Stories that are just downright weird / silly / strange / amazing

It's bigger news than a missing teenage boy from last week which sparked a nationwide alert then turned out to be a hoax

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/twink-beyond-pain-after-her-beloved-teddy-dognapped-30602917.html

Twink 'beyond pain' after her beloved 'Teddy' dog-napped 

Twink answers her front door on Friday evening at 4.30pm in a Old Testament-like flood of tears.

"The b*ds! The f*g b*ds!" she shrieks. For the next two hours, the tsunami of tears rarely lets up in her Knocklyon home.

"My heart is f*g broken. Someone has taken my baby! Who would do such a thing as to be steal my baby! I feel like he has been snatched from my bosom!" she cries.

The stolen baby she is referring to is her 'beloved family dog' Teddy Bear, a Miniature Yorkshire Terrier with silver/blond colouring, and a collar and name tag with his famous owners' info on it. "He's also micro-chipped," she says as she brings us through to the kitchen. "He is very sweet and friendly and is loved by everyone he meets."

Perhaps not everyone. Teddy, who was taken here, from her home, between the hours, she believes, of 3.30pm (when her daughter Naomi - and the last in Twink's family to see Teddy - left the house in the Dublin suburb) and 6.30pm (when Twink left the house to visit a friend) last Thursday and has not been seen or heard of since.

.....I have never seen her so upset in my life. I ask who she thinks stole Teddy.

"That is an FBI question. I am an entertainer. I'm not a f*g detective. The options are taken for mischief, taken deliberately by Irish puppy farm criminals who have marked the dog as a full male dog with the three piece suite still intact for breeding purposes or people who seem to have a penchant for taking things that don't belong to them in general. I'm heartbroken."

She took a leaf out of the McCann's book and remained "fairly" composed during some of her interview. I hope the dog is found and confess I had a stray tear or 2 running down my cheek. It's a bit too early to tell yet if it's a dog-napping or abduction however as it's not related to the McCanns the newspaper is accepting comments.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/police-six-year-old-boy-kidnapped-by-family-to-teach-him-not-to-be-so-friendly-to-strangers/ar-AA94gwd?ocid=mailsignoutmd

Words fail me!

Me too ...
Teaching him the hard way then?
Words like inbred come to mind.
And I sincerely hope there isn't more to it.

How dreadful, poor child. What a dreadful thing for him to go through.
Beyond comprehension that close relatives could do such things.
Hopefully he is now safe and removed from such wicked people.
One hopes he is able to forget and trust again.
@ Chatelaine - sadly wouldn't surprise me at all.

A recent strange story in the Daily Mail seems to have it all - middle class couple, mortgage struggles, coincidental names, a dubious fund, PR consultants and the obligatory Canadian connection. Except this concerns a different gruesome twosome entirely....

http://www.newstatesman.com/martin-robbins/2015/02/story-middle-class-heathrow-homeless-couple-too-good-be-true

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2944540/Kind-strangers-donate-nearly-10-000-gobsmacked-middle-class-couple-forced-sleep-rough-Heathrow-consider-offers-place-stay.html

I'd not heard of this couple until now.

Freedom wrote:

I'd not heard of this couple until now.

That's the price you pay for not religiously poring over the pages of the Fail, I suppose.

It's confession time - I was an avid Mail reader in the 1970s but have long since stopped buying papers.

They do still have a use for things like pets bedding but freebies like The Metro perform that service now.

If this couple's story turns out to be fraudulent, they will wish they had some influential friends to protect them.

Some of us may not have seen this before. I can't make up my mind if it's a spoof or not!

http://technofyi.com/2013/03/19/maddie-alert-aims-to-prevent-child-abductions-and-burglaries/

Freedom wrote:Some of us may not have seen this before. I can't make up my mind if it's a spoof or not!

http://technofyi.com/2013/03/19/maddie-alert-aims-to-prevent-child-abductions-and-burglaries/

Nope, AFAIK it's true, I remember a big hoohah about it at the time.

Someone mentioned earlier today about a connection between Barosso and a photo of M
I found this on Steel Magnolia. Bit too long to post in full but here is the link.



http://thedisclosureproject-steelmagnolia.blogspot.com/2011/01/amber-alert-and-what-i-think-may-have.html

The FBI is said to be investigating after hackers claim to upload the details of millions of people who use a website for affairs.

Hackers who stole the personal and private details of users of an adultery dating website claim to have released the data on to the internet.


