UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News - September 6, 2007 : General

Sept. 6
Two charged for fake APEC motorcade
SYDNEY, Sept. 6 Australian police charged two members of a satirical television show with using a fake motorcade to breach security at the APEC summit in Sydney.

Julian Morrow and Chas Licciardello, stars of the comedy program "The Chaser's War on Everything," were arrested Thursday 30 feet from the hotel where U.S. President George Bush is staying for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

Licciardello was reportedly dressed as Osama bin Laden in the motorcade that included cars and motorcycles, Australia-media.com.au reported.

The vehicles apparently passed through two security gates before being detected, the report said.

A spokesman for the Australian Broadcasting Corp., Peter Ritchie said he could release few details.

"Our ABC lawyers and management are currently in discussion with the police and that's really all I can say at this stage," he said.

Shame used to stop outdoor pooping
HASANPUR, India, Sept. 6 A man who appointed himself sanitation guardian of Hasanpur, India, said he uses a powerful weapon to stop people from defecating outdoors -- shame.

Ravi Shankar Singh said he carries a whistle and a flashlight every morning when he patrols the village's roads and rice fields before dawn, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. Singh said that when he spots a squatting offender, he pulls out the whistle, flashlight or both.

He said being caught in the act can be a powerful deterrent for outdoor defecators.

"The whole idea is to put pressure on people to use the toilets," Singh said. He said humiliation has been an effective tool for him and the two dozen men and women he recruited to help search for offenders.

"In some small way, there has been a change of mind-set, a revolution of sorts," he told the Times.

The Indian government credits outdoor defecation with the spread of water-borne illnesses and parasites, including diarrhea and hookworms.

British woman turns 110 years old
GODALMING, England, Sept. 6 A British woman born in 1897 celebrated her 110th birthday in Godalming, England, attributing her old age to ingesting lots of salt.

Mary Brown, who lives at Eastlake Residential Home, was with four generations of her family Wednesday to mark her 110th birthday, Britain's Telegraph reported.

In attendance were five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, as well as her 78-year-old son, George. Brown outlived her eldest son, Hugh, who died in 2002 and her husband, John, who died in 1950.

The former teacher recalled at her party that the arrival of electricity and labor-saving devices at her home when she was younger is still one of the biggest changes she has seen, The Telegraph said.

She also revealed that she has lived so long due to the facts that she doesn't drive and enjoys all food with plenty of salt.

Singapore court rules on bad feng shui
SINGAPORE, Sept. 6 Bad feng shui has been ruled a legitimate reason to sell a home in Singapore and not have to pay taxes on the proceeds.

Singapore's High Court ruled Thursday that a couple was indeed forced to sell their apartment due to the lousy design that soured the feng shui energy, so they don't owe the government a tax on their gains.

Feng shui is the Asian art of designing and decorating a home or office so that positive energy flows throughout and bad energy is kept outside.

The Straits Times said the case, believed to be a first in Singapore, involved a couple who tax collectors had alleged were trading real estate in the 1990s and therefore owed the government a cut.