Tuesday, July 07, 2015
Lady upset over self-checkout hit store manager with VCR
A woman from Madison, Wisconsin, faces a disorderly conduct charge after swinging a VCR at and hitting a grocery store manager over frustrations involving the self-checkout lanes, police said.
Madison police responded on June 27 to reports of a disturbance that started inside a Woodman’s store and moved to the parking lot. Cheryl A. Elkinton, 56, was reportedly screaming at people and making threats.
The disturbance started inside Woodman’s when Elkinton reportedly became agitated at the self-checkout lane, police said. When employees went to help her, she became belligerent and started yelling. Elkinton continued to scream and swung a VCR at a manager.
When the VCR hit the manager, he told Elkinto she had to leave the store. Elkinton got on a bus before police arrived, but they were able to stop it nearby and eventually cite her with disorderly conduct. Police said it is unclear why Elkinton had a VCR with her at a grocery store.
Madison police responded on June 27 to reports of a disturbance that started inside a Woodman’s store and moved to the parking lot. Cheryl A. Elkinton, 56, was reportedly screaming at people and making threats.
The disturbance started inside Woodman’s when Elkinton reportedly became agitated at the self-checkout lane, police said. When employees went to help her, she became belligerent and started yelling. Elkinton continued to scream and swung a VCR at a manager.
When the VCR hit the manager, he told Elkinto she had to leave the store. Elkinton got on a bus before police arrived, but they were able to stop it nearby and eventually cite her with disorderly conduct. Police said it is unclear why Elkinton had a VCR with her at a grocery store.
Man has gone on hunger strike as government agency refuses to fund his weight-loss surgery
A man from Rotoruan, New Zealand, has gone on hunger strike because the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) won't fund his weight-loss surgery.
Jason Patterson has been starving himself for five days.
"The first two to three days are really hard," he says. "I'm in this 100 percent now."
Mr Patterson is 130kg. He says he gained the weight after being put on previous medication. He now needs a hernia operation, which ACC has agreed to fund. But before he can have the surgery, he has to lose at least 50kg. "It's hopefully going to help me being on a hunger strike to lose weight, because I need to lose weight before I have my hernia operation."
Mr Patterson wants his gastric bypass surgery covered by ACC. He's made video diaries and created a fundraising website. But his case has been declined, so he's gone on hunger strike. "It's just to show how serious I am about getting the weight-loss surgery that I need." ACC says it has provided Mr Patterson with several options to help lose weight, like visiting a dietician and psychologist to support his well-being.
Contains NSFW language.
YouTube link.
The agency says it's waiting for him to make a decision. "I was hoping that they were going to give me the full package of the surgery to move on so I could come to Rotorua, train here and get my life back together." Mr Patterson says he'll stay on strike in Rotoruan until Thursday. From there, he'll take his cause to Wellington to protest outside ACC's head office.
With additional news video.
Mr Patterson is 130kg. He says he gained the weight after being put on previous medication. He now needs a hernia operation, which ACC has agreed to fund. But before he can have the surgery, he has to lose at least 50kg. "It's hopefully going to help me being on a hunger strike to lose weight, because I need to lose weight before I have my hernia operation."
Mr Patterson wants his gastric bypass surgery covered by ACC. He's made video diaries and created a fundraising website. But his case has been declined, so he's gone on hunger strike. "It's just to show how serious I am about getting the weight-loss surgery that I need." ACC says it has provided Mr Patterson with several options to help lose weight, like visiting a dietician and psychologist to support his well-being.
Contains NSFW language.
YouTube link.
The agency says it's waiting for him to make a decision. "I was hoping that they were going to give me the full package of the surgery to move on so I could come to Rotorua, train here and get my life back together." Mr Patterson says he'll stay on strike in Rotoruan until Thursday. From there, he'll take his cause to Wellington to protest outside ACC's head office.
With additional news video.
