Colorado School Officials ignorant, Inept, insensitive and insane.

Colorado transgender girl not allowed to use school bathroom

Published - Feb 27 2013 04:30PM CST

P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press

(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Coy Mathis sits with a book at her home in Fountain, Colo., Monday Feb. 25, 2013. Coy has been diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder. Biologically, Coy, 6, is a boy, but to his parents, three sisters and brother, family members and the world, Coy is a transgender girl.

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (AP) — At first, Jeremy and Kathryn Mathis didn't think much of their son's behavior. Coy took his sister's pink blanket, and shunned the car they gave him for Christmas.
Then, Coy told them he only wanted to wear girls' clothes. At school, he became upset when his teacher insisted he line up with the boys. All the while, he was becoming depressed and withdrawn, telling his parents at one point he wanted to get "fixed" by doctors.
When the Mathises learned he had gender identity disorder — a condition in which someone identifies as the opposite gender — they decided to help Coy live as a girl. And suddenly, she came out of her shell.
"We could force her to be somebody she wasn't, but it would end up being more damaging to her emotionally and to us because we would lose the relationship with her," Kathryn Mathis said. "She was discussing things like surgery and things like that before and she's not now, so obviously we've done something positive."
Now, her family is locked in a legal battle with the school district in Fountain, a town 82 miles south of Denver, over where Coy, 6, should go to use the bathroom — the girls' or, as school officials suggest, one in the teachers' lounge or another in the nurse's office. Her parents say using anything other than the girls' bathroom could stigmatize her, and open her up to bullying.
Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 declined to comment, citing a complaint filed on behalf of the Mathises with the Colorado Office of Civil Rights that alleges a violation of the state's anti-discrimination law. School officials, however, sent a letter to the family, explaining their decision to prevent Coy from using the girls' bathroom at Eagleside Elementary, where she is a first-grader.
"I'm certain you can appreciate that as Coy grows older and his male genitals develop along with the rest of his body, at least some parents and students are likely to become uncomfortable with his continued use of the girls' restroom," the letter read.
School districts in many states, including Colorado, have enacted policies that allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. Sixteen states, including Colorado, have anti-discrimination laws that include protections for transgender people.
Legal battles such as the one the Mathises are facing are rare, said Michael Silverman of the New York-based Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund who is representing the Mathises. He sees about a dozen cases each year. Silverman refers most cases to social workers who work with districts to work out a solution to a well-recognized medical condition.
Psychologists don't know what causes the condition, but it was added to the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual in 1980 — some three decades after the psychological concept of gender began to be developed.
The manual's fifth edition, due out in May, changes the name to Gender Dysphoria — which refers to the distress from the gender conflict — partly out of concerns that the current name is stigmatizing, said Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York psychiatrist who serves on the working group that suggested the changes.
There's no consensus on how to treat it in somebody Coy's age because of a lack of data on the disorder in prepubescent children. Research suggests that many children gradually become "comfortable with their natal gender," an APA task force reported in 2011. But the goal of any treatment should be to help the child adjust to its reality, the APA said.
Coy is a triplet, with a brother, Max, and a sister, Lily. At 5 months old, Coy was already expressing a preference for items associated with girls, the Mathises recalled. A friend gave them baby blankets, and Coy took a pink blanket meant for Lily. The Mathises didn't think too much of it.
They bought Coy toys normally associated with boys, but she showed little interest. While Max was excited when Coy opened her Christmas present in 2009 to find a toy car from the Disney movie "Cars," Coy simply set it down and walked away.
As Coy got older, she found and wore her older sister's bathing suit, which had fringe that made it look like a tutu.
Still they pressed on in raising a boy, encouraging Coy to wear boy clothes and bought shirts that had pictures of sports, monsters and dinosaurs on them. She showed little interest, and refused to leave the house if she had to wear boy's clothes.
It didn't bother her father, an ex-Marine, that Coy liked to wear pink bows and dress up in girls clothes. That is, until Coy insisted on leaving the house with them on.
"She would see the stereotypical outfits laid out and then get this look of defeat and then would go, 'I'd just rather stay home,'" her mother said. "It wasn't about the pink. It was about people knowing she was a girl."
When Coy asked to be taken to the doctor to be "fixed," they took her to a psychologist who diagnosed her.
Coy started kindergarten in August 2011 but once the Mathises learned that Coy's behavior wasn't a phase, they allowed her to wear dresses and identify herself as a girl in the middle of the school year. The withdrawn child who was lagging behind in school began to flourish.
In kindergarten, the children used unisex bathrooms. Last fall, in first grade, the district allowed her to use the girls' bathroom. But then they told the Mathises that Coy would have to either use the staff bathroom or the one in the nurse's office starting in January. Coy is being home-schooled now, along with her siblings, while the issue is being litigated.
The family hopes that the district will reconsider, especially since using the bathroom is done in private anyway, and that Coy isn't stigmatized by being forced to use a different bathroom than her peers.
"The doctor's bathroom is only for sick people and I'm not sick," said Coy, wearing white tights, a red dress and sweater and sitting on the living room couch at her house as her siblings played a computer game nearby at the kitchen table.

Pissed Off/On Defendant

Dismemberment defendant wears trash bag in court

Published - Feb 28 2013 12:13PM CST

NEW YORK (AP) — A 23-year-old man charged with killing and dismembering his mother appeared in court Thursday dressed in a garbage bag, and said he'd done nothing wrong.

Bahsid McLean was charged with murder, hindering prosecution and criminal possession of a weapon. According to a criminal complaint, he stabbed Tanya Byrd and then cut up her body with help from another man.

Byrd, a 45-year-old home health aide, was last seen alive Monday. Her remains were stuffed in four plastic garbage bags and scattered along four city blocks, police said.

