Weird News of the World Thread - Part 2

[Teelie]

Two arrested after apparent Facebook threat to Pokemon card tournament

Weird or stupid? I can't decide which it is more of so I'll drop this in both threads.

The Boston Police Department arrested two men accused of posting threatening pictures on Facebook and of bringing a number of guns to the world championships of the Pokemon card game Friday.

Screengrabs (below) show 27-year-old James Stumbo allegedly made a post on the "Mayhem Pokemon Crew" Facebook group. The Facebook post included a picture of a shotgun and an AR-15 resting on the rear of a white car with an NRA bumper sticker, along with the message "Kevin Norton and I are ready for worlds Boston here we come!!!"

When another member replied "good luck," Stumbo allegedly added, "With killing the competition?" (A Huffington Post report quotes police reporting that Stumbo said his post was taken out of context.)

Event security was made aware of the post and stopped Norton (age 18) and Stumbo from entering the event at the Hynes Convention Center Thursday after they drove to Boston from Iowa. Police seized the pair's vehicle and searched it upon gaining a warrant on Friday. Police said they found "one 12-gauge Remington shotgun, one DPMS Model AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and a hunting knife." Since the pair could not produce a License to Carry, they were arrested on Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, and other firearm-related charges, police said.

Norton and Stumbo are both listed as invited competitors in the Masters Division of the tournament, which offered more than $500,000 in scholarships as prizes. Motherboard reports that tournament attendees were informed of the threats on Saturday after the suspects were placed under arrest and that police presence was heavy at the tournament all weekend. Pokemon card game expert Josh Marking told Kotaku that Stumbo was "a self-proclaimed gun enthusiast," but that his sarcastic manner meant it was possible it was all a joke.

"Prior to the event this weekend, our community of players made us aware of a security issue," The Pokemon Company said in a statement. "We gathered information and gave it as soon as possible to the authorities at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center who acted swiftly and spearheaded communication with the Boston Police Department. Due to quick action, the potential threat was resolved. The Pokémon Company International takes the safety of our fans seriously and will continue to ensure proper security measures are a priority.

"The relationship between police and private sector security is important in both our community policing philosophy, as well as our counter-terrorism strategy," Boston Police Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis Commander Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald said in a statement. "This incident is a good example of private security reaching out to their local Boston police district and relaying information to detectives and BRIC analysts in order to identify the very real threat. The BPD detectives and collaborating agencies did a great job in the stop and prevention of a potential tragedy."

Ars Technica

 

[Teelie]

FDA to startup: Your vegan mayonnaise can’t be called mayonnaise

As the commenter in the original link below said, "Today I learned there is an official legal standard for mayonnaise."

A San Francisco food-tech startup has received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), saying that the company’s eggless mayonnaise cannot be called "Just Mayo."

Hampton Creek Foods, which was founded in 2011, aims to use various plants instead of animal products as substitutes in common foods—such as replacing eggs in pre-packaged cookie dough or mayonnaise.

The company’s products, including "Just Mayo," are commonly sold at Whole Foods, Safeway, and other major supermarkets.

As the FDA wrote in its letter, which was published on Tuesday:

The name "Just Mayo" and an image of an egg are prominently featured on the labels for these products. The term "mayo" has long been used and understood as shorthand or slang for mayonnaise. The use of the term "mayo" in the product names and the image of an egg may be misleading to consumers because it may lead them to believe that the products are the standardized food, mayonnaise, which must contain eggs as described under 21 CFR 169.140(c).

The agency continues, noting that the "modified food starch," does not "meet the definition of the standard for mayonnaise."

Hampton Creek Foods did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.

The company has until early September 2015 to respond to the FDA.

In October 2014, Hampton Creek was sued by Unilever, the manufacturer of Best Foods Mayonnaise for false advertising that "Just Mayo" was, in fact, mayonnaise. However, the case was dropped in December 2014.

ARS Technica

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Mayonnaise without eggs ? Heresia ! What's next Ketchup without tomato ?

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

We call that Nochup

 

[Teelie]

Loose nut costs Air Force $62.4 million in accident

Proof that even a lone nut can bring down a state of the art military aircraft.

