Sunday, November 23, 2014
Birds in flight emulate firework display
A flock of birds filmed flying from a tree in Zaandam in the Netherlands.
YouTube link. LiveLeak link.
YouTube link. LiveLeak link.
Pregnant man arrested for stalking estranged wife
Thomas Beatie, the transgender man who gave birth after beginning to change from a woman to a man, is accused of stalking his estranged wife.
Beatie, 40, who lives in Anthem, was arrested on Thursday and booked into the Maricopa County Jail on one count of stalking.
Beatie is accused of putting a GPS tracking device on his wife’s car in October of 2012, about six months after he served his wife with an order of protection that required her to leave the couple’s home. The device was found by an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer when he stopped to help the victim change a flat tyre, according to an officer’s probable cause statement.
Phoenix police said the victim, who was identified in the statement as Beatie’s spouse, Nancy Beatie, said she believed it was Thomas Beatie who put the GPS device on her car. She claimed Beatie would randomly show up wherever she was at the time, would mention places she had been and questioned her about times that she returned home. Investigators said Thomas Beatie admitted to installing the device, monitoring it online and recharging the battery whenever it was low on power.
Thomas Beatie was denied a divorce in March 2013 by Maricopa County Family Court Judge Douglas Gerlach because at the time Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriages prevented the union from being recognized as valid. Thomas Beatie was born a woman and underwent a double-mastectomy but retained female reproductive organs and gave birth to three children. Gerlach said he had no jurisdiction to approve a divorce because there was insufficient evidence that Thomas Beatie was male when he married Nancy Beatie in 2003 in Hawaii.
Beatie is accused of putting a GPS tracking device on his wife’s car in October of 2012, about six months after he served his wife with an order of protection that required her to leave the couple’s home. The device was found by an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer when he stopped to help the victim change a flat tyre, according to an officer’s probable cause statement.
Phoenix police said the victim, who was identified in the statement as Beatie’s spouse, Nancy Beatie, said she believed it was Thomas Beatie who put the GPS device on her car. She claimed Beatie would randomly show up wherever she was at the time, would mention places she had been and questioned her about times that she returned home. Investigators said Thomas Beatie admitted to installing the device, monitoring it online and recharging the battery whenever it was low on power.
Thomas Beatie was denied a divorce in March 2013 by Maricopa County Family Court Judge Douglas Gerlach because at the time Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriages prevented the union from being recognized as valid. Thomas Beatie was born a woman and underwent a double-mastectomy but retained female reproductive organs and gave birth to three children. Gerlach said he had no jurisdiction to approve a divorce because there was insufficient evidence that Thomas Beatie was male when he married Nancy Beatie in 2003 in Hawaii.
Missing kitten found in duffle bag 2,300 miles from home
A New Mexico woman’s missing kitten has been located in Maine, although exactly how the feline made the 2,300-mile trip remains a mystery.
The female kitten, named Spice, was turned in to the Animal Refuge League in Westbrook earlier this month by a man who found her inside a duffle bag outside a Portland thrift store.
“If only Spice could talk, imagine the story she would tell us,” said Jeana Roth, community relations manager of the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. “We called the microchip company and traced that microchip back to Albuquerque, New Mexico to a woman whose grey and white kitten went missing on Halloween night,” said Roth.
Jennifer Brown of the Animal Refuge League says she talked to the owner, who said Spice bolted on Halloween when she opened her door for trick-or-treaters. “The owner’s reaction was our reaction. She couldn’t believe it. She’s never been to Maine. She doesn’t know anybody who lives in Maine, so how her cat who got out of her home on Halloween night, made it to Portland, Maine, is a mystery to her as well as to us,” Roth said.
YouTube link.
“Perhaps somebody who was crossing the country picked Spice up as a travel companion,” Roth said. “She’s lovely. She seems like she’s had a great adventure if only she could tell us what happened,” Roth added. A Maine businessman has now agreed to pay for Spice’s commercial airline flight back to New Mexico.
“If only Spice could talk, imagine the story she would tell us,” said Jeana Roth, community relations manager of the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. “We called the microchip company and traced that microchip back to Albuquerque, New Mexico to a woman whose grey and white kitten went missing on Halloween night,” said Roth.
