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#1481 Postby TexasStooge » Tue May 09, 2006 11:00 am

Lords back truck driver who warned of speed trap

LONDON, England (Reuters) - A truck driver prosecuted for obstructing police by alerting motorists to a speed trap won the backing of three law lords in a test case Monday when they ruled in his favor.

Trucker Charles Glendinning was convicted last year by magistrates in Somerset of willful obstruction after police said he waved a warning to other road-users about a speed trap on the A303 at Tinkers Hill, Stoke Trister.

Although the decision was overturned at Taunton Crown Court the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) took the case to the High Court, which in turn also backed Glendinning.

Now three law lords, headed by the former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Bingham, have again ruled in Glendinning's favor and have refused the DPP permission to appeal.

When the High Court considered the case in February, Mr Justice Owen said there was no evidence that any of the motorists warned by Glendinning had been breaking the speed limit or were about to do so.

Owen added that some people might think the police ought to appreciate the efforts of others to prevent speeding.
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#1482 Postby TexasStooge » Tue May 09, 2006 11:01 am

Just call me Dolph

By Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bottlenose dolphins can call each other by name when they whistle, making them the only animals besides humans known to recognize such identity information, scientists reported on Monday.

Scientists have long known that dolphins' whistling calls include repeated information thought to be their names, but a new study indicates dolphins recognize these names even when voice cues are removed from the sound.

For example, a dolphin might be expected to recognize its name if called by its mother, but the new study found most dolphins recognized names -- their signature whistles -- even when emitted without inflection or other vocal cues.

More than that, two dolphins may refer to a third by the third animal's name, said Laela Sayigh, one of three authors of a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"They are known to produce these individually distinctive signature whistles, like names," Sayigh said in a telephone interview. She said the researchers wanted to know what information in the whistles helped dolphins identify each other's names.

The scientists already knew that dolphins responded to whistles, but wondered if something in the actual voice of the whistling dolphin was making the identity clear, or if the name itself was enough for recognition.

To find out, they studied bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Instead of playing recordings of actual dolphins making signature whistles, the researchers synthesized signature whistles with the caller's voice features removed and played them to dolphins through an underwater speaker.

In nine out of 14 cases, the dolphin would turn more often toward the speaker if it heard a whistle that sounded like a close relative's.

"It's a very interesting finding that encourages further research, because they are using whistles as referential signals -- that's what words are," said Sayigh, of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. "Dolphins appear to be using these arbitrary signals to identify another dolphin."

She stopped short of saying dolphins might have a human-like language.

"I tend to shy away from using the word 'language' myself, because it's such a loaded term," Sayigh said. "I still really feel strongly that there is no evidence for something like our language. (Dolphins) have got the cognitive skills at least to have referential signals."
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#1483 Postby TexasStooge » Tue May 09, 2006 11:01 am

Japan finds misprints in high-tech yen bills

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) - Japan's high-tech money-printing bureau was left humbled Tuesday when 39,500 bills were found to be misprinted, an error that caused vending machines across the country to reject them.

The 1,000-yen ($9) bills, redesigned along with other denominations in 2004 with sophisticated security features to fight counterfeiting, had been printed with a fault unrecognisable to the eye but detectable by some machines, the Bank of Japan said.

The central bank said the bills were valid but could be exchanged for new ones at its main branch.

Japan beefed up its anti-counterfeiting drive in 2004 with new designs featuring holograms, watermarks and latent images in its first major overhaul in 20 years.

Counterfeit bills had been easy to use in many of the 1.8 million vending machines dotted around Japan, but after the redesign the number of detected fakes fell to 12,203 in 2005 from 25,858 in 2004.

($1=111.85 Yen)
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#1484 Postby TexasStooge » Tue May 09, 2006 11:03 am

Man told to pay damages for failed suicide bid

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A German man who unsuccessfully tried to kill himself by jumping in front of a train must pay compensation for the damage he caused, a court in the southern city of Munich ruled on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the court said the 47-year-old man leapt too late to land under the train and instead crashed through the side window of the driver's cabin. He suffered head wounds but no other lasting physical injuries, the court said.

The driver of the metro train suffered shock and was unable to work for several weeks.

"Although the man was not guilty of a crime, there is a rule in the civil code which means that for reasons of equity, he had to pay for part of the damage," the spokesman said.

