Austrian online bomb threat

Authorities in Quebec, Canada have arrested an alleged terrorist linked to an Austrian online bomb threat, the Blotter on ABCNews.com has learned.Authorities say the Canadian arrest was carried out in conjunction with the arrests of three other suspects in Austria yesterday.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) made the arrest Wednesday at the suspect's home in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, in a joint...

Police believe the two UK based men are members of an international hacking group calling themselves the "THr34t-Krew".

Two UK men were arrested this morning following police raids in the UK and US aimed at dismantling an international hacker group believed to have created a virulent computer worm.Officers from the Durham Constabulary arrested a 19 year-old electrician and a 21 year-old unemployed man after seizing evidence related to computer and drugs offences during a raid on two addresses in County Durham this...

Actor Martin Sheen: "I've Been Arrested 65 Times"

The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that Martin Sheen claims that he has been arrested 65 times in the past 20 years. The most recent arrest was a police citation this year for trespassing on a Nevada nuclear test site. Sheen reportedly told the British magazine Empire that he fondly remembers his first arrest, also in protest of nuclear initiatives. However, Sheen was also quick to add that...

Classic Car Broker Peter Brotman Sentenced to Prison after Bamboozling Nicolas Cage Out of $300k

Classic Car Broker Peter Brotman Sentenced to Prison after Bamboozling Nicolas Cage Out of $300kPeter Brotman, a classic-car broker who reportedly conned actor Nicolas Cage and other clients out of large sums of money was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution. Brotman reportedly sold classic cars on consignment for the rich and famous, then kept the money....

Actor Tom Sizemore from "Saving Private Ryan" Arrested for Drugs

Actor Tom Sizemore was arrested for possession of methamphetamine outside a hotel in Bakersfield, California, after an associate, Jason Salcido, started an argument while attempting to check into the hotel. Police then searched Sizemore's car and found two bags of suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Sizemore was arrested and kept at Kern County Jail. He was convicted of methamphetamine...

judge praised actor Mel Gibson

A California judge praised actor Mel Gibson for successfully undergoing a rehab program after he made world headlines for drunken, racist, sexist rants against police in Malibu, California when he was arrested for a DUI. At a hearing in Malibu to assess his progress, Judge Lawrence Mira said he was "impressed" with Gibson's commitment to recovery, though Gibson himself was not present at the hearing....

Handcuffing Herself to Hugh Grant

Woman Prankster Arrested for Handcuffing Herself to Hugh GrantThe star of a Dutch television show was arrested for handcuffing herself to actor Hugh Grant while he walked down the red carpet at the Amsterdam premiere of his latest movie, "Music and Lyrics." Cielke Sijben reportedly ran up to Grant and slipped a handcuff on his left wrist. Grant had to reportedly wait ten minutes for firefighters to...

background checks on more than 1000 foreigners

THAI authorities are conducting background checks on more than 1000 foreigners working in Thailand after a spate of arrests for alleged child sex abuse, a senior officer said today.Colonel Apichat Suriboonya, of Thailand's Interpol office, said police had contacted the home countries of many of the targeted foreigners, most of whom are teachers. "We are now scrutinising more than 1000 foreign teachers...

PassionDates.com uses the free Skype telephony client to connect members seeking "discreet intimate encounters,"

PassionDates.com uses the free Skype telephony client to connect members seeking "discreet intimate encounters," while Match.com's Online SpeedMatching service gives you "four minutes of live phone conversation while you read about and view photographs of your date." While I wouldn't advise launching into erotica in the first four minutes of a speed date, if you're on camera in the iFriends adult...

Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine

Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians and researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday. Witnesses before the Senate Commerce Committee's Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee spared no superlative in their description of the negative effects of pornography. Mary Anne Layden,...

rehabilitation centres are seeing occupancy rates below 50% and some as low as 40% or less. This is putting many of these centres under threat of clos

Shadow Leader of the House, Theresa May said: “Across the country residential rehabilitation centres are seeing occupancy rates below 50% and some as low as 40% or less. This is putting many of these centres under threat of closure. I see this in my own constituency with the Yeldall Manor centre. The problem seems to be Government targets which local drug action teams find it easier to meet by putting...

