Here’s A Change!

Hotfile Will Sue Hollywood in Response

It appeared that the table has turned now, with the worldwide-known file-sharing site Hotfile launching a lawsuit against the mighty Hollywood studio Warner Bros. Hotfile accused the movie studio of allegedly abusing its anti-piracy instrument.
The file-sharing service Hotfile was recently accused by a number of Hollywood movie studios for copyright violation. The online service, based somewhere in Florida, in response also filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros., accusing the movie studio of abuse and fraud. Hotfile also claimed that Warner Bros. has misused the anti-piracy instrument created by the file-hosting service specifically for the movie studio.
The matter of the lawsuit is that Warner Bros. for some reason have downloaded content that didn’t belong to the movie studio, like open source software and game demos. The file-hosting service stated that Warner Bros. continued the unauthorized downloads even after being asked by the company to stop doing that.
The complaint says that the movie studio in question, together with a few other major movie studios, has recently filed absolutely unfounded and contrived lawsuit against Hotfile using overly aggressive tactics. Moreover, the movie studio has made numerous “reckless and irresponsible” misrepresentations to the file-hosting company, falsely claiming to hold copyrights in content from the file-hosting website.
Worse still, Hollywood went on making such misrepresentations even after the file-hosting service explicitly brought such rampant abuse to the movie studio’s attention. Hotfile claimed to do whatever it could by ruling out any possibility that the wrongful actions in question were accidental or unknowing.

Onion Soup Perhaps?

British pensioner grows world's heaviest onion

Britain has won an eye-watering world title after gardener Peter Glazebrook set a new record for the heaviest ever onion

The pensioner, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, smashed John Sifford’s 2005 record of 16lb 8.37oz with his 17lb 15.5oz specimen at the Harrogate Flower Show.
Mr Glazebrook, who has grown several past prize-winners, was thrilled to have finally won the coveted title.
“Obviously I am over the moon," said the 67-year-old. “Winning these competitions is great, but in the vegetable growing world, the heaviest onion title is the one to have.”
The former chartered surveyor picked up £500 for winning first prize at the show, and a further £1,000 for setting the new world record.
He currently holds three other world records - heaviest potato, heaviest parsnip, and longest beetroot.
Mr Glazebrook admitted a lot of care and attention went into cultivating his giant onion, but insisted there was no secret to his success which he put down to the widely-available John Innes No 3 Plant Compost and fertilizers.
He added: “I have had more success with my onions over the past four years, and have spent more money doing it scientifically, getting the right light and temperature.”
There were no other world records set at this weekend's show, but there were still some impressive entries.
Jimmy Reid from Gilling West in North Yorkshire was showing off his huge marrow, which at 107lb 6oz was heavier than many female celebrities.
A 65lb 2oz cabbage was so large that it had to be pushed in a wheelbarrow, while the heaviest potato was similar to the weight of a baby at 6lb 10oz.
The longest cucumber entered was a lengthy 32.5in, with a runner bean winning its category at 31in.

Look Out!!

Six tonne satellite falling to Earth, could land anywhere

Space experts from Nasa say they expect a dead satellite to fall to Earth in about a week.

Nasa has been watching the six tonne satellite closely.
Officials yesterday moved up their prediction for its arrival to Friday, September 23, give or take a day.
Nasa scientists have calculated the satellite will break into 26 pieces as it gets closer to Earth.
The odds of it hitting someone anywhere on the planet are one in 3,200.
The heaviest piece to hit the ground will be about 159kgs (350 pounds) but no one has ever been hit by falling space junk in the past.
Nasa expects to give the public more detailed information early next week. For now, all continents except Antarctica could be hit by satellite debris.

Donkey or Zebra?

Sussex Donkey Painted To Look Like A Zebra

THE donkey at the Sussex Horse Rescue Trust centre in Hempstead Lane, Uckfield, is sporting a black and white coat of paint. 
A spokeswoman for the trust says the people who spray painted the creature are “cruel”.
Sussex Police say:

“The report was made by the owner at a farm in Hempstead lane, Uckfield, on 15 September, that one of their donkeys has been spray-painted. A second donkey was also found to have paint on it. Neighbourhood policing officers are making inquiries.”

If you see a chicken with a can of paint, call the police…

Is That With Fries?

