News of the Weird

[Tellos Athenaios]

The girls wanted to use the Internet, and they'd go to whatever means they had to

Two Placer County teenage girls were arrested for allegedly using drugged milkshakes to knock out the parents of one of the girls so they could log on to the Internet, Rocklin police said.

Internet access at the Rocklin home was routinely shut off at 10 p.m., said Lt. Lon Milka, a department spokesman.
(...)
A little bit of adolescent pushback, as teens begin to express their individuality, is good, said Leslie Whitten Baughman, a child therapist with a practice in Sacramento. But drugging your parents "would not be a healthy level of rebellion."

The 15-year-old told police that her parents' Internet policy was "too strict," Milka said.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Si non è vero è ben trovato: Satnav blunder sends Belgian granny 1,450km to Croatia

A Belgian granny who planned an 80km car trip to Brussels ended up in Croatia, after ill-advisedly obeying her satnav's orders to traverse Europe.

Sabine Moreau, 67, intended to drive from her home in Solre-sur-Sambre to pick up a chum from the Belgian capital's Brussel-Noord station, but was instead directed eastwards on a two-day odyssey.

She recounted: "I was distracted, so just kept on driving. I saw all kinds of roadsigns, first in French, then in German and finally in Croatian."

Belgian cops, alerted to Moreau's disappearance by her son, began to search for the absent-minded absentee. She was long gone, though, and after 1,450km, a minor accident and a couple of naps in the car, the penny finally dropped. Moreau explained: "Suddenly I was in Zagreb and then I realised I wasn't in Belgium."

Admitting her epic roadtrip might seem "a little strange", Moreau stressed again she'd been "distracted".

[InsaneApache]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A 13-year-old was handcuffed and hauled off to a juvenile detention for burping in class, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed against an Albuquerque public school principal, a teacher and a city police officer.


The suit was filed Wednesday, the same day the district was also sued by the family of a 7-year-old autistic boy who was handcuffed to a chair.


The Albuquerque Journal reports the unnamed seventh grader was arrested last May 11 at Cleveland Middle School after he "burped audibly" in his P.E. class. "Criminalizing of the burping of a thirteen-year-old boy serves no governmental purpose," the lawsuit said. "Burping is not a serious disruption, a threat of danger was never an issue."


The lawsuit alleges the boy was transported to the juvenile center without his parents being notified. It also says he was denied his due process rights because he was suspended for the rest of that school year without "providing him an explanation of the evidence the school claimed to have against him." He was not allowed to call witnesses or defend himself against the burping allegation.


The boy was never charged. He scored a - 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 according to a risk assessment given by the jail staff, 10 being extremely dangerous.


It also details a separate incident this school year when administrators became suspicious because the boy had $200 in his pocket. He claimed it was because he was going to go shopping after school, but administrators accused him of selling pot to another student. The boy asked to call his mother; instead, they forced the student to strip down to his underwear while five adults watched.


He was not charged with any crime related to that incident either.


A spokeswoman for Albuquerque Public Schools said she had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...lawsuit-claims

What with farting dentists and belching schoolchildren, I'm glad that I only lie nowadays.

[Veho Nex]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...lawsuit-claims

What with farting dentists and belching schoolchildren, I'm glad that I only lie nowadays.

You must be a politician.

[Lemur]

The Pope's longtime private secretary is now officially a cover girl



Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Pope Benedict's private secretary, who has been dubbed "Gorgeous George" by the Italian media, is now a real-life cover boy.

The prelate has landed on the cover of Vanity Fair.

The cover on the Italian edition of the magazine shows the 56-year-old archbishop smiling, his blue eyes beaming, above a headline that reads "Father Georg - It's not a sin to be beautiful." [...]

Vanity Fair said the article about Ganswein was a "close up profile of a particular monsignor".

[Kralizec]

Employee outsources his own job, keeps 5/6 of his salary for himself for doing nothing

[Gregoshi]

Employee outsources his own job, keeps 5/6 of his salary for himself for doing nothing

Bonus points for awesomeness if he also deducted that 1/6 he was paying as a business expense on his income tax.

