TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES
Moderator: S2k Moderators
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Driver Has 18 Times Legal Alcohol Limit
By LIUDAS DAPKUS, Associated Press Writer
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) - Lithuanian police were so astonished when they pulled over a truck driver and his breathalyzer test registered 18 times the legal alcohol limit, they thought their testing device must be broken. It wasn't.
Police said Tuesday 41-year-old Vidmantas Sungaila registered 7.27 grams per liter of alcohol in his blood repeatedly on different devices when he was pulled over for driving his truck down the center of a two-lane highway 60 miles from the capital, Vilnius on Saturday.
Lithuania's legal limit is 0.4 grams per liter.
"This guy should have been lying dead, but he was still driving. It must be an unofficial national record," Saulius Skvernelis, the director of the national police traffic control service, told the AP. "He was of high spirits and grinning the whole time he was questioned."
Medical experts say anything above 3.5 grams per liter of alcohol in the blood is lethal for most people.
"A person this intoxicated should be in an intensive care unit, not behind the wheel," said Tautvydas Zikaras, head of the dependence illness center in the country's second-largest city, Kaunas. Zikaras said he had never heard or read of someone being so drunk.
Sungaila, who was slapped with a 3,000 litas ($1,110) fine and the loss of his license for up to three years, told police he had been drinking the night before and tried to freshen up by downing a pint of beer for breakfast.
Lithuania has one of the worst road safety records in the European Union. Last year, 760 people died in traffic accidents in this country of 3.5 million residents. Most were alcohol-related.
By LIUDAS DAPKUS, Associated Press Writer
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) - Lithuanian police were so astonished when they pulled over a truck driver and his breathalyzer test registered 18 times the legal alcohol limit, they thought their testing device must be broken. It wasn't.
Police said Tuesday 41-year-old Vidmantas Sungaila registered 7.27 grams per liter of alcohol in his blood repeatedly on different devices when he was pulled over for driving his truck down the center of a two-lane highway 60 miles from the capital, Vilnius on Saturday.
Lithuania's legal limit is 0.4 grams per liter.
"This guy should have been lying dead, but he was still driving. It must be an unofficial national record," Saulius Skvernelis, the director of the national police traffic control service, told the AP. "He was of high spirits and grinning the whole time he was questioned."
Medical experts say anything above 3.5 grams per liter of alcohol in the blood is lethal for most people.
"A person this intoxicated should be in an intensive care unit, not behind the wheel," said Tautvydas Zikaras, head of the dependence illness center in the country's second-largest city, Kaunas. Zikaras said he had never heard or read of someone being so drunk.
Sungaila, who was slapped with a 3,000 litas ($1,110) fine and the loss of his license for up to three years, told police he had been drinking the night before and tried to freshen up by downing a pint of beer for breakfast.
Lithuania has one of the worst road safety records in the European Union. Last year, 760 people died in traffic accidents in this country of 3.5 million residents. Most were alcohol-related.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Qatari pays $2.75 mln for mobile phone number
DOHA (Reuters) - The tiny Gulf state of Qatar, famed mainly for having the Arab world's largest reserves of natural gas, added another record to its name Tuesday -- one of the world's most expensive telephone numbers.
At a charity event in the capital of Doha, a Qatari bidder paid $2.75 million for the mobile phone number 666-6666.
The winner, who made the highest bid 10 minutes into the auction, declined requests for interviews. Eight people took part in the auction, organized by Qatar Telecom to help raise funds for charity, paying 3,000 Qatari riyals ($824.60) per ticket.
Funds from the ticket sales were given to a local charity, while the 10 million riyals from the sale of the number will be used to expand medical services.
DOHA (Reuters) - The tiny Gulf state of Qatar, famed mainly for having the Arab world's largest reserves of natural gas, added another record to its name Tuesday -- one of the world's most expensive telephone numbers.
At a charity event in the capital of Doha, a Qatari bidder paid $2.75 million for the mobile phone number 666-6666.
The winner, who made the highest bid 10 minutes into the auction, declined requests for interviews. Eight people took part in the auction, organized by Qatar Telecom to help raise funds for charity, paying 3,000 Qatari riyals ($824.60) per ticket.
Funds from the ticket sales were given to a local charity, while the 10 million riyals from the sale of the number will be used to expand medical services.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
"Brangelina" baby holiday for Namibia?
LANGSTRAND, Namibia (Reuters) - Half of Namibians voting in an informal radio survey believe the day Angelina Jolie gives birth should be declared a national holiday, an honour usually reserved for kings, queens and national heroes.
"We have a tie, it's 50-50," the DJ for popular local radio station Radio Wave announced on Tuesday after listeners were asked whether the "Brangelina" baby should be accorded the honour. She said voting was still going on.
Hollywood stars Jolie and Brad Pitt sparked an international media frenzy when they arrived in Namibia with her two adopted children to have their first child.
But while residents of the southern African country have so far been unfazed by the visit, local media is now getting into the act, with the daily Namib Times speculating that the baby might arrive at the weekend or early next week.
The couple have remained almost invisible in their beach resort in the tiny village of Langstrand on the country's desert coastline, shielded by tight security.
LANGSTRAND, Namibia (Reuters) - Half of Namibians voting in an informal radio survey believe the day Angelina Jolie gives birth should be declared a national holiday, an honour usually reserved for kings, queens and national heroes.