Burger thief suspect gets stuck

A man is suspected of burglary after he was found stuck in an air conditioning vent at a burger restaurant.
A burglary suspect has got stuck in an air conditioning vent when reportedly trying to steal from a burger restaurant.
The man from Cleveland, US, was caught in the act when he was discovered hanging out of the vent at Burger Haven on Broadway Avenue - and he is thought to have been trying to gain access to the establishment.
George Nakhle, owner of the restaurant, said: "They ripped it off and got halfway in the store and they couldn't go anywhere else. So he was just hanging there.
"I mean, that's hilarious to me. Wouldn't you feel the same way? That's funny."

Hitching A Ride!

Macaque monkey befriends dog

The monkey was spotted by Yoshiaki Mae in the mountains as it looked confused and frightened, provoking him to rescue the nine-inch-tall animal.
Noticing the instant friendship the macaque developed with his pet mongrel dog, named Goma, Mae took the monkey home to care for it.
Since then, the rescued animal has clung on to Goma, keeping itself attached to the fluffy black canine for comfort.
Mae's neighbours have all warmed to the new little resident, but the saviour plans to return the macaque back into its natural habitat once it shows signs of regaining its health.

Un..Friggin..Believable!!

Drinks firm trademarks F-word

A German drinks company has won a court battle to register the F-word as a trademark.
Liquor manufacturer EFAG will now enjoy legal protection of the brand name of its 'Ficken' schnapps.
Drinkers in Germany might feel a little embarrassed about asking for the drink - it is named after the German word for "f***."
But the manufacturer can take solace in the fact that the brand name is now legally protected.
EFAG took the case to Germany's Federal Patent Court after officials refused to register the name as a trademark, arguing that it was socially offensive.
Following its legal victory, EFAG now owns the 'Ficken' trademark for clothing, mineral water and fruit drinks, as well as alcoholic drinks.
In its ruling, the court explained that, although the name was unquestionably in poor taste, it was not "sexually discriminatory" and did not violate public morals.

Dig Those Cows!!

Even French cattle have a fondness for jazz

It's common knowledge that the French like Jerry Lewis and jazz. Now there's proof that French cows share that taste in music. A Utah-based jazz band stopped to entertain a bovine audience in Autrans, France — and caught the attention of the entire herd.
Fortunately for the musicians, the cows proved to be a friendly and respectful crowd. (No word yet on which comedians French cows prefer.)

A Fishing Trip!!

Tourist complains about sight of fish in harbour

Most holiday makers taking a stroll around a working harbour might expect to see the odd fish.

But when David Copp came across a fishing trawler moored in Ilfracombe Harbour he took great offence and complained about the “disgusting” smell.
The 46-year-old was outraged that his children, aged seven and nine, had been forced to endure the sight of 12 crates of dead fish and crabs, piled up on the quayside.
He said the ordeal had left them “quite distressed” and demanded to know why the harbourmaster was not more considerate to tourists.
“There were flies flying around and the smell was awful,” he said. “The ship was just sat there not doing anything, and there were 12 crates of dead crabs and fish just lying there covered in flies.
“It’s not the sort of thing you want to see on holiday, there was a real stench.
“My children were quite distressed by it. These people should be a bit more considerate to the holidaymakers."
Mr Copp called Ilfracombe harbourmaster Rob Lawson to complain about the smell that had emanated from The Lady of Lundy trawler before calling the North Devon Journal to air his woes.
Mr Lawson tried to explain that fishermen depended on the daily catch for their livelihoods and that it was a common site on a working quayside.
“He was very upset that he had come across the boxes of fish and thought it was entirely inappropriate and not a good sight or smell,” he said.
“I explained the workings of the harbour and that it was a working quay and that while it was not ideal, sometimes this happened.
“But he didn’t calm down, he went to the local newspaper and then when they printed his complaints, he came back to me to see what I had to say.”
Mr Lawson admitted that it was quite unusual to have a working harbour with public access.
But he added: “This is generally considered an asset because visitors can get a really good feel for how the industry works, they can enjoy the whole experience.
"I told this chap that you shouldn't take your children to a harbour if that is how they react to dead fish."
Mr Copp is understood to have been on a two-week family holiday in the popular north Devon tourist resort when he lodged his complaint, which attracted disbelief from locals.
One said: “Ridiculous. Does he think all his food comes in packets? What did he expect to see at a working harbour?”
Tony Rutherford, the managing director of Bideford Fisheries said "Seeing us in action is often considered a tourist attraction in these parts."

Tweeted!!

