Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Odds and Sods
Imagine walking into your home and finding a peacock lurking inside. That's what happened to one Las Vegas homeowner over the weekend.
Bad Cops
Virginia sheriff's deputy goes on bloody rampage, killing ex-wife
Jonathan Agee will be charged with murder after he shot his ex-wife Jennifer Agee.An off-duty county sheriff's deputy killed his ex-wife and shot a state trooper before he was wounded during a bloody Memorial Day rampage in Roanoke, Virginia.
'Flipping the Bird' at Trooper Not a Crime:
State Patrol Drops Charges
Shane Boor, 35, had been charged with criminal harassment after flipping off a Colorado state trooper who had pulled another driver over to the shoulder of the road, but the charges have now been dropped, after the police decided the gesture wasn't a crime.More Bad Cops:
Las Vegas police officer arrested for strangling ex-wife
New Orleans cop is finally fired for his involvement in cover-up of 2005 murder
Philadelphia police harass, threaten to shoot man legally carrying gun; then charge him with disorderly conduct for recording them
California drug cop charged with marijuana crime
New Jersey police officer charged after allegedly pulling gun in bar confrontation
Florida deputy arrested for producing child porn
Video shows California police officers on tape possibly stealing property
Oregon woman wins $82K, after asking cop for ID and getting arrested
San Antonio police officer fatally shoots unarmed teen who scared him
Oregon deputy arrested on assault, mistreatment charges
Scandals plague "controversial" wingnut Arizona sheriff
Florida deputy gets plea deal on domestic violence charges
Texas deputy sentenced to 6 years in prison for his role in a plan to smuggle contraband into county jail
L.A. County to pay nearly $5 million in deputy's drunk driving crash
Illinois police officer charged with stealing drugs
Michigan police officer gets five years in sex assault case
New York cop arrested for assault
California deputy arrested, suspended on domestic violence charges
New York cop gets one year in jail for bribery, coercion
Immigration officer gets 5½ years in prison for accepting bribes
Georgia ex-cop charged in bookstore threat
New revelations of unchecked misconduct among LA traffic cops
Mother and son Louisiana police officers arrested after nightclub fight
Massachusetts K-9 officer starved dog to death
North Carolina police officer on leave after arrest on assault charge
Cult fined $100 per branch for improper tree pruning
Should be $1,000,000.00 per branch
Every two to three years, Eddie Sales trims and prunes the crape myrtles at his church, Albemarle Road presbyterian cult.But this year, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, cited the church for improperly pruning its trees. "We always keep our trees trimmed back because you don't want to worry about them hanging down in the way," said Sales, a church member.
The church was fined $100 per branch cut for excessive pruning, bringing the violation to $4,000. "I just couldn't believe it when I heard about it," Sales said. "We trim our trees back every three years all over our property, and this is the first time we have been fined."
The fine will be dropped if the church replaces each of the improperly pruned trees, said Tom Johnson, senior urban forester for city of Charlotte Land Development Division. Charlotte has had a tree ordinance since 1978, and when trees are incorrectly pruned or topped, people can be subject to fines, Johnson said.
Brain-tickling optical illusions
If you look closely enough, you'll catch a glimpse of what is making this fox so nervous.
Also: Land Speed Record Bid Could Make Space Flight Safer
So says Daniel Jubb, who is the founder of military rocket motor company Falcon Project Limited (FPL), based in Mojave, California, and chief rocket engineer for the Bloodhound SuperSonic Car, which aims to reach a speed of 1600 kilometres per hour (1000 miles per hour) on the salt flats in Hakskeen Pan, South Africa, sometime in 2013. The current record is 1227 km/h, and was set in 1997 by the Bloodhound team’s driver Andy Green, in a car called Thrust SSC.
Mubarak to face trial for death of protesters
Finishing his years in a miserable prison may be more appropriate but that's not likely to happen. He will be very lucky to avoid the death penalty for what happened during his rule.
