 | PerspectiveVolume XCIII | 
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Sunday May 16, 2004 |
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| Perspective is a weekly features of unorthodox news reports from around the globe. Some of the reports serve to prove the point that we as Nigerians are not as unique as we may think. To put any news report in Perspective please send a note to perpective@ekiti.com | ||
Headlines
Mother gets six years in prison for string of bank robberies Margaret Ann Thomas-Irving's arrest capped a nine-month crime spree in which the 58-year-old grandmother held up four banks, two savings and loans, two restaurants and two Dunkin' Donuts shops. The robberies netted just under $20,000. The Hartford, Conn., woman was arrested in 2003 on the same day she allegedly robbed two banks in Lansing. She pleaded guilty in February to two counts of bank robbery. On Tuesday, District Judge Gordon J. Quist sentenced Thomas-Irving to 70 months in prison and ordered her to pay $17,565 in restitution. "I've been incarcerated for almost a year and I've thought a lot about what I did and I feel very ashamed of it," she said at her sentencing hearing. When the judge gave her a chance to say something to family in the courtroom, Thomas-Irving turned toward her son, an officer with the Bath Township Police Department, and mouthed the words, "I'm sorry." Paul Denenfeld, who represented Thomas-Irving, said she committed the robberies because she was desperate about mounting financial woes. Prosecutor Lloyd Meyer was less than sympathetic about her plight. "When the mortgage is due, it's probably not a great idea to act like Uncle Junior Soprano," Meyer said.
Smoking Soldiers Ignited Ammo Disaster A series of blasts hurled debris as far as 25 miles after fire broke out last Thursday at a warehouse complex where 92,000 tons of artillery ammunition was stored. Blasts were still heard on Tuesday, emergencies minister Hryhory Reva told parliament. "At about 12 o'clock on Thursday, two servicemen, who were stocking military ammunition, began smoking at their working site. It caused the fire and set off the explosions," he said. The blasts caused some $725 million in damage to the defense ministry and population in the Zaporizhya region, he said. They destroyed buildings in a two-mile radius, including a local railway station. A minor gas pipeline was also damaged. Metal fragments and other debris were thrown 40 km, causing fires in nearby towns. Authorities evacuated some 7,000 people from the surrounding area. People started to return home on Tuesday, five days after the initial blasts. Some parliamentary deputies have demanded Defense Minister Evhen Marchuk resign because of his inability to turn around the ex-Soviet state's struggling armed forces. The Ukrainian army has seen its reputation battered in recent years following a series of disasters.
Cyber church: Now God goes online But a "new means of communication" may just help them reach out and touch someone. It is the Church of Fools -- created by the minds behind Ship of Fools, a none-too-stodgy online Christian magazine. In their non-denominational virtual church, you can log on and come dressed in your cartoon best to worship and attend services. It is the first 3-D online church service launched in Britain. The ministers who preach have their sermons appear as cartoon-style "thought bubbles." Worshippers can log on and put money in the collection box without ever leaving home or work. The organizers say the initiative aims to make Christian worship accessible to Web surfers who may never darken the doors of their local church. Lead sponsor is the Methodist Church. At the site's launch this week, even No. 3 in the Church of England -- the Bishop of London -- stepped into cyberspace. The bishop, the Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres, says: "We always have to learn how to 'sing the Lord's song,' the psalmist says, in whatever circumstances we are." With some typing help, the bishop happily faced the new medium's "opportunities" and "challenges." He says: "I'm going to have to learn more and more to be an ecclesiastical Ernest Hemingway with little staccato phrases." As the bishop views a cartoon of himself, he notes: "I'm walking really rather at the moment like Mr. Simpson I think, aren't I really?" This may be a technical glitch that doesn't deter the Web team from it's mission to spread the Gospel. "We are not replacing church, we are adding really," says Simon Jenkins, shipoffools.com editor. Adding an alternative for those unable to connect with God through more traditional means. The Church of England is moving in much the same direction, appointing it's first-ever "Webpastor" -- or Webmaster -- Alyson Leslie. "The more we put out there for people to explore their spiritual yearnings, the better," says Leslie. The Church of Fools site has been built by digital media company Specialmoves, which has worked for Vivendi Universal and MTV. The technology used for the project was originally developed while creating an award-winning site for a cartoon version of "The Osbournes." The Church of Fools idea came out of Ship of Fools' Internet game show, The Ark, in which 12 Bible heroes and villains were voted off Noah's famous floating zoo, "Big Brother"-style. More sailings are planned, Ship of Fools says. So will Church of Fools work? "It's non-threatening." one churchgoer told CNN. "A lot of people don't like to go into a church, because they think it's threatening or they don't deserve to be there." Church of Fools doesn't call itself a "real" church, but it wants to serve as an "invitation" for "real" people to find a more personal relationship with God --glitches and all. It seems that in the new century, the church will only be limited by the imagination. "The next time I come on," says the Bishop of London, "I will expect to be levitating, quite frankly!"