Jennifer Brown of the Animal Refuge League says she talked to the owner, who said Spice bolted on Halloween when she opened her door for trick-or-treaters. “The owner’s reaction was our reaction. She couldn’t believe it. She’s never been to Maine. She doesn’t know anybody who lives in Maine, so how her cat who got out of her home on Halloween night, made it to Portland, Maine, is a mystery to her as well as to us,” Roth said.
YouTube link.
“Perhaps somebody who was crossing the country picked Spice up as a travel companion,” Roth said. “She’s lovely. She seems like she’s had a great adventure if only she could tell us what happened,” Roth added. A Maine businessman has now agreed to pay for Spice’s commercial airline flight back to New Mexico.
Raccoon with head stuck in storm drain rescued
Members of Framingham Department of Public Works in Massachusetts recently rescued a raccoon with its head stuck in a storm drain.
Stormwater Supervisor Brooks McCarty said he and Animal Control Officer Kathy MacKenzie used soap to successfully get the critter unstuck from the cover.
"We soaped his head up and pulled and pulled and twisted," McCarty said.
"All of a sudden he just popped out and she let him go and he stood there confused and then just ran up into a tree."
Stormwater Supervisor Brooks McCarty said he and Animal Control Officer Kathy MacKenzie used soap to successfully get the critter unstuck from the cover.
"We soaped his head up and pulled and pulled and twisted," McCarty said.
"All of a sudden he just popped out and she let him go and he stood there confused and then just ran up into a tree."
Woman riding jet ski on motorway called stupid
A woman caught sitting on a jet ski as it was towed by a truck along a motorway in Auckland, New Zealand, has been labelled careless and stupid.
The over-enthusiastic jet skier was seen by a passing motorist on the North-Western motorway in the area of the inner-city suburb of Newton - where other vehicles passing her could reach speeds of 100 kmh (60mph).
Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty rebuked the woman for her life-threatening stunt. ''Stupidity on the roads causes heartbreaks in homes," she said. She said the woman and the driver were committing a traffic offence. If police track them down, they risk penalties for dangerous driving and having an unrestrained passenger in tow.
She said police were asking people to come forward and identify the woman. AA motoring affairs boss Mike Noon said the woman posed a risk to herself and other motorists who would be distracted. ''It's very, very silly behaviour. It's in the same category as people standing on the back of cars, people sitting on the roof of the car, things like that.
''I'm sure if they thought it through they wouldn't do it.'' Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson said the woman flirted with her own life. "Quite clearly, the process of natural selection is at work here: if the car that's towing her stops suddenly, she gets removed from the gene pool."
Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty rebuked the woman for her life-threatening stunt. ''Stupidity on the roads causes heartbreaks in homes," she said. She said the woman and the driver were committing a traffic offence. If police track them down, they risk penalties for dangerous driving and having an unrestrained passenger in tow.
She said police were asking people to come forward and identify the woman. AA motoring affairs boss Mike Noon said the woman posed a risk to herself and other motorists who would be distracted. ''It's very, very silly behaviour. It's in the same category as people standing on the back of cars, people sitting on the roof of the car, things like that.
''I'm sure if they thought it through they wouldn't do it.'' Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson said the woman flirted with her own life. "Quite clearly, the process of natural selection is at work here: if the car that's towing her stops suddenly, she gets removed from the gene pool."
Man fearing attack by Russia who hoarded guns and explosives in nuclear-proof bunker arrested
Police in Kelheim, Germany, said on Friday they had arrested a man who hoarded guns, ammunition and bomb-making material in a nuclear-proof family bunker he built fearing an attack by Russia.
The 59-year-old electrician had constructed the emergency shelter by expanding and reinforcing the basement of his family home in the small town near Regensburg in Bavaria. Police said they had confiscated two submachine guns, 80 rifles, 60 handguns, 20,000 rounds of ammunition and 40 kilogrammes of materials to make explosives.
"He was afraid of the threat posed by a large eastern European power. He was afraid of Russia," a police spokesman said. ”We don't know when he started construction. He did it all by himself." The man had also stored food supplies and built underground air filtration and water treatment systems.
There is no evidence he is mentally ill or has extremist political views, police said, adding that the man was arrested on illegal weapons and explosives charges. Police said they took three days to enter and explore the extensive survival shelter and weapons arsenal, using power tools to crack through the walls.
