-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
The man who provides the voice for Big Tex, the giant cowboy at the State Fair of Texas, was greeting people with his usual "Howdy, folks!" in a slow drawl Friday when someone rushed into his trailer to tell him the towering fair icon was on fire.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Collin Harm, 4, cries as his dad Scott Harm of Azle,Texas, tries to comfort him as they look at the burned remains Big Tex on Friday.
"It moved quickly," Bill Bragg said of the fire that engulfed the 52-foot-tall structure, leaving not much more than its charred metal frame behind. "It was a quick end."
This year's fair was supposed to be a celebration for Big Tex, marking his 60th birthday. Instead, the beloved cowboy was hauled from the grounds on a flatbed truck two days before the end of the fair in a procession resembling a funeral.
"It's sad to see this happen, but it's lucky no one was injured or killed," said Mike Blucher of Dallas, who was at the fair with his wife, Linda.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1885.jpg
Phuket, Thailand: The tattooed body of a devotee of the Chinese Bang Neow shrine is pierced during an annual festival
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1886.jpg
Kabul, Afghanistan: A cow is lifted from a truck at a livestock market
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1887.jpg
London, England: Protesters outside St Paul's Cathedral prepare to take part in an anti-austerity march
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1888.jpg
Aleppo, Syria: A injured woman waits to be transferred to hospital
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1889.jpg
Monterrey, Mexico: Residents stand beside a railway line as a forensic team works at a crime scene
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1890.jpg
Beirut, Lebanon: Men block a road in protest against the assasination of top intelligence official Wissam al-Hassan
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1891.jpg
The shadows of photographers are seen on the ground as people prepare for funeral prayers over the body of policeman Omran Ahmed in Rifaa, south of Manama October 19, 2012. Ahmed was killed and another policeman critically injured in a bomb attack while on patrol south of the capital Manama, security officials said on Friday, as further unrest convulsed the Gulf Arab kingdom and close U.S. ally.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1892.jpg
A riot policeman holds a detained protester in Zanzibar October 19, 2012. Muslim protesters clashed with police in the Tanzanian capital and the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar on Friday, raising religious tensions in the secular east African country.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1893.jpg
A police officer walks over spilled blood at a crime scene in Cuernavaca October 18, 2012. A man was shot dead while he was driving a car. The hitmen left a sign with a threatening message to the director of the local jail, according to local media.
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1909.jpg
Paul Nicklen's photograph of emperor penguins was the overall winner of the Veolia Environnement wildlife photographer of the year 2012. It was taken at the edge of the frozen area of Antarctica's Ross Sea. Nicklen locked his legs under the lip of the ice so he could remain motionless
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1910.jpg
Smoke rises from a damaged building in the Syrian city of Aleppo, scene of intense fighting over the last three months
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1911.jpg
At the Bayeux Calvados Awards for War Correspondents this week, Aris Messinis won the photography prize for his October 2011 coverage of the battle for Sirte. In this picture, Libyan rebels fire at forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi as a comrade plays a guitar
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1912.jpg
A demonstrator takes part in a protest against the Portuguese government's 2013 budget outside parliament in Lisbon
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1913.jpg
Photographer Peter van Agtmael was awarded the 2012 W Eugene Smith grant in humanistic photography for his work documenting the consequences of America's wars. Here, marines react to the explosion of an IED while on patrol in Afghanistan
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1914.jpg
A female argonaut, or paper nautilus, a cephalopod species found off the California coast
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1915.jpg
Demonstrators gather outside a branch of Starbucks before the start of an anti-austerity protest march through central London
-
-
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Moussa Ibrahim, who was the mouthpiece of the Gadhafi regime during last year's war, was caught in the town of Tarhouna, 40 miles south of Tripoli.
"Moussa Ibrahim has been arrested by forces belonging to the Libyan government in the town of Tarhouna and he is being transferred to Tripoli to begin interrogation," a statement from the prime minister's office said.
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
The Gave de Pau, the river passing through Lourdes, France, floods parts of the city in front of the Basilica, on Oct. 20. It has been raining in Lourdes since Oct. 18, and hundreds of pilgrims were evacuated today from hotels as the grotto is under nearly five feet of water
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
An act of god? :rolleyes:
-
-
-
-
Winston Churchill modified Land Rover sold for £129,000
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1961.jpg The Land Rover was modified with an extra-wide seat for Churchill
A Land Rover built for Winston Churchill's 80th birthday has sold at auction in Cambridgeshire for £129,000 - more than twice its estimate.
