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She'll have to bang her head behind bars

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 27, 2006

The High Court in Osaka, Japan, sentenced a 59-year-old woman to 20 months in prison for sickening her neighbor with loud music. Tuesday's ruling revoked the initial one-year sentence, according to Japan Today. Miyoko Kawahara of Heguri was convicted in April of playing the music almost nonstop for 29 months, in a manner that "was tenacious and insidious, and caused great grievance to the neighbor." After the original sentence, though, neighbors complained that one year wasn't nearly enough of a respite from her, and ultimately, the judge agreed. "She still maintains a hostile attitude toward the victim, and it is highly likely she will commit the crime again," Judge Hiroshi Furukawa said. In a lawsuit, Kawahara was ordered in July to pay the neighbor 2-million yen in compensation.

Cows like to gaze if they can't graze

A law in Germany requires that farmers provide their cows with stalls that have windows and access to daylight. So when police in Wuerzburg, south of Frankfurt, heard about a farmer holding 17 heifers in dark spaces, they moved in. According to the Press Association in the United Kingdom, the farmer would not turn the animals over, though, and instead grabbed an ax and an iron rod to defend his turf. Then he started throwing bricks at the police. When he hit two of them with the rod, he realized he was in trouble, so he started to run. Police shot him in the leg, making him much easier to catch.

Cookies weren't only things baked

Wow! Who brought in the chocolate-oatmeal cookies? They were just sitting there in the break room at Weyerhaeuser Co. wood plant in Stayton, Ore. Then people started feeling lightheaded and dizzy. Fifteen people ended up going to the hospital. Police think that the secret ingredient may have been marijuana and are very interested in discussing the recipe with the chef. They've offered a reward for information as to who that might be.

Young punks today have no respect

A teenager hopped into a taxi in Bielefeld, Germany, on Sunday and demanded money as he put a gun to the driver's head. "Oh, for Christ's sake, it's Christmas Eve," said the driver, who was technically correct on many levels. He refused to give up the till and jumped out of the car, according to Reuters. The robber, a bit dumbfounded, struggled with the driver for a moment before realizing he may have picked the wrong cab. He was later arrested.

[Last modified December 27, 2006, 01:09:28]