Here's a place for interesting news stories.
I'll begin:
-A Canadian man almost died during a rough-sex encounter when he asked his 25-year-old lover to carve a heart-shaped symbol on his chest. She accidentally pressed too hard and punctured his heart. The Winnipeg Free Press reported the 24-year-old man was initially given little chance of survival but made a full recovery and is backing the woman's story that the carving was consensual.
-The U.S. government based its post-Sept 11 interrogations of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay on "coercive management techniques" copied verbatim from a 1957 study of Chinese Communist methods used to brainwash captured pilots during the Korean War. The United States condemned the methods as torture when the Chinese used them. The New York Times reported that a chart outlining the methods, originally titled "Communist Attempts to Elicit False Confessions from Air Force Prisoners of War," was among the documents made public at a Senate hearing in June. "what makes this document doubly stunning," Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said, "is that these were techniques used to get false confesssions."
Curious but True News Items from Around the World
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Sporatical_Distractions
- registered sacks offender
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Curious but True News Items from Around the World
Welcome to Flavortown
Kevin Crowley
Kevin Crowley
Not so much a news story, but awesome anyway (it is originally taken from the Uk Telegraph, so it's newish).
Leopard vs Crocodile
http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2008 ... codile.php
Leopard vs Crocodile
http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2008 ... codile.php
Re: Curious but True News Items from Around the World
That's how we do it in Winnipeg.Sporatical_Distractions wrote:-A Canadian man almost died during a rough-sex encounter when he asked his 25-year-old lover to carve a heart-shaped symbol on his chest. She accidentally pressed too hard and punctured his heart. The Winnipeg Free Press reported the 24-year-old man was initially given little chance of survival but made a full recovery and is backing the woman's story that the carving was consensual.
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shredzilla
- Post Master General
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- Contact:
Couple claim mysterious noise plagues their house
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Bob and Leona Ehrfurth say the noise that's been plaguing them for two years sounds something like a rumbling motor, with a subtle vibration that won't quit. Then it stops — especially when they try to show city officials or acoustic experts what they're hearing.
It's enough to keep 76-year-old Leona from sleeping.
"It's like there's a semi parked right outside with the engine running, but when you look out, there isn't one," she said.
She and her husband, who is 75, have lived in the same house for 42 years. The problem only developed over the last two years. Her husband can sleep through it but also finds it irritating.
"It doesn't matter if the windows are open or closed — you still hear it," he said. "It's worse in the winter."
When they leave, the don't hear the noise, he said, so they know it's not some health problem the two share. City officials hired a company for $1,000 worth of testing in the house this spring, but the tester came up with no noise and no significant vibration.
Alderman Andy Nicholson knows exactly what's bugging the Ehrfurths.
"Yeah, I've experienced it," Nicholson said. "It's like an engine thing, a low-frequency vibration. I think it would be an annoyance."
He had hoped the testing equipment could be used inside one of the factories in the area, but Municipal Judge Jerry Hanson wouldn't sign the inspection warrant because there was no reasonable suspicion of a violation.
The Ehrfurths' immediate neighbors haven't complained, although some people, like Nicholson, have said they heard the sound. The couple said the noise started soon after St. Bernard's Parish across the street had the roofing, chimney and ductwork on a wing of its school redone. However, when the parish staff turned off all of its equipment as a test, the noise continued.
The city's Protection & Welfare Committee planned to take up the matter Wednesday night, when it discusses a report from Predictive Technologies Inc., which did vibration testing at the home. Leona Ehrfurth said she's had to go to the basement or try to sleep in the sunroom to escape the noise.
"I try to stay in bed, but I get such a bad headache, I can't take it," she said. "We could move, but why should we have to? We didn't cause it."
Source: Yahoo! News
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Man I almost missed those leopard vs. crocodile pics. That leopard is gorgeous, the photographer really captured the colors well. Also laughed at Matt's comment haha.
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Bob and Leona Ehrfurth say the noise that's been plaguing them for two years sounds something like a rumbling motor, with a subtle vibration that won't quit. Then it stops — especially when they try to show city officials or acoustic experts what they're hearing.
It's enough to keep 76-year-old Leona from sleeping.
"It's like there's a semi parked right outside with the engine running, but when you look out, there isn't one," she said.
