Sunday, January 18, 2009
Dog held for ransom in Vancouver park
A woman held a dog for ransom while demanding jewellery from the dog's owner at a Vancouver park.
Sheryl Jensen brought her Yorkshire Terrier to Oak Grove Neighborhood Park on Wednesday morning. The dog wandered away and when Jensen reached down to pick it up, another woman beat her to it, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
The woman cuddled the dog and said it was cute, but then demanded Jensen's jewellery in exchange for the safe return of the dog, deputies said.
Sheriff's deputies said Jensen eventually gave in and handed over her wedding ring, a gold bracelet and her diamond earrings. After the woman took the jewellery, she tossed the dog away and left the scene.
Jensen and the dog weren't injured in the robbery. While no arrests have been made, deputies said they have a solid description of the robber and hope to make an arrest soon.
The woman sought by deputies is described as white, in her 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 180 pounds with brown hair. She had a butterfly tattoo on her hand.
With news video.
Sheryl Jensen brought her Yorkshire Terrier to Oak Grove Neighborhood Park on Wednesday morning. The dog wandered away and when Jensen reached down to pick it up, another woman beat her to it, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
The woman cuddled the dog and said it was cute, but then demanded Jensen's jewellery in exchange for the safe return of the dog, deputies said.
Sheriff's deputies said Jensen eventually gave in and handed over her wedding ring, a gold bracelet and her diamond earrings. After the woman took the jewellery, she tossed the dog away and left the scene.
Jensen and the dog weren't injured in the robbery. While no arrests have been made, deputies said they have a solid description of the robber and hope to make an arrest soon.
The woman sought by deputies is described as white, in her 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 180 pounds with brown hair. She had a butterfly tattoo on her hand.
With news video.
Paper houses could revolutionize world slums
A new invention could soon change the face of shantytowns across the globe. Called "Universal World House," the structures are light, cheap - and made of paper. Slums, sadly, look largely the same the world over - rickety metal roofed huts thrown together on the edges of vast metropolises to provide some rudimentary shelter for the destitute who live there.
But if a newly designed pre-fabricated house developed in conjunction with the Bauhaus University in the eastern German city of Weimar catches on, the world's shantytowns could get a new look. The buildings are cheap, sturdy - and made out of paper.
"From the very beginning, our goal was to create practical, environmentally sustainable, and, most importantly, cheap living quarters for the slums of the Earth," Gerd Niemöller, who developed the cellulose material the houses are made of, said in a recent statement. "Now, that is possible."
Niemöller is a co-founder of the Swiss company The Wall AG, which holds the patent for material used in the construction of the mini-homes. But, he says, he envisions the houses - called the "Universal World House" - ultimately being produced in the countries where they are needed. And, he says, the sticker price for the 36 square meter (387.5 square foot) structures won't be more than $5,000 each.
The material used in the construction of the houses mimics the honeycomb pattern used in the manufacture of airplanes and other products for which both weight and strength are important factors. But instead of using aluminium or other alloys, Niemöller used resin-soaked paper processed to form thin, light - yet strong - panels. The material is also an excellent insulator, and is flexible, making it appropriate in areas at risk of earthquakes.
According to Niemöller's business model, his company would deliver the machines to manufacture the panels along with the raw materials. Everything else would be taken care of by locals. Interest has already been large. One of the first settlements made up of the paper houses will be built in Zimbabwe in conjunction with the German aid organization World Vision. Nigeria too has ordered 2,400 of the houses.
But if a newly designed pre-fabricated house developed in conjunction with the Bauhaus University in the eastern German city of Weimar catches on, the world's shantytowns could get a new look. The buildings are cheap, sturdy - and made out of paper.
"From the very beginning, our goal was to create practical, environmentally sustainable, and, most importantly, cheap living quarters for the slums of the Earth," Gerd Niemöller, who developed the cellulose material the houses are made of, said in a recent statement. "Now, that is possible."
Niemöller is a co-founder of the Swiss company The Wall AG, which holds the patent for material used in the construction of the mini-homes. But, he says, he envisions the houses - called the "Universal World House" - ultimately being produced in the countries where they are needed. And, he says, the sticker price for the 36 square meter (387.5 square foot) structures won't be more than $5,000 each.
The material used in the construction of the houses mimics the honeycomb pattern used in the manufacture of airplanes and other products for which both weight and strength are important factors. But instead of using aluminium or other alloys, Niemöller used resin-soaked paper processed to form thin, light - yet strong - panels. The material is also an excellent insulator, and is flexible, making it appropriate in areas at risk of earthquakes.
