The Daily Drift

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Today in History

904		Arabs capture Thessalonica.
1703		English novelist Daniel Defoe is made to stand in the pillory as punishment for offending the government and church with his satire The Shortest Way With Dissenters.
1760		Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, drives the French army back to the Rhine River.
1790		The U.S. Patent Office opens.
1882		Belle and Sam Starr are charged with horse stealing in the Indian territory.
1875		Former president Andrew Johnson dies at the age of 66.
1891		Great Britain declares territories in Southern Africa up to the Congo to be within their sphere of influence.
1904		The Trans-Siberian railroad connecting the Ural mountains with Russia’s Pacific coast, is completed.
1917		The third Battle of Ypres commences as the British attack the German lines.
1932		Adolf Hitler‘s Nationalist Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazis) doubles its strength in legislative elections.
1944		The Soviet army takes Kovno, the capital of Lithuania.
1962		Federation of Malaysia formally proposed.
1971		Apollo 15 astronauts take a drive on the moon in their land rover.
1987		An F4 tornado in Edmonton, Alberta kills 27 and causes $330 million in damages; the day is remembered as “Black Friday.”
1988		Bridge collapse at Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal in Butterworth, Malaysia, kills 32 and injures more than 1,600.
1990		Bosnia-Herzegovina declares independence from Yugoslavia.
1991		US and USSR sign a long-range nuclear weapons reduction pact.
1999		NASA purposely crashes its Discovery Program’s Lunar Prospector into the moon, ending the agency’s mission to detect frozen water on Earth’s moon.
2006		Fidel Castro temporarily hands over power to his brother Raul Castro.
2007		The British Army’s longest continual operation, Operation Banner (1969-2007), ends as British troops withdraw from Northern Ireland.

In a Huge Win for Voting Rights, Federal Appeals Court Blocks North Carolina's Voter Suppression Law

In a Huge Win for Voting Rights, Federal Appeals Court Blocks North Carolina's Voter Suppression Law

Are We Witnessing the Death of Representative Democracy?

Are We Witnessing the Death of Representative Democracy?

Judging From the Number of Condoms Awaiting Athletes, There’s Going to Be a Lot of Sex at the Summer Olympics

Judging From the Number of Condoms Awaiting Athletes, There’s Going to Be a Lot of Sex at the Summer Olympics

Parents fight for right to name their son 'Wolf'

New parents Ignacio and Maria, from the Fuenlabrada suburb of Madrid in Spain are furious after being told that "Lobo", meaning Wolf in Spanish, was not an appropriate name for their newborn son. Ignacio and Maria had already chosen a name for their first son before he made an appearance in the world on July 12.

“We decided some months ago to call him Lobo, because of our love for this beautiful animal and because as a name it is unique and full of character. We want to bring our son up with values such as respect, love, equality, love of animals and nature, justice, kindness,” the baby’s father explained. But he was informed by the Birth registry in Fuenlabrada that he could not officially name his son Lobo because it “was offensive to the child”.
“After ten days arguing with officials we were then told that it is because Lobo is a common surname and therefore not suitable as a first name,” he said. “That does not make sense as many people in this country have first names that match surnames. We think it is unfair that our right to name our son is denied on such criteria.” The couple also point out that many first names in Spain are also animal names, such as Paloma (Dove), Leon (Lion) and Marta (Martin).
“So what is different about Lobo?” they ask. The couple also argue that the name Wolf, is common used in other countries. “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart achieved undisputed success with the name, so we can’t understand how Spain has decided it is offensive and could ‘stain’ the life of our beloved son.” In a petition, that has been signed by over 2,500 people, the couple ask: “Do you, like us, think it is unfair that the criteria decided by an official has more relevance when naming a child than parents who will educate, guide and love that child for the rest of their life?”

Customer Sues Dumbass Trump National Resort After Bedbug-Infested Room Leaves His Body Covered in Sores

Customer Sues Dumbass Trump National Resort After Bedbug-Infested Room Leaves His Body Covered in Sores

A Former Governor Admitted He Put Economics Ahead Of Safety When Approving Fracking Projects

“We didn’t regulate well construction and …. frack water as well as we should."

