How We See The World

The shoe lift challenge: Eat your heart out, Tom By VINCE GRAFF - More by this author » Last updated at 07:05am on 14th November 2007 Comments (4) How did Tom Cruise suddenly grow three inches to be taller than his wife? We asked this vertically challenged writer to test one theory ... and see if it stacked up. As breafast table talk goes, it was something of a bombshell. "There's something I've never told you," my wife of three years announced sheepishly as she cleared away the remnants of our 16-month-old son's Rice Krispies, "because I was worried I might hurt your feelings . . . I nearly dumped you as soon as we met". (Gulp. What could I hav…

Infected Norfolk turkeys 'have deadly H5N1 flu strain' Scenes of devastation as vets cull 5,000 turkeys after bird blue outbreak Last updated at 14:47pm on 13th November 2007 Comments (6) Reports say initial suggest that free-range turkeys suffering from bird flu are infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu which is potentially dangerous to humans. Thousands of turkeys, geese and ducks are being slaughtered after bird flu was found at a farm in Norfolk. Emergency protection zones were immediately set up around the site of the outbreak as soon as bird flu was detected. If the disease spreads it is feared it could devastate the industry…

Four times his proper weight, George the 5lb hedgehog goes on a crash diet Last updated at 23:32pm on 13th November 2007 Comments (10) He is not so much a hedgehog as a football with spines. This globular creature arrived at a wildlife sanctuary weighing an astonishing 5lb - the same as a small baby and four times what he should be. He was handed in because the owner of the garden where he lived thought he must be ill. But tests confirmed that there is nothing medically wrong with him --he's just a little greedy pig. Scroll down for more... Puffed up and pudgy: George (middle) and two normal-sized friends He is so fat that when he even…

Ten stones and 18 drained litres lighter ... ex-world champion Fordham returns to the oche By RICHARD LEWIS - More by this author » Last updated at 13:08pm on 14th November 2007 Comments (7) Andy Fordham will make an emotional return to world darts tomorrow — half the man he used to be. Fordham has lost an amazing 10 stones since collapsing at the World Championships 10 months ago and being rushed to hospital where he had 18 litres drained from his lungs. Scroll down for more Then...Fordham at the 2004 World Championships Now ... Half the Viking, twice the fitness levels Read more... He also suffered a minor stroke this year, …

Imran Khan facing death penalty after Pakistan police charge him under anti-terror laws Last updated at 18:06pm on 14th November 2007 Comments (5) Imran Khan is facing the death penalty today after he was charged under Pakistan's anti-terror laws. Police detained Khan after the fugitive opposition leader appeared at a student protest rally. Hundreds of students cheered wildly and lifted Mr Khan into the air when he appeared on a university campus in the eastern city of Lahore. Seconds later he was grabbed by men in plain clothes and hustled into a nearby building. Scroll down for more ... Students bundle Imran Khan away after the fugitive oppos…

Motorists hit by biggest rise in car bills for seven years By SAM FLEMING - More by this author » Last updated at 22:00pm on 13th November 2007 Comments (37) Costly operation: Fuel prices have soared Drivers have been hit by the biggest increase in motoring costs for more than seven years. The price of filling up, insuring and maintaining cars surged by 3.5 per cent in the year to October, the largest increase since July 2000. In the light of Chancellor Alistair Darling's fuel tax increase in October, the news will add to fears of a repeat of the petrol protests which disrupted supplies in 2000. The Government statistics released yesterday a…

Air passengers will be forced to give 90 pieces of personal information in new terror crackdown Last updated at 18:26pm on 14th November 2007 Comments (15) • Electronic checks to be made on every passenger entering or leaving the country, whether by air, sea or rail • Information will be checked against 'watch lists' • Unwanted immigrants will be turned around • Rail passengers face having their bags searched • Home Office minister in startling U-turn says he is 'convinced' time limits for detention of terror suspects should be increased Passengers will have to fill in up to 90 separate pieces of information before they will be able to tra…

Four-month-old babies attending gym classes Last updated at 11:06am on 13th November 2007 Comments (1) Parents are taking babies as young as four months to special gyms amid growing fears about childhood obesity. A US chain has signed up hundreds of babies and toddlers across London for "developmental gymnastics". Demand for places has surged as government figures reveal one in five London children under 11 is obese. A new centre in Chiswick has registered almost 500 children since September - including 150 babies under three - and two more gyms are due to open in Chelsea and Hampstead. Scroll down for more... Starting young: gym director Angel…

