Oddly Enough…

Tired of the police department running a deficit, city lowers speed limits
The US city of Coopertown's 2005-06 budgets will see almost a million dollar increase in revenue from last year due to community development and increased ticketing by police officers. A large portion of the revenue will come from the Coopertown Police Department, said Mayor Danny Crosby.

For example, during the fiscal year 2003-04, the police department had appropriated funds of $125,123, which were entirely spent, but revenue in the form of court fines only totalled $17,689 leaving a total of $107,434 as a burden for the taxpayers.

"In response, Coopertown lowered speed limits and began enforcing them creating a big jump in revenue," said Crosby. "A big jump happens with good management. We are trying to get the citizens to feel safer on our roads and have a police force that not only creates money for the city, but adds safety to the roadways."

Court fines brought in by Coopertown police during July through Dec only totalled $10,172.25. From Jan to June court fine revenue jumped to $152,324. "Our police department will no longer cost the citizens of Coopertown. It will be self-sufficient from now on," said Crosby. [rctimes.com]

"Mentally ill people had occasionally broken into the park and been eaten in the past, he said, but it was highly unusual"
A man was eaten by lions after running past guards into the Kruger National Park at dusk just as the gates were closing. Park spokesman said guards and rangers searched for the unidentified man in the dark after he ran into the park on, but failed to find him. He was found after dawn on Friday as the lions feasted on his corpse.

"We have no idea why he ran in," the spokesman said. "We suspect the man was mentally deranged. No one in their right mind would run into the bush at Kruger at night. It's far too dangerous."

Kruger National Park is home to between 4,500 and 5,000 lions spread across an area roughly the size of Belgium. Rangers shot one lion -- an elderly male -- as he devoured the body and were looking for a female lion, he said. "Mentally ill people had occasionally broken into the park and been eaten in the past," he said, "but it was highly unusual." [alertnet.org]

Morgan Stanley gives CEO twoyear contract for $16 million a year, with option to quit at any time and collect it all. CEO promptly quits three days later, $32 million for no work
Leading economic indicators: In June, Co-President Stephen S. Crawford of the financial giant Morgan Stanley (who was installed in the job in order to ensure management ''stability'' during the company's currently shaky status with investors) signed a two-year contract at $16 million a year which allowed him, if he changed his mind, to resign and promptly collect all $32 million. A few days later, he resigned. The ''stability'' was needed at faltering Morgan Stanley because long-time CEO Philip J. Purcell had just been eased out, but his contract called for $113 million in unemployment pay. [sltrib.com]

Texas man decides to break up loud party by stabbing everyone. Plan goes awry when partygoers turn the knife on him
San Antonio city police said four people were stabbed during a street fight.One victim, a 16-year-old boy, was critically wounded in the incident, according to police. Three other victims -- a 30-year-old man, a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl -- were also being treated for stab wounds at a Hospital.

Details were sketchy, but police said the fight began when a 27-year-old man tried to break up a loud house party, but was attacked by several partygoers. Witnesses told police the man went home to get a knife and then returned to the party, where they said he started stabbing anyone he could reach. According to police, partygoers took the knife away from the man and began stabbing him. Police were trying to determine who should be charged in the incident. [news.yahoo.comI]

Compiled by Ahmed Ashiful Haque

Shout out

Hey people!
It's that time of the year when we celebrate some of the most important people in our lives. You can tell them virtually anything, they al ways help you out when you need it and whenever they're around the most important thing is having loads of fun. So, it's about time you tell them how incredible they are. All this month Shout will celebrate the wonderful thing that friendship is. Get in touch with old friends, make new one and strengthen existing those you have throughout August. Let your best friends know how much they mean to you: send them a shout at shout13@gmail.com!

To all my friends...Nusa,Rif,Tony,Afi,Jantpu,Sampa,Shuvi apu,Deea,Sumaiya,Farwa,Afifa,Zahra,Mou,Mahi and all the rest.
Wish you a very "Happy Friendship Day!"
I am blessed to have you as a friend.
Thanks for bringing all the beautiful things in my life.
Hope this magical friendship keeps flowing in our life forever.
Lots of love
Sani

Pablo,
Two years...wow!...seems like yesterday
SMR

Mrs.Rowling and Harry Potter,
Happy birthday!
I wish you success in your seventh book,Mrs.Rowling.
And good luck for fighting Voldemort,Harry!
Best,
T.Tab

Hi NAZHAD,
How are you!? Is everything fine? How is your study going on? I forgot to wish you at your Birthday. Really sorry for that, Taurus GAL!

