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Friday, July 27, 2012
Cambodians flock to 'magic' lottery log
A large log dug up in Cambodia has drawn thousands of visitors who believe it has healing powers and can predict winning lottery numbers.
Some 4,000 to 5,000 people have already been to see the 13-metre-long log (42 feet) that was discovered earlier this month when a family excavated a pond in western Pursat province, Prey Yeang village chief Hun Nov said. "They believe the log has magical powers," he said, adding that visitors were coming loaded with offerings such as pig heads and boiled whole chickens after some locals who touched the wood won money in the lottery.
"At least one hundred people a day visit the log to ask for lottery numbers and to cure their illnesses," he said. "They believe in superstition." Cambodians are highly superstitious, particularly in the countryside where people continue to merge animist practices with Buddhism.
Hun Nov said some believers rubbed talcum powder onto the wood, hoping to see lucky lottery numbers, and others drank water from the pond and smeared nearby mud onto their bodies in a bid to cure their ailments. While the village chief himself is not convinced of the log's powers, "We, the authorities, have no right to stop them," he said.
Some 4,000 to 5,000 people have already been to see the 13-metre-long log (42 feet) that was discovered earlier this month when a family excavated a pond in western Pursat province, Prey Yeang village chief Hun Nov said. "They believe the log has magical powers," he said, adding that visitors were coming loaded with offerings such as pig heads and boiled whole chickens after some locals who touched the wood won money in the lottery.
"At least one hundred people a day visit the log to ask for lottery numbers and to cure their illnesses," he said. "They believe in superstition." Cambodians are highly superstitious, particularly in the countryside where people continue to merge animist practices with Buddhism.
Hun Nov said some believers rubbed talcum powder onto the wood, hoping to see lucky lottery numbers, and others drank water from the pond and smeared nearby mud onto their bodies in a bid to cure their ailments. While the village chief himself is not convinced of the log's powers, "We, the authorities, have no right to stop them," he said.
Pooh the poodle led owner to safety after sniffing gas leak
A seeing-eye dog in Alabama is being hailed as a hero for saving her owner's life. "The house could have blew up. She saved my life," said Nancy Jones. The she Jones is referring to is Pooh the poodle.
Although there is a gas detector, it was potential disaster that had gone undetected until Jones got a bit woozy while folding clothes on Monday. "The next thing I know Pooh was nudging me to put on her leash she went and got herself," said Jones.
That might not seem like a big deal, but it took some extra work by Pooh, who jumped more than six feet in the air to grab her own leash. "Brought it to me, made me put it on her and literally drug me out the front door," said Jones. Being outside Jones realized there was a gas leak inside the home and her dog saved her life. "It's... words can't describe, you really can't," she said.
Video link.
Jones is legally blind and Pooh is her nearly 3 ½-year-old seeing eye dog. "I wouldn't dream of walking to town and hadn't for years until I got her," said Jones. "You don't realize how important these dogs are to visually impaired or the deaf or people who have seizures. She's my daughter," she said.
Although there is a gas detector, it was potential disaster that had gone undetected until Jones got a bit woozy while folding clothes on Monday. "The next thing I know Pooh was nudging me to put on her leash she went and got herself," said Jones.
That might not seem like a big deal, but it took some extra work by Pooh, who jumped more than six feet in the air to grab her own leash. "Brought it to me, made me put it on her and literally drug me out the front door," said Jones. Being outside Jones realized there was a gas leak inside the home and her dog saved her life. "It's... words can't describe, you really can't," she said.
Video link.
Jones is legally blind and Pooh is her nearly 3 ½-year-old seeing eye dog. "I wouldn't dream of walking to town and hadn't for years until I got her," said Jones. "You don't realize how important these dogs are to visually impaired or the deaf or people who have seizures. She's my daughter," she said.
Bitten off penis in box produced as evidence in court
This was exhibit number one in a Russian court case - the severed manhood of an alleged serial rapist which was bitten off by one of his victims when he tried to force her to have oral sex. Sauna boss Svetlana Serafina, 25, was attacked in in Novosibirsk, Russia, by Dmitry Zubarev, 29, when he turned up pretending to be a customer.
She told the court: "It was a quite day and I'd closed my eyes for a short doze behind the counter, next thing I know I felt a blow to my head. I opened my eyes and saw this man standing in front of me, his teeth were clenched and he had his hands in fists, and he started punching me, then he kicked me to the ground when I tried to flee.
