Archive | June, 2011

Filthy rich man pays widows and avoids jail time for murder

30 Jun

“an unsettling example of checkbook justice” I could not have said it better myself.

Ryan LeVin did not apologize for killing two business men with his Porsche, and denying he was driving, initally blaming a friend of his. ourt records show LeVin has more than 50 traffic violations and a long history of drug abuse. Image Caline Jean, Sun Sentinel.

LeVin gets house arrest after undisclosed settlement
Illinois man will pay undisclosed settlement, serve two years house arrest for deadly Porsche hit-and-run case
By Tonya Alanez,, Tribune Newspapers  |  June 3, 2011  |  www.chicagobreakingnews.com

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The scion of a wealthy Chicago-area family pleaded guilty in a South Florida court Friday to killing two British businessmen with his Porsche but avoided prison after agreeing to pay an undisclosed sum to the widows.

Ryan LeVin, 36, will spend two years under house arrest in his parents’ oceanside condominium.

The businessmen’s widows supported the sentence, and their attorneys collected checks from LeVin immediately after Friday morning’s hearing. LeVin spoke only at the judge’s prodding and offered no apology during the proceeding, where he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal crash and two counts of vehicular homicide.

“The need for restitution does outweigh the need for prison,” Broward Circuit Judge Barbara McCarthy said.

LeVin admitted to being behind the wheel of his $120,000 Porsche 911 Turbo when it jumped a sidewalk and killed Craig Elford, 39, and Kenneth Watkinson, 48, as they were walking to their beachside hotel Feb. 13, 2009. LeVin initially denied driving the speeding car and pinned the blame on a friend.

Given that LeVin’s sentencing guidelines called for up to 45 years behind bars, some legal experts say the case seems to be an unsettling example of checkbook justice.

“It is an unbelievably light sentence,” said Michael Seigel, a University of Florida law professor and former federal prosecutor. “It is very disturbing.”

The crash grabbed international headlines, with London tabloids dubbing LeVin the “millionaire playboy” because of his parents’ costume jewelry empire,Schaumburg-based Jewels by Park Lane.

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World’s first womb transplant planned

29 Jun

Eva Ottosson Photo: Doug Marke/PAGE ONE

World’s first womb transplant planned
A British based businesswoman is preparing to make history by becoming the first person in the world to have her womb transplanted into her daughter.By Mark Patterson and Martin Evans

6:30AM BST 13 Jun 2011

Eva Ottosson, 56, has agreed to take part in a groundbreaking new medical procedure, which if successful could see her donate her uterus to her 25-year-old daughter Sara.

 

Doctors hope if the transplant is successful Sara, who was born without reproductive organs, could become pregnant and carry a child in the same womb from which she herself was born.

 

It is hoped the complex transplant operation could take place as early as next spring in Sweden, where doctors in Gothenburg have been assessing suitable patients for the revolutionary procedure.

 

Mrs Ottosson, who runs a lighting business in Nottingham, said: “My daughter and I are both very rational people and we both think ‘it’s just a womb’.

 

“She needs the womb and if I’m the best donor for her … well, go on. She needs it more than me. I’ve had two daughters so it’s served me well.”

The only previous womb transplant took place in Saudi Arabia in 2000 when a 26-year-old woman, who had lost her uterus due to haemorrhage, received a donated womb from a 46-year-old.

 

However the recipient developed problems and the womb had to be removed after 99 days.

 

Since then medical knowledge of the surgical procedure has improved and a team in Gothenburg, Sweden, believe they are at the stage where they can perform a successful transplant.

 

Sara, who lives and works in Stockholm, has a condition called Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, which affects around 1 in 5,000 people, and means she was born without a uterus and some parts of the vagina.

 

The cause is unknown but like many women with the condition Sara only realised she was missing her reproductive organs when she was a teenager and failed to begin menstruating.

 

If the procedure works, Sara will have her own eggs fertilised using her boyfriend’s sperm and then implanted into her donated womb.

 

Sara said she was unconcerned about the implications of receiving the womb that she herself was carried in.