Washington (CNN)An Air Force reconnaissance airplane caught fire in April, endangering the lives of 27 airmen aboard the plane -- all because a retaining nut connecting oxygen tubing was not tightenedproperly, accident investigators have determined. The report blamed a private defense contracting company for the accident.

"Failure by L-3 Communications depot maintenance personnel to tighten a retaining nut connecting a metal oxygen tube to a junction fitting above the galley properly caused an oxygen leak. This leak created a highly flammable oxygen-rich environment that ignited," U.S. Air Force investigators wrote in report published August 3.

Investigators determined the ensuing fire caused $62.4 millon in damage to the RC-135V, which electronically snoops on adversaries and relays gathered intelligence to commanders.

L-3 Communications spokesman Bruce Rogowski declined comment and referred questions to the Air Force.

The plane, which was about to take off on a training mission from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on April 30, instead skidded to a stop on the runway. All 27 crew members made it off safely, The Omaha World-Herald reported.

The World-Herald first obtained the report through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The Air Force report said the jet hit about 51 mph when the pilot aborted takeoff, well below its takeoff speed.

A former pilot contacted by the World-Herald estimated that had the plane taken off, all 27 crew members could have died in an ensuing crash.

"This event could have easily been that catastrophic, because of the intensity of the fire," Robert Hopkins III told the paper. "Had they taken off, it could easily have been fatal."

The Air Force has 17 RC-135V/Ws in its fleet. One of them was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 jet over the Baltic Sea earlier this year in an incident that drew strong criticism from the Pentagon.

The U.S. crew believed the Russian pilot's actions were "unsafe and unprofessional due to the aggressive maneuvers it performed in close proximity to their aircraft and its high rate of speed," Pentagon spokesman Mark Wright said in April.

That was not the first time the U.S. has complained about an incident involving a RC-135 and a SU-27. A year earlier, a Russian jet flew within 100 feet of a RC-135 over the Sea of Okhotsk in the western Pacific, according to U.S. officials who called it "one of the most dangerous close passes in decades."

CNN

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I remember when I was in the Navy doing maintenance in my division. They have these cards that walk you through literally every step like you're a complete moron, but it's incidents like this that show they do it for a reason. When somebody gets complacent and thinks they know how to do it because they have done it a million times things get forgotten and stuff like this happens. It's the same type of thing I read about with doctors that a high percentage of accidents in hospitals could be avoided if they would just use a checklist before, during and after but they think they are too smart for it.

 

[Teelie]

I know I've done that. Not killing someone operating on them or bringing down a multi-million dollar airplane but getting so complacent at something I was really, really good at that I missed a step or did something backwards and totally messed it up because I wasn't paying enough attention.

 

[Teelie]

Shearer saves lost sheep from woolly death, sets unofficial world record

Never again can anyone ever complain, "I need a haircut."

An Australian champion sheep shearer has set an unofficial world record after clipping a sheep that had become so overgrown its life was endangered.

The gigantic sheep, named "Chris" by a member of the public who found it just outside Australia's capital, Canberra, could barely walk when it was found.

Shearer Ian Elkins volunteered to shear the mammoth creature, which had to be sedated throughout the operation, after being contacted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in Australia.

Chris the sheep as seen in the wild, in the Mulligans Flats area near the NSW-ACT border, Australia.

He took 42 minutes to remove the 47 centimeter (18 inch) fleece, which the RSPCA said weighed 40.45 kilograms (89 pounds).

It easily beat the 27 kilogram (60 pound) fleece previously shorn from a New Zealand sheep, known as "Shrek."

It also trounced the official world record for the largest single fleece ever shorn, presently held by a New Zealand sheep called "Big Ben." Shearers stripped Ben of his 28.9 kilogram (68 pound) fleece in January 2014, according to the RSPCA.

It took 42 minutes to rid Chris of his fleece, the RSPCA said.

Referring to Chris, Elkins said, "I don't think it's been shorn before and I think he's five or six years old."

"I wouldn't say it's high quality but you wouldn't expect it to be after so long in the bush," Elkins, a four-time Australian shearing champion, told the Canberra Times.

