Whole Foods Boycotts Israeli Goods

http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/6106_62.htm

Anti-Defamation League
26 August 2011

Press Release

Whole Foods Assures ADL: We Do Not Boycott Israel

New York, NY, August 26, 2011 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed assurances from Whole Foods Market that the company does not engage in boycotts of products from Israel or any other country.

"Whole Foods Market has made it unequivocally clear that it has not and will not engage in boycotts against the state of Israel," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "In fact they continue to carry a number of Israeli products, and have assured us that they do so with pride."

The League reached out to Whole Foods in response to a rumor circulating on the Internet suggesting that Whole Foods was engaged in a boycott of the Jewish State and had refused to stock products originating from Israel. [...]

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/whole-foods-denies-rumors-about-boycotting-israeli-products-1.381341
Haaretz [Israel]
29 August 2011
Whole Foods denies rumors about boycotting Israeli products

Prison Beds Determined by Third Grade Scores

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/08/29/1118116?sac=Opin

The Fayetteville Observer [NC]
29 August 2011

Pitts: Urban myth about reading scores won't die

Myron B. Pitts

In doing research for my column, I tried to pinpoint one of the more damning indictments of our state's education system: Namely, that the state estimates the number of future prison beds it will need based on the reading test scores of third-graders. [...]

Misunderstanding in Public Toilet

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/column-8/column-8-20110828-1jgjn.html

Sydney Morning Herald [Australia]
29 August 2011

Column 8

[...] Modern Life: ''I was in the public toilets and had just sat down,'' reports Mark Lang, of Byron Bay. ''A voice from the next cubicle said 'Hi! How are you?' Embarrassed, I said, 'I'm doing fine.' The voice said, 'So what are you up to?' I said, 'Just doing the same as you, sitting here!' From next door, 'Can I come over?' Annoyed, I said, 'I'm rather busy right now.' The voice said, 'Listen, I'll have to call you back - there's an idiot next door answering all my questions'.''

Earthquake Caused Washington Monument to Tilt

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/fox-news-and-the-tilting-washington-monument/2011/08/24/gIQA87dYbJ_blog.html

Washington Post
24 August 2011

Fox News and the tilting Washington Monument

By Erik Wemple

Give Megyn Kelly credit for communicating gravitas in the aftermath of the earthquake. Yesterday afternoon on Fox News, she reported:

“They are concerned that the Washington Monument may be tilting.” [...]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/fox-sidesteps-blame-in-monumental-tilt/2011/08/24/gIQAwJAkbJ_blog.html

Washington Post
24 August 2011

Fox sidesteps blame in monumental tilt

By Erik Wemple

Megyn Kelly of Fox News just addressed the question of her network’s faulty report on the tilting of the Washington Monument. Actually, rephrase that: Megyn Kelly of Fox News just said some stuff about the tilting of the Washington Monument and took no blame whatsoever for the erroneous reporting. [...]

http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/08/24/washington-monument-remains-closed-after-earthquake
Fox News
24 August 2011
Washington Monument Remains Closed After Earthquake
by Jason Donner

Pills Made From Dead Babies (China)

http://www.globaltimes.cn/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Print.aspx?tabid=99&tabmoduleid=94&articleId=670185&moduleId=405&PortalID=0

Global Times [China]
10 August 2011

Govt probes pills 'made from dead infants'

wangwei

The Ministry of Health expressed great concern Tuesday over South Korean media reports indicating that Seoul customs authorities had seized a batch of medicine from China that used the dried-up remains of dead infants as its main ingredient. [...]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-08/10/content_13081928.htm

China Daily
10 August 2011

Ministry investigates pills made of 'baby flesh'

By Zhou Wenting and Liu Mingtai (China Daily)

BEIJING / CHANGCHUN - The Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that it has launched an investigation in the wake of a media report in South Korea about capsules from China - made from the flesh of dead babies - being used as stamina boosters. [...]

Women Raping Men (Zimbabwe)

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33953:rape--the-men-never-saw-it-coming-&catid=70:sunday-issue

The Zimbabwean
3 September 2010

Rape - the men never saw it coming

Written by ZimOnline

HARARE – Zimbabwean men are a proud lot, but they are slowly taking a bruising with increasing reports of women raping men, in a bizarre trend that appears driven more by superstition, and which social commentators say reflects a more serious underlying problem – total moral decay of the nation. [...]

http://allafrica.com/stories/201010060128.html

Allafrica.com
6 October 2010

The Herald [Zimbabwe]

Zimbabwe: Three Women Kidnap, Rape Cop

Harare — A 26-year-old Bulawayo man, believed to be a policeman, last Friday became the latest victim in a string of sexual assaults by gangs of women on men.

The man was reportedly kidnapped, robbed and sexually abused by three women after they offered him a lift from Bulawayo to Kwekwe. The man was forced to drink a "bitter substance" that rendered him unconscious after which the women took advantage of him. [...]

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5789:karoi-man-raped-at-snake-point&catid=38:local-news&Itemid=131

The Herald [Zimbabwe]
25 March 2011

Karoi man raped at ‘snake point’

From Walter Nyamukondiwa in Chinhoyi

[...] A man was offered a lift as a token of appreciation for helping a stranded female motorist but got the shock of his life when he was shown a massive snake at the back seat of the car before being ordered to be intimate with her. [...]

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15098:4-women-sexually-abuse-man-at-juru-&catid=46:crime-a-courts&Itemid=138

The Herald [Zimbabwe]
12 July 2011

4 women sexually abuse man at Juru

Herald Reporter

FOUR women reportedly sexually abused a Goromonzi man at Juru Growth Point on Saturday after forcing
him to swallow some unknown pills at gunpoint before extracting his semen, which they placed in a container. [...]

http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-08-05-cops-hunt-female-rapists

NewsDay [Zimbabwe]
5 August 2011

Cops hunt female rapists

FELUNA NLEYA, STAFF REPORTER

The Zimbabwe Republic Police is appealing to members of the public to assist them with information on three women who are reportedly on a spree of raping men.

Acting officer commanding police Harare province Assistant Commissioner Angeline Guvamombe said the women were on the loose, terrorising men and raping them. She was speaking at the Mbare District Awards of Excellence in Policy, where she was the guest of honour.

“Allow me as well to use this platform to appeal to members of the public to pass any information to the police regarding three women who have gone on a spree of kidnapping and indecently assaulting young men around town,” said Guvamombe.

“The women drive in poshy cars and offer a lift to their victims before spraying some liquid substance on the men’s faces. Once the victim is drowsy the women take the victim to a secluded place or house where they force him to be intimate with them. I want to warn these criminals that the net is drawing closer,” added Guvamombe. [...]

