This Disturbing World Wide Weird

Young father is the first Briton to die after taking new legal designer drug Ivory Wave

2010-08-17T08:45:00.001-04:00

A young father who plunged 300ft from a cliff to his death is believed to be the first Briton to die after taking the new legal designer drug 'Ivory Wave'.

Michael Bishton, 24, was pulled from the sea by fishermen off Whitecliff Bay near Bembridge on the Isle of Wight on Saturday, days after he began taking the mind-altering drug.

His body was found just as his girlfriend discovered she was pregnant with the couple's second child.

The chef had been suffering paranoid delusions after buying the drug - which is being openly sold as 'soothing' bath salts for £15 a packet.

The drug - also known as Ivory Coast or Purple Wave - brings euphoria but the high is followed by hallucinations, paranoid delusions and acute agitation that can take three days to wear off.

In recent weeks, dozens of young people have been hospitalised nationwide after dabbling in the drug.

It has been dubbed the new Miaow Miaow, or mephadrone, which was banned this year after being linked with a string of deaths in the UK.

Mr Bishton's mother Tami said that he appeared depressed on Thursday night and claimed he was going to see his doctor before vanishing.

He had been suffering from paranoid hallucinations after buying Ivory Wave on Tuesday.

'He thought people were trying to get him and he was running around with a pool cue, trying to protect himself,' said Ms Bishton, 42.

'I tried to stop him taking any more but he bought some again while I was at work.'

'I cannot believe you can simply walk into a shop and buy something that induces madness for £15, which is nothing these days.'

His girlfriend Sammy Betts, 21, had just found out she was pregnant with their second child. Mr Bishton leaves behind his 14-month old daughter, Alesha.

Ms Betts posted a message on Facebook on Saturday which read: 'Does anyone know where Mickey is? Just found out I'm three weeks pregnant.'

Hours later she and Ms Bishton had to identify his body. He was found wearing his favourite England shirt and had suffered major injuries.

Police are probing his death but it is not known whether he deliberately jumped or accidentally fell from the cliff.

'I never got the chance to tell him he was going to be a father again,' said Ms Betts.

'He would have been so excited, pleased and happy.'

She said Mr Bishton had recently lost his job due to his drug-taking.

'There was a big change in him when he took these drugs.I saw him acting madly three times. He would be running around thinking people were in the house and talking to people that weren't there.'

A spokesman for Hampshire Police confirmed a man's body had been pulled from the water by a fisherman at 2.20pm on Saturday.

'A post-mortem examination to help establish the cause of death will take place in due course. The death is not being treated as suspicious at this time,' the spokesman said.

'Police are preparing a file for the Isle of Wight coroner.'

Six people were admitted to hospital in Cumbria last week after it was believed they had used the legal high drug Ivory Wave.

Many of those taken to West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven were suffering with extreme agitation and visual and auditory hallucinations, said North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Last Wednesday, police seized 'numerous' substances including Ivory Wave when they raided four addresses in Whitehaven and Workington.

Two Whitehaven men, aged 55 and 29, were arrested on suspicion of supplying class B drugs and then bailed as tests were carried out on the substances.

Dr Kate Wilmer, consultant cardiologist at West Cumberland Hospital, warned the symptoms witnessed were 'much worse' than the effects of the banned drug mephedrone.

She said: 'People are coming into the hospital in an extremely agitated state with acute paranoid psychosis. If you try to give them anything to help them, they are convinced you are trying to harm them so we have had to completely knock out two or three of them in order to treat them

'All have had a very fast heart rate so we have been monitoring them in the critical care unit for about 12 hours. The drugs are getting out of their system but it is taking two to three days for the agitation and psychosis to wear off.

'I have never seen anything like it, it is really awful.'

She added the initial symptoms shown could be the 'tip of the iceberg'.

'What we don't know is whether this could cause long-term psychiatric problems for these people,' she said.

No similar cases had been reported at West Cumberland Hospital before last week and none have so far been seen at Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

A trust spokeswoman said: "We had another five cases at the weekend but we were better prepared at how to deal with them and all of them were later released to undergo home-based care."

Police issued their own warning following the arrests by drug squad officers last week.

Detective Inspector Jason Robinson, of West Cumbria CID, said: 'What these incidents show us is that young people in west Cumbria are continuing to put their future and their lives at risk by taking drugs.

'We know that many so-called 'legal highs' often contain class B controlled drugs (such as mephedrone and BZP) and the risks and consequences of getting involved with them are serious.

'People wrongly assume that a substance is safe because it is currently legal, which couldn't be further from the truth. The fact is that people who take substances like Ivory Wave are taking serious risks - no-one knows what the drug is mixed with or the long-term effects that it can have.

'The only safe option is to avoid drugs and legal highs altogether.'

NHS Cumbria's director of public health, Professor John Ashton, said: 'As with all so-called legal highs we need to be careful that we don't concentrate too highly on one specific substance. Instead, we need to get the message across to people that taking drugs of any kind, whether illegal or so-called legal, is a risk.

'There is no regulation for either illegal drugs or legal highs so people do not know what they are taking, what chemicals they contain and/or what effects could be. The ingredients and strength of each substance can also change from batch to batch as drugs are cut differently.

'We need to educate people of these dangers so they can make the right choices. One of the most important messages we must get across is that it's vital that if anyone does take a legal high or illegal drug is that they should not mix it with any drug or substance, particularly alcohol, as the consequences cannot be predicted.'

Jilted spiderwoman jailed

2010-08-17T08:30:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

A JILTED Hong Kong "spiderwoman" who shimmied down a drain pipe, broke into her ex-boyfriend's flat and held a knife to his throat has been sentenced to 15 months' jail.

Berry Chan, 25, received the jail term yesterday after she was convicted earlier of aggravated burglary for the break-in on December 23, the South China Morning Post reported.

"It was not about a dishonest person or a thief entering the premises with a knife. It is not a normal aggravated burglary. It's more like a crime of passion," Deputy Judge Amanda Woodcock was quoted as saying.