According to Niemöller's business model, his company would deliver the machines to manufacture the panels along with the raw materials. Everything else would be taken care of by locals. Interest has already been large. One of the first settlements made up of the paper houses will be built in Zimbabwe in conjunction with the German aid organization World Vision. Nigeria too has ordered 2,400 of the houses.
Wealthy men give women more orgasms
Scientists have found that the pleasure women get from making love is directly linked to the size of their partner’s bank balance.
They found that the wealthier a man is, the more frequently his partner has orgasms.
“Women’s orgasm frequency increases with the income of their partner,” said Dr Thomas Pollet, the Newcastle University psychologist behind the research.
He believes the phenomenon is an “evolutionary adaptation” that is hard-wired into women, driving them to select men on the basis of their perceived quality.
The study is certain to prove controversial, suggesting that women are inherently programmed to be gold-diggers.
However, it fits into a wider body of research known as evolutionary psychology which suggests that both men and women are genetically predisposed to ruthlessly exploit each other to achieve the best chances of survival for their genes.
They found that the wealthier a man is, the more frequently his partner has orgasms.
“Women’s orgasm frequency increases with the income of their partner,” said Dr Thomas Pollet, the Newcastle University psychologist behind the research.
He believes the phenomenon is an “evolutionary adaptation” that is hard-wired into women, driving them to select men on the basis of their perceived quality.
The study is certain to prove controversial, suggesting that women are inherently programmed to be gold-diggers.
However, it fits into a wider body of research known as evolutionary psychology which suggests that both men and women are genetically predisposed to ruthlessly exploit each other to achieve the best chances of survival for their genes.
Marko Casalan, 8, is officially world's youngest IT whizz
While the other elementary school pupils skim through their comics in the break between classes, Marko Calasan takes out his copy of Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server Network for a light read.
At the age of 8, Marko has become the world’s youngest certified computer system administrator and was deemed the Mozart of Computers by the press after passing exams for IT professionals with the computer giant Microsoft.
In theory, he could now get a job maintaining complex office computer networks, even though he has not yet completed the third grade in his native town Skopje, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
“The Microsoft officials gave me computer games and DVDs with cartoons when I passed the exams because I am a child. That was nice, but I’m not really interested in those things,” young Marko said. “I’d like to be a computer scientist when I grow up and create a new operational system.”
Marko learnt to read and write at the age of 2 and started working on computers immediately. The news of his extraordinary achievement turned him into a local celebrity and he has even had an audience with the Macedonian Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, who presented him with an IT lab with 15 computers to practise on.
His parents, who are IT experts and run a computer school for children, are considering sending Marko abroad to a specialised institute of learning for gifted children, as none exists in Macedonia.
At the age of 8, Marko has become the world’s youngest certified computer system administrator and was deemed the Mozart of Computers by the press after passing exams for IT professionals with the computer giant Microsoft.
In theory, he could now get a job maintaining complex office computer networks, even though he has not yet completed the third grade in his native town Skopje, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
“The Microsoft officials gave me computer games and DVDs with cartoons when I passed the exams because I am a child. That was nice, but I’m not really interested in those things,” young Marko said. “I’d like to be a computer scientist when I grow up and create a new operational system.”
Marko learnt to read and write at the age of 2 and started working on computers immediately. The news of his extraordinary achievement turned him into a local celebrity and he has even had an audience with the Macedonian Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, who presented him with an IT lab with 15 computers to practise on.
His parents, who are IT experts and run a computer school for children, are considering sending Marko abroad to a specialised institute of learning for gifted children, as none exists in Macedonia.
Chinese mother sentenced to death for hiring man to kill her 9-year-old son
A Chinese court has sentenced a mother to death for hiring a man to strangle her 9-year-old son so she could have a baby with her new husband without violating the "one child" policy. Li Yingfang had previously ordered a failed attempt on the life of her young stepdaughter, court officials in Shaanxi, central China, have confirmed.
Population laws introduced three decades ago prevent most couples from having more than one child. Those who break the rules face strict financial penalties. The case came as the country's official media hinted that the government may be discussing reform after it published a survey showing that most women want more than one child.
Li, 36, gave custody of her son to the boy's grandmother after her first husband died, an official at a lower court in Weinan confirmed. People who remarry may have second children if their new partners are childless. But Li's second husband had a daughter from his own first marriage, preventing the couple from having a child together legally.
