Odd News|Deputy duped by fake police lights, arrests driver

MANATEE, Fla. – Authorities say a Florida motorist who used fake police lights to get through traffic was busted after an off-duty sheriff's deputy pulled over to get out of the way and became suspicious.

Manatee County Detective Jeff Lane was driving on a Florida insterstate on July 18 when he saw the lights behind him and pulled over. When he saw that the passing car was a black BMW with no police markings, Lane became suspicious and wrote down the license plate number.

The sheriff's office said Lane connected the vehicle to a 34-year-old Sarasota man. The detective went to the Publix where the man worked Tuesday, and authorities say he admitted using the lights.

The man was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer. He was released Wednesday on bail.

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Odd News-Police find train "suicide" woman in bed

PARIS (Reuters) – French police called off their search for a woman who threw herself in front of a speeding train when they found that she had dragged herself home and gone to bed, a court source told Reuters Wednesday.

The 58-year-old, who suffered from depression, jumped in front of the train Tuesday as it sped through the station at Herrlisheim near Strasbourg at around 150 km per hour, prompting the driver to alert the police.

Discovering only a small blood stain on the train and the platform, police called in helicopters to find the woman who they presumed had been sent flying by the collision, public prosecutor Laurent Guy said Wednesday.

But the search was called off when the woman's partner, returning from a night shift, found her lying in bed with a broken arm and other injuries and rang the emergency services.

The woman, who had attempted suicide in the past, was subsequently hospitalized.
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Woman Gives Illegal Silicone Butt Injections

Florida - A woman who police said performed cosmetic procedures that caused critical injuries on two women pleaded guilty to two counts of practicing medicine without a license. Sharhonda Lindsay, 33, was sentenced to four years’ probation and will have to pay restitution to her victims.
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Man with fetish charged with stealing eyeglasses

MILWAUKEE – An Illinois man was accused of stealing more than $45,000 worth of eyeglasses from suburban Milwaukee stores because he enjoys being around eyewear. Jerry Lowery, 38, was charged with three counts of armed robbery and one count of fleeing an officer. The charges carry a maximum penalty of more than 120 years in prison and a $310,000 fine.

Prosecutors said Lowery walked into three shops between April and July and said he had a gun. They say he took more than 500 pairs of high-end glasses including Prada and Gucci brands, but didn't take cash.

The criminal complaint quotes Lowery as saying he "really likes to be around glasses." He told investigators he tries them on in front of a mirror and then discards them.

Online court records didn't list a defense attorney Monday.
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Dolphin released from rehab is attacked by sharks

CLEARWATER, Florida - An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin was euthanized after being attacked by sharks just hours after he was released into the ocean in west Florida. Dunham, a juvenile male dolphin, was released after eight months in rehab.
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Woman accused of running strip club in basement

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Police investigating a noise complaint in arrested a 28-year-old woman they said was operating an illegal strip club in her basement and garage. Gwinnett County officers said they also found a sign at the home reading "1 Dollar Jello Shots" and minors drinking alcohol when they investigated on July 18.

The woman faces a misdemeanor charge of maintaining a disorderly house and remains free on $1,300 bond.

Another woman who lives with the suspect said the whole thing was just a misunderstanding. She said friends threw the suspect a party to celebrate her birthday and newly renovated home. She said that there were no strippers or underage drinking.

Police also arrested a 20-year-old guest whom they said lied about his age and was found carrying marijuana in his mouth. He has been released on $3,900 bond.

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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China web users outnumber entire US population

China - The number of Internet users in China is now greater than the entire population of the United States, after rising to 338 million by the end of June. The number of broadband Internet connections rose by 10 million to 93.5 million in the first half of the year.
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American Idol Contestant Killed

New Jersey - Former American Idol contestant Alexis Cohen died, the victim of a possible hit-and-run in Seaside Heights, N.J. Cohen, 25, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was found unresponsive on a street about 300 yards from where her car was parked in a lot.
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Bone Found on Ground at Cemetery

GLENWOOD, Illinois - Authorities are investigating a second suburban Chicago cemetery after a human bone was found lying on the ground. The bone was found Friday at Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South Cemetery in Glenwood. Cemetery owner Jeannie Walsh denies any wrongdoing.
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Bill Gates Quits Facebook Profile

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he was forced to give up on the social networking phenomenon Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend.