"We have a tie, it's 50-50," the DJ for popular local radio station Radio Wave announced on Tuesday after listeners were asked whether the "Brangelina" baby should be accorded the honour. She said voting was still going on.
Hollywood stars Jolie and Brad Pitt sparked an international media frenzy when they arrived in Namibia with her two adopted children to have their first child.
But while residents of the southern African country have so far been unfazed by the visit, local media is now getting into the act, with the daily Namib Times speculating that the baby might arrive at the weekend or early next week.
The couple have remained almost invisible in their beach resort in the tiny village of Langstrand on the country's desert coastline, shielded by tight security.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Death sentence for first Bavarian bear in 170 years
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - Hunters in southern Germany have been given the green light to shoot the first wild bear seen in Bavaria in 170 years after the 100-kilogramme beast went on a rampage, killing a dozen sheep and numerous chickens.
The German animal protection agency in Bavaria described as "hysterical" the decision to kill the bear, which had at first been welcomed when it wandered across the Austrian border at the weekend. But authorities were adamant.
"It is now a problem bear," Bavarian environment minister Werner Schnappauf said. "A man-bear encounter could occur at any time. It cannot be allowed to roam freely. We will ask hunters to shoot the bear."
Joern Ehlers, a spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), told German radio that it was unusual for bears, normally shy animals, to seek out food in the vicinity of humans.
"The WWF is trying to catch the bear alive," Ehlers said. "Initially we wanted to tag it so we could better track its movements, but now it looks as if this bear cannot be left out in the wild because it's simply too dangerous."
Top-selling German daily Bild plastered a big picture of the bear with a hunter's bull's eye on it on its front page, alongside the headline "Death sentence for German bears!".
In a full page article, the paper showed gory pictures of disembowelled sheep alongside their concerned owners.
"It gutted them and then just ate their hearts and livers," the paper quoted 42-year old farmer Anton W. as saying.
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - Hunters in southern Germany have been given the green light to shoot the first wild bear seen in Bavaria in 170 years after the 100-kilogramme beast went on a rampage, killing a dozen sheep and numerous chickens.
The German animal protection agency in Bavaria described as "hysterical" the decision to kill the bear, which had at first been welcomed when it wandered across the Austrian border at the weekend. But authorities were adamant.
"It is now a problem bear," Bavarian environment minister Werner Schnappauf said. "A man-bear encounter could occur at any time. It cannot be allowed to roam freely. We will ask hunters to shoot the bear."
Joern Ehlers, a spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), told German radio that it was unusual for bears, normally shy animals, to seek out food in the vicinity of humans.
"The WWF is trying to catch the bear alive," Ehlers said. "Initially we wanted to tag it so we could better track its movements, but now it looks as if this bear cannot be left out in the wild because it's simply too dangerous."
Top-selling German daily Bild plastered a big picture of the bear with a hunter's bull's eye on it on its front page, alongside the headline "Death sentence for German bears!".
In a full page article, the paper showed gory pictures of disembowelled sheep alongside their concerned owners.
"It gutted them and then just ate their hearts and livers," the paper quoted 42-year old farmer Anton W. as saying.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Boy, 8, arrested in fatal school bus accident
NEW YORK (AP) - An 8-year-old boy was arrested after he sneaked onto a school bus and released its parking brake, causing it to roll forward and fatally strike a second-grader, police said Tuesday.
The boy was to be charged with criminally negligent homicide, Officer Doris Garcia said. Police were withholding his name because of his age, she said.
Amber Sadiq was crossing the street near her school Monday afternoon when she was struck by the bus in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Police believe the boy was alone on the bus, Garcia said.
"She tried to run but the garbage can was in the way," said 12-year-old Kassandra Polanco, who saw the bus bearing down on the girl.
Investigators believe the driver got off the bus and secured it but the boy may have gotten inside through the back door, an emergency exit that can't be locked, police spokeswoman Detective Theresa Farello said.
A woman who saw what was happening jumped into the bus, but was unable to stop it in time, police said.
Deli worker Sam Ahmad said he saw the girl under the bus and called 911. He said he and about a dozen other men tried to lift the yellow bus to free her but it was too heavy.
Police said the girl was 8; the Department of Education said she was 7.
NEW YORK (AP) - An 8-year-old boy was arrested after he sneaked onto a school bus and released its parking brake, causing it to roll forward and fatally strike a second-grader, police said Tuesday.
The boy was to be charged with criminally negligent homicide, Officer Doris Garcia said. Police were withholding his name because of his age, she said.
Amber Sadiq was crossing the street near her school Monday afternoon when she was struck by the bus in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Police believe the boy was alone on the bus, Garcia said.
"She tried to run but the garbage can was in the way," said 12-year-old Kassandra Polanco, who saw the bus bearing down on the girl.
Investigators believe the driver got off the bus and secured it but the boy may have gotten inside through the back door, an emergency exit that can't be locked, police spokeswoman Detective Theresa Farello said.
A woman who saw what was happening jumped into the bus, but was unable to stop it in time, police said.
Deli worker Sam Ahmad said he saw the girl under the bus and called 911. He said he and about a dozen other men tried to lift the yellow bus to free her but it was too heavy.
Police said the girl was 8; the Department of Education said she was 7.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Ryanair boss offers "Fuel Monty" to Polish airline
WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish national airline LOT said this month that managers at cut-price competitor Ryanair would "drop their trousers" for extra publicity.
