News of the Weird - this just in!

[STEVE G]

Vulture in Saudi Custody Suspected as Mossad Agent


Saudi Arabian security forces have captured a vulture that was carrying a global positioning satellite (GPS) transmitter and a ring etched with the words "Tel Aviv University." They suspect the bird of spying for Israel, Maariv-NRG reported Tuesday. The GPS and ring were connected to the bird as part of an long-term project by Israeli scientists that follows vultures' location and altitude for research purposes.

The arrest of the vulture - whose identification code is R65 - comes several weeks after an Egyptian official voiced the suspicion that a shark that attacked tourists off the Sinai shore was also acting on behalf of Mossad. The incidents may reflect a growing irrational hysteria among Arabs surrounding Israel's military prowess and the efficacy of its intelligence services, possibly fueled by the Stuxnet virus' success..

Maariv said that the R65 was caught near the home of a sheikh in the community of Hayel in Saudi Arabia. The words "Tel Aviv University" etched in English on a ring clasped to its leg, and especially the transmitter, caused the finders to suspect espionage and alert the security forces.

Ohad Hatzofe, bird ecologist for the Nature and Parks Authority, said that the vulture story has been making the rounds in Arabic internet sites, including Al-Jazeera forums and Arabic military forums. "The subject is receiving great publicity and it is important that Saudi authorities understand that it is not true. There is also an international treaty of nature protection professionals, that forbids doing things like this," he added.

The researchers said that seven vultures that were marked in Israel in the last few years reached Saudi Arabia. Transmissions from four of them have ceased and they are presumed dead. One vulture - beside R65 - is still alive and flying around Saudi Arabia, after spending the winter in Sudan.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/141529

[richard]

THESE ARE INSTRUCTIONS HANDED OUT TO ALL OFFICERS AT C.I.D COURSES AND ANTI-TERRORISTS COURSES IN THE BEDFORDSHIRE FORCE/SERVICE


UK’s Bedfordshire Police’s rules regarding terrorists and dangerous criminals


If they’re non-Muslim

• Consider the most opportune time of day to be able to arrest suspects with minimum resistance
• Apply all necessary force to enter the premises and arrest suspects accordingly.


If they’re Muslim:

• Community leaders must be consulted before raids into Muslim houses.
• Officers must not search occupied bedrooms and bathrooms before dawn.
• Use of police dogs will be considered serious desecration of the premises.
• Cameras and camcorders should not be used in case of capturing women in inappropriate dress.
• If people are praying at home officers should stand aside and not disrupt the prayer.

They should be allowed the opportunity to finish.
• Officers should take their shoes off before raiding a Muslim house.
• The reasons for pre-dawn raids on Muslim houses needs to be clear and transparent.
• Officers must not touch holy books or religious artefacts without permission.
• Muslim prisoners should be allowed to take additional clothing to the station.

With this continuing appeasement, no wonder it’s now predicted that
Britain will become an Islamic state by 2070.
(Time to think about your children.)

[pharvey]

Tasteful...... real tasteful

Damien Hirst has been accused of insensitivity for using a baby's skull studded with 8,000 diamonds for his latest art work.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... -work.html

[Nereus]

Toilet app meets filmgoers' needs

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/ne ... ers-needs/

Cinemagoers have tried to perfect the mid-movie toilet dash for decades. Now, an iPhone application is taking out the guesswork.

The RunPee app, also available on Blackberry and Android platforms, informs users of the best times to go to the loo throughout selected films, eliminating the fear of missing a crucial plot development, fight scene or kiss. It will also tell you how long you've got to get back to your seat and summarises what you've missed.

Take for instance The King's Speech, currently taking the Australian box office by storm, where RunPee suggests two ideal moments throughout the 111 minute flick to make a toilet run.

The first is at the 44-minute mark when Queen Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter, says to Guy Pearce's character David, "long live the king". The second suggested break occurs approximately 72 minutes into the film after David's radio speech where he tells the nation why he is abdicating. Each suggested break allows five minutes before action picks up again.

The free RunPee app, spawned from the longstanding website of the same name, was created by American multimedia website developer Dan Florio who got the idea during the three-hour-plus King Kong remake in 2005.

Flurio has said the app was made for moviegoers with bladder problems, whether through pregnancy or prostate complications, parents with young children or people who just overindulged on soft drinks.

[STEVE G]

(Reuters) - A wounded fox shot its would be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle, media said Thursday.

The unnamed hunter, who had approached the fox after wounding it from a distance, was in hospital with a leg wound, while the fox made its escape, media said, citing prosecutors from the Grodno region.

"The animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle accidentally pulled the trigger with its paw," one prosecutor was quoted as saying.

Fox-hunting is popular in the picturesque farming region of northwestern Belarus which borders Poland.

[Nereus]

Cat ordered to court for jury duty

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/mp ... jury-duty/

A pet cat has been ordered to report for jury duty, despite being "unable to speak and understand English".

