News of the Weird - this just in!

[PeteC]

Yeah, CNN sports is broadcasting the knee/groin part. Pete

[Nereus]

Fun and games:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/of ... ge-drains/


Thousands of condoms clog Games village drains?

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Thousands of flushed condoms threaten to choke the Commonwealth Games village's drainage system, media reports said, in the latest problem to hit the venue from hidden snakes to outbreaks of dengue.

Games organizers, who won a race against time to ready the village, are now battling to clear clogged drains after thousands of non-biodegradeable contraceptives were flushed down toilets in the first week of the event.

"If that is happening, it shows that there is use of condoms and I think that is a very positive story. Athletes are being responsible," Commonwealth Games Federation President Mike Fennell told a news conference Thursday.

"We all know that encouraging safe sex is a very important thing to do."

Games organizers had provided 8,000 free condoms in the village, and the provision appears to be in high demand. One official told the Mail Today newspaper Thursday that over 4,000 had already been snapped up by eager athletes.

Shoddy construction work, fears over an outbreak of dengue fever and worries about security had meant many teams delayed their move into the village before the Games began. However, blame for the latest problem lies firmly with the athletes.

Following a decision to provide free condoms at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, it has become something of a tradition.

At the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, athletes quickly used up the 70,000 free condoms provided, forcing organizers to supply another 20,000, while at the 2004 Games in Athens, the provision was doubled to 130,000.

At both the Beijing Games in 2008, and the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February, 100,000 condoms were provided for athletes.

[Nereus]

New Zealand TV host quits after sparking criticism

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/of ... criticism/

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand television host has quit after sparking a diplomatic row when he ridiculed the name of Sheila Dikshit, the chief minister of the Indian capital, New Delhi.

Television station TVNZ came under heavy criticism after its "Breakfast" show host Paul Henry mispronounced Dikshit, despite being told by the lead anchor that it is pronounced "Dixit."

India summoned New Zealand's high commissioner on Thursday to formally protest against what it said were "racial remarks" involving Dikshit, who was asked last month to take charge of the floundering Commonwealth Games preparations.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said on Monday that Henry had resigned after several hundred complaints to the broadcaster regarding his Dikshit comments and questioning whether the nation's Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand, who is of Indian descent, was "even a New Zealander."

"He has made that decision and I guess over the last week he's had some time to reflect on the comments," Key told breakfast television on Monday.

Key said there had been no pressure from himself or the government on TVNZ regarding Henry's future and it was "good that he has personally made that decision."

The prime minister said Henry's resignation would help repair any damage caused to New Zealand's relationship with India but stressed that these were comments from one person.

TVNZ Chief Executive Rick Ellis said he accepted Henry's resignation on Sunday after seven years as a breakfast TV host and apologized to anyone who had been offended by the presenter's "inappropriate on-air comments."

"I will be apologizing in person to the Governor General. I also apologise to the Indian community, both here and in India," he said in a statement.

Henry, 50, who was suspended from the TV station on October 5, said he had apologized twice and accepted that he had inadvertently crossed the line of what was acceptable from time to time.

"I do not want to continue to be used as a lightning rod for racial disharmony in this country. Likewise, I certainly do not want my elderly mother staked out at her nursing home by tabloid media, as has happened this weekend," he said in a statement.

There are more than 100,000 New Zealanders of Indian ethnic origin, almost 3 percent of the population.

The row was the latest in a series of problems for authorities in Delhi who have struggled with a chaotic run-up to the Games, with corruption, shoddy construction, health and security issues bringing into question India's ability to host the event.

[STEVE G]

(Reuters) - A Chinese man who got his arm stuck in a toilet pipe in an attempt to retrieve his dropped mobile phone was freed by rescuers, state television reported on Tuesday.

When rescue workers arrived on the scene in Jiangsu province in eastern China, they found the man crouched over the toilet in a bathroom stall, his entire arm submerged up to the shoulder in the drain.

Workers broke the porcelain bowl with crowbars and hammered the pipes, taking care not to injure the man, CCTV reported.

After 10 minutes of work, the man was able to slowly remove his cut and bruised arm from the bowl and retrieve his waterlogged phone.

[Randy Cornhole]

The mobile is all these days. If I lost mine I would be lost...

[Big Boy]

The Chinese guy went around the bend when he lost his

[PeteC]

He really went around the bend when it started ringing and he couldn't reach it. Pete

[poosmate]

If lost in the safari park ask the Rhino

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_ne ... um=twitter

[BaaBaa.]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-me ... e-11583221

[Nereus]

Escaped crocodile brings plane down

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/811077 ... plane-down

A crocodile which escaped from a passenger's luggage caused a small plane to crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing 20 people.

The escaped crocodile triggered a stampede on the flight on August 25, sending the plane off-balance and causing it to crash several hundred metres from its destination in the central African nation.

A passenger had hidden the animal in a big sports bag with the intention of selling it later on, UK newspaper the Telegraph reported.

A lone survivor described the terrifying moment where 18 passengers and a stewardess rushed towards the cockpit after the reptile broke free as the plane was descending.

The crocodile survived the crash only to be killed with a machete by rescuers.

[STEVE G]

US presidential nuclear codes 'lost for months'
(BBC)

The codes used by the president to launch a nuclear strike were mislaid for months during the Clinton administration, the former highest-ranking US officer has said.

Ex-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen Hugh Shelton made the claim in a new book.

The codes are usually held by an aide who remains close to the president.

Gen Shelton said there was an incident where an aide said the codes had been lost.

