Gun-toting Aussie Swimmers Prohibited From Using Social Media

Gun-toting Aussie Swimmers

As punishment, the gun-toting Aussie swimmers have been banned from using social media by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).

Australian swimmers Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk posted on Facebook photos of themselves at a gun shop in the United States where members of the Australian Olympic swimming team had been training and competing in the qualifiers for the London Olympics. They were slammed by anti-gun groups in Australia and later deleted the pictures under pressure from governing body Swimming Australia.

The AOC said that the gun-toting swimmers are not only banned from using their social media accounts but will be also sent back to Australia after their events at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"Australian Olympians are required to meet very high standards of conduct and we cannot risk the reputation of the team," the AOC said in a statement.

The AOC added that the punishment was separate to a disciplinary process being carried out by Swimming Australia (SA).

SA supported the AOC's decision and added that that they had yet to finish their own internal process.

"We will be speaking with the athletes involved further about this matter, and reminding them about their responsibilities as representatives of the Australian swim team," SA said in a statement on Saturday.

Luka Rocco Magnotta Arrested In Germany (Video)

Luka Rocco Magnotta Arrested

Murder suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta has been arrested in Germany on Monday.

Magnotta, who was dubbed as the "Canadian Psycho," was apprehended by Berlin Police at an internet cafe in the Neukölln district, less than a week since the Interpol issued a Red Notice for him at the request of Canadian authorities.

The 29-year-old adult movie actor is being accused of killing and dismembering his former boyfriend, 33-year-old Chinese student Lin Jun, and sending body parts to political parties in Ottawa through the mail. Police said he also filmed the crime and posted it on the internet. (There is still a copy of the video online but don't anymore search for it since it is very disturbing.)

The arrest warrant that was issued against Magnotta contains the following accusations: first degree murder; committing an indignity to a dead body; publishing obscene material; mailing "obscene, indecent, immoral or scurrilous" material; and criminally harassing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several (unnamed) members of Parliament.

Magnotta is also alleged of being a serial cat killer. He purportedly posted videos of him killing cats and kittens online.

Check out the video of  Luka Rocco Magnotta's arrest below:



Video courtesy of the Associated Press, Youtube

Vampire skeletons excavated by Bulgarian archaeologists

Vampire skeletons excavated?

"Vampire" skeletons have been unearthed by archaeologists in Bulgaria.

Two skeletons from the Middle Ages, which were discovered in the Black Sea town of Sozopol, are being linked to vampires because they were pierced through the chest with iron rod.

According to Pagan beliefs, corpses of people who were considered bad during their lifetimes should be stabbed with iron rods so that they will not turn into vampires.

Historian Bozhidar Dimitrov said the practice was common in some Bulgarian villages even until the first decade of the 20th century and that over a hundred of  "vampire" skeletons  have been excavated across Bulgaria over the years.

"I do not know why an ordinary discovery like that [has] became so popular. Perhaps because of the mysteriousness of the word "vampire," he said.

Legends about vampires are widespread across the Balkans. The most popular perhaps and had been featured in a number of movies and TV shows is that of Romanian count Vlad the Impaler, known as Dracula, who staked his war enemies and drank their blood.

Are the skeletons proofs of the existence of vampires?

Vampire skeletons excavated by Bulgarian archaeologists

Vampire skeletons excavated?

"Vampire" skeletons have been unearthed by archaeologists in Bulgaria.

Two skeletons from the Middle Ages, which were discovered in the Black Sea town of Sozopol, are being linked to vampires because they were pierced through the chest with iron rod.

According to Pagan beliefs, corpses of people who were considered bad during their lifetimes should be stabbed with iron rods so that they will not turn into vampires.

Historian Bozhidar Dimitrov said the practice was common in some Bulgarian villages even until the first decade of the 20th century and that over a hundred of  "vampire" skeletons  have been excavated across Bulgaria over the years.

"I do not know why an ordinary discovery like that [has] became so popular. Perhaps because of the mysteriousness of the word "vampire," he said.

Legends about vampires are widespread across the Balkans. The most popular perhaps and had been featured in a number of movies and TV shows is that of Romanian count Vlad the Impaler, known as Dracula, who staked his war enemies and drank their blood.

Are the skeletons proofs of the existence of vampires?

Luka Rocco Magnotta Arrested In Germany (Video)

Luka Rocco Magnotta Arrested

Murder suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta has been arrested in Germany on Monday.

Magnotta, who was dubbed as the "Canadian Psycho," was apprehended by Berlin Police at an internet cafe in the Neukölln district, less than a week since the Interpol issued a Red Notice for him at the request of Canadian authorities.

The 29-year-old adult movie actor is being accused of killing and dismembering his former boyfriend, 33-year-old Chinese student Lin Jun, and sending body parts to political parties in Ottawa through the mail. Police said he also filmed the crime and posted it on the internet. (There is still a copy of the video online but don't anymore search for it since it is very disturbing.)

The arrest warrant that was issued against Magnotta contains the following accusations: first degree murder; committing an indignity to a dead body; publishing obscene material; mailing "obscene, indecent, immoral or scurrilous" material; and criminally harassing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several (unnamed) members of Parliament.

Magnotta is also alleged of being a serial cat killer. He purportedly posted videos of him killing cats and kittens online.

