Category: Human Behavior

German town designates men-only parking spaces

On By A.P.In Black Forest, discrimination, Germany, parking, sexism, TribergLeave a comment

 

 

The mayor of the Black Forest town of Triberg says women would find it difficult to park there because drivers need to back in diagonally without hitting a pillar and a wall.

Gallus Strobel noted that 12 places in the 220-capacity car park are reserved for women. Many German cities designate a small number of parking spaces, usually near exits, for women concerned about their personal safety in poorly-lit garages.

Strobel told The Associated Press that he had received overwhelmingly positive reactions from men who feel discriminated against by “women only” parking.

But the Triberg mayor says some “humorless people” had criticized the move.

 

Fei Lin’s penis stolen by thieves

On By A.P.In China, Crime, dismemberment, Fei Lin, Niqiao Village, Penis, Zhejiang provinceLeave a comment

 

 

The 41-year old Fei Lin told police that he was sleeping when thieves burst into his room and put a bag over his head: “They put something over my head and pulled down my trousers and then they ran off,” Lin said. “I was so shocked I didn’t feel a thing—then I saw I was bleeding and my penis was gone.”

While nobody has been apprehended yet, a report in the Austrian Times stated that police believe the assailants were jealous or slighted lovers of several local women whom Lin was involved with romantically or sexually. Lin, for his part, denied taking part in any infidelity.

TNT Magazine claims that emergency workers and police conducted a search for Lin’s anatomy but were unable to find the missing penis. The thieves have not yet been located, but police said they were beginning a search for the men and their female lovers.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/367155/20120726/fei-lin-s-penis-stolen-man-china.htm

Thanks to Dr. Nakamura for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

Couple stoned to death in Mali for adultery

On By A.P.In adultery, Africa, Aguelhok, al-Qaida, execution, Mali, militant Islam, MUJWA, shariah, stoningLeave a comment

 

 

An al-Qaida-linked Islamist militant group in control of northern Mali stoned to death a couple accused of engaging in extramarital affairs, the group’s spokesman said.

The couple were publicly executed in the remote town of Aguelhok, near the vast West African nation’s northern border with Algeria, on Sunday, a spokesman for the Ansar Dine group told Reuters.

“These two people were married and had extra-conjugal relations. Our men on the ground in Aguelhok applied shariah (Islamic law),” said Sanda Ould Bounama, reached by telephone on Monday.

“They both died right away and even asked for this application. We don’t have to answer to anyone over the application of shariah,” he said.

A local government official told the AFP news agency that he was on the scene. “The Islamists took the unmarried couple to the center of Aguelhok. The couple was placed in two holes and the Islamists stoned them to death,” he said.

“The woman fainted after the first few blows,” he said. The man shouted out once and then was silent, he added.

Mali have long practiced Islam, but frustrations with the strict form of shariah being imposed by Islamists have sparked several protests in recent months.

Ansar Dine and well-armed allies, including al-Qaida splinter group MUJWA, have hijacked a separatist uprising by local Tuareg rebels and now control two-thirds of Mali’s desert north, territory that includes the regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

Western and African governments are struggling to muster a response to the crisis as politicians in the capital Bamako continue to squabble over how the country should be governed after a March coup removed the country’s president.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/31/13045617-mali-al-qaida-linked-group-stones-couple-to-death-over-alleged-adultery?lite

Florida man who lost his hand to an alligator is being charged with unlawful feeding

On By A.P.In Alligator, Collier County, Crime, dismemberment, Florida, Nature, The Everglades, Unlawful feeding of an alligaotor, Wallace WeatherholtLeave a comment

 

A Florida airboat captain whose hand was bitten off by a 2.7-metre alligator is facing charges of feeding the animal.

Wallace Weatherholt, 63, was charged with unlawful feeding of an alligator and posted $1000 bond on Friday, Collier County Jail records show.

Weatherholt was attacked on June 12 as he was giving an Indiana family a tour of the Everglades.

The family said Weatherholt hung a fish over the side of the boat and had his hand at the water’s surface when the alligator attacked.

Wildlife officers tracked and euthanised the gator.

