Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

Man's static jacket sparks alert

Must. Resist. Temptation. To. Try.

Woollen shirt + nylon jacket = answer to global warming

[NinjaYali]

Who supports the campaign to bring the Pope to justice?

Professor Dawkins said he "whole-heartedly" backed the initiative led by atheist Christopher Hitchens.

UK human rights lawyers are preparing a case to charge Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

Dr William Oddie, former editor of The Catholic Herald, labelled it "lunatic".

Campaigners hope to cast a shadow over the Pope's planned visit to the UK in September - the first visit by a Pope since 1982.

Prof Dawkins wrote on his blog: "I am optimistic that we shall raise public consciousness to the point where the British government will find it very awkward indeed to go ahead with the Pope's visit."

And writing in the Guardian on Tuesday, columnist George Monbiot wrote: "Picture the pope awaiting trial in British prison, and you begin to grasp the implications of the radical idea that has never been applied: equality before the law."

The BBC's religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the anti-Pope campaign could be seen as a mischievous attempt to create an "air of criminality" around the Pope.

"The controversy over alleged Papal involvement in the cover-up of child sex abuse is providing atheists with a stick with which to beat religion," he said.

[kittybear]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

Man's static jacket sparks alert

Must. Resist. Temptation. To. Try.

I need to know what brand that jacket is.... Is it me or this just guy just bypassed the illegality of taser and who need them anyway when your wearing one already.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by NinjaYali

Who supports the campaign to bring the Pope to justice?

As the highest leader od the Vatican,the pope have probably diplomatic imunity anyway, so trying to arrest him would be pointless...

[Haruka_Kitten]

Safety checks after New Zealand man gets genitals caught in flying fox

A NEW Zealand man got a very personal part of his anatomy stuck in a flying fox at a children's playground in Christchurch this week, sparking a series of safety checks by the local council to avoid a repeat of the incident, according to reports.

The 30-year-old became entangled in the equipment when a malfunction caused the mechanism to move on the impact of the man hitting the end of the flying fox line - trapping his nether regions, The Star reported.

Fire crews called to the playground at Bishopdale Park had to dismantle the flying fox seat to free the man.

They said he had remained "stoic" despite being in quite a lot of pain.

The flying fox has remained dismantled since Tuesday's incident and a Christchurch City Council spokesman said other flying foxes in the city, on New Zealand's South Island, were being checked to reduce the risk of a repeat of the problem.

A flying fox is an aerial conveyor belt or suspended carrier operating on cables.

:s Uh oh...That's gotta really suck. Having your gonads stuck in that...it's the last line that has me kicking too, as the world has really gone idiot-proof nowadays.

...A flying fox is an aerial conveyor belt or suspended carrier operating on cables.

....................

[Patriot's Blade]

Originally Posted by Harufox

Safety checks after New Zealand man gets genitals caught in flying fox



:s Uh oh...That's gotta really suck. Having your gonads stuck in that...it's the last line that has me kicking too, as the world has really gone idiot-proof nowadays.



....................

ouch!!

[Woopzilla]

Cook-book misprint costs Australian publishers dear

Originally Posted by BBC.co.uk

An Australian publisher has had to pulp and reprint a cook-book after one recipe listed "salt and freshly ground black people" instead of black pepper.

Penguin Group Australia had to reprint 7,000 copies of Pasta Bible last week, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported.

The reprint cost A$20,000 ($18,000; £12,000), but stock in bookshops will not be recalled as it is "extremely hard" to do so, Penguin said.

The recipe was for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto.

"We're mortified that this has become an issue of any kind, and why anyone would be offended, we don't know," head of publishing Bob Sessions is quoted as saying by the Sydney newspaper.

Penguin said almost every one of the more than 150 recipes in the book listed salt and freshly ground black pepper, but a misprint occurred on just one page.

"When it comes to the proofreader, of course they should have picked it up, but proofreading a cook-book is an extremely difficult task. I find that quite forgivable," Mr Sessions said.

If anyone complains about the "silly mistake", they will be given the new version, Penguin said.

Well, let's just hope there aren't people who will mistake this as an invitation to cannibalism.

[Haruka_Kitten]

Not so much news as it is funny, but this was on the news. A response to a Current Affairs show in Aus with a story regarding vicious dogs terrorising local streets. Just love how this guy does an imitation of one.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Woopzilla

Cook-book misprint costs Australian publishers dear



Well, let's just hope there aren't people who will mistake this as an invitation to cannibalism.

SALTY AND FRESH GROUND BLACK PEOPLE!