She and her husband, who is 75, have lived in the same house for 42 years. The problem only developed over the last two years. Her husband can sleep through it but also finds it irritating.
"It doesn't matter if the windows are open or closed — you still hear it," he said. "It's worse in the winter."
When they leave, the don't hear the noise, he said, so they know it's not some health problem the two share. City officials hired a company for $1,000 worth of testing in the house this spring, but the tester came up with no noise and no significant vibration.
Alderman Andy Nicholson knows exactly what's bugging the Ehrfurths.
"Yeah, I've experienced it," Nicholson said. "It's like an engine thing, a low-frequency vibration. I think it would be an annoyance."
He had hoped the testing equipment could be used inside one of the factories in the area, but Municipal Judge Jerry Hanson wouldn't sign the inspection warrant because there was no reasonable suspicion of a violation.
The Ehrfurths' immediate neighbors haven't complained, although some people, like Nicholson, have said they heard the sound. The couple said the noise started soon after St. Bernard's Parish across the street had the roofing, chimney and ductwork on a wing of its school redone. However, when the parish staff turned off all of its equipment as a test, the noise continued.
The city's Protection & Welfare Committee planned to take up the matter Wednesday night, when it discusses a report from Predictive Technologies Inc., which did vibration testing at the home. Leona Ehrfurth said she's had to go to the basement or try to sleep in the sunroom to escape the noise.
"I try to stay in bed, but I get such a bad headache, I can't take it," she said. "We could move, but why should we have to? We didn't cause it."
Source: Yahoo! News
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Man I almost missed those leopard vs. crocodile pics. That leopard is gorgeous, the photographer really captured the colors well. Also laughed at Matt's comment haha.
J. Chris "Thread-killer" Miller
It may not be true that aliens exist, but it's interesting that an ex-NASA astronaut would say they do. Although, he is pretty old.
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,390161,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 21,00.html -- Actual audio
Ex-Astronaut: Aliens Are Real and NASA Knows It
Former NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr. Edgar Mitchell — a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission — claims aliens exist.
He says extraterrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions — but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades.
Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview in Birmingham, England, that sources at NASA who had had contact with aliens described the beings as "little people who look strange to us."
He said supposedly real-life ET's were similar to the traditional image of a "small gray" — short, slight frame, large eyes and large head.
Mitchell also claimed human technology is "not nearly as sophisticated" as the aliens' and "had they been hostile," he warned "we would be been gone by now."
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,390161,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 21,00.html -- Actual audio
Ex-Astronaut: Aliens Are Real and NASA Knows It
Former NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr. Edgar Mitchell — a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission — claims aliens exist.
He says extraterrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions — but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades.
Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview in Birmingham, England, that sources at NASA who had had contact with aliens described the beings as "little people who look strange to us."
He said supposedly real-life ET's were similar to the traditional image of a "small gray" — short, slight frame, large eyes and large head.
Mitchell also claimed human technology is "not nearly as sophisticated" as the aliens' and "had they been hostile," he warned "we would be been gone by now."
Ben Skaggs
Amateurs practice until they can get it right.
Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.
No, I don't play soccer. Yes, there are competitions. 4 years. Lots of practice.
Amateurs practice until they can get it right.
Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.
No, I don't play soccer. Yes, there are competitions. 4 years. Lots of practice.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080807/ap_ ... d_car_ride
MARATHON, Fla. - Authorities say a grandmother was arrested for driving around the parking lot of a Marathon grocery store with her 3-year-old child sitting on the roof of the car.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the Publix store Tuesday and arrested a 54-year-old woman after she was driving around with her three-year-old granddaughter on the roof of her car.
The grandmother was released from jail 15 hours later.
The woman said Thursday she would never let anything hurt her granddaughter. She says she was driving at "snail-speed" and holding the child's leg.
Authorities say the woman told police she was giving the child some air and letting her have fun.
She faces charges of child abuse. The child is back with her mother.
MARATHON, Fla. - Authorities say a grandmother was arrested for driving around the parking lot of a Marathon grocery store with her 3-year-old child sitting on the roof of the car.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the Publix store Tuesday and arrested a 54-year-old woman after she was driving around with her three-year-old granddaughter on the roof of her car.
