Japan starts unwanted babies drop box

A Japanese hospital opened the country's only anonymous drop box for unwanted infants despite government admonitions against abandoning babies.

The baby drop-off, called "Crane's Cradle," was opened by the Catholic-run Jikei Hospital in the southern city of Kumamoto as a way to discourage abortions and the abandonment of infants in unsafe public places. The hospital described it as a parent's last resort.

A small hatch on the side of the hospital allows people to drop off babies into an incubator 24 hours a day. An alarm would notify hospital staff of any new arrival. The infants will initially be cared for by the hospital and then put up for adoption.

"We started the service but hope it won't be used," head nurse Yukiko Tajiri said. "I hope it is seen as a symbol that we are always here for parents to share their difficulty."

But government officials warned the service might only encourage more abandonments.

"In principle, parents should not abandon their babies anonymously," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said it was "fundamental for parents to raise their children with their own hands."

Similar baby drops exist in Germany and South Africa. Some US states, such as Alabama and Minnesota, also have programs that protect the identities of women who give up their babies.

An drop box had been in operation years ago near Tokyo, a local news report said. It received only 10 babies in six years, the Mainichi newspapers said.

It was closed in 1992 after a dead child was found inside, the report said.

The latest drop box comes after a series of high-profile cases in which newborn babies were left behind in parks and supermarkets triggering a public outcry.

With no law against abortions and no clear religious taboos in predominantly Buddhist Japan, the procedure is readily available and widespread.

Nearly 290,000 cases of abortion were reported in 2005, according to the Health Ministry.

Peter

Man busted while drunk driving in wheelchair

BERLIN (Reuters) - A wheelchair-bound German stunned police when they pulled him over for using the road and found he was 10 times over the legal alcohol limit for drivers.

"He was right in the middle of the road," said a spokesman for police in the northeastern city of Schwerin Tuesday. "The officers couldn't quite believe it when they saw the results of the breath test. That's a life-threatening figure."

The 31-year-old told police he had been out drinking with a friend and was a little over a mile from home when a squad car stopped him as he passed through the village of Ventschow.

Police said that because the man was technically traveling as a pedestrian, he could not be charged with a driving offence.

"It's not like we can impound his wheelchair," the spokesman said. "But he is facing some sort of punishment. It's just not clear yet what exactly that will be."

Ahhh...the German police, always efficient...

LaoPo

You have to be disorderly for "drunk and disorderly"

"Jaywalking" would be a bit of a stretch seeings as he's wheelchair bound.

I'm sure they'll think of something.

A drug which reduces the desire for marijuana and blocks its effect on the brain has been successfully tested in rats. Still no cure for cancer.

Link

But why ???

But why ???

Why?

Because most people get hungry after smoking a joint...that's why

LaoPo

But why ???

Why?

Because most people get hungry after smoking a joint...that's why

LaoPo

Sorry, i still can't see a problem.. If your hungry..eat..

30 cows may buy Aussie freedom in Sudan

Thursday May 24 05:00 AEST

By ninemsn staff and wires

Link

An Australian man convicted of murder in Sudan is likely to escape the death penalty, but he may be forced to buy 30 cows for the victim's family.

Forty-five-year-old Brisbane man George Forbes is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty on Monday of murdering Ukrainian flight engineer Mykola Serebrenikov.

The Age reports that under Sudanese law, Forbes' defence is permitted to negotiate a "blood money" truce with the victim's family — normally a minimum of 30 cows, the equivalent of about $36,500.

But the Rumbek court has reportedly been unable to contact Serebrenikov's relatives, one of whom must be present in Sudan to determine the penalty and accept the compensation.

Forbes is also unable to appeal the conviction until a relative is present at the court.

Serebrenikov was found hanging from a towel rack in Rumbek, southern Sudan, shortly before Forbes' arrest.

An autopsy concluded the death was suicide but Forbes and three colleagues, both from Kenya, were charged over the death.

Forbes, who was working for a private Kenyan company in southern Sudan when he was arrested in March, is being held in prison until sentencing.

There are three possible penalties for murder in Sudan: death by hanging, life imprisonment, or the payment of dia — or blood money — to the victim's family.

