DAILY NEWS:

[Fuzz]

You gotta be a real loser if Death doesn't even want to claim you.

[Kangaroo495]

WHAT A GESTURE!

After Nigeria was eliminated from the world cup, the Nigerian goalkeeper has personally offered to refund all the expenses of fans who traveled to South Africa.

He said he just needs their bank details and pin numbers to complete the transaction.

[OZCUBAN]

Good one

[thechenman]

Chinese baby born with mask-face

A Chinese baby born with a rare facial deformity that makes it appear like he is wearing a mask is being prepared for corrective surgery.

Zhao Huikang suffers from a severe form of macrostomia, a condition that leaves sufferers with an abnormally wide mouth, the Shanghai Daily reports.

Photographs of Zhao show his mouth appearing to stretch up to the middle of his face.

Zhao was born to a poor family in a rural area of the Hunan province. Family members encouraged his mother Yi Zilian to abandon him but she refused.

"The only thing I could do is to give him more love and more care and try our best to make him live a normal life," she said.

Zhao's deformity appeared so severe doctors were reluctant to let his mother see him after it was born, according to reports.

A Shanghai hospital has decided to provide free surgery to the boy to correct the deformity but Dr Ren Tianping said he may need many procedures over time as he grows up.

"Since he can't chew, the boy also suffers malnutrition," Dr Tianping said.

"Our surgery will ensure he can eat."

The procedures will repair the facial bones, muscles and surface tissue but doctors are still unsure whether the surgery will be successful.

MIKA: I hate it when kids are born and they start life with such terrible deformaties.

No matter what though, they always seem to smile.

I couldn't agree with you more MIKA...they are kids...born innocent into this world. Kids should be given every opportunity to not just survive, but thrive. That is why I like supporting the Nicaraguan Mission. Kids should never go hungry...that is the most basic of needs and should always be met.

[MIKA27]

Mum tries to flush newborn down jet loo

Source: dailytelegraph

AN Indian woman gave birth to a baby in the lavatory of an international passenger plane and tried to dispose of it down the toilet.

The infant was found stuck in the toilet after the plane landed in Amritsar, northern India, and was rushed to hospital still attached to the toilet bowl, police and doctors told the Press Trust of India news agency.

HP Singh, a doctor at the Escorts Hospital near the airport, said that a team of surgeons used a saw cutter to remove the newborn's head from the toilet.

The 22-year-old mother was reported to have left the plane when it landed, and was later arrested in the airport after the cabin crew on the Turkmenistan Airlines flight found the baby.

Doctors at the hospital said the infant was in a critical condition.

Newspapers reported the mother was an unmarried medical student returning home after completing a degree abroad.

The origin of the flight was unclear, though the Indian Express said it had taken off from the city of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.

MIKA: IMO and this is possibly horrid, but these kind of instances should be treated as equal to that of attempted man slaughter and or murder in the event this poor child dies.

[MIKA27]

Europe's concern over UFOs

Source: thedailytelegraph

EUROPE is not doing enough to counter the threat of UFOs, an MP warns.

Mario Borghezio, a far-right Italian member of the European Parliament, says the European Union is not sufficiently focused on studying UFOs.

He wants the EU to set up an “observatory” to catalogue incidents of people seeing UFOs in the sky. Serious, thorough research would expose a “systematic cover-up” of UFOs, the Wall Street Journal reports.

In his latest press release, Mr. Borghezio quotes an Italian astrophysicist named Massimo Teodorani: “The phenomenon of UFOs, it is not a kind of tale, but it is a real manifestation which can be estimated through the physics and the astronomy.”

So far, like a lone flying saucer sailing through the night, the Italian MEP doesn’t have much company. He’s gathered only 18 signatures in the 736-seat parliament.

[MIKA27]

Russian spy Anna Chapman to return to Moscow

RUSSIAN spy Anna Chapman is expected to return to Moscow today as part of the largest spy swap between Russia and the US since the Cold War.

Chapman was among 10 suspected Russian agents who pleaded guilty in a New York courtroom overnight after accepting a plea bargain that opens the way for a Cold War-style spy swap deal between the two countries.

"It's the Government understanding that each of the defendants present would apply to plead guilty," a prosecutor told the judge today, explaining this was part of a "plea agreement".

Each then, in turn, entered their actual plea.

The 10 suspects, appearing together for the first time, only pleaded guilty to the first and lesser charge of acting as an illegal foreign agent and not to the graver money laundering count, which carries a maximum term of 20 years.

