Workers at a factory in Guangdong, unknowing of the product they were producing, are making “Free Tibet” flags to fulfill an order from outside China.
Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning.
After seeing the flag of an exiled Tibet on news reports, several workers reportedly contacted the police of this affair. The factory manager was said to be oblivious to the meaning behind the flag.
Thousands of flags have already been packed for shipping, and an unknown amount have already been sent.
Ironic, isn’t it?
According to a local news source, Florida teens believe Mountain Dew prevents unwanted pregancies, and drinking a capful of bleach or smoking marijuana can prevent the spread of HIV.
State lawmakers are blaming these myths on the state’s abstinence-only sexual education classes, and are seeking to append over the curriculum with more information about condoms, birth control, and disease prevention.
Personally, I think the whole issue is sensationalist and overblown. C’mon, no demographics? No interviews? For all I care, some run-of-the-mill middle schooler started this as a joke, the prank that remains hush-hush amongst the cliques in any normal teenage social ladder. But hey, now you know.
Update: People behind fake Craiglist ad arrested [News]
April 2, 2008
In an update to the Fake Craigslist advertisement scam I posted about a week ago, the criminals behind the hoax that left a man stripped out of his possessions have been arrested by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Amber and Brandon Herbert (pictured), 28 and 29 respectively, are facing charges of burglary and computer crime for their part in creating the Craigslist ad that led people to ransack the victim’s house. The crooks were traced by the police department through their IP address.
As for the motives:
The Herberts, investigators charge, did this to cover up their prior theft of several saddles and other items from the garage of the rural southern Oregon house.
In other words, the whole Craigslist scam was a cover-up for a past crime. It’s pretty perverse how low some people would go to cover their tracks as best they can. In the Herberts’ case, by trying to completely rub out the victim’s lifestyle and possessions. You’d figure stealing a few saddles was enough.
Link (via Boing Boing)
Comatose boy revived by Mr. T [Miracle]
March 31, 2008
The classic A-Team’s Mr. T may be little more than just a simple pop-icon of better days, but with the power to bring children out of comas under his belt, that crazy Mohawk-sporting Fool-pitier may be the oldschool Jesus of present day.
Apparently while passing through Detroit, Michigan, Mr. T was asked by doctors to come to the hospital as a effort to help one comatose boy. The poor guy fell into a deep coma in the mid-80’s, responding only to Mr. T’s voice.
After praying for the kid, Mr. T was later met with a miraculous result as the kid woke from his nearly 20-year coma. It’s a great day when you wake up to Mr. T, that’s for sure.
I, for one, welcome our new Mohawk’ed saviors.
Mexico’s anti-emo war
March 28, 2008
Chances are you are already familiar with the term “emo”. Meant to embody principles associated with over-exaggerated emotional displays and a specific type of personal appearance, emo’s in today’s general pop culture aren’t really the most popular of groups. Seems like Mexico is taking distaste against emos to fever pitch, though.
In the recent weeks, there has been a strong surge of protests and violence against the emo population of Mexico, with demonstrations spreading across cities fairly quickly. In one instance on March 7th, over 800 protesters seeking an “emo hunt” flooded into the Mexican city of Queretaro’s town square, all seeking to pummel said hunted.
Via the Austin American Statesmen, several postings on Mexican social-networking sites, primarily organising spot for these “emo hunts,” have been dug up and translated. One states: “I HATE EMOS!!! They are not even people, they are so stupid, they cry over meaningless things… My school is infested with them, I want to kill them all!”
Another says: “We’ve never seen all the urban tribes unite against one single tribe before… Emos, their way of thinking is for crap, if you are so depressed please do us all a favour and kill yourselves!”
Normally I’m not one to readily associate myself with the “emo” culture, but such a pogrom seems a little too concentrated to be considered just a juvenile issue. While cultural distaste against the overly-emotional seems prevalent in the U.S. (and by media association, the rest of the world), such a strong force of aggression can’t end well for any side involved. It has happened in the past with many Europeon ethnic groups like gypsies and Jews, I can definitely see emos as the scapegoat of the less-ethnic more-clique based 21st century. Seems like political correctness got us out of the war among race, and landed us right into the war among cultural expression.
Link [via Boing Boing]
High-school boys are horny creatures, there’s no doubt about it. But sometimes they just wanna bypass all the chit-chat and just wanna see the girls naked. Fantasy? Not in this case. Some douche from Iowa attempted the impossible with his best theft/porno offer yet.
A 14-year old from Davenport Central High School recently stole a fellow female classmate’s iPod, demanding a little something out of the ordinary in return by leaving a ransom note in said classmate’s purse. To be more specific, the boy wanted to see the female victim perform and film a “sex act” in return for the iPod. In case this smooth move wasn’t smooth enough, the kid was even caring enough to provide an email address on the note to where the video can be sent to.
Aside from being a dumbass, apparently the guy is getting charged with theft, extortion and sexual exploitation. It was all worth it, huh?
Women forced by TSA to remove nipple rings for flight [wtf]
March 27, 2008
A Texas women with a nipple ring was told to remove them at the TSA security checkpoint before she could board a flight on Feb 24th.
The women was handed a pair of pliers after informing the officer that it could not be taken out without it.
The victim, Mandi Hamlin, has retained high-profile L.A. lawyer Gloria Allred as her attorney. Charges might be pressed if the TSA does not reply with a formal apology.
This whole fiasco is simply the most mind-boggling retarded event I’ve heard in a while. It’s not like the TSA doesn’t have such a status, but this asking someone to take out a nipple piercing with pliers is taking it too far. It’s not uncommon to walk through a metal detector with nipple rings and have them set off, but according to actual TSA literature, “If you are selected for additional screening, you may ask to remove your body piercing in private as an alternative to a pat-down search.” No pat-down search was ever offered as an alternative.
Oh, and the best part? After her whole ordeal, she was allowed to pass through with a belly-button ring.
Link [via Boing Boing]
Fake Craiglist ad scams man out of own property [News]
March 25, 2008
A Jacksonville, Oregon man recently got scammed through a Craiglist ad stating that he had to leave town, and that everything must go. The listing also state that everything was free for the taking, including a horse. Robert Salisbury’s drive home revealed about 30 people scavenging through his front porch and barn.
The trespassers, armed with printouts of the ad, tried to brush him off. “They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true,” Salisbury said.
Jacksonville police and Jackson County sheriff’s deputies arrived but by then several cars packed with Salisbury’s property had fled.
Apparently the police department is working closely with Craigslist to trace the advertisement, and it is likely all those involved in looting will face prosecution.
Link (via Boing Boing)
