Beachgoers' Restroom Endangered
OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine (AP) - For years, a dilapidated restroom at the foot of the town pier has provided relief for beachgoers. That will end if the town gets its wish to raze the building near the site of the $20 million Grand Victorian condominium and retail project.
The town has sent an eviction letter to restroom operator Paul Golzbein.
Town Manager Jim Thomas said Golzbein never should have been given carte blanche to operate the facility for years without paying rent or obtaining a business license.
Golzbein, who owns the pier, claims his deed to the pier grants him a "lease in perpetuity" to the bathroom concession with about a dozen toilets.
Caught in the middle of the standoff are thousands of summer tourists, many of whom are grateful to pay 25 cents to use Golzbien's restroom, and business owners who fear they'll be overrun with by tourists seeking alternative toilets.
"The bathroom has to stay," Golzbein said. "I mean it's a necessity."
The developer of the Grand Victorian, Tim Swenson, said he believes there are sufficient public and private bathrooms to meet tourists' needs.
Swenson said Golzbein had offered to sell him his interest in the bathroom several times, but that he believes Golzbein is no position to bargain. "He doesn't own it. He has no title to it," Swenson said. "It's just totally crazy."
Golzbein said the town's stance shows favoritism toward a high-end project at the expense of businesses more representative of the town's recent past as a blue-collar resort.
Thomas said the bathroom never should have been put where it is because it's built near sand dunes. He also said the pay-to-use restroom also runs up against a recent change in town policy to stop charging fees for public toilets.
Jim Albert, who runs the Patio Pub on the pier, said something has to be done if the restroom closes because private businesses will be overrun. "We're talking hundreds a day, we're not talking one or two," he said.
___
Information from: Portland Press Herald
TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES
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Ben & Jerry's sorry for Irish "Black & Tan"
DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) - Ice cream makers Ben & Jerry's have apologized for causing offence by calling a new flavor "Black & Tan" -- the nickname of a notoriously violent British militia that operated during Ireland's war of independence.
The ice cream, available only in the United States, is based on an ale and stout drink of the same name.
"Any reference on our part to the British Army unit was absolutely unintentional and no ill-will was ever intended," said a Ben & Jerry's spokesman.
"Ben & Jerry's was built on the philosophies of peace and love," he added.
The Black and Tans, so-called because of their two-tone uniforms, were recruited in the early 1920s to bolster the ranks of the police force in Ireland as anti-British sentiment grew.
They quickly gained a reputation for brutality and mention of the militia still arouses strong feelings in Ireland.
"I can't believe that Ben & Jerry's would be so insensitive to call an ice cream such a name and to launch it as a celebration of Irishness ... it's an insult!" wrote one blogger on http://www.junkfoodblog.com.
"I hope they don't try to launch it here in Ireland or I imagine they'll lose a lot of their fans."
Ben & Jerry's, a unit of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever Plc, prides itself on its commitment to friendly business. Its mission statement includes a pledge to show "a deep respect for human beings inside and outside our company and for the communities in which they live."
DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) - Ice cream makers Ben & Jerry's have apologized for causing offence by calling a new flavor "Black & Tan" -- the nickname of a notoriously violent British militia that operated during Ireland's war of independence.
The ice cream, available only in the United States, is based on an ale and stout drink of the same name.
"Any reference on our part to the British Army unit was absolutely unintentional and no ill-will was ever intended," said a Ben & Jerry's spokesman.
"Ben & Jerry's was built on the philosophies of peace and love," he added.
The Black and Tans, so-called because of their two-tone uniforms, were recruited in the early 1920s to bolster the ranks of the police force in Ireland as anti-British sentiment grew.
They quickly gained a reputation for brutality and mention of the militia still arouses strong feelings in Ireland.
"I can't believe that Ben & Jerry's would be so insensitive to call an ice cream such a name and to launch it as a celebration of Irishness ... it's an insult!" wrote one blogger on http://www.junkfoodblog.com.
"I hope they don't try to launch it here in Ireland or I imagine they'll lose a lot of their fans."
Ben & Jerry's, a unit of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever Plc, prides itself on its commitment to friendly business. Its mission statement includes a pledge to show "a deep respect for human beings inside and outside our company and for the communities in which they live."
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Pa. Cat Nurses Rejected Pug Puppy
CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A pug puppy rejected by his mother has found a new, more welcoming family — a cat and her three kittens.
Kelly Kent, of Connellsville, said her 2-year-old cat, Zoey, has been nursing a black pug puppy since he was rejected by his mother in late March. Zoey doesn't usually like dogs but seems to have made an exception, Kent said.
The puppy, who belongs to Kent's neighbor, is about the same size as Zoey's kittens and regularly lines up for milk with his adopted feline siblings.
It is not unusual for mothers to adopt in nature, even if the baby is of another species, said William Shepherd, a Uniontown veterinarian. Shepherd said a puppy can drink a cat's milk, but warned that Zoey might not be able to produce enough as the young pug gets older and bigger.
The pug puppy, the runt of his litter, doesn't yet have a name.
___
Information from: The Daily Courier
CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A pug puppy rejected by his mother has found a new, more welcoming family — a cat and her three kittens.
Kelly Kent, of Connellsville, said her 2-year-old cat, Zoey, has been nursing a black pug puppy since he was rejected by his mother in late March. Zoey doesn't usually like dogs but seems to have made an exception, Kent said.
The puppy, who belongs to Kent's neighbor, is about the same size as Zoey's kittens and regularly lines up for milk with his adopted feline siblings.
It is not unusual for mothers to adopt in nature, even if the baby is of another species, said William Shepherd, a Uniontown veterinarian. Shepherd said a puppy can drink a cat's milk, but warned that Zoey might not be able to produce enough as the young pug gets older and bigger.
The pug puppy, the runt of his litter, doesn't yet have a name.
___
Information from: The Daily Courier
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House Blasted by 3,000 Gallons of Sewage
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Utility workers trying to blast out a grease clog from a sewer line forced 3,000 gallons of raw sewage into a couple's home, forcing them to abandon their house while hoping that the city makes good on a promise to clean up and repair the damage.
Mac and Meg McCormick say city leaders have also promised to pay for their stay in a hotel until the repairs are complete. The couple doesn't have any of the agreement in writing, and city officials have declined to discuss the case because it's ongoing.
"We feel we have no choice but to put our trust and faith in the hands of the city," Meg McCormick said this week as movers hauled damaged furniture from her house. "And I'll be honest, that's a little scary."
Scott Denham, the risk manager for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, declined to discuss the details of the sewage backup, but did say, "There's no question of the severity of this event."
City officials don't even know how much the repairs and cleanup will cost, Denham said. Meg McCormick said she has received estimates of $75,000 to $150,000. The house has a tax value of $101,300.
___
Information from: The Charlotte Observer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Utility workers trying to blast out a grease clog from a sewer line forced 3,000 gallons of raw sewage into a couple's home, forcing them to abandon their house while hoping that the city makes good on a promise to clean up and repair the damage.
Mac and Meg McCormick say city leaders have also promised to pay for their stay in a hotel until the repairs are complete. The couple doesn't have any of the agreement in writing, and city officials have declined to discuss the case because it's ongoing.