The grandmother was released from jail 15 hours later.
The woman said Thursday she would never let anything hurt her granddaughter. She says she was driving at "snail-speed" and holding the child's leg.
Authorities say the woman told police she was giving the child some air and letting her have fun.
She faces charges of child abuse. The child is back with her mother.
Oooh that was a good one.
Killer confesses on radio show. The last few seconds of the call are the best.
Killer confesses on radio show. The last few seconds of the call are the best.
"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
Emily Kulczyk
Emily Kulczyk
http://africa.reuters.com/odd/news/usnL7181176.html
Giant smelly flower puts on sex show in Belgium
MEISE, Belgium (Reuters) - It's one of the world's largest flowers, it stinks of rotting meat or rancid cheese and looks very much like a giant penis.
The Amorphophallus Titanum -- literally "the giant strangely shaped penis" -- has been attracting big crowds at the National Botanic Garden of Belgium on the outskirts of Brussels.
Giant smelly flower puts on sex show in Belgium
MEISE, Belgium (Reuters) - It's one of the world's largest flowers, it stinks of rotting meat or rancid cheese and looks very much like a giant penis.
The Amorphophallus Titanum -- literally "the giant strangely shaped penis" -- has been attracting big crowds at the National Botanic Garden of Belgium on the outskirts of Brussels.
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Iron Clad Ben
- Superior Precision Bionics
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- Location: La Habra, CA
- Contact:
DeSwiss wrote:'Jealous' official burnt R15m in black magic
IOL
August 11 2008 at 09:34AM
Lagos - Police have arrested the head of a federal agency charged with developing Nigeria's impoverished southern oil region, after allegations the man spent millions of dollars on a witchdoctor in hopes of vanquishing a rival.
President Umaru Yar'Adua announced on Friday that the head of the Niger Delta Development Corporation, Sam Edem, had been suspended from his job after local media reports of Edem's large expenditure on black magic. Police later said he had been arrested. The police said they were investigating the source of the about $4-million (R30-million) Edem reportedly spent on hiring a sorcerer to hex and kill another development official, while steering more lucrative state contracts to him.
Local media also reported that Edem burnt nearly $2-million in local currency in a black magic ceremony designed to precipitate greater funds later. The federal government said it was investigating how Edem had amassed the fortune he used to engage the sorcerer. Edem had not denied any of the charges.
Police said Edem contracted the witchdoctor to kill a subordinate that Edem believed harboured him ill will. Edem also wanted the sorcerer to help compel a state governor to award him "juicy contracts", and to ward off vice-president Goodluck Jonathan, who Edem believed wanted him fired.
Police said Edem was "incensed" when none of the work contracted to the witchdoctor had been achieved and had demanded a total refund. The witchdoctor refused, saying Edem still owed him about $2-million in arrears.
Sapa-AP
LINK- This couldn't happen in the U.S. You see, in America our witch doctors and hoodoo specialists are respected clergymen/women who shake down their marks in air-conditioned mega-churches, as they fly in to town each Sunday in their private Lear jets to pray and worship with their sisters and brethen.
And they would also never, ever, ever, ever tell someone to burn money. THIS IS A HUGE SIN. They'd just ask you for a donation so that they can help the little poor and starving children. And then they'd take your money and go to a motel to have sex with those children you thought you were helping them save from the ravages of sin. See? Big difference.
Although, these sorcerors are the same as our preachers in some respects. Their "spiritual intercession services" are just as CRAPPY & BOGUS. And just like their African counterparts, they "DO NOT GIVE REFUNDS."
But these folks still have a ways to go....
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DeSwiss
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008 ... ion=justin
Computer with banks' customer data sold on Ebay
Posted 15 minutes ago
Three banks in Britain are investigating how a computer with the personal data of one million bank customers was sold on the internet auction site Ebay.
The computer belonged to a firm that archives information for financial organisations and it was sold for about $80.
The banks - American Express, NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland, say they are investigating.
- BBC
Computer with banks' customer data sold on Ebay
Posted 15 minutes ago
Three banks in Britain are investigating how a computer with the personal data of one million bank customers was sold on the internet auction site Ebay.
The computer belonged to a firm that archives information for financial organisations and it was sold for about $80.