According to Shaanxi Television, Li initially paid Wang Ruijie about 70,000 yuan (£6,900) to kill her stepdaughter. But after the girl resisted and escaped, Li took her own son to a meeting with Wang, who strangled the boy and left his body by a rural road.
The court in Weinan originally imposed a suspended death sentence because Li had suffered from depression after having two abortions because of the population laws. Such sentences are often commuted to life in prison. But the higher people's court in Shaanxi ordered her execution after it ruled her depression was not directly related to her crime.
Wang was given a suspended death sentence. Both were ordered to pay compensation to the bereaved grandmother.
Population laws introduced three decades ago prevent most couples from having more than one child. Those who break the rules face strict financial penalties. The case came as the country's official media hinted that the government may be discussing reform after it published a survey showing that most women want more than one child.
Li, 36, gave custody of her son to the boy's grandmother after her first husband died, an official at a lower court in Weinan confirmed. People who remarry may have second children if their new partners are childless. But Li's second husband had a daughter from his own first marriage, preventing the couple from having a child together legally.
According to Shaanxi Television, Li initially paid Wang Ruijie about 70,000 yuan (£6,900) to kill her stepdaughter. But after the girl resisted and escaped, Li took her own son to a meeting with Wang, who strangled the boy and left his body by a rural road.
The court in Weinan originally imposed a suspended death sentence because Li had suffered from depression after having two abortions because of the population laws. Such sentences are often commuted to life in prison. But the higher people's court in Shaanxi ordered her execution after it ruled her depression was not directly related to her crime.
Wang was given a suspended death sentence. Both were ordered to pay compensation to the bereaved grandmother.
Horsewoman ejected from supermarket for being too smelly
Krys Gunton, 29, was intercepted by security staff as she shopped at Tesco Metro in Collier Row, Romford, Essex, after a riding session at the town's Havering Park Riding School. As she strolled down the aisles in her jodhpurs and riding boots, she was approached by a security guard and asked to leave "for health and safety reasons".
Miss Gunton, an administrator at the University of East London, said: "I had filled my basket and was browsing one final aisle when a guard came up to me and said 'You're smelling too much.' "First of all I thought he said I was smiling too much. I was a bit gobsmacked but he went on to explain that another customer had complained about my smell."
She said she had been visiting the store after riding every week for the past five years and had never had any complaints before about her equine odour. "It was not like I was covered in horse muck - it was just eau de horse!" she said.
Miss Gunton said she asked the guard what he suggested she should do and said she was instructed to go home and change before continuing her shopping. When I said I did not have any spare clothes in my car he just kept repeating that a customer had complained about me," she said.
"The store was very busy so I felt humiliated in public. I was astounded at how very rude he was." Miss Gunton, of nearby Chadwell Heath, said she had no choice but to abandon her almost full basket and leave the store.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “The customer was asked politely to leave the store as she had manure on her riding boots which is of course not acceptable in a store which sells food.”
Miss Gunton, an administrator at the University of East London, said: "I had filled my basket and was browsing one final aisle when a guard came up to me and said 'You're smelling too much.' "First of all I thought he said I was smiling too much. I was a bit gobsmacked but he went on to explain that another customer had complained about my smell."
She said she had been visiting the store after riding every week for the past five years and had never had any complaints before about her equine odour. "It was not like I was covered in horse muck - it was just eau de horse!" she said.
Miss Gunton said she asked the guard what he suggested she should do and said she was instructed to go home and change before continuing her shopping. When I said I did not have any spare clothes in my car he just kept repeating that a customer had complained about me," she said.
"The store was very busy so I felt humiliated in public. I was astounded at how very rude he was." Miss Gunton, of nearby Chadwell Heath, said she had no choice but to abandon her almost full basket and leave the store.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “The customer was asked politely to leave the store as she had manure on her riding boots which is of course not acceptable in a store which sells food.”
Wrong house is repossessed in address mix-up
A father returned home with his baby girl to find his house had been wrongly repossessed after a mistake by a building society.
Matthew Brooks' £150,000 home had been broken into while he was out and the locks changed because agents for the Chelsea Building Society got the wrong house, instead of the right house a few doors down on the same road in Crewe, Cheshire.
A "furious" Mr Brooks, 42, who is not even a customer with the Chelsea, was left standing in the rain with 12-month old Loren, unable to get into his own home. The locks on the house he shares with wife Lindsey, 30, an admin clerk, and their other daughter, seven-year-old Melissa, had been drilled to gain access, and had then been changed.
