Clipmarks | digitalsistere's clips

World's First 3rd Toilet: Transgender Logo Hits Thailand

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:29:12 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: That logo would look more appropriate in a Saw movie.

With its spacious, tree-lined grounds and slightly threadbare classrooms, there is nothing obviously unusual about the Kampang Secondary School.

Every morning at 0800 they all gather outside to sing the national anthem and watch the flag being raised.

Then they have a chance to use the toilets, before heading off the first classes of the day.

Kampang is proud of its toilets. Spotless, and surrounded by flowering tropical plants, they have won national awards for cleanliness.

But there is something else about them too. Between the girls' toilet and the boys', there is one signposted with a half-man, half-woman figure in blue and red.

This is the transsexual toilet, and outside, in front of the mirrors, some decidedly girly-looking teenage boys preen their hair and apply face cream.

The headteacher, Sitisak Sumontha, estimates that in any year between 10% and 20% of his boys consider themselves to be transgender - boys who would rather be girls.

Vichai Saengsakul, 15, agrees.

Tags: sex, thailand, transgender, male, female, toilet, bathroom, teens, school

Man blows up apartment spraying for bugs

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:06:09 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: Sounds like something I would do. Actually, I did catch my arm on fire once trying to use RightGuard deodorant spray (and a match) as a flame thrower; trying to kill wasps.

Clip Source: www.newsfocal.com

A New Jersey man trying to exterminate insects in his apartment blew it up instead, the New York Daily News reported on Monday.

Isias Vidal Maceda was unhurt in the incident, but 80percent of his apartment was destroyed, Eatontown, New Jersey police told the newspaper.

The accident occurred as Maceda was spraying for pests in his kitchen. Somehow the bug spray ignited a blast that blew out the apartment’s front windows and triggered a fire that quickly spread, the newspaper said. Police told the newspaper that the Saturday blaze also caused smoke damage to the apartment above. .

Tags: bugs, insects, explosion, new jersey, accident

Greek court rules lesbians are not just from Lesbos

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:48:44 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: Lesbos, which lies just off the Turkish Coast, has become a gathering spot for gay women from around the world.

Clip Source: www.newsfocal.com

A Greek court has dismissed a request by residents of the Aegean island of Lesbos to ban the use of the word lesbian to describe gay women, according to a court ruling made public on Tuesday.

Three residents of Lesbos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho whose love poems inspired the term lesbian, brought a case last month arguing the use of the term in reference to gay women insulted their identity.

In a July 18 decision, the Athens court said the word did not define the identity of the residents of the island, and so it could be validly used by gay groups in Greece and abroad.

The ruling ordered the plaintiffs to pay court expenses of 230 euros (183 pounds).

Lesbos, which lies just off the Turkish Coast, has become a gathering spot for gay women from around the world, especially at the village of Eressos which is regarded as the birthplace of the poet in the 7th century B.C.

Tags: lesbian, lesbos, gay, greek, turkey, sex

RI Cops Arrest Man with .491 Blood Alcohol Level

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:42:35 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: The legal limit in Rhode Island is .08. A blood alcohol of .3 is classified as “stupor,” .4 is “comatose” and .5 is considered fatal, according to the health department.

Clip Source: www.newsfocal.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - State Police arrested a man early Tuesday whose blood alcohol level allegedly was .491, more than six times the legal limit, which they believe is the highest ever recorded in Rhode Island for someone who wasn’t dead.

The man, 34, was arrested after he drove into a highway message board on Interstate 95 in Providence, Maj. Steven O’Donnell said.

After police arrived, the man had trouble getting out of the car, then grabbed it and refused to move, forcing troopers to carry him to the breakdown lane before taking him back to their barracks, O’Donnell said.

A Breathalyzer test showed the man had blood alcohol readings of .489 followed by .491, O’Donnell said, the highest readings anyone at the State Police or the Department of Health could remember for someone who didn’t end up dead.

The legal limit in Rhode Island is .08. A blood alcohol of .3 is classified as “stupor,” .4 is “comatose” and .5 is considered fatal, according to the health department.

Tags: alcohol, drinking, driving, police, intoxicted, drunk, breathalyzer

Bionic bra: Victoria's circuit

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:11:18 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: Looking for a better way to charge her iPod on the go, Adrienne So had an idea – could she invent a bionic bra to harness the energy of her bouncing breasts?

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

As a woman who loves sports, I've always found the concept of breasts bothersome. If all goes according to plan, they will fulfil their intended function for about three of the 70 years that I have them. The rest of the time, they alternate between getting in my way and embarrassing me. They are a favourite target of Frisbees and footballs. Finding sports bras is a chore. Shirts don't fit.

And these are just the physical discomforts. I am still tortured by the memory of three cousins standing in a circle around me, at the impressionable age of 10, mocking my early development and telling me that I was going to be the Asian Dolly Parton. Fortunately, that never happened, but the possibility haunted my late childhood.

Then one day recently, I had an idea. As I rode a bus to the office, my messenger bag slung uncomfortably across my chest, I thought, "Why not put the girls to work?"

