BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 10 - 03:02 PM

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/06/no-donations-in-the-book-drop-please-draft.html

NO DONATIONS IN THE BOOK DROP, PLEASE
Posted by Eileen Reynolds

Much as it pains us, here at the Book Bench, to hear about books being damaged in any way, we couldn't help but grin when we read the news that a seventy-four-year-old woman was arrested this week after pouring a jar of mayonnaise into the book-drop at a public library in Boise, Idaho. When it comes to substances one would hope never to find slathered on a copy of oh, say, "Ulysses," mayonnaise—it must be said— is a wonderfully imaginative choice. And the best part of the story? The mayo-dumper is being investigated for earlier book vandalism incidents involving ketchup and corn syrup, as well as other "condiment-related crimes." To pen such a gem of a phrase is every young journalist's dream.

One cannot help but speculate on what would would motivate someone to throw condiments down the book-drop. Was it a falling out with a librarian? A skirmish over due dates and fines? Or did the books themselves somehow invite the attack? Was it a self-indulgent memoir that inspired such rage? Or a novel that started well but petered out midway through?

I wonder if librarians at other public libraries have seen this sort of thing before. Surely, there must be some amount of benign book-drop mischief going on all the time. I know someone—maybe you do, too—who carefully tucks an old theatre ticket or party invitation into each library book before dropping the whole stack into the chute. Let's just hope that no one else gets the idea to smear perfectly good books with sandwich spread. After what happened in Idaho, should librarians be on the lookout for copycat crimes?

The public library in my hometown had a sign that said "No donations in the book drop, please." I used to imagine that this was some enterprising librarian's subtle attempt at reverse psychology: perhaps at the mere sight of the word "donation," some wealthy library patron might write a million-dollar check, affix it to a note saying that the funds should be used for a new fiction wing, and toss both slips of paper into the bin. But maybe I had it all wrong, and those wise librarians were simply trying to protect themselves against a flood of Hellman's—or worse.

No books were harmed in the writing of this post.

(I'll leave their manufactured url on the bottom, it might be more durable)
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/06/no-donations-in-the-book-drop-please-draft.html#ixzz0r8eRwLos

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Jun 10 - 09:16 AM

Super drink creates brain cells, prevents wrinkles

North Korea again threatened war with South Korea today but found time to spruik an extraordinary super drink that it claims will multiply brain cells.

The often-shrill KCNA state news agency softened its tone to advertise an anti-oxidation drink made by the Moranbong Carbonated Fruit Juice Joint Venture Company which contains 60 kinds of "micro-elements" extracted from more than 30 species of plants.

"It, with effects of both preventive and curative treatment, helps improve mental and retentive faculties by multiplying brain cells," the agency said.

"It also protects skin from wrinkles and black spots and prevents such geriatric diseases as cerebral haemorrhage, myocardium and brain infarction by removing acid effete matters in time."

The KCNA says the drink also makes skin fair.

Company manager Jong Song Ho told KCNA that the drink was particularly "efficacious" among workers at a thermal power station, smelter and at medical institutions.

"The drink has no side effect," the agency added.

========

perhaps I could have started a thread about this new wonder drink - this place is full of old folkies who might just need it!

sandra (retired & wrinkled)

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 May 10 - 05:22 AM

Ninjas to the rescue as thugs pick wrong alley includes video report

Three would-be thugs have learnt their lesson after setting upon a fellow train passenger in a dimly-lit alley in Sydney's west

The three men attacked the 27-year-old German medical student after getting off the train and following him down the alley at Kingswood on Tuesday.

What the muggers did not realise was that the alley ran behind the Ninja Senshi Ryu warrior school.

A ninja student coming out of class noticed the attack and alerted his teacher and three other students.

Ninja sensei, Kaylan Soto, says he and his students gave chase to the men.

"We looked around to see what was happening and there were three blokes on this guy just kicking him and punching him in the head," he said.

"We started running towards them and they took off. They would have seen five of us in ninja gear...all in black with our belts on, running toward them.

"I think they're probably still running if I'm not mistaken."

Police say they have charged a 16-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man with robbery in company over the assault.

They are looking for a third male described as being aged between 15 and 17, 165cm tall and caucasian.
.................

When the story ran on 20th May it was illustrated as a manga strip by one of the paper's artists, Simon Letch - unfortunately the drawing aren't yet up on his Gallery, latest pic there is from the 18th.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: GUEST,CrazyEddie
Date: 12 May 10 - 03:02 AM

I thought he got his calories from picnic-baskets?



I'll get my coat....

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 10 - 11:26 AM

That's creepy!