Man Skips Sentencing to Play Poker Superior Court Judge James N. Citta issued a bench warrant Friday for the arrest Brian Strahl, 29, of Staten Island, N.Y. Citta called Strahl "a degenerate gambler." Strahl was scheduled to be sentenced Friday, but faxed Citta from Las Vegas to say he was playing in the World Series of Poker to win money to make restitution to his victims. The letter said he had made $5,000 so far. Strahl's lawyer, Michael Chazen, told the Asbury Park Press of Neptune that his client attempted to return from Las Vegas on Friday, but misplaced his ID and was not allowed on his flight. In the letter Strahl faxed to Citta, he said he planned to take a train that would arrive on the East Coast on Monday. Strahl's sentencing was rescheduled for July 16. He could receive up to 20 years in prison. Strahl pleaded guilty last year to money laundering and admitted he and a co-defendant solicited investments in a nonexistent company. Investors were bilked out of $1.8 million.
Home intruder caught on the toilet That's how Otha Smith got caught. Dewey Coulson went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, only to find an intruder using the toilet. "When I turned the corner ... I saw the light was on, and I thought someone had just left it on so I opened the door, and there was this guy sitting on the toilet," said Coulson, 19. "So I said, 'What are you doing in my house?' And he said, 'I just had to use the bathroom."' Coulson ran upstairs to get his stepfather, and when they returned they saw the man trying to leave. "He was walking really slowly, and then he saw us, and he started running toward these doors and he grabbed the handle and my stepdad and I closed on him," Coulson said. He and stepfather Dave End wrestled with the man to subdue him until police arrived. Coulson's mother, Cathy End, said the intruder likely wasn't in the house long before heading to the bathroom. "There was some money out of my wallet, but that's as far as he got, I guess, before nature took over. The toilet part just blows my mind," she said. Smith, 42, who police said apparently entered through an unlocked door, was charged Wednesday with burglary to an occupied residence, a felony. Because of two prior burglary convictions, he could face 21 years in prison if convicted.
Drunken Priest Shoots Mayor Dead After exchanging blows, the priest whipped out a 9mm pistol and fired four bullets into Lorenzo Ruiz, mayor of Chalpatlahuac, an indigenous town nestled in mountains 138 miles west of the Guerrero state capital of Chilpancingo, authorities said. "It seems they were arguing, these two men. They were at a get-together, they had words and the priest shot the mayor. They were apparently both in a state of drunkenness," said Guerrero state spokesman Jesus Nava. Local newspapers said the priest, whom they identified as Lorenzo Cuellar, was arrested after he also shot the mayor's son, injuring him. The priest was in Chalpatlahuac to celebrate a local religious festival which started on Tuesday evening and lasted into Wednesday morning. Guerrero is one of the poorest and most violent states in Mexico.
Japan Lawmakers Scolded for Reading Comics The national Asahi newspaper said Koizumi scolded 30 first-term lawmakers from his Liberal Democratic Party during a luncheon. "Don't send e-mail on your cell phones or read comic books in Parliament while in session," Koizumi was quoted as saying. "You can be seen very clearly from the prime minister's seat. You should really stop that - it's disgraceful." Koizumi's office said he hosted a luncheon Thursday, but it could not immediately confirm his comments. Comic books, often with adult themes, are common reading material for middle-aged men. Japan's younger generation also is hooked on using cell phones to send e-mail. The country's youngest lawmakers sit in the front of Parliament, while their elders sit in the back of the chamber.
Trout Fisherman Hooks Wedding Gown Snow, 22, said he initially thought he had snagged a log or something equally mundane early Monday on the bottom of Martha Lake in the suburbs north of Seattle. Instead, he found a muddy white dress at the end of the line. "I thought it still had something in it," he told The Herald of Everett. He called his uncle Mark Snow, 50, from the shore to help and they finished reeling in the dress. Despite the mud and rust, some blue beads along the front and hem indicated its former glory. "I'm sure it was gorgeous," Mark Snow said. Neither has a clue to how the dress wound up in the bottom of the lake, nor did either of them care to keep it. They left it on a nearby fence.