"We feel we have no choice but to put our trust and faith in the hands of the city," Meg McCormick said this week as movers hauled damaged furniture from her house. "And I'll be honest, that's a little scary."
Scott Denham, the risk manager for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, declined to discuss the details of the sewage backup, but did say, "There's no question of the severity of this event."
City officials don't even know how much the repairs and cleanup will cost, Denham said. Meg McCormick said she has received estimates of $75,000 to $150,000. The house has a tax value of $101,300.
___
Information from: The Charlotte Observer
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Oregon Man Survives 12 Nails to the Head
By SARAH SKIDMORE, Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man who went to a hospital complaining of a headache was found to have 12 nails embedded in his skull from a suicide attempt with a nail gun, doctors say.
Surgeons removed the nails with needle-nosed pliers and a drill, and the man survived with no serious lasting effects, according to a report on the medical oddity in the current issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery.
The unidentified 33-year-old man was suicidal and high on methamphetamine last year when he fired the nails — up to 2 inches in length — into his head one by one.
The nails were not visible when doctors first examined the man in the emergency room of an unidentified Oregon hospital a day later. Doctors were surprised when X-rays revealed six nails clustered between his right eye and ear, two below his right ear and four on the left side of his head.
The study did not say how long the nails were, and a hospital spokeswoman refused to release that information. A photo published in the study suggests the nails range from 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.
No one before is known to have survived after intentionally firing so many foreign objects into the head, according to the report, written by Dr. G. Alexander West, the neurosurgeon who oversaw the treatment of the patient.
The man at first told doctors he had had a nail gun accident, but later admitted it was a suicide attempt.
The nails came close to major blood vessels and the brain stem but did not pierce them. The patient was in remarkably good condition when he was transferred to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where the nails were removed.
The patient was later transferred to psychiatric care and stayed under court order for nearly a month before leaving against doctors' orders.
By SARAH SKIDMORE, Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man who went to a hospital complaining of a headache was found to have 12 nails embedded in his skull from a suicide attempt with a nail gun, doctors say.
Surgeons removed the nails with needle-nosed pliers and a drill, and the man survived with no serious lasting effects, according to a report on the medical oddity in the current issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery.
The unidentified 33-year-old man was suicidal and high on methamphetamine last year when he fired the nails — up to 2 inches in length — into his head one by one.
The nails were not visible when doctors first examined the man in the emergency room of an unidentified Oregon hospital a day later. Doctors were surprised when X-rays revealed six nails clustered between his right eye and ear, two below his right ear and four on the left side of his head.
The study did not say how long the nails were, and a hospital spokeswoman refused to release that information. A photo published in the study suggests the nails range from 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.
No one before is known to have survived after intentionally firing so many foreign objects into the head, according to the report, written by Dr. G. Alexander West, the neurosurgeon who oversaw the treatment of the patient.
The man at first told doctors he had had a nail gun accident, but later admitted it was a suicide attempt.
The nails came close to major blood vessels and the brain stem but did not pierce them. The patient was in remarkably good condition when he was transferred to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where the nails were removed.
The patient was later transferred to psychiatric care and stayed under court order for nearly a month before leaving against doctors' orders.
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Air Force One Subject of Internet Hoax
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A startling Internet video that shows someone spraying graffiti on President Bush's jet looked so authentic that the Air Force wasn't immediately certain whether the plane had been targeted.
It was all a hoax. No one actually sprayed the slogan "Still Free" on the cowling of Air Force One.
The pranksters responsible for the grainy, two-minute Web video — employed by a New York fashion company — revealed Friday how they pulled it off: a rented 747 in California painted to look almost exactly like Air Force One.
"I wanted to do something culturally significant, wanted to create a real pop-culture moment," said Marc Ecko of Marc Ecko Enterprises. "It's this completely irreverent, over-the-top thing that could really never happen: this five-dollar can of paint putting a pimple on this Goliath."
The video shows hooded graffiti artists climbing barbed-wire fences and sneaking past guards with dogs to approach the jumbo jet. They spray-paint a slogan associated with free expression.
After the video began circulating on the Web on Tuesday, the Air Force checked to see whether the plane had been vandalized.
"We're looking at it, too," said Lt. Col. Bruce Alexander, a spokesman for the Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing, which operates Air Force One. "It looks very real."
Alexander later confirmed that no such spray-painting had occurred.
Ecko acknowledged Friday that his company had rented a 747 cargo jet at San Bernardino's airport and covertly painted one side to look like Air Force One. Employees signed secrecy agreements and worked inside a giant hangar until the night the video was made. Ecko declined to say how much the stunt cost.
"It's not cheap," he said. "You have to be rich."
___
On the Net:
- Hoax video
- Air Force One
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A startling Internet video that shows someone spraying graffiti on President Bush's jet looked so authentic that the Air Force wasn't immediately certain whether the plane had been targeted.
It was all a hoax. No one actually sprayed the slogan "Still Free" on the cowling of Air Force One.
The pranksters responsible for the grainy, two-minute Web video — employed by a New York fashion company — revealed Friday how they pulled it off: a rented 747 in California painted to look almost exactly like Air Force One.
"I wanted to do something culturally significant, wanted to create a real pop-culture moment," said Marc Ecko of Marc Ecko Enterprises. "It's this completely irreverent, over-the-top thing that could really never happen: this five-dollar can of paint putting a pimple on this Goliath."
The video shows hooded graffiti artists climbing barbed-wire fences and sneaking past guards with dogs to approach the jumbo jet. They spray-paint a slogan associated with free expression.
After the video began circulating on the Web on Tuesday, the Air Force checked to see whether the plane had been vandalized.
"We're looking at it, too," said Lt. Col. Bruce Alexander, a spokesman for the Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing, which operates Air Force One. "It looks very real."
Alexander later confirmed that no such spray-painting had occurred.
Ecko acknowledged Friday that his company had rented a 747 cargo jet at San Bernardino's airport and covertly painted one side to look like Air Force One. Employees signed secrecy agreements and worked inside a giant hangar until the night the video was made. Ecko declined to say how much the stunt cost.
"It's not cheap," he said. "You have to be rich."
___
On the Net:
- Hoax video
- Air Force One
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Modern building rises in heart of ancient Rome
By Rachel Sanderson
ROME, Italy (Reuters) - After years of controversy, Rome on Friday unveiled the first modern building to rise in its ancient centre since dictator Benito Mussolini ruled Italy more than half a century ago.
Renowned U.S. architect Richard Meier was on hand for the inauguration of the Ara Pacis museum, a steel, glass and marble structure that has fired Roman passions with one critic comparing it to a giant petrol station.
"We've made something that is worthwhile," Meier responded to his critics at the gala opening. "To see it filled with people today is a great joy. Rome is a city where people walk and now this will be part of the itinerary," he told Reuters.
Meier's building -- the first to be erected in Rome since the 1930s -- was built to house the Ara Pacis, a 2,000-year-old altar commissioned by Roman Emperor Augustus to commemorate the pacification of what is today France and Spain.
Unlike the ancient artists who completed the altar's famous marble friezes in just four years, Meier battled to build the museum for more than a decade amid street protests and budget squabbles that sparked debate about the Eternal City's struggle to look to the future.
One former culture minister Vittorio Sgarbi on Thursday called it "an indecent cesspit by a useless architect paid two million euros". Some rightist lawmakers have threatened to dismantle and move it to the suburbs if they gain power in upcoming mayoral elections.