"I didn't do anything wrong," McLean said during court.

McLean's attorney for arraignment, Jerry Iannece, said his client wore the bizarre covering because he had been urinating on himself. The shorts he had been wearing were soaked through, so court personnel gave him the trash bag to wear, Iannece said.

Iannece said his client was off his medication, but didn't say what type. McLean was held without bail, placed on suicide watch in protective custody and was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.

"Everybody's innocent until proven guilty," Iannece said. "Obviously this is a troubling case, but we will investigate and defend it thoroughly."

Medical examiners determined that Byrd died from a stab wound to the neck and officially ruled her death a homicide in the chilling case, which came to light when a neighbor's dog sniffed out one of the bags early Tuesday on a Bronx street.

A dog found the first bag — a heavy-duty plastic garbage bag stuffed in a duffel bag, with the woman's bloodied leg inside — in a trash pile in the Melrose neighborhood.

Police then found the three other bags and their macabre contents, including the victim's head, part of her torso and other limbs. Witnesses told police an SUV dropped the bags off Monday night or early Tuesday.

Byrd's family said she had wanted her son out of the house, and there was speculation that he had been abusing her other child, authorities said.

The young man had several arrests, including one for assaulting two police officers in Brooklyn in 2010. His father, James, told the Daily News that he did destructive things. "He set fires. Nobody could control him."

McLean and an acquaintance, William Harris, 26, were first arrested on charges of unlawfully dissecting a human body and hindering prosecution. Each man initially implicated the other in the killing, authorities said.

A blade was discovered in the apartment McLean shared with his mother, and a saw was found inHarris' home, authorities said.

Defendant Before Trial

The murder charge was later added for McLean. Harris was being held pending an arraignment. It wasn't clear if he had an attorney.  It wasn't clear if the plastic bag he wore was adequate to contain his urine during the trial.

Bursting Balloon

British survivor leaped from balloon

Published - Feb 28 2013 

(The Associated Press)

Foreign tourists visit Hatshepsut Temple, in Luxor, Egypt, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Nineteen people were killed Tuesday in what appeared to be the deadliest hot air ballooning accident on record. The tragedy raised worries of another blow to the nation's vital tourism industry, decimated by two years of unrest since the 2011 revolution that toppled autocratHosni Mubarak. The southern city of Luxor has been hit hard, with vacant hotel rooms and empty cruise ships.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's lead investigator said Thursday he is seeking to interview the only tourist who survived the crash of a hot air balloon in the southern city of Luxor, a British national who jumped from the balloon after it caught fire and before it plummeted to the ground, killing 19 others, including his wife.

The Briton, Michael Rennie, escaped with only minor injuries and no burns, a neurologist who is treating him at a Cairo hospital, Mahmoud el-Shennawy, told The Associated Press.

The only other survivor — the balloon's Egyptian pilot, who also jumped out — suffered heavy burns.

The sightseeing balloon on a sunrise flight Tuesday over the ancient monuments of Luxor was carrying 20 tourists from Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Belgium, Hungary and France. It was in the process of landing when a fuel line for the burner heating the air in the balloon broke, sparking a fire, according to preliminary indications, investigators have said.

Rennie and the Egyptian pilot, Momin Murad, managed to escape the balloon's gondola when it was still relatively close to the ground. The balloon then rose back up some 300 meters (1,000 feet) into the air. The fire spread to the balloon itself, which burst, sending it plummeting into a sugar cane field.

Witnesses have said some of the tourists still trapped in the burning balloon as it rose jumped to their deaths trying to escape.

Amateur video taken from another balloon flying nearby shows it crashing back to the earth like a fireball into a sugar cane field.

El-Shennawy said Rennie is expected to be released Friday and will head straight to the airport.

"Some psychiatrists, and myself, talked with him. He seems to be accepting the situation," he said.

---

Tumbleweeds invade West Texas home

Published - Feb 27 2013 08:54PM CST

Arizona tumbleweeds

MIDLAND, Texas (AP) — A brutal storm system that brought 19 inches of snow to some areas of West Texas has delivered something entirely different to one homeowner.
Winds in excess of 60 mph that accompanied Monday's blizzard pushed hundreds of tumbleweeds against a Midland home.
KWES-TV of Odessa and Midland reports (http://bit.ly/YYtSt2 ) one side of Josh Pitman's home is obscured by tumbleweeds stacked one atop the other, blocking some doorways.
Pitman says he recently tore down a fence that would have protected his home from the rambling weeds.
He says it's the "most ridiculous thing" he's ever seen.
He expects to spend the rest of the week clearing away the tumbleweeds.

Michigan man arrested after 911 call leads to bizarre sex toy fetish

Published - Feb 15 2013 05:12PM CST

Brian Gillie, Strange News Examiner

A Michigan man was arrested Monday after a 911 call led to a rather unusual discovery. According to a Feb. 15, 2013 release from The Smoking Gun , an unidentified Michigan man was found sitting in his Ford Fusion “sucking on a dildo”.
A witness called Trenton Police complaining that a man was sitting in his car in Elizabeth Park with a dildo in his mouth. Police arrived and discovered the man sitting in his car without a seatbelt and with a “flesh-colored dildo” sitting in the passenger seat.
According to the police report , when police asked the 67-year-old man what he was doing, he responded:
“Sucking on a dildo, I’m sorry.”
The report then claims that the man confessed to police that he had a problem with sex toys.
The elderly man, unable to finish pleasuring his sex toy, was taken to the Trenton Jail where he was booked and charged with Disorderly Conduct and no seat belt.
The dildo was taken into evidence and tagged as evidence #794. 

