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Tom Cruise Says Grew Up Wanting to Kill Hitler

By Angela Moon

Posted 1/18/09 3:27AM

SEOUL (Reuters) – Tom Cruise, who fails to assassinate Adolph Hitler in his new movie "Valkyrie," said he grew up really wanting to kill the Nazi leader.

In the World War II thriller based on a true story of the unsuccessful attempt by German soldiers to kill Hitler, Cruise plays Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg who plants a briefcase bomb under a table at Hitler's military headquarters.

A heavy wooden table saves Hitler and Stauffenberg is executed with his co-conspirators.

"I always wanted to kill Hitler, I hated him," the Hollywood star of such major blockbusters as "Top Gun" and "Mission Impossible," told the press during a visit to Seoul to promote his latest film.

"As a child studying history and looking at documents, I wondered, why didn't someone stand up and try to stop it? When I read the script, it was entertaining and informative to know what the challenges were and what it was like to be in the environment."

Stauffenberg's legacy helped ease the burden of guilt about World War II and the Holocaust Germans still endure. But Germans had balked at the prospect of Cruise playing Stauffenberg as they objected to the actor's ties to Scientology, the movement founded in the 1950s by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

Germany, which does not recognise Scientology as a religion and regards it as a cult, made it difficult for the crew to film in the Bendlerblock building and courtyard where Stauffenberg was shot dead.

"I've never heard of this story before... It turned out to be an incredible adventure, just to be there and shoot at these locations that Stauffenberg was. It was a very powerful experience and hopefully it will communicate with the audience," the actor said.

"It has certainly influenced my life, just knowing that there were people who tried to stop him (Hitler)."

Valkyrie, directed by Bryan Singer, opened in the United States on December 25 and fared better than sceptics had predicted, reaching No. 4 in the North American box office ratings for the three-day weekend starting December 26. It opens on January 22 in Seoul for the first time in Asia.

(Editing by Bill Tarrant)

 

Entry #74

Man Brings 12 Bags of Marijuana To Court House

 
Posted Friday, January 16th, 2009

Matthew Hensley

A man on his way into court for a drug possession charge was arrested after deputies say they found 12 bags of marijuana on him.

Jawarren Kamale Bethea, 20, was taken into custody Wednesday morning after officials found marijuana in his coat pocket, according to a sheriff's report.

"He came through and the person at the front door could smell marijuana," Investigator Jon Edwards said.

The investigator said Bethea was pulled aside and a search revealed that he had 12 bags of marijuana.

Sheriff Shep Jones said that this is not a common occurrence.

"Usually, people know they have to get clearance at front door security," Jones said. He added that some people do come in with weapons that they leave at the door, but generally it is something people need for their job.

According to Edwards, Bethea denied that the marijuana was his, claiming the coat belonged to someone else. Bethea also told investigators he was not under the influence of marijuana, even if he did smell of the drug.

Bethea, of Corona St. in Laurinburg, was charged with possession with the intent to sell and deliver a schedule VI controlled substance. He was placed in Scotland County jail under a $1,000 secured bond.

According to the North Carolina Court System website, Bethea was appearing in court for a possession of marijuana charge.

He is scheduled to appear in court today for the new charges.

Bethea is also scheduled to appear on Jan. 20 for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and on Feb. 17 for driving without a license, according to the website.

http://www.dumbcriminals.com/drugs/how-to-take-your-case-to-a-higher-court/#more-1510

Entry #73

Shoplifter Gets Run Over Twice by Her Getaway Car

Fri Jan 16, 8:22 pm ET

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – Authorities are looking for a shoplifter who was run over twice by her getaway car after stealing $1,200 worth of designer purses from a Cape Coral store. A T.J. Maxx security guard told police she saw a woman stuff six designer Dooney & Bourke purses into her pants Tuesday morning and walk out of the store. The guard said she was confronting the woman when a car pulled up.

A report said the shoplifter tried to get into the vehicle but fell out and was run over by the car. She then got up and jumped onto the hood of the car. As the car was driving away, the report said the woman fell off and was run over again. On her third attempt, she finally made it into the vehicle.

Police are using the car's license plate and a check the woman dropped to track her down.

The Palm Beach Post, http://www.pbpost.com

Entry #72

Firm Hires Witch to Hunt Debt Dodgers

January 16, 2009

LIUDAS DAPKUS

The Associated Press

VILNIUS, Lithuania - In these difficult times for creditors, a Lithuanian debt collector is offering an unconventional service to retrieve arrears: witchcraft.