In July, AshleyMadison.com - which specialises in adulterous relationships - was hacked by a group calling themselves Impact Team.

At the time, they threatened the website owners, Avid Life Media, saying they would release the data unless the website was taken down.

http://news.sky.com/story/1537943/ashley-madison-adultery-data-dumped-online


The bitey nails emote would not be for me I stress.....

I hope this link works!

http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=nz&usg=AFQjCNE24EEAUyzE1i57QngGKwWqrrz0FA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52778933479235&ei=9MrbVeCAH5Ob4AKcibrICQ&url=http://www.news.com.au/world/pacific/could-john-beckenridge-and-his-abducted-stepson-mike-zhao-beckenridge-really-still-be-alive/story-fnh819y6-1227495047390

It certainly sounds like something from a novel.

Parents Abandoned Son At Majorca Hotel To Get Bus To Airport

A pair of British holidaymakers have received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to abandoning their son at a hotel in Majorca.

The unnamed couple left their teenage son at the Bellevue Hotel Club in Alcúdia, after he refused to board a bus to San Joan Palma de Mallorca airport with them and three younger siblings.

The 17-year-old was left at the hotel without anywhere to stay and without "the means with which to look after himself".

A ruling from the court in Inca said: "The accused were preparing to take a bus around 9am on Wednesday from their hotel, where they had been on holiday, to the airport for a return flight to the UK with the rest of their family.

“When the eldest of their children refused to return home, the accused decided to continue the trip home and got on the bus.

“Their son was left at the hotel despite the fact that he had no accommodation there and that they hadn’t entrusted his care to an adult or given him the means with which to look after himself.”

The parents were given a one-year suspended prison sentence, according to the Daily Mail.






The boy was 17!!! and they get a suspended prison sentence.  Yet in another case..

Also longer story here....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3221369/British-couple-given-one-year-jail-terms-trying-fly-Majorca-without-eldest-child-threw-tantrum-going-home.html

It sounds a bit bizarre. Most 17-year-olds would rather die than go on holiday with their parents!

We need to know more though about the mental illness which he supposedly has.

'Snow White and the Seven Friends': theatre changes tune over 'offensive' dwarfs


De Montfort Hall in Leicester responds to criticism after reportedly saying that 'dwarf' is "generally not a word that people feel comfortable with"






A theatre has hit back after reportedly removing the word 'dwarfs' from its pantomime production of Snow White for fear it would cause offence.



De Montfort Hall in Leicester is said to have told the media that Snow White will instead be accompanied by seven "friends" because dwarf is “generally not a word that people feel comfortable with”.

Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sneezy and Sleepy in the production will be replaced by child actors billed as “friends”, the Leicester Mercury reported.

But the theatre has now clarified its position, saying that the panto - entitled 'Snow White' - would still refer to the characters as "dwarfs", though they will be played by a child dance troupe wearing costumes instead of adult actors.

The original reports produced a backlash from actor Warwick Davis, who suspected it was a way of boosting the panto’s profit margins by involving children as opposed to professionals.

Mr Davis, the 3ft6ins star of Harry Potter and Star Wars, told the Leicester Mercury it was “patronising" that "people are offended on our behalf".

Now Anthony Flint, general manager at De Montfort Hall has told The Independent the panto was based more on the 1812 Grimm fairytale than the 1937 Disney film, which has a bigger role for the dwarfs.

The emphasis would instead be on the Wicked Queen, played by Benidorm star Sherrie Hewson, he added.


Mr Flint said: “The programme at De Montfort Hall is firmly driven by star names and celebrity, and it’s no different for pantomime, so the panto storyline focuses on the characters of Snow White and Wicked Queen, played by this year’s star,  Sherrie Hewson.

“[The seven dwarfs are] being played by the dance team in full costume rather than a team of adult actors for the two or three scenes they appear in, but audiences will absolutely get the full traditional story they’re expecting to see – dwarfs and all.

READ MORE:  • Warwick Davis angry at panto's 'patronising' decision to drop dwarves from Snow White out of political correctness

“The dance teams that will play these characters as well as providing the dance ensemble, were selected by open audition earlier in the year and panto is the ideal vehicle for them to be involved in a professional theatre production, often for the first time”.

Social media was, inevitably, awash with claims of “political correctness gone mad”.




http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/snow-white-to-be-accompanied-by-friends-after-theatre-deems-dwarfs-offensive-10492685.html?