The 59-year-old electrician had constructed the emergency shelter by expanding and reinforcing the basement of his family home in the small town near Regensburg in Bavaria. Police said they had confiscated two submachine guns, 80 rifles, 60 handguns, 20,000 rounds of ammunition and 40 kilogrammes of materials to make explosives.
"He was afraid of the threat posed by a large eastern European power. He was afraid of Russia," a police spokesman said. ”We don't know when he started construction. He did it all by himself." The man had also stored food supplies and built underground air filtration and water treatment systems.
There is no evidence he is mentally ill or has extremist political views, police said, adding that the man was arrested on illegal weapons and explosives charges. Police said they took three days to enter and explore the extensive survival shelter and weapons arsenal, using power tools to crack through the walls.
Plan to close school with no pupils
Plans to close a school with no pupils have been consulted on.
Ravenstonedale Endowed School in Cumbria has had no children since September.
A head teacher and five part-time staff are still employed. The proposals will be voted on in March and, if approved, the school will close in April.
Pupil numbers have dropped from 65 in 2000 to 26 in September last year, falling to zero by the beginning of the current academic year.
Cumbria County Council said there was "little prospect" of the school recovering in the "foreseeable future". The nearest alternative school is just under five miles (8km) away in Kirkby Stephen.
A head teacher and five part-time staff are still employed. The proposals will be voted on in March and, if approved, the school will close in April.
Pupil numbers have dropped from 65 in 2000 to 26 in September last year, falling to zero by the beginning of the current academic year.
Cumbria County Council said there was "little prospect" of the school recovering in the "foreseeable future". The nearest alternative school is just under five miles (8km) away in Kirkby Stephen.
Man who claims curse from temple worshippers caused blindness in eye angry with faith healers
A man from Woolwich in south east London has claimed he was scammed out of more than £600 by two Indian faith healers he visited after worshippers of a Sikh temple put a “black magic curse” on him.
Balbir Bakhshi works for various charities across the borough and claims he has gained media attention for his fundraising work since arriving in the UK from India in 1985.
But the 69-year-old says Sikh acquaintances at the Gurdwara Sahib temple became angry at Mr Bakhshi’s attention and subsequently put a hex on him blinding him in his left eye in 2007. Mr Bakhshi said: “I realised they were putting a hex on me because he was reading some magical words and was gazing at me from across the temple. Then I started to see smoke in my eyes and it hasn’t gone away since this. You can put a hex on someone – by a telephone call or a letter. It doesn’t matter how.”
After his eyesight failed to improve, Mr Bakhshi decided to seek the help of a local faith healer last month, but after paying £400 for one session he claims the male healer demanded a further £1,200 for ‘treatment’. He said: “He gave me a small bottle of water and told me to go and throw the water outside and then take a bath and I would be cured. But nothing has happened. I still cannot see properly. The situation has gone from bad to worse.” After he got a refund, unimpressed with the service offered, Mr Bakhshi paid £230 to see another faith healer in Woolwich.
Again Mr Bakhshi requested a refund after his sight was still not restored – only to be told by the healer, another Indian man – that he had given it to charity and would not give it back. He said: “This man treated me like a child – a baby sucking milk from the breast of its mother! He kept telling me he was taking good care of me but he wasn’t. I’m very angry because I am a good man who doesn’t deserve to be treated in this way.” Mr Bakhshi has not reported either incident to the police. A spokesman from the Gurdwara Sahib temple said: “We do not believe in black magic.”
But the 69-year-old says Sikh acquaintances at the Gurdwara Sahib temple became angry at Mr Bakhshi’s attention and subsequently put a hex on him blinding him in his left eye in 2007. Mr Bakhshi said: “I realised they were putting a hex on me because he was reading some magical words and was gazing at me from across the temple. Then I started to see smoke in my eyes and it hasn’t gone away since this. You can put a hex on someone – by a telephone call or a letter. It doesn’t matter how.”
After his eyesight failed to improve, Mr Bakhshi decided to seek the help of a local faith healer last month, but after paying £400 for one session he claims the male healer demanded a further £1,200 for ‘treatment’. He said: “He gave me a small bottle of water and told me to go and throw the water outside and then take a bath and I would be cured. But nothing has happened. I still cannot see properly. The situation has gone from bad to worse.” After he got a refund, unimpressed with the service offered, Mr Bakhshi paid £230 to see another faith healer in Woolwich.