London Burger Chain Owners Tricked Workers Into Meeting Where Immigration Agents Arrested Them

"They said, ‘nobody move, we’re immigration, stay where you are.'"

Reheating Food Is a No-Brainer, Right?

Chances Are You're Doing It Wrong: Here's the Ultimate Guide to Getting It Right

The FDA Approved a Controversial Dieting Device That Pumps Your Stomach After Eating

The FDA Approved a Controversial Dieting Device That Pumps Your Stomach After Eating

Bombshell Report Paints A Picture Of Knowledge And Cover Up Of Ailes Sexual Harassment At The Top

The latest reporting on Roger Ailes’ sexual harassment is so stunning and filled with such lurid sexual particulars that it would be easy to lose sight of its more important but less prurient details: that a number of top-level Fox executives at the very least aided and abetted keeping a disturbed employee on the payroll merely because she was a “friend of Roger.”

One Mother's Story: How Overemphasis on Standardized Tests Caused Her 9-Year-Old to Try to Hang Himself

One Mother's Story: How Overemphasis on Standardized Tests Caused Her 9-Year-Old to Try to Hang Himself

Munich Shooter Considered Himself Aryan, Admired Hitler and Breivik

Munich Shooter Considered Himself Aryan, Admired Hitler and Breivik. No Wonder the Media Has Moved On

Man accused of recording woman in shower told police he intended to film himself urinating

A man from Jonesboro, Arkansas, accused of video voyeurism told police he intended to film himself urinating for a pornography website and had no plans of recording a woman as she showered during a visit to his house.

Geoffrey David Fortier, 23, allowed the woman to take a shower at the house on June 7 where his fiancee also lived, but only after allowing him to use the bathroom first, according to an affidavit filed in Craighead County District Court.
When the woman came out of the shower, she found that an iPad was leaning against a wall, positioned in a way that captured her undressing and leaving the bathroom, she told authorities. She later confronted Fortier about the video and deleted it in front of him, the court document states.
Fortier, who acknowledged the video, denied intentionally filming the woman. During a police interview, Fortier said he had set up the iPad earlier to film himself urinating for money as an act of Internet pornography, forgetting about the recording as he left in a hurry. Fortier was arrested at noon on Tuesday and released shortly before 4pm on Thursday.

Thirsty man deftly crawled through hole he'd smashed in closed pub's unlocked glass door

CCTV footage captured the moment a man awkwardly crawled through the back door of a bar in Australia's Gold Coast eager to get a drink early on Thursday morning. The man had wandered to Surfers Paradise just after 3am looking for a place to get a drink when he stopped outside the back door of Howl at the Moon bar. The bar was closed, but that didn't stop the thirsty gent who picked up a beer keg and began throwing it at the glass door. On his third throw he managed to make a hole big enough to squeeze through head first, lit cigarette in mouth.

Looking acrobatic and almost vertical, the man fell into the bar as the door he was climbing through opened of its own accord. CCTV footage inside the pub shows the man then walk up to the front bar and patiently wait for someone to serve him. After realizing no one was around, he turned and walked out the door he had struggled so hard to get through on the way in. Howl at the Moon CEO Lou Cerantonio said he had received a call from the alarm company just after 3am and had driven down to find a hole in the back door.
"I thought, okay, I am 57, I don't need to be a hero so I called the cops and waited for them out in the driveway," he said. "We went in and walked through, nothing was missing, nothing damaged. (We watched back the CCTV footage) and sure enough, we had the funniest experience of our life watching this guy trying to get in for a drink. I was pissed off at quarter past three in the morning but when I saw that footage it almost made it worthwhile getting up that early."

YouTube link.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said the man had handed himself to Springfield Police on Friday morning and charges were expected to be laid. Mr Cerantonio said the man did the right thing handing himself in. "I don't want to press charges but I think it is at that stage now with police where it is too late," he said. "He has said he will pay for whatever damages, so he has done the right thing, he has done the smart thing because his face is very clear in the video. I think he was wondering how he got all these scratches and things all over his body, I think he has put two and two together and thought, shit, is that how it happened?"
There's an additional news video here. You may need to unmute it.