Chan climbed down from the nine-storey building's roof along a drain pipe before dismantling a window grille at her ex-lover's apartment.

She then held a knife to his neck, demanding a reunion, but he eventually subdued her.

Witnesses tell of shark horror - Lone surfer killed

2010-08-17T07:39:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

A SURFER has died after being attacked by a giant shark at a Margaret River beach early today.

Witnesses have have told how they dragged the injured surfer from the popular Gracetown break, South Point, Western Australia, and desperately attempted to revive him after the horrific attack.

The mane had been surfing when he was savaged by the shark about 8.15am, local time.

Emergency services workers rushed to the scene and paramedics transported the injured man to Margaret River Hospital, where he later died.

Locals revealed how six people, mostly fellow surfers, dragged the injured man from the swell and administered CPR for 20 minutes until an ambulance arrived. One of his legs had been shredded by the giant beast.

It is believed a pod of seals may have attracted the shark to the area.

Gracetown resident Rob Alder, who did CPR on the injured man, said he had been checking the surf from his balcony when he noticed half a board floating without a rider.

``We ran down and found him on the rocks,'' Mr Alder said.

``We pulled him up on to the shore and gave him CPR. He was unconscious and as white as a sheet but we got some colour back into him. We thought he had a chance.''

Another local surfer Eddie Kilgallon, 42, was surfing another wave at Huzzas, about 200m from South Point, when he heard shouting from the carpark and local surfboard shaper Matt Manners yelling: ``Shark! Shark!''.

``There was four of us in the water and we all freaked out,'' Mr Kilgallon said.

``We started paddling for shore and a pod of seals came up in the middle of us.

``I thought it was a shark at first and thought: `This is it, I'm gone too'.''

Mr Kilgallon ran along the shore to where the victim had been dragged out of the water.

``We wrapped a jumper around his legs and used a leg rope as a torniquet,'' he said.

``I was holding what was left of his leg together. The bottom half of his thigh was exposed and ripped open. Half of his calf muscle was also torn to shreds.

``The boys were giving him CPR just talking to him, doing everything they could.

``I saw he had a wedding ring and was telling him that his wife wanted to see him again.

``His face was white but we started to get colour back into him. That's when I thought he might have a chance.''

Mr Alder broke down when he heard that the injured surfer had died.

``It was an honour to try and save a brother. It feels like I've lost a brother.

``We treated him real good. We did everything we possibly could. He didn't die alone. We really pumped his heart. I did mouth-to-mouth and gave him my breath, but it wasn't enough.

``If I had have been attacked, that's how I would like to be looked after. We're surfers, it could happen to any of us at any time.''

Another Gracetown local, who did not want to be named, said he saw thrashing in the water.

``There was so much white wash it must have been a very big shark. It was thrashing around and then I saw a guy swim for the rocks.''

He said local surfers did a fantastic job keeping the injured man alive for as long as they could.

Local rangers retrieved the man's surfboard, which had snapped cleanly in half.

American visitor Chance Smith, 25, who was surfing North Point on the other side of the bay, said a large pod of seals swam by moments before the attack.

He said the victim's injuries were ``horrific''.

Police have not released the man's identity or age.

Nakations: Naked Vacations May Be Hot, but Are They Safe?

2010-08-17T07:19:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

At least that's the suggestion of a new fun-but-unscientific poll that found more Americans open to the idea of naked vacations, a.k.a. nakations.

The poll found that 48 percent of Americans would be willing to bare it all at a nude beach. That's up from 31 percent last year.

The poll, of 22,000 Americans, was conducted by online travel communityTripAdvisor.

Why the increased interest in nakations? Are Americans' attitudes about nudity loosening up? Or are travelers simply looking to travel light - so they can avoid the hefty baggage fees now imposed by many airlines?

"If more air travelers take a stand and a nakation in 2010, it could send a message to the airlines using checked and unchecked baggage fees as a way to charge the vacationing masses more money in this tight economy," Erich Schuttauf, executive director of the American Association of Nude Recreation, told USA Today. "All you'll need for the week (sunscreen, cap, sunglasses, shoes and toiletries) can fit in a small carry-on that will fit under the seat, avoiding even carry-on bag fees."

Saving money on baggage is one thing. But what about the risk of sunburn "down there?"

It's a real concern, experts say.

"I would tell my patients to pay more attention in the areas not usually exposed to the sun as they are highly more sensitive and at risk for burning," Dr. Ariel Ostad, a New York City dermatologist, tells CBS News. Fortunately, he says, "applying sunscreen is safe in these areas."

In other words, slather it on if you take it all off.

Lost cell-phone caller drives into river, dies

2010-08-17T06:42:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

An Antioch woman died after she drove off a boat ramp and into the Sacramento River while she was talking on a cell phone with her daughter, asking for directions, authorities said Monday.

Kathleen Gomez Collier, 47, drove her Ford Expedition into the water near Isleton (Sacramento County) around 11:45 p.m. Saturday, said Officer Michael Bradley of the California Highway Patrol.

Collier was lost on Highway 160 and was trying to find her way back to Antioch, so she stopped at Vieira's Resort to get directions, Bradley said.

She was on the phone with her daughter when she drove onto the boat ramp at the resort, Bradley said. She paused briefly before driving into the river, the CHP said.

Just before the call was cut off, Collier told her daughter that her car was filling up with water and to phone her insurance company, Bradley said.

Divers found Collier's body about 9:45 a.m. Sunday.

Reputed incarnation of Buddhist teacher visits Boulder

2010-08-15T08:29:00.000-04:00

It's not easy being the young incarnation of a great Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teacher.

Children gathered Friday to meet with 17-year-old Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche at the Boulder Shambhala Meditation Center, and one asked him:

"Are you glad you're a rinpoche?" — the title for a reincarnated Tibetan lama and whose literal meaning is "precious one." Yangsi Rinpoche is held to be the emanation of beloved and revered master Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who died in 1991 at the age of 81.

"I can't really say I enjoy being a rinpoche," the robe-clad teenager told the mostly youthful audience of 250 to 300. "It's a big job."

