‘A teacher who forced a pupil to write ‘I am a retard’ 100 times has been acquitted of abuse charges by an Italian court.
The teacher, whose identity was withheld to protect her privacy, forced the punishment on the 12-year-old boy after he blocked a fellow pupil from going to the toilet and called him “gay” and “girly”.
The parents had sought 25,000 euros ($40,107) in damages and a public prosecutor had called for a two-month prison sentence, but the court cleared the teacher, a court source said.’
‘A sex worker hurt when she and her client plunged 100m down a Canterbury hillside in his car may be eligible for compensation for a work-related injury.
The woman is believed to have been in the car with a man driving on Christchurch’s Port Hills when the vehicle went off the Summit Rd in icy weather and fell into a gully early on Friday morning.
It is understood the man had hired the woman for sexual services before the accident. [..]
An Accident Compensation Corporation spokesman told the Herald he did not know details of the case, but if the woman was registered as a sex worker and paid taxes, she could make a claim for a work-related injury based on that.’
‘A fugitive sentenced yesterday for the brutal bashing murder of his 61-year-old partner is continuing to receive welfare benefits while on the run.
Apolonio Serrano, 66, killed his girlfriend with a chair before disposing of her body and lying about her whereabouts.
The killer vanished near the end of his trial for the murder of Milicia Trailovic around Christmas 2003.
When he failed to show up at the Supreme Court, police searched his Hallam home and found his car and clothes missing, his fridge empty and power off.
Prosecutor Raymond Gibson today told the court Serrano is on welfare benefits through Centrelink and the agency have refused to cut the payments off despite requests from police.’
‘A judge ruled Monday in favor of a dry cleaner that was sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants.
The owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city’s Consumer Protection Act by failing to live up to Roy L. Pearson’s expectations of the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign once displayed in the store window, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled.
Bartnoff ordered Pearson to pay the court costs of defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung.’
Followup to $67 Million Suit Over Pants.
‘A proposed pro-marijuana conference to be held in the US-administered Northern Mariana Islands has led to a bizarre row among local legislators.
Opponents of the conference of Californian-based activists advocating that marijuana should be legalised have suggested the territory should be renamed the Northern Marijuana Islands.
But the cash-strapped government says the conference would be a boon for the sagging tourism industry.
“We welcome anybody who wants to hold a conference here, whether it be to discuss marijuana or not,” government spokesman Charles Reyes said Thursday.’
‘Americans are less happy today than they were 30 years ago thanks to longer working hours and a deterioration in the quality of their relationships with friends and neighbors, according to an Italian study.
Researchers presenting their work at a conference on “policies for happiness” at Italy’s Siena University honed in on two major forces that boost happiness– higher income and better social relationships — and put a dollar value on them.
Based on that, they concluded a person with no friends or social relations with neighbors would have to earn $320,000 more each year than someone who did to enjoy the same level of happiness.’
‘There was the Miami Vice bandit, the Fanny Pack bandit, even the Band-Aid bandit – all named for memorable outfits or unique characteristics that bank tellers recalled after the holdup.
Now police are looking for a robber named for his smell: the “Landscape bandit.”
“He smells like dirt – that’s what people always remember,” said Anaheim police Sgt. Tim Schmidt. “It’s not like he hasn’t bathed in month. It’s just he’s been outside working in the dirt.”
The man, who wears a wide-brimmed hat, has robbed three banks in Southern California since April and two out of three tellers mentioned his distinctive odor to investigators.’
‘Bob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
So last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost.
His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not paying motor fuel taxes. He has been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.
To legally use veggie oil, state officials told him, he would have to first post a $2,500 bond.
Teixeira is one of a growing number of fuel-it-yourselfers — backyard brewers who recycle restaurant grease or make moonshine for their car tanks. They do it to save money, reduce pollution or thumb their noses at oil sheiks.
They’re also caught in a web of little-known state laws that can stifle energy independence.’
‘It soon will be a crime in this Cajun-country town to let the waistband of your pants sag too low in public.
