Legislators: Hands off our water Two House members from Michigan demand no diversion of the Great Lakes to other states November 9, 2007 FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF WASHINGTON -- Two Michigan members of Congress fired a stern warning Thursday to colleagues in faster-growing, drought-stricken parts of the nation: Don't even consider using a seemingly harmless bill to study the nation's water usage as cover to begin a process aimed at taking Great Lakes water. "I don't think I'm being too alarmist about this," said Rep. Candice Miller, a Harrison Township Republican. "Do not look to the Great Lakes to solve the nation's water problems." Her Michigan colleague on the House subcommittee on water resources and environment, Grand Rapids Republican Vern Ehlers, predicted what might happen if anyone attempted a water grab. "I would suspect we'd call up the militia and take up arms," Ehlers said. "We feel that serious about it."

Malaysia firm's 'Muslim car' plan BBC News, Kuala Lumpur The Malaysian carmaker Proton has announced plans to develop an "Islamic car", designed for Muslim motorists. Proton is planning on teaming up with manufacturers in Iran and Turkey to create the unique vehicle. The car could boast special features like a compass pointing to Mecca and a dedicated space to keep a copy of the Koran and a headscarf. The idea came during a visit to the Middle East by a delegation of Malaysian politicians and businessmen. Malaysian press reports say officials in Iran originally suggested the idea. Safety features or fuel economy is one way of selling a car, but Proton thinks vehicles designed specifically for Muslims across the world represent a huge gap in the market. Proton is the most dominant car on the streets here but the company has suffered recently after the government allowed more foreign cars to be imported. The firm has been in talks recently with VW about a takeover by the German car giant. BBC

Broward residents can now go online to file for divorce, small claims By Alexia Campbell | South Florida Sun-Sentinel November 12, 2007 Broward County residents now can file for a divorce without leaving the house, or at least get the paperwork rolling. The Broward County Clerk of Courts launched an online service this month that steers citizens through the application process for filing divorce actions, small claims lawsuits and tenant evictions. "It kind of guides you through, it asks questions. Once it knows your name, it will put it in every space it should go," said Kris Mazzeo, director of the circuit/civil family division of the clerk of courts. The self-service system is intended for people who can't afford an attorney or don't want to spend the money on one. Each section provides legal definitions and asks questions to determine which forms need to be filled out. The completed forms can be printed at home and mailed to the clerk's office. Some paperwork requires a notary signature. Mazzeo says the new service will save residents hours of hassle. "People come downtown and it's expensive to park. If we can keep them from making extra trips to the courthouse, it would be great for them," she said. The clerk of courts adopted the program following the lead of Palm Beach County and others. Soon, Mazzeo hopes to expand the service to offer help with other matters, such as name changes and paternity matters. Although the program simplifies the legal process for the average citizen, it also simplifies the paperwork for the court clerks, who often have to deal with throngs of customers and incomplete applications.

Couple wins casino jackpot and lottery in same night By THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO - Luck struck twice for a couple from Caledon, Ont., in just one hour after they won a casino jackpot then a lottery jackpot. Anthony and Antonietta Marrocco won $13,000 at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ont., Saturday night. After that, Antonietta Marrocco predicted their luck would continue and told her husband they would win the lottery. An hour later, the winning numbers for the $37-million Lotto 6/49 jackpot were drawn - and the Marroccos held one of two winning tickets. That's more than $18.5 million in winnings for the couple, who own a construction company. The Marroccos say with the money they will pay off debts, take care of their four children and three grandchildren and consider taking a holiday. CNEWS

Best to use tools when loosening lug nut Mon Nov 12, 6:12 PM ET A man trying to loosen a stubborn lug nut blasted the wheel with a 12-gauge shotgun, injuring himself badly in both legs, sheriff's deputies said. The 66-year-old man had been repairing a Lincoln Continental for two weeks at his home northwest of Southworth, about 10 miles southwest of Seattle, and had gotten all but one of the lug nuts off the right rear wheel by Saturday afternoon, Kitsap County Deputy Scott Wilson said. "He's bound and determined to get that lug nut off," Wilson said. From about arm's length, the man fired the shotgun at the wheel and was "peppered" in both legs with buckshot and debris, with some injuries as high as his chin, according to a sheriff's office report. "Nobody else was there and he wasn't intoxicated," Wilson said. The man was taken to Tacoma General Hospital with injuries Wilson described as severe but not life-threatening.

Married man eight year sex drought Article from: November 08, 2007 06:05pm A Brisbane man reports he was so fed up with always having to be the one to initiate sex in their marriage that he turned to his wife and said "I'll make no more advances until you ask me." That was eight years ago and they haven't had sex since. The man recently volunteered to take part in a sex research project for social commentator and sex therapist Bettina Arndt, which looks at how couples negotiate their sex supply. Arndt is tracking how couples deal with ups and downs in their sexual drive. She has more than 80 couples keeping sex diaries for her in which they discuss their daily negotiations over sex. With no prospect of sex on his agenda, the Brisbane bloke was forced to bow out, although his sex history is now part of Arndt's growing collection. She also has an Adelaide couple who have kept their own sex diary for 23 years, tracking their sexual frequency, rating each event, and noting what else was going on to make it good or bad. There's also a Canberra man with a wife with an obsessive compulsive disorder. She likes everything to have its time and place. They make love every Sunday morning at 9.15 a.m. And there's a young mother who reports she has mastered saying "Get that thing away from me!" in her sleep. Arndt is thrilled to discover that participating in her research is helping many couples. "Tension over sex is the elephant in the room for many couples. Something they rarely talk about but which is always there, worrying them," she said. "It's been so exciting to discover the process of keeping diaries helps people start to talk and improve their sex lives." She's now calling for more volunteers, specifically couples who both are willing to commit to keeping the diaries. NEW.com

China recycling used condoms as cheap hair bands Mon Nov 12, 10:48 PM ET Used condoms are being recycled into hair bands in southern China, threatening to spread sexually-transmittable diseases they were originally meant to prevent, state media reported Tuesday. In the latest example of potentially harmful Chinese-made products, rubber hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said. "These cheap and colourful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ... threatening the health of local people," it said. Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said. "People could be infected with AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair into plaits or buns," the paper quoted a local dermatologist who gave only his surname, Dong, as saying. A bag of ten of the recycled bands sells for just 25 fen (three cents), much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said. A government official was quoted as saying recycling condoms was illegal.