Mexicans Will Face 30 Years Prison For a Tweet

In Mexico, two people are accused of carrying out an “Orson Wells”-style Twitter sabotage and can consequently face up to 30 years jail time: one of them is a former teacher, who turned radio commentator, while the second is a maths tutor, living with his mother. Both of them have been charged with terrorism.
According to local media reports, citizens of Mexico, Maria de Jesus Bravo Pagola and Gilberto Martinez Vera, have been arrested after a panic reminding many of a modern day equivalent to radio broadcast of Orson Welles’s The War of the Worlds, which took place back in 1938. Now the prosecutors claim that the defendants helped cause a chaos of over two dozen car crashes and panic, which occurred when parents in the Mexican city of Veracruz hurried to save their kids. The cause was a twitter message relaying a false report that gunmen had been attacking schools in the area. As a result, the emergency services entirely collapsed, as citizens were terrified.
Following the news that for weeks the police have been having gunbattles with drug traffickers, Gilberto Martinez Vera, working as a tutor at a number of private schools, tweeted that gunmen were taking kids from schools in the area. Despite the fact that there had been no kidnappings at the moment, he later told the police coppers that the rumors had already been circulating and he just retweeted what he knew from the others. Aside from this, he also tweeted 3 days earlier that the gunmen mowed down 6 children aged 13 to 15 in the Hidalgo neighborhood. Although it was true that such an attack took place, it didn’t involve any children.
In the meantime, the prosecutors point out that the similar rumors were also sent by Maria de Jesus Bravo Pagola, a radio commentator, known on the radio and social networks as “Maruchi”. She also admitted that she just retweeted the message to her own followers, and believes it’s unfair to bang her up for simply relaying a message. She has now changed her Facebook page, placed the Twitter logo there and wrote “I too am a TwitTerrorist” in a status bar.
Both of the defendants have been arrested, but now online petitions started to circulate to demand their release. At the same time, human rights groups insist the charges in question are exaggerated. In fact, the panic has likely more to do with the fact that the country is in the middle of a drugs war, which took lives of over 35,000 people over the past 5 years.

Real “True Blood”!!

Florida woman bites elderly man in "vampire" attack

A Florida woman who allegedly claimed to be a vampire has been charged with battery after violently biting a man in a wheelchair on his face and arms, police said on Friday.
Milton Ellis, 69, told police in St. Petersburg, Florida, that he and Josephine Smith, 22, met on the street and went to the porch of a vacant restaurant to get out of the rain. He said he fell asleep in his motorized wheelchair and woke up to find Smith on top of him.
Ellis told authorities that she said, "I'm a vampire. I am going to eat you" and then began to bite him.
According to a police affidavit, Ellis was bitten on his arm and lips, leaving him bloody before he was able to escape and call police. He was later treated with stitches at a local hospital and released.
After arriving at the scene, police said they found Smith bloody and half-naked nearby, but that she had no memory of what happened and did not identify herself as a vampire, St. Petersburg Police spokesman Mike Puetz said.
Smith, who was arrested early on Thursday, is currently being held in detention with bail set at $50,000 (31,466 pounds).

A Bum Deal?

Ordinance would cover naked bottoms

In the San Francisco Bay area where tolerance is king, it is a rare politician willing to clamp down on citizens who let it all hang out.
But San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener stepped into that position earlier this week when he introduced an ordinance that would require nudists to cover their seats in public places and wear clothes in restaurants.
Public nudity, he explains, is legal in San Francisco and in recent years a group known informally as Naked Guys have shown unbridled enthusiasm for appearing in the nude.
"I see it pretty regularly, and unfortunately there are nudists who are not doing what they should," Wiener told Reuters.
The nudists, who expose themselves most often in the city's famous gay neighborhood, the Castro District, have got Wiener and others worrying about public health.
"I'm not a health expert, but I believe sitting nude in a public place is not sanitary," he said. "Would you want to sit on a seat where someone had been sitting naked? I think most people would say, 'No.'"
Wiener, who represents the Castro neighborhood, said he hears from merchants who fear the public displays may drive away customers, hurting the business' bottom lines.
That's particularly true in restaurants. He acknowledged that he has not seen any research establishing a health risk. "But when you have your orifices exposed in an eating establishment, a lot of people don't like it," he said.
California does have legislation against indecent exposure. But the law is lenient enough that it has barely affected San Francisco's current coterie of flaunters.
Weiner's proposed ordinance will next be assigned to a committee, and Wiener expects a public hearing within months. Clothing required.