"He was tearing at my clothes and then he pulled down his trousers and put his penis in my mouth, that was when I bit down as hard as I could, and didn't let go." She said the man had tried to pull away but she had held on, ripping off his private parts. The last thing she remembered was seeing him running out of the store screaming before she passed out. The unconscious woman was found by another client with the severed member nearby.
Zuberev who had run to a nearby hospital was arrested a short while later where doctors suspicious of his story had already called police. Police spokesman Vladislav Arsibekov told the court that the missing member had been deemed impossible to reattach, and had been placed in a box to be kept at police HQ until Zuberev’s trial. He was convicted of the attack on Svetlana and after the court heard that he also had previous convictions for sex attacks - he was jailed for life.
She told the court: "It was a quite day and I'd closed my eyes for a short doze behind the counter, next thing I know I felt a blow to my head. I opened my eyes and saw this man standing in front of me, his teeth were clenched and he had his hands in fists, and he started punching me, then he kicked me to the ground when I tried to flee.
"He was tearing at my clothes and then he pulled down his trousers and put his penis in my mouth, that was when I bit down as hard as I could, and didn't let go." She said the man had tried to pull away but she had held on, ripping off his private parts. The last thing she remembered was seeing him running out of the store screaming before she passed out. The unconscious woman was found by another client with the severed member nearby.
Zuberev who had run to a nearby hospital was arrested a short while later where doctors suspicious of his story had already called police. Police spokesman Vladislav Arsibekov told the court that the missing member had been deemed impossible to reattach, and had been placed in a box to be kept at police HQ until Zuberev’s trial. He was convicted of the attack on Svetlana and after the court heard that he also had previous convictions for sex attacks - he was jailed for life.
Human excrement clogging up transit station escalators
When work crews pulled open a broken Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) escalator at San Francisco's Civic Center Station last month, they found so much human excrement in its works they had to call a hazardous-materials team. While the sheer volume of human waste was surprising, its presence was not. Once the stations close, the bottom of BART station stairwells in downtown San Francisco are often a prime location for homeless people to camp for the night or find a private place to relieve themselves.
All those biological excretions can gum up the wheels and gears of BART's escalators, shutting them down for long periods of extended repairs, increasing station cleaning costs and creating an unpleasant aroma for morning commuters. The problem is tough to combat, especially with so few downtown public restrooms open late, BART authorities said. Officers have to witness someone in the act to issue a citation, said Officer Era Jenkins, a BART police spokeswoman.
"Nobody wants to be walking in urine and faeces, I know that, (but) if we don't see it or the person doesn't admit to it, they can just say it was someone else," Jenkins said. "Certain crimes you don't see, you can't enforce." BART police officers sweep "each and every stairwell at each and every station" before the stations open in the morning and ask people who spent the night in the station to move somewhere else, Jenkins said.
If they spot a mess, the officers alert cleaning crews, Jenkins said. Station surveillance cameras usually are not monitored when the stations are closed, she said. San Francisco police officers also can check the downtown station stairwells, but they generally only respond when someone complains, which isn't often, said Albie Esparza, a San Francisco police spokesman. "When they are out of sight, people don't usually call about them," he said.
All those biological excretions can gum up the wheels and gears of BART's escalators, shutting them down for long periods of extended repairs, increasing station cleaning costs and creating an unpleasant aroma for morning commuters. The problem is tough to combat, especially with so few downtown public restrooms open late, BART authorities said. Officers have to witness someone in the act to issue a citation, said Officer Era Jenkins, a BART police spokeswoman.
"Nobody wants to be walking in urine and faeces, I know that, (but) if we don't see it or the person doesn't admit to it, they can just say it was someone else," Jenkins said. "Certain crimes you don't see, you can't enforce." BART police officers sweep "each and every stairwell at each and every station" before the stations open in the morning and ask people who spent the night in the station to move somewhere else, Jenkins said.
If they spot a mess, the officers alert cleaning crews, Jenkins said. Station surveillance cameras usually are not monitored when the stations are closed, she said. San Francisco police officers also can check the downtown station stairwells, but they generally only respond when someone complains, which isn't often, said Albie Esparza, a San Francisco police spokesman. "When they are out of sight, people don't usually call about them," he said.