Mayor Carol Broussard has said he will sign an ordinance the town council approved this week setting penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for being caught in pants that show undergarments or certain parts of the body.
Broussard said he has nothing against saggy pants but thinks people who wear them should use discretion. “It’s gotten way out of hand out here,” he said. [..]
Broussard’s advice for people who like their pants to hang low: “Just wear it properly. Cover your vital parts. I mean, if you expose your private parts, you’ll get a fine. If you walk up and your pants drop, you get a fine. They’re better off taking the pants off and just wearing a dress.”‘
‘The Church of England today asked entertainment giant Sony to apologise and contribute a large donation for featuring a prominent British cathedral in a violent video game.
Church officials had earlier accused Sony of using the historic interior of Manchester Cathedral, where memorials for gun crime victims have been held, as the backdrop for parts of the new Playstation 3 game, Resistance: Fall of Man without permission.
David Marshall, the cathedral’s spokesman, said the church had received many emails supporting its stance and added that officials were set to meet tomorrow to discuss further action against Sony.’
‘Calgary police handed jaywalking tickets to homeless people evacuated from a shelter Thursday morning, upsetting residents and the centre’s executive director.
People inside the Drop-In Centre were told to leave after the discovery of an electrical problem. Executive director Dermot Baldwin estimates about 50 residents were given tickets after they exited the building.
“You’ve got hundreds of people who’ve been evacuated from the building and the police are giving out jaywalking tickets,” he said. “It’s not a helpful thing. It’s not a service to the people, that’s for sure.”
He said many of those ticketed, especially the mentally ill, won’t be able to afford to pay the $57 fine and will likely have to go to jail.’
‘An Army Corps of Engineers report found mechanical and contracting problems with drainage pumps installed by the corps before the start of the 2006 hurricane season, prompting a Louisiana senator to call for a Justice Department investigation.
Although the pumps have been extensively overhauled, critical flaws remain a year later, according to the report, which was released Friday.
The review by three corps engineers from outside the New Orleand district office backed up findings of a May 2006 memo by a corps mechanical engineer working on the $32 million pump project. The memo warned the pumps were faulty and would not work during a hurricane.’
‘Nigeria has filed charges against the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, accusing it of carrying out improper trials for an anti-meningitis drug.
The government is seeking $7bn (£3.5bn) in damages for the families of children who allegedly died or suffered side-effects after being given Trovan.
Kano state government has filed separate charges against Pfizer.
The firm denies any wrongdoing, saying the trials were conducted according to Nigerian and international law.’
‘It was a sight that would make any flagrant parking meter flouter smile. Police were pulling over parking meter attendants to warn them that their $9,600 miniature Mitsubishi and Subaru were not street legal and did not have proper tags.
The state Division of Motor Vehicles told the Huntington Municipal Parking Board last week that the two golf-cart-like trucks it bought were manufactured for off-road use only. They also don’t qualify as low-speed vehicles and can’t be registered, according to Glenn Pauley, DMV director of vehicle services.
The trucks sit at the city garage while the Huntington Municipal Parking Board decides what to do with them.’
‘A virtual land dispute in Second Life will be resolved in federal court after a judge’s ruling. A lawsuit filed in May of 2006 by Pennsylvania attorney Marc Bragg accused Linden Lab and its CEO Philip Rosedale of wrongfully seizing his virtual land and unilaterally shutting down his Second Life account—intellectual property that Bragg says is worth thousands of (real-life) dollars. Linden Lab filed two motions to dismiss the suit, arguing that Bragg came into possession of his land wrongfully, but the Pennsylvania judge denied those motions.
Linden Lab has long maintained that virtual “property” owned by its residents in Second Life belongs to the players. Therefore, things like virtual clothing, buildings, and land all legitimately belong to the residents who created or purchased them, and the burgeoning trade of such is legitimate. Linden Lab sells “land” to residents directly—which translates in real life to server space for the land and things that are built on it—and does so through online auctions. Bragg purchased the land in question through an auction offered by the company, which he argues is the company’s fault for selling it to him if he wasn’t supposed to have it.’
