OMG Files

Civilization in Decline
Growing Up Early:

A loaded handgun fell from the pocket of a kindergarten student in Houston in April, firing a single bullet that slightly wounded two classmates and the "shooter."


Prosecutors in Grant County, Wis., filed first-degree sexual assault charges recently against a 6-year-old boy, stemming from a game of "doctor" that authorities say he pressured a 5-year-old girl into in 2010.

Lakewood, Colo., police, attempting to wrest control of a sharpened stick that a second-grade boy was using to threaten classmates and a teacher, gave him two shots of pepper spray. (The boy had just finished shouting to police, "Get away from me you f---ers.")

Tippecanoe County (Ind.) judge Loretta Rush, interviewed by the Journal & Courier of Lafayette, Ind., in June, underscored parental drug use as a major risk factor in a child's drifting into substance abuse. "I had a case where a child was born with drugs in his system," recalled Rush. "Both parents were using. We were looking for (placing the child in any relative's home), but both sets of grandparents were using. So (the) great-grandmother's in the courtroom, and I had asked her if she would pass a drug screen, and she said she would not ...."

RIADAS RETORT: Great Grandma wont pass a drug screening? *OMG!!*

Full-Circle-Outsourcing:

A Mumbai, India, company, Aegis Communications, announced in May that it will hire about 10,000 new employees to work in its call centers fielding customer service problems for U.S.-based companies. However, those jobs are not in India. Aegis will outsource those jobs to Americans, at $12 to $14 an hour, at nine call centers in the United States.


People Different From Us:


Self-described Las Vegas "performer" Staysha Randall took 3,200 different piercings in her body during the same sitting on June 7 to break the Guinness world record by 100 prickings. (Veteran Las Vegas piercer Bill "Danger" Robinson did the honors.)

Coincidentally, on the very same day in Edinburgh, Scotland, the woman with the most lifetime piercings (6,925) got married. Elaine Davidson, 46, wore a full white ensemble that left bare only her face, which was decorated green and sported 192 piercings. The lucky guy is Davidson's longtime friend Douglas Watson, a balding, 60-something man with no piercings or tattoos.

RIADAS RETORT: 6925? With 192 in her face? "HOLE"-y CRAP!

Man fired for washing himself with own urine
VIENNA, Thu Aug 11, 10:17 AM
A famed Austrian museum has fired an employee for washing his hands and face with his urine.

Alfred Zoppelt says he was fired after 23 years of working as an attendant at the Belvedere, a castle in Vienna with a major art collection. He says his adherence to urine therapy was previously "never a problem."

Zoppelt, 57, said Thursday his notice from Belvedere says he was fired because "you regularly rub urine into your skin, particularly the face and hands. With this, you soil your place of work ... and threaten the health of your co-workers."

A woman answering the Belvedere press department phone confirmed that Zoppelt was fired but refused to give her name or further information.

Believers in urine therapy claim medical and cosmetic benefits but these have not been proven.

Riadas Retort: Alfred Zoppelt says, his adherence to urine therapy was previously "never a problem." Really? EWWWW...remind me to avoid "The Belvedere" the next time Im in Vienna...O M G !!

Swedish House House Up For Sale, Complete With Tomb, Skeleton


STOCKHOLM (AP) -- A Swedish real estate agent has an unusual piece of property up for sale: a five-bedroom house, complete with medieval tomb and skeleton in the cellar.

The central Visby town house on the Baltic island of Gotland was built in 1750 on the foundations of a Russian church. The kitchen lies on the presbytery, and the tomb containing the skeleton - visible through a glass pane - is in the cellar.Riadas Retort: Arent all houses similarly equipped?

The real estate agency's owner Leif Bertwig says there is no reason to be afraid as the skeleton "lies in consecrated soil and rests in peace." Riadas Retort: Oh, that would reassure me...

Bertwig said Wednesday the remains likely belong to a Russian man who died some 800 years ago.

The starting price for the house - all included - is 4.1 million kronor ($640,000).

Cuban man '24' proud of his 4 extra fingers, toes
BARACOA, Cuba, Fri Aug 26, 09:20 PM

They call him "Twenty-Four." Yoandri Hernandez Garrido's nickname comes from the six perfectly formed fingers on each of his hands and the six impeccable toes on each foot.

Hernandez is proud of his extra digits and calls them a blessing, saying they set him apart and enable him to make a living by scrambling up palm trees to cut coconuts and posing for photographs in this eastern Cuban city popular with tourists. One traveler paid $10 for a picture with him, Hernandez said, a bonanza in a country with an average salary of just $20 a month.

"It's thanks to my 24 digits that I'm able to make a living, because I have no fixed job," Hernandez said.

Known as polydactyly, Hernandez's condition is relatively common, but it's rare for the extra digits to be so perfect. Anyone who glanced quickly at his hands would be hard-pressed to notice anything different unless they paused and started counting.

Hernandez said that as a boy he was visited by a prominent Cuban orthopedist who is also one of Fidel Castro's doctors, and he declared that in all his years of travel he had never seen such a case of well-formed polydactyly.