Hey! See, I still remember your Birthday! How can I forget Sachin Tendulkar's B-day. I don't know your E-mail Address. Can YOU give me your add
at c013027@yahoo.com. Wish your great success!
See you later soon.
From KSSDY(50 C)

Hey Tanvir,
Yeah, I'm talking to you, you FAT A$$!!! Listen up, b***h, don't ever think you can get your dirty paws on our girls!! Siffat, Azmat,& I, Fardeen, will always loathe you and will never allow you to rest in peace, not even in your grave!! We solemnly wish for your filthy bones to rot in the deepest abyss of hell! So long for now, numbskull!!!
From,
The Always 70's Gang
(Leaders:-Fardeen, Siffat & Azmat)

To Blondie Rez, Nafzy and Raisa
Cheers to some GOOOOOOOD @$$ old times mates!!
Holla back at your own convenience...you guys being too busy and all with
the task of being complete inconsiderate a$$h*l#$!lolz
-ze' gr8 Jammy

Hi
My heartiest Congratulation goes to Shahriar, Ferdous, Wahi, Ayaz, Abdullah, Rafee, Tanjil and others for their Brilliant result in SSC Exam. Alwaya mail me at sayem.fx@gmail.com
Sayem

Dear Sayem,
Just want to say u this:
1 day you will ask me what is more important to me, you or my life? I would then answer 'my life' & you will leave me without realizing that you r my life!
Mklu...
from your
Janu

By the Hitch-hiker
[ATTENTION: This column is NOT responsible for negative (or otherwise) outcome of the messages printed in it. The thoughts and opinions printed in this column are entirely the sender's own and Shout Out does not endorse them in any way. Please do NOT abuse the column by using it to play pranks. Personal information will be printed at the sender's expense and we do NOT take ANY responsibility for any inconvenience to anyone.]

Darwin
Award winners

When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California, would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked... And now, the honourable mentions:
The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cutting machine and, after a little hopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.

A man who shovelled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his Vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.

An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer...$15. (If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?)

Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.

As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."

The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away. A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER!

When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had. In the interest of bettering human kind please share these with your friends and family ... unless of course one of these 10 individuals by chance is a distant relative or long lost friend. In that case be glad they are distant and hope they remain lost.

Are you obsessed with Indian soap operas?

Count the number of 'yes' answers that you give.
Do you watch more than 3 soaps everyday?
Do you watch so many that the timings clash?
Do you take the phone off the hook while your shows are on?
When company comes over to visit, do you just want to shut the door in their faces?
Do you start talking to the TV? Yelling at them, crying with them, telling them that they are complete idiots and literally wanting to slap them dramatically across the face when they get on that last nerve?
Do you have at least five different scenarios for every story line that you are currently watching?
When you go somewhere, do you keep looking at your watch every five minutes because you're afraid you're not going to get back in time for the soaps?
Do you schedule doctor's appointments, etc. around (their airings) so you won't miss your soaps?
Have you tried to copy a certain 'look' you saw on a soap?
Do you wear excess amounts of make-up at home and have accessories to match every outfit you own?
Do you sleep with your make-up on?
Do you own an item of clothing that is similar to something a character in a soap opera wore?
Do you own more than one?
Do you find one of the characters in a soap oddly attractive?
Did you go to Shopper's World when the people from Kyun Ki Saas bhi kabhi Bahu thi came?
Have you talked your friends into watching the soaps?
Did they become as obsessed as you are?
Have you had any soap related dreams?
Do you have them regularly?
Have you ever had a fantasy where you met the hero/heroine of your favourite soap?
Do you find yourself relating soaps to real life?
Have any of your friends and/or family suggested therapy to help you overcome your soap addiction? (jokes count)
When in a heated argument, do you walk away from the person you're arguing with so that said person is always looking at your back?

Answer Key
You answered 'yes' to:
1-4 questions: Tulsi who?
5- 11 questions: Part time soap fan. You probably have a real life.
12 -16 questions: Full time soap fan. You're obsessed. You may be suffering from withdrawal symptoms while waiting for the next season to be aired.
17-23 questions: Be afraid. Be very afraid. Have you ever considered going to a psychologist?