It turns out LOT spokesman Leszek Chorzewski was right.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary says he'll walk naked through Warsaw if LOT removes the fuel surcharge on its tickets by the end of this month.
"I will walk down Marszalkowska street naked," said O'Leary, known for his PR stunts and straight-talk with the media. He laid down the challenge on Ryanair's Web site.
LOT, part of the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance, has used fuel surcharges to offset rising fuel costs.
A year into operations in Poland, Ryanair aims to carry 1.6 million passengers this year and could expand its operations to carry 10 million by 2011 -- if the government loosens competition in the sector.
_____________________________________________________________
You know what else they offered? Hamwinkies!
Image courtesy of E!'s "The Soup"
WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish national airline LOT said this month that managers at cut-price competitor Ryanair would "drop their trousers" for extra publicity.
It turns out LOT spokesman Leszek Chorzewski was right.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary says he'll walk naked through Warsaw if LOT removes the fuel surcharge on its tickets by the end of this month.
"I will walk down Marszalkowska street naked," said O'Leary, known for his PR stunts and straight-talk with the media. He laid down the challenge on Ryanair's Web site.
LOT, part of the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance, has used fuel surcharges to offset rising fuel costs.
A year into operations in Poland, Ryanair aims to carry 1.6 million passengers this year and could expand its operations to carry 10 million by 2011 -- if the government loosens competition in the sector.
_____________________________________________________________
You know what else they offered? Hamwinkies!


Image courtesy of E!'s "The Soup"
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Woman Allegedly Hits Two With Raid Can
ATHENS, Ala. (AP) - A woman was charged with domestic violence for allegedly hitting her husband and another woman on the head with a can of Raid bug spray after she found them together.
Police Sgt. Trevor Harris said a "nosy neighbor" called the woman at work on Friday and told her that her husband was at their apartment having an affair with another woman, prompting the wife to head home.
"She came in and caught her husband with another woman and she grabbed a can of Raid and went at it," said another officer, Capt. Marty Bruce. "She hit the husband in the back of the head with it and then turned on the woman and also hit her in the head."
The woman who was struck needed stitches for a head wound, police said, and the husband also was cut but did not require medical treatment.
Cornelia Cottrell Smith, 26, of Athens was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence and released from the City Jail after posting a $1,000 bond. No one answered a call Tuesday at a telephone number listed for her address.
ATHENS, Ala. (AP) - A woman was charged with domestic violence for allegedly hitting her husband and another woman on the head with a can of Raid bug spray after she found them together.
Police Sgt. Trevor Harris said a "nosy neighbor" called the woman at work on Friday and told her that her husband was at their apartment having an affair with another woman, prompting the wife to head home.
"She came in and caught her husband with another woman and she grabbed a can of Raid and went at it," said another officer, Capt. Marty Bruce. "She hit the husband in the back of the head with it and then turned on the woman and also hit her in the head."
The woman who was struck needed stitches for a head wound, police said, and the husband also was cut but did not require medical treatment.
Cornelia Cottrell Smith, 26, of Athens was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence and released from the City Jail after posting a $1,000 bond. No one answered a call Tuesday at a telephone number listed for her address.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Alligator Stops Traffic on Fla. Turnpike
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Commuters were stalled in an unusual tie-up during rush hour Tuesday morning after an alligator decided to cross the Florida Turnpike.
Drivers snapped pictures with cell phones as they watched the gator cross the northbound PGA Blvd. exit around 8:30 a.m. The Florida Highway Patrol closed off the exit ramp for several minutes until the reptile made his way into a nearby canal without injuries, the Palm Beach Post reported.
A driver on the Turnpike called 911 earlier in the morning after spotting the alligator.
Authorities said a trapper was called to the scene.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Commuters were stalled in an unusual tie-up during rush hour Tuesday morning after an alligator decided to cross the Florida Turnpike.
Drivers snapped pictures with cell phones as they watched the gator cross the northbound PGA Blvd. exit around 8:30 a.m. The Florida Highway Patrol closed off the exit ramp for several minutes until the reptile made his way into a nearby canal without injuries, the Palm Beach Post reported.
A driver on the Turnpike called 911 earlier in the morning after spotting the alligator.
Authorities said a trapper was called to the scene.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Husband, Wife, Child Share Same Birthday
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) - A husband, wife and their first child beat enormous odds and share the same birthday. Evelin Alballat was introduced to Tony Osman several years ago by one of her relatives who learned they were both born on May 21. The couple married two years ago.
Their baby's due date was May 20 and Alballat started having contractions around 10 p.m. that night. She was then admitted to Marian Medical Center.
"I kept staring at the clock and wanted it to turn past midnight before I delivered my baby," she said.
Danny Osman entered the world about 12 hours later.
"We didn't plan for it; it just happened," Alballat said.
"We were just dumbfounded," Osman added.
The chances of three family members sharing a birthday are .000751 percent, according to Paul Murphy, a mathematician and dean of academic affairs at Allan Hancock College.
Future birthdays will be a family celebration with one big cake and a vacation, Osman said. While the couple intends to have more children, they said they won't aim for a fourth May 21 birth.
"We want to have one more, but we'll just see what happens," Osman said.
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) - A husband, wife and their first child beat enormous odds and share the same birthday. Evelin Alballat was introduced to Tony Osman several years ago by one of her relatives who learned they were both born on May 21. The couple married two years ago.
Their baby's due date was May 20 and Alballat started having contractions around 10 p.m. that night. She was then admitted to Marian Medical Center.
