Random News Briefs

100 Scammed By Man Promising Fancy Meal

An offer of a free meal from a man who says he works at an upscale Indianapolis steakhouse has the restaurant chain fielding dozens of calls.

A man has reportedly been stopping people in Indianapolis-area parking lots and asking them for money to get a locksmith after claiming to have locked his keys in his car while changing a flat tire, reported television station WRTV in Indianapolis. In exchange, the man promises to give the person a free meal at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, where he claims he works as a manager.

The man gives the name of Matt Bauer, the name of a real manager at Ruth's Chris. Bauer said Wednesday that the person out asking for money isn't him. Instead, over the past three weeks, he's taken close to 100 calls from people asking about their free meal.

"So he is definitely going out with a premeditated story to take advantage, as you said, of people's good nature," Bauer said.

People have reported being approached in parking lots in two locations. The victims told police they gave the man anywhere from $14 to $40. Bauer said he's fed up with the scam artist using his name and soiling the reputation of the restaurant where he works.

"I do want it to stop. I want the community to be safe. I want them to spend their dollars on what they need to be spending their money on and not perpetuating this gentleman out there defrauding the community," he said.

The man has also used the name of Michael Moore. He is described as a well-dressed white man with very blue eyes.

Japan Navy Fails To Intercept Test Missile

U.S. and Japanese military experts will be working to figure out why an anti-missile defense test failed.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said a Japanese navy ship Wednesday failed to shoot down a mid-range ballistic missile target in a test off the Hawaiian islands. Japanese sailors succeeded in a previous test from a ship at sea.

The latest $55 million test paid for by Japan went well until the last few seconds when "an anomaly" occurred aboard the interceptor missile, causing it to lose track of the target. Rear Adm. Brad Hicks, director of the U.S. Aegis ballistic missile defense program, said everything was fine until that point. Hicks said it was only the fourth failure out of 20 Aegis ballistic missile defense program tests.

FBI Offers $50K For Ecoterror Suspects

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of four alleged environmental extremists accused of sabotage attacks in five Western states -- including a 1998 firebombing at a Colorado ski resort that caused $12 million in damage.

The four are believed to be members of a radical environmental group known as "The Family" that is blamed for a series of arson attacks, vandalism and other crimes in Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming and Colorado from 1996-2001.

The FBI identified the four as Josephine Sunshine Overaker, Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, Justin Franchi Solondz and Rebecca Rubin. The bureau said they are believed to be living outside the United States.

The 1998 firebombing at a Vail, Colo., ski resort is considered one of the most devastating ecoterrorism attacks in U.S. history. The group also is suspected in a 2001 ecoterror arson of the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle.

The incidents were among at least 25 criminal actions by members of the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front that caused more than $80 million in damages, officials said.

"These individuals are terrorists," said Michael Ward, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division. "Regardless of their political or social message, their actions were criminal and violated federal laws."

A total of 17 people have been indicted on ecoterrorism charges related to actions by the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front, Ward said. Thirteen have been convicted. The North American Earth Liberation Front press office issued a statement Wednesday calling the reward offer hypocritical.

"During the last 10 years, the federal government has wasted countless resources on its 'Operation Backfire' campaign aimed at demonizing those who are protecting the planet," said Lisa Nesbitt, a spokeswoman for the group. "Instead of tracking and prosecuting nonviolent eco-defenders, why isn't the federal government locking up the real ecoterrorists, the CEOs of corporations who are inflicting violence and destruction on the environment every day?"

The FBI said Solondz, 29, may be in Canada, Europe or Asia; Dibee, 31, in Syria; and Rubin, 35, in Canada.

Overaker, whose age is listed as 34 or 37, was born in Canada and may be living there, officials said.

Driver Loses Control After Sneeze

We all know about the dangers of drinking and driving - but how about driving while sneezing?

An untimely sneeze nearly cost Andrew Hanson his life. The 42-year-old Weymouth, Massachusetts man told authorities that a sneeze caused him to lose control of his pickup on Soldiers Field Road and plunge into Boston's Charles River. Hanson was able to wade to shore after escaping from the truck, which was partially submerged in 4 feet of water. He was not seriously injured but was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Lawrence Callahan of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation said Hanson told him that after he sneezed, "the next thing he knew he was in the river."

Turkey Price War Begins In Ohio

Ohio supermarkets are slashing prices for turkeys in hopes shoppers will fill their carts with other Thanksgiving items that are more expensive this year.

In central Ohio - a very competitive market for food stores - chains including Kroger and Giant Eagle are selling turkeys 18 pounds or larger for a mouthwatering 29 cents a pound.

Ohio Grocers Association president Tom Jackson called that an unbelievable price during unbelievable times. Before Thanksgiving of last year, turkeys were averaging 36 cents a pound.

