Sunday, February 01, 2015
Chinese farmer has built a mechanical horse
A farmer has built a mechanical horse to replace the traditional kind in order to plough his fields.
Su Daocheng, 60, from Shiyan, in central China's Hubei Province spent two months building the horse, which is 1.5m high, 2m long and weighs 250kg.
It has been created from a kart engine and chains.
YouTube link.
The horse is fed with petrol, which Su says is more economic as it does not cost fodder and human care.
Su Daocheng, 60, from Shiyan, in central China's Hubei Province spent two months building the horse, which is 1.5m high, 2m long and weighs 250kg.
It has been created from a kart engine and chains.
YouTube link.
The horse is fed with petrol, which Su says is more economic as it does not cost fodder and human care.
Politician's son blames bank robbery on delirium
The son of Gord Mackintosh, Conservation Minister in Manitoba, Canada, has pleaded not guilty to robbing a bank, arguing he was delirious after weaning himself off a prescribed anti-depressant.
Gordon Elijah Muller Mackintosh, 24, is asking a judge find him not criminally responsible for robbing the Assiniboine Credit Union in April 2012.
Justice officials are not opposing the move.
"I can't provide any explanation other than a disease of the mind," special prosecutor William Burge told Justice Rick Saull at a sentencing hearing on Friday.
"If there was some other logical explanation, I would be pleased to present it to the court." According to an agreed statement of facts submitted to court, Mackintosh entered the bank wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a fake moustache. He approached a teller with a note demanding money and indicated he had a bomb in his briefcase. Mackintosh was given $100, approached another staff member for a phone number, then left the bank. Barbara Mackintosh, Gordon's mother, told court her son picked her up from work later that day and did not appear himself.
"Gordie wasn't really saying anything," she said. "He was pale ... almost ghost-like. His eyes were glazed." Barbara Mackintosh said she was reading a newspaper about a month later when she saw what she thought was her son's picture in a "most wanted" story. "I had the picture, I said 'Gordie, is that you?' He said 'It's not me, mom, it couldn't be.'" Barbara showed the picture to her husband and they confronted their son again. "He broke down, said 'It couldn't be me, I wouldn't do anything like that,'" Barbara said. The next day, Gordon turned himself in to police.
Gordon told the court he remembered putting on his disguise and going to the bank but had no recollection of robbing it. The court heard in the weeks prior to the bank robbery, Gordon - at his doctor's direction - had been weaning himself off Effexor, an anti-depressant. "This was delirium brought on by the reduction in Effexor," Gordon's lawyer Josh Weinstein said. "It is a documented side-effect." Gordon was reducing his drug dosage at the same time as he was preparing for university exams, possibly compounding the withdrawal symptoms, a psychiatrist wrote in a report submitted to court. Saull will render his decision on Feb. 24.
"If there was some other logical explanation, I would be pleased to present it to the court." According to an agreed statement of facts submitted to court, Mackintosh entered the bank wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a fake moustache. He approached a teller with a note demanding money and indicated he had a bomb in his briefcase. Mackintosh was given $100, approached another staff member for a phone number, then left the bank. Barbara Mackintosh, Gordon's mother, told court her son picked her up from work later that day and did not appear himself.
"Gordie wasn't really saying anything," she said. "He was pale ... almost ghost-like. His eyes were glazed." Barbara Mackintosh said she was reading a newspaper about a month later when she saw what she thought was her son's picture in a "most wanted" story. "I had the picture, I said 'Gordie, is that you?' He said 'It's not me, mom, it couldn't be.'" Barbara showed the picture to her husband and they confronted their son again. "He broke down, said 'It couldn't be me, I wouldn't do anything like that,'" Barbara said. The next day, Gordon turned himself in to police.
Gordon told the court he remembered putting on his disguise and going to the bank but had no recollection of robbing it. The court heard in the weeks prior to the bank robbery, Gordon - at his doctor's direction - had been weaning himself off Effexor, an anti-depressant. "This was delirium brought on by the reduction in Effexor," Gordon's lawyer Josh Weinstein said. "It is a documented side-effect." Gordon was reducing his drug dosage at the same time as he was preparing for university exams, possibly compounding the withdrawal symptoms, a psychiatrist wrote in a report submitted to court. Saull will render his decision on Feb. 24.