Lions, Tigers and Bears...Oh, My!

Lions, bears removed from gangster's property

Published - Feb 27 2013 09:51AM CST

ALISON MUTLER, Associated Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A notorious gangster known as Nutzu the Pawnbroker has been indicted for heading a gang charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, blackmail and illegally possessing weapons, but the public seems to be more interested in his pets: four lions and two bears.
Press reports, not confirmed by authorities have claimed that Ion Balint — his real name — use the lions to intimidate rivals and victims.
When he rode away from prison on a black stallion in 2010, Balint played up that fearsome image.
"You said I fed men to the lions?" Balint can be heard saying on a tape heard by The Associated Press. "Why don't you come over and I'll give you some lions!"
Authorities won't speculate about why Balint kept lions and bears, as well as thoroughbred horses and canaries, at his high-walled and heavily guarded estate in the poorest part of Bucharest.
"Many untruths are being reported," Balint's son-in-law Marius Vlad told The Associated Press on Wednesday, referring to other rumors of a torture chamber.
Bystanders and relatives who gathered near the gates of the estate described Balint, 48, as a good neighbor and an animal lover, and said they weren't bothered by roaring lions.
"We can hear them every day but only when they're hungry or the female is in heat," said Gabriela Ionescu, 36, robed in a dressing gown and clutching her toddler daughter's hand. "They don't disturb us at all."
Authorities allege that Balint and his brother Vasile headed a criminal network which controlled much of the underworld activity in Bucharest, a city of 2 million. Some 400 police and detectives were involved in the investigation which led to the arrest last week of 67 suspects, including the Balint brothers.
In 2009, Balint was convicted of human trafficking, violence and pimping, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. That was reduced to six years but Balint was free after a year.
On Wednesday, the four lions and two bears were sedated, put in cages and removed Wednesday by environmental authorities and the Vier Pfoten animal welfare charity. The animals, which generally appeared in good condition, will be temporarily housed in a zoo and may be eventually relocated in South Africa, animal welfare officers said.
Mircea Pupaza, commissioner of the National Environment Guard, told The Associated Press that Balint had no documentation or health records for the animals, which he's kept illegally for 10 years. He could face a year in prison and a hefty fine for illegally keeping wild animals.

"The lions are a status symbol for him," said Livia Cimpoeru, a Vier Pfoten spokeswoman. She declined to speculate whether they had a more sinister purpose.

Austrian car owner finds would-be thief asleep

Published - Feb 26 2013 10:57AM CST

Associated Press

VIENNA (AP) — Like anywhere, dozing off behind the wheel in Austria can be deadly. But for one teen-ager it will likely result in a charge of attempted car theft.

State broadcaster ORF cites police saying they are have identified a 17-year-old male as the likely suspect after a woman found her vehicle partially hot-wired, a door forced open and a youth apparently drunk and fast asleep inside.

ORF said Tuesday the unnamed culprit rewired the vehicle to its normal state and walked off after being discovered Sunday. He was traced after the owner reported the incident to police.

A policeman in Salzburg province confirmed the incident on the phone. He refused to identify both himself and those involved.

Well, Just Piss On It, Then.

Bunnies taking toll on cars at Denver airport

Feb 15 2013 10:19AM CST

DENVER (AP) — Silly wabbits.

Does this guy look like an auto terrorist rabbit?  Behind that cute look beats the heart of a car terrorist.

The furry creatures are wreaking havoc on cars parked at Denver International Airport by eating spark plug cables and other wiring.

To stop the problem, federal wildlife workers are removing at least 100 bunnies a month while parking companies install better fences and build perches for predator hawks and eagles.

KCNC-TV (http://tinyurl.com/awjoyne ) reported Thursday there's another way to stop the damage that can cost thousands of dollars to repair.

Mechanics say coating the wires with fox or coyote urine can rob the rabbits of their appetite. Fox urine can be purchased at many hunting shops.

Wow! That's Family Fireworks!

Argentine woman marries her own twin's convicted killer

 Feb 14 2013 

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — This was a Valentine's Day wedding that the bride's family wanted no part of: An Argentine woman married the man convicted of killing her twin sister.

Neighbors were against it as well. A mob gathered outside the civil registry office where Thursday's wedding took place, throwing stones and eggs.

The bride, 23-year-old Edith Casas, says Victor Cingolani is innocent of killing her twin sister Johana more than two years ago, despite his conviction and 13-year prison sentence. The groom says he is innocent and will be absolved on appeal.

They both want to have children but that will have to wait. Cingolani, 28, was taken back to prison in handcuffs immediately after the nuptials. Edith Casas waited for hours until the crowd dispersed and it was safe to leave.

The bride's mother thinks she's crazy and sought to block the wedding, but a judge found her capable of making her own decisions.

The body of Johana Casas was found in a field in the town of Pico Truncado in southern Santa Cruz province in 2010 with two gunshots in the chest.

Police detained Cingolani, who was Johana's former boyfriend, and Marcos Diaz, a neighbor who was believed to have been her boyfriend at the time of her death. Police later released Diaz, citing a lack of evidence against him.

Cingolani told local station Todo Noticias that his relationship with Edith began after he broke up with Johana, and that he had nothing to do with her death. "All the evidence points to another person."

The mother of the twins, Marcelina del Carmen Orellana, said Thursday that she couldn't understand her daughter's decision.

"I've always said that she is threatened by the Cingolani family; I'm afraid that something might happen to her because he is a killer and a manipulator," she told local media.

More On U.S. Cannibalism - 'Ain't she sweet.'

Prosecutors lose rulings in NY cannibalism case

Published - Feb 14 2013 03:27PM CST

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — As cannibalism continues to rise in the U.S. a federal judge has dealt a blow to prosecutors trying to prove a New York police officer plotted to kill and eat women.

