"You are nobody!" is slander in Italy

"You are nobody!" is slander in Italy

ROME (Reuters) - A driver who told a parking attendant "You are nobody!" has felt the weight of Italy's legal system, which ruled the seemingly innocuous words constituted slander -- and fined him heavily.


The tiff over a parking space led to Giulio C. being fined 300 euros (200 pounds) plus 500 euros legal costs when a court in the northeast city of Trieste turned down his appeal.


The court ruled the phrase 'you are nobody' "means precisely 'you are a nonentity' and to state that a person is a nonentity is certainly offensive because it is damaging to the dignity of a person."


The decision led celebrated Corriere della Sera commentator Beppe Severgnini to recall in his column on Friday that this was not the first time Italian appeal courts had deliberated on the definition of slander.


Indeed, over the years a sort of "guide to legitimate offence" has been formulated and Severgnini, quoting the courts, gave a few of the more common examples.


"Ball-breaker" is not slander because although "an undoubtedly rude expression it is now in common usage."


"I'll kick your arse" also passes muster because this is a "robust reaction which should be understood in a figurative way."


Under Italian law, the crime of slander is punishable by a maximum fine of 516 euros.

Man was raised by chickens

Social workers in Fiji are trying to rehabilitate a 32-year-old man they say was raised by chickens.

The man was locked in a chicken coop as a child for years by his grandfather after his parents died, reports NBC.

He had little contact with humans and picked up the habits of the birds. After escaping from the coop, the man was taken to a local hospital.

No one knew how to treat him, so hospital workers locked him in a room and tied him to his bed for more than 20 years.

Now, doctors are trying to treat the man. They say he has no mental defects and agree his condition is from years of abuse and neglect.

"He had imitated or imprinted with the chicken," said Elizabeth Clayton who is rehabilitating the man.

"He was perching, he was picking at his food, he was hopping around like a chicken.

"He'd keep his hands in a chicken-like fashion, and he'd make a noise which was like the calling of a chicken - which he still has."

Doctors said the man has made remarkable progress and is now learning to walk and speak like a human.

posted by dom at 6:31 PM 0 weirdo's replied links to this post

Toy firm markets talking Jesus action doll

Toy firm markets talking Jesus action doll

A US toy firm has created a talking action doll of Jesus Christ which recites the Ten Commandments.

Herobuilders says it has come full circle and created "the ONLY real hero: Talking Our Lord Jesus Christ Action Figure".

It's Jesus action figure stands 12 inches high, wears biblical robes and costs the equivalent of Ā£15.

The Connecticut-based firm also makes 'hero' action figures of President Bush, Tony Blair and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

It also sells a range of 'villain' action figures including Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Saddam's son Uday.

All are marketed through the firm's website, www.herobuilders.com.

Wife killer, 100, spared prison

The judge said the killing was an "act of love"
A 100-year-old former butcher has been spared a prison sentence for killing his wife after the judge accepted his plea of diminished responsibility.
Bernard Heginbotham pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court on Thursday to the manslaughter of his wife, Ida.

She was living at a nursing home in Preesall, Lancashire, and in poor health when her husband slit her throat, the court was told.

Mrs Heginbotham was found by staff at the home on 1 April.


Her husband cried in court as he was given a 12 month community rehabilitation order.

Mr Justice Leveson said it was clear Mr Heginbotham had been a devoted husband during their 67-year marriage.

His 87-year-old wife was found with a single knife wound to her throat.

The couple, who lived in Preesall, near Blackpool, had raised six children together.

Guide dog barred for speaking only French

TORONTO (Reuters) - A blind Quebec student may sue a Canadian university that denied him entry to English classes because his guide dog responds only to French commands.

Yvan Tessier was turned away from an English immersion course at the University of New Brunswick because he would be forced to give his dog, Pavot, instructions in French.
Students in the course are expected to communicate only in English, at all times, during the intensive five-week course. That includes talking to the dog.

"I feel a little bit frustrated and sad about the situation," Tessier said from Fredericton, New Brunswick on Wednesday.
"They don't have the openness of spirit to understand that it's better for me and my mobility to operate with my guide dog. It's only 17 commands in French, it won't compromise the English program."

Tessier said he would file a complaint with the human rights commission if the university stuck to its decision.

The graduate student has been guided by the black Labrador retriever for the past two years. Pavot was trained by the Quebec-based Mira Foundation specifically for French speaking clients.

"We were astonished by this," said Pierre Noiseux, a spokesman at the foundation which placed Pavot with Tessier.

"The dog doesn't speak French or English. He doesn't know how to spell 'en avant.' He doesn't know it's French. He just knows that 'en avant' means forward."

Noiseux said the university's decision was tantamount to discrimination, given that it had accepted Tessier and only raised objections once he inquired about services for blind students.