Check out the video of  Luka Rocco Magnotta's arrest below:


Video courtesy of the Associated Press, Youtube

Big Ben's Renaming: Britain's Parliament Clock Tower To Be Renamed After Queen Elizabeth

Big Ben's Renaming (Home Office)

Big Ben's renaming to Elizabeth Tower in honor of Queen Elizabeth and to mark her 60th year on the throne, according to several reports.

A Daily Mail report said the campaign to have Big Ben renamed has been signed by 331 lawmakers.

"It is great news that so many MPs from across the House are backing what would be a fitting tribute to the queen. I hope it will now move ahead," the Mail quoted Prime Minister David Cameron as saying.

Big Ben is a 96-metre (316-foot) tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It is formally known as the clock tower but is commonly known as Big Ben after the huge bell that it holds, whose distinctive "bongs" sound out the hours in central London.

Lawmakers accepted that the iconic tower would continue to be known colloquially as Big Ben, but said that its formal name should honor Queen Elizabeth.

The governing body of the British parliament will reportedly meet by the end of June and is expected to agree on the renaming of Big Ben.

Earlier this year, Big Ben was in the news after the parliament discussed how to manage a tilt affecting the tower. The tilt is 0.26 degrees to the north west and has increased very slightly since 2003, although an expert study found it was unlikely to be a problem for 10,000 years.

Britain is holding four days of celebrations beginning on Saturday to mark Elizabeth II's jubilee including a 1,000-boat river pageant and a star-studded concert.

World's Largest Outdoor Pool Is Located In Algarrobo, Chile

World's Largest Outdoor Pool (Photos: Spluch)

Chile now houses the world's largest outdoor pool.

Located at the San Alfonso del Mar resort in Algarrobo, the world biggest swimming pool is about 1,013 meters (3,324 ft) in length and with a total area of 8 hectares (19.77 acres).  That's equivalent to 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

Chile's enormous pool holds 250 million liters (66 million gallons) of crystal clear seawater and uses a computer-controlled suction and filtration system to keep fresh seawater in permanent circulation, drawing it in from the ocean at one end and pumping it out at the other.

San Alfonso del Mar resort's pool is also the record holder for the world's deepest at 115 feet!

It reportedly took five years to build, cost nearly $1 billion, and has an annual maintenance bill of $2 million.

Desmond Hatchett, Man Who Fathered 30 Kids, Seeks Child Support Help

Desmond Hatchett, Man Who Fathered 30 Kids (Youtube)

Desmond Hatchett, who has 30 kids with 11 women, is asking the state of Tennessee for help in paying for child support. Hatchett cited the fact that he earns minimum wage.

Under the law, the state is only allowed to claim a maximum of 50 percent of a person's salary for child support. Splitting half of Hatchett's minimum wage earnings 30 ways means that some of his kids only end up with $1.49 a month.

Hatchett made national news in 2009 for having fathered 21 kids at the age of 29. That means that he had 9 more children in the last 3 years!

Constitutionally, there is nothing the state can do to limit him from having more.

"I had four kids in the same year. Twice." Desmond Hatchett told Volunteer TV.

The oldest of his kids is now 14 years old while the youngest is a toddler. Hatchett claims he knows all his kids' birthdays and names.

Native Americans Shipwrecked In Holland?

Native Americans Shipwrecked In Holland?

Archaeological evidence suggests that other cultures reached the America even before Christopher Columbus. Among them were the Vikings, Polynesians and even Romans.

But did you know that there are also accounts that Native Americans also navigated the Atlantic Ocean and were shipwrecked in the Netherlands around 60 B.C.?

"Native Americans also crossed the Atlantic: anthropologists conjecture that Native Americans voyage east millenia ago from Canada to Scandinavia or Scotland. Two Indians shipwrecked in Holland around 60 B.C. became major curiosities in Europe," sociologist James Loewen wrote in his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong."

Though Columbus was not the first to reach the Americas, he is being credited for the discovery of the "New World" as his expedition was responsible for bringing the Americas to the forefront of Western attention.

Carlos DeLuna Execution: Wrong Man Sentenced To Death In Texas

Carlos DeLuna Wrongfully Executed, Probe Says

Carlos DeLuna was executed by lethal injection in Texas in 1989 for stabbing to death a single mother six years earlier. However, a Columbia law school investigation has recently found out that DeLuna was the wrong man.

In a book-length monograph published Tuesday on "Columbia Human Rights Law Review," Columbia University law professor James Liebman and a team of students said the likely suspect was DeLuna's tocayo - or namesake - Carlos Hernandez.

"The Article chronicles the murder of Wanda Lopez in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 4, 1983 and then traces the intersecting lives of Carlos DeLuna, who was ultimately convicted of murder and executed on December 8, 1989, and Carlos Hernandez, the likely culprit." the authors wrote. "In painstaking detail, the authors have identified the numerous missteps, missed clues, and missed opportunities that led authorities to prosecute Carlos DeLuna for the crime of murder, despite evidence not only that he did not commit the crime but that another individual, Carlos Hernandez, did."

The authors added that their investigation reveals "how easily our legal system can fail to produce just outcomes even without the deliberate interference of individuals acting in bad faith and how the consequences of such failures can be irrevocable and, at times, fatal."

Titled "Los Tocayos Carlos," the narrative report of the investigation can be found here: http://www3.law.columbia.edu/hrlr/ltc/chapter/foreword/1.html