Tibetan Buddhists this year celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of their spiritual treasures.

The Dalai Lama called Khyentse Rinpoche one of his most important gurus — a great practitioner and scholar who was always gentle and humble despite his fame. And the Dalai Lama has recognized Yangsi Rinpoche as the tulku, or incarnation, of his old teacher.

"I am still a student myself," Yangsi Rinpoche said Friday. "I have many, many things to learn, so please do not think I am some kind of living Buddha. Supposedly I am the incarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. It doesn't mean I have all his knowledge. I am the same as a normal boy."

Yangsi Rinpoche, born in Nepal, is being educated in Bhutan with eight other tulkus, or incarnate lamas.

The world traveler is touring the U.S. for the first time — stopping in Colorado, New York and Vermont — under the wing of a host organization, the Boulder-based spiritual community Mangala Shri Bhuti.

Yangsi Rinpoche has a strong interest in Western culture and in a young generation drawn to Buddhist teachings, said spokesman Tyrone Takami.

"He is very eager to connect with Westerners," Takami said.

Yangsi Rinpoche made no pretenses.

"He is an extremely honest person,"said chief spokesman Sasha Dorje Meyerowitz. "He's exploring his role."

A young boy asked Yangsi Rinpoche, "How does it make you feel knowing you're a big past-life guy."

"I don't really think about that," Yangsi Rinpoche said. "My teachers chose me. I sometimes wonder why they chose such a weird boy. I'm not saying I hate my life. There are some things I like about my life."

The opportunity to study under and be guided by great teachers is one of those things, he said.

"But there's not one thing in my life I can point to as really, really enjoyable."

When the children asked for tips on meditation, he said, "I'm not such a big fan of meditation."

He said he wasn't disciplined.

"I'm just a cloud," he said. "I'm just a laid-back, boring boy."

However, 11-year-old Thalia Lhatso- Suppan of Boulder said it was exciting to meet him.

"A great teacher has come to Boulder, and we are fortunate to receive his teaching," Thalia said.

Yangsi Rinpoche said that to be known as the incarnation of a great teacher yet not have any of that teacher's qualities sometimes makes him feel ashamed.

His teachers and supporters, however, have said he is a diligent student. He has completed three years of a Shedra, or nine-year philosophical course.

"He is compassionate, direct and understanding," his sponsors say in tour literature. "While still a young man, he exudes the unmistakable presence of his predecessor — a relaxed and open interest in others and a natural warmth, humor and insight."

For Buddhists, events here this weekend are an opportunity to witness a highly valued lineage — an incarnation-succession mode unique to Tibetan Buddhism. For Western observers, the visit offered insight into the development of wisdom in Eastern tradition.

Julia Hellerman, a 38-year-old Boulder mom, is not Buddhist, she said, but she wanted her two children to have this experience with a great person.

"I thought he was really honest," Hellerman said. "I really enjoyed it and I think my kids did too."

Online 'sextortion' of teens on the rise

2010-08-15T08:25:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

The nightmare began with a party: three teenage girls with a webcam, visiting an Internet chatroom and yielding to requests to flash their breasts. A week later, one of the girls, a 17-year-old from Indiana, started getting threatening e-mails.

A stranger said he had captured her image on the webcam and would post the pictures to her MySpace friends unless she posed for more explicit pictures and videos for him. On at least two occasions, the teen did what her blackmailer demanded. Finally, police and federal authorities became involved and indicted a 19-year-old Maryland man in June on charges of sexual exploitation.

Federal prosecutors and child safety advocates say they're seeing an upswing in such cases of online sexual extortion. They say teens who text nude cell phone photos of themselves or show off their bodies on the Internet are being contacted by pornographers who threaten to expose their behavior to friends and family unless they pose for more explicit porn, creating a vicious cycle of exploitation.

One federal affidavit includes a special term for the crime: "sextortion."

No one currently tracks the numbers of cases involving online sexual extortion in state and federal courts, but prosecutors and others point toward several recent high-profile examples victimizing teens in a dozen states:

_ In Alabama, Jonathan Vance, 24, of Auburn was sentenced to 18 years in prison in April after he admitted sending threatening e-mails on Facebook and MySpace extorting nude photos from more than 50 young women in Alabama, Pennsylvania and Missouri.

_ In Wisconsin, Anthony Stancl, 18, received 15 years in prison in February after prosecutors said he posed as a girl on Facebook to trick male high school classmates into sending him nude cell phone photos, which he then used to extort them for sex.

_ A 31-year-old California man was arrested in June on extortion charges after authorities said he hacked into more than 200 computers and threatened to expose nude photos he found unless their owners posed for more sexually explicit videos. Forty-four of the victims were juveniles, authorities said. Federal prosecutors said he was even able to remotely activate some victims' webcams without their knowledge and record them undressing or having sex.

The cases have prompted law enforcement officials and advocates to caution teens about their activities. Privacy is nonexistent on the Internet, and once indiscretions appear online, they are virtually impossible to take back. A nude photo sent to a boyfriend's cell phone can easily be circulated through cell phone contacts and wind up on websites that post sexting photos. Once there, it's available for anyone who wants to trace it back to the person who made it.

"Kids are putting their head in the lion's mouth every time they do this," said Parry Aftab, an attorney and online child safety advocate.

Teens can be more vulnerable to blackmail because they're easy to intimidate and embarrassed to seek help. And the extortionists are often willing to make good on their threats, said Steve DeBrota, an assistant U.S. attorney in Indianapolis who has been involved in sextortion investigations.

"You are blackmailable," said Aftab, " ... and you will do anything to keep those pictures from getting out."

In the Indiana case, the teenage girl's mother called police when she found out about the threats. Authorities subpoenaed Internet service providers to track the chats and e-mails to their source, a computer in Mechanicsville, Md., according to court documents.

According to court documents, the computer's owner, Trevor Shea, told agents he had engaged in similar schemes with about 10 girls, most of them 17 or 18 years old.

His trial is set for Aug. 30. He has pleaded not guilty and his attorney, Michael Donahoe, said he is working on a possible settlement.

