wife separated three years ago. But two weeks after the winning numbers were announced, Ann Swofford served him with divorce papers and claimed a share of the prize.

Just before Christmas, the Swoffords and their lawyers hammered out an agreement. His wife will get $5.25 million and $1 million will be set aside to support their 11-year-old son. In return, she agreed not to seek any more of Swofford's winnings.

Swofford said he remembered reading about a divorce case where a lottery winner kept it a secret and was penalized in court. "I'd heard of a case in California where a judge heard about it after he had settled the divorce case and took the husband to the cleaners and made him pay everything he had left out of his lottery winnings," Swofford said Tuesday.

www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/06/lotto.delay.ap/index.html

CatrinaF25

01-06-2005, 10:05 PM

Jolie Rouge

01-06-2005, 10:07 PM

NBC's 'Fear Factor' Sued for Rat-Eating Episode

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Watching contestants eat dead rats on NBC's gross-out stunt show "Fear Factor" so disgusted a Cleveland man that he has sued NBC for $2.5 million, saying he could not stomach what he saw.

In a handwritten four-page lawsuit filed in federal court in Cleveland on Tuesday, paralegal Austin Aitken said, "To have the individuals on the show eat (yes) and drink dead rats was crazy and from a viewer's point of view made me throw-up as well an another in the house at the same time."

His suit added, "NBC is sending the wrong message to its TV watchers that cash can make or have people do just about anything beyond reasoning (sic) and in most cases against their will."

He said the show caused his blood pressure to rise so high that he became dizzy and light-headed, and when he ran away to his room, he bumped his head into the doorway.

In a brief telephone interview with Reuters, Aitken said, "I am not at liberty to discuss the complaint unless it is a paid-interview situation."

A spokesman for "Fear Factor" said the show would have no comment until it sees a copy of the complaint. The spokesman said the program did feature a rat-eating scene in New York's Times Square on Nov. 8. Over the years, contestants on the program have eaten some weird things, including ground-up spiders and live worms.

01/06/05 13:52

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-odd-12-l1&flok=FF-RTO-reodd&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20050106%2F1353602240.htm&sc=reodd

Jolie Rouge

01-06-2005, 10:12 PM

Austin Aitken should stay away from here then ...

Kenyan Market Cleanup Kills 6,000 Rats
By RODRIQUE NGOWI

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Workers at Kenya's main fresh food market killed some 6,000 rats and trucked away 800 tons of garbage in the first major cleanup in 30 years, an official said Tuesday.

The Wakulima Market, which supplies fresh food to most of Nairobi's 3 million residents, was a public health hazard, with garbage piling up 7 feet deep in some places, said Local Government Minister Musikari Kombo. ``Was I shocked? I was traumatized by the rot,'' Kombo told The Associated Press. ``We were lucky to be spared a major outbreak of disease.''

City council workers used 42,269 gallons of water in the cleanup operation, Kombo said, adding that some traders who operated at the market for years were surprised to see that a tarmac existed below the garbage.

Kenya's oldest independent newspaper, The Standard, described it on Tuesday as ``easily one of the dirtiest markets in the world.''

Kombo, who ordered the closure of the market for cleaning last week, said 270 workers were involved in the operation. Hundreds of traders had marched to his office Monday to protest against the closure.

News on the extent of the filth at the market sparked public calls for members of the City Council of Nairobi to resign. ``It is singularly disheartening that the biggest retail market in the country could suffer from the kind of neglect that has recently been exposed at Wakulima,'' the newspaper said in an editorial. ``If there was a good reason for the mayor and the entire council to resign, this is it.''

The city council has been under scrutiny after an investigation presented last August found endemic corruption, fraud, embezzlement, misuse and waste of resources and outright abuse of office. ``The rats and the filth at the market reflect the rot of mismanagement within the city council,'' said Minister of State for Public Service William Ole Ntimama, who once held a Cabinet position that supervised the council.

01/04/05 18:52

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1105&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050104%2F1852422557.htm&sc=1105

Jolie Rouge

01-06-2005, 11:34 PM

Giant tortoise adopts baby hippo
Thursday, January 6, 2005 Posted: 9:28 AM EST (1428 GMT)

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20050107/thumb.sge.ujd07.060105202336.photo00.photo.default-380x276.jpg

NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- A 120-year-old giant tortoise living in a Kenyan sanctuary has become inseparable from a baby hippo rescued by game wardens, officials said on Thursday.

The year-old hippo calf christened Owen was rescued last month, suffering from dehydration after being separated from his herd in a river that drains into the Indian Ocean. "When we released Owen into the enclosure, he lumbered to the tortoise which has a dark grey color similar to grown up hippos," Sabine Baer, rehabilitation and ecosystems manager at the park, told Reuters.

She said the hippo's chances of survival in another herd were very slim, predicting that a dominant male would have killed him. However, Owen's relationship with the Aldabran tortoise named Mzee, Swahili for old man, may end soon. The sanctuary plans to place Owen with Cleo, a lonely female hippo.

www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/01/06/kenya.hippo.reut/index.html

Jolie Rouge

01-11-2005, 08:57 AM

$10 Missing
-- So Students Strip-Searched

:eek:

When a middle school girl told her teacher at Mainland Preparatory Academy in La Marque, Texas that she was missing a $10 bill, school officials responded by strip-searching 10 of her classmates, report The Associated Press and United Press International.

Police are still investigating the incident that involved 11- and 12-year-olds at the award-winning charter school who were separated by gender, sent to separate rooms, and then forced to strip to their underwear while their clothing was searched. A male teacher supervised the strip-search of the three boys, while a female teacher took charge of the seven girls. No money was found. The principal, Wilma Green, defended her actions, telling AP, "Nobody objected to it. Most of the kids didn't mind because they wanted to get their name cleared. It was no different than what the students would be doing when they would be in P.E. We searched everything down to the socks."

The police say the search is not against the law, but they want to make sure it was done legally. Their findings will be sent to the Galveston County district attorney's office. "It's not illegal," La Marque Police Chief Richard Price told UPI. "We don't see it as a criminal offense. We want to see if anything occurred during the search that was illegal. We want to make sure everything that was done legally."

At least one parent filed a police complaint and withdrew her four children from the school. "I have never signed a consent to let my kids be strip-searched--never," Shelli Owens, the mother of a 12-year-old boy who was searched, told AP. Mainland Preparatory School is located 40 miles southeast of Houston.

I 2001, middle school students in Washington, D.C. took a field trip to a city jail where they were strip-searched. And that was the least offensive thing that happened to them

Adult Content - which is why I am only posting the link
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/05/29/strip.search/index.html

Jolie Rouge

01-11-2005, 09:00 AM

Preacher Dies During Sermon About Heaven
Mon Jan 10, 2004

OVIEDO, Fla. - A Presbyterian minister collapsed and died in mid-sentence of a sermon after saying "And when I go to heaven ...," his colleague said Monday.

The Rev. Jack Arnold, 69, was nearing the end of his sermon Sunday at Covenant Presbyterian Church in this Orlando suburb when he grabbed the podium before falling to the floor, said the Rev. Michael S. Beates, associate pastor at Covenant Presbyterian.

Before collapsing, Arnold quoted the 18th century Bible scholar, John Wesley, who said, "Until my work on this earth is done, I am immortal. But when my work for Christ is done ... I go to be with Jesus," Beates said in a telephone interview.

Several members of the congregation with medical backgrounds tried to revive the minister and paramedics were called, but Arnold appeared to die instantly, Beates said.

Arnold had been the senior minister at the church until the late 1990s when he began traveling to Africa and the Middle East to teach pastors. The cause of death was believed to be cardiac arrest. He had bypass surgery five years earlier.

Beates also recounted Arnold's death in an e-mail he sent to members of the Central Florida Presbytery. "We were stunned," Beates said. "It was traumatic, but how wonderful it was he died in his own church among the people he loved the most."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=817&e=1&u=/ap/preacher_collapses

Jolie Rouge

01-12-2005, 10:32 PM

Ancient Secret Found on a Roman Statue

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/fotosrch/3/20050111WAS403D.jpg

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/fotosrch/3/20050111WAS402D.jpg

The ancient 7-foot tall marble statue of Atlas, the mythical titan who carried the heavens on his shoulders, may reveal clues to the long-lost work of the ancient astronomer Hipparchus, reports Reuters. The clues are on the globe Atlas hoists on his shoulder.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/fotosrch/3/20050111WAS401D.jpg

The globe contains carved constellations on its surface that are in exactly the locations Hipparchus would have seen in his day. This could mean the sculptor based the globe on this astronomer's star catalog, which no modern eyes ever have seen. "There are really very few instances where lost ancient secrets or wisdom are ever actually found," Bradley Schaefer of Louisiana State University told Reuters. "Here is a real case where rather well-known lost ancient wisdom has been discovered."

Thought to be one of the world's first great astronomers, Hipparchus rose to prominence between 140 to 125 BC. He assembled a star catalog, the first comprehensive list of the hundreds of stars he observed. Although the catalog has long since disappeared, there is evidence of it in references subsequent astronomers made to Hipparchus. Schaefer believes the globe is an actual reference to Hipparchus's star catalog because he was able to date the positions of the constellation figures on Atlas's globe to 125 BC, give or take 55 years, reports Reuters.

Jolie Rouge

01-22-2005, 10:29 PM

The Dumbest Town in All the U.S.A. Is...

...Fort Wayne, Indiana.

:eek:

That's what Men's Health says anyway when it listed Fort Wayne dead last with a big, fat "F" on a report card assessing the intelligence of 101 U.S. cities. Even Laredo, Texas ranked higher. Such measurements are tough, but Men's Health used various yardsticks, including the number of Nobel Prize winners for physics and medicine that were born in that city.

Topping the list, which is published in the January/February issue of Men's Health, are Minneapolis, Boston, and San Francisco, which each earned an "A+" on this brainiac report card. For comparison, Chicago earned an "A-," New Orleans got a "B-" and Pittsburgh got a "C."

USA Today visited Fort Wayne to find out how dumb it really is. The answer is that it's not dumb at all. To wit:

--Everyone to whom reporter Craig Wilson spoke could reply to him in English. He suspects they could also write in complete sentences. In Cindy's Diner, one customer even used the word "oxymoron." Correctly.

--The circulation of materials from the downtown Fort Wayne Public Library is higher than the downtown New York Public Library. Smart people use libraries.

--Only smart people could think this one up: To welcome visitors to Fort Wayne, hospitality workers pass out free sugar cookies. (More cities should be this smart!)

--This is no dimwitted idea: Visit the Lincoln Museum and you'll be charged $3.99 admission. Why $3.99? That way you can receive a Lincoln penny in change.

One dumb thing: The hockey team is called the Komets. Yes, it's spelled with a "k."

And here's a fun fact: Eight of the 10 smartest cities were in blue states, and eight of the dumbest were in red states.

Jolie Rouge

01-22-2005, 10:34 PM

Most Popular Movie Star of the Year

Move over Mel Gibson. You may have inspired fans' passion last year, but Tom Hanks is America's favorite movie star in 2005. The star of "Forrest Gump," "Saving Private Ryan," and a string of other big screen hits, has been crowned America's favorite movie star by an annual nationwide Harris poll of 1,015 adults. Mel Gibson, flush with "The Passion," took the top honors in 2004, but was relegated to second place this year. Both men and women chose Hanks as their favorite movie star.

The top 10 favorite movie stars in 2005:

1. Tom Hanks
2. Mel Gibson
3. Julia Roberts
4. Johnny Depp
5. Harrison Ford
6. Denzel Washington
7. John Wayne
8. Clint Eastwood
9. Sean Connery
10. George Clooney

Fun facts about the list:

--Julia Roberts, who finished third, is the only actress to make the top 10 list. She's also been in the top four every year since 2000.

--Just because the late, great John Wayne moved on to his great reward 25 years ago doesn't mean he's been forgotten on Earth. Proof positive: He came in seventh place on this list.

--Johnny Depp is the favorite actor among young people and the top choice among Hispanics.

--Mel Gibson is No. 1 in the hearts of Republicans.

--Tom Hanks is No. 1 for Democrats.

--Denzel Washington is No. 1 among African-Americans.

--Nine of the 10 stars on this year's list were on last year's last. Tom Cruise fell off, and George Clooney came on.

Jolie Rouge

01-23-2005, 08:49 PM

Nev. Judge Throws Out Anti-Lap-Dance Law

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A Las Vegas law prohibiting strippers from fondling customers during lap dances is unconstitutionally vague, a judge ruled. District Court Judge Sally Loehrer affirmed a lower court ruling that as many as five misdemeanor criminal cases filed against Las Vegas strippers should be dismissed.

Friday's ruling affects only dancers within city limits. The Clark County Commission in 2002 limited touching between strippers and patrons during private lap dances, specifically barring strippers from touching or sitting on the customer's genital area.

But the municipal code was not as specific, saying only that strippers and their patrons should not ``fondle'' or ``caress'' each other.

City attorneys told Loehrer touching is illegal when dancers engage in contact aimed at sexually arousing the customer. But defense lawyer James Colin argued the lack of specifics makes it impossible to enforce the law. "It's too confusing,'' Colin said. ``No one knows.''

Under Loehrer's ruling, no dancer in the city can be arrested for violating the municipal code. The city is considering an appeal.

01/23/05 15:13

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050123%2F1514052570.htm&floc=NW_4-L2

Jolie Rouge

01-24-2005, 12:59 PM

Sen. Admits Double Life, 2 Families
Lawmaker Admits Living With Girlfriend, Ex

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A state lawmaker who heads a committee on child welfare has acknowledged that he lives in separate homes with two women whose children he fathered.

Sen. John Ford testified in a Juvenile Court hearing in November as part of his defense in a child support case over increasing his financial support of another child he fathered with a third woman, The Commercial Appeal newspaper of Memphis reported Sunday.

The Memphis Democrat has tried to make use of a law he authored that keeps court-ordered support lower when a father is financially responsible for other children. In the hearing, Ford said he lives some days with ex-wife Tamara Mitchell-Ford and the three children they had together. On others, he said, he stays with his longtime girlfriend, Connie Mathews, and their two children.

A follow-up hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Ford and Mitchell-Ford went through a bitter divorce in 2002 that led to Mitchell-Ford's jailing after she plowed her car through Mathews' home. Ford said he pays nearly all bills for both families. They stay in houses he owns and where he also lives, though neither home is in his south Memphis Senate district.

``You have two homes?'' court Referee Felicia Hogan asks during the tape recorded hearing. ``Well, that's unusual.''

``Not necessarily,'' Ford shot back. ``I know people who got five.''

Hogan responded: ``For child support purposes that's unusual, let me put it that way then.''

Ford is battling a lawsuit filed by Dana Smith, who is trying to increase his court-ordered support of their 10-year-old daughter. Smith, a former employee under Ford, won a 1996 sexual harassment verdict against him.

Ford contends that any increase for Smith should be tempered by his financial obligations to his five other minor children. None of those children is subject to child support orders. In the hearing, Ford argued that all five children live in his household - a household that encompasses two homes - and because of that he is exempt from rules requiring strict proof of his financial support of them. Hogan rejected Ford's request, saying he must produce evidence of bills paid if he wants credit to lessen any modification of Smith's child support.

Mitchell-Ford told The Commercial Appeal last week that she can verify at least some of Ford's contentions. She said she is six months pregnant, and the father, she said, is John Ford, now 62. ``John is over here every single day, if not staying here,'' she said.

Ford did not respond to messages left at his Nashville and Memphis offices. Mathews could not be reached.

01/24/05 11:15

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050124%2F1115133824.htm

Jolie Rouge

01-24-2005, 01:23 PM

Bizarre Photo On a Phone Book Cover

They look like beautiful yellow flowers growing in golden-colored hills--a whiff of springtime that stirs the soul frozen from a long winter. But those aren't flowers on the cover of the new North Central Washington telephone book! They're weeds. Specifically, they're a noxious weed called the Dalmatian toadflax. Even the name is ugly.

http://channels.netscape.com/wrap/linker.jsp?floc=wn-np&ref=http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/weeds/w1239-2b.jpg

The Associated Press reports the photo was shot by a former U.S. Forest Service employee, who knew full well he was taking a photograph of weeds. But they are pretty weeds even if they are listed as noxious--meaning harmful or toxic--by Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and several other states. The winning photo was entered in the annual "Cover Photo Contest" sponsored by Hagadone Directories Inc. It's not clear if the contest judges were aware the winning photo they chose was a shot of weeds.

"It's pretty, but it's very obnoxious," said Terry Nowka, coordinator of the Chelan County Noxious Weed Control Board for 13 years. "Every year I catch little old ladies digging it up and planting it in their flower beds." Toadflax was first imported from southeast Europe as an ornamental plant. It produces not only flowers that look a lot like snapdragons, but also about 500,000 seeds and a root system that is so extensive it can overwhelm native plants and even threaten the ecosystem.

That's one mean weed.

Jolie Rouge

01-24-2005, 04:21 PM

LOOK OUT BELOW
By TOM SYKES

MEMO to plumbers: Do not wear these pants under any circumstances. Dolce & Gabbana's new super-low-rise jeans - which debuted on the Milan catwalk Sunday - give new meaning to the term "dressing down."

Fashion watchers say the new full-frontal jeans are only for the most daring - and physically fit. "I don't think any guy with a waist over 32 inches should be seen in something as revolting as this," says Stacy London, the host of TLC's "What Not to Wear."

"It's great hype for Dolce & Gabbana, but nobody over the age of 12 will fit into them. And really, what guy likes chafing?"

London dismisses peekaboo pubic hair as "overcompensation for a receding hairline," and adds, "It makes me very uncomfortable in public."

Indeed, the pants' plunging belt line rides so low, wearers require "a little landscaping down there," says GQ style editor Adam Rapoport, who advises men to wear the jeans "with great care."

Though these samples are extreme, style watchers agree that men's jeans are heading south - just as women's waistlines are more modestly working their way back up the belly.

Of course, a low-cut waist has been a staple for hip-hoppers and rappers since Marky Mark flashed his Calvins back in 1993. But Dolce & Gabbana's exhibitionism carves out new territory when it comes to dropping your trousers.

"This look makes sense on the runways of Milan, but not necessarily the streets of New York," says Rapoport. "But remember that there is not a sexier label than Dolce & Gabbana, and this is very exaggerated sex. On the street, jeans and suit pants are being cut much lower on the waist. A high waist is just very square."

But even fashion editors at glossy magazines need to know there are limits. "I bought some jeans the other day and you could see my boxers in the front," says Rapoport. "My girlfriend was like, 'Those are girl jeans. Take them off!'"

Gals we spoke to praised the jeans as they appeared on the iron-loined catwalk models - but worried that the average man might follow suit. "The low, low, low-rise look on a model with a body like this is sexy, for sure," says Amanda Richman, a 27-year-old law student. "The operative word, however, is 'model.' If I saw a man on the street dressed like this, I would say he should cover up. It's just too Ft. Lauderdale."

If her boyfriend came home sporting ultra-low-rise pants, 24-year-old Web developer Fiona Bora would "send him to Williamsburg," she says. "They look so, 'I am trying to be a hipster - but really I'm not.'"

Nicolle Austin, a 26-year-old real estate investor, says the sartorial divisions between the sexes should be respected. "I wouldn't want my boyfriend's jeans to be lower than mine," she declared.

Austin need not worry, predicts London of "What Not to Wear."

"What happens on a Milan runway should stay on a Milan runway," she declared. "And it will - especially once average guys discover that wearing low-slung jeans gives you love handles."

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20050116/capt.mil12601161606.italy_fashion_mil126.jpg

This oufit was part of the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2005/2006 men's collection, presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2005. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Jolie Rouge

01-25-2005, 09:14 PM

You Won't Believe What Is Left in Cabs!

We are busy and distracted people. Here's the proof: An estimated 11,300 laptop computers, 31,400 handheld computers, and 200,000 mobile telephones have been left in taxis around the world during the last six months, reports Reuters of a survey of 1,000 taxi drivers in nine cities around the globe.

Leaving behind a laptop or cell phone is one thing, but forgetting to take your baby or your artificial limb is quite another. Taxi drivers reported they also found these items left behind by preoccupied passengers: a baby (fortunately, there was only one), a harp, 37 milk bottles, dentures, and artificial limbs.

The survey by security software company Pointsec showed that passengers lost three times the number of handheld computers in the second half of 2004 than in 2001. Reuters notes that most of the items were returned to their owners, including four out of five mobile phones and 19 out of every 20 computers. One also assumes the baby made it home.

No. 1 item left in taxis by city:

Laptop computers: London
Cell phones: Copenhagen
Handheld computers: Chicago

Jolie Rouge

01-25-2005, 09:21 PM

Da Vinci Workshop Discovered in Italy
By Phil Stewart

ROME (Reuters) - A forgotten workshop of Leonardo da Vinci, complete with 500-year-old frescos and a secret room to dissect human cadavers, has been discovered in Florence, Italy, researchers said on Tuesday.

The find was made in part of the Santissima Annunziata convent, which let out rooms to artists centuries ago and where the likely muse of the Renaissance artist's masterwork, the Mona Lisa, may have worshipped. "It's a bit absurd to think that, in 2005, we have found the studio of one of history's greatest artists. But that is what has happened," said Roberto Manescalchi, one of three researchers credited for this month's discovery.

"The proof is on the walls."

Frescos adorning part of the workshop were left undisturbed over the centuries and gradually forgotten. The wing of the convent was eventually split by a wall and is partially claimed today by the Institute of Military Geography.

In a slide-show presentation to media, Manescalchi pointed to one colorful fresco with a character conspicuously missing from the foreground.

The white silhouette bore a striking resemblance to da Vinci's painting of the archangel Gabriel, who appears in his "Annunciation" hanging in Florence's Uffizi gallery.

Manescalchi, who refers to the silhouette as "The Ghost," told reporters it was not clear to him whether the angel was removed or perhaps never completed.

SECRET ROOM

The walls were also adorned with paintings of birds, one of which strongly resembled a sketch from da Vinci's "Atlantic Codex," a 1,286-page collection of drawings and writings by the painter, sculptor, inventor and scientist. Another painting was similar to a drawing in da Vinci's codex on the flight of birds.

Manescalchi speculated that da Vinci had assistants in his workshop and probably used a "secret" corner room for his dissections of human corpses, aimed at improving his understanding of anatomy.

While some experts have cautioned that it is still too early to say Manescalchi has found da Vinci's studio, the researcher, who made the discovery earlier this month, was convinced further research would back up his claims. "It's easy to say 'It's not true'," he said. "I didn't paint the Angel's ghost."

The find has sparked speculation that while da Vinci was using the workshop, he might have met the probable model for the Mona Lisa, Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine merchant whose family had a chapel in the Santissima Annunziata.

Da Vinci is thought to have painted the Mona Lisa after he presumably left the convent, but Manescalchi said he was reviewing documents for evidence that the two met during his stay there from 1501 to 1502. "We are researching," he said, adding that thousands of da Vinci's papers were still missing. "This is still a fresh discovery."

01/25/05 15:14

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0002/20050125/1514233800.htm&sc=romta&photoid=20050121FLO102

Jolie Rouge

01-28-2005, 11:08 PM

Aliens of the Deep
James Cameron's 3-D IMAX Film Takes on Earth and Space
Fri Jan 28, 8:17 AM ET
Science - Space.com

Director James Cameron has again plunged into the depths of the sea and returned with Aliens of the Deep, a 3-D documentary of the exotic life on the ocean floor and the potential for even more extreme creatures on other worlds.

The film, which follows the exploration of Cameron and a team of real-life researchers along the sea floor, opens today in IMAX theaters nationwide.

While Deep's three-dimensional format is fun early on during quick flashes of humans and animals - including one fiesty elephant - the film's most poignant views lay thousands of feet down at the bottom of the ocean, which is home to stunning geologic features and a vast array of creatures evolved to live in the complete absence of sunlight.

The creatures, dubbed extremophiles, thrive around scalding hydrothermal vents, where life depends on the chemical processes of chemosynthesis rather than the sunlight-dependent photosynthesis that feeds most plant life on Earth.

The existence of such organisms on Earth has prompted some researchers to ponder whether similar life could exist on Jupiter's moon Europa, which astronomers believe may have an ocean supported by internal heat tucked beneath its icy crust. Deep spends some time detailing NASA (news - web sites)'s plans for its nuclear-powered Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission and the possible landing of a probe that would melt through Europa's surface to explore its subsurface ocean. "If this cool biology exists on Earth, then why not at the bottom of some other ocean," Cameron said of the film.

But it's the terrestrial extremophiles that steal the show - a wispy jellyfish appears near invisible before Cameron's cameras while a swarm of white shrimp ambush the dive team's robotic probe 'Jake' - from the varied team of marine scientists, seismologists and astrobiologists accompanied Cameron on deep water dives that spanned both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. At less than an hour long however, little time spent explaining some of the creatures they find - such as an oddly-winged squid - and the forces behind towering geologic formations rising up from the sea floor.

Marine seismologist Maya Tolstoy, who appears in the film and studies the potential connection between deep water life and ocean fault lines, told SPACE.com that while she normally just pitches automated oceanic seismometers over the side of research vessels - they pop up on their own after receiving signals to surface - Cameron's Deep dives gave her a chance to actually see the environment she studies up close. "It's only logical to try and understand what we find here on Earth, so that we know what we might encounter , and that we'll have the right tools to detect it," said Tolstoy, a researcher at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "It's vital."

Cameron said his next 3-D feature will be "Battle Angel," a science fiction film based on a series of Japanese graphic novels. Ghosts of the Abyss, his 3-D trip back to the lost ocean liner Titanic, opened in 2002.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/space/20050128/sc_space/aliensofthedeepjamescamerons3dimaxfilmtakesonearth andspace&e=1

[i]Visit SPACE.com for more space-related news including videos, launch coverage and interactive experiences. Check out our huge collection of Image Galleries and Satellite Views from Space. Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life section. Sign up for our free daily email newsletter today!

Jolie Rouge

01-28-2005, 11:11 PM

Jumping Mouse Loses Federal Protection
By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Preble's meadow jumping mouse, once seen as a costly impediment to development, is now viewed by the government as a critter that never really existed — and is no longer in need of federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The Interior Department said Friday that new DNA research shows the 9-inch mouse, which can launch itself a foot and a half into the air and switch direction in mid-flight, is probably identical to another variety of mouse common enough not to need protection. "That action is based on new research that indicated the Preble's meadow jumping mouse should not be classified as a separate mouse," Assistant Interior Secretary Craig Manson said Friday, calling it "an example of the use of best available science that was peer-reviewed."

Manson and other Interior officials cited a peer-reviewed but unpublished study by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science suggesting the Preble's mouse is genetically identical to the Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse. The study was paid for by Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, the Energy Department, the state of Wyoming and the Denver museum.

Interior officials acknowledged that 14 peer reviewers had split 8-6 to narrowly support the study's conclusions. Based on the study, the Fish and Wildlife Service will propose removing the Preble's mouse from the government's endangered species list about a year from now. It will remain protected until then. The Preble's mouse has been considered a distinct subspecies based on a 1954 study that looked at the skulls of three mice and the skins of 11 others.

Nearly 31,000 acres have been designated critical mouse habitat for the Preble's mouse along streams in Colorado and Wyoming, including large parts of Colorado's Front Range, where sprawl is booming amid the foothills and the prairie. The mouse also has blocked construction of reservoirs despite a continued drought there.

Environmentalist groups called Interior's decision a political one. "This proposal is a devastating blow to open space across the Front Range, to good science and to the public interest," said Jeremy Nichols, conservation director for the Laramie, Wyo.-based Biodiversity Conservation Alliance.

The decision came in response to twin petitions filed in December 2003 by Wyoming and the Denver-based Coloradans for Water Conservation and Development, an advocacy group for farmers, businesses and home builders. Kent Holsinger, an attorney for the Denver group, said the meadow jumping mice are abundant enough to survive without federal protection.

Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., called the action "good news both for private property owners in Wyoming and for those who enjoy the use of our public lands."

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said the decision points out the need to revamp the Endangered Species Act. "Although the act has noble goals, listing errors harm not only the credibility of the act, but also harm people such as farmers and ranchers whose lives are affected by a faulty species listing," he said.

Builders, landowners and local governments have spent as much as $100 million by some estimates protecting the Preble's meadow jumping mouse since it was added to the federal list in 1998 as a species whose survival was considered "threatened."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=753&e=1&u=/ap/20050129/ap_on_sc/jumping_mouse

___

On the Net:

Fish and Wildlife Service: http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/preble

Jolie Rouge

01-30-2005, 10:27 PM

The No. 1 TV Personality Is...

Oprah Winfrey was crowned the most popular TV personality by an annual Harris Interactive poll of 1,036 adults nationwide. She was followed by a second-place tie between her sometime-nemesis David Letterman and "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart.

We love Oprah! In the 12 years that Harris Interactive has conducted these surveys, Oprah has never ranked outside the top three, and this is her fifth time in the top position. She was also No. 1 in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003.

Top 10 television personalities:

1. Oprah Winfrey
2. David Letterman (tie)
2. Jon Stewart (tie)
4. Ray Romano
5. Jay Leno
6. Bill Cosby
7. Ellen Degeneres
8. Bill O'Reilly
9. Dr. Phil McGraw
10. Regis Philbin

Fun facts to know and tell:

--Oprah Winfrey is the most popular personality among women, political independents, and Americans over the age of 65.

--David Letterman rules among men.

--Republicans love Ray Romano.

--Jon Stewart is the favored personality among Democrats and among young adults.

--The four people who made last year's top 10 list but dropped off this year's compilation are "CSI" star William Peterson, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Aniston, and Martin Sheen.

Jolie Rouge

02-01-2005, 11:04 PM

Damaged Ship Carrying Students Docks
By JEANNETTE J. LEE

HONOLULU (AP) - A passenger ship with about 700 college students aboard limped into Honolulu Harbor five days after a huge wave tossed the vessel around in heavy seas, damaging three of its four engines and injuring two crew members. ``Most people have been happy it's finally sunny and are glad to be going to Hawaii,'' Becca Leonard, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Southern California, said Monday after the ship pulled into port.

The 591-foot Explorer, with 990 people aboard, was about 650 miles south of Adak, Alaska, when the wave hit early Wednesday morning. Adak is in the Aleutian Islands about 1,300 miles southwest of Anchorage.

The 50-foot wave broke furniture and computers on the ship, and students participating in the Semester at Sea program were forced to sit on the floor for classes for several days after the incident. Video footage showed students sitting on the floor and sliding back and forth, ramming each other into the wall as waves rolled the ship.

``We were falling all over the place,'' Leonard said.

Semester at Sea is a University of Pittsburgh-based study-abroad program for undergraduate students intended to give students a more global perspective. Students from about 250 colleges are on board. Many of them are from the University of Pittsburgh and University of Colorado at Boulder, Leonard said. The 100-day voyage began Jan. 18 in Vancouver.

Woodrow Freese, operations manager for the Institute for Shipboard Education, which operates Semester at Sea, has said no passengers reported injuries, and none wanted to depart once the ship reached port. One crew member suffered a broken leg and another a broken arm, he said.

The ship had headed for Midway Island after the incident but opted for the longer route to Honolulu for repairs, the Coast Guard said. The ship is scheduled to remain in Hawaii for several days before heading to China. The vessel will be inspected by the Coast Guard, naval architects and Marine engineers. The Coast Guard will ultimately decide whether the vessel is seaworthy, said Jim Lawrence, spokesman for the Explorer.

``I think some kids were really pretty traumatized, but maybe a day and half of calm weather will have changed their minds. It remains to be seen,'' Leonard's mother, Susan Popik, said in a telephone interview from her home in Redwood City, Calif.

On the Net:

Semester at Sea: http://www.semesteratsea.com

02/01/05 07:48

Jolie Rouge

02-04-2005, 10:33 AM

Astronomers Find 'Hot Spot' on Saturn
2 hours, 48 minutes ago
By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer

HONOLULU - Astronomers using a giant telescope atop a volcano have discovered a hot spot at the tip of Saturn's south pole.

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20050204/thumb.ny11302040632.saturn_hot_spot_ny113.jpg
AP Photo

The infrared images captured by the Keck I telescope at the W.M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island suggest a warm polar vortex — a large-scale weather pattern likened to a jet stream on Earth that occurs in the upper atmosphere. It's the first such hot vortex ever discovered in the solar system.

The team of scientists say the images are the sharpest thermal views of Saturn ever taken from the ground. Their work will be a published in Friday's editions of the journal Science.

This warm polar cap is believed to contain the highest temperatures on Saturn; the scientists did not give a temperature estimate.

On Earth, the Arctic Polar Vortex is typically located over eastern North America in Canada and plunges cold arctic air to the northern Plains in the United States.

Polar vortices are found on Earth, Jupiter, Mars and Venus, and are colder than their surroundings. The new images from the Keck Observatory show the first evidence of a polar vortex at much warmer temperatures.

"Saturn's is the first hot polar vortex that we've seen because it's been sitting in the sunlight for about 18 years," said Glenn S. Orton, a scientist at NASA (news - web sites)'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and lead author.

Saturn, which takes many earth years to orbit the sun, just had its summer solstice in 2002.

"If the increased southern temperatures are solely the result of seasonality, then the temperature should increase gradually with increasing latitude, but it doesn't," Orton said. "We see that the temperature increases abruptly by several degrees near 70 degrees south and again at 87 degrees south.

"A really hot thing within a couple degrees of the pole is something I don't understand at all," he said.

Scientists may learn more from the data coming from the infrared spectrometer on the Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn, information that is expected to complement the Keck discovery, Orton said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&e=3&u=/ap/saturn_hot_spot

___

On the Net:

Keck Observatory: http://www.keckobservatory.org

Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Saturn page: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov

Jolie Rouge

02-04-2005, 10:18 PM

Cool Find in Deepest Part of the Ocean

They are tiny, single-celled organisms, but finding them in the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean has thrilled scientists because no one knew until now that they even existed.

The Associated Press reports the organisms were found nearly seven miles beneath the surface from the Challenger Deep southwest of Guam in the Pacific Ocean Islands. A sample of sediment was extracted from the ocean floor, which yielded several hundred foraminifera, a type of plankton that is usually abundant near the ocean surface. "On the species level, all the species we found from the Challenger Deep are quite new," researcher Hiroshi Kitazato of the Institute for Research on Earth Evolution, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, told AP vie e-mail.

He said that the outer shapes of these organisms are similar to other known foraminifera, but details of their structure are quite different. For example, most foraminifera have hard shells, but these new creatures do not. "I am very surprised that so many very simple, soft-shelled foraminifera are dwelling at the deepest point of the world ocean," Kitazato said. "It is also exciting that most of the group belong to the oldest branch of foraminifera," suggesting that these deep locations may form some sort of refuge for them.

The researchers suspect the creatures are the remnants of a deep-dwelling group that was able to adapt to the very high pressures of the deepest part of the ocean. The pressure here is 1,100 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure at the surface. The discovery is reported in this week's issue of the journal Science.

Jolie Rouge

02-04-2005, 10:24 PM

Stunning Find Deep in the Pacific Ocean

Ancient star dust found deep beneath the Pacific Ocean has led German scientists to make an astounding conclusion. They think it points to our human origins.

Researchers from the Technical University of Munich in Germany surmise that the star dust is likely debris from a supernova explosion that occurred some 3 million years ago, reports Reuters. The explosion rocked the Earth so much that it changed our planet's climate--drastically heating it up--and helped bring about human evolution just as our ancestors started to walk.

Study leader Gunther Korschinek speculates that the supernova may have caused an increase in cosmic rays for about 300,000 years, which would have warmed up the Earth's temperatures. Korschinek can tell that the star explosion occurred at the same time there was a significant climate change in Africa when drier conditions caused the forests to retreat and the savannah to emerge, reports Reuters. It's this major climate change that likely caused the hominids to emerge from the trees and begin to walk upright.

Five years ago, Korschinek and his team found star dust in Pacific sediments. This time they looked at a site much deeper in the Pacific Ocean near the equator but away from land. At 15,750 feet below the surface, they found a layer of iron-60, which was stable and easy to date. The age? About 2.8 million years old.

Reuters explains that iron-60 is an isotope or chemical variant of iron that is rare on Earth--so rare that scientists are in general agreement that it is unlikely to have come from anything other than a supernova. Iron-60 has a decay rate or half-life of about 1.5 million years, so it's easy to nail down when the star exploded. A bombardment of cosmic rays caused by a supernova explosion could affect the ozone layer, which would have let in more of the Sun's ultraviolet rays. And that would make it hotter and drier on some places on Earth.

Here's the catch: "It has not yet been established that such an increase of the cosmic ray intensity could have had a significant influence on the Earth's climate," the research team wrote in the journal Physical Review Letters. But there is a coincidence. "The African climate shifted toward more arid conditions about 2.8 million years ago," they wrote, adding, "some of the major events in early hominid evolution appear to be coeval with the African climate changes."

We may walk upright today because of a supernova explosion almost 3 million years ago.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/package.jsp?name=fte/stardust/stardust&floc=wn-np

Jolie Rouge

02-06-2005, 03:37 PM

Colleges' Eye-Popping Admissions' Stunts

When it comes to the college admissions game--and it is a game because there are real winners and losers--students aren't the only ones taking bold steps for attention. Some colleges, especially those who are struggling to fill seats, are using quite outlandish means to get high school seniors to notice them. Birthday cards, ski weekends, reality TV shows, and even the lure of sex are being used as recruitment tools, reports The Associated Press.

And you thought a course catalog and a fancy brochure were enough! Gone are the days of indiscriminate mass mailings. The hot new way to attract students is really very old-fashioned: personal contact. "Everybody's trying to do something that isn't the mundane," Dan Kunzman, vice president of admissions at Doane College in Crete in southeast Nebraska, told AP. The new recruitment techniques are being driven by three issues: college rankings, involved baby boomer parents, and schools battling declining enrollment. They are also used by colleges that want to boost their name recognition or advertise a change in mission.

The nation's top schools--the Ivy League, the Ivy wannabes, and the leading state universities--don't need to sell themselves at this level. But small private colleges and some public schools that are trying to compete in the feeding frenzy for the most capable, highly-qualified students are turning to techniques that some deem creative and others consider over the top.

Here are just a few:

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Reality TV comes to campus
What a cool school! The university allowed Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee to film his reality show, "Tommy Lee Goes to College," on campus. It's set to air this summer. Mind you, this is the same man who spent four months in jail after pleading no-contest to kicking his then wife, Pamela Lee. Not everyone was thrilled with the promotional shtick, but the university needs national attention fast: Its enrollment is now at a 30-year low. Some faculty members protested, and local domestic violence and family groups registered their concern. But the show is still on.

Doane College in Crete, Nebraska: The lure of sex :eek:
A recruitment postcard send to 13,500 high school juniors and seniors in California showed a male Doane College student surrounded by women. The message printed on the card encouraged students to "play the field." School officials later apologized for the sexual innuendo.

Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania: A ski weekend on us!
Students who have applied to Saint Vincent are invited to a free weekend in February filled with snowboarding and skiing. Oh, yeah. They are also given information about financial aid, academic programs and life at the college. The school frankly admits it's a marketing ploy.