I am very offended by the term "dwarfs". It should be "dwarves".

Resistor wrote:I am very offended by the term "dwarfs".  It should be "dwarves".

I have looked at a few sites it can be either it seems.......


Definition of dwarf in English:

noun (plural dwarfs or dwarves /dwɔːvz/)

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/dwarf

My Collins dic says it can be either.

All political correctness drives me bananas.

A politically correct version of Little Red Riding Hood which made me smile.

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokepcredridinghood.htm

Free sombreros handed out at restaurant BANNED by university chiefs – because they're 'racist'

Students at the University of East Anglia were given free sombreros by a local Tex-Mex restaurant – but had them taken away at Freshers' Fair

Killjoy university chiefs have banned students from getting free sombreros - claiming they're 'racist'.

Students were being given free sombreros by a local Tex-Mex restaurant in a bid to drum up business , before uni chiefs ordered them to stop - because it violates strict cultural appropriation rules.

The University of East Anglia student union officials even took the big floppy hats from students at the Freshers' Fair, because non-Mexicans wearing the traditional item of headwear could be seen as offensive, according to a new initiative.

The Union has stated that the handing out of sombreros breached a key advertising policy which was sent to all stall holders before the event, prohibiting any use of stereotypical imagery in advertising.

The Union has stated that the handing out of sombreros breached a key advertising policy which was sent to all stall holders before the event, prohibiting any use of stereotypical imagery in advertising.
It read: "Discriminatory or stereotypical language or imagery aimed towards to any group or individual based on characteristics will not be permitted as part of our advertising."
The policy specifies 15 types of discrimination, some of which include colour, ethnic origin and nationality.
The sombreros were seen as racist and a form of cultural appropriation, despite the fact that the restaurant's website says it offers a "Tex-Mex experience".
When Pedros were asked to stop handing out the sombreros they were amicable in doing so, although some students were less impressed.

Speaking to student newspaper The Tab, one first-year who asked not to be named, said: "It's ridiculous - it's a comedy hat, not some sort of sacred religious dress.
"Who is going to get offended? Speedy Gonzales?"
But the Student Union defended their stance on the floppy hat.
Campaigns and Democracy officer Chris Jarvis said: "We know that when it comes to cultural appropriation the issues can sometimes be difficult to understand and many don't realise that they may be about to cause offence or break a policy.
"So we're discussing internally how we can improve our briefing to both external organisations and our own members so that people aren't caught out at the last minute."
He added: "At the Student Union we want all members feel safe and accepted, so at all events we try to ensure that there is no behaviour, language or imagery which could be considered racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or ableist."
Pedros manager Matthew Ward was unavailable to comment today, but a worker at the restaurant said: "It's ridiculous."

Read more: Floyd Mayweather laughed off "shocking" racist tirade against Manny Pacquiao, says former manager

It read: "Discriminatory or stereotypical language or imagery aimed towards to any group or individual based on characteristics will not be permitted as part of our advertising."

The policy specifies 15 types of discrimination, some of which include colour, ethnic origin and nationality.

The sombreros were seen as racist and a form of cultural appropriation, despite the fact that the restaurant's website says it offers a "Tex-Mex experience".

When Pedros were asked to stop handing out the sombreros they were amicable in doing so, although some students were less impressed.

Read more: Student commutes 1,000 miles from POLAND to London because it SAVES him money

Speaking to student newspaper The Tab, one first-year who asked not to be named, said: "It's ridiculous - it's a comedy hat, not some sort of sacred religious dress.

"Who is going to get offended? Speedy Gonzales?"

But the Student Union defended their stance on the floppy hat.

Campaigns and Democracy officer Chris Jarvis said: "We know that when it comes to cultural appropriation the issues can sometimes be difficult to understand and many don't realise that they may be about to cause offence or break a policy.

"So we're discussing internally how we can improve our briefing to both external organisations and our own members so that people aren't caught out at the last minute."

He added: "At the Student Union we want all members feel safe and accepted, so at all events we try to ensure that there is no behaviour, language or imagery which could be considered racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or ableist."

Pedros manager Matthew Ward was unavailable to comment today, but a worker at the restaurant said: "It's ridiculous."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/free-sombreros-handed-out-restaurant-6526809

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3380364/Masked-men-hunted-police-kidnapping-boys-aged-6-10-home-white-van.html

If this turns out to be anything other than a figment of the children's imagination, I will eat my hat!