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17729:women-kidnap-rape-two-men&catid=38:local-news&Itemid=131

The Herald [Zimbabwe]
8 August 2011

Women kidnap, rape two men

Herald Reporter

TWO men were kidnapped last week and forced to be intimate with women at gunpoint in two separate incidents. In the first incident, a 30-year-old man was kidnapped and forced to be intimate with three women for five days after being reportedly given some drugs. [...]

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/local/31110-mystery-of-women-rapists-unleashing-terror-on-men.html

The Standard [Zimbabwe]
14 August 2011

Mystery of women rapists unleashing terror on men

BY NQABA MATSHAZI

FOR a hugely patriarchal society such as Zimbabwe, the reported cases of women raping men are a huge assault at male domination, causing people to cringe at the mere thought of such kind of emasculation.

Like all such stories, reports of the women gangs sounded like urban legends, but reports of such rapes have increased and got the police interested in investigating the cases. But the police are yet to arrest any woman involved in raping men. [...]

Grease Devils (Sri Lanka)

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/front-page-news/51888.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
2 August 2011

Drunken ‘grease devils’ scare women

By Prasanna Pathmasiri

Seven youths who were alleged to have been frightening women at night have been arrested, police said yesterday.

They said four of them were residents of Dodamgolla while two were from Ambagolla and would be produced in courts this week. Police said these youths known as “Grease devils”, peeped into homes while roaming the streets at nights after consuming liquor.

Frightened women in the area began locking their homes after 6.00 p.m.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/08/05/sec04.asp

Daily News [Sri Lanka]
5 August 2011

Grease yakas, a fiction - SP

Nadira Gunatilleke

The grease yaka or the bhuthaya is a myth. The public should not be misled and terrified by rumours because certain persons and groups are trying to take political and other advantage from such fabricated stories, police spokesman SP Prishantha Jayakody said. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/52825.html
Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
11 August 2011
STF on the look out for ‘grease devils’

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/latest/9657-three-die-in-qgrease-devilq-curse.html

Sunday Times [Sri Lanka]
11 August 2011

Three die in "Grease Devil" curse

At least three people have been killed and scores of others injured including several policemen as tension mounts in the ongoing ‘Grease Devil’ scare that has rocked several parts of the country over the past few days.

In the most recent incident two suspected "Grease Devils" were chopped to death by villagers while intimidating women tea pluckers at an estate in the Haputale police area earlier today. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/52824.html
Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
11 August 2011
Dancing the devil

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/12887-stf-to-go-after-grease-devils.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
11 August 2011

STF to go after ‘Grease Devils’

Three teams from the elite Special Task Force (STF) have been deployed in to the Hatton area to track down individuals engaged in frightening women and taking away their belongings by posing as ‘Grease Devils.’ [...]

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/12910-grease-devils--myth-igp.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
11 August 2011

‘Grease Devils’ -- Myth: IGP

Inspector General of Police (IGP) N. K. Illangakoon informed the public that the so called ‘Grease Devils’ is a myth and said that the police have arrested almost all the suspects, 47 persons involved in robberies and frightening women.

He said that the public should not disrupt their day to day activities because of these fake people. During investigations it was revealed that some had spread stories about Grease Devils roaming the area to carry out robberies and some had done so for fun. [...]

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE77B3PS20110812

Reuters
12 August 2011

"Grease Devil" panic grips rural Sri Lanka, at least three dead

By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Panic over nighttime assaults blamed on "grease devils" has struck across rural Sri Lanka, leading to the deaths of at least three people this week, prompting women to stay indoors and men to arm themselves, police and local media said.

Historically, a "grease devil" was a thief who wore only underwear and covered his body in grease to make himself difficult to grab if chased. But lately, the "grease devil" has become a nighttime prowler who frightens and attacks women.

"The story we hear is he comes and bites young women's necks and breasts. Despite several complaints, the police have failed to act on that and in fact in two places have released the culprits," a 36-year-old airline ticketing agent from the Hill Country district of Matale said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of upsetting authorities. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/53029.html
Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
13 August 2011
Site of ‘grease devil’ saga gets STF protection

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/front-page-news/53047.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
13 August 2011

Curfew in Pottuvil

One Killed in Clashes

By Supun Dias

Police imposed a dusk to dawn curfew in the Pottuvil area yesterday after clashes between civilians and law enforcement authorities intensified leaving one dead and five injured.

The tense situation erupted in Pottuvil as a result of people mistaking officers engaged in elephant census hiding in jungles as ‘Grease Devils’, robbers and army deserters.

The victim who died of gunshot injuries was identified as a Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) candidate in Pottuvil. [...]

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110814/Columns/focus.html

The Sunday Times [Sri Lanka]
14 August 2011

An unbelievable collapse of confidence in law enforcement

By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

Alongside a picturesque stretch of coastline between Akkaraipattu and Pottuvil in Sri Lanka’s East Coast, a tire burning brightly in the centre of the road is etched starkly against crisp morning light. Given Sri Lanka’s history, when bodies burning on top of tires were once a common sight across the country, this was an unsettling reminder that the past is inclined, more often than not, to repeat itself.

This time around, the burning tire was no commonplace accident. It was a deliberate sign of civil unrest, pointing to mystifying encounters that frightened villagers have had with ‘grease devils’ or men who were repeatedly attacking homes and stabbing women, particularly young girls and drawing blood from them. [...]

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/08/14/the-grease-yaka-sightings-fact-vs-myth/
The Sunday Leader [Sri Lanka]
14 August 2011
The Grease Yaka Sightings: Fact Vs. Myth
By Raisa Wickrematunge

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110814/News/nws_15.html
Sunday Times [Sri Lanka]
14 August 2011
What the devil is going on?
By Chris Kamalendran

http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/08/15/pol01.asp

Daily News [Sri Lanka]
15 August 2011

Political movement behind monster canard

Chandrika Perera

It is revealed that a political movement which is in a steep decline is behind the rumours of grease monsters to create disorder in the country. The same political group had been the force behind instigating terror during the period of 1988-89 with a message written on a piece of paper. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/front-image/53295.html

The Daily Mirror [Zimbabwe]
16 August 2011

Peace in East after turmoil

Mobs lay siege to Kinniya DS office for hours

By Supun Dias

The Kinniya Divisional Secretariat office was surrounded by hundreds of people for several hours yesterday demanding the release of 24 suspects arrested in connection with attacking the police and damaging state property in Kinniya the previous night.

Eastern Province Security Forces Commander Major General Boniface Perera, Trincomalee Government Agent Rtd. Major General Ranjith De Silva and several government officers had to stay within the premises for over four hours due to the siege.

The situation started with a mob allegedly led by traders in the area attacking the Kinniya Navy detachment the previous night demanding to hand over two persons, claiming that they were Grease Devils. The unruly mob later stoned the camp and as a result police arrested 24 people for unruly behaviour. [...]