Chapman, 28, emerged as the most prominent of the suspects due to her glamorous looks and reported KGB agent father.

Speculation had been mounting that the suspects would admit their guilt under a deal that would see them rapidly leave the United States, with Russia in turn releasing several convicts jailed for spying for the West.

A lawyer for Igor Sutyagin, a Russian arms expert jailed in 2004 on charges of spying for the CIA, said her client may already have been released and taken to Vienna as part of the swap.

Such a swap would allow Russia and the United States to avoid potentially embarrassing and diplomatically damaging court wrangling at a time when they are pursuing a much-vaunted reset of relations.

The 10 were arrested on June 27 in an FBI swoop in Boston and the New York and Washington areas. They are accused of being members of a "deep-cover" spy ring tasked by the Russian secret service with infiltrating US policymaking circles.

The maximum jail term for the charge they pleaded guilty to - acting as illegal foreign agents - is five years.

An 11th suspect, accused paymaster Christopher Metsos, remains at large after vanishing last week in Cyprus following a court decision to release him on bail.

Signs grew earlier yesterday that Russia and the United States were indeed planning to stage a dramatic spy swap to end the espionage scandal, which has threatened to harm improving relations.

Online Russian newspaper Gazeta.ru said Anna Chapman would return to Moscow overnight "incognito" as part of the prisoner exchange and no official announcement would be made.

In a possibly significant encounter, a US State Department spokesman confirmed that William Burns, a former US ambassador to Moscow, met yesterday with Russia's US Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, US officials said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declined comment on the reports of a spy swap, saying the Justice Department was handling the issue.

Exchanges of captured agents between Western and Eastern powers were a regular tactic in the Cold War, sometimes on the Glienicke Bridge between East and West Germany.

The Kommersant newspaper published three more names of Russians convicted for espionage whom it said would be swapped for the suspected Russian agents.

Kommersant said the list of those to be exchanged included Sergei Skripal, a former colonel with Russian military intelligence sentenced in 2006 to 13 years jail on charges of spying for Britain.

The list also included a former employee of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Alexander Zaporozhsky, who was jailed for 18 years for espionage in 2003, and Alexander Sypachev, sentenced in 2002 to eight years in jail for spying for the CIA, it said.

MIKA: From Russia with love

[Fuzz]

MIKA: From Russia with love

Where's James Bond when you need him to save the pretty Russian spy in the spirit of dètente?

[MIKA27]

WORLDS OLDEST WOMAN 'TURNS 130'

Source: ninemsn.com.au

A woman claims she has just celebrated her 130th birthday which, if true, makes her the oldest living person on earth.

Antisa Khvichava says she was born on July 8, 1880. She lives in a remote mountain village in Georgia in eastern Europe.

But her age cannot be verified because birth documents are missing. The world's oldest woman is officially recognised as 114-year-old Eugenie Blanchard from France.

MIKA: Happy birthday!

[MIKA27]

More than 5000 Facebook fans label UK killer Raoul Moat 'You Legend'

Source: dailytelegraph.com.au

OVER 5000 people have signed up to a memorial Facebook site that refers to dead fugitive Raoul Moat as a "legend".

Sky News reported the page entitled "R.I.P Raoul Moat You Legend" is being given as an example of the "anti-hero" status the gunman took on in some people's eyes.

Despite shooting three innocent people, many have cited Moat's troubled background and apparent rejection by some of his family as indicators that he was also a victim in the situation.

The Facebook page is being deluged by comments as more flock to write their own memorials and theories as to what really happened in Moat's final moments.

Nearly 7000 people have opted to "like" the page set up in remembrance of the former doorman, with some going as far as to praise his actions over the last week.

Many of the themes focus on congratulating the gunman for shooting a police officer or blaming the police - often referred to as "scum" - for his death.

Others go as far as blaming his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, who Moat shot twice through the window of her house, for supposedly driving him to desperation.

One user called Gary Marsh wrote: "best group av ever joined rip raoul u legend we all know it was the scum who killed u really!!!"

Another Facebook member, Ste Kay, wrote: "The true criminal in all this is the system that pushed him further and further towards doing what he did. He went to prison for a short time for a miner (sic) offence.

"To take his job, home and family away from him is a harsh punishment and is not going to help any one. If some one was taking your livelihood away from you ,the...n (sic) you would also act on instinct."