The RSPCA said sheep like Chris, a Merino that are bred especially for their wool, need to be shorn regularly or they can have trouble going to the bathroom and can develop serious medical issues like flystrike or infection.

An average Australian fleece in comparison weighs just five kilograms (11 pounds) and takes approximately three minutes to shear, according to Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).

CNN

 

[Marvolo]

It's a wonder the poor animal didn't have a heat stroke.

 

[squeekness]

He must feel so much lighter now.

 

[Teelie]

Homeopathy conference ends in chaos after delegates take hallucinogenic drug

I debated whether this was more stupid or weird. I decided it was more a weird thing because I think these people were duped into believing something stupid rather than being stupid themselves, even if I think homeopathy is worthless.

An alternative medicine conference has ended in chaos in Germany after dozens of delegates took a LSD-like drug and started suffering from hallucinations.

Broadcaster NDR described the 29 men and women “staggering around, rolling in a meadow, talking gibberish and suffering severe cramps”.

The group of "Heilpraktikers" was discovered at the hotel where they held their conference in the town of Handeloh, south of Hamburg, on Friday.

More than 150 medical staff, ambulances and police descended on the scene and took the raving delegates to hospital.

The patients, aged between 24 and 56, were found suffering from delusions, breathing problems, racing hearts and cramps, with some in a serious condition, Deutsche Welle reported.

Tests on their blood and urine revealed they had all taken hallucinogenic drug 2C-E, which is known as Aquarust in Germany and has been illegal there since the end of last year.

No one recovered sufficiently to be interviewed by police until Monday, a spokesperson said.

Torsten Passie, a member of the German government’s expert commission for narcotics, told NDR: “It must have been a multiple overdose. That does not support the view that the people concerned took the hallucinogen knowingly.

“One has to assume that people were not told about the substance, its effects and risks before taking it.”

Police are reportedly looking into possibilities including the drug being taken as a joint experiment, or it being furtively given to conference participants as a prank.

No arrests have yet been made as the investigation continues into a possible violation of Germany’s Narcotics Act.

The Association of German Healing Practitioners (VDH), which represents homeopaths as well as other naturopaths, quickly distanced itself from the embarrassment.

In a statement, it said none of its representatives took hallucinogens during the “incident” in Handeloh.

“The organisers of this obscure conference are unknown to us and such events will not be tolerated by our Association,” a spokesperson said.

“Unfortunately, the conference in Handeloh has severely damaged the image of the alternative medicine profession…and we have clarified that such acts are not in the spirit of natural therapy, and contradict our values both morally and legally.

“The Association of German Healing Practitioners (Heilpraktikers) detests such misdemeanours.”

The British Government’s drug advisory service, Frank, describes 2C-E as a psychedelic and hallucinogenic stimulant that has effects “somewhere between ecstasy and LSD”.

Anyone taking it experiences a buzz and feeling of being “alive and in tune with their surroundings”, their colours and smells.

It can also cause hallucinations, sexual arousal, hypersensitivity and other effects that become “more intense and uncontrollable” with higher doses.

The drug is classed as relatively new by Frank and not widely available in the UK, but is illegal as part of the phenethylamine family as a class A drug.

The Independent

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

 

[Spider-Fan83]

Emu on the loose in New Hampshire

There's an emu on the loose in a New Hampshire town and police are wasting no time trying to locate the "big fella,"

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/emu-on-the-loose-in-new-hampshire-town/

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Someone call an Australian, that problem will solve itself then

 

[Teelie]

'Star Trek: Voyager' actress Jennifer Lien charged with indecent exposure

I wondered what happened to her so I looked at IMDB and her last credited work was all the way back in 2003. Now I know what she's been up to and it is traumatizing the neighbors.

An actress best known for "Star Trek: Voyager" was arrested on September 3.

Jennifer Lien, who played Kes in the first few seasons of the "Star Trek" spinoff series, has been charged with indecent exposure.

According to CNN affiliate WATE, Lien was arrested in her home in Harriman, Tennessee.

Neighbor Carey Smith told WATE that Lien came by her home to comment on how Smith's children were being raised and started using vulgar language.

