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#1921 Postby TexasStooge » Wed Jun 21, 2006 4:18 pm

Mother arrested after child eats LSD candy

AUSTIN, Texas (KVUE ABC 24) — A 3-year old boy from the Austin area remained in intensive care Wednesday after he ingested nine pieces of candy laced with LSD, police said.

The boy's mother, Ashli Rene Freas, 22, was arrested for endangering a child. Investigators said she waited for more than an hour before her friends called 911 to get help for the child.

Police said Freas and her boyfriend took the child to a party Sunday night in northwest Austin. They said the 3-year-old ate nine Sweet Tarts laced with LSD while his mother and her boyfriend were both outside.

Police and paramedics who responded said the child was showing obvious signs of hallucination when they arrived.

"As the mother was carrying the child down the stairs, he was grasping in the air," said Cedar Park police spokesman Jeff Hayes. "He was reaching out for things that weren't there, calling out crying, screaming, then calming down and then going right back into that ... she said this was not normal behavior for him."

Cedar Park police are working with Austin police to determine where the party was held in Austin, and who attended. Hayes said they want to know how the 3-year-old was able to access the LSD.
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#1922 Postby TexasStooge » Wed Jun 21, 2006 4:48 pm

Finger on wrong button costs company millions

By Scott Haggett

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A worker accidentally tripping a shut-off switch at a major Ontario plastics plant will cost Nova Chemicals Corp. $11 million (6 million pounds) in lost profit, the company said on Wednesday, because it won't be able to fulfil some contracts because of the blunder.

A contractor's employee installing a structural steel platform at an ethylene plant in Corunna, Ontario, mistakenly activated a process shutdown switch on Monday afternoon, halting production and forcing two weeks of repairs at the facility.

"The switch is a safety thing so if anyone sees something going wrong they have the opportunity to shut down the plant," said Nova spokesman Greg Wilkinson. "But that's not what happened here. It was not a safety issue. It was simply inadvertent."

Because of the unexpected shutdown, Nova declared force majeure on shipments of propylene and some other products. Force majeure is a legal term that means a company can't fulfil contracts because of circumstances beyond its control. It will be lifted when the plant returns to normal operating rates and inventory levels.

The company said the outage and lost sales will shave profits by about $8 million in the second quarter and $3 million in the third. According to Reuters Knowledge, analysts, on average, had expected the company to earn $68.2 million in the second quarter.

Nova has launched an investigation into just how the worker hit the button, but the company said its priority is repairing the facility.

Nova's spokesman said later on Wednesday that the company has decided to await the results of its inquiry before making any decision on potential penalties. However Wilkinson said he has some sympathy for the worker.

"I can't imagine how that feels, but it has got to be very distressing," he said.

The Corunna plant is one of Canada's largest plastics facilities, capable of supplying up to 40 percent of the country's primary petrochemical market.

The plant processes crude oil, natural gas condensates and liquids into products like ethylene, propylene, benzene and toluene. Those are in turn used to make plastic resins for the manufacture of small appliances, plastic bottles, carpets, cosmetics and other items.

The facility, located near Sarnia, Ontario, 180 miles (290 kilometres) southwest of Toronto, employees about 1,000.

Shares of Nova, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, but maintains executive offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, fell 26 Canadian cents, or 0.85 percent, to C$30.30 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
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#1923 Postby TexasStooge » Wed Jun 21, 2006 4:52 pm

Musician's ashes buried in clarinet

WINONA, Minn. (AP) - Roger Busdicker went out on a high note. When Busdicker, often seen playing his ebony-and-silver clarinet, died last week at the age of 88, his daughters thought it befitting to have his cremated remains buried in the instrument.

"One of my sisters found the clarinet in a closet," said Sue Enger, of New Richmond, Wis., one of Busdicker's daughters. "All three of us decided it would be appropriate to bury his ashes in it."