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 May 10 - 05:09 AM

Study of starving yogi bears few answers

An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.

Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed-circuit television.

During the period he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.

"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah said after the experiment.

"It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."

The long-haired and bearded yogi was sealed in a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad in a study initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the state defence and military research institute.

The DRDO hopes the findings, set to be released in greater detail in several months, could help soldiers survive without food and drink, assist astronauts or even save the lives of people trapped in natural disasters.

"His only contact with any kind of fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically during the period," said a statement from G Ilavazahagan, the director of India's Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences.

The yogi has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat, where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation.

He says that at a young age he was blessed by a goddess who gave him special powers.

During the 15-day observation which ended last week the doctors took scans of his organs, brain and blood vessels, as well as doing tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.

"The reports were all in the pre-determined safety range through the observation period," Dr Shah said.

Other results from DNA analysis, molecular biological studies and tests on his hormones, enzymes, energy metabolism and genes will take months to process.

"If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," Dr Shah said.

"As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 May 10 - 06:51 PM

Did the Justice Department ever remove that curtain that Ashcroft put up over a nude or semi-nude art piece?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 02 May 10 - 11:05 PM

I guess some politicians are more suggestible than others.

"Sure, it sounds like an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie: Tough-as-nails hero travels back through time to change a horrific error to save society's collapse.

But in Virginia, this ain't no movie. And the hero, played by Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli, doesn't need a hot tub time machine or any other time travel device to do it.

He's just fixing the problem now. That problem?

The Virginia State Seal. Anyone who has seen it comes away horrified.

Created in the debauchery-plagued period known as the Revolutionary War era, the seal shows the Roman goddess Virtus (virtue). But just how virtuous is she? Her left breast is exposed.

"Like she's performing in a Super Bowl halftime show," writes outraged NBC reporter Matthew Stabley.

Our crazy forefathers let it slip. And the country's been on a devastating free-fall ever since. Now there's Motley Crue.

Until now. Cuccinelli is cracking down. He's created a new lapel pin. This one corrects the wardrobe malfunction by placing an armored breastplate in front of Virtus' bosom.

"When the new design came up at a staff meeting, workers in attendance said Cuccinelli joked that it converts a risque image into a PG one," reports Julian Walker at the Virginian-Pilot.

Reportedly no state funds were used to create the new pin. Surely, not for long though. With an Iranian cleric's recent declaration that women who dress suggestively increase the likelihood of earthquakes, who wouldn't want taxpayer monies used for public safety?

-- Jimmy Orr" LA Times piece

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Apr 10 - 10:37 AM

I wasn't aware of any new earthquake faults being cleaved into stone on Monday. I guess that cleric must have been wrong about boobs, eh?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 27 Apr 10 - 01:53 PM

Do Boobs Cause Earthquakes? Facebook Event Aims to Prove It


After prominent Iranian cleric Kazem Sedighi said that women's immodesty increases earthquakes, a Purdue University student named Jen McCreight created a Facebook event called "Boobquake," calling for the women of the world to wear their most revealing outfits on Monday, April 26.

Sedighi was quoted in the Chicago Tribune saying, "Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes."

The plan, of course, is to embarrass Sedighi if a significant increase in earthquakes does not occur on Monday. The event has more than 177,000 "confirmed" guests and 57,000 "maybes." There's also a Facebook page that has been liked by more than 37,000 users, and a Twitter (Twitter) hashtag called #boobquake that's getting several updates per minute. Boobquake has been all over the mainstream media and merchandise is already rolling out — T-shirts and the like. It's this weekend's social media phenomenon.

For many, this is an example of how social media can raise public awareness and generate discussion. For quite a few straight men of the more narrow-minded variety, though, it's mostly an opportunity to do some extra ogling. Both of those are the last things Sedighi wants.

The event has nevertheless stirred up a lot of controversy even among non-religious people. Some groups of feminists are saying that it only adds to the sexualization of women, in contrast to others who are saying that it's all about women having the freedom to present themselves however they want.

McCreight responded to the concerns in her blog (blog), saying she never knew the event would become much more than a private joke, and that she'd have been more careful about wording and execution had she known.
...

(From the Mashable web site)

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 05:42 PM

It gets worse. Disney's High School Musical underwear for girls have the words "Dive In" printed on them.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1556538.ece

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 05:22 PM

SHeeshe, the endless arrogance of trying to improve on nature!! It's not as if they won't sexualize themselves soon enough!


A

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 04:23 PM

Primark (low end clothes shop) pulls padded bikinis for little girls after complaints that the swimming costumes over sexualise 7 year olds.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/14/primark-children-padded-bikini-to

Well duh!?!?!?!