Chocolate invented 3,100 years ago by the Aztecs - but they were trying to make beer Last updated at 11:40am on 13th November 2007 Comments Scientists have discovered that chocolate was invented at least 3,100 years ago in Central America and not as the sweet treat people now crave, but as a celebratory beer-like beverage and status symbol. Researchers identified residue of a chemical compound that comes exclusively from the cacao plant - the source of chocolate - in pottery vessels dating from about 1100 BC in Puerto Escondido, Honduras. Scroll down for more... Chocolate was originally invented as a celebratory beer-like beverage and status symbol f…

Yes, you heard right, using a gun to change a tyre... Man hurt using gun to change tyre A US man has injured himself in both legs after attempting to loosen a stiff wheel-nut by blasting it with his gun. The 66-year-old man from Washington state was repairing his car outside his home when the accident took place. Shooting at the wheel from arm's length with his 12-gauge shotgun, he was peppered with buckshot and debris. The man - who police say was on his own and not intoxicated - was taken to hospital with severe, but not life-threatening, injuries. The man, from South Kitsap, 10 miles (16km) southwest of Seattle, had been repairing his Lincoln Continent…

Part-time Google masseuse retires a multimillionaire after share price boom Last updated at 09:45am on 13th November 2007 Comments (5) A woman who took a job as a part-time masseuse at Google when it was a small start-up is now a multimillionaire, thanks to the rise of the internet giant's share price. Bonnie Brown needed a job after divorcing so she took one at the small technology start-up earning $450 a week. The post also gave her a pile of what she considered to be worthless stock options - but five years after starting work at Google she has now retired and even set up her own charity. Bonnie Brown became a millionaire from stock options she w…

Bargain-hunting Brits head to New York in record numbers for Christmas shopping Last updated at 14:33pm on 13th November 2007 Comments Brits wanting to bag a bargain are heading to NY in record numbers Record-breaking numbers of British tourists are heading to New York to pick up a bargain for Christmas. As the dollar hit a 26-year-low last week, the value of the pound rose to 2.10 dollars from around 1.96 dollars in January this year. Now Brits wanting to bag a bargain are heading across the pond to the Big Apple to take advantage of the exchange rate. The UK is New York's number one international travel market with more than 1.1 million …

Schoolboy speeds at 115mph in dad's car after row over poor exam results Last updated at 17:35pm on 12th November 2007 Comments (5) An enraged schoolboy was caught speeding at 115mph in his father's car after rowing with his parents over his poor exam results, a court heard. Furious Buster Evans, of Wokingham, Berks., jumped two red lights and drove on the wrong side of the road after being told he would have to leave his £22,000-a-year public school. The aspiring accountant took his dad's black Volkswagen GTI for an evening cruise after being grounded. Magistrates heard how he drove the car through town centre streets with two young women inside and w…

Health and safety 'extremists' damaging children's development By JAMES SLACK - More by this author » Last updated at 23:25pm on 11th November 2007 Comments Health and safety "extremists" were warned that they are hindering the development of children by wrapping them in cotton wool. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said it was "positively necessary" for youngsters to take part in activities which could lead to a twisted ankle or cut knee. Positive necessity: Dangerous fun at play time, 1930s style Instead, said chief executive Tom Mullarkey, they were being cosseted by "small-minded bureaucrats". He said officials should conce…

£1 litre drives protesters back to the fuel blockades By LUCY BALLINGER - More by this author » Last updated at 23:54pm on 11th November 2007 Comments (20) The average price of petrol broke through the £1 barrier last week for the first time Fuel protesters could cripple Britain with rolling roadblocks within the next ten days in response to soaring petrol prices, it was claimed last night. The average price of petrol broke through the £1 barrier last week for the first time, angering hauliers. And Transaction 2007, the reincarnation of organisations involved in the 2000 fuel protests, has warned of imminent action. A spokesman for th…

Major fire at Olympic Games site A huge blaze has broken out in east London close to where the main stadium for the London Olympics will be built. The London Fire Brigade were called at 1206 GMT on Monday to reports of a fire at a disused warehouse in Waterden Road, Hackney Wick, near Stratford. About 75 firefighters are tackling the fire which has created a huge plume of black smoke that can be seen across the city's skyline. Waterden Road runs through the site where the 2012 Olympics will be held. 'Not terrorism' The warehouse is on the western edge of the proposed site of the Olympic Village and was set to be demolished in the next few months…