The university in the eastern Canadian town of Fredericton, New Brunswick, said it turned Tessier away because it did not have enough time to prepare for his special needs. It said he can join the program once Pavot learns English commands.

"In the past, the service has been provided that we do teach their guide dogs commands in English, so the dog learns English as well," a university spokeswoman told CBC Television.

Tessier said it would take too long to teach Pavot English commands. The Mira Foundation said it was also dangerous to teach the dog new commands just as Tessier arrives in unfamiliar surroundings.

"He's in a new city, he needs a dog that will be really alert," Noiseux said. "Sure we could take the dog, bring him back and recode. But why would I do that? The guy is French."

Broken-hearted drinkers pay to cry into their beer

A bar for the broken hearted has opened in China where drinkers pay to cry into their beer.

Tissues and menthol drops are provided at the bar in Nanjing as well as onions and red peppers for customers who need help to burst into tears.

Bar tenders play sad music and there are dolls available for customers to throw around or beat to vent their anger of a broken relationship.

Customers must pay Ā£3 an hour, on top of their drinks bill, to weep and wail to their hearts content, a report in the Jinling Evening News said.

The bar has been a big success and is attracting crowds of depressed drinkers every day, according to the newspaper.

Beer-mad Bosnian wins advertising contract

A beer-mad Bosnian who has drunk more than 15 pints a day for almost 50 years has been offered a lucrative contract promoting his favourite drink.

Marijan Camber, 61, from Sutina, was made an offer he couldn't refuse after a local paper pictured him drinking his 400,000th bottle.

He said: "Negotiations are still ongoing, and I am not allowed to name the firm, but I think we are close to signing a deal. I am the world's biggest beer fan so I'm happy to be its ambassador."

Friends confirmed to Croatian daily Jutarnji List that Camber drinks at least 30 bottles containing a third of a litre a day, and say the beer seems to have no affect on him.

Camber said: "I once drank 80 bottles in one day to see how far I could go, and I still didn't feel drunk."

He added: "To be honest I don't drink to get drunk. I think I've been drunk about three times in my life - and that was when I drank other alcohol and not beer.

"There are always at least 20 different beers in my fridge. My favourites are from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia."

He reckons beer is as good as it gets: "Sex is a fleeting pleasure that is not always that great and not always available, but the pleasure from beer is always good - and you can have it as often as you want."

Naked Macy stuns fans

Macy Gray stunned fans by performing naked on stage - apart from a pair of designer shoes.

She protected her modesty by perching on a chair in the pose made famous by call-girl Christine Keeler.

Her flamboyant performance in London was to raise money for Elton John's charity to combat AIDS in Africa.

Macy had been fully clothed for most of her two-hour stint at the Coronet in London's Elephant and Castle.

But shortly before the end of the show, she left the stage only to return naked apart from a pair of Jimmy Choo heels.

She thrilled the crowd by closing the concert with a rendition of her 1999 hit, I Try.

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Athletes complete underground marathon

Eight Spanish athletes have completed the world's first underground marathon running 25 miles along Madrid's underground system.

The two women and six men used the underground number 12 route which circles around the southern part of the Spanish capital for their race.

In order not to disturb the traffic the marathon took place at night - and all the runners had to buy a valid ticket to use the underground.

"It was mainly the damp heat and the dull lighting that got to us," said one of the runners after the event, adding: "But it was worth it."

"Faggot" dish cooks up controversy

LONDON (Reuters) - Television watchdog Ofcom has banned a supermarket chain from using the word "faggot" in an advert, referring to the traditional British dish.


Somerfield's advert featured a husband complaining about his wife's repetitive cooking.


When she told him it was Friday so he was getting his usual faggots, a traditional dish of meatballs in gravy, he said: "I've nothing against faggots, I just don't fancy them."


"Three listeners were offended, as they believed the husband's response alluded to homosexuals, faggots being a derogatory term for them," said Ofcom on Monday.


But Somerfield denied Ofcom's charge. "Faggots were chosen to demonstrate the idea because they are commonly perceived as an outdated and slightly comical product, not because of any allusions to homosexuality," it said.


But Ofcom ruled that the term was "highly derogatory" and banned the advert from being broadcast again.

Monday, July 05, 2004

Liberian team stoned by angry fans

MONROVIA (Reuters) - Angry Liberia fans have thrown stones at their national team as they left the stadium escorted by an armoured personnel carrier, following a goalless draw with Togo in a World Cup group one qualifier.

"Liberia have a good team and the game was okay. We played, but we couldn't score," said Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor, after a match on Sunday in which his team had dominated the first half.

"That's what football is about at times."

Liberian fans were also angered by the refusal of their captain James Debbah to leave the pitch when the team's manager tried to bring him off after he had sustained an injury.

The 0-0 draw leaves Liberia fifth in group one with four points from three games. Togo are third, also on four points.