What idiot designed them and how the freaking hell did they pass marketing research muster?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 04:09 PM

London, United Kingdom (AHN) - A British woman is now suffering from persistent sexual arousal syndrome after accidentally falling from her Nintendo Wii Fit board.

The condition sexually arouses her whenever she feels slight vibrations from a cell phone or other devices.

The sexual disorder caused by a damaged nerve sometimes "builds into a trembling orgasms," according to Amanda Flowers, 24.

Persistent sexual arousal syndrome is a rare medical condition that may disrupt normal sexual activity, but Flowers commented to a local tabloid that she enjoys it.

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7018403586#ixzz0lCYLNs3I

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 29 Mar 10 - 02:10 PM

The EU's trademarks authority has permitted a German firm to brew beer and produce clothing under the name "Fucking Hell". It may be an expletive in English, but in German it could refer to a light ale -- Hell -- from the Austrian town of Fucking. Whether it will be brewed there is another question.

The European Union trademarks authority has permitted a German firm to register the brand name "Fucking Hell" for a new beer, much to the irritation of the Austrian village of Fucking.

In English, the term "Fucking Hell" is just an expletive used to express irritation or surprise. In German, it could refer to a light ale from Fucking in Upper Austria, because "Hell" is a term for light ale in southern Germany and Austria.

The problem is that Fucking has no brewery, and the town's mayor, Franz Meindl, is not aware of any plans to build one there, Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported on its Web site.

The Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union said in a statement that it had rejected a complaint that the trade mark "Fucking Hell" was upsetting, accusatory and derogatory.

"The word combination claimed contains no semantic indication that could refer to a certain person or group of persons. Nor does it incite a particular act. It cannot even be understood as an instruction that the reader should go to hell," the Office said in its statement.

EU Trademark Office Has No Problem with Name

"Fucking Hell" was an "an interjection used to express a deprecation, but it does not indicate against whom the deprecation is directed," the Office added. "Nor can it be considered as reprehensible to use existing place names in a targeted manner (as a reference to the place), merely because this may have an ambiguous meaning in other languages."

That is good news for German marketing executives Stefan Fellenberg and Florian Krause, who own the rights to the brand name, and who had referred to the town of Fucking in their application to register it.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Mar 10 - 10:58 AM

Noisy wheelie bin betrays brazen beer thief

An attempted raid on a beer fridge in Palmerston, near Darwin, last night failed when the thief picked a noisy wheelie bin to carry away the alcohol.

Police allege the man entered a residential property about 2.30am, took alcohol from the fridge and used a wheelie bin to carry it away.

Duty Superintendent Mike Murphy says the noisy getaway vehicle woke up the owner.

"He took about a six pack of beer, two bottles of wine and a bottle of spirits from an outdoor fridge, loaded it into their wheelie bin and trotted off down the road," he said.

"The occupier woke up and obviously got a good description.

"He was easy to find one street later, still with the wheelie bin."

The alleged offender was taken into custody.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 08:24 PM

I wish I could pout a sign on my building door "Advertising material goes straight into the recycling bin - don't leave any here"

Here in OZ we have an assortment of signs saying 'No Junk Mail' or 'No advertising material' put out by various organisations from non-profits to commercial publishers & plastered on mailboxes across the country.

All get ignored by some deliverers (a bloke on talkback radio once said - "My employer doesn't pay me to deliver junk, so I always leave the brochure')

Meanwhile the piles of paper at the recycling companies (or in landfill) grow higher & the trees keep falling ...

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: frogprince
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 08:19 PM

Re:junk mail and non-junk mail. I've just come across something odd and a little annoying in the last couple of month. Our credit union changed credit card systems, and issued new cards. One day an envelope turned up with only a street address for a return, and "important" printed in big letters. I almost trashed it unopened, as I've never seen that combination on anything but junk before. Turns out that is how our credit card billing comes now.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 10:30 AM

That link doesn't go anywhere now, so I'm glad you posted the story.

I've managed to get off of most junk mail lists, and most of it goes straight into the recycle bin. The thing here that you need to watch for is that the companies that offer rebates on things you buy are tending to make their checks look more like junk mail. If they're not cashed, then the company isn't out that money. (I have a check for .82 cents from the phone company on my fridge that I'll deposit next time I make a trip to the bank.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 09:05 AM

Junk mail delivered to one home in a year weighed 28.8kg - Australia


MARTIN Wale has had it up to his neck with junk mail.

So he kept brochures, catalogues and pamphlets delivered to his Mona Vale home for a year and found they weighed 26.8kg - as much as an eight-year-old child.