Criminologist professor David Wilson said it is "astonishing" how Moat had "tapped a nerve" among some people in the UK and is seen as a legend.

But he was quick to explain that throughout his time on the run, Moat constantly manipulated his image to present himself in the best possible light and as a victim.

"There will be many people out in the community who feel that people who have power are unnecessarily giving them a hard time," he told Sky News.

"He's tapping into that dispossessed, white working class, masculine mentality, whereby they can't make their way in the world legitimately.

"Behaving the way that Moat has behaved, as this kind of anti-hero, has, I think, touched a nerve."

A separate memorial page has also been set up online by Gemma Munro, who claims she was a close friend of Moat.

She cites his cause of death as "murder" and writes: "For all those who dont agree with this page Raoul may have done things wrong but he was still human and a really kind one."

Both memorial sites have also attracted their fair share of critics, with many leaving comments condemning Moat for his past domestic abuse and the shooting of unarmed, innocent people.

MIKA: ...mkay, why doesn't this surprise me?

It's weird how people can support a murderer and give him legendary status. Its the same here in Australia, ask many and they give Ned Kelly the same status even though he was an outlaw and cop killer. I dont get it.

On another note, look at the picture of the cop, that alone is scary enough!

[MIKA27]

Strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Chile

Source: dailytelegraph.com.au

A STRONG 6.2 magnitude earthquake has rattled northeastern Chile, US seismologists say.

The quake, which struck today, had a depth of 91.3 kilometres and was centred about 80km east-northeast of Calama, the US Geological Survey said.

It struck in the region of Antofagasta, home to one of the driest places on Earth.

A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile on February 27, sparking a huge tsunami that killed 521 people and swept away entire villages.

The disaster caused an estimated $US30 billion ($34.18 billion) dollars in damage.

[Kangaroo495]

Russian spy Anna Chapman to return to Moscow

Looking forward to that!!

[sloth]

'American Splendor's' Harvey Pekar dies

Comicbook writer was the focus of 2003 film

By VARIETY STAFF

Harvey Pekar and wife Joyce Brabner at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003.

Comic-book writer Harvey Pekar, whose "American Splendor" was made into a 2003 film starring Paul Giamatti, has been found dead in his Ohio home.

Coroner's spokesman Powell Caesar in Cleveland says an autopsy will be performed. He had no details on the death of the 70-year-old Pekar.

Cleveland Heights police Capt. Michael Cannon says officers were called to Pekar's home by his wife about 1 a.m. Monday. Cannon says Pekar had been suffering from prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression.

Pekar's "American Splendor" comics, which he began publishing in 1976, chronicle his grousing about work, money and the monotony of life.

-----------------------------------------

Cleveland lost another icon.

[MIKA27]

Drunk man tries to 'ride' crocodile

Source: Ninemsn.com.au

A man was bitten after attempting to jump on a crocodile's back at a wildlife park in Broome last night.

The man, who had been kicked out of a local pub for being drunk the same night, climbed the fence of the wildlife park and entered the crocodile enclosure.

Police said the man then attempted to "ride" the crocodile before being bitten on the leg, ABC News reported.

He managed to escape and last night underwent surgery at Broome Regional Hospital.

The owner of the park reportedly does not want to press charges.

[MIKA27]

Switzerland set Roman Polanski free by refusing US extradition bid

ROMAN Polanski is a free man today after Swiss authorities rejected a request to extradite the film director to the United States to answer for a child sex case dating back to 1977.

"The Franco-Polish film-maker will not be extradited to the United States and the measures of restriction on his liberty have been lifted," Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told reporters at a news conference in Geneva.

The announcement comes 10 months after Polanski's dramatic arrest on a US warrant which saw him originally confined to prison before being bailed on 4.5 million Swiss francs ($4.32 million) and ordered to surrender his passport.

Polanski, 76, was then not allowed out of the grounds of his 1800 square metre property in the ski resort of Gstaad and fitted with an electronic bracelet.

The Oscar-winner is alleged to have plied a girl called Samatha Geimer with champagne and drugs during a 1977 photo shoot at the Hollywood Hills home of actor friend Jack Nicholson before having sex with her despite her protests.

The director was initially charged with six felony counts, including rape and sodomy. The charge was later reduced to unlawful sexual intercourse after a plea deal agreed in part to spare his victim the ordeal of a trial.

