Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

8yrs is too much but hopefully that 3 months in jail will scare him into being more aware of the world around him.

I agree, but I don't think that is necessary.

On the other hand, people must realise that the freedom of thought and speech is the reason why the internet is a huge collection of ideas. Those who think that it is an offence to be rude or try to impose taboos should just spend more time reading and talking to different people instead of being an egocentric shut in.

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

Teen charged with making 'terrorist' remarks.

Seriously, that is quite possibly the stupidest thing I have read in a long time. Sure the kid should have been smacked upside the head for being a dumbass and not realising Facebook is public and the internet isn't an impenetrable shield for douchbaggery, but potentially 8 years in prison is mind meltingly stupid. Hell, the fact he has spent 3 months so far in prison should never have happened. Way to completely ruin someones life.

If (when!) he gets cleared, or whatever, I'm wondering if he could sue the living shit out of certain paranoid people. Could he seek restitution against that canadian woman?

This is ridiculous.

Based on the context, that was clearly a sarcastic comment. If it was something like "God damn it, i hate that school, one day i gonna murder them all", then it will be understandable. Still ridiculous, but at least it is a threat and could be condemned by the sensitive paranoid. Here it is clearly a sarcastic comment and was clear in such and such context.

Furthermore, look at my underlined line above, would they also take it out of context and considered that i make a threat, especially when my house is close to some schools? Whose house is not close to a school or some sort anyway?

[ganbaru]

Eager beaver blamed for New Mexico Internet outage
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...06-28-13-47-06
I didn't know than there were beaver so south.

[Ithekro]

Originally Posted by Terrestrial Dream

Pink? Usually it is rainbow, right?

Having San Francisco so close at hand I can answer that one. Pink is also used. Specifically a pink triangle. The local gay rights movement has taken what was once a symbol of procecution by the Nazi government and turned it in to their own symbol of hope. As it seems to be Pride Week here, they set out a giant Pink triangle on Twin Peaks out of tarps. I'm glad I won't be in the city today or this coming week. Its going to be a mess with Pride Week and the courts now allowing for gay marriage in California. San Francisco's going to be somewhat of a party going on....mixed with a massive transit strike. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) will likely go on strike Monday and I think one of the Bus services is joining them. So things are going to be problematic in the City.

[Dextro]

Hate Comic Sans? Blame this Microsoft virtual assistant

...

Comic Sans lore says that Vincent Connare, a designer on a Microsoft consumer software team, saw a working prototype of the assistant Microsoft Bob back in 1994. This featured a cartoon dog named Rover speaking in text bubbles and, incongruously for a cartoon, Rover spoke in Times New Roman.

In what can now only be described as dramatic irony, Connare was shocked and appalled at how ugly Times New Roman looked coming, ostensibly, out of a cartoon’s mouth. He decided that a more comic-like typeface was needed.

Connare has made clear in the past that he drew inspiration for Comic Sans from no less than Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. But according to an interview with fonts.com, Comic Sans was developed with the express intent of shipping with and for Microsoft Bob.

Comic Sans was not just inspired by Bob. Comic Sans was because of Bob. This is like learning ShamWow Vince was the progeny of Billy Mays.

Connare was not able to perfect the font by the time Windows 95 and NT shipped with Bob, which was intended to be a friendly replacement for the Program Manager. In August 1995, Comic Sans shipped in the Windows 95 Plus Pack, began being included in OEM versions of Windows 95, and was also used in 3D Movie Maker, according to Connare.

...

Because evil travels in pairs apparently.

[SaintessHeart]

NSFW Sankaku : Man wears Leotard in public, arrested.

OMFG MY EYES! MY EYES! They burn!

[Seitsuki]

Weren't leotards originally invented for men anyway?

[SaintessHeart]

Brief encounter for porn film at China station

A maintenance worker surprised passers-by near a Chinese railway station when he started watching a banned porn film, not realising his computer was connected to a giant screen, state media said.

The worker, identified only by his surname Yuan, was supposed to repair the screen, on a building near the main railway station in Jilin in northeast China, the Global Times reported.

But when he began playing "The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks", hundreds of local residents stopped to watch as well, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The company which owns the screen called him after about 10 minutes, and he immediately disconnected the computer before throwing the disc out of a window, the Global Times said.