The hefty collection goes on display at Mitchell Library's 100th birthday exhibition, which he designed. He says one of the library's roles is document the reality of Australian society.

"It is not enough to only collect things perceived as worthy. We collect anything that accurately reflects our culture and society at any point in time," he said.

"I am hoping we look back on this collection in horror - it paints a damning picture of the wasteful, consumerist society we live in. Hopefully by being quite jarring it makes people stop and think."

==========

one comment from a reader -

Hmmm, 26.8kg x 1,600,000 Sydney residences = 43,000,000kg per year, straight into the bin.
===============

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 23 Mar 10 - 03:20 PM

Kangaroo Punches Jogger
By Miss Cellania on Mar 22, 2010 at 11:39 am

David Striegl of Canberra, Australia was jogging on Mount Ainslie during his lunch break when he was assaulted by a kangaroo who punched him in the face! Striegl was found dazed and bleeding and was taken to a hospital by a passing motorist.

    His only injury seemed to be some cuts and bruises, a black eye and a wounded ego with his colleagues making fun of his misfortune and giving him a new nickname – "Skippy".

    "The main thing they've been asking is whether I got one (punch) back on the roo," he told the Australian Associated Press.

    "I can't even say that, because one punch and it put me to the floor.

    "All my years of playing football and never a fight, and then I have a fight with a kangaroo."

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Mar 10 - 06:48 PM

That Cosmo item is one for the water cooler, isn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 21 Mar 10 - 06:02 PM

ENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) - A burglar who spent about five hours on a store's computer after breaking into the business gave police all the clues they needed to track him down. Investigators said the 17-year-old logged into his MySpace account while at Bella Office Furniture and that made it easy for them to find him. He also spent time looking at pornography and trying to sell stolen items, all while using the business' computer.

He was arrested Tuesday and charged with first degree burglary. Kennewick Police said he helped officers recover a cell phone stolen in the break-in.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 10 Mar 10 - 08:52 AM

Cosmopolitan reports:

Once in a while, we come across a news story that is just begging to be forwarded to everyone on our e-mail address list. This is that story:

According to the Key West news site, keysnews.com, "Florida Highway Patrol troopers say a two-vehicle crash...was caused by a 37-year-old woman driver who was shaving her bikini area while her ex-husband took the wheel from the passenger seat...'She said she was meeting her boyfriend in Key West and wanted to be ready for the visit,' [a state trooper] said."

We're just gonna need a minute to process this. So she was shaving her hoo-ha while driving? Okay. And she couldn't do it before leaving the house? Uh-huh. And her ex-husband was going with her to the boyfriend's? Of course. And he watched her do this? Got it.

Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. And the woman was charged with driving with a revoked license, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a wreck with injuries and driving with no insurance, reports keynews.com....

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Mar 10 - 02:16 PM

This has been some interesting reading lately, Amos. That one of the dogs in the Moscow subway is really intriguing.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 05 Mar 10 - 01:23 PM

Iraq Opens Up to Foreign Oil Majors
Western producers like BP, Exxon Mobil, and Shell are enjoying their best access to Iraq's southern oil fields since 1972, but a weaker government could be on the way

By Anthony DiPaola and Daniel Williams




(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. took the best deal they could get in Iraq last year when they won the largest oil contracts since addam Hussein was toppled in 2003. Oil companies may wait a long time to get a better one.

Parliamentary elections may produce a weak or unstable government incapable of tendering new oil contracts, said Samuel Ciszuk, a London-based analyst at IHS Global Insight. He said he does expect the 10 technical-services contracts won by Exxon, BP and 20 other companies to be honored.

"One thing that's fairly certain is there won't be a strong coalition, so it may take time for the next government to get its act together," Ciszuk said in a telephone interview.

"Bottlenecks could hold up production increases" if no government forms by June.

Western producers haven't had access to oil fields in southern Iraq since 1972, when the country nationalized production including concessions owned by the companies now known as BP, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon.

The contracts awarded in two auctions, which pay a per-barrel fee for development work rather than granting a share in the production itself, will cost the companies a total of about $100 billion to develop deposits, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said in December. Iraq, with the world's third-largest oil reserves, will earn about $200 billion a year.
Service Fees

A group led by BP, which vies with Shell as Europe's largest oil company, will receive $2 billion per year in fees to develop the Rumaila field. A Shell-led group will get $913 million and a group led by Exxon, the largest U.S. oil company, will receive $1.6 billion per year. Each calculation is based on the agreed-to per-barrel fee times the maximum production level.