So where is creamed and beaten fresh white milk men?

And if anyone played Splinter Cell : Pandora Tomorrow, "Mortified Penguin" is the name of the antagonist ingame.

[Tri-ring]

Use of Shanghai Expo theme song suspended amid plagiarism allegation+
4/17/2010, 10:20 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press

(AP) — SHANGHAI, April 18 (Kyodo)-The secretariat of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai has suspended the use of the event's theme song amid an allegation that it is a plagiarized version of a Japanese hit song in 1997, the secretariat said Saturday on its website.

It said it is concerned that there is a conflict over copyright and indicated it is investigating the issue.

There have been discussions on Chinese websites that the tune of the theme song is identical to that of "Sono Mama no Kimi de Ite," which was released in January 1997 in Japan by female pop singer Mayo Okamoto.

Such an allegation has also recently been reported widely in Japan by Japanese media.

Okamoto has said she plans to reveal her stance on the issue on her website soon.

For comparison here is an interesting clip on You tube.

The left speaker is the original and the right is the Shangahi PR song.

[bhl88]

Originally Posted by NHL

NHL: Mulling Anime Partnership, Nothing "Set In Stone"
Doc Stradler

NEW YORK - National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed Wednesday rumors that the League Office is considering a partnership with several Japanese Animation studios which could be in place effect as soon as next season.

In a short written statement released to the press, Bettman reaffirmed his commitment to raise sagging revenues and reinvigorate fanbases in the NHL, which has struggled to compete with other professional leagues in recent years.


"Everything we do is with one goal in mind - preserving and propagating the great sport of hockey, seeing that the best players in the world get the recognition they deserve, and thrilling the fans," said Bettman.

The statement comes on the heels of the leaking of documents, including drafts of preliminary contracts, regarding negotiations between the animation studios and the NHL, to the Bleacher Report. Bettman tried to alleviate speculation that a deal was close, saying, "[t]he reported negotiations are part of what is only one of a plethora of options on the table. Nothing is set in stone."

But some were neither as restrained nor as upbeat as the Commissioner. Edmonton Oilers President Kevin Lowe objected to the secrecy of the negotiations, and in particular a clause which enumerated incentives for studios to purchase franchises. Said Lowe in a press release, "[w]hen the owners are the last to hear about the potential sale of their team, there's a problem. When fans are the last to hear about the possibility of their mascot being turned into a pink-haired girl, there's a problem."

Although no studios were explicitly named in the leaked documents, the names listed in minutes of the proceedings led experts to believe that Kyoto Animation, Madhouse, and J.C. Staff are all involved in the negotiations. The terms of the deal included agreements to debut new episodes of anime during the breaks between periods of hockey games on television and on video scoreboards inside arenas, as well as anime appreciation nights in which fans would receive paraphernalia for attending. The studios would each be required to purchase a 10% stake in the League, as well as have the option to form a board which would have the final say in which music could be played during games in the arenas. The studios could also rename and redesign the presentation of individual player awards annually furnished by the League.

The NHL test marketed a similar program for Japanese airings of hockey games during the 2006 season with mixed results.

Scott Galloway, a professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University who specializes in sports marketing, says the NHL has much to gain from such a partnership because of the untapped pool of anime fans, also known as Otaku.

"Otaku a very dedicated bunch, and, more importantly, are a large demographic that intersects with current NHL viewers very little. If the NHL can turn the Otaku crowd into regular viewers, advertising for their games suddenly becomes much more lucrative."

"That's to say nothing for increased ticket sales. The League ownership would like nothing more right now than for gametime crowds to start looking like an anime convention."

Spoiler for M-18+ reference:

Ref: Sankaku Complex (not safe for reading)

Proof of mainstreaming. No way XD

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by bhl88

Spoiler for M-18+ reference:

Ref: Sankaku Complex (not safe for reading)

Proof of mainstreaming. No way XD

Hockey is a tiring activity because it is a sport. What makes them think that the chair and PC-ridden otaku are actually willing to support this kind of mandate?

Oh wait, there is Azunyan. Never mind.

[Dilla]

UK woman becomes first person banned from EVERY pub and club in the country.

A woman has become the first person to be banned from buying or drinking alcohol anywhere in England and Wales.

Laura Hall, 20, was issued with a Drinking Banning Order - nicknamed Booze Asbos - which bars her from entering any pub, club, off-licence or bar.

The two-year order also bans Hall from buying alcohol at any other establishment or shop, carrying it in an unsealed container or drinking it in a public place.

