Watercooler Stories

Ranch specializes in bird, reptile food

SPENARD, Alaska, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A Spenard, Alaska, woman who raises crickets, mealworms and mice as animal food says her business will be opened to the general public during the coming months.

Dianna Smith says the Alaskan Reptile and Cricket Ranch -- which contains thousands of worms and insects and nearly 800 mice -- sells most of its stock to the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage and the Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center in Wasilla, but it will soon cater to private owners of birds and reptiles, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Smith said her long-term plan is to begin as a feed store and eventually grow her business into a specialty reptile store.

"Eventually I'm going to have my own little retail," she said. "I've dreamed of this ever since I was little girl. If it kills me I'm going to have myself a reptile store."

Australian brothels used health rebates

SYDNEY, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Australian officials said they are taking a closer look at health fund rebates for massage parlors after some of the businesses were revealed as brothels.

Health fund fraud investigators said they discovered up to 80 massage parlors in Sydney alone were fraudulently using funds -- and some were offering taxpayer-funded rebates for a "massage with a happy ending" -- The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph reported.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said officials are taking a closer look to ensure that federal funds are kept away from massage parlors that offer sexual services.

"Public funds that go to health services should be used for health services," she said.

Australian Sex Party enters political fray

MELBOURNE, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Organizers of a new Australian political party set for its official debut this week said their slogan is that the Australian Sex Party is "serious about sex."

The party, which is set to be introduced at the Melbourne Sexpo, will seek offices in state and federal parliaments on a platform opposing the government's proposed Internet filter, demanding a national sex education curriculum and supporting same-sex marriage, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph reported.

The party's slogan: "We are serious about sex."

Fiona Patten, founder of the Australian Sex Party, said the proposed Internet filter is "a real step backwards to where we've come. In fact it's far more censorial then we probably were 30 years ago."

She said the filter would put Australia's Internet sex industry out of business within five years of implementation.

"Material that would be classified X-rated ... is considered illegal content and that is material that is currently available ... in newsagents," Patten said.

Priest apologizes for Obama car outburst

FAIRFIELD, Calif., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A Catholic priest in California has apologized for asking that a car bearing several "Obama for President" stickers be removed from the church parking lot.

The Rev. Sebastian Meyer of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Fairfield apologized to his congregation "for the poor judgment I showed in expressing myself" when he sought to have the car removed Nov. 9, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Members of the congregation said Meyer did not make it clear why he wanted the car removed on the day of the incident. However, Meyer insisted Sunday that the request was not politically motivated. He said he wanted the car removed because he thought it was parked illegally.

"The fact is I overreacted, and some of you, including the owner of the car, interpreted my remarks as critical of President-elect (Barack) Obama, when all I really meant to do -- and should have done -- was make a simple announcement asking the owner to move the car," the priest said.

Kevin Eckery, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, said some parishioners reported that Meyer's statements seemed like a criticism of Obama.

"Either way, we don't condone any of this, and we certainly wouldn't criticize any parishioner for who they voted for," Eckery said.

A journalist with the Vacaville Reporter filed a police report Wednesday claiming he was verbally and physically assaulted by Meyer after asking the priest about the incident. Eckery said he did not have any information about the allegations.