[Beskar]

Isn't that capitalism in a nutshell?

[Lemur]

Isn't that capitalism in a nutshell?

Well, he was misrepresenting the nature of his work to his employers, so not entirely.

However, if he incorporated and provided the same services as a contractor? There would be absolutely nothing wrong with that setup.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Well, he was misrepresenting the nature of his work to his employers, so not entirely.

As people on other sites have noted already, the guy is higher management material -- the misrepresenting the nature of your work bit merely confirms it.

However, if he incorporated and provided the same services as a contractor? There would be absolutely nothing wrong with that setup.

Actually given that he did apparently deliver satisfactory "work" (he was apparently rated highly), as far as the employers are concerned what matters more is probably the little matter of allowing a 3rd party to access company resources and modify the code base, going so far as to ship them his RSA hardware token. Depending on how diligent the company claims to be this could be:

• End of business, à la Diginotar because clients simply no longer trust them.
• A very expensive audit.
• Business as usual. Hope the contracts with clients don't specify penalties for this sort of thing (breach of security).

In any case some lawyers will be having a fun and interesting case on their hands.

[Kralizec]

Greg: you have a devious mind

Tellos: The fact that he did not perform the tasks himself would have been reason enough to fire him - but you're right, the bigger worry would be that he gave a third party (chinese, no less) access to the company's recources without permission from his boss. That would not have been appreciated even if he was an independent contractor. On the other hand, you could argue that an employee clever enough to come up with this scam and make it work is a real keeper.

Anyway, this might have come up before, but:

LA county apparently has a law (introduced by referendum) requiring porn actors to wear condoms, and the business is against it, one of the reasons being constitutional righst.

"The exercise of 1st Amendment freedoms cannot be limited by referendum," the suit said. The ordinance stands "as an unconstitutional prior restraint upon protected expression."

Steven Hirsch, Vivid's founder and co-chief executive officer, said in an interview: "We will fight for our right to express ourselves as we please."

Paul Cambria Jr., the lead attorney on the case, said Measure B infringes upon how directors make films. "Let's assume that we're filming an adult movie and it was taking place in the swashbuckler times. All of a sudden, Captain Jack slips on a condom.

"Obviously, that would basically destroy the movie, because it would be fake. Obviously, people would know that couldn't have happened then," Cambria said.

[Gregoshi]

"Let's assume that we're filming an adult movie and it was taking place in the swashbuckler times. All of a sudden, Captain Jack slips on a condom. "Obviously, that would basically destroy the movie, because it would be fake. Obviously, people would know that couldn't have happened then," Cambria said.

Yeah, that would totally wreck the story's credibility...and immersion.

[Kralizec]

Well... At least its a good argument.

Given the importance of the 1st amendment in American law, it seems like a decent argument on first sight. However if we generalise it, the notion that freedom of expression covers any act or behaviour that's necessary to make that expression is pretty absurd. You would be able to make snuff-movies under that logic.

Haven't given it much serious thought though. I hope the ACLU will weigh in.

[Beskar]

At least he didn't try the 2nd Amendment, about the right to arms permitting other body parts.
Then also making arguments how you cannot carry concealed weapons in some states, etc.

[Lemur]

They can take our gold-plated vibrators, but they cannot take ... OUR FREEDOM!



An armed man in Brazil has heisted an 18-carat gold-plated vibrator selling for $4,000 at a luxury sex shop.

Police say he walked into the Erotica Luxo store in Brasilia, tied up a clerk and took the item from its display case. He stole nothing else.

It's high season for erotic shops in Brazil as the nation celebrates its own Valentine's Day in less than two weeks.

Store owner Vanessa Baldini tells the G1 news website the robber might get no satisfaction from Wednesday's theft. She says the Swedish-made vibrator has a stainless steel core, making removing any gold plating extremely difficult.

And she notes the robber didn't take the vibrator's charger.

She says: "I really don't know what he'll do. I'll leave it up to his imagination."

[drone]

The article does not say what he used to tie up the clerk. I'm disappointed.