Pilot stops traffic to land on busy road

BEIRUT (Reuters) - When a small plane made an emergency landing on a busy Beirut highway the pilot had the presence of mind to first stick his head out of the window and yell at the traffic to stop, witnesses say.

There were no injuries and no visible damage to the plane, which landed on a road on the southern edge of the Lebanese capital. Soldiers sealed off the area.

Airport officials said the Cessna 172 was on a training flight when it developed mechanical problems.

"I heard my neighbours shouting and came out to look," said Mohammad Matariya, who lives nearby.

"I saw the plane starting to come down, then I saw the pilot put his head out of the window and tell a boy on a motorbike: 'Stop the traffic, I have to land!'"

"The pilot was great, really brave," another witness Ahmad Abu Samir said. "He came down so slowly, very calmly. It could have been so much worse."

Naked jogger runs into trouble

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German sex therapist who enjoys jogging naked through the Black Forest has lost a legal challenge against a 600-euro (400 pounds) fine for his hobby.

The regional court of appeal in Karlsruhe upheld a lower court conviction for public indecency against Dr. Peter Niehenke, a 55-year-old psychologist who police have repeatedly arrested near his Freiburg home for jogging in the nude.

Niehenke, who wears only running shoes and socks, has argued in court there are no laws specifically banning his hobby -- but to no avail.

"The court does not support the defendant's view that running naked in public is one of his civil rights," the court said in its ruling on Friday.

But it did note that public opinion on nudity was changing, and that naked sunbathing was no longer considered a violation of public order.

Estonians crowned wife-carrying champs

SONKAJARVI, Finland (Reuters) - Two Estonian students have clinched the country's seventh straight wife-carrying world championship, winning the "wife's" weight in beer and a sauna.

Using the "Estonian Carry", where the woman clamps her thighs to the sides of the man's face while hanging upside down on his back, Madis Uusorg carried Inga Klauso 250 metres through a pool and over hurdles in just over a minute.

Uusorg, 20, claimed there was no secret to their victory on Saturday. "I just tried to run and not think about anything," he said.

"Madis is very good at carrying women. I didn't have to do anything," his friend Klauso, 19, said. Contestants do not have to be married.

The race has its roots in local legend, according to which it was common in the late 19th century to steal women from the neighbouring villages.

It is also based on the story of Ronkainen the Robber, who made aspiring gang members prove their worth by carrying sacks of rye along a challenging track.

The competition in the remote central Finnish village of Sonkajarvi, which lies deep in forest and a few hours' drive from the Arctic Circle, drew 18 couples from as far away as Canada, England and Ireland, and around 7,000 spectators.

Sunday, July 04, 2004

Norwegian Art Dealer Stands to Make Millions on Unknown Titian

Norwegian gallery owner Reidar Osen may be the proprietor of a previously unknown painting by Italian Renaissance master Titian, reports said Wednesday. Osen bought the painting at an auction in the west coast city of Bergen back in 1981 and although he was fond of it, did not have a clue that it could have been the work of Titian himself. A visiting American art dealer commissioned by an unnamed U.S. billionaire to buy a painting by Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum, recently spotted the Titian-style painting in Osen's gallery. He immediately called his client and paid the equivalent of 145,000 dollars to reserve the painting, and 289,000 dollars to test the oil colours, the online edition of the Norwegian daily Aftenposten reported. A few days ago, the test results arrived indicating that the colours were at least 400 years old. American art experts would now study the painting to determine who painted it. The painting, bought for the equivalent of 868 dollars, could be worth some 57 million dollars. Titian or Tiziano Vecellio (1485-1576) is considered the greatest of the Venetian school of painters. He was known to make two versions of his works. The Osen-owned painting is very similar to the oil painting "Flora," but the only known version of that work is in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, Italy. Osen's painting could have been done by Titian or copied at his workshop, the commercial broadcaster TV2 said. Shortly after TV2 reported Osen's story, he was swamped with telephone calls and text messages from women proposing marriage and strangers requesting holiday money. Osen said he was happy with the 434,000 dollars deposit he had received for the painting, and would await developments. He told Aftenposten that he had also found a letter dated around 1520 in the frame of the painting.

Night vision goggles nab teen bootlegger

A 16-year-old was arrested early Wednesday in a theater showing "Spider-man 2" after a projectionist using night vision goggles saw him using a camcorder to make an illegal copy of the superhero sequel.

The teen could be charged under a law that went into effect Jan. 1 and makes taking a recording device into a movie theater a crime punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's office is expected to review the case and determine whether to charge the teen, who was released into his parents' custody, said Sgt. Mel Amoroso, a spokesman at the Los Angeles Police Department's Devonshire Division.

The film industry's trade group hailed the arrest and credited its recent initiative to offer cash rewards of up to $500 to theater employees who turn in moviegoers attempting to make illicit film copies.