Sleepwalker beats sex rap

2010-08-15T08:22:00.000-04:00

A central Illinois man with a history of sleepwalking has been acquitted of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman.
McClean County jurors deliberated for less than two hours before acquitting 24-year-old Mathew Nelson of Bloomington.
A 21-year-old woman testified she and Nelson drank with friends before Nelson fell asleep on her couch. She says Nelson later entered her bedroom and assaulted her.
Defense attorneys argued that even if Nelson committed the assault, he wasn't responsible because of his sleepwalking condition.
Nelson testified that he remembered falling asleep and waking up to find a man punching him. The man was called by the alleged victim.
Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Patton said it was "a tough case" and that there's no case law in Illinois on sleepwalking.

Calif. school settles suit over anti-abortion shirt

2010-08-15T08:14:00.000-04:00

A California school district sued by a former sixth-grade student who was asked to remove an anti-abortion T-shirt has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the suit.

Attorneys for Tiffany Amador said Friday that officials at Merced's McSwain Union Elementary School called the T-shirt disruptive when she wore it in April 2008.

The shirt showed pictures of an apparent fetus and said "ABORTION: growing... growing... gone."

Los Angeles attorney William Becker says the resolution amounted to a victory for free speech rights in schools.

But Anthony DeMaria, the school district's attorney, says the settlement helped avoid a costly trial. The district admitted no wrongdoing.

McSwain implemented a new dress code policy this school year that prohibits most graphic T-shirts.

8 dead, 12 wounded as truck plows into crowd at off-road race

2010-08-15T08:01:00.002-04:00

Image by puritani35 via Flickr

An off-road truck plowed into a crowd and scattered "bodies everywhere" moments after sailing off a jump at a California race Saturday, killing eight people and leaving 12 injured, authorities and witnesses said.

The crash came shortly after the start of the 8 p.m. PDT race called the California 200, said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman.

Bachman said eight people died and 12 were injured, several of them seriously. Seven ambulances and 10 emergency aircraft responded to the scene. Most of the injured were airlifted from the area to Loma Linda University Medical Center or St. Mary's Medical Center.

"There was dust everywhere, people screaming, people running," David Conklin, a photographer covering the event for off-road magazines, told The Associated Press.

Conklin said the Prerunner truck was among the first 20 off the line in the race, and had just gone over a jump known as "the rockpile" about two miles into the race.

He said he watched the vehicle sail through the air. Then he turned to watch for other cars when he heard the commotion caused by the crash.

"When I got up to the vehicle I could tell that several people were trapped. There were just bodies everywhere," he said. "One woman with a major head wound (was) lying in a pool of blood. Someone else was crushed beneath the car."

The truck came to a rest upside down with its oversized wheels pointing toward the sky.

Officials said the driver wasn't hurt but had to flee the scene to escape angry spectators.

The 200-mile race is part of a series held in Soggy Dry Lake Bed near the city of Lucerne Valley in the Mojave Desert, 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Tens of thousands of people attend the California 200, in which a variety of off-road vehicles take jumps and other obstacles and reach speeds up to 100 mph on the 50-mile off-road course. The race had been scheduled to last through the night.

The crowd was standing within 10 feet of the track with no guard rails separating them from the speeding vehicles.

"There were no barriers at all," Jeff Talbott, inland division chief for the California Highway Patrol, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

He said that the driver, who wasn't named, was forced to run from the scene when the crowd grew unruly and some began throwing rocks at him. It was not clear why he lost control of the truck.

The CHP does not normally investigate crashes at organized races, but took the lead on this probe because of its scope and had set up a command center at the starting line of the race.

The federal Bureau of Land Management was assisting in the investigation.

The event was sponsored by the South El Monte-based Mojave Desert Racing. No one picked up the phone at a number listed on the group's website early Sunday, and its message mailbox was full.

The crash was the latest in a series of race accidents that have proved deadly to spectators.

A car plowed into a crowd that had gathered to watch an illegal drag race on a suburban road in Accokeek, Maryland, in February 2008, killing eight people and injuring five. The two racers were charged with vehicular manslaughter. Darren Bullock, 22, was sentenced to 15 years in prison; Tavon Taylor, 20, is awaiting trial.

In Chandler, Ariz., in February, a female spectator was killed by a tire that flew off a crashing dragster at Chandler's Firebird International Raceway for the NHRA Arizona Nationals.

In Selmer, Tennessee, a dragster went out of control and smashed into spectators during a fundraising festival in June 2007, killing six people and injuring 22. Driver Troy Critchley, 38, was convicted of misdemeanor reckless assault charges and sentenced to 18 months probation.

Elderly man with walker robs B.C. bank

2010-08-15T07:53:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

A speedy getaway is usually critical for bank robbers, but perhaps not for an elderly B.C. man who this week held up a bank — and while using a black walker.

While no weapon was produced, the 75-year-old told staff at a Prince George Bank of Nova Scotia that he was armed. Staff surrendered a small amount of cash and the robber made his getaway as RCMP were called around 11:45 a.m. Friday.

The suspect was described as a Caucasian male weighing about 230 pounds. He was wearing a straw hat, white T-shirt, grey jogging pants and dark glasses — and he was using a walker that many rely on for mobility.

Prince George RCMP spokesman Gary Godwin said the man was apprehended approximately 45 minutes later in the same suburban strip mall where the bank is located.

The man is in custody while police investigate the decidedly unusual case.

“It’s not every day you get a 75-year-old male on a walker holding up a bank,” said Godwin. “We’re looking at all the circumstances that are involved.”

He said the man is known to police.

Godwin, who has just retired from the RCMP after 25 years and has 36 years of policing experience, has never seen as elderly a bank robber as in this case.

But he said that staff did the right thing in allowing the man to leave the bank even though they never saw a weapon.

“You never know what you have on the other side of the counter,” Godwin said. “If he says he has a weapon, the best thing is to give him what we wants. Err on the side of caution is what we teach.”