Makes A Change From Burning Them!

Germans Pirated 14 Million Books in 2010

The German Association Against Copyright Violation, known to the country citizens as GVU, has recently conducted a new research. The purpose of the study was to prove the high rates of piracy connected with online books, so-called e-books. The organization responsible for the study was the Society for Consumer Research, or GfK. The results of the survey revealed that the Germans downloaded and uploaded without permission of copyright holders about 14 million books last year.
At the same time, the results of the survey in question were belied by some of the critics, who pointed out that according to reports from the publishing industry, the share of the digital books on the entire book market was a tiny one (approximately 0.5 percent).
The study covered about 10,000 people, and its results said that of the 23 million online books downloaded in the country last year, about 14 million were illegal copies (i.e., copies, uploaded and downloaded without the proper permission of the copyright owners). The lion share of the pirated literature was specialist literature mostly used by students for educational purposes. For example, medical textbooks from such largest publishers as Springer or Thieme were very popular online, and hardly any of the users who had downloaded it did that because of having nothing else to do.
Despite the fact that the Society for Consumer Research never actually used the terms “unauthorized” or “illegal” in their final statement, saying instead that they never made a judgment on that, the whole point for the Association Against Copyright Violation was to use particularly this word. The outfit chose another way of assessment and counted all downloads as unauthorized if the survey respondents mentioned that they used any private sites, forums, blogs, ftp servers, newsgroups, file-sharing networks, hosting websites and so on in order to download those digital books. The only problem is that there are a lot of free books distributed online without any breach of copyright, as well as there are online service enabling users to contribute their share into compensating the content creators for their works, and not necessarily with money.
Another results of the study showed that 64 percent of people purchasing digital books, who spent an average of €10.40 on each one, were men.

I’m A Cider Drinker!!

Drunk moose stuck up tree after snaffling too many apples

A drunk Swedish moose got stuck up an apple tree and had to be cut free after an intoxicating evening foraging for fruit.

The silly moose suffered the fate of many an intoxicated human after a night of heavy drinking - and found himself in a very embarrassing predicament.
Police believe the inebriated elk got into a state after eating fermented apples, and got stuck while trying to reach fruit higher up the tree.
The binge-drinking beast somehow managed to wedge itself into the branches of the tree with all four legs off the ground.
Fire crews had to chop down the tree to help free the animal from the branches.

Once free, the drunken deer staggered off into nearby woods, presumably  to sleep off the effects of his big night out.
The moose was left physically unharmed by the incident but will probably have a cracking hangover to nurse, along with the embarrassing memory.
His friends will have a field day over this one - 'remember the time Marvin got stuck in the tree? What an idiot.'
'Yeah, OK guys, whatever. That was ages ago, can you stop going on about it please?'
Maybe he won't be alone in his suffering though - drunken moose are said to be fairly common in Sweden, where they often eat fallen fruit that has fermented.

Turn Right?

Breast squeeze 'caught on speed camera'

A motorist is threatening legal action after a police camera allegedly caught him speeding while squeezing his female passenger's breast.
Businessman Deng Jialin has been fined the equivalent of £20 for driving at nearly 60mph in a 50mph zone - but that is the least of his worries.
He says the image, which was published by local media after it was posted on an internet forum, has been digitally manipulated.
And he is threatening to sue local traffic police, who he believes leaked the photograph, for breach of his privacy.
The photograph shows Deng driving his Nissan 4WD vehicle on a motorway between Santai and Shehong in Sichuan Province, China.
It later emerged that the woman in the picture is not his wife but a local university student.
But Deng, who runs his own company, says it's a fake and is threatening to sue the Mianyang Traffic Bureau.
"I was driving alone that day, and there was no one in my passenger seat," he insisted.
Traffic officials have promised to investigate the incident and say they will review policy to better protect people's privacy.

I’m Old Enough!

Bear steals car

A bear stole a car, put it into reverse gear and crashed it into a front porch.
The beast climbed in the vehicle outside a Lake Tahoe cabin and began struggling to get out before he managed to put the motor in reverse.
Owner of the car Cece McCarthy said: "By the time he got that car in gear he was desperate. He did steal our car."
Her son Dylan described the incident, adding: "The chaos of him thrashing around inside the car.
"He pulled back the gear shift, which is a pretty hard task to do."
The beast crashed the vehicle into a nearby front porch but he vanished before police arrived at the scene.

