Criminal charges have been filed against a cop in German state of Saxony-Anhalt who drove patrol cars for 22 years without a driver's license.

According to the regional Volksstimme newspaper, the officer in Magdeburg apparently believed that a license allowing him to drive a tractor and motorcycle sufficed for police cars too.

The 22-year veteran was discovered while trying to renew his certification recently, the newspaper reported.

A police spokesman explained that the officer had joined the force just before the reunification of Germany in 1990.

Because most police patrols in communist East Germany were done on foot, apparently no-one ever thought to check whether he had a proper licence, even when he began driving.

“Those were pretty wild times and it must have slipped through,” police spokesman Andreas von Koß told the Volksstimme.

The officer has been reassigned to office duty while administrative and criminal investigations are underway, von Koß said. Source: www.thelocal.de

Interestingly, he even drove his private vehicle without a license.

Think about all the high speed chases by a cop car without a license!

Criminal charges have been filed against a cop in German state of Saxony-Anhalt who drove patrol cars for 22 years without a driver's license.

According to the regional Volksstimme newspaper, the officer in Magdeburg apparently believed that a license allowing him to drive a tractor and motorcycle sufficed for police cars too.

The 22-year veteran was discovered while trying to renew his certification recently, the newspaper reported.

A police spokesman explained that the officer had joined the force just before the reunification of Germany in 1990.

Because most police patrols in communist East Germany were done on foot, apparently no-one ever thought to check whether he had a proper licence, even when he began driving.

“Those were pretty wild times and it must have slipped through,” police spokesman Andreas von Koß told the Volksstimme.

The officer has been reassigned to office duty while administrative and criminal investigations are underway, von Koß said. Source: www.thelocal.de

Interestingly, he even drove his private vehicle without a license.

Think about all the high speed chases by a cop car without a license!

This might be one of oddest divorces as a 99-year old Italian man divorced his 96-year old wife after he discovered that she had an affair in 1940. They got married 77 years ago.

The Italian man, identified by lawyers in the case only as Antonio C, was rifling through an old chest of drawers when he made the discovery a few days before Christmas.

Notwithstanding the time that had elapsed since the betrayal, he was so upset that he immediately confronted his wife of 77 years, named as Rosa C, and demanded a divorce.

Guilt-stricken, she reportedly confessed everything but was unable to persuade her husband to reconsider his decision.

She wrote the letters to her lover during a secret affair in the 1940s, according to court papers released in Rome this week.

The couple are now preparing to split, despite the ties they forged over nearly eight decades – they have five children, a dozen grandchildren and one great-grand child.

The discovery of the letters was the final straw for a marriage which had already run into difficulty – 10 years ago the husband briefly left their house in Rome and moved in with one of his sons, only to return a few weeks later.

The Italian press attributed the acrimonious split to the couple's southern blood – he is originally from Olbia in Sardinia, while his wife was born in Naples.

The couple met during the 1930s when Antonio was posted as a young Carabinieri officer to Naples.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

This might be one of oddest divorces as a 99-year old Italian man divorced his 96-year old wife after he discovered that she had an affair in 1940. They got married 77 years ago.

The Italian man, identified by lawyers in the case only as Antonio C, was rifling through an old chest of drawers when he made the discovery a few days before Christmas.

Notwithstanding the time that had elapsed since the betrayal, he was so upset that he immediately confronted his wife of 77 years, named as Rosa C, and demanded a divorce.

Guilt-stricken, she reportedly confessed everything but was unable to persuade her husband to reconsider his decision.

She wrote the letters to her lover during a secret affair in the 1940s, according to court papers released in Rome this week.

The couple are now preparing to split, despite the ties they forged over nearly eight decades – they have five children, a dozen grandchildren and one great-grand child.

The discovery of the letters was the final straw for a marriage which had already run into difficulty – 10 years ago the husband briefly left their house in Rome and moved in with one of his sons, only to return a few weeks later.

The Italian press attributed the acrimonious split to the couple's southern blood – he is originally from Olbia in Sardinia, while his wife was born in Naples.