Centre College in Danville, Kentucky: Happy Birthday to you
Prospective students get birthday cards and telephone calls not only from the admissions department staff, but also the college president sometimes calls. Centre College views the application process as "a long courtship" that can last 18 to 24 months.

Jolie Rouge

02-06-2005, 03:40 PM

Ugly! The Celebrity With the Worst Hair

Pink and Michael Moore have the worst hair in showbiz. That's the word from the 11th annual Sally Beauty CelebHead survey that honored glamour girl Julia Roberts and perennial "Sexiest Man Alive" George Clooney with having the best hair in Hollywood. The Harris Interactive poll surveyed 1,023 adults nationwide on which celebrities have the best and worst hairstyles, as well as the worst reality show hairstyles.

Female Celebrities with the Best Hairstyle:
1. Julia Roberts
2. Jennifer Aniston
3. Jennifer Lopez

Female Celebrities with the Worst Hairstyle:
1. Pink
2. Lil' Kim
3. Nicole Richie

Male Celebrities with the Best Hairstyle:
1. George Clooney
2. Sean Connery
3. Colin Farrell

Male Celebrities with the Worst Hairstyle:
1. Michael Moore
2. Dr. Phil
3. Eminem

Female Reality Show Celebrities with the Worst Hairstyle:

1. Nicole Richie, "The Simple Life"
2. Caroline Rhea, "The Biggest Loser"
3. Kelly Clarkson, "American Idol"

Male Reality Show Celebrities with the Worst Hairstyle:
1. Donald Trump, "The Apprentice"
2. Simon Cowell, "American Idol"
3. Jay London, "Last Comic Standing"

Fun facts to know and tell about our own hairstyles:

--30 percent of Americans change their hairstyle once a year or more often, with 1 in 10 changing it several times a year.

--More than 60 percent of Americans cannot live without hair products when styling their hair. Hairspray and styling gel were named as the two top necessities.

--6 in 10 Americans visit a hair salon at least four times a year with more than half of them diligently visiting every five weeks or more often.

--A cut or trim is the most popular reason to visit the beauty salon on a regular basis, with highlights or lowlights and coloring coming in second.

Dare you wear this bold new hairstyle? So far, only cutting-edge women have been adventurous enough to try it!

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/homerealestate/package.jsp?name=fte/boldhairstyle/boldhairstyle&floc=wn-np

Jolie Rouge

02-08-2005, 10:14 PM

Look What They Found in a British Cave!

http://channels.netscape.com/wrap/linker.jsp?floc=wn-np&ref=http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40803000/jpg/_40803087_engravings203.jpg

An ancient engraving that is thought to be about 10,000 years old, which means it dates from the early Mesolithic period just after the Ice Age, has been found deep inside a cave in Somerset in southwest England, report The Associated Press and the BBC News Online.

The engraving depicts a series of inscribed crosses and offers historians insight into an early form of communication. "The few lines that form this panel are a signature from the period right at the end of the last Ice Age when the present period of warm climate was beginning," Jill Cook from the British Museum's Department of Prehistory and Europe told AP. "The pattern is comparable with others known from Northern France, Germany, and Denmark, giving a wider context for the finds of this time and a rare glimpse of what may have been a rather special means of communication."

The engraving was found in a cave called Aveline's Hole, which is one of the earliest known cemeteries, reports the BBC. This isn't the first such discovery in England. Two years ago, 13,000-year-old Ice Age engravings were found at Creswell Caves in Nottinghamshire in central England. These depict representations of bison, deer, bears, and two or three species of birds, including one with an unusual head and a long, curved bill.

Jolie Rouge

02-08-2005, 10:17 PM

Mystery Rock Carvings Baffle Experts

Stonehenge isn't the only ancient mystery in Great Britain. Inexplicable rock carvings have been found by a farmhand in Northern England near the Scottish border, and experts are scratching their heads trying to figure out what they are and who could have made them.

http://cdn-channels.netscape.com/cp/fte/rockcarvings/i/rockcarvings135.jpg

Science Daily reports that the mysterious markings were found hewn into one, isolated sandstone boulder and include a group of deep, concave spherical shapes that are about 20 centimeters in diameter. They resemble elliptical borings in the rock--not just scratches on the surface. One of the shapes looks like an adult footprint, while another appears to be a stylized heart. There are also several deep scores. The rock carvings were found in Northumberland in northeast England, an area that is rich in such treasures and is widely regarded as possessing the finest collection of prehistoric rock art in the country.

But who created them? And what do they mean?

Aron Mazel and Stan Beckensall, two archaeologists from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom who between them have more than 60 years of experience studying rock art, are totally baffled. And they aren't the only ones. Experts from English Heritage and The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland are just as confused. No one has ever seen anything like it before. They do know this: The markings could not have been made in recent times.

Here are some theories:

The carvings were created when the rock was used to sharpen tools.

The carvings were made by early medieval monks and hermits who lived in Northumberland.

The carvings were made during the last 3,000 years.

Since the carvings are sharp, metal tools must have been used.
"As far as I know, these markings are unique and nothing like them exists anywhere else in Northumberland or in the British Isles," Beckensall told Science Daily.

The mystery continues.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/package.jsp?name=fte/rockcarvings/rockcarvings&floc=wn-np

Jolie Rouge

02-08-2005, 10:28 PM

I Come from Planet Tiffany....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some planets in our galaxy could harbor an unexpected treasure: a thick layer of diamonds hiding under the surface, astronomers reported on Monday.

No diamond planet exists in our solar system, but some planets orbiting other stars in the Milky Way might have enough carbon to produce a diamond layer, Princeton University astronomer Marc Kuchner said in a telephone news conference. That kind of planet would have to develop differently from Earth, Mars and Venus, so-called silicate planets made up mostly of silicon-oxygen compounds.

Carbon planets might form more like some meteorites than like Earth, which is believed to have condensed from a disk of gas orbiting the sun. In gas with extra carbon or too little oxygen, carbon compounds like carbides and graphite could form instead of silicates, Kuchner said at a conference on extrasolar planets in Aspen, Colorado.

Any condensed graphite would change into diamond under the high pressures inside carbon planets, potentially forming diamond layers inside the planets many miles thick.

Carbon planets would be made mostly of carbides, although they might have iron cores and atmospheres. Carbides are a kind of ceramic used to line the cylinders of motorcycle engines among other things, Kuchner said.

Planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12 may be carbon planets, possibly forming from the disruption of a star that produced carbon as it aged, he said.

Other good candidates for carbon planets might be those located near the galaxy's center, where stars have more carbon than the sun. In fact, the galaxy as a whole is becoming richer in carbon as it gets older, raising the possibility all planets in the future may be carbon planets, Kuchner said.

02/08/05 08:40

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-odd-12-l3&flok=FF-RTO-reodd&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20050208%2F0840362776.htm&sc=reodd

Jolie Rouge

02-14-2005, 02:31 PM

Finding life in ancient Mayan ruins
Sites near Cancun draw curious tourists
Friday, February 11, 2005

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/02/11/mayan.ruin.ap/story.tulum.2.ap.jpg

Tourists walk near the ruins of El Castillo at Tulum.

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) -- Most people know Cancun as a beach resort and spring break destination. But if you're an adventurous traveler looking to channel your inner Indiana Jones, there are also ancient Mayan ruins to be explored within a short drive of the beach. Places like Coba and Tulum offer something for both curious tourists and those with a deeper interest in anthropology and archaeology.

Located in the jungles of Quintana Roo, Mayan culture in Coba dates back 3,000 years. As the largest archaeological site in the Yucatan Peninsula, Coba also holds the distinction of being the least excavated. Archaeologists have explored only a few of the 20,000 structures that once stood here.

Coba was a major Mayan economic center, and La Iglesia -- the church -- is one of the first structures you'll see upon entering. Mayans came here to make sacrificial offerings to the gods, including jewelry, food, animals and even humans.

Nohoch Mul -- Great Hill -- is the tallest pyramid in the area, at 138 feet high. Its steps are crumbling and steep, but a sturdy rope is attached to the steps to help visitors make the climb. The view from the summit is worth the trek. The dense emerald jungle stretches before you, dotted with gray where the ruins are visible. Sapphire lakes glisten in the distance.

At the peak is a small temple decorated with a figure of the Descending God -- a winged deity heading to earth. You can still see portions of the white limestone roads called sacbe that the Mayans built through the jungle, straight and wide, to link Coba and other Mayan centers like Chichen Itza.

You'll also encounter plenty of exotic birds taking flight and a few iguanas on the grounds. Use insect repellant; mosquitos are thick.

Tulum, a half-hour southeast of Coba, is more accessible and in some ways more beautiful. After walking down a barren road to the entrance, and through a long corridor to the ruins, you'll find yourself in a walled oceanfront city that once served as a trading post for merchants to exchange goods.

The crown jewel of this place is El Castillo, the castle. The Mayans came to this shrine, perched on a limestone cliff, to show reverence to the gods. It also served as a watchtower for them to keep sight of enemies approaching by sea. Other buildings worth seeing are Gran Palacio -- Great Palace -- and Templo del Dios Descendente -- Temple of the Descending God. They are roped off to protect their fragile frescoes, but can still be viewed.

Relaxing on the beach is a nice way to end the day at Tulum. Its pristine sands and alluring waters rival those found in Cancun.

Back in Cancun, Mayan history can be found not only along dirt roads, but also on major thoroughfares.

Kukulcan Boulevard is the heart of Cancun's hotel zone, even though the street is surrounded by water -- the Caribbean Sea on one side, and a lagoon, Laguna Nichupte, on the other. This 14-mile strip bears the name of the 13th-century ruler of Chichen Itza, who sacrificed himself to the rain gods by being cast alive into a 60-foot well. He survived the ordeal from dawn to midday, and rose to power throughout the Yucatan Peninsula.

El Rey, the main archaeological ruin in Cancun, is located on Kukulcan. This site is small compared to Coba and Tulum, but is worth visiting. You can walk amid the stone plazas and buildings that made up this fishing village, believed to have been inhabited from the 10th to 16th centuries. El Rey means the king; a skeleton found at the site may have been Mayan royalty. Also known for its high iguana population, El Rey is an easy way to sample the world of an ancient civilization.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/02/11/mayan.ruin.ap/index.html

Jolie Rouge

02-14-2005, 10:36 PM

Spectacular Find in an Old English City

Colchester, England is best known as the home of fairy tales. Legend has it that Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole, and Camelot all lived there. Archaeologists have given Colchester an even better heritage: They have found proof of real heroes of the ancient world.

The BBC News and Reuters report that after painstaking excavation work, archaeologists have found the remains of a Roman Circus or chariot racing track that is more than 2,000 years ago. The find emphasizes Colchester's importance as a provincial outpost of the Roman Empire. When it was used for chariot races, the track was a straight measuring 350 yards with stands for about 8,000 people--more than the population of the town of Colchester. "Imagine when it was race day at the circus, and you had a full blown 12-chariot race, complete with 48 horses," archeologist Philip Crummy told the BBC. "It would have been quite a spectacle."

Colchester, the oldest recorded town in Great Britain and its first capital, was formerly known as Colonia Victricensis, meaning "City of the Victorious." The BBC notes that Roman Emperor Claudius once made a trip to the city, complete with elephants and camels, to receive the surrender of the Celtic kings to found the Roman Province of Britannia. The track was likely used only for entertainment. Chariot racing and the circus were a cornerstone of public life in Roman times, notes

Jolie Rouge

02-16-2005, 08:58 PM

Look What They Found in Kansas!

The bones from two mammoths and one camel have been unearthed in northwest Kansas that date back 12,200 years, prompting one archaeologist to call this "one of the most important archaeological sites in North America." Camel bones? In Kansas? It turns out that these are the bones of an Ice Age camel, an animal that is now extinct.

http://www.kgs.ukans.edu/General/News/2005/Kanorado/A-13.jpg

The Associated Press reports that the bones were found last June in Sherman County, which is near the Colorado border. The bones were discovered next to a piece of stone that archaeologists say was the type of rock contained in tools that humans once used to butcher animals. Carbon-14 dating that has just been completed confirmed the age of the bones.

http://www.kgs.ukans.edu/General/News/2005/Kanorado/Kanorado-15.jpg

The find is exciting because it is rewriting history. It could mean that human beings lived on the Great Plains some 1,300 years earlier than historians have thought. "We're rethinking not only when people arrived, but where they came from," archeological geologist Rolfe Mandel of the Kansas Geological Survey told AP. If excavations this summer verify the finding of the stone tool, it would make the archaeological site among the oldest in the New World, he added. The location was probably a camp site that was occupied for a few days or weeks by a small group of nomadic peoples.

What has researchers excited is the way the bones are broken.

They are fractured in a way that could only have been done by human beings who shattered the bone with stone to either make flaked bone tools or to get to the bone marrow. "Some scientists won't be convinced that the older bones got here because of human hunters," he told AP. "I'm not convinced, either. But I'm 75 percent convinced. There are few other ways the bones could be broken naturally the way they're broken."

Jolie Rouge

02-16-2005, 09:30 PM

Man Killed in Vt. Avalanche Making Film

STOWE, Vt. (AP) - A lifelong skier was killed when an avalanche carried him off a mountain while he and three friends were making a film about extreme skiing. Alec Stall, 23, was being filmed doing sweeping turns down a steep chute just before the accident Monday on Mount Mansfield.

His friends believe Stall may have caught a ski tip in a crust of snow and fell 30 feet from a cliff edge. Above him, a slab of snow broke loose and created a river of snow that swept Stall off the mountain. ``I saw this huge rush of snow coming down in a cloud,'' said colleague Chris James. ``The cloud lasted 3 or 4 seconds, and he was gone.''

Stall was later found dead of injuries suffered in the fall. No one else was hurt. The four men worked for Burlington-based Meathead Films, a company they started while attending the University of Vermont. ``The draw is (that) I like to get scared,'' Stall once told an interviewer. ``It's about taking the sport to a new level - about skiing where people wouldn't have thought possible 10 years ago.''

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050216%2F1813102680.htm&sc=1110

02/16/05 18:13

Jolie Rouge

02-16-2005, 09:31 PM

Vast palace of Rome's first kings discovered deep beneath the Forum
By Peter Popham in Rome
15 February 2005

Ancient Rome has yielded its deepest secret - one that coincides with the legend of the city's foundation. Seven metres under the ruins of imperial Rome's Forum, Professor Andrea Carandini has discovered the remains of an immense building, covering 345 square metres, which he believes to be the palace of Rome's first kings.

He has dated a section of flooring near by to 753BC - when, according to legend, the city was founded by Romulus on seven hills. Until now, historians have maintained that Rome's history could not be traced further back than the 4th or 5th century BC.

Professor Carandini's discovery, trailed in Il Messaggero newspaper, will be unveiled at a conference in Florence at the weekend. He will reveal that the centrepiece of the palace was an enormous banquet hall with walls of wood and clay and a tiled roof decorated with fine ceramics. "This palace endured at least until AD64, in other words for eight centuries," Professor Carandini said.

With the end of the Roman monarchy it became the abode of the Rex sacrorum, the sacred king, surviving until the first empire.

The archaeologist also claims to have identified the house of the vestal virgins, the priestesses who attended the Roman kings, and the fireplace where they tended the sacred fire.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=611193

Jolie Rouge

03-02-2005, 09:22 PM

Bittersweet symphony: Swiss musician can taste music
Wed Mar 2, 2005

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20050302/capt.sge.phg04.020305183537.photo00.photo.default-355x231.jpg

PARIS (AFP) - A Swiss musician sees colours when she hears music, and experiences tastes ranging from sour and bitter to low-fat cream and mown grass, astounded scientists say.

Zurich University neuropsychologists were so intrigued by the case of E.S. -- a 27-year-old professional musician whose full name has been withheld -- that they recruited her for a year-long inquiry. They say she is the world's most extreme known case of synaesthesia, the phenomenon whereby hearing music triggers a response in other sensory organs.

E.S. sees colours when she hears a tone, with for instance an F sharp causing her to see violet while a C makes her see red, quite literally.

Even more remarkable is that she also gets a taste on her tongue according to the note she hears. A tone interval of a minor second induces sourness, while a major second leaves a bitter taste. A minor third is salty, while a major third is sweet.

Other tastes, according to the tone, are of "pure water," cream (either full or low-fat, depending on the note), "disgust" and also of mown grass.

To provide an objective test, the scientists applied one of four different-tasting solutions (sour, bitter, salty and sweet) to her tongue and then asked her to press a button on a computer keyboard corresponding to four relevant tones.

She responded with perfect accuracy and much faster than five musicians, recruited for the same test, who do not have her synaesthesic gifts.

E.S.' "extraordinary" synaesthesia has probably been a boon in her career by attuning her to the right pitch, the researchers say.

The study, led by Lutz Jaencke, appears on Thursday in the British weekly science journal Nature.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/sciencemusicoffbeat

Jolie Rouge

03-08-2005, 08:45 PM

X-Ray of King Tut Mummy May Reveal Cause of Death
By Sarah El Deeb -- Associated Press
15 November 2004

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- The mummy of King Tutankhamun is to be X-rayed in an attempt to solve the mystery of how the teenage Pharaoh died at age 17, Egypt's chief archaeologist said Sunday.

Zahi Hawass said that this month, the mummy will be taken from King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, outside the southern city of Luxor, and flown to Cairo, where it will be X-rayed in the Egyptian Museum. It would be the first time in 82 years that Tutankhamun's remains leave the tomb. "The question of whether he was murdered or not will be answered completely," Hawass told The Associated Press.

The short life of Tutankhamun has fascinated people since his tomb was discovered in 1922, revealing a trove of fabulous treasures in gold and precious stones that showed the wealth and craftsmanship of the Pharaonic court. King Tut ruled about 3,300 years ago. He ascended to the throne at about age 8 and died around 1323 B.C. at 17.

Several factors have prompted questions about the cause of death. Hawass said the conditions of his burial in the tomb seemed "hurried."

An X-ray in 1968 showed bone fragments inside the skull, suggesting he was killed by a blow to the head. But, Hawass said, the X-ray machine was "not sophisticated enough to find out about the damage'' to his skull. This year's X-ray will be done with a German CT scan machine donated by Siemens and National Geographic, Hawass said. "Before the beginning of 2005, the question of King Tut's (death) will be answered and his mummy will be restored," Hawass said.

The mummy, which Hawass said consists of scattered bones, has not left the tomb since the British archaeologist Howard Carter excavated the tomb. Hawass said Carter's team damaged the mummy as they used sharp tools to prize off the famous gold and blue mask. After the X-ray and restoration, the authorities will decide whether to exhibit the mummy or return it to the tomb.

www.livescience.com/history/king_tutankhamun_041115.html

No Sign Tutankhamun Murdered But Mystery Unsolved
By Amena Bakr

http://cdn-channels.netscape.com/cppops/features/n/newz_0305king_tut/i/tut_mummy135.jpg

CAIRO (Reuters) - A three-dimensional X-ray scan of Tutankhamun's mummy found no evidence to support theories he was murdered but failed to solve the 3,000-year-old mystery of how the young Egyptian pharaoh died.

Some members of the investigative team say he may have died from an infected thigh wound, but others doubt this, saying that injury may have been inflicted later by archaeologists, according to the team's five-page report released on Tuesday.

Either way, the team's chairman says the case should now be closed and the tomb of the king who died in 1352 BC, aged about 19, should not be disturbed again.

Some historians have speculated the ruler was murdered, based on his young age and the turbulent political and religious circumstances during that period of Egyptian history. "We don't know how the king died, but we are now sure that it was not murder. Maybe he died on his own," said Zahi Hawas, chairman of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

"The case is closed. We should not disturb the king any more," he told Reuters after the report came out. "There is no evidence that the young king was murdered," said a press release attached to the report.

The report said some but not all of the eight team members suggested he may have died after a serious accident in which he broke his thigh, leaving an open wound which became infected. "Although the break itself would not have been life-threatening, infection might have set in," the report said, citing those members of the team. The others disagreed.

Tutankhamun came to the throne shortly after the death of Akhenaten, the maverick pharaoh who abandoned most of Egypt's old gods and tried to imposed a monotheistic religion based on worship of the Aten, the disc of the sun.

During Tutankhamun's reign, which lasted about 10 years, advocates of the old religion were regaining control of the country, turning their back on Akhenaten's innovations.

The report said the CT scan performed in January found no evidence of a blow to the back of Tutankhamun's head and no other evidence of foul play.

IN GOOD HEALTH

They found that Tutankhamun had a bent spine and an elongated skull but they ruled out pathological causes. They believe the shape of the skull to be a normal variation and the spine resulted from the way the embalmers positioned the body. "Judging from his bones, the king was generally in good health ... There are no signs of malnutrition or infectious disease during childhood," the report added.

Addressing the murder theory, the report noted that the king had two bone fragments loose in his skull. But it adds: "These cannot possibly have come from an injury from before death, as they would have become stuck in the embalming material."

The team believes the fragments were broken during the embalming process or by the team led by British archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered Tutankhamun's intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings in southern Egypt in 1922.

Advocates of the broken thigh theory noted that there was embalming material inside the thigh wound and no obvious evidence that the wound healed, suggesting the fracture took place only days before death. But other members of the team said the fracture was the work of Carter's team when they removed the mummy from the coffin. "They argue that if such a fracture had been suffered in life, there would have been evidence for hemorrhage or hematoma present in the CT scan. They believe the embalming liquid was pushed into the fracture by Carter's team," the report said.

The team thinks it has found Tutankhamun's penis, which was present in the 1920s but had gone missing by the time of an examination in 1968. "Although they cannot be certain, the team believes that they have located (it) ... loose in the sand around the king's body," the report said.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20050308%2F0721638650.htm&photoid=20050308XAN101

03/08/05 07:21

Jolie Rouge

03-18-2005, 04:27 PM

Three Teens Accused of Kidnapping Boy, 15

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Three teenagers kidnapped a 15-year-old and ordered his father to drop off a $50 ransom at a Taco Bell restaurant, authorities said. The father called police instead, and the teens were arrested.

Police said the dispute began over $50 that David Gibbs, 15, owed to Joseph Garrett, 17. Gibbs went to Garrett's apartment Tuesday, and Garrett asked him to repay the money, police said. Gibbs couldn't pay up, so Garrett and two other teens punched him in the face and held him at knifepoint, then forced him to phone his father and ask him to drop the money in a planter at the Taco Bell, police said.

Ralph Gibbs called police, who set up undercover officers at the restaurant. Two people who took the cash told police that Garrett had paid them $10 for the deed, and they agreed to call Garrett to arrange a meeting at a Goodwill store.

Police who went there found 16-year-old Samuel Aidoo standing by a trash bin and found he was carrying a knife. Garrett, who was at his nearby apartment with the son, saw the officers and fled, police said. The son then left the apartment.

Aidoo, 16, and Victoria Aidoo, 15, were arrested Wednesday. Garrett turned himself in the next day.

03/18/05 16:39

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050318%2F1639564624.htm

:rolleyes: Morons-R-Us :rolleyes:

Jolie Rouge

03-22-2005, 11:33 AM

National Geographic Channel Finds Hogzilla

http://channels.netscape.com/fotosrch/2/20040728GAEM101.jpg

ALAPAHA, Ga. (AP) - The legend of Hogzilla, the prodigious porker that was supposedly shot on a nearby plantation, will be featured in a spring episode on the National Geographic Channel.

Since rumors of the hog's existence began spreading in June, newspapers around the world have carried stories on the half-ton beast that supposedly had 9-inch tusks and measured 12 feet long.

Two weeks ago, a group of forensic scientists and a National Geographic Channel television crew traveled to Alapaha and unearthed the animal's remains.

Although officials are keeping silent on their findings, property owner Ken Holyoak said they did confirm the remains were found, studied and then reburied at the original site. Holyoak owns the River Oak Plantation and Ken's Fish Hatchery, where Hogzilla was killed. ``They said when we get the reports, we're going to be really happy,'' Holyoak said. ``I'm just glad they came down here to do this. ... It's time to get the truth out there.''

The National Geographic Channel, which has acquired the rights to the award-winning Explorer documentary series, will begin airing Explorer programs in January, said Chris Albert, communications director for the National Geographic Channel. Hogzilla will be among the first episodes, he said. Albert declined Monday to provide any details on what the Hogzilla show will reveal.

Hogzilla has created quite a stir in the hearts of people in Alapaha, a town of 186 people 125 miles south of Macon.

Although some residents doubt his existence, the wild hog has brought the city almost instant fame and even became the mascot of their annual fall festival. Holyoak pulled a float during the festival that featured a life-sized replica of Hogzilla. ``We've had a hogzilla of a time with this,'' said Darlene Turner, who operates her family's business, Jernigan's Farm Supply. ``It has put us on the map.''

Holyoak said Monday that the National Geographic crew wore respirators while they worked with Hogzilla's remains. ``It looked like a dead hog,'' he said. ``It had been in there five months, so it didn't smell good either. ``They spent a solid week digging him up, measuring and sampling,'' Holyoak said. ``They don't want to do a documentary unless it's 100 percent accurate.''

Last spring, one of Holyoak's employees told him he kept seeing a large hog roaming around their property. In June, Chris Griffin shot the animal and then called his boss. ``I went right over there and couldn't believe it,'' Holyoak said. ``His head was about as big as a car tire.''

Reports of Griffin's big trophy has made him a local celebrity. People ask for his autograph.

Because the large animal wouldn't fit in a freezer intact and the meat was not suitable for eating, Holyoak said he and his crew decided to bury the animal. They cut Hogzilla's head off and put it in an undisclosed place because they were afraid someone would steal it. The rest of the carcass was buried in a grave marked by a white cross.

Although Holyoak took a few pictures and had several witnesses sign affidavits about what they saw, many people have doubted the story. ``I finally started telling people that I didn't care if they believed it or not,'' Holyoak said. ``I knew what I saw and how big it was.''

Now, maybe the National Geographic show will satisfy some of the doubters, he said. ``Up to now, they've just got my word,'' he said. ``But everybody who knows me, knows I don't tell anything wrong. I've already said my say, and a lot of people didn't believe it. Now we'll let them have their say.''

Information from: The Macon Telegraph, http://www.macontelegraph.com

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041122%2F1344518282.htm&sc=1110&photoid=20040728GAEM101

11/22/04 13:44

Monster swine 'Hogzilla' was real, experts say
Documentary confirms Georgia hog was 8 feet long, 800 pounds
The Associated Press
Updated: 9:54 a.m. ET March 22, 2005

ALAPAHA, Ga. - A team of National Geographic experts has confirmed south Georgia’s monster hog, known to locals as Hogzilla, was indeed real — and really, really big. They also noted the super swine didn’t quite live up to the 1,000-pound, 12-foot hype generated when Hogzilla was caught on a farm last summer and photographed hanging from a backhoe.

Donning biohazard suits to exhume the behemoth’s smelly remains, the experts estimated Hogzilla was probably only 7½ to 8 feet long, and weighed about 800 pounds. The confirmation came in a documentary aired Sunday night on the National Geographic Channel; it will be rebroadcast Wednesday and Saturday. “He was an impressive beast. He was definitely a freak of nature,” said documentary producer Nancy Donnelly. She said Hogzilla’s tusks — one measuring nearly 18 inches and the other nearly 16 inches — set a new Safari Club International North American free-range record.

That wasn’t good enough for Ken Holyoak, owner of the 1,500-acre fish farm and hunting preserve where Hogzilla was shot by guide Chris Griffin. “I need to stress that they did not have that much to work with, seeing as how the poor beast had been underground for nearly six months,” he said Monday.

12-foot claim

Holyoak said Hogzilla weighed in at half a ton on his farm scales, and that he personally measured the hog’s length at 12 feet while the freshly killed beast was dangling by straps from a backhoe. “As with any organic being after death, tissues will decompose and the body will atrophy, making actual measurements change over time,” Holyoak said. “Have you ever seen a raisin after it was a grape?”

Donnelly said the experts allowed for some shrinkage in making their final estimate.

Despite the dispute, this town 180 miles south of Atlanta has already adopted Hogzilla as its own. It went with a Hogzilla theme for its fall festival, with a parade featuring a Hogzilla princess, children in pink pig outfits and a float carrying a Hogzilla replica. “Our insides were just bubbling,” said Darlene Turner, who hosted a party to watch the documentary Sunday night. “At first, I was afraid it might be an embarrassment. But now I wish everybody could see the documentary. It would take the doubt out of people’s minds.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7264865

Jolie Rouge

03-24-2005, 09:10 PM

Posted 3/24/2005

Scientists recover preserved soft tissue from a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists who had to break a dinosaur bone to remove it from its sandstone location say they have recovered 70-million-year-old soft tissues from inside the bone. The find included what appear to be blood vessels, and possibly even cells, from a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The material is currently being studied, and if scientists can isolate proteins from the material they may be able to learn new details of how dinosaurs lived, lead researcher Mary Higby Schweitzer of North Carolina State University said.

The find is reported in a paper appearing in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

The material came from the thighbone of a T.Rex, known as MOR 1125, found in a sandstone formation in Montana. The bone was broken in removing it from the site and Schweitzer and colleagues then analyzed the material inside the bone. "The vessels and contents are similar in all respects to blood vessels recovered from ... ostrich bone," they reported.

In recent years evidence has accumulated that modern birds descended from dinosaurs, and Schweitzer said she chose to compare the dinosaur remains with those of an ostrich because it is the largest bird available.

Brooks Hanson, a deputy editor of Science, noted that there are few examples of soft tissues that have been preserved, largely leaves or petrified wood and a few examples of insects in amber or humans and mammoths in peat or ice. But soft tissues are rare in older finds, "that's why in a 70-million-year-old fossil is so interesting," he said.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2005-03-24-t-rex_x.htm?csp=N007&RM_Exclude=Juno

Jolie Rouge

03-28-2005, 08:31 AM

Judge Gives WHAT to a Cheating Wife?

Susan Sosin lived the good life--at least monetarily--when she was married to a multimillionaire businessman. But by her own admission she cheated on Howard Sosin, founder AIG Financial Products, by having an affair with her rock-climbing guide and a man she met on a flight to China. Now the two are divorcing, and a judge has awarded Susan Sosin with about $43 million in cash and real estate assets, reports The Associated Press. Does cheating pay?

This is what Susan Sosin will receive:

--Flat cash payment of $24 million
--Manhattan apartment valued at $3.6 million
--Utah ski house valued at $2 million
--A home in Wallkill, New York valued at $800,000
--$6 million in brokerage accounts
--Eight of the couple's 18 cars
--$2.9 million in jewelry

The illicit affairs were discovered by Howard when he upgraded their computer system and found hundreds of e-mails between his wife and her lover. Susan then admitted that she had become intimate with her rock-climbing guide, but said it was an isolated occurrence. The affair with the married man she met on the plane to China, however, was lengthy and involved.

Among the items Howard Sosin gets to keep:

--$89 million in bank accounts
--10 of the couples 18 cars
--$960,000 worth of private club memberships
--$22 million in fine art
--Two mansions in Connecticut
--Three desert properties in Arizona

Superior Court Judge Howard Owens stated in his verdict, "The parties' marriage has been undeniably marred by the defendant's infidelity. Although her sexual relationship was not the sole cause of the breakdown, it did effectively terminate the marriage."

Jolie Rouge

03-29-2005, 02:51 PM

Jolie Rouge

04-01-2005, 03:54 PM

Fortune Cookie Fulfills Lottery Destiny
By AMY LORENTZEN

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Dozens of people recently got an extra-special dessert with their Chinese food: a winning lottery number.

A record 110 players won $500,000 and $100,000 prizes in Wednesday's Powerball drawing, most of whom apparently used the numbers included in a fortune-cookie message. Ordinarily the multistate lottery expects only four tickets to win at the Match 5 prize level.

Several winners in a half-dozen states revealed that they got the winning number from a fortune cookie, said Doug Orr, marketing director with the West Des Moines-based Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates Powerball.

``With the systems reporting so many plays of 22-28-32-33-39 and Powerball 40, it is likely that most drew their luck from that very fortunate cookie,'' Orr said.

The cookie was one number away from winning the $25.5 million jackpot: The winning numbers were: 22, 28, 32, 33 and 39, with 42 being the Powerball.

Tickets that match the first five numbers but miss the Powerball win $100,000 each. There were 89 of those.

There were 21 Power Play Match 5 winners. Those players matched the first five numbers and missed the Powerball, but placed an extra dollar on the Power Play number, a multiplier number from two to five. Last night's multiplier was five, meaning that the $100,000 prize for matching all five numbers increased to $500,000.

According to the Powerball Web site, odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 120,526,770, and odds of winning the $100,000 prize are about 1 in 2,939,677. Before Wednesday, the most tickets to win second-tier Powerball prizes in one drawing was 91, on Aug. 25, 2001.

One ticket, bought by a South Pittsburg, Tenn., family, had all six winning numbers to win the jackpot.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050331%2F1925550601.htm&photoid=20050331TNJR103

On the Net:

Multi-State Lottery Association: http://www.musl.com/

Powerball: http://www.powerball.com/

Pennsylvania Lottery: http://www.palottery.state.pa.us/

03/31/05 19:25

Jolie Rouge

04-01-2005, 04:02 PM

Obscenity Forcibly Tattooed on Boy's Face

A 17-year-old boy from Norwich, N.Y., was assaulted by a man and another teenager who pinned him down and forcibly tattooed an obscene phrase on his forehead using a homemade tattoo tool. The Associated Press reports that the adult assailant, Kenneth D. Peer, 23, has been charged with assault and unlawful imprisonment. The 17-year-old, who is not being identified since he is a minor, was charged as a youthful offender. Both are being held in jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

The police refused to describe the tattoo other than to say it was an obscene phrase. "It's just ludicrous that someone would do something like this to another person," Officer Craig Berry told AP. A court hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.

The victim, whose name is being withheld by police, walked into the police station on Friday to file a complaint against his attackers, reports AP. He said he was held down against his will by the two assailants at a home in Norwich while they forcibly tattooed the vulgarity on his forehead. So far, police have no motive for the bizarre attack. Officer Berry said the victim will require plastic surgery or a laser process to remove the tattoo ink.

Forced Tattoo Victim Describes the Attack

As reported in What's New earlier this week, a 17-year-old boy from Norwich, N.Y., was assaulted by a man and another teenager who pinned him down and forcibly tattooed an obscene phrase on his forehead using a homemade tattoo tool. Now that boy, identified as Milton Romanowski Jr., a high school dropout, is speaking about the vicious and bizarre attack against him.

Although Romanowski said he struggled for 20 minutes while the two tattooed him against his will, attorneys for the alleged assailants, Kenneth D. Peer, 23, and Travis D. Foster, 17, question why none of the three has any scratches, bruises, or other injuries that would indicate a struggle took place, report The Associated Press and Oneonta Daily Star. Peer and Foster have been charged with second-degree assault and first-degree unlawful imprisonment. If convicted, they could face up to seven years in prison. The two remain in jail on $25,000 bail.

Whose side of this story do you believe? Do you agree with the judge that the case should go to the grand jury? Sound off in the Crime Forum.

Romanowski told the judge in a 90-minute hearing that "Peer and Foster physically restrained him in a chair as they used a tattoo gun to mark his forehead with a four-word phrase and an obscene image," reports AP. The two teens had been friends since they were children, but Romanowski said Foster was angry with him because he thought Romanowski was trying to steal his girlfriend. He said that Peer pinned his arms behind him, while Foster straddled his body and sat on him. Romanowski told the judge he tried to resist at first, but then submitted because "there was no way to get away." He said Peer and Foster "were laughing hysterically" when they applied the tattoo.

The defense maintains that Romanowski consented to the tattooing, calling his account of the events "preposterous." The judge determined that no one consents to that kind of tattoo on his forehead and ordered the case be handed over to the grand jury. Romanowski has scheduled medical appointments for the lengthy and expensive process of having the tattoo removed. The Oneonta Daily Star reports that a local doctor has offered to remove the tattoo at no charge. "I just cried. I was so happy to hear that someone wanted to give up between $3,000 and $4,000 to do it for free," he told the Daily Star. "At least I know there are some good people out there." He admitted he is worried about scarring.

Click to see a photo of Milton Romanowski Jr. who has figured out a clever way to hide the obscenity that was forcibly tattooed on his forehead. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/pics/breaking/0330forehead-autosized141.jpg

Jolie Rouge

04-01-2005, 05:15 PM

An Extraordinary Discovery in Colorado

The fossil of a completely new animal--rat-sized and termite-eating--that lived when the dinosaurs roamed the land has been found in Fruita, Colorado, report Reuters and The Associated Press. The critter seems to resemble an armadillo and would have survived by eating bugs.

Officially named Fruitafossor windscheffelia, the animal lived some 150 million years ago and is not related to anything that is alive today. Reuters notes, "Anteaters, armadillos, and other creatures that dig up insects evolved their specialized abilities several times during the history of the world. This is known as convergent evolution."

The mammal had hollow, tube-like teeth that had no enamel and used them to suck in its prey and swallow it whole. Its forelimbs were used for digging, just like today's aardvarks, anteaters, and armadillos, explains AP. It most likely ate termites, other insects, invertebrates, and plants. Termites, just like their close relative the cockroach, evolved millions of years before Fruitafossor windscheffelia lived. The discovery has been detailed in the journal Science.

Jolie Rouge

04-05-2005, 08:28 PM

NASA Searching for Alien Life WHERE?

NASA is on the hunt for extraterrestrial life, and they're looking for it in Mexico. Really. Reuters reports that top researchers at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration are hunting for clues to alien life in the archipelago of 170 lakes in Mexico's Chihuahuan desert. Specifically, they're searching for calcified clumps of primitive bacteria swimming in the pools.

Located around the town of Cuatro Cienegas, the lagoons have long intrigued evolutionary biologists with their unique aquatic life, much of which is found nowhere else on Earth. What has intrigued the NASA researchers the most are the lakes' rocks, which are ancient formations called stromatolites. Formed by layers of algae that trap silt, these structures are similar to those on Earth more than 2 billion years before the dinosaurs.

NASA says that by studying these organisms, they may be able to identify the unique atmospheric conditions created by primitive life on planets orbiting nearby stars and help settle the question of whether we are alone in the universe, explains Reuters. "They may be our best example of what to look for on other planets," Brad Bebout, a researcher at the NASA Ames Research Center, told the news service.

This is NASA's theory about alien life: Primitive bacteria could be living on planets around nearby stars, possibly thriving in colonies similar to that of the Chihuahuan lagoons. This kind of bacteria served as the basis from which multicellular plants and animals evolved on Earth--and it could be the same on other planets.

The plan is to use the information and data learned from scuba dives into the lagoons to create complex computer models of the atmospheric conditions needed to generate and sustain life on other planets. "We believe, and it is only a belief at this point, that there is probably a lot of life out in the universe, but it may only be at the microbial stage," Victoria Meadows, the institute's virtual planetary laboratory chief told Reuters. "Not people flying UFOs, but nevertheless life elsewhere in the universe."

Jolie Rouge

04-06-2005, 07:37 PM

Gross! Newest Place to Pierce Your Body

This is not for the squeamish. A Dallas, Texas man who calls himself an artist has created a whole new way to wear eyeglasses: Hold them on your face with a piercing bar attachment that goes right through the bridge of your nose. (We'll pause here so you can squeal "Ew!")