Speed may protect the brain against stroke damage

Methamphetamine reduced damage in rodents when used 16 hours after a stroke – current human treatments must be administered within 3 ho...

Energy drink mixers give a false sense of sobriety

It may give you wings, but Red Bull also gives people drinking alcohol the impression that their coordination and vision are unimpai...

Marijuana may cause pregnancies to fail

Smoking the drug near the time of conception could sabotage a pregnancy, research in mice suggests – and a slimming pill may have a similar eff...

Amphetamine addiction curbed by dentists' jab

Brain injections of lidocaine, commonly used by dentists to numb patients' gums, temporarily help rats overcome addiction to amphetami...

people may have genes which make them more genetically prone to drug addiction than others

People have been using substances to lift their spirits for millennia. Techniques for fermenting beer and related tipples are known from Egypt and Sumeria 4000 years ago, and they soon spread across the inhabited world. Coca leaves (the source of cocaine), tobacco, and caffeine were also popular with ancient cultures. Humans may even have an evolutionary pre-disposition to seek out narcotics, even...

a person’s carving for pornography becomes more frequent and more deviant

Through internet, videos, cable television, satellite and magazines, pornography has become accessible to almost everyone. By its powerful appeal, pornography leads many into sexual addiction which has many harmful side effects. According to Ybarra ML, in a study about children and adolescence who, are exposed to pornography "those who report intentional exposure to pornography, irrespective of source,...

What is child sexual abuse?

Child sexual abuse is a sexual act imposed on a child who lacks emotional, maturational, physical and cognitive development. The crime of luring a child into sexual activities is sadly common because of the powerful and dominant position of the adult or older adolescent perpetrator. This is in sharp contrast to the child's age, dependency, lack of knowledge, and subordinate position. Authority, power,...

Loving and wanting someone who does not love us back

Loving and wanting someone who does not love us back engenders a deep personal wound. Rejection hits a raw nerve whose root begins in childhood. It arouses our abandonment issues. Abandonment is primal fear, the first fear that each of us experience as an infant. It is the fear that we will be left, literally abandoned, with no one to care for us. Abandonment's wound is cumulative. It contains all...

one can lead you somewhere that they haven't been

reclaiming the inner child, "No one can lead you somewhere that they haven't been...

project their own issues of emotional incest and/or sexual abuse onto their patients

(I believe that the cases of "false memories" that are getting a lot of publicity these days are in reality cases of emotional incest - which is rampant in our society and can be devastating to a person's relationship with his/her own sexuality - that are being misunderstood and misdiagnosed as sexual abuse by therapists who have not done their own emotional healing and project their own issues of...

Richard Monteith, 50, from Whitley Bay, is to plead guilty to murder.

Richard Monteith, 50, from Whitley Bay, is to plead guilty to murder. Spanish police have charged Monteith and his wife Anne-Marie, with the murder of 63-year-old Diana Dyson, from Sheffield. But according to Stephen Jakobi, a director of Fair Trials Abroad, Monteith has confessed to the contract killing of Mrs Dyson in the Spanish resort of Torremolinos in March 2002. Richard Monteith is being held...

Human Rights organisations in Egypt have stated that it is likely that the men will receive a minimum sentence of 25 years hard labour.

Majid Nawz, Ian Nesbitt and Rezha Pankhust, all British citizens are facing a military court on 20th October 2002. Human Rights organisations in Egypt have stated that it is likely that the men will receive a minimum sentence of 25 years hard labour. Majid Nawaz was on a compulsory year abroad as part of his degree programme. He was sent to Egypt as a SOAS student and enrolled at a course at Alexandria...

enduring 20 nights on the cold concrete floor of one of South Africa’s most notorious prisons.

Derek Bond, 72, an unassuming wine enthusiast from Bristol, walked free from Durban Central Police Station after enduring 20 nights on the cold concrete floor of one of South Africa’s most notorious prisons. The story behind Mr Bond’s arrest for international fraud and subsequent release following a misguided FBI investigation would not look out of place in a Hollywood film scri...