Gates, the billionaire computer geek-turned-philanthropist who was honoured Saturday by India for his charity work, told an audience in New Delhi he had tried out Facebook but ended up with "10,000 people wanting to be my friends".

Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he "knew this person, did I not know this person".

"It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up," Gates told the business forum.
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Another new Dragon species?

The Komodo dragon has had a busy year. First, studies of its venomous bite upgraded the lizard to an elite poisonous group occupied only by the Gila monster and the Mexican beaded lizard. Now the Komodo's got new kin: German scientists stumbled upon a new (to human beings) species of mangrove monitor lizard in the Talaud Islands. The discovery of the Varanus lirungensis (which is also related to the crocodile monitor) points to a huge predator diversity in Indonesia. So watch where you step!
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Man claims he found condom in French onion soup

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man has sued a local Claim Jumper restaurant claiming he ordered French onion soup and bit into a condom instead of melted cheese. Zdenek Philip Hodousek filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court seeking unspecified damages over fears he may have contracted a disease.

Hodousek's attorney Eric Traut said his client wants to have restaurant employees' DNA tested to find a match to the condom.

A public relations firm representing Claim Jumper said no one can prove the so-called "foreign object" Hodousek took from the restaurant is the item that was submitted to a lab for testing.

The firm said an internal probe revealed no employee wrongdoing.

Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com
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No drinks for the under-16 crowd?

MILAN (Reuters) – Milan will become the first Italian city to bar drinking for youths aged under 16 when a ban takes effect on Monday, and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he favored extending the ruling nationwide.

Faced with a growing youth drinking problem, the city council in Italy's fashion and business capital voted on Friday to crack down on underage alcohol consumption.

In an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper on Sunday, Berlusconi said Milan was a model for the rest of Italy.

"I'm worried about the reckless way in which young people are using" alcohol, the center-right leader said.

"So other ordinances from mayors throughout Italy would be welcome, they would have my full support."

Milan has set a fine of 500 euros ($705) for the possession and consumption of alcohol for those under 16 as well as for those selling to under age buyers. The under age drinker's parents will be notified of the penalty.

"Children are good at getting around obstacles, we've stepped in with a fully-rounded ordinance," Mayor Letizia Moratti said in a statement.

Thirty-four percent of Milan's 11-year-olds have already had problems with alcohol, and 750,000 minors drink in Italy, the statement said.
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Naked girls plow fields in India for rain

PATNA, India (Reuters) – Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plough parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said on Thursday.

Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state ploughed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the ploughs.

"They (villagers) believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rains," Upendra Kumar, a village council official, said from Bihar's remote Banke Bazaar town.

"This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily."

India this year suffered its worst start to the vital monsoon rains in eight decades, causing drought in some states.

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Train worker grins must pass muster on smile meter

TOKYO – Her uniform looks good, with striped scarf and blue cap in perfect order, but Mitsue Endo has one thing to do before she faces the masses — pass the smile test.

Endo, who works at hectic Shinagawa Station in central Tokyo for Keihin Express Railway Co., sits in front of a laptop computer with a digital camera mounted on top. She is a bit grim-faced at first, and the verdict from the company's smile-rating software is instant and candid.

"Smile: 0" pops up on the screen.

She breaks into a broad grin and the computer responds cheerfully, giving her a score of 80.

The company has installed the system to help employees check their smiles objectively before heading out to face customers. The test is optional, but at major stations like Shinagawa, the 250,000 that pass through per day can be rushed and agitated, and a happy face can go a long way.

"Smiling helps our interaction with the passengers. I think the atmosphere becomes more relaxing with a smile," says Endo, whose job includes helping lost customers find their way and dealing with ticketing mishaps.

Keihin uses the software at 15 of the 72 stations where it operates, concentrating on the busier of its locations.

Taichi Takahashi, who works in public relations at the train operator, says it gives employees a chance to examine themselves before they go to work.

"I don't think that we have had much opportunity to stare at our faces that close and for that long and check our facial expressions until now," he said.
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Odd Daily News|Dan Lacey-The Painter Of Pancakes-thepainterofpancakes.com

Odd Daily News-Artist Dan Lacey is becoming well known for painting pancakes on the heads of politicans, stars and even Local Detroit Radio Personalities Drew and Mike.

Governor Mark Sanford Pancake
An oil portrait of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford with a pancake on his head -
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ODD News-Cannes bans nudists after yacht club complains

PARIS (Reuters) – Authorities in Cannes have banned naturists from a public beach after the southern French town's yacht club complained the naked bathers had begun to get out of hand.

