‘Former AFL star Warwick Capper has turned his focus to politics and announced he will run for mayor of the Gold Coast.
Capper, who has recently worked as a Gold Coast “meter man” topping up parking meters on the Queensland tourist strip, said he would run as a mayoral candidate in the March 2008 Gold Coast City election. [..]
Among the 44-year-old’s election policies are the legalisation of prostitution and the introduction of a curfew on the coast’s licensed venues.
“I want to legalise prostitution, I think that would be a good thing,” Capper said.
“I also want to clean the Gold Coast up. [..]
Capper has his own domain name for his website – described as his “online crib” – although his name is spelt incorrectly.
The address is warrickcapper.com.’
This is both hilarious and embarrassing. The best of both worlds. 🙂
(3.6meg Flash video)
see it here »
‘A 24-year-old Texas mother is in jail after she treated her 2-year-old son’s head injury with a Popsicle instead of calling 9-1-1.
Ebony Thorne’s son Joshua later died of the injury.
Arlington police said the boy fell eight feet down a U-shaped stairwell in Thorne’s apartment Wednesday morning. Investigators said instead of calling for an ambulance, Thorne placed a Popsicle on her son’s head and put him to bed.
When the boy’s father arrived later, he found Joshua unresponsive. Police said he called Thorne’s mother, who drove to the apartment from Fort Worth and called 911.’
‘Police are looking for whoever stole and mutilated an autistic California child’s 42-pound pet tortoise.
Bob, an African spurred tortoise, was in guarded condition Saturday after thieves stole him July 7 and tried to cut his neck and slice his legs from his shell, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. [..]
William, whose autism makes him wary of talking to people, freely chatted with 25-year-old Bob, whose species is known to grunt, whistle and croak in response.
“Now he’s scared to death that not only has he lost his friend, but that whoever did this are going to come after him too,” Vaughan said.’
‘America’s first Muslim congressman has provoked outrage by apparently comparing President George W Bush to Adolf Hitler and hinting that he might have been responsible for the September 11 attacks.
Addressing a gathering of atheists in his home state of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, a Democrat, compared the 9/11 atrocities to the destruction of the Reichstag, the German parliament, in 1933. This was probably burned down by the Nazis in order to justify Hitler’s later seizure of emergency powers.
“It’s almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that,” Mr Ellison said. “After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it, and it put the leader [Hitler] of that country in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted.”‘
This is a very strange prank. These guys look so confused. 🙂
(4.8meg Flash video)
see it here »
‘You may remember these two gentlemen, as we recently covered them in the run-up to the Transformers movie debut. Optimus Prime changed his name to honor his childhood hero, while Jason Burrows took the less drastic step of altering his middle name to Megatron. Now it seems that Optimus has had enough tomfoolery and wants to settle things once and for all:
Jason “Megatron” Burrows:
The mighty OPTIMUS PRIME is “OFFICIALLY” calling you out. If you are going to TAKE credit for bearing the name of my one true nemesis, then man up and take MEGATRON as your first and ONLY name. Otherwise, stop being a poser and come up with your OWN idea!
If you accept, we shall publically do battle to be recorded for the entire TRANSFANDOM!!!
“One shall stand, one shall fall!”‘
‘Many of you have seen or heard about Wendy the whippet – a dog with a rare genetic mutation that has led to her being called the Arnold Schwarzenegger of dogs.
The genetic mutation is a deficiency in myostatin, which is a growth factor that limits muscle tissue growth.
But that rare genetic defect does not occur only in the whippet breed. In fact, it can and has occurred in other animals… even in humans themselves!
Behold! The ultimate collection of myostatin deficient monstrosities!’
‘Police officers in the UK are to be given head-mouted video cameras to film incidents and arrests, the footage of which can then be used in evidence.
The Home Office is to give police £3 million to fund a national roll-out of head cameras after regional trials proved they were successful in fighting crime, the Government has announced. [..]
A spokesman for the force said: “The clear evidence provided by head camera footage means that offenders have less opportunity to deny their involvement, leading to less paperwork for the police, earlier guilty pleas, less time spent in court and an increase in convictions.” [..]