"I kept staring at the clock and wanted it to turn past midnight before I delivered my baby," she said.
Danny Osman entered the world about 12 hours later.
"We didn't plan for it; it just happened," Alballat said.
"We were just dumbfounded," Osman added.
The chances of three family members sharing a birthday are .000751 percent, according to Paul Murphy, a mathematician and dean of academic affairs at Allan Hancock College.
Future birthdays will be a family celebration with one big cake and a vacation, Osman said. While the couple intends to have more children, they said they won't aim for a fourth May 21 birth.
"We want to have one more, but we'll just see what happens," Osman said.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Resuscitated Exotic Chicken Dies
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (AP) - The exotic chicken that was saved from drowning by mouth-to-beak resuscitation more than three months ago has died, her owner said Tuesday.
Boo Boo, the chicken who was revived after she was found floating face down in the family pond in February, died recently, said owner Jackie Calhoun. The fowl's story was featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Animal Planet network.
"She had seizures," Calhoun said. "I've come to the conclusion that's what put her in the pond in the first place." He said he assumed another seizure had caused the fowl's death.
In February, Calhoun said he removed the chicken from the water and his sister Marian Morris blew into its beak, causing its eyes to pop open. Morris, a retired nurse, said she hadn't used cardiopulmonary resuscitation in years. She said she was glad that the chicken she saved was exotic and not just an ordinary chicken.
The chicken, who was named Boo Boo because she was easily frightened, also lived to lay three eggs before dying, Calhoun said. Until then, Calhoun said he didn't know if the bird was male or female.
"We incubated one of her eggs, and it hatched," Calhoun said. "The chick has black and white markings like Boo Boo's."
___
Information from: The Daily Siftings Herald
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (AP) - The exotic chicken that was saved from drowning by mouth-to-beak resuscitation more than three months ago has died, her owner said Tuesday.
Boo Boo, the chicken who was revived after she was found floating face down in the family pond in February, died recently, said owner Jackie Calhoun. The fowl's story was featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Animal Planet network.
"She had seizures," Calhoun said. "I've come to the conclusion that's what put her in the pond in the first place." He said he assumed another seizure had caused the fowl's death.
In February, Calhoun said he removed the chicken from the water and his sister Marian Morris blew into its beak, causing its eyes to pop open. Morris, a retired nurse, said she hadn't used cardiopulmonary resuscitation in years. She said she was glad that the chicken she saved was exotic and not just an ordinary chicken.
The chicken, who was named Boo Boo because she was easily frightened, also lived to lay three eggs before dying, Calhoun said. Until then, Calhoun said he didn't know if the bird was male or female.
"We incubated one of her eggs, and it hatched," Calhoun said. "The chick has black and white markings like Boo Boo's."
___
Information from: The Daily Siftings Herald
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
School Bans Sesame Street Gang T-Shirts
BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) - Brockton High School has banned T-shirts with Sesame Street characters. But these are no regular pictures of Bert and Ernies.
On some, Oscar the Grouch emerges from his garbage can, wielding a 9 mm handgun. On others, Bert and Ernie are standing in a gang posture, armed with automatic weapons.
"We were amazed," said the school's principal, Susan Szachowicz. "You focus on the Sesame Street character. But the more we looked at it, the more we saw the things in it, the guns, the gang stuff."
There have only been a few shirts at school, but officials said students are being told to stop to stop wearing them because of the pro-gang message. School officials also said they violate the school dress policy.
Last week, Brockton was awarded $685,000 in state anti-gang funding.
BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) - Brockton High School has banned T-shirts with Sesame Street characters. But these are no regular pictures of Bert and Ernies.
On some, Oscar the Grouch emerges from his garbage can, wielding a 9 mm handgun. On others, Bert and Ernie are standing in a gang posture, armed with automatic weapons.
"We were amazed," said the school's principal, Susan Szachowicz. "You focus on the Sesame Street character. But the more we looked at it, the more we saw the things in it, the guns, the gang stuff."
There have only been a few shirts at school, but officials said students are being told to stop to stop wearing them because of the pro-gang message. School officials also said they violate the school dress policy.
Last week, Brockton was awarded $685,000 in state anti-gang funding.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Obese Australians raising fat cats and fat dogs
CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) - Australia is a nation of pet lovers but it may be loving its animals to death with pet owners passing on rising levels of obesity by overfeeding their cats and dogs, the country's main animal welfare body says.
Despite its image as a sports-mad country full of fit, sun-bronzed youth, Australia in reality is battling the bulge and challenging the United States as the world's fattest nation. The problem now extends to household pets.
Obesity rates for Australians have doubled over the past 20 years, with 62 percent of men and 45 percent of women now deemed overweight or obese.
The same trend applies to household pets, with an increase in the number of overweight cats and dogs being dealt with by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and even one case of an obese pet mouse.
"It's a big problem, and quite reflective of what's happening in the human situation," said Mark Lawrie, the RSPCA's chief vet.
Australia is a nation of 20 million people, almost 4 million dogs, 2.5 million cats, 8.7 million pet birds and more than 12 million pet fish.
It has one of the world's highest rates of pet ownership at 64 percent of households, compared to 62 percent in the United States and 44 percent in Britain.
Lawrie told Reuters surveys had found that between 40 and 44 percent of dogs and more than one in three household cats were now overweight, due to poor diet and a lack of exercise.