[Lemur]

Cross-Dressing, Show-Tunes-Loving Connecticut Priest Busted for Selling Meth and Laundering Money Through His Sex Shop



[S]ources tell the Connecticut Post that the Diocese had been aware of Msgr. Kevin Wallin's "personal problems" since receiving complaints nearly two years ago from rectory personnel at St. Augustine Cathedral that Wallin was "engaging in sex acts" with "odd-looking men" while "sometimes dressed as a woman."

And then there's this:

Wallin's arrest sent shock waves through the Bridgeport and Danbury communities where he was known as a charismatic speaker who was involved in many charitable activities, and who enjoyed Broadway musicals and show tunes. He often attended musicals with his mentor, former N.Y. Cardinal Edward Egan and parishioners. [...]

The Statewide Narcotics Task Force, which worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration on the joint investigation that led to Wallin's arrest, believes the man nicknamed "Monsignor Meth" used his adult entertainment business to launder much of the $9,000 he was allegedly making in weekly meth sales.

The 61-year-old was ultimately busted along with co-conspirators based in Connecticut and California after reportedly selling meth to an undercover cop on multiple occasions since September of last year.

[InsaneApache]

I'm sure old Luther would feel vindicated every time one these stories pops up. :eek:

Supermans mate?

[Lemur]

Swedish Sausage Attack: Woman Charged With Attempted Assault After Allegedly Throwing Falukorv



A woman in southern Sweden has been charged with attempted assault after allegedly attacking a man with Swedish sausage, Swedish media report.

According to the Local, the unidentified woman threw a frying pan filled with Falukorv -- a specific type of Swedish sausage -- and grease at the man during an argument in their house.

The frying pan missed the 67-year-old man, but its contents did not. Though he was unharmed in the incident that occurred in November, he is pursuing charges against the woman for the alleged Swedish sausage attack and death threats she reportedly made during the squabble.

Perhaps surprisingly, this is not the first time sausage has reportedly been used as a weapon of choice.

In June, a Massachusetts cyclist was enjoying his Sunday morning bike ride when another man, identified as Michael Baker, allegedly began striking him with sausage links. The year before, 31-year-old Tajuana Banks reportedly used a German bratwurst to pick a fight.

[Gregoshi]

Swedish Sausage Attack: Woman Charged With Attempted Assault After Allegedly Throwing Falukorv

Bringing a knife to a gun fight - bad.

Bringing a knife to a sausage fight - excellent idea.

[InsaneApache]

Gotcha!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21082793

One would have thought that our man in Havana would know the difference between the Union Jack and the Union Flag.

[Fragony]

Bringing a knife to a gun fight - bad.

Bringing a knife to a sausage fight - excellent idea.

Pffffft, it's Sweden, better to always bring a weapon of mass disgustion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surströmming

(I actually like it don't tell my mom)

From wiki 'However, certain airlines have banned the tins on their flights, considering the pressurized containers to be potentially dangerous.'

[Kralizec]

Norway goat cheese fire closes tunnel

A road tunnel in Norway has been closed - by a lorry-load of burning cheese.

About 27 tonnes of caramelised brown goat cheese - a delicacy known as Brunost - caught light as it was being driven through the Brattli Tunnel at Tysfjord, northern Norway, last week.

The fire raged for five days and smouldering toxic gases were slowing the recovery operation, officials said.

The tunnel - which is said to be badly damaged - is likely to remain closed for several weeks, they added.

"We can't go in until it's safe," geologist Viggo Aronsen told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

Police officer Viggo Berg said the high concentration of fat and sugar in the cheese made it burn "almost like petrol if it gets hot enough".


The lorry driver had noticed the fire in his trailer and abandoned it about 300m (1,000ft) from the southern entrance. No-one was hurt.

Kjell Bjoern Vinje, of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, said it was the first time he could remember cheese catching fire on Norwegian roads.

"I didn't know that brown cheese burns so well," he said

[rajpoot]

Hot melted cheese.....

Yum.

[Lemur]

Stoner Mice Eat Evidence in Wichita



WICHITA, Kan. —The three bags of marijuana at the police storage facility in Wichita had been torn open. Some was missing. At first blush, it seemed a clear case of evidence tampering.