Federal Judge Paul Gardephe (GAHR'-duh-fee) made several rulings Thursday on what can be admitted into evidence at the trial of Officer Gilberto Valle (VAL'-ee). In almost every instance, he ruled for the defense.

In one ruling, the judge said an FBI agent cannot testify about cellphone data unless the government can show he used reliable methods to produce his facts. The government has said it will use cellphone data to prove the officer was doing surveillance on potential kidnap victims.

Defense lawyers say Valle had no criminal intent.

The judge also excluded two pictures and a video. The photo above was deemed too inflammatory and could prevent the defendant's having a fair trial.  And the judge says he'd let the founder of a fetish website testify from Russia via videotape.

Gays Launch Attack By Sandwiches on Group Opposed to Gay Marriage

Gay Gunman Who Sought To Rub Sandwiches In Employees Faces After Killing Them Pleads Guilty To Wounding Security Guard

By REUTERS

February 6, 2013

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gunman who wounded a guard at a conservative Washington lobbying group's offices last year pleaded guilty to terrorism and other charges on Wednesday, admitting to a bizarre plan to kill people there and rub sandwiches in their faces because the group opposed gay marriage, authorities said.

Floyd Corkins II, 28, of Herndon, Virginia, told investigators he sought to kill as many people as possible at the Family Research Center offices and then shove sandwiches from the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain into their faces, the Justice Department said in a statement.

The 1,600-store Chick-fil-A chain made headlines in July after its president, Dan Cathy, said he opposed same-sex marriage.

Corkins' planned assault on the downtown Washington offices was thwarted by a security guard who subdued him despite being shot in the arm.

Corkins, a former volunteer at a Washington gay community center, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to committing an act of terrorism while armed as well as assault and weapons-transportation charges, the statement said.

His conviction is the first under a local 2002 anti-terrorism law.

A statement of offense signed by Corkins and prosecutors said that Corkins targeted the Family Research Council because of its views, including its stance against gay marriage.

Corkins shot the guard with a 9 mm handgun he pulled from a backpack that also held 50 rounds of ammunition and 15 wrapped sandwiches from Chick-fil-A.

Sentencing is set for April 29. The terrorism and assault charges each carry maximum sentences of 30 years and the weapons-related charge has a maximum of 10 years in prison.        

Give me back my damned snakes, infidels!

Ky. pastor wants snakes back confiscated by Tenn.

Feb 13 2013 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Pastor Jamie Coots insists he wasn't trying to wriggle out of anything or rattle anyone's cage when he drove five snakes through Tennessee. He just wanted to get the serpents to church on time in Kentucky.
Coots handles snakes as part of worship services at Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro. In this case, the five snakes confiscated last month by Tennessee wildlife officials were bought in Alabama for $800 and intended for use at the religious service. Now, in addition to fighting a police citation, Coots wants the state to return the three rattlesnakes and two copperheads he purchased in Eastaboga, Ala., along with the boxes used to transport the venomous creatures.

"They feel they have a right to take them for whatever reason," Coots said.  Others have claimed a 1st Amendment Freedom of Religious right to possess snakes for worship.  There have been no comments from the snakes.

Coots is due in court in Knoxville, Tenn., on Feb. 25 to face charges of transporting illegal reptiles and transporting the snakes in improper containers. The charges stem from a pair of traffic stops in Knoxville on Jan. 31.

Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers initially stopped Coots on Interstate 40 for having windows with too dark a tint. After being released with a warning, he was stopped again. This time, wildlife officials were called and the snakes were confiscated. The five snakes are being cared for at the Rainforest Adventure Zoo in Sevierville, Tenn.

Tennessee bars possession of any type of poisonous snake.

Coots said he misunderstood Tennessee law, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to pass through Tennessee.
"I was under the impression you had 24 hours to transport through or in and out of Tennessee," Coots said.

Coots says his need for the snakes is Biblical. Chapter 16 of the Gospel According to Mark states, in part: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Coots takes that verse at face value.
"We literally believe they want us to take up snakes," Coots told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "We've been serpent handling for the past 20 or 21 years."

Owning certain snakes in Kentucky is legal — within limits. The serpents must be a native species and a person can have no more than five of each variety. In this case, the timber rattlers and copperheads would have qualified under the law, said Mark Marraccini, a spokesman for Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Snake handling has led Coots into trouble in recent years. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources in 2008 charged Coots with trafficking in snakes. Coots lost his right to get a license for a year, but a family member applied for and received the permits.
Snakes can also be brought into Kentucky, but a separate permit is needed for that.
"That's essentially so we know what's coming into the state," Marraccini said.
Coots buys the snakes from suppliers in South Carolina and Alabama. Getting them may be a challenge in the future.

"If I can find a way around Tennessee, I won't go through there anymore," Coots said. "We're going to have to go pretty quick and get more when a little money comes back in. We need them.  I'm not going to get these yokels in Middlesboro to stand up and yell, 'Praise Jesus' and throw money in the pot if I'm not up front with my hands on these venomous creatures."

Heart Attack Grill No. 1 fan dies of heart attack

Published - Feb 12 2013 09:25PM CST

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas has died of a heart attack. He was the second unpaid mascot to die in the past two years.

John Alleman, 52, suffered an attack while waiting at a bus stop in front of the diner last week. He was taken off life support Monday, the Las Vegas Sun reported (http://bit.ly/12HUXqT).

The medically themed diner is famous for its huge hamburgers, extra-fat milkshakes and fries cooked in lard. It uses the tagline: "Taste worth dying for."

