Gooseys Gabbings-The World of Weird Bizarre and Odd News

> Gooseys Gabbings-The World of Weird Bizarre and Odd News

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Snowball Toss Earns A Day in Court

A US private detective is suing a man for 2,250 - plus courts costs - for throwing a snowball at him.

William Elich, 46, claims he was about to enter a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, when Greg Ely, 32, came by in a Hummer with a "dashboard lined with snowballs".

One snowball hit Mr Elich in the head, breaking his glasses and bruising his left eyeball, reports the Oregonian.

Mr Elich said the loss of his bifocal glasses forced him to miss work as a private investigator for eight to 10 days while he waited for a new pair.

Mr Ely, a stone mason, claims he has the wrong man: "I didn't throw a snowball at anyone," he insisted.

But Mr Elich is adamant. He says that, after he was struck with the snowball, he looked through his remaining good eye and noted the number plate of the Hummer.

He called called police, who visited Mr Ely but didn't pursue any charges. Officers said it was one man's word against another.

But Mr Elich would not let the matter drop and is pursuing the case in civil court.

"I don't need the money," he said. "He needs to learn a lesson... This is a 32-year-old man acting like a 16-year-old."

Goosey's Gabbings...

Ah, I see. So you are filing a lawsuit against a man throwing a snowball because he was a man acting like a 16-year old, huh? Ummm....Well...he may be aciting like a sixteen year old, but this lawsuit is the act of a five year old, and that's an insult to kindergarteners everywhere. Get over it and go back to your mommy.

Labels: bizarre, dumb lawsuits, funny, humorous, news, odd, oddball humor, oddball news, offbeat, offbeat news, portland oregon, quirky, snowball lawsuit, strange, weird

Sorry for wrongfully imprisoning you, now pay us for room and board

Three men who spent years in jail after being wrongly convicted of murder will have to pay for their prison board and lodgings, Law Lords have ruled.

Brothers Vincent and Michael Hickey of Birmingham, spent 18 years in jail for paperboy Carl Bridgewater's murder.

Michael O'Brien from Cardiff spent 11 years in jail for a separate murder.

The three were deducted money from their compensation for what lawyers called "living expenses" but what the court agreed was for life necessities.

Judges ruled by a four to one majority that they must pay back 25% of their compensation.

'Necessities of life'

The three men had appealed against an earlier Court of Appeal ruling the Independent Assessor was entitled to deduct their compensation to reflect the necessities of life which they would have to buy from wages if they were free.

Their lawyers had argued it was wrong to expect people wrongly imprisoned to pay for what is effectively their "board and lodgings".

Goosey's Gabbings...

I've given up searching for reality...Now I'm just looking for a good fantasy. Where's Johnny Cochran when you really need him?

Labels: bizarre, crime, lawyer humor, odd, oddball humor, oddball news, offbeat, offbeat news, prisoners charged room and board, united kingdom, weird

Pentagon: "Civil War" not correct term to use for Iraq

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new Pentagon report said some elements of the war in Iraq fit the definition of civil war, but the term "does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict."

The war in Iraq has been characterized by fighting between the majority Shiite Muslim sect and the minority Sunni Muslims, who were in power under Saddam Hussein's regime.

But the report also cites Shiite-on-Shiite violence; al Qaeda and Sunni insurgent attacks on coalition forces, and "widespread criminally motivated violence" as features that complicate the designation of civil war.

The quarterly report, which is mandated by Congress, said attacks and casualties documented for the last three months of 2006 are the highest since the war began four years ago.

The document, dated March 2, was released on Wednesday.

Whether the conflict in Iraq amounts to a civil war has been a topic of debate in recent months.

The congressional report cites declassified parts of the recently released National Intelligence Estimate in discussing the question.

It defines "the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities and mobilization, the changing character of the violence, and population displacements," as characteristic of civil war.

The report said that the warfare in Iraq has morphed from a "predominantly Sunni-led insurgency against foreign occupation to a struggle for the division of political and economic influence among sectarian groups and organized criminal activity."

Goosey's Gabbings..

So, basically...Well of course their requests for subsidies was not paraguayan in and of it is as it were the United States government would never have if the president, our president, had not and as far as I know that's the way it will always be. Is that clear?

I agree that the term used for the war in Iraq should not be "civil war". I think a better term to use is clusterf*ck. Pardon my French. :)

Labels: bizarre, government, iraq, news, odd, offbeat, offbeat news, pentagon, strange, war, war in iraq, weird

Burglar breaks in using ID; Leaves at the scene

BETTENDORF, Iowa - A burglary suspect was arrested after he left behind a Corrections Department identification card he used to jimmy a lock, authorities said.

Officers said they arrested Robert Alan Fry of Rock Island, Ill., after investigating the theft Tuesday of a plastic jug containing about $400 in change from an apartment in Bettendorf. They said they found Fry's Illinois Department of Corrections ID card at the apartment and arrested him Wednesday at a Bettendorf motel.

Fry, 43, was charged with third-degree burglary, possession of drug paraphernalia and interference and was taken to the Scott County Jail, authorities said.

Fry was released from the Illinois prison system in January, having served two years and three months of a 10-year sentence for a Rock Island County burglary.

Inmates who are released but are without legal identification like a driver's license can receive a Corrections Department-issued ID card.

Goosey's Gabbings...

Just when you though criminals couldn't get stupider...another one does something to up the ante. I wonder if they are going to give him his ID back?