The vehicle, which had been modified to enable him to be chauffeur-driven around his Chartwell estate in Kent, was expected to fetch up to £60,000.
It was sold with the original logbook registering it to Churchill to a bidder who wished to remain anonymous.
The previous owner had kept it in a shed in Kent since 1977.
The 1954 Series 1 Land Rover was registered as UKE 80 in the name of the "Rt Hon Sir Winston Spencer Churchill KG. OM. CH. MP. Chartwell, Westerham, Kent".
It was especially modified for him with an extra-wide passenger seat and heated footwell.
Cheffins auctioneers said the vehicle, which had 12,932 miles (20,812km) on the clock, was the most expensive item in its auction of more than 2,000 vintage vehicles.
-
Plymouth paedophile William Goad dies in prison
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/1962.jpg Goad's abuse of victims went back to 1965
A Devon paedophile who is believed to have abused up to 3,500 boys has died in prison, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed.
William Goad, 68, from Plymouth died of "natural causes" overnight at HMP Albany, on the Isle of Wight.
The MoJ said: "As with all deaths in custody, the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation."
Goad was jailed for life in 2004 for sexual offences over a 35-year period.
'Jubilation' at death
Goad, who ran shops and market stalls, was jailed for 14 serious sex offences and two counts of indecent assault following a court case in 2004 in which he was described as a "voracious, calculating, predatory and violent homosexual paedophile".
Plymouth Crown Court was told he groomed his victims by offering them well-paid jobs in his shops and inviting them back to his home.
In 2010 one of Goad's victims, Ray Zolla from Newquay, was awarded a six-figure sum in damages for the abuse he suffered as a teenager.
Learning of Goad's death, Mr Zolla said: "Initially I was quite shocked but since then jubilation has come over me.
"As morbid as it sounds, I'm actually quite happy that a higher justice has been served and there's no way he can come back into the community.
"I'm glad it's come to an end but unfortunately a lot of the guys and survivors will still carry that pain for the rest of our lives."
He previously told the BBC that the abuse had "totally consumed" his life and caused him to develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
Goad was jailed for life, with a six-year minimum term, in 2004.
6 years? :confused:
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2025.jpg
Shanghai, China: People in panda costumes take a break during a contest to become a world panda ambassador
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2026.jpg
Vienna, Austria: A participant at the Wild Boar Dirt Run in Laaben
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2027.jpg
Hong Kong: Swimmers wave as they prepare for a cross-harbour race
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2028.jpg
Aleppo, Syria: Rebels rest during a lull in fighting
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2029.jpg
Doha, Qatar: Brody Wells, of Canada, takes part in the flyboard world championship
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2030.jpg
Free Syrian Army fighters launch a home made bomb using a catapult during clashes in Aleppo October 20, 2012.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2031.jpg
A protester gestures after a riot policeman fires his rifle in Zanzibar October 19, 2012. Muslim protesters clashed with police in Tanzania's commercial capital and on the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar on Friday, raising religious tensions in the east African country. Picture taken October 19, 2012.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2032.jpg
A Palestinian man casts his ballot for municipal elections at a polling station in the West Bank village of Shiyoukh, north of Hebron October 20, 2012. Palestinians voted in local elections in the Israel-occupied West Bank on Saturday, their first vote for six years and one with little choice, out of step with democratic revolutions elsewhere in the Arab world.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2033.jpg
A Cambodian Buddhist monk takes pictures during a ceremony in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh October 20, 2012. Former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk died at age 89 of heart failure on Monday.
