4

10/8/2008 4:10:03 PM

Quote :

""My sketchbook puzzled her," Zempel said. "It was a cartoon sketch. They couldn't understand what I was doing. She said, Just what were you doing in Canada? We think you're engaged in some kind of copyright infringement.""

So they hired customs agents from the same pool as TSA agents.

10/8/2008 4:13:29 PM

Quote :

"Welcome back to the U.S."

10/8/2008 4:15:40 PM

Quote :

"A controversy has arisen out of Denton County involving a 13-year-old boy, a cell phone and a text message. That message has landed the middle schooler in juvenile detention on child pornography charges. Text messaging has become part of our everyday lives. But at Sanger Middle School, it has become a problem and in some cases, pornographic. "He doesn't know what a felony means. He doesn't understand what pornography means," said one parent. She is a mother of a 13-year-old boy arrested Monday and suspended from school and spent the night in a juvenile detention center after an eighth grade female student texted him a naked picture of herself. "He's a 13-year-old child. He's in middle school. He's supposed to be out there having fun, hanging out and playing football, which he loves to do. Instead, he's having to sit at home with mom and dad," said his mother. The school district caught wind of the problem about a week and a half ago. The sent out a letter to parents, warning them of the images from this apparent school yard game. "I know some girl was taking pictures of herself and sending it to multiple guys. Obviously, they've still got their picture on their phone because they are now getting in trouble," said Bethany Mitchell, a classmate. So far only the 13-year-old boy has been arrested."

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/news8/stories/wfaa081008_lj_civale.f29a0bec.html

[texas]

10/9/2008 2:36:32 AM

I too get girls to play that game

10/9/2008 2:59:05 AM

Why does a 13 year old need a cell phone anyway?

10/9/2008 8:21:29 AM

one of my co-workers, a 31 yr old woman, had NO clue when election day was. She also was unaware its around the same time every year, and that you vote for everything on the SAME day, not over a few days. I asked her if she voted every year, she said yes. She also asked what do you do if you can't vote that day. I said get an absentee ballot, she had no clue what that was either.

10/9/2008 1:01:38 PM

Quote :

"States have been trying to follow the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and remove the names of voters who should no longer be listed; but for every voter added to the rolls in the past two months in some states, election officials have removed two, a review of the records shows. The six swing states seem to be in violation of federal law in two ways. Michigan and Colorado are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or have been declared unfit to vote. Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio seem to be improperly using Social Security data to verify registration applications for new voters. In addition to the six swing states, three more states appear to be violating federal law. Alabama and Georgia seem to be improperly using Social Security information to screen registration applications from new voters. And Louisiana appears to have removed thousands of voters after the federal deadline for taking such action. Under federal law, election officials are supposed to use the Social Security database to check a registration application only as a last resort, if no record of the applicant is found on state databases, like those for driver’s licenses or identification cards. The requirement exists because using the federal database is less reliable than the state lists, and is more likely to incorrectly flag applications as invalid. Many state officials seem to be using the Social Security lists first. In the year ending Sept. 30, election officials in Nevada, for example, used the Social Security database more than 740,000 times to check voter files or registration applications and found more than 715,000 nonmatches, federal records show. Election officials in Georgia ran more than 1.9 million checks on voter files or voter registration applications and found more than 260,000 nonmatches. [...] In Michigan, some 33,000 voters were removed from the rolls in August, a figure that is far higher than the number of deaths in the state during the same period — about 7,100 — or the number of people who moved out of the state — about 4,400, according to data from the Postal Service. In Colorado, some 37,000 people were removed from the rolls in the three weeks after July 21. During that time, about 5,100 people moved out of the state and about 2,400 died, according to postal data and death records. In Louisiana, at least 18,000 people were dropped from the rolls in the five weeks after July 23. Over the same period, at least 1,600 people moved out of state and at least 3,300 died. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&bl&ei=5087&en=ce240ad3162ac5ac&ex=1223697600

[Edited on October 9, 2008 at 2:27 PM. Reason : RAWR]

10/9/2008 2:25:49 PM

Boat (on a trailer, at least) sitting on the side of 40
No truck or anything. Just a boat.