 

She said: “I haven’t really thought about that. I’m a biology teacher and it’s just an organ like any other organ. But my mum did ask me about this. She said ‘isn’t it weird?’ And my answer is no. I’m more worried that my mum is going to have a big operation.”

 

She added: “It would mean the world to me for this to work and to have children. At the moment I am trying not to get my hopes up so that I am not disappointed. But we have also been thinking about adoption for a long time and if the transplant fails then we will try to adopt.”

 

Dr Mats Brannstrom, who is leading the medical team, said a womb transplant remained one of the most complex operations known to medical science.

 

He said: “Technically it is lot more difficult than transplanting a kidney, liver or heart. The difficulty with it is avoiding haemorrhage and making sure you have long enough blood vessels to connect the womb.

 

“You are also working deep down in the pelvis area and it is like working in a funnel. It is not like working with a kidney, which is really accessible.”

 

Mrs Ottosson said she hoped by talking about the operation it would help bring attention to an otherwise rarely publicised condition.

 

She said: “The girls who have MRKH are a silent group who don’t like to talk about it. So we hope that this will help those girls and that by talking about the condition we can encourage medical science to pinpoint what causes it.”

 

Sara and her mother are among a small group chosen to take part in the programme.

 

They have undergone tests and are now waiting to hear if they will be the first to undergo the groundbreaking procedure.

 

Black bear visits NJ vet’s office

28 Jun

Ha ha ha. I love when stuff like this happens. Good thing, because the way the entire world is getting paved encounters like this will happen way more often.


Caption for all photos: Nicole Tassinaro of North Star Veterinary Hospital in Robbinsville, New Jersey spotted a bear right outside the facility on Sunday, June 26th. The bear took a nap in a tree and didn’t bother anyone. Nicole believes that, with some construction going on in the area, the bear may have been looking for a new place to rest.



Black bear stops off at veterinary hospital
Monday, June 27, 2011 | Chad Pradelli | abclocal.go.com

ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. – June 27, 2011 (WPVI) — Veterinarians are accustomed to seeing a wide range of animals, but not black bears.

So when a furry friend began prancing around the NorthStar Vets facility Sunday, the staff was taken aback.

“I looked over and though it was a dog at first wondering in our parking lot, and then I was like, ‘it’s a bear,’” Beverly Davidson said.

“For a split second, I actually thought someone was bringing a bear to the hospital, but obviously, that’s not the case,” Stacey Rebello said.

The black bear was, in fact, looking for a place to nap. He chose a tree as his place to get some z’s.

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Hailstones may form around airborne bacteria

27 Jun

Ewwwwwww, we’re being showered with bacteria.

P syringae bacteria are well-known "catalysts" for ice formation.

The layers representing the build-up of hailstones can be seen in cross-section

Bacteria-rich hailstones add to ‘bioprecipitation’ idea
By Jason Palmer | 25 May 2011 | bbc.co.uk

A study of hailstones has found large numbers of bacteria at their cores.

The find lends credence to the “bio-precipitation” idea, which suggests that bacteria are actively involved in stimulating precipitation.

The bacteria have protein coatings that cause water to freeze at relatively warm temperatures.

Researchers at the American Society for Microbiology meeting suggest bacteria may have evolved to use the water cycle to facilitate their own dispersal.

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R.I.P Jackass, Ryan Dunn

26 Jun

The popular Jackass entertainment and stunt franchise has finally lost it’s first member. Ironically, it was a high speed, drunk driving crash and fireball not a neck breaking porta potty stunt that claimed the life of  Ryan Dunn and his pal and Jackass crew member Zack Hartwell. Hartwell was a 30 year old Gulf War veteran whose home was approx. 100 yards from the scene of the crash and explosion.

Dunn was the only bearded member of the Jackass crew and part of the Bam Margera PA based portion of Jackass as well as the earlier CYK project. Dunn is well remembered for sticking a hot wheels car up his butt and going to the ER complaining of mysterious stomach pains after “passing out at a frat party” in the first Jackass movie. Dunn had an easy natural humor and obvious rapport with Margera which was highlighted as they sat in some wobbly chairs while shooting commentary for Jackass 3.5.