Druid to be subject of reincarnation spell

2010-08-14T09:50:00.000-04:00

Isaac Bonewits 1949-2010

Philip Emmons Isaac Bonewits, founder and Archdruid Emeritus of of Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship, one of North America’s leading experts on ancient and modern Druidism, Witchcraft, magic and the occult, and the rapidly growing Earth Religions movement, died today after a short struggle with cancer.

Mr. Bonewits first came into the public eye when he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Magic and Thaumaturgy (1970). During his tenure there, Mr. Bonewits worked with many renowned professors including Nobel Prize Laureate Owen Chamberlain. The work he did for that degree became his first book, Real Magic: An Introductory Treatise on the Basic Principles of Yellow Magic (1971).

In 1983, he founded and became the first Archdruid of Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF) an international fellowship devoted to creating a public tradition of Neopagan Druidry. In 1995, he retired from a leadership role due to complications from eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome. ADF has grown to become the best-known Neopagan Druid group based in North America. At his death, Mr. Bonewits held the title of ArchDruid Emeritus.

During his forty years as a Neopagan priest, scholar, teacher, bard, and polytheologian, Isaac Bonewits coined much of the vocabulary and articulated many of the issues that have shaped the rapidly growing Neopagan movement in the United States and Canada.

Mr. Bonewits was internationally known as a speaker who educated, enlightened and entertained two generations of modern Goddess worshippers, nature mystics, and followers of other minority belief systems, as well as explained these movements to journalists, law enforcement officers, college students, and academic researchers.

His personal papers will become part of the American Religions Collection at the Library of University of California at Santa Barbara.

One of his most influential contributions was the Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame (the “ABCDEF”), developed in 1979 as a response to the Jim Jones People’s Temple tragedy. It has been translated into many languages and used around the world to evaluate how dangerous or harmless an organization might be. It was the first such scale to use theories of mental health and personal growth to judge rather than theological or ideological standards.

His other books include Authentic Thaumaturgy (1979, 1998), The Pagan Man (2005), Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca (2006), Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Druidism (2006), Neopagan Rites (2007), and Real Energy (2007), which was co-authored with his wife, Phaedra, as well as numerous articles, reviews and essays. As a singer-songwriter, he released two albums, Be Pagan Once Again (1988), and Avalon is Rising (1992).

He is survived by his wife, Phaedra, his son from a previous marriage, Arthur Lipp-Bonewits of Bardonia NY, his mother Jeannette, his brothers Michael and Richard, and sisters Simone Arris and Melissa Banbury.

South Dakota man dies after donating liver to brother

2010-08-14T09:43:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

DENVER — A South Dakota man who donated part of his liver to his brother has died, temporarily halting live donor liver transplants at the University of Colorado Hospital.

Ryan Arnold, 34, of Watertown died Aug. 2, four days after the surgery.

He underwent the surgery to help his brother Chad, who lives in suburban Denver.

Chad Arnold told Denver's KDVR-TV before the surgery that the surgery was his only chance of beating an incurable liver disease known as PSC.

The station reported that Ryan Arnold went into cardiac arrest two days after the surgery and then fell into a coma.

Hong Kong baseballer hit by stray bullet in Venezuela

2010-08-14T09:35:00.000-04:00

The Australian women's baseball team was caught up in a shooting incident that forced the suspension of the world championship in Caracas, Venezuela.

The Australian team was at the venue when a Hong Kong player was hit in the leg by a stray bullet during a match against the Netherlands in a stadium at the Fort Tiuna military base.

Venezuelan Vice-President Elias Jaua told state television the player was not seriously injured but that the day's games had been suspended while police investigated the incident.

It wasn't clear from where the bullet was fired.

Gun violence is common in the hillside slums near the base and is a serious problem in many areas of Venezuela, which is among the most violent countries in Latin America.

The Australian Baseball Federation released a statement today confirming the Australian team was at the facility preparing for their game - which was scheduled to commence on the same field after the Hong Kong match - when the shooting occurred.

"Needless to say, the game was abandoned and all teams were ushered immediately back to their hotels under tight security," the statement said.

"We can confirm that Team Australia is safe and well in their hotel."

The ABF has kept in constant communication with the team, and has contacted the families of the Australian players to reassure them of the team's safety.

The ABF has also been liaising with the tournament host, the International Baseball Federation as well as the Australian government.

The Australian Embassy in the region has been alerted, and is assisting in determining options for the situation moving forward.

"Naturally, once we have received more details the ABF will, in consultation with the Australian government, make a decision and the necessary arrangements to ensure the safety of the Australians," the statement said.

"The Australian Baseball Federation is obviously concerned about the welfare of the player involved.

"This is a very unfortunate and surprising incident, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Hong Kong team, the player and her family."

iPod thief exposes self, threatens clerk with 'flesh-eating bacteria'

2010-08-14T09:31:00.001-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

A Seattle man is facing assault charges on allegations that he exposed himself to a Radio Shack clerk, brandished a knife and threatened to expose the man to flesh-eating bacteria.

According to police reports regarding the Jan. 16 incident, a clerk at the 3rd Avenue electronics store spotted Anthony Joseph Urga attempting to steal two iPod Nano players. When the clerk and another employee confronted Urga, the man returned the iPods but refused to open his backpack to see whether he was attempting to steal additional items.

"Urga then proceeded to plead with (the clerk) to allow him to leave, because he was sick," a Seattle police detective said in a June 9 affidavit. "When (the clerk) said no, Urga dropped his pants exposing his penis and stated that he had a 'flesh eating bacteria' and that he would expose (the clerk)."

The detective said Urga then drew a knife from his belt but was tackled before he could unfold the blade.

Urga was arrested and taken to King County Jail, which declined to admit him due to an unspecified medical condition, the detective said. The 42-year-old Loyal Heights resident was then driven to Harborview Medical Center; the detective told the court Urga then walked out of emergency room.

Charged with second-degree assault, Urga is not currently in custody, according to jail records. A $50,000 warrant for his arrest has been issued.

