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Tuesday, May 01, 2012
German artist banned from strangling puppies
A German artist who planned to strangle two puppies to death on stage in a Berlin theatre has been told that highlighting the plight of sled dogs in Alaska is not a good enough reason to kill the dogs.
The performance, entitled "Death as Metamorphosis," was to take place next week in a small theatre in the Spandau district of Berlin. Accompanied by funeral music and a gong, the artist was going to strangle two puppies with cable ties after a brief meditation.
The provocative piece was meant to highlight the plight of sled dogs in Alaska and hunting dogs in Spain, which are said to be killed in the same way once they can no longer work. The artist's planned performance was influenced by "traditional Thai art forms."
The Berlin administrative court stopped the show from going ahead on Friday, saying that animal protection laws forbid an animal from being harmed in any way in a show. The artist had argued that Germany's constitution "unconditionally guarantees artistic freedom."
The performance, entitled "Death as Metamorphosis," was to take place next week in a small theatre in the Spandau district of Berlin. Accompanied by funeral music and a gong, the artist was going to strangle two puppies with cable ties after a brief meditation.
The provocative piece was meant to highlight the plight of sled dogs in Alaska and hunting dogs in Spain, which are said to be killed in the same way once they can no longer work. The artist's planned performance was influenced by "traditional Thai art forms."
The Berlin administrative court stopped the show from going ahead on Friday, saying that animal protection laws forbid an animal from being harmed in any way in a show. The artist had argued that Germany's constitution "unconditionally guarantees artistic freedom."
Zimbabwean woman claims to have given birth to a worm
A woman who thought she was pregnant for five months has told of her shock after giving birth to a worm. Anna Mbizi, 38, went for regular check-ups at a doctor’s surgery and was told she was pregnant with her third child without the benefit of an ultrasound scan. “I consulted my doctor when I was two months pregnant and was told everything was normal. This was going to be my third baby," Mbizi said.
But on Sunday morning, Mbizi, of North End in Bulawayo, says her world came crashing down after she “gave birth” to a worm in the bathroom. She said: “When I experienced the pains, I thought I was going to miscarry but I was shocked when a worm came out.” Mbizi says her boyfriend has abandoned her, saying: “I really thought I was five months pregnant as I had all the signs and symptoms of a pregnant woman. I am still short of words.
“I am afraid my boyfriend is going to leave me. He really wanted a baby and now that I delivered a worm, I am not his favourite person.” Her doctor described her situation as “unusual”. "I examined the woman three months ago and she appeared to be two months pregnant, but when she came back on Sunday night nothing indicated that she had been pregnant although there were signs of strain on her uterine tissue," said the doctor. “I examined the woman after this alleged incident and could not find any baby. The situation left us to believe that the worm had been acting like a baby.”
The superstitious Mbizi blames her misfortune on witchcraft. She cites a recent confrontation with a neighbour who owes her US$150. “I think my neighbour bewitched me,” she said. After giving birth to the worm, she said, she was advised by friends to “put coarse salt on it so that I’m not cursed again”. She put the worm in a plastic container. "I put salt on the worm and it shrinked, almost dissolving into liquid form. As you can see, there is some blood in the residue," she said, holding the plastic container.
But on Sunday morning, Mbizi, of North End in Bulawayo, says her world came crashing down after she “gave birth” to a worm in the bathroom. She said: “When I experienced the pains, I thought I was going to miscarry but I was shocked when a worm came out.” Mbizi says her boyfriend has abandoned her, saying: “I really thought I was five months pregnant as I had all the signs and symptoms of a pregnant woman. I am still short of words.
“I am afraid my boyfriend is going to leave me. He really wanted a baby and now that I delivered a worm, I am not his favourite person.” Her doctor described her situation as “unusual”. "I examined the woman three months ago and she appeared to be two months pregnant, but when she came back on Sunday night nothing indicated that she had been pregnant although there were signs of strain on her uterine tissue," said the doctor. “I examined the woman after this alleged incident and could not find any baby. The situation left us to believe that the worm had been acting like a baby.”