The couple met during the 1930s when Antonio was posted as a young Carabinieri officer to Naples.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Suzanne Basham, 47-year old woman from Springfield (Missouri), doesn't seem to be the brightest of the lot. After getting ripped while trying to buy crack cocaine, she called 911 to report the crime. Obviously, the police wasn't that amused, and gave her a ticket.

Suzanne Basham, 47, called Springfield police to her home on Tuesday and told officers she had been ripped off when she bought crack cocaine that turned out to be ordinary sugar.  Basham then asked the officers to go arrest her drug dealer and get back her $40.

Instead, the officers found Basham was still in possession of her crack pipe and ticketed her on a misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge.

According to Cpl. Matt Brown, a spokesman for the Springfield Police Dept., officers went to the home of the man whom Basham claimed sold her the fake crack, but he denied being involved.  He wasn't charged.

Source: www.ky3.com

Next time, taste it before buying it!

Suzanne Basham, 47-year old woman from Springfield (Missouri), doesn't seem to be the brightest of the lot. After getting ripped while trying to buy crack cocaine, she called 911 to report the crime. Obviously, the police wasn't that amused, and gave her a ticket.

Suzanne Basham, 47, called Springfield police to her home on Tuesday and told officers she had been ripped off when she bought crack cocaine that turned out to be ordinary sugar.  Basham then asked the officers to go arrest her drug dealer and get back her $40.

Instead, the officers found Basham was still in possession of her crack pipe and ticketed her on a misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge.

According to Cpl. Matt Brown, a spokesman for the Springfield Police Dept., officers went to the home of the man whom Basham claimed sold her the fake crack, but he denied being involved.  He wasn't charged.

Source: www.ky3.com

Next time, taste it before buying it!

Trying to find creative ways to propose to your girlfriend? Well here is one - Atlanta-based photographer and filmmaker Walt Thompson invested 22 hours shooting and "God knows how long" editing this stop-motion LEGO marriage proposal for his girlfriend of four years, Nealey Dozier. Check the result -

"He had been locking himself in his 'man-cave' for the past few days, no girlfriends allowed," Dozier told The Huffington Post. "He claimed to be working on an anniversary poem, which didn't raise any flags because he writes me one every year."

On Tuesday, Jan. 3, after taking a total of 2,600 painstakingly posed photographs, Thompson played the video for Dozier in the living room of the Atlanta home the two share.

"He directed me to the DVD player and told me to press play," Dozier said. "He then came to stand behind me, and within seconds I could feel the loud thumping of his heart and his quivering hands as they grabbed for mine. It was only then that I realized this was no anniversary poem."

As Dozier watched, Thompson waited for the exact moment the words "Will you marry me?" appeared on the screen.

"When the words came on the 46" television it was playing on, I hit my knee and pulled out the box, which contained the LEGO bride and groom," Thompson, a friend of this reporter, told HuffPost. "Obviously, the groom was holding the ring."

Dozier said she couldn't contain her excitement. She wanted to know how he had made the video and when they should contact their parents, among other things.

"We shared an awkward, fumbling kiss before I launched into 20 questions," she said. "It was after 10 minutes that I realized I hadn't even said yes. Poor guy had to wait it out in torture for the answer!"

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

And then there are simpler ways - Kneel down and ask - "Will you please marry me"?

Trying to find creative ways to propose to your girlfriend? Well here is one - Atlanta-based photographer and filmmaker Walt Thompson invested 22 hours shooting and "God knows how long" editing this stop-motion LEGO marriage proposal for his girlfriend of four years, Nealey Dozier. Check the result -

"He had been locking himself in his 'man-cave' for the past few days, no girlfriends allowed," Dozier told The Huffington Post. "He claimed to be working on an anniversary poem, which didn't raise any flags because he writes me one every year."

On Tuesday, Jan. 3, after taking a total of 2,600 painstakingly posed photographs, Thompson played the video for Dozier in the living room of the Atlanta home the two share.

"He directed me to the DVD player and told me to press play," Dozier said. "He then came to stand behind me, and within seconds I could feel the loud thumping of his heart and his quivering hands as they grabbed for mine. It was only then that I realized this was no anniversary poem."

As Dozier watched, Thompson waited for the exact moment the words "Will you marry me?" appeared on the screen.