BBC Show “Being Human” Reports Haunted Set

2010-08-14T09:03:00.001-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

The following two reports state that the set for the BBC supernatural drama show called “Being Human” is haunted. The crew has reported seeing apparitions, sometimes they’ve caught the apparition on tape. They reported seeing a cup being hurled across a room, finally smashing into a monitor. This was supposedly witnessed by 30 or so people.

Do you believe the claims? I’ve never seen a single episode of this show, but can already tell you that this might be a marketing tactic. If it’s not, then it would be nice to see some of the evidence they say that they have on film.

But ghost sceptic Aiden admitted even more ghosts on set was just “a normal day”.
“We should throw a party or something,” he said. “I’d love to have a charity ouija board.”

Hmm….Sounds like the beginning of a horror story.

Using the Ouija board is always a recipe for disaster. Whether you believe that this device can bring in unwanted spirits or not, I’ve heard too many stories to even want to use one of these things.

Full source: Mirror UK

BAFTA-nominated supernatural drama Being Human has been thrown into chaos, after real life ghosts started haunting the set.
Cast and crew are scared silly after a cup inexplicably leapt off the table just before cameras started to roll, smashing into a monitor. The incident was seen by at least 30 team members working on set at the BBC Three hit show.
Being Human revolves around a flat sharing vampire, werewolf and ghost from Bristol and has won dozens of awards.
But assistant director Mike Gallivan said since moving the set to a converted bus depot in Wales, real ghosts were now trying to get in on the action on screen.
“We’ve been shooting here for four weeks and already we have seen three ghosts on shot,” he said.
“We did a shot in the kitchen and we actually thought it was a member of crew in the background, and we played it back and it wasn’t. It was just an image and we’ve seen three so far. The set is officially haunted. We’re working with real ghosts”.
Russell Tovey, who plays werewolf George added: “In the back of a few shots we’ve seen movement and people. This is an old bus depot where our sets built in, and we think some drivers got crushed between the buses.”
Aiden Turner who plays vampire Mitchell added: “this isn’t something we’ve made up. People are freaking out on set thinking that they are seeing a ghost.”
But ghost sceptic Aiden admitted even more ghosts on set was just “a normal day”.
“We should throw a party or something,” he said. “I’d love to have a charity ouija board.”

Full source: BBC

It’s Friday 13th and we have some strange news… It seems the new Being Human house is haunted. And we’re not joking.

On a recent set visit the BH Blog Team got a lot more than we bargained for when we uncovered a story that has been spooking the cast for weeks. It seems an unidentified figure has appeared three times, interrupting shots and even pushing a coffee cup across the room. Russell and several members of the crew are convinced that building is haunted, while Aidan is the most vocal of the non-believers.
I wish we could say that this was some kind of elaborate hoax but we weren’t even smart enough to make this up. It seems that the truth really can be stranger than fiction.
So do you believe that the set might be haunted? Or do you think too much time around supernatural scripts might be messing with the team’s minds?
We’ll keep you updated on developments.

Results analyzed for Harvey House haunting

2010-08-14T08:52:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Six hours of combing the Harvey House from the basement to the attic did turn up some evidence of ghostly activity, but the founder of a local paranormal group says he wouldn’t go so far as to call the building haunted.

Members of the High Desert Paranormal Society were able to detect voices in the Harvey House basement, heard a woman’s scream on the upstairs floor and captured several pictures of orbs hovering in midair when they searched the 100-year-old building last week.

But Craig Case, the society’s founder, says that the evidence the group came up with isn’t enough to say the building’s haunted.

“It definitely warrants further investigation considering the amount of stuff we did get,” he said, adding that he would do another investigation, but didn’t know when that would be.
The paranormal society began its search at 8 p.m. Aug. 6 using video cameras, infrared cameras, motion sensors and electromagnetic field detectors. The group wrapped up its search at 2 o’clock the next morning.

As part of their investigation, members listened to the stories that have reached the ears of Jeri Justus, executive director of the Barstow Area Chamber of Commerce, and her daughter Julie Justus Morales, who stayed at the building during the search.

Morales told society members the story of a man who was taken down to the boiler room, beaten and buried alive. Case said some of the creepiest activity last Friday came from that location.

“Team members heard a distinct voice saying, ‘Ow,’” he said, adding that no one in the group could have made that sound. “(It was) a low, deep voice and it’s really creepy.”

There were some locations in the Harvey House, where society members expected a lot of paranormal activity and didn’t detect anything. Justus and Morales say that when the eastbound Amtrak train pulls up at about 10:55 p.m. the platform feels like it’s full of people.

On Friday, Morales said the temperature dropped by five to seven degrees when the train arrived and didn’t return to normal until it left. But Case said that despite the entire paranormal group being on the platform when the Amtrak train pulled up, their equipment didn’t detect anything.

When asked if they think the building is haunted, Justus and Morales have both said no.

“I won’t say it’s haunted,” Morales said. “But I would say there are spirits there. They just don’t know where to go.”

It will take about two weeks for Case to review and compile the evidence, but a hard copy of their report will be turned over to the city. Justus said she’ll likely post the group’s report on the chamber’s Web site.

Airline passenger reports silver sphere-shaped UFO 1,000 feet under jet

2010-08-14T08:38:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

An airline passenger on approach to Philadelphia reports watching a "silver sphere-shaped object approximately a thousand or so feet below" the plane at 8 p.m. EST on July 18, 2010, according to testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database.

The object was traveling in the opposite direction of the plane.

"It looked about the size of a volkswagen beetle," the witness stated. "There were no wings. It traveled in a straight course, without deviation. I watched the object cross my viewing region for only about 5 seconds."

The witness provided an illustration of the object in relation to the jet. No images or video were included in the public portion of the MUFON report.

Expert: Most UFO incidents have reasonable explanations

2010-08-14T08:35:00.000-04:00

Image via WikipediaThere have been many recent reports of UFO sightings in many different regions and the latest incident involved netizens from Shanghai, Zhejiang, Nanjing and Ganzhou of Jiangxi Province, who claimed they saw UFOs all at different times on Aug. 7.