"Any work of architecture that has with it some discussion, some polemic, I think is good. It shows that people are interested, people are involved," Meier said, after telling Rome's centre-left mayor Walter Veltroni he hoped that he won a second term.
DOUBLE IDENTITY
Much of the pressure to drag Rome into the 21st century has come from Veltroni, an energetic, jazz-loving former communist.
He has staged free pop concerts at the Colosseum, introduced wireless hotspots to the lush Villa Borghese and pioneered all night shop opening as well as welcoming some of the world's greatest contemporary architects.
"This is a city where you can go from Bernini to Michelangelo to Julius Caesar to Meier. This is what we want to protect, Rome's double identity. The city as a rigorous protector of its past but also driven towards the future," Veltroni told Reuters.
Although Meier's Ara Pacis is the first building for decades to be built in the ancient centre -- alongside famous landmarks like Piazza Navona and the Spanish steps -- several of his contemporaries have already been busy in Rome's suburbs.
Award-winning Renzo Piano opened Rome's Auditorium concert centre in 2002, a building credited with changing Roman attitudes to contemporary building.
British-Iraqi Zaha Hadid is building a modern art gallery, Maxxi, half a mile north of the old city walls.
Next on the horizon is Massimiliano Fuksas who has conceived a convention centre for the south of the city, incorporating a large steel-and-Teflon "cloud".
By Rachel Sanderson
ROME, Italy (Reuters) - After years of controversy, Rome on Friday unveiled the first modern building to rise in its ancient centre since dictator Benito Mussolini ruled Italy more than half a century ago.
Renowned U.S. architect Richard Meier was on hand for the inauguration of the Ara Pacis museum, a steel, glass and marble structure that has fired Roman passions with one critic comparing it to a giant petrol station.
"We've made something that is worthwhile," Meier responded to his critics at the gala opening. "To see it filled with people today is a great joy. Rome is a city where people walk and now this will be part of the itinerary," he told Reuters.
Meier's building -- the first to be erected in Rome since the 1930s -- was built to house the Ara Pacis, a 2,000-year-old altar commissioned by Roman Emperor Augustus to commemorate the pacification of what is today France and Spain.
Unlike the ancient artists who completed the altar's famous marble friezes in just four years, Meier battled to build the museum for more than a decade amid street protests and budget squabbles that sparked debate about the Eternal City's struggle to look to the future.
One former culture minister Vittorio Sgarbi on Thursday called it "an indecent cesspit by a useless architect paid two million euros". Some rightist lawmakers have threatened to dismantle and move it to the suburbs if they gain power in upcoming mayoral elections.
"Any work of architecture that has with it some discussion, some polemic, I think is good. It shows that people are interested, people are involved," Meier said, after telling Rome's centre-left mayor Walter Veltroni he hoped that he won a second term.
DOUBLE IDENTITY
Much of the pressure to drag Rome into the 21st century has come from Veltroni, an energetic, jazz-loving former communist.
He has staged free pop concerts at the Colosseum, introduced wireless hotspots to the lush Villa Borghese and pioneered all night shop opening as well as welcoming some of the world's greatest contemporary architects.
"This is a city where you can go from Bernini to Michelangelo to Julius Caesar to Meier. This is what we want to protect, Rome's double identity. The city as a rigorous protector of its past but also driven towards the future," Veltroni told Reuters.
Although Meier's Ara Pacis is the first building for decades to be built in the ancient centre -- alongside famous landmarks like Piazza Navona and the Spanish steps -- several of his contemporaries have already been busy in Rome's suburbs.
Award-winning Renzo Piano opened Rome's Auditorium concert centre in 2002, a building credited with changing Roman attitudes to contemporary building.
British-Iraqi Zaha Hadid is building a modern art gallery, Maxxi, half a mile north of the old city walls.
Next on the horizon is Massimiliano Fuksas who has conceived a convention centre for the south of the city, incorporating a large steel-and-Teflon "cloud".
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TV seance claims to have reached John Lennon
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - A controversial television seance airing on Monday will claim it has reached the spirit of John Lennon, but viewers will have to pay $9.95 (5.58 pounds) to find out what the peace-loving Beatle has to say.
The special, being carried on pay-TV service iN Demand, was organised by the producers of a 2003 attempt to channel the late Princess Diana. That show failed to find Diana and received reviews that could have sunk the Titanic but it is estimated to have grossed close to $8 million.
Sight unseen, the Lennon effort has been attacked by the late Beatle's friends and fans as a tasteless effort to profit from his assassination 25 years ago. But producers say they are hoping to lure an audience that now loves such prime-time network TV shows as "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium."
The program features what is described as an Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or EVP, that a psychic on the show claims is the disembodied voice of Lennon speaking at a seance in one of his favourite New York restaurants, La Fortuna.
EVP is based on a belief that spirit voices communicate through radio and TV broadcast signals.
On the television show, filming at La Fortuna suddenly stops and a narrator says something odd has happened. They then claim that a mysterious voice can be heard on the voice feed of one of the psychics.
The producers then call in "EVP specialist" Sandra Belanger to examine the voice and she proclaims it the real deal.
"That's very consistent with a Class A EVP," she said, regarding the level and clarity of the voice. She also says the voice sounds like how Lennon would have talked.
Reuters was given a preview of the program, "The Spirit of John Lennon," on condition that it not reveal what the "voice" said during the taped seance.
Producer Paul Sharratt, who heads Starcast Productions and who calls himself a sceptic, said hearing the voice has made him a believer.
"The Spirit of John Lennon" is being done without the knowledge or consent of Lennon's estate or his widow Yoko Ono, who declined comment. Her long-time friend and spokesman Elliot Mintz has called the entire exercise "tacky, exploitative and far removed" from the icon's way of life.
"A pay-per-view seance was never his style," said Mintz.
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - A controversial television seance airing on Monday will claim it has reached the spirit of John Lennon, but viewers will have to pay $9.95 (5.58 pounds) to find out what the peace-loving Beatle has to say.
The special, being carried on pay-TV service iN Demand, was organised by the producers of a 2003 attempt to channel the late Princess Diana. That show failed to find Diana and received reviews that could have sunk the Titanic but it is estimated to have grossed close to $8 million.
Sight unseen, the Lennon effort has been attacked by the late Beatle's friends and fans as a tasteless effort to profit from his assassination 25 years ago. But producers say they are hoping to lure an audience that now loves such prime-time network TV shows as "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium."
The program features what is described as an Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or EVP, that a psychic on the show claims is the disembodied voice of Lennon speaking at a seance in one of his favourite New York restaurants, La Fortuna.
EVP is based on a belief that spirit voices communicate through radio and TV broadcast signals.
On the television show, filming at La Fortuna suddenly stops and a narrator says something odd has happened. They then claim that a mysterious voice can be heard on the voice feed of one of the psychics.
The producers then call in "EVP specialist" Sandra Belanger to examine the voice and she proclaims it the real deal.
"That's very consistent with a Class A EVP," she said, regarding the level and clarity of the voice. She also says the voice sounds like how Lennon would have talked.
Reuters was given a preview of the program, "The Spirit of John Lennon," on condition that it not reveal what the "voice" said during the taped seance.