The Vilnius-based firm has hired Vilija Lobaciuviene, the Baltic nation's most famous self-styled witch, to hunt down companies and individuals who are failing to pay their debts amid the credit crunch.

"There are certain people, who are using this crisis situation and refuse to pay back banks or other companies," said Amantas Celkonas, director of the Skolu Isieskojimo Biuras, or debt collecting bureau.

"Our new employee will help them to understand the situation, reconsider what is right and wrong and act accordingly," he said. "We will also help those who are in real trouble, suffering from psychological impact of bankruptcy and depression."

Lobaciuviene, who describes herself as "Lithuania's leading witch," is renowned in the former Soviet republic of 3.4 million people for providing such "magical" services as predicting the future and casting spells. She claims to use hypnosis, herbal medicines and "the bio-energy field" when helping her "patients."

Asked to comment on her new job, Lobaciuviene, 53, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she is happy to be of assistance.

"I am free citizen and can do whatever I like. I am glad someone needs my help and I will do whatever I can to help people," she said.

Local pundits, however, ridiculed the agency's move.

"This is return to the Dark Ages. If they really believe that this woman may help someone get money back, then there's something very wrong with this country," said columnist Monika Bonckute.

Entry #71

You Can't Fire Me, I'm Drunk!

Thur Jan 15, 3:21 pm ET

LIMA (Reuters) – Peru's top court has ruled that workers cannot be fired for being drunk on the job, a decision that was criticized by the government on Wednesday for setting a dangerous precedent.

The Constitutional Tribunal ordered that Pablo Cayo be given his job back as a janitor for the municipality of Chorrillos, which fired him for being intoxicated at work.

The firing was excessive because even though Cayo was drunk, he did not offend or hurt anybody, Fernando Calle, one of the justices, said on Wednesday.

Calle said the court would not revise its decision, despite complaints from the government.

"It's not a good idea to relax rules at workplaces," said Labor Minister Jorge Villasante.

Celso Becerra, the administrative chief of Chorrillos, a suburb of Lima, denounced the ruling.

"We've fired four workers for showing up drunk, and two of them were drivers," he said. "How can we allow a drunk to work who might run somebody over?"

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Terry Wade; Editing by Dana Ford)

 

Entry #70

Boy's Tongue Stuck on Pole

01/15/09 3:02PM EST

HAMMOND, Ind. – In a scene straight out of the movie "A Christmas Story," a 10-year-old boy got his tongue stuck to a metal light pole. Police said the unidentified fourth-grader was able to tell them that a friend dared him to lick the pole Wednesday night. Temperatures in Hammond were around 10 degrees at the time.

By the time an ambulance arrived, the boy was able to yank his tongue off the frozen pole.

Police said ambulance personnel explained to the boy's mother how to care for his bleeding tongue.

The 1983 movie is set in a fictional city based on Hammond, the hometown of author Jean Shepherd.

___

Information from: The Times, http://nwitimes.com

 

Entry #69

Robber Mistakes Building For Bank Demands Cash

 
Wed Jan 14, 8:34 pm ET

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – Police said a man showed a gun and tried to rob a bank, but he wasn't in one. The Jessamine South Elkhorn Water District has offices in what was formerly a branch of Farmers Bank. City police spokesman Scott Harvey told the Lexington Herald-Leader a man came into the building Tuesday, showed a pistol and demanded money.

When an employee told the man the office really didn't have any money, the confused would-be robber replied, "I know you have money. It's a bank."

He was told it was no longer a bank and he left with nothing.

Harvey said the office takes payments for water bills, but doesn't have anything worth stealing.

Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader

 

Entry #68

NJ Kids With Nazi-Inspired Names Removed From Home

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

In this Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008 file photo, Heath Campbell...

(01-14) 13:20 PST HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) --

Three New Jersey siblings whose names have Nazi connotations have been placed in state custody, police said. The children, ranging in age from 3 to under 1, were removed from their home Friday. They drew attention last month when a supermarket bakery refused to put the name of the oldest — Adolf Hitler Campbell — on a birthday cake.

State workers didn't tell police why the children were taken, police Sgt. John Harris said.

A spokeswoman for the state Division of Youth and Family Services, Kate Bernyk, said she would not comment on any specific case, but she said the state would not remove children from a home simply because of their names.

A family court hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Court officials said the matter is sealed and they could not release information about what might be decided at the hearing.

The other two children, both girls, are JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell.

The father, Heath Campbell, had no comment when contacted by The Express-Times of Easton, Pa. The Associated Press could not locate a working telephone number for the family Wednesday.

