B-List Archive: September 2004

B-List Archive

September 2004

Postings to the B-List.

Subject: B-List: Cash Giveaways
Date: Wed, 1 September 2004 8:30:24 AM

1. "German lottery winner gives winnings to charity"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1077359.html >
"A German man who won 9.1 million euro on the lottery, has donated his entire
 winnings to charity"

2. "Flood victims benefit from mystery lottery winner"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1161151.htm >
"An anonymous benefactor has sent a winning lottery ticket worth 200 million
 yen ($A2,600,000) to a local government in central Japan to help disaster
 victims of heavy rain"

3. "Sharing the wealth: Man throws 1 million yen from TV tower in central Japan"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/12/23/295683-ap.html >
"A man who wanted to share his stock market winnings with the public tossed
 1 million yen ($12,345 Cdn) from the observatory deck of a tower in central
 Japan"

4. "Powerball winner temporarily closes site"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/10/21/232435-ap.html >
"Andrew (Jack) Whittaker established the Jack Whittaker Foundation after
 winning the $314.9-million Powerball jackpot on Christmas Day, the largest
 undivided jackpot in the game's history. The foundation has given away
 about $4 million, and continues to get about 1,000 requests each week."

5. "Bank fails in free money giveaway"
   < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3667775.stm >
"A sign in the window of a branch in Croydon, south London, offered a £5 note
 to anyone who stepped inside to collect it. But bank officials say no-one took
 up the bargain because no one believed it"

Subject: B-List: Strange Happenings In Sport
Date: Fri, 3 September 2004 9:01:49 AM

1. "US baseball player injured while sneezing"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_958320.html >
"A US baseball player has injured his back after sneezing - twice"

2. "Mighty wind disturbs snooker star"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/02/05/337153-cp.html >
"According to the tabloid Sun, one fan broke wind loudly, others coughed
 deliberately and a woman chattered throughout the two-hour epic in an
 effort to distract Hendry"

3. "Rugby league player gains a tooth"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_936229.html >
"A rugby league player had an opponent's tooth embedded in his head - and
 didn't even notice until after the match"

4. "Texas Ranger hit by phone"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/04/20/69541-ap.html >
"A 24-year-old man accused of throwing a cell phone that hit Texas Rangers
 right-fielder Carl Everett in the back of the head during a game faces a
 charge of assault with a deadly weapon"

5. "Football player penalized for phone call (during game)"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/12/14/287352-ap.html >
"The New Orleans pro football receiver couldn't wait to talk about his
 touchdown, so he pulled out a cell phone and made a call -- from the
 end zone"

6. "Lambie: I slapped player with dead pigeon"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_753207.html >
"'I did once hit a player in the jaw with a dead pigeon. His name was Declan
 Roche and he was talking back to me - so I got these dead pigeons out of a
 box and slapped him round the face with one'"

7. "Player sent off for tackling streaker"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_902360.html >
"A policeman playing football in an amateur cup final was sent off for tackling
 a streaker"

8. "Fan pulls down ref's shorts and pants"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_887021.html >
"A Belgian referee says he'll never officiate another match after his shorts
 and pants were pulled down during a game"

Subject: B-List: Animal Rescue
Date: 6 September 2004 9:23:13 AM

1. "Man rescues cat; Cat saves man from fire"
   < http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/5/2004/01/27/story105.html >
"A man who rescued a stray cat from the cold got the favor returned on Sunday
 when the cat woke him as his house filled with smoke"

2. "'Miracle' dog saves family from fire"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200312/s1000750.htm >
"A Melbourne family rescued from fire by a guide dog this morning say their
 escape is a miracle"

3. "Dog saves garage in blaze of glory"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1085914.htm >
"A family garage and most of its contents have been saved in the Victorian
 town of Sunshine, thanks to the efforts of the family dog"

4. "Dog's barking helps to rescue owner"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1027795.htm >
"A 43-year-old man has been rescued off rocks on a Dunsborough beach in
 Western Australia's south-west thanks to the efforts of his dog"

5. "Well aimed dog bite saves hiker in bear attack"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_926645.html >
"A hiker attacked by a brown bear in a forest in Slovakia has been rescued by
 his dog after it bit the bear on the backside"

6. "Hero dog recovering from rattlesnake bites"
   < http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/2991305/detail.html >
"Jet the dog ... is being credited for protecting his 10-year-old owner from
 being bitten by a rattlesnake"

7. "Heroic goat rescues little girls from rabid dogs"
   < http://english.pravda.ru/fun/2002/12/03/40294.html >
"A domestic goat saved three children from stray dogs in the town of Guyvoron
 in the Kirovograd region, Ukraine"