10/10/2008 10:37:52 PM

Quote :

"Stainless-steel netting costing up to $50 million will be placed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge to catch would-be suicide jumpers, San Francisco officials decided Friday. The decision by the board of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District follows several years of controversy. The agency has yet to determine how to finance it, said spokeswoman Mary Currie. The netting was the "locally preferred alternative," Currie said. More than 5,000 comments came flooding into the agency as part of its environmental review process. About 2,000 people have jumped from the storied bridge since it opened in 1937. So far this year, 19 have made the leap, which is almost always fatal. Whether public funds should be used to prevent additional suicides has been passionately debated. Writing to the board last summer, San Francisco resident Paul J. Miller expressed a view that many others had raised: "Attention should be given to mental health assistance," he wrote, "not paying tens of millions of dollars to contractors who are just trying to milk money from citizens." On the other hand, the Psychiatric Foundation of Northern California has supported the idea, contending that the effectiveness of barriers has been "dramatic" at such landmarks as the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower. The group also cites a study of 515 people who were stopped from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. It concluded that 94% of them were alive or had died naturally long after their thwarted attempts. In its 14-1 vote Friday, the agency's directors determined that a net would be the least visible of five alternatives. The others included extending the height of the bridge's railing from four to 12 feet -- an option widely criticized as too obtrusive. All of the possibilities -- except doing nothing -- would cost $40 million to $50 million, Currie said."

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-goldengate11-2008oct11,0,6335235.story

[Edited on October 11, 2008 at 9:49 PM. Reason : X]

10/11/2008 9:49:36 PM

oh, Denton county. Baed on my year in Denton county, that story doesnt surprise me.

10/11/2008 11:54:44 PM

Quote :

"Federal prosecutors have filed a civil lawsuit against a Navy commander from Anne Arundel County who was granted a Purple Heart for injuries he claimed to have suffered when a plane crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The U.S. Attorney's office in Washington has filed the suit, claiming now-retired Navy Cmdr. Charles Coughlin, 49, of Severna Park, falsely claimed he suffered "a partial permanent disability" after falling debris hit him on the head. Coughlin received $331,000 from the Victim Compensation Fund after claiming injuries so severe he could no longer perform simple tasks and avoided activities "requiring abrupt turning of my head or raising my left arm above my shoulder for any length of time." However, Coughlin kept playing basketball and lacrosse and ran the New York City marathon in under four hours two months after the attacks, prosecutors said. The lawsuit filed last month at the federal courthouse in Washington does not raise questions about Coughlin's actions during the Pentagon attack, but challenges the account of injuries he submitted to the compensation fund. Coughlin still has the Purple Heart, and the honors are not under review by the Navy, officials said. Coughlin's lawyer denies the allegations and said the matter would be resolved in court. Prosecutors claim the medical terminology he used to describe his injuries duplicated the language that a doctor used to diagnose him in 1998 and he had a "a history of neck and shoulder ailments predating September 11, 2001, including an injury as early as 1978 to his left shoulder." The compensation fund denied Coughlin's first application in February 2004, but reversed its decision when it was appealed and Coughlin was awarded $60,000. Prosecutors said Coughlin appealed again, citing services he had to pay for because of his injuries and his award was increased in June 2004 to $331,034, including $151,034 for economic losses."

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=149063&type=Daily

10/15/2008 6:52:38 PM

Quote :

"A BLANK wall built for teenage graffiti artists has been vandalised by an angry resident writing – ”I paid my tax and all I got was this lousy wall”. The £3,000 6ft high by 30ft long wall was installed so youths could practice their graffiti artwork without using local property. But ahead of its opening on October 31 the fed-up resident sneaked behind a security fence and daubed a protest about the use of taxpayer’s money. The wall, in Wadebridge, Cornwall, was funded by Wadebridge Town Council, Wadebridge Town Forum and North Cornwall District Council. It was built in the town’s Jubilee Park and was the brainchild of Sergeant Robin Moorcroft who has vowed to investigate the graffiti. He said it is "ironic" because most of the cost was subsidised by local businesses who supplied free materials and labour. "The ironic thing is that the wall has been built thanks to the generosity of local people giving time and resources for free," he said. "But it is now going to cost the taxpayer, as we will have to crime it, investigate it and paint over it."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1813945.ece

10/15/2008 10:33:24 PM

Quote :

"Darren Goodman is No. 1 on New Jersey's list of tax scofflaws, and the state insists he owes a stunning $400 million in back taxes. Goodman says he's broke, hasn't lived in the Garden State since 2001 and wishes he made the billions of dollars it would take to rack up that kind of tab. "I'd be on the Forbes list. I'd be one of the hottest guys under 40," said Goodman, 33, who is unemployed and taking care of his ailing dad. "Do you think I'd be living with my parents with 1,800 bucks in the bank?" Rap mogul Damon Dash is also on the scofflaw list. He owes a relatively paltry $1million, a debt. Dash blames on a rogue ex-accountant. Goodman says he lived in Jersey City for a few years about a decade ago and worked for a couple of financial services firms. Spurred by the big profits of the dot-com boom, he tried to go out on his own, with mixed results. "I was a day-trader back in the good old days," Goodman recalls. "I didn't make too much money. Finally, in '03, I went bankrupt." Goodman admits failing to file tax returns for a couple of years and says he agreed to pay several thousand dollars in unpaid taxes to the federal government. He moved out West to Colorado and jumped from job to job until he decided to move to Raleigh, N.C., where his mom was caring for his father, who recently had heart bypass surgery. Last week, he was stunned to find his paltry bank account emptied. A debit charge to buy dinner at McDonald's sent it into the red. New Jersey had put a levy on Goodman's assets. Amazingly, a state spokesman defended the $400 million claim against Goodman and blamed him for not responding to letters over the years. Treasury spokesman Tom Vincz said the state based its claim on information from the IRS and suggested Goodman might just be avoiding paying up. "This is not something that's done on impulse," Vincz said. "It'sa methodical and deliberate process.""