Student who became dominatrix after car crash changed her personality awarded $1.5 million
Before the car accident, her teacher described her as a very bright student, in the top two per cent of her media-arts high school class in Burnaby, Canada, who dreamt of being a filmmaker or actress.
After the accident, Alissa Afonina, who has been awarded more than $1.5 million in damages due to a brain injury, was a very different girl and eventually ended up working as a dominatrix.
She showed no impulse control, could not carry through on tasks, became isolated and began to have outbursts and make inappropriate sexual comments, her British Columbia Supreme Court trial heard.
In his ruling on damages, Justice Joel Grove noted that the pre-accident Afonina was in some ways a typical girl, in some ways an atypical girl, someone who described herself as a “goth girl” with “artiste presentation.”
But all that changed in the wake of the August 2008 motor vehicle accident. Afonina, who was about to enter Grade 12, her mother and her brother were passengers in a vehicle being driven by her mother’s former boyfriend, Peter Jansson. Jansson’s Toyota ended up in the ditch. The judge concluded he was driving too fast in the wet road conditions and was therefore negligent. Lawyers for Afonina argued that her decision to begin working as a dominatrix at some point prior to her trial last year showed a lack of “correct thinking” and was proof she’d taken an unnecessary risk due to a loss of cognitive function from a moderate traumatic brain injury. The defendant’s lawyer argued that it was proof that the young woman could organize herself to maintain a modest level of employment income.
Groves said there was a bit of truth in both arguments. “I believe that both the plaintiff and defendant can show that fact of Alissa’s work as a dominatrix supports the finding of some facts which support their ultimate view of the manifestations of the brain injuries as suffered by Alissa in the accident.” The judge noted that Afonina had not acted to minimize her risks by implementing an alarm system or safety measures in her work as a dominatrix, evidence of a diminished judgment on her part and a factor supporting a theory of frontal lobe damage. He said that it also showed some “residual” post-accident employment ability, being able to organize oneself to meet a deadline, to keep an appointment, to apparently collect money and use it to support herself. The judge concluded that the brain injury for Afonina led to her being unable to cope normally and generate enough money to make a living.
The young woman had no ability to work full-time and might only qualify for entry-level jobs a few hours a day, such as basic food services industry employment, said the judge. Without the injury, she’d have been capable of completing a college or university certificate of two years, he added. But the judge said he did not accept her argument that she has no capacity to work. Her damages award includes $825,000 for “future capacity loss,” $376,000 for cost of future care, $300,000 for pain and suffering and $23,000 for special damages. Afonina made a claim for an inability to form “interdependent” relationships due to her isolation and sexual and general impulsivity - arguing that she was “damaged goods” - but the judge said those damages would be “too remote” and denied that category of damages.
But all that changed in the wake of the August 2008 motor vehicle accident. Afonina, who was about to enter Grade 12, her mother and her brother were passengers in a vehicle being driven by her mother’s former boyfriend, Peter Jansson. Jansson’s Toyota ended up in the ditch. The judge concluded he was driving too fast in the wet road conditions and was therefore negligent. Lawyers for Afonina argued that her decision to begin working as a dominatrix at some point prior to her trial last year showed a lack of “correct thinking” and was proof she’d taken an unnecessary risk due to a loss of cognitive function from a moderate traumatic brain injury. The defendant’s lawyer argued that it was proof that the young woman could organize herself to maintain a modest level of employment income.
Groves said there was a bit of truth in both arguments. “I believe that both the plaintiff and defendant can show that fact of Alissa’s work as a dominatrix supports the finding of some facts which support their ultimate view of the manifestations of the brain injuries as suffered by Alissa in the accident.” The judge noted that Afonina had not acted to minimize her risks by implementing an alarm system or safety measures in her work as a dominatrix, evidence of a diminished judgment on her part and a factor supporting a theory of frontal lobe damage. He said that it also showed some “residual” post-accident employment ability, being able to organize oneself to meet a deadline, to keep an appointment, to apparently collect money and use it to support herself. The judge concluded that the brain injury for Afonina led to her being unable to cope normally and generate enough money to make a living.
