Curses, Foiled Again
Two thieves broke into a closed casino in Calgary, Alberta, and made off with an ATM. Security footage shows the two masked crooks loading the machine onto a dolly and wheeling it to their vehicle. On the way, it toppled onto one of the thieves, but they loaded it and made their escape. “There’s no money in the machine,” Staff Sgt. Travis Baker said, explaining that ATMs are unloaded several times daily and at the end of the business day. Noting that stealing ATMs requires heavy lifting and then “tools like grinders, axes and chisels” to break through to the cash box, Baker called it “a very ineffective way to make a living.” (Canada’s National Post)
Holy Cow
Cleaning crews at Indian government buildings in New Delhi are switching to a new cleaning liquid derived from cow urine, which is in abundant supply and whose anti-microbial and antifungal properties make it possible to avoid using synthetic products. The product, named Gaunyle, also contains neem and pine scent and costs about the same as conventional cleaners. “It is a win-win situation for us,” said Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, who came up with the idea. “No harm to janitors by way of daily exposure to chemicals, and cows will be valued more.” Buoyed by the product’s acceptance, Anuradha Modi, who heads the Holy Cow Foundation, which supplies Gaunyle, said her organization is looking for other ways to market the “piles of cow dung and cow urine” that go to waste in India. (India’s The Economic Times)
National Insecurity
The British government proposed a supplement to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill that would require nursery school staffers and registered daycare providers to report youngsters at risk of becoming terrorists. “Senior management and governors should make sure that staff have training that gives them the knowledge and confidence to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and challenge extremist ideas which can be used to legitimize terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups,” the document states. A Home Office official said teachers and nursery workers should take action when they notice “behavior of concern,” adding, “It is important that children are taught fundamental British values in an age-appropriate way.” (Britain’s The Express)
Degrees of Guilt
Police who spotted a pickup truck matching the description of a stolen vehicle in Destin, Fla., reported that the only occupant, Debra Jean Mason, 58, denied stealing the vehicle. She did admit knowing it was stolen but said, “I didn’t think it was that stolen.” (Northwest Florida Daily News)
Bowling for Hollers
Two people in east Ukraine were injured while bowling after a player rolled a grenade instead of a ball. The blast occurred at a restaurant that also offers duckpin bowling, which uses a small ball without holes. Emergency services official Sergei Ivanushkin cited the incident as the latest in a rash of accidents in the rebel-controlled area caused by careless use of explosives. (Associated Press)
Compiled from mainstream news sources by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.