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE77E3L120110815
Reuters
15 August 2011
Thousands of Sri Lankans besiege government office
By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/13019-market-researches-on-grease-devils.html

The Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
16 August 2011

Market researches on grease devils

Market research companies have become the latest victims of the ‘Grease Devils’ phenomenon after it was found that a number of door-to-door research representatives were subject to harassment by residents who suspected them to be grease devils. [...]

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/08/14/sec01.asp
Sunday Observer [Sri Lanka]
14 August 2011
Pottuvil calm after the high drama
by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/08/over-100-arrested-as-grease-yaka.html
Sri Lanka Guardian
17 August 2011
Over 100 arrested as "grease yaka" suspects

http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/08/more-protests-over-grease-yakas-in-east.html

Sri Lanka Guardian
17 August 2011

More protests over 'Grease Yakas' in east

(August 17, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Villagers broke into the Vavunathivu Divisional Secretary’s office and damaged property after claiming that three ‘Grease Yakas’ entered the nurses quarters at night and police had failed to take action. [...]

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/13026-grease-yakas-saga-continues-in-n-eliya-.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
17 August 2011

Grease Devils – Saga continues in N' Eliya

Senior DIG Gamini Navaratne said the administration of 137 estates in the Nuwara Eliya District had been crippled by the fear psychosis created by an organised group under the pretext of spirits called Grease Devils. Addressing a meeting of estate managers and superintendents in Nuwara Eliya and Hatton police divisions he said the mysterious killings in Kahawatta created a misconception among the public that an invisible being was responsible for the killings and that it gradually spread to several areas of the country. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/53467.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
18 August 2011

Police awareness programmes on ‘Grease Devils’

By Supun Dias

The Police Department is conducting awareness programmes to educate the people and to prevent the spread of rumours on ‘Grease Devils’ in villages islandwide. So far the police have conducted such programmes in 1856 villages. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/53731.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
20 August 2011

Police yet to uncover grease devil mystery: UNP

By Yohan Perera

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) said yesterday the failure on the part of the authorities to uncover the mystery behind the ‘Grease Yaka’ phenomenon had resulted in the situation getting out of hand with fear and panic spreading among the people. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/53727.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
20 August 2011

Rumour-monger released

By T. Farook Thajudeen

A man who was arrested on charges of having spread rumours about a grease devil roaming the area causing fear and panic among the residents of Bhai-ge-watte at Wolvendhal Street was severely warned and released by a Colombo Court yesterday.

Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli warned suspect Mohamed Riznas who pleaded guilty to the charge that if he repeated this type of rumour mongering, he would be sternly dealt with.

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/08/21/grease-devils-busting-the-myth/

The Sunday Leader [Sri Lanka]
20 August 2011

Grease Devils: Busting The Myth

By Abdul H. Azeez - in Arugam Bay/Pottuvil

The Grease Devils or grease yakas’ hold on the public imagination is reaching epic levels. Mass paranoia, fear and outrage have broken out in the Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts with the public taking the law into their own hands. [...]

Grease Yakas and Navy Checkpoints Worry the Public

By Maryam Azwer

Locals in certain areas of the Trincomalee district claim that their lives have been disrupted, first by alleged grease yaka sightings, and now by the setting up of several navy checkpoints. [...]

And Now A “Grease Yaka” Fan Page

By Raisa Wickrematunge

Continued reports of alleged grease yaka attacks have begun to receive increased attention on social media and the Internet. An official ‘grease yaka’ fan page has been set up on social networking site Facebook. [...]

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/08/14/oostory.asp?sid=20110820_03&imid=fb.jpg&dt=%5BAugust%2020%202011%5D

Sunday Observer [Sri Lanka]
20 August 2011

Grease Devil on face book ?

Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team (SLCERT) said any complaints of fake accounts with name the name Grease Yaka on the famous social network site facebook can lodge to them to handover such complaints to the Criminal Investigation division for further investigations. [...]

http://www.facebook.com/GreaseYAKOZ?sk=wall&filter=2
Grease Yaka (The Grease Devil )
[The Grease Devil Facebook page also has links to some newspaper articles.]

http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=11516
Lankae News [Sri Lanka]
12 August 2011
Deadly flame of ‘Grease devils’ spreads: curfew in Samanthurai – King Dutugemunu’s sword vs people’s word

http://groundviews.org/2011/08/21/de-greasing-social-speculation-over-%E2%80%9Cgrease-devils%E2%80%9D-in-sri-lanka/

Groundviews [Sri Lanka]
21 August 2011

De-greasing social speculation over “grease devils” in Sri Lanka

Kusal Perera

[...] The controversial “LankaeNews” (LeN) a not so professional web site carrying Sri Lankan news, reported on 12 August, 2011 a long story that gave life to gossip, captioned “Deadly flame of ‘Grease devils’ spreads: curfew in Samanthurai –King Dutugemunu’s sword vs people’s word”.

The report said, the so named elusive stalkers are on the prowl to abduct 14 breast feeding young mothers for a ritual to dig out the sword used by King Dutugemunu. Justification of this fiction comes with the final paragraph that says, “no matter what…” the North Central Province reservoir dams are being dug by a powerful politico in search of King Dutugemunu’s sword and has pushed the archaeology department also into a quandary. Implied sub text of the whole story is that, it is for Mahinda Rajapaksa.

LeN’s “14 mothers” since August 12, have multiplied making rounds in Colombo and suburbs to 500, then to 1,000 and the last heard this morning (19 August) as 50,000 mothers. Most stories don’t talk of abductions now. Most now talk of night stalkers who come wearing well pointed “white iron” finger nails, that make scratching of female breasts easy, to collect blood. Again the blood is said to be for a ritual that would release President Rajapaksa from a very bad astrological influence. [...]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/21/us-srilanka-devils-idUSTRE77K2BX20110821
Reuters
21 August 2011
Police officer killed in 'grease devil' riot
By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez

http://www.nation.lk/2011/08/21/newsfe3.htm
The Nation [Sri Lanka]
21 August 2011
Grease devils creating mass hysteria
By S. Selvakumar

http://print.dailymirror.lk/opinion1/53811.html
Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
22 August 2011
Grease Yakas spread fear and confusion
By Olindhi Jayasundere and Supun Dias

http://print.dailymirror.lk/opinion1/53953.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
23 August 2011

Grease devils: trick to extend emergency

UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella

[...] Villagers in Kandy have seen so-called ‘grease devils’ being dropped off in the area by government vehicles. I was informed that some of those who had made direct complaints to the police were informed by the police officers themselves that they know who is responsible for the ‘grease devil’ phenomenon and assured the people that it will stop shortly. It is clear that this is a move by the government to sidetrack the people from what is real and that which should be urgently addressed. The government has cleverly utilised this to extend the emergency regulations which should be removed with immediate effect.