Sure, their father could play the saxophone and other instruments, "but he had played that clarinet for more than 50 years," Enger said. He played Benny Goodman tapes in his car.

"They just thought this was so proper, that their dad went into the clarinet," said Noreen Busdicker of Minneapolis, who's married to Roger's brother, Gordon. "What didn't fit in the clarinet went into the lining of the case."

Roger Busdicker toured with the Hal Leonard Orchestra in the 1930s and '40s before becoming a music teacher in Winona schools. He later co-founded and ran a sheet-music publishing company until retiring in 1985.

He never stopped playing though.

"When I was young, we were in municipal band together. Every day or every other day, we'd go to the basement and play band music — real upbeat music, the kind that made you tap your toes," Enger said.
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#1924 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:18 am

Think your office is a zoo? Companies go pet-friendly

By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - On a typical day at Tellme Networks Inc., Jackson snores, Penny spends time learning Chinese and the bosses and workers are delighted.

Penny, a Labrador Retriever, and Jackson, a bulldog, are part of an effort at many U.S. companies to allow pets in the workplace. One survey shows nearly one in five U.S. companies allow pets at work.

Millions of Americans believe pets on the job lower absenteeism and encourage workers to get along, according to the survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

Pets at Tellme, an Internet telecommunications company, help workers become friends, said Grant Shirk, whose dog Penny is learning Chinese commands from a colleague.

"She can do 'sit,' 'lie down' and 'shake hands,'" he said.

Tellme project manager Jaymer Delapena said co-workers know Jackson, famed for his loud snores, by name, and some like to take the dog into meetings.

"I'll be walking past a conference room and look inside and my dog is sitting in a chair around a table," he said.

Interest in pets at work is growing, say organizers of "Take Your Dog to Work Day," set for this Friday. Several thousand companies are expected to participate, up from a few hundred when the event began eight years ago.

Heather Galler believes in the concept so much that she founded her own company where workers are encouraged to work from home and be with their pets.

Pets build bonds among workers and clients, said Galler, head of JobKite.com, where all 28 employees work remotely from home offices, along with 18 dogs, 13 cats, a parrot and a dozen fish.

"When we first started doing it, we tried to hide the fact that we were telecommuting and that we were with our animals. Then it just dawned on me, 'Why should we hide it?" Galler said. "Most people have pets of their own, and it would be an icebreaker."

The policy has drawbacks, she conceded. "I'm talking to you in the bathroom because I don't want my dogs to start barking and interrupting our conversation," she said from her home office in Cape Coral, Florida. "They can get a little loud."

Dozens of dogs come to work with their owners at Replacements, Ltd., said Scott Fleming, president of the company that deals in china, crystal, silver and collectibles in McLeansville, North Carolina.

"They have not broken a single piece, which is more than I can say for the rest of us," Fleming said.

Pet-friendly environments can pay off in a competitive job market, said Phil Carpenter, vice president of marketing at Simply Hired, an online jobs database that has added an option for job-seekers to select a dog-friendly company.

More than 400 companies -- among them Google Inc. -- have listed themselves as dog-friendly, he said.

"Companies hire in-house masseuses to in-house chefs. Why not take this step and allow people to bring a companion that's really important to them in their lives?" he said.

A survey by Simply Hired and Dogster, an online site, found a third of dog-owners would take a 5 percent pay cut to take their pets to work, two-thirds would work longer hours and half would switch jobs.

"Take Your Dog to Work Day" is intended to raise awareness of animals in shelters that need homes, said John Long, spokesman for organizers Pet Sitters International.

"Certainly we encourage anyone who wants to take their pet to work, but that's not really the point of what we're doing," he said. "We want to focus on the animals that need good homes. If we can hook good people up with good pets, it's a beautiful thing."
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#1925 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:19 am

"Fluff" flies in school lunch debate

By Scott Malone

BOSTON, Mass. (Reuters) - When it comes to food, Boston is best known for baked beans and clam chowder. But this week, state legislators have engaged in robust debate on Marshmallow Fluff -- a locally made, sugary spread.