Weatherholt’s hand was found but could not be reattached.

A criminal investigation followed.

Feeding alligators is an offence.

Weatherholt’s next court date is August 22.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/offbeat/14400025/us-man-in-gator-biting-charged-for-feeding/

29 Cannibals in Papua New Guinea Arrested

On By A.P.In Anthony Wagambie, Australia, brain-eating, Cannibalism, Human Behavior, long pig, New Guinea, Papua, penis soup, sanguma, sorceryLeave a comment

Authorities have arrested 29 people accused of being part of a cannibal cult in Papua New Guinea’s jungle interior and charged them with the murders of seven suspected witch doctors, police said Friday.

Madang Police Commander Anthony Wagambie confirmed a report in The National newspaper that said the cult members allegedly ate their victims’ brains raw and made soup from their penises.

“They don’t think they’ve done anything wrong; they admit what they’ve done openly,” Wagambie told The Associated Press by telephone.

He said the killers believed that their victims practiced “sanguma,” or sorcery, and that they had been extorting money as well as demanding sex from poor villagers for their supernatural services.

By eating witch doctors’ organs, the cult members believed they would attain supernatural powers and literally become bullet-proof, he said.

“It’s prevalent cult activity,” Wagambie said. He said he believes there could be between 700 and 1,000 cult members in several villages in Papua New Guinea’s remote northeast interior. All of them might have eaten human flesh, he said.

According to the report in The National, which is published in Papua New Guinea, 28 men and women appeared in a Madang court on Tuesday. Wagambie said they were charged with willful murder.

It was not clear what happened to the 29th suspect. Murder is punishable by death in Papua New Guinea, a poor South Pacific island nation.

Wagambie said the suspects were not required to plea to the murder charges and were being held in custody.

Police will gather more witness statements before pressing charges related to the cannibalism allegations, he said.

Cannibalism was part of traditional culture in Papua New Guinea, where human flesh was known as “long pig,” and survived in isolated pockets into the latter part of the 20th century while the country was under Australian colonial rule.

Wagambie, 36, said he had never heard of a previous case of cannibalism in his lifetime.

He expected police would make around 100 arrests over the weekend for cult-related crimes.

Four of the seven victims were murdered last week, Wagambie said, adding that no remains had been recovered.

“They’re probably all eaten up,” he said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/papua-new-guinea-cannibals_n_1670688.html

The Kissinger: Virtual Kissing for Long Distance Relationships

On By A.P.In Bunny, Cow, Human Behavior, Lovotics, Pig, Relationship, sexuality, Swine, The KissingerLeave a comment

 

The Kissinger kissing robot concept from Lovotics lets people virtually smooch with each other. Big silicone lips on each animal-shaped device register and replicate lip movements for long-distance affection.

Kissinger looks like a cross between a cow and a bunny. I know what you’re thinking. That sounds super sexy!

The bot sports some good-size lips. The idea is that you kiss away on your Kissinger and the touch-sensitive device sends the movements to another Kissinger far away. That Kissinger moves its own lips in response.

The lips are made from silicone and the kissing critter makes a sort of buzzing noise when it replicates a smooch.

So far, Kissinger is just lips, no tongue. The robot is in concept form, with no word on wider availability yet.

To summarize, two people each make out with sensitive cow/bunny robots and, therefore, actually make out with each other.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57371948-1/kissinger-smooching-robot-for-virtual-make-out-sessions/

 

Parasite in cat litter may increase risk of suicide

On By A.P.In Cats, defecation, Denmark, Human Behavior, Maryland, Neuropsychiatric Disease, suicide, Teodor Postolache, University of Maryland, ViolenceLeave a comment

 

Women infected with the common cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which lurks in litter boxes, may suffer undetected brain changes that lead to personality changes and even mental illness. That’s according to a new study of more than 45,000 women in Denmark published Monday in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The parasite, excreted in cat feces, also spreads through undercooked meat and unwashed vegetables. Pregnant women have long been warned to avoid the parasite, because they can pass it onto their fetus, causing brain damage or stillbirth. In the new study, researchers found that women infected by T. gondii were one and a half times more likely to try to take their own lives than those who were not affected. They were also more likely to try to commit suicide violently—with a gun, sharp object, or by jumping, Time reports. Suicide risk increased with the levels of T. gondii antibodies found. “We can’t say with certainty that T. gondii caused the women to try to kill themselves, but we did find a predictive association between the infection and suicide attempts later in life that warrants additional studies,” study author Teodor Postolache, an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Mood and Anxiety Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said in a press statement.