For repairs to the train and lost wages for the driver, Munich municipal authorities sued for damages of some 4,200 euros ($5,325). The court ordered the man to pay half the sum.
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#1485 Postby TexasStooge » Tue May 09, 2006 11:59 am

Fort Worth teacher accused of punishing pupils who attended rally

By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - A teacher is on administrative leave for punishing students who took part in the Fort Worth immigration protests.

Thousands of people in Dallas and Fort Worth marched in the event, among them students as young as 11-years-old.

The teacher works at Sims Elementary School, where he told as many as five students who had participated in the rally, to leave the classroom and go stand outside for at least 45 minutes.

It's not clear if the principal was aware of the teacher's decision to discipline the fifth graders, or if the youngsters were supervised, as they were kept out of class.

On May 1st, the day of the rally, Fort Worth ISD strongly encouraged students to attend classes.

By attending the rally, these students apparently missed an important test.

Fort Worth ISD trustee, Juan Rangel, has many questions.

"Was this a lesson, a punishment, an exercise in bad or good judgment?" he asks. "Unfortunately it's coming at a time with a very explosive issue of immigration."

Fort Worth ISD is calling the investigation a personnel matter and other district officials are not commenting.
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#1486 Postby TexasStooge » Wed May 10, 2006 7:20 am

A great incentive to succeed the next time...

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A German man who unsuccessfully tried to kill himself by jumping in front of a train must pay compensation for the damage he caused, a court in the southern city of Munich ruled Tuesday.

A spokesman for the court said the 47-year-old man leapt too late to land under the train and instead crashed through the side window of the driver's cabin. He suffered head wounds but no other lasting physical injuries, the court said.

The driver of the metro train suffered shock and was unable to work for several weeks.

"Although the man was not guilty of a crime, there is a rule in the civil code which means that for reasons of equity, he had to pay for part of the damage," the spokesman said.

For repairs to the train and lost wages for the driver, Munich municipal authorities sued for damages of some 4,200 euros ($5,325). The court ordered the man to pay half the sum.
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#1487 Postby TexasStooge » Wed May 10, 2006 7:25 am

Teen Says Friend Asked to Be Hit With Car

CHESTERTON, Ind. (AP) - A 17-year-old boy who police said asked a friend to hit him with a car "for fun" was still hospitalized Tuesday with a broken leg.

Michael Morris, a junior at Chesterton High School, was in fair condition at Porter hospital, spokeswoman Robin Carlascio said.

His friend, Stephen D. Domonkos, 18, told police that Morris on Saturday night asked him to hit him with his car, something they had done before. He told police that Morris was "an adrenaline junkie."

Domonkos was driving about 25 mph when the car hit Morris, shattering the windshield, in the parking lot of a Chesterton restaurant where Domonkos works.

Domonkos was charged with felony criminal recklessness. If convicted, he could face six months to three years in jail.

"I won't do this no more," Morris of Chesterton told The Times of Munster.
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#1488 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 6:59 am

Fat man finishes trek across America

NEW YORK (AP) -- As with many trips, Steve Vaught's trek across America was about more than just the simple act of getting from one place to another.

"I'm glad that I'm here, but for me it's never been about the destination," he said as he crossed the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey to Manhattan more than a year after he began the trip to lose weight and find happiness. "It's been about the journey."

Vaught, 40, began the roughly 3,000-mile trek from his Oceanside, Calif., home to Manhattan on April 10, 2005, when he was 410 pounds and suffering from severe depression after he accidentally killed two elderly pedestrians while driving 15 years ago.

He ended the journey Tuesday about 100 pounds lighter.

Along the way, Vaught slept in tents and motels and went through 15 pairs of shoes, more than 30 pairs of socks and six backpacks. But he didn't travel with a pedometer or measure the food he ate, and he said he aimed to change his behavior -- not just his weight.

"This is not about obsessing about numbers, or times, or dates, or miles," he said. "It's just about going on a walk and sort of having time to get things straight."

Vaught's path wasn't a straight one. He spent a week at a Texas hotel, where he went off antidepressants, and he returned to California for Christmas and then to work out with a personal trainer.

Vaught chronicled his progress on a Web site, thefatmanwalking.com, which lists the names of dozens of supporters in 26 states. He has a book deal, and his trip attracted the attention of documentary filmmakers.