State Sen. Jarrett Barrios started the tempest in a lunch box when he learned that his son's Cambridge grammar school cafeteria offered Fluff-and-peanut butter sandwiches daily.

In a nation where child obesity rates have more than doubled in the past 25 years, Barrios fretted that was not a healthy option. Monday he proposed a law that would allow schools to serve the "Fluffernutters" only once a week.

"The key was to start a discussion of what is nutritious," said Colin Durrant, Barrios' director of public policy.

Fluff aficionados defended the sweet spread, which locals also lather on ice cream and into hot chocolate, and is made by local company, Durkee-Mower Inc. of Lynn, Massachusetts. A two-tablespoon serving of fluff, which is made from corn syrup, sugar and egg whites, has about 60 calories.

State Rep. Kathi Anne Reinstein Tuesday introduced a bill that would make the Fluffernutter the state sandwich. Barrios signed on as a co-sponsor of that bill, saying that he liked Fluff himself but did not want kids eating it every day for lunch.

Don Durkee, the 80-year-old president of Durkee-Mower, said Fluff didn't warrant so much legislative attention.

"It should be up to the consumers and the parents to determine what is fed to their children," Durkee said. "There's probably more serious things to be concerned about."
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#1926 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:20 am

Well, there's your problem right there

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) - More sex.

That's what one expert says is needed to solve Japan's baby shortage.

"Japanese people simply aren't having sex," Dr. Kunio Kitamura, director of the Japan Family Planning Association, was quoted as saying by the Japan Times, an English language daily.

An association survey of 936 people between the ages of 16 and 49 showed 31 percent had not had sex for more than a month "for no particular reason" -- a condition known as "sexless."

"As much as subsidies and welfare programs are important, sexlessness is also a critical issue in this problem."

Japan's fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime -- fell to an all-time low of 1.25 last year. Demographers say a rate of 2.1 is needed to keep a population from declining.

Japan came last among 41 nations in a poll last year by condom manufacturer Durex, with lovers there having sex just 45 times a year compared to a global average of 103 times a year.

Kitamura said that while many men in workaholic Japan are simply too "stressed out" from their jobs to have enough energy for sex, many other couples simply do not have sex regularly.

In the association's survey, 44 percent of the people who said they weren't having much sex felt that having a relationship with the opposite sex was "very tiresome" or "tiresome."

Kitamura's advice? Couples should talk to each other.

"Ultimately, it's these interactions with the opposite sex that bring out the inevitable animal instinct in us -- to reproduce," he said.
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#1927 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:21 am

Toilet cleaners are 'restroom specialists'

SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore, famous for its spotless streets, is stepping up its campaign against filth in the restroom with a training program to boost the status and skills of the city-state's toilet cleaners, a newspaper reported Thursday.

More than 50 toilet cleaners will be promoted to "restroom specialist" upon completing the three-day pilot course taught by Japanese experts in the latest toilet technology, The Straits Times reported.

The program — sponsored by the city-state's National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore-based World Toilet College — aims to boost the image and wages of professional toilet cleaners by training them to do more on the job, The Straits Times reported.

The college has flown in three top Japanese trainers to conduct the course on improving cleaning techniques and technical expertise to the initial group of 51 cleaners.

"The plan is to expand the pilot course to a 64-hour one, after which trainees will be certified as 'restroom specialists,'" the article said.

"Cleaners have low morale and low skills," the paper quoted Jack Sim, the World Toilet College's founder, as saying. "We want to professionalize them and teach them to be proud of their jobs."

Sim said he plans to train all 5,000 toilet cleaners in the tiny city-state and raise their average monthly wage to 950 Singapore dollars (US$598), from the previous 750 Singapore dollars (US$472).