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/10/15/2008-10-15_want_that_in_cash_nj_bills_him_400m.html

10/16/2008 3:03:23 PM

Quote :

"Police jailed a Springfield teen after she sped away from a state trooper through a construction zone at 107 mph -- and then told the trooper she was having trouble seeing while talking on her cell phone, according to Oregon State Police. Kimberly Messer, 18, from Springfield, Ore., was arrested on charges of reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person and lodged in the Lane County Jail, according to OSP. OSP Trooper Ryan Hockema tried to stop a red 1995 Ford Mustang he spotted going 87 mph near a construction site. According to the trooper, the vehicle then accelerated to speeds as high as 107 mph in the work zone while failing to maintain the travel lane, following other vehicles too closely and making unsafe lane changes. The driver, Messer, allegedly told the trooper she had trouble seeing while talking on her cell phone before stopping for the officer, according to OSP."

http://www.kval.com/news/local/33365894.html

10/28/2008 2:29:46 AM

me being up right now

10/28/2008 4:53:26 AM

Quote :

"A college recruiter on probation for posting pictures of his nude wife on the Internet and inviting strangers to join her in a rape fantasy is under arrest again - on the same charges. The Queens man was taken into custody by state police in Chambersburg, Pa., where he had checked into an inn. Pennsylvania authorities were alerted by the Queens district attorney's office, which monitored his activities. Thomas Gillen was first arrested in 2006, when authorities say he pretended to be his wife while posting her nude photos and soliciting men to join her in the fantasy. Several men showed up at the estranged wife's job. Gillen pleaded guilty to felony identify theft and was sentenced to five years' probation. He now faces up to four years in prison if convicted."

http://www.wcbs880.com/Man-Arrested-for-Uploading-Wife-s-Nude-Photo-Again/3228371

because it worked so well the first time...

10/30/2008 10:41:32 AM

Quote :

"Kalihi Landlord Says Residents Caused Collapse Co-Owner Will Not Answer Accusations Of Him Conducting Experiments POSTED: 3:19 pm HST October 29, 2008 UPDATED: 3:37 pm HST October 29, 2008 HONOLULU -- The landlord of a Kalihi building that collapsed on Sunday claimed the homeless who live there caused the building to crumble. KITV spoke with co-owner Daniel Cunningham and asked him about accusations of him conducting medical experiments on the residents. The Gulick Avenue apartment home in Kalihi that collapsed Sunday is now cordoned off. Cunningham said. Cunningham claimed the residents caused it to fall. However, one tenant said he saw Cunningham on the roof of the makeshift structure before the collapse. The story has gotten even stranger. Some tenants claimed they were getting injections because they feared eviction. Richard Sumiye said he went blind after Cunningham injected a solution around his eyes with a needle. Cunningham, who lost his chiropractor's license and wears socks on his hands, said he is helping extend lives with stem cell therapy. "It sounds like you don't want to answer my question about what treatment you are giving to these people," KITV reporter Mahealani Richardson told Cunningham. "I don't think it's intelligent for me to do that because it's a bad law," he said. He said that aliens created the law. "I think you work for them. The media works for them and they own the money and they are eating people down below," Cunningham said. The landlord said he is trying to help the homeless and that he will clean up the mess."

http://www.kitv.com/news/17843685/detail.html


lolwut?