Wholesale prices for turkeys are actually up as much as 7 cents a pound from last year, but stores are using the birds as a lure and shoppers should not expect bargains elsewhere. White potatoes, for example, cost 35 percent more than last year.

As a result, in a push to get more consumers in their doors, grocery chains are practically giving away turkeys this year. This comes even though higher export demand for U.S. turkey has driven the estimated wholesale prices up 3 cents to 7 cents per pound compared with 2007, Corrine Alexander, an agricultural economist at Purdue University told the Columbus Dispatch.

"Grocery stores are hoping that when you come to pick up that turkey you're also going to buy your potatoes, your cranberries and all of the other items that you serve at Thanksgiving," she said.

Fla. Man Accused Of Sandwich Assault

A Florida man is accused of hitting his girlfriend in the face with a sandwich while she drove, knocking her glasses off her face, reported WPBF-TV in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Emmanuelle Rodriguez, 19, is charged with domestic battery and child abuse for the incident that occurred Friday while he, his 19-year-old girlfriend, Brittany Gonzales, their 7-month-old son were on Interstate 95 traveling to their new apartment in Fort Pierce, Fla.

According to an incident report, the boy was asleep in the back seat when Rodriguez became angry and began striking Gonzales in the face with a sandwich. Police said Gonzales was screaming for him to stop because she couldn't see and thought she was going to lose control of the car.

Gonzales told police he then ripped the rearview mirror off the windshield and began hitting the windshield with the mirror. She said she exited the interstate and told Rodriguez to get out, leaving him for his mother to pick him up.

Rodriguez admitted to police that they were arguing and he didn't want to hit her, so he threw a sandwich in her face instead, the report said. He was arrested and transported to the St. Lucie County Jail. He's free on $7,500 bail.

Cell Phone in Man's Chest Pocket Stops Bullet

A man says his cell phone saved his life. A stray .45-caliber bullet hit R.J. Richard's chest while he was mowing the lawn - hitting so hard he thought it was a stone kicked out by his tractor. He pulled out the phone. It fell apart.

The 68-year-old man was bruised. He said doctors told him two things prevented worse injury, maybe even death: the phone, and the fact that the bullet came in at an angle rather than head-on.

Reports of pocket Bibles saving their owners' lives pop up every so often. Richard says he's sure that God told him to put the phone in his overalls chest pocket rather than a pants pocket as usual. He said that Saturday's incident increased his faith. He figured the bullet was fired by a hunter in woods near his 5-acre property.

Sarah Palin Should Be Time's Person Of The Year

NEW YORK - Time magazine has a nice problem: It can choose between two compelling newsmakers as its 2008 Person of the Year.

When it announces the winner next month, will Time opt for Barack Obama or Sarah Palin?

Of course, these aren't the only contenders, by any means. But Time Warner's (TWX) Time has been known to zig while the country zags. The magazine may select someone who doesn't have a link to the just-concluded presidential campaign. Time likes to make off-the-wall choices, in an effort to look controversial and manufacture publicity, such as Vladimir Putin, the prime minister of Russia, a year ago and "You" two years ago.

"You" was a nod to the raging popularity of social-network Web sites and the empowerment of individuals in a digital world. At the time, I thought the pick was as dumb as dust and said so in print. I subsequently saw the wisdom and recanted my criticism, to Time's satisfaction.

Obamamania vs. Palinmania

Does Time have the nerve to go out on a limb and select Palin over the obvious pick, President-elect Barack Obama?

Sure, Obama revolutionized and electrified the political scene, becoming the first African-American to win the U.S. presidential election. Further, he accomplished a far-reaching goal. He made politics seem accessible and relevant to a nation of disenfranchised Americans, including generations of African-Americans. That's no small feat in itself.

Then again, Palin, the oft-mocked governor of Alaska, achieved something remarkable in her own right. She showed it was possible for (truly) anyone to rise to political prominence on the national stage, whether she strikes you today as an inspiration or a punch line.

Palin's overnight fame seemed even more unlikely than that of Obama, who had followed a carefully scripted game plan designed to capitalize on the disillusionment over such better-known and seasoned rivals as Hillary Clinton and John McCain. By contrast, Palin emerged as the accidental celebrity of politics.

Remember, only a handful of political junkies outside of Alaska knew much about Palin as recently as Aug. 28. Then, 24 hours later, John McCain tapped her to be his running mate and unwittingly unleashed Palinmania. McCain was the presidential candidate on the Republican ticket -- but was there ever any doubt about which one was driving the media train? It was Palin.

Picking Palin

I hope Time selects Palin for these reasons:

Palin, even more than Obama, made politics seem exciting every day. Obama, presumably, will get many opportunities to be named a Person of the Year during the years he occupies the White House (particularly if and when he leads America out of Iraq and helps us achieve economic prosperity). It would be fun to watch so many Americans go nuts because Time, once again, chose someone unexpected.

