Surfing the Wheb of Interesting News

Memphis teen shot in behind over sagging pants

2010-10-05T22:58:00.000-07:00

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Police say a 45-year-old Memphis man angry over two teens' sagging pants shot one in the buttocks during an argument. He faces aggravated assault charges. The boys were walking through a southeast Memphis neighborhood when Kenneth E. Bonds yelled at them to pull up their pants, according to an arrest document.

Police Sgt. Ron Perry said the teens refused and the three began arguing in the street. Bonds then brandished a semi-automatic pistol and threatened to shoot the teens.

Perry said Bonds fired several shots and hit one of the teens as the pair ran away. The teen's wound wasn't critical. The other wasn't injured in the Sept. 25 shooting first reported by The Commercial Appeal in Memphis.

A court clerk says it's not clear if Bonds had a lawyer.

Source

Bad Ass

2010-10-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

A couple from Montana were out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with her camera. Their dogs always followed them, but on this occasion a Mountain Lion decided that he wanted to stalk the dogs (you'll see the dogs in the background watching). Very, very bad decision...

The hunter got off the mule with his rifle and decided to shoot in the air to scare away the lion, but before he could get off a shot the lion charged in and decided he wanted a piece of those dogs. With that, the mule took off and decided he wanted a piece of that lion. That's when all hell broke loose... for the lion.

As the lion approached the dogs the mule snatched him up by the tail and started whirling him around. Banging its head on the ground on every pass. Then he dropped it, stomped on it and held it to the ground by the throat. The mule then got down on his knees and bit the thing all over a couple of dozen times to make sure it was dead, than whipped it into the air again, walked back over to the couple (that were stunned in silence) and stood there ready to continue his ride... as if nothing had just happened.

Fortunately even though the hunter didn't get off a shot, his wife got off these 4...

The cat is still alive here and trying to fight back.

The mule stomped the cat, pinned it to the ground, and bit the neck out several times.

The cat was dead by now. For good measure the mule picked up the cat, whipped it into the air and then stomped it again for good measure

Note the dog audience

No busts yet in Victoria's Secret bra thefts

2010-10-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Monday it was tank tops. Thursday, brassieres were stolen.

Forty brassieres, worth nearly $2,000, were stolen from Victoria's Secret in Paddock Mall in Ocala, Fl on Thursday, according to police.

On Monday, someone stole 101 tank tops worth nearly $1,800 from American Eagle Outfitters.

An employee at Victoria's Secret told an officer she was assisting and observing customers Thursday when a man and woman asked for help. She said the woman stood in front of her holding a pink robe, while the man stood behind the woman holding a pair of yoga pants.

While helping them, the employee heard drawers opening and closing, but could not see anyone.

The employee said she recognized the man and woman as having been in the store a couple of weeks ago when there was a theft, according to the report.

The employee alerted another employee that a theft was in progress. At the same time, the man and woman, joined by a third person who had a large bag, fled the store.

Employees said two drawers that contained Bio-Fit brassieres sizes 36B and 36D were missing. Each drawer contained 20 brassieres. The loss was valued at $1,920.

The suspects are described as a man in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with black curly hair, of medium build and wearing a green shirt and blue jeans; a man believed to be in his late 30s to early 40s, with straight black hair, of medium build, 5 feet 9 inches tall and wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans; and a woman, also in her late 30s to early 40s, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, with long brown/reddish hair with red highlights.

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Pet alligator seized from liquor store in NY

2010-10-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

A pet alligator has been seized from a liquor store on New York's Long Island.

The Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the 3-foot-long, illegally kept alligator was removed Wednesday from Alpine Wines and Liquors in Wading River.

Authorities say two employees of the store were issued tickets for possession of an illegal animal. The American alligator will be sent to a sanctuary out of state.

The store's proprietor told Newsday that an employee had asked her to take care of it while he was apartment hunting and that she believed the animal was a monitor lizard, not an alligator.

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Bid by BBC presenters to sail boat made of ice fails after ship melts

2010-10-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

When ideas are left on the drawing board, it is often with good reason.
But that didn’t stop the BBC testing out one of the craziest proposals of the Second World War...a boat made from ice and wood pulp.
Maverick inventor Geoffrey Pyke claimed his five and a half ton craft would both save on steel and be impossible to sink.
Yet a mock-up of his brainchild took on water and melted within minutes of its launch in Portsmouth harbour yesterday.
Experts said that the experiment for science show Bang Goes The Theory probably failed because the boat was too small, and so less resistant to melting, and because the water they tested in was far warmer than the Atlantic - where the invention was designed to be used.