Naturists have been tolerated for years on Palm Beach, which lies directly in front of the exclusive club.

But the yacht club said they had recently begun exposing themselves more visibly to club members, particularly in front of the restaurant's windows.

"We organize sailing for children, we have a restaurant, but when the naturists get up from bathing they walk around naked," a spokeswoman for the club said.

"Until now they were tolerated, they were quite discreet, but the problem that triggered the decision was that recently their behavior became more questionable."

The town hall issued the order Monday banning naturism on Palm Beach.

"Naturists have been coming to the beach for years and this had provoked complaints, notably from the yacht club," a Cannes town hall spokeswoman said.

First time offenders will now face a fine of 11 euros ($15), with more serious cases possibly earning a prison sentence and a fine of 15,000 euros.
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Vegan streaker held over attack plans

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch animal rights activist, known in the Netherlands as the 'vegan streaker', has been arrested on suspicion of planning an attack against Queen Beatrix because she wears fur.

The prosecution office said Tuesday it was investigating whether the man was planning an attack against Queen Beatrix following a witness statement alerting authorities.

A decision will be made Wednesday whether to keep him in remand detention.

"He is also under suspicion of possession of a gun," public prosecution spokesman Wim de Bruin said.

But a defense lawyer for suspect Peter Janssen has told public broadcaster NOS the allegations he planned an attack were rubbish and the tip-off was designed to discredit him.

Police arrested Janssen Monday on suspicion of planning an attack on the queen, who was the target of an attack in April when a man rammed his car into a royal parade in the city of Apeldoorn on the Queen's Day national holiday.

The attacker and seven other people were killed in that attack.

De Bruin said police raided Janssen's house and the house of an associate Monday following a witness statement made in a separate inquiry, but that no firearm was found.

The witness statement suggested Janssen planned an attack because Queen Beatrix wears fur, he said.

Janssen previously made a stir when he burst into the live TV show of presenter Paul de Leeuw wearing only string underpants and the Dutch words for "Stop Animal Suffering" written in large black lettering on his bare chest.

De Leeuw responded by ripping the man's pants off, prompting Janssen to dash out of the theater.
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How do you sneeze in a spacesuit? Aim low!

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – Veteran spacewalker David Wolf had some advice on Tuesday for those wondering how to sneeze in a spacesuit.

"Aim low, off the windscreen, because it's going to mess up your view and there's no way to clear it," said Wolf, who admitted being in just that predicament during Monday's spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

Wolf and his shuttle Endeavour crewmates took a break from their construction work at the space station to answer questions sent in by followers of commander Mark Polansky's Twitter feed, a web-based short messaging service.

The astronauts are four days into a planned 11-day stay at the orbital outpost, a $100 billion (60.8 billion pound) project by 16 countries.

On Tuesday, the astronauts transferred a locker of science experiments that will be mounted on a new platform on the station's Kibo laboratory.

Wolf and rookie astronaut Chris Cassidy are scheduled to make the third of five spacewalks planned during the Endeavour mission on Wednesday. Their job is to replace batteries in one of the station's solar power panels.

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Solar Eclipse on July 22 may be most viewed ever

Washington, July 21 : The total solar eclipse passing over some of Earth's most densely populated regions on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, may become the most viewed eclipse ever.

People across central India and in parts of Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Myanmar will briefly find themselves in daytime darkness before the solar eclipse proceeds into China.

Most of the best viewing opportunities are in China, where some 30 million people will be able to witness the solar eclipse in the coastal cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou alone, according to veteran eclipse scientist Jay Pasachoff of Williams College in Massachusetts.

The eclipse will then continue east, passing over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands before reaching its maximum duration point over the Pacific Ocean, where the sun will be completely blocked by the moon for 6 minutes and 39 seconds, according to NASA scientist Fred Espenak.

Thousands of overseas tourists and potentially millions of Chinese are flocking to areas along the eclipse path, where hotels are charging higher rates, according to Chinese media reports.

The July 2009 total solar eclipse is expected to have the longest duration of totality in the 21st century, experts say, and should give Pasachoff plenty of data to keep him and his team busy for months.
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Mythbusters Results-Popping popcorn

You can pop popcorn instantly by detonating a propane tank.

busted

The Build Team placed popcorn kernels on top of the propane tank and detonated it with high explosives. The explosion failed to cook or pop any of the popcorn kernels because the blast blew the kernels away before they could absorb enough heat.