"When the words came on the 46" television it was playing on, I hit my knee and pulled out the box, which contained the LEGO bride and groom," Thompson, a friend of this reporter, told HuffPost. "Obviously, the groom was holding the ring."

Dozier said she couldn't contain her excitement. She wanted to know how he had made the video and when they should contact their parents, among other things.

"We shared an awkward, fumbling kiss before I launched into 20 questions," she said. "It was after 10 minutes that I realized I hadn't even said yes. Poor guy had to wait it out in torture for the answer!"

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

And then there are simpler ways - Kneel down and ask - "Will you please marry me"?

In a rare one-in-a-million occurrence, a woman from Leipzig (Germany) gave birth to twins, one of which is black and the other is white. The twins were born to 40-year-old dentist’s assistant Grit Funke and her Nigerian partner.

“First came a light girl, and then out popped a dark girl!” the happy mother told the paper. “The midwife couldn’t believe it either.”

“My boyfriend and I didn’t actually want any more children,” Funke told the paper. “We already have a son together, and I have two boys from my first marriage. But then we found out about the pregnancy, and then came the news that it would be twins.”

The two Funke girls, named Leonie (white) and Louisa (black), are both healthy, and Funke says she has already identified differing character traits. “Louisa is a lot quieter and undemanding and sleeps longer,” she said. “I always say that’s the sunny African genes.”

“I’m looking forward to the looks we get from people on the street when they’re older and the whole family goes for a walk,” she added. “I suppose a few people will be a bit confused.Source: www.thelocal.de

This is not the first instance for Germany. In 2005 similar twins were born in Berlin and 2008 in Leipzig.

In a rare one-in-a-million occurrence, a woman from Leipzig (Germany) gave birth to twins, one of which is black and the other is white. The twins were born to 40-year-old dentist’s assistant Grit Funke and her Nigerian partner.

“First came a light girl, and then out popped a dark girl!” the happy mother told the paper. “The midwife couldn’t believe it either.”

“My boyfriend and I didn’t actually want any more children,” Funke told the paper. “We already have a son together, and I have two boys from my first marriage. But then we found out about the pregnancy, and then came the news that it would be twins.”

The two Funke girls, named Leonie (white) and Louisa (black), are both healthy, and Funke says she has already identified differing character traits. “Louisa is a lot quieter and undemanding and sleeps longer,” she said. “I always say that’s the sunny African genes.”

“I’m looking forward to the looks we get from people on the street when they’re older and the whole family goes for a walk,” she added. “I suppose a few people will be a bit confused.Source: www.thelocal.de

This is not the first instance for Germany. In 2005 similar twins were born in Berlin and 2008 in Leipzig.

An Australian man named "AHH" (from Sydney) has been banned from changing his name again as he has already changed it 3 times since 1999. His names -

• Before 1999 - Hormis Daniel
• 1999 - Thomas Daniels
• 2000 - Tony Adam
• 2001 - AHH

Interestingly, he blames his ex-partner for the changes, claiming that he changed it because of constant hounding and harassment from the ex.

But now he says he has been shamed by his family for being single and has had a marriage arranged for him in his homeland of Iraq.

The only catch is his family over there thinks his name is still Hormis Daniel and have no idea he changed it - or that it was an ex-partner who made him do so.

"For me to return to Irak [sic] to marry this person under another name which is not what people know me by will cause a lot of anxiety and heartache to my immediate family," he told the tribunal.

AHH said he had no doubt the arranged marriage would work out and that his happiness depended on it.

"I am determined that this arranged marriage will work and that my spouse to be and I will have many years of happiness in Sydney," he said.

"Furthermore, in many respects it is somewhat of an embarrassment for my family to have a son who remains single after a failed marriage."

But tribunal judicial member Peter Molony rejected AHH's claim for an exemption to the "three-strike" rule of name changes, upholding the original decision by the New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Source: www.news.com.au

An Australian man named "AHH" (from Sydney) has been banned from changing his name again as he has already changed it 3 times since 1999. His names -

• Before 1999 - Hormis Daniel
• 1999 - Thomas Daniels
• 2000 - Tony Adam
• 2001 - AHH

Interestingly, he blames his ex-partner for the changes, claiming that he changed it because of constant hounding and harassment from the ex.