10/30/2008 7:59:08 PM

Quote :

"A Rochester woman who allegedly joined three other women from that city in a Lockport shoplifting spree pleaded not guilty to a five-felony indictment in Niagara County Court Thursday. Priscilla Gumpton, 42, has three previous felony convictions, so she faces a maximum term of life in prison if convicted. She was indicted on three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny and single counts of third-degree grand larceny and third-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Gumpton and Florence M. Copp, 44, who was indicted on the same charges, were arrested Sept. 11 at the Lockport Wal-Mart, after trying to shoplift $2,000 worth of video games."

http://www.buffalonews.com/437/story/480772.html

3 strikes laws are stupid, if you know you're on #4 maybe you shouldn't be stealing playstations

11/1/2008 1:47:17 PM

Quote :

"Late Thursday night, two friends of Anthony Velez's came to his apartment. They'd been there many times before, a neighbor said. This time, police said, they tied Velez up and robbed him. And this time, only one left alive. Velez, 21, fatally shot one of the men after breaking free from the restraints and wresting a gun away, Tampa police said. It happened about 11 p.m. at the Tuscany Point Apartments, 3350 W Hillsborough Ave. The other man fled on foot, and Velez suffered only minor injuries. The fugitive was identified by police as Ramon Antonio Varela, 34, with no known address. He is described as having a shaved head and a goatee, a tattoo on his forearm reading "Domingo," and another tattoo across his stomach. He is known to frequent adult entertainment establishments. Varela is facing charges of felony murder, armed robbery with firearm and kidnapping. Laura McElroy, a Tampa police spokeswoman, said Varela faces a felony murder charge even though authorities say he didn't pull the trigger because state law allows such prosecution if someone dies during the commission of a felony."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article895162.ece

so if chembob and i rob a convenience store, and the clerk shoots bob, i'll get charged with murder--that makes absolutely no fucking sense

11/8/2008 6:58:26 AM

lol, chembob

11/8/2008 7:32:05 AM

Quote :

"A 31-year-old Veradale man was arrested Sunday night after he purchased an $11 hammer and used it to steal a $9 bottle of wine. Muoi Van Nguyen was booked into the Spokane County Jail on two counts of Second Degree Burglary and single counts of Second Degree Malicious Mischief, Third Degree Theft and Possession of Burglary Tools. Officer Travis Smith responded to the Washington State Liquor Store at 5004 E. Sprague after an alarm was sounded about 7:55 p.m. Sunday. He found the outer pane of a double-pane window shattered and scratched on the inner pane that indicated someone had tried and failed to gain entry into the business. At 11:50 p.m., Smith was dispatched back to the store after a witness saw a man in a blue hooded sweatshirt leaving the store with a bottle. The suspect was headed eastbound and Smith spotted him in the parking lot of a nearby closed business. Smith contacted Van Nguyen and saw that he was bleeding from a gash on his hand. He was carrying a bottle of Almaden wine valued at $8.99 and a Ludell-brand hammer that he said he had purchased from a nearby store for $10.99. Van Nguyen said he used the hammer when he was unable to break the liquor store window with a rock."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27647966

11/10/2008 8:15:17 PM

Quote :

"A Pinellas County detention deputy was suspended for using the sound of his stun gun to try and wake up an inmate. According to an internal affairs report, the deputy thought the crackling sound of his Taser would rouse an inmate on July 27. It did not."

http://www.wral.com/news/strange/story/3935833/

11/11/2008 8:57:15 AM

Quote :

"Maybe the 13-year-old student at Martin County's Spectrum Junior/Senior High thought he was being funny by repeatedly and purposely passing gas during computer class. His teacher, D.C. Carden, didn't bust a gut over the boy's breaking wind - not to mention his continuous turning off classroom computers - so he gave the boy a referral and sent him packing to the school resource officer for a little talk. SRO Warren Pettaway asked the (perhaps) obvious question: Did the boy deliberately cut the cheese (and the computer lines)? "He subsequently informed me it was factual, and I informed him as a result of his behavior he was being charged with Disruption of a School Function," Pettaway wrote in his report. That's right. The boy was arrested for farting. He was released to his mom. No word on what he did in the car on the way home."

http://blogs.tampabay.com/schools/2008/11/flagrant-fragra.html

11/21/2008 9:02:21 PM

Quote :

"A Harford County parent who volunteered to chaperone a field trip faces an assault charge after allegedly striking a third grader. Students from William S. James Elementary School had traveled to the Ladew Topiary Gardens where parents helped escort them. "One of the little boys in my group was talking loudly, and I was standing behind him and a couple of other kids,” said Mary Fischer of Abingdon, “So it was like arm's reach, and I just reached out to tap him to 'Shush' him. That was it.” Maryland State Police showed up at Fischer’s door two days later. Fischer says the alleged victim’s father is a state trooper, and she feels that’s the only reason an assault charge hasn’t been dropped. If she’s convicted, she could face up to 10 years behind bars."

http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=a6755cf8-f554-4c04-b7e3-a083b473b86c

11/22/2008 1:37:38 AM

"I'd say possibly the most satisfying thing I've learned over the past few years has been how to keep my mouth shut"

-ambrosia1231

11/23/2008 3:10:37 PM

Quote :