"In theaters nationwide, there are now thousands of eyes looking for camcording-pirates and this incident proves that pirates who use these devices in theaters will be caught," said James W. Spertus, vice president and director of antipiracy operations for the Motion Picture Association of America.

Camcorders account for 92 percent of all illegal copies of films that appear for sale over the Internet and are sold on street corners from Burbank to Beijing, according to the MPAA.

The teen, whose identity was not made public, was among the throngs of midnight movie viewers across the country who crowded theaters for the debut of the "Spider-man" sequel.

According to the MPAA, the projectionist at the Pacific Winnetka theater in the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth spotted the teen using a camcorder a few minutes into the start of the film. He and two other individuals with him were escorted out of the theater by security and turned over to the police.

The camcorder contained a recording of the beginning of the film, the MPAA said.

"Hundreds of people have put tens of thousands of hours into making a truly great picture, and the notion of having it stolen and sent out for free around the world is just plain wrong," said Jeff Blake, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, the film company behind "Spider-man 2."

Free meal promotion for relatives of Genghis Khan

A London restaurant chain is offering customers free DNA testing to see if they're descended from Genghis Khan.

Restaurant Shish has promised free meals for any found to be related to the notorious Mongol leader.

The unusual promotion is to mark the Mongolian government's decision to allow citizens to have surnames for the first time since they were banned by the communists in the 1920s.

Some 50,000 Mongolians now proudly claim direct descent from and bear the name of Genghis Khan.

Shish has teamed up with DNA-based research company Oxford Ancestors to offer descendants food from their ancestral homelands.

From Saturday July 3 to Friday July 9, diners at the Shish restaurant venues in London's Hoxton and Willesden Green will have the opportunity to have their DNA sent off for analysis

The procedure needs only a small brush to be rubbed quickly around the inside cheek of the participant. The sample is then sent off for analysis which takes around two months.

It is estimated that 17 million people worldwide, including the British Royal Family, Iranian Royalty, and the family of Dracula, are direct descendents of Genghis Khan.

The conqueror founded an empire which, at its height, stretched from The Sea Of Japan, across Russia and northern India, to the edges of modern day Eastern Europe.

Saturday, July 03, 2004

Policewoman shot brother in row over butter

A Tennessee police woman says she accidentally shot her brother in an argument over a tub of butter.

State trooper Angelinette Crawford lost her temper after her brother, Jaison Bilbrew, 19, lent the butter to a neighbour.

She told her brother that it was time he moved out of the Antioch apartment where he had been living with Crawford and her young son.

''Their verbal argument turned into a shoving match at the top of the stairs,'' police told The Tennessean.

Crawford went to her bedroom and got her service weapon, a Glock semiautomatic pistol, according to police.

The argument continued, then Bilbrew grabbed Crawford's arm and they wrestled on the floor. Bilbrew got up, and as Crawford was getting up, the gun discharged into his leg, police said.

Bilbrew was treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre and released.

Metro detectives interviewed Crawford and forwarded the case to the Davidson County district attorney's office. They have not yet decided whether she will be charged.

NOOOO!! William Shatner is making a new album !

Ben Folds is pushing back the release date of his next solo album to early 2005 in order to give William Shatner's upcoming collection, "Has Been," his full attention. The set is being targeted for a September release by Shout! Factory.

"It is a great record and it is really worth going out and doing some shows in major cities," Folds tells Billboard.com. "[Shatner] is not a musician at all -- he's not rapping or singing -- but he is still part of the music. I've never heard a record quite like it." Shatner previously guested on Folds'1998 solo album "Fear of Pop, Vol.1"

Shatner's album was produced and written mostly by Folds and includes cameos by Henry Rollins, Aimee Mann and Joe Jackson, who duets with Shatner on Pulp's "Common People." Author Nick Hornby ("High Fidelity") also co-wrote a song with Folds for the project.

Ok would be thieves , just mug 1st Direct Customers !!!!

Warning over cash machine fraud

Letters have been sent to thousands of customers
One of Britain's biggest online banks has warned thousands of customers to limit their use of cash machines because of the growing risk of fraud.
First Direct has advised some customers to consider getting enough money out in a single withdrawal to last all week.

But the police have warned that carrying large amounts of cash creates more opportunities for crime.

ATM fraud rose to Ā£39m last year, according to the cheque and plastic crime unit set up by police in London.

Vacuum cleaner gives evidence in court

A man was trying to clear cobwebs with his new Dyson vacuum cleaner when the machine knocked him down the stairs, a court was told yesterday.

Norman Grant, 59, who is suing Dyson for Ā£50,000, said he suffered painful head and wrist injuries as a result.

The company has admitted liability, and a hearing at Aberdeen sheriff court will decide the amount of damages to be paid.

Mr Grant, from Aberdeen, used the purple Dyson cleaner in court yesterday to demonstrate how a hose extension had broken and knocked him over.