"We see this as the beginning of a long-term relationship with Iraq and will continue to look for further opportunities," Andy Inglis, BP's chief executive for exploration and production, said on a conference call March 2.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose government signed last year's oil contracts, is running against an array of opponents. Sunni Muslim, Shiite Muslim and Kurdish factions, along with a pan-sectarian party, all are in the race with Al-Maliki's Shiite-based Rule of Law coalition.

The sectarian blocs are also divided one against another, making it unlikely any one group can win a majority.

"This is the most wide-open election in Iraq's history," said Faleh Abdul-Jabar, director of the Beirut-based Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies, in a telephone interview. ...

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 04 Mar 10 - 02:07 PM

RAHWAY, N.J. — A New Jersey family's nude snow woman got a frosty shoulder from at least one person.

Maria Conneran and her family sculpted Venus de Milo in last week's snow outside their Colonia Boulevard home in Rahway.

Her mother, Elisa Gonzalez, called it, "curvaceous, bodacious and booty-licious."

But Sgt. Dominick Sforza says police received an anonymous complaint.

Gonzalez says the officer was apologetic and appreciative of the sculpture's assets. The officer asked the family to dress the snow woman.

The family added a green bikini top and a blue sarong bottom.

The family took it down on Monday because it was starting to melt in the warmer air.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 03 Mar 10 - 01:05 PM

From "Politiken.DK" in Copenhagen:

"...Surprised police officers listened as the man, who admitted to being an habitual hash smoker, told police he wanted to complain about a bad cube - as he had never had such a bad trip.

Police officers had difficulty containing themselves as the man said that after his smoke, his television seemed to begin talking to him and his girl friend turned in to a dolphin.

After ten years of hash smoking, the man said he knew a bad trip from a good one, adding that his cube must have been laced, and asked the authorities to run an LSD test on a piece he had brought with him. Skånskan, which reported the case, said the man claimed the trip had left him 'shaky and scared'.

Eslöv Police declined, although said that in theory the supplier could be charged if the quality of his product had been laced with a substance the purchaser had not been aware of.

"It could possibly be classified as an attack, if the hash did in fact contain LSD.

But prior to acceding to the man's request, officers said they needed to know the supplier's name – something the angry young man was not prepared to disclose. "

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 09:45 AM

January 27, 2010 - Stray Dogs in Moscow, Russia, Evolving
Greater Intelligence in Mastery of Subways.




Moscow stray dog waiting for the 8:10 subway to Tverskaya, Russia.
Reporter Susanne Sternthal of the U.K.'s Financial Times reported on January 16, 2010,from her Moscow base, about seeing a German Shepard-type dog "waiting on a metro platform.

When the train pulled up, the dog would step in, scramble up to lie on a seat or sit on the floor if the carriage was crowded, and then exit a few stops later. There is even a website dedicated to the metro strays, www.metrodog.ru, on which passengers post photos and video clips taken with their mobile phones, documenting the savviest dogs of the pack that use the public transport system like any other Muscovite." Click here for full story.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: frogprince
Date: 25 Feb 10 - 11:05 PM

I just spotted the Feb 18 post. Is that what they mean by that term "jailbait"?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 25 Feb 10 - 05:46 PM

The mother of a 13-year-old Montgomery County middle school student is demanding an apology from a teacher who had school police escort the youngster from a classroom for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance.


The unidentified student was mocked by other children in her class and has been too traumatized to return to Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown, according to Ajmel Quereshi, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland who is representing the family.

A school spokesman said Tuesday that the teacher's actions were a clear violation of the school's regulations, which are based on state law. The teacher, who also has not been identified by either side, will have to apologize to the student, spokesman Dana Tofig said.

"The policy is very, very clearly stated," Tofig said. "Our teachers are expected to know the students' rights and responsibilities. . . . A mistake has been made, and it will be rectified."

Quereshi said that as of Tuesday afternoon, no one from the school had contacted the girl or her family to resolve the issue. The teen's mother tried to schedule a meeting with school officials but was told they would not meet with her if she wanted to bring a lawyer, Quereshi said.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 18 Feb 10 - 01:04 PM

Prison walls were no obstacle for a man in western Germany who was being separated from his love. But breaking into her cell every night turned out to be a very bad decision.

Ah, love. It drives us to do the craziest things: climb the highest mountains, run through the fields, scale city walls or walk for miles. Love even drove one man in the western German city of Bielefeld to break into prison. And not only once, but night after night -- until he got caught.

The suspect, 33-year-old Daniele E., was arrested in November for scaling a steel fence to break into the prison where his girlfriend was serving time for drug-related offenses, according to the local daily Westfalen-Blatt. On Tuesday, the Bielefeld public prosecutor charged Daniele E. with trespassing and announced a trial date in March.