Look out, incoming killer asteroid! Or is it..? Astronomers left red-faced after false alarm By NIALL FIRTH - More by this author » Last updated at 16:28pm on 12th November 2007 Comments (1) Astronomers were left red-faced after accidentally confusing the European space probe Rosetta with a killer asteroid heading for Earth. After spotting an unidentified object hurtling through space and due to fly worryingly close to Earth, space experts at the Minor Planet Centre, the group that scans the skies for incoming asteroids, were on the verge of issuing a worldwide warning of impending doom. Emergency emails were prepared and astronomers worldwide prepared to …

Drunk for £1: Anger as leading supermarkets sell lager for 22p a can By TOM HARPER and ANDREW CHAPMAN - More by this author » Last updated at 22:41pm on 10th November 2007 Comments Supermarkets are selling beer at a cheaper price than water, fuelling concern over their role in Britain's binge-drinking crisis. Despite repeated public health warnings, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda now offer lager at just 22p a can - less per litre than their ownbrand-mineral water and cola, and cheap enough to allow someone to get drunk for just £1. An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has uncovered a fierce alcohol price war between the major supermarkets. Lager is no…

This story is about a report made by CNN on WWE Wresting but I am using it as an example of media lies. I'm not a Wrestling fan but I think it is important for people witness the lies. Remember that Simpsons where Homer was on "Rock Bottom" and they kept editing his answer so it looked like he was saying something else, and the clock on the wall behind him kept jumping back and forth (go here, scroll down) If you don't, watch this CNN clip. It's pretty much the same thing. Here, they interview WWE superstar John Cena, and decide his answer to "have you ever done steroids" wasn't sexy enough, so they twist it around and edit it to make his adamant "no" look like a "yes"…

Tubby tax plan for obese air travellers Last updated at 00:27am on 12th November 2007 Comments (26) Obese airline passengers should be charged a 'tubby tax', health experts proposed. Under the plans, they would be made to pay for each kilo they weigh above a set limit, in the same way as excess baggage has to be paid for. Dr John Tickell, an expert in nutrition and weight control who heads the Australian team making the proposal, said: "Airlines are buying fuel and if you are carrying a heavy weight on a plane it is you who should be paying for it. Under new plans, obsese airline passengers could be charged a tubby tax "But instead, the res…

£1m a month from motorists fined for using their mobiles By RHODRI PHILLIPS - More by this author » Last updated at 22:48pm on 10th November 2007 Comments The Government is making £1million a month from motorists who are fined for using mobile phones at the wheel. Figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday show the number caught rose by almost 40 per cent last year to nearly 200,000. Errant drivers paid more than £5.7million in fines for the offence in 2006 but, with the minimum penalty having doubled to £60 in February, this could soar to more than £11million per year – even if the number of offenders remains the same. Scroll down for more... …

So THIS is Britain's Mr Average? By TIM WARDLE - More by this author » Last updated at 21:55pm on 10th November 2007 Comments The average British person drinks three cups of tea a day, believes in God, is more than £3,000 in debt, has sex eight times a month, is caught on CCTV camera 300 times a day and drives a Ford Fiesta. At least that's what the statistics tell us. But who is this Mr - or Mrs - Average? Do they exist in the real world? What do they look like? Where do they live? And what can they tell us about the state of our country in the 21st Century? Earlier this year, I spent three months trying to track down the average Briton for a Cha…

British man on trial for 'killing and EATING his girlfriend' Last updated at 15:00pm on 8th November 2007 Comments (2) A British killer who claimed to have chopped up and eaten his girlfriend is facing 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to her manslaughter. Paul Durant, 47, told a Spanish court he battered mother-of-two Karen Durrell, 41, to death with a mallet at her home on the Costa Blanca. But he denied murdering her, cutting her body up with a knife and a saw and disposing of it in a suitcase. Scroll down for more... Killer: Paul Durant Prosecutors today dropped a murder charge after Durant admitted the February 2004 manslaughter…

Jonathan King wins right to appeal to Europe over his convictions for sexual assaults on teenage boys Last updated at 18:08pm on 10th November 2007 Comments (1) Pop impresario Jonathan King, convicted of a series of sexual assaults on teenage boys, has launched an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights. King, 62, who has always protested his innocence, claims he received an unfair trial. In June lawyers submitted his case to the Strasbourg court, which accepted it last week. Scroll down for more... King, 62, convicted of a series of sex assaults on teeange boys, claims he received an unfair trial He claims he was in New York when one of…

Remove all speeders from the roads, they do my head in.