Three dog breeders jailed after puppies found buried alive in garden
Three dog breeders were jailed after two newborn puppies were found buried alive in their garden. Husband and wife James and Lorraine Perks and their lodger, Stephen Jenkins, were each sentenced to 25 weeks in custody and banned from keeping animals for life. All three, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, had admitted 10 animal cruelty charges at an earlier hearing. Magistrates in Burton-upon-Trent heard that the two puppies were recovered from a shallow grave in the back garden of the defendants' home in French Avenue, Mile Oak, but had to be put down by a vet. Another 15 puppies and nine dogs were removed from the address by RSPCA inspectors, who described the state of the house as "disgusting".
The court heard that the floors and furniture at the property was covered in dog excrement, and dogs and puppies at the address were kept in rabbit hutches for 23 hours a day. Peter Rolfe, chairman of the bench, told the couple and their lodger he was giving them the longest sentence available to him. He added: "If we could send you to prison for longer, we would do." Prosecutor Paul Taylor told the court that Jenkins, 35, had admitted burying the puppies but claimed he thought they were already dead. He said Mrs Perks, 49, said she knew the puppies were still alive when they were buried. The lawyer said: "She could not be bothered to do anything about it. She said she had other things to do." Describing conditions at the property, Mr Taylor said: "There was dog excrement all over the floor on the ground floor. The carpet and furniture upstairs was also smeared with excrement. There was excrement all over the property."
Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA inspector Jayne Bashford said: "No matter how many years I work for the RSPCA this day will remain one which I will never forget. All who attended on the day were shocked to the core. The whole property was in a disgusting state with pools of dog faeces on the floor of the living room and numerous young puppies living amongst the squalor. Two adult bitches in the living room had clearly been bred from several times. The dogs outside, confined in rabbit hutches, had no bedding and barked uncontrollably as if pleading for help. As the dogs were being checked over, a police officer was told that a puppy had died that morning and it was then that the abhorrent discovery was made of two tiny puppies gasping for breath beneath a patch of disturbed soil."
YouTube link.
She added: "This case highlights all the concerns we have with respect to irresponsible and indiscriminate breeding of dogs and the selling of those animals to unsuspecting members of the public. The defendants admitted breeding and selling dogs. Each puppy to them was of value purely for the price they could get for it. adly this is too often the case with people who breed and sell dogs for profit where the welfare of the dogs is not the top priority. To put it simply, they were profiting in death and suffering. I hope this case will make people think before they respond to an advert in a newspaper, a card in a newsagents or an internet site advertising puppies as your actions could contribute to fund similar irresponsible dog breeders. I am pleased with the sentence imposed; that this back street puppy breeding business has been closed down means no other dogs will suffer at their hands and that at last we can now find new homes for the dogs." Mr Perks, 74, his wife and their lodger showed no reaction as they were jailed.
The court heard that the floors and furniture at the property was covered in dog excrement, and dogs and puppies at the address were kept in rabbit hutches for 23 hours a day. Peter Rolfe, chairman of the bench, told the couple and their lodger he was giving them the longest sentence available to him. He added: "If we could send you to prison for longer, we would do." Prosecutor Paul Taylor told the court that Jenkins, 35, had admitted burying the puppies but claimed he thought they were already dead. He said Mrs Perks, 49, said she knew the puppies were still alive when they were buried. The lawyer said: "She could not be bothered to do anything about it. She said she had other things to do." Describing conditions at the property, Mr Taylor said: "There was dog excrement all over the floor on the ground floor. The carpet and furniture upstairs was also smeared with excrement. There was excrement all over the property."
Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA inspector Jayne Bashford said: "No matter how many years I work for the RSPCA this day will remain one which I will never forget. All who attended on the day were shocked to the core. The whole property was in a disgusting state with pools of dog faeces on the floor of the living room and numerous young puppies living amongst the squalor. Two adult bitches in the living room had clearly been bred from several times. The dogs outside, confined in rabbit hutches, had no bedding and barked uncontrollably as if pleading for help. As the dogs were being checked over, a police officer was told that a puppy had died that morning and it was then that the abhorrent discovery was made of two tiny puppies gasping for breath beneath a patch of disturbed soil."
YouTube link.