Owner Jon Basso told the Sun that Alleman came to the restaurant daily and encouraged passing tourists to try its calorie-laden offerings.

"He never missed a day, even on Christmas," Basso said. "People just loved him. He connected with people in a real way."

Alleman became an unofficial mascot for the restaurant, which features waitresses in nurse garb. His caricature as "patient John" graced its merchandise and menus.

In 2011, another unofficial spokesman, a 575-pound man named Blair River, died at age 29. At the time, friends said pneumonia may have been the cause of death.

In 2012, a man in his 40s was hospitalized after he began sweating and shaking while eating a 6,000-calorie Triple Bypass burger at the downtown Las Vegas restaurant.

The ominously named diner features tongue-in-cheek health warnings and casts customers as patients. Eaters are given surgical gowns as they choose from a calorically extravagant menu.

Basso said Alleman weighed about 180 pounds and his death showed heart attacks can happen to anyone.

Want a College Degree? Sue.

Pa. grad student sues, says C-plus cost her $1.3M

Feb 13 2013 10:55AM CST

EASTON, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania graduate student Megan Thode wasn't happy about the C-plus she received for her internship, saying the mediocre grade kept her from getting her desired degree and becoming a licensed therapist.
Thode is suing her professor and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, demanding that her grade be changed. She's also seeking monetary damages.
A judge is hearing testimony on the case this week in Northampton County Court.
The Express-Times of Easton reports (http://bit.ly/VUdwAU) that her professor, Amanda Eckhart, stands by the grade. She says Thode earned zero out of 25 points in class participation.
Lehigh attorney Neil Hamburg says it would be unprecedented for the judge to order that her grade be changed.
Thode contends the C-plus cost her $1.3 million. She says that's the economic value of a master's degree in counseling psychology.

God Saves Hundreds After First Sending Tornado to Get Them

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Jeff Revette ran from his car and lay face-down in the grass next to the red-brick wall of a church as a tornado roared toward him, with debris scattering and electrical transformers exploding. Twenty seconds later, bricks were strewn across a flattened pickup truck a mere 10 feet away amid toppled trees and power lines.

Revette, a 43-year-old National Guard soldier who returned from a deployment to Afghanistan about a year ago, stood up unharmed. A woman who had been driving the smashed pickup and had taken cover near him was pinned by some insulation and other debris, but she was OK after Revette lifted the wreckage off her.

"It's just amazing," he said. "God is real. I am one blessed man."  Revette apparently believed the tornado was going to kill him but God had a last minute change in plans.

The powerful twister tore a path across at least three counties, injuring more than 60 people — but residents marveled that no one died. Officials said several circumstances converged to ensure no lives were lost in what should have been a deadly storm: Sirens and TV broadcasts gave people as much as 30 minutes of warning; the University of Southern Mississippi was emptier than usual because of Mardi Gras; and most businesses were either closed or quiet because it was a Sunday.
Forecasters were able to closely track where the storm was headed and had confirmed reports from both people on the ground and from radar, making it easier to give warning, said weather service meteorologist Chad Entremont.

The sheer scope of the damage made it difficult to do a full assessment. Some 50 roads were closed at one point because of felled trees, downed power lines and debris. About 200 homes and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed, with another 100 apartments left uninhabitable. Several thousand remained without power, though the electricity was expected to be restored to most customers later Monday, Gov. Phil Bryant said.

Bryant said the twister carved a path of destruction roughly 75 miles long, though National Weather Service officials have not yet determined the tornado's exact path or how long it was on the ground. However, early indications show it was an EF3 tornado with wind speeds reaching 145 mph in parts of Hattiesburg, Entremont said.

This twister was part of a storm cell moving faster than usual, meaning it was likely to cover more ground. Many tornadoes travel just a few miles, Entremont said.
While more tornadoes were not in the forecast, heavy rain was expected into Tuesday. And that could make cleanup efforts even more difficult, said National Weather Service meteorologist Brad Bryant in Jackson, Miss.

On Monday, rain seemed to be adding to the misery as people tried to put tarps over leaky roofs and move belongings to dry ground. Chainsaws could be heard around Hattiesburg as people tried to cut up trees that fell onto homes. Crews were removing debris, but flooding and blocked roads hampered their work.

John Cline was among those trying to salvage his already damaged home as he worked to find a way to shut off a broken pipe filling his house with water. A massive pine tree about 4 feet around split his home nearly in two.

Cline had just gotten home from work Sunday when he turned on the news and realized the tornado was headed his way. He said he opened the back door and could hear the roar, so he ran to a closet in the hallway. He said it wasn't long before the tree came crashing through the ceiling and landed about 3 feet to his right. He struggled to keep the closet door closed because the wind kept pulling it open.
"I was fighting the tornado," he said.

On the USM campus, trees were snapped in half around the heavily damaged Alumni House, where part of the roof was ripped away. Windows in a nearby building were blown out, and heavy equipment worked to clear streets nearby in a heavy rain after the worst of the weather had passed.
The university was under a state of emergency and told people to stay away from campus until further notice.

Dot Peek had just arrived home about five minutes before the tornado hit and huddled in her bedroom with her son, adult grandson and other relatives. That bedroom was the only room not substantially damaged by falling trees and debris. The rest of the home was a wreck. Peek's truck was smashed; boards and debris floated in her swimming pool; a tree crushed her pontoon boat.
Peek heeded the warning of sirens, saying "they don't go off for nothing. But people who don't pay attention to them are stupid."

However, when asked if it was the alarms that saved her family, Peek shook her head and replied: "It's God. My grandson was praying as loud as he could."