Australia's ambassador in Cairo, Robert Bowker, is due to arrive in Rumbek today, where he is expected to meet with Forbes and local officials to ensure basic human rights are being met.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said it was trying to facilitate contact between the dead man's family and the court.

VANCOUVER -- Stung by criticism from animal-rights activists, a popular suburban Vancouver rodeo has eliminated four marquee events from its future program.

According to the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association, Cloverdale is the first rodeo in Western Canada to dramatically change its program to mollify animal-rights activists.

The four events, which are considered the most cruel, include: calf-roping, team roping, steer wrestling and a cow-milking race.

Mr. Leschiutta said he hopes peace can be reached between rodeo organizers and animal-rights activists, saying his organization is willing to listen and make changes to ensure that animals aren't mistreated.

"The times have changed," Mr. Leschiutta said. "The ability to do and be what we were has to be reviewed."

Sigh. Chuckwagon races, my rodeo favourite, will be next.

A piece from yesterday's Star newspaper here in KL.

Australians were warned yesterday that cheap coffins from China could split and give mourners a nasty or even dangerous surprise.

The Funeral and Allied Industries Union cautioned that cut price imports were not up to the stress of containing the increasingly bulky bodies of Australians.

"I'd hate to see the day that one falls apart during the service" union spokesman Aiden Nye told the Sun-Herald.

He called for substandard imports to be kept out. "I don't care whether it costs two dollars or 2,500, what matters is whether it's safe and capable of being used" Nye said.

But saving the best 'till last, the headline:-

Cheap coffins branded death traps

There was a Headline in the Bangkok Post on the day I last left Thailand which I still have here verbatim:

Headline from Bangkok Post, 13/7/04 - Elephant from (A.I.D.S.) Meeting suspected in killing.

There was a Headline in the Bangkok Post on the day I last left Thailand which I still have here verbatim:

Headline from Bangkok Post, 13/7/04 - Elephant from (A.I.D.S.) Meeting suspected in killing.

So...you got kicked out?

There was a Headline in the Bangkok Post on the day I last left Thailand which I still have here verbatim:

Headline from Bangkok Post, 13/7/04 - Elephant from (A.I.D.S.) Meeting suspected in killing.

So...you got kicked out?

Ha! Nope.

I managed to flee before they got me!!

$1M gold bathtub stolen from hotel

May 30, 2007

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japanese police are scratching their heads over how a gold bathtub worth 120 million yen ($988,100) and weighing some 80 kilograms was stolen from a hotel near Tokyo.

Staff discovered early on Wednesday that someone had stolen the tub from a shared bathroom for men on the 10th floor of the hotel in Kamogawa, by the Pacific Ocean.

But police said they found no signs that the heavy bathtub had been dragged out of the hotel.

"The door to the room had been locked with chains, but the chains were found cut off this morning," a police spokesman said.

"We really don't know how this happened at this stage. But what we can assume now is that more than one person was involved in this incident."

A similar bathtub in the hotel's shared bathroom for women is still in place, he said.

LaoPo

"We really don't know how this happened at this stage. But what we can assume now is that more than one person was involved in this incident."

Can we assume the thieves made a clean getaway?

Sorry

Viagra oysters face stiff opposition

A group of NSW oyster farmers are attempting to chemically boost the aphrodisiac qualities of their oysters — by feeding them Viagra.

The farmers have patented the process and are now preparing to export to the Asian market, which they estimate could be worth $220 million dollars.

But their use of the Viagra trademark in their marketing has drawn the ire of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, setting up a David and Goliath-style showdown.

Marketing executive George May came up with the idea of feeding Viagra to oysters after he underwent surgery for prostate cancer.

A common side effect of prostate cancer surgery is impotence. Following the operation, his doctor prescribed a low dose of Viagra to assist with his recovery.

The 59-year-old from Brisbane Waters initially crushed the tablets and sprinkled them on his oysters, hoping the combination would somehow fast track his return to normality.

An idea was born, and Mr May approached struggling oyster farmers Royden Whitten and Barry Lambert to discuss whether it was possible to feed Viagra to growing oysters.