He said: "I needed the hose extension with the brush at the end to suck up the cobwebs. I was at the top step, going as near as I could to the cobwebs. I stretched out and got to the nearest one.

Then the extension just broke apart and came back at me. Suddenly there was just this flash and something struck me on the arm and the next minute I found myself at the bottom of the stairs."

He said he had to have a cup of tea after the accident and then tried to put the extension back together to see if he had made a mistake.

"I stretched the cable again and it came apart again. It came off immediately and I said there's a fault with the machine. Dyson said it was the highest technology in the world, and so on."

Mr Grant, a semi-retired oil worker, said he had fallen about 15 steps and still suffered from pain in his wrist which affected his golf, gardening and household chores. "There are nagging pains, I can feel it throbbing," he added.

The case was adjourned until a later date when further evidence will be heard.

French crooner to sue for borrowing

French "singer" (gawd he's awful!)Johnny Halliday is suing his record company Universal Music for lending him too much money.
Apparently over the last 20 years Universal have bailed the Tone deaf eejit out to the tune of Ā£10m.
He's now suing them for Ā£40m , saying "If zey had not lended moi le monie , I wouldna have had spended eet" ( that was a rough translation , my French ain't too hot)
One of his sites can be found here Johnny twat sings Or just google it !.. but be WARNED ! he is crap !

Bryan Adams blamed for divorce

Tina Shaw blames her ex-hubby for launching her love affair with Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. So she was bit surprised when he then named the superstar in their divorce as a reason for the split.

Her disgruntled ex complained that spending thousands of pounds on frequent concert trips, plastering their home with pictures of Bryan Adams and a keeping a six-foot cardboard cut-out of the popstar in their bedroom was unreasonable.

The 36-year-old, of Netley Place, Blurton, said: "My husband named him four times in our divorce, he had no other reasons. He complained about the pictures of Bryan all round the house and said I went to see him too many times."

Although she no longer talks to her former partner, Miss Shaw credits him for introducing her to the gravel-voiced veteran of rock back in the summer of 1987 when he took her to Birmingham's NEC for the Into The Fire tour.

Miss Shaw said: "It all started when my ex-husband wanted to see him at the NEC and I've been a fan ever since. I've been all over Europe and I'm planning a tour of the USA just to follow him."

The figurine painter, who has seen Bryan perform more than 100 times at a cost of Ā£10, 000, is not bitter - she's just overjoyed her hero is coming to Stoke-on-Trent on Sunday.

I pooped my pants and shut down a reservoir !

A man who soiled his underwear and tried to dispose of the evidence by tossing it over the fence of the cityā€™s largest reservoir has been fined $5,000.

The city bomb squad and hazardous materials crew responded after an Erie Water Works employee spotted a black bag near the 33-million gallon Sigsbee Reservoir last month.

The reservoir was shut down for several hours while the bomb squad X-rayed the bag and hazardous materials crews waited to test it.

Police tracked down Troy Musil, 18, of Erie. He told police heā€™d been ill and soiled his underwear. He changed at a friendā€™s house, then climbed over two barbed-wire-topped fences to ditch the skivvies.

Musil pleaded guilty last week to defiant trespass. The judge gave Musil a 90-day suspended jail sentence and ordered him to pay $500 a month for 10 months to the emergency agencies that responded.

If he doesnā€™t pay, the judge said Musil would be jailed. A telephone number for Musil couldnā€™t be found.

longest cake to be made in Peru's poorest district

To Comas, Peru, not much more than a shantytown, one of the poorest areas in that county, but it is a glorious day in Comas. Local chefs have gathered together over 900 pounds of flour, 119 gallons of egg yolks, 88 pounds of baking soda, enough sugar to suffocate a llama, all to bake the Guinness Book of Records new worldā€?s largest cake -- 807 feet long, made by 300 bakers, enough to feed 15,000 people. They may not have had dinner, but they will all get dessert. A big cake indeed, but honestly, ever been impressed when they make a cake like that and then call it worldā€?s largest? Itā€?s a normal size cake, itā€?s just really long. Big deal!

DJ suspended for playing Cliff

LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran radio DJ Tony Blackburn and his boss are not talking anymore after he was suspended for playing too many Cliff Richard records.

Blackburn, 61, one of Britain's best known DJs, played two Cliff songs back-to-back and then ripped up a written warning from his radio station managers live on air.

"He just got carried away," said John Baish, managing director of Classic Gold, part of UBC Media Group Plc. "He played two records by the artist we had specifically just asked him not to play."

He said the station has a playlist covering 40 years of pop music and DJs are told to stick to it.

"If we are going to play Cliff Richard it ought to be because the listeners want it, not because Tony does," Baish said.

After Blackburn played the number one hits "We Don't Talk Anymore" and "Living Doll" on Tuesday, managers told him not to turn up for work on Thursday.