The Great Finnish Mobile Phone Throw

Teenager Sets New World Record at Mobile-Phone Throwing Contest

August 20th, 2012 

Every year, the Finnish town of Savonlinna hosts a fun and relaxing phone-throwing contest where participants are invited to take out all their frustration on their handhelds by throwing them as far as possible. This year, a Finnish teenager managed to set a new world record, with a throw of over 101 meters.
Ever since 2000, when it was first organized, the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship has become an international event drawing in participants from all over the world. According to reports of Finnish insurance companies, there are lots of phones laying on the bottom of Finland’s lakes, causing a serious environmental problem due to the toxicity of their batteries. In an attempt to convince people there are better ways of getting rid of their faulty mobile devices, a Savonlinna-based translation and interpretation company called Fennolingua organized a mobile-throwing contest that immediately drew the attention of media all around the world. In the following years, the event became even more popular gathering throwers from every continent eager to show their hurling skills.

Photo: Christine Lund

On the official site of the competition, Mobile Phone Throwing is labeled as  ”the only sport where  you can pay back all the frustrations and  disappointments caused by these modern equipments”. Yet, competitors are not allowed to use their own cell-phones. Although many users have asked to throw their own handhelds as payback for their weak batteries or frequent signal drops, all contestants have to throw phones provided by Fennolingua. On the upside, the approved gadgets include all kinds of brands and models, with weights varying from 220 grams to over 400 grams, allowing competitors to choose the one that best suits their throwing style. The fun competition is made up of three categories: over the shoulder, where contestants try to hurl the mobile phones as far as possible, freestyle, where throwers are judged on aesthetics and creativity, and under 12, where kids can show their phone-throwing skills.

Photo: Christine Lund 

This year the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship took place on August 18. Finnish teen Ere Karjalainen, who said he drank the night before in preparation for the event, set a new mobile phone throwing record, with a distance of 101.46 meters, whilst in the women’s competition, a hammer-throwing athlete hurled the phone 42.47 meters. After the contest ended, all phones were gathered and sent to a recycling plant, thus staying true to the competition’s official description – a sport that combines recycling philosophy and fun.

Tough Love in Siberia?

 February 6th, 2013 

The kids at the No. 317 kindergarten in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia are making themselves immune to flu viruses and winter colds by walking outside naked at temperatures as low as -15 degrees Celsius and pouring buckets of freezing cold water over their bodies.
Ever since photos and videos of the extreme hardening process were exposed in the media, the Siberian kindergarten has come under fire from parents worried about the children’s well-being. But caretakers like Margarita Filimonova insist the practice is totally safe, as the children are only allowed to go outside in the freezing weather after three years of slow training and medical testing. It might seem extreme, but the staff insist the practice makes the children fitter and improves their health significantly. Kindergarten No. 317 has been hardening its children for the last 13 years, and some of the kids who went here went on to become Olympic champions in various sports. It’s the only institution of its kind in the region which uses this kind of extreme exercises.

Entire Philippine Town Mourns Death of Giant Crocodile

Philippine town mourns largest captive crocodile

Feb 11 2013 

JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A remote southern Philippine town has gone into mourning over the death of the world's largest saltwater crocodile in captivity, even though it was blamed for the deaths of several villagers.
Bunawan town plans to preserve the remains of the 1-ton crocodile, named Lolong, in a museum to keep tourists coming and stop the community from slipping back into obscurity, the mayor said Monday.
Lolong was declared dead Sunday after being found floating on its back with a bloated stomach in a pond in an ecotourism park which had begun to draw tourists, revenue and development because of the immense reptile, Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said.
"The whole town, in fact the whole province, is mourning," Elorde said. "My phones kept ringing because people wanted to say how affected they are."

Even though Lolong was blamed for the deaths of several villagers over the years, Bunawan villagers grew to love the giant reptile because it came to symbolize the rich biodiversity of the marsh where it was captured. The vast complex of swamp forests, shallow lakes, lily-covered ponds and wetlands is home to many animals, including threatened species such as the Philippine hawk eagle.
Various religious groups offered prayers Monday and spiritual leaders also planned to perform a tribal funeral rite, which involves butchering chickens and pigs to thank forest spirits for the fame and other blessings the crocodile has brought, Elordie said.
The rite is to be held at the ecotourism park, where the reptile was a star attraction, drawing foreign tourists, scientists and wildlife journalists to Bunawan, a town of 37,000 people about 515 miles (830 kilometers) southeast of Manila.
The crocodile's capture in September 2011 sparked celebrations in the town. It was caught with steel cable traps during a hunt prompted by the death of a child in 2009 and the later disappearance of a fisherman. Water buffalos have also been attacked by crocodiles in the area.
About 100 people led by Elorde pulled the crocodile from a creek using ropes and then hoisted it by crane onto a truck.
Philippine officials had planned to construct a road to the park to accommodate the growing number of tourists, Elorde said.
He said Lolong will be preserved so tourists and villagers can continue to marvel at it.
"I'd like them to see the crocodile that broke a world record and put our town on the map," Elorde said.

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Living with Wolves – The Amazing Story of Werner Freund

By Sumitra on February 7th, 2013 Category: Animals, Pics

79-year-old Werner Freund has a unique gift. The ex-paratrooper and now wolf-researcher from Germany can get along with wolves so well, it’s almost like he’s a member of their pack. In fact, it’s been 40 long years since he started living among wolves and rearing them from pups at his ‘Wolfspark’ sanctuary , located in Merzig,  in the German province of Saarland. The close relationship between Werner and his wolves is quite obvious from pictures of him leaning back on his haunches and howling, and of the wild beasts eating meat straight from his mouth.