Fat cats and dogs were more vulnerable to diabetes, arthritis, heart problems and liver disease.
Dogs most at risk were Labradors, Beagles and cross-breeds such as Labradoodles -- a mixture of a Labrador and a Poodle -- with household moggies more at risk than other types of cats.
The RSPCA said de-sexing and lower levels of exercise had an impact on pet obesity, but the key issue was over-eating.
"It's really the calorie intake and food that makes the big difference," Lawrie said, adding that many pet owners could not
resist giving their animals food when they asked for it.
_____________________________________________________________
You know what keeps me fattened up? Deep-fried Hamwinkies! (Britney Approved)
Image courtesy of E!'s "The Soup"
CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) - Australia is a nation of pet lovers but it may be loving its animals to death with pet owners passing on rising levels of obesity by overfeeding their cats and dogs, the country's main animal welfare body says.
Despite its image as a sports-mad country full of fit, sun-bronzed youth, Australia in reality is battling the bulge and challenging the United States as the world's fattest nation. The problem now extends to household pets.
Obesity rates for Australians have doubled over the past 20 years, with 62 percent of men and 45 percent of women now deemed overweight or obese.
The same trend applies to household pets, with an increase in the number of overweight cats and dogs being dealt with by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and even one case of an obese pet mouse.
"It's a big problem, and quite reflective of what's happening in the human situation," said Mark Lawrie, the RSPCA's chief vet.
Australia is a nation of 20 million people, almost 4 million dogs, 2.5 million cats, 8.7 million pet birds and more than 12 million pet fish.
It has one of the world's highest rates of pet ownership at 64 percent of households, compared to 62 percent in the United States and 44 percent in Britain.
Lawrie told Reuters surveys had found that between 40 and 44 percent of dogs and more than one in three household cats were now overweight, due to poor diet and a lack of exercise.
Fat cats and dogs were more vulnerable to diabetes, arthritis, heart problems and liver disease.
Dogs most at risk were Labradors, Beagles and cross-breeds such as Labradoodles -- a mixture of a Labrador and a Poodle -- with household moggies more at risk than other types of cats.
The RSPCA said de-sexing and lower levels of exercise had an impact on pet obesity, but the key issue was over-eating.
"It's really the calorie intake and food that makes the big difference," Lawrie said, adding that many pet owners could not
resist giving their animals food when they asked for it.
_____________________________________________________________
You know what keeps me fattened up? Deep-fried Hamwinkies! (Britney Approved)


Image courtesy of E!'s "The Soup"
Last edited by TexasStooge on Wed May 24, 2006 4:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Video games can help cut surgical errors
By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - A new study suggests that people preparing for surgery ask their doctor: "Have you played your video games today?"
Surgeons who warmed up by playing video games like "Super Monkey Ball" for 20 minutes immediately prior to performing surgical drills were faster and made fewer errors than those who did not, said Dr. James "Butch" Rosser, lead investigator on the study slated for release on Wednesday.
The research involved 303 surgeons participating in a medical training course that included video games and was focussed on laparoscopic surgical procedures -- which use a tiny video camera and long, slender instruments inserted through small incisions. The study was conducted by Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York City in conjunction with the National Institute on Media and the Family.
Doctors were measured on their performance of the "cobra rope" drill, a standard laparoscopic training exercise used to teach how to sew up an internal wound.
Researchers found that surgeons who played video games immediately before the drill completed it an average of 11 seconds faster than those who did not. Any errors committed during the training lengthened the time it took to complete the task -- indicating that faster finishers made fewer mistakes.
The results supported findings from a small study conducted by Rosser in 2003, which showed that doctors who grew up playing video games tended to be more efficient and less error-prone in laparoscopic training drills. That earlier study suggested that playing video games sharpened eye-hand coordination, reaction time and visual skills.
Laparoscopic surgical procedures can be used on organs such as the gall bladder, uterus or the colon.
Rosser, director of the Advanced Medical Technology Institute at Beth Israel, compares performing laparoscopic surgery to "trying to tie your shoe laces with three-foot-long chopsticks while watching on a TV screen."
The 51-year-old surgeon, who said he has been playing video games since the now-primitive looking "Pong" tennis game was the rage in the 1970s, developed the Top Gun Laparoscopic Surgery Skill and Suturing Programme used in the study.
Rosser said he has collected data on 5,000 doctors who have used the training programme since its 1991 debut.
His ultimate goal is to clamp down on medical errors that are estimated to contribute to 100,000 deaths each year in the United States by giving surgeons training tools akin to flight simulators used by pilots.
"We can't practice on patients," he said.
By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - A new study suggests that people preparing for surgery ask their doctor: "Have you played your video games today?"
Surgeons who warmed up by playing video games like "Super Monkey Ball" for 20 minutes immediately prior to performing surgical drills were faster and made fewer errors than those who did not, said Dr. James "Butch" Rosser, lead investigator on the study slated for release on Wednesday.
The research involved 303 surgeons participating in a medical training course that included video games and was focussed on laparoscopic surgical procedures -- which use a tiny video camera and long, slender instruments inserted through small incisions. The study was conducted by Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York City in conjunction with the National Institute on Media and the Family.
Doctors were measured on their performance of the "cobra rope" drill, a standard laparoscopic training exercise used to teach how to sew up an internal wound.
Researchers found that surgeons who played video games immediately before the drill completed it an average of 11 seconds faster than those who did not. Any errors committed during the training lengthened the time it took to complete the task -- indicating that faster finishers made fewer mistakes.
