A Dead Loss??

Van Stolen with 12 Coffins, 12 Bodies Inside

The van was stolen when the driver went inside for a few minutes to wash his hands

German thieves picked up more than they bargained for in a heist just outside Berlin Sunday night when they stole three vans — one of which was loaded with 12 coffins, complete with corpses.

The cargo, en route to a crematorium in Meissen, Saxony, disappeared from an industrial parking lot while the van's driver was inside washing his hands, reported the German news website The Local.

"The driver did everything right," a company spokesman told German newspaper Die Welt, adding that he had even locked the van before walking away.

"We have not found the bodies yet," police spokesman Peter Salender told NBC News.

He added that one of the other vans had been recovered in Poland. A spokesman for the Frankfurt am Oder state prosecutor's office said the case fit the profile of a string of recent van thefts and that the vehicles were probably destined for eastern Europe, reported the French newspaper Le Figaro (link in French).

"The perpetrators were probably not intending to steal 12 bodies," another spokesman for the prosecutor's office said.

Naked….Cover-Up!!

Austrian museum forced to cover up naked posters

A museum in Austria has been forced to cover up hundreds of male genitalia on posters advertising an exhibition after complaints from outraged Viennese.

Residents of the Austrian capital took exception to the large full-frontal photograph of three French football players used to advertise an exhibition on the naked male form at the city's Wiener Leopold Museum.
The three players, wearing nothing but socks and boots, and with a football between their feet, had appeared on 250 billboards across the city.
Complaints flooded in, with some describing the posters as "pathetic" and "pornographic", and one angry local lady even threatening to paint over the offending parts unless action was taken. The museum reported that most of the complaints came from women.
"We don't want to disturb either children or adults, and if it's clearly something people don't want to see then we have to respect that," a museum spokesman told the newspaper Wiener Zeitung.
"But the men are clearly not sexually aroused so we thought it would not cause offence.
"Our aim wasn't to be provocative, and we regret causing any offence," he added.
Featuring French footballers of three different ethnic backgrounds, the picture had originally been used to champion multicultural France, but the Wiener Leopold Museum thought it would make an appropriate advertisement for its exhibition on naked men.
But the posters will soon sport a waste-high oblong of paint to cover the sources of Viennese discontent while any advertisements near schools will be removed.
Despite the furore surrounding the posters the museum said it would retain a massive sculpture of a reclining male nude entitled "Mr Big", which lies outside the museum. A spokesman for the Wiener Leopold said that so far Mr Big had attracted no complaints and instead "was being used much like a children's playground".

Take Your Time!

Man receives university diploma 40 years after enrolling

A German man has received his university diploma after spending nearly 40 years studying.

Werner Kahmann, from North Rhine-Westphalia, began his degree at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences in 1973 and graduated earlier this year. During his time at the institution, he took a total of 68 exams and had the potential to complete 63 semesters of tuition, reports local paper the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Kahmann said that it took so long for him to complete his engineering diploma because he "de-matriculated and re-matriculated three times between then and now".

"If I had moved to Cologne I would have just got my studying done," said the 61-year-old, who instead decided to commute in from the nearby town of Siegburg, where his girlfriend, football club and bowling team were all based.

Kahmann first decided to put completing his diploma on hold after breaking his leg playing football. He suspended his studies for a second time in 1984 after the birth of his daughter and took time out to help raise her.

"Then in 2004 when student fees were introduced, I de-matriculated again," he explained.

In 2011, the German fee system changed and Kahmann returned to university once more. He completed his remaining units and earned his diploma a year later, even though the university no longer ran the course he had enrolled in.

"There are downsides to being a graduate though," he said, mentioning "paying for public transport and not getting reduced tickets for the zoo" among his biggest complaints.

Despite taking so long to graduate, Kahmann has managed to find work as a freelance engineer and draughtsman since 1978.

"My daughter told me recently that she, aged 27 and with a brilliant job, wants to go and study," he said. "I just told her that she should see it through to the end."

Hot Stuff??

Man cooking a squirrel starts apartment block fire?

Authorities in the US have said a blaze that spread through an apartment complex may have started due to a resident trying to cook a squirrel with a propane torch.

Fire Chief Jim Kohsel told Mlive.com that the resident, who has not been named, planned to eat the animal and was burning off its fur at the building in Ottawa Country when a fire broke out.

The fire was so severe that it spread to the roof of the Michigan complex, causing many people to lose their homes.

Fire Chief Kohsel said that eight apartments were destroyed and many others damaged.

No residents were hurt, but a firefighter broke his toe while trying to put out the blaze.