Along with the continual media coverage, public attention also heated up, and some people even connected it with the recent abnormal weather and natural pits in many regions, and claimed the world would end in 2012. All of a sudden, different rumors are everywhere.

A reporter from People's Daily interviewed Zhu Jin, the curator of the Beijing Planetarium and vice chairman of the Beijing UFO Research Organization. He gave professional explanations about these incidents.

UFOs and flying saucers are different. Unidentified Flying Objects refer to objects flying in the sky with unidentified names and is abbreviated UFO. The flying saucer refers to a saucer shaped flying object and in particular, a strange spaceship that many people claimed to have seen and may come from outer space.

UFOs differ from flying saucers. A flying saucer is one possible UFOs, and there are no cases where one has been confirmed. However, UFOs do exist, and they just have not been identified yet.

As for the latest reported UFOs, they are very easy to identify. Most of them are kites, planes or rockets. There is almost no probability that these incidents are connected with aliens.

There are many reasons for the appearance of UFOs. The research of past relevant phenomena reveals that there are mainly three categories. First, they are flying objects including planes, airships, kites, searchlights, little insects very close to the photographer, bolides, man-made objects falling into the atmosphere, spacecraft, and missiles.

Second, they are stationary objects in the sky but are photographed as moving objects, including planets, shiny fixed stars, the moon behind clouds and even the sun. The last possibility is that they are not in the sky at all and they may be the reflection of the sun being photographed on the frame of the camera, the reflection of the flashlight on glass, and the ghost images caused by the light source at the centrosymmetric location of the visual field.

The appearance of UFOs is not concentrated in a certain region or a certain period of time. Currently, relevant events are obviously increasing, mainly because that the concentrative reporting of the media caused similar psychological effects. People who were not concerned about UFOs before began to frequently look up into the sky after reading the reports. Incidents that would normally be considered as normal were connected with UFOs indicative of relevant reports. The concentrative reporting from the media amplified the events and certain media groups were even suspected of hyping up the news.

The public should treat these kinds of events with a scientific attitude, independent judgment and rational analysis. It is better to objectively record various phenomena through taking photos and videos. Some events will be easy to explain if there is sufficient image data.

China currently has no official professional investigation agency for UFOs. Therefore, it is necessary to ask professional research agencies to investigate UFO events to eliminate people's doubts and fears. Some registered professional associations have been concerned with UFO phenomena for a long time and they possess certain observational knowledge and analysis and are more professional. In fact, most UFO events can be explained by rational reason through systematic investigation and comprehensive analysis.

By People's Daily Online
Additional support by Loto

Brazilian Air Force Decrees UFO Disclosure

2010-08-14T08:29:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Brazilian Air Force Commander, Lieutenant-General Juniti Saito has signed a decree calling for military and civilian pilots and air traffic controllers in Brazil to report to the Aerospace Defense Command any experiences they have with unidentified flying objects. They are to include with their reports any photos, videos or other material proof they may have.

In a statement released to the newspaper O Dia, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB – Forca Aerea Brasileira) said that it “does not have the specialized structure needed to carry out scientific investigations on these aerial phenomena and will only register the events."

London’s Daily Telegraph reports that a military air controller in Rio has said that “respectable witnesses have previously recounted experiences with UFOs.”

“There are reports by ministers and even a president who saw a UFO,” he said.

According to The Huffington Post, a Brazilian Air Force spokesman has said that the air force has decades of UFO archives, but until now there has been no official policy regarding what to do with the material.

Information released by the decree, which was published August 10, will be catalogued at the Air Force's Historic Documentation Center in Rio de Janeiro state. There, it will be made available to the general public.

The Brazilian Air Force is the largest air force in Latin America, with more than 800 aircraft and 50,000 personnel.

'UFO' spotted on the bed of the Thames

2010-08-14T08:20:00.002-04:00

What lies beneath: This scan of the Thames river bed has revealed a UFO (see cursor), or unidentified fishy obect, lying near London bridge.

Theories range from a Nazi mini-subor V2 missile to wooden buttress from the old London Bridge.

Port of London Authority divers will inspect it - by touch because the water is so murky - to gain more clues.

Dutch girls groomed, forced into prostitution by ‘Loverboy’ pimps

2010-08-14T08:14:00.001-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

London, August 13 (ANI): A charity has claimed that thousands of young Dutch girls are being groomed on social networking sites and forced into prostitution by pimps dubbed “Loverboys”.

The youngsters are bombarded with promises of love before being threatened with violence and bullied into a life of sexual slavery, it is claimed.

Anita De Witt has set up a charity called Stoploverboys.NU, which helps girls escape from the cycle of abuse.

“The problem is really big and it is not only young girls. My youngest victim is nine years and my oldest 51,” Sky News quoted De Witt as saying.

Stoploverboys estimates the figure to be more than 5,000.

The police are often powerless to stop the “Loverboys” who prey on the most vulnerable and then isolate them from their friends and families - rather like a cult.

They are easy prey for the seduction techniques of the “Loverboys” who use the girls to fund their lifestyles.

The phenomenon of “Loverboys” and the stories of the girls who have been abused have caused something of a moral panic in the Netherlands.

The government is considering raising the age women can work as prostitutes from 18 to 21 but De Witt does not think that is the solution.

She says the problem will only be stamped out if the authorities take the harrowing stories of the girls more seriously.

More at : Dutch girls groomed, forced into prostitution by ‘Loverboy’ pimps http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/dutch-girls-groomed-forced-into-prostitution-by-loverboy-pimps_100411628.html#ixzz0wa8pwCmB

Girl says family forced her into prostitution

2010-08-14T08:09:00.000-04:00

A 14-year-old girl suspected of prostitution told police her mother and grandmother, both convicted prostitutes, forced her to sell her body to pay their living expenses, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Alicia Melchor, 33, and Elizabeth Buford, 55, were arrested Tuesday on charges of compelling prostitution after the girl led police to a motel room after they picked her up on Telephone Road, prosecutors said.

The second-degree felony carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison, if the two are convicted.