"The boys were there and I said to them, 'Why don't we feed oysters viagra and make an ultimate aphrodisiac?'" Mr May said.

Oysters are filter feeders, so they grow by absorbing nutrients in the water. The farmers harvest the oysters and transfer them into tanks of Viagra-infused water.

Mr May claims tests have proven the oysters show trace elements of sildenafil citrate — the active ingredient in Viagra.

The farmers have registered the name "ViagraOysters", but that has attracted unwanted attention from the manufacturer of Viagra, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

Law firm Baker & McKenzie, acting on behalf of Pfizer, has threatened legal action if the farmers don't deregister the business name.

The threat of a law suit has only strengthened the farmers' resolve and they're now preparing to take on one of the world's most powerful pharmaceutical companies in the courts.

While the research and development of their product is still in its early stages, the NSW food authority says it's unlikely Viagra Oysters will be approved for sale in Australia.

Viagra is a prescription drug and therefore oysters containing traces of the drug would not be permitted for general sale.

Peter

Landlord ordered to slum it

A LANDLORD has been sentenced to house arrest in one of his derelict buildings until he makes proper repairs.

A judge in Lakewood Municipal Court ordered Richard Naumann to live in his apartment building, which has no heating, hot water or working stoves, until proper repairs have been carried out on the two tenement buildings he owns, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

Mr Naumann, who will only be allowed to leave the building for work, will be tagged with an electronic monitoring device on his ankle to ensure he abides by the judge's order.

________________________________________________________________________________

_____

Microwaved curry blows up on BA flight

BRITISH Airways has banned cabin crew from microwaving their own food after a curry exploded at 35,000 ft (10,668 metres), causing around $US40,000 ($48,790) of damage to an aircraft.

A fire extinguisher was used to tackle the blaze on April 30 on a Heathrow to Miami flight, when the high-powered microwave ignited a ready meal that a stewardess had bought from a supermarket.

"The fire lasted only a couple of seconds," said a BA spokesman. "As a precaution a specialist extinguisher was used in the microwave. However, at no time was there any danger to passengers or the aircraft."

________________________________________________________________________________

_____

Bee warned, avoid swarms

A PASSENGER plane in Britain was forced to land after flying into a swarm of bees.

The Palmair Boeing 737, with 90 passengers on board, had to return to Bournemouth Airport in southern England on Thursday shortly after take-off following an engine surge.

The pilot decided to abort the flight to Faro in Portugal and returned for safety checks. The plane's engine was thought to have become clogged with bees, the company said yesterday.

Huge clouds of bees have been seen around Bournemouth over the past few days, a spokeswoman said.

Peter

Huge clouds of bees have been seen around Bournemouth over the past few days, a spokeswoman said.

Well that knocks a completely different thread on the head.

Melbourne Australia

Monday Jun 4 17:39 AEST

Two Melbourne men who helped their friend in a bizarre failed suicide attempt have pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

Robert Karaca and Jarred Royce Price, both 20, drove with their suicidal flatmate Bruce Levin, 32, to the Dandenong hills, east of Melbourne, on March 4, 2005.

Once there, Levin thanked his two friends "profusely" for what they were about to do and gave them several thousand dollars.

He then took sleeping tablets before Price, of Brighton East, struck him twice on the head with an iron bar.

But Mr Levin survived and his two friends were subsequently charged with attempted murder.

On Monday, they pleaded guilty in the Victorian Supreme Court.

Crown Prosecutor Gabriele Cannon said that before the trip to the Dandenongs, Mr Levin told Karaca, of Glen Iris, he wanted to commit suicide by taking sleeping tablets and if this did not work he asked for his help.

Ms Cannon said Mr Levin, who at the time shared a house in Caulfield with the other two men, offered them money as an "added sweetener" after they initially seemed reluctant to help.

Mr Levin withdrew $5,432 from his bank account and gave most of it to them. They bought mobile phones, expensive Cuban cigars, alcohol and a farewell card.

Before they went ahead with their plan, Mr Levin shook hands with the two young men, "thanked them profusely", telling them they were "about to do him a big favour," Ms Cannon said.