8. "Cow drags farmer to safety"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/02/17/351176-ap.html >
"A New Zealand farmer escaped from a flooded river by hanging on to one of
 her cows as it struggled through the raging waters"

9. "Cat helps cops in stand-off"  [expired]
   < http://www.wsbt.com/showStory.php?id=13058 >
"Man threatening to shoot police distracted when they throw his feline at him"

Subject: B-List: Finally Found, After All These Years
Date: Wed, 8 September 2004 8:43:59 AM

1. "Man reunited with wallet ten years after it fell down back of sofa"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_764699.html >
"A German man has been reunited with his wallet more than ten years after
 losing it down the back of a sofa"

2. "Man reunited with wallet - after 26 years"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_824442.html >
"An Austrian man has been reunited with his wallet 26 years after he lost it
 down the back of a hotel armchair"

3. "Japanese builders find US Marine's wallet after 46 years"
   < http://www.platinum-celebs.com/funny/news/001584.html >
"Casimiro Naranjo III lost the wallet at Camp Foster, once Camp Hague, during
 a nine-month stay in 1957"

4. "Wedding ring missing for decades mysterious reappears for anniv."
   < http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/bizarre/060904_APsn_ring.html >
"Ann Cummings got a surprise gift for her 50th wedding anniversary: the
 engagement ring she lost 45 years ago"

5. "Long-lost coin completes the picture"
   < http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1078596,00.html >
"A gold coin unearthed from the battlefield of Agincourt, and once handled by
 the painter JMW Turner, has turned up after 91 years, just in time for a
 Turner exhibition in Birmingham"

6. "Abandoned NZ boat discovered in Qld two years later"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1171404.htm >
"A long distance row boat which disappeared two years ago has been found
 washed up on Wreck Island, off the central Queensland coast"

7. "Missing dog found after nine years"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1088651.html >
"A German family have been reunited with their stolen golden retriever dog -
 after nine years"

Subject: B-List: Mascot Mania
Date: Thu, 9 September 2004 8:46:34 AM

1. "A history of bizarre mascot incidents"
   < http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/2003/07/10/mascot_timeline/ >

2. "Pittsburgh player may be charged after sausage mascot chopped with bat"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/07/10/132054-ap.html >
"Pittsburgh first baseman Randall Simon was booked for misdemeanor battery
 for hitting one of the Milwaukee Brewers' popular racing sausages with a bat
 during Wednesday night's game"
   "Mascots' revenge: Pickles launch counterattack"
   < http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/07142003_bb_mascotrevenge.html >
"Three pickle mascots huddled at a minor league baseball game in Kentucky to
 plan a payback attack for their colleague ?????? an italian sausage at a
 Milwaukee Brewers game"

3. "Mascot mayhem"
   < http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/sports/11262003_sp_mascotmayhem.html >
"Whether or not it was an accident remains unclear, but in videotape Rocky
 appeared to stumble slightly before tripping on the stairs and smashing the
 cake in the birthday girl's face"

4. "Man arrested after allegedly attacking Orlando mascot"
   < http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/8009371.htm >
"Hawkins, 39, put Stuff the Magic Dragon in a chokehold Friday night in the
 waning moments of the Magic's 102-98 win over the Denver Nuggets"

5. "Benny's mascot match misery"
   < http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?command=newPage&
       nodeId=133941&contentPK=10912363 >
"Benny the Buck's giant head was stolen while its owner, Lez Dean, was watching
 a celebrity football match in Collingham, near Newark"

6. "Bruising tackle nobbles Mooloo mascot"
   < http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3014135a11,00.html >
"Part way through the first half of Sunday's Ranfurly Shield challenge between
 Waikato and the Bay at Mt Maunganui, Mooloo was hit with a blindside-bruiser
 of a tackle by a local fan"

Subject: B-List: Confused Animals
Date: Mon, 13 September 2004 9:08:47 AM

1. "Spaniel adopts hare"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_888192.html >
"Mr Poortman says the dog took an instant liking to the hare, which he's named
 Flappy, and they shared her basket"

2. "Strange bedfellows"
   < http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/11/1073769455480.html >
"Muschi, a small cat that formed an unlikely friendship with a half-tonne bear
 called 'mouse' in Berlin Zoo"

3. "Family discovers its cat nursing mice"
   < http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20030714/003585.html >
"[T]he Wellers saw their cat Patches nursing and caring for the mice as if
 they were part of her litter"

4. "Bison baby thinks she's a puppy"
   < http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20030609/001821.html >
"After a month in her new home, Bianca thinks she's just one of the family dogs"

