Thursday, July 24, 2008

Today's News 7/24/08


Here are today's headlines!


Dwarf Comedy Stunt Shocks Swedish Airport Staff

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Swedish airport staff were not amused when a team from a TV comedy show tried to check in a suitcase with a dwarf inside.

Employees at Bromma airport called police when the dwarf hopped out of the suitcase at the check-in counter.

Police soon found that it was a stunt being filmed by a hidden camera for a program on private TV network Kanal 5.

Police spokesman Mats Eriksson says airport staff decided against filing charges even though they were "shocked and humiliated" by Wednesday's stunt.

Kanal 5 spokesman Dan Panas told Swedish news agency TT that the show was meant to be "provocative and entertaining."

He said the stunt was not meant to make fun of little people, but to make entertainment out of "extreme situations."



My Neighbors Tried to Spit on Me!

Hillsborough County, Florida — Bobbi Desotello first moved to Bay Point, looking for peace and quiet. But these days, he's getting neither.

His second-floor condo sits waterfront on a canal that feeds into the Gulf. From a long balcony outside his sliding glass doors, Desotello can see his boat in the water below.

But he can't get to it without getting an earful from an older couple next door. They claim that section of the balcony belongs to them.

"I get yelled at, screamed at, cursed at, threatened, spit on or attempted to spit on," he explained. "And it's just aggravating."

And it's been going on for over a year. Desotello even captured some of the exchanges on video.

Similar to the design of a motel, the balcony Desotello walks on connects several condos, and there is a stairwell at one end.

To get to his boat, Desotello has to walk along the balcony and in front of his neighbor's condo to get to the stairwell.

Tampa Bay's 10 was there as Desotello walked by Wednesday morning. Seconds later, the man inside banged loudly on a glass door, came out and began yelling at Desotello.

"Excuse me sir," asked Tampa Bay's 10 News Reporter Janie Porter. "Why are you harassing this guy every day when he wants to walk by?"

"She wants to walk here naked," the man explained as he stood next to his wife.

While bylaws from the condo association describe the balcony as a "common area," Desotello's neighbors say the balcony is theirs, and therefore private.

According to the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser, they might be right. When the each resident bought their condos, the property appraiser's website shows they also paid for a finished open porch. Similar to a driveway of a house, the balcony belongs to the owner, even though they don't necessarily pay taxes on it.

But Desotello claims that wasn't his understanding when he bought his condo. And if he had known that, he says he wouldn't have purchased it.

"The whole point of me buying this place was the accessibility to the water and my boat," he explained. Even the condo association board agrees with Desotello.

"As good neighbors, we should offer the right of passageway to people who own boats downstairs, rather than have them walk all the way around," explained board member Evelyn Pupello.

To get to his boat, Desotello would have to walk out the front door of his condo, down some stairs, around three buildings, through a gate, and around the side of the three buildings. It's about a four-minute walk.

"It's a long walk," Pupello said.

Desotello also says he should be able to use the waterfront stairwell on the balcony because he, along with all association residents, helped pay for it.

"Those stairs were put in at great expense to all the owners, and it does not make sense to most of us that only 28 people out of 136 units would be able to use the stairs," Pupello said.

But if Desotello's next-door neighbors own the balcony in front of their condo, that means no one but them can access the stairwell.

"The question that remains though: is it really that big of a deal?" Porter asked the couple.

"Yes, it is," the wife said.

But until both sides come to a compromise, the battle over the balcony may continue.


Why don't the old couple just put up shades or something? Then she can walk around naked all she wants without scaring everyone else.


Police Post Emergency Calls on YouTube

TAUNTON, England, July 23 (UPI) -- British police say they have posted recordings of several unusual emergency calls on the Internet to deter people from making unnecessary reports.

Officials at the Avon and Somerset Constabulary said they are using the modern Internet networking approach to reduce the number of unneeded emergency calls they receive, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

One call posted by officials on the Internet video-sharing Web site, YouTube, was from a woman who said she couldn't find her glasses to prepare her lunch.

Another call exposes the plight of a man who was upset his wife didn't leave him a proper meal.

Phony callers can be fined as much as $10,000 and jailed for six months if caught, the newspaper said.

"Wasting the time of the emergency services could cost lives because the emergency services might not be available to respond to real emergencies if they are attending hoax calls," Chief Superintendent Dave Hayler said.

Hmmm...I wonder how many calls they get now from people just hoping to become famous on YouTube?



Newspaper Misspells Name on Front Page

This Monday readers of New Hampshire’s Valley News were surprised to see the paper's name spelled "Valley Newss" on the front page masthead.

The following day the newspaper, which covers the Upper Valley area straddling New Hampshire and Vermont, published an “Editor’s Note” acknowledging the error.

“Readers may have noticed that the Valley News misspelled its own name on yesterday’s front page,” it read.

“Given that we routinely call on other institutions to hold themselves accountable for the mistakes, let us say for the record: We sure feel silly.”


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