They were immediately replaced, but an internal inquiry was conducted.

Gen Shelton said the incident had taken place "around the year 2000".

Under the procedures, an official was sent every month to check the codes, and that they were replaced every four months with new codes.

According to Gen Shelton's book, Without Hesitation, an official had gone to check one month and been told by the aide that the codes were on the president's person but that he was in an important meeting and could not be disturbed.

A different official went to do the same check a month later and was told a similar story. When it came time to change the codes, an aide admitted they had been missing for months.

Gen Shelton said it was apparent that the president had not had the codes and that he had been unaware that an aide had lost them.

The general described the episode as a "comedy of errors".

[Nereus]

Joaquim's wide mouth earns world record

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/of ... ld-record/

It's the kind of "talent" you should never check out on a full stomach.

You have to wonder how Francisco Domingo Joaquim discovered he could stretch his lips over his face.

It doesn't really matter, of course, because Joaquim's jaw-dropping talent has earned him a place in the Guinness World Records for having the world's widest mouth.

Guinness World Records 2011 editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said GWR researchers discovered Joaquim while scouting YouTube for new talent.

It took them two years, but the researchers finally tracked him down to his home town in Angola, where they measured his giant mouth, which is 17cm wide.

Mr Glenday said GWR invited a handful of record holders to Rome to film a television series earlier this year.

"Among the giants, dwarves, hairy families and daredevil stuntmen that turned up, one talent stood out for his unique abilities," he said.

That "talent" was Joaquim, who is able to fit a can of Coca-Cola in his mouth - sideways.

(see the video on the link)
----------------------------------------------------

There is a Thai comedian in Bangkok that would come close to equaling this bloke. He can be seen on Thai TV sometimes, but he was famous around the "cafe" circuit a few years ago.

[Nereus]

Here you go Terry, take one for a test drive! (just watch out for the sacred cows)

......................................................................................................................

World's costliest car on sale in India

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wo ... -in-india/

The world's most expensive and fastest production car has gone on sale in India, with luxury manufacturer Bugatti making its debut in the land of rickshaws.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, which has a top speed of 407 kilometres an hour, went on display in a car dealership in the capital New Delhi on Thursday priced at 160 million rupees ($A3.69 million).

Only 150 of the cars will be sold worldwide, although there will be few opportunities for the vehicle to show its performance on India's potholed and notoriously congested roads.

"India is the hub of luxury, the country of the erstwhile maharajas, who were the true patrons of bespoke luxury," Bugatti executive Julius Kruta said in a statement, referring to India's former hereditary rulers.

"We have in the past received a heartening response from our valued customers and I think the launch of the Bugatti in India will truly delight our discerning audience."

A host of Western luxury car and motorbike manufacturers are targeting the opportunities in India, where the fast-developing economy is minting new multi-millionaires every year.

Shortcomings in public infrastructure are a major constraint on growth, and the nation's road network often features poorly maintained single-lane routes outside highly congested urban areas.

One of the country's best-known fast-car enthusiasts, superstar cricket batsman Sachin Tendulkar, beats the traffic by taking his Ferrari out in the early hours of the morning in his home town of Mumbai.

Iconic motorbike maker Harley-Davidson is the most recent major brand to bet on India's elite and has invested in a glitzy showroom in New Delhi, which opened in July.

India has a record 69 US dollar billionaires, with 17 new members added to the exclusive club this year, according to American business magazine Forbes.

But some 836 million Indians live on less than 20 rupees (45 cents) a day, according to a government report, while Indian statistics on health, infant mortality, malnutrition and income are worse than those for sub-Saharan Africa.

[hhfarang]

Thai couple sentenced to 1,562 years in prison. I wonder if they will be up for parole after 800 or so years...

Couple gets maximum term over cash fraud

BANGKOK: -- The Ratchadapisek Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a couple to 1,562 years in prison for embezzling Bt2.1 million through the use of electronic cash cards issued to Retailink (Thailand) employees to pay for petrol.

However, Retailink employee Sudawadi Rodmanee and her boyfriend, Shell petrol station employee Pathorn Chingduang, ended up getting just 20 years in jail because that is the maximum allowed by Thai law. The two, both 29, were also ordered to repay the firm Bt2.1 million at an annual interest rate of 7.5 per cent.

From May 31, 2006 to December 17, 2007, the couple reportedly used cash cards issued to 29 employees 1,533 times to pocket a total of Bt2.1 million - an action denied by both defendants, the lawsuit said. The court ruled that the couple was guilty on grounds that the plaintiff had convincing testimonies from damaged persons while the defendants' argument wasn't convincing.

-- The Nation 2010-10-28

[STEVE G]

Surgeons in Shanghai have operated on a 50-year-old Chinese man to remove a chopstick that he swallowed 28 years ago.

The man, identified by his surname Zhang, had gone decades without having the chopstick removed because it had not caused him any trouble, the official China Daily reported.

Zhang thought he had completely digested the chopstick until he started having stomach problems and sought medical attention after he passed out, the Oriental Morning Post newspaper reported.

It was then that doctors spotted the remains of the chopstick inside Zhang, the Post said, citing Zhang Dongwei, one of the surgeons at Tongji Hospital.

The surgeons slowly extracted it through a small incision in his stomach, the report said.

The reports did not say when the operation took place, nor whether the chopstick was made of wood or plastic.

Neither report had an explanation for why the man swallowed the chopstick, saying only that he was in "an agitated emotional state" at the time.