As Vaught began walking the span from New Jersey to Manhattan on Tuesday evening with a flock of cameras and reporters, a passing bicyclist yelled, "Hey, that's the walking dude! Congratulations! Good job!"

Nicoline Biggio, who went to see him complete his journey, said her husband has been following Vaught's progress but was missing the finale because he was out of town.

"I think it's great that he's finished his goal," Biggio said. "So few of us actually keep them."

Vaught posed for photographs on the bridge with the New York City skyline in the background and standing in front of the "Welcome to New York, the Empire State" sign. Once he reached the other side -- his final destination -- he spoke to reporters for a few minutes on the street before being picked up by a black sedan that was to take him to a hotel.

His first order of business at the hotel, Vaught said, was to "put on some new socks."
_____________________________________________________________

ALSO ONLINE:

- TheFatManWalking.com
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#1489 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 7:31 am

Pilots over flying on a wing and a prayer

DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) - Irish Catholic priests illegally broadcasting Mass over the radio to housebound parishioners are suspected of creating a safety hazard for transatlantic jets, officials said Tuesday.

Irish communications regulator ComReg has spoken to three churches in central Ireland to warn them that their unlicensed transmission of daily and Sunday services might be creating problems for airliners as they flew overhead.

"I knew it was sort of a gray area but I didn't know we were breaking the law," Father Brendan Quinlan, a Dublin parish priest, told the Irish Independent.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said that pilots on transatlantic flights have complained to air traffic control for more than a year of hearing static on their radios.

"We believe that (the Mass broadcasts) are possibly the source of the interference. I understand that ComReg are closing down the priests for want of a better term," IAA spokeswoman Lilian Cassin said.
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#1490 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 7:32 am

Insurer offers policy for World Cup "sick days"

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch insurer is offering employers in the country the chance to insure themselves against the sudden rise in staff sick days expected during next month's soccer World Cup.

Tens of thousands of Dutch workers phoned in ill during the European Championships in Portugal in 2004, with sickness levels rising 20 percent on days when the Dutch national side played.

"We are expecting a lot of claims," said Dennis Massaar of insurer SEZ.

Under Dutch law, companies must pay employees who are too ill to report to work. They can insure themselves against this, but most policies apply only to absences longer than two weeks.

SEZ said it would waive the usual two-week time limit and pay out for any employees absent on the day of a Netherlands match or the day after, regardless of the excuse given.

"Obviously nobody will phone in and say they're ill because they want to watch the match or because they drank too much."
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#1491 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 7:32 am

Dead saint? Make him Italy's president

ROME, Italy (Reuters) - What do a dead Catholic saint, a rock singer and the daughter of Italy's last king have in common?

They are all presidential material -- at least in Italy.

With no hope of immediately electing a president, lawmakers have been throwing away votes for the past two days while party leaders negotiate a consensus candidate. A secret ballot has allowed them to get creative.

For one elector, the political deadlock offered a rare chance to vote for Padre Pio, a 20th century mystic monk who had the stigmata -- bleeding wounds in the hands and feet similar to those of Christ -- and was made a saint in 2002.

The speaker of Italy's lower house of parliament immediately annulled the ballot paper. Padre Pio died in 1968.

The daughter of Italy's last king, Umberto II, also scored two votes and ballots were even awarded to an ally of outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who was sent to prison last week for corruption.

Italian rocker Vasco Rossi, whose most famous songs include "Speechless," also got a vote. Rossi did not immediately comment.
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#1492 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 7:33 am

German cyclist elated as British return stolen bike

LONDON, England (Reuters) - A German cyclist who has ridden 335,000 miles in almost 44 years on the same bike and then had it stolen in Britain celebrated Wednesday after it was recovered.

Heinz Stucke had just arrived in Portsmouth, southern England, on the latest leg of a global cycle ride which he began in 1962 when thieves stole his bike as he slept in his tent.

Distraught, he appealed to police and media, telling the Portsmouth News: "I would do anything to get my bike back, I'm emotionally attached to it."

He told BBC radio Wednesday he was rejoicing after police told him the bike had been found abandoned in a park.

"I ... expected it to be found, because it's not a flashy one, it's not an expensive one," he said.

The bike, an old-fashioned, black, German-built three-gear cycle, has taken Stucke through more than 200 countries and into the record books as the world's most traveled cyclist since he set out from his home in Hovelhof, Germany, in 1962.