The idea of an energy-generating bra isn't as crazy as it might sound.

Tags: ipod, exercise, energy, women, woman, solar power

Bird Flu Researchers Brutally Murdered

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:11:49 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: “I have never seen injuries inflicted to bodies like this before,” Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie

Clip Source: www.infowars.com

One of the two French research students found dead in a burnt-out London flat had been stabbed 196 times, the detective leading the murder investigation said today. His friend had 47 separate injuries.

The horrific nature of the attack against them shocked even experienced detectives. “I have never seen injuries inflicted to bodies like this before,” Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie

Bound up by their attacker or attackers, they received multiple stab wounds in the head, neck, back and torso.

Mr Bonomo was stabbed 196 times, Mr Duthie said. Almost 100 of those wounds were inflicted to his back after his death. Mr Ferez was stabbed 47 times.

The two were talented and committed students on a three-month research placement at Imperial College, London, who had impressed colleagues with their maturity. They were enrolled on the university’s research opportunities programme, which allows students who have not yet graduated from their Masters degrees to take part in research.

Tags: avian flu, bird flu, bioweapon, murder, death, france

Judge tells YouTube to turn over viewing logs to Viacom

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:04:37 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: I go back and forth over the copyright infringement vs protection of privacy issue. I can see both sides of the argument.

Clip Source: www.infowars.com

A US District Court Judge Louis L. Stanton has ruled that Google must turn over to Viacom logs showing what videos have been watched on YouTube and when. The information will include login names and IP addresses for the viewers.

Viacom is suing the search giant for YouTube’s alleged failure to live up to their legal responsibility for actively combating piracy on the service. Google has owned YouTube in 2006.

Viacom lawyers are claiming that YouTube intentionally turned a blind eye to copyright infringement because of the traffic it generated, and they’re hoping to show that YouTube officials knew, or should have known, the correllation between popularity and piracy.

Google argued that providing usernames and IP addresses to Viacom raises potential privacy issues, but ironically the judge used a statement previously published by a Google software engineer against them.

Tags: google, youtube, piracy, video, videos

Condo group doesn't want man playing with his toy motorboat

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:33:36 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: "He can do it in his bathtub all day long but when he does it on common property he's offending the 467 other people who are obeying the rules," says former condo board president Doreen Zappala. But the 84-year-old man says the rules don't apply to toy motorboats.

Clip Source: www.sun-sentinel.com

John M. Madden will give up playing with his noisy 22-inch motorboat in the lake behind his Margate condominium, but that might not be enough to keep him afloat.

That's because the retired Boston police officer and great-grandfather plans to continue taking out his quiet, 22-inch battery-powered remote-controlled motorboat, he said Monday.

The noisy boat might have violated the city's code and resulted in fines of up to $250 a day. But playing with the quiet boat might violate Coral Gate Condominium documents that say no one may put a chair on the grass next to the lake or put a motorboat in the water.

"He can do it in his bathtub all day long but when he does it on common property he's offending the 467 other people who are obeying the rules," said Doreen Zappala, a former board president who fears Madden, 84, might fall and injure himself, making all the owners liable for damages if he or his family sues.

and the rule against motorboats means real boats, not toys.

Tags: toy, toys, boat, lake, condo, electronics, remote, funny, social

Dispute over missing camera results in wedding reception brawl

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:26:31 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: About 100 were involved in the fight. "It just kept going on and on," says a police sergeant. "It was a wedding party gone bad."

Clip Source: www.recordonline.com

TOWN OF NEWBURGH — A dispute over a missing camera at a wedding reception escalated into a 100-person brawl that left two people with stab wounds Saturday night, police said.

"It just kept going on and on," said Town of Newburgh police Sgt. Peter Talarico, who was one of about 30 cops to respond to the melee at the Ramada Inn on Route 300, which spilled into the hotel's parking lot. "It was a wedding party gone bad."

A woman was stabbed in the leg and a man — the wedding reception's disc jockey — was stabbed in the back of the neck. Both were treated at the Newburgh campus of St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital and released.

police broke up nearly 30 fights during the free-for-all. Cops from the Town and the City of Newburgh

Talarico says it took nearly two hours for police to restore order.

A third man was treated at the hospital's Cornwall campus after being punched in the face; he was later released.

no one at the scene was cooperating with police.

Tags: love, wedding, brawl, family, relationships, fight, attack

KKK Roast Offered to Maker of Obama Sock Monkey

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:16:22 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: "Having led a moderately quiet lifestyle until now; our social calendar suddenly filled up with vivid and creative death threats," the statement said. "And last we heard, a posse of bloggers from back east are on their way over to conduct — how did they phrase it, a good ol' fashioned KKK house burning party at David & Elizabeth's. Kinda exciting stuff, but this in America?"

Clip Source: www.deseretnews.com

Early Monday, it appeared that a Barack Obama sock monkey created by a West Jordan couple and criticized as racially offensive was never actually going to be distributed. Both the contracted manufacturer, Binkley Toys Inc., and TheSockObama LLC apologized and claimed on their respective Web sites that it would not be manufactured.