This cleanliness-obsessed nation has launched a number of campaigns to improve the city-state's toilets.

In November last year, the government released new guidelines for public toilet usage to cut down on long lines at women's restrooms. It has also published maps to Singapore's 500 cleanest public toilets, and awarded "five-star" or "Happy Toilet" ratings to those with spic-and-span interiors.
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#1928 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:22 am

Woman seeking license sends car into canal

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A 19-year-old woman may have to practice a little more after driving a borrowed taxi into a canal just before she was scheduled to take her driver's license test Wednesday, authorities said.

The woman's neighbor, a Broward Taxi Co. cab driver, drove her to the Pompano Beach license testing office and agreed to let the woman practice driving around the parking lot in his car before she took the test, city spokeswoman Sandra King said.

"He said the next thing he knew she was driving through the bushes and into the canal," King said. "He ran over and pulled her out of the car."

"Obviously, she did not take or pass her driver's test," King added.

No one was hurt in the incident and no charges were pending.

"It was purely an accident," King said.

The identities of the woman and the cab driver were not immediately available.
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#1929 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:24 am

Musician's ashes buried in clarinet

WINONA, Minn. (AP) - Roger Busdicker went out on a high note. When Busdicker, often seen playing his ebony-and-silver clarinet, died last week at the age of 88, his daughters thought it befitting to have his cremated remains buried in the instrument.

"One of my sisters found the clarinet in a closet," said Sue Enger, of New Richmond, Wis., one of Busdicker's daughters. "All three of us decided it would be appropriate to bury his ashes in it."

Sure, their father could play the saxophone and other instruments, "but he had played that clarinet for more than 50 years," Enger said. He played Benny Goodman tapes in his car.

"They just thought this was so proper, that their dad went into the clarinet," said Noreen Busdicker of Minneapolis, who's married to Roger's brother, Gordon. "What didn't fit in the clarinet went into the lining of the case."

Roger Busdicker toured with the Hal Leonard Orchestra in the 1930s and '40s before becoming a music teacher in Winona schools. He later co-founded and ran a sheet-music publishing company until retiring in 1985.

He never stopped playing though.

"When I was young, we were in municipal band together. Every day or every other day, we'd go to the basement and play band music — real upbeat music, the kind that made you tap your toes," Enger said.
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#1930 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:25 am

N.H. police warn of chubby beach flasher

RYE, N.H. (AP) - Police are warning of a male flasher on the beaches of Rye.

They're responding to a report that a woman was flashed at Odiorne State Park on Friday, and have noted that the flasher's description — a white male, about 55, with a chubby belly and gray chest hair — is similar to that of a man who exposed himself to beachgoers last year.

That man has not been caught, though last year a woman reported being fondled by a flasher at Odiorne Point.

Police say reports of the flasher — who uses underwear to mask his face — have been sporadic through the years
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#1931 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:34 am

Newspaper endorses Nevada pot initiative

By SANDRA CHEREB, Associated Press Writer

RENO, Nev. - A newspaper in rural northern Nevada has given a surprising endorsement to a ballot measure to decriminalize adult possession of limited amounts of marijuana through regulation and taxation.

"In a state where prostitution is legal in certain counties, bars are not required to close and children can legally possess and use tobacco, objections to marijuana legalization on a moral basis seem hypocritical," the Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard said in a Tuesday editorial.

"Those who view marijuana as a blight on society have yet to offer an effective solution of how to stop its spread through society or better fund law enforcement. Continuation of the ill-funded, halfhearted campaigns of the past is little more than veiled acceptance of its current widespread and illegal use."

State Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, said he was surprised by newspaper's support for the Nov. 7 ballot question.

"It surprised me that a rural newspaper would do that," he said, noting northern Nevada's typical conservative political leanings.

But Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, said rural Nevada often shows its independent backbone.

"I wouldn't have predicted it, but it's not one where I'm shocked," he said.