Producer Paul Sharratt, who heads Starcast Productions and who calls himself a sceptic, said hearing the voice has made him a believer.
"The Spirit of John Lennon" is being done without the knowledge or consent of Lennon's estate or his widow Yoko Ono, who declined comment. Her long-time friend and spokesman Elliot Mintz has called the entire exercise "tacky, exploitative and far removed" from the icon's way of life.
"A pay-per-view seance was never his style," said Mintz.
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Here's an odd story that's close to home:
_____________________________________________________________
Indicted student continued with classes
Irving: District wasn't officially notified about sexual assault charges
By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - An 18-year-old student continued attending classes at The Academy of Irving ISD despite being indicted in October on felony charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
The district's policy is to reassign students believed to have committed a felony against another person to the Secondary Reassignment Center, an alternative campus. Officials said Friday they are investigating.
Grand Prairie police arrested Jonathan Elizardo in September in connection with two incidents involving a 13-year-old boy. He was released two days later on bond. Court papers say one incident took place in August and the other in spring 2005 at Mr. Elizardo's residence. No trial date has been set.
Mr. Elizardo's attorney, Kathy Lowthorp, said she had no comment on the case but in general believes the best place for such students is school.
"It's stupid to try to keep kids from going to school who need to be in school, who need to be rehabilitated," she said. "If the crime wasn't committed on campus, there's been no violation."
A relative of the boy, who is now 14, said she spoke with someone at The Academy in February and with someone else at the school this month, asking that Mr. Elizardo no longer be allowed to attend classes there. Now, she said, he is just weeks away from graduation.
"I really feel like he should be expelled for those types of charges," said the woman, who is not being named to protect the boy's identity. "Why give him the privilege of attending a school like that?"
She said she was told the district would investigate. The district confirmed Friday that Mr. Elizardo was still in enrolled at school.
He is on the specialty high school's medical track. He said on the school's Web site that his goal is to become an obstetrician/gynecologist and open a clinic for women and children.
Lane Ladewig, Irving's division director of campus operations, said Friday that the district had not been officially notified of the criminal case. He thinks that's because Mr. Elizardo is an adult.
"He may be found guilty or innocent, but we don't have to depend on an outcome of a trial before we can take action," Mr. Ladewig said.
Earlier this year, a case in Arlington raised concerns about school officials' authority to expel a student involved in a felony case.
Allen Roman, who is also being represented by Ms. Lowthorp, was attending Sam Houston High School while awaiting sentencing for his role in an armed robbery. School officials suspended him after being alerted to his crime through e-mail in January.
In March, he was sentenced to six months in jail, another six months in a drug rehabilitation program and then time in a halfway house.
Arlington school officials said that Mr. Roman's case revealed a loophole in state law: They don't have the power to expel students who commit serious crimes off campus. Arlington ISD Superintendent Mac Bernd said at the time that such students should be educated through the justice system.
State Rep. Toby Goodman, R-Arlington, has said he is drafting legislation to give districts the right to expel such students.
Mr. Roman and Mr. Elizardo's cases are unusual because both were charged in the adult court system rather than through the juvenile courts, which communicate more closely with schools.
Felicia Wasson, an assistant district attorney in Dallas County, said she was not aware that Mr. Elizardo was still attending school.
"I would hope he wasn't in a position to harm anyone else," she said.
_____________________________________________________________
Indicted student continued with classes
Irving: District wasn't officially notified about sexual assault charges
By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - An 18-year-old student continued attending classes at The Academy of Irving ISD despite being indicted in October on felony charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
The district's policy is to reassign students believed to have committed a felony against another person to the Secondary Reassignment Center, an alternative campus. Officials said Friday they are investigating.
Grand Prairie police arrested Jonathan Elizardo in September in connection with two incidents involving a 13-year-old boy. He was released two days later on bond. Court papers say one incident took place in August and the other in spring 2005 at Mr. Elizardo's residence. No trial date has been set.
Mr. Elizardo's attorney, Kathy Lowthorp, said she had no comment on the case but in general believes the best place for such students is school.
"It's stupid to try to keep kids from going to school who need to be in school, who need to be rehabilitated," she said. "If the crime wasn't committed on campus, there's been no violation."
A relative of the boy, who is now 14, said she spoke with someone at The Academy in February and with someone else at the school this month, asking that Mr. Elizardo no longer be allowed to attend classes there. Now, she said, he is just weeks away from graduation.
"I really feel like he should be expelled for those types of charges," said the woman, who is not being named to protect the boy's identity. "Why give him the privilege of attending a school like that?"
She said she was told the district would investigate. The district confirmed Friday that Mr. Elizardo was still in enrolled at school.
He is on the specialty high school's medical track. He said on the school's Web site that his goal is to become an obstetrician/gynecologist and open a clinic for women and children.
Lane Ladewig, Irving's division director of campus operations, said Friday that the district had not been officially notified of the criminal case. He thinks that's because Mr. Elizardo is an adult.
"He may be found guilty or innocent, but we don't have to depend on an outcome of a trial before we can take action," Mr. Ladewig said.
Earlier this year, a case in Arlington raised concerns about school officials' authority to expel a student involved in a felony case.
Allen Roman, who is also being represented by Ms. Lowthorp, was attending Sam Houston High School while awaiting sentencing for his role in an armed robbery. School officials suspended him after being alerted to his crime through e-mail in January.
In March, he was sentenced to six months in jail, another six months in a drug rehabilitation program and then time in a halfway house.
Arlington school officials said that Mr. Roman's case revealed a loophole in state law: They don't have the power to expel students who commit serious crimes off campus. Arlington ISD Superintendent Mac Bernd said at the time that such students should be educated through the justice system.
State Rep. Toby Goodman, R-Arlington, has said he is drafting legislation to give districts the right to expel such students.
Mr. Roman and Mr. Elizardo's cases are unusual because both were charged in the adult court system rather than through the juvenile courts, which communicate more closely with schools.
Felicia Wasson, an assistant district attorney in Dallas County, said she was not aware that Mr. Elizardo was still attending school.
"I would hope he wasn't in a position to harm anyone else," she said.
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Researchers Probe Ghost Sightings on Ship
MYSTIC, Conn. (AP) - Specialists in paranormal research are investigating whether a historic whaling ship might be home to the ghost of a long-ago seafarer.
A five-member team from the Rhode Island Paranormal Research group visited Mystic Seaport on Friday night to spend time on the Charles W. Morgan, a wooden whaling ship where several visitors have reported seeing the apparition.
The 165-year-old craft made 37 ocean voyages in search of whales during the 60 years it was in use. About 1,000 men worked on the Morgan over those decades.
The ship, due for a $3.5 million restoration next year, one of the main attractions at the Mystic Seaport maritime museum.
The Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group became interested in the Morgan after receiving reports from three different groups of people about the apparition.
The visitors said that while touring the ship last summer, they saw a man in what appeared to be 19th-century clothing working below deck. They said the man, who had a pipe in his mouth, nodded at them but did not speak.
When they went returned to the main deck and asked a museum interpreter what the man was doing, they were told that no one was down below and that no one was assigned to be on the boat that day.
"I automatically questioned it, but they insisted they saw something down there," Andrew Laird, founder of the paranormal research group, told The Day of New London.