The banks - American Express, NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland, say they are investigating.
- BBC
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008 ... 350367.htm
Swedish mag 'regrets' poison cake recipe
Ten thousand copies of a food magazine were recalled in Sweden after a mistake in one of its recipes left four people poisoned, the magazine said.
"There was a mistake in a recipe for apple cake. Instead of calling for two pinches of nutmeg it said 20 nutmeg nuts were needed," Matmagasinet's chief editor Ulla Cocke said.
"We know that four adults ate one cake made from this recipe, and they didn't feel well," she said. "This is obviously very regrettable."
The four people had experienced symptoms of poisoning, including dizziness and headaches, but were now feeling better, she said.
When Matmagasinet first discovered the mistake it immediately sent out letters to its 50,000 subscribers and placed a leaflet inside the copies sold in the store, cautioning that "high doses of nutmeg can cause poisoning symptoms".
"At first we thought this would be enough, because we didn't really think anyone would bake or eat this cake, since so much nutmeg would give it a horrible, bitter taste, and because it is simply not that easy to get hold of that much nutmeg," Ms Cocke said.
Once it became clear that people had been poisoned by the cake, the magazine immediately decided to recall all its store copies.
"We publish 1,200 recipes each year, and of course there have been times when they've had a bit too much butter or too little flour, but we have never experienced anything like this before," Ms Cocke said.
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20 nutmeg nuts? More proof that people will do whatever they're told, no matter how stupid.
Swedish mag 'regrets' poison cake recipe
Ten thousand copies of a food magazine were recalled in Sweden after a mistake in one of its recipes left four people poisoned, the magazine said.
"There was a mistake in a recipe for apple cake. Instead of calling for two pinches of nutmeg it said 20 nutmeg nuts were needed," Matmagasinet's chief editor Ulla Cocke said.
"We know that four adults ate one cake made from this recipe, and they didn't feel well," she said. "This is obviously very regrettable."
The four people had experienced symptoms of poisoning, including dizziness and headaches, but were now feeling better, she said.
When Matmagasinet first discovered the mistake it immediately sent out letters to its 50,000 subscribers and placed a leaflet inside the copies sold in the store, cautioning that "high doses of nutmeg can cause poisoning symptoms".
"At first we thought this would be enough, because we didn't really think anyone would bake or eat this cake, since so much nutmeg would give it a horrible, bitter taste, and because it is simply not that easy to get hold of that much nutmeg," Ms Cocke said.
Once it became clear that people had been poisoned by the cake, the magazine immediately decided to recall all its store copies.
"We publish 1,200 recipes each year, and of course there have been times when they've had a bit too much butter or too little flour, but we have never experienced anything like this before," Ms Cocke said.
----------------------------
20 nutmeg nuts? More proof that people will do whatever they're told, no matter how stupid.
I've always felt bad for animals who have to carry balloons with their own gas around on their backs... oh wait.
When they say "burps" they don't mean from the mouth.
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine scientists are taking a novel approach to studying global warming -- strapping plastic tanks to the backs of cows to collect their burps.
Researchers say the slow digestive system of cows makes them a producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that gets far less public attention than carbon dioxide in efforts to fight global warming.
Scientists around the world are studying the amount of methane in cow burps and Argentine researchers say they have come up with a unique way.
Attaching a red plastic tank to a cow's back and connecting it through a tube to the animal's stomach, scientists say they can trap bovine burps and analyze them.
"When we got the first results, we were surprised. Thirty percent of Argentina's (total greenhouse) emissions could be generated by cows," said Guillermo Berra, a researcher at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology.
One of the world's biggest beef producers, Argentina has some 55 million heads of cattle grazing on the famed Pampas grasslands.
Berra said the researchers "never thought" a cow weighing 550 kg (1,210 lb) could produce 800 to 1,000 liters (28 to 35 cubic feet) of emissions each day.
At least 10 cows are being studied, Berra said, including some in a corral whose burps are collected in yellow balloons hanging from the roof.
Greenhouse gases are widely blamed for causing global warming. Methane, researchers say, is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere and can be found in animal waste, landfills, coal mines and leaking natural gas pipes.
Scientists are working to develop new diets for cows that could make it easier for them to digest food, moving them away from grains to plants like alfalfa and clover.