Police applied to magistrates after Hall was convicted of breaching an Asbo imposed for drink-related anti-social behaviour.

She has been convicted of a series of public order offences, and had flouted bans from pubs and clubs through local Pub-Watch schemes in her home town of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Kidderminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday that Hall faces a £2,500 fine if she breaks the conditions of the order.

Sergeant David Roberts, of West Mercia Police, said: 'There have been some Drinking Banning Orders issued already but this is the first to be issued on a nationwide basis.

'It bans Laura Hall from drinking or buying alcohol in any licensed premises across England and Wales. The conditions will also help to protect the public from the anti-social effects of Laura's behaviour.'

Officers applied for a DBO rather than another Asbo because Hall would be at risk of prison if she breached it again.

'We want to rehabilitate her rather than send her straight to jail, and hope the banning order will help Laura address her problems,' he said.

Under the terms of the order, Hall must attend an approved alcohol-misuse course. If she completes it without breaching any of its terms, the DBO could be lifted after 12 months.

Since their introduction in September, police and local authorities can ask magistrates to impose the orders on anyone responsible for alcohol-fuelled crime or anti- social behaviour to stop them drinking or entering licensed premises.

They cannot be issued to anyone with mental health problems or alcoholics.

But Rachel Seabrook, spokesman for the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said: 'I think most of the disorder problems we see around alcohol reflects a lack of police enforcement powers and policing laws.

'I am not opposed in principle but I do have doubts about whether it's a realistic thing to enforce. How can a police officer in, say Wales, know whether this women has been banned if she turns up in his town?'

A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation last year found that female binge drinking had almost doubled over the last decade. According to Government statistics, the number of women involved in alcohol-related crime rose 30 per cent between 2005 and 2007.

What the Hell do you do to get banned from every pub in UK?!

[FDW]

Originally Posted by Dilla

UK woman becomes first person banned from EVERY pub and club in the country.

What the Hell do you do to get banned from every pub in UK?!

Very, very carefully.

[Jeffry2009]

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/22/ja...western-games/

What do you think guys? I think I've prefer Playing Final Fantasy XIII in Original Japanese dubbed with english subtitles (I Wish they had one!) instead of terrible English Dub.

[NinjaYali]

Originally Posted by Tri-ring

For comparison here is an interesting clip on You tube.

The left speaker is the original and the right is the Shangahi PR song.

Bless the People's Republic of China and it's leet piracy/rip off skills.

[MrTerrorist]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8634105.stm

Where's Harold when you need him?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Whale poo could fight climate change

Sydney (April 23): Australian scientists have discovered an unlikely element in the fight against climate change: whale poo.

Experts from the Australian Antarctic Division have found that whale excrement — much of which is derived from the huge mammals' consumption of krill — effectively places a plant-friendly fertiliser into ocean waters.

"When whales consume the iron-rich krill, they excrete most of the iron back into the water, therefore fertilising the ocean and starting the whole food cycle again," scientist Steve Nicol said.

- AFP

[bhl88]

Originally Posted by BBC and Sankaku Complex

Legal case against God dismissed

A US judge has thrown out a case against God, ruling that because the defendant has no address, legal papers cannot be served.

The suit was launched by Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers, who said he might appeal against the ruling.

He sought a permanent injunction to prevent the "death, destruction and terrorisation" caused by God.

Judge Marlon Polk said in his ruling that a plaintiff must have access to the defendant for a case to proceed.

"Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice," Judge Polk wrote in his ruling.

Mr Chambers cannot refile the suit but may appeal.

'God knows everything'

Mr Chambers sued God last year. He said God had threatened him and the people of Nebraska and had inflicted "widespread death, destruction and terrorisation of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants".

He said he would carefully consider Judge Polk's ruling before deciding whether to appeal.

The court, Mr Chambers said, had acknowledged the existence of God and "a consequence of that acknowledgement is a recognition of God's omniscience".

"Since God knows everything," he reasoned, "God has notice of this lawsuit."

Mr Chambers, a state senator for 38 years, said he filed the suit to make the point that "anyone can sue anyone else, even God".

The guy must have lots of free time to sue God, except he forgot to ask for His address...

[MitsubishiZero]

Originally Posted by bhl88

The guy must have lots of free time to sue God, except he forgot to ask for His address...

I am not really a believer, but if one really needs to write to God he should have sent the mail to Mail Services, Pearl City (they call it the city behind the Pearly Gates XD), Heaven, Earth, Milky Way. Or you could contact Him at admin@godmail.com


Just a thought