The superstitious Mbizi blames her misfortune on witchcraft. She cites a recent confrontation with a neighbour who owes her US$150. “I think my neighbour bewitched me,” she said. After giving birth to the worm, she said, she was advised by friends to “put coarse salt on it so that I’m not cursed again”. She put the worm in a plastic container. "I put salt on the worm and it shrinked, almost dissolving into liquid form. As you can see, there is some blood in the residue," she said, holding the plastic container.
Drunk lady crashes through liquor store where she's a regular
No one was seriously injured after a car crashed through a package store on Route 80 in East Haven, Connecticut. The woman didn't just drive into the store, she drove through the store, and the destruction inside is incredible. The Ford Taurus came barreling through the front window of the Yankee Liquor Store. Tyre tracks are visible on the floor. The merchandise strewn all over and a counter was pushed back from the impact.
Normally, the employees say they would be standing in front of the counter, but the owner, Deepak Pattani, and his employees were all standing just to the side. "Yes, we were this close, we were on the next register," he said. They had no time to react. "It's just happened really, in fraction of seconds, we couldn't even have time to see what happened really," he said.
The driver, Sharon Brooks, is a regular customer and police say she was driving drunk. It all happened at around 2:30 on Friday afternoon. She had apparently already been drinking and was heading back to the liquor store, but instead, went right through it. "It's a lot of damage, it's gonna take a lot of time to clean up and get back again," Pattani says.
YouTube link.
The damage was extensive; about half their inventory gone, smashed and spilled all over the floor. One of the employees was hurt. He was not run over, but he fell when everything went flying. He was taken to the hospital but has minor injuries. There were no customers in the store at the time and amazingly, no one else was hurt. "We are been shocked, never happened, we've been here for 8 years, this is the first time ever something like this happened," Pattani said, "So I'm just so overwhelmed at this point." Brooks was charged with driving under the influence. Police are still investigating.
Normally, the employees say they would be standing in front of the counter, but the owner, Deepak Pattani, and his employees were all standing just to the side. "Yes, we were this close, we were on the next register," he said. They had no time to react. "It's just happened really, in fraction of seconds, we couldn't even have time to see what happened really," he said.
The driver, Sharon Brooks, is a regular customer and police say she was driving drunk. It all happened at around 2:30 on Friday afternoon. She had apparently already been drinking and was heading back to the liquor store, but instead, went right through it. "It's a lot of damage, it's gonna take a lot of time to clean up and get back again," Pattani says.
YouTube link.
The damage was extensive; about half their inventory gone, smashed and spilled all over the floor. One of the employees was hurt. He was not run over, but he fell when everything went flying. He was taken to the hospital but has minor injuries. There were no customers in the store at the time and amazingly, no one else was hurt. "We are been shocked, never happened, we've been here for 8 years, this is the first time ever something like this happened," Pattani said, "So I'm just so overwhelmed at this point." Brooks was charged with driving under the influence. Police are still investigating.
'Fuku' restaurant denied trademark because of 'immoral' name
A West Palm Beach restaurant set to open in just a few weeks is already gaining a lot of attention all because of its name. It's called Fuku. The owners say it's a Japanese word with a wholesome meaning. Fuku really means good fortune, wealth and prosperity.
Owner Paul Ardaji said he came up with the name while on a trip to Memphis with his business partner. "We were walking down the street and I said fuku he looked at me strange but he got where I was going," said Ardaji. With that, they named their business and sent a letter to the state to trademark the name. But they were soon turned down.
"I believe they're culturally unaware of what the word means," their attorney James D'Loughy said. "I think there is some puritanical viewpoint based on the letter we received." In a letter to the owners' attorney, the Florida Department of State Divisions of Corporations denied the trademark request because, "The mark consists of, compromises or includes immoral, deceptive or scandalous matter."
"The state looks at things from a very narrow scope. I think they'll realize it's not our intention to be scandalous or deceptive," said Ardaji. D'Loughy said if the restaurant opens without the trademark, it's vulnerable to the name being used by other businesses. "They would have to challenge that and that could cost the business a lot of money."
with news video.