The young woman had no ability to work full-time and might only qualify for entry-level jobs a few hours a day, such as basic food services industry employment, said the judge. Without the injury, she’d have been capable of completing a college or university certificate of two years, he added. But the judge said he did not accept her argument that she has no capacity to work. Her damages award includes $825,000 for “future capacity loss,” $376,000 for cost of future care, $300,000 for pain and suffering and $23,000 for special damages. Afonina made a claim for an inability to form “interdependent” relationships due to her isolation and sexual and general impulsivity - arguing that she was “damaged goods” - but the judge said those damages would be “too remote” and denied that category of damages.
Terrified baby penguin given first swimming lesson
Zoo keepers had to teach a baby penguin who did not want to swim how to stay afloat.
The penguin Chudi, hatched three-months-ago in a zoo in the central Russian city of Krasnoyarsk, had worried keepers because despite watching the rest of his family plunging into the water, he was clearly too scared to take the plunge himself.
So after sealing him off from the rest of the penguins, two keepers became swimming instructors to teach the penguin how to swim. And initially although clearly terrified about the water, when he was finally thrown in at the deep end he seemed to enjoy himself, and although his swimming style left something to be desired, he decided not to swim straight back to shore and splashed around before finally tiring and making for the safety of the nearby rocks.
The penguin chick which was hatched in an incubator at Royev Ruchey Zoo in the Siberian city is from the only species that lives in Africa and is therefore more suited to the hot southern hemisphere weather, meaning that he and his relatives have to spend the winter cooped up in a heated room. The hatching of the chick was hailed as a sensation as it was the first time an African penguin threatened with extinction had been born in a Russian zoo.
YouTube link.
A zoo spokesman said: "At first he couldn't do anything for himself, not even lift his head and his eyes were shut. We had to keep him in a special heated chamber so he could build up his strength and growth while feeding him on minced fish." African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) are monogamous birds that mate for life, and in the summer Chudi's parents Marfa and Lenya started building a nest in the outdoor enclosure, laying a single egg that because of the weather was put in an incubator.
So after sealing him off from the rest of the penguins, two keepers became swimming instructors to teach the penguin how to swim. And initially although clearly terrified about the water, when he was finally thrown in at the deep end he seemed to enjoy himself, and although his swimming style left something to be desired, he decided not to swim straight back to shore and splashed around before finally tiring and making for the safety of the nearby rocks.
The penguin chick which was hatched in an incubator at Royev Ruchey Zoo in the Siberian city is from the only species that lives in Africa and is therefore more suited to the hot southern hemisphere weather, meaning that he and his relatives have to spend the winter cooped up in a heated room. The hatching of the chick was hailed as a sensation as it was the first time an African penguin threatened with extinction had been born in a Russian zoo.
YouTube link.
A zoo spokesman said: "At first he couldn't do anything for himself, not even lift his head and his eyes were shut. We had to keep him in a special heated chamber so he could build up his strength and growth while feeding him on minced fish." African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) are monogamous birds that mate for life, and in the summer Chudi's parents Marfa and Lenya started building a nest in the outdoor enclosure, laying a single egg that because of the weather was put in an incubator.
Claims that beggars are being 'objectified' at art exhibition
Two Roma beggars are being paid to take part in an art installation that has them sitting and standing in silence at an art gallery in Malmö in Sweden.
Luca Lacatus and Marcella Cheresi, who are a couple, appear dressed in thick clothes and are not allowed to talk to visitors of Malmö Konsthall, one of the city's biggest art exhibition centres.
The couple were spotted begging on the streets of Malmö by the project's organisers who say they decided to turn them into an exhibit designed to encourage Swedes to reflect on growing inequality in their country, which is set to experience record immigration in 2015.
But the project has whipped up a storm since it got underway earlier this week, with many critics accusing the gallery of "objectifying" poverty.