Media frenzy fogs the passing of Dunn a 34 year old Pennsylvanian. Anti drunk driving groups are livid his BAC was twice the legal limit. Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket his public funeral service in a divergence from their gay hate agenda. His obituary in local papers is being auctioned for more than a $10,000. The site of the fiery crash has become a makeshift shrine and wreckage is plucked from the lush woods as souvenirs.

Celebrity reactions from Brad Pitt and Roger Ebert make headlines. The tweets and reactions of his surviving Jackass crew make the 6 o’clock news. Notable among them, footage of an openly weeping best friend Bam Margera breaking down at the crash site.

Some even argue it brings to light the lack of public transportation options in many parts of America. Lack of transportation options surely leads to an increase in impaired driving. Some say the Jackass crew’s freewheeling driving terrorized their West Chester neighbors for years. Dunn was traveling apprx 130-145 mph when he missed his exit, veered off the road, crashed his sweet ass Porsche thru 40 yards of woods finally hitting a big tree and exploding into flame. Dunn did not have a spotless driving record.

Lastly and hauntingly, is Dunn’s final movie project LIVING WILL in which he plays a ghost who plays pranks on his living friends.  In it he delivers lines such as “dying was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

In the end 2 bright young vibrant men are dead. Two brave, stupid, manly and human men. I extend sincerest condolences to their friends, family, co-workers and fans. It is a reminder to us all of the fragility and preciousness of this mortal coil.

For traditional obit stuff, see a search engine. Click a picture to embiggen.


 

8th graders dine at Hooters on field trip

25 Jun

The few times I’ve been to Hooters I’ve seen many families dining there. The staff is fully clothed and they serve kid friendly fried finger foods.

Typical Hooters girl. Getty Images.

8th Grade Field Trip Lunches at Hooters
Berwick Middle School students taken to Hooters by field trip chaperones
By Teresa Masterson | Thursday, Jun 2, 2011 | www.nbcphiladelphia.com

Some Berwick, Pa. 8th graders got wings and breasts for lunch on their field trip to Baltimore last week.

The Berwick Middle School students were on a field trip to the National Aquarium when the 100-plus students broke up into chaperone-led groups for lunch.

The restaurant chain best known for its busty waitresses in short-shorts was host to one group of 15 to 20 students, reports The Bloomsburg Press Enterprise.

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Seniors confuse dirt for cookies

24 Jun

I shouldn’t laugh at this,  but I can’t help myself.

Jean and John Hobbs. Image www.dorsetecho.co.uk

Weymouth OAPs mistake soil for cookies
www.dorsetecho.co.uk | 11th June 2011

OH CRUMBS! A group of OAPs were left with a nasty taste in their mouths after mistaking packs of soil for cookies.

The residents of a care home in Weymouth told of their horror after choking on mouthfuls of grit after mistaking a branded butter’s promotional pack of soil and seeds for cookies.

Three elderly people in the space of two hours alerted the manager of Lawrence Court residential care homes in Southill Garden Drive, Weymouth to the ‘misleading’ Lurpak giveaway.

John and Jean Hobbs’ delight at finding what they thought were free biscuits with their butter turned to disgust when mud filled their mouths and they realised it was a lump of soil and dill seeds.

Pensioner John, 79, said: “It was just as though I’d got a mouthful of grit, it was terrible.

“You imagine that young children would think ‘that’s edible’ but even the seeds weren’t edible so we got a double dose – seeds that weren’t edible as well as a mouth of grit.

“It was especially confusing because it was attached to food.

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Amazing antique automata singing bird guns

23 Jun

In this entertaining video from Christie’s auction house an erudite narrator extols the virtues of these golden guns made in 1820. When fired the guns release a tiny signing dancing bird. Preliminary auction estimates are 2.5 to 5 millions USD for the pair.

Summer solstice at Stonehenge

22 Jun

You can’t tell by the still photos, but the video clearly shows the ground covered with trash, filth and litter. It is indeed wonderful for the monument to be opened to visitors and the faithful. It’s amazing to see the scale of the monuments compared to people. But it is sad to see the land and site literally trashed.


