Bizarre News

[Soviet]

6-year-old tries to drive to restaurant

BROOMFIELD, Colo. - A hungry 6-year-old grabbed his grandmother's car keys, positioned his child seat behind the steering wheel and tried to drive himself to an Applebee's restaurant.

He didn't get far.

Unable to take the car out of reverse, the boy backed up 75 feet from her house into a transformer Tuesday, knocking out electricity and phone service to dozens of townhouses in this suburb north of Denver.

No one was injured and the boy, whose name was not released, got out of his car and told his grandmother what happened.

"He proceeded to start the car and started backing up," said Sgt. Colleen O'Connell of the Broomfield Police Department. "He went backward about 47 feet, hit the curb, then went backward another 29 feet."

Investigators couldn't figure out how the boy reached the accelerator.

No charges will be filed.

"I have five children of my own, so I know you cannot watch them every minute they're awake," said nearby resident Nancy Hollis, whose power was knocked out by the accident.

[asandir]

nice

79yo NZ driver gets learner's permit

A New Zealand motorist has finally got around to getting a driver's licence after 50 years behind the wheel.

Authorities caught up with her last month.

Amelia Morrison of Rotorua has been driving illegally since 1957 when her husband taught her to drive a truck.

The 79-year-old told the police that stopped her that she literally only drove to church, to the doctor and to the local shops, and had never had an accident.

Mrs Morrison said she had never felt confident enough to actually sit the drivers' test.

Authorities took away her car for 28 days and suggested she undertake driver training through a special course aimed at encouraging Maori driving illegally to do the right thing.

Mrs Morrison has now got her learner's permit and is back on the road.

[Elvin]

Yeah new roads ahead of her

[asandir]

HA

US marshals arrest couple after 9-month stand-off

A US couple in their 60s who had barricaded themselves in their house for several months armed with guns and explosives to avoid being jailed for tax evasion have been arrested, officials said.

New Hampshire couple Ed and Elaine Brown, who reportedly stopped paying tax in 1996 and rejected the Government's right to collect taxes, were convicted in January and shortly afterwards locked themselves in their rural home.

The stand-off began in earnest in April, when they were sentenced in absentia to more than five years in jail and they threatened that there would be a bloody outcome if law enforcement officers tried to enter their home.

In the end, two US marshals managed to sneak into the home through the front door, posing as supporters who have been providing the elderly couple with weapons, food and supplies since the stand-off began.

"They invited us in and we escorted them out," marshal Stephen Monier told reporters in New Hampshire, explaining how officials first arrested the pair and then swept the property for guns and explosives.

"During that sweep we discovered a large number of improvised explosive devices both inside the residence and out," Mr Monier told reporters, adding that authorities also found a large number of weapons and ammunition.

The couple were believed to have avoided paying some $US1.9 million in taxes owed mostly through Elaine Brown's dental practice.

"We will not be arrested. We will not volunteer to go into their prison for a non-crime. We have committed no crimes. We either walk out of here free or we die," Elaine Brown had told reporters earlier in the stand-off.

[ThunderTitan]

"I have five children of my own, so I know you cannot watch them every minute they're awake," said nearby resident Nancy Hollis, whose power was knocked out by the accident.

But you could at least teach your kids not to be idiots.

"We will not be arrested. We will not volunteer to go into their prison for a non-crime. We have committed no crimes. We either walk out of here free or we die," Elaine Brown had told reporters earlier in the stand-off.

Crazy lady... that whole "land of the free" got to her head... you're free to pay the government or go to jail, that's it.

[asandir]

it's a kinda free

[Elvin]

Lovely. She writes a surprisingly successful series and starts suing for copyrights. She'll go far with this ideology

Rowling sues Hogwarts Castle replica in India

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is suing organisers of a religious event for constructing a replica of her imaginary Hogwarts Castle in an eastern India city, officials said Thursday.

Rowling and her publishers Bloomsbury are seeking two million rupees (50,000 dollars) from the organisers constructing an elaborate castle from canvas and papier mache in Kolkata for the upcoming Durga Puja festival, court officials said.

The Delhi High Court has summoned the builders on Friday to present their case, they said.

The suit, which runs into 394 pages, argues the organisers of the Hindu festival can stage the upcoming event in the gigantic marquee only after paying two million rupees to the British author.

Rowling's fictitious world depicts the castle as an ancient school of witchcraft where her eponymous hero Harry Potter learns wizardry.