Controversy over restaurant serving possum cassoulet
A menu offering possum cassoulet at a restaurant in Victoria, Australia, has caused quite a stir.
For the past few months Leoni Clayton, the chef at the Goldfields Comfort Inn in Stawell, has featured possum in one form or another on her menu.
"It's very much like rabbit meat, a bit more tasty, a bit more moist. It's not too gamey, as you would expect," she said.
"I can't think of anything else that would come close to it.
You can't compare it to chicken or anything like that."
It first appeared on the menu as a pie, but is now being used in a cassoulet. "Four months ago I had a supplier say, 'Oh, I've been asked to source possum for someone else to look at, are you interested?'" she said. "He knows me... he knows I'll try anything new as long as it's ethical and nothing untoward. I love to try new things and to see how it goes with the public." She said the dishes had been incredibly popular, but that the restaurant experienced a backlash as word started to spread about her use of the iconic Australian animal.
Ms Clayton said she was shocked at some of the angry responses. "People are just wanting to try it [in the restaurant]. I expected a few comments ... but not to the extent that it's actually hit, and quite aggressive some of it," she said. "I've always served kangaroo on my menus, no one's ever commented on that. They're culled, the kangaroos I've put on. You just think to yourself why this reaction when yes, people do eat cats and dogs overseas, it's the way they eat, it's their form of life. What's so bad about using meat that's actually ethically sourced?"
Ms Clayton said her experiment with possum was about working with different meats, not "going out with a shotgun and killing off our endangered species". "I love animals, I've always had pets. I cried when I had to put my 15-year-old guinea pig down. It's not a thing about going out and killing wildlife, its about what can we do to make food interesting. It actually was selling well but it probably won't now, so I'll have to change the menu." She said it is illegal to kill possums in Victoria, but was sourcing farmed meat from Tasmania. "Please don't go out and shoot beautiful possums that are living wild, but if it's ethically sourced I have no problem with it."
It first appeared on the menu as a pie, but is now being used in a cassoulet. "Four months ago I had a supplier say, 'Oh, I've been asked to source possum for someone else to look at, are you interested?'" she said. "He knows me... he knows I'll try anything new as long as it's ethical and nothing untoward. I love to try new things and to see how it goes with the public." She said the dishes had been incredibly popular, but that the restaurant experienced a backlash as word started to spread about her use of the iconic Australian animal.
Ms Clayton said she was shocked at some of the angry responses. "People are just wanting to try it [in the restaurant]. I expected a few comments ... but not to the extent that it's actually hit, and quite aggressive some of it," she said. "I've always served kangaroo on my menus, no one's ever commented on that. They're culled, the kangaroos I've put on. You just think to yourself why this reaction when yes, people do eat cats and dogs overseas, it's the way they eat, it's their form of life. What's so bad about using meat that's actually ethically sourced?"
Ms Clayton said her experiment with possum was about working with different meats, not "going out with a shotgun and killing off our endangered species". "I love animals, I've always had pets. I cried when I had to put my 15-year-old guinea pig down. It's not a thing about going out and killing wildlife, its about what can we do to make food interesting. It actually was selling well but it probably won't now, so I'll have to change the menu." She said it is illegal to kill possums in Victoria, but was sourcing farmed meat from Tasmania. "Please don't go out and shoot beautiful possums that are living wild, but if it's ethically sourced I have no problem with it."
New Zealand becomes first country to fuel cars with beer-based biofuel
New Zealand yesterday became the first country in the world to power cars with commercially available biofuel made from a by-product of beer. "DB Export Brewtroleum" was unveiled at Gull Kingsland in Auckland. It is also available at 60 other North Island Gull service stations.
Following extensive testing and research, DB Export is the first company to make beer-derived biofuel commercially available, and has produced an initial 30,000 litres of ethanol that has been mixed with premium petrol to make to make 300,000 litres of 98 octane biofuel. The ethanol was made from more than 58,000 litres of yeast slurry that would have otherwise been discarded or used by farmers as stock feed.
