Ontario crushes `hot wheels'
Government promotes stunt to deter `motorheads' from racing
Jun. 15, 2006. 05:11 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
MARKHAM — The Ontario government crushed two tricked-out Hondas into a heap of scrap metal Thursday as part of an effort by Attorney General Michael Bryant to discourage ``motorheads" from racing on public streets.
The spectacle, performed in front of a horde of television cameras in this sprawling suburb just north of Toronto, came on the same day the federal government introduced new legislation to criminalize the increasingly popular activity.
"We are taking away these hot wheels from the people who use them forever," Bryant said as he presided over the theatrics, which featured a massive front-end loader crushing the cars on the driveway of a Markham paving company.
And Thursday's exhibition was just the start, Bryant said.
"We're not just going to take your keys away for a few weeks," he said. "We are going to take your precious vehicles from you."
Used in races in 2003 and 2004, the province took possession of the cars under the Civil Remedies Act, a law passed last December which allows police to seize property used in illegal activities.
The pair are the first street racing cars to be destroyed under that law, but Bryant said he expects more will meet the same fate.
The modified vehicles had been gutted — including the removal of the back seats and interior panels — to make them run faster.
One, a 1995 blue Honda Civic, was taken after an officer caught a 23-year-old man racing at a over 180 km/hr on a Markham street. The vehicle, outfitted with a TV screen and video game console on the dashboard, was registered to the racer's mother.
Street racing has killed 34 people in the Greater Toronto Area since 1999, including a couple who stumbled upon a race on Toronto's central Yonge St. when returning from their 17th wedding anniversary celebration.
Police said officers are reporting a rise in the number of races. Scarier still, the practice has moved from little-used back roads onto busy highways, said Sgt. David Mitchell, an internationally recognized leader in drag racing policing.
"Society has become more 24-hour-oriented," Mitchell said. ``There's always someone out on that roadway."
Hey, you can vote for your 'favorite best young player of the tournament' on FIFAworldcup.com. I guess all the players from my country are too old. :) I voted for Rooney.
Local authorities launched a rescue effort early this morning after receiving a report of a man who fell into the Iowa River off the Burlington Street Bridge and went over the dam.
The search for the man halted after about three hours — when he called police to say he was OK.
Yes, 23-year-old Jonathan Fasselius of Coralville did indeed fall off the Burlington Street bridge about 2:19 a.m. And yes, he was immediately swept over the dam beneath said bridge.
According to a press release from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Fasselius said he was looking for a friend on the eastbound side of the bridge. He then decided to cross over to the westbound side, not realizing that the two sides are actually two separate bridges. You can guess what that led to.
It was then that Iowa City resident Kimberly Fensterbusch heard a splash, and saw Fasselius in the water yelling for help. She called 911.
After hitting the water just up river from the bridge, Fasselius then went over the dam and underwater for a period of time. Amazingly, he was able to make it out of the water downstream. Unaware that anyone even saw him go in, let alone called for his rescue, Fasselius walked home.
Meanwhile, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa City Police Department, Johnson County Ambulance Department, Iowa City Fire Department, Hills Fire Department, Coralville Fire Department and Johnson County Emergency Management responded and got to work on a search and rescue mission for a man who was toweling off back at his pad in Coralville.
About 5:30 a.m., Fasselius called Iowa City Police to say that he had heard they were looking for someone in the Iowa River, and that he just might be the guy they were looking for.
Peacock falls for a petrol pump
By Simon de Bruxelles
IT IS a love affair destined to end in frustration. Mr P, a lonely peacock, has devoted the past three years of his life to romancing a petrol pump.
Every day the eight-year-old peacock saunters the quarter mile from his roost in a tree to the busy garage forecourt, where he spends the day showing off his flamboyant plumage in front of the row of pumps.
The unrequited romance may soon be end, however, as the amorous peacock may be relocated to somewhere where his mating calls are less of a nuisance to residents.
Ornithologists believe that Mr P is confused by the clicking sounds of the pumps, which resemble the cries of a broody peahen. He is one of three peacocks reared from eggs by Shirley Horsman from Brierley, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
His two brothers are also showing signs of confusion when it comes to finding a mate. One appears to have a crush on the family cat, and the other has been seen attempting to mate with a garden light.