Prague Piss Up Tours

20 March 2007Ewan said:"The whole stag experience was fantastic and everyone had a great time and they all appreciated the time Peter put into the weekend and all his help and advi...

Countries with a hardline stance on drugs

Death penaltyAlgeria, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Heavy prison sentencesCyprus: zero tolerance policy towards drugs and possession will usually lead to a hefty fine or even life imprisonmentGreece: possession of even small quantities of drugs can lead to lengthy and even life imprisonment South East Asia: sentences of 40 to 50 years are not uncommon Harsh sentencesIndia: 10...

Many countries outside the UK refuse to grant bail before trial and often detain people in solitary confinement

Being caught by UK customs with a small amount of class C drugs, for personal use only, may just get you a financial penalty rather than a court case, however you will get a customs record, and if caught again you will get a criminal prosecution. If someone you are travelling with is caught with drugs, you are likely to be searched and questioned too. If you are caught with drugs on you as well, no...

Brits have been arrested for purchasing souvenirs that were, or looked like, antiques

Brits have been arrested for purchasing souvenirs that were, or looked like, antiques and which local customs authorities believed were national treasures. This is especially true in Turkey, Egypt and Mex...

arrested for possessing prescription drugs

A number of travellers have been arrested for possessing prescription drugs, particularly tranquilizers and amphetamines, that they purchased legally in certain Asian countries and then brought to some countries in the Middle East where they are illegal. Others have been arrested for purchasing prescription drugs abroad in quantities that local authorities suspected were for commercial u...

victimization of motorists has been refined to an art

In many places frequented by tourists, including areas of southern Europe, victimization of motorists has been refined to an art. Where it is a problem, British embassies are aware of it and consular officers try to work with local authorities to warn the public about the dangers. Carjackers and thieves operate at petrol stations, car parks, in city traffic and along the highway. Be suspicious of...

India, Thailand and Australia also appear in the top ten countries where Briton’s required consular assistance

The Czech Republic features as one of the countries where most consular assistance is required with a disproportionate number of lost passports, arrests and hospitalisations. This is likely to be due to the massive influx of hen and stag parties to Prague. India, Thailand and Australia also appear in the top ten countries where Briton’s required consular assistance - perhaps suggesting although Brits...

Fair Trials Abroad may be called on to help with the actual investigation of a crime

Fair Trials Abroad may be called on to help with the actual investigation of a crime, in some cases even gathering evidence and statements. "When you suffer a miscarriage of justice and you have been arrested for something you did not do, you will have a sense of rage, as will your relatives, and that may transcend you being reasonable," Mr Jakobi said. "Quite obviously your first reaction will be...

Henry Stableford has been freed.

The Italian authorities exceeded the 30 day limit to present necessary papers from Morroco as these had not been forthcoming.However, the effort will continue as the arrest warrants are still active. We will be building a campaign and amending this website to reflect this over the coming da...

SECOND INNOCENT BRITISH MAN ARRESTED ABROAD ON GROUNDLESS CHARGES FACES EXTRADITION TO MOROCCO

Another innocent British man has been arrested abroad in connection with the delivery of a boat to Morocco in 1997. Henry Stableford, a member of the ill-fated UK crew of Duanas has just been arrested in Fano Italy, on an international arrest warrant and now faces extradition to Morocco. Almost one year ago crewmember John Packwood was released from a Moroccan prison after His Majesty the King of...

Human rights is a very flexible concept... It depends how hypocritical you want to be on a particular day

A former CIA official has confirmed suspicions that dozens of terror suspects have been flown to jails in Middle Eastern countries where torture is routinely practised, and without reference to courts of law.Michael Scheuer, who once headed the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and left the CIA last November after a 22-year career, said the practice, known as "extraordinary rendition", was seen by the US as...

2,421 British nationals detained overseas

As at 30 September 2006, British consular officials were aware of 2,421 British nationals detained overseas. We provide consular assistance to any British national, regardless of country of residence. Additionally collecting data on nation of residence would not be possible because laws covering permanent reside...

