One Pussy Freed; Two Pussies To Go

Pussy Riot singer released from jail

October 10, 2012
Interfax

Pussy Riot singer Yekaterina Samutsevich: "When I entered the Christ the Savior Cathedral, I really wanted to stage an action. I did not want to insult worshipers. I respect all religions and all believers. If we unwillingly insulted any of the worshipers, we apologize." Source: AP

Pussy Riot singer Yekaterina Samutsevich has been freed from custody today.

Earlier she said that she did not intend to insult religious people's feelings when she came to the Christ the Savior Cathedral, and she apologized.

"When I entered the Christ the Savior Cathedral, I really wanted to stage an action. I did not want to insult worshipers. I respect all religions and all believers. If we unwillingly insulted any of the worshipers, we apologize," Samutsevich said in court on Wednesday.

The motive behind the action was political, not religious, she said.

Samutsevich had earlier rejected her defense lawyer over disagreements, and said that she would use other defense lawyers' services.

Full story: Pussy Riot

The defense lawyer for Pussy Riot singer Yekaterina Samutsevich has denied reports there is a split within the punk group.

"They are a close-knit team, as before. Look how the girls, who remained in custody, congratulated Katya [Samutsevich]. They were pleased at hearing the news," Irina Khrunova told reporters.

"Katya is happy, too. Imagine how a person must be feeling after being released from prison," she said.

Khrunova said her client will observe all restrictions imposed on her by the court. "She will not change her place of residence and she will regularly report to the police," Khrunova said.

Man Dies After Eating Live Insects

Oct. 10, 2012

Man dies shortly after eating dozens of live roaches and other insects in a ridiculous, disgusting contest in Florida.  The owner of the shop sponsoring the contest said he had no idea the roaches or any other disgusting creature in the bottle were poisonous.  An autopsy was called for to determine the cause of death.

Minn. (wo)man found passed out on Wis. Capitol dome

Published - Oct 10 2012 

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police say a Minnesota (wo)man who broke into the Wisconsin Capitol through a fifth-floor window and was found unconscious on the dome's roof has been charged with felony criminal damage.
A criminal complaint accuses 21-year-old Anita Neardecker of scaling the outside of the Capitol on Sunday and smashing a window to get into the building. It says the intoxicated Rosemont, Minn., (wo)man grabbed a fire extinguisher and threw it through another window.


The complaint says police found the (wo)man passed out on a dome outside one of the windows. It says Officer Justin Wichman described Bishop as very drunk and ultimately apologetic.

Bishop is charged in Dane County with felony criminal damage and entry into a locked building. (S)e's being held on $1,000 bond.

Womanizer's Ruse To Avoid Extradition To U.S.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A newspaper reported Monday that Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch man who is serving a 28-year-sentence for murdering a young Peruvian woman, says he is going to be a father. His attorney said the inmate does have a conjugal visitor, though he could not confirm she was pregnant.

The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf said Van der Sloot, a suspect in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway, himself told it in a telephone call on Saturday that "a test has proved" the pregnancy.

Van der Sloot's attorney Maximo Altez, told The Associated Press that a woman named Leidy Figueroa Uceda "is registered as a conjugal visitor of Joran. She is registered in the visitors books of the Piedras Gordas prison in Lima."

He denied, however, that he had told the newspaper he could confirm the pregnancy.

"I told them I didn't know anything in that respect," he said.

News media in Peru last year identified Figueroa as Van der Sloot's girlfriend, and said they had conceived a son together, but she denied it.

De Telegraaf said Van der Sloot told it that the woman uses the birth control pill but had apparently forgotten to take it and she would not have an abortion due to her Catholic faith. He said he didn't have DNA proof the child is his, but he believes it to be.

Recorded messages on Monday indicated that two telephone numbers registered to Figueroa had been cancelled.

Van der Sloot is a self-described liar, having confessed to killing Holloway and later retracting the confessions. He is the last person known to have seen her alive.

He was convicted for the 2010 robbing and killing of Stephany Flores in a Lima hotel room after meeting her in a nearby casino. He is wanted by authorities in the U.S. for allegedly extorting money from the Holloway family on the promise of revealing the location of her body.