Police hunt man who robbed bank while wearing a ball gown

Police and the FBI are searching for a man who robbed a New York bank while wearing a ball gown. Police said the man robbed the Santander Bank on Staten Island on Tuesday while wearing a silver and black dress along with heels, a hat, and sunglasses.

Sources say the suspect pulled out a silver handgun during the heist, yelling, “give me the money and hurry up about it,” before taking an undetermined amount of cash. Video from nearby convenience store King Deli of the Island later shows the suspect ditching the dress.
He ran off in shorts, blue and white Nike Jordan sneakers, and no shirt. Suliman Aldalaim, a deli employee, says he is bewildered. “He starts changing clothes. I say why you do that in here? He said he got into a fight with his girlfriend and he had to run away from her because she called the police for him,” Aldalaim said.

YouTube link.

“Usually when you hear about the bank robbery they have a ski mask thing,” one local resident said. “But a dress … that’s really crazy.” The man is believed to be about 5′ 8″ to 5′ 10″ tall about 175 lbs, and may have scarring around his mouth. He did not appear to have any visible tattoos, police said.

Woman slept on sofa for nine days after a rat moved into her bedroom

A woman petrified of rats who had to spend nine days sleeping on her sofa because one took up residence in her bedroom has blamed the council for not coming to her aid sooner. Mandy Swash was told by Bristol City Council to 'contain' the 'huge rat' in one room and they would come and get rid of it as soon as they could, but then told her that wouldn't be for another nine days.
So since the rat first ran into her bedroom through an open back door, the 48-year-old slept on the sofa with only the clothes that she had in the wash at the time. The rat nipped into her bedroom last weekend, and Ms Swash called Bristol City Council on Monday. "They told me they wouldn't be able to come until the following Wednesday. But then the man said that if I was to contain or trap it in one room then they could come straight away. I did that, I shut the bedroom door on it and called them back. A different man said that I was lucky I was getting someone in a week and a half because sometimes people wait a month. I couldn't believe it," she added.
Attempts by friends and neighbors to get the rat out of the bedroom failed, Ms Swash was too petrified to even open the bedroom door, and couldn't afford to hire a private pest control company to attend her council flat in Horfield. "I'm a clean and tidy person, I'm not a complainer at all because I'm grateful for what I've got and the support I receive," she said. "But I became very unwell, it was the combination of having no sleep, the smell coming out of the bedroom and the stress of it all, it was just horrible. I managed to grab two pillows out of the bedroom and ran. I'm diabetic and disabled and my medication was in there but I wasn't able to go in there and get it. If I opened the bedroom door I was worried it would run into the rest of the flat."
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council explained that the council had no obligation to help Ms Swash at all, and budget cuts had reduced the number of staff working around the city dealing with rats. "The council provides a pest control service for rats, mice and wasps which is available to all residents in Bristol," she said. "At busy times, particularly during the summer people might have to wait up to four weeks before the pest control team is able to deal with the problem. The provision of pest control is not a statutory requirement and due to budget cuts in recent years, the team has diminished in size. This job was booked in for Wednesday 27 July with a follow up on Wednesday 3 August," she added.

Thieves probably inadvertently saved life of dog locked in hot truck

A Chicago pub owner believes a group of thieves who have been preying on the West Town neighborhood, inadvertently saved the life of a dog earlier this week.

A pick-up truck parked near the Irish Nobleman Pub at around 9:15am on Monday, when the temperature was already around 80 degrees. The temperature outside was rising rapidly - and a German shepherd was locked inside the truck. Within 15 minutes, a group of four young men came along.
"They were walking down the street, looking in every car they walked past, and I believe they saw the laptop and smashed the window and took it out," pub owner Declan Morgan said. "I don't believe they knew the dog was in there." Morgan said he thinks the thieves accidentally saved the dog's life by breaking the window.

YouTube link. Full CCTV video of the incident.

The truck's owner returned after about an hour to find his window broken and his laptop gone. "I believe what comes around, goes around," Morgan said. "He didn't think it was a big deal that his dog was in there for an hour. I told him I would've smashed the window if I knew the dog was in there."

Animal Pictures