The 1-inch bar is inserted through the bridge of the nose, much like shoving a barbell between your eyes. Even the inventor, artist James Sooy, is realistic enough to acknowledge it's not likely to become a huge fad. Still, he and co-inventor Oliver Gilson, whose day job is bartending, are seeking a patent and plan to have a model available by June that will sell for about $75 to $100, reports The Associated Press.

Besides the ick factor, what are the drawbacks?

The piercing bar could move or pop out, Elayne Angel, medical coordinator for the Association of Professional Piercers, told AP. If you want to take the lenses off your face at bedtime, for a shower, or to clean them, you actually have to do it with a screwdriver. In addition, the piercing location may mean that the lenses cannot be positioned properly for optimal eyesight.

Sooy claims the piercing is relatively painless. (We're thinking the key word here is "relatively.") He also claims that pierced glasses are more comfortable than regular glasses because they have no frames, only lenses, and they don't rub against the ears.

The artist in question, James Sooy, has actually done this to himself already. Click to see it--if you dare. (Photo: bmezine.com)

http://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/20041214-6.jpg

If you think piercing the bridge of your nose is gross, how about being strung up by fishhooks--for fun! This story is not for the queasy.
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-RTO-reodd&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20050405%2F0904884209.htm&sc=reodd&floc=wn-np :eek: :eek:

Jolie Rouge

04-09-2005, 06:19 PM

If you think piercing the bridge of your nose is gross, how about being strung up by fishhooks--for fun! This story is not for the queasy.
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-RTO-reodd&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20050405%2F0904884209.htm&sc=reodd&floc=wn-np :eek: :eek:

Jess Robins concentrates as hooks through her upper chest are used to hang her during a Suspension Convention, held in Providence, Rhode Island, April 2, 2005. From tentative first-timers to well-practiced masters, more than a hundred aficionados celebrated their passion for body suspension at the three-day gathering, held in an old textile mill.

Click for pics ... http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/050405/ids_photos_wl/r176226760.jpg&e=13&ncid=1756

be warned :eek: :eek:

Jolie Rouge

04-11-2005, 06:38 PM

Women building a motorcycle shaped to fit
Mon Apr 11, 2005
By M. Daniel Gibbard Tribune staff reporter

Christine Vaughn hits the starter on the low-slung chopper she designed and built, and as the pipes spit unmuffled thunder from a big chrome engine, she changes.

The self-described "good girl" and mother disappears, shoved aside by the outlaw biker chick from Alaska who created Wicked Women Choppers, the company she bills as the first run by women to design and produce bikes for other women.

Hear her roar? No, hear her rumble.

"We want it to be just as mean, just as bad as a guy's bike. We want to make it look like we're going to get off and take the boots to you," said Vaughn, 35, who has long blond hair, a husky smoker's laugh and a quick sense of humor thoroughly devoid of political correctness.

Her company's slogan--and philosophy of life--is borrowed from a Harvard professor: "Well-behaved women seldom make history."

The difference in the bikes, barely noticeable, is size. Vaughn, who is 5 foot 6, designs her motorcycles with narrower handlebars and a lower frame and seat that create a lower center of gravity and an easier reach. "A wrong-size bike is not only uncomfortable, it's unsafe," she said.

Vaughn's vision has struck a chord with riders. She and her year-old company have been profiled in newspapers and magazines. A PBS station is recording the process as she and her team create a bike from the frame up, and an independent production company plans a reality show pilot.

Suppliers quickly jumped on board: Tool companies sent new gear to use in her shop, and dozens of dealers have asked about selling her lines, she said. She has received inquiries from prospective buyers in Japan and India. This despite that she just got her first firm order last month and is gearing up for production.

The attention has been a little overwhelming, she acknowledged. "I knew what the niche was," she said, but "I just had never anticipated the reaction. I wanted to just build a couple of bikes a year."

Instead, she said, she will probably end up producing about 50 annually once production is up to full speed, perhaps by late summer. To make many more than that would mean moving from her new 1,300-square-foot shop in this small town in southern Illinois near Carbondale. "My only battle is to stay small," said Vaughn, who also customizes motorcycles for clients. "We've had people who wanted to come in as a partnership, but we want to keep it manageable."

One reason for all the attention is the rapid growth in women owning and riding motorcycles. From 1998 to 2003, the estimated number of female owners jumped 36 percent, from 467,000 to 635,000, according to a survey by the Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade group based in Irvine, Calif. Ridership increased similarly, and there are now more than 4 million women operators, the group says.

"We got tired of looking at the back of someone's helmet," said Lois Wyatt, a trustee with Women on Wheels, a riders club with more than 100 chapters, including half a dozen in Illinois.

Wicked Women's first model is the Shady Lady.

The prototype sports a 96 cubic inch--1,600 cubic centimeters--S&S motor, pipes that Vaughn designed and enough chrome to cause blindness.

On the other hand, its heart-shaped flames are painted fingernail-polish pink. "It's a bike every man would be proud to ride--except for the pink," said Vaughn, adding that she chose the color to show up in photographs.

"Women want to be macho," she said. "We want the loud pipes, the power--all the stuff that makes you feel you know what testosterone is all about."

With all the trimmings, the bike lists for $34,500, which she says is competitive with a similar Harley. She also plans a downscale version, the Vixen, and a hardtail (no rear suspension) model called the Black Mariah.

A seventh-generation Alaskan from the rough and ready island town of Ketchikan, Vaughn credits frontier roots for her independence.

Wicked Women Choppers' name comes from the Old West, Vaughn said, and refers to any woman who defied the conventions of the day. The company motto is a quote from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich that Vaughn came across in a magazine about quilting, of all things. "It's about women who are independent and live their own lives despite what society says," Vaughn said.

She got her first motorcycle when she was 10, a dirt bike from her father. When she began doing stunts on it, he decided she should channel her efforts into something slightly safer, like racing.

Sometimes she competed against girls; other times she would enter boys' races as "Chris." When she finished in the top three, she would take off her helmet during the trophy ceremony and shake out her long blond hair.

That, she said, did not always go over well in conservative Alaska, though her father used to sit back and smile at the reactions.

Her brother, Dan Diamond, also raced, and she would watch as he tinkered with the machinery. "It looked important, so I tried to do the same thing," she said. Unfortunately, "I usually ended up with a lot of parts left over."

Her dad and brother just laughed, so she taught herself how to fix her own bike.

In her teens, she would "borrow" her brother's street bike--usually dumping it, which is when she realized that the taller, top-heavy cycles were not made for someone her size.

She began to customize Harley-Davidsons to fit, but she couldn't keep them long before someone offered her too much money to refuse. Clearly, there was a market.

But Wicked Women Choppers is not really about commerce, she said. One of Vaughn's main goals is to blast open a traditionally male bastion. "It's important not only to break open the industry, but also to show [other women] they can do this," she said. "There are a lot of very talented women out there."

Vaughn has two machinist/metal fabricators on board already, Shara Peyton, 28, and Rhonda Heifner, 24. "This is a man's job, and we're doing it," said Heifner, whose dark hair is partly dyed pinkish-purple. "There ain't a lot about me that's feminine."

Vaughn also hopes to start an internship program with local schools, offering girls in shop classes the chance at hands-on experience in a comfortable environment.

Amid this swirl of femaledom is Vaughn's husband, a biker who said he's happy to ride in the figurative sidecar.

A Vietnam War veteran, Dan Vaughn worked in the telecommunications industry in the Caribbean, Hungary and Siberia before retiring to southern Illinois a few years ago. The Vaughns have a teenage son.

"It's been fairly easy for a husband," Dan Vaughn said. "She followed me all over the world and has always been there to support me. To take a back seat to someone so talented is not a problem for me at all."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2027&e=2&u=/chitribts/womenbuildingamotorcycleshapedtofit

On the Net : http://www.wickedwomenchoppers.com/

Jolie Rouge

04-15-2005, 06:19 PM

Scientific Conference Falls for Gibberish Prank
April 15, 2005
By Greg Frost

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - A bunch of computer-generated gibberish masquerading as an academic paper has been accepted at a scientific conference in a victory for pranksters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jeremy Stribling said on Thursday that he and two fellow MIT graduate students questioned the standards of some academic conferences, so they wrote a computer program to generate research papers complete with nonsensical text, charts and diagrams.

The trio submitted two of the randomly assembled papers to the World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (WMSCI), scheduled to be held July 10-13 in Orlando, Florida.

To their surprise, one of the papers -- "Rooter: A Methodology for the Typical Unification of Access Points and Redundancy" -- was accepted for presentation.

The prank recalled a 1996 hoax in which New York University physicist Alan Sokal succeeded in getting an entire paper with a mix of truths, falsehoods, non sequiturs and otherwise meaningless mumbo-jumbo published in the journal Social Text.

Stribling said he and his colleagues only learned about the Social Text affair after submitting their paper.

"Rooter" features such mind-bending gems as: "the model for our heuristic consists of four independent components: simulated annealing, active networks, flexible modalities, and the study of reinforcement learning" and "We implemented our scatter/gather I/O server in Simula-67, augmented with opportunistically pipelined extensions."

Stribling said the trio targeted WMSCI because it is notorious within the field of computer science for sending copious e-mails that solicit admissions to the conference. "We were tired of the spam," Stribling told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding that his team wanted to challenge the standards of the conference's peer review process.

Nagib Callaos, a conference organizer, said the paper was one of a small number accepted on a "non-reviewed" basis -- meaning that reviewers had not yet given their feedback by the acceptance deadline.

"We thought that it might be unfair to refuse a paper that was not refused by any of its three selected reviewers," Callaos wrote in an e-mail. "The author of a non-reviewed paper has complete responsibility of the content of their paper."

However, Callaos said conference organizers were reviewing their acceptance procedures in light of the hoax. Asked whether he would disinvite the MIT students, he replied: "Bogus papers should not be included in the conference program."

Stribling said conference organizers had not yet formally rescinded their invitation to present the paper.

The students were soliciting cash donations so they could attend the conference and give what Stribling billed as a "randomly generated talk." So far, they have raised more than $2,000 over the Internet.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&e=1&u=/nm/odd_gibberish_dc

Jolie Rouge

04-15-2005, 06:23 PM

Man barred from making slavery tax claims
Fri Apr 15, 2005

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York man was temporarily barred on Friday from preparing income tax returns for others because he has been including bogus tax credits such as reparations for African-American slavery and segregation.

The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office said it obtained a restraining order against Kevin Hardy of Mount Vernon that immediately barred him from working as a tax preparer until a full hearing can be held.

Prosecutors said that the Internal Revenue Code does not provide any such slavery reparations tax credit and that Hardy repeatedly prepared returns for others making such claims.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050415/od_uk_nm/oukoe_odd_tax&e=2

Can you say "audit" ?

Jolie Rouge

04-15-2005, 06:37 PM

Zoo Wants Chimpanzee to Stop Smoking
April 15, 2005; 8:39 AM ET

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African zoo is trying to persuade its star chimpanzee to kick a bad smoking habit.

Charlie, a grown male chimp and the Bloemfontein Zoo, has been picking up cigarettes thrown to him by visitors and smoking them -- a habit he probably picked up by observing humans, zoo officials told the SAPA news agency on Thursday. "Baby chimps pick up habits by mimicking adults and we think he started mimicking smokers at his enclosure which probably led to smokers throwing him cigarettes," spokesman Daryl Barnes told SAPA.

Barnes said Charlie was already showing the signs of a true nicotine addict. "He even acts like a naughty schoolboy by hiding the cigarette when staff approach the area," Barnes said, adding that the zoo was determined to help him quit.

Barnes said the most important thing was that people stop providing Charlie with cigarettes or any other treats, noting the chimp already had three bad teeth because of all the cans of sweet soft drinks that people throw at him.

Charlie is not the only smoking chimpanzee. A zoo in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou reported last year that one of its chimps had taken up smoking and was desperately bumming cigarette butts off visitors.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050415/od_nm/safrica_chimp_dc&e=5&ncid=

Jolie Rouge

04-15-2005, 06:46 PM

Porn Flick Profits Offered to Hospital
Friday April 15, 2005; 8:34 AM

TORONTO (Reuters) - A porn star's first, and last, film about lesbian sex could end up boosting the coffers of Canada's best known children's hospital, if the agent for dead actress Natel King has his way.

Agent Stephan Sirard said he had approached Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children about accepting the proceeds from King's last movie, "Lesbian Lover," in memory of the 23-year-old Canadian star, who was stabbed to death last year in the United States. "It's her first original solo... All the proceeds would go to Sick Kids' Hospital," Sirard told Reuters.

Sirard said lawyers for his FCF agency in California had asked the hospital if they could highlight the promised gift on the cover of their video, using wording like "all proceeds from the sale of this video go to Sick Kid's Hospital in Toronto."

But hospital spokeswoman Carol Duncan said she has not heard anything about the issue, and she declined to say how the hospital might react to a donation of this kind. "We have to send the issue to the ethics committee and the board of directors for consideration," she said.

Sirard said King, whose stage name was Taylor Sumers, had helped raise money for the hospital before she was murdered. He described her as a "porn star with principles" who had refused to perform sexual acts with others on screen until this film.

He admitted it might be hard to persuade Sick Kids to accept the offer. "A lot of big corporations are involved in the adult industry and most people don't know," he said. "So, it's like a gray area. I think people don't want to be directly linked to it."

King was stabbed to death in February 2004 after a photography shoot near Philadelphia. The photographer has pleaded guilty to murder and could face 25 years in jail.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050415/od_nm/life_canada_porn_dc&e=8&ncid=

Jolie Rouge

04-18-2005, 07:44 PM

Bushes Report Taxable Income of $672,788
By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer

President Bush reported taxable income of $672,788 for last year, on which he paid $207,307 in federal income taxes, according to presidential returns released Friday by the White House.

The tax bill for the president and first lady Laura Bush was lower than the previous year when the first couple reported $822,126 in adjusted gross income and paid $227,490 in federal income taxes.

The Bushes listed as income his presidential salary and investment income from trusts that hold their assets. The couple contributed $77,785 to churches and charitable organizations, including Evergreen Chapel at Camp David, Md., St. John's Church in Washington, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army World Service Office, AmeriCares, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the Federal Government's Combined Federal Campaign.

The White House also released the 2004 tax return filed by Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne.

The report shows the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2004 of $393,518 on taxable income of roughly $1.3 million.

Throughout last year, the Cheneys paid $290,855 in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments. When they filed their return on Friday, they paid the remaining $102,663.

http://money.netscape.cnn.com/package.jsp?name=pf/pm/mo_feat_news_bushpaidtaxes

Jolie Rouge

04-19-2005, 11:31 AM

Too Funny! Sea Monster Mystery Solved

In 1734, a "most dreadful" serpent-like sea monster was spotted off the coast of Greenland. Four eyewitnesses wrote down their first-person accounts of what they saw that day in the North Atlantic. Fast forward nearly 275 years. Researchers from Scotland's St. Andrews University think they know what that sea monster really was.

:eek:

Their academic opinion? The serpent was no monster.

It was--um...how shall we say this delicately?--an excited male whale, probably one of the last remaining Atlantic gray whales. The Edinburgh Evening News calls it the "unlikely tail of the rather excited whale."

"We think they saw a whale which was for some reason feeling very happy," research chief Charles Paxton told the Evening News. "It reared out of the water, fell on to its back, and they saw this thing that they assumed was a tail. You wouldn't expect to see a whale in this state on his own."

Sea monsters have long captured the imaginations of gullible human beings. And if it weren't for the fact that it's in Sea Life Park in Oahu, Hawaii as a tourist attraction, the brand new "wolphin" might be considered a sea serpent, too. The four-month old wolphin is part dolphin and part killer whale and shares genetic characteristics of both species. The wolphin's mother is also a wolphin and its father is an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. It was born on Dec. 23 and is already the size of a one-year-old bottlenose dolphin.

http://a.abclocal.go.com/images/wholphin2.jpg

Now THIS is spooky.
Sea monster or monster hoax?
[i]Amateur captures video of alleged lake beast
June 12, 1997

VAN, Eastern Turkey (WTN) -- Sightings of the Lake Van monster were first reported about two years ago, but further evidence was offered on Tuesday: bad quality amateur pictures of something long and dark moving in the middle of the lake.

After each sighting, professional camera crews have rented boats to try to capture the alleged beast clearly on film, but were unsuccessful each time.

The subject became an obsession for 26-year-old Unal Kozak, a Van University teaching assistant who has been talking to eyewitnesses since the first sightings.

Stationing himself at spots where most of the sightings were reported, Kozak says he saw and filmed the so-called monster on three occasions. Kozak also wrote a book on the creature, including drawings of the monster based on the descriptions of some 1,000 witnesses.

He says the creature is about 15 meters (49.5 feet) long. Public opinion is divided over whether the Lake Van monster is a clever hoax to attract visitors to a region that could use some tourist revenue.

The city of Van is in an underdeveloped area of eastern Turkey that for years has lost out to holiday resorts in the west of the country.

The pictures have been sent to Cambridge University for examination, and Jacques Cousteau, the world-famous marine biologist, is expected to visit and examine the lake.

Click to see amateur video of a sea monster spotted in eastern Turkey. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9706/12/fringe/turkey.monster/index.html

Jolie Rouge

05-19-2005, 05:46 PM

Another Capitol Hill Sex Scandal Exposed

Her name is Jessica Cutler. She's 24 years old, slim, and 5 feet-2 inches tall. She majored in international relations at Syracuse University. Until Friday, she worked in a low-level position on Capitol Hill, sorting mail for a senator. She's one of hundreds just like her--with one exception. Cutler has admitted to augmenting her $25,000 annual salary with lunch hour trysts with high-level federal employees that netted her as much as $400, reports The Washington Post. The only reason she got caught is she blabbed all about it in a Web blog that was the hit of the nation's capital since its inception on May 10. Soon it was revealed she worked in the office of Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio). What choice did DeWine have? He fired his young staffer on Friday for "unacceptable use of Senate computers."

In the Internet sex diaries, Cutler called herself "Washingtonienne." She told Washington Post "Reliable Source" columnist Richard Leiby that she's not ashamed of her behavior. "Everything is true. It's so cliched. It's like, 'There's a slutty girl on the Hill?' There's millions of 'em," she said. "A lot of my friends are way worse than me."

Cutler admits it all. "If you don't like or care about your job, what's the big deal?" she told the Post in an exclusive interview. She said her explicit blog was a time-saver since it was faster to write the blog than to e-mail friends about her exploits. "It's amazing to me that people have any interest in such a low-level sex scandal. If I were sleeping with a congressman, maybe, but I'm a nobody and the people I'm writing about are nobodies."

What's next for Cutler? She wants to move to New York City. "They'll totally hire me if I say I got fired from my job on the Hill because of a sex scandal," she told Leiby.

Some tidbits from that blog:

--"Most of my living expenses are thankfully subsidized by a few generous older gentlemen. I'm sure I am not the only one who makes money on the side this way: How can anybody live on $25K/year??"

--About having six regular partners, she said, "You know, there's seven days a week."

--One of her partners was a married man who was "chief of staff at one of the gov agencies, appointed by Bush."

--She won't name names, but the blog identified each man with his initials.

--About the $400 lunch tryst: "I just took a long lunch with X and made a quick $400. When I returned to the office, I heard that my boss was asking about my whereabouts. Loser."

Humiliating D.C. Sex Scandal Goes Public

About a year ago, word surfaced that a low-level Senate aide named Jessica Cutler was supplementing her meager Capitol Hill paycheck by um...shall we say, entertaining some men in Washington who returned the favor with cash and gifts. To amuse her friends, Cutler posted detailed descriptions of her exploits on her personal blog. But as we all know, blogs are not personal. They are public. And this one became public, too. Now one of the men, identified in the blog only as "R.S." and once as "Rob" has outed himself by filing a graphically detailed invasion-of-privacy lawsuit in federal court. Ah, it's spring in Washington.

Now Washington Post "Reliable Source" gossip columnist Richard Leiby reports that "R.S." is Robert Steinbuch, a staff attorney for Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), the same senator for whom Cutler once worked sorting the mail. (Not surprisingly, when word of the blog became public last May, DeWine fired her.) Steinbuch, who is 37 and single, is suing Cutler for posting an intimate account of their brief sexual relationship on her "Washingtonienne" blog, notes the Post. (Cutler calls herself "The Washingtonienne.") He was one of six men about whom she wrote, although she has never identified any of them by name--only initials or first names.

Now this lawsuit confirms all the sizzling details of the blog, including spanking and hair pulling. So why is he suing? "It is one thing to be manipulated and used by a lover, it is another thing to be cruelly exposed to the world," Steinbuch's suit says. His claim: Cutler's blog created for him "humiliation and anguish beyond that which any reasonable person should be expected to bear in a decent and civilized society." Steinbuch is seeking unspecified monetary damages. Cutler now lives in New York City, and her kiss-and-tell book, "The Washingtonienne: A Novel," for which she reportedly earned $300,000, will be published in June.

When The Post's Leiby contacted Cutler for a comment, she only said, "Wow. It's been, like, my personal policy not to confirm or deny any of the people in the blog, and I'm sticking to that."

Jolie Rouge

06-13-2005, 07:48 PM

Museum 'Iceman' Might Be Contaminated
By AIDAN LEWIS

ROME (AP) - Researchers suspect the corpse of a 5,000-year-old mummy frozen in the Italian Alps might have been contaminated by bacteria since its discovery in 1991, a doctor who cares for the body said Monday.

X-rays have shown bubbles in the bones that could be caused by bacteria, said Eduard Egarter Vigl, in charge of preserving the mummy at the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum in Bolzano, Italy.

The museum is trying to find local companies that can analyze the air in the sealed-off chamber where the mummy is kept to test for the presence of bacteria, Egarter Vigl said in a telephone interview.

He denied media reports that the bacteria could cause the disintegration of the Iceman, also known as Oetzi. But if bacteria are present, disinfection will be necessary to prevent possible damage to the man's remains, he said.

Egarter Vigl said the bubbles, which caused light patches to appear on Oetzi's skeleton, could also be caused by air entering through cracks in the mummy's skin and bones, which would present no risk to the mummy's survival.

German hiker Helmut Simon discovered Oetzi's well-preserved body during a 1991 hiking trip.

Oetzi is kept in an ``igloo'' made out of ice tiles to keep him in cold and humid conditions. Museum visitors can view Iceman through a small window.

Oetzi has provided researchers with a wealth of information about the late Neolithic Age, or 3,300 to 3,100 B.C.

He was carrying a bow, a quiver of arrows and a copper ax, prompting speculation that he was a hunter or warrior.

X-rays have revealed that Oetzi was wounded by an arrow, with the flint arrowhead remaining in his left shoulder.

Previous tests have shown that his last meals included venison, unleavened bread and some greens.

Egarter Vigl said the museum was also considering requests to carry out more research, including DNA tests, to discover further details of Oetzi's life.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1501&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050613%2F2148756923.htm&sc=1501

On the Net:

South Tyrol Archaeological Museum: www.iceman.it

06/13/05 21:48

Jolie Rouge

06-13-2005, 07:50 PM

Earth's big, hot cousin found around nearby star
By Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Earth's bigger, hotter planetary cousin may have been detected orbiting a star in our cosmic neighborhood, astronomers said on Monday.

The most Earth-like of all 155 so-called extrasolar planets found orbiting stars besides our sun, the newly unveiled planet is probably rocky like Earth, rather than big and gassy like Jupiter and most other extrasolar planets discovered in the past decade, the scientists said at a briefing.

"It took 150 observations of this star to glean the existence of this Earth-like planet," said planet hunter Geoffrey Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley. "This will definitely be one of our favorite stars from now on."

"It's a very unearthly world," said Jack Lissauer of NASA's Ames Research Center. "It's likely to be the first rocky planet orbiting a star like our sun."

"It's like Earth's bigger cousin," Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington said in a statement accompanying the announcement. Butler is a member of the team that found the planet.

The new planet is the smallest extrasolar planet ever detected, with about 7.5 times the Earth's mass. Before this, the smallest planets found orbiting stars besides the sun were at least 15 times Earth's mass, making them more like distant, icy Neptune.

TOO HOT FOR LIFE

By contrast, this planet's surface is far too hot -- ranging from 400 to 700 degrees F (204 to 371 C) -- to support life as it is known on Earth.

While Earth orbits the sun at a distance of about 93 million miles, this extrasolar planet almost hugs its star, orbiting about 2 million miles from the star Gliese 876 in the constellation Aquarius, just 15 light-years from Earth.

A light-year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year. In astronomical terms, 15 light-years is right around the corner.

The new planet races around its star once every two Earth days or so, and has a radius about twice the size of Earth, the astronomers said. The star it orbits is about one-third Earth's mass.

Like dozens of other extrasolar planets detected over the past 10 years, this one was first discovered by the distinctive wobble its gravity exerts on the star it orbits. As it happened, this is the third planet circling that particular little star.

The two others are gas giants like Jupiter and orbit much farther out.

Astronomers have no direct proof the new planet is a space rock like Earth, but its low mass means it probably is not a giant gas planet like Jupiter, the scientists said.

Planet hunters have detected three other rocky planets outside our solar system, but all three orbit a pulsar -- the remnant of an exploded star -- so this is the only planet orbiting a normal star.

A team of scientists has known about the new planet for three years but wanted to confirm its theory it was a terrestrial planet before going public, Marcy said.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20050613%2F1539723648.htm&sc=romta

On the Net :

Images and more information are available online at http:/www.nsf.gov/news/.

06/13/05 15:38

Jolie Rouge

06-13-2005, 07:53 PM

Archaeologists Find Hoard of Celtic Coins

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Archaeologists have uncovered 17 ancient Celtic coins in a field in the south of the Netherlands, the first hoard of such coins found in the country.

Amsterdam's Free University excavated the site in April and will display the coins, which are made of silver and mixed with copper and gold, in the Limburgs Museum in the city of Venlo on Saturday.

They are estimated to date from 20-50 B.C., shortly after Julius Caesar began the Roman conquest of the region.

Leaders of local Germanic tribes ``probably used these coins to reward their followers for loyalty,'' researchers said.

Similar finds have been made in neighboring Belgium and Germany.

06/03/05 10:43

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-main-9-l8&flok=FF-APO-1501&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050603%2F1043830602.htm&sc=1501

Jolie Rouge

06-13-2005, 07:56 PM

Rare Nickel Sells for More Than $4 Million

By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Not many people can retire on a nickel - unless it's a rare 1913 Liberty Head like the one that sold Thursday for $4.15 million.

It is the second-highest price ever reported paid for a rare coin.

Legend Numismatics, a coin dealership in Lincroft, N.J., bought it from collector Ed Lee of Merrimack, N.H. It is one of only five such nickels known to exist.

``Owning a 1913 Liberty Head nickel is unlike owning any other coin in the world,'' said Laura Sperber, co-president of Legend Numismatics. She called the 1913 Liberty Head the most famous of American rare coins.

The nickel will be on display through Saturday at a coin show in Long Beach, Calif. ``We are going to display it and enjoy the hell out of it,'' Sperber said.

Lee bought the coin from California sports agent Dwight Manley two years ago for nearly $3 million. At the time, he joked that he would be able to retire on the nickel.

Liberty Head nickels were minted from 1883 to 1912. ``Miss Liberty'' was replaced the following year by the Indian, or Buffalo, nickel.

But five 1913 nickels depicting ``Miss Liberty'' were minted illegally, possibly by a mint official. They were never put into circulation and were considered illegal to own for many years because they were not regular issue. The coins surfaced in the 1920s.

The old record for a 1913 Liberty Head nickel was $3 million, paid last year. The record for any rare coin is $7.59 million, paid in 2002 for a 1933 U.S. $20 gold piece.

06/02/05 17:35

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001/20050602/1735767528.htm

Jolie Rouge

06-13-2005, 08:11 PM

Afraid of Dying?
A Startling Outcome

The people who are most afraid of dying don't make proper arrangements for their death, which ends up costing their families a lot more money than it would have if they had been a little more prepared.

Bottom line: Fear the reaper and it will hurt your wallet.

So say researchers from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, who have found that death and dying is not unlike any other consumer purchase. Those who are less anxious about the inevitable are more likely to make prearrangements for their death, including investigating the cost of burials, caskets and cemetery plots, and actually shop around for the best bargains, reports Reuters.

But those who wait until they are quite sick or old force their families to make all the arrangements after they have died. That leaves limited options and the very real possibility of having to spend a lot more money than they should. No one is denying that the fear of death is a pretty basic human characteristic. We're all anxious about death to some degree. But some of us are more anxious than others. And those who feel so much anxiety about death that they are unable to ever think about it, are the ones whose families pay a big price for it later.

Led by Steven Kopp from the University of Arkansas and Dr. Swinder Janda at Kansas State University, the team found that only a minority of the 305 people with an average age of 55 had made plans for their death. These folks were more likely to have done so if they were not too anxious about dying, especially if they were in good health.

You won't believe the most popular funeral songs!
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/music/package.jsp?name=fte/funeralmusic/funeralmusic&floc=wn-np

So much for "Amazing Grace" or an age-old hymn sung to a melody composed by Chopin or Bach and played on a majestic pipe organ. Loved ones who are planning funerals today are opting for rock music and electric guitar riffs, according to a new poll of more than 45,000 people across Europe that was conducted by the digital TV station Music Choice.

Why? Music is part of our popular culture, and families like to play something they associate with the deceased. London's Times Online reports that the trend to choose popular tunes over classical music at funerals has been growing since the 1960s. So instead of "Abide With Me," the congregation will stand and join in a rousing version of Queen's "The Show Must Go On." Alan Slater of the National Association of Funeral Directors told the Times Online, "We live in a much more secular society, and as a result we have seen a change to music content at funerals."

The top 10 favorite funeral songs in Europe:

Queen's "The Show Must Go On"
Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"
AC/DC's "Highway to Hell"
Frank Sinatra's "My Way"
Mozart's "Requiem"
Robbie Williams' "Angels"
Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever"
The Beatles's "Let It Be"
Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters"
U2's "With or Without You"
Source: Music Choice

Choosing the music that will be played at your funeral is a way to express your personality one last time. "Wanting to share your most treasured musical gem with those you're leaving behind is the perfect way to sign off and leave a lasting impression," Music Choice music and marketing manager Simon George told the BBC News.

Call it the last song you'll never hear.

Jolie Rouge

10-14-2006, 07:55 AM

Troops Battle 10-Foot Marijuana Plants

OTTAWA (Oct. 13) - Canadian troops fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan have stumbled across an unexpected and potent enemy -- almost impenetrable forests of 10-feet-high marijuana plants.

General Rick Hillier, chief of the Canadian defense staff, said on Thursday that Taliban fighters were using the forests as cover. In response, the crew of at least one armored car had camouflaged their vehicle with marijuana. "The challenge is that marijuana plants absorb energy, heat very readily. It's very difficult to penetrate with thermal devices ... and as a result you really have to be careful that the Taliban don't dodge in and out of those marijuana forests," he said in a speech in Ottawa.

"We tried burning them with white phosphorous -- it didn't work. We tried burning them with diesel -- it didn't work. The plants are so full of water right now ... that we simply couldn't burn them," he said.

Even successful incineration had its drawbacks. "A couple of brown plants on the edges of some of those (forests) did catch on fire. But a section of soldiers that was downwind from that had some ill effects and decided that was probably not the right course of action," Hillier said dryly.

One soldier told him later: "Sir, three years ago before I joined the army, I never thought I'd say 'That damn marijuana'."

10/13/06 08:51 ET

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/troops-battle-10-foot-marijuana-plants/20061013085109990009?_mpc=news%2e10%2e3&cid=936

Jolie Rouge

11-22-2006, 10:03 PM

Fan restores 'Christmas Story' house
By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer
Wed Nov 22, 4:54 PM ET

CLEVELAND - Ralphie Parker and Brian Jones know what it's like to want something.

For Ralphie, the object of desire was an official Red Ryder, carbine-action, 200-shot, range model air rifle. (Go ahead, say it, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid.") For Jones, the gotta-have-it item was Ralphie's house — the one in "A Christmas Story," the quirky film that's found a niche alongside holiday classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street."

Jones has restored the three-story, wood-frame house to its appearance in the movie and will open it for tours beginning Saturday. His hope is that it will become a tourist stop alongside the city's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other destinations.

He's unsure whether he'll make enough money to cover his $500,000 investment, but as sure as a kid's tongue will stick to a frozen flag pole, he's committed to the project.

"I just want people to come and enjoy it as I have," said Jones, a 30-year-old former Navy lieutenant.

"A Christmas Story" wasn't a big hit when released in 1983 but repeat TV airings and, in recent years, a 24-hour run on TBS starting Christmas Eve have made its story of boy's quest to get a BB gun for Christmas as infectious as the bespectacled Ralphie's eager grin.

"It just kind of sets the mood. In the Jones household, it's on all day once the marathon comes on," said Jones, who's married with an 8-month-old daughter.

Jones first saw the movie in the late 1980s and he and his parents became fans.

When the San Diego resident's dream of a becoming a Navy pilot like his father was denied because of his eyesight, his parents sent him a package to lift his spirits. Marked "FRAGILE" on the outside, it contained a leg lamp his parents built to look just like the one received by Ralphie's father, who proudly displayed it in the living room window, boasting, "It's a major award!"

Jones' mom noted that he could probably make a business out of selling them. In 2003, he started doing just that.

"I tooled together 500 lamps in my 1,000-square-foot condo in San Diego and sold them all in the first year," Jones said.

And he's still making and selling them — $129.99 for the 45-inch model, $159.99 for the 53-inch "deluxe full size" leg lamp.

When the house from the film was put up for sale on eBay in December 2004, it seemed like destiny to Jones.

"I said, `Ooh, I gotta have that.'"

The auction price got up to $115,000. Jones, who shares Ralphie's unflinching enthusiasm, less than 20/20 eyesight and ability to speak at a breakneck pace, said he'd pay $150,000 if the owner stopped the bidding.

"It was mine. I sent him a deposit and flew out two days after Christmas just to make sure it wasn't a falling-down shack," Jones said.

He put in new windows and replaced the 111-year-old house's gray aluminum siding with mustard yellow painted wood and green trim that perfectly matches Ralphie's house.

Although only a couple interior shots were filmed there, Jones has recreated the '40s feel of Ralphie's home with a brown-and-white tile kitchen floor, a wide cast-iron sink in the kitchen, a claw-foot bathtub and, of course, a leg lamp in the window.

He also bought the house across the street — Ralphie runs past it in the film's opening scene — to serve as a museum and gift shop. Several original items from the film are on display, including the infamous snowsuit ("I can't put my arms down!") worn by Ralphie's brother, Randy.

The house is located in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood, just a few minutes from downtown where the exterior department store shots were filmed at the former Higbee's.

The cooperation of the department store is what brought the filmmakers to Cleveland for the film based on author Jean Shepherd's stories of his upbringing in Hammond, Ind.

The house is well known in the neighborhood and neighbors like Marlene Childers have watched the house change owners and go through ups and downs over the years. She's excited about Jones' tribute — even if it means more cars and traffic.

"I love that story," she said.

Jones knows the feeling. And he says stepping onto Ralphie's old street makes him feel like he's in the movie.

Standing in front of the house holding a replica Red Ryder rifle, he discusses his future plans — which could include a nearby bed and breakfast — when, seemingly on a director's cue, a motorist passes, stops his car, rolls down the window and shouts, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"

___

On the Net:

http://www.redriderleglamps.com/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061122/ap_on_en_mo/film_christmas_story_house

Jolie Rouge

12-06-2006, 03:14 PM

Thief goes fishing for bank deposits
43 minutes ago

Thief goes fishing for bank deposits - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061206/ap_on_fe_st/deposits_stolen)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A thief used a hook and line not to snag fish, but to remove bags of cash from a bank's night deposit box, police stated.

Police would not say how much money they believe was taken, but think the thief made off with 11 deposit bags, Bloomington police Sgt. David Drake said.

An employee of the Fifth Third Bank branch called police Monday morning after noticing that there were far fewer deposit bags than usual, Drake said.

Authorities found the deposit box had been damaged, with one of the metal security pieces sheared off.

"It would've taken a lot of force to take that off," Drake said.

Next to the piece of broken metal, police found a dowel rod with fishing line and a hook.

Drake said authorities believe whoever broke into the deposit box dangled the hook and line into the box and fished out the deposit bags, one by one.

The bank did not have security cameras aimed toward the deposit box, police said.

___

Information from: The Herald-Times, HeraldTimesOnline.com (http://www.heraldtimesonline.com)

galeane29

12-07-2006, 10:00 AM

Bus stop cookie scents scrapped
POSTED: 11:32 a.m. EST, December 6, 2006

Bus stop cookie scents scrapped - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/06/bus.stop.smell/index.html)

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A marketing campaign to promote milk by outfitting city bus shelters with cookie-scented cardboard strips has crumbled.

City officials ordered CBS Outdoor, the company that holds the advertising contract for its bus shelters, to remove the adhesive strips Tuesday, just one day after they were put up as part of a "Got Milk?" campaign.

The Municipal Transportation Agency canceled the plan after some residents raised objections. "We got complaints," said MTA spokeswoman Maggie Lynch. "It is controversial." (Watch how ads cause a stir in San Francisco )

Some critics expressed concern over potential allergic reactions. Others complained the ads could be offensive to the poor and homeless who can't afford to buy sweet treats.

Scented oils were sandwiched between cardboard cards emblazoned with "Got Milk?" and affixed to shelter walls, in hopes that the smell of just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies would spark cravings for milk. The promotion was launched at five San Francisco bus shelters at a cost of about $30 per shelter

The smell of cookies would not make me crave milk, it would make me crave cookies.

Jolie Rouge

12-13-2006, 09:24 PM

Jolie Rouge

01-01-2007, 10:54 PM

Camel sacrifice, spray-on condom among 2006 oddities
By Erik Kirschbaum
Sun Dec 31, 8:32 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - From the Turkish Airline workers who sacrificed a camel at Istanbul airport to celebrate a job well done to the German who invented snug spray-on condoms, the world was full of offbeat news in 2006.

While "Miss Israel" Yael Nezri was exempted from carrying her assault rifle in the Israeli army because it bruised her beauty queen legs, "Mr. Switzerland" Renzo Blumenthal lured lonely women who hate soccer to his country for the World Cup.

Careless thieves once again made headlines round the world. A burglar in Germany left behind a vital clue -- his finger tip. "We usually find finger prints but it's not every day that the thieves leave the original there too," a police spokesman said. It took only a few hours to track down the thief.

A Jordanian salesman was arrested for trying to fleece a money exchanger with a fake ID card bearing a Brad Pitt picture.

In Vienna, burglars fled after finding eight severed human heads. A dentist had stored the mummified heads for research.

Village leaders in India ordered 150 men to dip their hands in boiling oil to prove their innocence after food was stolen.

An Australian man stopped for drunk driving threatened police with a live snake he picked up off the road.

In Cologne, a plastic surgeon cheated out of payment by two women using fake names gave "Wanted" pictures of their enlarged breasts to police. "It's probably the most unusual 'wanted' poster police ever had," wrote top-selling Bild newspaper, which helpfully published life-size pictures of the boosted breasts.

There were tragic moments too. In Hanoi, a Vietnamese man famous on a national TV program for his ability to resist electric shocks was electrocuted while fixing a generator.

In Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian man died when he tried to open a rocket-propelled grenade with a sledgehammer.

STRANGE LOVE

The political year began with a bang when Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a friend on a quail hunt.

In Hungary, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany sparked rioting by admitting he lied to win a general election.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie pretended to slap a cheeky teen-ager for a photograph but was questioned by police after child protection officers reported her.

In Bangkok, Thai coup leaders banned go-go girls from dancing near tanks and posing for photos with soldiers because they were distracting the troops.

Random acts of bad judgment in 2006 included: the Philadelphia man who pulled a gun on his 7-year-old son's football coach to demand more playing time; and in Koblenz, Germany, a woman who was caught driving her dead mother across country to save on mortuary transport costs.

Two women working at the German Labor Office got into trouble for writing emails at work moaning about their dull sex lives -- and sending the exchange to thousands of co-workers.

A pilot of Air Canada's Jazz subsidiary got locked out of the cockpit after stepping out to go to the washroom.

Three doctors in India were caught by a TV camera agreeing to amputate healthy limbs of beggars who wanted more sympathy.

Love had its strange moments too. Two prisoners in an Ivory Coast jail got married after falling in love through the peephole in an iron prison door.

And in Finland, a court ruled against a woman in her 20s who charged a 74-year-old man 25,500 euros ($32,000) to fondle her breasts on 10 occasions.

"Based on general life experience, it is indisputably clear that a 25,500 euro charge is disproportionate to the compensation in question," Judge Hasse Hakki told Reuters.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061231/od_nm/year1_dc

MIKAER

01-02-2007, 06:47 PM

exactly.

Why don't ya get a job delivering the pizzas ?

Because then the pizza parlor would be obligated to pay them in $$$$ for their employment. Instead of pizza as a paycheck.

Jolie Rouge

01-02-2007, 09:54 PM

Missouri man reels in ancient fishhook
22 minutes ago

COLUMBIA, Mo. - A man hunting for American Indian artifacts with his sons along a gravel bar on the Missouri River has uncovered an ancient fishhook that is making collectors envious.

"The first thing I thought is, 'I hope this isn't metal,'" said Eric Henley, who found the hook last month near McBaine. "When I picked it up, there was a pretty good jump for joy and a couple of 'whoops' and yells. It's the cream of the crop."

The hook is made of bone and covers his entire palm, making it much larger than most bone hooks.

Joe Harl, of the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis, said the size of the hook suggests the fisherman who used it was after a larger fish.

Another artifact collector, Kenny Bassett, said the large size of the hook might indicate an earlier origin. American Indians used bigger rocks and tools in earlier periods to hunt larger game such as wooly mammoths. He said the hook could have been used to fish for pallid sturgeon or enormous catfish.

Bassett, who works with Henley, said he had to control his envy when he saw the oversized hook.

"I've been hunting" American Indian artifacts "for 30 years and never found anything so identifiably unique. I've never seen anything like it," Bassett said.

Because bone matter deteriorates rapidly, bone artifacts typically have to be buried deep enough in the ground to be preserved. And they are usually found during archaeological digs, said Bill Iseminger, assistant site manager at Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site in Illinois.

Harl said sandier soil in spots along the river might have kept the hook preserved. He said the hook could be anywhere from 300 to 12,000 years old.

Henley, a maintenance man at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has no plans to learn the hook's exact age. Carbon dating the item would require drilling through the fragile bone, and he doesn't want to risk ruining the hook.

Henley credits his sons, 11 and 6, for being good-luck charms because he made the discovery on the first trip the boys had joined their dad for an artifact hunt.

"Now every time I go, they're going to be there."

___

Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070103/ap_on_sc/ancient_fishhook

MIKAER

01-02-2007, 10:00 PM

Is that area protected?

Jolie Rouge

01-02-2007, 10:11 PM

Robertson predicts 'mass killing'
Tue Jan 2, 6:29 PM ET

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson predicted Tuesday that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in "mass killing" late in 2007.

"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network. "The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."

Robertson said God told him during a recent prayer retreat that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.

Robertson said God also told him that the U.S. only feigns friendship with Israel and that U.S. policies are pushing Israel toward "national suicide."

Robertson suggested in January 2006 that God punished then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli-controlled land to the Palestinians.

The broadcaster predicted in January 2004 that President Bush would easily win re-election. Bush won 51 percent of the vote that fall, beating Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. He also predicted Bush's victory for a second term in 2005. "I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."

In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America's coastline in 2006. Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring's heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070102/ap_on_re_us/robertson_prediction

:rolleyes:

Jolie Rouge

06-18-2007, 11:45 AM

8-foot alligator removed from basement
10 minutes ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. - An alligator raised in the basement of a house in Buffalo is headed to a new home in a more gator-friendly place, Florida.

A former Buffalo couple who operate a reptile sanctuary in Tampa removed the eight-foot-long gator from the Buffalo home yesterday. The person who owned the 170-pound reptile had contacted the state Department of Environmental Conservation and said he couldn't care for the gator any longer. A DEC officer checked out the gator and contacted Laura and John Paner, who run the Croc Encounters Reptile Sanctuary.

It's illegal to keep an alligator in New York state, but officials say the man who raised the gator won't face any charges because he turned himself in.

The man who owned the gator built an indoor pond in his basement. He also owns more than 20 lizards and large snakes.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070618/ap_on_re_us/gator_in_basement;_ylt=AphD5xK43taUQFd5mL1WcPWs0NU E

hmmmm ... no cats ?

Jolie Rouge

10-04-2007, 02:20 PM

Teacher in crack over butt art
By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press Writer
Tue Dec 12, 10:58 PM ET

RICHMOND, Va. - To hear the students tell it, Stephen Murmer is a fun, popular art teacher who is always quick to crack a joke. But there is another side to Murmer. A side that has agitated school officials and resulted in his suspension. A side that focuses, almost entirely, on the crack in his backside.

Outside of class and under an alter ego, the self-proclaimed "butt-printing artist" creates floral and abstract art by plastering his posterior and genitals with paint and pressing them against canvas. His cheeky creations sell for hundreds of dollars.

This has not gone over well with Chesterfield County school officials, who placed Murmer on administrative leave from his job at Monacan High School.

Murmer contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia after he was suspended on Friday, ACLU legal director Rebecca Glenberg said. He told Glenberg that administrators had suspended him with pay for five days because of his work as a butt-print painter and that he also could face unpaid suspension pending an investigation.

Murmer has been instructed by the school administration not to speak with the media, Glenberg said. He did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday.

Chesterfield County schools spokeswoman Debra Marlow confirmed that a Monacan art teacher had been placed on administrative leave but declined to provide additional details because it is a personnel issue. "In the school system, personnel regulations state that teachers are expected to set an example for students through their personal conduct," Marlow said. "Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that schools must teach by example and that teachers, like parents, are role models."

Murmer went to great lengths to keep his work life separate from his activities as an artist, said ACLU executive director Kent Willis. As a butt-printing artist, he goes by the name "Stan Murmur," and appears in disguise in photographs and videos promoting his art. "As a public employee, he has constitutional rights, and he certainly has the right to engage in private legal activities protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution," Willis said.

A nearly naked Murmer expressed concern about remaining incognito during a 2003 appearance on the now-canceled cable television talk show, "Unscrewed With Martin Sargent." In a clip from the show, available on YouTube.com, Murmer dons a fake nose and glasses, a towel on his head, a black thong — and nothing else. "I'm certainly proud of the ass painting," Murmer said in response to questions about his disguise. "I do have a real job where I do have real clients and I don't think they'd be too understanding if I was also the guy who painted with my ass."

That video has made the rounds at Monacan High, where the mere mention of Murmer's name was enough to elicit grins from students Tuesday. Most appeared to be firmly behind their teacher, describing his suspension as "stupid," "ignorant" and "kinda retarded."

"Everyone has been talking about it," senior Heather Thompson said with a laugh as she and other students streamed out of school.

Thompson, who worked with Murmer in the school's art club, said many students have known about his paintings for a few years, but the YouTube clip recently got everyone buzzing. She and other students described Murmer as a funny, likable and popular teacher. There is little support among the student body for his suspension, she said. "It was simply him expressing himself and his art, and it had nothing to do with school — he wasn't advertising," she said.

This is not the first time Murmer has faced potential problems because of his extracurricular activities. Three years ago, he contacted the ACLU after he was told school administrators were unhappy about his paintings, Willis said. The issue eventually blew over with no suspension issued, Willis said. It was unclear why administrators decided to take action now.

Owning a piece of Murmer's art doesn't come cheap. On his Web site, his creations run upward of $900. His most popular piece, "Tulip Butts," goes for $600.

So how does one become a butt-printing artist? On his Web site, Murmur said his journey began a few years ago when he was told to find an organic item to use as a stamp for a class painting assignment. He decided to use his posterior. His final product was a hit with the class and a butt painter was born.

He was, however, the only student not asked to hold up his organic stamp.

Teacher in crack over butt art - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061213/ap_on_fe_st/teacher_butt_art)

___

On the Net:

Butt Print Art: Butt-Printing Artist -* Stan Murmur © 1997,2000, 2001 and beyond (http://buttprintart.com/)

YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?vYXIL1VlVjD4

Teacher fired for buttocks art sues
By BOB LEWIS, Associated Press Writer
37 minutes ago

RICHMOND, Va. - A high school art teacher fired after officials learned he moonlighted by creating paintings using his bare buttocks and other body parts sued his former employers on Thursday.

Stephen Murmer was fired in January after Chesterfield County Public Schools officials saw a YouTube video of Murmer wearing a swim thong and a Groucho Marx mask, demonstrating how he applies paint to his backside, then presses it onto a canvas.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond by the American Civil Liberties Union, said Murmer's firing violates his First Amendment rights. It also alleges that after he was suspended from teaching in December, school officials ordered him not to discuss his suspension even as they commented on it in news interviews.

The complaint seeks unspecified damages and legal fees from the county school board, a school district personnel official and the principal at Monacan High School, where he taught.

School officials had not seen the lawsuit early Thursday afternoon and do not comment on litigation, said spokeswoman Debra Marlow.

Murmer, said in a telephone interview from Alabama, where he now lives, that the school district deprived him not only of his right to free expression but his rights to due process. "This lawsuit is about a corrupt little county in Virginia and making sure they can't do this to anyone else ever again," he said.

Murmer paints under the pseudonym "Stan Murmur," and displays some of his work on his Web site, http://www.buttprintart.com.

One acrylic-on-canvas work titled "Tulip Butts" shows the red imprint of a backside representing the open petals of a tulip with an imprint between them from an adjacent body part that represents a flower's stamen. :o

The lawsuit said Murmer's paintings sell in a range from $600 to $4,800, and that he uses his own body parts and those of models to "brush" or "stamp" images onto canvas.

Rebecca K. Glenberg, an ACLU lawyer who is one of Murmer's attorneys, said the school board fired Murmer for art created on his own time that he "scrupulously kept private from his students." He adopted the pen name to ensure that his students didn't discover his private work by using Internet search engines such as Google or Yahoo, she said. Murmer received a teacher of the year award in 2002, according to the lawsuit. "In this case, we have someone who engaged in legitimate artistic expression protected by the First Amendment and furthermore did everything in his power to keep his art work separate from his teaching," Glenberg said. "He used a different name, he didn't discuss his art in class, and he did not do or say anything improper in school or a class environment."

In October 2003, however, Murmer appeared on a short-lived local cable television program, "Unscrewed with Martin Sargent." He was introduced under his pseudonym and wore the mask and a white towel wrapped turban-style on his head to conceal his identity. After an interview, he removes a white bathrobe and demonstrates his painting technique.

The video was posted online, and school officials first saw it in 2004, according to the complaint. School officials discussed it with Murmer, he agreed to remove photos of three paintings from his Web site, and he was told there would be no further action, the complaint contends.

On Dec. 8, 2006, according to the lawsuit, school officials summoned him from his classroom, told him the video created so much discussion among Monacan students that it was disruptive, and suspended him. A month later, the school board fired him.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071004/ap_on_re_us/teacher_butt_art;_ylt=Ak29t42XY1WzDlATvPeet2Ws0NUE

On the Web:

Murmer's Web site: http://www.buttprintart.com

Chesterfield County Public Schools: http://www.chesterfield.k12.va.us/

Virginia ACLU: http://www.acluva.org/

YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?vYXIL1VlVjD4

This is called "updating a previous post ... ;)

Jolie Rouge

01-27-2008, 09:04 PM

SINCE 1994 and reaching more than 120,000 readers in over 200 countries, this is the 710th weekly issue of... THIS is TRUE: 20 January 2008 http://www.thisistrue.com

DUKES OF HAZZARD : When it comes to training, says Sheriff Richard Nugent of Brooksville, Fla., "we have done almost everything humanly possible as it relates to pursuits and controlling them." Unfortunately, a recent pursuit went out of control. Deputies were chasing a car that refused to pull over -- and 12 deputies got into the act, what at times ran at speeds over 115 mph. One deputy crashed into an innocent vehicle. One blew out a tire and had to stop. Two others lost control with one crashing through a fence, the other going airborne after hitting a dirt berm. Sheriff Nugent noted that all 12 had signed the department's pursuit policy, which prohibited such dangerous chases -- especially since they knew who the driver was and could have arrested him later. The sheriff suspended all 12 deputies, plus the sergeant who authorized the pursuit. "They got caught up in the moment," the sergeant said. "When the adrenaline gets pumping you tend to forget, you get tunnel vision." (St. Petersburg Times)

...That's not a defense, that's a statement of the problem.

ANOTHER EMPTY SUIT: Dean Hrbacek, the former mayor of Sugar Land, Texas, and now running for the U.S. House of Representatives, mailed a campaign brochure to voters. Those who looked closely could see that in the photo of the candidate, his head didn't quite fit on the body, which is noticeably slimmer than Hrbacek's. Campaign officials admitted the Republican's photo was faked -- they had a nice head shot of Hrbacek, but not a full-length photo needed for the brochure, so they pasted his head on someone else's body. (Houston Chronicle)

...Voters are well used to politicians who don't have their heads on straight. I thought it would be fun to pull up the brochure from this candidate who had the faked photo. The story and the brochure photos, including a close-up scan of what tipped everyone off, is on my blog at http://www.thisistrue.com/blog-another_empty_suit.html

PROTECT THE ONES YOU LOVE: Police investigating a single-car crash in Citrus Heights, Calif., suspected that the driver was drunk. Witnesses say he was speeding on a city street and crashed into a tree. The driver, who was not identified by police, was seriously injured. They noted he was not wearing a seatbelt, but that the 12-pack of beer on the seat next to him was. The beer was not injured. (Sacramento Bee)

...Good. It was, after all, innocent.

DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS: Police in Washington state say Joshua R. Stetar, 20, of Granville, N.Y., met a girl on the Internet, and sent "several hundred" text messages to her cell phone and sent her flowers.

The girl is just 15.

He then said he was coming to see her, and "tell the cops that I'm gonna rape you and your sister."

Her sister is 6.

When the girls' parents spotted him sitting in front of their Spokane house minutes later, they called police. Officers discovered Stetar had driven 40 hours straight to meet the girl. He was arrested on felony stalking charges, but when he was released after posting $10,000 bail, he allegedly continued to harass the girl -- and volunteered to work at her school. He was again arrested and his bail was raised to $100,000. Investigators found Stetar's MySpace profile, which notes he has studied psychology, and as a "very conservative" Christian hopes to "maybe one day" become a Christian school teacher. (Albany [N.Y.] Times-Union, Glens Falls [N.Y.] Post-Star)

...Maybe he should spend more time with the Ten Commandments, rather than reading Genesis 34 over and over.

Jolie Rouge

05-29-2008, 09:46 PM

Man fined for throwing hedgehog at teen
Thu May 29, 6:59 PM ET

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealand man who assaulted a teen by hitting him with a spine-covered hedgehog has been fined by a court and ordered to pay most of his fine to his victim.

Whakatane District Court was told Thursday that William Singalargh picked up the hedgehog, a small prickly-backed animal similar to the porcupine, and threw it several yards at a 15-year-old boy in the North Island east coast town of Whakatane on Feb. 9.

Police said the teen was hit in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks. The injury did not require medical treatment.

Singalargh was convicted of common assault and offensive behavior following a defended hearing. He had pleaded innocent to the charges.

He was fined a total of $545, of which $389 were paid to his victim.

A more serious charge of assault with a weapon — the hedgehog — was dropped. The maximum penalty for that charge is five years in prison.

It was not known whether the hedgehog was dead or alive at the time of the attack, but Senior Sgt. Bruce Jenkins said earlier that it was dead when collected as evidence.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_fe_st/hedgehog_assault;_ylt=Agnj9BEn_MEMI2g04Mq9r.QuQE4F

:( Poor hedgehog .... :(

Jolie Rouge

05-29-2008, 09:57 PM

Man allegedly steals wood from park picnic table
Thu May 29, 6:19 PM ET

PATTON, Pa. - An Altoona man has been charged with theft and criminal mischief for allegedly stealing the wood from a state park picnic table to build a shed.

Prince Gallitzin State Park authorities say they discovered the 23-year-old man loading his Dodge Caravan with wood taken from the picnic table on May 15. The park is about 73 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

According to a criminal complaint, the man told a park ranger he was taking the wood to build a shed for his stepchildren.

Park Manager Dan Bickel said the table was stacked with others to be distributed throughout the park for summer use. He says about 300 to 400 picnic tables are located in the park, each valued at about $300.

___

Information from: The Tribune-Democrat, http://www.tribune-democrat.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_fe_st/odd_picnic_table_theft;_ylt=AtdbM6_QOgjilMOJzkG56m QuQE4F

Jolie Rouge

06-02-2008, 09:03 PM

Ashes of Pringles can designer buried in his work
Mon Jun 2, 12:19 PM ET

CINCINNATI - The man who designed the Pringles potato crisp packaging system was so proud of his accomplishment that a portion of his ashes has been buried in one of the iconic cans.

Fredric J. Baur, of Cincinnati, died May 4 at Vitas Hospice in Cincinnati, his family said. He was 89.

Baur's children said they honored his request to bury him in one of the cans by placing part of his cremated remains in a Pringles container in his grave in suburban Springfield Township. The rest of his remains were placed in an urn buried along with the can, with some placed in another urn and given to a grandson, said Baur's daughter, Linda Baur of Diamondhead, Miss.

Baur requested the burial arrangement because he was proud of his design of the Pringles container, a son, Lawrence Baur of Stevensville, Mich., said Monday.

Baur was an organic chemist and food storage technician who specialized in research and development and quality control for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co.

Baur filed for a patent for the tubular Pringles container and for the method of packaging the curved, stacked chips in the container in 1966, and it was granted in 1970, P&G archivist Ed Rider said.

Baur retired from P&G in the early 1980s.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080602/ap_on_re_us/pringles_burial;_ylt=AowJV0Hc67vZCaQFgd0Cnk.s0NUE

Jolie Rouge

06-30-2008, 10:53 PM

Man accused of strolling in thong, fake breasts
Mon Jun 30, 8:22 PM ET

MANCHESTER, Conn. - A Manchester man has been arrested after he allegedly strolled along Interstate 291 wearing nothing but a thong, fake breasts and a wig. Police say they received several calls about the man, which prompted an hour-long search over the weekend.

Police said they found the suspect Saturday fully clothed and collecting cans behind a business in Manchester. Police said they also found a wig and fake breasts in the man's car.

The man, 42, was charged with disorderly conduct and simple trespass. He's free after posting $2,500 bail.

Information from: The Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080701/ap_on_fe_st/odd_thong_arrest;_ylt=AkS4lh.RuHTXxqCeXIM9Sq8uQE4F

speedygirl

07-25-2008, 11:00 PM

5-Year-Old Leaves Day Care, Goes to Hooters

Last Edited: Thursday, 24 Jul 2008, 5:52 PM CDT
Created: Thursday, 24 Jul 2008, 1:57 PM CDT

DENTON, Texas -- Denton police say a child was able to sneak out of his day-care center without anyone noticing and take a perilous walk that ended at a Hooters restaurant.

The 5-year-old boy reportedly walked out of the Imagination Station day care in the 2300 block of San Jacinto Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said he walked a long way in 100-degree heat crossing at least two busy streets.

He went to a Pep Boys, where he swiped some gum, according to a store worker. The boy then hiked to a RaceTrac gas station where he stole a soda, according to investigators.

His walk then led to a Hooters restaurant where employees gave him a coloring book and soda pop to drink and called police.

The child was not hurt and he was released to his father.

Imagination Station would not comment on the situation.

According to the Department of Family and Protective Services, the day care has had several violations including one in April in which inspectors determined that staff was not properly supervising the children.

The state agency is now investigating this case.

atprm

10-09-2008, 11:38 AM

Fish Pedicures Go Belly-Up In Texas
Texas Regulators Ban Procedure

POSTED: 9:53 am EDT October 9, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas state health officials feel there's something fishy about fish pedicures.

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation announced Wednesday that the procedure was banned in the state.

Using a lot of little fish to nibble bits of dead skin off people's feet is the hot thing in the spa world. But health experts are concerned the fish have the potential to spread infections.

A spokeswoman with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation told The Dallas Morning News that because the foot baths and holding tanks are home to live fish, they can't always be properly cleaned and disinfected.

However, officials noted they know of no actual cases of fish pedicures causing health problems.

The Zen Luxury Nail & Beauty Bar in a Dallas suburb bought $2,500 worth of the fish. The co-owner told The Dallas Morning News she's not sure what they're going to do with the 500 guppy-like creatures now that fish pedicures are banned.

Last week, the state of Washington also banned the procedure.

ilovecats

10-09-2008, 05:39 PM

Using a lot of little fish to nibble bits of dead skin off people's feet is the hot thing in the spa world

ewwwww.Imagine doing that?

atprm

10-09-2008, 06:39 PM

:rolling um no!!

using best chinese voice:

com u stick foot in here, feeshy eat you foots, then we cooks it fur you deener.

ilovecats

10-09-2008, 06:51 PM

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

galeane29

10-09-2008, 07:16 PM

Lmao

Jolie Rouge

11-22-2009, 11:22 PM

RI bishop asked Kennedy in 2007 to avoid Communion[/b]
By Ray Henry, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 43 mins ago

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A month of harsh words between Rep. Patrick Kennedy and a strident critic, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, escalated Sunday when the bishop acknowledged asking Kennedy not to receive Holy Communion because of the Democratic lawmaker's support for abortion rights.

The bishop's attempt to publicly shame Kennedy comes just a few months after the death of his father, Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. Tobin told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday that he's praying for the younger Kennedy, who has been in and out of treatment for substance abuse, and said Kennedy has been acting "erratically."

"He attacked the church, he attacked the position of the church on health care, on abortion, on funding," Tobin said. "And that required that I respond. I don't go out looking for these guys. I don't go out picking these fights."

Their dispute began in October when Kennedy criticized the nation's Catholic bishops for threatening to oppose an overhaul of the nation's health care system unless lawmakers included tighter restrictions on abortion, which have since been added to the House version of the bill. Tobin said he felt Kennedy made an unprovoked attack on the church and demanded an apology.

Since then, their feud has played out in public. Tobin, who has said he might have gone into politics were he not ordained, has written sharp public letters questioning Kennedy's faith and saying his position is scandalous and unacceptable to the church. Kennedy has said his disagreement with the church hierarchy does not make him any less of a Catholic.

Two weeks ago, after a planned meeting between the two fell through, Kennedy said he wanted to stop discussing his faith in public. But then he told The Providence Journal in a story published Sunday that Tobin instructed him not to receive Communion. He also claimed the bishop had told diocesan priests not to give him Communion. Kennedy and his spokespeople did not return repeated requests from the AP seeking comment.

Tobin said he wrote to Kennedy in February 2007 asking him not to receive Communion, but never formally banned Kennedy from receiving Communion or instructed any priest not to give it to him.

Kennedy said this month that he receives Communion, but he did not say whether his priest is in the Diocese of Providence. Tobin only has authority over priests in Rhode Island.

The bishop said he would probably not personally give Kennedy Communion and might have "a little conversation" with any priest who regularly gave Kennedy the sacrament.

Tobin said his 2007 request was prompted by a statement in December 2006 from the nation's Catholic bishops, which said believers who knowingly and consistently break with church teachings on moral issues such as abortion should refrain from Communion, a central focus of Roman Catholic worship.

Tobin would not say Sunday whether he had sent similar letters to other pro-choice Catholic politicians, including Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. Reed said in a statement that he respected Tobin's authority on matters of faith but added that "any discussions we've had are between the two of us."

In Rhode Island, the nation's most Catholic state, the monthlong drama has had a mixed reception from rank-and-file Catholics, who get far less scrutiny over their abortion views than Catholic politicians.

Angel Madera, 20, a Marine visiting his home in Providence for Thanksgiving, said before going to a Sunday Mass that Tobin was wrong in publicly assailing Kennedy's faith.

"If they believe they're a true Catholic, who's to say that they're not?" he said.

Several others, like 74-year-old Anne Mitchell said she supported Tobin's attempts to keep strong limits on publicly financed abortion, even though she believed Kennedy was right in saying the country needs health care reform.

"Abortion is wrong. It's always wrong," she said. "Keep abortion out of the bills."

Abortion is a major concern for the Catholic bishops because opposition to the procedure is based on the church's earliest teachings on preserving human life, which have not changed. By comparison, church teaching on the death penalty is not as definitive and has changed over time, making it difficult for church leaders to demand that Catholic lawmakers agree.

Only a few U.S. bishops have said they would outright deny Holy Communion to a Catholic lawmaker who supports policies that violate church teaching. A larger number of prelates have publicly asked a Catholic politician to voluntarily abstain from the sacrament.

For example, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has repeatedly said that former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic Democrat who supports abortion rights, should stop taking Communion until she changes her stance. Sebelius is now President Barack Obama's secretary of Health and Human Services.

Other Catholic politicians have wrestled with the same issue Kennedy faces.

In 1984, former Democratic New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, a Catholic who supported abortion rights and was at the time a potential presidential candidate, delivered a speech at the University of Notre Dame explaining that Catholic lawmakers shouldn't be pressured by church leaders to work for anti-abortion legislation. He said Sunday it's dangerous for the church to pressure politicians because of the potential for unintended consequences.

"If you're required (by the church) to make everybody follow your Catholic role, then nobody would vote for Catholics because it's clear that when you get the authority, you're going to be guided by your faith," the former governor told the AP.

Cuomo said there are two positions a politician can take: They can oppose church doctrine outright or, as he did, accept church teachings personally but refuse to carry them into the public arena where they would affect people of every faith.

"Don't ask me to make everybody live by it because they are not members of the church," Cuomo said. "If that were the operative rule, how could you get any Catholic politician in office? And would that be better for the Catholic church?"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091123/ap_on_re_us/us_ri_bishop_kennedy;_ylt=AgzMqeoruKfOAuXhSzeoS.GS _aF4;_ylu=X3oDMTJuZjhrbmE3BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMTIz L3VzX3JpX2Jpc2hvcF9rZW5uZWR5BGNwb3MDNgRwb3MDNgRzZW MDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3JpYmlzaG9wYXNrZQ--

Jolie Rouge

12-05-2009, 07:08 PM

Up in arms over kangaroo, emu "Coat of Arms" chips
Sat Dec 5, 12:00 pm ET

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20091204/i/r2330896344.jpg

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) – Some Australians are up in arms over a new kangaroo and emu flavored chip, horrified that people are encouraged to eat the nation's coat of arms which depicts the iconic Australian animals.

Complaints to Australia's Advertising Standards Bureau said the "BBQ Coat of Arms" chips were degrading for native wildlife and sent the wrong message to Australian children, reported the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

"It implies that it is perfectly OK to kill kangaroos and emus just for fun!" said one complaint.

But the company manufacturing the chips rejected the charge, saying the kangaroo and emu flavored chips celebrated Australia's heritage.

The Advertising Standards Bureau investigated the complaints against the new chips but decided not to take any action.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091205/lf_nm_life/us_australia_chips

Jolie Rouge

12-14-2009, 09:48 PM

These people are deranged...

Fetus found in gift box, Texas couple charged
48 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091215/ap_on_re_us/us_fetus_gift_box/print
SAN JUAN, Texas – Authorities allege a south Texas couple put an aborted 7-month-old fetus in a gift box under a Christmas tree after trying to flush the remains down a toilet.

Thirty-one-year-old Ruby Lee Medina and 37-year-old Javier Gonzalez are jailed on abuse of corpse and tampering with evidence charges. Bond is set at $20,000 each.

A woman at the San Juan city jail says she can't say whether either has retained an attorney.

San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez says police found the fetus inside the woman's trailer home Thursday after an anonymous tip.

Gonzalez says police believe the woman used pills to induce an abortion, then called an ambulance and said she didn't know where the fetus was.

Gonzalez says the couple first tried to flush the fetus, then cleaned it up and put in the gift box.

Jolie Rouge

12-21-2009, 11:28 AM

Japanese man takes video game character as wife
By Chris Meyers Sun Dec 20, 5:44 pm ET

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese man has married a character in a popular video game, taking her -- and his handheld game console -- on an overseas honeymoon.

The man, who prefers to use his online moniker SAL9000, met character Nene Anegasaki while playing dating simulation game "Love Plus."

They got married a few weeks ago, broadcasting their ceremony live on Japan's version of video-sharing website Youtube.

SAL9000, who did not want to reveal his real name for fear of being misunderstood, admits to be an "otaku," a breed of Japanese youth obsessed with video games, computers and fantasy worlds.

"In the Japanese otaku or nerd culture, there's a tradition of calling characters my wife, and I sort of thought of Nene as my wife. Since I was calling her that, I thought we'd just have to get married then," he told Reuters Television.

"If more people were to find ways of expressing themselves like this, I think it would make society a bit more interesting."

The newlyweds, who went on a honeymoon to Guam, now go on dates around Tokyo, with SAL9000 taking pictures of Nene, installed in his Nintendo DS, in front of famous landmarks and then posting them on social networking sites.

As the game "Love Plus" has voice recognition software, SAL9000 says it's possible to have a sort of conversation with Nene or even play simple games such as rock, paper, scissors.

He also has vowed to have and to hold, for better and for worse, even if another, updated version of the game is released.

"I think I'll probably continue playing Love Plus. I won't cheat," SAL9000 said.

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091220/od_nm/us_japan_videogame

... but can she cook ?

Jolie Rouge

12-29-2009, 01:52 PM

Pot-stuffed teddy bear found at Calif. toy store
Tue Dec 29, 12:24 am ET

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. – Authorities say they confiscated a teddy bear at a Southern California toy store that was stuffed with marijuana.

The owner of Toy Town said Monday that he got the package last week, opened it up and found a 2-foot-tall blue teddy bear that felt "hard and crinkly." The bear turned out to be stuffed with three large, vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana.

Owner Joshua Vecchione says he called Orange County sheriff's officials.

The package was addressed to someone in Colorado and mailed from Thousand Oaks with the toy store, in Ladera Ranch, as the return address.

___

Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091229/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_marijuana_teddy_bear

Jolie Rouge

12-29-2009, 02:12 PM

Facebook, Twitter top list of weird stories in 2009
ByEriik Kirschbaum
Tue Dec 29, 7:39 am ET

BERLIN (Reuters) – From the German town that unwittingly advertised pornography on its website to the American who interrupted his wedding to update his Facebook and Twitter accounts, the world was full of weird stories in 2009.

"Standing at the alter with @TracyPage where just a second ago she became my wife! Gotta go, time to kiss the bride" is how Dana Hanna kept the world posted between "I do" and that kiss.

Cartoon character Marge Simpson made it on the cover of Playboy magazine, two White House gate-crashers celebrated their triumph on Facebook, and the world was fooled into believing a 6-year-old boy was caught in a runaway home-made helium balloon.

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube proved fertile ground for many of the bizarre stories.

British physicians were advised to ignore amorous advances from patients after some were propositioned on Facebook, Dutch lawmakers were told off for tweeting in parliament and in Canada an MP had to apologise for insulting a rival on Twitter.

In New York, five "restroom ambassadors" got jobs tweeting from the toilets at Times Square: greeting tourists and shoppers -- and then sending short dispatches on their encounters.

Britain's High Court ordered its first injunction via Twitter to stop an anonymous Tweeter impersonating someone else.

The U.N.'s World Food Programme sent text messages to Iraqi refugees in Syria so they could redeem the virtual vouchers for fresh food in local shops. A U.S. survey found that one in five drivers read or sent text messages from behind the wheel.

"The new technologies that help us multi-task in our everyday lives and increasingly popular social media sites present a hard-to-resist challenge," said U.S. motor club head Robert Darbelnet -- a fitting description for the whole year.

FUNERAL HOME GOES GREEN

Swine flu, or H1N1, presented another challenge -- and rich source of weird stories. In Egypt, thousands of pigs were slaughtered even though the United Nations said the mass cull was a "real mistake" because the strain was not found in pigs.

Russian soccer fans were instructed to drink whisky on a trip to Wales for a World Cup qualifier match to ward off the H1N1 virus. In Japan, candidates stopped shaking hands. In Italy an inventor devised an electronic holy water dispenser.

The spread of new media got people in trouble. Dutch muggers were caught with the help of a Google street view camera.

A vain British burglar sent a picture of himself to his newspaper because the wanted criminal said he did not like the police mugshot. A picture of a student urinating on a British war memorial published in a newspaper led to his being charged.

A German student thrown off a train for riding without a ticket got in trouble on his own.

He stuck his backside against the window at railway staff but his trousers got caught in a train door. He nearly died mooning as he was dragged half-naked along the platform, out of the station and onto the tracks before the train stopped.

In India, a mid-air scuffle broke out between pilots and crew of one flight. In the U.S., two Northwest pilots overflew their destination by 250 km (155 miles). They said they lost their bearings while using their personal laptops in the cockpit.

A Saudi court sentenced a man to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes for boasting about his sexual exploits on TV.

Australian horse racing officials were denounced for holding a dwarf racing competition. The race involved men charging down a course with dwarfs dressed in jockey silks riding piggyback.

The Paris tourist board urged locals to do their part to battle a 17-percent plunge in visitors: Smile! S'il vous plait.

In Norway happy cows proved to be more productive. Since new rules were introduced in 2004 allowing the cows to relax for up to half a day on soft rubberized mattresses, officials reported they are producing more milk and have fewer udder infections.

An Irish school told children to bring their own toilet paper to help the school save money while Cuban officials said the country was facing a severe shortage of toilet paper.

Climate change was another big theme in 2009. To save water and electricity in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez urged people to stop singing in the shower.

Those wishing to be cremated but worried about producing greenhouse gases even after dying learned about a funeral home in Florida that has come up with a greener way to go by dissolving the body using a chemical process.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091229/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_year

Jolie Rouge

12-30-2009, 07:51 PM

Cops: Man kills dog, streaks, pours coffee on head
13 mins ago

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – A man savagely killed a dog, ran naked through a tennis club and poured hot coffee on his head before he was finally arrested early Wednesday, Orange County sheriff's deputies said.

Bayron Reyes Lopez, 26, of San Clemente, was hospitalized after being captured at the tennis club where he worked as a maintenance man, sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Deputies got the first call about the man at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday when there were reports of a loud radio at his apartment. Amormino said deputies believe he jumped from a third-story window to get away, and was unhurt.

Just after 6 a.m. Judy Donnelley called to say a "strange" man had approached her, and when her 5-year-old mini schnauzer named Coco intervened, the man killed the dog, hitting, choking and "repeatedly beating her on asphalt in front of me."

"She saved my life," Donnelley told KCAL-TV. "I don't know how to thank her." She put flowers on the street where her dog died.

Minutes later, other callers reported a naked man running through the Rancho San Clemente Tennis Club and pouring hot coffee on his head. That's where deputies caught up with him, Amormino said.

He was initially hospitalized but "will be, at the least, booked for cruelty to animals," Amormino said.

He was being tested to determine if he was under the influence of any drugs or narcotics, Amormino added, so other charges were also possible.

See mug shot :
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091231/capt.564925974cae4c208f47315e0ce27c7f.naked_dog_ki ller_ny135.jpg?x=400&y=300&q=85&sig=Kk7co_RPWZhfAQXc_xDwNg--

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091231/ap_on_re_us/us_naked_dog_killer;_ylt=Ag25oLGTn5AsSGNQDPKona.Ww vIE;_ylu=X3oDMTM4ZTUxM2lnBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMjMxL 3VzX25ha2VkX2RvZ19raWxsZXIEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXI EY3BvcwM0BHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDY 29wc21hbmtpbGxz

Jolie Rouge

01-06-2010, 08:26 PM

Police seek woman who trashed Mo. McDonald's
Wed Jan 6, 6:35 pm ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Police in Kansas City, Mo., are looking for a woman who went on a rampage at a McDonald's because she didn't like her hamburger. Police said the woman caused thousands of dollars in damage on Dec. 27 when she became upset that the restaurant wouldn't refund her money.

Employees had offered to replace her hamburger, but the woman refused and demanded her money back.

Police released a video showing the woman throwing a sign and a bucket of water over the counter and pushing off a glass display case and three cash registers. She then cursed and fled.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100106/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_mcdonald_s_rampage;_ylt=Ahl1NOpGnuiqgtq1Nxz UC9Ks0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN0MGptZDRnBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTA wMTA2L3VzX29kZF9tY2RvbmFsZF9zX3JhbXBhZ2UEY2NvZGUDb W9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM4BHBvcwM1BHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQR zZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDcG9saWNlc2Vla3dv

Nudists steamed over sea lion carcass on beach
Wed Jan 6, 4:18 pm ET

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – Some Orange County nudists are fuming over the burial of a rotting sea lion carcass on a San Onofre beach. The naturists said Tuesday that state parks officials buried the animal on the beach near Trail 6, which used to be clothing-optional until officials cracked down in 2008. Allen Baylis said the dead animal's fin sticks out of the sand just a few yards from a volleyball court near where people still sunbathe naked. He said the stench is so overpowering it will keep people away.

The park's maintenance chief, Steve Scott, said his crews had to move the 10-foot sea lion from where it was found because of crowds and erosion on that beach.

Scott said it was not their intention to offend or inconvenience the nudists.

___

Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100106/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_nudist_sea_lion_carcass

NM family sues funeral home over brain in bag
By Tim Korte, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 6, 7:36 pm ET

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A New Mexico family is suing after making a gruesome discovery — a bag of personal effects given to them after their mother's death contained her brain.

Funeral homes in New Mexico and Utah, where the woman died, are blaming each other for the mistake.

"This is just a sad tragedy," plaintiffs attorney Richard Valle said Wednesday. "This almost feels like something you'd read about in a Stephen King book."

The Albuquerque Journal first reported about the lawsuit, filed Monday in state District Court in Albuquerque. According to the complaint, the woman's relatives "smelled a foul odor coming from the bag" they received from DeVargas Funeral Home and Crematory of the Espanola Valley.

The woman, identified by her initials M.F.R., died in a car accident in Utah on Sept. 28.

Funeral home owner Johnny DeVargas didn't immediately return telephone messages seeking comment but denied any fault and told the newspaper a Utah funeral home was responsible.

"All I can say is DeVargas did absolutely nothing wrong," DeVargas said. "The family was very meticulously cared for and they were very pleased with our service."