Labels: bizarre, comedy, crime, dumb crimes, dumb criminals, funny, humorous, odd, offbeat, offbeat news, weird

Potty Discrimination NO MORE!

The lady fans at Busch Stadium will have something new to cheer about, aside from the reigning world champion St. Louis Cardinals. Team officials are promising potty parity by opening day. The restrooms in the recently opened stadium are being renovated to give women as many places to find relief as male fans.

When the stadium opened last season, it wasn't in compliance with a state law requiring equal access to restrooms. Advocates say it's not fair for female fans to have to stand on long lines during the seventh inning stretch.

Goosey's Gabbings...
Wouldn't it be easier to just have the men drink more beer so they go to the bathroom more? Jeesh..I think I'll write them a letter.

Labels: baseball, bizarre, news, odd, oddball humor, oddball news, offbeat, offbeat news, quirky, St. Louis, St. Louis Cardinals, strange, weird, womens rights

Public Spitting? Not in my town!

BEIJING — Residents were reminded again: Spitting must stop, starting now.

With the 2008 Beijing Olympics just 500 days away, officials said today they are prepared to take harsh measures against people who spit in public if appeals do not work.

"Very soon you will see action to stop spitting," Jin Dapeng, director general of Beijing's municipal health department, said. He refused to give specifics, but hinted that fines might be involved.

Residents say the habit is a reaction to Beijing's dirty, dry air.

Jin said the city has been successful in altering bad habits before, as during the SARS outbreak in 2003. "During the SARS period, people followed rules to wash their hands and they didn't spit," he said.

Bad manners have been a constant worry for Chinese officials and leaders who see the Olympics as a chance to impress the world and humanize China's remarkable re-emergence as a global power.

Goosey's Gabbings...

Those with distinct overbites and lisps could end up facing the death penalty should this continue to be a burden on China. My gut also tells me that chewing tobacco sales may take a dip overall (pun intended).

Labels: 2008 olympics, beijing, bizarre, china, crazy, dumb news, funny, odd, odd news, oddball humor, oddball news, offbeat, offbeat news, quirky, strange, weird

Teen's Stomach Ache Turns out to be Gunshot Wound

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A 13-year-old boy woke up with a stomach ache, only to discover he'd been shot. Despite taking a bullet to the stomach, the teenager was doing okay at Orlando Regional Medical Center after undergoing surgery early Wednesday morning.Police said the teen was an innocent victim in a drive-by shooting that could have cost him his life.The 13-year-old, Acumen Johnson, was asleep in his room inside a house on Polk Street, off Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, and didn't even realize he'd been shot until he walked out of his room just after one Wednesday morning."We just heard gunshots. He came out of his room saying his stomach was hurting and we saw that he was shot," said Latisha Wilson, Johnson's cousin.

The family had no clue how it happened, until police showed up. They explained that, in a barrage of gunfire from a drive-by shooting out front, a bullet had passed through Johnson's bedroom wall, in the back of the house, hitting him in the stomach."Just in shock. It came out of nowhere. Nobody was outside or on that side of the house," Wilson said.Police think the shooting was gang-related and that the suspect, possibly looking to take out a rival gang member, hit the wrong house. The family had only lived in the home three days."It's a bunch of idiots driving down the street shooting up a house," Wilson said.While a couple of casings were found on the street, detectives discovered as many as seven bullets penetrated the house. And, with several people asleep inside, the family was incredibly grateful no one else was hurt and that Johnson is doing so well, physically. But, they can't help but think how it will affect him emotionally."It was sad that, him being so young, had to get shot just laying in his bed asleep," Wilson said.Witnesses said they saw three men in the Ford Taurus pull away from the house. Police are asking anyone else with information to come forward and help them solve the case.

Goosey's Gabbings...

Meanwhile, Grampa started to wonder about his hemorrhoid that started to flare up last night. Maybe it wasn't the hot sauce on the burrito that caused so much agony....

Labels: bizarre, crime, drive by shooting, news, odd, oddball humor, offbeat, offbeat news, orlando, orlando florida, weird

"Will have Sex to work off Fine"--NH Couple

CONCORD, N.H. A former court security officer has been convicted of offering to pay a couple behind on a fine $20 an hour to have sex while he watched. The couple testified that they were skeptical when Robert Theriault told them they would be testing sheets and condoms as part of an insurance company survey to see if they increased sperm count.

But they said they ultimately trusted Theriault, who resigned as a Franklin District Court security officer in December 2005 after being accused of the crime, because he worked for the court.

The couple said they agreed to Theriault's offer because they needed money to pay a $500 speeding fine.

"At first I thought it was a joke," the man testified. "But every time I asked a question about it, he was right there with a response. So I began to think he was telling the truth."

The couple reported Theriault in 2006 after they read news accounts about another man who had accused the former court officer of a similar offer.

Theriault, 49, who was convicted Tuesday, took the stand in his own defense and said he only offered the couple, whom he met in court, jobs in a restaurant. Theriault faces a maximum of two years in jail and a $4,000 fine when he is sentenced.

New Hampshire's prostitution laws prohibit people from offering to pay for sex whether it involves themselves or other people.

Goosey's Gabbings...
$20 bucks an hour to pay off a speeding fine? You think that's bad? You should see what he made someone do to pay off a beastiality charge.

Labels: bizarre, concord new hampshire, dumb news, funny, humorous, news, odd, odd news, oddball humor, oddball news, offbeat, offbeat news, prostitution, strange, weird