XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Monday 21 June 2010

The World's 11 Richest Dogs - Conchita the Chihuahua just inherited a $3 million joining Leona Helmsley’s dog Trouble -

The World's 11 Richest Dogs - Conchita the Chihuahua just inherited a $3 million  joining Leona Helmsley’s dog Trouble - 



Conchita the Chihuahua just inherited a $3 million trust fund after her owner died, joining Leona Helmsley’s spoiled dog Trouble and other furry—and very fortunate—heirs.
Conchita
Mystery and accusations may be swirling around, but all Conchita knows is that now she's very rich. On second thought, she probably doesn't—she's a Chihuahua. The only Chihuahua in the world, in fact, with a $3 million trust fund and an $8.3 million mansion in Miami Beach. She inherited the fortune from her owner Gail Posner, the daughter of the takeover master Victor Posner, after she died in March. But after noticing that some $26 million were also left to her housekeepers, Ms. Posner's only living child, Bret Carr, isn't convinced that this is what his mother really wanted. He says his mother's aides drugged her and forced her to change her will, so he is suing all of them, according to The Wall Street Journal. Conchita certainly has high standards—in an interview last year, Posner said she considered buying her pet her own Range Rover and that the dog's favorite bauble was a Cartier necklace valued at $15,000.
Trouble
Trouble certainly lived up to her name in 2007 when she inherited a $12 million trust fund from her owner, New York real-estate mogul Leona Helmsley. It only became a problem when it emerged that Helmsley, who was not known for her friendly side, had written two of her four grandchildren out of her will—and yet still included the Maltese. (The dog also apparently took after her "Queen of Mean" owner and bit people on several occasions.) It took a judge's decision for the grandchildren to receive an inheritance and for Trouble's trust fund to be reduced to $2 million.
The Roddenberry Dogs
When Majel Barrett Roddenberry, wife of the creator of Star Trek and the voice of the computer on the USS Enterprise, died in 2009, she took care of any potentially angry relatives in her will first. Her son inherited $100 million and then her dogs picked up a cool $4 million, a mansion, and an appointed caretaker. In all likelihood, some of the funds also went to the plan she and her husband, Gene Roddenberry, devised for their ashes before he died in 1991—they wanted their remains shot into orbit.
Tina and Kate
Nora Hardwell's three great loves were gardening, poetry, and her dogs. The former secretary from England had no children, no other relatives, and a hefty amount of money in her savings. So when she died in 2002, she left nearly $1 million "for the maintenance of any dog or dogs which I may own at my death for the period of 21 years from the date of my death or until the death of my last of my dogs if earlier." For Tina and Kate, the pair of collie mixes that outlived their owner, it was plenty.
Oil heiress Eleanor Ritchey had a tendency to accumulate things. By the time she died in 1968, she had more than 1,700 pairs of shoes and more than 150 stray dogs. Auburn University stood to greatly benefit from her death, but they would have to wait. Auburn would collect some $12 million, including 113,328 shares of Quaker Oil common stock, real estate, bonds, and Treasury bills only if it used an additional $4.2 million of Ritchey's to take care of all the dogs for the rest of their lives andsupport research on canine diseases. Just to make sure the university held up its end of the bargain, the will stated the university would not be able to collect the $12 million until the last dog died. It took 16 years before the last survivor, a mutt named Musketeer, expired.
Tobey
Built in the 19th century, the Wendel farmhouse on 39th Street and Fifth Avenue was an oddity in New York. When the last of the elder Wendel's daughters, Ella, died in 1931, her $35 million estate drew 2,303 mostly made-up claims. But during the last years of her life, she lived in the house alone with her pampered poodle Tobey because, she said, he still needed a place to play. And it was Tobey who remained in the house after she died while her estate was being settled. Though he did not technically inherit it, he was the direct beneficiary of her death since he continued to live there with two servants of his own.






Article - Richest Dogs - Gunther IV Gunther IVGunther IV
The tale of Gunther IV sounds almost too outrageous to be real—and it's possible it isn't. Gunther IV, a German shepherd, inherited a fortune of at least $65 million from his father Gunther III, who had been the sole heir of a German countess named Karlotta Liebenstein who died in 1992. Since then, someone acting on behalf of Gunther IV bought a $9 million Miami villa from Madonna in 2000. Later that year, Gunther, with help from a pair of caretakers, paid more than $1,500 to buy a rare white truffle at auction. But it seems that the law firm in the Bahamas, which supposedly handles his financial affairs, has only the sketchiest of details to provide about him.
Fannie
In what is one of the earliest instances of a dog inheriting a vast sum of money, Anne E. Dier left her dog Fannie the better part of a $25,000 estate in 1909. Technically, it was left to a couple in Buffalo with the stipulation that most of it be spent on Fannie. For Mrs. Dier's husband, the will added insult to injury. He had shot her to death.
Samantha
Sidney Altman's girlfriend, Marie Dana, had a right to be upset when she saw Altman's will. After he died in 1998, sitting on a fortune earned distributing upscale bathroom fixtures, it turned out that he had left a $6 million estate to someone named Samantha. Perhaps more insulting than if she'd been another woman, Samantha was Altman's cocker spaniel. So Dana, who became the dog's legal guardian, sued for $2.7 million, arguing that his will was "stale" and did not reflect her importance in his life, since he had written it four years before his death.
Article - Richest Dogs - JasperJasperJasper and Jason
Brewery heiress Diana Myburgh first adopted Jasper, an illegitimate Labrador Doberman cross from a dog shelter. And she cared for him, along with a whippet named Jason, until she died at age 74 in 1995. Each of them inherited £25,000—with Jasper collecting Jason's share when he died. And, miraculously, no one was outraged that she bequeathed money to her pets. In fact, quite the contrary. Her former son-in-law, Sir Benjamin Slade, was left in charge of managing the money for Jasper, who lived in a country mansion. He more than tripled it in the stock market, according to the Daily Mail. Slade's salary for taking care of Jasper is £11, paid out from the dog's account.
Dixie
Despite his relatives contesting his will all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court, G.S. Richberg's American pit bull finally received an inheritance in 1948. Much to his family's chagrin, Richberg, a Memphis barber, had left Dixie a $4,500 estate to be paid out in $35 increments every month for the rest of the dog's life. Dixie was 8 years old at the time of his owner's death—and continued to receive his allowance.

