Bigfoot a bigger deal in USA than Canada

People in the United States are more likely than Canadians to consider that Bigfoot is real, an Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of representative national samples, three-in-ten Americans (29%) and one-in-five Canadians (21%) think Bigfoot is “definitely” or “probably” real.
The Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, phenomenon is definitely bigger in the United States, where 77 per cent of respondents claim to have heard “a great deal” or a “moderate amount” about Bigfoot (compared to 61% of Canadians).

American and Canadian men are more likely to believe that Bigfoot is real than their female counterparts.
Liberal Party voters in Canada (16%) are the least likely to believe that Bigfoot is real. Democrats in the
United States more likely to believe in Bigfoot (33%) than Republicans or Independents.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

Erotic werewolf romance writer bites hand that feeds

Werewolf creator from from Nebraska sues Siren:
Cass

County author Erin R. Flynn, who writes “gay erotic paranormal romance” under the pen name Joyee Flynn, is suing her Texas-based publisher in a contract dispute... The stories feature amorous encounters involving shapeshifters and werewolves, among other plot turns.

In an answering brief, Siren [Publishing] said Flynn's lawsuit is premature because her contracts require arbitration as the first step to settle a dispute. Siren has filed a separate lawsuit against Flynn in Texas.

Flynn started writing fiction in 2002 and has written 89 books for Siren since 2010, according to the lawsuit. She said she typically writes 15,000 words a day and can finish a book in a week or two.

Flynn submitted a manuscript for “Gideon” on June 1, but an editor at Siren wanted to market the book under a different imprint, so she withdrew it from consideration. On June 30, Flynn shipped the manuscript for “Trapped and Boiled.” But she objected to changes proposed by her editor, so she withdrew that one, too. Flynn said she never signed a contract for either book. Instead, she self-published the books on Amazon.com.

Siren's lawyers sent Flynn a notice that she had breached her contract. Then, after Flynn filed her lawsuit, Siren Publisher Diana DeBalko, who goes by Amanda Hilton, sent a takedown notice to Amazon.com asserting copyright over the books. The titles are no longer available online.

At issue is whether the two books are sequels to existing works that Flynn wrote under contract to Siren — in which case the publisher has the first right of refusal — or original works that stand alone in a series.

Siren's slogan is 'quality erotic romance for the sophisticated reader.' Here's the synopsis of Flynn's book, 'Two Wiggles and Some Fur: Unmated at Midnight:'

Jensen has wanted a mate for a long, long time. Picked on for his size and growing up in a time when being gay could get him killed, happiness was always out of reach for him. But then he found a role in a pack he was made for… Beta. Ever since, all he's done is protect people and keep his pack safe, and he is good at it. So when he meets two men eating out of the garbage, all his instincts kick in to help them.

Kyd and Redley have been on the run, and they’re tired, hurt, and desperate. When a huge wolf shifter shows up and offers help, they don’t know whether to trust him or run because he might eat them. As salamander shifters they have a few special gifts and realize they can trust him. But when they begin having trouble with the pack, who will Jensen listen to?

 Sounds scary.

Man loses arm in fortune cookie factory

Talk about bad luck:

A 55-year-old man’s left arm was severed in an industrial accident at a Seattle fortune cookie company this afternoon after he became stuck in a machine up to his chest, said Kyle Moore, a spokesman for the Seattle Fire Department.

Medics arrived at the Tsue Chong Co. at 800 S. Weller St., in Seattle’s Chinatown International District, within three minutes of receiving a 911 call at 12:15 p.m., Moore said...

Firefighters were able to quickly free him and transported the man to Harborview Medical Center along with his severed arm, said Moore, who didn’t know whether doctors would be able to reattach the limb.

'Anything But Law School' Post-Grad Scholarship

Hot on the heals of a Minnesota criminal law firm criminal defense law firm offering a law school scholarship to people who have a police record, a group of ambulance chasing attorneys personal injury attorneys in Illinois is offering financial aid to people who stay away from law school.

On November 3rd, Willens Law Offices in Chicago announces the inauguration of its “Anything But Law School” scholarship. According to the firm's web site, the reason they are offering this is they don't want any more competition there are not enough jobs to be able to effectively train the current number of freshly minted lawyers in our profession. So, 'to protect the reputation' of the profession they have created this scholarship to persuade undergraduates looking to continue on to post-graduate studies to pursue graduate degrees in any field but law.

The annual scholarship is $1,000 and will be awarded for the first time in 2014.

For more information, click here.

Building Bombs Better: The Ergonomics of Explosives at Sea

AOffice of Naval Research (ONR) spearheaded the development of a more efficient and ergonomic way to build bombs at sea, officials announced Nov. 6.
RLINGTON, Va.— In an effort to stem work-related injuries and speed the assembly of munitions aboard aircraft carriers, the

The ONR-sponsored improvements will allow Sailors to move around more freely and assemble multiple bombs simultaneously on smaller, individual stands.