___

Information from The Express-Times of Easton, Pa., www.lehighvalleylive.com/

Entry #67

Alaskan Convicted Sex Offender Who won Lottery Attacked on Anchorage Street

By James Halpin 

McClatchy Newspapers

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The man who won the state’s first half-million-dollar lottery was attacked on a downtown street Tuesday afternoon with a tire iron or metal pipe, according to Anchorage police.

Police say Alec Ahsoak, 53, was attacked when a man approached him to ask if he was the man who won the $500,000 jackpot.

Whether the attack was motivated by Ahsoak’s winning the lottery or the widely distributed reports that he is a three-time convicted sex offender was unclear.

"There was no apparent attempt at robbery," police Lt. Dave Parker said. "He was struck eight to 10 times, and then he threw his Pepsi at the assailant and he ran for Phyllis’ Cafe and the assailant ran off."

By Tuesday evening, Ahsoak had been discharged from the hospital and police had taken a man and a woman into custody, Parker said. The man was being questioned by police and had not yet been charged with a crime, he said.

Ahsoak told officers he had been stopped by a white man believed to be about 21 and wearing a blue-and-white checked shirt, blue jeans and a white baseball cap as he entered the 5th Avenue Mall. The stranger asked if he was the lottery winner, and Ahsoak said he was, then went into the mall.

When he walked out minutes later carrying a Pepsi, the man approached him and began hitting him on the head with the weapon, police said.

Ahsoak was transported to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries, which did not appear to be life-threatening, police said.

"There were injuries to his head — lacerations, that kind of stuff," Parker said. "Nobody knows how bad it is until doctors do their job, but he was talking and able to communicate with the officers."

Police were continuing to comb the area for the assailant. There were "loads of witnesses" to the attack, but none of them were immediately able to identify the man, Parker said. It did not immediately appear that the attack had been caught on any surveillance cameras, he said.

Ahsoak came forward as the lottery winner Saturday, and reports that he is a convicted sex offender were soon publicized by a local television station and picked up by other outlets, including the Anchorage Daily News. By Monday, Ahsoak’s victims were telling the media they thought Ahsoak should not benefit from the lottery, which was conducted by Lucky Times Pull Tabs to benefit the nonprofit Standing Together Against Rape.

"Oh my God, I was so afraid something was going to happen to him," said Nancy Haag, executive director of Standing Together Against Rape. "I’m just very sorry to hear that this has happened. ... Nobody deserves to be a victim of any kind of violence, and that’s our stand."

Asked whether the media should have publicized that Ahsoak was a convicted sex offender, Haag said, "I think it put him, obviously, at greater risk because there are people who like to take justice into their own hands."

Ahsoak was convicted in 1993 of molesting two girls under the age of 13. He was sentenced to four years in prison, according to court records.

 

In March 2000, police arrested him again for molesting a different young girl he was baby-sitting. Through a plea bargain, Ahsoak was sentenced to six years in prison on a single count of sexual abuse of a minor. Prosecutors in that case dropped another sex abuse charge and a charge of failing to register as a sex offender.

Entry #66

Father and Son Arrested for Cutting to the Front of Line

1/13/09 9:23 pm

MUNCIE, Ind. – A 26-year-old man and his father were arrested after an off-duty Muncie police officer complained about the man cutting in line at a Wal-Mart store. Police reports said Edward R. Pluhar Jr. of Frankfort cut to the front of the line at the Wal-Mart service desk Sunday. What he didn't know was that Officer Chris Kirby was waiting in the line.

Kirby said Pluhar refused when Kirby asked him to wait his turn. Pluhar's father, 61-year-old Edward R. Pluhar Sr., then asked Kirby if he wanted to step outside. That's when Kirby reportedly told the men he was a police officer.

Kirby followed the men into the parking lot where they scuffled. Other officers arrived and arrested both Pluhars. They were released after posting bond.

Pluhar Sr., however, gave a different version of events leading up to his arrest.

"There's a lot more to the story," he said.

He said his son had waited in line for 25 minutes once and been sent by a clerk to exchange an item. When he returned, Pluhar Sr. said the clerk waved his son to the front of the line, and Kirby objected.

He said his son tried to explain the situation, but Kirby insulted him, at which point Pluhar Sr. asked Kirby to step outside but Kirby laughed at him. Pluhar Sr. also denied Kirby's claim that the older man threatened to shoot him. He said he and his son tried to walk away from the confrontation, but Kirby followed them outside.

Pluhar Sr. said Kirby never identified himself as a police officer and he only found out he was an officer from other police at the scene.