‘Four people billed a health insurance company for 20 brain operations that were never performed on them, sometimes for the same person on multiple occasions, authorities said.
One 36-year-old man from New York City claimed nine brain surgeries for himself, along with his wife and two sons, receiving reimbursements from New York-based Group Health Incorporated totaling $142,268, federal investigators said Friday.
GHI paid out more than $300,000 in reimbursements to all four defendants, based on the claims.’
‘Jackass star Johnny Knoxville is being sued by for £5.3million by an actor who had his penis clamped in a mousetrap for a stunt.
Perry Caravello says he was severely injured when the trap crushed his manhood as he appeared on a radio talkshow with Knoxville.
He claims Knoxville promised to pay him £5million for agreeing to the prank.
Mr Caravello has filed legal documents in a US court alleging fraud and negligence. He says he was further humiliated when footage of the stunt was videotaped and posted on the Internet without his permission.’
‘Canadian encryption vendor Certicom yesterday filed a wide-ranging lawsuit against Sony, claiming that many of the products offered by the electronics giant infringe on two Certicom patents. This might sound like business as usual until you realize what’s being targeted: AACS and (by extension) the PlayStation 3.
Certicom has done extensive work in elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), and the patents in question build on this work. The patents have already been licensed by groups like the US National Security Agency, which paid $25 million back in 2003 for the right to use 26 Certicom patents, including the two in the Sony case. Now, Certicom wants Sony to pay up, claiming that encryption present in several key Sony technologies violates Certicom patents on “Strengthened public key protocol” and “Digital signatures on a Smartcard.”
The biggest charge is that the encryption in AACS itself is infringing. The practical implications of this claim are huge; AACS is included in Sony’s Blu-ray players, PlayStation 3, and Blu-ray and PS3 discs. Certicom says Sony needs to take out a license for all of these uses.’
‘There are shocking allegations against a Palm Bay city supervisor. A former employee said she was constantly flashing and using sexually explicit language in front of workers. He said, when he complained, he was fired and is now suing.
It’s unusual for a man to file a sexual harassment suit against a female. Usually, it’s the other way around. But the man who used to work with her said his boss was so vulgar and inappropriate, he had to take action
Boxes are filled with evidence backing Tom Rolfe’s sexual harassment case against the city of Palm Bay. He worked for the city as a meter reader for four years and said he was fired when he complained about his supervisor, Donna Elliot.
“She just dropped her pants, bent over and showed everybody everything,” Rolfe said.’
‘In the most conspicuous sign yet of India’s unprecedented prosperity, the country’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is building a new home in the financial hub of Mumbai: a 60-storey palace with helipad, health club and six floors of car parking.
The building, named Antilla after a mythical island, will have a total floor area greater than Versailles and be home for Mr Ambani, his mother, wife, three children and 600 full-time staff.
Draped in hanging gardens, the building will have a floor for a home theatre, a glass-fronted apartment for guests, and a two-storey health club. As the ceilings are three times as high as a normal building’s, the 173m (570ft) tower will only have 27 floors.’
‘Keep your fucking opinions to yourself you arsehole Australians. Don’t write me any more letters like that. That goes for the whole fucking world!’
(30meg Windows media)
see it here »
‘Could it be that our soldiers died to enrich five or six International Oil Companies (Four of them American)? Or that possibly a million Iraqis suffered the same fate for the same reason? You might recall that President Bush claimed that one of the Benchmarks the Iraqi Government must meet is a deal to share the Oil revenues. What he didn’t say is with whom they, the Iraqis, will have to share. Seems like it’s not the Iraqis. [..]
Seems that those International Oil Companies (can you say EXXON, MOBILE, and BP for starters), stand to pluck the Iraqi people for about $21 Trillion. Folks that’s twenty one thousand BILLION. In perspective, that’s about double the United States current cash debt, and a little over 40% of the accrued National Debt of $50 Trillion. Figured another way, it’s about $70,000 for every American currently alive. And it will all go to about six Oil companies. Well not all, there’s the Congress to be bought off, actually it seems they already have, but they still need to get a little more of the harvest.’
‘A glittering bathtub made of gold worth nearly $1 million has been stolen from a resort hotel, an official said Wednesday. A worker at Kominato Hotel Mikazuki in Kamogawa, south of Tokyo, notified police that the fancy tub was missing from the hotel’s guest bathroom on the 10th floor, according to a local police official who only gave his surname, Ogawa.
The round tub, worth $987,000, is made of 18-karat gold and weighs 176 pounds. [..]
Someone apparently cut the chain attached to the door of a small section of the bathroom where the bathtub was placed, but not riveted, and made off with the tub, Ogawa said.
“We have no witness information and there are no video cameras,” he said. “We have no idea who took it,” the official said.’
‘Manitoba First Nations are seeking compensation from Manitoba Telecom Services for every cellphone signal that passes through First Nations land, saying the airspace should be considered a resource like land and water.
At a recent economic development summit, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs resolved to negotiate revenue sharing with MTS for transmissions signals that cross the land, water and air space of their reserves and traditional territories.
“[The request is] based on the understanding that we do have some fundamental rights as indigenous people to land, water and airspace,” said Chief Ovide Mercredi of the Grand Rapids First Nation.
“When it comes to using airspace, it’s like using our water and simply because there’s no precedent doesn’t mean that it’s not the right thing to do,” he said.’
‘The era of tax-free e-mail, Internet shopping and broadband connections could end this fall, if recent proposals in the U.S. Congress prove successful.
State and local governments this week resumed a push to lobby Congress for far-reaching changes on two different fronts: gaining the ability to impose sales taxes on Net shopping, and being able to levy new monthly taxes on DSL and other connections. One senator is even predicting taxes on e-mail.’
‘A duck found with a pocket knife in her back in Huntington Beach was recovering Monday, and authorities announced a $1,000 reward for anyone with information about whoever stabbed the mallard.
The female duck was brought to the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center Sunday at 10 a.m. by a member of the public who spotted it with the knife in its back at the Breakfast in the Park restaurant at 6622 Lakeview Drive, said Lisa Birkle, the center’s assistant wildlife director. The restaurant has views of a lake where many ducks swim, Birkle said.’
‘A thief found out the hard way that robbing a woman isn’t the best way to capture her heart.
Two men robbed a U-Haul store around 3 p.m. Sunday, taking an unspecified amount of cash, according the store’s owner. But instead of fleeing, one man lingered and tried to strike up a conversation with the woman he had just robbed.
“He stuck around and was trying to get the female employee’s number,” U-Haul general manager Patrick Sobocinski said. “She said he was just saying, ‘Hey baby, you’re pretty fine.'” [..]
“She said he was saying, ‘Can I get your number and go out sometime,'” Sobocinski said.
No surprise ending here – the woman turned him down, and he fled.’
(4.7meg Windows media)
see it here »
‘Wrongly jailed after a woman cried rape, Warren Blackwell applied for compensation for his three wasted years in prison.
Torn from his family and sent to languish in jail as a convicted sex attacker, the innocent father-of-two imagined he was due a hefty sum for the miscarriage of justice.
Instead, he was flabbergasted to learn the Home Office now intends to charge him nearly £7,000 for “board and lodging”.
The money is for the cost of food and accommodation while he was behind bars, and will be deducted from whatever compensation he receives for wrongly imprisonment.’
‘Australians are slogging their guts out working overtime and most employees don’t get much thanks, with the bulk of overtime done being unpaid. [..]
A survey of 2931 NEWS.com.au readers revealed 91 per cent of those employed worked overtime in the week before the survey was conducted, with an average 9 and a half hours spent working extra.
While most people said they are required by their employer to put in additional hours beyond their standard working week, a whopping 74 per cent of those employed did not get paid.’
‘Apparently Sony thinks this one little “Special Screw” is so special, that it’s worth over 61 euro (appx. $82 US Dollars.)’