You can pop popcorn instantly by igniting dairy creamer.

busted

The Build Team loaded popcorn kernels into a cannon filled with flammable dairy creamer and ignited it, but this failed to pop any of the kernels. As with the propane, the speed and energy of the fireball dispersed, but did not cook, the popcorn kernels.
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Grandchildren left in car while Fla. woman gambled

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Florida woman has been sentenced to 14 months of house arrest for leaving two grandchildren alone in a parked car while she went to play the slots.

A Broward County judge also gave the 54-year-old woman three years' probation Monday.

Authorities say the woman left the children in a car parked outside a Hallandale Beach casino in August 2008. The windows were down, but the air-conditioning was off.

A witness saw the 2-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy in the car and told the casino's security.

The prosecutor tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the woman had pleaded guilty to charges including felony child abuse and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

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Mythbuster Results-Driving a convertible with the top down in the rain at a high speed will ensure that no water can enter the driver compartment.

plausible

The MythBusters first performed several small scale tests, using a model car and a wind tunnel, and found that at higher speeds, a sort of air bubble seemed to form around the driver compartment, giving credence to the myth. In their full scale test, they used an actual convertible as well as a 200 foot rain bar to provide the rain. In a control test, they stopped the convertible in the middle of the rain to put up the top, and the interior was soaked. Then they drove through the rain at 70 mph (113km/hr), and saw that the interior was significantly less wet than the control. Next, they then drove the car through the rain at 90 mph (145km/hr) and saw that the interior was not wet at all. The MythBusters attributed this to the car’s windshield, which served its function as well as creating an air bubble over the interior of the car. However, they decided to declare the myth “plausible, but not recommended” due to the inherent danger of driving at such high speeds on wet roads.

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Hunt called off for drug lord's hippo

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia has called off the hunt to kill a drug lord's escaped hippo and will instead try to relocate the beast after its mate was shot dead by order of the government, sparking outrage from animal rights groups.

The giant animals were imported from Africa by late cocaine king Pablo Escobar and put in his zoo. They escaped in 2006 to live in the wild near the Magdalena river in northern Colombia, causing concerns about local public safety.

Colombia was shocked on Friday when photographs were published of the dead hippo, named "Pepe", and by news that the hunt was still on for his mate, "Matilda," who gave birth to a calf in the wild.
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Lost love letter reunites couple after 16 years

LONDON (AFP) – A British man and his Spanish former sweetheart have finally married 16 years after they drifted apart, reunited by a love letter lost behind a fireplace for over a decade, reports said on Monday.

Steve Smith and Carmen Ruiz-Perez, both now 42, fell in love 17 years ago when she was a foreign exchange student in Brixham, southwest England, and got engaged after only a year together.

But their relationship ended after she moved France to run a shop in Paris.

A few years later, in a bid to rekindle their love, Smith sent a letter to her mother's home in Spain. It was placed on the mantelpiece, but slipped down behind the fireplace and was lost for over a decade.

The missing missive was only found when builders removed the fireplace during renovation work.

"When I got the letter I didn't phone Steve right away because I was so nervous," Ruiz-Perez told the Herald Express local newspaper.

"I nearly didn't phone him at all. I kept picking up the phone then putting it down again.

"But I knew I had to make the call."

When they were reunited, it was as if time had stood still, said Smith, a factory supervisor.

"When we met again it was like a film. We ran across the airport into each other's arms. We met up and fell in love all over again. Within 30 seconds of setting eyes on each other we were kissing.

"I'm just glad the letter did eventually end up where it was supposed to be," he said, after the couple married last Friday.


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B.J. Penn jumping out of a pool Video

This jumping out of a pool thing has become pretty trendy. UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn is the latest to pull it off on camera. Jarron Gilbert started it on YouTube. Gilbert, a third-round pick of the Bears in the 2009 NFL draft, is also seen in videos squatting and dead lifting 600-plus pounds.

As for Penn, if there's no editing trickery, the pool jump is impressive for a guy who is only 5-foot-9. But you have to assume most MMA fighters below heavyweight could do this, no? I wonder how many 155-185 pounders in MMA have this kind of leg strength and could actually dunk a basketball?