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=32998
The Island [Sri Lanka]
22 August 2011
Grease devils?
challenge to post war security measures
By Jehan Perera

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/54222.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
25 August 2011

Those disturbing the peace will be punished: Hathurusinghe

By Supun Dias

More troops have been deployed in Jaffna with additional foot and mobile patrols to assist the police in maintaining law and order in the area in the aftermath of Monday’s violence in Navanthurai over rumours that a grease devil was found roaming there. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/54221.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
25 August 2011

Govt. could censor grease devil issue - UNP

By Yohan Perera and Kelum

Bandara

UNP Puttalam District MP Niroshan Perera in Parliament yesterday expressed fears that the government might impose a media censorship on reports about ‘Grease Devils’ in the coming days.

[...] He charged that a person identified as Perumal Sivakumar had been hacked to death by personnel in military uniforms when he had gone to the police station to lodge a complaint regarding a grease devil. He said this incident had taken place in Puttalam on Tuesday (23). [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/front-page-news/54111.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
24 August 2011

Grease Devil phobia: 100 arrested in Jaffna

By Sandun A. Jayasekera, Supun Dias and N. Parameswaran

The ‘Grease Devil’ phobia has reached Jaffna with more than 100 people being arrested by the Police and Army on Monday night following clashes between them and the civilians in Jaffna.

Some 27 civilians were admitted to the Jaffna hospital following clashes, hospital sources said. [...]

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_11A/Aug24_1314195899KA.php
Colombo Page [Sri Lanka]
24 August 2011
Protest in slain Sri Lankan police officer's hometown

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_11A/Aug24_1314192985JR.php
Colombo Page [Sri Lanka]
24 August 2011
Sri Lanka Police assigns CID's Cyber Crimes Division to track down "Grease Yakas" on Facebook

http://groundviews.org/2011/08/24/de-greasing-social-speculation-over-%E2%80%9Cgrease-devils%E2%80%9D-in-sri-lanka-part-ii/
Groundviews [Sri Lanka]
24 August 2011
De-greasing social speculation over “grease devils” in Sri Lanka: Part II
Kusal Perera

http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/08/24/grease-yaka-phenomenon-someone-orchestrating-devil-dance
Asian Tribune [Sweden]
24 August 2011
Grease Yaka Phenomenon: Someone is orchestrating this devil dance
By Raj Gonsalkorale

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/provincial-news/54075.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
24 August 2011

Not a grease yaka

By Padma Kumari kankanamge

A young man who exploited the commotion caused by grease yakas in several parts of the country was caught robbing homes of villagers and handed over to Kalpitiya Police last morning, sources said.

Police said during the inquiries they recovered two water pumps and cellular phones from the 21-year-old resident of Ethkala area.

“He was wearing only black underwear, when a group of young men keeping vigilance to the village caught him, police said. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/54334.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
26 August 2011

Religious leaders call for patience

By Lumbini Karandana

[...] Sabaragamuwa University Vice Chancellor Ven. Kamburugamuwe Vajira Thera appealed to the public to act with patience by not letting the so-colled grease devil phobia or its promoters to disturb the prevailing peaceful environment in the country.

“There are numerous International movements, NGOs and political organizations behind the spreading of this myth of grease devils with the intention of creating difficulties for the government,” he told a news brieifng. [...]

http://www.theweekendleader.com/Causes/649/Looking-ahead.html

The Weekend Leader [India]
26 August 2011

Naam Thamilar leader Seeman wants a referendum on Eelam in Sri Lanka

By P C Vinoj Kumar
Chennai

A separate country for Tamils is the only practical solution to the never ending miseries of the Sri Lankan Tamils, said Naam Thamilar leader Seeman in an interview to The Weekend Leader.

[...] “Tamil women continue to be raped and their breasts are being cut off by so-called ‘grease devils’. The government is doing nothing to prevent the attacks on the hapless Tamils,” he said. [...]

http://groundviews.org/2011/08/25/you-can%E2%80%99t-catch-a-bogeyman/

Groundviews [Sri Lanka]
25 August 2011

You Can’t Catch A Bogeyman

T. Aruna

[...] Without obscuring or denying the actual violence of attacks and counter attacks, it seems that the most interesting characteristic of the figure of the ‘Grease Yaka/Mystery Man’ is its ability to embody the fears and preoccupations of diverse communities across the country. Even though there are certain general features (ie. the targetting of women, the cuts/scratches to hands or breasts, and the elusive nature of the perpetrators) that appear in reports from across the country, the ‘Grease Yaka/Mystery Man’ seems to take on localized qualities in each community where it is manifest. [...]

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_11A/Aug26_1314363102KA.php

Colombo Page [Sri Lanka]
26 August 2011

Teen shot dead during Grease Devil hunt in Sri Lanka

Aug 26, Kandy: A 16-year-old boy was killed in a mishap related to another Grease Devil incident in Gurudeniya of Kandy district in the Central Province.

The villagers were on a hunt last night for a suspicious person alleged to be a Grease Devil.

The boy has also joined the search and the death occurred when a drunken person who was among the search party fired his gun recklessly. [...]

Thalathuoya police arrested the person suspected to be the gunman and the investigations are underway.

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34352

TamilNet
26 August 2011

HRCSL refuses to register complaints against ‘grease devil’ attacks

[...] Batticaloa Teaching Hospital authorities have been issuing medical reports for women who are alleged to have been attacked by suspected ‘grease devil” stating that they are suffering from depression, snake bite and family dispute.

Persons affected by ‘grease devil ‘scare in villages Ka'luvangkea'ni, Oo'rani and Vaazhaichcheanai are issued with medical reports that they suffer from self-inflicted injuries. Hence the affected persons rush to make complaints to HRCS regional offices in the East.

The Sri Lankan Police is said to have directed hospital authorities not to entertain complaints from women with the history of being attacked by ‘grease devil’. Now the HRCSL also come under the pressure of the SL law enforcement authority not to entertain such complaints, informed sources in the district told TamilNet Friday. [...]

http://www.nation.lk/2011/08/28/news8.htm

The Nation [Sri Lanka]
28 August 2011

‘Grease devil a creation of foreign elements’

By S. Selvakumar

The story of grease devils doing the rounds in many parts of the country is [...] aimed at discrediting the Government and creating tension among the population. It was fabricated by interested foreign powers and certain local groups and planted in this country, said Fr. Sarath Hettiarachi, Presidential Religious Coordinator. [...]