He said that when he asked the three groups for more details, they responded with the same accounts. The three groups were from Massachusetts, Arizona and New York and did not know each other.
They visited within a week's time of each other.
"The fact that we had three reports that were the same made everyone's eyebrows go up," Laird said.
He said that he also received about 40 other reports of possible paranormal activity before those groups related their experiences.
Museum officials gave the group permission to conduct the investigation.
"We're interested in what they find out," said museum publicist Mike O'Farrell, who attended Friday night's investigation. "It's not so much we believe in ghosts and spirits, but it's a chance to do something fun."
Laird and the other investigators said their few hours on the ship convinced them that there was enough evidence of paranormal activity in certain areas to warrant a return visit with more sophisticated equipment.
Renee Blais, who described herself as a "sensitive" who uses touch and smell to connect with a place's energy, said she felt the presence of a seaman named Gerald.
She also described a sense of "sickness, death and despair" among about 15 men as they rode out a large storm in their cramped sleeping quarters.
Some museum employees might not be surprised by the speculation that the whaling ship is haunted. Dawn Johnson, a longtime museum interpreter who used to be assigned to the Morgan, said she used to hate to go down below and close up for the night.
"It was creepy down there at night," she said. "It's cold and clammy. You hear moans and creaking, and you wonder what it is."
Laird said that 90 percent of the time, his group finds a natural explanation for what people are experiencing, whether it's an animal making noise, something structural in the house or a hoax.
"We mainly go in to investigate. We're not saying a place is haunted. We go in with an open mind," he said.
The group also recently investigated reports at Ledge Light in New London Harbor, and believes the brick lighthouse is haunted by a woman and group of children. They plan to return there on June 3.
___
Information from: The Day
MYSTIC, Conn. (AP) - Specialists in paranormal research are investigating whether a historic whaling ship might be home to the ghost of a long-ago seafarer.
A five-member team from the Rhode Island Paranormal Research group visited Mystic Seaport on Friday night to spend time on the Charles W. Morgan, a wooden whaling ship where several visitors have reported seeing the apparition.
The 165-year-old craft made 37 ocean voyages in search of whales during the 60 years it was in use. About 1,000 men worked on the Morgan over those decades.
The ship, due for a $3.5 million restoration next year, one of the main attractions at the Mystic Seaport maritime museum.
The Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group became interested in the Morgan after receiving reports from three different groups of people about the apparition.
The visitors said that while touring the ship last summer, they saw a man in what appeared to be 19th-century clothing working below deck. They said the man, who had a pipe in his mouth, nodded at them but did not speak.
When they went returned to the main deck and asked a museum interpreter what the man was doing, they were told that no one was down below and that no one was assigned to be on the boat that day.
"I automatically questioned it, but they insisted they saw something down there," Andrew Laird, founder of the paranormal research group, told The Day of New London.
He said that when he asked the three groups for more details, they responded with the same accounts. The three groups were from Massachusetts, Arizona and New York and did not know each other.
They visited within a week's time of each other.
"The fact that we had three reports that were the same made everyone's eyebrows go up," Laird said.
He said that he also received about 40 other reports of possible paranormal activity before those groups related their experiences.
Museum officials gave the group permission to conduct the investigation.
"We're interested in what they find out," said museum publicist Mike O'Farrell, who attended Friday night's investigation. "It's not so much we believe in ghosts and spirits, but it's a chance to do something fun."
Laird and the other investigators said their few hours on the ship convinced them that there was enough evidence of paranormal activity in certain areas to warrant a return visit with more sophisticated equipment.
Renee Blais, who described herself as a "sensitive" who uses touch and smell to connect with a place's energy, said she felt the presence of a seaman named Gerald.
She also described a sense of "sickness, death and despair" among about 15 men as they rode out a large storm in their cramped sleeping quarters.
Some museum employees might not be surprised by the speculation that the whaling ship is haunted. Dawn Johnson, a longtime museum interpreter who used to be assigned to the Morgan, said she used to hate to go down below and close up for the night.
"It was creepy down there at night," she said. "It's cold and clammy. You hear moans and creaking, and you wonder what it is."
Laird said that 90 percent of the time, his group finds a natural explanation for what people are experiencing, whether it's an animal making noise, something structural in the house or a hoax.
"We mainly go in to investigate. We're not saying a place is haunted. We go in with an open mind," he said.
The group also recently investigated reports at Ledge Light in New London Harbor, and believes the brick lighthouse is haunted by a woman and group of children. They plan to return there on June 3.
___
Information from: The Day
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Man Recovered From Raft Puzzles Swedes
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Swedish authorities Saturday were investigating how a man calling himself a "stateless American" ended up floating on a raft of oil barrels and wood planks in the waters between Denmark and Norway.
The man — who carried no identification, spoke perfect English and said his name was George Williams — was found by a Norwegian oil tanker on Friday morning, floating in the Skagerak sea on a raft of four oil barrels held together by a frame of wooden planks.
He told police he had been thrown from a ship several days earlier and now wanted to go to New York, but offered little further information.
He asked to be taken in by Swedish authorities, and shielded his face from photographers when he was taken to a port in southern Sweden.
"If he was thrown off a ship, they must have thrown off the raft for him to sit on as well, so I don't know," Swedish marine police spokesman Bengt Albinsson said. "We are trying to figure out the circumstances, but we will have to see how much he wants to tell us."
The man claimed to be a "stateless American" born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1959, police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg told newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
"He says he has lived for a long time in the USA, but does not want to say where," Fuxborg said. "He has worked in Europe, but does not want to say where and with what. He is not seeking asylum in Sweden but wants to go to New York."
The man was taken to a hospital in southern Sweden to be treated for dehydration and a frostbitten foot, but did not seem seriously injured, authorities said.
He will be held in police custody until Monday, when authorities will contact the U.S. Embassy to try to confirm his identity, Fuxborg said.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Swedish authorities Saturday were investigating how a man calling himself a "stateless American" ended up floating on a raft of oil barrels and wood planks in the waters between Denmark and Norway.
The man — who carried no identification, spoke perfect English and said his name was George Williams — was found by a Norwegian oil tanker on Friday morning, floating in the Skagerak sea on a raft of four oil barrels held together by a frame of wooden planks.
He told police he had been thrown from a ship several days earlier and now wanted to go to New York, but offered little further information.
He asked to be taken in by Swedish authorities, and shielded his face from photographers when he was taken to a port in southern Sweden.
"If he was thrown off a ship, they must have thrown off the raft for him to sit on as well, so I don't know," Swedish marine police spokesman Bengt Albinsson said. "We are trying to figure out the circumstances, but we will have to see how much he wants to tell us."
The man claimed to be a "stateless American" born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1959, police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg told newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
"He says he has lived for a long time in the USA, but does not want to say where," Fuxborg said. "He has worked in Europe, but does not want to say where and with what. He is not seeking asylum in Sweden but wants to go to New York."
The man was taken to a hospital in southern Sweden to be treated for dehydration and a frostbitten foot, but did not seem seriously injured, authorities said.
He will be held in police custody until Monday, when authorities will contact the U.S. Embassy to try to confirm his identity, Fuxborg said.
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Air Force One Subject of Internet Hoax
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A startling Internet video that shows someone spraying graffiti on President Bush's jet looked so authentic that the Air Force wasn't immediately certain whether the plane had been targeted.
