Bizarre or weird news stories

[Mahk]

I thought to start a thread for news stories that are almost beyond belief. I'll start with one from today's news:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7379566

:eek:

Please everyone, don't post isolated "news" articles from tabloid/gossip magazines or what we call "yellow journalism" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism) here in the US. Check to see that the story was picked up by at least a few major news organizations like Reuters, AP, BBC, CNN etc. so we know it has some credibility. Posts about Sasquatch crashing a UFO into the Loch Ness monster because of a secret government conspiracy are not what this thread is about.

Thanks.:)

[absentmindedfan]

Posts about Sasquatch crashing a UFO into the Loch Ness monster because of a secret government conspiracy are not what this thread is about.


Damn, and I had that news story all ready to link to...

[puffin]

Damn, and I had that news story all ready to link to...

PMSL, dont let me down now by not putting it up......

http://www.lochness.co.uk/exhibition/ufo.html
Closes i could get.

[absentmindedfan]

:D Good effort Puffin!

[Mahk]

Thanks Puffin, clearly there was no evidence that Sasquatch was piloting the crashed UFO so I think we can safely assume your news report is factual. Did everyone also notice that the regular news bureaus have steadfastly refused to cover the story; a clear indication of a massive government cover-up/ conspiracy perhaps even at an intergalactic level. I'll have to consult my crystal ball for more information because my Ouija board has strangely gone missing (probably also the government's work).;)

Great find by the way.

[Roxy]

I thought to start a thread for news stories that are almost beyond belief. I'll start with one from today's news:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7379566

:eek:



OMG :eek: that's awful!

What a world we live in.

[puffin]

:D Good effort Puffin!

:D


Thanks Puffin, clearly there was no evidence that Sasquatch was piloting the crashed UFO so I think we can safely assume your news report is factual. Did everyone also notice that the regular news bureaus have steadfastly refused to cover the story; a clear indication of a massive government cover-up/ conspiracy perhaps even at an intergalactic level. I'll have to consult my crystal ball for more information because my Ouija board has strangely gone missing (probably also the government's work).;)

Great find by the way.

Darn it, i need more evidence (goes to loch ness to find fragments and green particles). Cant trust the government to tell us anything, why oh why do we have to scout the Internet to find the truth in this world.

[Mahk]

Update: Her "innocent" boyfriend has a shady side:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23830270/

Maybe he forced her to stay in the bathroom and she won't tell authorities because of battered person syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome). He definitely sounds like a sicko.

[Roxy]

The things that go on behind closed doors eh?

[Mahk]

New story. This happened almost a decade ago but the security camera video was only released recently. This poor chap later sued the building and elevator manufacturer and won an undisclosed settlement so that's good but what an ordeal. Nothing gory, don't worry.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/2008/04/21/080421_elevators

I guess his building was unoccupied over the weekend. [When he pries the doors open is him peeing down the elevator shaft.]

Poor guy, hope he's super rich now though. How much do you think he deserved?

[Risker]

This was in one of the trashier papers but apparently is going to be shown on C4 here which is alot more reliable.

Child kick boxing (http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/2004_baby_fight_club.shtml) - Contains pictures

Article is about 5 year old children being forced into kick boxing matches by their parents.

[Roxy]

WTF That's sick :mad:

That poor man stuck in that elevator too. He deserves A LOT of money! Although that can't make up for the trauma he experienced.

[Mahk]

Risker, that's so disturbing I can't even bring myself to read the text. The pics alone make me very upset. I'm against boxing and "extreme fighting" or whatever they call it even for adults. [without head gear, at least] The rationalizations I hear my coworkers make are so delusional:

-Ali probably would have become the shadow of himself even if he never boxed in his life.

-Studies show 90% of professional boxers experience head trauma and/or detached retinas you say, Mahk? I don't care, its their choice.

-They should use "head gear" like they do in the Olympics, Mahk? Are you kidding? Do you know how much more difficult it is to knock an opponent unconscious if s/he is wearing head gear? Oh, and most matches don't have KO's anyways, by the way, its really more of a "points system". [So why the f*ck can't they wear head gear then?!]

