Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.
Italy ”dog and cat tax” muzzled after uproar
ROME (Reuters) – A proposal to levy a tax on cats and dogs
that stunned Italy on Friday turned out to be all bark and no
bite after a wave of popular anger saw it withdrawn on the same
day it was made public. Italy was abuzz for hours after local
media reported that a parliamentary commission had proposed a
tax on domestic ”animals of affection” to raise revenue for
debt-strapped cities and towns.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer robbed again
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen
Breyer, who was robbed in February at his Caribbean vacation
home by a man armed with a machete, recently was the victim of
a burglary at his residence in Washington, a court spokeswoman
said on Thursday. Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said no one was home
at the time of the burglary, which was discovered May 4 by a
housekeeper. The Washington, D.C., police were investigating,
she said.
‘Psychic’ pig to make Euro tips
KIEV (Reuters) – A psychic pig is set to take over where
Paul the Octopus left off at the 2010 World Cup by predicting
the results of matches at the European championships in Ukraine
and Poland. Kiev’s city government said on Friday it would
wheel out the porky tipster to give daily forecasts once the
tournament kicks off next month.
Canada museum kills masturbation video after outcry
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s federal science museum has
removed an animated video showing youth masturbating from an
upcoming sex exhibit following a public outcry, a museum
spokesman said. The Canada Science and Technology Museum will
open the ”Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition” on Thursday as planned
despite strong criticism from Canadian Heritage Minister James
Moore, who has called it an insult to taxpayers.
Fugitive penguin 337 spotted alive in Tokyo Bay
TOKYO (Reuters) – After Penguin Number 337 made a daring
bid for freedom from a Tokyo aquarium and vanished into the
waters of Tokyo Bay two months ago, many feared the worst for
the adventurous feathered fugitive. But the one-year-old
Humboldt penguin has now popped up on video footage in a
different part of the bay, frolicking in the water and
apparently healthy.
Presidential penis portrait riles S.Africa’s ANC
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s ruling ANC
threatened to take legal action against a Johannesburg gallery
for displaying art which lampoons President Jacob Zuma and
accuses the party of corruption. The African National Congress
wants the Goodman Gallery to remove a painting of Zuma called
”The Spear,” which depicts the president with his genitals
exposed, and another work that has a ”For Sale” sign
superimposed over the party logo.
Sniffer dog nabs smuggler hiding heroin in rectum
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A man who tried to smuggle heroin
into the United States concealed in his rectum was caught by
U.S. officials – with the help of a drug-sniffer dog named
Malone – as he walked across the border from Mexico. Paulo
Alfredo Macias, 35, was being held in the El Paso County Jail
without bond after being caught on Monday at the Paso Del Norte
pedestrian crossing with nearly 5 ounces of heroin, officials
said.
Cloak and dagger world of spies exposed in NYC show
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The mysterious cloak and dagger world
of international espionage and its real-life heros and villains
are exposed in a new exhibition, the first to be sanctioned by
U.S. intelligence agencies. ”Spy, the Secret World of
Espionage,” which opens at the Discovery Times Square on
Friday, includes hundreds of artifacts, some from the vaults of
the CIA and FBI and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