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150-pound Minn. cupcake sets Guinness record

MINNEAPOLIS – A 151-pound cupcake in Minneapolis has been certified as the world's largest. The 1-foot tall, 2-foot wide cupcake on display Saturday at the Minneapolis Mall of America had 15 pounds of fudge filling and 60 pounds of yellow icing.
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Arctic Mystery: Identifying the Great Blob of Alaska

A group of hunters aboard a small boat out of the tiny Alaska village of Wainwright were the first to spot what would eventually be called "the blob." It was a dark, floating mass stretching for miles through the Chukchi Sea, a frigid and relatively shallow expanse of Arctic Ocean water between Alaska's northwest coast and the Russian Far East. The goo was fibrous, hairy. When it touched floating ice, it looked almost black

So far in Alaska, nothing suggests the Chukchi Sea blob is toxic, although the Coast Guard's Hasenauer said toxicity tests were planned. In any case, virtually no commercial seafood production comes from the waters along Alaska's northern coast, but residents do fish, hunt whales and harvest other animals as part of a traditional subsistence lifestyle. In the meantime, the blob for the most part is staying away from the shoreline and slowly drifting farther and farther away.
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Police: 6 slain in Tenn., Ala.; suspect in custody

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – Five people were found slain in two homes in southern Tennessee Saturday, some of whom were related, and a sixth person at a Huntsville, Ala., business, said authorities who have a suspect in custody.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm said in an e-mail that 30-year-old Jacob Shaffer, of Huntsville, was being questioned but no charges have been filed. She said he was sitting on the front porch of one of the homes in Lincoln County when deputies arrived and that he was being held by local authorities.

Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder said at a news conference that his department is investigating three crime scenes, though he did not elaborate. He did not release the victims' names and would not confirm the causes of death. He also did not release a motive in what he called "horrendous" killings and "one of the worst crimes Lincoln County has seen."

Helm said some of the Tennessee victims were related and that the killings happened Friday night or early Saturday.

Authorities did not release ages, but Karon Weatherman, who lives about a half-mile away, said she saw children as young as 4 and 5 running back and forth between the homes that are across the road from each other in the rural area near Fayetteville.

Huntsville Police Sgt. Mickey Allen, who works for the city's major crimes unit, told TV station WAFF that based on the suspect's information, police found a body at Hall Cultured Marble Granite late Saturday morning.

One of the Tennessee homes was once a skating rink that was converted into a duplex, said Weatherman. She did not know the family but said they moved in earlier this year in the area of mostly rental houses.

"I wouldn't expect nothing like this to happen," she said.

Fayetteville is a town of 7,000 people about 90 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee-Alabama border. Huntsville is the largest city in northern Alabama with more than 170,000 people and is about 30 miles south of Fayetteville.

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Artist's Nazi saluting-gnome sparks police probe

BERLIN (Reuters) – German prosecutors in Nuremberg have launched an investigation into whether an artist's gold-coloured gnome giving a stiff-armed Hitler salute violates the country's strict laws against the use of Nazi symbols.

The gnome, standing 35 centimetres (14 inches) tall, is one of 700 made by German artist Ottmar Hoerl that were displayed in Belgium and Italy. Nuremberg prosecutors are investigating after a complaint to local police, said spokesman Wolfgang Traeg.

"We've asked both the artist and the gallery owner to explain what the intention is," said Traeg, spokesman for the Nuremberg prosecutors. "It's not a crime if it can be proved that the artist was being critical of the Nazis."

Giving the outlawed Hitler salute or using Nazi symbols is a crime in Germany punishable by up to three years in prison.

Hoerl, who also created the giant blue and yellow euro symbol that was erected in front of the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt in 2001, said he was astonished by the fuss about his bearded dwarfs.

"I'd have been executed by the Nazis if I had portrayed the 'super race' as gnomes in 1942," the 59-year-old German artist was quoted telling Stern magazine's online edition.

The golden gnome, with an impish grin, was originally one of 700 used in a 2008 exhibition called "Dance with the Devil" in the Belgium city of Ghent. The gnomes were also displayed without objection in Bolzano, Italy and Aschaffenburg, Germany.

"In Belgium everyone understood what was meant," Hoerl said. The gnomes have the word "poisoned" inscribed on their base.

The gnomes are for sale -- 50 euros (£43) each -- and about 400 of the 700 originals still in the collection are currently on display in Aschaffenburg.

Hoerl has a penchant for gnomes. In 2006 he produced 1,200 gnomes in the colours of Germany's national flag -- black, red and gold -- for an exhibition in Karlsruhe.