"A man has been jailed for breaching the peace by singing Spiderpig from The Simpsons Movie at police officers. David Mullen was sentenced to three months for the incident and calling an officer "ginger" in a police van. Mullen, 22, from Blairgowrie, claimed he was singing the ditty, performed by Homer in the cartoon, because it was the ringtone on his mobile phone. He was given a further eight months in prison for assaulting a police officer and breaching a curfew while on bail."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/7746494.stm

11/25/2008 8:59:59 PM

Quote :

"A German man who slept with a loaded revolver under his pillow has lost his gun license after a court ruled it to be irresponsible behavior. The 56-year-old was stripped of his license for failing to store the weapon properly, Braunschweig administrative court judge Torsten Baumgarten told Reuters Tuesday. The gun was only discovered by chance during a police inspection. "His home was being checked because he had threatened to throw a hand grenade if the city council approved plans to build a high-voltage power line in his neighborhood," Baumgarten said. "The decision to take his license was made independently." Baumgarten said the ruling, which sets a legal precedent in Germany, in effect outlaws sleeping on top of a firearm -- because the owner of the gun is not in control of the weapon and is therefore putting himself and others at risk. "Anyone could come along and take the gun away from him, his wife for example," Baumgarten said."

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4AO6GJ20081125

see, the germans understand that women shouldn't have access to guns...

11/28/2008 12:29:29 AM

Quote :

"A Wal-Mart employee in suburban New York died after being trampled by a crush of shoppers who tore down the front doors and thronged into the store early Friday morning, turning the annual rite of post-Thanksgiving bargain hunting into a frenzy. The 34-year-old employee, who was not identified, was knocked down by a crowd that broke down the doors of the Wal-Mart at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, N.Y., and surged into the store. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 6 a.m. The police said that three other shoppers were injured and a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to the hospital for observation. One shopper, Kimberly Cribbs, said she was standing near the back of the crowd at around 5 a.m. on Friday when people started pulling the doors from their hinges and rushing into the store. She said several people were knocked to the ground, and parents had to grab their children by the hands to keep them from being caught in the crush.“They were falling all over each other,” she said. “It was terrible.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/business/29walmart.html?_r=1

wtf is wrong with people

11/28/2008 1:30:35 PM

^ yea i saw that

it is ridiculous. how do you not know when you are trampling someone. and i wouldn't even want to keep my purchases because i would know that i helped KILL someone just for a new computer or whatever. but obviously those people do not care. MERRY CHRISTMAS kids, daddy's dead.

11/28/2008 1:33:46 PM

Quote :

"Under state law, God is Kentucky's first line of defense against terrorism. The 2006 law organizing the state Office of Homeland Security lists its initial duty as "stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth." Specifically, Homeland Security is ordered to publicize God's benevolent protection in its reports, and it must post a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an 88-word statement that begins, "The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God." State Rep. Tom Riner, a Southern Baptist minister, tucked the God provision into Homeland Security legislation as a floor amendment that lawmakers overwhelmingly approved two years ago. As amended, Homeland Security's religious duties now come before all else, including its distribution of millions of dollars in federal grants and its analysis of possible threats. The time and energy spent crediting God are appropriate, said Riner, D-Louisville, in an interview this week. "This is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect safety of the people of Kentucky," Riner said. "Government itself, apart from God, cannot close the security gap. The job is too big for government." Nonetheless, it is government that operates the Office of Homeland Security in Frankfort, with a budget this year of about $28 million, mostly federal funds. And some administrations are more religious than others. Under previous Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a lay Baptist preacher, Homeland Security interpreted the law at face value, prominently crediting God in its annual reports to state leaders and posting the required plaque. Under Gov. Steve Beshear, officials this week said they didn't know about the plaque until the Herald-Leader called to ask whether it's still there. (They checked; it is.) The 2008 Homeland Security report, issued a month ago, did not credit God, but it did complain about a decline in federal funding from Washington. Thomas Preston, Beshear's Homeland Security chief, said he isn't interested in stepping into a religious debate, and he hasn't given this part of his duties much thought. "I will not try to supplant almighty God," Preston said. "All I do is try to obey the dictates of the Kentucky General Assembly. I really don't know what their motivation was for this. They obviously felt strongly about it." There is no reference to God in Homeland Security's current mission statement or on its Web site, which displeases Riner. "We certainly expect it to be there, of course," Riner said."

http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/608229.html

11/29/2008 1:04:09 AM

11/29/2008 1:05:51 AM

Quote :