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110828/News/nws_045.html

Sunday Times [Sri Lanka]
28 August 2011

Puttalam town: Where fear and suspicion still reign

By Saradha Mohan Kumar, Pix by Sanka Vidanagama

It has been two days since the emergency law was lifted, but Puttalam town on Friday looked like a war zone with security forces deployed and army tanks parked around the town. The “grease yaka” appears to have the island in its grip, as more attacks are reported and people struggle to get back to their routine lives.

“The situation is not getting any better, it is only becoming worse,” kurukkal (kovil priest) Venkata Sundarasharma in Puttalam said. “We don’t understand who could be doing this. There was some peace after the end of the war but now the ‘grease yaka’ is destroying it,” he said. [...]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14673586

BBC News [UK]
28 August 2011

The mystery of Sri Lanka's 'grease devils'

By Charles Haviland
BBC News, Puttalam

A few nights ago Tuan Mohamed Saleh Nona Faris heard a rustling outside her house and saw a shadow move.

"He looked like a gorilla, he was completely covered in black from top to toe. I couldn't see his face or hands," the elderly lady in the west coast fishing district of Puttalam said.

She believes the intruder was one of Sri Lanka's notorious "grease devils". [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/55029.html

Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
2 September 2011

Panicked villagers attack bus fearing ‘grease devil’

By Srinath Prasanna Jayasuriya

The Jaffna police headquarters said that they had apprehended six (6) persons on suspicion of attacking a bus filled with pilgrims from the south on Wednesday (31) in Jaffna Town.

While these pilgrims were sleeping at a rest house in Jaffna in the night, a woman residing nearby had screamed that there was a grease devil among the pilgrims. This alerted the entire neighborhood, who surrounded the bus carrying poles and iron rods and began attacking the bus. The bus was severely damaged in the attack. However everyone including the driver and conductor had been able to escape unhurt. [...]

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34376~

TamilNet
2 September 2011

SL Army uses public buildings to ‘transform’ into ‘grease devils’

The genocidal military of Sri Lanka occupying Jaffna uses some particular public buildings to ‘transform’ themselves into ‘grease devils’ in the nights, eyewitnesses told TamilNet. Scores of SL military men in uniform, who come to these buildings in the nights change into a different costume, apply grease on their face and disperse in different directions to terrorise residents of the locality. They also wear gloves and carry a small kris-knife with them. When one group disperses like this, another group with military vehicles wait in the building to provide ‘security’ for the ‘grease devils’ if any need arises. [...]

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110904/News/nws_09.html

The Sunday Times [Sri Lanka]
4 September 2011

Women activists to petition SC that State has failed in its duty
Combating the grease yaka controversy

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi

In a new twist to the “grease yaka” phenomenon, women activists are planning to petition the Supreme Court this week on the grounds that the State is failing in its duty to protect women from these perpetrators. [...]

http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/09/grease-yakka-phenomenon.html

Sri Lanka Guardian 5 September 2011

'Grease Yakka’ phenomenon

by Sumanasiri Liyanage

[...] Who is this grease devil? Although some cartoonists portrayed it as politicians or their relatives or goons who could easily escape from anything, there has been no serious attempt to investigate this imaginary character. Is this purely an imaginary construction that was empty, null and arbitrarily ‘stuck together’? Does this imaginary construction correspond to reality or is it just an illusion? One thing is clear; it signifies the presence of internally generated fear, anxiety, threat and uncertainty. [...]

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/55230.html

The Daily Mirror [Sri Lanka]
5 September 2011

Protest in Jaffna against police inaction in ‘grease yaka’ saga

By Kelum Bandara

Tamil politicians and civil society leaders in the north decided yesterday to stage a one-day protest in Jaffna on September 10, as a mark of protest against the failure of the government to curb the ‘Grease Yaka’ menace in the area, former MP M.K. Sivajilingam said yesterday. [...]

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34393

TamilNet
8 September 2011

Sri Lanka Grease Devils scapegoat mental patients

Sri Lanka’s occupying military in Jaffna that has now become Sri Lanka Grease Devils commits a despicably inhuman crime by forcibly bringing in mental patients warded in Thellippazhai mental hospital to take part in its ‘grease devil’ attacks, residents in Vasaavi’laan said. [...]

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34409

TamilNet
11 September 2011

‘Grease devil’ episode develops into standoff at Tholpuram in Jaffna

An standoff that erupted between the residents of Paa'naaveddi village and the occupying Sri Lanka Army soldiers of 51-3 brigade Saturday night was contained in the last minute from deteriorating into a blood bath by the intervention of community leaders and politicians, after the residents caught two armed SLA soldiers. While the residents of the village situated in Tholpuram in Valikaamam West were chasing two alleged ‘grease devils’, two armed SLA soldiers emerged from the place where the ‘grease devils’ vanished. The two SLA soldiers were captured by the villagers and kept inside a house bound to ropes. [...]

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=46137

The Island [Sri Lanka]
25 February 2012

Grease yakas a big hoax conclude forensic experts
Injuries self-inflicted or caused by `friendly hands’

The "Grease Yaka" phenomenon which created quite a furore last year was a vast hoax according to a scientific paper presented yesterday at the Academic Sessions of the College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka held at the Auditorium of the Sri Lanka Medical Association.

Doctors Tikiri Gunathilake and Vidanapathirana said in a paper that the "victims" examined bore injuries "not compatible with their stories" with such injuries being either self-inflicted or caused by a "friendly hand."

The two doctors had examined six so called victims of the grease devils. [...]

Crimes by Flood Relief Workers (Minot, ND)

http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/557591/Police--Rumors-of-flood-worker-violence-untrue.html?nav=5010

Minot Daily News [ND]
12 August 2011

Police: Rumors of flood worker violence untrue

By DAVE CALDWELL - Staff Writer

Minot police say the persistent rumors of sexual assaults and violent crimes being committed in Minot by flood relief workers are just that - rumors. [...]

Popular versions of the sexual assault stories involve individuals or groups initiating the attacks in the parking lot of a large, national retail store in Minot. A newer rumor has surfaced alleging attackers have been hiding underneath vehicles, then slash a victim's hamstring so they are incapable of fleeing before committing rape. [...]

The Double Theft (Singapore)

http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110810-293628.html

Asia One [Singapore]
10 August 2011

E-mail about bold theft at mall's toilet a hoax

By Sarah Chang

An e-mail has been circulating in Singapore recently, warning recipients of an apparent handbag theft in a washroom of an OG department store.

The e-mail outlines the experience of a woman whose handbag was stolen while she was in a cubicle. She had hung her handbag on the hook at the back of the cubicle door but someone reached over the door to grab it.

The story goes on to say that the woman received a call a few days later from the store manager, informing her that her handbag had been found.

However, when she arrived at the store, she found out from staff members that no one had called her.

Upon returning home, she found that her house had been broken into - suggesting that whoever stole her bag and the house keys within created the ruse, so as to enter her home unobstructed. [...]