She added: "This case highlights all the concerns we have with respect to irresponsible and indiscriminate breeding of dogs and the selling of those animals to unsuspecting members of the public. The defendants admitted breeding and selling dogs. Each puppy to them was of value purely for the price they could get for it. adly this is too often the case with people who breed and sell dogs for profit where the welfare of the dogs is not the top priority. To put it simply, they were profiting in death and suffering. I hope this case will make people think before they respond to an advert in a newspaper, a card in a newsagents or an internet site advertising puppies as your actions could contribute to fund similar irresponsible dog breeders. I am pleased with the sentence imposed; that this back street puppy breeding business has been closed down means no other dogs will suffer at their hands and that at last we can now find new homes for the dogs." Mr Perks, 74, his wife and their lodger showed no reaction as they were jailed.
Man claims 99p jar of honey has cured infection in prosthetic eye
A man has told how he found a cure for his chronic eye condition – a 99p jar of honey. Frank Dougan, 62, lost his left eye in a childhood accident and eight years ago developed an infection that has constantly irritated his prosthetic eye. He visited doctors and specialists and spent a fortune on different drops but nothing worked.
But when he cut his hand on holiday, he was told to put honey on it. Surprised by the results, he bought a jar of Tesco Value Honey when he returned home and tried it on his eyelid. And within weeks, the infection – blepharitis – had cleared. Frank, from Glasgow, said: “It’s unbelievable. It’s incredibly effective.
“I have spent a fortune on prescription eye drops – I have a fridge full of them. It’s funny that at the end of it all the cure would come in the form of a 99p jar of honey from the supermarket. And it’s not bad on toast either.” The retired soul DJ added: “I have been all over the world and seen terrible illnesses in places where people can’t afford to go to the doctor. So to find a cure that’s so cheap could help so many people.
“It’s fantastic. My life has improved so much and for 99p I get a massive 340 gram tub which lasts for months.” Consultant dermatologist Dr Sasi Attili, based in Dundee, said: “Honey does have anti-bacterial qualities. It’s hard to say whether a particular treatment will or won’t work because everyone is different, but honey has obviously worked well for this particular patient.” A Tesco spokesman added: “While we can’t attest to its healing powers, we’re delighted that it has helped one of our customers.”
But when he cut his hand on holiday, he was told to put honey on it. Surprised by the results, he bought a jar of Tesco Value Honey when he returned home and tried it on his eyelid. And within weeks, the infection – blepharitis – had cleared. Frank, from Glasgow, said: “It’s unbelievable. It’s incredibly effective.
“I have spent a fortune on prescription eye drops – I have a fridge full of them. It’s funny that at the end of it all the cure would come in the form of a 99p jar of honey from the supermarket. And it’s not bad on toast either.” The retired soul DJ added: “I have been all over the world and seen terrible illnesses in places where people can’t afford to go to the doctor. So to find a cure that’s so cheap could help so many people.
“It’s fantastic. My life has improved so much and for 99p I get a massive 340 gram tub which lasts for months.” Consultant dermatologist Dr Sasi Attili, based in Dundee, said: “Honey does have anti-bacterial qualities. It’s hard to say whether a particular treatment will or won’t work because everyone is different, but honey has obviously worked well for this particular patient.” A Tesco spokesman added: “While we can’t attest to its healing powers, we’re delighted that it has helped one of our customers.”
Underage drinker tried to get into bar using Rodney Trotter fake ID card
An underage drinker was barred from entering a pub after producing a fake ID card belonging to Rodney Trotter of Peckham. Door staff became suspicious when the plonker showed them a driving licence bearing the name of the Only Fools And Horses character and his address - 23 Nelson Mandela House. It also featured a photograph of Rodney actor Nicholas Lyndhurst and date of birth 26 February 1960. The drunken youngster turned up at the pub in Newquay on Saturday night and claimed to be 24 when the age on the Rodney ID would have made him 52.
A manager of the Newquay Arms, who did not want to be named, said: 'I was there when he turned up. He was a bit drunk, he handed over the ID and I looked at it and then scanned it to double check it was fake and then I noticed the picture. It had Rodney Trotter’s picture and I said to him "so this is you?" and he just said "yeah yeah yeah". Then I asked him his date of birth and he said it. Then I told him it didn’t match the one that was on the ID.
Photo from SWNS.