But now he says he has been shamed by his family for being single and has had a marriage arranged for him in his homeland of Iraq.

The only catch is his family over there thinks his name is still Hormis Daniel and have no idea he changed it - or that it was an ex-partner who made him do so.

"For me to return to Irak [sic] to marry this person under another name which is not what people know me by will cause a lot of anxiety and heartache to my immediate family," he told the tribunal.

AHH said he had no doubt the arranged marriage would work out and that his happiness depended on it.

"I am determined that this arranged marriage will work and that my spouse to be and I will have many years of happiness in Sydney," he said.

"Furthermore, in many respects it is somewhat of an embarrassment for my family to have a son who remains single after a failed marriage."

But tribunal judicial member Peter Molony rejected AHH's claim for an exemption to the "three-strike" rule of name changes, upholding the original decision by the New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Source: www.news.com.au

Google France has been fined €50,000 ($64,670) for automatically adding "escroc" (in English, crook or swindler) to a company's name in Google Suggest. Google would add the word while searching for insurance company Lyonnaise de Garantie.

A Paris court held that the addition of the offending word "was offensive towards the company." The court said that Google should be able to exercise "human control" over the functioning of words suggested by its search engine.

Google said the auto-complete functionality was not the "expression of a human thought", an "opinion" or a "value judgement or criticism" but was the result of its automatic algorithm. 

BFM Business news reported that the company ran into similar problems when an individual found his name was automatically followed by "violeur" ("rapist").

Source: www.thelocal.fr

Since online reputation is getting more and more important, I won't be surprised to see a rise in similar lawsuits.

Google France has been fined €50,000 ($64,670) for automatically adding "escroc" (in English, crook or swindler) to a company's name in Google Suggest. Google would add the word while searching for insurance company Lyonnaise de Garantie.

A Paris court held that the addition of the offending word "was offensive towards the company." The court said that Google should be able to exercise "human control" over the functioning of words suggested by its search engine.

Google said the auto-complete functionality was not the "expression of a human thought", an "opinion" or a "value judgement or criticism" but was the result of its automatic algorithm. 

BFM Business news reported that the company ran into similar problems when an individual found his name was automatically followed by "violeur" ("rapist").

Source: www.thelocal.fr

Since online reputation is getting more and more important, I won't be surprised to see a rise in similar lawsuits.

Video of an African Bull frog playing Ant Smasher on iPhone has gone viral, and trust me, he doesn't look too amused. Check the video -

Don't do this at home, or else get prepared to be bit!

Video of an African Bull frog playing Ant Smasher on iPhone has gone viral, and trust me, he doesn't look too amused. Check the video -

Don't do this at home, or else get prepared to be bit!

PETA slammed Kim Kardashian in a billboard posted in her hometown of Beverly Hills. The billboard has her face on on one side and a direct message to her that reads: "KIM: These babies miss their mother. IS SHE ON YOUR BACK?"

Kim Kardashian seems to love wearing fur, as can be seen in these pictures -

She seems to support fur, as well as her sister Khloe for the anti-fur campaign.

Anything to get some popularity?

PETA slammed Kim Kardashian in a billboard posted in her hometown of Beverly Hills. The billboard has her face on on one side and a direct message to her that reads: "KIM: These babies miss their mother. IS SHE ON YOUR BACK?"

Kim Kardashian seems to love wearing fur, as can be seen in these pictures -

She seems to support fur, as well as her sister Khloe for the anti-fur campaign.

Anything to get some popularity?

Check out the sneak peak from HBO's new movie "Game Change." In the movie Julianne Moore portrays Alaska's ex-governor Sarah Palin and Ed Harris plays John McCain. Check the video -

This new HBO film follows John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, from his selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, to their ultimate defeat in the general election. Coming in March, 2012.Source: www.youtube.com

Check out the sneak peak from HBO's new movie "Game Change." In the movie Julianne Moore portrays Alaska's ex-governor Sarah Palin and Ed Harris plays John McCain. Check the video -

This new HBO film follows John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, from his selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, to their ultimate defeat in the general election. Coming in March, 2012.Source: www.youtube.com