"What I did was wrong, but that doesn't make what he did right," Pluhar said.

Edward R. Pluhar Jr. was preliminarily charged with battery on a police officer, while his father was arrested on charges of intimidation and criminal recklessness with a weapon. Police said Pluhar backed into Kirby's leg as he attempted to leave the parking lot while Kirby was standing behind the vehicle.

 

Entry #65

Appeals Court Rules Ex-Wife's Alimony Cut Off Because She Was Assigned A Cellmate

The Kansas City Star - Jan 12 8:30 PM

Andrew Craissati of Palm Beach Gardens had challenged paying alimony to his former wife, Patricia, arguing that their agreement called for him to pay only until her remarriage or if she "cohabitated" with another person for more than three months.

 

Patricia Craissati

 

Patricia Craissati, 48, was later sentenced to prison.

The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that she is indeed "cohabitating" - with her cellmate.

Two members of the three-judge panel concurred and ordered her alimony payments stopped. A third dissented, writing Craissati's involuntary assignment to a cellmate is not cohabitation. "I would affirm the trial court's reasoning that this is an absurd result," wrote Judge Larry Klein.

The couple divorced in 2001. In 2005, Patricia Craissati was sentenced to nine years in prison for a DUI accident which severely injured two men. She is at Hillsborough Correctional Institution on the west coast.

Her attorney, Steven Cripps, said when he first heard of the ex-husband's argument that she was cohabitating with a cellmate he said: "Are you kidding me? You are going to take advantage of this situation and do this?"

Cripps says she's been receiving just over $2,000 a month in alimony while in prison. He said he will ask for a rehearing before the appeals court.

"It goes to show the most winnable case is losable and the most losable case is winnable," said the attorney of 29 years.

Andrew Craissati, a self-employed investment banker from West Palm Beach, said an uninformed person might consider his actions mean, but that there are many factors people don't know about. For one, he has had to pay as her house has sat empty because she did not want to rent it out. He called his victory "bittersweet."

"Everything about this case is just so sad," Craissati said.

His attorney, Lewis Kapner, said the ruling is grounded in the general language of the couple's agreement - cohabitation simply defined as living with another person for more than three months.

"The facts of the situation are novel. The law is not," Kapner said. "You can say cohabitation is wearing a blue dress. But that's the agreement."

Entry #64

Council Tells Couple They Are Too Fat To Adopt

On Line (BBC Radio 5 Live/PA)

January 12, 2009

A married couple have spoken of their shock after being turned down to adopt on the grounds that one of them is too fat.

Damien and Charlotte Hall approached Leeds City Council about adoption after discovering that they were unable to have children of their own.

They were told that Mr Hall’s size, at six foot one and a weight of 24-and-a-half stone (156kg), made him morbidly obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 42.

In a letter, the council told them his BMI must be below 40 before the couple could be considered as potential parents because of a risk he could become ill or even die.

“I am writing to confirm that we are unable to progress an application from you at this time. This is due to the concerns that the medical advisers have expressed regarding Mr Hall’s weight,” the council wrote.

Today the couple, who have been together for 14 years and married for 11, said they felt the ruling was harsh.

“The bottom line is I’m too fat. I just feel as though we were only judged on my weight and not all the other good things about us," said Mr Hall, 37, who works in a call centre.

“We don’t drink or smoke and we could give a child a happy and safe home.”

Mrs Hall, 31, a nanny, agreed: “I think it’s just gutting. We had an inkling they’d say something about (his) weight but to be turned down flatly just on that, it’s just harsh.

“My husband has a full-time job and is very active. He walks our dog at least twice a day and doesn’t feel unfit or unwell.

“You’ve got a child in care who’s going to get up tomorrow morning not knowing where it’s going, and we’re here ready to take a child on. They seem to be saying it’s better for them to be in care and being shoved from pillar to post just in case Damien dies.”

The council said that it would only relent if Mr Hall demonstrated that he had taken off and could keep off the weight.

“We will require Mr Hall to have a further medical in six months’ time, which will be considered by our medical advisor," it said in its letter

“As you are aware, the Adoption Panel are unlikely to approve applicants with a BMI over 40 because of the long-term health risks. It would therefore be to your advantage to begin the assessment with an up-to-date medical where your BMI is clearly recorded as being under 40, and to demonstrate that you are able to maintain this weight loss over the period of the assessment.

"I would be grateful if you could contact me when you feel you are ready to continue with the process taking into account the above advice.”

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said it did not issue guidance on maximum weight for potential adopters to local authorities.