 

Michael Marin, Arizona man, commits suicide in court after being found guilty of arson

On By A.P.In Arizona, arson, Crime, Michael Marin, Phoenix, suicideLeave a comment

Arizona man Michael Marin collapsed in court and died Thursday after hearing a jury convict him of burning down his $3.5 million mansion, CBS affiliate KPHO-TVreports.

Court officials said the judge and lawyers were discussing aggravating factors and the jury was out of the room when 53-year-old Marin’s face suddenly turned red and he collapsed to the floor.

He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said Marin deliberately burned down his $3.5 million suburban Phoenix mansion in July 2009 after it failed to sell at a charity auction and he could no longer pay the mortgage. He was seen escaping the fire by climbing down a rope ladder while wearing scuba gear.

A Maricopa County Superior Court jury found Marin guilty Thursday afternoon of arson of an occupied structure. Prosecutors said he could face16 years in prison if he was convicted.

A video recording of Marin’s last moments in court has some officials wonder whether his death was a suicide. The video showed Marin cover his mouth and his hands while hearing the guilty verdict and apparently swallowing something, KPHO-TV reports.

He was also seen occasionally sipping from a sports drink bottle before his body twisted into violent convulsions.

Detroit man gambles away $1.5 million accidentally given by ATM

On By A.P.In bank glitch, Crime, Detroit, Michigan, Ronald Page, unlimited ATM cash overdraft1 Comment

Ronald Page seemingly had it made when Bank of America unintentionally changed his account status, allowing the 55-year-old man to make unlimited ATM cash overdraft withdrawals.

But ABC News reports that Page, who in reality had only $300 in his checking account, used the accidental loophole to withdraw more than $1.5 million—losing it all on gambling.

And even worse for Page, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit says he is now facing 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of theft of bank funds, $1,543,104 in total between December 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009.

“In this case, the bank’s glitch allowed the defendant to lose a significant amount of money that was not even his in the first place,” reads the U.S. Attorney’s sentencing memorandum, obtained by ABC. “The fact that defendant acted on an impulse does not minimize the seriousness of his conduct and the need for a custodial sentence.”

The day the Bank of America glitch went into effect, Page reportedly withdrew $312,000 from ATMs at the Greektown Casino in Detroit and an additional $51,727 from the MGM Grand Casino. Bank of America placed a hold on his account 17 days later, but he had already withdrawn $1.5 million by that point.

The glitch reportedly occurred because Page originally had a banking account with LaSalle Bank. When Bank of America acquired LaSalle, the glitch somehow occurred while the two banking institutions were transferring account information.

Page, who does not have a prior record, could have faced a steeper sentence but prosecutors said his crime was a “lapse of judgment” and placed blame with Bank of America for allowing the withdrawals to take place.

In addition to the recommended 15-month sentence and order to repay the funds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has suggested that Page be prohibited from gambling in any capacity.

“If his gambling addiction is not addressed, he is very likely to cause further financial hardship to himself and his family,” the memorandum reads.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/detroit-man-gambles-away-1-5-million-accidentally-191619543.html;_ylc=X3oDMTNsY3FxZXJsBF9TAzEzNzA0OTc4BGFjdANtYWlsX2NiBGN0A2EEaW50bAN1cwRsYW5nA2VuLVVTBHBrZwM4NzZjMTEyMi1jODYyLTNlMmQtOTg3OS1mMjRlMjZmMzE4MjAEc2VjA21pdF9zaGFyZQRzbGsDbWFpbAR0ZXN0Aw–;_ylv=3

Thanks to Mr. C for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

James Carville on what if the rich had lost 40% of their wealth, instead of the middle class….