Egypt's prosecutor general ordered Tuesday former President Hosni Mubarak put on trial on charges of corruption and conspiring in the deadly shootings of protesters during the uprising that ousted him, a stunning step against a leader whose power was nearly unquestioned for three decades.
The announcement that Mubarak would face a criminal court grants a major demand of Egyptians who have threatened a second revolution amid growing worries about the slow pace of change under the country's new military rulers. The charges could carry the death sentence, said the prosecutor-general spokesman Adel el-Said.
It would be the first time an Arab leader is sent to trial solely by his own people in modern history. Iraq's leader Saddam Hussein was toppled during the U.S. invasion in 2003 and sentenced three years later to death for killing 140 Shiites.
Cracks in the regime and boots on the ground
"What is happening to our people has frightened us," one of the officers said.
Also: Al-Jazeera Footage Shows Western Boots on the Ground in Libya
In what could be boots on the ground in advance of a Western invasion, or could simply be spotters to help aircraft in ground attack missions, Western forces have been spotted on the ground in Libya in Al-Jazeera video footage.Iran to disconnect from the internet
Iran may soon take Internet censorship to a level so ridiculous one can’t help but laugh. Unfortunately, it’s not a joke. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Middle Eastern country will disconnect its citizens from the Internet we all know and love, and replace it with its own nationally-run Internet, which would, of course, be tightly restricted.
The project, initiated by the country’s communications ministry, is part of the repressive Iranian government’s plans to limit exposure of Western cultures and ideas — something pulling the plug on the Internet would do in a massive way. According to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei, this plan is part of the country’s “soft war” on the West, and will help further instill Islamic moral values on Iran’s people.
The project, initiated by the country’s communications ministry, is part of the repressive Iranian government’s plans to limit exposure of Western cultures and ideas — something pulling the plug on the Internet would do in a massive way. According to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei, this plan is part of the country’s “soft war” on the West, and will help further instill Islamic moral values on Iran’s people.
One of the Most Ancient Cave Towns of Georgia
Uplistsikhe is an ancient cave town located in eastern Georgia. In 2003 it was in quite a poor condition – the old road was all in pits and ruts, and even though the entrance was free, there were barely any visitors. Not long ago it was renovated. Cafes and toilets were built there, the road was restored and admission became 3 GEL (slightly more than 50 rubles – $ 1.7).
An ancient city under Jerusalem
Excavations of the biblical-aged tunnels are as controversial as the region's politics.
Also: Greenland cold snap linked to Viking disappearance
A cold snap in Greenland in the 12th century may help explain why Viking settlers vanished from the island, scientists said on Monday.
Bigfoot Sighting!
Bigfoot was (probably not) caught again on video. A group of young people were recording absolutely nothing with an iPhone camera as they traversed the undergrowth near the Spokane River. According to the woman in the video, YouTube user samantha13950:
While hiking, we accidentally caught an image of bigfoot walking through the woods. I didn’t even notice until I got home and saw it on the computer! This scarred [sic] the crap out of us!While I commend the cinematographer for keeping Bigfoot out of center-frame, I’m going to request that the next sighting include some dialogue and/or a group of people talking directly to the camera as Sasquatch Himself walks by unnoticed over their shoulders.
Jellyfish Mob Stings Hundreds In Florida
An enormous gang of jellyfish has stung hundreds of beach-goers in Florida.
CNN reports that 800 people have been stung so far.
Thankfully, the jellyfish are easy to detect due to their looking like blobs of unappetizing grape jello.
Passengers flee as dozens of deadly cobras spotted on train
Hundreds of rail passengers fled in terror when dozens of deadly snakes were found on a train traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi in Vietnam. A guard and conductor were checking tickets as passengers got on in the central city of Quang Ngai on Thursday evening and spotted the live king cobras and cobras under a seat.
People fled the carriage as panic broke out, and the smuggler was able to escape in the chaos. The reptiles, which are extremely venomous and can kill a human within just 30 minutes, were being carried in four see-through cloth bags.
