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Letter to the editor

Global Bizarre

By Times Wires
Published March 5, 2008

Running man

For Buster Martin, life is a marathon

Buster Martin finished up his training for next month's London Marathon by running the Roding Valley half marathon on Sunday in a little more than five hours, according to the BBC. So what? A lot of people are training for that run, no doubt. Yes, but Martin is the only one that is 101. Martin, who has 17 children, felt good enough a day after the run that he went to work. Oh yeah, he took a job as a plumber three years ago because he was bored. "He's a revelation," says Charlie Mullins, Martin's boss. Upon finishing Sunday's run, Martin's first words were, "Where's my beer?" He drank a tankard, then signed autographs.

German military

Secret ingredient is a court-martial

Two German air force officers await court-martial for making blood sausage, according to the Telegraph of London. The recipe came from one of their grandmothers, and they made a test batch ... with their own blood. They liked it, but to deal in the kind of bulk they wanted, they were going to need another blood source. So they asked for donations from their squadron. Surprisingly, some had a problem with that and reported them.

You tell them they're fat

In a completely unrelated story - or is it? - Der Spiegel reports that 40 percent of Germany's military personnel are overweight. The report suggested it was because soldiers don't get enough exercise. Also according to the report, the percentage of overweight soldiers is higher than the percentage of overweight German civilians.

Emergency!

For some, help is not on the way

The New Zealand Herald reports on some of the things that Kiwis call the equivalent of 911 for:

- A woman on the way to a garden party called to ask for help threading a needle. She was told no one on staff had the necessary skill.

- A man called to say there were two hedgehogs fighting on his lawn.

- A woman called to get police to make her boyfriend ask her to marry him.

- A man called to say he was scared of the cow in his mailbox.

Update

Attorney assault

Peter Hafer has been sentenced to six months in jail for contempt after punching his lawyer during a court case in Georgetown, Ky., on Feb. 4. Doug Crickmer got two black eyes in the incident, but said that his client was just frustrated because he was in jail. Scott County Circuit Judge Rob Johnson told Hafer that courts would be in chaos if every defendant behaved that way. Which is probably true. Hafer's new lawyer, Mark Bubenzer, said his client is sorry and didn't mean to disrespect the court. Also, he was not punched even once during the proceedings.

Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.

[Last modified March 5, 2008, 03:22:40]