moonbuggy

‘A woman diner was left with horrific burns after a Portuguese sausage dish exploded in her face. The victim was eating with friends when the accident took place at the Sporting Clube de Londres in west London. [..]

Witnesses described how the flaming chorizo sausage dish burnt out of control when a waiter topped it up with rum at a table packed with people.

The woman, who spent two weeks in hospital and has since undergone two skin graft operations, said it was like being hit by a “flame-thrower”. [..]

The victim will to have to wear pressure garments on both hands for 23 hours a day for up to two years.’

‘”The teacher, Mr. Harold Skinner, grabbed a student by putting his hands on his torso from the rear, and then thrust his pelvic into the student several times, acting as a gorilla would act under a sexual type situation,” said Sheriff Metts.

The investigation report says it happened in a drama class at White Knoll High School, where the students and teachers were working on improvisational skills. In particular, they were practicing how gorillas might act.

Metts says, that’s when Skinner performed the questionable improv act on the student in front of several classmates.

“It was very distasteful to the student and embarrassing to the student to have the teacher put his hands on his torso and then thrust his pelvic into him a number of times in the rear,” said Sheriff Metts.’

‘A research report published in Applied Economics has found that the number of patients with violence-related injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms is related to the price of beer.

The paper is available online as a pdf and is from Cardiff University’s Violence and Society Research Group.

The researchers examined admissions to 58 hospital accident and emergency departments over a five year period and found that as the price of beer increased, violence-related injuries decreased.

In general, studies have found that alcohol consumption increases both the risk of being a victim of violence and the perpetrator of it.’

‘A gunman robbing a convenience store allowed the clerk to call 911 and apologized after the woman said she might be having a heart attack. But he still took $30 and cigarettes, authorities said. [..]

She started hyperventilating and pleaded with the gunman for help.

“I have heart trouble. Help me,” Parker said.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the gunman replied.

“I have heart trouble,” Parker told him.

“Ma’am, it’s going to be all right,” the gunman said.

“I’m probably going to have a heart attack,” Parker said.

“Oh my, ma’am, please do not have a heart attack. Please do not have a heart attack. Please don’t, ma’am,” he said.’

‘A St. Louis legislator wants to require that baking soda be sold behind the pharmacy counter, as part of an effort aimed at a base ingredient in crack cocaine.

The proposal by Democratic Representative Talibdin El-Amin is modeled after a state law that requires some cold medicines to be placed behind the pharmacy counter because they contain ingredients used to make meth.

The anti-meth law requires customers to show a photo I-D and sign a book specifying their name, address and how much they purchased.

El-Amin’s bill would implement similar requirements for the purchase of sodium bicarbonate, otherwise known as baking soda. The measure was filed last month and has yet to receive a hearing.’

‘It’s 11:30 at night; the kids are on the floor of a yellow school bus that’s parked not in Manhattan but a desolate lot in Williamsburg; and everyone on the bus, including the storyteller, is in high school. Oh, one more thing: they’re all on 5-methoxy-N N-diisopropyltryptamine, better known as the club drug Foxy.

Every two weeks, in some forsaken corner of the city, New York’s privileged teenagers go to “Sindergarten,” a traveling party for 17-year olds who, for a few carefree hours, want to feel like they’re five again. Nursery school-style accessories—snacks, children’s music, storybooks, finger-paints—are supplemented with multiple doses of Foxy methoxy, a hallucinogen similar to Ecstasy said to facilitate a childlike sense of wonder with the world.’

Tryptamines rarely make the news.

‘On March 23, an 11-year-old girl woke up in the middle of the night to find a long pole sticking through her bedroom window.

The pole had a hook on the end and the hook was pulling the comforter off her bed.

Naturally, the girl screamed. Then she ran to get her mother, according to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities searched the neighborhood in the town of Hernando looking for Peeping Toms and checking up on neighborhood sex offenders, but found no suspect.

But deputies did find semen on the outside of the girl’s house, just below her window, according to the Sheriff’s Office.’

‘Nine young adults face criminal charges Wednesday night after breaking into a group of buildings owned by video game mogul Richard Garriott.