-So what if the AMA (American Medical Assoc.) and the Australian Medical Assoc. both say it should be banned immediately, what do they know, they're just doctors.

-It's not a "blood sport" as you call it, at all; yes there's blood shed in most matches but they recover.

-Only a few people have died. Do you know how many people have died from car accidents? Should we ban cars too?

Heavyweight boxing, at least as it is in the US without headgear, is barbaric and akin to the Roman gladiator days.

[gogs67]

This was in one of the trashier papers but apparently is going to be shown on C4 here which is alot more reliable.

Child kick boxing (http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/2004_baby_fight_club.shtml) - Contains pictures

Article is about 5 year old children being forced into kick boxing matches by their parents.
Much as i love combat sports, although my days of competing are well gone, that is just sick! It was on the news here last night and one of the parents came out with 'I have a better bond with my kids than these parents that do nothing'!!!:amazed_ani:
He obviously doesnae do irony!:rolleyes:

And these women were taken to court in Plymouth last year for filming their kids fighting!!!!
Is there a difference?

[Nyphur]

News of the world is a tabloid. Actually, I doubt you'll find bizarre or weird stories that aren't printed in tabloids, they corner the market on those kinds of stories (even if they have to make them up or exaggerate the shit out of them).

[bryzee86]

did you not watch the baby fight club program, nyphur? It may be senationalist, but it's bloody shocking.

[Nyphur]

did you not watch the baby fight club program, nyphur? It may be senationalist, but it's bloody shocking.
That's the entire point, sensationalist news is designed to be shocking. Proper newspapers like The Times take some editorial license to keep stories interesting but tabloids and sensationalist programs will stoop even lower and misreport or misrepresent a story to gain readership.

There are two types of parent involved in this. The first is the kind that is coercing their kids into fighting against their will for some reason. The second (and probably most common) is the type of parent who is letting their kid compete in a sport that they like. This is a bad parenting technique that allows the child to make decisions about what's best for them despite them not understanding the dangers of the sport but it's not forcing the kid to do something against their will. Not all of the parents involved are forcing their kids to fight, some are just inadvisedly allowing them to.

Arguably, they're the same thing and the consquences of letting a kid fight like that are essentially the same as forcing them. However, as a matter of journalism there is a huge difference between reporting the news and distorting it. If the news is reported fairly, it should be primarily enlightening and informative rather than shocking.

[bryzee86]

There are two types of parent involved in this. The first is the kind that is coercing their kids into fighting against their will for some reason.

And those were the sorts in this program. 4-year-olds wanting to kickbox? One little girl was crying before a fight and was coerced back into the ring by her dad. Then she was cheered (though the term "baying" might be more appropriate) on by everyone surrounding her. Nobody should have to go through that. I chose to do Tae Kwon Do when I was 9. Actually chose. Being trained by obsessed parents from walking age is different.


If the news is reported fairly, it should be primarily enlightening and informative rather than shocking.

I think that when it is reported fairly, then it can be the most shocking, because the truth outs.

[Nyphur]

And those were the sorts in this program.
That's my entire point. The program was made ABOUT those sorts, which presents the false implication that those are the only type of parent involved when they might well be a minority. It's the kind of deliberate unbalanced reporting that makes for popular shocking news but that isn't reliable a complete overview of the story they're covering.

[Mahk]

Wow. Hard to believe but I checked and the story is being carried by many legit news organizations:
RKZYpHmUayg

[Roxy]

Awwww what an AWESOME story! :)

[Risker]

Now they need to decide wether to call him Romulus or Remus.

[Risker]

Vicar went to hospital with potato stuck in bottom

The clergyman, in his 50s, told nurses he had been hanging curtains when he fell backwards on to his kitchen table.

He happened to be nude at the time of the mishap, said the vicar, who insisted he had not been playing a sex game.

The vicar had to undergo a delicate operation to extract the vegetable, one of a range of odd items medics in

Sheffield have had to remove from people's backsides or genitals.

Others include a can of deodorant, a cucumber, a Russian doll – and a carnation.

