Putting Ferrets Down Your Pants For Charity?

On November 29, 2011November 25, 2011 By A.P.In Human BehaviorLeave a comment

Animal welfare groups in Britain say they are outraged by a school fundraising contest that involves placing ferrets down the trousers of competitors.

The charity “ferret legging” event is the idea of retired school headmaster Frank Bartlett, 67, who argued the competition would not harm the ferrets since they were docile, “would probably go to sleep,” and would be placed down baggy trousers, The Telegraph newspaper reported Saturday.

But animal welfare groups say the endurance contest, in which the winning competitor is the last one to release the ferret from his trousers, would cause the animals unnecessary stress and discomfort.

Bartlett said the “lighthearted” contest would cause no harm to the ferrets.

“The event is being undertaken by people who have been involved in ferret care and welfare for many years,” he said.

“We would never dream of doing anything that resulted in distress to any animal.”

$5000 Cab Ride from New York City to Los Angeles

On November 29, 2011November 24, 2011 By A.P.In Human Behavior, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Investment banker and his friend said they “wanted to do something magical.”

http://newslite.tv/2011/04/25/new-york-cabbie-gets-a-5000-lo.html

Poll Reveals that 35% of Rural Brazilian Men Have Practiced Beastiality

On November 28, 2011November 25, 2011 By A.P.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

In the name of science and the fight against cancer, researchers in Brazil ventured forth to find an answer, or perhaps answers, to a simple question: What causes penile cancer?

The cadre of urologists assembled 492 Brazilian men, including 118 penile cancer patients. The survey would result in two startling revelations – first and foremost, that having sex with an animal is a risk factor for penile cancer, and to a slightly lesser extent, that 35% of rural Brazilians have had sex with an animal.

Though the zoophiliacs reported a wide range of animals and frequencies of encounter, the data showed only 32% (yikes!) of men without penile cancer reported sex with an animal, whereas 45% of the cancer patients had said the same thing.

A total of 59 per cent of men who had sex with animals did so for one to five years, while 21 per cent continued the behaviour, also known as zoophilia, for more than five years.

The subjects reported a variety of frequencies for their sex acts, ranging from monthly to daily.

The researchers found no association between penile cancer and the number of animals the men used over time.

The species included mares, cows, pigs and chickens, among other animals.

Lead author was Stjnio de Cassio Zequi, a urologist in Sao Paulo, and he said his study is the first to link the practice to male genital cancers.

He told LiveScience that if a man has sex with an animal it could produce micro-traumas in the human penile tissue.

‘The genital mucus membranes of animals could have different characteristics from human genitalia, and the animals’ secretions are probably different from human fluids.

‘Perhaps animal tissues are less soft than ours, and non-human secretions would be toxic for us.’

Utah Professor Grant Smith Arrested for Watching Child Pornography on Flight

On November 28, 2011 By A.P.In CrimeLeave a comment

A University of Utah professor, arrested over the weekend for allegedly viewing child pornography on his laptop during a flight, will be arraigned on Monday in a Boston court.

Police arrested Grant D. Smith, 47, on Saturday when a Delta Airlines flight from Salt Lake City landed at Boston’s Logan Airport.

A passenger tipped off authorities that Smith was using his laptop to view images of child pornography while a passenger in the first class section of the plane, the Massachusetts State Police said.

CNN affiliate WCVB said a passenger took a cellphone photo of Smith allegedly watching the video.

“The notion that someone would be so bold as to view it in public is extraordinary and I’m not sure what the explanation is,” victim’s advocate, Wendy Murphy, told the station.

The Daily Utah Chronicle, the University of Utah’s student newspaper, said Smith is a professor of material science and engineering at the university.

In a statement to the newspaper, the university said Smith has been placed on administrative leave pending a criminal investigation.

“Professor Smith deserves a full and fair investigation into this issue,” the statement said. “The University of Utah, however, has no tolerance for the viewing or possessing of child pornography by any of its employees, regardless of where it occurs.”

The university added that Smith will be fired if the allegations prove true.

Early Monday morning, Smith remained in jail on a $15,000 bond. He has been charged with possession of child pornography.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/justice/massachusetts-child-porn-arrest/index.html

2 Georgia Female Caregivers Arrested for Water-Boarding 89 Year Old Woman

On November 28, 2011November 24, 2011 By A.P.In Human BehaviorLeave a comment

Police in Clayton County have accused two women of holding down a sick 89-year-old woman and waterboarding her.

The arrest warrants paint an ugly picture on how two care-givers treated 89-year-old Anna Foley, who suffered from dementia.

It allegedly happened at an elderly care facility on Mount Zion Boulevard in Jonesboro back in 2008 — and it’s unbelievable how police said it all started.

The arrest warrants said Jermeller Steed and Cicely Reed engaged in an argument with Foley over ice cream and locked her in a shower room, held her down against her will using a shower curtain and held her wrists and arms.

It goes on to say they sprayed water in Foley’s face with a shower nozzle, purposely obstructing her breathing, in a manner similar to waterboarding.