5. "20-year-old horse, moose become pals"
   < http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040830/ap_on_fe_st/horse_moose_5 >
"A yearling female moose and a 20-year-old horse have become pals at a farm
 just outside Groton village"

6. "Lemur thinks stuffed cow is mum"
   < http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/animals/newsid_3652000/3652415.stm >
"A baby ring-tailed lemur abandoned by its mother has found an unusual new
 mum, in the form of a stuffed toy cow"

7. "Chicken that likes to think it's a dog"
   < http://ptenthusiasts.org/PTForums/printthread.php?t=40909 >
"Her tiny bantam, called Mrs Seabright, despises the other chickens, preferring
 to sleep in the same bed as her two pet collies, Jess and Lexi"

8. "Dazed and Confused"
   < http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/DyeHard/
       confused_pets_dogs_dyehard_031204-1.html >
"Study finds that some animals suffer from confusion, too"

Subject: B-List: What's In A Name? - Sending The Wrong Message
Date: Tue, 14 September 2004 8:34:16 AM

1. "Name change for Little Dicker chapel"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1099090.html >
"The pastor of Little Dicker chapel has changed its name because too many
 'depraved' minds found it funny"

2. "Rude message found on Aero bars"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_907988.html >
"According to a source at the factory in York, the words 'S**t bar' appeared
 where the Best Before date and code would normally be printed"

3. "Slang crosses up GM"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/10/16/227790.html >
"A General Motors executive yesterday admitted that the future Buick model --
 which is set to debut late next year -- will be re-named in Canada after GM
 learned LaCrosse is a Quebec slang term for masturbation"

4. "'Colourful' acronym forces Iraq army name change"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200306/s887364.htm >
"The planned force was originally entitled the New Iraqi Corps, whose initials
 in Arabic produce a colourful synonym for fornication"

5. "Family sick of living on Butt Hole Road"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_831848.html >
"They say people posed for pictures outside their house in Conisbrough, many of
 them with their trousers dropped"

6. "Wyo. seeks name change for 'obscene' road"
   < http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20031121_481.html >
"County Road 6FU southwest of Cody got its name in 1980, when Park County
 adopted an alpha-numeric road naming system"

Subject: B-List: Unwanted Home Deliveries
Date: Wed, 15 September 2004 8:38:23 AM

1. "Oil delivery turns into deluge"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200307/s898953.htm >
"A German oil delivery man who got his addresses mixed up has accidentally
 pumped 3,000 litres of heating oil straight into the basement of a house"

2. "Mistake inundates home with heating oil"
   < http://forums.simcentral.net//showthread.php?t=38120 >
"Teri Jack smelled the fumes even before she read the note on her Davidsonville
 home's door informing her that a heating company had accidentally filled her
 basement with nearly 400 gallons of oil meant for a neighbor's house"

3. "Raw sewage spews into Calif. homes like volcano"
   < http://countrystore.blogspot.com/2002_11_17_countrystore_archive.html >
"Raw waste rushing through a city sewer line backed up into homes, blowing open
 toilet lids, filling bathtubs and damaging at least seven homes"

4. "Foul event: Wrong water sent to homes"
   < http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2003-08-01-water_x.htm >
"Some residents here are crying foul after learning that utility workers
 mistakenly hooked up four homes to the city's treated wastewater instead
 of its purified drinking water"

5. "Broken pipeline leaks 300 gallons of oil into mobile home park"
   < http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20030413-2110-ca-oilleak.html >
"A hazardous materials team cleaned up about 300 gallons of petroleum that
 bubbled up under a mobile home park Sunday, forcing an elderly woman from her
 residence"

6. "Blood oozes out of apartment walls"
   < http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/26/1059084268840.html >
"In a scene straight out of a horror film, blood has been leaking out of the
 walls of an apartment in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad"

7. "Has this ever happened to you?"  [expired link]
   < http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=1800541 >
"Bones, coffins and crosses crashed through the kitchen wall of a Brazilian
 home over the weekend after a torrential rain washed out part of a neighboring
 cemetery"

8. "Brazilian town covered in foam"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_799630.html >
"The town of Pirapora do Bom Jesus, Sao Paulo, was flooded by detergents and
 shampoos discarded into the River Tiete"

Subject: B-List: Alternative Versions of the Bible
Date: Fri, 17 September 2004 8:49:52 AM

1. "And Jesus said to his people 'You boofheads'"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200306/s871472.htm >
"In the beginning was the word and the word was 'G'day' - that's how the New
 Testament might have begun if Jesus had been born Australian, according to
 an author and broadcaster. Kel Richards has just completed a collection of
 favourite bible stories retold in Australian English"