In the event of steel stocks running out in the 1940s inventor Geoffrey Pyke suggested it was possible to make an unsinkable aircraft carrier using a material called Pykrete, made of both ice and wood pulp.
The bizarre mixture could be moulded into any shape and, with a slow melting rate, it was thought perfect for seafaring vessels.
The BBC decided to put Pyke's theory to the test by mixing 5,000 litres of water with the hefty material hemp and freezing it in a 20 feet-long boat-shaped mould.
It took three weeks to freeze it in one of the UK's largest ice warehouses, in Tilbury, Essex, before it was ready for launch in Gosport, Hants.
The team made it in to Portsmouth Harbour where they were saluted by members of the navy stationed on destroyer HMS Diamond.
But shortly after that, after just over an hour in the water, it began to take on water and capsized.
Four BBC presenters, who had hoped to make it all the way to Cowes on the Isle of Wight, had to abandon ship and swim to rescue craft.
Lynette Slight, of the BBC science show, said: ‘They had just got out of the marina when it began to sink.

‘It was all a little bit strange. I don’t think they realised what would happen. In the end it just tipped upside down. It was taking on too much water at the back and the engine became too low.’
Jon Edwards at the Royal Society of Chemistry said 'It’s hardly a surprise that the boat sank – the temperature in the Solent is probably a fair bit higher than the middle of the Atlantic, where Pyke designed his material to be used.
'He also used enormous cooling units to keep the pykrete in his tests below zero degrees centigrade. If they didn’t use those refrigerators, the intrepid ice-sailors from Bang never stood a chance.'
He added: 'The size of the boat may have added to their problems, too. A huge aircraft carrier, as Pyke envisioned, would have been more resistant to melting – a larger surface area of ice requires a lot more energy to start melting, so the non-surface ice stays cooler for longer.
'A 1000-ton test boat, built out of normal ice on a lake in the Rockies, lasted a whole summer.'
And an Institute of Physics spokesperson said: 'The surface to volume ratio will have been the key to success.
'If too much of the surface of the ice was exposed directly to the water, or if the volume of ice set to melt was not calculated accurately enough, then unfortunately it was always doomed to failure.'
The plan was to sail the boat, complete with outboard, to Cowes in the Isle of Wight with the show's presenters, Jem Stansfield, Liz Bonnin, Dallas Campbell and Dr Yan Wong, on board.

All four presenters had to be rescued from the water and the boat, which seemed to melt beyond recognition in no time at all, had to be towed to shore.
Lynette Slight, production coordinator of the show, said: 'They had just got out of the marina when it began to sink.
'It was all a little bit strange. I don't think they realised what was going to happen. In the end it just tipped upside down.
'It was taking on too much water at the back and the engine became too low. They thought they could get it to Cowes - they couldn't, but you never know until you try it.'
Giles Harrison, director of the show, blamed the failure on a fault, which meant water poured into the vessel sooner than expected.
He said: 'There are a couple of reasons why we did it. There was the proposal in the Second World War, when they were running low on steel to use ice with wood pulp in it.
'It was an idea taken quite seriously, until the war ended and it was forgotten. We were essentially using that concept to see how composite materials work.
'We did anticipate that something would go wrong but we hoped to get further out than we did.
'I think we've proved that Pykrete works but it is unstable.'

Source

Southfield man blocks gunshot with hand after confronting home invasion suspects

2010-10-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

A 24-year-old Southfield man is lucky to be alive after blocking a gunshot aimed at his face with his left hand.

The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 18000 block of George Washington in Southfield, where the victim and his brother scheduled a meeting with two Southfield teenagers.

The victim and his brother were already victims of a home invasion at their residence in the area of 8 Mile and Inkster on Tuesday. The following day, they noticed the shooting suspect wearing a pair of shoes they believed had been taken in the robbery, Southfield Police Department Lt. Nick Loussia said.

“They spoke to him and got his cell phone number in order to set up a meeting to buy some merchandise from him,” Loussia said.

The victims, who saw the teen wearing their shoes in the area of 10 Mile and Evergreen, did not tell the suspect that they believed he had their stolen merchandise.

The victims met the suspect and another teen later that day on George Washington.

“While talking about buying things from them, they did notice another pair of shoes that the individual was carrying also appeared to be ones stolen from the same home invasion,” Loussia said.

“One of the victims confronted both suspects with the shoes about having his stolen property. One of the subjects brandished a silver and chrome semiautomatic pistol, pointed it at him and pull the trigger.”

When the victim saw the gun, he moved quickly to his right and covered his face with his left hand.

“That’s when he was shot in the hand,” Loussia said. “The hand that covered his face blocked a round from hitting him in the face. Several shots were fired.”