In addition to the New Mexico funeral home, the lawsuit also names as defendants Serenicare Funeral Home in Draper, Utah, and Inman Shipping Worldwide, an Ohio-based shipping company that transported the body to northern New Mexico.

A woman who answered the telephone after business hours at Inman's call center said nobody from the company was available to comment.

Serenicare owner Dick Johnson characterized his firm's action as typical within the industry.

The woman's brain went into a bag for transport to northern New Mexico, he said, because "the brain is about 75 percent water." In this case, Johnson said the brain sustained substantial trauma from the crash. He said her personal effects were placed in a separate bag.

"Rather than try to reinsert the brain into a damaged head, it is common practice to ship it inside a bag," he said. "If we put it back in (the head), it could have been a soggy, leaky mess."

Johnson also said when someone has died in a violent crash, there's usually blood "and who knows what" on clothing or other items, so his employees typically sit down with relatives of the victim and encourage them to let the funeral home discard the bag rather than accept it.

He also denied that the Utah funeral home combined the brain and personal items in a single bag.

"I think once all the discovery takes place, it will become evident there was some negligence at that end," Johnson said. "We feel bad. We don't know what could have been done differently, but we follow standard industry practice."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100107/ap_on_re_us/us_brain_lawsuit;_ylt=AodHD4zrIij3z3PVlHMYonwuQE4F ;_ylu=X3oDMTM1M2JxdXQzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMTA3L3Vz X2JyYWluX2xhd3N1aXQEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3Bvcw M0BHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDbm1mYW1p bHlzdWVz

pepperpot

01-06-2010, 09:05 PM

ewww....

Jolie Rouge

01-06-2010, 09:16 PM

which one ??

pepperpot

01-06-2010, 09:25 PM

the brain......:faint:

Jolie Rouge

01-08-2010, 10:44 PM

Bookie refuses to pay out $11 million on snow bet
By Gish Gupta
Fri Jan 8, 12:32 pm ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Bookmaker Ladbrokes is refusing to pay out more than 7 million pounds ($11 million) to a man who gambled on a white Christmas across the UK, as the bet was accepted by mistake.

Cliff Bryant, 52, had placed two 5-pound accumulator bets that snow would fall on 24 towns and cities across the north of England on Christmas Day.

"We have apologized to the customer for any confusion and for mistakenly accepting an accumulator bet when our own rules state that only single bets are available on a market of this nature," said a Ladbrokes spokesman.

"We are happy to void the bets and to pay the customer his winnings on the relevant singles."

They however amount to just 31.78 pounds, rather than the 7.1 million Bryant was expecting.

The graphic designer from Southampton, who told the local Southern Daily Echo newspaper he was "gutted" and would seek legal advice, claims the first accumulator would have won him 4.9 million pounds, with the second adding 2.2 million.

"If I make a mistake in my work like that it costs me dearly and I think the offer should be a lot more generous than they have made," he told the paper.

Ladbrokes should have made their rules clearer, he added.

"They are one of the leading bookmakers in the country and I think they ought to do their homework a bit better in future."

Ladbrokes gave Bryant details of the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS), an impartial adjudicator on disputes that arise between gambling operators and their customers.

Danny Cracknell, a manager of the IBAS, told Reuters that Bryant had been in contact and they would be investigating the issue once he had completed the relevant forms.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100108/od_nm/us_bet;_ylt=AkelQaJG0QoiyXK66RZwP0ms0NUE;_ylu=X3oD MTFmdG5tdjIwBHBvcwMyMDEEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9vZGRfbm V3cwRzbGsDYm9va2llcmVmdXNl

Jolie Rouge

01-21-2010, 02:35 PM

Almost-close encounter: Meteorite hits Lorton doctor's office
By Paul Duggan Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 21, 2010; B03

http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2010/01/21/PH2010012102351.jpg

Much later, after the hole in the roof had been fixed and the debris cleaned up, after the cause of the damage finally had become clear, Frank Ciampi wondered: What are the odds?

He is a doctor. He has worked for 18 years in the two-story building in Lorton that houses the Williamsburg Square Family Practice, in the 9500 block of Richmond Highway. He spends his days walking in and out of examining rooms, seeing patients.

What are the chances, as he goes about his routine, that he'll get hit by a meteorite?

Not impossible.

It almost happened.

"I was in my office doing charts," Ciampi recalled. It was Monday, a little after 5:30 p.m. He was on the building's second floor. "And I heard a loud boom, almost like a small explosion."

At first, he said, he thought a bookcase had toppled nextdoor. "So I ran toward the office. And then I saw all the debris in the hallway," he said.

The floor just outside examination room No. 2 -- about 10 feet from where Ciampi had been doing paperwork -- was littered with small pieces of wood, plaster and insulation. Upon inspection, more debris lay inside the room. He saw three chunks of stone on the floor that together formed a rock about the size of a tennis ball, with a glassy-smooth surface. Then he saw a hole about the size of the rock in the tile ceiling, and a tear in the maroon carpet where the rock had landed.

"The first thing we thought was maybe something had fallen from a plane," Ciampi said.

For most of the day, the 10 examination rooms used by Ciampi and two other medical professionals in the practice had been occupied by patients. Had the falling object crashed through the ceiling a little earlier, it might have killed someone.

"I thank God," Ciampi said.

Later, he said, "I was up all night, wondering what it was." No one else in the practice could figure it out, either. Then on Tuesday, the office manager, Rhonda Lawrence, offered a suggestion from her husband Jeffrey, who has a background in geology.

"Jeff said that maybe it was a meteorite," Ciampi said. "We didn't think of that. You know, a meteorite -- that's not the first thing you think of."

Cari Corrigan, a planetary scientist at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History, confirmed it.

"It's beautiful," she gushed on Wednesday, after examining the rock.

"The first thing we look at is what's called the fusion crust on the outside," she said. "It's kind of a black, shiny coating, because when it passes through the atmosphere, it's melting a little at a time. So it's like an outer layer of glass, of melted rock."

That, plus flecks of metal in the rock, confirmed it had come from space, she said.

Corrigan said small meteorites hit Earth "fairly often." "We're bombarded by stuff like that all the time," she said. Since most of the planet's surface is uninhabited, most meteorites land a long, long way from people. And most of those that do hit inhabited areas go unnoticed, she said.

Every now and then, though, there's a landing like the one in Lorton. She said the meteorite weighs just over a half pound and probably was traveling about 220 mphwhen it hit the building.

If the folks at the medical practice want her to, Corrigan said, she will submit the stone to the Meteorite Nomenclature Committee.

"They'll give it an official name and an official description and it'll go on the books as being an official meteorite," she said. "I would imagine it would be called the Lorton, Va., Meteorite, or something like that."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/20/AR2010012004767.html?g=0

Jolie Rouge

01-26-2010, 09:08 PM

gotta love the headline ...

Man caught at airport with 44 lizards in pants
Tue Jan 26, 5:08 pm ET

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A German reptile collector has been jailed for 14 weeks and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine for plundering New Zealand's wild gecko and skink populations, a judge has ruled.

Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, is to be deported to Germany as soon as he is released from prison, Judge Colin Doherty ordered Tuesday.

Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.

He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting absolutely protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.

Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told Christchurch District Court that Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of 500,000 dollars and six months in prison.

Bodie told Doherty that the department sought a deterrent sentence for "the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more."

The geckos may have been worth 2,000 euros ($2,800) each on the European market, he noted.

"Internationally, this type of trade is prevalent and is on the increase worldwide and can be lucrative," he said.

Customs records showed that Kubus had also been to New Zealand in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he had been with a Swiss reptile dealer.

Doherty said Kubus had come to New Zealand and set about poaching the animals in a premeditated way which would have had an impact on particular colonies.

There was a potential for Kubus to end up with far more animals than he could have housed in his own collection and the rest would have been sold.

"I don't think you necessarily came here to steal to sell, but I am sure the fact that you might have had excess was figured into your thinking," said the judge, describing the offending as "pretty close to the worst case."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100126/ap_on_re_as/as_new_zealand_reptile_plunder

Jolie Rouge

01-31-2010, 09:53 PM

Sticky, smelly Bag Balm: Problem-salving for all
By John Curran, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jan 31, 10:51 am ET

LYNDONVILLE, Vt. – Winter is most definitely here. It must be. The phones are ringing at Bag Balm headquarters.

Everyone wants a new tub of the gooey, yellow-green ointment. And all have a story about its problem-salving — they use it on squeaky bed springs, psoriasis, dry facial skin, cracked fingers, burns, zits, diaper rash, saddle sores, sunburn, pruned trees, rifles, shell casings, bed sores and radiation burns.

Everything, it seems, except for cows.

"Some, you don't really even want to hear, but they're gonna tell you anyway," said accounts manager Krystina McMorrow, who is half the office staff.

"I've been here 14 years," said accounts-receivable clerk Shawna Wilkerson, the other half. "The oddest one I've heard was somebody who reloads his ammunition. He puts Bag Balm on the bullet casing and it makes it easier to reload 'em."

Developed in 1899 to soothe the irritated udders of milking cows, the substance with the mild medicinal odor has evolved into a medicine chest must-have, with as many uses as Elmer's glue.

According to Bag Balm lore, the stuff went from barns to bedrooms when dairy farmers' wives noticed how smooth their spouses' fingers were after using it on cows' udders. The wives were jealous.

Bag Balm went to the North Pole with Admiral Byrd, to Allied troops in World War II, who used it to keep weapons from corroding, to Ground Zero for the paws of cadaver-sniffing dogs searching the World Trade Center rubble, and to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sold off pet care shelves and at farm stores for $8.99 per 10-oz. green tub (with cow's head on the lid), it's made of petrolatum, lanolin and an antiseptic, 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate — substantially the same formula used since John L. Norris bought it from a Wells River druggist before the turn of the century.

It is made in a one-room "plant" by the family owned Dairy Association Co., Inc. — six employees, two officers and no sales force — operating in a cluster of converted railroad buildings in this small (pop. 1,215) northern Vermont town.

Petrolatum is shoveled from 50-gallon drums into a large vat and blended with lanolin from Uruguay, then heated to 95 degrees. A machine quickly squirts the goop into metal cans that are cooled, capped and packaged.

The plant is inspected annually by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, though the product is marketed for use by animals, not humans.

Distributed by wholesalers and sold retail in farm stores, national drugstore chains and general stores, its popularity has grown largely with word-of-mouth advertising as converts becomes users and then devotees.

Imitators through the years have included Udderly Smooth Udder Cream and Udder Balm.

The Dairy Association won't divulge sales figures.

In a 1983 report, the late CBS News journalist Charles Kuralt said upward of 400,000 units were shipped annually. Norris' granddaughter, company President Barbara Norris Allen, won't say how today's shipments compare.

"The colder the weather, the better our business," said Ron Bean, production manager at the plant, which is open for tours but not photographers.

To call the operation old-fashioned is an understatement.

The plant operates with one shift, Monday through Friday. The Dairy Association doesn't take credit cards ("Send us a good ol' check," says Allen). And the names of individual stores that buy directly are kept on index cards in file cabinets.

Long-distance bicyclist Andy Claflin says he started using Bag Balm on a cross-country race last June, when a teammate turned him on to it for saddle sores.

Claflin, 37, from Dayton, Minn., was suffering from saddle sores as he competed in the Race Across America. A teammate told him it was good for the sores, a bane of long-distance biking. So he slathered some on, down below.

"I was sitting there in Arizona, it's 110 degrees, the air conditioning wasn't working, the crapper in the RV wasn't working, I gotta' bike 100 miles in this heat and great, I've got to deal with this," he said. "It was nasty and filthy and it felt weird ... But I didn't have saddle sores from then on, riding 130 miles a day. When you're on the bike, you're like 'Oh, this stuff is great.'"

Marge Boyle, 62, a quilter in Paducah, Ky., keeps a tin by her sewing machine.

"It's really a wonderful product when you're sewing, because of all the pinpricks you get. It soothes and heals your fingers. Quilters are always pricking their fingers. We wash our hands constantly to keep them free of dirt, and you need something to soothe them," she said.

And it's still de rigeur in barns, where it all started.

Dairy farmer Willie Ryan has used it since the '70s, to soothe the chapped teats of cows. And more.

"The cows get frostbit sometime, so we use the Bag Balm," said Ryan, 60, of Craftsbury, Vt. "Any open wound with swelling, you just put some of that in and put a pack bandage on it and it does wonders. Don't ask me how, but it does," he said.

For all its myriad uses, there's one place its makers say never to use it. "Never put Bag Balm in your hair, because you will not get it out," said Wilkerson.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100131/ap_on_re_us/us_bag_balm

Jolie Rouge

02-01-2010, 08:44 PM

Invasion of the Giant Squids
by Mike Krumboltz
5 hours ago

Giant squids! Sorry to startle you, but we're just so excited. You see, they're giant squids! And they're invading California beaches by the hundreds! And in a heavily attended press conference this morning, they announced plans to star in their own reality show!

OK, so maybe that last one hasn't happened (yet), but the rest of it is the honest-to-god truth. An article from the AP explains that the squids weigh up to 60 pounds each, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100201/ap_on_re_us/us_giant_squid_invasion but most tip the scales somewhere between 20 and 40 pounds. And, yes, they squirt ink when irritated.

Web searches on the giant squids (GIANT SQUIDS!) are already off the charts. One-day spikes on both "giant squids" and "giant squids in california" surged from near-zip into the thousands. Folks clearly want to see these gargantuan creatures for themselves.

Despite their intimidating heft and tendency to spew ink, the squids aren't scaring off local fishermen. As of today, around 400 of the giant squids have been nabbed by anglers. That number is likely to rise. An article from San Diego 6 explains that locals "started booking twilight fishing trips over the weekend to catch them." http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Giant-squid-San-Diego-Newport-Beach/UBgsz3UMBkeTNUb27l0awg.cspx?rss=800

The last time the giant (aka “jumbo” aka “Humboldt”) squid made waves in Search came last September, when a record-breaking 19 ½-foot-long, 103-lb beast was pulled from the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/rare_giant_squid_captured_by_s.html

Now they're back with a vengeance. Wanna see the new ones for yourself? MyFoxLA hosts a collection of photos of nabbed squids.

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93359?fp=1

Rare giant squid captured by sperm whale researchers in Gulf of Mexico
19 1/2-foot, 103-pound specimen may provide clues to protect endangered whales
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune
September 22, 2009, 7:20AM

http://media.nola.com/news_impact/photo/squidjpg-b08397defbf374ba_medium.jpg

http://media.nola.com/news_impact/photo/giant-squidjpg-d915fcb707be24d6_medium.jpg

Looking something like an alien being from the movie "Independence Day," the 19 1/2-foot-long, 103-pound giant squid pulled from 1,500 feet beneath the Gulf of Mexico recently is helping marine scientists better understand the eating habits of sperm whales.

Biologists with the Minerals Management Service are attempting to identify the fish and squid species preferred by the estimated 1,665 sperm whales that call the Gulf their home, said MMS research biologist Deborah Epperson.

During a recent cruise to study the movements of Gulf sperm whales, which are genetically distinct and smaller than sperm whales found in other oceans, the scientists conducted tests on a new trawl net designed to sample fish and squid in the deep water where the huge whales graze. "We know that elsewhere, they eat squid and fish, but we really don’t know what they eat in the Gulf," Epperson said.

The unusual find — only the second giant squid found whole in the Gulf — was caught during the test trawl. Photos of the specimen were sent to experts who confirmed it was Architeuthis -- the scientific name for giant squid -- and the squid itself was sent to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History for further study.

The first giant squid on record in the Gulf was found in 1954, floating on the water’s surface, Epperson said. However, giant squid have been found in the stomachs of sperm whales that have beached on the Gulf shoreline, she said. But they’re considered a rare treat for the whales, as they’re more likely to have feasted on smaller, more common squid species.

The knowledge will help federal officials understand how to protect those species, and thus protect the endangered whales.

This specimen could be considered middling in size. Giant squid have been known to reach 60 feet long from the crown of the mantle to the end of the tentacles. Most range from 18 feet to 40 feet long.

The MMS is researching the feeding habits of the sperm whale as part of its duties regulating oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf, where there are about 4,000 offshore oil platforms and 25,000 miles of active oil and gas pipeline on the sea floor. "We can’t investigate potential impacts on the whales unless we know what they prey on," she said. Thus the research on the "scattering layer" — the layer of water containing fish and other life that shows up in sonic soundings similar to those used by recreational fishers.

Research indicates that the Gulf sperm whale subspecies can sustain no more than an average 2.8 human-caused deaths each year without threatening its recovery to a non-endangered status.

Last year, the agency released the results of a six-year, $9.3 million study of the effects of oil and gas exploration seismic survey noise on the whales, that concluded using seismic airguns far away from the whales would cause little problem.

But the study also showed that some whales feeding deep beneath the surface reduced their own acoustic searches for food when the airguns were used too close to them. The result was an agreement by the oil and gas industry to shut down seismic surveys when airguns came within 1/3 mile of whales in the Gulf.

The oil and gas platforms, and exploration for more petroleum, are found in the same area along the continental shelf and Mississippi Canyon — off the river’s mouth — that the behemoths tend to congregate to feed.

That area seems to be targeted by the whales because the nutrients carried offshore by the river water cascade into the Gulf’s deeper waters offshore, where they provide the energy necessary for the food web that sustains the whales’ prey, Epperson said. The whales also like the contours and other features of the deepwater area, she said. "They travel the continental slope back and forth like a mass exodus to Gulf Shores," Epperson said.

During a 60-day research cruise in February and March, scientists will again use the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel Gordon Gunter to identify the species in underwater areas frequented by the whales, she said.

"We’ll end up with a species list and all kinds of data on what that layer (of fish and other species) is composed of," she said.

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/rare_giant_squid_captured_by_s.html

Jolie Rouge

02-11-2010, 09:33 PM

Frisbee inventor dies at 90
By Doug Alden, Ap Sports Writer
2 hrs 16 mins ago

SALT LAKE CITY – Walter Fredrick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died. He was 90.

Utah House Rep. Kay McIff, an attorney who represented Morrison in a royalties case, says Morrison died at his home in Monroe, Utah, on Tuesday. McIff is from Richfield, Morrison's original hometown.

"That simple little toy has permeated every continent in every country, as many homes have Frisbees as any other device ever invented," McIff said. "How would you get through your youth without learning to throw a Frisbee?"

Morrison's son, Walt, told The Associated Press Thursday that "old age caught up" with his father and that he also had cancer.

"He was a nice guy. He helped a lot of people," Walt Morrison said. "He was an entrepreneur. He was always looking for something to do."

Morrison sold the production and manufacturing rights to his "Pluto Platter" in 1957. The plastic flying disc was later renamed the "Frisbee," with sales surpassing 200 million discs. It is now a staple at beaches and college campuses across the country and spawned sports like Frisbee golf and the team sport Ultimate.

An official disc golf course at Creekside Park in the Salt Lake City suburb of Holladay is named for Morrison.

Morrison co-wrote a book with Frisbee enthusiast and historian Phil Kennedy in 2001. Kennedy released a brief biography about Morrison on Thursday, wishing his late friend "smoooooth flights."

According to Kennedy, Morrison and his future wife, Lu, used to toss a tin cake pan on the beach in California. The idea grew as Morrison considered ways to make the cake pans fly better and after serving as a pilot in World War II, Morrison began manufacturing his flying discs in 1948.

He would hawk the discs at local fairs and eventually attracted Wham-O Manufacturing, the company that bought the rights to Morrison's plastic discs.

Kennedy says Wham-O adopted the name "Frisbee" because that's what college students in New England were calling the Pluto Platters. The name came from the Frisbie Pie Co., a local bakery whose empty tins were tossed like the soon-to-be Frisbee.

Walt Morrison said his father is survived by three children. The family is planning a service for Morrison's friends and relatives Saturday at the Cowboy Corral in Elsinore.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100212/ap_on_sp_ot/us_obit_frisbee_inventor

Jolie Rouge

02-11-2010, 09:36 PM

Sleuths unravel 16th-century Italian murder mystery
By Ella Ide Thu Feb 11, 1:21 pm ET

ROME (Reuters) – Police in Sicily have called in an international team of forensic scientists and criminologists to help solve the case of a murdered Baroness, 447 years after the crime.

The investigation in Carini -- a small town near Palermo -- centers on the castle where Baroness Laura Lanza was killed in 1563 with her lover Ludovico Vernagallo when they were caught in bed together.

"Justice wasn't done back then," said Gaetano La Fata, Mayor of Carini, who has decided to reopen the case and exhume the remains of the lovers.

"We hope that DNA tests and criminal profiling will help us discover the motive behind the crime and establish whether there was more than one assassin," he told Reuters.

The Baroness's father Cesare confessed to the honor killing in a letter to the king, which is currently archived in the Chiesa Madre church in Carini.

"Legend has it, however, that Cesare Lanza did not act alone, but was helped by his son-in-law, Don Vincenzo La Grua," said the Mayor.

Rumours passed down through generations of Sicilians have it that the husband was motivated by plans to marry again. La Grua may also have feared his rival, Vernagallo, would attempt to claim financial rights for fathering children with his wife.

In reopening the 'cold case', La Fata has asked the local police to work together with the ICAA (International Crime Analysis Association) headed by Marco Strano, psychologist and criminologist for the Italian State Police.

"The idea for the investigation began as a joke," Strano told Reuters. "I visited Carini in June and when I met La Fata I teased him for not having resolved the murder yet, so he challenged me to solve it."

BLOODY HANDPRINT

"There was a trial held at the time, but though both father and son-in-law had their properties temporarily confiscated, they were soon declared innocent, probably thanks to their noble status and the legal right for fathers and husbands of adulterous women to commit honor killings," said Strano.

It is thought the two lovers are buried in a common grave under the crypt of the Chiesa Madre church in Carini.

"If we are lucky enough to find and identify their bones, it might be possible to verify the cause of death, whether they were run through with a sword or stabbed with a dagger. If there was more than one weapon used, it's likely there was more than one murderer."

The team of crime analysts, made up of American and Italian experts in forensic science and criminal pathology, are in the process of making a 3D computer model of the 11th century castle, including the room overlooking the Gulf of Carini where the murder took place.

"We hope to map the killer's path from the courtyard to the crime scene, and work out whether it's likely there were servants in that part of the building at the time who might have seen the murderer or an accomplice," Strano said.

The investigation coincides with a project to rebuild parts of Carini Castle that have collapsed over time. The crime scene has recently been restored. A red handprint has been painted on the wall to mark the spot where -- legend has it -- the struggling Baroness left a bloody imprint, which reappears every year to mark the anniversary of her murder.

Mayor La Fata hopes that the project will help unravel some of the mystery that surrounds the lovers, whose story continues to intrigue visitors and locals alike.

"Several years ago we tested areas of the castle we knew the Baroness lived in with electromagnetic field meters, and the results were very strange," La Fata said. "In certain rooms it was as if there were ghosts in the castle, as if the murdered Baroness lives on."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100211/od_nm/us_italy_mystery_odd

Jolie Rouge

02-17-2010, 12:36 PM

Cat stew lover skewered in Italy
By Frances D'emilio, Associated Press Writer
22 mins ago

ROME – Italian state TV has suspended a cooking show host who shocked the nation by saying cat stew is a Tuscan delicacy he swears he has enjoyed many times.

RAI TV confirmed on Wednesday that it had suspended Beppe Bigazzi, the 77-year-old host of a popular morning program that offers food tips and recipes in a country fiercely proud of its cuisine.

When his 27-year-old female co-host looked stunned as Bigazzi said he has eaten cat stew "many times," the white-haired, grandfather figure defended his tastes.

"Why, people maybe don't eat rabbit, chicken, pigeon?" Bigazzi said. He could have added horse meat, which many butchers and supermarket meat departments stock.

"Who's not fat, kills the cat," is how Bigazzi began his lighthearted prattle about cat stew.

Bigazzi claimed cat stew was a Tuscan specialty near the Arno river valley, but co-host Elisa Isoardi looked so embarrassed she ducked behind a cart of fresh salad greens whose healthy virtues the two were supposed to be chatting about. "Cat, soaked for three days in the running water of a stream" in Tuscany "comes out with its meat white, and I assure you — I have eaten it many times — that it is a delicacy," Bigazzi continued.

His critics included Health Ministry Undersecretary Francesca Martini. "Cats are pets protected by law," Martini noted, specifically against "cruelty, maltreatment and abandonment."

She lamented in a statement issued by the Health Ministry that Bigazzi's advocating cat stew "hurts sensibility, which is fortunately steadily growing, of citizens toward animals."

The director of the RAI channel the show runs on, Mauro Mazza, called the decision to suspend Bigazzi for an unspecified amount of time as "painful but inevitable."

Only a few moments after revealing his startling recipe, Bigazzi seemed to anticipate he would be barraged with criticism. "Now there will be letters from nature lovers. Why don't they defend rabbits?" he asked.

By Wednesday, two days after the showed was broadcast, the YouTube video clip had recorded more than 55,000 hits, and more than 800 comments registered. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jyGVElV6_Y

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100217/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_cat_stew_2

PETA's gonna get you ... :bolt: Seriously .... during the war years, people eat whatever meat they can get their hands on as a matter of survival.

http://209.157.64.201/focus/f-chat/2452965/posts

Jolie Rouge

03-10-2010, 03:14 PM

New Zealander auctions "ghosts" in a bottle
2 hrs 32 mins ago
WELLINGTON (Reuters Life!) – A New Zealand woman sold two vials that she said contained the ghosts of an old man and a young girl for almost NZ$2,000 ($1,410) after a fiercely contested online auction, local media reported.

Avie Woodbury from Christchurch told TVNZ that she captured the spirits after an exorcism session of her house and for which she paid roughly $100.

Woodbury then put the ghosts into holy water and stored them in separate vials before deciding to auction them.

The web page for the sale attracted more than 200,000 views before the auction ended on Monday after a week. Woodbury said all proceeds from the auction, minus the exorcist's fee, would be donated to an animal charity.

"I would get things like the jug boiling itself, touching on the back of my neck, voices from other rooms, and items going missing then turning up in weird places," she said.

"I just want to get rid of them as they scare me. But someone might like these to play with," she said.

Woodbury said she felt a better vibe in her house after the exorcism. "Whether it is psychological or not but I definitely felt a new vibe in the house," she told TVNZ.

The winning bidder was an electronic cigarette company, which local newspapers said was now asking for ideas on what to do with the vials.

exchange rate : (US$1 = 1.418 NZ$)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100310/od_nm/us_ghosts_auction;_ylt=Ahb1YTPLQnC.V_1vn0hayiSs0NU E;_ylu=X3oDMTFmdGRnaWcxBHBvcwMyMDEEc2VjA2FjY29yZGl vbl9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDbmV3emVhbGFuZGVy

11 Comments

What about the spirits rights? Are they black spirits, where is Al Sharpton on this?

"Eenie meenie, chili beanie, the spirits are about to SPEAK!"

Are they friendly spirits???

I believe her, the other day I found a leprachaun under my bed and its still there, and since I need money I believe I will sell my bed for the low amount of 5000$. If you find it then bad for you, I REALLY hope you don't, but if you're a fan of leprachauns, go nuts.

They should refill their e-cigarettes and smoke the ghosts, haha. Maybe they'll get acquire some special things from them....or not.......

A fool and his money are soon parted, am I right?

Hey if they have that much cash to toss away send some to Me.............. Jeeeeessssh first Christ is on the Grilled Cheese and Lincoln on a potato chip now ghosts in a bottle. Who says free enterprise is dead? LMAO

Just goes to show that even people with money can be dumber than a box of rocks............or an empty bottle. Sometimes you've just got to shake your head at how gullible people can be.

Jolie Rouge

03-10-2010, 09:34 PM

Burglar uses church equipment to view porn
1 hr 59 mins ago

AMES, Iowa – Second-degree burglary charges have been filed against an Ames man who broke into a church where he allegedly used the institution's electronic equipment to watch pornography. Police allege the 55-year-old man broke into the First Christian Church on Thursday. After gathering items from around the building, he is believed to have gone to the basement to spend the night.

Police summoned to the church Friday by staff, found the man trying to haul away a garbage can filled with food, kitchen utensils, clothes, electronic equipment and a 26-inch flat-screen television.

Police Cmdr. Mike Brennan said the man used the electronic equipment to watch pornographic movies that were found on him when he was arrested.

The man was being held at the Story County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.

Information from: The Tribune, http://www.amestrib.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100311/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_church_burglary_porn;_ylt=As_5vpPk7qw7l4CyZ jTdWxys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTQwMmpodTM4BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwM TAwMzExL3VzX29kZF9jaHVyY2hfYnVyZ2xhcnlfcG9ybgRjY29 kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzEwBHBvcwM3BHB0A2hvbWVfY 29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDcG9saWNlYnV yZ2x

14 Comments

Good grief, has he no respect?

Has he no shame?

Maybe he needed to practice repenting a few times. I'm sure he left DNA evidence.

well as you can see the poor homeless soul was trying to start his own house... lmfao

He would have gotten away with it if that movie hadn't made him so sleepy! Did he have the porn on him when he broke in or find it on site? Not many homeless guys or burglars carry around DVDs.

Breaking in a church? Better then breaking into a person's home. Churches need to pay tax, so since all the material was tax free, it was like stealing stolen material already.

He had found GOD, seen GOD and was taking GOD with him to his cardboard box (and extension cord).

Jolie Rouge

03-11-2010, 03:00 PM

Nurses' union: Care does not include sex
30 mins ago

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A union representing Dutch nurses will launch a national campaign Friday against demands for sexual services by patients who claim it should be part of their standard care.

The union, NU'91, is calling the campaign "I Draw The Line Here," with an advert that features a young woman covering her face with crossed hands.

The union said in a statement Thursday that the campaign follows a complaint it had received in the last week from a 24-year-old woman who said a 42-year-old disabled man asked her to provide sexual services as part of his care at home.

The young woman witnessed some of the man's other nurses offering him sexual gratification, the union said. When she refused to do the same, he tried to dismiss her on the grounds that she was unfit to provide care. "This type of action is not part of the job responsibilities of carers and nurses," NU'91 said.

The case has been reported to police, the union added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100311/od_nm/us_dutch_nurses;_ylt=AvB3lOT0W0SaVu_8Q9FMl6as0NUE; _ylu=X3oDMTFmbW9wY3U1BHBvcwMyMDEEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvb l9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDbnVyc2VzMzl1bmlv

One pervert causes the need for a national "campaign" ?

dv8grl

03-11-2010, 03:08 PM

Nurses' union: Care does not include sex

One pervert causes the need for a national "campaign" ?

There were some ladies on here who had similar stories about creepy old men that they were taking care of.
GROSS!!!!!!

Jolie Rouge

03-18-2010, 08:50 PM

Cloak of invisibility takes a step forward
Randolph E. Schmid, Ap Science Writer – Thu Mar 18, 4:05 pm ET

WASHINGTON – From Grimm's fairy tales to Harry Potter, the cloak of invisibility has played a major role in fiction. Now scientists have taken a small but important new step toward making it reality.

Researchers at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology report they were able to cloak a tiny bump in a layer of gold, preventing its detection at nearly visible infrared frequencies.

Their cloaking device also worked in three dimensions, while previously developed cloaks worked in two dimensions, lead researcher Tolga Ergin said.

The cloak is a structure of crystals with air spaces in between, sort of like a woodpile, that bends light, hiding the bump in the gold later beneath, the researchers reported in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science.

In this case, the bump was tiny, a mere 0.00004 inch high and 0.0005 inch across, so that a magnifying lens was needed to see it.

"In principle, the cloak design is completely scalable; there is no limit to it," Ergin said. But, he added, developing a cloak to hide something takes a long time, "so cloaking larger items with that technology is not really feasible."

"Other fabrication techniques, though, might lead to larger cloaks," he added in an interview via e-mail.

The value of the finding, Ergin said, "is that we learn more about the concepts of transformation optics, and that we have made a first step in producing 3-D structures in that field."

"Invisibility cloaks are a beautiful and fascinating benchmark for the field of transformation optics, and it is very seldom that one can foretell what practical applications might arise out of a field of fundamental research," he added.

In earlier research, a team led by David Schurig at Duke University developed a way to cloak objects in two dimensions from microwaves. Like light and radar waves, microwaves usually bounce off objects, making them visible to instruments and creating a shadow that can be detected.

The new research led by Ergin used infrared waves, which are close to the spectrum of visible light.

In cloaking, special materials deflect radar, light or other waves around an object, like water flowing around a smooth rock in a stream. It differs from stealth technology, which does not make an aircraft invisible but reduces the cross-section available to radar, making it hard to track.

Ergin's research was supported by the German Research Council, the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the European Commission and the German Ministry for Education and Research.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100318/ap_on_sc/us_sci_cloak_of_invisibility;_ylt=ApdLjodRsjkfNIyY p6pNQU6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJwaThsMTlqBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIw MTAwMzE4L3VzX3NjaV9jbG9ha19vZl9pbnZpc2liaWxpdHkEcG 9zAzUEc2VjA3luX21vc3RfcG9wdWxhcgRzbGsDY2xvYWtvZmlu dmlz

On the Net: Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

Jolie Rouge

03-19-2010, 10:05 PM

Library book is returned -- 45 years late
Fri Mar 19, 11:50 am ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Staff at the Dinnington library are used to people bringing books back late but the package they received last month was in a class of its own.

It contained a paperback first edition copy of "Quatermass and the Pit" by Nigel Kneale which had been borrowed on September 24, 1965. "I thought at first it was just a normal return, until I saw the color of the pages: they were very brown around the edges," said Alison Lawrie, the Principal Library Assistant.

"It's true that some people like to take their time with a good book, but 45 years is an incredible amount of time!"

Staff believe the book was borrowed from the old Dinnington Library, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire which opened in 1936 and is close to the current building which opened in 2000.

However, the identity of the borrower remains a mystery because records do not go back that far -- and there would have been no danger of a huge accumulated fine because all fines are capped at 6 pounds ($9). "The person who posted it back to us would not be in any 'trouble' whatsoever," said Lawrie. "If the person who returned the book wants to come forward, we'd love to know the story behind it."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100319/od_nm/us_britain_library;_ylt=ApwEVOEHe.djwNEe362fmFSs0N UE;_ylu=X3oDMTFmdW83bnUxBHBvcwMyMDEEc2VjA2FjY29yZG lvbl9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDbGlicmFyeWJvb2tp

Jolie Rouge

03-19-2010, 10:11 PM

SINCE 1994 and reaching more than 106,000 subscribers in over 200 countries, this is the 822nd weekly issue of... THIS is TRUE: 14 March 2010 http://www.thisistrue.com

WE'RE FROM THE GOVERNMENT -- WE'RE HERE TO ANNOY YOU: Businessman Aaron Zeff suffered every American's nightmare. Zeff, the owner of a car wash in Sacramento, Calif., was visited by two agents from the Internal Revenue Service. "They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending," said Zeff, who noted this was the first notice he had of any outstanding balance, and in fact he recently got a letter from the IRS that says he "has filed all required returns and addressed any balances due."

Still, the agents were there to demand payment of an outstanding debt on his 2006 taxes totaling 4 cents. With penalties and interest, they wanted $202.35. "It's hilarious," Zeff says, "that two people hopped in a car and came down here for just 4 cents. I thinkthey may have a problem with priorities." (Sacramento Bee)

...They're bureaucrats. Of course they have a problem with priorities!

GASOLINE IS CHEAPER THAN WATER? Johnny Dossey, 43, was upset about how high the water bill was for his trailer home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. So naturally he set his home on fire, according to police.

Witnessessay Dossey splashed gasoline around and lit it. Firefighters were able to protect neighboring structures, but the trailer was destroyed. Dossey has been charged with arson. "I guess he got fed up" with the $70 monthly bill, a neighbor said, "and that's the only way he saw outof it." (Miami Herald)

...Maybe the water company can charge him for what the fire department used in the incident, too.

Jolie Rouge

03-19-2010, 10:25 PM

Anna Nicole Smith gets none of oil fortune
Paul Elias, Associated Press Writer – Fri Mar 19, 5:11 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Anna Nicole Smith's estate will get none of the more than $300 million the late Playboy model claimed a Texas billionaire to whom she was briefly married meant to leave her after he died.

The ruling came in a 15-year legal battle that started in a sleepy Houston probate court and stretched all the way to the U.S Supreme Court.

It initially pitted Smith against the son of J. Howard Marshall over the $1.6 billion estate the oil tycoon left after his 1995 death at age 90. J. Howard Marshall had wed Smith the year before when she was 26.

Marshall's son E. Pierce Marshall died in 2006 and Smith perished after a drug overdose in 2008. Their heirs and lawyers kept up the legal fight that included one ruling awarding Smith $474 million.

Kent Richland, who represents the Smith estate, said he would appeal the latest ruling but hasn't decided whether to ask the appeals court for another hearing or take the case back the U.S. Supreme Court regarding different issues.

Eric Brunstad, a lawyer for Marshall family members, said they hoped the legal fight was over.

"Our only wish would be that Pierce were here to see his vindication," the family said in a prepared statement.

The three-judge appeals court panel ruled unanimously that a 2001 jury verdict in Houston in favor of the Marshall family should be honored over two federal court rulings in Smith's favor.

The appeals court said the federal bankruptcy court award of about $447 million and a subsequent federal trial court ruling that lowered the amount to $89 million should be ignored.

The appeals court said the Houston jury heard from all the parties, including Smith, during a five-month trial in which she accused E. Pierce Marshall of illegally coercing his father to keep Smith out of his will.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100319/ap_en_ot/us_anna_nicole_smith;_ylt=Ait7yw2ytDX_1MCUG6Y9Lkus 0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNvYzA5M3VzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzE5 L3VzX2FubmFfbmljb2xlX3NtaXRoBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bG FyBGNwb3MDOARwb3MDNQRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX2hl YWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA2NvdXJ0YW5uYW5pYw--

If her personal estate is not enough to raise her daughter, then the child's father will just have to do it..Anna Nicole is gone and no further lawsuits need to be heard.

Jolie Rouge

03-19-2010, 10:25 PM

Citizens told to brush up on etiquette
Fri Mar 19, 11:49 am ET

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has compiled a list of do's and don'ts for its citizens at this year's Commonwealth Games to help showcase New Delhi's charms.

"We want to tell them don't urinate in public, don't spit, keep your houses and shops clean, keep public transport safe and such things," Delhi tourism chief Rina Ray told the Hindustan Times Friday.

"This will tell every Delhiite that instead of being on the sidelines as a spectator, he or she can contribute to a better games."

New Delhi is preparing to host more than 100,000 foreign visitors during the October 3-14 event and the Indian capital hopes to use to games to show itself off as a truly global city.

"We don't want to start (the campaign) too early lest it fizzles out," Ray said.

The tips on good manners will be spread to through billboards, pamphlets, websites and audiovisual means in the coming months, Hindustan Times reported.

"We want to change Delhi's public culture, their behavior toward each other and to guests...so that they are courteous," Delhi chief minister Sheila Diks h i t said at the Delhi Tourism Conclave Thursday, the paper reported.