"He was very impressed when he saw my fingers," said Hernandez, who is the only one in his family to be born with extra digits.

In a part of the world where people's physical traits are often the basis for nicknames - even unflattering ones like "fatty" or "shorty" - "veinticuatro" ("twenty-four" in English) is not an insult but rather a term of endearment, and Hernandez, now 37, said his uniqueness has made him a popular guy. He has a 10-year-old son with a woman who now lives in Havana, and his current girlfriend is expecting his second child.

"Since I was young, I understood that it was a privilege to have 24 digits. Nobody has ever discriminated against me for that," he said. "On the contrary, people admire me and I am very proud. I have a million friends, I live well."

Nevertheless, it occasionally caused confusion growing up.

"One day when I was in primary school, a teacher asked me how much was five plus five?" Hernandez recalled. "I was very young, kind of shy, and I didn't say anything. She told me to count how many fingers I had, so I answered, "12!"

"The teacher was a little upset, but it was the truth," he said.

Hernandez said he hopes he can be an example to children with polydactyly that there's nothing wrong with them.

"I think it's what God commanded," he said. "They shouldn't feel bad about anything, because I think it's one of the greatest blessings and they'll be happy in life."

Clark Gable grandson charged with crimes


The grandson of the late actor Clark Gable was charged in Los Angeles on Tuesday with pointing a laser at a police helicopter and momentarily blinding two officers on board, prosecutors said.

Clark James Gable, 22, whose parents are Tracy Yarro and John Clark Gable (Date of Birth 20 March 1961, four months after Clark Gables death) was set to be arraigned on Friday on three counts of discharging a laser at an aircraft.

The late actor's namesake, who was born on September 10, 1988,the first Clark Gable to grace the family since his grandfather died in November 1960,aimed the green laser at a Los Angeles police helicopter flying above a nighttime event in Hollywood on July 28, according to the local District Attorney's Office.

The laser was flashed twice more at the helicopter, and the officers determined the beam came from a small red car, prosecutors said. Officers on the ground stopped the vehicle, and arrested Gable, who was riding as a passenger.

Gable faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

The late Clark Gable was an Oscar-winning actor best known for his role in 1939 classic film "Gone with the Wind." He died in 1960.

Riadas Retort: Im sure the elder Gable is spinning in his grave...OMG!

A candidate for a school board in Northern California acknowledged she was once arrested for abducting four girls from a bus stop, but said she was under "mental duress" at the time and had meant no harm.

Alvina Sheeley, 70, is one of eight candidates on the November ballot for the Fairfield-Suisun school board seat. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the abduction in 1998.

Lindsey McWilliams, assistant registrar of voters for Solano County, said Sheeley is eligible to run for the seat, despite her background. The requirements state that candidates must be 18 or older and registered to vote, must not be a convicted felon or on felony parole and live in the jurisdiction.

Sheeley, a former high school Spanish teacher, told The Daily Republic of Fairfield that she had meant no harm. She was on leave from her job at Fairfield High Schoool when she tried to gain custody of a girl whom she knew through family in her hometown of Alton, Ill.

The girl's mother refused to give custody to Sheeley, who then took the child and three others, ages 8 to 12. She told the girls she was taking them to California for a better life.

Sheeley spent more than a year in a federal psychiatric hospital .(OMG!) She was put on probation after she was released in June 2000, and placed under the watch of a state officer and a doctor until her discharge eight years later.

"I am sorry that I did it," Sheeley told the newspaper. "The counseling that I received and the medical care helped me to understand why I did what I did."

Some of her former colleagues were dismayed that she could still run for the office.

"I think it's horrendous that someone arrested for kidnapping kids is running for school board," said teacher Frank Billecci.



RIADAS RETORT: YOU AND ME BOTH, FRANK...YOU AND ME BOTH!

People With Issues
_________________

Ned Nefer, 38, pushed a 6-foot mannequin along U.S. Highway 11 in June, for 65 miles from Syracuse, N.Y., to Watertown, N.Y., because "(The mannequin and I) really love the outdoors." The mannequin, Nefer said, is his wife "Teagan," who came to Nefer merely as a head but for whom Nefer constructed a body and "married" in 1986. Said a Watertown social services worker, to the Watertown Daily News, "I wouldn't classify (Nefer) as dangerous at all. He seemed quite happy in his own little world." Nefer's "first" wife passed away, and it is possible, the social services lady said, that this is his way of dealing with the loss.
_______________________

Least Competent Criminals

Charged with crimes that could send him to prison for life, Gary LaBon, 50, nonetheless chose to defend himself at trial and told the jury in August that any kidnapping, rape or assault he might have committed on the 69-year-old woman in Hawthorne, Calif., in 2009 was "self-defense." LaBon insisted that he was in fear for his life because the woman was a "gang member." Judge Kathryn Solorzano took the unusual step of advising the jury to "disregard most of what Labon said during his argument," according to the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif. (Jurors quickly convicted LaBon on all counts, and he awaits sentencing.)