The victim’s 22-year-old brother pulled out a handgun and returned fire, firing several shots at the initial shooter. He has a valid concealed pistol license, according to Loussia.

Police investigated and found the initial shooter, along with the man he was with. The 17 and 18-year-old Southfield residents were arrested without incident, and the handgun that was used in the crime was recovered.

The man that was shot was transported to Beaumont Hospital. The bullet went through his hand and the injury requires surgery, but it is not a life-threatening injury.

Source

Red Bull gives you wings. Chicken wings in your pants give you an arrest

2010-10-01T01:20:00.000-07:00

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville man is facing theft charges after police said he stuffed a box of chicken wings down his pants.

According to arrest records, Carlos N. Key, 24, was seen by a Sav-A-Lot store employee putting a box of chicken wings into his waistband.
He then attempted to leave the store, police said.
According to arrest records, an off-duty corrections officer detained Key until police arrived.
Key told police that he was just trying to feed his son, according to arrest reports.
Key is charged with theft by unlawful taking and shoplifting.

Source

Shooting game angers victims' relatives

2010-09-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

A German student has created a computer game giving players a taste of life as an East German border guard shooting political fugitives fleeing to the West, to the outrage of victims' relatives.

The game "1378" -- the length in kilometers of the border between East and West Germany in the Cold War -- awards border guards who shoot an exceptional number of escapees a medal. They then find themselves in the year 2000, on trial for the shootings they carried out in the name of the East German Communist regime.
Players can also take on the role of East German fugitives trying to escape over the Berlin Wall. If caught, they are either shot or arrested and taken to prison.
Jens Stober, the 23-year-old who created the game as part of his university degree, said it had an educational aspect.
"Becoming an East German escapee or border guard enables players to identify with these figures," he said. "It's a novel way of encouraging young people to take an interest in coming to terms with recent German history."
But the Federal Foundation for the Reconciliation of the Communist Dictatorship said that while it welcomed different ways to come to terms with the 1949-1989 regime, it doubted young people would learn anything by shooting dissidents.
"Ultimately it's just an ego-shooter game, which is unacceptable given the historical context," said Dietrich Wolf, spokesman for the foundation.
Theodor Mettrup of the Association for Victims of Communist Tyranny said the game "makes a mockery of the victims."
"The shootings at the wall were no game -- they destroyed people's lives and families. But people playing this game won't get a sense of that," he told Reuters.
The game is due to be released on Sunday, the 20th anniversary of German reunification.
An estimated 1,000 East German citizens were killed trying to escape after the Wall was built in 1961. East German border guards were under instruction to shoot anyone trying to flee. The last East German to be shot crossing the border was Chris Gueffroy in February 1989.

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Wyoming man douses himself in paint to avoid Taser

2010-09-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

(09-25) 09:38 PDT Cheyenne, Wyo. (AP) --
A Cheyenne man who doused himself with white latex paint in hopes of avoiding a police Taser was hit with the stun gun anyway.
The Taser chase happened Sept. 16, when Cheyenne police went to Brian Mattert's house on a domestic violence call. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports that when police arrived, Mattert thought they'd use a Taser on him, so he hastily covered himself in paint and told officers that if they shot him with the stun gun, he'd die.
Officers told him the paint wouldn't affect the Taser's capability. According to police, Mattert scuffled with officers and was hit with a Taser twice before officers handcuffed him.
He faces several criminal charges. Police say the officers' uniforms had to be cleaned.

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Calif. homeowner discovers nude man under bed

2010-09-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities in Orange County are searching for a burglary suspect found nude under a bed by a homeowner. Westminster police said the suspect repeatedly apologized and put on his pants after he was discovered early Saturday. The man told the homeowner he was on drugs and ran from the house shirtless and wearing khaki pants, City News Service reported.

The homeowner told police he discovered the stranger when he heard "rustling sounds" coming from under the bed.

Police determined the suspect got into the house by using a ladder found in a side yard to climb through a second-story window.

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Suspect runs into library while fleeing police

2010-09-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) -- Shhhh! Arrest under way. A man fleeing police after a traffic stop in Missoula, Mont., ran into the city library Wednesday and hid in a restroom, prompting an evacuation while police arrested him.

Police say the man refused to get out of his vehicle during a traffic stop. While driving away, he struck the front tire of a bicycle. Lt. Geron Wade says the bicyclist did not appear to be seriously injured.

Officers responded to the library after someone called police reporting a very nervous-looking man standing on the sidewalk outside.

Wade says an officer spotted the man going into a restroom and the library was evacuated for about 30 minutes while he was arrested.