2. "Cor blimey! The Bible in cockney?"
   < http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/UK/05/19/cockney.bible/ >
"Seeking to bring the Bible to those who don't usually read it, a London
 religious education teacher has translated some of the best-known biblical
 tales into the colorful language of east London for the first time"

3. "Magazine-format Bible uses pop culture to appeal to teens"
   < http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle
       %2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031777446987 >
"[T]he 'modern speak' in the magazine is appealing and easier for some people
 than more traditional forms of the Bible, such as the King James version"

4. NHV (New Hacker Version) Bible Transliteration
   < http://www.christianhacker.org/html/NHV.html >
"Finally! After years without God's word in their own L33T-speak language
 dialect, the Christian Hackers' Association is proud to introduce the NHV
 (New Hacker Version) Bible transliterated especially for hackers!"

5. Klingon Language Version (KLV) of the World English Bible
   < http://klv.mrklingon.org/ >

6. "Church rewrites bible in feminist language"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_821717.html >
"They are rewriting passages which are seen to discriminate against women, and
 are also using 'unbiased and just' language. The term disciple is to be changed
 to 'disciples and disciplesses' and forms of address such as Lord or Our Father
 are to be omitted"

Subject: B-List: Bizarre School Punishment
Date: Mon, 20 September 2004 8:44:23 AM

Reading through these news items, I guess I should count myself lucky I didn't
go to one of these schools.  Then again, I did manage to get through high school
without receiving any form of punishment.  Not that I never did anything wrong,
but rather I just didn't get caught ;)

1. "Teacher cuts students' ears"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/09/16/631773.html >
"A teacher in northern Bangladesh cut the ears of 17 students with scissors to
 discipline them"

2. "'Apologise in blood'"
   < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/21/1087669912799.html >
"A Japanese teenager was forced by his teacher to write an apology in blood after
 dozing in the classroom"

3. "Teacher in trouble"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/06/11/495312-ap.html >
"An elementary school teacher was placed on paid leave for washing a boy's
 mouth out with soap after he shouted an obscenity at a classmate"

4. "Parents mull case; teacher repentant"
   < http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/cag/2004/09/07/news/parents.mull.case.teacher.
       repentant.html >
"Parents trooped to the Calaanan Elementary School Monday to confront a teacher
 who allegedly ordered her pupils to lick the toilet floors last Thursday while
 separate investigations are being initiated on the incident"

5. "Parents bark over 'seal walk' punishment"
   < http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=31347 >
"Two sets of parents said their children were told to 'drag their bodies across
 the hallway' in front of several onlookers after they were caught running in
 the halls of Oak Hill Middle School"

Subject: B-List: Big Food
Date: Tue, 21 September 2004 8:24:25 AM

1. "World's longest sandwich"
   < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/14/1092340540619.html >
"Lebanese villagers have turned a traditional recipe into what could become the
 latest Guinness Book of Records entrant by making a 720-metre long sandwich"

2. "Cheshire bakery may have world's biggest sandwich"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_757364.html >
"Roberts Bakery in Northwich made the 2.5 metres square tuna, mayonnaise and
 cucumber sandwich"

3. "Gingerbread city hopes to be world's largest"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_732181.html >
"Rostock in Germany has created a 400 square metre replica of its town centre
 made completely of gingerbread houses"

4. "New world record for largest cookie by U.S. 18-tonne chocolate chip colossus"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/05/20/91692-ap.html >
"It took eight hours and a cookie sheet the size of a basketball court to bake
 the 30-metre, 18-tonne chocolate chip colossus"

5. "Town bakes 11,000-kilogram strawberry cake"  [registration required]
   < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/22/1079939578256.html >
"About 3000 kilograms of strawberries were used in baking the cake, which is
 2.57 metres high and 2.65 metres wide"

6. "Merrimac chef baking, building world's largest wedding cake"
   < http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20040117/FP_005.htm >
"The cake will be 17 feet high and weigh 13,000 pounds, more than double the
 weight of the current record-holder"

7. "Baker claims 400ft cake is a record"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1085270.html >
"... 440 pounds of whipped cream, 1,000 pints of milk, 1,500 pounds of sugar,
 880 pounds of butter, 90 pounds of chocolate and 22 pounds of cherries"

8. "Giant birthday cake eaten in five seconds"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_859599.html >
"A 450-metre long birthday cake was made by bakers in Brazil - and eaten in
 five seconds"