The results supported findings from a small study conducted by Rosser in 2003, which showed that doctors who grew up playing video games tended to be more efficient and less error-prone in laparoscopic training drills. That earlier study suggested that playing video games sharpened eye-hand coordination, reaction time and visual skills.
Laparoscopic surgical procedures can be used on organs such as the gall bladder, uterus or the colon.
Rosser, director of the Advanced Medical Technology Institute at Beth Israel, compares performing laparoscopic surgery to "trying to tie your shoe laces with three-foot-long chopsticks while watching on a TV screen."
The 51-year-old surgeon, who said he has been playing video games since the now-primitive looking "Pong" tennis game was the rage in the 1970s, developed the Top Gun Laparoscopic Surgery Skill and Suturing Programme used in the study.
Rosser said he has collected data on 5,000 doctors who have used the training programme since its 1991 debut.
His ultimate goal is to clamp down on medical errors that are estimated to contribute to 100,000 deaths each year in the United States by giving surgeons training tools akin to flight simulators used by pilots.
"We can't practice on patients," he said.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Over the moon? No, ekoo yareni!
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Sick as a parrot or over the moon? For fans who want to express their emotions to foreigners during next month's World Cup in Germany, a new guide might be able to help.
It could also help them reach a greater understanding of their fellow footie fanatics.
It may not be widely known, for example, that the national dish of participating nation Ecuador is roast Guinea Pig or that brandy is the top tipple in Angola, but the free booklet from travel agent Thomas Cook puts those information deficiencies to rights.
Along with historical details of the competition and brief descriptions of the teams and cultures of the 32 participating nations, it offers a few choice phrases that may be heard on the terraces or in the living rooms.
Fans hearing "rozhodci nestaci!" during a match involving the Czech team will be able to understand that it means "you've lost the plot ref!", while the Ghanaian term "ekoo yareni" translates as the well-known phrase "sick as a parrot."
But if favourite Brazil captures the Cup again there may be no need to look up a translation for "sobre a lua" because it will be self-evident that the team and its fans are "over the moon".
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Sick as a parrot or over the moon? For fans who want to express their emotions to foreigners during next month's World Cup in Germany, a new guide might be able to help.
It could also help them reach a greater understanding of their fellow footie fanatics.
It may not be widely known, for example, that the national dish of participating nation Ecuador is roast Guinea Pig or that brandy is the top tipple in Angola, but the free booklet from travel agent Thomas Cook puts those information deficiencies to rights.
Along with historical details of the competition and brief descriptions of the teams and cultures of the 32 participating nations, it offers a few choice phrases that may be heard on the terraces or in the living rooms.
Fans hearing "rozhodci nestaci!" during a match involving the Czech team will be able to understand that it means "you've lost the plot ref!", while the Ghanaian term "ekoo yareni" translates as the well-known phrase "sick as a parrot."
But if favourite Brazil captures the Cup again there may be no need to look up a translation for "sobre a lua" because it will be self-evident that the team and its fans are "over the moon".
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
"I'll have what Spot is having..."
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Britain is living up to its reputation as a nation of dog lovers with many owners feeding their four-legged friends healthier and tastier meals than they serve up for themselves, a survey published Wednesday said.
A study of 1,337 British dog owners found that 18 percent fed their pampered pet pooches a better diet than their own, giving them fresh dishes instead of tinned food.
Consequently 21 percent of dogs enjoyed cheese, 15 percent were given fish and 9 percent chomped on vegetables.
More than a quarter of respondents said they would eat the food they bought their dog.
However, the gourmet meals came at a price, the study for Direct Line insurance said. Pet owners pay out 2.3 billion pounds a year on their dogs' dinners and 10 percent admit their pet has got a weight problem.
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Britain is living up to its reputation as a nation of dog lovers with many owners feeding their four-legged friends healthier and tastier meals than they serve up for themselves, a survey published Wednesday said.
A study of 1,337 British dog owners found that 18 percent fed their pampered pet pooches a better diet than their own, giving them fresh dishes instead of tinned food.
Consequently 21 percent of dogs enjoyed cheese, 15 percent were given fish and 9 percent chomped on vegetables.
More than a quarter of respondents said they would eat the food they bought their dog.
However, the gourmet meals came at a price, the study for Direct Line insurance said. Pet owners pay out 2.3 billion pounds a year on their dogs' dinners and 10 percent admit their pet has got a weight problem.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Police: Woman posed as health-care worker to steal valuables
By ALAN MELSON / The Dallas Morning News
GARLAND, Texas - A Garland woman accused of posing as a health-care worker to steal valuables from residents at two Richardson senior living centers was in custody on Wednesday.
Richardson police Sgt. Kevin Perlich said Juanita Gonzalez Sanchez, 34, faces four counts of burglary of a residence, two counts of attempted burglary of a residence and one count of criminal trespass.
Sgt. Perlich said police believe Ms. Sanchez’s technique was to knock on a resident’s door and explain that she was asked to obtain a urine sample at a doctor’s request. When the resident went into the bathroom, Ms. Sanchez would go through the property and steal personal items, he said.
Ms. Sanchez was arrested Tuesday at The Wellington at Arapaho in the 600 block of West Arapaho Road after staff members thought she was acting suspiciously and called police. Greg Boemer, regional manager for Wellington owner Capital Senior Living, said facility staff had seen her Monday, the same day one resident had a locket stolen from her apartment.