"When Santa got stuck up a chimney, there was no fire service on hand to give him help. But when a student threw a Santa hat onto a roof at Cambridge University, three fire trucks turned up to remove it over health and safety fears. Students fastened the red hat to the spire of the famous Gate of Humility at Gonville and Caius College as an end of term joke. But college authorities failed to see the funny side and phoned the fire brigade to remove the hat from the top of the 60ft building in case it fell on someone's head. A team of more than 10 firemen and three fire engines then spent more than an hour using a hydraulic platform to get the hat down. 'When we saw three fire engines turn up we thought they must be there to tackle a really big fire,' said a local shopkeeper. 'We couldn't believe it when we discovered they were all there just to rescue a Santa hat.'"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1090656/Three-trucks-turn-rescue-Santas-hat-impossible-climb-university-spire-student-prank.html

11/30/2008 6:47:04 PM

Quote :

"Help me Internet, I need social advice! "

-Hillsborough

12/2/2008 1:18:10 AM

Quote :

"Fire extinguishers could be removed from communal areas in flats throughout the country because they are a safety hazard, it has emerged. The life-saving devices encourage untrained people to fight a fire rather than leave the building, risk assessors in Bournemouth decided. There are fears that their recommendation, which has seen the extinguishers ripped out of several private, high-rise flats in the town, could set a national precedent."

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=115014&in_page_id=34

Quote :

"It's going to cost a lot more to park at a meter in Chicago starting next year. Mayor Richard M. Daley announced on Tuesday that the city has entered into a $1.157 billion, 75-year contract with Chicago Parking Meters, LLC, to privatize the collection of funds from the approximately 3,600 metered spaces on the streets of Chicago. Right now, it costs $3 per hour to park in the Loop, $1 per hour for the Central Business District outside the Loop – an area bounded roughly by Division Street, Cermak Road, Halsted Street and Lake Michigan. It costs 25 to 75 cents in the neighborhoods outside the downtown area, with higher rates in higher-density neighborhoods, particularly on the north lakefront. Effective next year, it will cost $3.50 to park in the Loop, $2 to park downtown outside the Loop, and $1 to park in the neighborhoods. Those rates will go up every year through 2013, at which point it will cost $6.50 per hour to park in the Loop, $4 to park in downtown outside the Loop, and $2 to park in the neighborhoods. After that, rates will be adjusted annually by inflation, the city said. This means that when 2013 comes, if you park in the Loop for an hour, you'll have to pump 26 quarters in the meter. There will be non-cash options for all meters, the city said."

http://www.wbbm780.com/City-Expected-To-Announce-Privatization-Of-Parking/3417326

12/2/2008 2:47:07 PM

Hmm, and I wonder why, every time I'm up there, I hear lots of rabble about corruption

12/2/2008 2:51:46 PM

Quote :

"It was an accused gang member Wednesday. On Thursday, it was a private attorney in a non-criminal case. Michael Brautigam was before Ruehlman representing himself in a contentious civil suit he filed against his North Avondale condo association and other condo owners in the building who are represented by Cincinnati attorney Peter Koenig. Brautigam lives at Rose Crest Condominiums in the 700 block of Clinton Springs Avenue. He sued, accusing the condo association of not properly taking care of the building and asked a judge to force it to fix the roof and make other repairs. Brautigam, who is an attorney but isn’t licensed as such in Ohio, asked Ruehlman for more time to file documents in that case. Ruehlman gave it to him. As Koenig and Brautigam turned to walk away from the judge, Brautigam called Koenig “a (bleeping) liar.” “He used the famous F-word,” Koenig said. “(Ruehlman) asked Mr. Brautigam if he said that.” Brautigam admitted he had and had directed it at Koenig. Ruehlman cited Brautigam for contempt and sent him to jail for six months. “I had to give him six months because I gave the other guy (Wednesday) six months,” Ruehlman said."

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081204/NEWS01/312040092

12/4/2008 10:36:29 PM

Quote :

"'I came across the whole purity ring thing after getting into the Jonas Brothers. I loved the music but then discovered what they stood for and it went from there.' Kioni was given the purity ring by her mother Sandra Holden last month. The 42-year-old said: 'I think she should be able to wear it. It is no different to religious symbols. She wants to save herself for when she's older and doesn't want to waste her innocence. She feels very strongly about this.' Kioni was banned from wearing the ring at The King's School in Ottery St Mary after a teaching assistant reported it to headteacher Faith Jarrett. Yesterday, Mrs Jarrett defended the ban and said: 'The ring would be extremely dangerous in PE, technology or science lessons. 'I have told Kioni she can keep the ring in her bag. I'm quite happy for her to have it in school.' She added: 'It's great that young people have this commitment. I think purity rings are a great idea. But she should keep it in her pocket or purse - it would be a health and safety issue if she wears it on her hand."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1091901/Teenager-banned-wearing-Christian-chastity-ring-school.html