Dog Meat Served by Chinese Restaurant (Creswell, UK)

http://www.staffordshirenewsletter.co.uk/News/Dog-meat-rumours-are-malicious-lies-29072011.htm

Staffordshire Newsletter [UK]
29 July 2011

Dog meat rumours are 'malicious lies'

By Andrew Wakefield

A RESTAURANT owner has condemned internet pranksters for circulating untrue rumours accusing his staff of serving up dog meat.

James Lai, who runs the Golden Orient Buffet Restaurant, in Creswell - which was given five stars by Stafford Borough Council in a recent environmental inspection - said his business had been "inundated" with calls and emails from horrified customers following the claims. [...]

Switched Plans (Dungannon, Ireland)

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/tabId/69/itemId/11248/Dungannons-architectural-delight.aspx

The Irish Post
27 July 2011

Dungannon’s architectural delight

By Malcolm Rogers

[...] At the turn of the century, before the British left India, a department of the civil service was employed to furnish plans for municipal buildings throughout the Empire. At one point the department was simultaneously working on plans for both a fort for the Khyber Pass and a police station for Dungannon. Somehow the plans got mixed up, and the Indian fort ended up in Co. Tyrone where it stands to this day. Moreover, somewhere in the vast expanse of the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan there sits a lonely RUC barracks. [...]

Soldier Refused Service (Corbin, KY)

http://thetimestribune.com/x1443105130/Rumor-hurts-Corbin-gas-station

Times-Tribune [Corbin, KY]
26 July 2011

Rumor hurts Corbin gas station
Facebook posts suggest owners refused soldiers

CORBIN -- Michele Baker / Staff Writer

A Corbin business has suffered a downturn due to an apparently false rumor circulated on social media outlets that the owners refused to serve uniformed soldiers.

Since last weekend, the rumor has spread via Facebook and Topix posts involving Danny Patel, who owns the Sak-N-Pak station on Cumberland Falls Highway near the Root Beer Stand. [...]

Burundanga Warnings (India)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Mystery-drug-has-cops-on-toes-docs-laugh-it-off/articleshow/9341025.cms

The Times of India
24 July 2011

Mystery 'drug' has cops on toes, docs laugh it off

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN

NEW DELHI: Urban legend or not, but a new 'drug' called Burundanga, which, they say, can be used to benumb one's senses momentarily, has created quite a scare in the country. [...]

Delhi Police sources said they have never come across such a drug in the city, although they have heard about the drug being used in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore. The doctors there could hardly arrive at a conclusion on the nature of the drug used on the victims. Nevertheless, cops have advised people to be wary of strangers getting too friendly. [...]

Shootings, Abductions by Somalis (Fort Morgan)

http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/ci_18513765?source=most_emailed

The Fort Morgan Times [CO]
20 July 2011

False rumors affecting not only Somalis

Fort Morgan Times staff

Rumors and gossip can be damaging to a lot of people, just as a stone thrown into a pond creates widespread ripples.

This is the case in malicious rumors about Somalis being spread by e-mail and reported Tuesday night to the Fort Morgan City Council by Fort Morgan Chief of Police Keith Kuretich.

Seems some woman took it upon herself to warn people that shopping in Fort Morgan could be dangerous due to alleged incidents involving Somali immigrants.

One of these rumors was an allegation of an attempted child abduction at Wal Mart.

Another was an allegation of a shooting between Somalis, also at Wal Mart.

Then there was the rumor about a Somali man cutting out his wife's tongue because she talked or complained too much.

When police checked out all of these allegations, there was no truth to them. [...]

Cambridgeshire Child Snatchers

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Child-snatch-claims-are-false-say-police-21072011.htm

Cambridge News [UK]
21 July 2011

Child-snatch claims are false, say police

Jordan Day

False reports on the internet claiming child snatchers are at work in Cambridgeshire are spiralling out of control, say police.

Social networking site Facebook and internet chat site Mumsnet have had numerous messages posted stating that Eastern European predators were trying to abduct youngsters – and adults – in the region. [...]

Child Sacrifices Planned for Steel Plant Site (India)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Child-sacrifice-rumour-Villagers-on-rampage-in-Jharkhand/articleshow/9271705.cms

The Times of India
18 July 2011

Child sacrifice rumour: Villagers on rampage in Jharkhand

PTI

JAMSHEDPUR: Rumours that two infants would be sacrificed today at the project site of a upcoming plant in Jharkhand's Saraikela-Kharswan district provoked villagers who ransacked the premises and assaulted officials prompting police to fire in the air. [...]

The villagers alleged that a 12-year-old boy had earlier been sacrificed after the company unsuccessfully made efforts to install some equipment in the last few months. [...]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Sacrifice-rumour-spurs-project-ransack/articleshow/9275908.cms
The Times of India
18 July 2011
Sacrifice rumour spurs project ransack
B Sridhar, TNN

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110719/jsp/frontpage/story_14256875.jsp
The Telegraph [Calcutta]
19 July 2011
Villagers run amok at steel plant site
OUR CORRESPONDENT

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-20/ranchi/29793588_1_abhijeet-group-steel-plant-power-plant

Times of India
20 July 2011

‘Villagers denied contracts attacked Abhijeet plant’

Sanjay Ojha, TNN

RANCHI: The attack on the upcoming integrated steel plant of Abhijeet Group in Saraikela-Kharsawan district was done by some villagers who were denied contracts by the company, sending shock waves to investors and administrative officials in the state. [...]

Robber Kept as Sex Slave (Russia)

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/mobile/columns//article/hair-stylist-keeps-armed-robber-as-sex-slave/376242.html

The Moscow Times
15 April 2009

Hair Stylist Keeps Armed Robber as Sex Slave

By Carl Schreck

In what is either the weirdest Russian crime story of the year so far or a new low in yellow crime journalism, a female hair stylist in the Kaluga region is suspected of holding an armed robber in captivity as a sex slave for two days after he unsuccessfully tried to knock over her beauty salon. [...]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013870/Robber-broke-hair-salon-beaten-black-belt-owner-kept-sex-slave-days--fed-Viagra.html

Daily Mail [UK]
12 July 2011

Robber who broke into hair salon is beaten by its black-belt owner and kept as a sex slave for three days... fed only Viagra

By Daily Mail Reporter

A Russian man who tried to rob a hair salon ended up as the victim when the female shop owner overpowered him, tied him up naked and then used him as a sex slave for three days.

Viktor Jasinski, 32, admitted to police that he had gone to the salon in Meshchovsk, Russia, with the intention of robbing it.