It was all a hoax. No one actually sprayed the slogan "Still Free" on the cowling of Air Force One.
The pranksters responsible for the grainy, two-minute Web video — employed by a New York fashion company — revealed Friday how they pulled it off: a rented 747 in California painted to look almost exactly like Air Force One.
"I wanted to do something culturally significant, wanted to create a real pop-culture moment," said Marc Ecko of Marc Ecko Enterprises. "It's this completely irreverent, over-the-top thing that could really never happen: this five-dollar can of paint putting a pimple on this Goliath."
The video shows hooded graffiti artists climbing barbed-wire fences and sneaking past guards with dogs to approach the jumbo jet. They spray-paint a slogan associated with free expression.
After the video began circulating on the Web on Tuesday, the Air Force checked to see whether the plane had been vandalized.
"We're looking at it, too," said Lt. Col. Bruce Alexander, a spokesman for the Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing, which operates Air Force One. "It looks very real."
Alexander later confirmed that no such spray-painting had occurred.
Ecko acknowledged Friday that his company had rented a 747 cargo jet at San Bernardino's airport and covertly painted one side to look like Air Force One. Employees signed secrecy agreements and worked inside a giant hangar until the night the video was made. Ecko declined to say how much the stunt cost.
"It's not cheap," he said. "You have to be rich."
___
On the Net:
- Hoax video
- Air Force One
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A startling Internet video that shows someone spraying graffiti on President Bush's jet looked so authentic that the Air Force wasn't immediately certain whether the plane had been targeted.
It was all a hoax. No one actually sprayed the slogan "Still Free" on the cowling of Air Force One.
The pranksters responsible for the grainy, two-minute Web video — employed by a New York fashion company — revealed Friday how they pulled it off: a rented 747 in California painted to look almost exactly like Air Force One.
"I wanted to do something culturally significant, wanted to create a real pop-culture moment," said Marc Ecko of Marc Ecko Enterprises. "It's this completely irreverent, over-the-top thing that could really never happen: this five-dollar can of paint putting a pimple on this Goliath."
The video shows hooded graffiti artists climbing barbed-wire fences and sneaking past guards with dogs to approach the jumbo jet. They spray-paint a slogan associated with free expression.
After the video began circulating on the Web on Tuesday, the Air Force checked to see whether the plane had been vandalized.
"We're looking at it, too," said Lt. Col. Bruce Alexander, a spokesman for the Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing, which operates Air Force One. "It looks very real."
Alexander later confirmed that no such spray-painting had occurred.
Ecko acknowledged Friday that his company had rented a 747 cargo jet at San Bernardino's airport and covertly painted one side to look like Air Force One. Employees signed secrecy agreements and worked inside a giant hangar until the night the video was made. Ecko declined to say how much the stunt cost.
"It's not cheap," he said. "You have to be rich."
___
On the Net:
- Hoax video
- Air Force One
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Woman nabbed driving corpse across country
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A 53-year-old German woman who was driving her dead mother across country to save on mortuary transportation costs was fined by police for disturbing a dead person's peace.
"You're not allowed to transport dead people in your private car," said Ralf Schomisch, police spokesman in Koblenz, where the car was found after a tip-off from a mortuary.
"The corpse was on the back seat without a seat belt, which in this case didn't really matter. But it was covered up with clothing. It is a misdemeanour."
He said the woman, who was not identified, was charged with violating burial laws and disturbing a dead person's peace. She would face a modest fine, Schomisch said.
The woman had already driven 450 km (280 miles) after picking up the body from a mortuary in the northern city of Bremerhaven. She wanted to bury her mother, who died of natural causes aged 90, in her hometown Daun.
_____________________________________________________________
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A 53-year-old German woman who was driving her dead mother across country to save on mortuary transportation costs was fined by police for disturbing a dead person's peace.
"You're not allowed to transport dead people in your private car," said Ralf Schomisch, police spokesman in Koblenz, where the car was found after a tip-off from a mortuary.
"The corpse was on the back seat without a seat belt, which in this case didn't really matter. But it was covered up with clothing. It is a misdemeanour."
He said the woman, who was not identified, was charged with violating burial laws and disturbing a dead person's peace. She would face a modest fine, Schomisch said.
The woman had already driven 450 km (280 miles) after picking up the body from a mortuary in the northern city of Bremerhaven. She wanted to bury her mother, who died of natural causes aged 90, in her hometown Daun.
_____________________________________________________________
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China's army bans snorers, tattoo-wearers
BEIJING, China (Reuters) - China's army recruits can look forward to a better night's sleep thanks to a new regulation banning chronic snorers from joining up.
One of a raft of physical and mental traits banned from the army, the new standards governing recruitment into China's military schools also blacklist drug-takers, tattoo-wearers and overweight applicants, Chinese newspapers reported on Monday.
"Given that chronic snorers' sounds disturb the life of others, a new regulation ... has been added," the Beijing Times newspaper quoted army official Li Chunming as saying.
Prominent tattoos are also banned in the 2.3-million-strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest standing force.
"Recruits with any marks, words or designs exceeding two centimetres in diameter on exposed parts of the body when wearing short sleeves -- and harm the army's image -- do not qualify," said the Beijing Times. "Tattoos on other parts of the body are limited to three centimetres."
Also on the hit-list are the short, the skinny and the fat. And applicants will sit written psychological tests and have their urine tested for evidence of drug-taking.
The purpose of the new regulations is to bring modern recruitment procedures tailored to the new youth of today's society, the Beijing Times said.
"Along with social and economic development and improvements in people's living standards, young people's physical and mental growth has experienced vast changes," the paper said.
BEIJING, China (Reuters) - China's army recruits can look forward to a better night's sleep thanks to a new regulation banning chronic snorers from joining up.
One of a raft of physical and mental traits banned from the army, the new standards governing recruitment into China's military schools also blacklist drug-takers, tattoo-wearers and overweight applicants, Chinese newspapers reported on Monday.
"Given that chronic snorers' sounds disturb the life of others, a new regulation ... has been added," the Beijing Times newspaper quoted army official Li Chunming as saying.
Prominent tattoos are also banned in the 2.3-million-strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest standing force.
"Recruits with any marks, words or designs exceeding two centimetres in diameter on exposed parts of the body when wearing short sleeves -- and harm the army's image -- do not qualify," said the Beijing Times. "Tattoos on other parts of the body are limited to three centimetres."
Also on the hit-list are the short, the skinny and the fat. And applicants will sit written psychological tests and have their urine tested for evidence of drug-taking.
The purpose of the new regulations is to bring modern recruitment procedures tailored to the new youth of today's society, the Beijing Times said.
"Along with social and economic development and improvements in people's living standards, young people's physical and mental growth has experienced vast changes," the paper said.
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Fabulous bling, comrade: London hosts Russia's rich
By Peter Graff
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Dust off your bling and your Dolce and Gabbana: the Russians are coming to London -- and they are bringing their roubles.
London hosts the Russian Economic Forum this week, a conference that brings top-level newsmakers from Moscow and attracts serious investor attention.
But the yearly event has long been upstaged by its parallel fashion and shopping extravaganza, as some of the planet's nouveaux-richest people -- with their spectacularly skinny wives and equally fat wallets -- descend on the capital.