“The main objective here is to improve the quality of life for Sailors,” said Tom Gallagher, who manages the ONR TechSolutions program that oversaw the improvements. “They asked for a better, safer, more comfortable way to build these weapons, and that’s what we’re delivering.”

For safety reasons, crews try to avoid storing assembled bombs aboard ships. Instead, Sailors work in the ship’s magazine to put together weapons as needed.

In addition to being heavy, bombs include many components such as noses, tails, fuses, lugs and wires that have to be assembled without power tools. Until now, this has been done on a long table in confined space, requiring repetitive and often awkward motions that can result in painful and costly injuries, especially to the back.

During a recent demo at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Sailors from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) who had never seen the new tables before were able to set them up in less than two minutes and begin building a GBU-16, a 1,000-pound laser-guided bomb.

The new stands can accommodate bombs weighing up to 2,000 pounds and be adjusted for height, eliminating the need for workers of different heights to repeatedly bend down or stretch awkwardly to reach components.

The idea for the new bomb-assembly tables came from ONR’s naval aviation science advisor as a result of direct interaction with Sailors. ONR then partnered with Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division – Ship Systems Engineering Station (NSWCCD-SSES), BAE Systems and Newport News Shipbuilding to make them a reality.

“It’s a perfect example of how a TechSolutions project is supposed to work,” said Tom McCammon, an engineering technician at NSWCCD-SSES.  “We have been getting invaluable feedback from Sailors, which shortens our design cycle and helps us get this improved capability to the fleet even faster.”

TechSolutions is designed to bridge the gap between warfighters and scientists by accepting requests directly from Sailors and Marines and delivering prototypes to them within 18 months.

Through this and other programs, ONR is finding affordable solutions that answer Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert’s call in his 2014-2018 Navigation Plan for timely modernization to increase the proficiency and readiness of deployed forces.

The next step for the prototype bomb-assembly tables is to bring them aboard an aircraft carrier to allow sailors to build bombs on them in an actual magazine. This will provide valuable information on how best to integrate them into a real ship environment.

Philadelphia elects first Whig in 157 years

Shades of Millard Fillmore!

Robert Bucholz, who Rhawnhurst voters chose as Judge of Election for the 5th Division in the 56th Ward, became the first Whig elected in Philadelphia in 157 years. He beat out Democratic candidate Loretta Probasco, who received 24 votes to Bucholz's 36.

"As neither a Republican nor Democrat, in a city with a reputation for electoral dishonesty, I am an honest broker in administering elections," Bucholz said Wednesday in an email.

Bucholz, an engineer who spends most of his time working for defense contractors, said he first began identifying himself as a Modern Whig three years ago.

"The political tone turned nastier and I didn't identify with either Republicans or Democrats," he said. "The time for a third party that can broker consensus is long overdue. There have been many attempts since the beginning of our country, but the two major parties control the election laws, the ballot and the conversation."

First founded in America in 1833, the Whig Party promoted consensus and compromise over partisan politics. Though the party counted among its ranks many prominent figures, including four U.S. presidents, it was virtually disbanded by 1856 after the issue of slavery exposed deep fissures within its membership.

But the movement was revived about five years ago after a group of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans began meeting in response to what they saw as the divisive nature of the county's partisan political system. They went on to found the Modern Whig Party, which Time Magazine in 2010 named one of America's "Top Ten Alternative Political Movements." The party now has a Washington, D.C. headquarters and counts 25,000 to 30,000 members across the nation, according to statistics from The Modern Whig Party of America's website.

Man shot at 'Stop the Violence' basketball tournament

This past weekend in lovely Alabama:

Police received a 911 call Saturday at 6:35 p.m. about a shooting at the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, a former school in Childersburg where the basketball tournament was taking place.

One shot was fired, and Donterius Riggins, 19, of Sylacauga was hit in the neck, said Childersburg Police Department Sgt. Donald Elkins.

“There was an altercation between him and several other men,” Elkins said.

Riggins was first transported by personal vehicle to Coosa Valley Medical Center in Sylacauga, and later transferred by ambulance to University Hospital.

“As of yesterday he was still in UAB in very stable condition,” Elkins said.

With New 'Starchase' Technology Police Can Fire GPS Trackers At Fleeing Suspects (Video)

The St. Petersburg, Florida police department is showing off a new tool meant to reduce the risks associated with high speed chases. A compressed-air launcher, mounted behind the grille of a police cruiser, uses a laser to target the fleeing vehicle. It discharges a projectile/tag containing the GPS module. The projectile adheres to the suspect vehicle and transmits coordinates back to dispatch. The dispatcher then views the location and movements of the tagged vehicle in near real-time on a digital road map via a secure Internet connection. The StarChase mapping platform is a secure, scalable Web-based solution that does not require special hardware to operate. It is compatible with existing CAD and AVL systems.