Summer solstice revellers flock to Stonehenge
Summer solstice crowds mostly peaceful despite 20 arrests and almost 50 drug seizures
Steven Morris | guardian.co.uk | 21 June 2011

The summer solstice is meant to be a night and dawn of peace, love and amazement. But not all of those attending the celebrations at Stonehenge entered into the spirit of the event.

Druids, pagans and revellers watched as two men, one shirtless, staged a fist fight at the ancient monument in Wiltshire.

While the majority of the 18,000 people who attended the solstice celebrations were well-behaved, 20 arrests and almost 50 drug seizures were made.

Photographer David Hedges, who witnessed the fight, said: “They were sparring for a few minutes before they really started throwing punches.”

Spectators surrounded the pair and a couple tried to break it up before the police arrived.

The 20 arrests included 11 for drugs offences and five for public order offences. Superintendent Gavin Williams of Wiltshire police said most of the attendees “came to see the sunrise in the spirit of the event. Although it was disappointing that some individuals chose to bring drugs with them, they were dealt with robustly.”

Fewer people attended than in recent years, partly due to the damp weather, perhaps, but also because the event fell at the start of the week.

But Arthur Pendragon, a well-known druid who purports to be a modern incarnation of the legendary king, said both those who were there for faith reasons and the many others who attend just for a good time – including plenty who stopped off on the way to Glastonbury – seemed to have enjoyed the night and dawn.

He said: “We didn’t get a great sunrise but it was dry. Everyone seems happy with the result.”

The summer solstice is one of the occasions in the year when open access to the stones is allowed by English Heritage, custodians of the monument.

“It is great to see the stones being used in this way, as opposed to the usual manner with tourists being herded around,” said Pendragon.

English Heritage said the atmosphere had been “peaceful and good-natured”.

Athiest have the best sex lives

21 Jun

I hope HBO makes a fun series called “Sex and Secularism.” Happy Solstice to all.

image unfollowingjesus.com

Atheists Have Best Sex Lives, Claims Psychologist
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES  |  May 25, 2011  |  abcnews.go.com

Darrel Ray, raised a fundamentalist Christian in Topeka, Kan., shed a heavy cloak of guilt surrounding sex after he left the church in the late 1970s, and wondered if his experience reflected that of others.

Today, he has finished research that he said bore out his hypotheses — that religion and good sex don’t mix. In an online survey of 14,500 people who had come from a religious background, he discovered that once they had abandoned their churches, their sex lives improved.

In his survey, “Sex and Secularism,” which he publicized last week, Ray drew a direct correlation between guilt and sexual behavior. Not surprising, but he also learned that guilt eventually subsides.

“We find guilt is a pretty big thing,” said Ray, the author of, “The God Virus: How God Infects Our Lives and Culture.”

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Malta says YES to divorce

20 Jun

Yoiks, first they legalize divorce, what comes next? Ladies wearing trousers?

Campaigners after the referendum, in which a majority backed divorce. Image sky.com

Maltese Say ‘I Do’ To Divorce In Referendum
12:31pm UK, Monday May 30, 2011

Malta, a staunchly Catholic country, has voted in favour of legalising divorce in a controversial referendum.

The tiny island is the last remaining European Union nation that forbids divorce and one of two countries – with the Philippines – in the world to have a ban.

But in a vote, 52.67% said the ban should be lifted and now the Government has pledged to respect the will of the people.

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R.I.P. Queenie, World’s Last Water Skiing Elephant

19 Jun

Goodbye Queenie.

Image www.roadsideamerica.com

Image www.roadsideamerica.com

R.I.P. Queenie, World’s Last Water Skiing Elephant
June 1, 2011  |  www.roadsideamerica.com

For a brief two years, a Thailand-born elephant named Queenie became the last known live pachyderm to master water skis.

Queenie was taught her craft by Jim Rusing, a member of the Water Ski Hall of Fame and a producer of aquatic thrill shows. She performed several times a day at Florida’s Ponce de Leon Springs (now DeLeon Springs State Park). Queenie was only seven at the height of her fame, and replaced an earlier skiing elephant named Sunshine Sally. She got her first taste of stardom posing for Mercury Outboard Motor ads. Rusing, always a showman, sometimes put a live bear in the cockpit of the tow boat.

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