The correct repossessed house, on Benjafield Court, had been cleared of furniture, so the Chelsea sent a locksmith round to secure the property. But they got the wrong house number, and when the agents broke in to turn off the gas and electricity and change the locks they found the house fully furnished and the heating still on - and realised their mistake.
They left a note in the letterbox and window telling Mr Brooks the new keys to the house were at the estate agents. He then drove to their offices to pick up the keys to his own home.
Mr Brooks described the error as a "massive invasion of privacy". The family have now received a financial settlement of a few hundred pounds from the Chelsea for "upset and inconvenience", and flowers and wine for Mrs Brooks.
Matthew Brooks' £150,000 home had been broken into while he was out and the locks changed because agents for the Chelsea Building Society got the wrong house, instead of the right house a few doors down on the same road in Crewe, Cheshire.
A "furious" Mr Brooks, 42, who is not even a customer with the Chelsea, was left standing in the rain with 12-month old Loren, unable to get into his own home. The locks on the house he shares with wife Lindsey, 30, an admin clerk, and their other daughter, seven-year-old Melissa, had been drilled to gain access, and had then been changed.
The correct repossessed house, on Benjafield Court, had been cleared of furniture, so the Chelsea sent a locksmith round to secure the property. But they got the wrong house number, and when the agents broke in to turn off the gas and electricity and change the locks they found the house fully furnished and the heating still on - and realised their mistake.
They left a note in the letterbox and window telling Mr Brooks the new keys to the house were at the estate agents. He then drove to their offices to pick up the keys to his own home.
Mr Brooks described the error as a "massive invasion of privacy". The family have now received a financial settlement of a few hundred pounds from the Chelsea for "upset and inconvenience", and flowers and wine for Mrs Brooks.
Woman fined for eating crust of bread in car
A hungry motorist got not a crumb of comfort from a policeman when she dared to eat a crust of bread as she was driving her car in Liverpool. Stunned Ediri Tsekiri was fined £60 and had three penalty points slapped on her licence for munching a two-inch long fragment from a sandwich she'd eaten earlier.
University researcher Ediri, 36, was driving her Vauxhall Safira between appointments, when she was stopped by an officer in a marked police van. He informed Ediri that she had been seen eating while driving and that she could have killed a child if one had stepped into the road while she was distracted by eating. She was issued with the fine and penalty points with a ticket for the offence of "not being in proper control of a vehicle".
Mother-of-two Ediri, of Wavertree, Liverpool, said, "The officer asked me what I would have done if a child had stepped out in front of me. My reply was that I would have put my foot on the brake the same as in any other situation. He tried to suggest that what it was 'worse' than using a mobile phone while driving, but I don't accept that for a moment. The whole procedure lasted less than a second.
"Everyone takes one hand off the wheel at some point quite legitimately when they change gear, roll down the window or change the heater settings. Police officers don't drive with both hands on the wheel at every moment. In fact, the dashboard of the police van was bristling with all kinds of equipment, including a computer screen which is touch controlled. That's not hands free and it smacks one law for them and another for the rest of us.
"If I had been sneezing that could have been more dangerous than eating a morsel of bread. This is a shocking case of over-zealous policing. Hounding drivers like this brings the police and the law into disrepute."
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "There is no correlation between pushing a button on a radio, or changing gear and eating whilst driving. Ms Tsekiri was issued with a fixed penalty for not being in proper control of a vehicle. Each case is treated individually on its merits, but by eating at the wheel a driver is likely to be not in proper control of their vehicle."
There's a news video here.
University researcher Ediri, 36, was driving her Vauxhall Safira between appointments, when she was stopped by an officer in a marked police van. He informed Ediri that she had been seen eating while driving and that she could have killed a child if one had stepped into the road while she was distracted by eating. She was issued with the fine and penalty points with a ticket for the offence of "not being in proper control of a vehicle".
Mother-of-two Ediri, of Wavertree, Liverpool, said, "The officer asked me what I would have done if a child had stepped out in front of me. My reply was that I would have put my foot on the brake the same as in any other situation. He tried to suggest that what it was 'worse' than using a mobile phone while driving, but I don't accept that for a moment. The whole procedure lasted less than a second.