Owner Paul Ardaji said he came up with the name while on a trip to Memphis with his business partner. "We were walking down the street and I said fuku he looked at me strange but he got where I was going," said Ardaji. With that, they named their business and sent a letter to the state to trademark the name. But they were soon turned down.
"I believe they're culturally unaware of what the word means," their attorney James D'Loughy said. "I think there is some puritanical viewpoint based on the letter we received." In a letter to the owners' attorney, the Florida Department of State Divisions of Corporations denied the trademark request because, "The mark consists of, compromises or includes immoral, deceptive or scandalous matter."
"The state looks at things from a very narrow scope. I think they'll realize it's not our intention to be scandalous or deceptive," said Ardaji. D'Loughy said if the restaurant opens without the trademark, it's vulnerable to the name being used by other businesses. "They would have to challenge that and that could cost the business a lot of money."
with news video.
White camel sacrificed in Kazakhstan to end suicide epidemic
Locals in a town in southern Kazakhstan sacrificed a white camel in a bid to end a suicide epidemic blamed on an evil spirit. Some 200 residents of the town of Karabulak, which has a population of some 40,000, attended the sacrifice ceremony.
The white camel was slaughtered on advice from the village elders some time after two middle school students hanged themselves. Three more teenagers were recently prevented from committing suicide at the last moment, and dozens more sought help of the imams of the local mosque.
The total death toll from suicides in 2011 in the town stood at 14, most of them adolescent boys. The surviving boys said they saw a vision of an old man clad in white who told them life is pointless and showed them a rope around his neck, imam Abdurrafi Rakhmatullayev said. “That was the Devil in human guise,” Rakhmatullayev said.
A similar incident took place in Karabulak 60 years ago, but the suicides were ended after one of the elders, or aqsaqals, advised a white camel sacrifice, town head Alimzhan Nishankulov said. In the 1950s, Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union, but Nishankulov did not elaborate on what the Communist Party, notorious for its militant atheism, said about the ritual. No suicide attempts were reported in Karabulak after this week’s sacrifice.
The white camel was slaughtered on advice from the village elders some time after two middle school students hanged themselves. Three more teenagers were recently prevented from committing suicide at the last moment, and dozens more sought help of the imams of the local mosque.
The total death toll from suicides in 2011 in the town stood at 14, most of them adolescent boys. The surviving boys said they saw a vision of an old man clad in white who told them life is pointless and showed them a rope around his neck, imam Abdurrafi Rakhmatullayev said. “That was the Devil in human guise,” Rakhmatullayev said.
A similar incident took place in Karabulak 60 years ago, but the suicides were ended after one of the elders, or aqsaqals, advised a white camel sacrifice, town head Alimzhan Nishankulov said. In the 1950s, Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union, but Nishankulov did not elaborate on what the Communist Party, notorious for its militant atheism, said about the ritual. No suicide attempts were reported in Karabulak after this week’s sacrifice.
Man gets stuck in tree rescuing pet parrot
Firefighters came to the rescue of a Cherry Hill, New Jersey man who became stuck in a tree while trying to reach his pet bird. Dave Lovell, of Highland Avenue, said his scarlet macaw had fled the coop late on Thursday night. Lovell spent the next 20 hours trying to find his pet, who goes by the name of Sinbad.
The screeching bird was finally located by Lovell at about 6:10 p.m. on Friday at the top of a tree just off Woodland Avenue a block away. Neighbours called 911 after Lovell had climbed the tree with the help of a 20-foot ladder and got to his feathered friend. But he couldn’t climb back down.
Firefighters had to cut dozens of branches to get their ladder and rescue bucket close to Lovell. While neighbours and Lovell’s wife, Sandy, looked on, Lovell and Sinbad were pulled into the bucket at 7:30. “Thank God,” said Sandy. “My heart is pounding right now.”
Lovell, who had been bitten by Sinbad during the ordeal, was bleeding as he came off the firetruck. “Now that my feet are on the ground, I’m feeling OK,” he said. He refused medical treatment. “I love my animals,” Lovell said, after being asked why he would risk his life. “I’ve had Sinbad more than seven years, ever since he was hatched.”