Lawyer Carsten Ernst, who is representing Daniele E., said he thought the charges were excessive. "Couldn't we have just laughed this one off and cancelled the trial?" he commented.

Snitches Torpedo Love

According to the indictment, things got pretty hot in Cell 13 of Detention House C 7 -- not to mention loud. As Friedhelm Sanker, the deputy head of the minimum-security prison, told the paper: "Some of the other women felt that their sleep was being disturbed, while others feared that the man might try to come and visit them, too." In response to the complaints, prison officials installed a video surveillance camera.

Nov. 8 proved to be the fateful night for Daniele E. When prison officials noticed a man climb over the fence and enter the building where the woman was being held, they called the police. Using dogs, the police sniffed the unlucky lover out -- in his girlfriend's cell.

"I love her -- we're engaged!" Daniele E. reportedly pleaded with the arresting officers.

Lonely at Night

The nightly prison break-ins surprised and confounded prison officials. "The two of them could have visited each other during the day, seeing as the woman was in a minumum-security prison," Sanker told the paper. "But they apparently felt very lonely at night."

Since his arrest, things have only gone from bad to worse for Daniele E. He is now being held in prison on suspicion of having robbed a number of gas stations. In addition, his requests to be granted conjugal visits with his lover have been turned down.

Prison policy states that such visits will only be permitted when they concern "relationships deserving of support." Unfortunately for Daniele E., his girlfriend gave the name of another man as her partner when she was first admitted to prison. (der Spiegel)

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 12:24 PM

Man caught at airport with 44 lizards in pants
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 9:39 PM PST Updated: Jan 29, 2010 8:40 AM PST

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A German man who stuffed 44 small lizards into his underwear before trying to board a flight has been sentenced to prison in New Zealand for plundering the country's protected species.

Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, will spend 14 weeks behind bars and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine before being deported to Germany as soon as he is released, District Court Judge Colin Doherty ruled onTuesday.

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 the court Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of NZ$500,000 ($355,000) and six months in prison.

Bodie said 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.

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.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 12:07 PM

Court fines adulterers 4 buffaloes, 1 pig
Posted: Feb 01, 2010 5:21 AM PST Updated: Feb 01, 2010 5:21 AM PST
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - The wages of sin are four buffaloes and a pig.

At least in Malaysia.

A court has ordered a couple caught in an affair to compensate their communities with livestock.

They also were fined about 300 bucks.

The man's wife complained, after catching her husband in shorts and her colleague in a sarong.

The court rejected their claim that they were just "best friends.'

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 10 - 07:25 PM

Radio-collar lynx poached in Summit County

(Denver Post)

One of the first lynx reintroduced into Colorado from Canada was killed near Green Mountain Reservoir last weekend, ending the life of the 13-year-old female hundreds of miles from her original Colorado home.

Sean Shepherd, DOW's district manager in Summit County, said investigators have no doubt the lynx was killed by a human. The lynx is a protected species.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife reintroduced lynx into the San Juan Mountains in 1999. The lynx killed over the weekend in northern Summit County was one of the first relocated to the San Juans from Canada.

The collar on the female lynx provided years of information to officials monitoring her travels. In recent years, she had often moved from the Vail Pass area to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Shepherd said during her life, she had continued to move north through Colorado and was continuing that northward journey with her jaunts into Rocky Mountain National Park.

She had most recently lived above Cataract Lake above Green Mountain Reservoir and was last seen along Heeney Road on the afternoon of Jan. 16.

A mortality signal from the radio collar that the lynx was wearing was received Jan. 18.

DOW investigators recovered the collar, but the carcass of the lynx was missing. Officers determined from evidence found in the area that the lynx was likely killed nearby.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the DOW Hot Sulphur Springs Office at 970-725-6200, or Operation Game thief at 1-877-265-6648. A reward is available to anyone providing information leading to conviction of the crime.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 01:40 PM

The wonderful old Perry Mason series got a lot of mileage out of art theft and fraud stories. Great stuff! Thanks for the story. I can just see Robert H. Harris as the forger. (You probably won't know his name, but you'll instantly recognize his face. Great character actor). Here, also.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 08:41 PM

LOS ANGELES – A West Hollywood antiques dealer faces charges of selling a fake Picasso drawing for $2 million.

Tatiana Khan allegedly had the forgery made for only $1,000, according to the FBI.

FBI agents also seized a $700,000 de-Kooning painting that the prosecutors allege was purchased with proceeds derived from the sale of the bogus Picasso.