'I made the doormen UV the ID just to wind him up really and they started giggling and playing along with him.' The fake ID - which can be bought online as a novelty item for £2.99 - was signed off with the name 'Cosmic'. The pub manager added: 'We kept asking if it was him and what his date of birth was, we even asked his star sign before asking him about his signature, which was ‘Cosmic’. I haven’t ever seen a celebrity ID trying to be used before, but the worst case we have had was probably when a white man tried to use his friend's ID, who was clearly African American and said he had "been on holiday".'
The card was confiscated and police were called but the man left the scene by the time officers arrived. Local police Inspector Ian Drummond-Smith said the fake ID could have landed him in jail. He said: 'Lucky for him he’d left before police arrived, as possessing a forged driving licence can attract two years’ imprisonment. We have seized 13 forged IDs so far this season but even we saw the funny side of this one. I don’t think it would ever have worked.' Newquay is plagued by underage drinkers and ID scanners have been brought in to tighten up door entrance policies.
A manager of the Newquay Arms, who did not want to be named, said: 'I was there when he turned up. He was a bit drunk, he handed over the ID and I looked at it and then scanned it to double check it was fake and then I noticed the picture. It had Rodney Trotter’s picture and I said to him "so this is you?" and he just said "yeah yeah yeah". Then I asked him his date of birth and he said it. Then I told him it didn’t match the one that was on the ID.
Photo from SWNS.
'I made the doormen UV the ID just to wind him up really and they started giggling and playing along with him.' The fake ID - which can be bought online as a novelty item for £2.99 - was signed off with the name 'Cosmic'. The pub manager added: 'We kept asking if it was him and what his date of birth was, we even asked his star sign before asking him about his signature, which was ‘Cosmic’. I haven’t ever seen a celebrity ID trying to be used before, but the worst case we have had was probably when a white man tried to use his friend's ID, who was clearly African American and said he had "been on holiday".'
The card was confiscated and police were called but the man left the scene by the time officers arrived. Local police Inspector Ian Drummond-Smith said the fake ID could have landed him in jail. He said: 'Lucky for him he’d left before police arrived, as possessing a forged driving licence can attract two years’ imprisonment. We have seized 13 forged IDs so far this season but even we saw the funny side of this one. I don’t think it would ever have worked.' Newquay is plagued by underage drinkers and ID scanners have been brought in to tighten up door entrance policies.
Police take to Twitter to request end to noisy lovemaking
There was plenty of noise as police swooped on a house in Barrow in the early hours of Sunday. A pair of resonant residents prompted the call after they disturbed their neighbours with a bout of noisy lovemaking. Sergeant Ian McClymont said police were used to clamping down on loud music and raucous parties on weekend mornings.
However, the call-out to the terraced house in Roose at 2am on Sunday required a slightly different approach, he said. He said: “Loud noise can be an issue for us. In addition to the usual people coming in at night and thinking they will carry on the party, this was some loud lovemaking, which I suppose is the diplomatic way of putting it.
“We dealt with it tactfully. In the heat of the moment when people get back home after a night out they can lose sight of the fact they are little bit louder than they should be and a neighbour complained.” The amorous couple in question were gently advised to be good neighbours, as well as good lovers.
Police refused to name the street the couple live in but later posted on Twitter about the call-out: “#noisyneighbours an issue this weekend. Complaints of loud music & loud love making! #Showsomerestraint #respectforneighbours #noneedfornoise” Sgt McClymont said: “Our officers attended and tactfully dealt with the situation. It is the simple case that people need to appreciate whatever they do, whether it is playing music or having a party or a barbecue, they should consider their neighbours.”
However, the call-out to the terraced house in Roose at 2am on Sunday required a slightly different approach, he said. He said: “Loud noise can be an issue for us. In addition to the usual people coming in at night and thinking they will carry on the party, this was some loud lovemaking, which I suppose is the diplomatic way of putting it.
“We dealt with it tactfully. In the heat of the moment when people get back home after a night out they can lose sight of the fact they are little bit louder than they should be and a neighbour complained.” The amorous couple in question were gently advised to be good neighbours, as well as good lovers.
Police refused to name the street the couple live in but later posted on Twitter about the call-out: “#noisyneighbours an issue this weekend. Complaints of loud music & loud love making! #Showsomerestraint #respectforneighbours #noneedfornoise” Sgt McClymont said: “Our officers attended and tactfully dealt with the situation. It is the simple case that people need to appreciate whatever they do, whether it is playing music or having a party or a barbecue, they should consider their neighbours.”
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