"Rural Nevada, while often thought to be conservative, is often more libertarian. They don't like government intervention," Herzik said.

"They're not endorsing the use of marijuana, but instead saying 'Why don't we treat this as we do many other vices in Nevada' — which is to accept them," Herzik said.

Nevada voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing marijuana use for medical purposes in 1998 and 2000. Two years later, they rejected efforts by national advocates to allow adult possession of up to 3 ounces for non-medical use.

The latest proposal would allow adults to possession up to 1 ounce.
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#1932 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:35 am

Flashing beer ad forces hotel evacuation

PLYMOUTH, Ind. (AP) - A red light from a beer ad that a bartender suspected was a bomb when he saw it blinking on a wall forced 35 people to be evacuated from a resort hotel.

The guests were allowed back in their rooms less than an hour later after a Marshall County sheriff's officer determined the light was part of a Pabst Blue Ribbon ad suction-cupped to the window of the Sam Snead restaurant in the resort.

The bartender called authorities about the suspicious flashing light at 12:30 a.m. Monday, and the guests were evacuated about six minutes later, said Doug Leedke, general manager of Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, 25 miles south of South Bend.

Jon Van Vactor, a detective lieutenant with the Marshall County Sheriff's Department, said the authorities determined about a half-hour later that the bomb squad was not needed.

The hotel let guests back in their rooms by 1:30 a.m., Leedke said.

The false alarm is a sign of the times in a post-Sept. 11 world, Leedke said.

"Our employee saw something unusual and reported it," Leedke said.
___

Information from: South Bend Tribune
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#1933 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:16 am

Pilfering deaf war hero is NZ's oldest prisoner

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A wheezing, deaf 85-year-old war hero described as an incorrigible thief has been sent to jail for a month for shoplifting, making him the oldest person in New Zealand jails, officials said Thursday.

Reginald Hugh Donovan has about 50 previous petty theft convictions since 2000, mainly for stealing grocery items, and has been banned from many stores in Christchurch, the largest city in New Zealand's South Island.

Donovan had pleaded guilty to three trespassing and 11 theft charges but his lawyer told Christchurch District Court Wednesday that a prison term would be inappropriate for a man of his age, local media reported.

Lawyer Denise Johnston said Donovan suffered from deafness, dizzy spells, chronic breathing difficulties and the after-effects of a disabling accident.

But judge Colin Doherty rejected her argument, saying Donovan had already received every conceivable form of help from the courts. Donovan also served a brief jail term in 2004.

"Yet six days ago you were at it again," The Press newspaper quoted Doherty as saying.

"You are a recidivist and incorrigible thief. The extent of your offending is not great in monetary terms, but you persist," he said.

A Corrections Department spokeswoman said the oldest person in their custody was 85 but would not confirm the person's identity for privacy reasons.

The New Zealand Herald reported that Donovan was a decorated war hero who was wounded five times during World War Two.
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#1934 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:17 am

Worker flicks wrong switch, costs Nova $11 mln

By Scott Haggett

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A worker accidentally tripping a shut-off switch at a major Ontario plastics plant will cost Nova Chemicals Corp. $11 million in lost profit, the company said on Wednesday, because it won't be able to fulfill some contracts because of the blunder.

A contractor's employee installing a structural steel platform at an ethylene plant in Corunna, Ontario, mistakenly activated a process shutdown switch on Monday afternoon, halting production and forcing two weeks of repairs at the facility.

"The switch is a safety thing so if anyone sees something going wrong they have the opportunity to shut down the plant," said Nova spokesman Greg Wilkinson. "But that's not what happened here. It was not a safety issue. It was simply inadvertent."

Because of the unexpected shutdown, Nova declared force majeure on shipments of propylene and some other products. Force majeure is a legal term that means a company can't fulfill contracts because of circumstances beyond its control. It will be lifted when the plant returns to normal operating rates and inventory levels.