"We want tourists to go back with the impression that Delhi is a sophisticated city."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100319/od_nm/us_games_india;_ylt=AhfG3bVu3C75oOMmqNU5dvWs0NUE;_ ylu=X3oDMTFmcDVzODJoBHBvcwMyMDMEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl 9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDY2l0aXplbnN0b2xk

Delhi chief minister Sheila D i k s h i t

What a name ...

meltodd69

03-20-2010, 06:12 PM

.4 cents omg

Jolie Rouge

03-22-2010, 08:09 PM

Moon's Water Comes in Three Flavors, Scientists Say
Space.com Staff
Mon Mar 22, 6:15 pm ET

Since the surprise discovery last year of trace amounts of water on the moon, scientists have been redefining their concept of Earth's rocky neighbor. Now researchers say the water on the moon comes in three different flavors.

Until recently the moon was thought to be bone dry. But measurements in the last year from the Mini-SAR and Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3 or "M-cubed") instruments on India's Chandrayaan-1 moon probe and from NASA's recent LCROSS mission have proved that wrong.

Mini-SAR found 40 craters, each containing frozen water at least 6.6 feet (2 meters) deep on the lunar surface – which adds up to 600 million tons of lunar ice stuff altogether. LCROSS slammed into the moon on Oct. 9, 2009 and found evidence of water in another crater. "So far we've found three types of moon water," said Paul Spudis of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas. "We have Mini-SAR's thick lenses of nearly pure crater ice, LCROSS's fluffy mix of ice crystals and dirt, and M-cube's thin layer that comes and goes all across the surface of the moon."

LCROSS struck moon water in a cold, permanently dark crater at the lunar south pole. Since then, the science team has been thoroughly mining the data collected from the intentional moon crash. "It looks as though at least two different layers of our crater soil contain water, and they represent two different time epochs," said Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS principal investigator. "The first layer, ejected in the first 2 seconds from the crater after impact, contains water and hydroxyl bound up in the minerals, and even tiny pieces of pure ice mixed in. This layer is a thin film and may be relatively 'fresh,' perhaps recently replenished."

This brand of moon water resembles the water M3 discovered last year in scant but widespread amounts, bound to the rocks and dust in the very top millimeters of lunar soil, scientists say. But the second layer is different. "It contains even more water ice plus a treasure chest of other compounds we weren't even looking for," he says. "So far the tally includes sulfur dioxide (SO2), methanol (CH3OH), and the curious organic molecule diacetylene (H2C4). This layer seems to extend below at least 0.5 meters and is probably older than the ice we're finding on the surface."

The researchers don't yet know why some craters contain loads of pure ice while others are dominated by an ice-soil mixture. It's probably a sign that the moon water comes from more than one source. "Some of the water may be made right there on the moon," Spudis said. "Protons in the solar wind can make small amounts of water continuously on the lunar surface by interacting with metal oxides in the rocks. But some of the water is probably deposited on the moon from other places in the solar system."

These findings are completely rewriting the book on the moon. "It's a different world up there," says Spudis, "and we've barely scratched the surface. Who knows what discoveries lie ahead?"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100322/sc_space/moonswatercomesinthreeflavorsscientistssay;_ylt=Av iAaeSlfYnBhswSpCG055Ks0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNhMGJmaGc2BG Fzc2V0A3NwYWNlLzIwMTAwMzIyL21vb25zd2F0ZXJjb21lc2lu dGhyZWVmbGF2b3Jzc2NpZW50aXN0c3NheQRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW 5fbW9zdF9wb3B1bGFyBHNsawNtb29uMzlzd2F0ZXI-

Jolie Rouge

04-06-2010, 08:55 PM

Women tried to smuggle corpse onto plane?
Tue Apr 6, 1:31 pm ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Two women were arrested at a British airport on suspicion of trying to smuggle a dead relative onto a flight bound for Germany, police said on Tuesday.

The 91-year-old deceased man was pushed in a wheelchair through Liverpool's John Lennon airport wearing sunglasses before check-in staff became suspicious and he was prevented from boarding the plane.

He was believed to have been driven about 35 miles to the airport by taxi from Oldham, Greater Manchester, police added.

The women were arrested on suspicion of failing to give notification of a death and were released on bail.

"At 11 a.m. on Saturday 3 April 2010, police at Liverpool John Lennon airport were alerted to the death of a 91-year-old man in the terminal building," police said in a statement.

"Two women aged 41 and 66 were arrested on suspicion of failing to give notification of death."

The cause of death is not known.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100406/od_nm/us_corpse_airport;_ylt=Agpvnt9dRaPBWHsTMNXsg5qs0NU E;_ylu=X3oDMTFmMW0yZDRuBHBvcwMyMDEEc2VjA2FjY29yZGl vbl9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDd29tZW50cmllZHRv

Comments

Would she get charged for carry on baggage? He didn't smell as bad as some do on planes.

"Weekend at Bernies" ???

Was he searched thoroughly for any contraband before they tried to board?

Bwahahahahahaha REALLY?!?!?!?! its like a scene out of a comedy movie

The airline could use this in a marketing campaign.
For example, "Our airline service is so good, people are dying to get onboard."

Notice that they were arrested for failing to report the death. Apparently it's not illegal to transport a dead body via a commercial airline. What's wrong with this picture?

Why?

Baggage fees must be getting ridiculous if they were willing to pay passenger fare rather than stuff him in a steamer trunk.

Were they going to Germany with him? WAS he going to die on the plane and then the airline get sued lots more questions about this one.

All the joking aside ... my aunt died in CA while on vacation; we live in LA. With all the legalities and red tape, it took 3K and 6 weeks to get her home for the funeral. I can only imagine the hoopla involved with international technicalities ...

Jolie Rouge

04-12-2010, 08:06 AM

Update : Corpse was still alive at airport, wife says
Fri Apr 9, 12:13 pm ET

BERLIN (Reuters) – A German woman arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle a corpse onto a plane says her husband was still alive when they reached Liverpool airport.

Gitta Jarant told Bild newspaper on Friday she hopes to get the remains of her husband Willi from Britain as soon as possible to have him cremated -- and then return to Berlin.

Jarant and her daughter were arrested at Liverpool's John Lennon airport on Saturday suspected of failing to give notice of Willi's death. She told the paper the 91-year-old former pilot had died at the airport just before the flight.

"I'm not a smuggler," Jarant, 66, told Bild. "My Willi only died at the airport. He suddenly looked so lifeless, like a wax figure. His fingernails turned blue all of a sudden. At home he was still warm -- I swear!"

The retired pilot was pushed in a wheelchair through the airport wearing sunglasses before check-in staff became suspicious and he was prevented from boarding the plane.

"I want to have Willi cremated and then fly home to Berlin with his ashes," Jarant said. They live in Berlin but spent several months each year in England with her daughter, she said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100409/od_nm/us_corpse_airport_germany_odd;_ylt=AqRmofmQqziP.FB pktE6ZjWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFmNWgyNDVjBHBvcwMyMDEEc2V jA2FjY29yZGlvbl9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDY29ycHNld2Fzc3Rp

Jolie Rouge

04-12-2010, 09:29 PM

New Technique Turns T-Shirts into Body Armor
Michelle Bryner - technewsdaily Contributor livescience.com
Mon Apr 12, 6:11 pm ET

Those bulky, bulletproof vests could become a thing of the past. Their replacement: Your T-shirt, but with a special coating. Bulletproofing can be done in one of two ways. The first, old-school approach relies on hard plates of metal or ceramic, which deflect oncoming bullets. A more elegant way, perhaps, is the use of a network of fibers - the approach taken by Kevlar - to "catch" the bullet, much like a hockey goalie catches a flying puck.

Kevlar has made its mark in body armor, as the technology is used in vests, helmets, and other gear for law enforcement, corrections officers and the military. However, it's expensive, which limits its use to those who can drop hundreds of dollars for protection.

The new technology, which also relies on the catching method, addresses these issues by using an inexpensive material and a simple process - a feat that could bring body armor to the masses, according to Xiaodong Li of the University of South Carolina and study researcher.

Here's how it works: By dipping pieces of cotton from a T-shirt into a solution of boron powder, the researchers created a network of nanowires made out of boron carbide - the third hardest material known to man at room temperature.

The new T-shirt body armor probably won't compete with the Kevlar-type technologies, but it could be useful for situations in which less protection is sufficient.

"We should be able to fabricate much tougher body armors using this new technique," Li said. "It could even be used to produce lightweight, fuel-efficient cars and aircrafts."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/newtechniqueturnstshirtsintobodyarmor;_ylt=Av_LbiI B7ybJkuoDwPhzSEWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTRpZ2UwNGJoBGFzc2V 0A2xpdmVzY2llbmNlLzIwMTAwNDEyL25ld3RlY2huaXF1ZXR1c m5zdHNoaXJ0c2ludG9ib2R5YXJtb3IEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHV sYXIEY3BvcwM5BHBvcwM2BHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5fa GVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDbmV3dGVjaG5pcXVl

Jolie Rouge

04-17-2010, 10:02 PM

Cookbook pulped over 'ground black people' typo
1 hr 3 mins ago

SYDNEY – An Australian publisher is reprinting 7,000 cookbooks over a recipe for pasta with "salt and freshly ground black people."

Penguin Group Australia's head of publishing, Bob Sessions, acknowledged the proofreader for the Pasta Bible should have picked up the error, but called it nothing more than a "silly mistake."

The "Pasta Bible" recipe for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto was supposed to call for black pepper. "We're mortified that this has become an issue of any kind and why anyone would be offended, we don't know," he told The Sydney Morning Herald for a story printed Saturday. "We've said to bookstores that if anyone is small-minded enough to complain about this ... silly mistake, we will happily replace (the book) for them."

The reprint will cost Penguin 20,000 Australian dollars ($18,500), but books already in stores will not be recalled because doing so would be "extremely hard," Sessions said.

There was no answer at Penguin's offices Sunday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100418/ap_on_re_as/as_australia_pasta_and_people;_ylt=AqiwVXtY0M0W8eC N8SEP.k27e8UF;_ylu=X3oDMTNpZjZrYjJkBGFzc2V0A2FwLzI wMTAwNDE4L2FzX2F1c3RyYWxpYV9wYXN0YV9hbmRfcGVvcGxlB GNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNARwb3MDNARzZWMDeW5 fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA2Nvb2tib29rcHVscA--

Jolie Rouge

04-27-2010, 10:47 AM

Scottish police once believed in Loch Ness monster
By Ben Mcconville, Associated Press Writer 39 mins ago

EDINBURGH, Scotland – What lurks beneath the dark waters of Scotland's Loch Ness?

Newly released documents on display Tuesday in Scotland show that during the 1930s, police in Scotland were convinced some sort of creature inhabited the Highlands lake — so sure, in fact, that they worried about how to protect it from big-game hunters.

The files from the National Archive of Scotland show that local officials asked Britain's Parliament to investigate the issue and confirm the monster's existence — in the interests of science.

"That there is some strange creature in Loch Ness now seems beyond doubt," wrote William Fraser, a senior police officer, "but that the police have any power to protect it is very doubtful."

The Nessie Files, kept secret for 70 years, were revealed as part of an exhibition on government secrecy. The exhibit examines how governments once kept almost everything secret, and how attitudes evolved to move toward more open government in modern times.

Nessie, of course, was the epitome of mystery. The loch in which the monster is said to swim is the deepest inland expanse of water in Britain. At about 750 feet (230 meters) to the bottom, it's even deeper than the North Sea.

The legend of what lies beneath the surface dates to 565 A.D., when an early Christian, St. Columba, is recorded as having driven away a water monster by the power of prayer, the National Archive said.

The documents also offer a glimpse of the collision of centuries-old lake lore with an emerging mass media — a modern effort to document a long-held superstition. The search grew feverish in the 1930s after a surgeon snapped a (now discredited) photo of a black dinosaur-like head rising from the depths.

Archivist Tristram Clarke said the letters reveal that some people sincerely believed there was a monster in the loch — though the cool response from the government suggests there plenty of detractors. If nothing else, Clarke said the Fraser letter proves that the police were under pressure to protect the monster — whatever it was.

Fraser's letter to officials in London warned that he feared hunters Peter Kent and Marion Stirling were "determined to catch the monster dead or alive" and planned to use a "special harpoon gun."

Kent was preparing a major operation including 20 experienced hunters and Fraser said he warned of the "desirability of having the creature left alone."

The idea didn't get very far in the end. The files show that it was deemed better not to kill the monster — or the myth — by stationing cameras or observers around the lake.

Though the sightings proved to be a hoaxes, they didn't stop a Nessie-spotting tourism industry from springing up, together with three-humped cuddle toys, T-shirts and mugs.

"I think Nessie is such an iconic part of Scotland," Clarke said. "The legend lives on. It's almost part of Scotland's identity."

Though the number of sightings has tailed off recently, devoted believers continue to scour the loch. Gary Campbell of the Official Loch Ness monster club lives in hope of finding Nessie one day.

"Fourteen years ago I saw a hump break the water on the loch, I took a double take and then more of it appeared," he said. "I haven't seen anything since, but I keep looking. It probably cost me my social life."

The faithful have long speculated about what the monster is. Some suggest a completely unknown species, or a sturgeon, or even a last surviving dinosaur.

"The reason why the Nessie myth persists is it such a good story," said Lee Barron, a lecturer in media and culture at Northumbria University. "We get a sense of wonder out of the 'what ifs' of it all.

"There are lots of monster in the lake myths around the globe, including the U.S. and Europe, but because of the sightings, the fake photos and the romance of Loch Ness, Nessie is the greatest of them all."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100427/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_loch_ness/print;_ylt=AmSNS_Pdq5XYVPk8Y_0qmExbbBAF;_ylu=X3oDM TBvajZzaTFyBHBvcwMxNQRzZWMDdG9wBHNsawNwcmludA--

Jolie Rouge

05-04-2010, 08:31 PM

Mummified baby corpse missing from NH grave site
Kathy Mccormack, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 45 mins ago

CONCORD, N.H. – The mummified body of a baby, kept by a family for nearly a century before a judge ordered the remains to be buried, has been removed from a cemetery, police said Tuesday.

A cemetery visitor on Monday reported that a grave appeared to have been unearthed, police Sgt. John Thomas said. The corpse of "Baby John" has not been recovered, he said.

The mummified body had been kept for years by Charles Peavey. He had said the family had the mummy, possibly the stillborn son of a great-great-uncle, for 80 to 90 years and considered it a family heirloom.

Police learned of it in 2006 after Peavey's then-4-year-old niece mentioned it at her day care center. Authorities took the 18-inch mummy in for testing, and Peavey went to probate court to get custody of it.

The tests concluded the baby died of natural causes shortly after his birth and confirmed the remains were decades old, but did not determine the age or origin. DNA testing failed to prove the boy was related to Peavey, and so a probate judge ordered the remains buried.

The remains were interred in 2008 in an unmarked grave in a section of Concord's Blossom Hill Cemetery containing the graves of infants and young children. Stuffed animals, figurines and other toys decorated the children's gravesites Tuesday. "It wasn't that well-known where the exact location was," Thomas said of the gravesite.

Thomas said the police believe the grave was disturbed over the weekend. After seeing evidence of grave-tampering, investigators got a search warrant to exhume the site and found the casket, but not the remains, he said. He said many people have been interviewed and declined to name any suspects.

Peavey denies disturbing the grave site, but his home and car were searched Monday, said his attorney, Jim Rosenberg. "He has no information to offer with regard to this mess," Rosenberg said.

Comments

cards for the holidays and dried fish as a pet?
WOW some ppl are just down right bizzare.
And I thought my family was weird.

~~~~~~

Talk about a skeleton in the closet !!! Makes you wonder don't it ???

weird!!!

~~~~~~

Creepy and gross. What kind of weirdos keep dead babies as "an heirloom"?
The Adams family? Eww!

~~~~~~

I love NH, where the cows are tiny and the people are crazy.