On The Clock?

German city introduces 'tax meters' for prostitutes

Prostitutes in the German city of Bonn must carry a ticket purchased from a new parking meter-like machine while working the streets or face hefty fines from tax authorities in a scheme launched Monday night.
In Germany, ladies of the night pay income tax -- the level of which varies from region to region -- but compliance is difficult to enforce with women seeking business on the street.
Germany's first "sex tax meters," from which prostitutes can purchase a ticket for 6 euros ($8.72) per night, will ensure the tax system is fairly implemented, a city spokeswoman said.
"Inspectors will monitor compliance -- not every evening but frequently," the spokeswoman told Reuters.
If caught without a valid ticket, offenders will first be reprimanded, then face fines and later even a ban.
About 200 prostitutes work in Bonn. Due to protests from residents, city officials have limited the areas of operation to specific quarters.
But critics say this has made it easier for prostitutes to ply their trade. The city has erected what officials call "consummation areas," wooden parking garages where customers driving cars can retreat to with prostitutes.

All That Glitters??

Chinese solid gold Olympic mascots begin to rust

For patriotic fans of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they were billed as the perfect purchase – limited edition versions of the games five mascots, crafted in "99.9 per cent" fine gold.

But as gold prices soared in recent years hopes that that the golden mascots dolls might prove a good investment have turned to dismay after owners discovered that the commemorative 'golden' dolls were starting to rust.
One angry customer told China's state broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV) that he had paid nearly £2,900 for 38 of the golden Fuwa, or "good luck" dolls which showed the five Beijing Games mascots engaged in a variety of Olympic sports.
The man, identified as Mr Chen from the eastern province of Jiangsu, said he had purchased the dolls through the Bank of China in a smart presentational box, complete with a certificate of authenticity from the 29th Olympic Games Organizing Committee.
The certificate described the mascots as being made of "99.9 per cent fine gold" with a limited circulation of 10,000 pieces, giving Mr Chen confidence that he was making a sound investment.
Chinese manufacturing has been bedevilled by its reputation for shoddy workmanship and corner-cutting in recent years, but investors believed they were safe buying state-backed Olympic mementos from the Bank of China.
Following the CCTV programme, which mirrored a host of similar reports in other Chinese newspapers of disgruntled customers in Nanjing, Shenzhen and Shanghai, the Bank of China had agreed to refund the purchase price of the mascots.
However the manufacturer of the mascots, the Shenzhen Eastern Gold Jade Co. said that it had no plans to offer refunds, offering instead to repair any rust-spots which it put down to flaws in its 'electro-gilding' technology.
Neither offer was satisfactory to Mr Chen or several other buyers featured on the program who demanded they should be compensated fully for the lost appreciation of their assets given that the price of gold had more than doubled since 2008.

But It’s Mine!!

Woman arrested trying to reclaim lost dope

A New Zealand woman who lost a bag filled with cannabis was arrested when she tried to reclaim it as lost property from the local police station, media reported.
The bag, containing about 20 grams of marijuana separated in tinfoil wraps, a cannabis pipe and a mobile phone, was found at a ferry terminal in Picton on August 16, the Marlborough Express reported.
After it was handed over to police in the South Island town, the mobile phone rang and a male caller enquired about its whereabouts, so officers informed him it was at the Picton police station, the newspaper said.
Patricia Wright was arrested when she turned up at the station to reclaim the bag, immediately admitting the drugs and cannabis pipe were hers.
The 61-year-old received a six-month supervision order and was told to undergo counselling when she appeared in the Blenheim District Court on Monday.
Judge Peter Hobbs said Wright had a history of drug convictions, the newspaper said.

The UK Is Lead By The Nose!!