Ioana Cojocariu, an artist active in the group Solidarity with EU migrants said: "I had very high expectations, but when I entered the room, it felt like an ethnological exhibition, where black bodies had been replaced by poor bodies ... I think artists are well-intentioned but there have been errors." Erika Li Lundqvist a press officer for the project said: “This is a touchy subject that causes strong reactions so I'm not particularly surprised by the massive criticism." She added that she was "disappointed" that many of the critics had commented on the "provocative" exhibition without visiting it for themselves and insisted that the Roma migrants had been treated fairly, with the help of Romanian translators. "I am aware that there are ethical problems with interpreting and objectifying vulnerable people. That is exactly why we ... had an interpreter when casting Luca and Marcella for the art project," she said.
According to the gallery, the Roma couple featured in the installation are paid the same hourly rate as everyone else working on the project and are set to take home around 5000 kronor (£400, $600). Earlier this week the pair said that they had moved to Sweden after their home burned down in Romania, with social services taking care of their children because the family had nowhere else to live. Luca Lacatus said that he and his partner planned to use their earnings to help build a new property back in their home country. "The money will buy enough bricks to build two rooms," he said. Asked about whether or not he felt that they had been objectified, he said: "We've already got used to being looked at. It is better to be here than out on the street. Here it is warm and dry anyway." The couple are now expecting another child and say they hope to return to Romania before it is born.
"I am afraid that they will take the child away from us if it is born in Sweden and we do not have anywhere to stay," Marcella Cheresi said. Thousands of beggars have arrived in Sweden over the past two years, with ninety percent of them travelling from Romania, according to figures released by Stockholm's Social Administration in April 2014. Most of them are members of the Roma community - one of the EU's largest minority groups - and arrive as EU tourists under the right to Freedom of Movement. Many live in tents or caravans and make a living by asking Swedes for money outside shops and underground stations. Romania has been criticized in recent months for encouraging Roma people to beg in Scandinavia, by failing to do enough to help Roma people living in poverty in their home nation. The exhibition at Malmö Konsthall is set to continue until February 5th.
Ioana Cojocariu, an artist active in the group Solidarity with EU migrants said: "I had very high expectations, but when I entered the room, it felt like an ethnological exhibition, where black bodies had been replaced by poor bodies ... I think artists are well-intentioned but there have been errors." Erika Li Lundqvist a press officer for the project said: “This is a touchy subject that causes strong reactions so I'm not particularly surprised by the massive criticism." She added that she was "disappointed" that many of the critics had commented on the "provocative" exhibition without visiting it for themselves and insisted that the Roma migrants had been treated fairly, with the help of Romanian translators. "I am aware that there are ethical problems with interpreting and objectifying vulnerable people. That is exactly why we ... had an interpreter when casting Luca and Marcella for the art project," she said.
According to the gallery, the Roma couple featured in the installation are paid the same hourly rate as everyone else working on the project and are set to take home around 5000 kronor (£400, $600). Earlier this week the pair said that they had moved to Sweden after their home burned down in Romania, with social services taking care of their children because the family had nowhere else to live. Luca Lacatus said that he and his partner planned to use their earnings to help build a new property back in their home country. "The money will buy enough bricks to build two rooms," he said. Asked about whether or not he felt that they had been objectified, he said: "We've already got used to being looked at. It is better to be here than out on the street. Here it is warm and dry anyway." The couple are now expecting another child and say they hope to return to Romania before it is born.
"I am afraid that they will take the child away from us if it is born in Sweden and we do not have anywhere to stay," Marcella Cheresi said. Thousands of beggars have arrived in Sweden over the past two years, with ninety percent of them travelling from Romania, according to figures released by Stockholm's Social Administration in April 2014. Most of them are members of the Roma community - one of the EU's largest minority groups - and arrive as EU tourists under the right to Freedom of Movement. Many live in tents or caravans and make a living by asking Swedes for money outside shops and underground stations. Romania has been criticized in recent months for encouraging Roma people to beg in Scandinavia, by failing to do enough to help Roma people living in poverty in their home nation. The exhibition at Malmö Konsthall is set to continue until February 5th.