12/5/2008 1:00:53 AM

Quote :

"A Broward Circuit Court judge declared a mistrial Thursday in a landmark tobacco case of a Cooper City widow suing cigarette maker Philip Morris on a wrongful-death claim. An expert witness, on the second day of trial, used a racist term — the N-word — while explaining his research into a project about racism in the tobacco industry, said Gary Paige, an attorney for Elaine Hess, the widow of Stuart Hess. Stuart Hess died of lung cancer caused by four decades of smoking. He was 55 when he died in 1997. The Hess case before Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld was the first to go to trial out of thousands filed in Florida. About 122 of those are in Broward County Click here for restaurant inspection reports and an additional 165 are on the docket in Palm Beach County. They are the offshoot of a Miami-Dade County class action from the 1990s that resulted in a record $145 billion punitive damage award against the tobacco industry. The award was thrown out on appeal, but the case established that cigarettes cause cancer and the tobacco industry hid evidence of the product's addictive nature and health dangers. Robert Proctor, a professor of history of science at Stanford University, triggered the mistrial while explaining that research into the topic cannot be done without using the N-word, Paige said. "He mentioned it within context of his research project," Paige said. "But the judge felt that the context the jury heard it within was prejudicial ... that the jury was hearing about racism by the tobacco industry.""

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbtobacco1205sbdec05,0,6774620.story

12/5/2008 3:09:33 PM

Quote :

"Paula Parrish, director of online classes at the college, said she set up a Web cam in her office last December after she noticed the door to her office ajar one morning. The camera, she said, captured Harold Jones, a maintenance employee, masturbating in her office and afterward, touching various items on her desk. "When I saw it, I couldn't believe it. I think I was in shock," Parrish said. "I found Mr. Jones exposing himself in my office, and he was placing candy on my desk, and he was touching himself with a piece of gum. He wrapped it and placed it back on my desk." Jones, Parrish said, started making her uncomfortable with romantic advances, such as gifts and notes, in 2005 and would often leave her gum and candy on her desk – items she said she would often share with coworkers and her husband. Upon making the Web cam discovery, Parrish reported the incident to her supervisors. Jones, a 16-year employee of the college, was allowed to retire. There was no criminal investigation. Parrish said she believes the college mishandled the complaint, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled the school handled the situation appropriately. "As soon as the college found out about it, we took immediate action," said Gordon Woodruff, an attorney who represents Johnston Community College. "I think the college did what it was required and needed to do and acted within its policies and within the law." Because the college is a government facility, it cannot prohibit anyone, including Jones, from being on the campus."

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4102252/

somebody needs to tell campus police...

[Edited on December 8, 2008 at 9:45 PM. Reason : hmm, don't know how i missed the other thread]

12/8/2008 9:44:10 PM

from page 2 ...

Quote :

" "It sounds like they (the supermarket) don't want to offend other patrons or do something offensive to their own sensibilities. If that's the motivation, that's totally different from discrimination," Powers said. 'They're just names' The Campbells have swastikas in each room of their home, the rented half of a one-story duplex just outside Milford, a borough in Hunterdon County. They say they aren't racists but believe races shouldn't mix. The Campbells said they wanted their children to have unique names and didn't expect the names to cause problems. Despite the cake refusal, the Campbells said they don't expect the names to cause problems later, such as when the children start school. "

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/index.ssf?/base/news-0/122923112231930.xml&coll=3&thispage=2

12/15/2008 8:32:22 PM

Quote :

"Of the state's portion, $5.40, goes to administer the program. Thirty cents goes to various scholarships and grants for EMS squads. The remaining 55 cents goes to the state's Highway Fund, which provides funding for road maintenance and transportation programs throughout the DOT. Last fiscal year, it generated $4.3 million in revenue. If newer model vehicles are eliminated, officials estimate the state could lose more than $800,000. But Brian Bozard, a supervisor with the state Division of Motor Vehicles, says that is not why the DMV opposes the idea. "It's really a consumer protection issue, the way we see it," Bozard said. "The first time the consumer would go in to get the vehicle inspected, the vehicle would be 4 years old. The warranty would have expired and shift the burden from the manufacturer to the consumer.""

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4159860/

[bullshit]

12/17/2008 6:54:36 PM

Quote :

"Humane officers say a Pennsylvania woman marketed "gothic kittens" with ear, neck and tail piercings over the Internet. Officers with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals removed three kittens and a cat Wednesday from a home outside Wilkes-Barre, about 20 miles southwest of Scranton. Officer Carol Morrison says the society got a tip that the Ross Township woman was selling the pierced kittens on the Internet. She says, "It's unbelievable anybody would do this to kittens." Charges are likely against the homeowner, whose name was not released."

http://www.wral.com/news/strange/story/4167196/

so, you can have your cat's toes cut off to keep it from scratching the furniture, and you can pierce your childrens' ears, but piercing your cat's ears is animal abuse...