"All of a sudden, here come the shirt up," said Smith.

"She started flashing and, 'Woo hoo,' and I said, 'And what respect is that for kids?' There was none. And then she turned around and dropped her pants."

According to the affiliate, Lien was found naked on her couch by deputies and resisted walking to the patrol car after threatening to kill the officers.

Lien was clothed and carried out to the car.

The actress' character on "Voyager" was Kes, an alien from a mentally advanced race with only a nine-year lifespan. The series aired from 1995 to 2001 for seven seasons.

The Harriman Police Department also said that Lien has a record that includes aggravated assault, domestic assault, resisting arrest, evading arrest and reckless endangerment.

As of Tuesday night, Lien remained in jail.

CNN

 

[Marvolo]

Emu on the loose in New Hampshire
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/emu-on-the-loose-in-new-hampshire-town/

My grandparent's neighbors used to own emu's and those are some funny birds. Curious but skittish. I wouldn't want to be kicked by one of them. Their claws probably don't feel very good.

 

[Erzengel]

Facebook user from Gujranwala, Asif took to the social networking site on Monday to declare that his friendship with his erstwhile ‘best friend’ Mudasir is over and that he is welcoming a new ‘best friend’ in his life – Salman.

According to the photo shared publicly by Asif Raza, his friendship with Mudasir is officially over. Going into the details of the breakup in the description of the photo, Asif opined that he had to let his former best friend go because “he became very selfish, Proudy, and those who shows me Attitude, I keep them under my Foot…… Huuhhh…….Now SAlman AHmad Naqash is my best friend……Its for information to all.”

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I just saw that a few minutes ago and it is beautifully baffling

 

[Teelie]

Police: Florida woman with 3,714 knives, swords and hatchets arrested

I am somewhat at a loss for this one. Outside of assuming "satanic worship" as opposed to virtually any other explanation (bat**** crazy) for the motif inside (skulls, pentagrams and Halloween decor) they don't seem to have jumped the gun sword for once and no one was seriously injured in the arrest.

Also unsurprisingly (except maybe the lack of amputations) there were five deputies who got cuts removing the weaponry from the trailer over the span of five hours.

There are a lot of highlights to this story, the entire thing sounds like a bit from an action-comedy movie.

There is video plain as day of her committing the crime of tearing off security screening from a window (no explanation for why however) in violation of her parole related to a weapons charge.

Sheriff's deputies discovered a virtual warehouse of knives, swords, machetes and hatchets inside a house trailer when they arrested a Florida woman, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

In total, deputies counted 3,714 bladed weapons, sheriff's office spokeswoman Denise Moloney said.

Each room in the trailer had at least 500 weapons, she said. Photos released by the sheriff's department showed swords and knives arranged so densely as to create a wall of weapons. Investigators found no firearms.

Moloney didn't know why Dykema had collected so many bladed weapons. "It looks like she had an obsession with them," she said.

Deputies found other strange things in the Brooksville residence, like an altar with skulls arranged around it, Moloney said.

"It appears there was some satanic thing going on," Moloney said. "She had pictures of pentagrams, there were fake body parts, the kind that you can buy from the Halloween store, and skeletons on the wall with knives protruding out of them."

Nickcole Ellen Fay Dykema, 47, even " 'booby trapped' many of the bladed weapons, blankets, floors inside, and even the yard outside the residence," Moloney said.

Five deputies suffered cuts removing the weapons and required medical treatment, she said.

It took five hours to arrest Dykema, CNN affiliate WTSP reported.

Dykema wouldn't come out of the trailer Tuesday night when probation and parole officers tried to arrest her on felony warrants, the sheriff's department said in a press release.

She'd violated her probation when she was caught on security video cutting screens at a neighbor's house, WTSP reported.

When deputies arrived to help the probation-parole officers, Dykema took a swing at a deputy with a large sword or machete, missing his head by inches, the press release said.

Officers forced their way inside the trailer, the release said. Once inside, Dykema advanced on deputies twice with a large sword and then retreated into back rooms, the release said.