Goats treated in ambulance following barn fire
When residents of Klokkarstua in Norway noticed a barn on fire they knew that there were animals inside the building.
Initially it was feared that there were many goats, chickens and rabbits inside the barn. Eventually it became clear there were just seven goats and some chickens inside.
When fire crews arrived at the site just before midnight on Friday, they immediately initiated an evacuation of the animals, in addition to firefighting. After a short while, all seven goats, plus the chickens, were rescued from the flames.
Three of the goats were then treated in an ambulance on site and after being administered some oxygen were soon back to their normal, nimble selves. The barn was burned to the ground.
Includes very short video clip of the goats inside the ambulance.
Initially it was feared that there were many goats, chickens and rabbits inside the barn. Eventually it became clear there were just seven goats and some chickens inside.
When fire crews arrived at the site just before midnight on Friday, they immediately initiated an evacuation of the animals, in addition to firefighting. After a short while, all seven goats, plus the chickens, were rescued from the flames.
Three of the goats were then treated in an ambulance on site and after being administered some oxygen were soon back to their normal, nimble selves. The barn was burned to the ground.
Includes very short video clip of the goats inside the ambulance.
Takeaway worker who hit customer over head with a pizza shovel let off with an admonishment
A takeaway worker who hit a customer over the head with a pizza shovel during a row has been admonished.
Dalgit Din escaped punishment after a sheriff said she had been "sorely tested" by the foul-mouthed customer.
Forfar Sheriff Court heard the 64-year-old "snapped" when Deborah Williamson refused to leave the Spice of Life shop in Arbroath on December 27 2013.
Din grabbed the implement, which is normally used to take pizzas in and out of the oven at the takeaway, while dealing with another customer as Ms Williamson ranted at her. Video footage of the incident captured by her boyfriend then shows Din attacking Miss Williamson. She lifted the metal shovel with both hands and hit the customer over the head with it. A video of the incident was shown to the court. The sheriff heard Din lost the plot when Ms Williamson refused to leave the shop after being told she was banned.
Din, of Arbroath Road, Dundee, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault to injury committed in the shop at Mayfield Terrace, Arbroath. Ian Flynn, defending, said Miss Williamson had previously been a "nuisance" in the shop and had been asked not to return. He said: "Following the blow, it took the police more than 15 minutes to get there and the aggravation continued. He (the partner) was charged with smashing the door down before the police attended.
Contains NSFW language.
YouTube link.
"She's not actually the complainer because neither she nor the boyfriend wanted anything to do with helping the police." Mr Flynn added: "She is not, at 64, I would suggest, likely to reoffend. There has been a distinct provocation from a much younger, much bigger woman." Sheriff Gregor Murray admonished Din and said: "I accept you were subject to considerable provocation but you were the one who snapped. I don't condone what you did but I accept, to a large extent, that you were sorely tested before this took place."
Din grabbed the implement, which is normally used to take pizzas in and out of the oven at the takeaway, while dealing with another customer as Ms Williamson ranted at her. Video footage of the incident captured by her boyfriend then shows Din attacking Miss Williamson. She lifted the metal shovel with both hands and hit the customer over the head with it. A video of the incident was shown to the court. The sheriff heard Din lost the plot when Ms Williamson refused to leave the shop after being told she was banned.
Din, of Arbroath Road, Dundee, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault to injury committed in the shop at Mayfield Terrace, Arbroath. Ian Flynn, defending, said Miss Williamson had previously been a "nuisance" in the shop and had been asked not to return. He said: "Following the blow, it took the police more than 15 minutes to get there and the aggravation continued. He (the partner) was charged with smashing the door down before the police attended.
Contains NSFW language.
YouTube link.
"She's not actually the complainer because neither she nor the boyfriend wanted anything to do with helping the police." Mr Flynn added: "She is not, at 64, I would suggest, likely to reoffend. There has been a distinct provocation from a much younger, much bigger woman." Sheriff Gregor Murray admonished Din and said: "I accept you were subject to considerable provocation but you were the one who snapped. I don't condone what you did but I accept, to a large extent, that you were sorely tested before this took place."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)