On By A.P.In economic crisis, James Carville, Wealth and PowerLeave a comment

Let’s imagine that yesterday there was a front page story in The New York Times that read the following:

“The recent economic crisis left the top 1% of Americans in 2010 with no more wealth than in the early 1990s, erasing almost two decades of accumulated prosperity, the Federal Reserve Monday.

“A hypothetical family richer than the median net worth of the top 1% of the nation’s families had a net worth of $77.3 million in 2010, compared with $126.4 million in 2007, the Fed said. The crash of the stock market, in addition to the collapse of housing prices in Greenwich, Connecticut, the Upper East Side of New York City, Beverly Hills, Highland Park in Dallas and the North Shore of Chicago, directly accounted for three-quarters of the loss.”

What do you think the reaction would be to that?

The elite would call for the suspension of habeas corpus, the government would call out the National Guard, invade Honduras and the Supreme Court would announce that it is in session 24/7 to take any action deemed necessary to help their friends.

The Wall Street Journal would have a black border on the newspaper. The Financial Times would go from pink to gray. CNBC would play funeral music for nine months. Steve Schwarzman would compare it to the H-word. Cable networks would roadblock all coverage.

Minimum wage laws would be suspended, the 40-hour work week would be thrown out, perhaps they would even do away with child labor laws to get productivity up so profits could increase to make up for lost revenue.

OK, we know that story did not appear in Wednesday’s New York Times, and we would certainly agree that a massive loss of wealth in the top 1% would wreak economic havoc on the country. But there was, if anything, a worse story on that front page with only minor variations from our hypothetical scenario.

The story said that the recent economic crisis left the average American family in 2010 with no more wealth than in the early 1990s, erasing almost two decades of accumulated prosperity, reducing their net worth by almost 40%.

How are you coping? Share your economy story with CNN iReport

And the response of the national elite, the people Paul Krugman refers to as “very smart people” or I like to call the “chin-scratchers,” was a barely audible whimper.

To put it bluntly, the middle class in this country has been screwed, blued and tattooed.

Rising health care costs, job insecurity, declining real estate values, massive cuts to public education and public safety (no Mitt, we don’t need fewer police officers, we actually need more of them and yes, the federal government has a large hand in this.)

It is a depressing state of affairs when about two-thirds of our fellow citizens are caught in an economic trap that is wrecking their lives financially and emotionally.

And the reaction to all of this has been limp at best.

The Republicans say that if we just give the rich more tax cuts, it will make everyone’s life better — seems as though we’ve tried this before, doesn’t it?

The Democrats have done some things that have been helpful, such as payroll tax cuts and the Affordable Care Act, but there is much more work to be done. As far as other institutions around the country, the response has been pathetic.

Opinion: Why the middle class has taken a big hit

There is an entire industry devoted to denying that this is even a problem.

I read a piece written by Andy Kessler in The Wall Street Journal, stating that thanks to “consumption equality,” the wealthy work their 60- to 80-hour weeks inventing things for the masses, but there’s not much they can buy with their money that the middle class can’t afford.

You can only afford a product, because some rich person invented it for the masses, just like they did with smartphones, hard drives and affordable air travel.

Who cares if you can’t afford to send your children to college or pay for your health insurance premium or what you owe on your house is more than what it’s worth? Hey, you can buy them a cell phone, now that they don’t cost $4,000, and talk to them as they stand in line for a job interview at McDonald’s.

Where are our nation’s institutions that should be raising holy hell about this? Lets start with my own Catholic Church: They are spending all of their time hunting down masturbators and birth-control takers.

Academics: Have you ever heard of the Princeton Center for Middle Class Studies? Not hardly.

The press: There is much more coverage on George Zimmerman’s wife than on the destruction of the middle class in this country.

The lobbyists: Give me a break. When was the last time you heard of a lobbyist for the middle class? The point here is that we are reading the most significant economic story of our time and its effect on the psyche of the people who should know better is minimal.

In the words of Warren Buffett, “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

The big scandal in America is that our middle class is shrinking, and no one seems to care. Maybe someone somewhere somehow should consider doing something else.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/opinion/carville-middle-class/index.html?hpt=hp_c1