~~~~~~

The Peavey family ain't quite right.

~~~~~~

things that make you go hhhmmmm!

Jolie Rouge

05-14-2010, 01:28 PM

Amorous Aussie roo has outback residents hopping
1 hr 45 mins ago

CANBERRA (Reuters) – An amorous kangaroo in the mood for love has female joggers hopping mad in the Honeymoon Ranges of Australia's outback Northern Territory, prompting a flood of angry calls to authorities.

Territory police said Friday they had received reports of the kangaroo stalking residents in the ranges near the township of Tennant Creek, including a woman on her morning walk. "There was no doubt about what he wanted, the randy old thing," the woman told local papers. "I turned around and saw this big kangaroo behind me, so I hastened my steps," she said.

The woman said the obviously aroused animal bounded off when other walkers approached and she sought to escape.

Later that day a mother-of-three encountered the aroused kangaroo at a night-time speedway meeting, while a man said he challenged the intimidating macropod and came off second best, receiving a swift punch in response.

Northern Territory police told Reuters they were not pursuing the salacious mammal unless it continued to cause trouble.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100514/od_nm/us_australia_kangaroo/print;_ylt=AqxTAkncsTyl.5RSAbLm77gZ.3QA;_ylu=X3oDM TBvajZzaTFyBHBvcwMxNQRzZWMDdG9wBHNsawNwcmludA--

Kinky kangaroo can't control cravings.

Oh my lordy, that was one of the funniest article's I've read in a while. Just sound out the quotes in the article in an Aussie voice and you'll LOL, I swear :)

Reminds me of that epistle to bestial bondage: "Tie me kangaroo down, sport...!"

Jolie Rouge

05-15-2010, 11:07 AM

Minor injury for photo-taking hiker bitten by bear
Fri May 14, 7:16 pm ET

GATLINBURG, Tenn. – A man was bitten as he was trying to take a picture of a black bear in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, but the injury was minor and did not require medical attention.

The National Park Service said in a release the unidentified man suffered a small puncture wound on his foot after he was bitten on the Laurel Falls Trail to the south of Gatlinburg, Tenn., on Wednesday.

Wildlife biologists captured a 60-pound female bear that visitors reported seeing near the trail. As a matter of park policy, bears that have contact or injure people are euthanized.

The park service said it is likely the bear had been eating food left behind by visitors.

COMMENTS
Great, so a bear has to be destroyed because some idiot wanted a photo op. i just hope she didn't have a cub that's going to perish because the mama bear isn't around to protect it anymore.
13 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 0 users disliked this commentKCP 18 hours ago Report Abuse I'm with you Jen.. I guess the idea of simply scooping her up and taking her 20-30 miles into the forest and demanding that people not leave ANY food behind is just too much for them to handle, huh..

If it means anything Jen, female black bears of breeding age are generally between 90-300lbs.. That little girl was only 60 lbs, still a youngster. So it's unlikely that she left behind any cubs.

---

ANY bear that would get close enough to a human to bite his foot while the hiker is taking a picture taken, isn't a bear that should be reloacted. There are places though that rehabilitate trouble bears, that could be an option. I too, hate to see an animal destroyed because of human stupidity.

---

Should destroy the human who put the bear in that situation, so it doesn't pass along the "stupid" gene.

---

Well, he escaped from the 'Darwin Effect' - 'This Time'.........

---

Think about it... Not all animals are able to be relocated and "saved". Do you really think that for EVERY situation there is someone that can always rehab an animal. Dont know about you but I have seen the aftermath of someone that calls themselves a rescue or rehab. There are good amounts of times that these places are not as good as the alterinative.

Having been in the parks shoes myself I know that it is fustrating to know that if people were more respectable of the parks rules and guidelines the bear would not have had to lose it's life.

Please educate your family and friends to be respectable to the animals that we enjoy watching in their natural habitat.

---

So what's next for the photographer? Taking close-up pic's of a wolf pack, how about gorilla's in the wild? I know, how about New York Human's on a Friday afternoon in a subway...yeah, that'll teach him.

----

Question: Which bear is best

iluvmybaby

05-15-2010, 12:12 PM

Jolie Rouge

06-03-2010, 11:54 AM

Funeral home steps in to stop the "grim eater"
2 hrs 10 mins ago

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – A New Zealand funeral home has stepped in to stop a fake mourner who was attending up to four funerals a week to stock up on food, even filling up tupperware containers to take home, according to media reports.

Harbour City Funeral Home director Danny Langstraat told local newspaper The Dominion Post that the "grim eater" appeared at up to four funerals a week in March and April to enjoy the finger food but clearly did not know the deceased.

The funeral company grew so concerned that it took a photograph of the man, thought to be aged in his 40s, and distributed the picture to its branches.

"Certainly he had a backpack with some tupperware containers so when people weren't looking, he was stocking up," Langstraat told the newspaper.

He said the man was "always very quiet and polite, and did as the rest of the mourners did in paying his respects."

Langstraat said the man stopped coming after one staff member took him aside and told him he could come to funerals but could not take food home with him.

Funeral Directors Association president Tony Garing told the newspaper that such cases happened in the industry occasionally but it was difficult to stop people from coming or call their behavior theft because funerals were usually public events.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100603/od_nm/us_funerals_odd;_ylt=Arob0gHnABGVEtih8.U_eKWs0NUE; _ylu=X3oDMTFmcHBiYzcyBHBvcwMyMDIEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvb l9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDZnVuZXJhbGhvbWVz

There was a movie called The Wedding Crashers. At the end, one of the characters started crashing funerals instead. I wonder if that's where this guy got the idea?

---

That's pretty clever but sick. It reminds me of when I was 9 I would go over to a near-by Chuck E. Cheese on Saturdays with a box that had gift wrap on it. It was empty, ofcourse. I would then walk in with my "gift" and seek out the party that had started and people were eating. Grab some pizza, tokens and drop off my gesture and then go play. Did this for months. I never thought to bring Tupperware...

---

I worked with a guy just like this... not only would he show up at funerals for the free food, but he would also go around to the dohnut shops and tell them he would collect their 'day olds' and donate them to the food bank, instead he would take them home, save the good ones and throw out the bad ones.

Jolie Rouge

06-10-2010, 09:26 PM

this woman has issues...

Woman striving to be world's heaviest
Karina Ioffee – Wed Jun 9, 2:06 pm ET

OLD BRIDGE, New Jersey (Reuters) – A New Jersey woman is waging a campaign to become the world's heaviest living woman, admitting that she is as hungry for attention as she is for calorie-rich food.

Donna Simpson, 42, weighs more than 600 pounds (272 kg) and aims to reach 1,000 pounds (455 kg).

The mother of two children, ages 3 and 14, models on a website called supersizedbombshells.com, where admirers and the curious can pay to watch videos of her eating greasy foods or walking to the car.

She has appeared in television interviews and said she welcomes media coverage.

A Guinness World Records spokeswoman said Simpson has submitted a claim for the title of world's heaviest woman to give birth, a claim that is being reviewed.

Among the heaviest women ever recorded was one who reportedly weighed 1,800 pounds (816 kg) and another who reportedly weighed 1,200 pounds (545 kg) at the time of their deaths.

Simpson said she has received a book offer and wants her own reality show, partly to give plus-size women more confidence. She wears size XXXXXL clothing, which she buys mostly online, and calls herself a member of the "fat acceptance community." "The bigger your butt is, the bigger belly you have, the sexier you are," Simpson said, lounging on the couch of her suburban home 40 miles south of New York.

Simpson has found a man who says he appreciates her size, and they plan to marry in Hawaii this year. She said airlines are being accommodating of her needs.

Her fiancee, 49-year-old Philippe Gouamba and the father of her 3-year-old daughter, said he not only finds Simpson attractive but is also one of Simpson's biggest supporters in her quest to expand her girth. "You look at her curves and see her full belly and generous hips," Gouamba said. "It's very sexy."

Simpson said she gets e-mails from women who think they will never fall in love or have children because of their weight. "I just say that's not true," Simpson said. "I would love to be a voice, so that people can see a woman of size having a regular family."

She said she also receives mail from people who say she is putting herself and her children at risk.

Simpson spends as much as $750 a week on groceries, suffers from Type 2 diabetes and struggles with basic tasks such as cooking and taking a shower.

But she dismisses critics who warn that her weight can lead to heart problems, aggravate her diabetes and cause pressure on her joints. "I'm very healthy. I go to the doctor every three months," she said.

Simpson has battled weight issues all her life and was mercilessly teased. But after a friend died following complications from gastric bypass surgery, she decided to quit the dieting and the weight pills and eat what she wanted. "I've always been comfortable with myself," she said. "It was just everybody else that wasn't comfortable with me."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100609/od_nm/us_heaviest_odd;_ylt=AmGfhR7Lkyu47tWSPw9ZICqs0NUE; _ylu=X3oDMTFmbDRzZmtkBHBvcwMyMDIEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvb l9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDd29tYW5zdHJpdmlu

She said airlines are being accommodating of her needs.

Because they would be sued if they refused....

...so that people can see a woman of size having a regular family."

>snip<

... suffers from Type 2 diabetes and struggles with basic tasks such as cooking and taking a shower....

How can she claim she has a "regular" family ?? She can't take her kids to the park or any of a number of things we take for granted

Simpson spends as much as $750 a week on groceries,

What does she do for a living ?? Does she have a job ?? Or are the taxpayers paying for all this ?? $750/week x 52 weeks = $39,000 per year on food.

3lilpigs

06-11-2010, 03:01 AM

(Wasn't this posted a few months ago?? Pretty sure I already heard about this??)

What does she do for a living ?? Does she have a job ?? Or are the taxpayers paying for all this ?? .

I think we already know the answer to this one.:rolleyes:

When was the last time you saw a 600 pound person, WORKING??

I hope she's preparing her kids to raise themselves without a mother. This woman is going to end up killing herself.

Oh, and 600pounds is NOT, "PLUS SIZE." It's FAT. OVERWEIGHT. OBESE!!! Plus size is size 18......not 81.

Jolie Rouge

06-14-2010, 10:09 PM

The odyssey: Camera survives ocean trip to Fla.
Annie Greenberg, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jun 14, 4:13 am ET

MIAMI – Paul Shultz was walking along the pier of a Key West marina when he saw what looked like a rotting tomato pounding against the rocks.

The Coast Guard investigator waded ankle-deep into the water to fish out the ocean rubbish: a bright red Nikon camera, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Its waterproof plastic case was covered with six months' worth of crusty sea growth, but the camera itself was almost pristine when he found it May 16.

However, clues to tracking down its owner were few. So Shultz decided to test his investigative skills.

There were photos of two men preparing to scuba dive and a towheaded family nestled together on a couch. There was a mysterious relic settled deep into the sea floor. And even a puzzling video clip of splashing water that appeared to have been taken as the camera thrashed around under the control of something that wasn't human.

"There was nothing on the pictures that said this camera belongs to so and so," Shultz said.

After looking through the pictures, Shultz adopted the screen name of "Aquahound" and took his hunt online.

He uploaded the images on Scubaboard.com, hoping some diving aficionados could help identify where they were taken. Within days, the Internet sleuths had parsed the pictures and found some clues all pointing to Aruba, a Dutch island off Venezuela's coast that's 1,100 miles from Key West.

There was a plane's tail number — and a computer search showed the aircraft was in Aruba the day the photo was taken. There was a blue-roofed building that searchers pinpointed to the island using Google Earth. And there was a school poster written in Dutch.

But could the camera make such a trip? Villy Kourafalou, an associate professor of physical oceanography at the University of Miami, said such an odyssey is possible. The buoyancy of the plastic case combined with various currents could have taken the camera to Key West, she told The Associated Press in an e-mail.

With Shultz's search narrowed, the resolution came quickly. He posted the pictures on the travel websites Cruisecritic and Aruba.com, and within two days was contacted by an Aruban woman who said she recognized the children in some of the photos as classmates of her son.

She contacted the family, the de Bruins, and all the pieces came together.

"I have a smile on my face ... I can't stop laughing about it," Dick de Bruin said in a phone interview from Aruba. "It's really big news (on the island) and in Europe."

De Bruin, a sergeant in the Royal Dutch Navy, has been stationed with his family in Aruba for three years. The camera floated away from de Bruin while he and a dive team were salvaging an anchor from the USS Powell for a World War II memorial. The American ship protected Aruba, a major oil producer, from German forces during the war.

"There's a big connection between America and Aruba ... first with the anchor, and now the camera brings us together again," de Bruin said.

The camera is on its way to the de Bruin family via FedEx and should be there any day.

Shultz said he's thrilled the story is ending well — for a brief moment when he first viewed the mystery video, he feared the camera's owner had met a tragic end.

There was footage of the divers recovering the anchor, and then in the next video, "the camera started thrashing around and a fin came into the picture," Shultz said. "Then 20 seconds in I realized there was no blood."

The culprit: a hungry sea turtle trying to take a bite out of the floating camera in January, two months after it was lost. The camera's leash apparently got caught on its flipper, and the animal's splashing turned on the video camera. Shultz's best guess is that the episode happened off the coast of Honduras.

That video clip has been seen more than 200,000 times on YouTube, with viewers everywhere from Alaska to Africa to Australia. It's de Bruin's favorite part of the whole story.

"When I told people what Paul had done, they were astonished. They didn't believe it," he said. "But we have the sea turtle on film proving the camera floated from Aruba to the U.S. It's unbelievable, but it's true."

___

Online:

The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?vE43sg-Ytt58

Photos from the camera: http://travel.webshots.com/album/577735131ZvBWTi

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100614/ap_on_re_us/us_camera_s_odyssey

Jolie Rouge

06-15-2010, 01:31 PM

German student attacks Hell's Angels with puppy
Tue Jun 15, 10:55 am ET

BERLIN (Reuters) – A German student created a major traffic jam in Bavaria after making a rude gesture at a group of Hell's Angels motorcycle gang members, hurling a puppy at them ... and then ... escaping on a stolen bulldozer.

German police said on Monday that after making his getaway from the Hell's Angels club, the 26-year-old dumped the bulldozer, causing a 5 km (3 miles) traffic jam near the southern town of Allershausen, local police said. He then fled to his home nearby where he was apprehended by the police.

"What motivated him to throw a puppy at the Hell's Angels is currently unclear," said a spokesman for local police, adding that the student had lately been suffering from depression.

The puppy was now in safe hands, the spokesman added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100615/od_nm/us_germany_puppy;_ylt=AtgMNhSY3Ztq2iRFdICfglas0NUE ;_ylu=X3oDMTFmNnZoaXAwBHBvcwMyMDIEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlv bl9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDZ2VybWFuc3R1ZGVu

Jolie Rouge

06-24-2010, 08:37 PM

Lake Michigan shipwreck found after 112 years
By Dinesh Ramde, Associated Press Writer Thu Jun 24, 6:25 pm ET

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100624/capt.594efac0eaa441818def53c5ed5a34b3-594efac0eaa441818def53c5ed5a34b3-0.jpg?x=400&y=224&q=85&sig=7onBB3r8WNj9qTdbdIKdpg--

L.R. Doty : This photograph, provided Thursday, June 24, 2010, by Great Lakes Shipwreck Research, shows the gangway under the boiler house of the wooden steamship L.R. Doty found off the Milwaukee, Wis. shoreline. Divers say the Doty, which sank more than a century ago in a violent Lake Michigan storm, appears to have been perfectly preserved by the cold fresh waters. It was carrying a cargo of corn from South Chicago to Ontario, Canada when it sank in October 1898

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100624/capt.42ef60cc09ea43abb5d22048a4792c46-42ef60cc09ea43abb5d22048a4792c46-0.jpg?x=400&y=266&q=85&sig=Q1ZZ3BAG4faiX9sYZsTPLA--

This photo provided Thursday June 24, 2010, by Great Lakes Shipwreck Research shows the windlass on the bow of the wooden steamship L.R. Doty.

MILWAUKEE – A great wooden steamship that sank more than a century ago in a violent Lake Michigan storm has been found off the Milwaukee-area shoreline, and divers say the intact vessel appears to have been perfectly preserved by the cold fresh waters.

Finding the 300-foot-long L.R. Doty was important because it was the largest wooden ship that remained unaccounted for, said Brendon Baillod, the president of the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association.

"It's the biggest one I've been involved with," said Baillod, who has taken part in about a dozen such finds. "It was really exhilarating."

The Doty was carrying a cargo of corn from South Chicago to Ontario, Canada in October 1898 when it sailed into a terrible storm, Baillod said. Along with snow and sleet, there were heavy winds that whipped up waves of up to 30 feet.

The Doty should have been able to handle the weather. The ship was only five years old, and the 300-foot wooden behemoth's hull was reinforced with steel arches.

But it was towing a small schooner, the Olive Jeanette, which began to founder in the storm after the tow line apparently snapped, Baillod said. The Doty probably sank when it came to the schooner's aid. All 17 of its crew members died, along with the ship's cats, Dewey and Watson.

As a maritime historian Baillod spent more than 20 years researching the shipwreck. He knew that swaths of debris had washed up afterward in Kenosha, about 40 miles south of Milwaukee. But he found news accounts that it had last been seen closer to Milwaukee, near Oak Creek.

Meanwhile, a Milwaukee fisherman in 1991 reported snagging his nets on an obstruction about 300 feet under water. The observation was largely forgotten for decades until diving technology improved enough to enable exploration at that depth.

A number of explorers did some preliminary scouting on the lake's surface in recent months, using deep-sea technology to find a massive submerged object. Divers waited until last week to descend, when the weather was just right.

As soon as they got to the lake floor they knew they had found the Doty.

"It felt so good to solve this," said Jitka Hanakova, 33, a diver and captain of the charter boat that led the exploration. "This ship has been missing for so many years and it's one of the biggest out there."

Divers found the ship upright and intact, settled into the clay at the lake's bottom. Even the ship's cargo of corn was still in its hold.

The Doty is so well-preserved because it's in a cold, freshwater lake. It's also far enough below the surface that storms don't affect it.

Those same factors mean the crew's corpses are likely intact as well, Baillod said. Their bodies are probably still in the boiler room, where the sailors must have huddled as the ship went down, he added.

While details of the sinking remain unclear, Baillod said the most likely explanation is that rudder chain snapped while the Doty was turning around to aid the Olive Jeanette. That would have left the 20-foot-tall ship at the mercy of 30-foot waves that would have dumped tons of water on the fragile wooden hatches.

"When the rudder broke (the crew) must have known they were going to die," Baillod said. "They probably had a good hour to contemplate their fate until the cargo holds collapsed."

There are no plans to raise the Doty, which is now the property of the state of Wisconsin. The ship will remain preserved indefinitely where it is, rather than exposing it to air that would cause it to rot away within a few years, Baillod said.

Few divers are expected to disturb it. It's in such deep water that only a small group of highly experienced divers can access it, Hanakova said.

Thousands of ships remain submerged in the Great Lakes, some vessels scuttled and others the victims of shipwrecks. Lake Michigan has about 500 dive-worthy ships still to be found, Baillod estimated.

He said his next target is the largest known missing ship: the car ferry Pere Marquette 18. He said it went down in 1910, about 20 miles from the southeastern Wisconsin shore.

The new technology that made finding the Doty possible can also help locate the Pere Marquette, he said.

"What's nice about finding these ships is, it contributes to our cultural history," he said. "Many people are disconnected from history so it's nice to reconnect to our past — to maybe look out today and think of the wooden steamships that were out there 100 years ago.

___

Online: http://www.ship-wreck.com/shipwreck/doty/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100624/ap_on_re_us/us_shipwreck_discovered_wis/print;_ylt=Ajxlf24pdT6h2a2Z49LHx55H2ocA;_ylu=X3oDM TBvajZzaTFyBHBvcwMxNQRzZWMDdG9wBHNsawNwcmludA--

Jolie Rouge

06-26-2010, 09:07 PM

Falling branch kills baby in NYC's Central Park
2 hrs 2 mins ago

NEW YORK – A 6-month-old baby was killed Saturday and her mother injured by a falling tree branch at New York's Central Park Zoo.

Police said the 33-year-old New Jersey woman was posing with her baby in front of the sea lion exhibit and her husband was taking their picture when the branch fell.

The woman and infant were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where the baby was pronounced dead. The mother was listed in stable condition.

Police identified the baby as Gianna Ricciutti of Union City, N.J.

Max Pulsinelli, a spokesman for the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the zoo, said he could not comment on the accident beyond what the police had said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," he said.

It's the second fatality caused by a tree branch this year at Central Park.

A 46-year-old man died in February when a branch heavy from snow fell and hit him.

In July 2009, a Google engineer was knocked unconscious after being hit on the head by a rotted tree branch at the park.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100627/ap_on_re_us/us_tree_kills_baby;_ylt=AuAkv86kkHoUqb9Sbli4rtJH2o cA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1b2tsbnFnBHBvcwM1BHNlYwN5bi1jaGFubm VsBHNsawNmYWxsaW5nYnJhbmM-

comments

This event just took my breath away. I walk past it almost every day with my little dogs. There are HUNDREDS of people - a million little kids, schools, daycares and families every hour during the weekend and during the summer. The trees are not native or natural to that park. They were transplanted there decades ago and I bet there's a warning in all these branches popping off that some stupid planning decision of the past has never ever been fixed. I wrote a letter to the Mayor about how the subway gap on the D-train (between the train and the platform) has never been fixed, even though it fails all Federal Safety maximum width designations. A man's leg was dragged and trampled as a train came in and he accidently slipped - just like the Fed Safety people warned. Basically it's the width enough to kill a child up to 10 years or if a mom has her baby pushed by some hurrying passengers. The Mayor Bloomberg and the lousy train engineering STILL have done nothing. Both ought to be charged at this point - and yeah, the Mayor is also responsible for checking off a lot of the decisions of this same Park where the trees are not getting enough clearance for stability and public safety underneath the ground. Manhattan is an island and it's not smart nor does it love its guests and residents the way they pay to be here ....and the way they deserve. :(

---

The liberal solution: Declare a 6 month moratorium on walking through Central Park. Create a Tree Branch Czar. Post warning signs every 6 feet in Central Park about falling branches. Close the park when the winds peak at 6 knots. If violators are found in the park after it's closed, the tree are obviously an attractive nuisance so cut down all trees giving the contract to ACORN.

The conservative solution: First, pray for the family. Next, trim off the dead and dying branches and bid out the contract. Use the mulch on bushes in the park.

Jolie Rouge

09-01-2010, 07:15 PM

NYC man plunges 39 stories, lands on car, survives
Wed Sep 1, 12:51 pm ET

NEW YORK – A New York City man who plunged 39 stories from the roof of an apartment building has survived after crashing onto a parked car.

Witnesses and police say 22-year-old Thomas Magill tried to commit suicide by jumping from the high-rise at West 63rd Street on Tuesday. He landed in the backseat area of a Dodge Charger after crashing through the windshield.

Magill suffered broken legs. Police say he's in critical condition.

The car's owner, Guy McCormack, of Old Bridge, N.J., told the Daily News he's convinced that rosary beads he kept inside the Dodge saved Magill's life.

Witnesses told police they saw Magill falling past their windows.

He isn't the only New Yorker to survive a high-rise fall. Window washer Alcides Moreno fell 47 stories from the roof of a skyscraper in December 2007.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us39_story_plunge;_ylt=AqWiVsHbYUkBrzNVtkqiORlv24c A;_ylu=X3oDMTM2dG5vbTVmBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwOTAxL3V zMzlfc3RvcnlfcGx1bmdlBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb 3MDMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA255Y21 hbnBsdW5nZQ--

how did he crash through the windshield and land in the back seat???

Jolie Rouge

09-08-2010, 02:45 PM

Giant hay bale kills former ELO cellist
Tue Sep 7, 1:29 pm ET

LONDON (Reuters) – A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van.

Cellist Mike Edwards, 62, died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road.

He died instantly in the freak accident on Friday afternoon.

Police said they used photographs and YouTube footage to identify Edwards and are investigating whether the bale may have fallen from a tractor working on farmland near the road.

Edwards, who played with the band between 1972 and 1975, is believed to have swerved into another vehicle as the bale crushed his cab.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100907/od_nm/us_edwards_elo_odd;_ylt=AssV3yxoeMGNNjLpIt9QB36s0N UE;_ylu=X3oDMTFmaW85djRtBHBvcwMyMDcEc2VjA2FjY29yZG lvbl9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDZ2lhbnRoYXliYW

And finally, in a bizzarre coincidence it was reported that he was looking for a needle at the time....

--

When asked what would happen to his instrument a spokeman for a local historical museum said, "there's always room for Cello".

---

No rocker has ever managed to die of natural causes ... but @#$%! ...killed by a giant attacking hay bale...

Jolie Rouge

09-08-2010, 02:49 PM

Proposed slogan: 'Low pants, no chance'
Tue Sep 7, 3:42 pm ET

BATON ROUGE, La. – A Baton Rouge Metro Council member wants the parish to support a public awareness campaign against men who wear their pants so low that their boxer shorts show. Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle has a slogan for the campaign: "Low pants, no chance."

"I hate to see it and I see so much of it in my district," Marcelle said. "It's disrespectful to the elderly, to young kids and to women."

Her resolution, on the agenda for discussion Wednesday, says wearing saggy pants creates negative stereotypes and that "those who wear saggy pants are hurting their chances of becoming employable, educated and productive citizens."

Marcelle said she'd like to pass a law allowing police to cite and fine people for wearing saggy pants that expose their underwear, but recognizes that constitutional issues prevent such a law.

A public-awareness campaign is the next-best thing to try to get these young men to hitch up their pants, she said.

Councilman Rodney "Smokie" Bourgeois and Councilwomen Donna Collins-Lewis and Ronnie Edwards say they support Mercelle's proposal. "How are you going to get a job with your pants down around your knees?" Bourgeois asked.

However, Councilman Scott Wilson questioned whether young people would pay any attention to the campaign, and said proper dress is something that should be dealt with at home, rather than by the council.

The trend may be on its way out anyway, said Doze Y. Butler, professor of apparel, merchandising and textiles at Southern University. Fewer men wore saggy pants last semester on the Baton Rouge campus, she said. And, she noted, she saw a variant — "MC Hammer-type pants — on a study tour to Europe. They're baggy and have low crotches, but the waistlines are high enough to cover underwear, butler said.

"I think it's a trend that's finally moving on," she said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100907/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_baggy_pants;_ylt=AngXomOROzk5kgZq9eOVZP8Z.3 QA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1aXIxY3FmBHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bi1jaGFubm VsBHNsawNwcm9wb3NlZHNsb2c-

Jolie Rouge

09-08-2010, 02:51 PM

A class to die for: Zombies 101 at U. Baltimore
Tue Sep 7, 10:59 am ET

BALTIMORE – Call it Zombies 101. The University of Baltimore is offering a new class on the undead.

The course is being taught by Arnold Blumberg, the author of a book on zombie movies, "Zombiemania," and the curator of Geppi's Entertainment Museum, which focuses on American pop culture. Students taking English 333 will watch 16 classic zombie films and read zombie comics. As an alternative to a final research paper they may write scripts or draw storyboards for their ideal zombie flicks.

The university isn't the first to have a class on the undead. Columbia College in Chicago has offered a course on Zombies in popular media for years, and at Simpson College in Iowa students spent the spring semester writing a book on "The History of the Great Zombie War."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100907/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_zombie_class;_ylt=AmhN0VmAyUdgY.H6oU_ZxKkuQ E4F;_ylu=X3oDMTE1bmNhNm5mBHBvcwMzBHNlYwN5bi1jaGFub mVsBHNsawNhY2xhc3N0b2RpZWY-

Jolie Rouge

02-08-2011, 09:44 PM

Quadriplegic man sues Disney over 'Small World'
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110208/ap_on_re_us/us_disneyland_lawsuit
Tue Feb 8, 6:44 pm ET

ANAHEIM, Calif. – A quadriplegic man is suing Disneyland in federal court, alleging the theme park left him on the "It's A Small World" ride for 40 minutes after it had stalled while staff evacuated other passengers.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, alleges Disneyland violated the Americans With Disabilities Act because it didn't have proper procedures in place for evacuating disabled passengers from the ride.

Jose Martinez is also suing for negligence, emotional distress and liability. He alleges Disney employees did not summon paramedics when his blood-pressure spiked while he was trapped on the ride.

Disneyland Resorts says in a statement it is accessible to all guests and has procedures in place for evacuating disabled customers.

comments

"....it's a lawsuit after all, it's a lawsuit after all, it's a lawsuit after all....."

-----

From a rescuers point of view you save as many as you can AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN.

Nobody likes to say it but, given the choice between saving 40 people in one hour versus leaving 40 people waiting while spending one hour in a complicated rescue for one person you get the 40 people out first. It's the best decision.

And, nowhere did I classify disabled versus able-bodied.

It is what it is.

=====

Forty minutes of hearing that song "it's a small world"? I'd sue too!

jasmine

02-10-2011, 07:29 AM

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/08/ufo-phil-wants-to-put-a-pyramid-on-pikes-peak/

'UFO Phil' Wants to Put a Pyramid on Pikes Peak

Phil Hill is a man with a dream -- a big dream. Maybe even an impossible dream. But this Don Quixote of the ET set is asking the U.S. government to allow him to build a giant pyramid on top of Pikes Peak in Colorado -- to be used by both humans and aliens.

Lots of questions spring to mind: Who exactly is this guy? Why does he want to do this? How does he plan to achieve this monumental vision? And is this a particularly slow day for UFO and extraterrestrial news?

Hill, a 39-year-old comedy songwriter and filmmaker from Colorado Springs, Colo., who also goes by the moniker "UFO Phil," claims to have been in touch with extraterrestrials since childhood, one in particular named Zaxon. Fine, I can already hear the jibes about how it sounds like a new laundry detergent.

http://o.aolcdn.com/photo-hub/news_gallery/7/0/704507/1296860386537.JPEG Courtesy Phil Hill
This rendering shows the result of UFO Phil's idea to build a pyramid atop Pikes Peak, presumably to generate enough energy to be used by the whole world.

@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; **p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; **a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; **a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; **div.Section1 { page: Section1; **Whether UFO Phil is a real or imagined personality, he's surprisingly entertaining, and through numerous radio appearances, videos, films and television news reports (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoUMT7zZUuQ) he's been getting his name out there to promote his offbeat ideas.

He composed the song "Listening to 'Coast to Coast,' " which is heard at the end of each Friday-night edition of the biggest overnight radio program in North America, "Coast to Coast AM With George Noory (http://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/spotlight-on-ufo-phil)." @font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; **p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; **a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; **a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; **div.Section1 { page: Se

Hill is also the subject of a 2008 made-for-DVD movie called "UFO Phil: The Movie (http://www.ufophil.com/)," which, according to his website, "follows the life of this reclusive songwriter."

Communication between Hill and the ETs is accomplished, he says, through one of several telepathy chips they implanted in his brain. I suppose that's easier than using Skype.

"I went to a physician about 10 years ago, and I realize this is kind of ridiculous, but I was trying to find proof, some kind of X-ray or something that I could show to some of the people who were skeptical. And the physician refused to X-ray me, got real quiet and stopped taking my calls," Hill told AOL News.

Hill alleges that the ancient Egyptian pyramids -- designed by extraterrestrials, of course -- were massive stone power stations. Through his ongoing otherworldly contacts, he's been singled out and gifted with secret blueprints and schematics. These plans, of alien design, of course, reveal how the pyramids can generate enough hydrogen gas to power everything on Earth.

Or maybe, in fact, that's what will cause the disasters reportedly predicted by the Mayan calendar of the world coming to an end on Dec. 21, 2012. But let's not be pessimistic.

Hill comes across as very friendly and intelligent and someone who genuinely believes what he says. The Colorado Springs Independent (http://www.csindy.com/colorado/ufo-phil-aims-for-the-stars/Content?oid=2033585)points out that "UFO Phil has no political ambition. This makes him one of an estimated nine people in our town not running for council or mayor. Phil would, however, like to bring a being from another galaxy to a city council meeting, which would be a first."

http://o.aolcdn.com/photo-hub/news_gallery/7/0/704509/1296860515856.JPEG Courtesy Phil Hill
Phil Hill, aka "UFO Phil," looks to the sky for help as he tries to figure out how to get the U.S. government to grant him permission to build a gigantic pyramid on top of Pikes Peak in Colorado.

Hill's plan is to build a pyramid to the exact specifications as the great pyramid in Giza, Egypt -- built around 2500 B.C. from massive amounts of quarried limestone, nearly 500 feet tall, and according to most experts, created as a tomb for the ancient Pharaoh Khufu.

Reality aside, Hill recognizes his plan is daunting and he admits he can't do it alone. "It'll depend on how the government allows me to proceed, as to how many people I'll be allowed to have help me. I need at least 60 strong people to carry one brick, and it takes 2.3 million bricks to assemble the pyramid.

"Physically, the pyramid fits perfectly on top of Pikes Peak. I've been up there to measure, and I was a little concerned at first, but once we wipe out the existing parking area -- the visitors parking and then the visitors center, where all they really do is sell cups and trinkets -- when we get rid of that, then there's no problem."

No problem? Hardly. Someone's bound to complain, especially since Pikes Peak, part of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, is a national historic landmark and was the inspiration for the beloved Katharine Lee Bates poem "America the Beautiful."

Hill initially contacted the U.S. Forest Service, asking for information on how to submit a construction proposal for Pikes Peak. Not surprisingly, he was informed by a spokesperson that his pyramid idea might not exactly fly with the government.

"We cannot speculate or formally comment on a concept you have not fully developed and submitted," the Forest Service responded to Hill.

"That said, an initial consideration of the pyramid-shaped power plant proposal would likely find the proposed use would unreasonably conflict and interfere with the Forest Management Plan and existing authorized uses on Pikes Peak."

In his latest press release, Hill interprets the government response as actually giving him the authorization he needs to start erecting his pyramid. "Leaders at the forest service informed me that I only needed to apply for a construction permit under certain circumstances. But since I'm not building for profit or assembling more than 75 people, it appears I can go ahead and build."

Undaunted, Hill believes that he can move forward with his plan. But he doesn't know how much his mountaintop UFO gas-energy stop would even cost or who would pay for it.

"What I'm hoping for is to find somebody who has access to limestone -- maybe someone who owns a quarry, a benefactor or someone to donate the limestone or the funds to help me purchase the limestone. Once you realize that what I'm doing here is going to benefit the entire planet, somebody somewhere should come forward with this," he said.

And oh, yes, Hill admits his alien friends have also instructed him to build what he calls energy relay transmitters at the top of San Francisco's famed Coit Tower, New York's Empire State Building and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

Certainly, one question that comes to mind is, why hasn't anyone else figured all this stuff out before? You know, the pyramid information, energy from hydrogen via the pyramid chambers, etc.? Why is it only now being offered to mankind through Hill?

"I just think that they are not in contact with the same aliens that I am," he said.

Jolie Rouge

02-27-2011, 09:49 PM

Jolie Rouge

03-10-2011, 08:50 PM

Thu Mar 10, 11:52 am ET
“Zombie” ants fall victim to mind-control fungus
By Mike Krumboltz

'Zombie ants' may sound like the title of an Ed Wood movie, but, according to National Geographic, they are quite real.

Oddly, there's nothing very zombie-like about the actual ants. It's only when a particular fungus takes over the ant's brain that things get weird. Once the "stalk of the newfound fungus species Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani infects an ant, the ant gives up control over its own body. After the fungus is in control, it forces the ant to scamper toward "a location ideal for the fungi to grow and spread their spores." Then, it's lights out for the ant. Who knew a fungus could be so diabolical?

These wild discoveries were made by a group in Brazil headed by entomologist David Hughes. National Geographic published a series of pictures of ants that have "lost their minds" to the fungus. You can check out a sample of them below. Not for the squeamish.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20110310/od_yblog_upshot/zombie-ants-fall-victim-to-mind-control-fungus

Jolie Rouge

03-11-2011, 08:49 PM

Shop to make breast milk ice cream
– Fri Feb 25, 1:56 pm ET
LONDON (Reuters) – A specialist ice cream parlor plans to serve up breast milk ice cream and says people should think of it as an organic, free-range treat. The breast milk concoction, called the "Baby Gaga," will be available from Friday at the Icecreamists restaurant in London's Covent Garden. Icecreamists founder Matt O'Connor was confident his take on the "miracle of motherhood" and priced at a hefty 14 pounds ($23) a serving will go down a treat with the paying public.

The breast milk was provided by mothers who answered an advertisement on online mothers' forum Mumsnet. Victoria Hiley, 35, from London was one of 15 women who donated milk to the restaurant after seeing the advert. Hiley works with women who have problems breast-feeding their babies. She said she believes that if adults realized how tasty breast milk actually is, then new mothers would be more willing to breast-feed their own newborns. "What could be more natural than fresh, free-range mother's milk in an ice cream? And for me it's a recession beater too -- what's the harm in using my assets for a bit of extra cash," Hiley said in a statement. "I tried the product for the first time today -- it's very nice, it really melts in the mouth."

The Baby Gaga recipe blends breast milk with Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest, which is then churned into ice cream. O'Connor said the Baby Gaga was just one of a dozen radical new flavors at the shop. "Some people will hear about it and go, 'yuck' but actually it's pure, organic, free-range and totally natural," he said. "I had a Baby Gaga just this morning and I feel great."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110225/od_nm/us_breastmilk_icecream

Lady Gaga may sue over breastmilk ice cream name
Thu Mar 10, 11:40 am ET[/i]

LONDON (Reuters) – Pop singer Lady Gaga has threatened to sue a specialist ice cream parlour in London for naming its breast milk ice cream "Baby Gaga," the shop's owner said on Wednesday.

Matt O'Connor, founder of The Icecreamists in London's Covent Garden, said he had received a letter from Lady Gaga's lawyers informing him that the singer planned to sue him over the name. "She's threatening to bankrupt us and she's also threatening me personally, saying she'll seize my personal assets and property," he said.

Lady Gaga's London solicitors, Mishcon de Reya, said they would not comment.

O'Connor denied the flamboyant singer -- whose meat dress and other strange outfits have promoted her quirky image and delighted her fans -- had inspired the name he chose for the dessert made from breast milk blended with Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest. "It's just the first noise a baby makes -- it's nothing to do with anyone else," he said, adding that he was working on a response to the letter.

London's Westminster Council briefly confiscated supplies of "Baby Gaga" ice cream last week on health concerns, but gave it the all-clear on Wednesday. "We're pleased that the safety checks we've undertaken on the products have come back clear," Westminster Council's cabinet member for business Brian Connell said in a statement.

O'Connor told Reuters he was considering taking legal action against the council for reputational damage. "They made the damaging assertion that breast milk ice cream isn't safe," he said, adding that it was an overreaction to the safest food in the world.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110310/od_nm/us_ladygaga_breastmilk

In a related story, Lady Gaga has announced lawsuits against three million babies nationwide for using the phrase "goo goo gaga".

Calls to the three million babies were either not returned, or were met with unintelligible baby talk. Calls to legal professionals for comment were met with hysterical laughter.

---

Queen should sue her for stealing the name of their song, and then Madonna should sue her for stealing her act.

---

Fascinating that only a couple of days ago Lady Gaga broke off her association with Target because she believed they are anti-gay, thus earning her accolades for her "integrity" and "selflessness." Now she decides that anyone using the word "gaga" should either pay her money or stop using it. So much for her "integrity," which appears to only be worth the publicity she can milk form it - pun intended.

Jolie Rouge

04-05-2011, 12:10 PM

So-called "hanger women" arrested for stealing dresses
April 5, 2011 10:32 AM

BATON ROUGE- Three women are under arrest after a call about a theft from security at the Mall of Louisiana. JC Penny Loss Prevention agents report watching three women suspected of stealing from multiple stores in the mall. Deputies learned that the suspects were believed to belong to an organized retail crime ring called "hanger women."

They are called so because they tie a knot at the bottom of a dress, bring the dress in the fitting room, and then hide the coat hangers inside the dress they are stealing. Deputies recovered 62 items belonging to JC Penny valued at $5,942.00. In addition, they recovered 60 items belonging to Macy's valued at $4,106.00 The over $10,000 worth of stolen items were found in the car and on the bodies of the suspects.

Monica Brisker is charged with Theft of Goods. Ruthie Smith is charged with Battery, Gambling, and Damage to Property. Amika is charged with Theft of Goods and Flight from an Officer. All were booked into parish prison.

http://www.wbrz.com/news/so-called-hanger-women-arrested-for-stealing-dresses/

WOW....

Jolie Rouge

04-12-2011, 10:18 AM

Iceland's penis museum finally gets human specimen
Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press – 43 mins ago

LONDON – In life, Pall Arason sought attention. In death, he is getting it: The 95-year-old Icelander's pickled penis will be the main attraction in one of his country's most bizarre museums.

Sigurdur Hjartarson, who runs the Phallological Museum in the tiny Icelandic fishing town of Husavik, said Arason's organ will help round out the unusual institution's extensive collection of phalluses from whales, seals, bears and other mammals. Several people had pledged their penises over the years — including an American, a Briton, and a German — but Arason's was the first to be successfully donated, Hjartarson said. "I have just been waiting for this guy for 15 years," he told The Associated Press in a brief telephone interview.

Hjartarson's museum started in Reykjavik but has since moved to Husavik, a small community better known for its whale watching. The Phallological Museum is an important part of the region's tourist industry, bringing in thousands of visitors every summer. Highlights of the museum's collection include a 170-centimeter (67-inch) sperm whale penis preserved in formaldehyde, lampshades made from bull testicles and what the museum described as an "unusually big" penis bone from a Canadian walrus.

Hjartarson, 69, said his interest in what he calls "phallology" began when, as a youngster in rural Iceland, he was given a whip made from a bull's penis to help him herd cattle. Later, when he worked at a school near a whaling station, colleagues brought him whale penises as gifts. "That was how it started. I opened this museum 15 years ago with 62 specimens," he said. Now, with the addition of Arason's organ, he has 276, many suspended in formaldehyde or dried and mounted on the walls.

Photos posted to the museum's website show small army of ghostly, whitish penises stuffed into jars, tall glass cylinders and large aquariums. There are sculptures, molds and other penis-related craft items. Outside, the museum has a large tree trunk carved into the shape of an erect phallus. Most items are donations from friends and well-wishers, people listed on the museum's website as "honorary members."

Arason was described by Hjartarson as a former tourism worker who died Jan. 5 in the nearby town of Akureyri. Thorvaldur Ingvarsson, the medical director of Akureyri's hospital, didn't give a cause of death but said the specimen was removed from the body under the supervision of a doctor. The phallus was officially installed in a ceremony last week, Hjartarson said, adding that he saw nothing wrong with the idea of having someone donate their penis to be shown off to the public. "People are always donating some organ after they died," he said. "It's no more remarkable to donate a penis than it is to donate an organ like a kidney."

Hjartarson said the donation fit with Arason's personality. "He liked to be in the limelight, you know? He was a funny guy," he said. "He was a boaster, a braggart ... he liked to be provocative."

But the museum director was coy when asked about the size of his newest acquisition. "I can't tell you that," Hjartarson said. "You will just have to come and see it." :rofl:

___

Online: http://www.phallus.is/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110412/ap_on_fe_st/eu_iceland_penis_museum

Jolie Rouge

04-14-2011, 07:15 AM

So Churchgoers Are Fatter But Healthier?
Erik Hayden – Fri Mar 25, 3:08 pm ET

Headline writers have had fun with a Northwestern University study purporting to find a link between attending religious activities and likilihood of becoming obese. "Firm Faith, Fat Body?" questioned the Christian Post. "Frequent Churchgoers Frequently Fatter," explained CNN in a tongue twister. "Does God make you fat?" wondered CBS. And our personal favorite: "Praise the Lard?" coyly asked MSNBC.

Quips aside, the research--which used mostly Protestant Christians--focused on a sample of 2,433 men and women over a period of 18 years, finding at the end of the longitudinal study that those who attended a religious function at least once a week were more likely to have a body mass index of 30 or higher. "It's possible that getting together once a week and associating good works and happiness with eating unhealthy foods could lead to the development of habits that are associated with greater body weight and obesity," one of the study's authors, Matthew Feinstein, explained in a press release.

Part of the reason that the study appears to have gained traction is that it, in some ways, confirms a certain stereotype of a middle-aged Protestant: the potluck-going, prayer group-leading, purveyor of delectable but fattening "refreshments" at church events. Fair enough. But it's hard to tell what the study is implying. For one thing, causation is notoriously difficult to prove, and people often get heavier as they age, regardless of other variables.

At The Daily Beast, Casey Schwartz notes as much, writing "it's not clear what this study really tells us. The conclusions are based on a cohort of subjects who were examined for the first time more than 20 years ago. At the onset of the study, they were asked about their religious predilictions. They were never asked again....Therefore, the Northwestern research is linking religious habits as reported by a cadre of twentysomethings in 1987 with obesity rates nearly 20 years later."

Also, the study's authors cautioned that churchgoers don't have "worse overall health status than those who are non-religious." The Northwestern researchers also noted a few studies--and we're pointing out a couple more--observing that there is plenty of research detailing that churchgoers may be happier, live longer, and may perhaps have better physical health than the less devout. So maybe churchgoers are just pleasantly overweight?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110325/ts_atlantic/churchattendencefatness36097_1

Jolie Rouge

04-30-2011, 01:47 PM

New York bookstore stocks only one book
Jonathan Allen – Fri Apr 29, 7:50 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Visitors to a New York City bookstore can browse its "New and Noteworthy" or "Science" sections or even "Staff Favorites" but all they will find is thousands of copies of a single book.

"Please let us know if we can help you find something," Andrew Kessler told customers on Friday amid shelves and tables piled with copy after copy of a hardcover called "Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mars Mission."

It's author, Kessler, 32, said that in the last few weeks he has sold nearly 500 copies of the only book he stocks. "We have a highly curated aesthetic," he said in an interview at the store, called Ed's Martian Book. (There is no Ed, but Kessler thought that was the most likely name for the sort of guy who would open such a business.)

"It's so hard to get people to notice if you're a first-time author," said Kessler, who is otherwise the creative director at an advertising agency.

The $27.95 book is a behind-the-scenes account of the three months Kessler spent in 2009 observing the scientists who worked on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission, which is celebrated for confirming the presence of water on the planet.

Kessler said he did not intend the month-long pop-up bookstore to be a profitable business so much as a cross between a marketing stunt and conversation piece at a time when many conventional bookstores and publishers are struggling. "The crazy thing is we're actually pretty close to breaking even," he added, sounding surprised.

Pegasus Books, Kessler's New York-based publisher, sold him the 3,000 books at a discount. He says his landlord gave him a good deal on the rent for a space that would have otherwise sat empty before a coffee shop moves in later in May. "I don't think anybody thinks he's going to sell out," said Jessica Case, Kessler's editor at Pegasus Books. "But that kind of wasn't the idea. It's to get people excited about the book, to make a comment on the future of books."

Reaction from customers was varied. Curious passers-by stared through the window on a quiet Friday afternoon, audibly trying to figure out what they were seeing. "This is so interesting they only sell one book," said a man excitedly as he dashed back outside to his friend waiting by the store's window.

"Whaaat?" replied his friend, incredulous.

Inside, Roslyn Hart, a theater writer and performer from Manhattan, picked up a copy and strode up to the counter. "I'm buying it just because I respect your idea, but it better be good," she announced.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110429/stage_nm/us_bookstore_martian;_ylt=At3a8W3YZcxkzTw7WQL4iOC7 e8UF;_ylu=X3oDMTM1YTRsaG8zBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTEwNDI5 L3VzX2Jvb2tzdG9yZV9tYXJ0aWFuBGNjb2RlA29mZmcxNGsEY3 BvcwM1BHBvcwM1BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDbmV3 eW9ya2Jvb2tz

I love this. Creative marketing, lots of publicity, and the Chutspah to do it through a book store at a time when book stores are disappearing. I hope he makes a fortune, gets a movie deal, and lives happily ever after. Way to go, Andrew Kessler.

---

now that guy is a real American...where is that kind of spirit, of innovation.in American business???..I want to see American companies showing that kind of creative off the cuff entrepreneurship...if we want to compete, we need to do what America does best: innovate...on an individual scale and a corporate scale...

---

As a former New York advertising executive, I love this guy's chutzpah...only in New York will someone attempt a gimmick like his...LOL!
This story is the very definition of "art". Bravo!

Jolie Rouge

05-02-2011, 07:52 PM

New Yorkers sample cheese made from human breast milk
Jonathan Allen – Mon May 2, 9:37 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York gallery on Sunday offered adventurous eaters the opportunity to sample cheese made from human breast milk, getting mixed reviews and some puzzled looks.

The Lady Cheese Shop is a temporary art installation by Miriam Simun, a graduate student at New York University who hopes to use the craft of cheese-making to raise questions about the ethics of modern biotechnologies. "Cheese is the conversation starter," Simun said. "Some people are loving it, and some people are gagging."

Simun found three nursing women willing to have their milk turned into cheese. She screened the milk for diseases, pasteurized it and learned the basics of cheese-making.

Three varieties were available on Sunday -- West Side Funk, Midtown Smoke, described as "creamy and just pure heaven," and Wisconsin Chew, the taste of which apparently reflected the vegetable-filled diet of the woman who provided its milk.

Jocelyn James, of Manhattan, who works with expectant mothers, declared her favorite was Midtown Smoke, which she said was mild. She described Wisconsin Chew as bland. "It's a lot healthier than cow's milk, which can be very suspicious," she said, although she conceded: "It does have a stigma."

Frances Anderson sampled the cheese while breast-feeding her infant son Luan. "I'm an adventurous eater," she said. "I know more about the source of this food than going into a supermarket and picking up Cheddar cheese. I don't know what they pumped into that cow."

Passersby seemed perplexed. "That there's so weird," said Cheryl Coleman, a neighbor walking by. "I love this neighborhood," she added.

Simun said she hoped her cheese will make people think about the various ways human bodies are used as "factories," producing blood, hair, sperm, eggs and organs that can all be harvested to be used by others.

And while the transfusion of human blood is a common practice, uses of human milk raise eyebrows.

Last year, a New York chef served diners at his restaurant cheese made from his wife's milk, and earlier this year an ice cream parlor in London began buying women's breast milk and turning it into frozen treats. "You're putting it in your mouth," said Simun of human milk and the taboos around it. "There's something really visceral about that."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110502/od_nm/us_cheese_breastmilk

Jolie Rouge

05-24-2011, 05:31 AM

Toy tiger causes UK police alert
Mon May 23, 9:38 am ET

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20110523/capt.c2adc9d1de004761bf3639337ca3f761-c2adc9d1de004761bf3639337ca3f761-0.jpg?x=213&y=152&xc=1&yc=1&wc=410&hc=293&q=85&sig=tKIzRRYI0OSIH2LyfTms6w--

LONDON – Police scrambled helicopters and ordered tranquilizers to hunt what they feared was an escaped wild animal in southern England — but found that the tiger was a toy.

Hampshire Police say they responded after several residents called in to say they'd seen a white tiger in a field near a golf course in Hedge End, near the English coastal city of Southampton.

A tongue-in-cheek recorded message posted to the force's media line said that after "a brief stalk through the Hedge End savannah ... it became obvious that the tiger was a stuffed, life-sized toy."

A second message posted on Sunday emphasized police had a duty to take such sightings seriously. As for the renegade tiger, "it's being treated as lost property."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110523/ap_on_fe_st/eu_odd_britain_tiger_alert

I'll give you one better. Deputies in Keithville, Louisiana once spent hours shooting tranquilizer darts into a stuffed trash bag high up in a tree because they thought it was a bear.

---

Same thing happened in morehead city nc a few years ago. local law enforcement expended nearly 200 rounds attempting to kill what they believed to be a giant snake. turns out they killed a pine tree limb layin in a ditch

---

Somebody has been reading too much Calvin & Hobbes!!

Jolie Rouge

06-04-2011, 09:49 PM

Jefferson Memorial closed by police over free speech ‘dance party’
– Sat Jun 4, 4:44 pm ET

Police closed the Jefferson Memorial slightly before 1 p.m. Saturday and ushered out a crowd that was challenging a ban on dancing inside the monument.

No arrests were made during the “dance party” that had been called after five people were arrested one week ago for silently dancing.

At noon, a crowd assembled on the steps to the monument, then entered the hall and circled the statue of Thomas Jefferson. A substantial number of reporters and photographers watched. No efforts were made to arrest the large group of dancers, but after a half hour, police announced that they were closing the monument and began to usher people to the exit.

As the monument was cleared of participants and press alike, several people remained, dancing gleefully in front of SWAT team members who had arrived. Participants included members of Code Pink and supporters of Republican presidential candidates Ron Paul and Gary Johnson.

The last of the participants were corralled out of the building around 1 p.m., to cheers from the crowd of those ejected earlier.

The police reaction was less severe than at the previous weekend’s event, when the police tackled protesters. This time, most of the protesters left on their own accord, though some were shoved or grabbed by police officers. Outside of the hall, officers demanded that everyone stand only on the steps. One officer carried a machine gun, which he told protesters was to back up other law enforcement.

The organizers of the event spoke after the hall was cleared. Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin, who was one of the five arrested last weekend, told listeners that the event was a victory, that large numbers had prevented a police overreaction. Other participants were not as generous in their assessment, with one announcing that “those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable,” quoting President Kennedy.

The crowd slowly dispersed as people danced to the song “Safety Dance.” An open mic welcomed speeches that included a reading of the First Amendment and complaints about the “anger issues” of certain officers. A woman said that she had been throttled for dancing. One man took to the microphone to demand that all intrusive government policies be overturned, specifically mentioning the need to repeal “Obamacare.” Benjamin clarified that some participants also wanted a single-payer system, but that all agreed on the right to dance at the memorial.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20110604/pl_dailycaller/jeffersonmemorialclosedbypoliceoverfreespeechdance party

Jolie Rouge

06-05-2011, 10:09 PM

Man cited after paying bill with 2,500 pennies
Sun Jun 5, 5:08 pm ET

VERNAL, Utah – A Utah man has been cited on a charge of disorderly conduct after paying for a disputed medical bill with 2,500 pennies.

The Deseret News of Salt Lake City reports Jason West went to Basin Clinic in Vernal on May 27 prepared to dispute an outstanding $25 bill.

Assistant Vernal Police Chief Keith Campbell says that after asking staff members whether they accepted cash, West dumped 2,500 pennies on the counter and demanded that staff count them.

Campbell says the incident upset staff because pennies were strewn about the counter and floor, and West's action served "no legitimate purpose."

Police later issued the 38-year-old West a citation for disorderly conduct. That carries a fine of as much as $140. Or 14,000 pennies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110605/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_paying_with_pennies

Legal tender ... accept the payment or void the debt.

Jolie Rouge

06-07-2011, 08:44 AM

Australia's military loses its UFO X-Files
1 hr 43 mins ago

CANBERRA (Reuters Life!) – Australia's military has lost its X-Files, detailing sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, across the country, a newspaper report said Tuesday.

After a two-month search in response to a newspaper Freedom of Information (FOI) request, which forces government officials to release documents of public interest, Australia's Department of Defense had been unable to locate the files, the Sydney Morning Herald said. "The files could not be located and Headquarters Air Command formally advised that this file is deemed lost," the department's FOI assistant director, Natalie Carpenter, told the paper. Defense officials could not be contacted by Reuters.

The only file Defense had been able to locate was a folder called: "Report on UFOs/Strange Occurrences and Phenomena in Woomera," a military weapons testing range in the center of Australia's vast outback, Carpenter said.

All other files had been lost or destroyed, which the Herald said could fuel conspiracy theories about their disappearance.

The single remaining file detailed a sketchy series of sightings from around the country and overseas, including people living in towns near Woomera, in South Australia state.

X Files, named after a popular U.S. television science fiction program, refer to supposed government records detailing paranormal mysteries, usually involving fictitious alien species.

Australia's military had decided to stop taking UFO sighting reports in late 2000, the Herald said, asking members of the public to report incidents to police instead.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110607/lf_nm_life/us_australia_ufo;_ylt=Ag76jMXvjsz_NUX5exvMPTcZ.3QA ;_ylu=X3oDMTNhazMwYmdsBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTEwNjA3L3Vz X2F1c3RyYWxpYV91Zm8EY2NvZGUDdG9wZ21wdG9wMjAwcG9vbA RjcG9zAzQEcG9zAzQEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNh dXN0cmFsaWEzOXM-

Does this surprise you? There are the most bizarre stupid explanations to ridcule sightings to prevent mass panic! There are so many anomalies in this area. I guess they simply got stolen! Ha Maybe it was Wikileaks :-)

---

First evidence of the aliens using eraser rays on secret files. Holy mollie Batman, what next?

---

Obama, Kissinger, North, and Nixon have them locked in a safe at Area 51. Send your requests to "Gray Guy" Box 666, Area 51, Nevada. You will get a response.... watch for the MIB.

----

Lost? hardly, you just CAN'T FIND 'EM. You didn't really think anybody's gonna tell ya Jack did ya?

----

Beamed up by a strange object in the shape of a boomarang. Just after three green kangaroos with large purple eyes and a big green flashing nose molested a fluxing flock of sheep. Yelling JI_HADDDDI IO OH RIDEM AHLAH !

---

Maybe it had something to do with that temp who came in on Friday ??

Jolie Rouge

06-15-2011, 09:55 PM

Idaho couple's dream home was infested with snakes
Jessie L. Bonner, Associated Press – Wed Jun 15, 4:14 pm ET

REXBURG, Idaho – They slithered behind the walls at night and released foul-smelling musk into the drinking water. And they were so numerous that Ben Sessions once killed 42 in a single day.

Shortly after buying their dream home, Sessions and his wife discovered it was infested with thousands of garter snakes. For the next three months, their growing family lived as if in a horror movie. More than a year after they abandoned the property, the home briefly went back on the market, and they fear it could someday attract another unsuspecting buyer.

The five-bedroom house stands on nearly two pastoral acres in rural Idaho, about 125 miles southwest of Yellowstone National Park. Priced at less than $180,000, it seemed like a steal. But the young couple soon learned they would be sharing the home with reptiles at least two feet long that had crawled into seemingly every crevice.

While setting up a chicken coop, Sessions lifted a piece of sheet metal and was startled to see a pair of snakes slither away. A few days later, he found more and soon started to collect dozens in buckets. At times, there were so many in the yard that the grass seemed to move. If he rapped a stick against the roof overhang, he could hear dozens scatter, their scales sliding against the aluminum. After he removed some panels of siding, dozens of snakes popped out. When he made his way through the crawl space to investigate further, he found snakes everywhere.

That's when he realized his family was probably living atop a garter snake den where the nonpoisonous reptiles congregate in the fall and winter.

Sessions quickly developed a daily snake-fighting routine. Before his pregnant wife and two small boys got out of bed, he would do a "morning sweep" through the house to make sure none of the snakes had gotten inside. One day, his wife screamed from the laundry room, where she had almost stepped on one. He rushed in to find that she had jumped onto a counter. "I was terrified she was going to miscarry," he said.

When they bought the house, the Sessions signed a document that noted the snake infestation. They said they had been assured by their real estate agent that the snakes were just a story invented by the previous owners to leave their mortgage behind. They soon learned that nearly everyone else in this tiny college town knew the snakes were real. "I felt bad," said Dustin Chambers, a neighbor. "By the time we knew someone had bought it, they were already moving in. It was too late."

Among locals, the property is known simply as the "snake house," he added.

The pests were impossible to escape no matter the hour of the day.

At night, the Sessions would lie awake and listen to slithering inside the walls. During the day, the family often had to eat out because their well water smelled like the musk released by the snakes as a warning to predators. But because of the paperwork they had signed, the couple had little recourse when they decided to flee the home. They filed for bankruptcy, and the bank foreclosed on the house.

The Sessions left in December 2009, the day after their daughter was born and just three months after moving in. "We're not going to pay for a house full of snakes," Sessions said.

His wife, Amber, said she felt like their family was starting to fall apart. "It was just so stressful," she said. "It felt like we were living in Satan's lair. That's the only way to really explain it."

Several months ago, the house briefly went back on the market. Now owned by JP Morgan Chase, it was listed at $114,900 in December, according to Zillow.com, a real estate data firm. That price fell to $109,200 in January.

Then, the Animal Planet network featured the Sessions' story in its "Infested" series.

The listing was removed, and it has stayed off the market while Chase decides what to do with it.

A Rexburg real estate company that was hired to sell the house referred all questions to a Chase spokeswoman in Seattle.

Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot did not return repeated phone calls from The Associated Press. But she told a business columnist for Dow Jones Newswires that the bank had contracted to have the snakes trapped and released elsewhere.

Sessions said that he has been diagnosed with snake-related post-traumatic stress disorder and that the house should be condemned. "It's not right to continue to sell this home," Sessions said. He and his wife said they still have nightmares and have not recovered financially.

The home was probably built on top of a winter snake den or hibernaculum, where snakes gather in large numbers to hibernate, said Rob Cavallaro, a wildlife biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. In the spring and summer, the reptiles fan out across the wilds of southeastern Idaho to feed and breed. But as the days get shorter and cooler, they return to the den in search of warmth.

In 2007, another couple named Neal and Denise Ard sued the couple who sold them the home and the real estate agent who negotiated the $189,900 deal. The complaint was dismissed a year later.

Since the Sessions moved out, other people have looked at the house. One day, when a real estate agent was showing the property, a farmer who lives down the road stopped by to warn them, Chambers said. "Now, if anybody sees anybody, they kind of will let them know," he said. "Just so that somebody else doesn't get caught in the same trap."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110615/ap_on_fe_st/us_snake_house;_ylt=At6FJzNv3LD.QQnKCsB9_zTK.nQA;_ ylu=X3oDMTM4cnYydWl0BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNjE1L3VzX3 NuYWtlX2hvdXNlBGNjb2RlA3RvcGdtcHRvcDIwMHBvb2wEY3Bv cwM0BHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDaWRhaG 9jb3VwbGVz

Jolie Rouge

06-15-2011, 10:00 PM

Desert tortoise comes under fire from 'Sheriff' Biden
– Tue Jun 14, 12:42 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – As part of the White House's recently launched Campaign to Cut Waste, Vice President Joe Biden says one of his first wasteful spending targets is a website dedicated to the desert tortoise.

Biden, who was named by President Barack Obama to head up the campaign designed to identify and eliminate wasteful federal spending, said Monday that one example of such waste was a federally funded website dedicated to the desert tortoise, a threatened species. In a message on the White House website entitled, "There's a New Sheriff in Town," Biden addressed potential cuts to spending. "And I bet you didn't know that your tax dollars pay for a website dedicated to the Desert Tortoise. I'm sure it's a wonderful species, but we can't afford to have a standalone site devoted to every member of the animal kingdom," Biden wrote in the message also sent via email to supporters. "It's just one of hundreds of government websites that should be consolidated or eliminated."

The new campaign comes as the president and Republicans in Congress are engaged in difficult negotiations over the national debt and budget deficit. There are nearly 2,000 federal .gov domains, according to the White House. Under many of these domains are smaller sites that result in an estimated 24,000 websites, and the White House said the redundancy creates confusion and wastes money.

Another website that drew criticism from the White House was a federal domain devoted to foresters who play the fiddle, but all that remained of www.fiddlinforesters.gov on Monday was a dead link. "This kind of waste is just unacceptable. Particularly at a time when we're facing tough decisions about reducing our deficit, it's a no-brainer to stop spending taxpayer dollars on things that benefit nobody," said Biden.

The site identified by Biden, www.deserttortoise.gov, is managed by the Mojave Desert Ecosystem Program, a database about a desert area that spreads into California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. "The Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to saving the taxpayers' money. At the same time, we will continue to work with all agencies involved to protect all endangered species," agency spokeswoman Vanessa Kauffman told AFP.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110614/od_afp/uspoliticsenvironmentanimalsoffbeat

Jolie Rouge

06-17-2011, 12:56 PM

Ga. museum dishes the history of Vidalia onions
Russ Bynum, Associated Press – Fri Jun 17, 11:40 am ET

VIDALIA, Ga. – They've started fistfights and court battles, been romanticized in country songs and counterfeited by bootleggers. Their trademark sweetness has made them a coveted ingredient in recipes from salads and relishes to cookies and muffins.

If a museum dedicated to onions sounds rooted in folly, the history behind the famous Vidalia onion can likely hold its own with other veggie shrines such as the Idaho Potato Museum, the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Museum in Minnesota and the tiny Carrot Museum tucked in a Rhode Island bed-and-breakfast.

The freshly opened Vidalia Onion Museum digs fairly deep to dish the good, the bad and the yummy on Georgia's official state vegetable — including the unearthed origin of Vidalias' reputation for being so sweet they can be eaten like apples. "You go anywhere in the country and you get these crazy, random museums. So naturally people expected we had an onion museum," said Wendy Brannen, who oversaw creation of the museum in her job as executive director of the Vidalia Onion Committee, which handles marketing of the crop.

It took five years and $250,000. But the onion museum, which shares space with Brannen's committee offices and the local tourism bureau, opened its doors April 29 to coincide with the celebration of the spring harvest.

The museum has exhibits on the science behind why onions grown in rural southern Georgia turn out so mild (low-sulfur soil, for starters). There's a foodie section with recipes for Vidalia onion muffins and congealed salad with chopped onions, lemon gelatin and cottage cheese.

One corner is dedicated to TV clips and other pop-culture curios. There's Sammy Kershaw's country song about a girl with a funky name: "Sweet Vidalia/ You always gotta make me cry." And who'd have thought knowing that Vidalias come from Georgia was an answer worth $25,000 on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"

For the uninitiated, the museum handily breaks down the basics: Only 20 counties in Georgia can grow and sell onions under the Vidalia name, by order of state and federal law. Each year onion farmers ship about 200 million pounds of Vidalias, valued at $150 million.

Still, the museum's juicy centerpiece is a collection of photos, newspaper clippings and videotaped interviews that tell the story of how Georgia's prized cash crop grew from a few Depression-era farmers who randomly started growing onions to supplement their cotton and tobacco harvests.

One of those early stories features a firsthand account from farmer Mose Coleman, who grew his first onions from mail-ordered seeds in the 1930s and sold them out of a trailer made from the back of a Model T Ford. Coleman tells of how he sold his crop to a grocery chain's buyer by biting into a raw, ripe onion and eating it like a piece of fruit. "I pulled out my onion and I ate it there in front of him," Coleman recalled in a speech years ago in Vidalia. "He'd never seen anything like it. There wasn't any tears coming out of my eyes, and I wasn't making no face."

The Vidalia onion's reputation rippled outward over the decades. A state farmer's market established here in 1949 sold onions to consumers traveling in from Macon, Savannah and Augusta. In the 1960s, Vidalia-headquartered Piggly Wiggly supermarkets began buying the onions by the truckload and selling them across the South.

It took a while for farmers to settle on the Vidalia name. Grower Pinky McRae insisted on calling his onions "Toombs County Sweets." Others stood by "Glennville Sweets," named for a neighboring farming town. Disputes over what to call the onions grew so heated they sometimes erupted into fistfights.

By the 1980s, Vidalia farmers put aside their infighting to face a common foe: bootleggers who were shipping onions from Texas into Georgia and bagging them with Vidalia labels to fetch premium prices.

Newspaper clippings chronicle tales of onion intrigue. One farmer hired a private investigator to go undercover and spy on a suspicious competitor. Another grower was reported to have borrowed a gadget from Coca-Cola and so he could sneak into a neighbor's fields and test the sugar content of his onions.

By 1985, one farmer accused of selling bogus Vidalias got hauled into court, but growers couldn't make fraud charges stick. Nothing in state law defined what made an onion a Vidalia.

Farmers began lobbying state lawmakers and Congress. In 1986, the 20-county Vidalia onion growing area was defined in Georgia law. It won federal protection in 1989.

The onion battles made headlines across America, and the crop's legend grew. Vidalia Mayor Ronnie Dixon says he realized his city's namesake onions had become downright famous soon after he took office in 1994. "People stated calling city hall and asking how they could get onions mailed to them," Dixon said.

Even though the town's a bit off the beaten path, about 15 miles south of Interstate 16 between Macon and Savannah, plenty of pilgrims have been finding their way to the museum. There, onions grow in patches planted on either side of the front door. In less than two months, more than 250 visitors have signed the museum's guest book.

Mark Labat and Barbara Ouder of Slidell, La., wandered in on a recent Tuesday. After vacationing in Savannah, they opted to make a special detour through Vidalia rather than head to Plains, Georgia's peanut capital and home to former President Jimmy Carter — who made sure the White House kitchen stocked Vidalia onions. "We were looking at a map, wondering where could we go," said Labat, an auto mechanic. "I said I'd rather go to Vidalia. You can't do Louisiana cooking without onions."

___

If You Go... VIDALIA ONION MUSEUM: 100 Vidalia Sweet Onion Drive, Vidalia, Ga.; http://www.vidaliaonion.org; phone: 912-538-8687. Hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. No admission fee.

Jolie Rouge

06-17-2011, 01:05 PM

Fri Jun 17, 10:03 am ET
County shuts down kids’ lemonade stand, fines parents $500
By Zachary Roth

A more wholesome American scene could hardly be imagined: a bunch of kids selling lemonade on a summer's day.

But local authorities in Montgomery County, Md., saw things differently. They shut down the kids' venture and ended up fining their parents $500.

The Marriott and Augustine kids had set up their stand Thursday right next to the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, where the U.S. Open golf tournament has been taking place--bringing thousands of thirsty fans to the neighborhood. The kids planned to send 50 percent their profits to a charity that fights pediatric cancer. But a Montgomery County inspector said the children needed a vendors' license to run the stand, according to a report from local TV station WUSA9. And after the stand proprietors allegedly ignored a few warnings, the inspector slammed the kids' parents with a $500 fine. "Does every kid who sells lemonade now have to register with the county?" Carrie Marriott, the mother of one of the would-be entrepreneurs, asked the inspector.

"Cute little kids making five or ten dollars is a little bit different than making hundreds," replied the inspector. "You've got coolers and coolers here."

"To raise money for pediatric cancer," Marriott replied.

The county's director of permitting, Jennifer Hughes, said it's illegal to run any lemonade stand without a vendors' license. Inspectors don't usually go looking for them, but this one was especially large, she said. She added that other vendors have been told they can't operate near the golf tournament because of safety and traffic concerns.

The kids don't get it. "I don't agree, I think the county is wrong," said one in response. "We're sending the money to charity," another pointed out.

The county's hardline stance is even more of a head-scratcher given that it has doled out scores of permits to the kids' neighbors to let golf fans park on their lawns. Some locals are charging as much as $60 per car for the day, and have reportedly raked in tens of thousands thanks to congressional golf events.

To Carrie Marriott, the whole thing is about more than just a dispute over a lemonade stand. "The message to kids is: There's no American dream," she said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110617/ts_yblog_thelookout/county-shuts-down-kids-lemonade-stand-fines-parents-500;_ylt=AqUt.o95IXJ9pXPXQY1VrCIYdL1_;_ylu=X3oDMTR 2NG83ajk0BGFzc2V0A3libG9nX3RoZWxvb2tvdXQvMjAxMTA2M TcvY291bnR5LXNodXRzLWRvd24ta2lkcy1sZW1vbmFkZS1zdGF uZC1maW5lcy1wYXJlbnRzLTUwMARjY29kZQN0b3BnbXB0b3AyM DBwb29sBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXM Ec2xrA2NvdW50eXNodXRzZA--

Jolie Rouge

06-18-2011, 08:52 AM

Jewish court sentences dog to death by stoning
Fri Jun 17, 2:00 pm ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) – A Jerusalem rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a dog it suspects is the reincarnation of a secular lawyer who insulted the court's judges 20 years ago, Ynet website reported Friday.

According to Ynet, the large dog made its way into the Monetary Affairs Court in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, frightening judges and plaintiffs.

Despite attempts to drive the dog out of the court, the hound refused to leave the premises.

One of the sitting judges then recalled a curse the court had passed down upon a secular lawyer who had insulted the judges two decades previously.

Their preferred divine retribution was for the lawyer's spirit to move into the body of a dog, an animal considered impure by traditional Judaism.

Clearly still offended, one of the judges sentenced the animal to death by stoning by local children.

The canine target, however, managed to escape.

"Let the Animals Live", an animal-welfare organisation filed a complaint with the police against the head of the court, Rabbi Avraham Dov Levin, who denied that the judges had called for the dog's stoning, Ynet reported.

One of the court's managers, however, confirmed the report of the lapidation sentence to Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot.

"It was ordered... as an appropriate way to 'get back at' the spirit which entered the poor dog," the paper reported the manager as saying, according to Ynet.

Certain schools of thought within Judaism believe in the transmigration of souls, or reincarnation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110617/od_afp/israeltrialreligionanimalsoffbeat

Jolie Rouge

07-03-2011, 07:29 PM

Define IRONY :

NY motorcyclist dies on ride protesting helmet law
AP – Sun, Jul 3, 2011

ONONDAGA, N.Y. (AP) — Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.

The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse.

State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.

Troopers say Contos hit his brakes and the motorcycle fishtailed. The bike spun out of control, and Contos toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Troopers say Contos would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet.

___

Information from: The Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com

comments

I don't wear a helmet because there's a law, I wear a helmet because I understand physics.

---

I was riding my bike on an Atlanta Ga. hwy., a driver cut me off and I dumped my bike. I had a helmet on, when I stopped rolling was able to get up. The helmet was split down the middle, that could have been my head. I got a lot of road rash but I lived thanks to my head gear.

---

In Florida you don't have to wear a helmet to ride a motorcycle, but you can get a ticket for riding in a car without a seatbelt. Explain that...

--

I am a Respiratory Therapist in a hospital and occasionally have to see horrific road rash, crushed skulls, and brain matter oozing out of biker's ears while we try to keep the organ's alive long enough to harvest them. I only had to see that ONCE to decide that I'm wearing full leathers and the best helmet I can afford every single time I ride. Most people have no idea how quickly and how badly your life can end on a bike. We all have the right to risk our lives and our family's welfare... but why would you? To be macho? So you can have a benefit ride named after you?

---

He sure sent a powerful message. In front of all of those people who were against helmets, he proved just what happens without them and why the law is there to begin with.

Jolie Rouge

07-03-2011, 07:43 PM

Define : idiotic

Millionaire found dead, wrapped in duct tape
Posted: Jun 30, 2011 4:54 PM CDT

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (WSVN/CNN) - The death of a millionaire businessman in Fort Lauderdale, FL is being called suspicious when he was found wrapped in duct tape in his newly-bought multi-million-dollar mansion. The body of 70-year-old Ronald Vinci was found on Tuesday.

Medical examiners are trying to determine the cause of death.

Investigators said they don't even know if it's a homicide yet.

The Miami Herald reported Vinci was a self-made millionaire through care dealerships he owned in Southern California and Nevada.

http://www.wafb.com/story/15008441/millionaire-found-dead-wrapped-in-duct-tape

Reaaly ?? might be a homicide ??

Jolie Rouge

07-04-2011, 08:47 PM

Fisherman catches illegal immigrant
Posted: Jul 02, 2011 3:30 AM CDT

http://images.worldnow.com/RAYCOMGROUP/images/15016747_BG1.jpg

Brad Pederson and his friend were fishing for walleye on the St. Clair River, in Clay Township, MI, when they spotted and caught and illegal immigrant in the river. (Source: WDIV/CNN)

CLAY TOWNSHIP, MI (WDIV/CNN) – A fisherman caught an illegal immigrant who was trying to swim to the U.S.

Brad Pederson and his friend were fishing for walleye on the St. Clair River in Clay Township, MI, when they spotted a swimmer in the river. "I had a couple of fish in the boat, been fishing for a couple of hours and I saw a backpack," Pederson said.

Pederson moved closer to take a second look and discovered it was a person attached to the backpack. "First I thought was he was dead," Pederson said. "I was guessing he was dead, and then he started moving."

Pederson grabbed the swimmer and pulled the stranger into the boat. The swimmer turned out to be from the Czech Republic, who was wearing only a black Speedo and trying to sneak in the country. Pederson called Border Patrol and minutes later the illegal alien was hauled off in handcuffs.

http://www.wafb.com/story/15016747/fisherman-catches-illegal-immigrant

Jolie Rouge

07-04-2011, 09:26 PM

Teenager and mum in Smurfs supermarket heist
By Ronaldo Schemidt | AFP – 10 hrs ago

A 13-year-old Belgian boy and his mother who made off with armfuls of toy Smurfs have been nabbed with the haul of small blue heroes dreamt up by a Belgian comic-book author, police said Monday. Staged weeks ahead of the worldwide release of the much-awaited Hollywood movie on Peyo's Smurfs, the heist took place Friday in a supermarket outside Ghent.

As the mother stood watch, the teenager stuffed bundles of Smurf toys into his clothes before the two left the store. But they were quickly identified thanks to surveillance cameras and confessed, police said.

The heist ran up to almost 600 euros ($871).

http://news.yahoo.com/teenager-mum-smurfs-supermarket-heist-180812308.html

comments

Great parenting. Teach your child to steal while you be the look out!

---

When did shop lifting become world news?

---

What the smurf is wrong with these people?

====

Must be a slow day in the news business.

---

Let me guess.. the kid's name is Gargamel ?

:goodnight:

Jolie Rouge

07-18-2011, 10:39 AM

Thieves steal 21 tons of mustard and ketchup
AP – 2 hrs 9 mins ago

STOCKERAU, Austria (AP) — Austrian police say thieves have made off with an unusual heist — 21 tons of mustard and ketchup.

The loot was in a semitrailer parked in a lot over the weekend northwest of Vienna. Police say the truck driver showed up Monday to deliver his cargo only to see the trailer missing.

Police assume the thieves were more interested in the trailer than its contents.

Authorities had no price tag for the stolen condiments but said the trailer was worth about 15,000 euros — more than $22,000.

[i]comments

Picnic ??

http://news.yahoo.com/thieves-steal-21-tons-mustard-ketchup-152153742.html

Jolie Rouge

07-20-2011, 09:24 PM

Mystery Mansion Rises in the Ozarks
By Morgan Brennan, Forbes.com July 20, 2011

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/mystery-mansion-rises-in-the-ozarks.html

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/re/gr/pensmorekeyext_v2.jpg

Pensmore Mansion, under construction in the Ozarks will be one of the nation's largest homes when it opens in 2013

You’ve probably heard of the 56,000-square foot Spelling Manor that just sold to billionaire heiress Petra Ecclestone or the 43,000 square-foot Fair Field estate belonging to billionaire industrialist Ira Rennert. You may even be familiar with the palatial pads that some real estate developers have built in the hopes of finding wealthy buyers like Alpine, N.J.’s $68 million Stone Mansion or England’s Updown Court (which now faces foreclosure).

Here’s another huge home to put on your real estate radar: Pensmore. Pensmore, the Ozarks mountain estate being erected in rural Christian County, Missouri, will garner bragging rights as one of America’s largest homes upon its projected 2013 completion. The chateau-style mansion will encompass an estimated 72,000-square feet on its secluded plot of more than 500 acres. It will include 13 bedrooms, 14 baths and an assortment of outrageous amenities.

The New York Times and others have reported that Pensmore has been fueling a flurry of rumors, leading some locals to speculate it would be used as a military bunker and still others to imagine Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie might claim it as a residence. The impetus behind the construction project, however, is perhaps a little less titillating.

“We are in the process of building both a home for my family and, more importantly, a living laboratory for energy-efficiency and disaster resistant technology for years to come,” states Steven Huff, chairman of TF Concrete Forming Systems and Pensmore’s owner, via email. Huff, who plans to use the mansion as a secondary home, wants Pensmore to be the first major energy efficient, environmentally sustainable single-family residence of this caliber. It will also be earthquake and tornado resistant — a huge boon given the devastation tornadoes have been wreaking in areas like Joplin, MO. earlier this year.

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/re/gr/pensmorerender_v2.jpg

A rendering of what Pensmore Mansion will look like upon completion in 2 years.

How does Huff plan to accomplish this vision? For starters, the mega mansion is composed entirely of concrete. Green Bay, Wis.-based TF Forming Systems is a manufacturer and distributor of insulated concrete forming systems, a building medium used in construction projects throughout the country. The company is also “the chosen forming system and builder of Pensmore,” according to TF Concrete Forming System’s website. This estate is not only an opportunity to experiment with new technologies, it’s an opportunity for Huff to showcase the concrete company’s products.

Started nearly two years ago, the huge home’s concrete shell is reinforced with “Helix” steel fibers produced by PolyTorx, and Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company that focuses exclusively on developing the Helix products. The twist-shaped fibers, first developed at the University of Michigan, act as an added guard within the building’s structure against natural disasters like major earthquakes and F5 tornadoes, promising to keep occupants safe and the building standing.

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/re/gr/pensmoreextclose_v2.jpg
Pensmore is built completely from concrete and Helix steel fibers.

Huff is also incorporating alternative energy sources into Pensmore’s construction, most notably solar power, rainwater collection, and geothermal energy. The home’s heating system will rely primarily on stored solar heat energy, as well as geo-thermal heating and wood-burning using trees grown on the property. Whom Huff hires to employ these technologies has yet to be announced.

Huff has yet to disclose the purchase price of the land, tucked away between Branson and Springfield, or the cost of construction. Right now he wants curious citizens to be more interested in his vision for the estate, recently creating a website to ensure curious citizens know what that is. “Once the rumors die down, we are confident that the ultimate takeaway will be a scalable model for everything from private homes to the schools, hospitals, libraries and office buildings of the future, here in the U.S. and around the world,” asserts Huff. Stay tuned for updates, including a private tour when Pensmore is further along in its building process.

Jolie Rouge

07-21-2011, 10:55 AM

SC couple sees Jesus in Walmart receipt
Posted: Jul 18, 2011 11:13 AM CDT

http://wistv.images.worldnow.com/images/15099915_BG1.jpg

ANDERSON COUNTY, SC (NBC) - An Upstate engaged couple says they looked down and saw a message from above - a message in the form of a face that mysteriously appeared on a receipt from Walmart.

It definitely looks like someone peering out at you, but the timing of when it appeared has the couple convinced of who they think it is.

Slideshow : http://www.wafb.com/slideshow?widgetid=33018

Jacob Simmons and Gentry Lee Sutherland make no secret about being religious folks. "God is real and he is watching," said Sutherland.

When the couple saw a face mysteriously appear on their Walmart receipt, they say there's only one person it could be. "And then the more you look at it, said Simmons, "the more it looked like Jesus. And it was just shocking, breathtaking."

They got the receipt after buying some pictures on June 12 and they say it didn't have a face at first, but three days later Jacob saw the receipt on the floor of Gentry Lee's apartment and he says it had changed. "I was leaving the kitchen and I just looked on the floor and it was like it was looking at me," said Simmons.

They both say they have no idea how the face got there. The stain, which looks like soot or maybe ink, doesn't wear off at all when it's touched. Simmons said he called the store to find out how it could have happened. "They said the only way you could really get it black was to put heat on it," said Simmons. "And if it was on the floor and heat hit it, how could it come out to be a face?"

After the initial spookiness wore off, the couple has started to take comfort in the image they say they first saw after coming home from a church service. "We had a message on knowing God, abiding in him," said Sutherland. "If you know God, would you recognize him if you saw him."

And they're hoping that this little slip of paper will show Jesus to everyone who sees it. "We just feel like it's a blessing that God showed it to us and opened out eyes and we just feel like we should share the blessing God gave to us to everybody else," said Simmons.

The couple said neither of them tampered with the receipt to make the face show up.

Simmons said he would even like someone to be able to run tests on the paper to see if they can find out what made the image.

http://www.wafb.com/story/15099915/couple-sees-jesus-in-receipt

Jolie Rouge

07-27-2011, 09:33 PM

Arizona CEO's son, girlfriend dies within a week
By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press Monday, July 18, 2011

Coronado, Calif. (AP) -- The most common crimes are small-time theft. Bicycles vanish from homes. Cell phones and other gadgets are stolen from cars and beach towels. Residents of the wealthy San Diego suburb of Coronado — which features safe streets, world-class beaches and a small-town feel — are shocked by two mysterious deaths within a week, both tied to a historic mansion.

The first came when Rebecca Zahau, the 32-year-old girlfriend of Arizona pharmaceuticals tycoon Jonah Shacknai was found dead Wednesday, her nude body hanging from balcony of his home, her wrists and ankles bound.

Two days earlier, Shacknai's son, Max, 6, who was being cared for by Zahau, fell down the stairs and was hospitalized. His parents said late Sunday that he died from his injuries. Investigators say the son's death was an accident. They say Zahau's death is suspicious, but haven't ruled out suicide. Authorities repeated Monday they haven't established any link between the boy's fall and the woman's death.

Investigators identified the woman as Rebecca Nalepa, but court records show she changed her last name to Zahau in May after a divorce. Investigators declined to discuss evidence in the case. "Suicides can appear odd," San Diego County Sheriff's Sgt. Roy Frank said. "It's not unusual to have a suicide that appears to be something else."

As shocking as the discovery of Zahau's body was, Marilynne Hartstein, a summertime resident from Scottsdale, Ariz., said it appeared to be a family or personal matter. "People aren't afraid for themselves," Hartstein said on a morning walk.

Coronado draws many part-time residents from Arizona. They are known as "Zonies" — people who escape the Grand Canyon State's oppressive heat for California's ocean breezes. Shacknai's 27-room home, known as the Spreckels mansion, is one of the more storied properties in a city of multimillion-dollar homes. It has unobstructed beach views and sits near Coronado's main street, which is lined with palm trees and upscale boutiques. San Diego's gleaming skyline is across the San Diego Bay.

Zahau was at home with another woman, whom authorities won't identify, when Max fell down the stairs last Monday, Coronado Police Chief Louis Scanlon said. Paramedics found he wasn't breathing and did not have a pulse. He was treated at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego.

Scanlon called the boy's fall a "tragic accident."

Ted Greenberg, owner of Camp Diggity Dog, said Zahau called the Coronado kennel last Monday, shortly after the boy's fall, to ask that someone pick up her 14-month-old Weimaraner, Ocean. She said her child was hospitalized after an injury. "She described it as her child," he said.

Greenberg went to the home Tuesday. "She was crying on the phone on Monday and Tuesday she was quiet," he said.

Shacknai's brother, Adam, called 911 Wednesday to report that Zahau appeared to be dead, investigators said. The brother was staying in a mansion guesthouse. Jonah Shacknai was not at home. On Sunday, Jonah Shacknai and his ex-wife, Dina, Max's mother, announced that their son had died from his injuries. "His loving, kind and vibrant spirit will be forever in our hearts and those whom he touched every day," they said in a statement.

Jonah Shacknai founded Medicis Pharmaceuticals Corp. and has been chairman and chief executive of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company since 1988. In his divorce filing with Kimberly Shacknai, he filed a tax return that showed his income in 1998 at $16,991,304.

Medicis makes acne treatments Solodyn and Ziana and facial wrinkle treatment Restylane and Dysport, a competitor of Botox. Last year, the company earned $123 million on $700 million in revenue.

Shacknai has two children with his first wife, Kimberly, in 1993. The marriage was unhappy from the start, according to court-ordered family study written by psychologist John DiBacco as part of divorce proceedings.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/07/15/national/a003819D81.DTL&ao=2

comments

Does the title really say "Body found at SoCal mansion may be suicide" but the first sentence of the story state "her nude body hanging from a rope on a second-floor balcony with her hands tied behind her back and her feet bound."

Who commits suicide by getting naked, tie their OWN hands behind their OWN back, then bound their OWN feet together, and then try to hang themselves?!?!?! REALLY?!?!?! if this ain't evidence of a homicide, then i don't know what the h@#$ is!!!!!