But the tables were turned dramatically when he found himself overcome by owner Olga Zajac, 28, who happened to be a black belt in karate. [...]

http://blogs.forbes.com/kiriblakeley/2011/07/14/russian-sex-slave-media-mystery/

ForbesWoman (blog)
14 July 2011

Russian Sex Slave Media Mystery

By KIRI BLAKELEY

[...] So the question is, where did the Daily Mail UK get the last names? And why did they publish a two-and-a-half-year-old story as if it happened two days ago? [...]

Black Gangs Steal Asians' Gold (UK)

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2011/07/15/cops-scotch-gold-raid-rumours-in-worried-small-heath-community-97319-29056442/

Birmingham Mail [UK]
15 July 2011

Cops scotch gold raid rumours in worried Small Heath community

by Mark Cowan, Birmingham Mail

UNFOUNDED rumours circulating via text that Asian families are being robbed in their own homes by gangs of black men for their gold jewellery have been blamed for leaving a community in fear.

The messages contained wild claims that a woman had a hand and fingers chopped off and 80 homes in Small Heath had been raided in the past fortnight.

But police chiefs dismissed the details as urban myths and revealed that there had actually only been six such break-ins targeting Asian gold since February. [...]

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/07/16/climate-of-fear-hits-small-heath-after-rumours-97319-29063465/

Birmingham Mail [UK]
16 July 2011

Climate of fear hits Small Heath after rumours

by Nick McCarthy, Birmingham Mail

RESIDENTS and shopkeepers in Small Heath have spoken about how the community is living in fear.

Asian jewellers spoke out after the Birmingham Mail revealed yesterday that the area had been swept by what police have called ‘fabricated’ myths about gangs of black men targeting householders for gold. [...]

Donkey Kababs

http://www.emirates247.com/news/restaurant-shut-after-donkey-kabab-rumour-2011-07-14-1.407775

Emirates 24/7 [Dubai, UAE]
14 July 2011

Restaurant shut after 'donkey kabab' rumour

By Staff

Saudi authorities shut a famous Arab restaurant after health inspectors discovered massive hygienic violations during a raid triggered by rumors that it secretly serves donkey kabab, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Environment and health department inspectors stormed the restaurant in the southern town of Khamis Mushait and discovered that most of the meat served there had expired while foodstuff stores lack safety conditions.

“The inspectors found out that the rumors about donkey kabab were not true but discovered massive violations of health rules,” Sabq daily said. [...]

Midget Castle (Cabazon, CA)

http://www.recordgazette.net/articles/2011/07/11/news/doc4e162aad9c973968879802.txt

Record Gazette [Banning, CA]
11 July 2011

Urban legends of the Pass

BY BILL BELL

[...] One of the most interesting urban legends of Cabazon is the one of the circus train that allegedly derailed in Cabazon in the 1950s or 60s. Several members of the circus chose to remain behind after the train and track were repaired. They settled in Cabazon and kept many of the circus animals.

I spoke with a retired post office worker who remembers a troupe of these circus workers who would walk to the Cabazon Post Office with several of the animals on leashes. She particularly remembered a bear on a leash walking along with the troupe. They were described as “little people” and at the time disparagingly called “Circus Midgets.”

They reportedly built a small castle out of the abundant rock in the area. After numerous attempts I finally found the rock castle on property located between Esperanza and Dolores avenues, one day after it had been destroyed by fire. It was in the middle of a scorched grove of Eucalyptus trees and all that remained was the chimney, the doorway and a few feet of the rock wall. The doorway was very low and I had to duck to get under it. Inside the still-smoldering structure were remnants of chairs and tables built to the size of children’s furniture. The caretaker of the property confirmed that it had been a rock castle built by “little people.” [...]

Devil Worshippers in Ellen Trout Park, Texas

http://lufkindailynews.com/life/community_news/article_4522d61c-aaa0-11e0-a58c-001cc4c002e0.html

The Lufkin Daily News [TX]
10 July 2011

Rumors of devil worshipping in Lufkin, many of which take place at Ellen Trout Park, have been circulating at school lunch tables since the 1980s

By JESSICA COOLEY/The Lufkin Daily News

[...] Charlotte Henley, Ellen Trout Zoo director of educational services, has lived in Ellen Trout Park, not far from the stone benches, for the last three decades and had no knowledge of the devil worship rumor until she got a phone call from a Lufkin Daily News reporter last week. She didn’t have to do much asking around before finding a source close to home.

“I talked to both of my kids who are now grown and they had heard the same rumors — rumors of people being over there sacrificing animals and tying rags to trees,” Henley said. “My daughter told me that any tree they tied a rag on was supposed to die.” [...]

Americans Blame Canadians for Flooding

http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/556350/Don-t-be-mad-at-Canadians.html

Minot Daily News [ND]
4 July 2011

Letters

Don’t be mad at Canadians

Wendy Friess, Estevan, Sask.

I don't understand. I am hearing all sorts of rumors about how Minot is angry with Canadians. The stories include slashed tires, keyed vehicles, and refusal of service to Canadians while in Minot. [...] It is very sad that we are now scared to bring our families and our business to your city.

Comments

MomOfSix
Jul-04-11 5:45 PM

It only takes one incident to ruin a city's reputation and there have been more than just ONE incident. We were planning a few trips to Minot this summer and fall and we have canceled them all. I know people personally from Manitoba who have been told to "take back their water" (ridiculous since the water from Minot flows TO Manitoba, not from) and two people who have been refused service and one other who had hotel reservations that were not honored because they were Canadian. [...]

http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Minot+battling+rumours+that+Sask+residents+being+harassed+blamed+flooding/5054515/story.html

Leader-Post [Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada]
5 July 2011

Minot battling rumours that Sask. residents are being harassed and blamed for flooding

By Will Chabun, Leader-Post

REGINA -- As if Curt Zimbelman doesn’t have enough problems, there are the rumours.

The mayor of Minot, N.D., is facing an epic disaster that has flooded huge parts of his city.

Eleven thousand people -- a quarter of its population -- are unable to return to their flooded homes.

Now, there’s an assault on the city’s tourism industry via rumours that are running rampant north of the border. They hold that Canadians are being verbally harassed, shunned and even having their vehicles “keyed” and tires slashed -- because of a misplaced belief that Saskatchewan somehow is responsible for the floodwaters that engulfed Minot and other centres along the Souris River over the last three weeks. [...]

Giant Catfish Caught in Buggs Island Lake

http://www.newsleader.com/article/20110706/NEWS01/107060315/Buggs-Island-Lake-catfish-legend-grows-grows

News Leader [Staunton, VA]
6 July 2011

Buggs Island Lake catfish legend grows and grows

Written by
The Washington Post

MECKLENBURG COUNTY -- Talk to fishermen here and you will hear the legend of Buggs Island Lake: A Navy diver sent to recover the wreckage of a small plane encounters a fish the size of a man on the lake's bottom. He bolts to the surface and refuses to dip a toe into the waters again.