Mr Levin told police he believed the two men acted out of friendship and were not motivated by the money.

He said Karaca asked him if he was sure he wanted to go through with it, and Mr Levin responded "absolutely positive".

After they left Mr Levin, an upset Karaca went to a police station where he told an officer: "I think I just helped to kill someone," the court heard.

While the penalty for attempted murder is normally a lengthy jail term, the prosecutor said the "extraordinary" circumstances of this case meant the penalty could fall within the range of a suspended sentence.

Karaca's barrister Phillip Dunn QC supported this position and said his client deeply regretted his involvement in the incident.

He asked the court to take into account the fact Mr Levin supported and helped commit the crime.

He said his client was in a dependent relationship with Mr Levin, who was much older and had invited him to move in with him at a time he had fallen out with his family.

Price's barrister Helen Spowart said her client accepted that his behaviour was unacceptable and totally wrong.

She also called for a suspended jail term, saying time in prison was not in the community's interest and would not help her client's rehabilitation.

She also said her client responded the way he did partly because of his own previous suicidal thoughts which led him to have empathy for the victim.

Justice Bernard Teague extended the two men's bail and ordered them to return to court for sentencing at a date to be fixed.

----------------------------------

With friends like this who needs enemies?

CB

One for you guys who like to quote song lyrics etc.

He's a real nowhere man

A judge sentenced a Beatles-loving thief by quoting 42 of the band's song titles in his verdict. Andrew McCormack, 20, had been asked what sentence he thought he should get for stealing beer, and in his plea wrote: ''Like The Beetles say, Let it Be.'' But he met his match in Montana's Judge Gregory Todd who replied: '''Hey Jude', 'Do You Want to Know a Secret'? The greatest band in history spelled its name B-e-a-t-l-e-s.''

Warming to his task, the judge continued: ''Your response suggests there should be no consequences for your actions and I should 'Let it Be' so you can live in 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. Such reasoning is 'Here, There and Everywhere'. It does not require a 'Magical Mystery Tour' of interpretation to know 'The Word' means leave it alone. I trust we can all 'Come Together' on that meaning. If I were to overlook your actions I would ignore that 'Day in the Life'. On that night you said to yourself 'I Feel Fine' while drinking beer. Later, whether you wanted 'Money' or were just trying to 'Act Naturally' you became the 'Fool on the Hill'.

And so he rambled on with two dozen more song titles before concluding: ''As a result of your 'Hard Day's Night' you're looking at a 'Ticket to Ride' that 'Long and Winding Road' to prison. Hopefully you can say both now and 'When I'm 64' that 'I Should Have Known Better'.''

He reportedly sentenced McCormack to probation 'Eight Days a Week'.

Source : Bangkok Post

555 Nice one, Phil.

Man blames drink for non-stop erection

A New York man has sued the maker of the health drink Boost Plus, saying the vitamin-enriched beverage gave him an erection that would not go away.

Christopher Woods said he bought the beverage, which is made by the Swiss-based Novartis pharmaceutical company, on June 5, 2004, and drank it.

He woke up the next morning "with an erection that would not subside" and sought treatment of the condition, called severe priapism, court papers say.

Woods, 29, underwent surgery for implantation of a Winter shunt, which moves blood from one area to another.

The lawsuit said Woods later had problems that required a hospital visit and penile artery embolisation, to close off blood vessels.

Closing off some blood flow lessens the likelihood of an erection.

Novartis' Boost Plus website describes the drink as "a great tasting, high calorie, nutritionally complete oral supplement for people who require extra energy and protein in a limited volume", in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

Woods' lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, names Novartis Consumer Health Inc as a defendant.

A spokeswoman for Novartis said the company was aware of the lawsuit but did not comment on pending litigation.

This is weird but not in the least funny - very sad

Men 'killed boy, sold his organs'

Friday Jun 8 15:38 AEST

Police have arrested two men for killing a 9-year-old boy in India and selling his kidneys, liver and pancreas to a doctor, newspapers reported on Friday.