Brewtroleum is said to emit 8 per cent less carbon than traditional petroleum and deliver the same performance when compared. DB head of domestic beer marketing Sean O'Donnell said the idea to create the biofuel came about six months ago. "Our brewers at DB Export were talking about what we can do with the waste, and one of them said we could make a biofuel," O'Donnell said. "This is a genuinely exciting opportunity.
YouTube link.
"It's a world-first, we're helping Kiwis save the world by doing what they enjoy best – drinking beer. If you were to fuel your car with biofuel over a year it would be over 250 tonnes of carbon emission you would be saving." O'Donnell said he would like to see DB Export Brewtroleum become a long-term offering. "It's a case of testing consumer demand and assessing the feasibility of ongoing production and logistics. We expect the first batch to last approximately six weeks," he said.
Following extensive testing and research, DB Export is the first company to make beer-derived biofuel commercially available, and has produced an initial 30,000 litres of ethanol that has been mixed with premium petrol to make to make 300,000 litres of 98 octane biofuel. The ethanol was made from more than 58,000 litres of yeast slurry that would have otherwise been discarded or used by farmers as stock feed.
Brewtroleum is said to emit 8 per cent less carbon than traditional petroleum and deliver the same performance when compared. DB head of domestic beer marketing Sean O'Donnell said the idea to create the biofuel came about six months ago. "Our brewers at DB Export were talking about what we can do with the waste, and one of them said we could make a biofuel," O'Donnell said. "This is a genuinely exciting opportunity.
YouTube link.
"It's a world-first, we're helping Kiwis save the world by doing what they enjoy best – drinking beer. If you were to fuel your car with biofuel over a year it would be over 250 tonnes of carbon emission you would be saving." O'Donnell said he would like to see DB Export Brewtroleum become a long-term offering. "It's a case of testing consumer demand and assessing the feasibility of ongoing production and logistics. We expect the first batch to last approximately six weeks," he said.
Irish motorist owes €155,000 in unpaid toll fees
A motorist in Ireland owes the State more than €155,000 (£110,000, $170,000) for refusing to the pay the M50 toll fee, despite travelling on the busy road 1,018 times last year.
This motorist was just one of the hundreds who didn't pay the toll fee after travelling through the barrier-free collection point on the M50 in 2014, costing the State a potential €5m in revenue.
As many as 110,000 vehicles use the toll bridge every day, which became barrier-free when the 'eFlow' system was introduced in 2008. The maximum amount a driver's bill can rise to for a single unpaid journey is €152.60. The toll fee starts at €3.00 for users who aren't registered.
"However, there is no cap on what a driver can owe if he makes multiple passages without paying," Sean O'Neill from the National Roads Authority (NRA) said. The NRA has said that legal proceedings can be issued, and in some cases personal property may be repossessed to cover the costs.
This motorist was just one of the hundreds who didn't pay the toll fee after travelling through the barrier-free collection point on the M50 in 2014, costing the State a potential €5m in revenue.
As many as 110,000 vehicles use the toll bridge every day, which became barrier-free when the 'eFlow' system was introduced in 2008. The maximum amount a driver's bill can rise to for a single unpaid journey is €152.60. The toll fee starts at €3.00 for users who aren't registered.
"However, there is no cap on what a driver can owe if he makes multiple passages without paying," Sean O'Neill from the National Roads Authority (NRA) said. The NRA has said that legal proceedings can be issued, and in some cases personal property may be repossessed to cover the costs.
Couple being terrorised by the worst type of demon forced to call in ghostbuster
A terrified family say they are being attacked by 'the worst type of demon you can get'.
Keiron and Tracey Fry say they have been terrorised by the poltergeist every night for months.
Mother Tracey, 46, even thinks she is beaten up in the night by the 'incubus demon' - leaving her covered with bruises in the morning.
An incubus is a demon in male form who, according to mythological and legendary traditions, targets sleeping people, especially women.