Internet Filtering in the UK

It seems that the terms “censorship” and “UK” come together for a while now, as the country keeps trying to curb online piracy, which is widely considered to be treading on the online freedom. Major movie studios may have won the court battle against one of largest ISPs of the United Kingdom – BT, after the High Court granted an injunction in their favour.
BT now has to block access to Newzbin2, a Sweden-based file-sharing service, to all users residing in the United Kingdom, because the court held the broadband provider responsible for facilitating copyright infringement. However, the exact measures will be established when the parties go back to court in a few months.
The movie studios, though, decided not to wait for a few months and have already come with another proposal – BT should employ the blocking technology called Cleanfeed, which was used to filter adult content. It is unclear how “healthy” the suggested methods are to Internet service providers, but a number of anonymous members of Newzbin2 have already promised to bring down any filters that the ISP or anyone else would use against them.
At the same time, the Internet service provider won’t be able to comply as easily as one may think, because the efficiency of website blocking is rather controversial, which may lead to conflict of interests. However, the High Court pointed out that website filtering worked great in Italy. In that European country a similar case over The Pirate Bay site was dealt with in the same way. However, many bloggers reported that it wasn’t the case and the site traffic had actually increased rather than dropped due to the media coverage of the issue.
The court ruled that circumvention of filtering technology needs extra expertise beyond what users currently possess. That’s why Newzbin2’s anonymous operators readily offered their users assistance in helping them to circumvent any filters to their service.
If you don’t remember, last year Newzbin2’s older version, Newzbin1, was shut down because of facilitating copyright infringement, having about 700.000 members paying 30p weekly to be able to download from the site. Now it seems that the recent court ruling will be just the beginning of a long-lasting conflict between Internet service providers and unsuitable legislation making things worse.

Who Are These People??

Families should skip foreign holidays

Consultants hired by the Department for Transport have been accused to trying to shame Britons into staying at home.
The previous administration set a target of to reduce aviation’s Co2 emissions to 2005 levels by 2050. This target is which is currently under review by the Coalition.
Foreign travel was highlighted in the report by EMRC and AEA, the consultants hired by the DfT to draw up proposals for cutting the environmental impact of aviation.
“There is a range of potential measures to voluntarily reduce the demand for air travel through the promotion of behavioural change that could be targeted at passengers,” ministers were told.
“These include increasing awareness of the carbon footprint associated with air travel, encouraging fewer overseas holidays.”
The proposals drew a furious reaction from Simon Buck, the chief executive of the British Air Transport Association.
“What we are talking about here is the Government shaming people into not flying away on holiday,” he said Simon Buck.
“Is it right to make people feel guilty for taking an annual sunshine break? Where is it going to stop? Will we be told what car we should drive and how many children we should have.”
The report also suggested the targets could be met by other measures including the increased use of biofuels, more efficient aircraft engines and improved air traffic control to cut the time planes spend in the air.
According to figures produced earlier this by ONS, the Government’s official statisticians, Britons make 58.6 million overseas trips a year, of which two thirds were holidays.
In the decade between 1999 and 2009 the number of percentage of people choosing to fly on holiday in fact fell by 2.1 per cent, with the drop attributed to the increasing popularity of the Channel Tunnel, which saw a 15.5 per cent rise over the same period.
However the recession is believed to have depressed foreign travel, with a poll earlier this year showing that two Britons out of five were planning to forego their holiday overseas to save money.
But while the aviation industry was angered by the consultants’ proposals, they did not go far enough for environmental groups.
“It’s a shame that the Government has not taken this opportunity to set a UK target on aviation emissions,” said Jean Leston, Acting Head of Transport Policy at WWF-UK.
“Our efforts to tackle climate change rely on aviation making real reductions. The Government’s indecision will only lead to more confusion and allow airport expansion to continue"
However Theresa Villiers, the aviation minister, defended the Government’s approach. ““We are committed to developing a new policy framework for aviation which supports economic growth while also reflecting the environmental impacts of flying."

Foot-Brake??

Driver arrested for using feet to brake

A US driver has been arrested for using his feet to stop his car, leading to him crashing into four vehicles after his brakes failed.
A US man has been arrested for using his feet as a brake while driving, resulting in him hitting four cars.
The roofer, whose brakes had failed, was charged with reckless driving after the incident, which resembled fictional TV character Fred Flintstone, who used to drive his vehicle and stop it by using his
feet in cartoon 'The Flintstones'.

Deputy Chief James Berlin said in a statement the 24-year-old driver - who had a suspended licence at the time - "will face a judge in September, to explain his moronic decision making".
Officials explained the Fred Flintstone wannabe was completely sober and just "overly tired".

Sexy??

Sex-crazed thief smashes into adult store with truck to steal £485 sex toy

A man has broken into an adult store in Ohio, using a stolen truck, in order to steal one of the most expensive sex toys on the market.