If the matter was not resolved, Sal the cat would have to report to Suffolk Superior Crown Court in Boston, United States, on March 23.

Owner Anna Esposito said she had told authorities that Sal could not speak or understand English. The cat's vet had even written a letter explaining that Sal was a "domestic short-haired neutered feline".

"Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last census form under pets, but there has clearly been a mix-up," Mrs Esposito said.

"When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - meow?"

Mrs Esposito said Sal was not suitable for jury duty because he could not understand English, one of the 10 statutory disqualifications preventing people from serving.

Her husband, Guy, said the summons for juror service was a surprise.

"I said, 'Sal, what's this?' I was shocked," Mr Esposito said.

"He likes to sit on my knee and watch crime shows with me but even so he's still under-qualified for jury duty if you ask me."

It is understood that Sal was inadvertently included on the juror list when paperwork was misread at the last census.

[Nereus]

Man steals, crashes police car

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/br ... olice-car/

Police officers who pulled over a 29-year-old motorist in Byford tonight were stunned when he jumped into their vehicle and drove away.

The man, who is known to police, was stopped on Beeliar Avenue at 6.30pm. While the officers were speaking with other people in the car, the man got into the driver's seat of the police vehicle and drove off.

The car was found crashed on a bush track near Nettleton Road at 10pm.

Police are making enquiries as to the man's whereabouts.

[Nereus]

'Paralytic' owl taken into custody

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/8675383

Police have taken an owl into custody after the bird was found drunk and sitting by the side of the road, oblivious to traffic.

German police said the "paralytic" owl appeared to have drunk too much Schnapps from two discarded bottles, according to reports.

"Officers quickly concluded that it had had one too many. One of its eyelids was drooping, adding to the general impression of inebriation," the Spiegel Online reported.

The Brown Owl did not appear to be injured and is expected to be released once it is sober.

"A woman walking her dog alerted the police after seeing the bird sitting by the side of the road oblivious to passing traffic," police spokesman Frank Otruba said.

"It wasn't staggering around and we didn't breathalyse it but there were two little bottles of Schnapps in the immediate vicinity.

"We took it to a local bird expert who has treated alcoholised birds before and she has been giving it lots of water."

[hhfarang]

I guess the moral of this story is don't work your cock too hard... next thing you know, they'll be forming a labor union!

Hunt on for a killer rooster

Indian police are hunting for a killer rooster after the fighting bird slashed its owner's throat with razor blades attached to its legs for the cruel sport of cockfighting.

Police say the "dangerous rooster" is thought to have killed Singrai Soren after being forced back into the ring soon after his last fight, according to a report in Britain's The Sun newspaper.

Witnesses said the rooster's owner died after being slashed as the rooster thrashed about.

Police issued a description of the offender: "an unknown rooster with black and red feathers".

They want to catch the killer to remove the blades but the chances of apprehension are slim because there are so many roosters matching the description, The Sun report said.

A friend of the victim, named only as Dasai, said: "The rooster tried to get away from the ring several times but Soren tried to push him into the ring repeatedly. This upset him and he attacked."

Those around the ring only realised what had happened when blood started pouring from the rooster's owner.

Dasai said roosters are used to an hour-long break between bouts.

He said: "Most masters are satisfied with the cash reward of £28 for every fight and a dead opponent to feast on but Soren seemed unsatisfied.

"He wanted him to go into the ring within a few minutes of his first fight and that is when the rooster began to complain."
Six days on, police suspect the prized rooster is being sheltered by a rival trainer keen to put the champion bird back in the ring.

[E-Dork]

DOZY crooks broke into a house and snorted the ashes of the homeowner's dead father — thinking it was cocaine.
Police arrested five suspects over the burglary, in which the thieves also allegedly stole and tried to snort the remains of their victim's two Great Dane DOGS.

Detectives believe the intruders thought the ashes were drugs, but after trying some and realising their mistake, quickly disposed of them.

The victim said she returned to her home in Silver Springs Shores, near Gainesville, in northern Florida, to discover that several belongings were missing.

Some of the items included electronics and jewellery — but what she found most troubling was the theft of the ashes.

Waldo Soroa, 19, Matrix Andaluz, 18, and Jose David Diaz Marrero, 19, were all arrested on charges of burglary and grand theft.

Two juveniles are also facing charges including attempted burglary.

[STEVE G]

A climber who fell 1,000 feet down a near vertical cliff in Scotland was found by rescuers standing at the bottom of the mountain reading a map, according to reports Sunday.

A rescuer, who arrived by helicopter, said that they at first did not believe the man could have fallen so far, The Scotsman newspaper reported.

"It seemed impossible. So we retraced our path back up the mountain and, sure enough, there were bits of his kit in a vertical line all the way up where he had obviously lost them during the fall," Lieutenant Tim Barker, who was on board a Sea King helicopter, said, according to the paper.