Its female counterpart is the succubus.
The family got in a specialist to "cleanse" the house and brought a vicar in to bless their home.
The phantom, which has also been menacing the couple's three children, was summoned by a using a Ouija board in the house, they say. Father-of-three Keiron says he took a picture of the ghost in his sons' bedroom which he says shows a small child in a white gown with a blue face and a tail. Keiron said: "We are being molested by demons. My wife goes to bed fine, doesn't feel anything in the night but when she wakes up she's in agony. I wake up the next day and said: 'I didn't do that'. I would never beat my wife." The ghost has been terrorising the family at their three-bed terraced house in New Tredegar, south Wales, since Halloween last year.
Their cats have been left too frightened to go upstairs. Keiron called a paranormal expert after the phantom told his children: "I'm going to slit your parents' throats." Tracy said: "It's getting worse and worse and there's nothing we can do. I wake up every morning in agony because of the demon. My husband rubs cream into my bruised back every day but the pain doesn't go away. We were told by the paranormal investigator that we have an incubus demon - the worst type of demon you can get. He told us we have three demons in total, the other two helped the main demon pin me down.
"It has affected our marriage because we have been rowing and fighting all the time about the demon. It has been feeding off all the negative energy." The family, who moved into their house in July 2013, called in an investigator to tackle the spook. Ghostbuster Robert Amour, 43, arrived at the house with a bible and crucifix. He banned the petrified family from going upstairs after he shouted to them that he could "feel the evilness in the room". After 20 minutes the psychic returned to the frightened family - claiming he had slain two small demons. Church of Wales Vicar Johnathan Widdess has also visited the Frys to help them tackle the ghost. He said: "He invited us there and we spoke about what was going on. We said a prayer to try and help him."
The phantom, which has also been menacing the couple's three children, was summoned by a using a Ouija board in the house, they say. Father-of-three Keiron says he took a picture of the ghost in his sons' bedroom which he says shows a small child in a white gown with a blue face and a tail. Keiron said: "We are being molested by demons. My wife goes to bed fine, doesn't feel anything in the night but when she wakes up she's in agony. I wake up the next day and said: 'I didn't do that'. I would never beat my wife." The ghost has been terrorising the family at their three-bed terraced house in New Tredegar, south Wales, since Halloween last year.
Their cats have been left too frightened to go upstairs. Keiron called a paranormal expert after the phantom told his children: "I'm going to slit your parents' throats." Tracy said: "It's getting worse and worse and there's nothing we can do. I wake up every morning in agony because of the demon. My husband rubs cream into my bruised back every day but the pain doesn't go away. We were told by the paranormal investigator that we have an incubus demon - the worst type of demon you can get. He told us we have three demons in total, the other two helped the main demon pin me down.
"It has affected our marriage because we have been rowing and fighting all the time about the demon. It has been feeding off all the negative energy." The family, who moved into their house in July 2013, called in an investigator to tackle the spook. Ghostbuster Robert Amour, 43, arrived at the house with a bible and crucifix. He banned the petrified family from going upstairs after he shouted to them that he could "feel the evilness in the room". After 20 minutes the psychic returned to the frightened family - claiming he had slain two small demons. Church of Wales Vicar Johnathan Widdess has also visited the Frys to help them tackle the ghost. He said: "He invited us there and we spoke about what was going on. We said a prayer to try and help him."
Labrador rescued after jumping into kayak and floating across loch
A Labrador had to be rescued after she jumped into a kayak and floated into the middle of a Highland loch.
Rosy the dog was playing on the shore of Loch Broom in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, Scotland, which leads to the Atlantic, with owners Michael and Sean Osborne on Wednesday afternoon.
The two brothers, aged 18 and 15, whose family live just outside Ullapool, were swimming in the loch and had left a kayak lying on the shoreline with Rosy wandering nearby. When they looked back to shore they noticed that the six-year-old dog, who is frightened of the water, had sat down in the one-person vessel. The kayak slowly dislodged from where it was sitting and began to float in the shallows.