Wolves are generally a feared species; come into close quarters and your chances of making it out alive are quite slim. But things are different in the case of Werner. It’s like they’ve accepted him as one of their own. When Werner is around, his wolves are actually playful, docile and submissive towards him. Perhaps it’s because he’s successfully asserted his dominance as the alpha male in the pack. The park is inhabited by wolves from six different packs around the world, including Siberian, Arctic, Canadian, European and Mongolian ones. They were mostly acquired as cubs from animal parks or zoos and hand-reared by Werner.

Anywhere in the Mountains
Feb. 10, 2013

As people continue to search for ever newer ways to endanger their lives and health, one of the latest to claim attention is mountain unicycling.  It's true.  Riding through dangerous mountain passes, over loose sand and gravel on one-wheel cycles, difficult to manage on flat, secure surfaces, has emerged as the latest boutique risk activity.  No statistics on the number of aficionados or deaths resulting from the latest extreme activities are available but increasing sales of unicycles especially designed for mountain use suggest the numbers are rapidly on the increase.

Cruise Ship Safety Drill Results in Death of Five Crew Members and Injuries to 3 Others

5 dead in cruise ship lifeboat drill in Spain

Published - Feb 10 2013 11:12AM CST

ARTURO RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press

LA PALMA, Canary Islands (AP) — A lifeboat from a British-operated cruise ship fell upside down into the sea at port in Spain's Canary Islands during a safety drill, killing five crew members and injuring three others Sunday, officials said. About 1,400 passengers were on board, but none were involved in the accident.

Thomson Cruises confirmed the incident involving the Thomson Majesty ship on the island of La Palma, saying "there have sadly been five crew fatalities and three crew injuries."

"One person has been discharged from hospital and we expect the other two people to be released from hospital imminently," the British company said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the families of those involved."

Investigators were trying to determine what caused the lifeboat to plummet into the water.

Rescue personnel were called to the dockside at 1205 GMT (7:05 a.m. EST) after "a lifeboat with occupants had fallen overboard from a cruise ship docked at the pier of Santa Cruz port in La Palma," a regional government statement said.

A small, white two-hulled lifeboat could be seen capsized beside the large ship. Around 1,400 passengers were aboard at the time of the Thomson Majesty ship, but were not in any way involved in the accident, authorities said.

The ship had been due to sail Sunday afternoon to the Portuguese port of Funchal on the mid-Atlantic island of Madeira.

Three of the dead were Indonesian men, one was a Filipino man and another was a man from Ghana, authorities said. The injured were all men, two aged 30 and another, a Greek national, was 32.

The lifeboat picture here was taken prior to its fall upside down from the cruise ship.

The local authorities of La Palma canceled Carnival festivities that had been due to be held on the island Sunday, but said they would go ahead as planned on Monday.

Swedes Not Always Smartest Kids On the Block

Swedish ice pole-sitting contest has 6 winners

Feb 09 2013 

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Six contestants have braved butt-numbing cold and boredom to win an annual ice pole-sitting contest in northern Sweden.

Two women and four men shared the 20,000-kronor prize ($3,100) for remaining on 8.25-foot-tall (2.5-meter) blocks of ice during the 48-hour contest, which ended Saturday.  The "ice poles' used were in the minds of the event organizer(s). Each contestant walked away with a stunning $516 US.

Authentic Ice Poles

Competitors said the worst part of the competition was not the cold — temperatures dipped below -18 F (-28 C) — but the monotony, even though they were allowed to come down for 10-minute toilet breaks every other hour.

Organizer Annica Andersson, who doesn't have much to do, said the contest has been held annually for a dozen years, and was brought to the Swedish town of Vilhelmnina by a local resident who had participated in a similar competition in Russia.

Botched Police Hunt Injures Innocent Civilians

Hunt for ex-cop goes on amid Calif. snowstorm

Feb 08 2013 12:52PM CST

GREG RISLING, Associated Press

(Associated Press)

This undated photo released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows suspect Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles officer. Dorner, who was fired from the LAPD in 2008 for making false statements, is linked to a weekend killing in which one of the victims was the daughter of a former police captain who had represented him during the disciplinary hearing. Authorities believe Dorner opened fire early Thursday on police in cities east of Los Angeles, killing an officer and wounding another. Police issued a statewide "officer safety warning" and police were sent to protect people named in the posting that was believed to be written by Dorner. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Police Department)

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — A Los Angeles police official says investigators are keeping all options open in the manhunt for the former LAPD officer suspected of three murders.

Searchers are combing a snowy mountain east of Los Angeles where Christopher Dorner's truck was found Thursday, but Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese says it's not known if he's on foot either on or off the mountain.

Law enforcement officers have thus far injured 3 innocent civilians mistakenly believed to be Dorner. LAPD officers guarding a target named in the manifesto shot and wounded two women in suburban Torrance who were in a pickup truck delivering newspapers. Investigators said Maggie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were in a Toyota Tacoma, similar to Dorner's Nissan Titan. Carranza had minor hand injuries. Hernandez was hospitalized with a gunshot wound in the back. A lawyer said they had no warning.

Minutes later, Torrance officers responding to a report of gunshots encountered a dark pickup matching the description of Dorner's, police said. A collision occurred and the officers fired on the pickup. The unidentified driver was not hit and it turned out not to be the suspect vehicle, they said. Albanese says a package sent by Dorner to CNN's Anderson Cooper is being reviewed by the LAPD, and that another media source may have been similarly contacted.

The LAPD fired Dorner in 2008. Albanese says it's not known why the violence is occurring now.

Dorner is believed to have multiple weapons including an assault rifle. Albanese says bullets from such a weapon can penetrate body armor.