The company said the outage and lost sales will shave profits by about $8 million in the second quarter and $3 million in the third. According to Reuters Knowledge, analysts, on average, had expected the company to earn $68.2 million in the second quarter.

Nova has launched an investigation into just how the worker hit the button, but the company said its priority is repairing the facility.

Nova's spokesman said later on Wednesday that the company has decided to await the results of its inquiry before making any decision on potential penalties. However Wilkinson said he has some sympathy for the worker.

"I can't imagine how that feels, but it has got to be very distressing," he said.

The Corunna plant is one of Canada's largest plastics facilities, capable of supplying up to 40 percent of the country's primary petrochemical market.

The plant processes crude oil, natural gas condensates and liquids into products like ethylene, propylene, benzene and toluene. Those are in turn used to make plastic resins for the manufacture of small appliances, plastic bottles, carpets, cosmetics and other items.

The facility, located near Sarnia, Ontario, 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest of Toronto, employees about 1,000.

Shares of Nova, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, but maintains executive offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, fell 26 Canadian cents, or 0.85 percent, to C$30.30 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

($1=$1.11 Canadian)
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#1935 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:21 am

Humane Society seeks NY foie gras production ban

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Animal rights groups on Wednesday sought to ban foie gras production in New York, one of the leading U.S. producing states, arguing that overfeeding birds to fatten their livers makes the animals sick.

The Humane Society of the United States filed a formal action with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to stop the practice under a state law that makes it illegal to produce food from diseased animals.

"It's illegal for farmers to intentionally make their animals sick and then sell them at market as if nothing were wrong," said Carter Dillard of the Humane Society.

The Humane Society, with other animal rights groups, filed 900 pages of documents arguing that ducks and geese are force-fed for weeks until their livers become fattened.

Originally a French delicacy, foie gras means literally "fat liver."

According to the Humane Society, California and more than a dozen countries have already banned the production of foie gras, and Chicago recently banned its sale because of animal welfare concerns.
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#1936 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:29 am

Humane Society seeks NY foie gras production ban

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Animal rights groups on Wednesday sought to ban foie gras production in New York, one of the leading U.S. producing states, arguing that overfeeding birds to fatten their livers makes the animals sick.

The Humane Society of the United States filed a formal action with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to stop the practice under a state law that makes it illegal to produce food from diseased animals.

"It's illegal for farmers to intentionally make their animals sick and then sell them at market as if nothing were wrong," said Carter Dillard of the Humane Society.

The Humane Society, with other animal rights groups, filed 900 pages of documents arguing that ducks and geese are force-fed for weeks until their livers become fattened.

Originally a French delicacy, foie gras means literally "fat liver."

According to the Humane Society, California and more than a dozen countries have already banned the production of foie gras, and Chicago recently banned its sale because of animal welfare concerns.
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#1937 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:23 pm

Beware of conmen in UK, Nigeria tells citizens

LAGOS (Reuters) - Crime-infested Nigeria, famed for its email scams, has warned citizens travelling to Britain to watch out for conmen who use tricks to rob or rip off visitors.

Fraudsters in Britain might pour tomato juice or other substances on your dress and then offer to help remove it, robbing you in the process, the information ministry warned in its first-ever travel advisory obtained by Reuters on Thursday.

The conmen, who are mainly white, but also include east Europeans and north Africans, might also pretend to pick up an object from under a potential victim's seat to distract his attention while he robs him, it added.

"Nigerian travellers are hereby warned not to carry large amount of money on their body and ensure that their air tickets, passports, expensive wrist-watches as well as trinkets are securely hidden," the advisory said.

Nigeria itself has seen a sharp rise in violent crime since President Olusegun Obasanjo was elected in 1999, ending 15 years of military rule.

Africa's top oil producer, ranked by Berlin-based sleaze watchdog Transparency International as the world's seventh most corrupt country, is also famous for junk mail scams.