The suspects were identified because of pictures on a digital camera that was left at the crime scene.’

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‘A tour guide in southwest China stabbed 20 tourists and locals in an attack blamed on a row over kickbacks from souvenir shops and possibly linked to an unhappy childhood, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

Xu Minchao, 25, was leading 40 tourists through Lijiang, a World Heritage-listed tourist destination in mountainous Yunnan province, on Sunday when he suddenly ran into a souvenir shop and demanded a knife, Xinhua said.

“Not realising the man was ready to kill, a girl in the shop gave him one and was stabbed immediately in the arm,” Xinhua said.’

‘A suspended Toronto elementary school principal has pleaded guilty to throwing feces (excrement) on a child.

Maria Pantalone, 49, was charged with two counts of assault – one against that child and one against another – but only admitted to one of the charges today.

“I couldn’t take it any more,” she testified, in describing the provocative circumstances leading up to the incident last June 30.

But she agreed it wasn’t in any way justified.’

‘An Arcadia man who is paralyzed from the neck down and his caregiver were jailed this afternoon in connection with the rape and incest of three children, Bienville Sheriff John Ballance said.

Bienville sheriff’s investigators have charged Michael Lee Smudricks, 57, with one count of aggravated rape and three counts of aggravated incest. His caregiver, Lynn Swan West, who turns 59 Thursday, also of Arcadia, is charged with one count of principal to aggravated rape and three counts of principal to aggravated incest.

The alleged assault involves children under the age of 15. They are in state custody.

Arrest warrants for Smudricks were signed March 5, but authorities could not pick him up until today after seeking the state’s help in locating a jail or prison that could house him. [..]’

‘A horror movie fanatic who repeatedly slashed his terrified friend with a home-made Freddy Krueger glove was jailed for life yesterday.

Jason Moore was obsessed with the Nightmare on Elm Street killer and spent hours crafting various recreations of his ‘horrific’ weapon.

His final model featured four curved steel blades – each as sharp as a cut-throat razor – that were attached to a welded brass amulet.

Deranged Moore, 37, used the glove to attack his friend John Skamarski as he slept, causing slash wounds to his face, neck and hands. [..]

Moore – who was originally charged with attempted murder – phoned 999 himself, telling the operator he didn’t know why he carried out the attack.

He said: “I almost stabbed him to death. I’m going out of my mind. For some unbeknown reason I attacked him in the chest. I tried to stab his heart.”‘

‘Police said an 18-year-old Suffolk man battered a 4-week-old baby who reminded him of a guy he doesn’t like.

Breon Lashawn Perry, who caused a brain injury to the infant, was charged with felony child abuse and aggravated malicious wounding, Suffolk Police Lt. Debbie George said. [..]

After investigating, police found out the baby and his 3-year-old sister were left in the care of Perry, the mother’s boyfriend, while the mother was at work. Perry struck the baby several times in the face and head because the child reminded Perry of the child’s father, whom Perry did not like, George said.’

‘A Half Moon Bay man who shot an ostrich to death after the flightless bird pummeled him and his friend when they trespassed on a coastal ranch was ordered released today after serving five months in jail for animal abuse.

Jonathon Porter, 20 — who prosecutors say killed for revenge after the bird humiliated him in front of women he was trying to impress — was sentenced today by Judge John Grandsaert effectively to time served. [..]

McKevitt was kicked in the ribs and knocked to the ground, according to a police report. Porter suffered scrapes and bruises when the ostrich kicked him, the report said.

“And at that point, the crucial thing happened,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. “Apparently the girls started laughing.”

Porter and McKevitt drove away with the women, then allegedly armed themselves with a rifle and shotgun.’

‘A woman with a history of drug abuse says she woke up from a nap to find her miniature dachshund had torn off her baby boy’s genitals. Authorities have doubts about her story, but exactly how the newborn was maimed is still a mystery.

Holden Gothia, now 7 weeks old, was found on a bed in his mother’s suburban Houston apartment March 13, covered in blood. His genitals were severed and there was a deep cut in his upper leg.

He has been in critical condition ever since. He may never regain the use of his leg and faces years of operations, according to the boy’s father, Camden Gothia.