The unnamed man is said to have taken a red truck and trailer, which he then used to ram his way through the front of the AdultMart store.
The deed appeared to be all in order to get his hands on the $800 (£485) product - described as a 'makeshift vagina'.
Detective Tony Kovacs of the Lorain County Sheriff's Department described the crime as 'definitely weird'.
'It's kind of crazy to steal a vehicle that is that expensive to break into a store to get some kind of sex toy,' he said.
The suspect is said to have broken into a nearby business where the truck was parked, and unlocked.
He then proceeded to drive down to the AdultMart, crashed into the front of the shop and headed directly for the item.
Police said they suspect he was a regular visitor, as he appeared to know exactly where it was straight away.
John Tirbaso, owner of the JT recycling lot from where the truck was stolen, said he was 'shocked'.
'I even said, "Wow, you know this economy is bad, I guess this stuff is going to happen", then, when he told me what happened it just threw me off,' he explained.
After looking at CCTV footage, Tirbaso confirmed it was not one of his employees who stole the vehicle.
Strangely enough, the alleged thief returned the truck once he had retrieved the object of his desire.
The same AdultMart was burgled in September 2009 when a man drove a car into the back of the business, stole a sex toy, then left through the front of the store, all the time remaining in the vehicle.

Got “The Horn”!!

Rhino horn thieves steal fakes

Thieves who broke into a museum in an attempt to steal £240,000 of rhino horns were foiled after staff replaced the rare specimens with replicas.

The fake horns were taken from two taxidermy rhinos at the Natural History Museum at Tring, in Hertfordshire.
Thieves smashed their way though the museums front doors between 4am and 5am on Saturday morning. They used large hammers to remove the horns from the stuffed animals before escaping.
But they did not realise that staff had replaced the real horns with resin models three months ago following a string of similar raids across Britain and Europe.
While real horn is worth around £50,000 a kilo, the stolen fakes have no financial value.
Museum staff believe they were targeted by the same gang that has preyed on auction rooms, galleries and private collections in recent months.
Paul Kitching, manager of the Natural History Museum at Tring, said: "We're deeply saddened by this pointless theft.
"The rhinoceros horns that have been stolen were replicas made out of resin, so they have no commercial value.
"We're now working with the police and urge anyone with any pertinent information to get in touch.
"We are working today to clear up the museum so that we can reopen as usual tomorrow."
The two stolen replicas were torn off taxidermy specimens of an Indian rhino and a white rhino, which both weigh around 2kg.
Nothing else was taken during the break-in which comes just a week after Britain secured international agreement to clamp down on the illegal rhino horn trade.
The horn itself has now become so sought after it is worth more than diamonds, gold, heroin and cocaine.
UK officials have warned that its sale is being driven in part by a belief that it can cure cancer or reverse the effects of stroke.
In Asia, it is often powdered and used for medicinal purposes.
Countries and conservation groups across the world are now working together by sharing intelligence, policing tactics and public awareness campaigns to end the trade amid fears it could stimulate poaching.
Hertfordshire Police said officers are investigating the museum theft.

A Game For Kids?

16-year-old skateboarder might earn one million dollars this year

While most of us at the age of sixteen had a couple thousand dollars to our names, professional skateboarder Nyjah Huston has already earned $815,000 in his skateboarding career and this weekend could clear the one million dollar earnings mark to become the youngest skateboarder ever to do so.
Huston is part of the Street League skateboarding tour which was founded by MTV star and skateboarder Rob Drydek. Huston has already won three competitions this season and is looking to claim his second Street League title:

“As far as the money goes, that’s not what I’m tripping on that much,” Huston said in a phone interview. “I just want to win the championship contest because I think it means that much. I don’t want to see someone else walking away with the ring.”

When Huston started competing at the age of eleven, he was most known for his trademark dreadlocks but earlier this year, he decided to cut them off in lieu of being known as the pretty good skateboarder with dreadlocks:

“I didn’t want to be thought of as the kid with dreadlocks for my whole life,” he said. “I felt the time was right. A lot of people thought, like, I could skate so good because of the dreadlocks. That gave me a lot of motivation to win that last Street League.”
“It’s almost like this coming of age, new chapter in becoming an adult superstar. He got sick of being known for his dreads as opposed to being known for his skating,” Dyrdek said.

Thanks to the amount of money he had made this season, he and his parents moved to Orange County, California and Huston is thankful that he gets to do something that he loves:

A Haircut Sir?