Deputies shot her at least twice with a nonlethal beanbag round from a shotgun, the release said. Then a deputy shot her with a Taser.

"The Taser had the desired effect, and Dykema fell to the ground," the press release said.

She was treated for injuries at the scene and taken to jail.

Dykema was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, property damage and three counts of probation violation. She was being held in the Hernando County Detention Center without bond.

No deputies were injured during the arrest.

"It amazes me that these deputies were able to take her into custody without anyone being injured," Sheriff Al Nienhuis said. "It shows the level of their restraint and professionalism under very difficult and dangerous conditions."

CNN

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Damn

 

[Spider-Fan83]

update on the Emu on the loose, it was caught...
http://www.wcvb.com/news/elusive-bow-emu-captured-after-a-week-on-the-loose/35384722

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Bastards should have let him roam free

 

[Teelie]

Should have let him be a... free bird. [cue CSI: Miami Intro]

 

[Teelie]

Australian workplace bullying case hinged on a Facebook unfriending

Another reason to hate Facebook.

Earlier this week, the Australian Fair Work Commission ruled that a complaint about a real estate agent's supervisor "bullying at work" should be upheld. While the list of complaints was lengthy, one of them, about being unfriended on Facebook, may make Australian coworkers think twice about how they interact online

According to the FWC's decision, a Tasmanian woman named Rachael Roberts had received unfair and unkind treatment from supervisor Lisa Bird—along with her husband, agency owner James Bird—that went on for months. Beyond aggressive and even sexually suggestive comments and treatment, however, an incident in late January was the one that crossed a line enough for Roberts to file her complaint. On that occasion, Roberts was taken aside by Lisa Bird after she had lodged complaints about various, frequent workplace issues to the owner.

Roberts was allegedly scolded by Bird in person, including being described as "a naughty little schoolgirl running to the teacher," and after that confrontation ended, Roberts checked her phone to see if any negative stories about the incident had been posted to Facebook. At that point, Roberts confirmed that she'd been unfriended by Lisa Bird—a fact that was corroborated by SMS messages almost immediately afterward between Roberts and James Bird.

The Commission specifically cited the Facebook unfriending in its decision, saying that it "evince[d] a lack of emotional maturity and is indicative of unreasonable behaviour," then clarified the point by saying, "Mrs. Bird took the first opportunity to draw a line under the relationship with Ms. Roberts on 29 January 2015, when she removed her as a friend on Facebook, as she did not like Ms. Roberts and would prefer not to have to deal with her."

However, that unfriending incident was one of eight occasions that constituted "unreasonable behavior" at the workplace, meaning the FWC didn't necessarily rule that a coworker's Facebook deletion, in isolation, counted as an act of bullying by default.

The ruling was handed down in compliance with Australia's 2009 Fair Work Act, whose text mentions efforts to protect employees who have been bullied by coworkers and who face "a risk that [they] will continue to be bullied at work." However, the Act does not include specific terms for compensation or resolution, and Wednesday's decision merely saw the FWC request that the bullying stop and that there should be "a conference between the parties to discuss the order."

Ars Technica

 

[Teelie]

Cheerios recalls 1.8 million gluten-free boxes that may contain wheat

I don't want to sound snarky but unless you are one of the maybe 1% of people eating this cereal who actually would have an allergy to gluten then it is meaningless to worry.

There are two people (of however many tens to hundreds of thousands) who said they got sick eating the cereal so they are exceptions to otherwise silly fad dieters.

The company said in a press release Monday that issues offloading flour at its facility in Lodi, California may have caused the contamination, and affects four days worth of the factory's production.

General Mills ordered boxes still at warehouses and on store shelves to be returned and is asking customers with wheat allergies to call the company at 1-800-775-8370.

Company spokesperson Kirsite Foster said, "[T]here have been reports of illness by consumers online. Two complaints of illness have been reported directly to General Mills related to the affected products."

The company is in the process of converting five Cheerio varieties to gluten free, and this recall affects Honey Nut Cheerios and classic Cheerios in the yellow box. To determine if their cereal is affected, customers can check the "better if used by" codes of the affected boxes listed here.

Money.CNN