9. "Making a 394-kilogram bagel"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/08/28/605451-ap.html >
"Take 300 kilograms of flour, 225 grams of dry yeast, 24 kilograms of malt and
 six kilograms of salt. Mix, boil in more than 3,400 litres of water for 30
 minutes, bake at 150 degrees C for 10 hours"

Subject: B-List: Noteworthy Wedding Receptions
Date: Mon, 27 September 2004 8:28:55 AM

1. "Couple have wedding reception at KFC"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1107663.html >
"Newleyweds Jason and Nina Payne treated their guests to a reception at Kentucky
 Fried Chicken"

2. "A Happy Meal for the happy couple"
   < http://www.stockportexpress.co.uk/news/index/articles/article_id=6027.html >
"Wacky newlyweds Simon and Paula Hand amazed friends and family when they held
 their wedding reception at McDonalds"

3. "Firemen called to extinguish cake"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_686045.html >
"Staff at the Three Kings restaurant in Beauvoorde, were lighting fireworks on
 the wedding cake when a spark caught one of the fire detectors, setting off the
 alarm at the fire station in nearby Veurne"

4. "Wedding reception takes bad turn: Fight breaks out, man loses finger"
   < http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/news/082503_NW_da_wedding.html >
"A wedding reception in Corunna took a turn for the worse. A wedding guest bit
 off another man's finger"

5. "Melee mars wedding reception"
   < http://www.app.com/app2001/story/0,21133,831360,00.html >
"A donnybrook erupted at a wedding reception Sunday night when a guest became
 enraged because he thought his girlfriend was manhandled during the traditional
 garter belt ritual"

6. "Serb pilots shot down by newly-weds"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200310/s965318.htm >
"A two-seater sports plane on an unauthorised joyride was apparently shot down
 by mistake when it flew over a Serbian wedding party where guests were firing
 guns into the air"

7. "Bride whisked to reception in giant yellow digger"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_785153.html >
"A bride who asked for a chauffeur driven limo to pick her up from church was
 stunned when a giant yellow digger arrived instead"

8. "Newly-weds hitch to reception after car confiscated"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200211/s731323.htm >
"A newly-wed couple had to hitch a ride to their reception after their ribbon
-decked wedding car was confiscated under Queensland state's tough new
 'anti-hoon' laws"

9. "Underprivileged say 'I do' to lavish wedding banquet"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200211/s733309.htm >
"About 200 underprivileged children and elderly people and have become
 unexpected guests at a wedding banquet in an upmarket Singapore hotel on
 Saturday after the bride and groom reportedly forgot to cancel their booking"

Subject: B-List: Interesting Valuations + September Postings Reprised
Date: Thu, 30 September 2004 8:54:55 AM

A. Interesting Valuations

1. "Your body may be worth more than $45 million"
   < http://www.danhosp.org/HealthNews/reuters/NewsStory0702200324.htm >
"It may be illegal, immoral and certainly ill-advised, but selling every usable
 part of your body could fetch upward of $45 million, according to a survey in
 the August issue of Wired magazine"

2. "Cost of happiness is £2.7 million"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_853129.html >
"Money may be able to buy happiness but it costs nearly £2.7 million, claim
 researchers"

3. "Gold rings cheaper, swans-a-swimming more expensive"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200312/s1012754.htm >
"The price of 'True Love' has risen this Christmas, according to United States
 economists who have analysed the cost of five gold rings, four calling birds,
 three french hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree"

4. "For $12 trillion, Britain can be all yours"
   < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200312/s1017835.htm >
"Want to buy a largish island off France? Slightly used, with annex. Rains a
 bit. Trains often late. Nice gardens. Food dubious, but lots of places to
 drink"

B. September Postings Reprised

[Animal Rescue]
* "Pekinese saves shepherd from bear"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1109915.html >
"A Romanian shepherd who was attacked by a bear in the mountains was saved by
 his pet Pekinese dog"
* "Dog saves heart attack owner"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1114667.html >
"A man who suffered a heart attack while alone in his house, was saved when his
 dog got him the phone so he could call for help"

[Confused Animals]
* "Lobster found guarding a watch"
   < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/06/17/503447-ap.html >
"Lobsters have long been known as solitary and territorial crustaceans -- but
 timely and fashion conscious?"

[Bizarre School Punishment]
* "Pupils made to eat cow dung in class"
   < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1119613.html >
"Education authorities in southern India have suspended a teacher for forcing
 his students to eat cow dung"
* "Teacher sends boy home with feces in bag"
   < http://apnews.myway.com//article/20040925/D85ABQC80.html >
"A teacher is on paid administrative leave after sending a first-grader home
 with feces in his backpack because the boy soiled the classroom floor"

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