Japanese staff given identical 'energy-efficient' haircuts

A Japanese company has demanded that all of its staff members get identical haircuts in order to help the environment.
Construction firm Maeda Corp this week informed employees that they would soon be expected to sport mandatory energy-efficient hairstyles, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Male employees have been told to ask for a short back-and-sides, while the women should be seen in a "cute" bob with a longer fringe.
"Our company is very keen on protecting the environment and we encourage our staff to adopt many environment-friendly actions," a spokesman for Maeda Corp said.
"We are not sure of the data yet, but we believe if people have short hair they do not need to use their hair driers for so long and they will use less water. If all our staff do this, then it may save a lot of power."
However, the representative admitted that workers were struggling to prepare for the new hair policy, stating: "I've had a lot of our staff calling me yesterday and today to ask where they can get their hair cut in the correct style."

Dough In Doughnuts?

Police smash doughnut crime ring

Greek police have broken up a violent doughnut crime ring after three alleged crooks were using violence to corner the market in the products.
The officials went on an undercover operation to break a ring of alleged crooks - who are thought to be two Bulgarian men and a former Greek wrestling champion - who were using violence to corner the
market for the calorific treats in a resort on Paliouri beach in the Halkidiki peninsula near Thessaloniki.
Police revealed an undercover officer posed as a doughnut seller and was attacked by the trio, who have since been charged with blackmail and fraud.
They also received food safety violations after it was discovered the threesome left their food products in an abandoned hotel used as a toilet by bathers.

Oh Shit!

Truck Carrying 300 Gallons of Sewage Crashes Into Home

Home declared uninhabitable

A tanker truck carrying 300 gallons of sewage crashed into the living room of an upstate New York home.
No one was home at the time of the crash. The home, in the small town of Gaines, about 30 miles west of Rochester, was declared uninhabitable. Police were trying to determine what caused the septic tanker truck to veer off the western New York road and slam through the wall of the home before coming to rest in the living room.
The Orleans County Sheriff's Department said the truck driven by 35-year-old Russell Calkins of Albion. crashed Thursday morning in Gaines, a rural town 30 miles west of Rochester.
Calkins lost control of the truck, which crossed the center line, hit a stop sign, and continued moving until it crashed through a garage attached to the ranch home and ended up in the living room, according to NBC affiliate WHEC-TV.
Calkins was transported to a Rochester hospital for treatment.
Police say the truck was carrying 200 gallons of fresh water, some of which spilled out, and a separate load of 300 gallons of waste product, which didn't leak

We Miss You!!

Couple buy back car - 25 years on

A Lincolnshire couple have bought back and restored their first family car - a quarter of a century after selling it.
Ian Stringer, 51, from Boston, first bought the red Vauxhall Chevette in 1981 - the year he met his wife Jayne, also 51.
They drove it on their wedding day and even used it to dash to hospital for the birth of their first child.
The couple sold it five years later as they wanted a bigger vehicle and thought they would never see it again.
Then in 2005, completely out of the blue, the daughter of the man they sold it phoned to say he had died and offered them the car back for £200.
"I was absolutely shocked, but very excited," said Mr Stringer. "The car was in a very dilapidated state and clearly hadn't been driven for a long time.
"No one else would have wanted it but for me there was sentiment attached so I bought it."
Mr Stringer spent two years and £3,000 getting the car roadworthy and the last four years restoring it to its former glory.
"The Chevette was a great car and it was a real shame when I had to sell it. I thought I'd never see it again," he added.
"My writing was still in the car's service book and the straps for my son's baby seat were still in the car. It was like a time warp back to the 1980s."

You Little Liar!

Speeder busted lying to cops
A speeder north of Gatineau, Que., tried to avoid a hefty ticket early Tuesday by lying that his mother was in danger, police say. According to Const. Martin Fournel, the 19-year-old blew past a pair of cops at an intersection in La Peche. The officers happened to be responding to a domestic dispute in nearby Quyon. They estimate he was going about 130 km/h in a 70 km/h zone. Fournel said the officers pulled him over and he spun a yarn about how his mother had just called him on his cellphone and said she was in danger and then the line went dead. When the officers offered to help, the young man said that wasn't necessary, Fournel said. The officers escorted him home anyway. Fournel said when the young man pulled into the driveway, officers had to slow him down, as he rushed off to the front door. When the officers went into the home, around 1 a.m., with flashlights, they found the man's parents sound asleep in bed, Fournel said. The driver was fined $724 and received 10 demerit points.