The yarn seemed as dubious as any other fish tale -- until two weeks ago. An angler hooked a 143-pound blue catfish in this reservoir along the Virginia-North Carolina border; it smashed the state record by more than 30 pounds and could be a world record. [...]

Death by Electric Fan (South Korea)

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110704000552

The Korea Herald
4 July 2011

Summer death revives fan death myth

By Kang Yoon-seung

A man reportedly died on Monday morning after sleeping with an electric fan running.

The 59 years-old victim, only known by his surname Min, was found dead with the fan fixed directly at him.

The police revealed that although Min used to suffer from relatively high blood pressure, it was not serious enough to require medication. They are still investigating the cause of death.

Meanwhile, deaths near electric fans happen occasionally during summer, which leads people to propagate myths about danger of sleeping with them on. [...]

Dad's Bet on Jimmy Mulville

Stephen Fry, The Fry Chronicles (London: Penguin Books, 2010), p. 403.

The Zanzibar swarmed with media people. Jimmy Mulville was often there. This sharp, witty, fast-brained Liverpudlian had been something of a legend in Cambridge, having left the year I arrived. He had gone up to read Latin and ancient Greek, and a less likely Cambridge classicist you could never hope to meet. The rumour was that his father, a docker from Walton, had come home one night when Jimmy was seventeen and said, 'You'd better do well in your A levels and that, son, because I've just been to the bookies and put down a bet on you getting all A grades and a scholarship to Cambridge. Got a good price too.'

'Christ, Dad!' Jimmy is reported to have said in shock. 'How much did you bet?'

'Everything,' came the reply. 'So get studying.'

They say that today's schoolchildren now suffer more exam pressure than my generation ever did, and generally I have no doubt that this is true, but I don't suppose many have had to endure pressure of the kind Jimmy did that year. He duly obliged with the straight As and the scholarship.

It is too good a story for me to check up and risk the disappointment of it being proved a distortion or exaggeration.

Cockroaches in Vacuum Gassed

New Scientist, 25 October 1962, vol. 16, no. 310, p. 222.

Letters

The great vacuum cleaner mystery

Sir, -- Mr Green's interesting article, The trouble with cockroaches (11 October), prompts the following story of an experience of a friend of mine some years ago. Returning late from the club one Saturday night he found everybody in bed, but his kitchen floor alive with cockroaches. Being of a tidy mind he sucked up as many as he could in a vacuum cleaner. Then the thought that they were not dead but merely snug in the cleaner prompted him to connect it by rubber tubing to a gas tap, and to fill the cleaner with gas. He retired happily to bed and slept late. Next morning his wife found the cleaner and thought she would clean up a little: she switched it on and it promptly blew up! The representative of the manufacturers was called in, and he confessed that he had "never seen one go like that before." My friend kept his silence and eventually got his replacement vacuum cleaner. I dare say any surviving cockroaches were highly amused.

R. J. Morley
73 Egmont Road
Sutton, Surrey

[This letter is also reproduced in Denys Parsons, Funny Ha Ha and Funny Peculiar (London: Pan Books, 1965), p. 9.]

River Nile Poisoned by North Sudan

http://www.sudantribune.com/Juba-s-population-panics-over,39316

Sudan Tribune
24 June 2011

Juba’s population panics over rumours of water poisoning

June 23, 2011 (JUBA) – The urban population in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, panicked on Thursday after rumours that the river, which supplies the population in the city with water, had been poisoned by the North Sudan government just days ahead of the region’s independence. [...]

Number 39 Shunned in Afghanistan

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/21/136496527/forget-unlucky-13-in-afghanistan-beware-39

National Public Radio
21 May 2011

Forget Unlucky 13. In Afghanistan, Beware 39

by Ahmad Shafi and Najib Sharifi

[...] Many cultures consider certain numbers to signify luck or disaster. In Afghanistan, 39 is taboo.

It's hard to find a credible story to explain what exactly it means, but everyone knows it's bad. Many Afghans say that the number 39 translates into morda-gow, which literally means "dead cow" but is also a well-known slang term for a procurer of prostitutes -- a pimp.

In Afghanistan, being called a pimp is offensive, and calling someone a pimp could carry deadly consequences. Similarly, being associated with the number 39 -- whether it's on a vehicle license plate, an apartment number or a post office box -- is considered a great shame. And some people will go to great lengths to avoid it. [...]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303654804576347201745546630.html
The Wall Street Journal
15 June 2011
A Symbol of Paid Companionship, No. 39 Is Afghans' Loneliest Number
Associated With Prostitution, the Digits Bring Ridicule to an Unlucky Few
By DION NISSENBAUM

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/uk-afghanistan-number-idUSLNE75E01T20110615
Reuters
15 June 2011
Cursed number "39" haunts Afghan car owners
By Hamid Shaliz

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/15/afghanistan-curse-of-number-39
The Guardian [UK]
15 June 2011
The curse of number 39 and the steps Afghans take to avoid it
Car owners with 39 licence plates lament the stigma of a number associated with pimps and prostitution
Jon Boone in Kabul


http://www.iol.co.za/news/back-page/curse-of-no-39-haunts-car-dealers-1.1109021
The Independent [South Africa]
31 July 2011
Curse of No 39 haunts car dealers
By Mustafa Kazemi

Dog's Microchip Wedged in Restaurant Customer's Teeth

http://www.pontefractandcastlefordexpress.co.uk/news/local/ackworth/on_the_brink_of_ruin_1_3438639

Pontefract & Castleford Express [UK]
6 June 2011

On the brink of ruin

A CHINESE restaurant boss says his business is on the brink of bankruptcy after a vicious rumour claiming a dog’s microchip had been found wedged in a customer’s teeth swept the Five Towns.

Wai Wing Lee, manager of Eastern Court Cantonese Restaurant in Glass Houghton, claims hundreds of diners have been driven away by false reports that a dentist recovered a chip from between a diner’s teeth when he complained of toothache after eating at the Oriental buffet. [...]

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/yorkshire_restaurant_owners_fears_over_dog_chip_rumours_1_3453105
Yorkshire Evening Post [UK]
6 June 2011
Yorkshire restaurant owners’ fears over dog chip rumours

Arizona Fires Set by Illegal Aliens

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/us/02wildfires.html

New York Times
2 June 2011

As Arizona Fire Rages, So Does Rumor on Its Origin

By MARC LACEY

PORTAL, Ariz. - It is a dramatic tale: that illegal immigrants being pursued by the Border Patrol started one of the nation's largest wildfires, which has burned up more than 70,000 acres of national forest along Arizona's border with Mexico since it began almost four weeks ago. But the authorities say that despite the tale's being repeated often by some residents of the rugged countryside here, they do not know for sure if it is true. [...]