No doubt, plenty of jaded readers will ask, who cares?

It's a fair point but, ultimately, a short-sighted one. Yes, the relevance of weekly news magazines has receded dramatically during the digital era. Still, Time's Person of the Year is probably the only end-of-the-year award that matters anymore.

Jim Kelly, the former Time managing editor who now holds the same title at publisher Time Inc. is fond of calling the Person of the Year speculation "America's favorite parlor game" -- and he is correct. If nothing else, it is entertaining to make a pick, like with the nation's preoccupation with holding Oscar pools every year.

There's nothing wrong with lightening up a little now and then.

MICHELLE'S WEB QUESTION: Who should be Time's Person of the Year? (and I hope that any sourpuss who snidely replies "who cares!" gets a lump of coal in his or her Christmas stocking).

MICHELLE

WSB, WRTV-TV, WPBF-TV, U.S. Missile Defense Agency, AP, Time

News & Weird Goings-on....

From Physorg.com:

Now it is possible to see a movie of an electron. The movie shows how an electron rides on a light wave after just having been pulled away from an atom. This is the first time an electron has ever been filmed, and the results are presented in the latest issue of Physical Review Letters.

As important as the electron is, and this is the first time it's appeared on film? Something wrong about that. How is it that an electron is just getting on the screen and Pauley Show has already made all those movies?

Meanwhile, the story of Mavis Price:

The 60-year-old grandmother seems to have a freakishly high level of static electricity coursing through her body.

She estimates she has destroyed 15 kettles in the last few years. Housework has also become a problem, with 20 irons and ten vacuum cleaners biting the dust after falling foul of her apparently supercharged touch.

And her friends and family are often left with their hair standing on end after touching her.

Mrs Price says her bizarre condition also means she cannot keep a computer in her house because they go berserk at the brush of her hand.

I hope this woman is never allowed to wear corduroy pants. She could blow up half of England.

And let's keep this statically charged grandmother out of Arizona, which is close to becoming the "Persian Gulf of Solar Energy" according to CNN.

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- A Spanish company is planning to take 3 square miles of desert southwest of Phoenix and turn them into one of the largest solar power plants in the world.

Abengoa Solar, which has plants in Spain, northern Africa and other parts of the U.S., could begin construction as early as next year on the 280-megawatt plant in Gila Bend -- a small, dusty town 50 miles southeast of Phoenix.

The company said Thursday it could be producing solar energy by 2011.

Abengoa would build, own and operate the $1 billion plant, named the Solana Generating Station.

The "Persian Gulf of Solar Energy" right here in the United States. Good thing that President Bush is leaving office or we might have ended up invading ourselves.

Speaking of Phoenix:

A 600-page guide may lend credibility to UFO believers.

The Fire Officer's Guide To Disaster Control can apparently be found in firehouses across the United States.

It covers everything from fire and flood response to aviation disasters.

Chapter 13 of the book has an unusual twist. Titled "Enemy Attack And UFO Potential", it outlines what could happen in the event of a UFO crash.

The authors of the book, retired firefighters William M. Kramer and Charles W. Bahme write in part:

It would be remiss to not give some part to the role fire departments might play in the even of the unexpected arrival of UFO's in their communities...In a less optimistic scenario, you may have engine trouble upon approaching the scene, and radio contact could be lost with your dispatcher. If at night, your headlights could go out, the city could be blacked out, and your portable generators may malfunction when you attempt to use them for fans and portable lights

For the sake of the first responders, I hope that Chapter 14 of this manuel is "How not to get vaporized by their alien death rays."

As far as I'm concerned the weirdest news story of the week is the reports that the Secret Service waived their protection of Barack Obama in Dallas. Did you hear this update?

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. Secret Service Friday denied reports that security measures at a recent Barack Obama rally in Texas were relaxed or deviated from established plans.

Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said there was no order from the Secret Service to stop screening people going to the Obama rally Wednesday at Dallas' Reunion Arena. He said that the event's security plans didn't involve having each participant pass through a magnetometer, as may be the case at other events.

The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported that some police at the event expressed concern about people not passing through metal detectors.

"Any allegations to the fact that we had suspended screening or deviated from the original security plan would be entirely inaccurate," Zahren said.

How familiar is that sounding? The Secret Service denies telling the Dallas Police to stand down? I'm glad they say that it didn't happen but . . .

No wonder some folks are worried that if he were elected, Barack Obama would never live to see a second term.

Questions remain about the deadly poison, ricin, found in that Las Vegas extended stay hotel room but we now know more about the guy who was living in that room. Channel 8 in Vegas is doing some great reporting on this, as is the Journal-Review.