He has painted a map of the world marked with a route of his journeys on to the frame.
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#1493 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 7:34 am

Official wants Da Vinci movie banned

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine government should ban the controversial movie "The Da Vinci Code," a senior official in the mainly Catholic country said Wednesday, describing the religious thriller as blasphemous.

The film, based on the best-selling fiction novel of the same title, is due to open in Manila's cinemas next week.

"I think we should do everything not to allow it to be shown," said Eduardo Ermita, executive secretary to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, expressing his personal opinion as a "devout Catholic."

He told journalists the state's censors should take a closer look at its guidelines before giving the green light to the film whose central premise is that Jesus Christ sired a child by Mary Magdalene.

More than 80 percent of the Philippines' 85 million population are Roman Catholic. Along with Malta, the Philippines is one of only two countries in the world without a divorce law and frowns on the promotion of artificial contraception.

"In the name of many like you who love and revere the Son of God made Man, I strongly appeal to you that the showing of the film 'Da Vinci Code' be banned throughout our land," said a Roman Catholic archbishop in a letter to the chief censor this week.

Ramon Arguelles of the archdiocese of Lipa, south of Manila, said the movie was an affront to Christianity, reminding the censors that the government had imposed a ban on another movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ" in the 1980s.

Ermita said Arroyo, also a devout Roman Catholic, has not made any statement on the issue. She is due to return from a four-day state visit to Saudi Arabia Thursday.

"It's something that we should not be talking about," he said, referring to the movie's storyline. "We might get struck by lightning."
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#1494 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 11:18 am

Carrey double has last laugh on paparazzi

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - He may be Hollywood's man of a thousand faces, but comedian Jim Carrey decided to let someone else do the masquerading while on vacation in Israel this month.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said Carrey, who crossed into Israel from Egypt unannounced last week only to be photographed by border staff, hired a local lookalike to camp out at a luxury Jerusalem hotel and throw the paparazzi off his trail.

"I arrived at the hotel accompanied by bodyguards, registered under an assumed name, and wore the same shirt that Carrey wore in the picture that was published," said the body double, Amir Garfunkel. "My job was to sit in the hotel room."
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#1495 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 11:19 am

Energy crisis? Venezuela gas is cheaper than water

By Brian Ellsworth

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Taxi driver Jaime Tinoco works the streets of Caracas in a 1976 Chevy Nova that guzzles 19 gallons (72 liters) of gas a day. But he doesn't worry about fuel efficiency -- filling his tank costs just $2.30.

While U.S. consumers struggle with soaring energy prices, Venezuela's gas is now the world's cheapest at 12 cents a gallon and Washington's regional foe, President Hugo Chavez, vows to maintain subsidies that keep fuel dirt-cheap.

"Those gringos have everything -- so why does their gas cost so much?" asked Tinoco between chuckles as he navigated a midday traffic jam. "Don't they have oil reserves?"

Chavez, a self-proclaimed socialist and critic of President Bush, has even begun subsidizing fuel for poor U.S. neighborhoods as U.S. consumers brace for average summer gas prices of $2.71 a gallon -- 34 cents higher than last summer.

In Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, drivers fill their tanks for less than the price of a cheap breakfast, and love to point out that gasoline costs less than mineral water.

The nation's gasoline is now the world's cheapest, according to an International Monetary Fund report released in April that shows Venezuelan gas prices as about a third of those in oil-producing giant Saudi Arabia.

Shiny SUVs and rusty 1970s-era sedans share the streets of Venezuelan cities as drivers shrug off fuel costs.

Low-priced fuel is considered a birthright in Venezuela, which sells 1.2 million barrels per day of oil to the United States -- the world's biggest gas guzzler.

"Gasoline should stay cheap the way it is, that's why we have oil in Venezuela," said Maria Rosa Pinero, 55, a housewife, filling up a Volkswagen Gol at a gas station in eastern Caracas.

Chavez has extended Venezuela's fuel subsidy to poor Americans through a well-publicized jab at the U.S. government that offers 40 percent discounts on heating oil distributed by Venezuelan-owned refiner Citgo.

Flush with cash from high oil revenues, Chavez has also shored up regional alliances by providing low-priced fuel to Central American and Caribbean nations he says have been snubbed by the United States.

