An appellate court has upheld a lower court decision that ordered American treasure-hunter Odyssey Marine Exploration to return to Spain some 594,000 gold and silver coin valued at roughly $500 million recovered on the ocean floor from a sunken Spanish Galleon. The United States government supported the Spanish in the claim and the coins are supposed to be returned to Spain within ten days.
Continue reading “Arggg! U.S. Court Orders The Return Of 500 Million Dollars Of Gold Coins To Spain”
John Goodman, 48, appears to have come upon a legal strategy that clenches the title of the worst person in the world. Goodman, the wealthy founder of the International Polo Club Beach in Wellington, was arrested after he killed Scott Patrick Wilson, 23, while driving drunk. Facing a civil lawsuit from his family, Goodman has legally adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend, Heather Laruso Hutchins, as his daughter to protect some of his money.
This is totally going to freak out people wanted for the rapture . . .
India’s booming economy has long had a dark side in the form of rampant pollution. Like China, the country has gone full throttle on a production-oriented society while ignoring rising pollution and illnesses associated with pollutants. Now, in a study of 132 countries, India has reached the bottom of the list of dirty air countries or, to put a more positive spin, the top spot on the most dirty countries. Nevertheless, the government is not concerned and assured the public that this is really not that bad.
Continue reading “India Takes First Place . . . In The Worst Air Pollution In The World”
We have previously seen stories of the banning or threatening dogs by Muslims who believe that all dogs are “unclean” and an afront to Islam. Now, Hasan Küçük, a Turkish-Dutch representative on The Hague city council for the Islam Democrats, has called for all dogs to be banned from The Hague, the third-largest city in the Netherlands.
Continue reading “Dutch Politician Proposes Ban On Dogs In Hague As “Unclean” Under Islam”
Susan G. Komen for the Cure has previously been ridiculed for its bullying of other charities and its lawsuit against any charity using “for the cure” in its name or advertising. Now it is receiving criticism for cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood affiliates and preventive screening services. It is the first time the organization has cut off such funding based on a new rule involving organizations under investigation by Congress.
Continue reading “Race For A [Political] Cure: Komen Cuts Off Funding For Planned Parenthood”
In California’s Rancho Corral de Tierra (part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area), a National Park Service Ranger reportedly shot Gary Hesterberg in the back with a taser after he walked away during a confrontation over walking his two lapdogs off leash. He was then arrested on suspicion of failing to obey a lawful order, having dogs off-leash and knowingly providing false information. The park service spokesperson reportedly said it is all part of teaching citizens about the new leash law in the area . . . or teaching Hesterberg to heel.
This week, Miguel Morales Robles, a Mexican state official from Veracruz, was detained at an airport with $1.9 million stuffed into a briefcase and a backpack. However, Tomas Ruiz, treasury secretary for Veracruz state, assured the public that it was all perfectly innocent and legal — the official was just taking cash to Mexico City to pay an advertising firm to promote festivals.
The Economist just published an amazing chart of “Two Thousand Years In One Chart.” However, the most interesting claim is this: “[o]ver 23% of all the goods and services made since 1AD were produced from 2001 to 2010.” That is from the first product (the fig leaf outfits of Adam and Eve to last year’s Britney Spears CD).
Continue reading “Study: Over 23% of All Goods Created Since 1AD Were Made Between 2001 and 2010”
Kansas State Rep. Ed Trimmer is moving to correct a serious lapse in the state arrays of official insects, songs, and animals. He has a bill to proclaim the Cairn Terrier — the breed of Toto in “The Wizard of Oz” — the state dog.
The South African government has long been accused of mixed efforts in combating AIDS despite the country having one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. Now the government is accused of handing out more than a million free condoms at the African National Congress centenary celebrations that are defective and leak.
Ilya Ablavsky, 33, has had his share of problems. As a student at Brandeis University, he was charged with making bomb threats after losing a primary race for mayor of Waltham. He also claims to suffer from bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders as well as high anxiety. He can now add a suspended 18 month sentence to his woes after pleading guilty to stealing a court file in a murder case in an attempt to prevent the prosecution of an acquaintance. He had only had his license for a few months and will now likely lose it in a remarkably short legal career.
Continue reading “Massachusetts Lawyer Gets 18 Month Suspended Sentence For Stealing Court File”
It appears that Henry VIII is alive and well in Afghanistan . . . but not his wife. In another horrendous attack on a woman in that country, police are seeking Sher Mohammad who they say strangled his wife for giving birth to a girl rather than the boy that he wanted. Putting aside the man’s apparent ignorance of the fact that it was he who determined the gender of the child, it is another example of how women in some of these insular Muslim communities are treated as chattel. The man’s mother, Wali Hazrata, is accused of tying the feet of 22-year-old Stori or Estorai. She has been arrested while her son is believed to be with an illegal militia group.
Continue reading “Afghan Man Allegedly Strangles Wife For Bearing Him A Girl Rather Than A Son”
I have a new addition to our series, “Things That Tick Me Off,” encounters and experiences that go beyond the usual level of inconvenience or stupidity in everyday life. This weekend, we took the kids to the D.C. Chinese Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown with another family. It was not just the worst experience we have had in an outing with the kids, we felt fortunate to leave the parade without injury. It was nothing short of unbelievable.
Continue reading “Things That Tick Me Off: The D.C. Chinese New Year Parade”
Ever since Benny Hill Americans have had a difficult time getting British humor. However, British tourists Leigh Van Bryan, 26, and pal Emily Bunting, 24, claim that the Department of Homeland Security not only lacks a sense of humor but does not recognize a joke from the quintessential American comedy show, Family Guy. Upon arriving at Los Angeles, they were interrogated for hours about tweets that they sent and eventually ejected from the country. Before their deportation, they say that they were held in a cell with narcotics traffickers for twelve hours.