Mr P spends an hour every morning making his way to Brierley Service Station in time for its opening at 6.30am. The moment the first pump starts whirring, he spreads his impressive tail and struts his stuff around the nine-pump forecourt. He leaves only when it closes at 10pm.
Mrs Horsman, 54, said that the romancing starts at the same time each year. She said: “In spring he gets his tail feathers and he gets frisky. Then he goes looking for love.
“He gets very amorous and the clicking of the petrol pumps makes the same noise as a peahen crying ‘Come on, I’m ready’. Every time he hears someone filling up, he thinks he’s on to a good thing.
“It must be so hard for him listening to these pumps giving him the come-on all day long but with no way of releasing that pent-up frustration.�
The three bird brothers, all named Mr P because they are not easy to tell apart, roost in the oak and pine trees on Mrs Horsman’s five acres of woodland. They live wild except for afternoon feeds she and her daughter Charlotte, 17, provide.
Quenton Spratt, a wildfowl breeder and consultant for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: “Peacocks will display to anything given half the chance. They are especially keen on colourful objects and, being territorial, will go back again and again.�
Mr P is known as Casanova at his adopted home at the petrol station. Julie Milner, the assistant manager, said: “Drivers can’t believe what they’re seeing. He’s become a proper little tourist attraction.�
But some residents have complained to the local council about Mr P’s noisy mating calls and are appealing for the bird to be caught and re-homed.
Environmental health officers at the Forest of Dean District Council intend to catch him and find him a new home away from human habitation.
Well this is a fine place to
)
Well this is a fine place to come home to...A bit dusty...But it'll do...Anybody want a frosty cold glass of Ovaltine?
RE: Well this is a fine
)
I'll take one.
Kathryn :o)
Einstein@Home Moderator
RE: Well this is a fine
)
I'd prefer Tang to Ovaltine any day.
me-[at]-rescam.org
RE: RE: Well this is a
)
Well here's some Tang...just for you...It's what the astronauts drink!
RE: RE: Well this is a
)
Here it comes Kathryn.
Ontario crushes `hot
)
Ontario crushes `hot wheels'
Government promotes stunt to deter `motorheads' from racing
Jun. 15, 2006. 05:11 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
MARKHAM — The Ontario government crushed two tricked-out Hondas into a heap of scrap metal Thursday as part of an effort by Attorney General Michael Bryant to discourage ``motorheads" from racing on public streets.
The spectacle, performed in front of a horde of television cameras in this sprawling suburb just north of Toronto, came on the same day the federal government introduced new legislation to criminalize the increasingly popular activity.
"We are taking away these hot wheels from the people who use them forever," Bryant said as he presided over the theatrics, which featured a massive front-end loader crushing the cars on the driveway of a Markham paving company.
And Thursday's exhibition was just the start, Bryant said.
"We're not just going to take your keys away for a few weeks," he said. "We are going to take your precious vehicles from you."
Used in races in 2003 and 2004, the province took possession of the cars under the Civil Remedies Act, a law passed last December which allows police to seize property used in illegal activities.
The pair are the first street racing cars to be destroyed under that law, but Bryant said he expects more will meet the same fate.
The modified vehicles had been gutted — including the removal of the back seats and interior panels — to make them run faster.
One, a 1995 blue Honda Civic, was taken after an officer caught a 23-year-old man racing at a over 180 km/hr on a Markham street. The vehicle, outfitted with a TV screen and video game console on the dashboard, was registered to the racer's mother.
Street racing has killed 34 people in the Greater Toronto Area since 1999, including a couple who stumbled upon a race on Toronto's central Yonge St. when returning from their 17th wedding anniversary celebration.
Police said officers are reporting a rise in the number of races. Scarier still, the practice has moved from little-used back roads onto busy highways, said Sgt. David Mitchell, an internationally recognized leader in drag racing policing.
"Society has become more 24-hour-oriented," Mitchell said. ``There's always someone out on that roadway."