Police, doctors and Child Protective Service officials told the baby’s father that the injuries were not consistent with dog bites — the lacerations were too neat.

But Holden’s mother, the only person who might have the answers, has checked into a treatment program and refuses to cooperate with police. No charges have been filed.’

Followup to: Mom: Dog Bites Off Infant’s Genitals

‘The latest person to discover how easy it is to abuse U.S. copyright law appears to be Uri Geller, the self-proclaimed “psychic” who has been fooling people about his supernatural powers for decades now. Geller has been exposed as a ridiculous fake time and time again, but he is trying hard to scrub the internet of all that embarrassing evidence so that his current business venture can trick more new suckers.

And United States copyright law is practically eager to aid this huckster in his quest to suppress criticism and victimize the ignorant. Using the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, Geller has managed to get YouTube to delete several videos that show Geller’s deceptions being exposed. Before Geller launched his purge, when you searched YouTube for “Uri Geller” you would immediately discover videos that let you know he is a trickster. But as of this moment, that same search yields mainly uncritical videos.’

‘Scientists in Britain are proposing a complete revamping of drug classifications in the wake of findings that reveal some major discrepancies between a drug’s legality and its safeness. A study surveying health, crime and science professionals regarding the dangers of a set of 20 legal and illegal drugs, published in The Lancet in March 2007, found that alcohol and tobacco, which are legal in Britain and the United States, are considered by experts to be more dangerous than ecstasy and marijuana, which are illegal in both countries.’

‘In 1982, operatives from the USSR’s Committee for State Security– known internationally as the KGB– celebrated the procurement of a very elusive bit of Western technology. The Soviets were developing a highly lucrative pipeline to carry natural gas across the expanse of Siberia, but they lacked the software to manage the complex array of pumps, valves, turbines, and storage facilities that the system would require. The United States possessed such software, but the US government had predictably turned down their Cold War opponent’s request to purchase the product.

Never ones to allow the limitations of the law to dictate their actions, the KGB officials inserted an agent to abduct the technology from a Canadian firm. Unbeknownst to the Soviet spies, the software they stole sported a little something extra: a few lines of computer code which had been inserted just for them.’

‘An Oregon man on vacation with his family is accused of putting two of his four children in a car trunk because the vehicle was too small to hold all of them.

Douglas Willy, 40, was arrested Saturday after police received a tip from a person who saw the family at a gas station, authorities said. He was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment.

Willy, his fiancee and their four children were taking a trip but the vehicle did not fit all six passengers. So, police said, he decided two of the children would ride in the trunk to avoid taking a second vehicle.

Police said a 12-year-old and 13-year-old were in the trunk, and had been riding inside for about 20 miles.’

‘Los Angeles police have unveiled their latest tool in the fight against crime – a flashlight powerful enough to stun suspects but too lightweight to beat them with.

The new flashlight, developed specifically for the Los Angeles Police Department and expected to be acquired by police forces around the world, replaces the heavy 13-inch (33-cm) metal flashlights controversially used by city officers to strike a car theft suspect three years ago. [..]

“If you shine this into someone’s eyes, you will momentarily disorient them. But unlike the previous flashlight it cannot be used to inflict unintended damage or used to strike someone around the head,” Bratton said.’

‘Jonathan Goodrum, who pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of a 1-day-old girl, plans to request a DNA test in April to determine if the child is his daughter.

If the child is his, Goodrum, 20, said he plans to petition the Carroll County Juvenile Court for visitation rights.

“I’ll battle it to my dying days,” Goodrum said in a phone interview with The Jackson Sun last week.

Goodrum said he looks forward to the DNA test so he will know what his next step will be.’

‘Darrell Roberson came home from a card game late one night to find his wife rolling around with another man in a pickup truck in the driveway.

Caught in the act with her lover, Tracy Denise Roberson — thinking quickly, if not clearly — cried rape, authorities say. Her husband pulled a gun and killed the other man with a shot to the head.

On Thursday, a grand jury handed up a manslaughter indictment — against the wife, not the husband. [..]