The pair remained in the Harris County Jail on Thursday. The teen was not in custody.

Buford also was charged with possession of a small amount of heroin.

The teen was observed by police attempting to prostitute herself, said Donna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Harris County District Attorney's office.

"She gave a statement to police that her mother and grandmother required her to prostitute herself to pay for their living expenses," Hawkins said.

The girl's mother and grandmother each have several convictions for prostitution during the past 20 years.

Although familial relations are not uncommon in sex trade accusations, three generations of prostitutes is unusual, said Charlie Vasquez, a Lieutenant in HPD's vice division.

"I've never heard of anything like that," he said. "Generally, prostitution takes place after someone has been alienated from their family."

Vasquez said officers working with HPD's juvenile sex crimes division, not the Houston Police Department's vice squad, made the arrests. Calls to those officers were not returned Thursday.

Other vice officers said online advertisements for "mother and daughter" prostitutes also are not unusual.

Convicted sex offender defecates on self after accused of indecent exposure

2010-08-14T07:52:00.000-04:00

A convicted sex offender faces new charges after two people reported seeing him touch his exposed private parts while sitting in a truck adjacent to Tony’s Ice Cream.

Robert Stephen Smith, 41, of 474 Cedar Creek Court, Iron Station, denies the allegation.

“I was going to ask a girl out on a date, I’m not a bad-looking guy,” Smith told a magistrate judge. “I was not playing with myself. I promise you that.”

Witnesses – including the son of a Gastonia Police sergeant – report that Smith had his pants down and was touching himself inappropriately in public at 9:48 a.m. Friday.

“He had his pants down and he was, you know,” said the worker at a nearby business who made the initial 911 call. “He was looking at the people coming out of Tony’s Ice Cream.

“My first thought was what if a child walked by or a teenager. I don’t know if he’s ready to pick up a child or follow someone home.”

Gastonia Police Sgt. Jeff Clark’s son works nearby and the officer said he called his son to ask him to check out the report while officers were en route. His son reported seeing the same thing as the 911 caller.

Smith spent 8¾ years in prison on a February 2000 conviction in Mecklenburg County on two counts of second-degree sex offense, according to court records. He was released from custody Dec. 29, 2007, and then had to register as a sex offender.

Smith left the parking area when a police officer pulled in behind him, according to Sgt. Clark. The officer stopped him about a block away at another business on Avon Street near Second Avenue.

The officer reported that Smith had his pants down to his knees at the time of the traffic stop. As officers handcuffed a naked Smith they said he defecated on himself in an area outside his truck.

Smith was released from custody after posting a $5,000 bond. He faces charges of indecent exposure and resisting a police officer, related to him allegedly pulling away as officers tried to handcuff him.

Smith said he spent 10 minutes in the parking lot near Tony’s Ice Cream on Franklin Boulevard near the intersection with Avon Street. He said his pants were unbuttoned because he suffers Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disorder.

He said he was trying to talk to a woman he had made “eye contact” with while driving down the road after visiting the Habitat store earlier that morning. The woman never talked with him, he said.

Smith denied the charge throughout a hearing before the magistrate judge, at one point calling his arresting officers “liars.”

He has a first court date on Sept. 28.

13-year-old struck by lightning on Friday 13th at 13.13

2010-08-14T02:15:00.000-04:00

At precisely 13:13, a boy aged 13 was seen by the St John Ambulance team at Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival in Suffolk after he was struck by lightning, a spokesman said.

The boy suffered a minor burn and was taken to James Paget Hospital, where he is expected to make a full recovery.

Jason Gillingham, county ambulance officer and on scene at the show, said: ''This was a very minor burn to the boy's shoulder, but he was conveyed to hospital and is recovering well."

A second teenager and a woman were also struck by lightning but did not need hospital treatment.

The three were watching a display of the Red Arrows during a downpour when the lightning struck.

This Disturbing World Wide Weird

Young father is the first Briton to die after taking new legal designer drug Ivory Wave

Related articles by Zemanta

Jilted spiderwoman jailed

Related articles by Zemanta

Witnesses tell of shark horror - Lone surfer killed

Related articles by Zemanta

Nakations: Naked Vacations May Be Hot, but Are They Safe?

Related articles by Zemanta

Lost cell-phone caller drives into river, dies

Related articles by Zemanta

Reputed incarnation of Buddhist teacher visits Boulder

Related articles by Zemanta

Online 'sextortion' of teens on the rise

Related articles by Zemanta

Sleepwalker beats sex rap

Related articles by Zemanta

Calif. school settles suit over anti-abortion shirt

Related articles by Zemanta

8 dead, 12 wounded as truck plows into crowd at off-road race

Related articles by Zemanta

Elderly man with walker robs B.C. bank

Related articles by Zemanta

Druid to be subject of reincarnation spell

Isaac Bonewits 1949-2010

Related articles by Zemanta

South Dakota man dies after donating liver to brother

Related articles by Zemanta

Hong Kong baseballer hit by stray bullet in Venezuela

Related articles by Zemanta

iPod thief exposes self, threatens clerk with 'flesh-eating bacteria'

Related articles by Zemanta

BBC Show “Being Human” Reports Haunted Set

Related articles by Zemanta

Results analyzed for Harvey House haunting

Related articles by Zemanta

Airline passenger reports silver sphere-shaped UFO 1,000 feet under jet

Related articles by Zemanta

Expert: Most UFO incidents have reasonable explanations

Related articles by Zemanta

Brazilian Air Force Decrees UFO Disclosure

Related articles by Zemanta

'UFO' spotted on the bed of the Thames

What lies beneath: This scan of the Thames river bed has revealed a UFO (see cursor), or unidentified fishy obect, lying near London bridge.

Related articles by Zemanta

Dutch girls groomed, forced into prostitution by ‘Loverboy’ pimps

Related articles by Zemanta

Girl says family forced her into prostitution

Related articles by Zemanta

Convicted sex offender defecates on self after accused of indecent exposure

Related articles by Zemanta

13-year-old struck by lightning on Friday 13th at 13.13

Related articles by Zemanta