Sgt. Perlich said similar burglaries were reported at Atria Richardson, a senior living facility in the 1400 block of Richardson Drive.
Mr. Boemer said staff members at The Wellington told him the suspect stopped to sign in at the front office Monday. He said she wore doctor’s scrubs, carried medical equipment and seemed familiar with the procedures followed by home health-care workers.
“My guess is she either knows someone who works in the health-care industry, or worked in the industry herself at some point,” he said.
He said the suspect was observed knocking on multiple doors until she found residents who would let her in.
“If she didn’t get what she wanted, she claimed she had the wrong apartment and moved on to another,” he said.
Officers searched Ms. Sanchez’s home Tuesday night, but didn’t recover any stolen property. However, Sgt. Perlich said pawn shop records showed that she has pawned 31 items at local shops since mid-April. Investigators were trying to determine how many of those items were stolen, and whether they could be matched to the victims’ missing property, he said.
Sgt. Perlich said Ms. Sanchez remained in the Richardson jail Wednesday in lieu of a combined $180,750 bond.
Mr. Boemer said staff at The Wellington, which has about 150 residents, would be extra careful in monitoring visitors.
“We are now trying to ensure that we verify where each person is going – which particular residence,” he said. "Our staff was alert and notified police, so I'm very pleased from that standpoint … (but) any time there is crime targeting anyone, especially seniors, I think it's a terrible situation, and I'm glad that she was caught.”
By ALAN MELSON / The Dallas Morning News
GARLAND, Texas - A Garland woman accused of posing as a health-care worker to steal valuables from residents at two Richardson senior living centers was in custody on Wednesday.
Richardson police Sgt. Kevin Perlich said Juanita Gonzalez Sanchez, 34, faces four counts of burglary of a residence, two counts of attempted burglary of a residence and one count of criminal trespass.
Sgt. Perlich said police believe Ms. Sanchez’s technique was to knock on a resident’s door and explain that she was asked to obtain a urine sample at a doctor’s request. When the resident went into the bathroom, Ms. Sanchez would go through the property and steal personal items, he said.
Ms. Sanchez was arrested Tuesday at The Wellington at Arapaho in the 600 block of West Arapaho Road after staff members thought she was acting suspiciously and called police. Greg Boemer, regional manager for Wellington owner Capital Senior Living, said facility staff had seen her Monday, the same day one resident had a locket stolen from her apartment.
Sgt. Perlich said similar burglaries were reported at Atria Richardson, a senior living facility in the 1400 block of Richardson Drive.
Mr. Boemer said staff members at The Wellington told him the suspect stopped to sign in at the front office Monday. He said she wore doctor’s scrubs, carried medical equipment and seemed familiar with the procedures followed by home health-care workers.
“My guess is she either knows someone who works in the health-care industry, or worked in the industry herself at some point,” he said.
He said the suspect was observed knocking on multiple doors until she found residents who would let her in.
“If she didn’t get what she wanted, she claimed she had the wrong apartment and moved on to another,” he said.
Officers searched Ms. Sanchez’s home Tuesday night, but didn’t recover any stolen property. However, Sgt. Perlich said pawn shop records showed that she has pawned 31 items at local shops since mid-April. Investigators were trying to determine how many of those items were stolen, and whether they could be matched to the victims’ missing property, he said.
Sgt. Perlich said Ms. Sanchez remained in the Richardson jail Wednesday in lieu of a combined $180,750 bond.
Mr. Boemer said staff at The Wellington, which has about 150 residents, would be extra careful in monitoring visitors.
“We are now trying to ensure that we verify where each person is going – which particular residence,” he said. "Our staff was alert and notified police, so I'm very pleased from that standpoint … (but) any time there is crime targeting anyone, especially seniors, I think it's a terrible situation, and I'm glad that she was caught.”
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Joan Baez joins tree-sitting bid to save LA garden
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - Folk singer Joan Baez sang "We Shall Overcome" from a tree-top perch in Los Angeles on Wednesday in a bid to save a community garden from demolition.
Baez, 65, who gave voice to civil rights and anti-war campaigners in the 1960s, joined Julia "Butterfly" Hill, an anti-logging activist, in taking up residence in the tree in the 14-acre (5.7-hectare) fruit and vegetable garden in gritty south Los Angeles.
Baez will take shifts occupying the tree with Hill, who spent two years in the late 1990s sitting in a northern California redwood to highlight the plight of ancient forests.
The threatened Los Angeles garden is tended by some 350 farmers, many of them immigrants, who have been growing fruits and vegetables there since 1992.
"It's an extraordinary community of people and creativity in this industrial part of the city and it literally gives life every way," Baez told reporters, after singing a verse of "We Shall Overcome" in Spanish.
The farmers are threatened with eviction after a court battle over ownership of the land between the city of Los Angeles and a developer who wants to build a warehouse there. The developer has offered to sell the land for $16 million but no one has yet come up with the money.
Actress Daryl Hannah, a keen environmentalist, joined a small group of supporters who have raised some of the money.
"We've come up with $6 million, which is unbelievable. If everyone in the city just gave one dollar, this place could be saved," she said.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - Folk singer Joan Baez sang "We Shall Overcome" from a tree-top perch in Los Angeles on Wednesday in a bid to save a community garden from demolition.