He could resist extradition to the United States, where is wanted in the Holloway case, if he obtains Peruvian nationality. That would be a possibility if he becomes the father of a Peruvian child or if he marries a Peruvian citizen.

Van der Sloot is appealing his conviction.

Terrorist Washing Machines Invading Europe?

October 19, 2012

Dozens of complaints from owners of appliances have been received by an online forum and now consumer magazine Which? has launched its own investigation into the growing phenonemon.

In some cases, washing machine doors have shattered when the machine is not even in use while other users said glass had simply fallen out of its casing.

Which? is carrying out an investigation into more than 50 incidents, reported to include major brands such as Beko, Miele, Zanussi, Bosch, Hoover, LG and Samsung

Adrian Porter, Home Product Researcher at the watchdog said the problem first appeared 18 months ago but the number of cases had risen sharply in recent months.

The forum Whitegoodshelp has been collecting stories from those who say they have been affected.

One said: "Bought a Beko washing machine less than two months ago and 20 mins ago the glass shattered. It was on a final spin and sent the shards of glass all over the kitchen floor and the clothes inside are covered in VERY SHARP pieces."

Another user posted: "My Miele W3740 washing machine glass door suddenly exploded shedding shattered glass and water around the room. The machine cost £700 and is only twenty months old so still within guarantee."

Mr Porter said: "This hasn't happened to any washing machines during our lab tests, so we have been unable to observe it in laboratory conditions and follow up with a proper analysis.
"But going through the accounts, there are theories ranging from hair cracks in the glass, or even that the glass is just thinner than it used to be. Still, nothing has been confirmed.

"It has also been suggested by a manufacturer that initial scratches on the glass could be caused by hard items like zipper ends and belt buckles striking the door during the wash. We've contacted the manufacturers, and they're looking into the problem."

Beko, whose machines have generated the largest number of incidents on the Whitegoodshelp forum, said: 'Whilst we have no reason to believe that there is a fault with our washing machine range, we are investigating these incidents in full and always take such matters seriously.

Alex Walker of Miele said: "We conducted an investigation... [which] confirmed we have had no recent reports of such an incident."

Meanwhile, authorities in at least one nation have blamed the exploding machines on terrorists and urged affected consumers to contact Interpol or the Department of Homeland Security of the U.S.

Animal Experts Blow It

Second gator found in NY supermarket parking lot

Oct 04 2012  

DisAssociated Press

BALDWIN, N.Y. — An alligator has been found in a supermarket parking lot on New York's Long Island, just a day after another gator was discovered in the same lot.

A 3-to-4-foot-long alligator was discovered in the Pathmark parking lot Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday, a 2-to-3-foot gator was found there.

The reptiles were captured and turned over to the Nassau County Emergency Services Unit. They will be sent to a reptile sanctuary in Florida.

WCBS-Radio (http://cbsloc.al/SyfI2h ) reports that authorities believe that someone dumped them there.

It was the third gator sighting on Long Island in less than a week. Last Friday, an alligator was found crawling on the front lawn of a Mastic beach home.

The so called animal experts failed to recognize an alligator family that has taken up residence on Long Island.  Papa A and Mrs. A, probably pregnant, hitched a ride on one of the pleasure crafts that frequent Florida and New York's posh Long Island.

Texas Cricket Invasion

WACO, Texas -- Several businesses in the Central Texas town of Waco (WAY'-koh) are dealing with a smelly problem that won't go away: decaying cricket carcasses.

A bank, a drugstore and other businesses have been inundated with the odorous onslaught of dead crickets that have been trapped inside walls and have collected on sidewalks.

Fred Huffman, an entomologist who runs a local pest control business, says the cricket problem has been worse this year because mild winter conditions resulted in the insects appearing earlier than normal.

Health officials say the crickets don't pose any direct health risks.  Before settlement of the West crickets made up an important part of the diet of many indigenous people in the arid southwest.

Even today, fried crickets are served as delicacies in a few exotic, upscale restaurants.