The advisory said favourite British blackspots include airports, high streets, markets, hotels and restaurants, shopping centres, tube stations, bus stops and buses.

It said the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom had reported an upsurge in crime and assault against Nigerians visiting London in the recent past.

There is no evidence that Nigerians are being specially targeted, "but ostentatious dressing, spending and ancillary actions may identify a target," the advisory said.

Nigeria's so-called 419 email scam, named after an article in Nigeria's criminal code, was so successful that campaigners said it became the country's main foreign exchange earner after oil.

The fraud swindled hundreds of millions of dollars every year from people across the globe, who respond to emails promising them a share of non-existent fortunes in return for an advance fee.
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#1938 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:27 am

Police dog dies after escape to home

By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

GRAPEVINE, Texas - The Grapevine police department lost one of their two dogs after they believe he died from a heat stroke while trying to get home from an animal boarding shelter.

Darby, an 8-year-old Sable Shepherd who worked with Grapevine police since 2001, was taken to a Corinth boarding shelter Thursday morning when he decided to make an escape and travel home.

Police said by the time the dog arrived at his home, he was in severe medical distress and died a short time later.

Canines such as Darby are a $20,000 to $30,000 investment for police departments. Darby was bred in Europe, trained in California and certified in narcotics tracking and police patrol.

"It is not easy to replace," said Sgt. Bob Murphy. "It is a long process to train another dog and get them to that level."

Sgt. Murphy said the dog's death was also an emotional loss for Darby's police partner and family, who the dog lived with.

"He lives with them 24 hours a day and he works with him every day that he works," he said. "So, he is a major part of their life."

An autopsy was scheduled for Darby Friday.
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#1939 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:34 am

Extra-picky pandas given their space

BEIJING, China (Reuters) - China is giving an unusually endangered species of panda extra space, privacy and protection to help the animals reproduce, state media said on Friday.

The 300 pandas of a rare subspecies who call northwest China's central Shaanxi province home will soon be protected by five new reserves in the fog-shrouded Qinling mountains, the China Daily said.

"This will mean better protection for the animals and help enlarge their population," Sun Chengqian, of the Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Department, told the newspaper.

The reserves would cover about 80 percent of the pandas' habitat once they are expanded from 181,100 to 500,000 hectares, the paper said.

The province also intends to improve monitoring of the pandas by the end of 2010.

This is not the only good news panda lovers have received this month -- results from a recent study show that there may be 2,500 to 3,000 giant pandas in the wild, almost double previous estimates.

Most live in the mountains of southwest Sichuan province.
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#1940 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jun 23, 2006 7:44 pm

Police: Man arrested for selling illegal driving certificates

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas man was arrested for allegedly selling official defensive driving certificates without his clients ever actually taking the required course.

Nazmul Chowdhury was taken into custody after a year long investigation. The Dallas Police Department sent undercover officers from their intelligence unit to an office building in North Dallas where Chowdhury had set up a business called EZ Concepts.

Posing as workers from a local auto dealership, undercover officers went in four times to make buys. Police said they found that for about $40, customers could buy defensive driving certificates.

News 8 watched as Chowdhury sold an officer a certificate during one of the undercover operations. While the officer bought a certificate, there was never a mention of the actual driving course.

Chowdhury took the officer's money and told him to wait four weeks for the certificate that would come in the mail.

"He's make a mockery out of the whole idea of gong to defensive driving," said an undercover officer.

Several weeks later, a certificate of completion from the State of Texas arrived as Chowdhury had promised. However, the state said it's illegal for someone to sell the certificates without providing a course.

The certificate itself says a person commits a crime if they use it for court or insurance purposes without having gone to a class for less than six hours.

Police served warrants on Chowdhury's business and his Richardson home.

Authorities said Chowdhury is also approved by the state to train bartenders and has also advertised he does tax work financial planning.

Chowdhury has been charged with tampering with government records and his business was shut down.
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