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Calif. pot farmer sues landlord over stolen crop

2010-09-29T18:40:00.001-07:00

MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) -- A Southern California pot farmer is suing his landlord because his $35,000 indoor marijuana crop was stolen during a break-in. Gary Hite, who rents the 1,892-square-foot unit in a Murrieta business park, filed the Riverside County lawsuit against Hunco Way LLC claiming negligence and breach of contract. Hite's suit said he grows the marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The Superior Court suit alleges the landlord failed to fix a broken door and lock after a May 17 break-in in a neighboring unit.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported burglars entered the open unit on June 7 and smashed through the drywall to get into his marijuana warehouse space.

The suit said 35 plants worth $1,000 each were stolen.

Police said Hite's pot operation was illegal and he had been cited for various code violations.

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As new motion controls arrive, will the Wii become obsolete?

2010-09-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

For the past four years, Nintendo has the market to itself when it comes to motion control gaming. That’s finally coming to an end – and it has some people wondering about how the company will fare moving forward.
Wii

In mid-September, Sony launched PlayStation Move, a motion sensor that mimics – and, in some ways, improves upon - the Wii remote. Come November, Microsoft will join the fight with Kinect, a camera-based system that eliminates the need for controllers altogether.

Both companies are counting on the new peripherals to extend the life of the PS3 and Xbox 360 – and are planning full-scale marketing assaults as the holidays draw near. Expect those ads to tout the convenience of motion control blended with the beauty of high definition graphics and a robust multiplayer environment.

The Wii might seem to pale in comparison. While it might have been the innovator in the space, Nintendo’s system is graphically far behind the others – and the company has never shown a strong interest in online gaming. Players (especially long-time fans) have criticized the company on both points. Repeatedly.

But while the Wii might not have the horsepower or online presence of the Xbox 360 or PS3, it’s far from obsolete. Nintendo still has several things working in its favor in this fight – and it could have a few tricks up its sleeve as well.

The biggest advantage? Price.

Kinect will cost $150, which is $50 more than most publishers were hoping. Move’s pricing is more complex, since it has multiple parts, but for people to get the complete set, they’ll have to spend $130.

That’s just for the controllers. Packs that include the console will run $300 for the Xbox/Kinect bundle and $400 for the PS3/Move bundle. Compare that to just $199 for the Wii. If Microsoft and Sony are serious about trying to woo the casual audience, they’re going to have to lower prices - and fast.

That’s assuming they can convince casual players that they have something drastically different to offer. The first batch of games for the Move and Kinect could easily pass for a “Wii greatest hits” collection – with exercise, brain training and pet-simulation games leading the charge. The thinking, apparently, was to coax players over with something familiar – but given the still shaky state of the economy, that may not be enough to lure Wii fans.

Microsoft and Sony are also extremely dependent on the core gamer and will have to walk a balancing act. Kinect and “Halo” don’t seem like a natural fit – and the Move elements of “SOCOM 4” that Sony has shown so far haven’t exactly made players eager to try them out.

Although Wii sales haven’t been as brisk this year as they have historically, the system still has a tremendous base of users. Worldwide, over 73 million Wiis have been sold. In the U.S. alone, 30 million are in homes. And the owners of those machines have had a lot of time to get used to them and learn what sorts of games they like. So has Nintendo.

Even if Move and Kinect begin to significantly chip away at the Wii’s lead, there’s plenty of room for Nintendo to lower the system’s price – and at least one analyst thinks Nintendo could have more aggressive plans to fight back.

“I expect a console refresh as early as the last part of next year,” says Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets. ”I think a high definition ‘Wii Plus’ – something with a much bigger and better online platform – would be fairly significant. It would put them, from a platform perspective, on a more level playing field.”

New way to expand

2010-09-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

This site has a very ingenious marketing campaign.

"Our system is an advertising medium. We use our website to display and promote 6 different text adverts at a time.

When you sign up for free to use our system, you'll be given a page just like this one, with your own text advert on it in the top position.

Now, when other people want to sign up for our marketing system and place their own advert on the site, they will first have to click on your advert (plus the other 5) and view your website for at least 15 seconds to get a special code that they need in order to be able to sign up with us.

They then add their advert in the top position, and yours will be moved down to the #2 spot.

And this is where the viral nature takes over, and your traffic and visitors will literally explode.

Every time someone else wants to use our amazing system, they first have to click on each of the 6 text adverts, and visit your site. And then your advert gets moved down to the next position, all the way to position 6. Every time your advert gets pushed down to the next position, you will have thousands of extra people all promoting your advert, without you having to do a thing."