"We have done a preliminary study and have found that by using tannins, you can reduce methane emissions by 25 percent," said Silvia Valtorta of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Investigations.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/environme ... 08?sp=true
When they say "burps" they don't mean from the mouth.
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine scientists are taking a novel approach to studying global warming -- strapping plastic tanks to the backs of cows to collect their burps.
Researchers say the slow digestive system of cows makes them a producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that gets far less public attention than carbon dioxide in efforts to fight global warming.
Scientists around the world are studying the amount of methane in cow burps and Argentine researchers say they have come up with a unique way.
Attaching a red plastic tank to a cow's back and connecting it through a tube to the animal's stomach, scientists say they can trap bovine burps and analyze them.
"When we got the first results, we were surprised. Thirty percent of Argentina's (total greenhouse) emissions could be generated by cows," said Guillermo Berra, a researcher at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology.
One of the world's biggest beef producers, Argentina has some 55 million heads of cattle grazing on the famed Pampas grasslands.
Berra said the researchers "never thought" a cow weighing 550 kg (1,210 lb) could produce 800 to 1,000 liters (28 to 35 cubic feet) of emissions each day.
At least 10 cows are being studied, Berra said, including some in a corral whose burps are collected in yellow balloons hanging from the roof.
Greenhouse gases are widely blamed for causing global warming. Methane, researchers say, is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere and can be found in animal waste, landfills, coal mines and leaking natural gas pipes.
Scientists are working to develop new diets for cows that could make it easier for them to digest food, moving them away from grains to plants like alfalfa and clover.
"We have done a preliminary study and have found that by using tannins, you can reduce methane emissions by 25 percent," said Silvia Valtorta of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Investigations.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/environme ... 08?sp=true
"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
Emily Kulczyk
Emily Kulczyk
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyl ... 2520071122
TANJUNG JAYA, Indonesia (Reuters Life!) - Sacked from his job, deserted by his wife, shunned by neighbors -- "tree man" Dede has been treated as a freak for most of his life because of the gnarled growths sprouting from his hands and feet.
But now the 35-year-old Indonesian, hopes a doctor in the United States will be able to treat the horn-like extensions that started appearing on his body when he was a teenager.
Dede, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, first noticed warts on his body after cutting his knee as a teenager.
"First it felt itchy and some warts appeared on my feet," Dede told Reuters Television at his home in the small village of Tanjung Jaya about 150 km (93 miles) south of Jakarta. "I neglected it and the growths quickly covered all my body."
Unable to work because he cannot use his hands, and abandoned by his wife, Dede lives in poverty with two teenage daughters.
"I can't go anywhere, I just stay here," he said because his hands and feet are so heavy and cumbersome due to the growths.
He briefly joined a freak show in the nearby city of Bandung in order to earn some money, but he is often the target of abuse and ridicule in his village.
In 1993, he was admitted to a local hospital, but doctors could not find a cure for his condition.
But now, an American doctor has proposed possible treatment.
According to media reports, Dr. Anthony Gaspari from University of Maryland tested Dede's blood and said that the growths are the result of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a fairly common infection that usually causes small warts.
Dr. Gaspari, who became involved in the case through a Discovery Channel documentary, believes Dede's condition can be cleared up using daily doses of a synthetic form of Vitamin A, which has been shown to arrest the growth of warts in severe cases of HPV, according to media reports.
"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
Emily Kulczyk
Emily Kulczyk
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Sporatical_Distractions
- registered sacks offender
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james_dean
- space cowboy
- Posts: 2268
- Joined: 26 Oct 2004 23:11
- Location: Bendigo, Vic, Australia
dear lord....
Not as amazing as that but totally pwned: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2172858.stm
Imagine when you touched down...
an update about tree man from a few posts back...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkizRC5m ... re=related[/youtube]
edit: and even more recent, here's him looking even better!
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.ht ... _page_id=2
I just hope they can fix him... what an affliction!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkizRC5m ... re=related[/youtube]
edit: and even more recent, here's him looking even better!
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.ht ... _page_id=2
I just hope they can fix him... what an affliction!
BRICK!
rfa::never give up::
nyfa
rfa::never give up::
nyfa