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Monday, March 15, 2010
Man inexplicably drowns his car
To get up the beach, all he had to do was release some air from his tyres.
You can lead a horse to canvas, but will it paint?
Some unusual art is on display in Citrus County, but it’s not the paintings, themselves, that are unusual. It’s who painted them.
Cheryl Ward said she considers herself an assistant to the artists, who paint in what she calls an “abstract expressionist” style.
She pours the paint and sets up the canvases, and her four horses do the rest.
“They absolutely love to take the brush in their teeth, and move it up and down the canvas,” Ward said.
“It’s a collaboration between horse and human,” Ward said. “I was blown away by how much fun it was, and how they came out.”
When the paintings are done, Ward puts them up for sale. Some have sold for as much as $3,000. The horses’ artwork can be found on the walls of the Florida Artist Gallery, in Floral City.
Cheryl Ward said she considers herself an assistant to the artists, who paint in what she calls an “abstract expressionist” style.
She pours the paint and sets up the canvases, and her four horses do the rest.
“They absolutely love to take the brush in their teeth, and move it up and down the canvas,” Ward said.
“It’s a collaboration between horse and human,” Ward said. “I was blown away by how much fun it was, and how they came out.”
When the paintings are done, Ward puts them up for sale. Some have sold for as much as $3,000. The horses’ artwork can be found on the walls of the Florida Artist Gallery, in Floral City.
Woman who died alone while fasting 'was following God's call'
Evelyn Boyd was on a mission to pray — for her husband, her church, her city, the nation and the president.
So on Feb. 7, she locked herself in a bedroom to pray and fast. She brought water and prayer requests and told her husband not to bother her.
"This is what I have to do," she told him.
For more than three weeks, Boyd, 55, didn't emerge. Her family could have come to her aid if she needed help, but her husband wanted to respect her wish to be alone. He figured she'd be okay, just like the last four times she fasted.
But on the 26th day, family members forced the door open. They found her dead.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office says it appears she died because of the fast. Deputies don't plan to file charges because they believe she fasted willingly and her family said she was mentally sound, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
So on Feb. 7, she locked herself in a bedroom to pray and fast. She brought water and prayer requests and told her husband not to bother her.
"This is what I have to do," she told him.
For more than three weeks, Boyd, 55, didn't emerge. Her family could have come to her aid if she needed help, but her husband wanted to respect her wish to be alone. He figured she'd be okay, just like the last four times she fasted.
But on the 26th day, family members forced the door open. They found her dead.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office says it appears she died because of the fast. Deputies don't plan to file charges because they believe she fasted willingly and her family said she was mentally sound, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Panic in Georgia as bogus TV report says Russia has invaded
Panic was sparked in Georgia after a TV station broadcast news that Russian tanks had invaded the capital and the country's president was dead.
The Imedi network report, which brought back memories of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, was false.
But mobile phone networks were overwhelmed with calls and many people rushed onto the streets.
Imedi said the aim had been to show how events might unfold if the president were killed. It later apologised. The head of the holding company which owns Imedi TV, George Arveladze, said he was sorry for the distress that the TV report had caused.
The Imedi network report, which brought back memories of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, was false.
But mobile phone networks were overwhelmed with calls and many people rushed onto the streets.
Imedi said the aim had been to show how events might unfold if the president were killed. It later apologised. The head of the holding company which owns Imedi TV, George Arveladze, said he was sorry for the distress that the TV report had caused.
Last rites for English at Australian church
English-speaking parishioners have been forced out of a church in Sydney's north with its service now to be heard solely in Korean.
Denistone East Uniting Church will hold its final English service next Sunday.
The community that has replaced bygone eras in Denistone is "delightfully Asianised", Reverend Les Pearson said, with at least 120 keen Korean Christians packing each sermon.
"At a time when church-going for Caucasian people seems to be diminishing, it is a healthy thing for our church to become more ethnic," Rev Pearson said.
"This is society dictating to the church and the church responding to that. It would have been easy to say 'This is an Aussie church' but it would have been unreasonable and wrong. We live in a land enriched by migrants."
After 57 years of Sundays, this final English service would be sad, Mr Field said, but it was better that a Korean congregation use the church than none at all.
Denistone East Uniting Church will hold its final English service next Sunday.
The community that has replaced bygone eras in Denistone is "delightfully Asianised", Reverend Les Pearson said, with at least 120 keen Korean Christians packing each sermon.
"At a time when church-going for Caucasian people seems to be diminishing, it is a healthy thing for our church to become more ethnic," Rev Pearson said.
"This is society dictating to the church and the church responding to that. It would have been easy to say 'This is an Aussie church' but it would have been unreasonable and wrong. We live in a land enriched by migrants."
After 57 years of Sundays, this final English service would be sad, Mr Field said, but it was better that a Korean congregation use the church than none at all.