Khan, 69, who owns and resides at the Chateau Allegré gallery on La Cienega Boulevard, allegedly hired an artist to fabricate the Picasso drawing—a 1902 pastel called "La Femme Au Chapeau Bleu," or "The Woman in the Blue Hat"—by giving the artist a photo of the drawing and telling her the real Picasso artwork had been stolen from one of Khan's clients and that Khan needed the copy to play a trick that would help catch the thief.

Khan paid the artist $1,000 for the fake Picasso in 2006, and soon after sold the drawing for $2 million.

A criminal complaint filed in United States District Court yesterday afternoon alleges that Khan told the purchaser that the fake Picasso was worth much more than $2 million, but that she was able to sell it for less than market value because it came from the Malcolm Forbes family estate.

Khan allegedly told the purchaser that she was acting as the broker for the Forbes family, which wanted their paintings sold privately due to a dispute within the family.

The FBI began investigating the sale of the artwork in 2009 after the purchaser contacted a Picasso expert, who offered the opinion that the drawing was fake. After being contacted by the FBI, Khan allegedly contacted the artist who made the copy and told the artist not to divulge that she had created the purported Picasso.

When Khan herself was interviewed by the FBI, according to the complaint, Khan claimed that she had obtained the drawing from a cosmetologist who worked near Chateau Allegré as collateral for a $40,000 loan.

The criminal complaint charges Khan with wire fraud, making false statements to the FBI and witness tampering.

When the summons was served, the FBI also seized a painting by abstract expressionist artist Willem de Kooning that Khan allegedly purchased with $720,000 of the proceeds derived from the fraudulent sale of the fake Picasso.

If she is convicted of the charges alleged in the criminal complaint, Khan faces a statutory maximum sentence of 45 years in federal prison.
The buyer's name was not divulged.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: gnu
Date: 06 Jan 10 - 05:53 PM

Men are just not as picky or violent as women.... usually.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 06 Jan 10 - 02:25 PM

What is it with these women who get mad at McDonald's and decide to take physical corrective action of the most extreme prejudicial nature? Are guys doing this sort of thing, too? Or is the betrayal of the alimentary and gustatory system a special province of upset for the fairer sex? I can sorta see that. But they sure are playing hardball!


A

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: gnu
Date: 06 Jan 10 - 02:09 PM

Big Mac ATTACK?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jan 10 - 01:49 AM

Ewww. . .

Broken Teeth?

I haven't read much on this Tiger Wood story, but clicked on one this evening, finally, and found this:

Tiger Woods lost some teeth after his wife hit him in the face with a 9-iron on Nov. 27, the night he crashed his SUV outside his Florida home, according to an account that former NHL coach Pat Burns gave to Montreal radio station CKAC on Tuesday, the Toronto Star reports.

Burns said a friend of his in the Florida highway patrol was among those who visited Woods' home the night of the crash. Burns worked with the police in Florida before coaching hockey, according to the newspaper.

After eating dinner that night, Woods was watching football while sending and receiving text messages from Rachel Uchitel, one of his alleged mistresses, Burns said. Later, Woods left his phone on the coffee table when he went to play poker at a friend's house. But Uchitel continued to text.

Here is Burns' account of what happened next:

"His wife (Elin Nordegren) saw the message. When he returned, around 11:30 p.m. or midnight, she waited at the door. She asked what it was, these messages, and who was this woman.

"He kept saying there was nothing there. He went to watch television. ... then suddenly, bang! A nine-iron in the face!

"He left the house running without shoes. Elin followed him with the club. He left in his Escalade. She followed him and broke two or three windows. That's why he hit the tree."

Doctors in the Orlando hospital Woods was taken to said he needed plastic surgery to repair the broken teeth, and that the facility best able to perform the operation was in Phoenix, Arizona. Woods was then transported to Phoenix.

"This explains (Woods') absence when the police wanted to meet him the following days," Burns said.

Woods has not been seen in public since the crash.

Burns' version of the story is consistent with those that have been attributed to Woods' neighbors and others who claim to know what happened that night, the Star notes.

--------------

And then comes Vanity Fair, rushing these 2006 Libovitz photos to the cover: Tiger, Tiger, burning bright (apologies to Blake).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jan 10 - 12:03 AM

Who knows what they were rinsed with at the factory. She's better off getting over that addiction.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: gnu
Date: 04 Jan 10 - 01:41 PM

No McNuggets?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: frogprince
Date: 15 Dec 09 - 06:39 PM

How much was the fine?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 15 Dec 09 - 06:36 PM

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. - The book Stanley Dudek finally returned to the New Bedford Public Library this week wasn't overdue by a week, a month or even a year.