The film is based on a classic Chinese erotic novel, "The Plum in the Golden Vase", set in the Northern Song dynasty in the early 12th century and centred on Ximen Qing, a corrupt social climber and womaniser who has six wives and concubines among his 19 sexual partners.

The story follows the women's domestic sexual struggles as they seek prestige and influence. Although identified as pornographic and officially banned for centuries, the work -- by an unknown author -- has been read by many educated Chinese and was first translated into English in 1939.

The Hong Kong-made film has a similar plot but is much more explicit, and is banned on the mainland.

Police were investigating the incident, Xinhua said.

According to Chinese law, individuals who spread pornographic audiovisual products can be sentenced to up to two years in prison.

[Shyni]

From the thing about the leotard guy:

Just why he was arrested is not clear – and since he was apparently not up to anything suspect at all, his case has aroused some sympathy online as yet another likely case of police overreach:

Wait, really?

Also, I can't help but think he should've picked a different color.

[Seitsuki]

If a girl walks down the street in a leotard people will just be like 'oh, she must have finished dance classes' or something. But a guy can't? Why?

Discrimination works both ways.

Just do it somewhere I can't see thanks.

[ganbaru]

One have to wonder why SaintessHeart post so often stories of that kind

[Ithekro]

We are beyond wondering and just come to expect it.

[AnimeFan188]

Modern-day Frankenstein invents CURE for BEHEADING:

"Italian doctor claims to have workable noggin transplant technique"

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07...for_15million/

[AnimeFan188]

‘I don’t think it’s live, I’ve dropped it a few times,' said Abbotsford man with
missile on his lawn chair:

"Abbotsford police got a shock Friday when a resident phoned to report he wanted
to surrender a missile to authorities, as part of the B.C. gun amnesty program.

At first, they weren’t sure if it was a hoax.

But on arrival at the man’s house, officers discovered the five-foot weapon was real
— apparently a memento belonging to a relative who had returned a decade ago
from a tour of duty with the Canadian military."

See:

http://www.theprovince.com/news/amne...413/story.html

[ganbaru]

Taco Bell customers get cash instead of food
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...07-03-16-56-20

Ohio sinkhole swallows car; driver climbs ladder
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...07-03-22-02-40

[TinyRedLeaf]

Bosses forced Japanese woman to wear bunny ears for missing sales targets

Fukuoka (July 4, Thu): A 61-year-old Japanese woman was forced to wear bunny ears as a penalty for missing her sales targets, with photos of her humiliation used in company training programmes, reports said yesterday (July 3).

The woman, who was not named, was employed by cosmetics maker Kanebo in Oita prefecture on Kyushu island.

She sued the company, claiming mental distress after her bosses instructed her to don costumes if she did not meet her targets, including over-sized rabbit ears on one occasion, several papers reported.

The woman claimed the company's actions had caused mental suffering that resulted in physical sickness and she demanded 3.3 million yen (US$33,000) compensation, the Mainichi Shimbun said.

A court upheld her complaint, but ordered the company to pay just 220,000 yen (US$2,200), the Asahi daily said yesterday, adding the firm had given her a larger sum than this, according to her lawyer.

The woman, dissatisfied with the damages awarded, filed an appeal with the Fukuoka High Court, saying that "the (lower court's) recognition of emotional distress was not sufficient".

An official at Kanebo Cosmetics, the parent of Kanebo Cosmetics Hanbai said: "(The company) had taken the ruling seriously and was seeking a settlement to resolve the issue. We will take in-house measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future."

The news came as Kanebo today issued a recall of 54 of its skin-whitening products in Japan and 10 other Asian territories over fears it may cause patches of discolouring.

AFP, THE JAPAN TIMES

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

o.O

That is something you'd expect to see in certain types of anime. But still shouldn't have to put up with work place bullying.

[Vexx]

They should have made it a reward for meeting sales targets.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Vexx

They should have made it a reward for meeting sales targets.

In that case, it might had worked better if the boss, not the employee, had to wear the bunny ears, no

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

o.O

That is something you'd expect to see in certain types of anime. But still shouldn't have to put up with work place bullying.

From my experience, that is very common in Asian companies, which bosses have a mentality of "owning" their employees. I remember telling a superior that if she likes to order people around so much, she might as well get a dog from SPCA to do the work for her.

There are many managers holding management certification without management ability, let alone brains.