The boys' mother Lisa Osborne, who runs two holiday homes in the remote north west village, said: "They saw her sitting in it and saw it happening but they presumed she would float back to the shore or jump out, but she didn't. She floated all the way out and basically went to sea in a kayak. Rosy kept looking over her shoulder at the shore as she's quite frightened of the water. We think that's why she didn't jump in.
"She just kept looking at them as if asking them to come and save her. She got so far out that they they thought they had best go and get her. The boys swam back to shore and got a little rowing boat. They used the paddle from the kayak and went to rescue her." Mrs Osborne added: "Somehow they managed to persuade her to get out of the canoe jump into the dinghy, which is quite something as she usually can't be persuaded to do anything unless there's food involved. She was fine afterwards. She's a lovely dog, very friendly. She's quite a character."
The two brothers, aged 18 and 15, whose family live just outside Ullapool, were swimming in the loch and had left a kayak lying on the shoreline with Rosy wandering nearby. When they looked back to shore they noticed that the six-year-old dog, who is frightened of the water, had sat down in the one-person vessel. The kayak slowly dislodged from where it was sitting and began to float in the shallows.
The boys' mother Lisa Osborne, who runs two holiday homes in the remote north west village, said: "They saw her sitting in it and saw it happening but they presumed she would float back to the shore or jump out, but she didn't. She floated all the way out and basically went to sea in a kayak. Rosy kept looking over her shoulder at the shore as she's quite frightened of the water. We think that's why she didn't jump in.
"She just kept looking at them as if asking them to come and save her. She got so far out that they they thought they had best go and get her. The boys swam back to shore and got a little rowing boat. They used the paddle from the kayak and went to rescue her." Mrs Osborne added: "Somehow they managed to persuade her to get out of the canoe jump into the dinghy, which is quite something as she usually can't be persuaded to do anything unless there's food involved. She was fine afterwards. She's a lovely dog, very friendly. She's quite a character."
Red kites found to be culprits following thefts of socks and underpants from open-air swimmers
Birds in the glens of Angus, Scotland, have been swooping away with underwear from a popular open-air swimming spot.
Bathers had been confused about the mysterious disappearance of their smalls but, thanks to the discovery of a new red kite nest in the area, all has become clear. Among the material used to make the nest were socks and underpants. The new nest, which had two chicks, was found on a moorland in Glen Esk by a trainee gamekeeper, who contacted the RSPB to report the find.
Dave Clement, head keeper at the Gannochy Estate and member of the Angus Glens Moorland Group, said it was as if the birds of prey had been “cleaning up the glen” with their unusual choice of nest walls. He said: “Our trainee gamekeeper discovered the nest and we rang the RSPB to have them ringed and tagged.
“What was really interesting was to see socks and underwear from a popular nearby swimming spot actually in the nest and in the surrounding trees. It was like the kites were cleaning up the glen.” Red kites are a reintroduced species and the juveniles are monitored so ornithologists can learn more about behaviour and movements.
Bathers had been confused about the mysterious disappearance of their smalls but, thanks to the discovery of a new red kite nest in the area, all has become clear. Among the material used to make the nest were socks and underpants. The new nest, which had two chicks, was found on a moorland in Glen Esk by a trainee gamekeeper, who contacted the RSPB to report the find.
Dave Clement, head keeper at the Gannochy Estate and member of the Angus Glens Moorland Group, said it was as if the birds of prey had been “cleaning up the glen” with their unusual choice of nest walls. He said: “Our trainee gamekeeper discovered the nest and we rang the RSPB to have them ringed and tagged.
“What was really interesting was to see socks and underwear from a popular nearby swimming spot actually in the nest and in the surrounding trees. It was like the kites were cleaning up the glen.” Red kites are a reintroduced species and the juveniles are monitored so ornithologists can learn more about behaviour and movements.
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