Polanski later served 42 days at a secure unit undergoing psychiatric evaluation but fled the United States on the eve of his sentencing in 1978 amid fears that the trial judge planned to go back on a previously agreed plea deal.

While he fought his extradition, Polanski insisted he had served the time agreed and claims to the contrary in the US extradition warrant were false.

"I can no longer remain silent because the United States continues to demand my extradition more to serve me on a platter to the media of the world than to pronounce a judgment concerning which an agreement was reached 33 years ago," he said in an open letter to supporters in May.

"I can remain silent no longer because the California court has dismissed the victim's numerous requests that proceedings against me be dropped, once and for all, to spare her from further harassment every time this affair is raised once more."

He has received support from a host of prominent members of the film-making industry as well as politicians.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterand was one of the first public figures to speak for Polanski after his arrest.

Polanski received another wave of support after he was hit with fresh sex crime allegations in May, this time made by a British actress Charlotte Lewis who claimed that the director "forced himself" upon her just after her 16th birthday.

Polanski's flight from justice came after a string of hit films including Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown.

The director, whose then wife Sharon Tate was horrifically murdered by Charles Manson's "family" in 1969, won an Oscar for his 2002 film The Pianist but was unable to collect the award because of his fugitive status.

He put the finishing touches on his latest film The Ghost Writer while under house arrest in Gstaad.

MIKA: I can't believe this bastard has got away with this!

[MIKA27]

Russia breaks up suicide attack cell, arrests eight

Source: thedailytelegraph.com.au

RUSSIAN security forces have broken up a group preparing suicide attacks and arrested six women and two men, one of whom was linked to the Moscow metro bombings in March.

Two policemen were also shot dead in the latest violence to hit Russia's troubled North Caucasus region, where the suicide-bombing cell was allegedly based, Russian news agencies reported.

The national anti-terrorist committee said security forces dismantled the group in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan after a tip-off that "terrorist attacks by female suicide bombers in central Russia" were under preparation.

"Following targeted and opportune actions by the FSB (security service) and the interior ministry, six women aged between 15 and 29 and two men were arrested," the committee said, quoted by news agencies.

One of the men was suspected of having driven to Moscow two women from Dagestan who carried out the double suicide bombing on the capital's metro system on March 29, which killed 40 people and wounded more than 100.

Four of the women were the widows of North Caucasus rebels killed in the past by security forces, while the other two were already wanted for the possession of illegal weapons.

"Farewell letters addressed to their families were seized from the arrested people," the committee said, adding that it had also found two suicide belts and pistols.

Russian television showed images of security forces arresting three young women.

One woman, wearing a grey veil and appearing to be injured, said in the footage that three grenades and two pistols were found at her home, adding that they belonged to her late husband.

Russian authorities are struggling to quash an Islamist insurgency in the Caucausus.

The Kremlin calls the unrest in the Caucasus its biggest headache and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin this month announced a major economic drive to turn the impoverished region into an investor haven in a bid to end extremism.

Separately a policeman was killed by automatic weapons fire in the Dagestan village of Gubden, while another was shot dead in the Chechen capital Grozny.

MIKA: Great news, I wish more of these cells were identified and quashed.

[Fuzz]

MIKA: I can't believe this bastard has got away with this!

It sickens me that people still support him. Fame and money will buy you out of nearly anything these days. At least Phil Spector got what he deserved.

[Torontonian]

Police in the Thai resort town of Pattaya have charged the renowned Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev with raping a boy.

The musician, who conducts the Russian National Orchestra (RNO), was bailed and later received permission to leave Thailand temporarily. Mr Pletnev, who owns homes and businesses in Thailand, called the case a "misunderstanding". His orchestra is due to begin a tour of Europe and the US this week.

A senior police officer told the BBC that Mr Pletnev had been charged with raping a boy and that photographs had been collected from one of his properties. Police are making other checks after a Thai tenant in one property he owns was arrested on suspicion of paedophilia. The tenant was among several Thais being questioned over alleged involvement in a child sex ring. They reportedly informed on Mr Pletnev.

"We received a tip-off from a detained Thai man who is involved in a prostitution ring," said Lt Col Omsin Sukkanka, from the children's and women's protection centre of the Pattaya police. "And we received more information from the child's parents, the child himself and other witnesses."

'Misunderstanding'

The head of the consular department of the Russian embassy in Thailand, Andrey Dvornikov, said Mr Pletnev maintained he was innocent. "The police have made accusations," he said. "But allow me to repeat that Mikhail Pletnev denies all these charges."