Parvez Alam went missing from his village in the eastern state of Bihar in April, newspapers said. His mutilated body was discovered a few days later in a maize field.

Police in the capital New Delhi arrested a 20-year-old man and say he later confessed to the murder, the Times of India reported.

The man said he had sold the organs to a doctor in Bihar involved in the lucrative but illegal organ trading racket, police told newspapers.

The man's brother was earlier arrested in Bihar.

Link

Just when you think it's safe to go back in the water....

19th-century weapon found in whale

By ERIN CONROY, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 12, 6:24 PM ET

BOSTON - A 50-ton bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it survived a similar hunt — more than a century ago.

Embedded deep under its blubber was a 3 1/2-inch arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale's age, estimated between 115 and 130 years old.

"No other finding has been this precise," said John Bockstoce, an adjunct curator of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Calculating a whale's age can be difficult, and is usually gauged by amino acids in the eye lenses. It's rare to find one that has lived more than a century, but experts say the oldest were close to 200 years old.

The bomb lance fragment, lodged a bone between the whale's neck and shoulder blade, was likely manufactured in New Bedford, on the southeast coast of Massachusetts, a major whaling center at that time, Bockstoce said.

It was probably shot at the whale from a heavy shoulder gun around 1890. The small metal cylinder was filled with explosives fitted with a time-delay fuse so it would explode seconds after it was shot into the whale. The bomb lance was meant to kill the whale immediately and prevent it from escaping.

The device exploded and probably injured the whale, Bockstoce said.

"It probably hurt the whale, or annoyed him, but it hit him in a non-lethal place," he said. "He couldn't have been that bothered if he lived for another 100 years."

The whale harkens back to far different era. If 130 years old, it would have been born in 1877, the year Rutherford B. Hayes was sworn in as president, when federal Reconstruction troops withdrew from the South and when Thomas Edison unveiled his newest invention, the phonograph.

The 49-foot male whale died when it was shot with a similar projectile last month, and the older device was found buried beneath its blubber as hunters carved it with a chain saw for harvesting.

"It's unusual to find old things like that in whales, and I knew immediately that it was quite old by its shape," said Craig George, a wildlife biologist for the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management, who was called down to the site soon after it was found.

The revelation led George to return to a similar piece found in a whale hunted near St. Lawrence Island in 1980, which he sent to Bockstoce to compare.

"We didn't make anything of it at the time, and no one had any idea about their lifespan, or speculated that a bowhead could be that old," George said.

Bockstoce said he was impressed by notches carved into the head of the arrow used in the 19th century hunt, a traditional way for the Alaskan hunters to indicate ownership of the whale.

Whaling has always been a prominent source of food for Alaskans, and is monitored by the

International Whaling Commission. A hunting quota for the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission was recently renewed, allowing 255 whales to be harvested by 10 Alaskan villages over five years.

After it is analyzed, the fragment will be displayed at the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska.

Viagra oysters face stiff opposition

Peter

Photo of the Kan - by Old Croc

Why We Like The British - FROM BRITISH NEWSPAPERS

(1) Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large

gas bill, a spokesman for North West Gas said, "We agree it was

rather high for the time of year. It's possible Mr. Purdey has been

charged for the gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his

house." (The Daily Telegraph)

(2) Police reveal that a woman arrested for shoplifting had a whole

salami in her underwear. When asked why, she said it was because she

was missing her Italian boyfriend. (The ManchesterEvening News)

(3) Irish police are being handicapped in a search for a stolen van,

because they cannot issue a description. It's a Special Branch

vehicle and they don't want the public to know what it looks like.

(The Guardian)

(4) A young girl who was blown out to sea on a set of inflatable

teeth was rescued by a man on an inflatable lobster. A coast guard

spokesman commented, "This sort of thing is all too common". (The Times)

(5) At the height of the gale, the harbourmaster radioed a coastguard

and asked him to estimate the wind speed. He replied he was sorry,

but he didn't have a gauge. However, if it was any help, the wind had

just blown his Land Rover off the cliff. (AberdeenEvening Express)

(6) Mrs. Irene Graham of Thorpe Avenue, Boscombe, delighted the

audience with her reminiscence of the German prisoner of war who was

sent each week to do her garden. He was repatriated at the end of

1945, she recalled. "He'd always seemed a nice friendly chap, but

when the crocuses came up in the middle of our lawn in February 1946,

they spelt out 'Heil Hitler.'" (BournemouthEvening Echo)

A list of actual announcements that London Tube train drivers have

made to their passengers ....