Police nab man on grounds he stole coffee But Mark Bojniewicz apparently had little faith in human generosity. Police say that when the 24-year-old Fairbanks, Alaska, native ran out of coffee, he broke into a neighbor's apartment to get his java fix. But the coffee heist was caught on tape. Arnold Reed suspected someone was dipping into his coffee supply. His upstairs neighbor had mentioned smelling coffee in her apartment even though she had run out about two weeks earlier. Reed borrowed video equipment and hid a camera to monitor the front door and kitchen, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. On the second day of recording, Reed's camera caught Bojniewicz, a neighbor's house guest, breaking into the apartment with a butter knife. Bojniewicz then helped himself to Reed's French vanilla coffee and hazelnut coffee creamer. Bojniewicz was arrested after authorities screened the tape. He told police that after his host had failed to replenish her coffee supply, he decided to get some from Reed's apartment. "If the guy would have asked me, I would have gave it to him," Reed said, according to the newspaper. Bojniewicz is charged with first-degree burglary and fourth-degree theft. He remains in jail on $500 bail.
Slain Husband Stuffed in Freezer Three Years The man's brother found the rotting body Sunday in Jolda Sao Paio, a village about 235 miles north of Lisbon. It was doubled up in the freezer under dirt, blankets and children's clothing, Lusa said Tuesday. The news agency said the man's 33-year-old wife admitted she and a lover suffocated her husband, a 35-year-old construction worker, in June 2001. She and her three children then lived more than six months with the body stuffed in the freezer. The family moved in early 2002 and electricity to the freezer was shut off. The man's brother discovered the body while seeking the source of a strong smell in the house. The woman and her alleged accomplice were arrested on Sunday. A local court ordered her held under house arrest and her accomplice to report periodically to police.
Prostitutes See Sharp Drop in Business Sex workers in the border regions of the country have seen a sharp drop in business, officials said on Tuesday, after crossings were opened on May 1 and made long lines of lorries a thing of the past. "Before, drivers used to have waits of several hours, and this naturally attracted prostitutes. But now drivers have almost no time...hardly any stop for prostitutes," Jan Hruza, chief of police in the border town of Cesky Tesin, told the daily Pravo. In the past, hundreds of sex workers could be seen touting for business on the streets, especially in towns on roads leading to Germany and Austria. A prime source of business were the truck drivers who often had to spend up to 24 hours waiting for paperwork to be approved. Pravo quoted a spokesman for the town of Dubi, just inside the Czech Republic's northern border on the route between Berlin and Prague, as saying dozens of brothels had either gone out of business or were up for sale. At present, prostitutes work in a legal gray area, making it tough for the state to control disease and underage prostitution. The government took a step toward legalizing prostitution last month when the cabinet approved a proposal to license sex workers. The next move would be approval by parliament. The Czech Statistical Bureau in 2002 estimated the trade to be worth $220.2 million a year.
Australia Offering to Pay New Parents "Come on, come on, your nation needs you," Prime Minister John Howard said Wednesday, when asked about a one-off 3,000 Australian dollar (US$2,100) payment for all new mothers announced by Treasurer Peter Costello in the annual budget. On Tuesday night, a smiling Costello urged reporters in Canberra: "You go home and do your patriotic duty tonight." The father of three suggested that two children per couple wasn't quite enough to combat the effects of an aging population and declining birth rate in this sparsely populated nation of 20 million. "If you can have children it's a good thing to do. You should have ... one for your husband, one for your wife, and one for your country," Costello said.
Man Fatally Bitten by Sexually Aroused Horse "The 24-year-old man, identified as Robert R., was bitten when he tried to calm his horse, which had become unsettled by the presence of a mare in the vicinity," a duty officer in the Baltic port of Szczecin told Reuters. The horse went wild and began straining and bucking while pulling a farm cart through the village. An autopsy would determine whether the direct cause of death was a severed jugular vein or damaged spine, the officer added.
7-Year-Old Boy Saves His Father's Life Tyler Moon and his father, David, 39, were seriously hurt Saturday when their all-terrain four-wheeled vehicle turned over and pinned the boy's father to the ground about 120 miles south of Sydney in New South Wales state. "With the severity of his injuries he staggered as two lungs were collapsing to make it home for dad because he loves his dad. We think he deserves recognition," said Ian Badham of CareFlight, which airlifted Tyler to a Sydney hospital. Tyler collapsed after making it home to his mother, Gail. He and his father were now recovering in separate Sydney hospitals. "He was always a hero in my eyes. He's now just a hero in everyone else's eyes," Tyler's mother told reporters on Monday.
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