Mr Pletnev was first questioned by police on Monday at a restaurant he co-owns in Pattaya, a resort and nightlife town east of Bangkok. He co-operated with a search of his home. He then reportedly promised that he would not flee the country because of the case against him. "This whole thing is a misunderstanding," he told The Associated Press.

Summer tour

Mr Pletnev is an internationally famous musician - a virtuoso pianist, composer and conductor - and a friend of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. He won a Grammy in 2005 for an arrangement of Prokofiev's Cinderella. He holds the highest award given to artists in Russia, that of People's Artist, and is a member of the president's advisory committee on culture. He has also performed as a guest conductor of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.

The RNO is due to begin its summer tour in Macedonia on 12 July before moving to California a few days later, then returning to Europe in August for concerts in London and other cities. A Thai court has allowed Mr Pletnev to leave the country provided he returns by 18 July for his next court appearance, Mr Dvornikov said. Denying he would try to flee the country, Mr Pletnev told AP: "I would jump from the 26th floor [of a building] tomorrow, if I could believe those news reports."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10535273.stm

I really hope these allegations are false and merely calumnious. I find them very hard to believe. Pletnev is (was? ) one of my heroes.

[Ken Gargett]

Switzerland set Roman Polanski free by refusing US extradition bid

ROMAN Polanski is a free man today after Swiss authorities rejected a request to extradite the film director to the United States to answer for a child sex case dating back to 1977.

"The Franco-Polish film-maker will not be extradited to the United States and the measures of restriction on his liberty have been lifted," Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told reporters at a news conference in Geneva.

The announcement comes 10 months after Polanski's dramatic arrest on a US warrant which saw him originally confined to prison before being bailed on 4.5 million Swiss francs ($4.32 million) and ordered to surrender his passport.

Polanski, 76, was then not allowed out of the grounds of his 1800 square metre property in the ski resort of Gstaad and fitted with an electronic bracelet.

The Oscar-winner is alleged to have plied a girl called Samatha Geimer with champagne and drugs during a 1977 photo shoot at the Hollywood Hills home of actor friend Jack Nicholson before having sex with her despite her protests.

The director was initially charged with six felony counts, including rape and sodomy. The charge was later reduced to unlawful sexual intercourse after a plea deal agreed in part to spare his victim the ordeal of a trial.

Polanski later served 42 days at a secure unit undergoing psychiatric evaluation but fled the United States on the eve of his sentencing in 1978 amid fears that the trial judge planned to go back on a previously agreed plea deal.

While he fought his extradition, Polanski insisted he had served the time agreed and claims to the contrary in the US extradition warrant were false.

"I can no longer remain silent because the United States continues to demand my extradition more to serve me on a platter to the media of the world than to pronounce a judgment concerning which an agreement was reached 33 years ago," he said in an open letter to supporters in May.

"I can remain silent no longer because the California court has dismissed the victim's numerous requests that proceedings against me be dropped, once and for all, to spare her from further harassment every time this affair is raised once more."

He has received support from a host of prominent members of the film-making industry as well as politicians.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterand was one of the first public figures to speak for Polanski after his arrest.

Polanski received another wave of support after he was hit with fresh sex crime allegations in May, this time made by a British actress Charlotte Lewis who claimed that the director "forced himself" upon her just after her 16th birthday.

Polanski's flight from justice came after a string of hit films including Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown.

The director, whose then wife Sharon Tate was horrifically murdered by Charles Manson's "family" in 1969, won an Oscar for his 2002 film The Pianist but was unable to collect the award because of his fugitive status.

He put the finishing touches on his latest film The Ghost Writer while under house arrest in Gstaad.

MIKA: I can't believe this bastard has got away with this!

was disgusted when i saw this. and the sad irony of someone called a 'justice minister' announcing it.

[MIKA27]

Police in the Thai resort town of Pattaya have charged the renowned Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev with raping a boy.

I really hope these allegations are false and merely calumnious. I find them very hard to believe. Pletnev is (was? ) one of my heroes.

Keep us posted on this if you can.

[MIKA27]

was disgusted when i saw this. and the sad irony of someone called a 'justice minister' announcing it.

It doesn't surprise me comming from the Swiss. They are far too lean on so many things such as this and Volvo drivers.

