Daily Rotten Archives February 18, 2004 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 Congress reacts to apparent Mad Cow coverup Seattle Times | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "With three witnesses now insisting the mad cow discovered in Washington was able to walk, a congressional committee yesterday said testing for the disease should be expanded beyond 'downer' animals... When the infected cow was discovered shortly before Christmas, [USDA Secretary Ann Veneman] and other USDA officials said it was a downer, which indicated the testing program had worked. But three people who handled the dairy cow at the Moses Lake slaughterhouse where it was killed say the animal was standing and walking... David Marin, a spokesman for the committee's Republican leadership, said trust in the USDA could be shaken if what officials told the public is wrong. 'If in fact it's true that the lone ... infected cow in the nation was not a downer, then we need to re-examine statements that were made to the public and we need to revisit the parameters of our surveillance program.'" Read article... Singapore judge upholds oral sex sentence Australian Age | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Singapore's 77-year-old chief judge has given an earthy defence of his country's notorious prohibition on oral sex - declaring the law should be upheld to safeguard Asian standards of decency. Jailing a 25-year-old former policeman for 12 months for receiving oral sex from a teenage girl, Chief Justice Yong Pung How said that despite growing permissiveness in some countries there were 'certain offences that are so repulsive in Asian culture.' 'There are countries where you can go and suck away for all you are worth,' the judge said. 'People in high places do it for all they're worth. I'm not an expert, but you read about it in the papers. But this is Asia.' ... Under Singapore law, oral sex, anal sex and homosexual intercourse are defined as acts 'against the law of nature' and punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment." Read article... Baker fired for allegedly pissing in cake mix WKYC-TV 3 Cleveland | Submitted by: Reid Fleming " A Tops supermarket employee was fired after a co-worker at the store told management the man urinated into or near the cake mix in the bakery... The health department doesn't think shoppers who purchased bakery on February 7 are in any danger. 'Even if you're speaking of, for instance, if I cut my hand and actually had some type of virus. If it goes through the cooking process, it would destroy any type of pathogens at 200-212 degrees Fahrenheit,' said Willie Bess of the health department." Read article... and This article... Puppy arsonist on the loose Firehouse.com | Submitted by: sketchcow "Somebody is going around setting puppies on fire and Arvada police and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department are looking to see if it is the same person... A worker at the Bally's Health Club on Bowles Avenue near Southwest Plaza said he was walking outside, around 11:30 p.m., when he smelled something burning. At the back of the gym he spotted a small dog on fire in the stairwell. The dog had its legs bound and a fire accelerant had been poured on it, Jefferson County spokesman Jim Shires said. The worker said that he noticed a man, standing on top of the stairs, holding two other dogs. When the man saw that he was spotted, he dropped one of the dogs and ran away with the other dog. The dog in the stairwell was left at the scene, where it died. The man who ran from the scene is described as white, in his mid-20s, with medium-length brown hair. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and tan or khaki pants." Read article... Pound cop quits after being accused of beating dog Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "A 23-year veteran of Clayton County's animal pound resigned Tuesday, a week after he was accused of beating a pit bull in the head with a metal pole used to catch animals... Animal Control Officer Allen Densley, 50, was given a choice to resign or be fired after a pit bull he handled was found with a bloodied snout and head... A Humane Society official who was visiting the pound, which is run by the Police Department, reported seeing Densley strike the dog repeatedly with a metal pole while moving it to a different pen last week." Read article... Cop allegedly ditches cats, garbage house WXIN-TV 59 Indianapolis | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Karen Bumgart is a 22-year veteran in the Marion County Sheriff's department, a detective whose former home is at the center of an investigation... After living in her one bedroom, Westside apartment for 27 years, Bumgart moved out and into a brand new house several weeks ago. Police believe Bumgart left behind trash and cats. Lt. Brian Clouse says when officers were called to the apartment animal control officers at that time took care of approximately 8 to 10 cats... Internal affairs detectives spent part of the day Tuesday searching for anything that could belong to the Sheriff's department. At the end of the day they found paperwork, old uniforms and the back of a bullet proof vest. Bumgart says, 'I'm a very solitary person. I work a lot and I guess that meant more to me than keeping everything spic and span.'" Read article... and This article... Unearthed skulls total surprise to former owner Contra Costa Times | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Workers lifting the floor of a garage to build a foundation Tuesday morning discovered two human skulls, one of them wearing a hat... The building at First Avenue and Flora Street where the skulls were found once housed an antique toy store and was sold about two years ago. Rufus Sjoberg, 24, and another worker had removed some of the garage's wooden floor and begun digging in the dirt shortly after 10 a.m. when Sjoberg felt something hard... Terry said investigators would check nationwide for 'any law-enforcement cases that have two missing heads' and research the building's occupancy history for clues... [Tom Snook], 79, contacted at home in Benicia about the find, said, 'You're kidding me, really? I'll be damned.' 'Well, I've never murdered anybody that I know of.'" Read article... FBI agent arrested for carrying gun, ammo in airport News.com.au | Submitted by: ijm "Police arrested an American FBI agent who allegedly was carrying 15 rounds of ammunition in his hand luggage as he tried to change planes in Hong Kong, officials said today. The agent apparently was able to board a flight in New York with the bullets loaded into a pistol magazine packed in his bag, but he was detected by security in Hong Kong as he tried to board a connecting flight to Bangkok... Police spokesman Kaman Chong said that a 39-year-old man was arrested at the airport after officials found a pistol magazine and the .45-calibre bullets in his hand luggage on February 8. It was not clear whether the man was travelling on business or for personal reasons." Read article... Book of Revelation more popular than ever Christian Science Monitor | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Fundamentalists represent a minority of Christians - an estimated 25 million - but the interest in end-times prophecy has spread beyond their circles, and is not only shaping people's lives, but, say supporters and critics, even influencing US foreign policy... Premillennialism is not consistent with Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or mainline Protestant teaching - but it has been avidly promoted by televangelists and on Christian radio for decades. And one 2002 poll found that more Americans experience the Christian faith through radio, television, or books than by attending church... A prominent premillennialist, Dwight L. Moody, famously asked, 'Why polish the brass on a sinking ship?' ... the involvement of premillennialists in politics is stirring concern among some observers. As the religious right has become more prominent in political circles, critics say, they are influencing and even undermining US policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Read article... Courtney Love finally snagged by Scientology MSNBC | Submitted by: Reid Fleming Has Courtney Love been turning to the Church of Scientology for help? The troubled rocker - who recently served a stint in rehab and has been battling for custody of her daughter - thanks Scientology and Kirstie Alley in the liner notes for her new CD... Alley is the spokeswoman for Narconon, a drug treatment program based on the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard... Neither Alley's nor Love's spokesman returned calls for comment, and a spokeswoman for the Scientology told The Scoop she had 'no idea' why Love thanked the church and Alley." [Show of hands: is anyone honestly surprised that Courtney is falling for Scientology?] Read article...