12/18/2008 7:06:22 PM

k

12/18/2008 7:57:03 PM

Quote :

"It was a little before 8 at night when the breaker went out at Emily Milburn's home in Galveston. She was busy preparing her children for school the next day, so she asked her 12-year-old daughter, Dymond, to pop outside and turn the switch back on. As Dymond headed toward the breaker, a blue van drove up and three men jumped out rushing toward her. One of them grabbed her saying, "You're a prostitute. You're coming with me." Dymond grabbed onto a tree and started screaming, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." One of the men covered her mouth. Two of the men beat her about the face and throat. As it turned out, the three men were plain-clothed Galveston police officers who had been called to the area regarding three white prostitutes soliciting a white man and a black drug dealer. All this is according to a lawsuit filed in Galveston federal court by Milburn against the officers. The lawsuit alleges that the officers thought Dymond, an African-American, was a hooker due to the "tight shorts" she was wearing, despite not fitting the racial description of any of the female suspects. The police went to the wrong house, two blocks away from the area of the reported illegal activity, Milburn's attorney, Anthony Griffin, tells Hair Balls. After the incident, Dymond was hospitalized and suffered black eyes as well as throat and ear drum injuries. Three weeks later, according to the lawsuit, police went to Dymond's school, where she was an honor student, and arrested her for assaulting a public servant. Griffin says the allegations stem from when Dymond fought back against the three men who were trying to take her from her home. The case went to trial, but the judge declared it a mistrial on the first day, says Griffin. The new trial is set for February. "I think we'll be okay," says Griffin. "I don't think a jury will find a 12-year-old girl guilty who's just sitting outside her house. Any 12-year-old attacked by three men and told that she's a prostitute is going to scream and yell for Daddy and hit back and do whatever she can. She's scared to death.""

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2008/12/galveston_false_arrest.php

12/18/2008 10:39:37 PM

Quote :

"A Titusville man was just trying to do the right thing when he paid sales tax a store had failed to collect for a small purchase. But after paying the $1.50 tax, the state threatened the man with major fines and criminal charges. Scott Anderson tackles repairs around the house himself. So he frequents ACE Hardware in Titusville ---but one trip in September still haunts him. Scott, a federal park employee, spent just 23 dollars for a few items----and later discovered the store failed to charge sales tax. Scott thinks the store used a tax exempt account linked to his job. The former navy man who does things by the book---- was going to make it right. "So I wrote out a check and mailed it to the department of revenue," said Scott. He sent a check to the state for a dollar and 50 cents---with a full explanation. But the very next month---the agency demanded Scott pay a 50 dollar fine ---because it thought he was a business---that failed to file tax returns. Scott sent another letter to Tallahasse clearly stating that he was paying sales tax as a customer after a minor mistake. He thought that was the end of it. But far from it---the next month the revenue department insisted Scott was a business that had to pay a 650 dollar fine---or face collections ---AND criminal charges. "And possibly prosecute me under a third degree felony for stealing money from the state," said Scott. The same week Scott called Action 9, a regional state tax office promised to clear things up. (Todd) "You've the heard the expression no good deed goes unpunished. Is that you?" (Scott) "This is it a perfect example.""

http://www.wftv.com/news/18311874/detail.html

12/19/2008 3:27:01 PM

Quote :

"Pfeiffer said the problems began when a city employee knocked at her door. “He said, ‘I am from the City of Raleigh and we have had some complaints about your sidewalk and you are going to have to get it fixed,’” Pfeiffer said. Pfeiffer and her husband, John McWilliam, made their case to the city council to no avail. “It is every property owner’s responsibility to maintain driveway and sidewalks along their property,” Raleigh Public Works Director Carl Dawson said. Homeowners are responsible for everything behind the curb, Dawson said. Exceptions exist if the damage was caused by a tree close to the road or a utility. “If there is some type of utility like a water meter problem that damages the sidewalk, then we will repair that at no cost to the property owner,” Dawson said. Only cracks and holes that can cause a danger to others need to be repaired, Dawson said. “There are property value benefits to having sidewalks and not everybody has them and that is one of the reasons the property owner is in charge of maintaining them,” Dawson said."

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4283340/

1/10/2009 1:49:47 AM

so if you dislike someone a lot, take a sledgehammer to their sidewalk and alert the authorities?

1/10/2009 1:52:39 AM

it'd prolly be hard to do that without raising some suspicion

1/10/2009 1:53:46 AM

set em up

1/10/2009 4:30:41 AM