Starchase.com

Fury of a woman scorned: angry over break up, bashes ex-boyfriend’s jeep with canoe paddle

Ironically, this incident took place in the town of Unity, Maine:

Jessica Letellier, 25, of Biddeford was arrested later that night, according to Chief Deputy Jeff Trafton of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to a report of a woman beating on the Jeep with the paddle and met with the vehicle’s owner. He told police that his relationship with Letellier had ended earlier that evening. They separated, and at some point Letellier went to the vehicle and started to hit it, he told officers...

Letellier was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and domestic violence reckless conduct. She was taken to Waldo County Jail in Belfast to be booked, and was released from jail on Monday after posting $2,500 unsecured bail.

I love the smile she's wearing in the mug shot.

Man reported for driving off with woman in duffle bag

I would have called the police, too. Where else but Florida?

Boca Raton police received a call from a man walking his dog Friday. He told police he saw a man hunched over a large duffel bag in a Walgreens parking lot, talking to it. He said the man started to lift the duffel bag into his car when a woman's arm poked out. The man then pushed the arm back inside the bag, put it in the car and drove off.

Turned out he was staying in a halfway house in order to dry out and since having overnight guests there was against the rules he and his girlfriend came up with a plan of sneaking her in via a duffel bag.

At the end of the video clip below (starting at about the 36 second mark) Mark Economou, Public Information Manager for the Boca Raton Police Department, explains how this oddly humorous incident capped off the force's weekend. 

As he said, you can't make this stuff up. Well worn phrase, but surely true in this case.

Motorist was fleeing from another crash when he hit and killed bicyclist

Talk about reckless, careless driving! From Flint, Michigan:

Police received a call around 9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, about a driver that struck a pole on East Stewart Avenue and then left the accident. The driver then allegedly drove at a high rate of speed westbound on Pierson Road where he struck a man riding a bicycle near Winthrop Boulevard.

The bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not released his name.

The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody.

Man must apologize to police officer for taking a dump cruiser

Policing: it's a dirty job, but somebody's go to do it: From the Lowell Sun in Massachusetts:

A 66-year-old Nashua man was placed on probation and must write a letter of apology to a state trooper after admitting to driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol on Route 3 in Chelmsford, then left "a present" in the back seat of a State Police cruiser after he was arrested.

In Lowell District Court on Wednesday, Edward Carroll, of 909 St. James Place, admitted to sufficient facts to charges of operating under the influence of drugs, operating under the influence of alcohol, wanton destruction of property, assault and battery on a police officer, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon...

On Feb. 10 a state trooper stopped Carroll and arrested him for suspicion of driving while under the influence.

Carroll allegedly struggled when he was placed in the rear of the cruiser and allegedly kicked the trooper. The trooper used a baton to strike Carroll in the shin to prevent him from kicking further... 

While in the cruiser's back seat, Carroll allegedly spit in the car and defecated in his pants.As he was removed from the cruiser, Carroll allegedly laughed in the trooper's face and told him he left "a present" in the backseat.

Carroll allegedly continued to be unruly in the station. A company had to be a called in to decontaminate the cruiser and the holding cell.

Ewww.

Woman who didn't like to swim, swept out to sea and drowned when she bent down to pick up glasses on beach

Sounds like it might have been a sneaker wave that took her:

Donna Pawlowski did not like to swim but turbulent surf along a Cape Cod beach Sunday pulled her into the ocean where she drowned.

Pawlowski and Barbara Coons, who live in Rexford [New York] and had a time share on the cape, were walking along Race Point Beach in Provincetown early Sunday morning when Coons dropped her glasses.

"Donna reached down to get them and the waves came in and took her away," Mary Jane Hodge of Colchester, Conn., who is related to Pawlowski through marriage, said by phone Monday evening.

"She did not swim. It was a freak accident."

Cape & Islands First Assistant District Attorney Michael Trudeau said boat, air and ground search crews quickly converged on the scene and Pawlowski's body was found about 35 minutes later on a beach near the Race Point Lighthouse. Trudeau said the death appears accidental.

 Source: Albany Times Union

Law School Scholarship Available for Criminals Only

In what some might jokingly describe as a case of crooks wanting to help crooks become lawyers, a Minnesota law firm is offering a law school scholarship exclusively for people who have been in trouble with the law.

The Appelman Law Firm Criminal Defense Scholarship is designed to reward those who’ve made better choices after a conviction – those who have managed to turn their lives around and intend to pursue a career in criminal defense.

“There’s a real need for passionate attorneys in criminal defense,” said Avery Appelman, the firm’s founder. “Nothing instills a great passion for justice quite like having suffered through the process yourself.”