[Kangaroo495]

I really hope these allegations are false and merely calumnious. I find them very hard to believe. Pletnev is (was? ) one of my heroes.

Seriously doubt this is true. Saw a press conference with him the other day on Russian TV. He was cool as a cucumber, and very forthcoming with all the details of the case. He also said he fully intends to return to Thailand as soon as his tour is over. We'll see about that, I suppose. In the meantime - "innocent" is my initial feeling.

[Torontonian]

Seriously doubt this is true. Saw a press conference with him the other day on Russian TV. He was cool as a cucumber, and very forthcoming with all the details of the case. He also said he fully intends to return to Thailand as soon as his tour is over. We'll see about that, I suppose. In the meantime - "innocent" is my initial feeling.

Likewise . . . The whole affair seems entirely out of keeping with what we know of Pletnev's character. Regrettably, one's reputation never really recovers from such defamation.

Here is a recently-posted interview with him:

[sloth]

Pantless mannequin sparks obscenity debate

Source: www.upi.com

BEATRICE, Neb., July 13 (UPI) -- A Nebraska store owner considering legal action against his city claims police broke the law by covering a window displaying a mannequin with its pants down.

The Beatrice Police Department said officers used tape to cover a portion of the window at Hannah's Treasures because a citizen complained and Kevin Kramer, the owner of the store, could not be reached, the Beatrice Daily Sun reported Tuesday.

Police said the complaint was focused on the mannequin's lower region, which was exposed due to its pants falling down to its feet.

Kramer said he called police to ask about the tape and was told to report to the police station, where he would be cited on a disorderly conduct charge, the newspaper reported.

However, Kramer said he contacted lawyer Dustin Garrison and the police department dropped the charge when he threatened action against the city on allegations of trespassing, destruction of property and littering on the part of officers. Kramer said he is still considering pursing legal action against the city.

Tobias Tempelmeyer, city attorney

, said the case would hinge on whether or not the display was obscene under the law.

"The U.S. Supreme Court and State of Nebraska have a system to determine if something is obscene. At this point, I'm not willing to say one way or another," he said.

---------

Follow- up

---------

Lincoln Life: Naked mannequin gets dressed

Source: journalstar.com

By CINDY LANGE-KUBICK / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 11:31 am. I'm not sure the Beatrice storefront mannequin was obscene, but she did look like she could use a cheeseburger or two.

The small town to our south made the Journal Star today with its peeped at -- and complained about -- naked mannequin. (The mannequin in question was actually referred to as "semi-naked," although a pair of pants puddled around a pair of plastic ankles hardly counts as partially clothed.) Apparently she stood posed, hand on naked hip, eyes peering demurely into the distance from the empty storefront for some time, the subject of gossip and police reports until local officials covered the windows with paper.

"We're not able at this point to issue a determination whether it's obscene or not," the city attorney told the Beatrice Daily Sun.

The store's owner claims police violated multiple laws in covering up his Heidi Klum, including trespassing, destruction of property and littering.

There is something fascinating about a naked mannequin, especially for a kid -- an up-close glimpse of body parts displayed without shame or embarrassment by a total -- and totable -- stranger.

Semi-Naked has since been outfitted with a bikini and a machine gun. Her store is moving to Lincoln. Where we are certain to welcome Ms Plastic Parts with open hearts and minds and perhaps some fashion advice.

[MIKA27]

Crims hailed for saving woman from mugger

Source: thedailytelegraph.com.au

A GROUP of British criminals came to the aid of a woman after she was mugged in the street close to where they were doing community service.

The 25-year-old woman had no idea the Good Samaritans in orange jackets were doing unpaid work for crimes that included violence, The Sun reported today.

After hearing her cry for help, the six men - all taking part in a scheme called Community Payback, which encourages offenders to make amends for their crimes instead of going to jail - chased the mugger and cornered him.

They grabbed back the woman's handbag and mobile phone and then called the police as they detained the thief close to the crime scene in Walthamstow, East London.

The prisoners' supervisor Gary Hall intervened and ordered the men to back off, fearing the thief was about to pull a knife.

The suspect then fled before police arrived.

"When I saw my lads dash up the road, I half thought they were doing a runner," Mr Hall said."But they were brilliant and did a real public service. I'm very proud."

The woman, who asked not to be named, said: "I am so grateful. It shows everyone deserves a second chance."

One of the offenders, Sam Fage, 21 - doing 150 hours for aggravated assault - said: "It was very good to give something back."