Gnomes originate in Germany from the late 19th century and feature in many German fairy tales, both as a force for good and evil.

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NASA lost moon footage, but Hollywood restores it???

WASHINGTON – NASA could put a man on the moon but didn't have the sense to keep the original video of the live TV transmission.

In an embarrassing acknowledgment, the space agency said Thursday that it must have erased the Apollo 11 moon footage years ago so that it could reuse the videotape.

But now Hollywood is coming to the rescue.

The studio wizards who restored "Casablanca" are digitally sharpening and cleaning up the ghostly, grainy footage of the moon landing, making it even better than what TV viewers saw on July 20, 1969. They are doing it by working from four copies that NASA scrounged from around the world.

"There's nothing being created; there's nothing being manufactured," said NASA senior engineer Dick Nafzger, who is in charge of the project. "You can now see the detail that's coming out."



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NH man charged 23 quadrillion dollars for smokes

MANCHESTER, N.H. – A New Hampshire man says he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and was charged over 23 quadrillion dollars.

Josh Muszynski (Moo-SIN'-ski) checked his account online a few hours later and saw the 17-digit number — a stunning $23,148,855,308,184,500 (twenty-three quadrillion, one hundred forty-eight trillion, eight hundred fifty-five billion, three hundred eight million, one hundred eighty-four thousand, five hundred dollars).

Muszynski says he spent two hours on the phone with Bank of America trying to sort out the string of numbers and the $15 overdraft fee.

The bank corrected the error the next day.

Bank of America tells WMUR-TV only the card issuer, Visa, could answer questions. Visa, in turn, referred questions to the bank.

Information from: WMUR-TV
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Pay phones get warning stickers - No drug dealing

Calgary - Warning stickers are being placed on some pay phones in Calgary in a bid to keep drug dealers from using them for criminal activities. The stickers will be put on 30 pay phones as part of a pilot project. “Our public telephones have been an ongoing issue in our communities and were being used by drug dealers.
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Naked Man Chases Landlord Demanding Sex

PRUNEDALE, California - A stun gun had to be used to subdue a man arrested Monday on suspicion of chasing his landlord around while nude and demanding oral sex from her, sheriff’s officials said. Jonathan Lowell, 49, was found to be under the influence of methamphetamine when deputies arrived.
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Pentagon orders soldier fired from civilian job for questioning Obama eligibility

The Department of Defense has compelled a private employer to fire a U.S. Army Reserve major from his civilian job after he had his military deployment orders revoked for arguing he should not be required to serve under a president who has not proven his eligibility for office. According to the CEO of Simtech Inc., aprivate company contracted by the Defense Security Services, an agency of the Department of Defense, the federal government has compelled the termination of Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook.
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Man caught in the buff at N. Indiana cemetery

ELKHART, Ind. – A 51-year-old man told a police officer he was naked in a northern Indiana cemetery because he had taken off his wet clothes after checking on his in-laws' grave and then wanted a closer look at some flowers. The officer was off duty and jogging through Rice Cemetery in Elkhart Sunday afternoon when he saw the naked man get into a truck and drive away. The officer later tracked down the Mishawaka man from his license plate number.

The man said he had been golfing all day and that he undressed in his truck because his underwear was wet. He said he left his truck naked to look at the flowers because he did not have his glasses.

He was arrested on a preliminary misdemeanor charge of public indecency.
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Area 51 Ufo Photos?

Russian news paper reports these Ufo photos taken over area 51. It looks like a saucer shapped craft at low altittude but it may also be a large ballon i guess, any thoughts people?
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$120M Janet Jackson lawsuit dismissed

NEW YORK, July 14 (UPI) -- A New York judge has dismissed a 2005 lawsuit in which a man, who claims Janet Jackson's bodyguards assaulted him, asked for $120 million in damages.

"They were monsters," the New York Post quoted plaintiff Leonard Salati as saying about Jackson's security team.

Salati alleges Jackson's bodyguards abused him when he approached the singer at a Manhattan nightclub.

However, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jane Solomon said she believed employees of a security

firm hired by the club, and not Jackson's personal bodyguards, roughed Salati up.

"There is no evidence upon which a jury could rationally find that (Jackson's bodyguard) was the assailant, or that Jackson directed the assailant's actions or negligently failed to control him," the Post reported Solomon's ruling said.