Waterboarding is what the Obama administration has banned the government from using against suspected terrorists, but Clayton County authorities said that’s what the two women used.

A co-worker who witnessed the horrifying ordeal blew the whistle.

The two accused women no longer work at the adult care facility.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/16071495/police-two-clayton-women-water-boarded-elderly-patient

Living With Voices

On November 27, 2011November 26, 2011 By A.P.In Neuropsychiatric Disease, Psychosis, schizophreniaLeave a comment

The job was gone, the gun was loaded, and a voice was saying, “You’re a waste, give up now, do it now.”

It was a command, not a suggestion, and what mattered at that moment — a winter evening in 2000 — was not where the voice was coming from, but how assured it was, how persuasive.

Losing his first decent job ever seemed like too much for Joe Holt to live with. It was time.

“All I remember then is a knock on the bedroom door and my wife, Patsy, she sits down on the bed and hugs me, and I’m holding the gun in my left hand, down here, out of sight,” said Mr. Holt, 50, a computer consultant and entrepreneur who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

“She says, ‘Joe, I know you feel like quitting, but what if tomorrow is the day you get what you want?’ And walks out. I sat there staring at that gun for an hour at least, and finally decided — never again. It can never be an option. Patsy deserves for me to be trying.”

Read here about how patients cope with auditory hallucinations: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/health/07lives.html

58 Year Old Homeless Woman Lives Undetected for a Year in Tokyo Man’s Closet

On November 27, 2011November 24, 2011 By A.P.In HomelessnessLeave a comment

A Tokyo man had to install video cameras in his apartment, after he found food to be inexplicably disappearing over the past several months. The security cameras were rigged to send the images to his mobile phone.

One of the cameras spotted an image moving about in the man’s home. The apartment owner phoned police, believing the image to be that of a burglar. The cops were shocked to find the door locked and all the windows sealed shut. Upon entering the house, the police began searching every nook and cranny, until they stumbled across a 58-year-old homeless woman curled up on a shelf closet.

She told police that she had snuck into the home one day, about a year ago, when the homeowner had inadvertently left the door unlocked. In the year that she was living there, she says she had moved a mattress into the small closet space, taken showers when the man wasn’t home, and helped herself to some food.

The woman was arrested and charged with trespassing.

http://www.katu.com/news/weird/19398954.html

Black Friday Shoppers in West Virginia Walk Over and Around Dying Man in Target

On November 26, 2011 By A.P.In Empathy1 Comment

Family and friends were stunned by the loss of a West Virginia man who died while shopping on Black Friday as fellow bargain hunters reportedly walked around — and even over — the man’s body.

Family members told WSAZ-TV that 61-year-old Walter Vance of Logan County, W. Va., had become ill and collapsed while shopping for Christmas decorations inside Target in South Charleston. He later died after being taken to the hospital, family said.

Witnesses told the NBC News affiliate in Charleston, W. Wa., that shoppers walked around and even over Vance’s body.

“Where is the good Samaritan side of people?” Vance’s co-worker and friend Sue Compton told WSAZ. “How could you not notice someone was in trouble? I just don’t understand if people didn’t help what their reason was, other than greed because of a sale.”

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/26/9035999-report-shoppers-unfazed-as-man-dies-at-target

Man Stands for 7 Hour Flight

On November 26, 2011 By A.P.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

Arthur Berkowitz, 57, stood for the length of his US Airways flight in July after a fellow passenger occupied half of his seat. The non-stop flight from Anchorage to Philadelphia lasted seven hours.

He initially had an empty seat next to him on Flight 901, but a late passenger sat there and took more space than he paid for.

“His size required both armrests to be raised up and allowed for his body to cover half of my seat,” Berkowitz said.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/25/travel/passenger-of-size/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Twilight Obsession

On November 26, 2011November 25, 2011 By A.P.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

A 49-year old British woman has found more than entertainment from the global hit Twilight series. She’s found the inspiration to lose 70 pounds in 6 months going down 14 dress sizes. As a reward she’s spoiled herself to a $3,000 tattoo in homage to the book and especially the films.

It covers her whole back and features life like images of the film’s actors. But Cathy Ward of Reading, England says she isn’t finished yet. She’s planning another 12 hours of work, costing about $3,000 more, and designs include Robert Pattinson tattooed on her stomach.

The supermarket worker admits her husband isn’t keen on the tattoo but she doesn’t care. “I don’t do them for him,” she explains, “I do them for me.”

And it’s doing well for her. Since starting with a small-ish tattoo of the three stars in 2008 she’s been featured in newspapers around the world. Some say she’s obsessed but this Twi-hard says it’s more than that.

Ward says she found the Twilight saga so compelling she started using the books as a way to reward herself instead of eating calorie rich foods. Once she started losing weight she started exercising and the weight continued to come off. Now her desire to put her favorite vampire on her stomach is keeping her motivated to get toned and healthy.

“…I could spend the money on eating and drinking but instead I’m spending it on something I’m really passionate about,” she says.

http://www.neatorama.com/2011/01/07/woman-gets-full-back-twilight-tattoo/