Mark Osler, a Baylor University law school professor and a former federal prosecutor, said the grand jurors evidently put themselves in the husband’s place: “I can see one of them saying, ‘I would have shot the guy, too. I was just protecting my wife.'”‘

‘Reports of candy-flavored methamphetamine are emerging around the nation, stirring concern among police and abuse prevention experts that drug dealers are marketing the drug to younger people.

The flavored crystals are available in California, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri and Minnesota, according to intelligence gathered by Drug Enforcement Administration agents from informants, users, local police and drug counselors, DEA spokesman Steve Robertson says. [..]

Among the new flavors are strawberry, known as “Strawberry Quick,” chocolate, cola and other sodas, Robertson said. One agent reported a red methamphetamine that had been marketed as a powdered form of an energy drink, he said.’

‘For the one-time gangster who built it, it is nothing less than “the eighth wonder of the world”. The less charitably disposed dismiss it as a glorified barn, fire hazard and eyesore.

But on one thing everyone agrees: Nikolai Sutyagin’s home is certainly different.

Dominating the skyline of Arkhangelsk, a city in Russia’s far north-west, it is believed to be the world’s tallest wooden house, soaring 13 floors to reach 144ft – about half the size of the tower of Big Ben.

The house that Sutyagin built is also crumbling, incomplete and under threat of demolition from city authorities determined to end the former convict’s eccentric 15-year project.’

‘Desperate mothers are being urged to drop their unwanted babies through hatches at hospitals in an effort to halt a spate of infanticides that has shocked Germany.

At least 23 babies have been killed so far this year, many of them beaten to death or strangled by their mothers before being dumped on wasteland and in dustbins.

Police investigating the murders are at a loss to explain the sudden surge in such cases, which have involved mothers of all ages all over the country.’

‘It was a device worthy of Rube Goldberg, or perhaps Wile E. Coyote. A remote-controlled mechanism with a dozen launching tubes was found buried in the turf at Hong Kong’s most famous horse racing track last week; it was rigged with compressed air to fire tiny, liquid-filled darts into the bellies of horses at the starting gate.

No horses were injured because the supervisor at the Happy Valley Racecourse, where horses have been racing since 1846, noticed something on the turf before racing started Wednesday. He discovered the mechanism concealed by grass-colored tape and called in a police bomb squad to remove it.

The discovery of the device, which was equipped with elaborate electronic controls, has raised concerns about security for the six Olympic equestrian events to be held in Hong Kong next year.’

‘Your office has a duty of good faith independent factual investigation and legal research sufficient to support a finding of probable cause to sue.

In Williams v. Coombs (1986) 179 Cal. App. 3d 626, the California Court of Appeal held that attorneys who participate in the filing or maintenance of litigation without probable cause are personally liable for malicious prosecution of a civil action. [..]

If your client (and your law firm?) are seeking probable cause shelter in a settlement negotiations house of straw (as suggested by your March 23 letter), all of you should consider the prevailing winds of the Evidence Code before making yourselves too comfortable. Straw will burn.’

It’s actually funnier than it may sound. :) Hooray for standing up to the RIAA.

‘A 17-year-old girl suffered a broken nose after police said she broke into an Altamonte Springs house and was punched in the face by a resident she was allegedly trying to rob before being detained by him.

The incident happened about 5:45 a.m. on Sunday at a house located in the 500 block of San Sebastian Heights.

Altamonte Springs police said the girl burglarized several vehicles before entering the house, where she was encountered by a male in the master bedroom. He punched her in the face and detained her until authorities arrived, police said.’

‘Three men, including a Houston-area paramedic, were arrested after investigators found nearly 400 pounds of marijuana in an ambulance, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.

Maumelle, Ark., police said they discovered the drugs after the ambulance broke down near a gasoline station.

“An individual, that was actually an off-duty police officer, called and said that he just felt like things were out of sort,” Chief Sam Williams said.

Officers arrived and found the men and the ambulance.

“They were wearing white shirts and black BDU pants,” Williams said. “The white shirts had some rank insignia of them. It would be fair to say that they were wearing clothing that would resemble medical personnel.”‘

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