Blackburn's publicist said he hoped the DJ would return to work soon after a ticking off.

"He is slightly amazed they suspended him," the DJ's spokesman said. "But he realises he defied them."

Blackburn began his 40-year career at pirate station Radio Caroline and went on to play the first record at BBC Radio 1's launch in 1967.

Friday, July 02, 2004

Convict to sue police over poster

A convicted drug dealer plans to sue police for using his picture in a campaign against gun crime.
Michael Polizczuk says police breached his human rights by featuring his photo on leaflets distributed in Nottingham.

The 24-year-old contacted lawyers from civil rights group Liberty to make a claim against the force.

He is serving a four-year sentence at Sudbury Prison in Derbyshire after being convicted of possessing a handgun, ammunition and cocaine.

Name and shame

The leaflets show his picture, alongside other convicted gun criminals, with the message: "No such thing as untouchable".

About 30,000 leaflets were distributed in the city in a name-and-shame campaign in April this year.

He was chosen by police for the campaign which aims to show youngsters that armed criminals are now serving long prison sentences.

Liberty claims the campaign was an infringement of Polizczuc's human rights.

Glastonbury mud 'sells for Ā£490'

A lump of mud scooped up from this year's Glastonbury Festival has reportedly sold for Ā£490 on an internet auction site.

IOL says bidding on eBay for the mud, scooped up from the front of the Pyramid stage, started at 99p, but rose quickly.

The seller said the mud, stored in a plastic bag, 'should arrive nice and damp with the early Glastonbury dew still soaking into it'.

The price should more than cover the cost of the seller's admission ticket, the site says.

Thursday, July 01, 2004

Woman finds drunken burglar wearing her clothes

A Florida female student came home to find a drunken burglar in her apartment - wearing her clothes.

Theresa Hall found the man passed out in her laundry room, according to a Local 6 News report.

The University of South Florida student had arrived home to find her living room and kitchen trashed.

After she called police, she searched the house and discovered the man passed out in her utility room.

She said: "He had gotten into all kinds of food in my refrigerator, drank half my liquor, made himself at home and pulled things out of my underwear drawer, and every box of stuff that I have, and went through everything I own."

Hall barricaded the room and locked the man inside, while she waited for police. The man was arrested and faces charges.

Old soldier found long lost comrade - next door

Old soldier found long lost comrade - next door

Two soldiers who thought each other had died in a bloody Second World War battle 60 years ago have discovered they are next-door neighbours.

Gilbert Fogg, 80, thought there was something familiar about his neighbour when he moved into a new retirement bungalow in Nettleham, near Lincoln.

But he couldn't believe it when he discovered the man was Tom Parker, 82, reports the Daily Mirror.

Sixty years ago they had fought shoulder-to-shoulder in some of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War.

Last time they saw each other was in a trench at the infamous battle of Anzio in Italy. Both left that battlefield on stretchers, each assuming the other was dead.

Gilbert adds: "I asked my brother, who lives here, and he knew just that he was called Tom. He didn't know the surname. But I did. It was Tom Parker. My God, it was Tom Parker! I felt like someone had punched me.

"I asked him to come in and show me how the electrics in my house worked - but that was just an excuse. I wanted to see him up close, to be sure.

"When he was in my house I looked him in the eye and said: "Tom Parker, do you know who I am?" He looked at me and said: "No." I said: "Have you ever met anyone called Gilly?"

"Well, he staggered. He put his arm up to his face and he leant on the wall. He just said: "Oh Gilly, Gilly. I thought you were bloody dead".

"He stood like that for ever such a long time. Then we started talking, and once we started, we couldn't stop."

Toymaker invents dream machine

A Japanese toymaker claims to have invented a gadget that can help people control their dreams.

Tokyo-based Takara Co says its Dream Workshop can be programmed to help sleepers choose who or what to dream about.

In a study on a group of men and women aged 20 to 40, it had a success rate of 22% in inducing dreams in which one of the prompt words appeared, said the Yomiuri Shimbun.

While preparing for bed, the user mounts a photograph on the device of who should appear in the dream, selects music appropriate to the mood and records word prompts, such as a name.

Placed near the bedside, the Dream Workshop emits a special white light, relaxing music and a fragrance to help the person nod off.

Later, it plays back the recorded word prompts, timed to coincide with the part of the sleep cycle when dreams most often occur.

It even helps coax the sleeper gently out of sleep with more light and music so the dreams are not forgotten.

Takara spokeswoman Mayuko Hasumi says the Dream Workshop will go on sale in Japan in August for about Ā£110.

ASDA (Walmart) offer free eye tests

Urs Meier, the Swiss referee of Thursday night's encounter, was also on the receiving end. One doctored picture showed Sol Campbell and Gary and Phil Neville confronting Mr Meier after he disallowed Campbell's late header. In the referee's hand is the leash of a guide dog.