The American Red Cross has arranged temporary shelter and clothing for affected residents.

A Tight Squeeze?

Teacher had 19 kids in a Renault Clio

A nursery school teacher was pulled over by police in South Africa - with 19 children packed into her Renault Clio.

Melanie Minnie was taking the children, aged four to six, back to Rietfontein Nursery School in Pretoria after visiting a burger bar.
Six children were found in the car's boot, three were on the front seat and the remaining 10 piled into the back.
It was unclear whether any of them were wearing seat-belts, reports The Mirror.
The toddlers were eventually removed from the car, all unharmed.
Ms Minnie told police she was in the process of ferrying a second car-load of youngsters back to the nursery.
Apparently, another 12 children had already been bundled into the Clio.
After she was fined just over £100, Ms Minnie said: "It was the first time we went on an outing, and the last. I'll never do it again."

Dickheads Phone Home?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Whoops…My Mistake!!

Pilot rapped for landing at wrong airport

A foreign pilot has been suspended from flying after landing an Indonesian passenger jet at the wrong airport in a "serious" breach of safety, a transport ministry spokesman said on Monday.
The Sriwijaya Air plane, carrying 96 passengers and six crew, was meant to land at Minangkabau International airport in the city of Padang, but instead descended to the Tabing air force base some 12 kilometres (seven miles) away.
"This incident was very serious and very dangerous for passenger safety as (the plane) landed at a wrong airport," ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said, adding that a probe by the aviation safety watchdog is underway.
The foreign pilot of the jet, which left Medan in North Sumatra province for the short flight to Padang on Saturday, has been suspended from duty, he added, without revealing the pilot's nationality.
"For the time being we won't allow him to fly and he is expected to give an explanation to the aviation safety department today," he said.
Air traffic officials at Minangkabau airport are also under investigation for their role in the blunder, he added.
Indonesia has a chequered aviation safety record, with several deadly crashes over recent years across the massive archipelago where air travel is essential to reach outlying areas.

Tits-Up??

Firm sells booze poured over the breasts of naked models

German drinks firm has launched a range of spirits which has been poured over the breasts of a naked model prior to bottling. Really!

G-Spirits sells bottles of rum, whisky and vodka which has been poured over the boobs of voluptuous models before being collected in a special glass basin.

It's claimed the odd process adds to the flavour of the drinks, though the firm are keen to stress they conform to food and hygiene requirements. Medical personnel are also present to verify everything is in order.

A spokesperson for G-Spirits said: "To create the perfect taste we let every single drop of our spirits run over the breasts of a special woman, one whose characteristics we saw reflected in the liquor.

Now That’s A Change!

Portugal Court Ruled File-Sharing Legitimate

When it comes to file-sharing issues in courts, the community is always ready for the worst. However, the Portugal case makes an exception. Last year, ACAPOR (one of the local advocacy groups) has sent the IP addresses of two thousand alleged copyright infringers to the Attorney General. The outfit hoped that they the pirates would be prosecuted, but the result surprised everyone…
Surprisingly enough, a Portuguese prosecutor decided not to follow on the people behind the IP addresses. Instead, a statement was made that it was absolutely legal to share file on non-commercial basis. In addition, IP addresses can’t be enough to launch a lawsuit against the suspected pirates.

A year ago, ACAPOR provided the Attorney General with 2,000 IP-addresses of suspected pirates while wearing T-shirts saying “Piracy is illegal”. The outfit claimed it was doing its best to alert the authorities to the very serious situation in the content industry. It believed that a thousand complaints per month should be enough to embarrass the judiciary system. But their hopes appeared in vain after the Department of Investigation and Penal Action investigated complaints and took a decision not to charge individuals involved in the case.

It said that from a legal point of view, taking into consideration the fact that alleged users were both uploaders and downloaders, this conduct was seen absolutely legitimate, even if the users continue file-sharing after the download is finished. Moreover, one’s rights for online education, freedom of expression and culture should be respected if no commercial copyright violation is involved in the case.

In addition, the statement of many experts was supported, saying that an IP address does not necessarily indicate the infringer, because there may be another individual behind it, not the one in whose name the service is registered, regardless of whether the real owner of IP address using it or not.

Of course, ACAPOR wasn’t happy with this decision, claiming that the prosecutors simply found a way to adapt the legislation to their interest. They might be right, because it is in no-one’s interest to have to send thousands of letters, hear thousands of people and investigate thousands of PCs.

Industry observers hope that this ruling will set a precedent and an example to other countries that tend to take side of the content industry in such lawsuits.

Thanks to TorrentFreak for the source of the article