Inventors have created a female condom which 'bites' a man's penis in a bid to ward off or catch would-be rapists -

Inventors have created a female condom which 'bites' a man's penis in a bid to ward off or catch would-be rapists - 


The device has gone on sale in South Africa where Dr Sonnet Ehlers is distributing the condom — called RapeX — for free during the World Cup.
South Africa has one of the worst rape rates in the world.
The woman wears the condom and during intercourse its jagged teeth-like hooks attach themselves to the man's penis.
RapeX ... condom with teeth
RapeX ... condom with teeth
www.antirape.co.za
Once it grabs on only a doctor can remove it.
Dr Ehlers said: "It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on.
"If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter, however it doesn't break the skin and there's no danger of fluid exposure.",
She plans to distribute 30,000 of the free devices during the tournament before selling them for $2 each.
"The ideal situation would be for a woman to wear this when she's going out on some kind of blind date ... or to an area she's not comfortable with," she said.
Dr Ehlers said she consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to ensure the condom's design was safe.
And she even asked rapists in jail whether the device would have deterred them - some admitted it would have, she said.







But critics say if the man is trapped by the device it puts the woman at risk of further harm and describe it as "medieval".
"Yes, my device may be a medieval, but it's for a medieval deed that has been around for decades," Ehlers said.
"I believe something's got to be done and this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3022593/Condom-has-some-bite.html#ixzz0rXFSQVUP

No charges for cop who couldn't shoot straight - 19 shots hit everything but bad guy - bullets hit homes, sheds and decks

No charges for cop who couldn't shoot straight - 19 shots hit everything but bad guy -  bullets hit homes, sheds and decks -






The police chief in London, Ont., says an officer who fired 19 bullets at a fleeing robber won't face criminal charges, but also isn't returning to the streets right away.
Chief Murray Faulkner told a news conference today the officer will continue administrative duties until he can demonstrate his level of competency and confidence using a firearm.
The chief also announced new training methods for all officers.
The officer, who has five years experience with London police, fired 19 shots as he chased a robbery suspect through several backyards before other officers arrived and arrested him.
The bullets hit homes, sheds and decks.
The suspect, Paul O'Connell, pleaded guilty to two robberies, attempted theft and failing to stop for police, and was sentenced to four years in prison. 

The stunning green glow of the Southern Lights photographed by astronauts from ABOVE -

The stunning green glow of the Southern Lights photographed by astronauts from ABOVE - 


Like a green ribbon snaking its way out into space this stunning image shows the famous Southern Lights from a rather unusual angle - above.
Taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), this picture shows the aurora australis against the backdrop of Earth's horizon.
These ever-shifting displays are most visible near the North (aurora borealis) and South (aurora australis) Poles.
Green flash: The Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) as observed From the International Space Station. The curve of the Earth and the blue light of the atmosphere can also be seen
Green flash: The Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) as observed From the International Space Station. The curve of the Earth and the blue light of the atmosphere can also be seen
The ISS was over the Southern Indian Ocean at an altitude of 350 km, with the astronauts looking towards Antarctica and the South Pole. 
Dense cloud cover is dimly visible below the aurora. The curvature of the Earth’s horizon can be clearly seen as well as the faint blue line of the upper atmosphere.


The stunning sight is formed as charged particles streaming from the Sun – known as the solar wind - interact with Earth’s magnetic field, resulting in collisions with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. 
This striking aurora image was taken during a geomagnetic storm that was probably caused by a coronal mass ejection from the Sun on May 24th.
The atoms emit photons as a means of returning to their original energy state. The photons form the aurora that we see.
Down to Earth: A more typical view of the Southern Lights over the Amundsen-Scott station at the South Pole taken in 2002
Down to Earth: A more typical view of the Southern Lights over the Amundsen-Scott station at the South Pole taken in 2002

The most commonly observed colour of aurora is green, caused by photons (light) emitted by excited oxygen atoms at wavelengths centered at 0.558 micrometers, or millionths of a metre.
Visible light is reflected from healthy (green) plant leaves at approximately the same wavelength.
Red aurora are generated by light emitted at a longer wavelength (0.630 micrometers), and other colours such as blue and purple are also sometimes observed.
While aurora are generally only visible close to the poles, severe magnetic storms impacting the Earth’s magnetic field can shift them towards the equator.


Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1288284/Revealed-The-stunning-green-glow-Southern-Lights-photographed-astronauts-ABOVE.html#