“There are just too many ways to run afoul of the law for anyone to think they are immune. A mistake can easily lead to an arrest or jail,” he said.

Appelman believes that with all the laws out there that avoiding a criminal record has become more a matter of luck than being a good citizen. He claims that an estimate from the U.S. government in the 1980′s put the number of federal criminal statutes at about 3,000 and that shortly afterward, a study by the American Bar Association said that was too low, but it couldn’t come up with a better number. Adding in state crimes only makes the situation worse, a press release from the firm declared.

“When a simple marijuana possession charge can ban someone from federal aid, there’s something wrong with the system,” said Appelman. “As a society, we need to rethink what it means when we slap on the label of criminal, how it adversely affects someone’s life.”
  
To apply for the scholarship, applicants have to write a short essay about their experience with the law and submit proof of a police record. Applications for the 2014 scholarship will be taken until May 31^st, and the award decision will be made in August.

Click here for more information.

You might also enjoy: 'Anything But Law School' Post-Grad Scholarship

Man arrested after posting online ad seeking partner to assault, rape 11 year-old daughter (Video)

This video report doesn't mention it, but according to the accompanying article, the intended victim was his own daughter:
 

More info:

Clayton, Missouri - St. Louis County prosecutors charged [Anthony] Brinkman, of the 100 block of East Street in Cuba, on Saturday with one count of attempted statutory sodomy. His bail has been set at $100,000, cash only.

Brinkman caught the attention of investigators after someone who saw Brinkman’s online ad clicked a “report abuse” feature, which then triggered a tip to the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. An undercover officer posing as a 27-year-old woman then responded to Brinkman. He told her he wanted the woman to be his girlfriend as well as participate with him in sexually assaulting the child with sex toys, [Detective Mike] Slaughter said. He also said he wanted her to help find a boyfriend for the child, Slaughter said. Slaughter said Brinkman sent undercover officers pictures of the girl as well as posted them online...

Brinkman agreed to meet with the undercover officer at the restaurant and, if he liked her, they would go back to his home in Cuba to assault the girl, Slaughter said.

“From the time he posted that ad to the time we arrested him was less than 48 hours,” Slaughter said.

Investigators do not believe the girl had been sexually assaulted by Brinkman in the past, Slaughter said, but authorities plan to talk more to the girl.

Unfathomable. 

Chainsaw Massacre Averted in Bar Fight When Man’s Tool Stalls (Video)

An angry man in the town of Auburn, California brought a chainsaw into a bar to continue a fight that had begun earlier — but the machine refused to cooperate.

  

Weston Cecil Burton, 31, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He is out on bail. No word about the current status of his chainsaw.

Thief gets fingered by digit he left behind. (Video)

The finger was found in a tangle of copper wire the suspect was allegedly trying to steal in Glendale, Arizona.

 

Apparently, he initially told police he had lost the finger working on his car and then learned the cops had it on ice. 

New York State Criminal Justice Official Arrested for Driving While Drunk and Naked

"Ronald Dickens, a 48-year-old deputy director at the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, was arrested before dawn on Sunday morning by State Police on charges of public lewdness and first-offense driving while intoxicated — both misdemeanors.

"The arrest was made at 5:46 a.m. Sunday at the rest area on the northbound side of I-87 near Exit 18 in Queensbury, according to police.

"The investigator handling the case said Dickens was allegedly seen parking his vehicle at the rest area and emerging naked from his car. He was the sole occupant."

Via the Times Union

Razor blade found in child's Halloween candy bag! Update: This was a misunderstanding.

11pm October 31, Nashua, NH
The Nashua Police Department is currently investigating an incident involving a single loose razor blade found in a child’s bag, while the child was trick or treating in the area of Broad Street.
11:55am November 1
Nashua police say this was a misunderstanding. It is likely that the child's broken pencil sharpener was confused for the razor blade. Click here for new details.

You might also be interested in: The myth of deadly Halloween treats

Man attacks tree after holding grudge against it for years

A La Crosse, Wisconsin man took revenge on a tree last weekend.

When officers came across a crowd gathered around a tree outside a Mexican restaurant in downtown La Crosse, they found Mitchel Pfaff, 25, up in it.

Pfaff, who had broken off a branch, told police he was avenging a friend that had fallen from the same tree and split his head open a few years before.

A La Crosse Tribune commenter claimed that there 'were at least 10 police officers and 8 firemen' there to deal with Pfaff's having gotten himself up a tree. 

The Tribune reported that 'Pfaff was given a $240 ticket for damage to property and $177 ticket for disorderly conduct.'

I don't think it's going out on a limb to expect to read something about drunkenness in a weird story like this, but either the paper failed to report that, the cops neglected to ticket him for it, or the fool was actually sober when he did this at 3am on a Saturday.