(1) "Ladies and Gentlemen, I do apologize for the delay to your

service. I know you're all dying to get home, unless, of course, you

happen to be married to my ex-wife, in which case you'll want to

cross over to the Westbound and go in the opposite direction."

(2) "Your delay this evening is caused by the line controller

suffering from E & B syndrome: not knowing his elbow from his

backside. I'll let you know any further information as soon as I'm

given any."

(3) "Do you want the good news first or the bad news? The good news

is that last Friday was my birthday and I hit the town and had a great

time. The bad news is that there is a points failure somewhere between

Stratford and East Ham, which means we probably won't reach our

destination."

(4) "Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the delay, but there is a

security alert at Victoria station and we are therefore stuck here

for the foreseeable future, so let's take our minds off it and pass

some time together. All together now.... 'Ten green bottles, hanging

on a wall.....'."

(5) "We are now travelling through Baker Street... As you can see,

Baker Streetis closed. It would have been nice if they had actually

told me, so I could tell you earlier, but no, they don't think about

things like that".

(6) "Beggars are operating on this train. Please do NOT encourage

these professional beggars. If you have any spare change, please give

it to a registered charity. Failing that, give it to me."

(7) During an extremely hot rush hour on the Central Line, the driver

announced in a West Indian drawl: "Step right this way for the sauna,

ladies and gentleman... unfortunately, towels are not provided."

(8) "Let the passengers off the train FIRST!" (Pause.) "Oh go on

then, stuff yourselves in like sardines, see if I care - I'm going

home...."

(9) "Please allow the doors to close. Try not to confuse this with

'Please hold the doors open.' The two are distinct and separate

instructions."

(10) "Please note that the beeping noise coming from the doors means

that the doors are about to close. It does not mean throw yourself or

your bags into the doors."

(11) "We can't move off because some idiot has their hand stuck in

the door."

(12) "To the gentleman wearing the long grey coat trying to get on

the second carriage - what part of 'stand clear of the doors' don't

you understand?"

(13) "Please move all baggage away from the doors." (Pause...)

"Please move ALL belongings away from the doors." (Pause...)

"This is a personal message to the man in the brown suit wearing glasses

at the rear of the train: Put the pie down, Four-eyes, and move your

bl**dy golf clubs away from the door before I come down there and shove them up your

a**e sideways!"

(14) "May I remind all passengers that there is strictly no smoking

allowed on any part of the Underground. However, if you are smoking a

joint, it's only fair that you pass it round the rest of the

carriage."

Kan Win

HOT CHOCOLATE RAPIST

A 43-year-old man, who was arrested at his home on Friday morning, most likely drugged his victims to render them unconscious before filming the rapes, investigators allege.

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

Based on the number of victims, Insp Clemence said investigators could be dealing with the second most prolific sex offender in Victorian history.

Detectives were also considering the possibility the offender could be behind other attacks dating back to the early 1990s committed by a sex offender known as the Hot Chocolate rapist, who attacked 20 women after picking them up in cafes and treating them to a hot chocolate.

rest of the story continues here

Chocolate can kill.... ok ok not kill......but gee this guy is adding a bad name to chocolates grrrrr

HOT CHOCOLATE RAPIST

Detectives were also considering the possibility the offender could be behind other attacks dating back to the early 1990s committed by a sex offender known as the Hot Chocolate rapist, who attacked 20 women after picking them up in cafes and treating them to a hot chocolate.

not only is he a rapist he is a chocolates defamer.

... careful out there, Mig.

He could be behind other attacks dating back to the early 1990s committed by a sex offender known as the Hot Chocolate rapist.

I believe in miracles, but good ol' Errol wouldn't do that.

Where you from? you sexy thang, you sexy thing you.