The screeching bird was finally located by Lovell at about 6:10 p.m. on Friday at the top of a tree just off Woodland Avenue a block away. Neighbours called 911 after Lovell had climbed the tree with the help of a 20-foot ladder and got to his feathered friend. But he couldn’t climb back down.
Firefighters had to cut dozens of branches to get their ladder and rescue bucket close to Lovell. While neighbours and Lovell’s wife, Sandy, looked on, Lovell and Sinbad were pulled into the bucket at 7:30. “Thank God,” said Sandy. “My heart is pounding right now.”
Lovell, who had been bitten by Sinbad during the ordeal, was bleeding as he came off the firetruck. “Now that my feet are on the ground, I’m feeling OK,” he said. He refused medical treatment. “I love my animals,” Lovell said, after being asked why he would risk his life. “I’ve had Sinbad more than seven years, ever since he was hatched.”
Probe into Japanese bathtub fatalities after 14,000 die in one year
Japan's health ministry is to launch an investigation into bath-time fatalities after it was estimated that 14,000 people die every year in the tub - three times as many as those who died in car accidents. According to the figures, 4,612 people died as a result of traffic accidents across the nation in 2011.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced the first nation-wide study into bath fatalities after a number of local authorities began collecting statistics that point to a high number of victims being elderly. The high number of bath deaths can be traced back to the role the bath plays in Japanese families and society.
The ritual of bathing in Japan is less about washing but more about relaxing at the end of the working day and, in more traditional communities and older buildings, keeping warm in the winter. Local authorities' data suggests most of the deaths were attributable to drowning, heart palpitations, heart attacks and subarachnoid haemorrhages. The numbers rose significantly in the winter months, when older people move from a warm part of their home to the bathroom and suffer "thermal shock."
The government was asked to look into the problem by a number of domestic organisations devoted to bathing and the effects on health, including the Japanese Society of Balneology, Climatology and Physical Medicine, and to support research that will reduce the number of deaths caused by taking a bath. Authorities are being urged to draw up guidelines on how to take a bath safely, encouraging people to avoid excessive changes in temperatures, gradually and carefully soaking oneself in hot water and drinking lots of fluids.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced the first nation-wide study into bath fatalities after a number of local authorities began collecting statistics that point to a high number of victims being elderly. The high number of bath deaths can be traced back to the role the bath plays in Japanese families and society.
The ritual of bathing in Japan is less about washing but more about relaxing at the end of the working day and, in more traditional communities and older buildings, keeping warm in the winter. Local authorities' data suggests most of the deaths were attributable to drowning, heart palpitations, heart attacks and subarachnoid haemorrhages. The numbers rose significantly in the winter months, when older people move from a warm part of their home to the bathroom and suffer "thermal shock."
The government was asked to look into the problem by a number of domestic organisations devoted to bathing and the effects on health, including the Japanese Society of Balneology, Climatology and Physical Medicine, and to support research that will reduce the number of deaths caused by taking a bath. Authorities are being urged to draw up guidelines on how to take a bath safely, encouraging people to avoid excessive changes in temperatures, gradually and carefully soaking oneself in hot water and drinking lots of fluids.
Reveller survives 60ft fall at music festival
Amateur video captures the moment a festival goer plunges from scaffolding at the Creamfields music festival in Sydney, Australia.
In the video the unidentified man, wearing only a pair of shorts, climbs up scaffolding to the delight of the crowd before attempting to stand on top of the structure and wave.
Leaning back he loses his balance and falls from the scaffold to the ground, hitting supporting poles on the way. The man not only survived the fall but escaped without serious injury. “The man got past security and climbed up the scaffolding. He then fell and luckily escaped serious injury," Inspector Koutsoufis of Surrey Hills police said.
YouTube link.
“The man was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital by ambulance. He then discharged himself before attempting to gain entry back into the festival. This is a dangerous practice and this man was very lucky to survive, let alone escape serious injury.”