'HOOD ROBIN' SUBSIDY

Venezuela's gas subsidy is the subject of endless grumbling by economists who say it promotes consumer waste and costs the state billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Critics say the subsidy largely benefits middle and upper-class vehicle owners at the expense of government income that could be spent on the poor.

"They call it the 'Hood Robin' subsidy," said Jose Luis Cordeiro, a petroleum engineer who writes about energy issues. "Instead of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, it's the opposite."

He estimates Venezuela would have taken in at least an additional $8 billion last year -- almost 8 percent of the nation's GDP -- if Venezuelans had paid market rates for fuel.

The subsidy also encourages rampant fuel smuggling to neighboring Colombia and leads to huge lines of Brazilian drivers waiting to fill up along the southern border.

But past efforts to raise gas prices have not gone well. Authorities in 1989 raised fuel prices at the height of a recession, leading to three days of rioting during which at least 300 people were killed. Human rights groups say troops may have killed several thousand people.

The event marked a turning point in Venezuelan history, and served as inspiration for Chavez -- at the time a young army officer -- to lead a coup attempt three years later. The coup failed but helped propel Chavez into the presidency in 1998.

Chavez has maintained popularity by channeling oil revenues toward social programs for the poor, and has often criticized U.S. dependence on cheap gasoline. Washington says he is using his oil wealth to threaten regional democracy.

At Venezuelan gas stations, however, there are few complaints about low-cost fuel or fuel efficiency.

"People buy a car because it's comfortable or because it's big," said Isidro Rodriguez, 30, an accountant, as he filled up a new 4-wheel-drive Ford in southern Caracas. "It's not for the price of fuel, because that's never been a problem."
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#1496 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 11:20 am

Expensive gas? Cost is no concern in Beverly Hills

By Bernie Woodall

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - A couple of attendants washed the windows, checked the tires and pumped $4.299-a-gallon premium into a behemoth Cadillac Escalade as digit counters zoomed toward $100.

"I don't even look at the price," said the SUV driver, Michele Best of Beverly Hills, at the full-service pumps of a throwback gas station with very modern prices.

"Don't tell my husband."

Across from Beverly Hills City Hall, the Union 76 outlet is known as the "Station of the Stars" because movie icons like Jimmy Stewart and Jimmy Durante filled up there in the 1950s.

"It's $98.55, for 22.9 gallons," said Best. "But I conserve by not driving much. I only drive a little and always in my neighborhood. You'd have to be rich to drive to work."

One need not be in tony Beverly Hills to experience sticker shock at California gas pumps, even at the cheaper self-serve ones.

Wednesday's U.S. national average gasoline price was $2.89 a gallon for self-serve regular, according to the AAA motor club, down a cent from Tuesday.

But as retail prices cooled a little last week over most of the country, California's kept rising.

A month ago, the difference between California's price for regular and the national average price was less than 14 cents. On Wednesday, the car-happy state was 42 cents more expensive than the national average, the Web site gasbuddy.com said.

Strict environmental regulations, the lack of a pipeline connection to Gulf Coast refineries and high taxes help keep California's gasoline price aloft.

PROFITS AND PRICES

Drivers often curse high pump prices, but retailers have a smaller profit margin than crude producers, refiners, or commodity funds that profit by pushing up futures prices, said Dale Boyett, president of Modesto, California-based independent fuel wholesaler and retailer Boyett Petroleum.

Boyett says Big Oil is getting its share, but energy has become "the latest Internet bubble ... and it makes no sense. It's not tied to the (supply-and-demand) fundamentals."

The United States imports 60 percent of its oil needs and there is always a fear element in the market, because of the hot spots that produce oil, he said. This month it's Iran. Next month it may be Venezuela or Nigeria.

"I don't know how to stop it, unless the market falls and everybody loses," he said.

As the Cadillac Escalade in Beverly Hills filled up for almost $100, a Venezuelan cab driver this week filled his 1976 Chevy Nova for $2.30 at only 12 cents per gallon.

And in much of Europe, high taxes result in double the U.S. gasoline price.

The landmark Union 76 station in Beverly Hills with the picturesque saddle-style awning over its gas pumps doesn't even have the area's highest prices.

Gasbuddy.com showed regular self-serve at $3.92 a gallon at a station near Interstate 5 in northern Los Angeles.
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#1497 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 11:27 am

Shanghai Preparing for 'Human Zoo'

SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Shanghai is getting set to open a "human zoo."