The marquee in Kolkata's Salt Lake district replicates the imaginary castle's outer contours and includes an imitation marble staircase and flagged stone floor in the entrance hall, lit with flaming torches, witnesses said.

The festival organising secretary, Santunu Biswas, said his team would go ahead with the preparations for the four-day festivities, eastern India's most celebrated annual religious carnival.

"What we are building is not a violation of copyright act anywhere in the world because it's a religious festival and has nothing to do with money-making," Biswas told AFP.

Another organiser, Robin Mukherjee, said he was stunned.

"The summons came at a time when the marquee is almost ready and we don't know what to do now as we cannot afford to pay the fine," the visibly angry official added.

"It's just a theme ...We have also modelled the Titanic and no-one sued us," he said.

[asandir]

does she need more money?

it's a little silly really, it's kind of like homage really

[Elvin]

It just shows some things about her..

[asandir]

I think I'd already guessed those things

[ThunderTitan]

50.000? That's pretty negligible considering what the books made her... it's probably some stupid way to insure her copyright isn't lessened because of this... laws are so retarded sometimes. Of course it doesn't excuse people when they play along with them...

Plus, if she actually claims she didn't base her castle on something she'll ful of BS.

[asandir]

Judge dismisses claim against Indian Hogwarts Castle replica
Posted 14 minutes ago

An Indian court threw out a claim by Harry Potter author JK Rowling for damages from the organisers of a religious event who constructed a replica of her fictional Hogwarts Castle.

The Delhi High Court, however, ordered the organisers of the Durga Puja festivities in Kolkata not to use any characters from Rowling's books without her permission.

Rowling and publishers Bloomsbury had sought two million rupees ($A56,000) from organisers who constructed an elaborate castle from canvas, papier mache and bamboo in the eastern metropolis for the four-day carnival beginning October 16.

Judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the permission to exhibit the castle would expire on October 26 - or after Durga Puja, the biggest Hindu religious event in eastern India.

"Any further use of these characters will be subject to the prior permission of the author of the Harry Potter series," Judge Kaul said, rejecting Rowling's demand for compensation for copyright infringement.

The suit, which ran into 394 pages, argued the festival organisers would exploit the castle replica to earn money through advertising.

Rowling's fictitious world depicts the castle as an ancient school of witchcraft where her eponymous hero Harry Potter learns wizardry.

The marquee in Kolkata's Salt Lake district replicates the castle contours and includes an imitation marble staircase and flagged stone floor in the entrance hall, lit with flaming torches.

[Elvin]

Ah some reason.

[asandir]

let us rejoice

[Ethric]

I chuckled more at that indian judge that was sent on a three month forced law-course at university by a higher court that got tired of reversing his idiotic sentences And they sent the verdict around to all the lower court judges as a warning.

[asandir]

that's the kind of justice I like to see, the public humiliation kind can work wonders

[Kalah]

Heheee

[asandir]

I don't like it when you're being devious Kalah *gulp*

Gay Vatican priest suspended after 'anonymous' TV confession

The Vatican has suspended a senior priest in the Holy See who acknowledged homosexual relations in a supposedly anonymous television interview, but was identified by superiors from background shots of his office.

In a major embarrassment for the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the monsignor, whose name was not released, was suspended from duty pending an internal investigation.

Local media identified him as a senior figure in a Vatican department which oversees matters relating to priesthood and said he also made regular appearances on Vatican television.

The Catholic Church does not consider homosexual tendencies sinful in themselves, but condemns homosexual acts and teaches that priests should adhere to their vow of celibacy.

The priest appeared on a TV documentary with three other clerics, all with their faces and voices distorted to protect their identities, to talk about their homosexuality.

He told La 7 TV he "did not feel in sin" for being gay but preferred anonymity "to avoid being reprimanded by my superiors, given the current firm position of Catholic doctrine regarding priestly celibacy and homosexuality".

However, during the interview his office in the Vatican was clearly visible in the background, leading senior clerics to discover his true identity.

Father Lombardi said the Vatican "had to intervene decisively and severely in a case of behaviour incompatible with priestly duty and the mission of the Holy See".

[winterfate]

Me neither...

As for that last article...
I don't know what to say...
Sometimes the Catholic Church really bugs me...

But, let's not start a religious debate.

[ThunderTitan]

I'm sorry, but can't really be sorry for him... being a catholic priest = a life of celibacy... if you can't do that then DON'T BECOME A PRIEST!

Of course since no one would bother reporting if a straight priest was kicked out for getting nookie we have no way of knowing if the Catholic Church is just being hypocritical and only throwing him out because of the homosexual part.