Baez, 65, who gave voice to civil rights and anti-war campaigners in the 1960s, joined Julia "Butterfly" Hill, an anti-logging activist, in taking up residence in the tree in the 14-acre (5.7-hectare) fruit and vegetable garden in gritty south Los Angeles.
Baez will take shifts occupying the tree with Hill, who spent two years in the late 1990s sitting in a northern California redwood to highlight the plight of ancient forests.
The threatened Los Angeles garden is tended by some 350 farmers, many of them immigrants, who have been growing fruits and vegetables there since 1992.
"It's an extraordinary community of people and creativity in this industrial part of the city and it literally gives life every way," Baez told reporters, after singing a verse of "We Shall Overcome" in Spanish.
The farmers are threatened with eviction after a court battle over ownership of the land between the city of Los Angeles and a developer who wants to build a warehouse there. The developer has offered to sell the land for $16 million but no one has yet come up with the money.
Actress Daryl Hannah, a keen environmentalist, joined a small group of supporters who have raised some of the money.
"We've come up with $6 million, which is unbelievable. If everyone in the city just gave one dollar, this place could be saved," she said.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
"I'll be back", Berlusconi tells world leaders
ROME, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has written to heads of government around the world telling them he hoped to be back in office soon after a probe into alleged irregularities during last month's election.
"I hope to return to government soon after more than 1.1 million annulled ballots have been checked," Berlusconi wrote to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a letter released by L'Espresso magazine ahead of publication on Friday.
"Remember that you have a friend who cares about you. A big hug. Silvio."
Berlusconi's office confirmed the letter was authentic, but would not comment further. Italian weekly L'Espresso said similar letters were sent to other heads of government.
Berlusconi has refused to accept his rival Romano Prodi's knife-edge victory in the April 9-10 vote, demanding checks on more than one million ballots classed as void as well as on those posted by Italians abroad.
He says members of his centre-right alliance should chair the parliamentary committees which would head the probe.
In the letter, Berlusconi listed his government's achievements, calling his record five years in office "a period of unprecedented stability".
He said his coalition had won more votes than the centre left in the election but that because of "Italy's particular electoral system", had found itself with fewer seats.
According to official results, the centre left prevailed in the lower house by 24,755 votes and got a majority of nearly 70 seats thanks to new electoral rules that were introduced by Berlusconi's government and give an extra bundle of seats to the election winner.
In the Senate, the centre right won some 428,000 votes more than the centre left but senators elected by Italians abroad swung the final result in Prodi's favour -- by a two seat majority.
Italy's supreme court has validated the election results. Prodi and his government were sworn in last week.
ROME, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has written to heads of government around the world telling them he hoped to be back in office soon after a probe into alleged irregularities during last month's election.
"I hope to return to government soon after more than 1.1 million annulled ballots have been checked," Berlusconi wrote to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a letter released by L'Espresso magazine ahead of publication on Friday.
"Remember that you have a friend who cares about you. A big hug. Silvio."
Berlusconi's office confirmed the letter was authentic, but would not comment further. Italian weekly L'Espresso said similar letters were sent to other heads of government.
Berlusconi has refused to accept his rival Romano Prodi's knife-edge victory in the April 9-10 vote, demanding checks on more than one million ballots classed as void as well as on those posted by Italians abroad.
He says members of his centre-right alliance should chair the parliamentary committees which would head the probe.
In the letter, Berlusconi listed his government's achievements, calling his record five years in office "a period of unprecedented stability".
He said his coalition had won more votes than the centre left in the election but that because of "Italy's particular electoral system", had found itself with fewer seats.
According to official results, the centre left prevailed in the lower house by 24,755 votes and got a majority of nearly 70 seats thanks to new electoral rules that were introduced by Berlusconi's government and give an extra bundle of seats to the election winner.
In the Senate, the centre right won some 428,000 votes more than the centre left but senators elected by Italians abroad swung the final result in Prodi's favour -- by a two seat majority.
Italy's supreme court has validated the election results. Prodi and his government were sworn in last week.
0 likes
- TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Murder defendant tries to strangle lawyer in court
BOSTON, Mass. (Reuters) - A man charged with murder in Massachusetts was so angry with his lawyer's performance he attacked the attorney in court, trying to strangle him as a shocked judge looked on, Boston radio reported on Wednesday.
"I think he just didn't like the way some of the rulings the judge was making was going yesterday morning," attorney Bruce Carroll told WBZ Radio of the Tuesday morning attack by defendant John Gomes in Boston's Suffolk Superior Court.
"He eventually stood up, started saying something and reached over and grabbed me by the throat," said Carroll.
Several officers intervened before the 6-foot (1.8-metre), 250-pound (113-kg) Gomes was separated from Carroll, the radio reported. Carroll had tried to withdraw from the case last week but the judge denied his request.
BOSTON, Mass. (Reuters) - A man charged with murder in Massachusetts was so angry with his lawyer's performance he attacked the attorney in court, trying to strangle him as a shocked judge looked on, Boston radio reported on Wednesday.
"I think he just didn't like the way some of the rulings the judge was making was going yesterday morning," attorney Bruce Carroll told WBZ Radio of the Tuesday morning attack by defendant John Gomes in Boston's Suffolk Superior Court.
"He eventually stood up, started saying something and reached over and grabbed me by the throat," said Carroll.
Several officers intervened before the 6-foot (1.8-metre), 250-pound (113-kg) Gomes was separated from Carroll, the radio reported. Carroll had tried to withdraw from the case last week but the judge denied his request.
0 likes
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests