`Rebels in eastern Congo have killed and eaten two silverback mountain gorillas, conservationists said Wednesday, warning they fear more of the endangered animals may have been slaughtered in the lawless region.
Only about 700 mountain gorillas remain in the world, 380 of them spread across a range of volcanic mountains straddling the borders of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda in Central Africa.
One dismembered gorilla corpse was found Tuesday in a pit latrine in Congo’s Virunga National Park, a few hundred yards from a park patrol post that was abandoned because of rebel attacks, according to the London-based Africa Conservation Fund. Another was killed in the same area on Jan. 5, said the group, which based its report on conservationists in the field.’
This looks like fun. Terrifying fun. :)
(1.9meg Windows media)
see it here »
`Six workers in Honduras were crushed to death by sacks of coffee beans unleashed when a wall in a warehouse gave way, rescue officials said.
The men were young seasonal workers at a coffee farm in Villanueva in the north of the Central American nation.
Officials said the wall collapse caused an overhead storeroom to come down, burying the men under around 10 tons of coffee beans.’
`A determined 9-year-old runaway who managed to board flights from Seattle to Texas in efforts to rejoin his grandfather in Dallas was seeking a father figure, his mother said.
Sakinah Booker said her son dislikes his new neighborhood, is afraid of a sex offender who lives nearby and has been impatient with her efforts to move back to Dallas.
She said her son, Semaj Booker, misses having a father.
“He needs a male role model and he’s really seeking it,” she said Thursday morning in a report aired on CNN. [..]
Meanwhile, authorities scrambled to determine how Semaj, an 80-pound, 4-foot-9 fourth grader, managed to slip through airline and airport security.’
Kinda strange and kinda cool at the same time.
see it here »
`Venezuela’s National Assembly has given initial approval to a bill granting President Hugo Chavez the power to rule by decree for 18 months.
Mr Chavez said he wants to approve “revolutionary laws” to enact sweeping political, economic and social changes.
He has said he wants to nationalise key sectors of the economy and scrap limits on the terms a president can serve.’
`North Dakota’s Legislature is encouraging disrespect for the law by making it illegal for a man and woman to live together without being married, a legislator says.
If North Dakota prosecutors began enforcing the anti-cohabitation law, which provides a 30-day jail term and a $1,000 fine, the state would need a “$10 billion prison,” Sen. Tracy Potter, D-Bismarck, said Wednesday.
“We’re saying that we have optional laws, laws that we don’t really mean,” Potter said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the repeal measure. “We shouldn’t have laws like that.”‘
It’s not the best idea to take your dog to a funeral, but you’ve still gotta be pretty unlucky to have something like this happen. :)
(866kB Windows media)
see it here »
`For the month of November, I’m only spending $30 on food. The only exception will be things that are freely available to the average person (salt taken from restaurants, sauce packets from Taco Bell, free coffee from an office). Buying in advance is fine, but at the end of the month, it all has to add up to $30 or less.’
And there’s a daily blog for the month.
`With studies showing that U.S. jails can’t enforce bans on sex between inmates, lawmakers and AIDS-prevention advocates say it’s time to start distributing condoms in Washington prisons.
Legislators are pushing a bill calling for a five-year plan to reduce the number of sexually transmitted infections among inmates.
Though the bill does not specify condom distribution, its prime sponsor, Rep. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, said she hoped it would rekindle stalled discussions about providing inmates with protection. “We have to start somewhere,” she said.’
Attaching yourself to the coil from a TV cathode tube probably isn’t the safest thing in the world. Looks cool though. :)
see it here »
`Charles Littleton, 22, was defiant, even after being Tasered by police, when he resisted efforts to remove him from a Saginaw, Mich., City Council meeting. He said he had to stand up for his right to wear his Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap, despite a rule banning hats for men inside. “It means more than just a hat,” he said. “It’s like my crown. It’s like asking a king to remove his crown.”’
`A dentist who pulled out an elderly woman’s teeth without anaesthetic “to teach her a lesson” has been thrown out of the profession.
David Quelch left the 87-year-old with blood pouring from her mouth after she made a complaint about previous treatment at his hands, a discipline hearing was told yesterday. [..]
“I told him I had pain and he told me he was going to extract my teeth. I objected, I didn’t think it was necessary. He ignored my remarks and pulled out the tooth. I was bleeding profusely.”
She added: “I said I didn’t want my tooth removed, he pushed me back, pushing me hard across my chest and extracted the second tooth. All I wanted was a filling.”‘
This waterfall works kinda like a bubblejet printer. It drops water in a precisely controlled fashion that allows them to spell words and draw pictures in space.
It’s pretty cool. :)
(8.5meg Flash video)
see it here »
`A woman who disappeared in the jungles of northeastern Cambodia as a child has apparently been found after living in the wild for 19 years, police said Thursday.
The woman — believed to be Rochom P’ngieng, now 27 years old — cannot speak any intelligible language, so details of her saga have been difficult to confirm.
“She is like half-human and half-animal,” said Mao San, police chief of Oyadao district in Rattanakiri province. “She’s weird. She sleeps during the day and stays up at night.”‘
`Sex offenders could be forced to have hormone injections under radical plans to tackle crime being considered by Downing Street.
Strategists think the injections – effectively the “chemical castration” of sexual predators to suppress their urges – would help prevent attacks.
The controversial proposal is one of a number being looked at by Tony Blair’s strategy unit as part of the Prime Minister’s policy review.
Other ideas include installing microchips in the mentally ill to monitor their behaviour and sending text messages to parents to warn them a paedophile is at large in their area.’
‘Put a thing of firecrackers in a tin and toss them at your mother lounging on the couch….See what happens.’
(3.0meg Windows media)
see it here »
`The owner of a dog that attacked two men, biting one on the penis, has been jailed for seven months.
Brisbane District Court was told today that Anthony Scott Huttley, then 21, suffered four deep cuts to his penis after Shaun Anthony Bell, 40, deliberately ordered Leeroy, his bulldog mastiff-cross, to “get him”.
Mr Huttley, who was also mauled on other parts of his body, eventually recovered from the incident but only after the “extreme discomfort” of wearing a catheter and having surgery and antibiotics.’
`Gordon Brown has spoken out over the ‘offensive’ bullying of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty on Big Brother during his trip to India following an official complaint from the country’s junior foreign minister and protesters took to the streets.
Security has stepped up around TV’s Celebrity Big Brother house after threats were made against the housemates at the centre of a bitter race storm. [..]
The controversy has now sparked comment from Tony Blair who has not seen the programme but highlighted the Government’s condemnation of racism.’
First step in making squirrel melts is shooting a squirrel, obviously.
Looks delicious. :)
see it here »
‘The US Defence Department has drafted a manual for trying detainees at the Guantanamo Bay jail that would allow terror suspects to be imprisoned, convicted and executed on the basis of hearsay evidence or coerced testimony. [..]
According to a copy of the manual obtained by The Associated Press, a terror suspect’s defence lawyer cannot reveal classified evidence in their defence until the government has had a chance to review it.’
Also – Hicks faces flawed system:
`Australian terrorist suspect David Hicks faces trial by a fundamentally flawed and unfair system, the Law Council of Australia says.’
`This is a diary of my tonsils – charting their infection, growth and removal. I don’t see any point in writing a lot about it, as I’m sure the pictures say enough. It goes without saying that I was on a lot of varying medication during this period.
WARNING – This picture diary is not for the faint hearted, and probably NSFW’
‘This is a first person perspective of a couple guys riding down one a very cool off road track they built. This must of taken months to build.’
(7.5meg Windows media)
see it here »
`Teenager Jack Taylor was left looking like an "elephant boy" after trying to dye his hair black.
His head swelled up after he had a suspected allergic reaction to dye made by L’Oréal – whose slogan is "because you’re worth it".
The 15-year-old still has a rash on his face and body two weeks later – and is being treated with steroids and antihistamine tablets.
Jack, who has dyed his hair in the past without problems, said yesterday: "I did it for fashion but it wasn’t worth it."’
‘The pilot of a TV news helicopter used the wind from the aircraft’s rotor to push a stranded deer to safety after it lost its footing on a frozen lake and could not get up.
A small crowd had gathered to watch the deer struggling, its hooves repeatedly slipping, near the shore of Lake Thunderbird around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
With the helicopter’s camera rolling, KWTV pilot Mason Dunn used the wind from the rotor to push the deer, initially sending it into a break in the ice where the animal managed to hold onto the ice with its front legs.’
see it here »
‘Audio from Radio Station KDND of Jennifer Strange complaining of severe headache, and the joke the DJs make of it. Criminal charges have been opened by the Sacremento County Sherriff’s Department, and 10 station employees have been fired. Jennifer died after drinking 2 gallons of water.’
Followup to: Autopsy Finds Signs of Water Intoxication in Radio Contestant’s Death.
(5.7meg Windows media)
see it here »
There are some ads for pornographic sites on some of my pages now. I decided to do this because some of my most popular pages have NSFW content on them so I can’t display AdSense ads.
As with the AdSense ads, these pr0n ads are less visible for registered members. My goal remains to try and cover my costs with advertising whilst not bothering those of you who visit frequently too much.
Less than 50 pages will be affected, so you probably won’t see them unless you’re looking through the archives for NSFW stuff. :)
There’s been a few other changes around the place to do with links to external websites and how they are presented to returning/registered visitors. Nothing too dramatic.
Oh, if you want an example of what these pr0n ads look like, check out Biphallic Pictures. Ads might move around slightly in the next couple of days, but that’s the basic idea anyways.
`A man boarded an aircraft at Heathrow and took his seat. As he settled in, he noticed a very beautiful woman boarding the plane. He realized she was heading straight towards his seat and bingo! She took the seat right beside him.
Eager to strike up a conversation, he blurted out, “Business trip or Holiday?” She turned, smiled enchantingly and said “Business. I’m going to the annual nymphomaniac convention in the United States”.
see it here »
`A driver is pulled over by a policeman. The police man approaches the driver’s door.
“Is there a problem Officer?”
The policeman says, “Sir, you were speeding. Can I see your licence please?”
The driver responds, “I’d give it to you but I don’t have one.”
“You don’t have one?”
The man responds, “I lost it four times for drink driving.”
see it here »