The Review-Journal states that he is Roger Von Bergendorff, a man who had been admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 with breathing problems consistent with exposure to ricin. Von Bergendorff is now in critical condition and police sources say he has slipped into a coma.

Police say they had been to the man's room on February 26 after apartment management called them to remove some firearms. The managers were going forward with eviction proceedings when they found guns and an anarchist-type textbook

I swear this already was an episode of CSI: Las Vegas. In the TV episode I saw of the anarchist who dies of his own poison, it wasn’t terrorism the guy was after but in the end, but money. Kind of D.B. Cooper like story except, of course, it wasn’t.

There is nothing at all quite like the D.B. Cooper story, the man we were talking about in my first post here on Blogspot.

BISHOPVILLE, SC (WIS) - After a nasty surprise Thursday morning for one Bishopville resident, she's wondering if the "Lizard Man" is back.

Dixie Rawson of Bishopville sent WIS News 10 an e-mail about a big surprise she got at her home Thursday morning. "The whole front half of our van is chewed up. There are bite marks right through the front grill. Both sides of the van above the wheel wells were bitten and the metal is bent like a piece of paper."

It reminded Dixie of the local legend of the "Lizard Man" that stretches back for decades. Now some are wondering if the Lizard Man is back.

Meanwhile, overseas....

Romanian cops have closed a vandalism investigation that left local houses in ruins by concluding ghosts were to blame.

Families living in Lilieci reported windows broken, bicycles flying through the air, objects moving on tables and candles blown out when there is no wind.

When they complained they were being hounded by evil spirits to police they were laughed at.

But after officers saw the evidence with their own eyes they filed a report saying that ghosts were to blame.

A police spokesman said: "There were bottles and things flying around. I did not know what to dodge first. We can find nothing to suggest it was anything other than what the people claim."

Always nice to have photos to back up your claims when you can. Sometimes, some people have proof before they even know they have a claim to make.

From the Sun:

A STUDENT was left shocked when she checked her tourist snaps of the London skyline - and spotted what looks like a flying saucer.

University Of Exeter academic Karolina-Slavka Mueller was in London for the weekend, when she took some shots with her camera phone of the sights.

But when she looked back at the January 19 night time pictures of Tower Bridge and the London Eye, she was shocked to see an apparent UFO.

And experts claim it is the real thing.

Karolina said in an email: "What's very strange about this is the fact that we didn't actually see this object in the sky while I was taking the photos.

"I only discovered it once I loaded the photos onto my computer as I didn't even look at the photos until then."

A bleeding fisherman swam 12 hours through shark-infested waters to raise the alarm after his trawler overturned off Australia.

Michael Williams left two colleagues clinging to debris in the ocean as he embarked on his epic journey.

One fellow crewman was rescued after spending 30 hours at sea while the skipper is still missing.

Meanwhile, Down Under . . .

Interesting profile of a New Zealand Water Diviner on Stuff.com. The link is on the website at coasttocoastam.com but it’s pretty amazing. Using just his own supernatural ability, he found a water source for a town in trouble. And on top of that, he was so confident in his water divination technique that after he put his finger on the map and said “here.” he put up his own money to help fund the well drilling. Now, he gets a royalty for the water the town is getting out of it.

Maybe the Governor of Georgia should hire that guy. As Herman Wang with the Free-Press in Nooga wrote last week, the Georgia water wars are beginning to boil, a video story I ran back in March here.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said today he has no plans to discuss Georgia’s proposed land grab — or border correction, depending on who’s talking.

“I think it’s a silly issue that’s more of a publicity stunt,” said Gov. Bredesen, “my position is pretty clear. We’re certainly not going to move our borders to share our water.”

Gov. Perdue has been supportive of efforts by the Georgia General Assembly to have the state line redrawn to the 35th parallel, where it was intended before an 1818 survey placed it in its current location 1.1 miles south.

“He has been telling people to look at (maps on) Google Earth to find the 35th parallel to see where the line should be,” spokesman Bert Brantley said. “He might encourage Governor Bredesen to do that, as well.

The Georgia House and Senate separate resolutions that would create a commission with Tennessee and North Carolina officials to resurvey and redraw the border at the 35th parallel. Water-thirsty Georgia, hit hard by a drought this past year, has long had its eye on Tennessee River water, tantalizingly out of reach across the state line.

Moving the border would cede to Georgia a portion of the Tennessee River at Nickajack Lake in Marion County, while also putting in Georgia parts of Chattanooga and East Ridge in Hamilton County and a portion of Bradley County.

“Everybody’s in agreement that (the border) was marked wrong back years ago,” Mr. Brantley said. “The real question is, is there something to be done that could make sense?”

Yeah, maybe, but as a former long-time resident of both Tennessee and Georgia, take my word for it. When it comes to give up some of its sovereignty to Georgia is one thing on which Tennessee won’t be volunteers.

Walter