In the video the unidentified man, wearing only a pair of shorts, climbs up scaffolding to the delight of the crowd before attempting to stand on top of the structure and wave.
Leaning back he loses his balance and falls from the scaffold to the ground, hitting supporting poles on the way. The man not only survived the fall but escaped without serious injury. “The man got past security and climbed up the scaffolding. He then fell and luckily escaped serious injury," Inspector Koutsoufis of Surrey Hills police said.
YouTube link.
“The man was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital by ambulance. He then discharged himself before attempting to gain entry back into the festival. This is a dangerous practice and this man was very lucky to survive, let alone escape serious injury.”
Councillor under fire after being pictured holding rocket-propelled grenade launcher
A Bradford councillor has said he is “not proud” after a photograph appears to depict him holding a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Coun Amir Hussain (Lab, Toller), executive member for health and social care, said he believed the picture was taken 20 years ago when he was on a charitable trip to Afghanistan – before his time on Bradford Council.
The photograph also shows two guns apparently propped up against a wall next to him.Coun Hussain said he had been on a trip to Afghanistan 20 years ago, as a local businessman, to distribute funds raised as part of a Bradford radio appeal. “I would like to apologise for this photo,” he said.
“It is not something I am proud of, and it is not the sort of image that sets a good example to young people in Bradford. That said, it is a photo which was taken around 20 years ago by a friend who I understand has recently joined Respect. I have never owned a copy of this photo, far less paraded it on any social media site and would never consider such behaviour as acceptable.
“I am extremely sorry for any offence this photo causes and would like to stress my opposition to firearms of any sort and the need for the gun crime problems Bradford suffers to be confronted and dealt with.” A Bradford Labour Party spokesman said: “Amir has apologised for this photo which he never wanted to be in the public domain and had forgotten existed. He understands and regrets the offence this sort of picture may cause.”
The photograph also shows two guns apparently propped up against a wall next to him.Coun Hussain said he had been on a trip to Afghanistan 20 years ago, as a local businessman, to distribute funds raised as part of a Bradford radio appeal. “I would like to apologise for this photo,” he said.
“It is not something I am proud of, and it is not the sort of image that sets a good example to young people in Bradford. That said, it is a photo which was taken around 20 years ago by a friend who I understand has recently joined Respect. I have never owned a copy of this photo, far less paraded it on any social media site and would never consider such behaviour as acceptable.
“I am extremely sorry for any offence this photo causes and would like to stress my opposition to firearms of any sort and the need for the gun crime problems Bradford suffers to be confronted and dealt with.” A Bradford Labour Party spokesman said: “Amir has apologised for this photo which he never wanted to be in the public domain and had forgotten existed. He understands and regrets the offence this sort of picture may cause.”
Robber armed with angle grinder cut peak off victim’s baseball cap
The victim of a knifepoint robbery was tapped on the leg with an angle grinder and had the peak of his baseball cap cut by an attacker who then drove off in his car. The bizarre attack took place in Walledwell Court, Standens Barn, Northampton during the early hours of Thursday, April 26.
A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police, who have only just released details of the attack, said: “At around 3.30am, a man was sitting in his car parked in Walledwell Court when an offender got into the vehicle.
“The offender jabbed at the victim with a knife, tapped an angle grinder against his left leg and then cut through the peak of the victim’s baseball cap. The victim then got out of the car which was driven away by the offender.
The vehicle was later found in a subway on Lakeside Drive, Northampton at around 5.15am.” The offender was white, aged in his early twenties, 6ft and with broad shoulders and a thin waist. He was wearing a black tracksuit with the hood up.
A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police, who have only just released details of the attack, said: “At around 3.30am, a man was sitting in his car parked in Walledwell Court when an offender got into the vehicle.
“The offender jabbed at the victim with a knife, tapped an angle grinder against his left leg and then cut through the peak of the victim’s baseball cap. The victim then got out of the car which was driven away by the offender.
The vehicle was later found in a subway on Lakeside Drive, Northampton at around 5.15am.” The offender was white, aged in his early twenties, 6ft and with broad shoulders and a thin waist. He was wearing a black tracksuit with the hood up.
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