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2034.jpg
Spectators watch yachts competing in the annual Middle Sea Race from a bridge as a helicopter flies overhead in Valletta's Grand Harbour October 20, 2012. A record entry of 84 yachts from 19 different countries are competing in the 606 nautical mile Mediterranean classic, which takes the yachts from Malta, around Sicily and back.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2035.jpg
Police officer detain a demonstrator during a protest march organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), in Oxford Street, in central London October 20, 2012. Thousands of British protesters marched through central London on Saturday against public spending cuts and tax rises enacted by a government fighting accusations it is run by an upper-class elite that ignores the plight of recession-hit voters.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2036.jpg
Pungluang Sor Singyu (L) of Thailand throws a punch against AJ Banal of the Philippines during their WBO world bantamweight championship at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila October 20, 2012. Pungluang won TKO on the ninth round
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2037.jpg
Luxembourg's Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume (R) and his wife Princess Stephanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, leave the Notre-Dame Cathedral after their religious wedding service in Luxembourg October 20, 2012.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2038.jpg
A police special force stands on a balcony as he guards the area in neighborhood during the fourth day of protests in Colon City October 20, 2012. According to local media, hundreds of demonstrators protested around the city against the law, claiming that selling the land will affect their jobs and revenue which the Colon free trade zone, one of the largest free ports in the Americas, provides.
-
Whilst the western countries drive around or fly over Afghanistan killing the local population. China gets their shirt off and produces something the world needs.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2048.jpg
(Reuters) - A Chinese firm has started extracting oil from the Amu Darya basin in northern Afghanistan, mining officials said, a key moment in the country's quest to pay its own way.
Afghanistan signed a 25-year contract with National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) last December covering drilling and a planned refinery in the northern provinces of Faryab and Sar-e-Pul. It is the first major oil production in the country
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2049.jpg
Breaking news of a mass shooting at the Azana Salon and Spa at the Brookfield Square Mall. Details still scarce but at least 4 people reported wounded and 3 more patients expected, emergency responders are on the ground, and the mall has been put on lockdown. The shooting suspect, who is said to have used a machine gun, is still at large
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Four Chinese marine surveillance ships patrolled in waters off the Diaoyu Islands on Sunday. The patrol team, composed of the Haijian 51, the Haijian 66, the Haijian 75 and the Haijian 83, entered the waters after taking shelter at an anchorage to avoid approaching typhoons, according to a statement from the State Oceanic Administration.
They have been carrying out normal activities to safeguard China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, the statement said.
-
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Slovak's Milan Roskopf juggles with bowling balls as he tries to break a Guinness record during the Impossibility Challenger, a record breaking festival in Budaors near Budapest, Hungary, on Oct. 21.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Hungary's Attila Banyai reacts when a four-wheel-drive vehicle drives over him as he tries to break a Guinness record during the Impossibility Challenger
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Viktor Fekete of Hungary performs a high jump with a bicycle during the Impossibility Challenger
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Switzerland's Albert Walter tears a phonebook as he tries to break a Guinness record during the Impossibility Challenger.
-
-
EBay 'pays £1.2m in UK tax' on sales of £800m
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2012/10/2079.jpg The auction site says that it complies with UK tax laws
US auction site eBay has paid only £1.2m in tax in the UK, according to an investigation by the Sunday Times.
The newspaper said that its tax bill in 2010 comes despite eBay's UK subsidiaries generating sales of £800m.
The auction site - which also owns PayPal - responded that it "complies fully with all applicable tax laws".
The report comes after coffee giant Starbucks was also accused of paying just £8.6m in corporation tax in the UK over 14 years.
According to the Sunday Times, eBay had sales of £789m during 2010 in the UK at its four British subsidiaries. Using its worldwide profit margin of 23%, it would have made a profit in the UK of £181m, leading to corporation tax owed of £51m.
Instead, it paid £1.2m, the report said.
Accounts for one of its units, eBay (UK) Ltd, show that for 2010 - the last year available - it owed tax of £766,000 on profits of £4.4m. In total, it had a deferred tax bill of £1.23m.
The auction site told the BBC: "eBay in Europe works with tax authorities and complies fully with all applicable tax laws and regimes - including national, EU, and internationally recognised OECD rules."
Other large international companies have also been accused of avoiding tax in the UK.
A four-month investigation by news agency Reuters earlier this week found that Starbucks generated £398m in UK sales last year but paid no corporation tax.
It said that Starbucks had made over £3bn in UK sales since 1998 but had paid less than 1% in corporation tax.
Facebook UK paid £238,000 in tax last year, according to its accounts. Its sales were £20.4m. Most of the company's income is believed to be legally going through its European base in Dublin, where corporation tax is lower than in the UK.
And a report in the Guardian in April said that online retailer Amazon had generated sales of more than £7.6bn in the UK over the past three years but had not paid any corporation tax on the profits from those sales.
