"Real Men of Genius"

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How NOT to rob a muffler shop.. more evidence that cell phones could be linked to brain damage..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23817753/

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A salute to the last (known) Jewish resident of Afghanistan--a man who personifies the adjective "curmudgeonly"..

Recent Interview with Martin Fletcher, NBC News Correspondent

Background from Washington Post (2005)

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The 41-year-old priest took off from the southern port city of Paranagua [Brazil] on April 20, strapped to 1,000 helium-filled balloons in an attempt to raise money to build a rest stop and worship center for truckers.

Here's a priest with an imaginative scheme to raise money for one of the church's intended good works.

A little too imaginative.

You might say that his imagination was the key that unlocked the door to the Twilight Zone ...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25534256/

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Nov. 9: Israeli police scuffle with an Armenian monk next to the site traditionally believed to be the tomb of Jesus Christ.


Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher is revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

Yesterday Israeli police arrested two monks after a fist fight broke out inside the church over conflicting religious protocols.

Before the police arrived, an Armenian monk sucker punched a Greek Orthodox monk, breaking his spectacles and gashing his forehead.

Does this open the possibility of weekly worldwide TV broadcasts.. to attract some of the same audience as the UFC and similar mixed martial arts competitions? Or would this appeal more to fans of Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment and the like? The possibilities are intriguing.

For all the juicy details:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,449150,00.html

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia's top Islamic body on Saturday banned Muslims from practicing yoga, saying the Indian physical exercise contains elements of Hinduism and could corrupt Muslims.

For the complete report:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,456367,00.html

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KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S.-led coalition troops killed a Taliban commander dressed as a women during a raid in southern Afghanistan, officials said Saturday.

Soldiers killed four Taliban fighters in Friday's operation, including the Taliban commander named Haji Yakub who was dressed as a woman to evade capture, the U.S. military said in a statement . . .

In the Ghazni raid, the U.S. said coalition forces discovered Yakub as they questioned a group of women and children inside a compound. The Taliban commander was dressed in a burqa, a traditional robe that covers the entire body. He was killed when he "attempted to engage the force," the statement said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,459025,00.html

The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it...

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A Swedish man's attempt to impress his date went horribly awry Friday, as he ended up lighting himself on fire and going into shock.

The 33-year-old man also faces allegations of endangering the public as he recovers from serious burn injuries in a hospital in Vastervik, The Local reported.

The unidentified man's girlfriend said he was attempting a stunt when he poured gasoline over his arm and set the fuel on fire.

"It obviously didn’t go well. He burned his arm and other parts of his body and was in a state of shock," Kalmar police spokesperson Reine Johansson told the TT news agency. "Don’t ask me what the point of the trick was supposed to be."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473324,00.html

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MOGADISHU, Somalia – Five of the pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a $3 million ransom, a relative said Saturday, the day after the bundle of cash was apparently dropped by parachute onto the deck of the ship . . .

Abukar Haji, uncle of one of the dead men, blamed the naval surveillance for the accident that killed his pirate nephew Saturday.

"The boat the pirates were traveling in capsized because it was running at high speed because the pirates were afraid of an attack from the warships patrolling around," he said . . .

For the complete AP report:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090110/ap_on_bi_ge/piracy

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German firemen may have burned down their own fire station--for the second time.



The Austrian Times reports the story under the heading "World's worst firemen burn down their own station". They could have added the word "again".

All six fire engines were destroyed and it took 250 firemen from nearby towns to finally bring the blaze under control.

The same fire station was rebuilt in 1994 after catching fire.

For the complete report:
http://www.austriantimes.at/index.php?id=10519

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CAPE HAZE, Fla. - Authorities said they arrested a man who apparently forgot to fill up when he was robbing a gas station.

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said a 23-year-old man used a Bowie knife to rob a Cape Haze gas station early Sunday. Deputies said the man pulled the 12-inch blade and demanded money. But when he left, a customer followed him and called 911.

While deputies were looking for signs of the robber, a newspaper carrier told them that a man in a car matching the one from the robbery had run out of gas nearby.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29148944/

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Swedish Train Trashed as Part of Art Thesis
Monday, February 16, 2009

STOCKHOLM — Maybe it was abstract impressionism.

Passengers in Stockholm were terrified when a masked man spray-painted graffiti inside a train, then smashed a window and threw himself onto the platform.

Officials were flabbergasted to learn the rampage was part of an art thesis. And they didn't seem to appreciate the artistic merit.

Chairman Christer Wennerholm said the transit authority filed a complaint against the student Monday, demanding 100,000 kronor ($12,000) in damages.

The unidentified student included video of the vandalism in his thesis at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. The school said it doesn't allow students to break the law, but added it wasn't clear whether the student participated in the vandalism or merely recorded it..