It was nearly a century overdue. "Facts I Ought to Know about the Government of My Country" was supposed to have been returned on May 10, 1910.

Dudek told the Standard Times newspaper he came across the book while going through things that had belonged to his mother, who died about 10 years ago.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Dec 09 - 08:02 PM

Las Posadas in New Mexico
December 13 saw the tradition of Las Posadas in northern New Mexico, including the capital of the state, Santa Fe.

Facing demons, the holy couple finally found refuge at the Palace of the Governors, after being told many times that there was no room at the inn. Some 1500 people in their entourage, carrying candles, braving catcalls and refusals on the way to find shelter, with demons shouting abuse from rooftops.

The passage of the holy couple, Las Posadas is a nine day celebration of the holy family, Dec. 16-Dec. 24, held throughout the Hispanic southwest and Mexico.
The period of celebration extends into the old calendar Christmas, with the giving of gifts by the Three Wise Men.

"Las Posadas: Facing Demons, finding haven," Dennis Carroll, Santa Fe New Mexican, E-mail edition, December 14, 2009.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Las-Posadas-Facing-demons-finding-haven

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 14 Dec 09 - 02:19 PM

An octopus and its coconut-carrying antics have surprised scientists.

Underwater footage reveals that the creatures scoop up halved coconut shells before scampering away with them so they can later use them as shelters.

Writing in the journal Current Biology, the team says it is the first example of tool use in octopuses.

One of the researchers, Dr Julian Finn from Australia's Museum Victoria, told BBC News: "I almost drowned laughing when I saw this the first time."

He added: "I could tell it was going to do something, but I didn't expect this - I didn't expect it would pick up the shell and run away with it."

Quick getaway

The veined octopuses (Amphioctopus marginatus) were filmed between 1999 and 2008 off the coasts of Northern Sulawesi and Bali in Indonesia. The bizarre behaviour was spotted on four occasions.
Octopus inside coconut (Roger Steene)

The octopuses use the coconuts as a shelter

The eight-armed beasts used halved coconuts that had been discarded by humans and had eventually settled in the ocean.

Dr Mark Norman, head of science at Museum Victoria, Melbourne, and one of the authors of the paper, said: "It is amazing watching them excavate one of these shells. They probe their arms down to loosen the mud, then they rotate them out."

After turning the shells so the open side faces upwards, the octopuses blow jets of mud out of the bowl before extending their arms around the shell - or if they have two halves, stacking them first, one inside the other - before stiffening their legs and tip-toeing away.

Dr Norman said: "I think it is amazing that those arms of pure muscle get turned into rigid rods so that they can run along a bit like a high-speed spider.

"It comes down to amazing dexterity and co-ordination of eight arms and several hundred suckers."

Home, sweet home

The octopuses were filmed moving up to 20m with the shells.

And their awkward gait, which the scientists describe as "stilt-walking", is surprisingly speedy, possibly because the creatures are left vulnerable to attack from predators while they scuttle away with their prized coconuts.
Veined octopus (Mark Norman)
The veined octopus is a meaty feast for predators

The octopuses eventually use the shells as a protective shelter. If they just have one half, they simply turn it over and hide underneath. But if they are lucky enough to have retrieved two halves, they assemble them back into the original closed coconut form and sneak inside.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Dec 09 - 11:38 AM

Blackwater is trying to shake a lot of shit off of their coat tails by changing the name to "Z" - they've bailed on anything that remotedly even comes from the other end of the alphabet. :)

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 12 Dec 09 - 12:29 AM

WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency has terminated a contract with the security company formerly called Blackwater Worldwide that allowed the company to load bombs on C.I.A. drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Friday.

Related
Blackwater Guards Tied to Secret C.I.A. Raids (December 11, 2009)

The contract gave employees with the company an operational role in one of the Central Intelligence Agency's most significant covert programs, which has killed dozens of militants with Predator and Reaper drones. The company's involvement highlighted the extent to which the C.I.A. had outsourced critical jobs to private companies since the 9/11 attacks.

The contract with the company, now called Xe Services, was canceled this year by Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, according to a C.I.A. spokesman. In August, The New York Times first revealed the existence of the contract, which was run by a division of the company called Blackwater Select, which handles classified contracts.

George Little, the C.I.A. spokesman, said that Mr. Panetta had ordered that the agency's employees take over the jobs from Xe employees at the remote drone bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and that Mr. Panetta had also ordered a review of all contracts with the company.

"At this time, Blackwater is not involved in any C.I.A. operations other than in a security or support role," Mr. Little said.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Dec 09 - 01:10 PM

Great article, great idea. Thanks!