~~~

Suicide? Woman was found with her feet tied & her hands bound. Something's goin' down in that place. 6 yr old kid earlier has a bad fall down a flight of stairs? Sounds like a case for Sherlock Holmes!

Jolie Rouge

07-28-2011, 09:17 PM

Woman faces trial for fake testicles
By Harriet McLeod | Reuters – 11 hrs ago

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The police chief of a small South Carolina town will ask a jury to decide if a woman broke the state's obscenity laws by driving a pickup truck with plastic testicles hanging from the back. Bonneau Police Chief Franco Fuda ticketed Virginia Tice, 65, in early July at a local convenience store after spying the adornment dangling from her truck.

South Carolina law considers a bumper sticker, decal or device indecent when it describes, in an offensive way as determined by contemporary community standards, "sexual acts, excretory functions, or parts of the human body." The offense carries a maximum fine of $445 but no jail time, Fuda said. "This is certainly not a staple of my ticket writing in Bonneau," the police chief told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Charleston law firm Savage & Savage will represent Tice for free, attorney Scott Bischoff said. The trial had been scheduled for next week but was delayed because the defendant will be out of town. "She's such a sweet lady and she just says 'I don't want to pay the fine.' We'll let a jury decide whether this is really criminal behavior. I don't want to take away from the importance of free speech, but it's really comical," he said.

Lawmakers in some states have sought to ban the colorful plastic or rubber devices that go by brand names such as Bulls Balls and Truck Nutz. Fuda said if the fake testicles were a free speech issue, "I don't know what they would be trying to express. I went to (a) few websites that said, excuse the expression, 'show your nuts,'" he said. "I didn't see anywhere it said support your local proctologist or farmer."
http://news.yahoo.com/woman-faces-trial-fake-testicles-163136934.html

comments

She's got balls.

Hmm, how many tickets are given to truckers with nude silhouettes of women on their mud flaps?

~~~

I think those things are stupid, but why can people drive around with the mud flaps with silhouettes of naked girls on them, etc. but a plastic part of the male anatomy is ticketed? A real reverse double standard.

~~~

I wonder if the jury will swing to the "left"or to the "right" ?
or just end up a "hung" jury!
They might bounce back and forth abit before somthing comes out at the end

I can just hear Jeff Foxworthy saying "You might be a redneck if...."

~~~

At least she had the nutz to do something different.

dont raid a meth lab in some trailer park 1/2 a mile away, bring the truck nutz lady to trial

~~~

A trial over some plastic nuts. What a waste of tax payer money.
They will waste more on the trial than the cost of the ticket. Big brother needs to back the hell off...

```

Whats the real issue here, money hungery Cops, A Prude Police chief, or was she someone that denied him in the past... Because instead of RAPING this 65yr old for $445 of money I'm sure she doesn't have!!!,,,, He could have asked her to simply remove them as a warning ! there is something deeper...

~~~

I don't like them. I don't want to look at them. We can tell without them if your truck is big and tough or not so if you have to advertise ball on your truck, what are you really saying....BUT they should not be illegal.

~~~

Do her balls hang low?
Do they waddle to and fro?
Do they clatter with a clamor when you hit them with a hammer?
Do they drag on the ground when she's walkin' all around?

~~~

Proceeds of sales should go to testicular cancer research. Same thing as those stupid I love boobies wristbands. I can't get those banned from my school. People should just ignore them. They say more about the tackiness of the driver than they offend.

~~~

"she's 65 and such a sweet lady"

I'm 65 and I AM a lady! I wouldn't be caught dead with these hanging from my vehicle. Maybe she can put plastic boobs on her rear window too. I guess having some class is dead.

~~~

h e l l if thats the case then every male dog should wear a cover. how can fake balls be more insulting than the real thing. this country has gone nuts

pepperpot

07-29-2011, 06:39 AM

South Carolina law considers a bumper sticker, decal or device indecent when it describes, in an offensive way as determined by contemporary community standards, "sexual acts, excretory functions, or parts of the human body." The offense carries a maximum fine of $445 but no jail time, Fuda said. "This is certainly not a staple of my ticket writing in Bonneau," the police chief told Reuters on Wednesday.

Lawmakers in some states have sought to ban the colorful plastic or rubber devices that go by brand names such as Bulls Balls and Truck Nutz.

h e l l if thats the case then every male dog should wear a cover. how can fake balls be more insulting than the real thing. this country has gone nuts

The company totes them as Bull's balls not human male anatomy. :shrug Doesn't seem to violate the law to me.

Are they clearly human balls? or just male balls? (like bulls & dogs which hang out in the public)

Though I find them tacky, I don't find them against the law.

Jolie Rouge

07-30-2011, 07:34 PM

Though I find them tacky, I don't find them against the law.

exactly ... you can not legislate good taste .... ( see thread on "fashion fad" with "People of Walmarts" pics )

Jolie Rouge

07-30-2011, 07:43 PM

UFO Found on Ocean Floor?
By Benjamin Radford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor SPACE.com – Fri, Jul 29, 2011

http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/images/stories/sea-bed-crashed-ufo.jpg

An ocean exploration team led by Swedish researcher Peter Lindberg has found what some are suggesting is a crashed flying saucer. Lindberg's team, which has had success in the past recovering sunken ships and cargo, was using sonar to look for the century-old wreck of a ship that went down carrying several cases of a super-rare champagne. Instead, the team discovered what it claims is a mysterious round object that might (or might not) be extraterrestrial.

Lindberg explained to local media that his crew discovered, on the 300-foot-deep ocean floor between Finland and Sweden, "a large circle, about 60 feet in diameter. You see a lot of weird stuff in this job, but during my 18 years as a professional I have never seen anything like this. The shape is completely round."

Adding to the mystery at the bottom of the Gulf of Bothnia, Lindberg said he saw evidence of scars or marks disturbing the environment nearby, suggesting the object somehow moved across the ocean floor to where his team found it.

It's not clear what to make of this report, or the video of the sonar scan that shows the object, but Swedish tabloids and Internet UFO buffs have had a field day. Some suggest the object is a flying saucer of extraterrestrial origin (and the seafloor scars were dug up when it crashed), though of all the things that might create a round sonar signature, that seems to be among the more outlandish.

It might be a natural feature formation, or possibly a sunken, round man-made object.

Lindberg's claim that the object "is perfectly round" may or may not be accurate; while it looks round from the information so far, the resolution of the sonar image was not high enough to verify that it is indeed round. And while the lines that appear to be leading to (or from) the feature may suggest some sort of movement, it's also possible they have nothing to do with the object.

Lindberg himself did not offer an extraterrestrial origin, though he did speculate it might be a "new Stonehenge."

This is not the first time a sunken object has been presented as the solution to a mystery. Take, for example, the famous underwater mystery of the "Bimini Road," a rock formation in the Caribbean near the Bahamas that resembles a road or wall. Many New Agers and conspiracy theorists claimed the rocks are too perfectly shaped to be natural, and either were made by an unknown civilization or are possibly a relic from the lost city of Atlantis.

In fact, geologists have identified the blocks as unusually shaped, but perfectly natural, weathered beach rock.

It's also worth noting that UFOs may not be saucer-shaped. The famous "flying saucer" description of the first UFOhas since been revealed as a reporting error.

Lindberg said his team has neither the interest nor the resources to further investigate the anomaly. Deep ocean research is time-consuming and expensive. If the object were indeed a flying saucer, recovering it could potentially be worth millions or billions of dollars. If it's a natural formation, on the other hand, it would probably be a waste of time and money.

http://news.yahoo.com/ufo-found-ocean-floor-191702862.html

comments

What the heck Lindberg? "You see a lot of weird stuff in this job, but during my 18 years as a professional I have never seen anything like this. The shape is completely round." You think you might investigate it then. "Lindberg said his team has neither the interest nor the resources to further investigate the anomaly. Deep ocean research is time-consuming and expensive." BULL**** That is not deep-freaking ocean, scuba divers can reach that 300 feet-deep ocean floor. Why would you not take a look at it? Investigate the thing that you have never seen before in your life, or at least provide the coordinates for it, so other people can look for it.

~~~

How can it be a UFO if it's not flying? Shouldn't it be a USO? (Unidentified Sunken Object)

~~~

Its the plug, don't move it or the ocean will go down the drain!

Jolie Rouge

08-01-2011, 03:39 PM

FBI: 'Credible lead' surfaces in D.B. Cooper case
AP – 2 hrs 57 mins ago

SEATTLE (AP) — The FBI says it has a "credible" lead in the D.B. Cooper case involving the 1971 hijacking of a passenger jet over Washington state and the suspect's legendary parachute escape.

The fate and identity of the hijacker dubbed "D.B. Cooper" has remained a mystery in the 40 years since a man jumped from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 flight with $200,000 in ransom.

The recent tip provided to the FBI came from a law enforcement member who directed investigators to a person who might have helpful information on the suspect, FBI spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich told The Seattle Times on Sunday. She called the new information the "most promising lead we have right now," but cautioned that investigators were not on the verge of breaking the case. "With any lead our first step is to assess how credible it is," Sandalo Dietrich told the Seattle Post Intelligencer on Saturday. "Having this come through another law enforcement (agency), having looked it over when we got it - it seems pretty interesting."

Dietrich says an item belonging to the man was sent to a lab in Quantico, Va., for forensic testing. She did not provide specifics about the item or the man's identity.

Federal investigators have checked more than 1,000 leads since the suspect bailed out on Nov. 24, 1971, over the Pacific Northwest. The man who jumped gave his name as Dan Cooper and claimed shortly after takeoff in Portland, Ore., that he had a bomb, leading the flight crew to land the plane in Seattle, where passengers were exchanged for parachutes and ransom money.

The flight then took off for Mexico with the suspect and flight crew on board before the man parachuted from the plane.

The FBI's recent tip in the case was first reported by The Telegraph newspaper in London.

http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-credible-lead-surfaces-d-b-cooper-case-050033480.html

comments

Worst part is, the FBI is spending more of our money trying to find this guy, than he stole in the first place.... 200k lost and only 22.97 million trying to track it down.

~~~

Forget the $200K. Go after the crooks who stole TRILLIONS from the Social Security Trust Fund. Remember now. We have enough in there to totally fund SS until about 2040. All we have are worthless IOU's.

~~~

Maybe the FBI should be spending its time investigating the billions of taxpayer dollars stolen by the banking system and the companies offered "no bid" contracts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. I mean if they are interested in criminals that is...

~~~

D.B. Cooper! I LOVE that guy! I remember the FBI "oh he had to have died when he jumped from the plane, thats why our awesome crimestopping hero selves have never caught him" HAHAHA yeah whatever, that guy knew what he was doing and has been kicking back on a beach for forty years.

Jolie Rouge

08-03-2011, 08:21 AM

Debris From Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster Found in Texas
By Clara Moskowitz Senior Writer Space.com | SPACE.com – 16 hrs ago

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/ewV1lp0yBoZBLcRks07yVQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zODQ7cT04NTt3PTUxMg--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/2a336acf3bc0b811f40e6a7067001bd3.jpg

A piece of debris from NASA's space shuttle Columbia has been discovered in Texas, eight years after the 2003 disaster that destroyed the spacecraft and killed its seven-astronaut crew during re-entry, NASA officials confirmed today (Aug. 2).

The debris was discovered last week in eastern Texas. It is a round aluminum power reactant storage and distribution tank from Columbia, which disintegrated over Texas as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere near the end of a 16-day science mission.

The tank was discovered in an exposed area of Lake Nacogdoches, in Nacogdoches, Texas, about 160 miles northeast of Houston. [Photos: Remembering NASA's Shuttle Columbia Disaster]

"The only reason it's exposed is because there's a drought going on and the tank was under the lake," Lisa Malone, a NASA spokeswoman at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, told SPACE.com. "The tank itself is full of mud."

Nacogdoches police informed NASA of the find and sent pictures for identification. NASA engineers who work on the shuttle's power reactant storage and distribution systems were able to confirm the piece belonged to Columbia. [NASA's Shuttle Program In Pictures: A Tribute]

"One of the guys had been here more than 30 years and recognized it, and said, 'That’s one of the tanks,'" Malone said.

The piece was one of 16 tanks on the shuttle that stored supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The spherical tank, about 40 inches (1 meter) in diameter, will eventually be shipped back to Kennedy Space Center, where NASA stores all the collected debris from Columbia in a climate controlled area in the giant Vehicle Assembly Building.

"We're working the plans and details out right now as to how we would get it shipped back here," Malone said. "We do want to collect the debris items and keep them in one place."

To date, about 38-40 percent of the Columbia orbiter's wreckage has been recovered. The remainder was either burned up during reentry or is still where it landed in Texas and Louisiana.

"From time to time throughout the year we do get phone calls and emails from people about items they think are debris," Malone said.

The 2003 disaster was traced back to a hole that was punched into one of Columbia's wings by a piece of debris from its fuel tank during launch, according to the findings of a review board that investigated the accident. The hole rendered the orbiter unable to withstand the intense heat of re-entry, causing the vehicle to disintegrate.

Discoveries of debris from the wreck can still serve to reopen old wounds.

"It always makes you think about the accident and Columbia and the crew of course," Malone said. "It always does serve as a reminder."

Columbia was carrying commander Rick Husband, pilot William McCool, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, and Laurel Clark, payload commander Michael Anderson, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon, who was Israel's first astronaut.

Following the catastrophe, NASA upgraded equipment and processes to protect against a similar failure. All post-Columbia shuttles flew with external tanks that had been redesigned to diminish the amount of debris from their insulating foam that fell off during liftoff.

As a further precaution, recent crews conducted thorough inspections of their orbiters' heat shields once in orbit to make sure they hadn't sustained any damage that would endanger them during landing.

The Columbia accident was the second disaster in the history of the 30-year space shuttle program. It followed the 1986 destruction of the shuttle Challenger and its crew. Exceptionally cold weather at Challenger's Florida launch site that day caused a failure in an O-ring seal on one of the shuttle's solid rocket boosters that ultimately pulled apart the vehicle.

Last month NASA retired its remaining three space shuttle orbiters. The shuttle Atlantis landed July 21 to finish the 135th and final mission of the shuttle program. Now Atlantis and its siblings Discovery and Endeavour will be retired to museums, while NASA embarks on a new program to build vehicles for deep space exploration.

http://news.yahoo.com/debris-space-shuttle-columbia-disaster-found-texas-183705067.html