Hey, you can vote for your
)
Hey, you can vote for your 'favorite best young player of the tournament' on FIFAworldcup.com. I guess all the players from my country are too old. :) I voted for Rooney.
RE: Ontario crushes `hot
)
Just in time for the movie too.
Friday, June 16, 2006 Iowa
)
Friday, June 16, 2006
Iowa River rescue turns up victim -- at home
By the Press-Citizen
Local authorities launched a rescue effort early this morning after receiving a report of a man who fell into the Iowa River off the Burlington Street Bridge and went over the dam.
The search for the man halted after about three hours — when he called police to say he was OK.
Yes, 23-year-old Jonathan Fasselius of Coralville did indeed fall off the Burlington Street bridge about 2:19 a.m. And yes, he was immediately swept over the dam beneath said bridge.
According to a press release from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Fasselius said he was looking for a friend on the eastbound side of the bridge. He then decided to cross over to the westbound side, not realizing that the two sides are actually two separate bridges. You can guess what that led to.
It was then that Iowa City resident Kimberly Fensterbusch heard a splash, and saw Fasselius in the water yelling for help. She called 911.
After hitting the water just up river from the bridge, Fasselius then went over the dam and underwater for a period of time. Amazingly, he was able to make it out of the water downstream. Unaware that anyone even saw him go in, let alone called for his rescue, Fasselius walked home.
Meanwhile, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa City Police Department, Johnson County Ambulance Department, Iowa City Fire Department, Hills Fire Department, Coralville Fire Department and Johnson County Emergency Management responded and got to work on a search and rescue mission for a man who was toweling off back at his pad in Coralville.
About 5:30 a.m., Fasselius called Iowa City Police to say that he had heard they were looking for someone in the Iowa River, and that he just might be the guy they were looking for.
Fasselius suffered minor injuries.
The Times June 17,
)
The Times June 17, 2006
Peacock falls for a petrol pump
By Simon de Bruxelles
IT IS a love affair destined to end in frustration. Mr P, a lonely peacock, has devoted the past three years of his life to romancing a petrol pump.
Every day the eight-year-old peacock saunters the quarter mile from his roost in a tree to the busy garage forecourt, where he spends the day showing off his flamboyant plumage in front of the row of pumps.
The unrequited romance may soon be end, however, as the amorous peacock may be relocated to somewhere where his mating calls are less of a nuisance to residents.
Ornithologists believe that Mr P is confused by the clicking sounds of the pumps, which resemble the cries of a broody peahen. He is one of three peacocks reared from eggs by Shirley Horsman from Brierley, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
His two brothers are also showing signs of confusion when it comes to finding a mate. One appears to have a crush on the family cat, and the other has been seen attempting to mate with a garden light.
Mr P spends an hour every morning making his way to Brierley Service Station in time for its opening at 6.30am. The moment the first pump starts whirring, he spreads his impressive tail and struts his stuff around the nine-pump forecourt. He leaves only when it closes at 10pm.
Mrs Horsman, 54, said that the romancing starts at the same time each year. She said: “In spring he gets his tail feathers and he gets frisky. Then he goes looking for love.
“He gets very amorous and the clicking of the petrol pumps makes the same noise as a peahen crying ‘Come on, I’m ready’. Every time he hears someone filling up, he thinks he’s on to a good thing.
“It must be so hard for him listening to these pumps giving him the come-on all day long but with no way of releasing that pent-up frustration.�
The three bird brothers, all named Mr P because they are not easy to tell apart, roost in the oak and pine trees on Mrs Horsman’s five acres of woodland. They live wild except for afternoon feeds she and her daughter Charlotte, 17, provide.
Quenton Spratt, a wildfowl breeder and consultant for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: “Peacocks will display to anything given half the chance. They are especially keen on colourful objects and, being territorial, will go back again and again.�
Mr P is known as Casanova at his adopted home at the petrol station. Julie Milner, the assistant manager, said: “Drivers can’t believe what they’re seeing. He’s become a proper little tourist attraction.�
But some residents have complained to the local council about Mr P’s noisy mating calls and are appealing for the bird to be caught and re-homed.
Environmental health officers at the Forest of Dean District Council intend to catch him and find him a new home away from human habitation.