"It was quite incredible. He must have literally glanced off the outcrops as he fell, almost flying," he added.

A paramedic winched down from the helicopter to the man, 35, found the climber had sustained cuts, bruises and a minor chest injury.

"He was shaking from extreme emotional shock and the sheer relief at still being alive," Barker said, according to The Scotsman.

The climber had been on the summit of the 3,600-foot Sguss Choinnich Mor, about five miles from Ben Nevis, the U.K.'s highest peak, on the west coast of Scotland, when he fell and was found at about 2,600 feet.

The man was taken to hospital in Glasgow, the paper said.

"Really an amazing result. I have to say, when we got the call and realized the details of where he'd fallen, we did expect to arrive on scene to find the worst-case scenario," Barker told BBC News.

[STEVE G]

China red-faced after footage of new fighter 'was from Top Gun'
Perhaps it was "a need, a need for speed", as Maverick and Goose once put it, but China's military have been embarrassed by accusations that instead of filming genuine footage of their latest fighter plane, they used a scene from the film Top Gun.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... p-Gun.html

[Nereus]

Immigration officer sacked for placing wife on terror list

http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/Blog.aspx? ... ments=true

"Trust me, guys, her cooking is nothing short of criminal"

An immigration officer in the UK has been sacked for putting his wife on a list of suspected terrorists to ensure she could not return home from an overseas holiday while he lived it up ... for three years.

The unnamed officer's wife had travelled to Pakistan to visit family, and while she was away her husband placed her name on a list reserved for people banned from entering the United Kingdom without cause. Well, I guess it depends on how you define 'cause' — he was just sick of the woman and up for some 'cat away mouse play'.

After being refused passage on her flight home, the stranded missus rang her man, and he promised her he'd "look into it". Three years later, as the officer was being reviewed for a promotion, his foible was found and he was fired.

An immigration source said: "A lot of people may dislike their other halves but to do this takes it to the next level. Needless to say she was confused when she got to the airport as she had never been involved in anything criminal or terrorist related. She obviously thought her husband, being an immigration officer, would be able to find out what was going on. Little did she know it was him who had put her on the list. By all accounts he then had the time of his life."

"We expect the highest ¬levels of integrity," said a spokesman for the UK Border Agency. "¬Allegations of misconduct are thoroughly ¬investigated and we ¬always take ¬action swiftly where we find members of staff who have abused their ¬position. On the extremely rare occasions where this occurs, the strongest action is taken."

[E-Dork]

^ ... loved that. How to get back at the ex missus eh!

Here's one which I thought should go in the 'Weird' for the lack of a 'Stupid' thread.

OWNERS of the slimline iPhone can now turn their gadget into a 1980s-style "brick".
The chunky devices were the first widely-available mobiles and became a massive hit with City bankers and yuppies.

The phones weighed over a pound and had eight inch-long batteries which lasted just 15 minutes. But originals now fetch more than £100.

British gadget firm Thumbs Up has created a £12.99 plastic cover to mimic the iconic brick.

Users slot the iPhone into the retro holder, which leaves the phone screen exposed to use normally.

Wojtek Kolan, co-founder of Thumbs Up, said: "There is nothing more iconic than Gordon Gekko, the moneyman hero of the 1980s, and Del Boy, TV's most popular wheeler dealer, wielding their status symbol mobile brick.

"Technology may have advanced to create tiny phones but it was only a matter of time before big was big again."

Pocket-lint, the gadget website, has said the case will make iPhone users stand out from the crowd.

The case goes on sale next month.

Why.... just WHY???

Let's all start having to carry around a briefcase to put our phone in again.

[Arcadian]

^ ... loved that. How to get back at the ex missus eh!

Here's one which I thought should go in the 'Weird' for the lack of a 'Stupid' thread.

OWNERS of the slimline iPhone can now turn their gadget into a 1980s-style "brick".
The chunky devices were the first widely-available mobiles and became a massive hit with City bankers and yuppies.

The phones weighed over a pound and had eight inch-long batteries which lasted just 15 minutes. But originals now fetch more than £100.

British gadget firm Thumbs Up has created a £12.99 plastic cover to mimic the iconic brick.

Users slot the iPhone into the retro holder, which leaves the phone screen exposed to use normally.

Wojtek Kolan, co-founder of Thumbs Up, said: "There is nothing more iconic than Gordon Gekko, the moneyman hero of the 1980s, and Del Boy, TV's most popular wheeler dealer, wielding their status symbol mobile brick.

"Technology may have advanced to create tiny phones but it was only a matter of time before big was big again."

Pocket-lint, the gadget website, has said the case will make iPhone users stand out from the crowd.

The case goes on sale next month.

Why.... just WHY???

Let's all start having to carry around a briefcase to put our phone in again.

Nostalgia catching up with today.