Four Australian men will live in a glass box on a downtown mall for two weeks in June, with the public able to watch them sleeping, eating and bathing, a news report said Thursday.

The group, known as the Urban Dream Capsule, has drawn crowds with similar displays in London, Montreal, Hong Kong and other cities.

"They won't turn off the lights or pull down the curtains. They show their whole life, from getting up to going to bed," Karen Chang, the event's organizer, told the Shanghai Daily newspaper.

"People like to watch them taking a shower, so they have to shower at least two times a day," Chang said. "Of course, one can't see the key parts, because there is nontransparent glass in the bathroom."

The 650-square-foot glass capsule is to be decorated in a Shanghainese theme.

Members of the group have been taking Chinese lessons so that they can communicate with spectators, the report said. The public can send e-mail or faxes to them, or put messages on the glass.

"Interaction is a key element of the performance," Chang said.
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#1498 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 11:29 am

Protesters Pour Spaghetti on Dane Offices

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Seven young activists were detained Thursday after pouring some 440 pounds of cooked spaghetti and sprinkling tomato sauce on the stairs leading up to the Finance Ministry in the Danish capital, police said.

The protest was staged against a government proposal to cut state-financed student grants, allegedly to encourage Danish students to finish their education more quickly, the activists said.

"The government's planned reduction ... forces young people to live below subsistence level," they claimed in a statement, mocking the government to set up a "youth buffet on the stairs" of the ministry.

In Denmark, higher education students get up to 4,724 kroner ($810) per month, or about half the average monthly paycheck in this Scandinavian country.

The government has initiated talks with the opposition about the cuts, which are part of efforts to help sustain Denmark's extensive welfare state in the face of an aging population.

Also under the plan, which needs parliament approval, retirement age would gradually be raised from today's 65 years to 67 years by 2025. No date for the vote has been set.

Police said the seven would likely be charged with vandalism and released.
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#1499 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 11:29 am

Bomb Described As 'Little Boom Thing'

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - A man who pleaded guilty to lobbing a homemade bomb at his girlfriend said he was actually aiming for a beaver dam. In the end, he was the only person injured, and he now faces 10 months in prison as well.

Otis Cecil Wilkins, 45, pleaded guilty Wednesday to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 300 days in jail. He had been charged with attempted first-degree murder.

According to sheriff's deputies, Wilkins had threatened the ex-girlfriend, then threw the bottle bomb at her car as she drove into her yard in Rougemont, about 30 miles north of Raleigh. Witnesses said the bomb exploded in "a large fireball," and then rolled back toward Wilkins, igniting his shorts.

Public Defender Lawrence Campbell said Wilkins' target was a beaver dam that blocked a waterway, and that the bomb was ignited by ash from his cigarette that fell onto the fuse.

Wilkins spent more than a week at a hospital burn center.

"I ain't no terrorist," he was quoted as saying in a law enforcement report from the incident last year. "It was just a little bit of black powder. It was just a little boom thing."

Wilkins pleaded guilty to three assault counts, one for his ex-girlfriend and two for other people nearby, including the woman's 3-year-old granddaughter. Prosecutor Mitchell Garrell said he pursued a plea-bargain because the ex-girlfriend was uncooperative.
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#1500 Postby TexasStooge » Thu May 11, 2006 11:30 am

Police: Power Washer's Work Wasn't Clean

AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - To passers-by, it appeared that Shawn William Hoskins was power washing convenience store parking lots during the retailers' off hours.

Authorities say Hoskins' real business was stealing fuel from underground tanks — almost 2,000 gallons worth about $6,000.

"According to his neighbors, he's been selling gas out of his front driveway for some time," said Travis County Sheriff's Department spokesman Roger Wade.

Hoskins, 51, was arrested Wednesday and charged with a single count of theft, a state-jail felony. He faces six months to two years in a state jail facility and up to a $10,000 fine for the charge, which includes separate thefts from two different convenience stores.

He was being held in the Williamson County Jail, a spokesman said. Jail records did not indicate whether he had an attorney.

Wade said he did not know how long Hoskins had been selling the increasingly costly product or at what price.

He said Hoskins went to gas stations and convenience stores that were out of the way and closed at night. A videotape from a surveillance camera at a Travis County convenience store helped authorities track the suspect down.
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