Among the companies attempting to cash in on England's woes was Asda. It announced that Swiss nationals could claim free eyesight tests at its in-store opticians up until July 2.

You must be batty!

You must be batty!

North Wales Police Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom has taken on a new role - tackling the UK's growing bat crimes.
He is spearheading a nationwide initiative to protect the nocturnal mammals.

Mr Brunstrom has virtually become a household name through his campaign against speeding drivers and his views on legalising drugs.

Now he says he is ready to assume comic hero Batman's mantle too to save the bat.

"If you can put a bit of humour into it, that's actually helpful because this is a serious issue," he said on Wednesday

"A bit of humour will help us deal with it even better".

Bats are a protected species but even so their numbers are falling. Figures from the Bat Conservation Trust show 144 bat-related offences have been committed in the UK over two years.


This is not major league police work but it is necessary that we do it right because it is in the interests of our country
Richard Brunstrom
Conservation groups now believe that that figure could be only the tip of the iceberg as the animals fall prey to building development and trees where they roost being felled.

So Operation Bat, which got under way on Wednesday, is aimed at prevention and raising awareness.

Mr Brunstrom, a spokesman on wildlife issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), has been jointly responsible for bats becoming a police priority.

"The emphasis of Operation Bat is on prevention rather than enforcement," he said.

"The overall aim of it is to raise awareness of the legislation that protects bats so as to provide a clear message that bat crime is police business and will not be ignored.

"If you're renovating an old house or chopping trees down, we want to make sure that people get proper advice in the first place on how to keep within the law."

But he admitted that patrolling bat crime was "a tiny issue in policing terms".

You don't bring me flowers

Visitors are being asked to check with staff before bringing flowers onto wards in some south Wales hospitals, to help prevent the MRSA infection.
The move by the Gwent NHS Trust has been applied across all of its hospitals to curb the spread of infections to patients.

Hospital managers said they are not prepared to compromise on infection control.

It follows similar policies in some hospitals in England.


Julian Hayman, from the Gwent NHS Trust, said: "We do not allow flowers in high risk infection areas such as intensive care, high dependency, haematology and some surgical wards as they pose an infection risk.

"Control of infection is a priority that we cannot compromise on.


Although we'd like to be able to allow flowers on every ward in most cases it really is not practical
Julian Hayman, Gwent NHS Trust
"In other areas the decision whether or not to allow flowers on a ward is made by the nurse in charge of that ward.

"Besides infection risks there are other reasons that wards may decide not to allow flowers such as insufficient space, health and safety issues such as water in close proximity to electrical equipment and the need to ensure water is changed regularly to prevent it from becoming stagnant."

He said it was well documented that flowers can increase the risk of passing on infections and the decision had been taken to aid patient recovery.

"Although we'd like to be able to allow flowers on every ward in most cases it really is not practical," he said.

"We would ask patients and relatives to help us by checking with the nurse in charge before bringing flowers onto any ward."


A ban on bringing flowers into intensive care and other high dependency wards is a common rule in many hospitals around the country.

As well as MRSA, there are fears that vulnerable patients could be affected by the pseudomonas bacterium which develops when vegetation rots.

A spokeswoman for the Welsh Assembly Government said there was no guidance about bringing flowers onto hospital wards.

"The assembly government has not issued central guidance relating to flowers on wards, the recognised issues concerning flowers on wards and control of infection.

"It is the responsibility of trusts to investigate local guidance and practices taking into account the specific circumstances within the trust, hospital or ward," she said.

England captain David Beckham has been defaced

A PORTRAIT of England captain David Beckham has been defaced by vandals - who scrawled "You loosers" across it.

Pranksters used a thick red marker pen on the 5ft photograph which was worth Ā£7,500.

And they even spelt "loosers" with a double "o" in what appeared to be a dig at the 29-year-old's alleged affair with PA Rebecca Loos.

The huge snap is part of the FIFA 100 exhibition at London's Royal Academy of Arts - which features portraits of the game's greatest living stars.

Scandinavian snapper Mark Hom's image - which shows Becks wearing a t-shirt standing in a hotel corridor holding a football - is said to be the most popular on show.

The England captain has been criticised for his performances at Euro 2004 and for missing crucial penalties against France and Portugal.

The vandals also wrote "Beckham and Meier, you loosers" on a wall
opposite a portrait of soccer legend Pele - in a reference to bungling Swiss ref Urs Meier.

Exhibition curator David Grob said staff had made a complaint of
criminal damage to police.

He said: "The picture is a write off. We have reported it to the police and we will have to get another one printed.

"It is enormously irritating. We hoped the Academy would inspire everybody to good behaviour. You do not expect people to act like football hooligans - it is very frustrating."