"Everyone takes one hand off the wheel at some point quite legitimately when they change gear, roll down the window or change the heater settings. Police officers don't drive with both hands on the wheel at every moment. In fact, the dashboard of the police van was bristling with all kinds of equipment, including a computer screen which is touch controlled. That's not hands free and it smacks one law for them and another for the rest of us.
"If I had been sneezing that could have been more dangerous than eating a morsel of bread. This is a shocking case of over-zealous policing. Hounding drivers like this brings the police and the law into disrepute."
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "There is no correlation between pushing a button on a radio, or changing gear and eating whilst driving. Ms Tsekiri was issued with a fixed penalty for not being in proper control of a vehicle. Each case is treated individually on its merits, but by eating at the wheel a driver is likely to be not in proper control of their vehicle."
There's a news video here.
Boy, 7, has never eaten a meal
In almost every sense he is a normal seven-year-old boy. He plays football, swims and goes to school every day, but there is one major difference separating Wester Hailes youngster Tyler Mill from his friends – food has never passed his lips.
Ever since his birth the youngster – who is known to friends and family as TJ – has refused food, and relies on a tube to feed him every night. His mother, Arlene Mill, 41, has told she has spent years attempting to find a solution. She is hoping that by highlighting his case, she may finally find the key to persuading her son to eat.
The full-time mother said that after a series of tests, medics confirmed the problem was entirely psychological. "There isn't really anything we haven't tried," said Ms Mill, a single mother who lives with Tyler and his older sister Robin, 12, in Hailesland Gardens. We've been to so many doctors and psychologists, tried forcing him to eat, breaking things up – I always thought he would just snap out of it and eat, but he never has." She added: "I just hope for the day he'll decide to eat and get on with it, but it hasn't happened yet. There's no problem with the swallowing mechanism, it's all in his head."
For years Tyler had a tube going into his nose to feed him, but Ms Mill along with medical experts opted for a night-feed machine, which means he does not have to eat throughout the day with the machine supplying him with high-fibre, high calorie milk during the night.
They have even tried to reduce the amount of food the boy gets in the hope that the hunger will trigger an appetite to eat, but this never works and Tyler – who is already small for his age – loses even more weight. She added: "We've now been told the best thing to do is to sit food in front of him and if he fancies it he can have an attempt. Pressuring him has never worked and has an adverse affect, he just runs away from the table. He does try though, but when he gets things into his mouth he just vomits. We used to try and make a big thing of it when he tried things. He seems to go for food with rich smells, like he often takes the inside of garlic bread into his mouth. He also once took a tiny corner of a Milky Bar."
Ensuring the health of her youngest child dominates her life, and can often keep her up throughout the night, particularly if something goes wrong with the night feeding machine, provided for her along with supplies of special milk and other equipment by NHS Lothian.
Full story here
Ever since his birth the youngster – who is known to friends and family as TJ – has refused food, and relies on a tube to feed him every night. His mother, Arlene Mill, 41, has told she has spent years attempting to find a solution. She is hoping that by highlighting his case, she may finally find the key to persuading her son to eat.
The full-time mother said that after a series of tests, medics confirmed the problem was entirely psychological. "There isn't really anything we haven't tried," said Ms Mill, a single mother who lives with Tyler and his older sister Robin, 12, in Hailesland Gardens. We've been to so many doctors and psychologists, tried forcing him to eat, breaking things up – I always thought he would just snap out of it and eat, but he never has." She added: "I just hope for the day he'll decide to eat and get on with it, but it hasn't happened yet. There's no problem with the swallowing mechanism, it's all in his head."
For years Tyler had a tube going into his nose to feed him, but Ms Mill along with medical experts opted for a night-feed machine, which means he does not have to eat throughout the day with the machine supplying him with high-fibre, high calorie milk during the night.
They have even tried to reduce the amount of food the boy gets in the hope that the hunger will trigger an appetite to eat, but this never works and Tyler – who is already small for his age – loses even more weight. She added: "We've now been told the best thing to do is to sit food in front of him and if he fancies it he can have an attempt. Pressuring him has never worked and has an adverse affect, he just runs away from the table. He does try though, but when he gets things into his mouth he just vomits. We used to try and make a big thing of it when he tried things. He seems to go for food with rich smells, like he often takes the inside of garlic bread into his mouth. He also once took a tiny corner of a Milky Bar."
Ensuring the health of her youngest child dominates her life, and can often keep her up throughout the night, particularly if something goes wrong with the night feeding machine, provided for her along with supplies of special milk and other equipment by NHS Lothian.
Full story here
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