Tools of the Witchcraft Trade

Feb 8,2013
Mozambique

An astonishingly high number of elderly people were killed in Mozambique between 2011 and 2012 over allegations of witchcraft. Many of them sexually and physiologically abused, not to mention deprived of food and water necessities.

Recently during the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), chairperson for the Third Age Form, Antoni Sitoe explained, “…witchcraft and other superstitious allegations are the leading cause behind the rising cases of violence against elderly people across the country.” The number unfortunately are astonishingly shocking.

A recent study reported, 60 cases of violence against elderly people were reported in the first quarter of the year in over six provinces. These again, being the instances that were reported and not left unheard.
Another study conducted by NGO Help Age found an astounding 6 out of every 10 elderly women had been a victim of violence within their lifetime.

Many, including Janet Duffield, director of NGO Help Age, are helping to work towards adoption of a law that will protect many against violence.

Anecdotal evidence suggests the practice of witchcraft and human cannibalism are on the rise worldwide, including in the U.S.  (see earlier reports of cannibalism on this blog.)

A Mother's Love

Police: NY mom used kiss to give jailed son drugs

Published - Feb 07 2013 07:22PM CST

Associated Press

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

This photo undated provided by the Yates County Sheriff’s Office shows in Penn Yan, N.Y., Kimberly Margeson. Margeson has been charged on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 with criminal sale of a controlled substance and promoting prison contraband for passing Oxycodone pills to her incarcerated son as she kissed him during a visit. (AP Photo/Yates County Sheriff’s Office)

PENN YAN, N.Y. (AP) — Police say an upstate New York woman passed drugs to her son while kissing him when she visited him in jail.

Sheriff's deputies in Yates County tell local media outlets 54-year-old Penn Yan resident Kimberly Margeson was visiting her son last week when she hid oxycodone pills and passed them from her mouth to his while giving him a kiss.

Police haven't said how the drugs were discovered.

Margeson pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of criminal sale of a controlled substance and promoting prison contraband. She's free after posting bail.

Authorities say her 30-year-old son also was charged with promoting prison contraband. He remains in jail on an unrelated felony weapon possession charge, and a lawyer for him couldn't be contacted.

Spit Wedding - Some Blessing

At a Massai wedding in Kenya it is not uncommon to see the bride’s father bless his daughter by spitting on her head and breasts before she leaves the village with her new husband.  In some instances the groom insists his bride take a bath before consummating the marriage.

Saturday Night Fish Fry

Iceland, Feb 5, 2013

A solitary figure surveys millions of pounds of dead herring accumulated in an Icelandic fjord.  The stench from the rotting fish is likely to discourage any use of the fjord for some time, especially for swimming.  Authorities have provided no explanation for the massive fish kill.  Some local fishermen and women, who are superstitious, claim it was a protest by the herring population against over-fishing.
Who knows?

Bizarre Accident Costs California Teens Their Fingers

SOUTH EL MONTE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in Southern California say a boy and a girl had fingers torn off during a game of tug-of-war at their high school.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Miguel Garcia told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune (http://bit.ly/WpolN8 ) that doctors will try to reattach the fingers belonging to two South El Monte High School students.

School district official Edward Zuniga declined to identify the students, but the Tribune reports the girl is a senior on the soccer team and the boy is a football player.

Zuniga says the students were participating in a lunchtime activity celebrating homecoming Monday.

Authorities didn't say how many fingers were lost or provide details on how the game resulted in the injuries.

Bam Bam the Bighorn vs. Modern Technology

Wyo. sheep known for butting vehicles at park dies

Feb 05 2013 

Associated Press

LANDER, Wyo. (AP) — A bighorn sheep named Bam Bam because of his habit of butting vehicles at a Wyoming park has died with his horns, likely of natural causes.

He was the last survivor of the bighorn sheep herd in Sinks Canyon State Park near Lander.

Bam Bam became a local celebrity of sorts when he began showing up near the park's main road in 2007 and allowed people to pet him. He earned the name Bam Bam because he liked to butt vehicles.

He could be heard in the parking lot ramming vehicles, and most park employees have dents, broken taillights and other evidence of their association with Bam Bam. It was not known if any of the vehicles butted by Bam Bam were seriously damaged.  He simply had an aversion to cars.

Bam Bam was friendly with people and liked to be petted.

Fearing for the sheep's and visitors' safety, park managers moved Bam Bam to an enclosed state facility near Wheatland in 2009.

Sinks Canyon Superintendent Darrel Trembly says Bam Bam will be mounted by a taxidermist and put on display in the park's visitor center.

Lice Are Nice in the Summertime

Multi-family house for rent.  A little ghoulish but for spreading housing costs it might be worth a look.  The lice in the first floor apartment could be a problem for the squeamish but maybe the critters  could be lured to the upper floors with the right bait.  Call Debbie.

Feb 4, 2013

A BS Special Alert. Crazy Ants

The tawny crazy ant has only been known in the state of Texas (near Pasadena) since 2002. High numbers of the ants have been found in localized spot infestations in southeast Houston (Harris County), including Houston, Pasadena, Deer Park, Friendswood, San Jacinto Port, Pearland, Seabrook and La Porte.  They acquired their common name because they act crazy.  They sting but are not dangerous.

The tawny crazy ant has now been confirmed in 24 counties, including Bexar, Brazoria, Brazos, Comal, Cameron, Fort Bend, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Harris, Hidalgo, Jefferson, Jim Hogg, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nueces, Polk, Orange, Travis, Victoria, Walker, Wharton and Williamson counties. New infestations are suspected beyond these areas of infestation. However, sample identifications have not been confirmed. This ant has the potential to spread well beyond the current range in coastal Texas. However, it is a semi-tropical ant and potential northern distribution will be limited by cooler weather conditions.