According to the guidelines officers are to wear a sign and to announce: “I am video recording you.”‘
Hooray for engineering. [shrug]
‘Google’s Security team has discovered vulnerabilities in the Sun Java Runtime Environment that threatens the security of all platforms, browsers and even mobile devices.
“This is as bad as it gets,” said Chris Gatford, a security expert from penetration testing firm Pure Hacking.
Advertisement
“It’s a pretty significant weakness, which will have a considerable impact if the exploit codes come to fruition quickly. It could affect a lot of organizations and users,” Gatford told ZDNet Australia. [..]
According to Gatford, the bugs threaten pretty much every modern device.’
Sounds like a lucky fellow.
(5.1meg Flash video)
see it here »
‘The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles reached a settlement agreement Saturday with more than 500 people who allege they were sexually abused by clergy, the main plaintiff’s attorney told The Associated Press.
Attorneys for the archdiocese, the nation’s largest, and the plaintiffs will release a joint statement Sunday morning and hold a news conference Monday, said plaintiff’s attorney Ray Boucher.
The deal is valued at $660 million, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement had not been officially announced.’
‘Prince Harry revealed this week that he’s been bullied because he has red hair. That takes some nerve — bullying someone whose grandma holds the keys to the Tower of London.
In Britain, redheads don’t have it easy, but since you can no longer say nasty things about race, religion, ethnic origin, disability or gender orientation, the only ones left to abuse seem to be redheads. It’s being called “gingerism.” In Britain, red hair is called ginger, and redheads, gingers. [..]
In the meantime, it looks like another home for the Chapman family in Newcastle. The Chapmans have already moved three times in as many years because of the abuse suffered by the six red-haired family members. Kevin Chapman says his 11-year-old son attempted suicide over it — not uncommon. According to the International Gingerkids Foundation, 10 percent of red-headed kids commit suicide by the age of 16.’
‘Francisco Rodriguez owes more than $10,000 in back child support payments in a paternity case involving a 15-year-old girl who, according to DNA results and the girl’s mother, is not his daughter. [..]
He now has DNA results that show the 15-year-old girl wasn’t fathered by him. He even has an affidavit from the girl’s mother — a former girlfriend from 1990 — saying he’s “not the father” and asking that Rodriguez no longer be required to pay child support.
Yet the state of Florida is continuing to push him to pay $305 a month to support the girl, as well as the more than $10,000 already owed. He spent a night in jail because of his delinquent payments. [..]
Rodriguez and his family continue to wait for answers.
“It’s hard when your daughter needs sneakers and you have to pay $305 or your husband goes to jail,” said Rodriguez’s wife, Michele. “It’s just unfair.”‘
Here’s a short video of the man driving a stolen APC through Sydney, and some of they mayhem he caused.
Followup to Man goes on rampage with tank in suburbs.
(3.2meg Flash video)
see it here »
‘A convicted killer who had already staged one helicopter-assisted prison break, again escaped from a French prison today using a helicopter.
Pascal Payet, 43, broke out of Grasse prison, southeast France, after a helicopter hijacked by four masked men landed on the roof of one of the prison buildings, said a source close to the investigation.
The helicopter landed some time later at Brignoles, 38 km northeast of Toulon, on the Mediterranean coast. Payet and his accomplices released the pilot unharmed and fled the scene.’
‘A former monk has appeared in court to contest his conviction for torturing children more than 40 years ago. [..]
In 2003, Murphy, known as Brother Benedict, was found guilty of giving children painful jolts with an electrical gadget. [..]
As well as Brother Benedict’s electric shocks, the pupils were whipped with knotted laces and made to eat their own vomit.
One boy’s arm was broken when the monk lost his temper over a cheeky comment.
A woodwork teacher at the same school is appealing against a jury’s verdict that he sexually abused boys there.’
‘The nation’s top anti-drug official said people need to overcome their “reefer blindness” and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat to the public’s health and safety, as well as to the environment.
John P. Walters, President Bush’s drug czar, said the people who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn’t hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass casualties. Walters made the comments at a Thursday press conference that provided an update on the “Operation Alesia” marijuana-eradication effort. [..]
“These people are armed; they’re dangerous,” he said. He called them “violent criminal terrorists.”‘
‘His power and influence is legendary in his native Melbourne but Eddie McGuire has found out that his name will not open the same doors in Sydney.