It kicked off this year ahead of the conference with a red carpet party and catwalk show of Russian fashion designers at the stately Victoria and Albert museum on Friday night.
Outside the Bentleys were parked on the pavement and the paparazzi snapping away. Inside, a bi-lingual it-crowd in haut couture sipped honey-vodka cocktails and champagne.
Luxury retailers are salivating.
"They don't balk at wearing silk, fur, cashmere and shiny finished clothes. They can happily wear a three-quarter length full leather coat with fur collar, for instance," said Bruno Barba of upscale department store Selfridges.
And that's just the men.
Russian men have bought six 6,000 pound coats made of rare Vicuna wool in just the past week at the store, he said.
As for the women, they will be jetting back to Moscow with their "favourite brands by far" -- Dolce and Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli and Missoni -- and "expensive, showy pieces from our jewellery counters".
"Bling is definitely a trend they are sensitive to," he added.
SOUVENIR SHOPPING
Years after they first started snapping up town houses in London's Mayfair district and sending their children to fancy private schools in the English countryside, Russia's post-Soviet millionaires are no longer exotic sights in the UK.
The country's second richest man is the young Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who turned up a few years ago and bought the ultimate London souvenir -- Chelsea Football Club.
Banker Alexander Smolensky has since bought the TVR sports car factory in Blackpool for his twenty-something son Nikolai.
And increasingly Russians have become known in London for glamour as well as wealth, not least since six-foot-two-inch (1.88 metre) blonde Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004, instantly becoming as famous for her legs as for her serve.
The designers from Friday night's fashion show -- along with a hand-picked group of other "high profile Russians" -- were invited to Harrods department store for a "lunch and shopping event" on Saturday, said Harrods spokesman Michael Mann.
They were met by "personal shopping assistants" and sales reps from Harrods Estates, the store's real estate arm which sells upscale apartments in its posh Knightsbridge neighbourhood. Countess Spencer, step-mother of the late Princess Diana, was on hand to give a speech.
Harrods employs full-time Russian-speaking staff in its tax-free purchases department to help its wealthy clients from the East fill out their paperwork to escape VAT.
"The Russians are amongst our top-spending and most important customers. It's important to make them feel welcome," Mann said.
By Peter Graff
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Dust off your bling and your Dolce and Gabbana: the Russians are coming to London -- and they are bringing their roubles.
London hosts the Russian Economic Forum this week, a conference that brings top-level newsmakers from Moscow and attracts serious investor attention.
But the yearly event has long been upstaged by its parallel fashion and shopping extravaganza, as some of the planet's nouveaux-richest people -- with their spectacularly skinny wives and equally fat wallets -- descend on the capital.
It kicked off this year ahead of the conference with a red carpet party and catwalk show of Russian fashion designers at the stately Victoria and Albert museum on Friday night.
Outside the Bentleys were parked on the pavement and the paparazzi snapping away. Inside, a bi-lingual it-crowd in haut couture sipped honey-vodka cocktails and champagne.
Luxury retailers are salivating.
"They don't balk at wearing silk, fur, cashmere and shiny finished clothes. They can happily wear a three-quarter length full leather coat with fur collar, for instance," said Bruno Barba of upscale department store Selfridges.
And that's just the men.
Russian men have bought six 6,000 pound coats made of rare Vicuna wool in just the past week at the store, he said.
As for the women, they will be jetting back to Moscow with their "favourite brands by far" -- Dolce and Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli and Missoni -- and "expensive, showy pieces from our jewellery counters".
"Bling is definitely a trend they are sensitive to," he added.
SOUVENIR SHOPPING
Years after they first started snapping up town houses in London's Mayfair district and sending their children to fancy private schools in the English countryside, Russia's post-Soviet millionaires are no longer exotic sights in the UK.
The country's second richest man is the young Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who turned up a few years ago and bought the ultimate London souvenir -- Chelsea Football Club.
Banker Alexander Smolensky has since bought the TVR sports car factory in Blackpool for his twenty-something son Nikolai.
And increasingly Russians have become known in London for glamour as well as wealth, not least since six-foot-two-inch (1.88 metre) blonde Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004, instantly becoming as famous for her legs as for her serve.
The designers from Friday night's fashion show -- along with a hand-picked group of other "high profile Russians" -- were invited to Harrods department store for a "lunch and shopping event" on Saturday, said Harrods spokesman Michael Mann.
They were met by "personal shopping assistants" and sales reps from Harrods Estates, the store's real estate arm which sells upscale apartments in its posh Knightsbridge neighbourhood. Countess Spencer, step-mother of the late Princess Diana, was on hand to give a speech.
Harrods employs full-time Russian-speaking staff in its tax-free purchases department to help its wealthy clients from the East fill out their paperwork to escape VAT.
"The Russians are amongst our top-spending and most important customers. It's important to make them feel welcome," Mann said.
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Dutch PM admits to being "a bit boring"
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has admitted to being "maybe a bit boring", news agency ANP reported on Saturday.
Balkenende added this did not have to be a negative point, although "a bit of cheerfulness surely wouldn't hurt".
Dutch public broadcaster NOS said the prime minister was replying to a suggestion at a party event that the Christian Democrats should try to target younger people by campaigning in discotheques. Balkenende hinted he was not suitable for that.
Last year, Belgium was forced to apologise after Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht described Balkenende as a mix between boy wizard Harry Potter and a "brave righteous bourgeois" without charisma.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has admitted to being "maybe a bit boring", news agency ANP reported on Saturday.
Balkenende added this did not have to be a negative point, although "a bit of cheerfulness surely wouldn't hurt".
Dutch public broadcaster NOS said the prime minister was replying to a suggestion at a party event that the Christian Democrats should try to target younger people by campaigning in discotheques. Balkenende hinted he was not suitable for that.
Last year, Belgium was forced to apologise after Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht described Balkenende as a mix between boy wizard Harry Potter and a "brave righteous bourgeois" without charisma.
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Axe-wielding men abduct dad from wedding
HARARE (Reuters) - Three Zimbabwe men prevented their father from committing bigamy by abducting him from his own wedding, the state-owned Sunday Mail reported.
The three men, who accuse their father of neglecting their mother, brandished axes and knives at wedding guests before bundling their father into a car and whisking him away.
Wedding guests at the school hall in Harare tried to salvage the occasion by turning it into a church service. But the bride left in tears.
The pastor who was supposed to preside over the wedding urged guests to still enjoy the food and give gifts.
"Although there are no papers to be signed here, I am going to give my gift and say 'God bless this family'," the paper quoted the pastor as telling the guests.
HARARE (Reuters) - Three Zimbabwe men prevented their father from committing bigamy by abducting him from his own wedding, the state-owned Sunday Mail reported.
The three men, who accuse their father of neglecting their mother, brandished axes and knives at wedding guests before bundling their father into a car and whisking him away.
Wedding guests at the school hall in Harare tried to salvage the occasion by turning it into a church service. But the bride left in tears.
The pastor who was supposed to preside over the wedding urged guests to still enjoy the food and give gifts.
"Although there are no papers to be signed here, I am going to give my gift and say 'God bless this family'," the paper quoted the pastor as telling the guests.
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"Wrong-site" surgery appears to be rare
By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It's a patient's worst nightmare -- to wake up from surgery to find that the surgeon has operated on the wrong organ or limb. It happens, but thankfully not often, according to a new report.