Elvis couple's 16th baby name dilemma

A Belgian couple whose 15 children's names are linked to Elvis Presley say they cannot think of a name for their 16th child.

Jean-Pierre and Carine Antheunis, from Gent in Belgium, are lifelong Elvis fans and their children's names include Elvis, Priscilla, Dakota and Tennessee.

But the pair have said they don't know what to call their new baby boy.

"If it had been a girl we would have called her Linda. Elvis once had a lover with that name," said Jean-Pierre.

"But we have run out of ideas for a boy."

They are now thinking of calling him Ohio: "There's no connection with Elvis, but it's in America," he added.

Speaking to daily newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, Jean-Pierre said they would not need to worry about finding more names in the future, as Ohio would be their last.

"My wife is now 40 and we have decided to stop there. Sixteen children are enough for us," he said.

Wife's cooking drove man to blow up kitchen

Wife's cooking drove man to blow up kitchen

A Romanian man faces charges after he tried to blow up his kitchen because his wife was such a lousy cook.

Viorel Leahu, 41, from Todiresti, said he decided to punish his wife for her terrible food.

He told police he had been inspired by watching Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, reports Natuional newspaper.

He opened the gas tap and threw a lighter on the cooker. The explosion damaged the room and left him with an injured hand.

Mr Leahu now faces up to three years in jail for destruction of property and putting his wife's life in danger.

Beauty contest for goats

Croat farmers have staged a beauty contest for goats in a bid to publicise the fact that traditional goat farming is dying out.

Dozens of farmers from across the country entered their prize goats in the event at the village of St. Vincenat in western Croatia.

Ivan Perko, owner of Lucy who won the event and is from the western Croatian village of Most Rasa, said: "I always knew she was the most beautiful goat in the world and now it's been proven."

There was no prize for winning the competition but Perko said the honour was enough for him.

"This is a great honour for me and Lucy," he said.

Organisers said they came up with the idea of the contest to draw attention to falling numbers of goats in the region.

They said that at one time there were 800,000 goats in the Istria region, but that today there are only 1,000, local media reported.

This can't be right!!!

US internet porn law falls at free speech hurdle
BY NATALIE DAVISON, TIMES ONLINE AND AP

A US law meant to punish pornographers who peddle indecent images to children using the internet will not be invoked because it impedes the right to freedom of speech.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Child Online Protect Act (COPA), signed off by former President Bill Clinton in 1998 and backed now by the Bush Administration, may go too far in restricting pornographic material on the web.

The majority said the law, which has never taken effect, is in direct violation with the First Amendment - the right to freedom of speech.

The majority, led by Justice Anthony M Kennedy, said that advances in technology since the law was developed may have meant that it was now possible for adults to see and buy material that is legal for their eyes, while keeping offending material out of the hands of children.

The case landed in the courts after the American Civil Liberties Union argued that the controverisal law went too far.

"We're very pleased with the decision," Ann Beeson, an ACLU lawyer, said.

"The status quo is still with us and the court made it safe for artists, sex educators and web publishers to communicate with adults without risking jail time."

The ACLU challenged the law on behalf of online bookstores, artists and others, including operators of websites that offer explicit how-to sex advice or health information.

The union argued that its clients could face jail time or fines for distributing information that, while racy or graphic, is perfectly legal for adult eyes and ears.

The law has been going betwen the courts and Congress in various forms since 1998.

It would have authorised fines up to $50,000 for the crime of placing material that is "harmful to minors" within the easy reach of children on the internet.

It also would have required adults to use access codes and or other ways of registering before they could see objectionable material online.

Justice Kennedy said COPA in its existing form would sweep with "too broad a brush".

"There is a potential for extraordinary harm and a serious chill upon protected speech; if the law took effect," he said.

The case has now been handed back to a lower court to assess new advancements in technology to block porn from reaching child internet users. The ruling may also give the US Government a chance to prove that the law in fact does not go far enough.

Congress had tried repeatedly to find a way to protect web-surfing children from smut without running foul of the First Amendment. Material that is indecent but not obscene is protected by the First Amendment. Adults may see or purchase it, but children may not.

Goddess returns to stately home

The statue had been at Sledmere for over 100 years
A valuable 18th Century statue, which was stolen from a stately home in East Yorkshire and found 4,000 miles away, is to go back on its plinth.
The life size Goddess of Harvest vanished from Sledmere House near Driffield, Yorkshire, in December 2000.

A man on a ship saw details of the statue in a magazine and realised he had seen it at a port in Essex.

He alerted the authorities who subsequently traced the Goddess to an art dealer in Chicago.


Sir Tatton Sykes, whose family has lived at Sledmere for 250 years, said: "I was absolutely overjoyed when I heard the statue had been recovered.

"It is one of the family's favourite pieces of garden statuary and everyone was devastated when it was stolen.

" We are delighted and greatly relieved to have it back home."