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Passengers hug pilot for safe landing despite hole

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Passengers on a Southwest Airlines plane applauded and hugged the pilot for a safe emergency landing in West Virginia after a football-sized hole appeared in the fuselage.

Passengers Brian Cunningham told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that he was dozing on the flight and was awakened by a loud roar.

Charleston, W.Va., airport spokesman Brian Belcher says passengers on the 737 aircraft could see the outside through the 1-foot-by-1-foot hole in the rear of the plane. The cabin lost pressure, but no one was injured. The plane, which originated in Nashville and was headed to Baltimore, landed safely Monday evening.

It's not clear what caused the damage.

Southwest Airlines Co. spokeswoman Marilee McInnis says the company was inspecting all of its 737-300s as a precaution.
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Episcopal church to affirm gay clergy

NEW YORK – The Episcopal Church moved Monday toward affirming their acceptance of gays and lesbians for all roles in ministry, despite pressure from fellow Anglicans worldwide for a decisive moratorium on consecrating another openly gay bishop.

Bishops at the Episcopal General Convention in Anaheim, Calif., voted 99-45 with two abstentions for a statement declaring "God has called and may call" to ministry gays in committed lifelong relationships.

Lay and priest delegates to the meeting had comfortably approved a nearly identical statement, and were expected to adopt the latest version before the meeting ends Friday.

Leaders of the Anglican Communion have been pushing Episcopalians to roll back their support for gays and lesbians since 2003, when the U.S. denomination consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. Anglican body.

Robinson's election brought the 77 million-member Anglican fellowship to the brink of schism. Last month, breakaway Episcopal conservatives and other like-minded traditionalists formed a rival national province called the Anglican Church in North America.

To calm tensions, the Episcopal General Convention three years ago passed a resolution that urged restraint by dioceses considering gay candidates for bishop. No other Episcopal bishops living openly with same-sex partners have been consecrated since then.

Drafters of the latest statement insisted that the resolution only acknowledges that the Episcopal Church ordains partnered gays and lesbians and is not a repeal of what was widely considered a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops.

"The constitution and canons of our church as currently written do not preclude gay and lesbian persons from participating," in any part of the church, said the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, on the committee that drafted the statement. "These people have responded to God's call."

However, the Episcopal gay advocacy group Integrity, said in a statement Monday night that the declaration "effectively ends" the temporary prohibition on gays in ministry. Integrity called the vote "another step in the Episcopal Church's `coming out' process."

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who leads the Episcopal Church, was among bishops who voted to approve the declaration. The statement also affirms the Episcopal Church's commitment to participate in and help fund the Anglican Communion, the third-largest grouping of churches worldwide, behind the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Christian churches.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, had attended the Episcopal national meeting in Anaheim, Calif., in its opening days last week. He said, "I hope and pray that there won't be decisions in the coming days that could push us further apart."

On the Net:

Episcopal Church

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Cursing Makes You Feel Less Pain

England - That muttered curse word that reflexively comes out when you stub your toe could actually make it easier to bear the throbbing pain, a new study suggests. Swearing is a common response to pain, but no previous research has connected the uttering of an expletive to the actual physical experience of pain.
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Researchers Hunt Mythic Giant Spitting Earthworm

MOSCOW, Idaho - The giant Palouse earthworm has taken on mythic qualities in this vast agricultural region that stretches from eastern Washington into the Idaho panhandle — its very name evoking the fictional sandworms from “Dune” or those vicious creatures from the movie “Tremors.” The worm is said to secrete a lily-like smell when handled and spit at predators.
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Woman dies following voodoo ritual

Camden County - Investigators are awaiting the cause of death of a person who was found unresponsive after a voodoo cleansing ritual in Camden County. Jason Laughlin, spokesman for the Camden County Prosector’s Office said the death of Lucille Hamilton, 21, of Little Rock, Ark., a biological male who lived as a transgender woman, did not appear to be suspicious and no charges have been filed.
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Berlin "sex academy" offers tips for visitors

BERLIN (Reuters) – Wannabe Latin lovers can improve their technique by playing with the erogenous zones of naked mannequins at a new interactive exhibition that has now opened in Berlin.

The "Amora sex academy" that opened in Berlin on Thursday welcomes visitors with the wry slogan, "Finally -- an exhibition for those who always have to touch everything."

More than 50 interactive displays guide visitors through the intimate areas of the male and female bodies, offering helpful tips on everything from striptease to oral sex and how to achieve a perfect orgasm.