Wichita police duly investigated and on Thursday they told reporters they've even identified some suspects. Well, sort of.

Police Lt. Doug Nolte says mice chewed into the bags of marijuana from some 2009 cases, nested in it and ate some.

Nolte says, "We've got some mice that are stoners."

But he also says it's not that uncommon because marijuana has a strong odor that attracts animals.

Police took photographs, resealed the bags and reweighed the evidence. An exterminator has been contacted.

Meanwhile, the suspicious rodents remain at large. No charges have been filed.

[InsaneApache]

Afterwards they got the munchies and went looking for some melted cheese in a tunnel somewhere.

[Lemur]

Vomiting Robot Helps Researchers Understand Norovirus



[R]esearchers have created a projectile-vomiting robot to research how far the highly contagious norovirus particles travel when somebody with the illness throws up.

Norovirus causes severe projectile vomiting and diarrhea in those infected for up to three days starting 12 to 48 hours after exposure. The symptoms can last up to 62 hours. On average, someone infected with norovirus spreads it to about seven other people through direct touch or contaminated surfaces and food. The virus sickens as many as 21 million Americans each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leading to 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths.

Researchers at the Occupational Hygiene Unit at the Health and Safety Laboratory in Britain created “Vomiting Larry” to get a better idea of how the virus is able to spread so easily and quickly from person to person.

Vomiting Larry consists of a cylinder body filled with water mixed with florescent liquid, a head with an open mouth, and a pump to shoot the water through the mouth, similar to projectile vomit.

After Larry throws up the florescent water, researchers measure how far the airborne vomit particles travel.

“Under normal lighting, you can only see the main area where Larry actually vomited,” Catherine Makison-Booth, Larry’s creator, told ABC News. “However, under UV light, you can see the particles spread much further than that – in excess of three meters.”

[Tellos Athenaios]

As someone who has survived the dreaded Norovirus once, I approve of this research. Also, if you don't want to get ill your best bet is to stay well away from homes for the elderly/schools etc.

[Lemur]

Not one, not two, but THREE variations on Gault's Gulch under way: Independence USA, The Citadel, and Seasteading



Utopian communities: They’re not just for hippies anymore.

Take Glenn Beck. The former television host and new-media entrepreneur has a dream. A dream that involves neither dusty chalkboards nor conspiratorial spiderweb charts.

Drawing inspiration from objectivist author Ayn Rand and Mickey Mouse godfather Walt Disney, Mr. Beck recently announced plans to build Independence, USA, a $2 billion, self-sufficient, libertarian city-cum-theme park that would mark “the rebirth of our nation through its own principles.”

When it comes to utopian visions, Mr. Beck isn’t alone.

PayPal co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel already has pledged $1.25 million to the Seasteading Institute, a group that plans to establish sovereign, libertarian-minded nations on giant mobile platforms floating in international waters, a kind of “Octopus’ Garden” for the Gone Galt set.

Meanwhile, renewed national debate over gun control has brought media attention to the Citadel, a proposed walled community — think medieval stone castle, not suburban mechanical-arm security gate — of up to 7,000 residents centered around a firearms factory and inspired by survivalist philosophy and the writings of Thomas Jefferson.

“Marxists, Socialists, Liberals and Establishment Republicans will likely find that life in our community is incompatible with their existing ideology and preferred lifestyles,” says the Citadel’s website. “If Liberty has been missing from the life of your family, consider the Citadel for your new home.” [...]

Of the three visions of a liberal-free enclave, the Citadel appears to be the most developed. Though organizers are not responding to interview requests, the project’s website invites both reporters and the curious to check out a fairly elaborate plan for up to 3,000 acres of land in a mountainous region of Benewah County, Idaho.

According to organizers, residents of the Citadel will be bound by “patriotism,” “pride in American Exceptionalism” and agreement that “being prepared for the emergencies of life and being proficient with the American icon of liberty — the rifle — are prudent measures.”

[Lemur]

For the curious:

Seasteading

Independence USA (or "Beckistan")

The Citadel