Girls ordered to spend weekends with sex offender father
An Australian court has ordered two young girls to spend weekends with their sex offender father provided he puts a door on their bedroom they can lock. Judge Robert Benjamin, in the Family Court's Hobart branch, ruled that the girls "need some protection from (their father), particularly at night". However, the risk of sexual abuse was "diminished when they are awake and alert".
Judge Benjamin said that the father, who was convicted of downloading child pornography, must have an "adult friend" stay with him when the girls stayed overnight. He added that until the youngest turned 14, the girls must "share the same room so they can have the mutual support of one another".
A Family Court counsellor said that the girls, aged ten and eight, "are at an age and maturity when awake, dressed and together it would be unlikely the father would act inappropriately toward them". "However, at night, when they were asleep or partly asleep and not aware of each other's whereabouts, they would be less secure."
The eldest girl has told counsellors that she was afraid to stay overnight with her father. The case has outraged women's groups, who say it puts the girls at risk to satisfy the father's desire to see them.
Judge Benjamin said that the father, who was convicted of downloading child pornography, must have an "adult friend" stay with him when the girls stayed overnight. He added that until the youngest turned 14, the girls must "share the same room so they can have the mutual support of one another".
A Family Court counsellor said that the girls, aged ten and eight, "are at an age and maturity when awake, dressed and together it would be unlikely the father would act inappropriately toward them". "However, at night, when they were asleep or partly asleep and not aware of each other's whereabouts, they would be less secure."
The eldest girl has told counsellors that she was afraid to stay overnight with her father. The case has outraged women's groups, who say it puts the girls at risk to satisfy the father's desire to see them.
British pair face jail for kissing in Dubai restaurant
A British couple have been told they must wait a further month to find out if they must serve a month in prison for publicly kissing in a Dubai restaurant.
Ayman Najafi, 24, a British expatriate in Dubai, and Charlotte Lewis, 25, a tourist, have been accused of breaching strict public decency laws at the fashionable Jumeirah Beach Residence in the Muslim emirate.
The Dubai authorities are holding their passports so that they cannot leave the country.
Khalaf al-Hosani, a lawyer, said that they are accused of “committing a sexual act [by] kissing on the lips and touching”.
They are also accused of consuming alcohol, a charge to which they pleaded guilty, but said they only kissed on the cheek. The Misdemeanours Appeals Court ruled that it would reach a final verdict on April 4, Mr al-Hosani added.
Ayman Najafi, 24, a British expatriate in Dubai, and Charlotte Lewis, 25, a tourist, have been accused of breaching strict public decency laws at the fashionable Jumeirah Beach Residence in the Muslim emirate.
The Dubai authorities are holding their passports so that they cannot leave the country.
Khalaf al-Hosani, a lawyer, said that they are accused of “committing a sexual act [by] kissing on the lips and touching”.
They are also accused of consuming alcohol, a charge to which they pleaded guilty, but said they only kissed on the cheek. The Misdemeanours Appeals Court ruled that it would reach a final verdict on April 4, Mr al-Hosani added.
British councils disagree about when hole becomes a pothole
When is a pothole not a pothole? It may sound a simple question, but councils up and down the country have failed to agree on an answer. More than two million potholes need fixing in Britain following the winter freeze, but a baffling array of official definitions regarding what exactly constitutes a pothole means that motorists and pedestrians face a postcode lottery of highway standards.
In Gloucestershire, a hole in a road must be the depth of a "golf ball" (1.6in, 40mm) and the width of a "large dinner plate" (11.8in, 300mm) before the county council will regard it as a pothole. Worcestershire county council will accept a smaller "dinner plate" width hole (7.9in, 200mm) in surface area, while requiring the hole to be the depth of a "fist" (1.6in).
To assist residents in Coventry the council has devised what it calls an "easy way to remember" what it deems the depth of a priority pothole; "a pound coin and a 1p coin side by side" (1.6in).
In Suffolk, roads officers agree with Gloucestershire that a serious pothole must be the width of a "large dinner plate" (11.8in) – unless the defect is on a minor road, when it must be about the size of a "dustbin lid" (23.6in, 600mm) to warrant urgent action.
In Bath and North East Somerset a crack in the road only needs to be 1.2in (30mm) deep before it counts as a pothole, whereas in Cheshire West and Chester inspectors are charged with identifying only holes deeper than 2in (50mm). In Hounslow, traffic officers will fix potholes on residential streets only if they meet "intervention levels" of 3in (75mm) in depth.
Some councils' policies stipulate four or more different categories of priority depending on a pothole's depth and width. Nearly all assess potholes in roads in a different way from those on footpaths.
In Gloucestershire, a hole in a road must be the depth of a "golf ball" (1.6in, 40mm) and the width of a "large dinner plate" (11.8in, 300mm) before the county council will regard it as a pothole. Worcestershire county council will accept a smaller "dinner plate" width hole (7.9in, 200mm) in surface area, while requiring the hole to be the depth of a "fist" (1.6in).