Mafia's 'Ten Commandments' found Italian police have found what they say is a "Ten Commandments"-style code of behaviour for Mafia members, at the hideout of a captured Mafia boss. Prohibitions include frequenting bars and looking at friends' wives, while members are urged to treat their own wives with respect. The list was found during the arrest of Salvatore Lo Piccolo, the reputed new boss of the Sicilian Mafia. It is thought to have been drawn up as a "guide to being a good mobster". The Mafia's "Ten Commandments" 1. No-one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it. 2. Never look at the wives of friends. 3. Never be seen with cops. 4. Don't go to pubs and clubs. 5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife's about to give birth. 6. Appointments must absolutely be respected. 7. Wives must be treated with respect. 8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth. 9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families. 10. People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two- timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values. BBC

F1 lawn mower cuts down the competition like Schumacher Posted Nov 7th 2007 I absolutely hate mowing the lawn, so anything that can help accomplish this task quicker than my hand-me-down Toro is worth considering. An F1-inspired mower just might do the trick. Complete with an F1-style front wing, full race suspension, rear view mirrors, vintage John Player Special -style livery and a steering wheel sporting an LCD gauge display, this CG mockup of a concept racing mower by Kadeg Boucher of France could easily shave a few tenths off my mow time. We particularly like the pull start that's been relocated front and center, as well as the race helmet cap on the single spark plug. Within the gallery below you'll find a bunch of images showing Boucher's concept cutter from every angle, and some versions of the machine appear more production feasible than others. Seriously, there are at least a few of us out there who would lay down cash on the spot if we passed this thing in Home Depot.

Carrot 'joke' sex attacker guilty A driving instructor who hid a carrot in his trousers and pretended it was his erect penis has been convicted of four sex attacks on his pupils. Stephen Cooney, 51, groped three women learner drivers in a series of attacks on Teesside dating back to 2002. A jury at Teesside Crown Court found him guilty of two indecent assaults and two sexual assaults. He told the court the carrot incident was a "practical joke". He was bailed and will be sentenced on 7 December. The court heard how Cooney put the 12-inch carrot down his trousers and told a pupil in her 40s that a perfectly executed maneuver was so good that it had given him an erection. He then took her hand and made her touch the vegetable before showing her the carrot, the court heard. He denied placing her hand on his groin, but admitted hiding the vegetable in his pocket. He told the jury: "I admit it was unprofessional, stupid, and I regret doing it. "I just thought maybe I would play a practical joke, but obviously it was stupid." The court also heard that when another pupil failed her test, he offered to waive the £80 she owed him if she pulled over into a lay-by and had sex with him. She told the court: "I just said 'No thank you, Steve'." He regularly groped her during lessons between August 2005 and February last year, the hearing heard. When police arrested him they also found naked photos in the glove box of his Vauxhall Corsa. BBC

Swedish Women Campaign To Go Topless November 14, 2007 1:20 p.m. EST AHN Uppsala, Sweden (AHN) - A group of Swedish female activists is campaigning for women to be allowed to go topless in the country's swimming pools. UPI mentions The Local reporting Tuesday the group, calling itself Bara Brost (Bare Breasts or Just Breasts), launched the protest following an incident in August involving two women who were refused to go topless at their local pool in Uppsala. A spokesperson for Uppsala leisure center said there were three reasons for their refusal. "First, there is a security aspect, then there is a hygiene issue and finally there is what we call 'prevailing manners and customs'." Astrid Hellroth, one of the campaigners, told Agence France-Presse: "Our aim is to start a debate about the unwritten social and cultural rules that sexualize and discriminate against the female body." The campaign has already found support from some 50 women and 15 women have started acting on it by swimming topless in local pools. The group has a blog which is linked to a Canadian sister organisation, the Topfree Equal Rights Association. According to UPI, Bara Brost spokeswomen Astrid Hellroth and Liv Ambjornsson told Ottar, a magazine published by the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education: "We want our breasts to be as 'normal' and desexualized as men's, so that we too can pull off our shirts at football matches ."

Robert Bruno’s Steel House That’s architect and sculptor Robert Bruno’s steel house/sculpture in Lubbock, Texas. Bruno spent 23 years building this strange home that looks like a giant pig out of 110 tons of steel!

In this photo released by World Wildlife Fund-National Geographic, two Thai fishermen show a 293-kilogram (646-pound) giant catfish they caught from the Mekong River in Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand in mid-May, 2005. Six proposed dams on the Mekong River could displace up to 75, 000 villagers and harm hundreds of species like the endangered giant catfish, conservationists warned Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007.

This October 2007 photo released by Sotheby's shows Jeff Koons' Hanging Heart (Magenta and Gold) 1994-2006 on display in New York. Sotheby's sold the piece at auction for $23.6 million(euro 24.9 million) Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007 in New York, . The sale set a sales record for a living artist at auction.

Jessica Nicole Trisko of Canada is the newly-crowned Miss Earth for 2007. Trisko bested 89 other contestants for the title at the climax of the awards ceremony Sunday night at the University of the Philippines Theater.

Customized Segways

Girls Are Wonderful