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Romney's London Marathon of Errors

Paul Waldie
The Globe and Mail
Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:31 UTC
Image
© JASON REED/Reuters
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks to the press after his meetings with Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in London on Thursday.
A brief foreign tour is usually supposed to help U.S. presidential candidates bolster their foreign-policy credentials and show off their diplomatic skills.

But then there's Mitt Romney.

The presumed Republican candidate arrived in London Wednesday on the first stop of a three-country tour. His plan was simple: Make a round of high-profile visits, including meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron, raise some money at a fundraising dinner, and attend Friday's opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games.
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Dollar

Lottery Winner Cheated out of Money by Store Clerk

Michael Allen
Opposing Views
Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00 UTC
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In Newport News, Virginia, Jack Lavoie has purchased lottery tickets from the same Shell gas station for a decade, so he was shocked when store clerk Susan Perez allegedly tricked him out of his winning $600 lottery ticket.

Lavoie claims that Perez told him his prize was only $40, and allegedly pocketed the remaining $560.

Lavoie thought he had only gotten three of the winning numbers, but his son found that he had gotten four numbers and called to congratulate him.

The Shell gas station clerk, Perez, told Lavoie that his winning ticket had been lost. Lavoie went to the Virginia Lottery and Perez was, later, indicted on felony larceny charges.

Lavoie says that if Perez had told him that she needed the money, he would have given it to her.
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House

Retirees Spanish Homes Demolished: No Justice From EU

Anna Nicholas
The Telegraph
Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:11 UTC
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Helen and Len Prior remain victims of the Spanish property scandal
While Spain struggles to keep its economy grinding along with a plaster kit from a begrudging European Union, the elephant in the room- otherwise known as the illegal property scandal which in part can be blamed for the country's current crisis- remains largely ignored.

During the good times when new developments were shooting up along Spanish coastlines faster than bamboo, thousands of British and other European nationals invested in Spanish properties. Many were retirees who spent their nest eggs on apartments and villas hoping that they could spend their twilight years in a sunny bolt hole, the reward for a life time's hard slog. Unbeknown to hordes of British investors, the homes they bought in good faith turned out to be illegally built by unscrupulous developers aided and abetted by corrupt local councils and lawyers. The problem was further compounded by poorly enforced planning legislation. Building permits were issued by councils illegally and when the scale of the problem was revealed, regional governments were quick to react.
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Question

Cambodians Ask 'Magic Log' for Lottery Numbers


Agence France-Presse
Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:41 UTC
Magic Log
© AFP/File
Cambodians gather around a log at Prey Yeang village in Pursat province on July 19.
A large log dug up in Cambodia has drawn thousands of visitors who believe it possesses healing powers and can predict winning lottery numbers, a local official said Thursday.

Some 4,000 to 5,000 people have already been to see the 13-metre-long log (42 feet) that was discovered earlier this month when a family excavated a pond in western Pursat province, Prey Yeang village chief Hun Nov told AFP by phone.

"They believe the log has magical powers," he said, adding that visitors were coming loaded with offerings such as pig heads and boiled whole chickens after some locals who touched the wood won money in the lottery.
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Stop

Friends Link Pretoria Murders to Satanism


News24.com
Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:35 UTC
Dripping Knife
© Shutterstock
Two Centurion women have been found dead in killings that have been linked to Satanism.

Natacha Burger, 33, and Joy Boonzaaier, 68, were stabbed to death in Burger's townhouse in a security complex, hours after she SMSed a friend the following message: "I did (the) dangerous prayer. The Lord protect me," reported Beeld.

Burger, Boonzaaier and some of her friends were involved in a religious ministerial group working with former Satanists.

Walter Stander, a chaplain in the Kuriake ministry, said it appeared that these were Satanic murders.