Seven British nationals were arrested in the early hours of this morning, between 2am and 4am, outside a nightclub near the stadium after being involv

The supporters were detained following a fracas outside a nightclub in the capital city of Skopje, the Foreign Office said. All have since been released without charge following the incident near the Skopje City Stadium and will be free to watch the tie against Rabotnicki. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Seven British nationals were arrested in the early hours of this morning, between 2am and 4am,...

“Addiction” is treated behaviorally, so it must be a behavioral problem.

New brain scan studies are showing that behavioral treatments (i.e., psychotherapy) and medications work similarly in changing brain function. So chemical dependence is a brain disease that can be treated by changing brain function, through several different types of treatmen...

Methadone treatment simply involves substituting one addicting drug for another.

While methadone is a drug that produces dependence, methadone has been shown to reduce the craving for the dangerous illegal drug heroin. By placing an “addict” into a controlled methadone program, clinicians can monitor their progress, encourage abstinence from heroin, help the addict find a job, and gradually reduce the methadone dose. Many people choose to take methadone in place of heroin, which...

Addiction” is a will-power problem.

This is an old belief, probably based upon wanting to blame “addicts” for using drugs to excess. This myth is reinforced by the observation that most “treatments” for alcoholism and “addiction” are behavioral (talk) therapies (including Twelve Steps). But “addiction” occurs in a subconscious area of the brain that is not under conscious control, the mesolimbic dopamine system. Also, there appears...

“Addicts” are bad, crazy, or stupid

. Evolving research is demonstrating that “addicts” (people who are dependent according to DSM criteria) are not bad people who need to get good, crazy people who need to get sane, or stupid people who need education. Chemically-dependent people have a brain disease that goes beyond their use of dru...

Marijuana is not addicting.

Marijuana is not addicting. According to the latest (DSM) accepted diagnostic criteria, about 10% of the population can become dependent on (“addicted” to) marijua...

There is a high rate of “addiction” when stimulants are used to treat ADHD (ADD

There is a high rate of “addiction” when stimulants are used to treat ADHD (ADD). We do not yet understand why “addicting” drugs produce a low rate of dependence when used therapeutically. Studies have found that few children (accurately diagnosed) with attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADHD, ADD) become dependent upon stimulants such as Ritalin, dextroamphetamine, Adderall, etc.). In...

Most people given these pain-killers will go through withdrawal but will never want or need the drug again.

Therapeutic pain-killers (such as morphine) produce a high rate of “addiction”. Actually, since we know that “addiction” is actually “dependence” as defined by DSM, we now know that the likelihood of becoming dependent on opioid pain-killers is actually quite low. Where the confusion comes in is when people erroneously believe that “withdrawal” is synonymous with “addiction”. (Withdrawal is also...

Withdrawal = “addiction”.

Withdrawal = “addiction”. Many people erroneously think that if a person goes through withdrawal after a long period of drug use, they are “addicted”. What about cocaine, which produces little observable withdrawal? When a person goes through withdrawal from morphine after several weeks’ treatment with the drug, does that mean they are “addicted” for life? Remember that withdrawal is only one...

MYTHS

Compulsive sexual behavior is an “addiction”. While "sexual addiction” is an accepted term, there is very little about compulsive sexual behavior that is similar to the destructive overuse and dependence upon chemicals that are toxic to the body. The new DSM criteria for abuse and dependence are designed to characterize "substance" (drug, chemical) pathologies, so sex cannot by definition fit these...

Sanctions were made by US and EU but made no difference for more than a decade.

Throughout the past 15 years or so, UN sent representatives to solve national reconciliation in Myanmar. But all the efforts these representatives made were in vain since the Burmese dictator is not willing to move a step towards national reconciliation. Sanctions were made by US and EU but made no difference for more than a decade. The number of political prisoners is around 1400 and still increasing...

Rangoon Burma

Both the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian are carrying disturbing photos and stories about what’s happening in Burma. The military are rounding up Buddhist monks in trucks and taking them away so they can’t come to the city to protest. They killed a Japanese photographer who was capturing the unrest on film, and apparently went searching for more foreign journalists in a nearby city hotel....