The former Nine Network chief executive got a rude awakening when he tried to jump the queue at a motor registry last week. [..]
McGuire’s final tactic was to turn up in person at 4.50pm – 10 minutes before the registry was due to close – go straight to the counter and demand to be served.
But that did not work either, prompting the furious multi-millionaire to demand to see a manager.
After a heated argument with RTA management, McGuire, 42, was told his only option was to take a numbered ticket and wait like everyone else.’
‘A woman calls 911 during a burglary and the 911 operator doesnt sound completely convinced that their really is a burglar until the husband shoots him with his .38 revolver.’
(1.3meg Flash video)
see it here »
‘A Toronto judge has ruled that Canada’s pot possession laws are unconstitutional after a man argued the country’s medicinal marijuana regulations are flawed. [..]
The man has no medical issues and doesn’t want a medical exemption to smoke marijuana. In 2001, Health Canada implemented the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, which allow access to marijuana to people who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses.
In court, the man argued that the federal government only made it policy to provide marijuana to those who need it, but never made it an actual law. Because of that, he argued, all possession laws, whether medicinal or not, should be quashed.
The judge agreed and dismissed the charges.’
‘Police are investigating a city councilwoman and her husband are under investigation for performing an exorcism on their 18 year old daughter.
Police have recommended the State Attorney’s Office file charges of battery and false imprisonment against Edgewater city councilwoman Debra Rogers and her husband, Daniel Rogers.
Investigators said the couple admitted they tried to exorcise the demons out of their daughter by pouring olive oil on her while they held her hands behind her back on June 27. [..]
Detective Brady said police believe this wasn’t the first time this happened. “This is bizarre, but this apparently was a normal occurrence.”
This time police found the teen’s clothes torn off in the struggle and she had bruises on her arm and knees.’
These people seem quite happy to have a clean arse.
I dunno tho, I think there’s something wrong with people who can’t keep shit off themselves without the aid of high technology. 🙂
‘In the continuing adventures of the world’s tallest man, Bao Xishun, our hero shakes hands with He Pingping, who is currently aiming for a place in the Guiness Book of Records as the world’s shortest man.
The historic meeting between Bao, who stands 2.36 meters (7.9 feet) tall, and He, who only reaches 73 centimeters (2.4 feet) in height, took place in Baotou, in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday.’
Followup to World’s tallest man saves dolphin.
(1.2meg Flash video)
see it here »
A long jumper is stretching on the side of a field whilst another athlete throws his javelin. I don’t think he threw the javelin where he wanted to.
(1.9meg Flash video)
see it here »
‘Deep in the Congolese jungle is a band of apes that, according to local legend, kill lions, catch fish and even howl at the moon. Local hunters speak of massive creatures that seem to be some sort of hybrid between a chimp and a gorilla.
Their location at the centre of one of the bloodiest conflicts on the planet, the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has meant that the mystery apes have been little studied by western scientists. Reaching the region means negotiating the shifting fortunes of warring rebel factions, and the heart of the animals’ range is deep in impenetrable forest.
But despite the difficulties, a handful of scientists have succeeded in studying the animals. Early speculation that the apes may be some yeti-like new species or a chimp/gorilla hybrid proved unfounded, but the truth has turned out to be in many ways even more fascinating. They are actually a population of super-sized chimps with a unique culture – and it seems, a taste for big cat flesh.’
‘Jim Morrison lived life in the fast lane, blowing fans’ minds with his trippy lyrics and magnetic stage presence. So it has always seemed strange that according to official records he died in benign circumstances: from heart failure in a Paris bathtub. Now, a new book suggests the singer may have met his maker with a psychedelic bang after all.
Sam Bernett, a former Paris nightclub manager, has claimed that the Doors frontman died on 3 July 1971 in a lavatory cubicle at his club. The suspected cause of death: heroin overdose.
Although rumours of this have circulated since Morrison’s death 36 years ago, no witnesses have come forward, until now.
The author, who managed the venue in question, believes two drug dealers carried Morrison out of the club and took him to his apartment. After arriving there, Bernett claims, Morrison was thrown into a bath in an attempt to revive him.’