"We are very apologetic to all who were upset by our toy idea," an apology appearing on TheSockObama company's Web site says. "We will not be proceeding with the manufacturing of this toy. Thank you."

Bishop said in his apology that he hadn't initially made the "racist connection." He was also initially surprised by the outcry, "but when viewing the toy again, I could see how people could make the connection."

They also issued a long news release that defended the monkey as a victim of double standards and unfair censorship.

"Having led a moderately quiet lifestyle until now; our social calendar suddenly filled up with vivid and creative death threats,"

Tags: obama, kkk, racism, toy, toys, threat, barack, funny, weird

Man accused of ordering python to attack girlfriend

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:08:16 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: A 21-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly ordered his 9-foot-long albino python to attack his girlfriend and two police officers. Officers dispatched to investigate a domestic dispute were confronted by the man and his huge pet reptile, "and he was saying, 'Get them!' " according to a police spokesman. The snake didn't follow the orders.

Clip Source: www.connpost.com

A city man found himself in a tight spot with the law Monday after he allegedly ordered his 9-foot-long albino python to attack his girlfriend and two police officers.

Officers dispatched to investigate a domestic dispute on Main Street Monday morning were confronted by a man and his huge pet reptile, "and he was saying, 'Get them!' " according to Lt. James Viadero, the police spokesman.

There, Victor Rodriguez, 21, was threatening his girlfriend with the reptile and refused to open the door for the officers. After the building superintendent opened the apartment door for the officers, Rodriguez threatened them with the snake,

No one was attacked by the snake, and Rodriguez was taken away in handcuffs.

He was charged with disorderly conduct and threatening police. He was held in lieu of $10,000 bond.

The snake, which was removed from the apartment in a large cage, will be held at the city's animal control shelter until the owner can claim him

Tags: snake, weird, pets, animals, attack, police

Voices in robber's head order him to surrender to police

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:59:56 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: The 30-year-old suspect told police he robbed the Go Convenience store because the voices in his head told him to. "They also told him to apparently turn himself in,"

Clip Source: www.news-leader.com

The alleged voices in Jason A. Church's head apparently have a conscience.

Police say the man had no sooner robbed a Springfield convenience store Monday morning, than he was on the phone reporting the crime to authorities.

"He said that he had just robbed the Go Convenience store because the voices in his head told him to," said Springfield police Lt. Scott Leven. "They also told him to apparently turn himself in."

Church approached the ATM machine, but left when clerk Doug Austin told him it was out of order, the document says.

Church allegedly returned a short time later, this time pouring a cup of coffee and bringing it to the register.

"Austin asked the male if he could get him anything else (to) which the male replied, 'All the money in the register," the document says. "The male was holding a broken beer bottle in his hand and pointing the broken end at Austin."

He allegedly told a dispatcher the voices in his head had ordered him to rob the store, and was arrested a short time later.

Tags: weird, money, crazy, robbery, insane

Mom finds snake coiled on baby's leg in crib

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:22:40 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

BRENTWOOD, N.Y. - A Long Island animal shelter is a temporary home for a 1-foot-long snake that a mother found coiled on her 7-month-old daughter's leg as the baby slept in a crib.

Abatemarco says she lifted her daughter and the snake fell off. A relative removed the snake from the crib and placed it in a bucket until animal control officers arrived.

The reptile has been identified as a California king, a non-venomous snake that's not indigenous to the region.

Abatemarco says her family doesn't keep snakes as pets. Officials say they don't know where the snake came from.

Tags: animals, animal, reptile, child, baby, snake

Clinton set to concede delegate race to Obama

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:12:11 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere

Clip Source: www.kgw.com

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.

Obama is 40 delegates shy of clinching the nomination, but he is widely expected to make up the difference Tuesday with superdelegate support and votes in South Dakota and Montana. Once he reaches the magic number of 2,118, Clinton will acknowledge that he has secured the necessary delegates to be the nominee.

The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City.

She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.

Clinton was at home in Chappaqua, N.Y., with her husband, former President Clinton, and was placing calls to friends and supporters.

Clinton officials have said they would not contest

Tags: government, clinton, obama, president, election

Panty Sniffers Rob Convenience Store

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:58:56 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: Hmm, I wonder which side of the thongs went over the face?

How do you call that in? "Help, I'm being robbed at crotch point?"

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

(AP) Police are looking for two men they say covered their faces with women's thongs to rob a convenience store. Police released a surveillance video of the two men this week as they roamed inside a gas station during the robbery.

Police say the men were unarmed when demanded money from a female clerk and left with an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes.

The suspects are described to be in their 20s. One of them is about 6- feet tall and weighs between 160 and 180 pounds. The other is between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10, weighs between 180 to 200 pounds and has a tribal tattoo on his left arm.

They both left the store donning the brightly colored thongs over their faces.

Tags: crime, sex, police, lingerie, thongs