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,493807,00.html



The irony is worthy of Hitchcock, but it isn't fiction. It's the intersection of "macabre" and "reality". Are you "in"..?

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Ohio Man Charged With DUI After Crashing Motorized Bar Stool

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A recent photo of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Nasrallah (above) and an old photo of Johnny Carson impersonating "The Great Karnak" (below). The resemblance is striking.

[k12311997]

I should have had a V8

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Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi "cutting up" at an EU meeting in 2002..



Portuguese Economy Minister Manuel Pinho gives the "cuckold" signal..


For the whole story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8133615.stm

[DragonLensmanWV]

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi "cutting up" at an EU meeting in 2002..



Portuguese Economy Minister Manuel Pinho gives the "cuckold" signal..


For the whole story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8133615.stm

Heh, reminds me of a joke told to me by a friend that now lives in Milan.

The Pope, a Boy Scout and Berlusconi were on a plane when the engines started to fail. There were however, only two parachutes. So Berlusconi, grabs one and bails out. The Scout told the Pope to take the remaining parachute because of who he was. Of course the Pope told the Scout, "Son there's still two parachutes left, that dumb Italian took your knapsack."
Meanwhile on a lake below two men are fishing in a boat when they hear a descending scream and a huge splash nearby. Rowing over, they found Berlusconi rising feebly to the surface. So the fishermen haul him into their boat. Berlusconi is so relieved he promised the men anything they wanted. The first fisherman said, "I'd like a large Tuscan villa complete with my own winery and I'd be happy for the rest of my life!" Berlusconi agreed. The second fisherman said, "I'd like a wheelchair." Berlusconi said, "Agreed, but why do you want only the one small thing?" "Because," said the fisherman,"When my father finds out I saved your life, he'll break both of my legs!"

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MIAMI - It's not clear how or when it was killed, but police were called to a downtown Miami street when a five-to-six-foot shark was found lying in the middle of it.

News footage Tuesday night showed the dead animal in the street with police officers and cruisers nearby. Two TV stations reported that a pair of men had tried to sell the animal to at least three fish markets for around $10.


It was a nurse shark.

The men apparently carried the five or six-foot-long fish around on the city's Metromover downtown train, prompting calls to police.

Rob Orta, an employee at Casablanca Fish Market, told WSVN that the men offered his business the shark. "But we don't buy sharks off the street," Orta said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32084827...ws-weird_news/

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From 2005:

A man [who's] turned a crime into a business opportunity is getting some attention in western Wisconsin -- both positive and negative.

Dan Gabel designs magnets for cars and refrigerators. Upon the suggestion of his nephew who lives on French Island, Gabel designed a line of car magnets that poke fun at a well-known local criminal case.

Philip Schuth is accused of hiding his mother's body in his freezer at their French Island home for years. He's not accused of killing her, but is charged with hiding a corpse and other counts. He has a competency hearing next week.

Now hundreds of bumper magnets have been sold that read "What's in Your Freezer?" or "My Mom is Cooler Than Yours!" The bumper magnets are in the shape of a freezer and imprinted with French Island, Wisconsin.

Local police sergeant Terry Malzycki says it's kind of depressing that people want to make money off something unfortunate.

Champion Auto Parts in La Crosse has been selling the magnets. Salesman Greg Mlsna says customers typically laugh when they see them, say how disgusting they are, then buy one.

http://www.blythe-systems.com/piperm...11/020017.html


Flash forward to 2009:

Police ... discovered Schuth's dead mother in a basement chest freezer, frozen into a 200-to-300 pound block of ice. Schuth told investigators she died in 2000 of natural causes. He kept her hidden because he feared police might charge him with homicide and he needed her Social Security payments. . . .

A judge sentenced Schuth in November 2005 to seven years in prison and 10 years extended supervision for hiding a corpse, attempted homicide and recklessly endangering safety. The next summer a federal judge gave him four months, to be served simultaneously with his state sentence, for Social Security fraud. Schuth gave a bizarre speech in court laced with Latin, demanding more roles for actress Jennifer Garner and fewer for her husband, Ben Affleck. . . .

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...est=latestnews

[Jacqui]

I was living about 20 minutes from French Island when this happened. Sad.

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Today we have a "real woman of genius"..

Wife of Japan's New Prime Minister Says She Traveled to Venus in UFO

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,546240,00.html

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...est=latestnews

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DULUTH, Minn. - A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to driving his motorized La-Z-Boy chair while drunk. . . .

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...91lazboy1.html

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...s-scratch.html

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Remember the Iraqi who threw his shoes at George Bush?

Muntadar al-Zaidi just got a taste of his own medicine.

It was "shoe time" again in Paris!

Link includes video..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8389764.stm

[k12311997]

Do they give the shoe back? do they just walk around with one shoe? Do they bring extra shoes for throwing?