One passenger, Pham Van An, 20, said: "Some of the snakes were very big, and looked terrifying. Most people ran away. But some people went to look at them and the cobras rose up. Then police took the snakes off the train." Officers handed the snakes over to Quang Ngai province's wildlife protection officers for release into the wild.
Nguyen Van Han, chief of the Quang Ngai Forest Protection Department, was unable to say how many snakes were in the bags, but said they weighed a total of 45kg (99lb). Authorities believe the endangered creatures, which are protected under Vietnamese law, were to be sold to restaurants in Hanoi.
People fled the carriage as panic broke out, and the smuggler was able to escape in the chaos. The reptiles, which are extremely venomous and can kill a human within just 30 minutes, were being carried in four see-through cloth bags.
One passenger, Pham Van An, 20, said: "Some of the snakes were very big, and looked terrifying. Most people ran away. But some people went to look at them and the cobras rose up. Then police took the snakes off the train." Officers handed the snakes over to Quang Ngai province's wildlife protection officers for release into the wild.
Nguyen Van Han, chief of the Quang Ngai Forest Protection Department, was unable to say how many snakes were in the bags, but said they weighed a total of 45kg (99lb). Authorities believe the endangered creatures, which are protected under Vietnamese law, were to be sold to restaurants in Hanoi.
Dog survives being trapped under 45 tons of rock for a week
Meet Jessie the miracle Jack Russell that spent a week trapped under 45 tonnes of rock while chasing a stray cat. For seven days, four-year-old Jessie was wedged meters underground at Mt Beckworth, Victoria, Australia, between enormous rocks only able to wiggle her front paws and move her head. But the devotion of her owner, Steve Porter, never wavered as he moved the earth - literally – to save his dog.
State Emergency Service units from Maryborough were able to move a rock thought to weigh about 20 tonnes, but still Jessie was unreachable. With his dog surviving on liver that was attached to a wire and sent down into the rocks, Mr Porter set about bringing in machinery that could separate the enormous rocks. His son Tom had already started drilling through the solid granite rock, but time was running out.
A massive hydraulic ram, capable of lifting 95 tonnes, was hired from Melbourne, and Mr Porter and a team of men set about shifting the rocks. The team of four worked tirelessly, sometimes until 2am, to move the rock, inch by inch. But still Jessie could not move. Mr Porter said there were times when he considered euthanasing the dog to put her out of her misery, a decision he weighed up every night. But such was his love for the dog he continued to battle the freezing elements.
Eventually, after seven days underground, Jessie was pulled free using a dog-catcher loop that had been borrowed from a local animal welfare group. She ran straight towards Mr Porter and leapt into his arms. “I couldn’t believe she was in such good condition,” he said. “Neither could the vet.” After spending the night under observation at Eastwood Veterinary Clinic, Jessie was released in surprisingly good condition.
There's a large photo gallery here.
State Emergency Service units from Maryborough were able to move a rock thought to weigh about 20 tonnes, but still Jessie was unreachable. With his dog surviving on liver that was attached to a wire and sent down into the rocks, Mr Porter set about bringing in machinery that could separate the enormous rocks. His son Tom had already started drilling through the solid granite rock, but time was running out.
A massive hydraulic ram, capable of lifting 95 tonnes, was hired from Melbourne, and Mr Porter and a team of men set about shifting the rocks. The team of four worked tirelessly, sometimes until 2am, to move the rock, inch by inch. But still Jessie could not move. Mr Porter said there were times when he considered euthanasing the dog to put her out of her misery, a decision he weighed up every night. But such was his love for the dog he continued to battle the freezing elements.
Eventually, after seven days underground, Jessie was pulled free using a dog-catcher loop that had been borrowed from a local animal welfare group. She ran straight towards Mr Porter and leapt into his arms. “I couldn’t believe she was in such good condition,” he said. “Neither could the vet.” After spending the night under observation at Eastwood Veterinary Clinic, Jessie was released in surprisingly good condition.
There's a large photo gallery here.
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