Watercooler Stories

Uganda not amused by church shock machine

ENTEBBE, Uganda, July 13 (UPI) -- A Ugandan preacher in Entebbe is being investigated for trying to import a machine that allows the wearer to give people electric shocks.

Security agents first thought the "Electric Touch" machine was a device for making bombs, and confiscated it, the BBC reported.

It was being mailed to Kojo Nana Obiri-Yeboah, a charismatic preacher who runs the We Are One ministry. Under questioning by police, he denied it was going to be used as a prop to make his congregation believe he has a connection with the Holy Spirit, the report said.

"This is a toy. It was sent for my daughters' birthday," Obiri-Yeboah told the BBC.

Ugandan Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo launched a probe into the activities of churches, the report said.

"We feel there is a need for a policy on religion," he told the BBC.

Woman's suicide tries cost Welsh rescuers

SWANSEA, Wales, July 13 (UPI) -- A woman who has continually threatened suicide by throwing herself into the sea has reportedly cost emergency services in Wales $2 million.

Magistrates in Aberystwyth banned Amy Beth Dalla Mura, a former golf professional, last year from going into the water. She admitted at a hearing Wednesday that she made four attempts to go into the sea last month, The Western Mail reported.

Officials estimate that the Coast Guard and other emergency services have spent 1 million pounds ($2 million) on her.

Her lawyer says Dalla Mura suffers from chronic pain, aggravated by an unsuccessful operation to relieve it.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it has an obligation to save lives, no matter what.

"I am not saying that it is a hoax but this creates an extra burden," he said. "I think what her solicitor told the court sums it up. If her problems could be addressed the emergency services would not be put under this pressure."

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 3.

Internet raunch part of 2008 campaigns

CHICAGO, July 13 (UPI) -- Two U.S. Democratic presidential hopefuls have gained "buzz" by suggestive music videos posted on the YouTube Internet site.

The reportedly unsolicited campaigning began June 13 with a music video featuring a barely clothed model who romps to lyrics in "Obama Girl" -- praising Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., with lines such as: "You tell the truth unlike the right/You can love but you can fight/You can Barack me tonight," The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The leading Democrat in the nomination race, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is the subject of a YouTube video with lesbian overtones, the report said.

Called "Hott4Hill," the video was written and performed by "American Idol" washout Taryn Southern. Its lyrics include "I know you're not gay, but I'm hoping for bi ... lingual."

The Obama video has soared in the Web site's popularity ratings, while the Clinton video is expected to attract a similar number of curious, the report said.

U.S. voters soft on leaders' infidelity

LOS ANGELES, July 13 (UPI) -- U.S. elected officials caught in extramarital affairs don't suffer much voter backlash, under the right circumstances, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has been out of public view since admitting his name and telephone number was among those published by a Washington escort agency that is under investigation.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has kept a high profile -- and been peppered with questions from the media -- after publicly admitting he had an affair with a TV reporter.

The bad behavior doesn't necessarily mean political suicide, said Mary Ellen Balchunis-Harris, a professor of political science at La Salle University in Philadelphia.

"Times have indeed changed," she said. "Americans have gotten over the fact that their politicians aren't perfect."

As a further example, after President Bill Clinton's extramarital affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky in 1998, his personal approval ratings reached their highest level of his presidency, the report said.

On the other hand, Vitter's opportunity to serve in Congress came when former Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., resigned in 1998 -- two days after he publicly admitted to an extramarital affair.