Again Mr Bakhshi requested a refund after his sight was still not restored – only to be told by the healer, another Indian man – that he had given it to charity and would not give it back. He said: “This man treated me like a child – a baby sucking milk from the breast of its mother! He kept telling me he was taking good care of me but he wasn’t. I’m very angry because I am a good man who doesn’t deserve to be treated in this way.” Mr Bakhshi has not reported either incident to the police. A spokesman from the Gurdwara Sahib temple said: “We do not believe in black magic.”
Angry man turned up at store in dressing gown holding soap and loofah after faulty shower row
An irate customer arrived at the Wickes branch in Chippenham, Wiltshire, earlier this week wearing only his boxer shorts, dressing gown and slippers after being left disappointed by the store’s actions to fix his broken shower.
John O’Malley, 62, of Rodbourne, took the drastic action after the new bathroom he bought from Wickes in September developed a fault on Monday, leaving him without the use of a shower.
When John complained to the store, he claims the manager told him no one could fix it until Friday at the earliest but he could come down to the store for a shower.
So, on Tuesday, taking them at their word, he headed down to the store in his dressing gown, with loofah and soap in hand. However, on arrival John was told there was no shower available and was asked to leave. When he tried to argue his case, the police were called. “When I spoke with the store manager over the phone he said to come down and we could use the shower there so that’s what I did,” said John. “I came down in my dressing gown but the manager then told me he was only joking. He then called the police and threatened to have me thrown out of the store. I was not causing or looking to cause any trouble.
“I'm 62 and have heart problems so don’t need any of this but we should be able to have a shower. They suggested that we go to family or friends but that’s not an option for us. Not being able to shower for a week is not fair on me or anyone I work with. I travel to work by train every day and it isn’t fair on the other people if I haven’t been able to shower for days. No one at work wants to sit next to a guy who hasn’t showered for a week.” John says he had been having problems with the shower since it was first fitted by a qualified plumber and believes Wickes has a duty to repair the shower straight away. Although a refund for the £280 shower has been offered, John is angry at the situation he has been left in.
Gordon Mackenzie, head of customer service at Wickes said: “As soon as this case was brought to our attention, the team worked with Mr O’Malley to resolve the matter and he was offered a repair slot during the same week that he first contacted customer services. Mr O’Malley was unable to commit to this due to his work commitments, so it was re-scheduled for the following week. When he expressed his disappointment, a member of our team went to visit Mr O’Malley within a couple of days of him lodging his complaint. They discussed how Wickes could help alleviate the situation and he was offered generous compensation to cover the costs of showering. We do everything we can to ensure customer matters are resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner and while we appreciate the inconvenience of a broken shower, we feel we went to every effort to help Mr O’Malley to resolve this situation.”
So, on Tuesday, taking them at their word, he headed down to the store in his dressing gown, with loofah and soap in hand. However, on arrival John was told there was no shower available and was asked to leave. When he tried to argue his case, the police were called. “When I spoke with the store manager over the phone he said to come down and we could use the shower there so that’s what I did,” said John. “I came down in my dressing gown but the manager then told me he was only joking. He then called the police and threatened to have me thrown out of the store. I was not causing or looking to cause any trouble.
“I'm 62 and have heart problems so don’t need any of this but we should be able to have a shower. They suggested that we go to family or friends but that’s not an option for us. Not being able to shower for a week is not fair on me or anyone I work with. I travel to work by train every day and it isn’t fair on the other people if I haven’t been able to shower for days. No one at work wants to sit next to a guy who hasn’t showered for a week.” John says he had been having problems with the shower since it was first fitted by a qualified plumber and believes Wickes has a duty to repair the shower straight away. Although a refund for the £280 shower has been offered, John is angry at the situation he has been left in.
Gordon Mackenzie, head of customer service at Wickes said: “As soon as this case was brought to our attention, the team worked with Mr O’Malley to resolve the matter and he was offered a repair slot during the same week that he first contacted customer services. Mr O’Malley was unable to commit to this due to his work commitments, so it was re-scheduled for the following week. When he expressed his disappointment, a member of our team went to visit Mr O’Malley within a couple of days of him lodging his complaint. They discussed how Wickes could help alleviate the situation and he was offered generous compensation to cover the costs of showering. We do everything we can to ensure customer matters are resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner and while we appreciate the inconvenience of a broken shower, we feel we went to every effort to help Mr O’Malley to resolve this situation.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)