According to a neighbour, someone had knocked on Burger's door on Wednesday night but she refused to open. The next morning, blood was found in a gutter outside her house.
      Read More...
Handcuffs

Man in Maryland threatens another 'Joker' massacre

Christina NG & Jack Date
ABC News
Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:21 UTC

One week after Colorado's movie theater shooting, Maryland cops arrested a heavily armed man who told his employer he was a "joker" who was going to "blow everybody up."

Police said today they believe they "thwarted a massacre."
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Pistol

Batman shooter was psychiatric patient

Jeanie Stokes
Agence France-Presse
Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:10 UTC
Holmes' apartment
© AFP/Getty Images/File, Joshua Lott
A lock secures the door leading to James Eagan Holmes' apartment in Aurora, Colorado
The suspected Batman massacre gunman was seeing a psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia before the attack that killed 12 in Colorado, court documents showed Friday.

The motion named Dr. Lynn Fenton as defense attorneys sought to gain access to a package James Holmes had mailed to her prior the July 20 mass shooting, which also wounded 58 people.

Reports surfaced Wednesday that Holmes -- who recently dropped out of the University of Colorado -- had sent a notebook to a university psychiatrist that included details and drawing of his plans to kill people.

There were conflicting reports about whether the package reached the school in time to potentially prevent the massacre, but officials remained tight-lipped due to a strict gag order imposed by the judge overseeing the case.

Judge William Sylvester unsealed some court filings Friday after defense attorneys argued that Holmes's constitutional rights had been violated by the "breach of confidentiality and privilege" and sought "sanctions for this misconduct."
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Pistol

Fearful Homeowner Shoots and Kills Unarmed Salesman

Michael Allen
Opposing Views
Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:49 UTC
In Cape Coral, Florida, on Wednesday, Kenneth Roop was arrested for shooting and killing Nicholas Rainey, an unarmed door-to-door salesman on his property (video below).

Roop has been charged with second-degree murder, reports The News-Press.

A co-worker saw Rainey knock on Roop's door, but receive no answer. While Rainey was walking down the drive way, Roop drove up in his pickup truck and asked why Rainey was there.

Rainey said that he was selling steak and seafood. The co-worker said Roop pulled out a handgun and shot Rainey. As Rainey lay on the ground, Roop fired another bullet into the back of his head.
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Newspaper

Highway robberies on the rise in Spain

Anna Nicholas
Telegraph
Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:39 UTC
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© Unknown
British holidaymakers should be vigilant when driving on Spanish motorways.
According to the British Embassy in Spain, an increasing number of British holidaymakers are being targeted in highway robberies across the country.

Unsuspecting tourists travelling in hire cars or British registered vehicles are particularly vulnerable on the AP7 stretch of motorway between the French border of La Jonquera and the Alicante region of Southern Spain where so far 140 cases of theft have been reported to local British consulates.

Some might speculate that the rise in motorway crime by well organised gangs has been exacerbated by the perilous state of the Spanish economy but in reality such tricksters have been using the same scams to rob tourists for many years. A popular ruse employed at motorway service stations involves surreptitiously puncturing a tyre and then offering to help the driver while an accomplice steals valuables from the vehicle. Another scam includes making loud bangs when a tourist's car is in transit causing the driver to pull over on to the hard shoulder. A fellow road user quickly pulls up offering assistance while a gang member steals from the victim's car.
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Heart - Black

Woman Agrees to Marry Man who Ditched Her During Aurora Theater Shooting

Michael Allen
Opposing Views
Fri, 27 Jul 2012 16:34 UTC
In Aurora, Colorado, Jamie Rohrs took his girlfriend Patricia Legarreta and their two young children to the now infamous midnight showing of 'The Dark Knight Rises.'

When the shooting happened, Rohrs did not try to protect his girlfriend or their children, but actually ran for the exit and got into his car, leaving them behind. (Video below.)

Fortunately for Leggareta, a stranger, 19-year-old college student Jarell Brooks, escorted her and her children to the exit.
      Read More...
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