"A lot of couples come in here together to learn something," said Uta Barkow, the manager of the Beate Uhse sex chain which is hosting the academy. "It's been very well received so far. A lot of exhibits have that 'aha' effect on a lot of people."

The show features several life-sized plastic models, naked and in various positions. One female mannequin light ups when touched in the right spot. A voice shrieks "That's it!" when the visitor manages to put his finger on the elusive G-spot.

Next to it is what the museum called its "Spank-o-meter." It measures the level of pleasure a mannequin receives when spanked with a leather whip.

"So far we've had just as many women in here as men," Barkow said. "Women coming in tend to have fewer inhibitions while the men tend to be a bit more embarassed."

The museum also shows film clips of various sexual positions, including the "Italian chandelier" that the viewer learns can burn up to 920 calories per hour.

Founded by Frenchman Johan Rizki, the sex academy opened in London earlier this year and is also due to come to Barcelona.

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W.Va. woman wins her 9th big lottery prize

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Brenda Bailey is still on a roll.

This week, the 60-year-old South Charleston woman claimed her ninth West Virginia Lottery prize, $7,000 in the Gem 7s instant game. That brings her total winnings since last September to $159,000 from five instant tickets.

Lottery officials say Bailey has claimed a total $165,800 in prizes from instant and online games since 2000.

She's not the only lucky one in the family. Her husband Richard claimed a $6,000 instant game prize in January and a $10,000 prize last September.
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Odd News-Woman not robbed, just given fake crack, police say

CLEARWATER — Police have arrested a Clearwater woman they say claimed she was robbed but actually was given fake crack during a drug transaction.

Sara E. Gillespie, 26, of 1121 Druid Road in Clearwater, faces the misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence (obstruction). On Friday, she remained in the Pinellas County Jail. As of 1 p.m., her bail had not been set.
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Odd News Woman sitting on toilet accidentally shot in leg

TAMPA, Fla. – Authorities said a bullet from a gun that was accidentally dropped injured a Tampa woman sitting in a bathroom stall. Police said the bullet hit 53-year-old Janifer Bliss in the lower left leg. She was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Bliss was sitting on the toilet in a hotel bathroom when a woman in the next stall accidentally let her handgun slip out of her waist holster. The weapon discharged when it hit the ground.

Police said the gun belonged to a 56-year-old woman who has a concealed weapons permit.

The case has been referred to the State Attorney's Office to determine if any charges will be filed.
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Michael Jackson's death spurs domain-name explosion

The King of Pop also appears to be the king of cyberspace.

Within hours of Michael Jackson's death, a record number of people registered Internet domain names with GoDaddy.com honoring the late pop star.

GoDaddy.com, a Scottsdale-based registrar, tallied 9,803 Jackson-related Web names between 1 p.m. Thursday, the time Jackson was taken to the hospital, and 1 p.m. today.

"The phenomenon was established several years ago - people register Web site address names in relation to big events," said Elizabeth L. Driscoll, a spokeswoman for Go Daddy Group Inc.

The online blitz easily eclipsed a previous record set by Anna Nicole Smith. The day she passed away in 2007, 273 related domain names were registered through Go Daddy, Driscoll said.
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Prank leads Fla. couple to trash hotel room

ORLANDO, Fla. – Authorities say a prankster persuaded a married couple to smash their Florida hotel window after falsely telling them the room had a gas leak. Police say a person claiming to be a front-desk clerk at an Orlando hotel convinced the couple to break a wall mirror and use a lamp to punch a hole through the wall. The couple also threw a mattress out the window, but a hotel manager came to the room before they could jump.

The manager told the couple there was no gas leak. The manager also said employees had received a memo from the hotel's corporate office warning that dangerous pranks were being pulled at hotels in other states.

The prank cost about $5,000 in damages. Police say the couple were not arrested Monday because they thought it was an emergency. The hotel has not asked them to pay.

Information from: Orlando Sentinel
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Man doesn't pay for 'Only God can judge me' tattoo

DENTON, Texas – God might not be the only one passing judgment on a man who skipped out on paying $200 for a religious tattoo at a parlor. Denton police are investigating a nonpayment complaint filed by a tattoo artist who inscribed "Only God can judge me" on a customer's arm. The Denton Record-Chronicle reported Thursday that the artist finished the work, which included a pair of praying hands, and presented the bill.

The customer Monday offered a credit card, which was declined, then he ran out of the store.
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