Speaking of the vicar, A & E nurse Trudi Watson, of Sheffield's Northern General Hospital, said: "He explained to me, quite sincerely, he had been hanging curtains naked in the kitchen when he fell backwards on to the kitchen table and on to a potato.

"But it's not for me to question his story. He had to undergo surgery to have it removed."

She advised anyone tempted to use such objects in sex games to think again.

"It can be very dangerous and potentially life-threatening," she said.

"Surgery can lead to infection, nasty scarring, and it could possibly end up with the person having to use a colostomy bag as a result."

A hospital trust spokeswoman in Sheffield said: "Like all busy hospitals we do see some unusual accidents.

"But our staff deal with them in a discreet, professional and kind way."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3330057/Vicar-went-to-hospital-with-potato-stuck-in-bottom.html

[gogs67]

Or how about



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...e-stomach.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/3374958/Priest-smashes-chair-over-Italian-restaurant-owners-head-as-nuns-kick-him-in-the-stomach.html)
Priest 'smashes chair' over Italian restaurant owner's head as nuns kick him in the stomach
An Italian restaurant owner was allegedly attacked by a priest and two nuns in what witnesses described as a Wild West-style "saloon bar brawl".


Nick Squires in Rome
Last Updated: 10:48PM GMT 03 Nov 2008

The clergyman and nuns allegedly hit and kicked the 49-year-old man in an argument over the lease on the restaurant, which is owned by the Catholic Church.

The restaurateur said he rushed to the eatery, in the village of Rutino near Salerno, in southern Italy, after hearing that the priest and nuns were causing trouble.

He told police that he got into an argument with the priest, who smashed a chair over his head. The nuns followed up by kicking him in the stomach.

Stunned passers-by were shocked to see tables and chairs being hurled around the bar and promptly called the police.

"I came down to try to calm things down but the priest hit me with a chair and I ended up on the floor. Then the two sisters started kicking me, insulting me with unrepeatable words," the unnamed owner said in a statement.

He was taken to hospital with injuries to his neck and bruising to his abdomen.

A lawyer for the clergy disputed his version of events, noting that the nuns had "a combined age of 160".

"This establishment was being occupied illegally," said lawyer Gaetano Di Vietri. "As to the alleged aggression, I would only say that the two nuns have a combined age of about 160. For the rest, it will be up to the magistrate to clear up, but the clergy members deny the allegations."

The priest and nuns belong to a religious order, the Disciples of Santa Teresa and the Baby Jesus, which owns the lease on the premises and reportedly wants the property back.

:D

[Risker]

Nazi leader Hitler really did have only one ball

Hitler really did have only one ball, according to claims by a German army medic who saved the Führer's life during the First World War.

The Nazi leader lost a testicle during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the doctor claimed.

The medical condition, for which there has never been conclusive proof, was mocked in the Second World War ditty which begins: "Hitler has only got one ball, the other is in the Albert Hall."

The disclosure is made in a document noting a conversation in the 1960s between German war doctor Johan Jambor and his priest, Franciszek Pawlar, according to The Sun. The priest's document has come to light 23 years after Jambor's death.

Although it was known Hitler suffered a groin injury in the Somme, evidence that he was 'monorchic' - the medical word for the condition - has evaded historians.

Blassius Hanczuch, a friend of Jambor, said the doctor later blamed himself for saving Hitler's life. He said: "In 1916 they had their hardest fight in the Battle of the Somme. For several hours, Johan and his friends picked up injured soldiers. He remembers Hitler. They called him the 'Screamer'. He was very noisy. Hitler was screaming 'help, help'.

"His abdomen and legs were all in blood. Hitler was injured in the abdomen and lost one testicle. His first question to the doctor was: 'Will I be able to have children?'."

The popular song emerged in 1939 and is thought to have been written by a publicist for the British Council, which was tasked with helping build propaganda that would damage the Nazis.

The commonly-recalled version is an adaption of the original, which ran: "Göring has only got one ball, Hitler's [are] so very small, Himmler's so very similar, And Goebbels has no balls at all."


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3481932/Nazi-leader-Hitler-really-did-have-only-one-ball.html