Riadas Retort: I cant imagine why the judge told jurors to ignore THIS individual...I mean, doesnt everyone kidnap and assault those we're afraid of? Especially if those we're afraid of are those dreaded little old ladies...dont let the gray hair fool ya!

Mass. official sorry for public meeting bra trick

ABINGTON, Mass., Thu Sep 29, 10:36 AM
The chairman of the school committee in Abington, Mass., is apologizing for a magic trick he performed before a televised meeting this week in which he appeared to tear the bra off a fellow committee member through her clothes.

The trick was performed Tuesday by Russell Fitzgerald, an amateur magician known to open meetings with a little sleight of hand. It was met with stunned silence.

The Enterprise of Brockton ( bit.ly/nns8Gb) reports that Fitzgerald issued a written apology Wednesday.

He says he is sorry for the embarrassment he caused committee member Ellen Killian and his unwitting accomplice, teacher Steve Shannon. He also says he will no longer perform tricks before meetings.
RIADAS RETORT: Cant imagine why...

Killian says she was shocked. The teachers' union says in a statement that Shannon was unaware of the trick Fitzgerald planned.
Riadas Retort: Oh sure, he says that now...if it had gone over big, he'd be taking credit for the whole thing!

Pennsylvania bridge theft baffles owners


NEW CASTLE, Pa. - A 50-foot-long bridge in western Pennsylvania has been stolen, and its owners say they're baffled by the crime and have no idea who took it.

New Castle Development spokesman Gary Bruce said Friday that he "couldn't believe it when they told me it was gone."

A state police report says the 20-foot-wide span in North Beaver Township went missing between Sept. 27 and Wednesday.


The bridge was made out of corrugated steel and valued at about $100,000. Thieves used a blowtorch to cut it apart, presumably to sell it for scrap metal.

The bridge was used occasionally as a back entrance to the company property. It's in the woods along a railroad line about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Bruce says he doubts the company can replace the bridge.

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Brothers charged with stealing western Pa. bridge


NEW CASTLE, Pa., Sat Oct 15, 03:51 PM
Two brothers have been charged with stealing a western Pennsylvania bridge and selling the 15 1/2 tons of scrap metal for more than $5,000.

Police say 24-year-old Benjamin Arthur Jones and 25-year-old Alexander Williams Jones of New Castle used a blowtorch to break up the bridge in late September or early October. They face felony charges of criminal mischief, theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy.

Authorities say Alexander Jones told a recycling company employee that he had permission to carve the bridge for scrap and showed the employee cellphone photos of the bridge. The recycling company called police.

The 50-foot-long by 20-foot-wide Covert's Crossing Bridge was in a wooded area about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.

The brothers' phone numbers weren't listed, and it's unclear whether they have attorneys.

NY man wearing 'I'm a drunk' shirt accused of DWI

CORAM, N.Y., Thu Nov 17, 03:27 PM

A New York man wearing a T-shirt declaring "I'm a drunk" is facing DWI charges after a collision with a police car. Suffolk County police arrested 22-year-old Kevin Daly of Coram. They say he crashed into an officer's vehicle at about 1:45 a.m. Thursday. The officer was treated for minor injuries.

Daly was wearing the T-shirt in a mug shot provided by police.

He faces arraignment on DWI and was issued several traffic summonses. The name of his attorney was not immediately available.

Riadas Retort: OMG! THAT IS TOO FUNNY!!

NJ twins give birth minutes apart in same hospital
VOORHEES, N.J., Thu Dec 22, 07:04 AM
Twin sisters in New Jersey gave birth to their first children just minutes apart.

Danielle and Nicole Fisher were in adjacent rooms at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees and the boys were born 13 minutes apart Tuesday night. The women had been born within 12 minutes of each other 23 years ago.

Nicole tells The Courier-Post of Cherry Hill (on.cpsj.com/tLhfn0 ) it just has something to do with "that twin communication." They say they didn't plan to get pregnant at the same time, either.

Danielle gave birth to Jonathan at 7:43 p.m. Nicole, who wasn't due for two weeks, delivered Maximus minutes later.

The twins' mother, Lisa Fisher, tells the newspaper it's unbelievable.

The women are living together with their parents in Clementon.

Wis. man arrested for playing too much cowbell
OSHKOSH, Wis., Fri Jan 13, 05:38 PM
Demonstrators calling for the recall of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker learned there really is such a thing as too much cowbell.

Oshkosh police arrested a 26-year-old Appleton man on Thursday after he kept playing a cowbell and shaking it in an officer's face when he and other protesters were told to be quiet.

The Oshkosh Northwestern reports ( oshko.sh/zKwPVV) that when the officer tried to take the cowbell, the man pushed the officer. A 25-year-old Appleton woman then hit the officer in the back with her picket sign while the man was being handcuffed.

Both were taken to the Winnebago County Jail. Police will recommend that the man be charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and the woman be charged with disorderly conduct and battery to an officer.