The study also indicates that surgical "site-verification" procedures designed to prevent so-called "wrong-site" surgery are not always effective.
Wrong-site surgery includes procedures performed on the wrong side of the body, the wrong body part, the wrong lesion or growth, such as moles on the skin, the wrong vertebra of the spine, or even the wrong patient.
"We learned that fortunately this kind of mistake is very rare and only occurs one time in 113,000 operations," Dr. Mary R. Kwaan from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston told Reuters Health.
To be exact, there were 40 cases of wrong-site surgery among a total of 2,826,367 operations performed in 30 Massachusetts hospitals between 1985 and 2004. The investigators excluded cases involving the wrong spinal vertebra, leaving 25 non-spine wrong-site operations, Kwaan and her colleagues report in the Archives of Surgery.
Medical records were available for 13 of the non-spine cases, and showed that one patient suffered a significant permanent injury, two suffered major temporary injuries and 10 suffered minor temporary injuries.
When the researchers dug deeper into these 13 of cases, they found that implementation of proper surgical procedures would have prevented only eight of these mistakes (62 percent).
Hospitals are required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the hospital accrediting body, to verify the site and patient before surgery; mark the surgical site on the patient; and take a "time out" in the operating room before starting the procedure to review the checklist.
"Patients should be aware that all hospitals are required to have confirmation of the site and/or side of surgery on the day of surgery," Kwaan told Reuters Health.
"They can help facilitate this process of 'double-checking' by understanding what operation they are going to have. If they are confused, they should ask their doctor to clarify it with them - even that very morning of surgery," Kwaan said.
Patients are always asked to sign a consent form, which describes the planned procedure, at some point after the decision is made for surgery. "They need to be able to understand the description of the procedure, including what exact part of the body is involved," Kwaan said.
Still, "No protocol will prevent all cases," she and her associates write. "Therefore, it will ultimately remain the surgeon's responsibility to ensure the correct site of operation in every case."
SOURCE: Archives of Surgery April 2006.
By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It's a patient's worst nightmare -- to wake up from surgery to find that the surgeon has operated on the wrong organ or limb. It happens, but thankfully not often, according to a new report.
The study also indicates that surgical "site-verification" procedures designed to prevent so-called "wrong-site" surgery are not always effective.
Wrong-site surgery includes procedures performed on the wrong side of the body, the wrong body part, the wrong lesion or growth, such as moles on the skin, the wrong vertebra of the spine, or even the wrong patient.
"We learned that fortunately this kind of mistake is very rare and only occurs one time in 113,000 operations," Dr. Mary R. Kwaan from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston told Reuters Health.
To be exact, there were 40 cases of wrong-site surgery among a total of 2,826,367 operations performed in 30 Massachusetts hospitals between 1985 and 2004. The investigators excluded cases involving the wrong spinal vertebra, leaving 25 non-spine wrong-site operations, Kwaan and her colleagues report in the Archives of Surgery.
Medical records were available for 13 of the non-spine cases, and showed that one patient suffered a significant permanent injury, two suffered major temporary injuries and 10 suffered minor temporary injuries.
When the researchers dug deeper into these 13 of cases, they found that implementation of proper surgical procedures would have prevented only eight of these mistakes (62 percent).
Hospitals are required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the hospital accrediting body, to verify the site and patient before surgery; mark the surgical site on the patient; and take a "time out" in the operating room before starting the procedure to review the checklist.
"Patients should be aware that all hospitals are required to have confirmation of the site and/or side of surgery on the day of surgery," Kwaan told Reuters Health.
"They can help facilitate this process of 'double-checking' by understanding what operation they are going to have. If they are confused, they should ask their doctor to clarify it with them - even that very morning of surgery," Kwaan said.
Patients are always asked to sign a consent form, which describes the planned procedure, at some point after the decision is made for surgery. "They need to be able to understand the description of the procedure, including what exact part of the body is involved," Kwaan said.
Still, "No protocol will prevent all cases," she and her associates write. "Therefore, it will ultimately remain the surgeon's responsibility to ensure the correct site of operation in every case."
SOURCE: Archives of Surgery April 2006.
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Brothel made to remove Saudi, Iran flags
BERLIN (Reuters) - A brothel in Cologne was forced to black out the flags of Saudi Arabia and Iran from a huge World Cup soccer-themed advertising banner after angry Muslims complained and threatened violence.
The 24-metre-high by 8-metre-wide (78 by 26 ft) banner displayed on the side of the building features a scantily-clad woman and the slogan: "The world as a guest of female friends," a variation on the World Cup slogan: "The world as a guest of friends."
The flags of the 32 nations taking part in the month-long soccer tournament which kicks off in June are shown below.
Those of Saudi Arabia and Iran have been covered with black paint, according to a worker at the brothel who would only give his name as Peter.
"Some people turned up and demanded that we remove the flags," Peter told Reuters. "First they were sensible but then they became threatening. The management here decided to do it so that we didn't get any more trouble."
"They didn't want these two flags to be associated with this go-go girl on the banner as it's a brothel and it offended their religious feelings," said a spokeswoman for the Cologne police.
"The owner removed the flags even though he wasn't legally obliged to as no crime had been committed."
BERLIN (Reuters) - A brothel in Cologne was forced to black out the flags of Saudi Arabia and Iran from a huge World Cup soccer-themed advertising banner after angry Muslims complained and threatened violence.
The 24-metre-high by 8-metre-wide (78 by 26 ft) banner displayed on the side of the building features a scantily-clad woman and the slogan: "The world as a guest of female friends," a variation on the World Cup slogan: "The world as a guest of friends."
The flags of the 32 nations taking part in the month-long soccer tournament which kicks off in June are shown below.
Those of Saudi Arabia and Iran have been covered with black paint, according to a worker at the brothel who would only give his name as Peter.
"Some people turned up and demanded that we remove the flags," Peter told Reuters. "First they were sensible but then they became threatening. The management here decided to do it so that we didn't get any more trouble."
"They didn't want these two flags to be associated with this go-go girl on the banner as it's a brothel and it offended their religious feelings," said a spokeswoman for the Cologne police.
"The owner removed the flags even though he wasn't legally obliged to as no crime had been committed."
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TexasStooge
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Man glues hands and mouths of hostages
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - A Southern California man took two men hostage at gunpoint, stripped them naked, bound their hands together with super glue and poured glue into their mouths, police said Friday.
Rene Avila, 36, was arrested early Friday after releasing his hostages during the night. They were treated at the scene and released.
The motive behind the bizarre incident was unclear but police speculate a possible relationship among the three may have triggered Avila's behavior.
"There was some kind of dispute there and he put super glue in their mouths before calling his sister," Los Angeles police LT. Ernest Eskridge said. "We don't know if that was his cry for help."
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - A Southern California man took two men hostage at gunpoint, stripped them naked, bound their hands together with super glue and poured glue into their mouths, police said Friday.
Rene Avila, 36, was arrested early Friday after releasing his hostages during the night. They were treated at the scene and released.
The motive behind the bizarre incident was unclear but police speculate a possible relationship among the three may have triggered Avila's behavior.
"There was some kind of dispute there and he put super glue in their mouths before calling his sister," Los Angeles police LT. Ernest Eskridge said. "We don't know if that was his cry for help."
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