In a statement the council said: “The council’s adoption service has a legal responsibility to ensure that children are placed with adopters who are able to provide the best possible lifelong care.

“Part of this responsibility is advice for applicants on a range of suitability criteria, including any health and lifestyle issues which may impact on an applicant’s long term ability to adopt.

“Expert advice on health and medical issues for applicants is provided by medical advisors to the council’s adoption service, in line with BAAF (British Agencies Adoption and Fostering) guidance.

“Mr and Mrs Hall’s application to adopt is still active and they have been given advice on how best to proceed regarding this issue.”

Entry #63

107 Year Old Woman Looking for 1st Husband

January 12, 2009 12:05 AM

BEIJING (Reuters) - A 107-year-old Chinese woman who was afraid to marry when she was young has decided to look for her first husband and hopes to find a fellow centenarian so they will have something to talk about, a Chinese paper reported.

 

Wang Guiying is worried she is becoming a burden to her aging nieces and nephews since breaking her leg when she was 102 and had to stop doing chores like washing her clothes.

 

"I'm already 107 and I still haven't got married," the Chongqing Commercial Times quoted her saying. "What will happen if I don't hurry up and find a husband?"

 

Born in southern Guizhou province the child of a salt merchant, Wang grew up watching her uncles and other men scold and beat their wives and often found her aunt crying in the woodshed after an attack, the paper said.

 

"All the married people around there lived like that. Getting married was too frightening," she said of an era when Chinese women had few rights and low social standing.

 

 

Many also had their feet bound in an excruciating process aimed at making them look more dainty and marriageable.

 

After Wang's father, mother and older sister died, she still shied away from marriage. Instead she moved to the countryside and survived as a farmer until she was 74 years old and no longer strong enough to work in the fields, the report said.

 

Her nephew in the booming city of Chongqing then took Wang in, but she is worried he and her other nephews and nieces are too old to take care of her now even the youngest is 60.

 

"My nephews and nieces are getting older and their children are already tied up with their own families and I am becoming more and more of a burden," she said.

 

Local officials have said they are happy to help Wang search for a 100-year old groom, and suggested her family get in touch with old people's homes to find candidates, the paper said.

 

(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Nick Macfie and Sugita Katyal)

Entry #62

Woman Thinks She Will Win Then Wins $500,000 In Lottery

Fri, Jan. 09, 2009

BY BECCY TANNER

The Wichita Eagle

Sandra Vines thought she might win something.

She did: $500,000 in an instant scratch game by the Kansas and Iowa lotteries.

"I just felt it," the Wichita woman told Midwest Millions lottery officials Friday when contacted by phone after the drawing.

"I'm going to use this prize money to buy a house," the 45-year-old single mother of five children said.

Vines attends Baker University and starts a new job Monday at Via Christi Hope in Wichita.

She said she submitted four to five entries for the drawing.

Entry #61

Masked Man Waited In Line to Rob Bank With Toy Gun

The Associated Press

Fri, Jan. 09, 2009 02:25 PM

A man may have tipped his intentions when he stood in line at an Ohio bank wearing a ski mask before staging a holdup. Police in Stow near Akron say 24-year-old Feliks Goldshtein of Highland Heights was arrested minutes later on Thursday following a brief car chase.

Police say the teller asked the man to take off the mask before being served. At that point the man displayed what turned out to be a toy gun and told the teller to give him all the money. He made off with an undisclosed amount.

Police Captain Rick Myers says it's unusual for a masked robber to wait in line at a bank.

Goldshtein was held at the Summit County Jail Friday on charges of aggravated robbery and failure to comply with a police order. Municipal Court records don't identify an attorney for Goldshtein.

 

In this booking mug shot released by Stow (Ohio) Police Department, Feliks Goldshtein is shown, Thursday, Jan.8, 2009. A  bank robber  may have tipped his intentions when he stood in line at an Ohio bank wearing a ski mask before staging a holdup. Police say a teller asked the man, identified by police as Goldshtein, to take off the ski mask he was wearing iff before being served. At that point the man displayed what turned out to be a toy gun and told the teller to give him all the money.
Stow Police Department
In this booking mug shot released by Stow (Ohio) Police Department, Feliks Goldshtein is shown, Thursday, Jan.8, 2009. A bank robber may have tipped his intentions when he stood in line at an Ohio bank wearing a ski mask before staging a holdup. Police say a teller asked the man, identified by police as Goldshtein, to take off the ski mask he was wearing iff before being served. At that point the man displayed what turned out to be a toy gun and told the teller to give him all the money.
Entry #60
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