To assist residents in Coventry the council has devised what it calls an "easy way to remember" what it deems the depth of a priority pothole; "a pound coin and a 1p coin side by side" (1.6in).
In Suffolk, roads officers agree with Gloucestershire that a serious pothole must be the width of a "large dinner plate" (11.8in) – unless the defect is on a minor road, when it must be about the size of a "dustbin lid" (23.6in, 600mm) to warrant urgent action.
In Bath and North East Somerset a crack in the road only needs to be 1.2in (30mm) deep before it counts as a pothole, whereas in Cheshire West and Chester inspectors are charged with identifying only holes deeper than 2in (50mm). In Hounslow, traffic officers will fix potholes on residential streets only if they meet "intervention levels" of 3in (75mm) in depth.
Some councils' policies stipulate four or more different categories of priority depending on a pothole's depth and width. Nearly all assess potholes in roads in a different way from those on footpaths.
Nurse fired for naked man gag
Hospital bosses have been branded "insane" for sacking a nurse after she made a joke while trying to restrain a half- naked patient during a raging fit.
Charge nurse Laura Bowater, 33 - who had four years' unblemished service - said: "It's months since I have been in this position", as she straddled the man while helping her colleagues control him.
She was dissmissed for gross misconduct from her £25,000-a-year post at London's Central Middlesex Hospital. Bowater was on her way home from a shift in July 2006 when she stopped to help staff restrain the "extremely strong" 31-year-old patient, whose trousers had been removed so doctors could inject his buttock.
Bowater sat on his ankles to control his flailing legs, but the patient span on to his back, exposing himself, and kicking her forward. It was here that she made the "humorous" comment, which senior staff investigated six weeks later.
An employment tribunal at first agreed the hospital had unfairly dismissed Bowater. But its decision was overturned on appeal because, although the comment was heard only by other medics, it was made in a public A&E department.
The tribunal heard Bowater's actions had made it possible to sedate the man before he harmed himself or others. But it held she had used inappropriate restraint, despite accepting she was helping in an emergency and lacked proper training.
Charge nurse Laura Bowater, 33 - who had four years' unblemished service - said: "It's months since I have been in this position", as she straddled the man while helping her colleagues control him.
She was dissmissed for gross misconduct from her £25,000-a-year post at London's Central Middlesex Hospital. Bowater was on her way home from a shift in July 2006 when she stopped to help staff restrain the "extremely strong" 31-year-old patient, whose trousers had been removed so doctors could inject his buttock.
Bowater sat on his ankles to control his flailing legs, but the patient span on to his back, exposing himself, and kicking her forward. It was here that she made the "humorous" comment, which senior staff investigated six weeks later.
An employment tribunal at first agreed the hospital had unfairly dismissed Bowater. But its decision was overturned on appeal because, although the comment was heard only by other medics, it was made in a public A&E department.
The tribunal heard Bowater's actions had made it possible to sedate the man before he harmed himself or others. But it held she had used inappropriate restraint, despite accepting she was helping in an emergency and lacked proper training.
Nuclear panic as emergency planners and water company scare residents
Loud hailer announcements by a water company and a leaflet advising what to do during a radiation leak caused fears of a nuclear catastrophe in Dorset. Emergency services in Portland were inundated with calls when Wessex Water officials used a hailer to inform residents of a cut to services.
Meanwhile, leaflets had been delivered advising people what to do during a radiation emergency at the nearby port. The leaflets were distributed as part of a Nuclear Accident Emergency Plan exercise at Portland Port on Wednesday evening.
Photo from here. With more photos.
They advised people in the area to stay indoors, put out fires and boilers, take potassium iodate tablets if they had been issued and wait for the all clear. However, in an unconnected event, the water company used a loud hailer to inform residents their water was being turned off.
Vivien Hawkins, 78, said: "There was this awful noise. I opened the front door and there was a loud speaker. It was so loud you couldn't hear what he was saying. Just after that a leaflet came through the door telling you what to do - douse all fires, close all windows. I thought what are you supposed to do? Freeze? I was frightened to death."
Meanwhile, leaflets had been delivered advising people what to do during a radiation emergency at the nearby port. The leaflets were distributed as part of a Nuclear Accident Emergency Plan exercise at Portland Port on Wednesday evening.
Photo from here. With more photos.
They advised people in the area to stay indoors, put out fires and boilers, take potassium iodate tablets if they had been issued and wait for the all clear. However, in an unconnected event, the water company used a loud hailer to inform residents their water was being turned off.
Vivien Hawkins, 78, said: "There was this awful noise. I opened the front door and there was a loud speaker. It was so loud you couldn't hear what he was saying. Just after that a leaflet came through the door telling you what to do - douse all fires, close all windows. I thought what are you supposed to do? Freeze? I was frightened to death."
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