1
Fun, Games And Silliness / Re: Movies and Actors
« on: May 03, 2024, 03:11:32 PM »
Travis Hammer
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
2
Fun, Games And Silliness / Re: Use the last two letters to make next word
« on: May 03, 2024, 03:09:25 PM »
edify
3
Fun, Games And Silliness / Re: Keep A Word, Drop A Word, Add A Word
« on: May 03, 2024, 03:07:04 PM »
camping holiday
5
Fun, Games And Silliness / DEFINITION OF OUTDOOR BARBECUING
« on: April 30, 2024, 03:48:45 PM »
DEFINITION OF OUTDOOR BARBECUING
When a man volunteers to do barbecue cooking, the following chain of events is put into motion:
1) The woman goes to the store.
2) The woman fixes the salad, vegetables, and dessert.
3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils, and takes it to the man, who is lounging beside the grill, drinking a cold beverage.
4) The man places the meat on the grill.
5) The woman goes inside to set the table and check the vegetables.
6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning.
7) The man takes the meat off the grill and hands it to the woman.
8) The woman prepares the plates and brings them to the table.
9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
10) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off." And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.
When a man volunteers to do barbecue cooking, the following chain of events is put into motion:
1) The woman goes to the store.
2) The woman fixes the salad, vegetables, and dessert.
3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils, and takes it to the man, who is lounging beside the grill, drinking a cold beverage.
4) The man places the meat on the grill.
5) The woman goes inside to set the table and check the vegetables.
6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning.
7) The man takes the meat off the grill and hands it to the woman.
8) The woman prepares the plates and brings them to the table.
9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
10) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off." And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.
6
Faith / Re: Devotions
« on: April 28, 2024, 04:59:35 PM »
https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2023/07/03/finding-courage-in-community?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotions&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-86SAnp3coq0lCWBPWMK2J2wvXTiLy122hh89Eda-Mxsc0ocwfTzkdmQ2iTT550OmtzjbQlvWoEWxqrYnYCyqQrCmzAHg&_hsmi=262567430&utm_content=262567430&utm_source=hs_email#disqus_thread
Finding Courage in Community
July 3, 2023
by Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young
“So Moses brought their case before the LORD, and the LORD said to him, ‘What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.’” Numbers 27:5-7 (NIV)
Recently, I gathered with a group of women leaders in my city. These women head up nonprofits, work as teachers and administrators in local schools, run businesses, and lead in churches. Many of them were feeling run down and overwhelmed by needs in their circles of influence. Maybe that describes you today: run down, overwhelmed, and ready to throw in the towel. No matter where we lead whether in our city, church, workplace or home we all reach a point where we’re not sure how to keep going. Loss, obstacles and opposition wear us down and wear us out. The women leaders in my city were hungry for some encouragement in their various leadership roles. So I opened up my Bible to the book of Numbers and read a story about five sisters who were part of the nation of Israel: the daughters of Zelophehad. These women in Numbers 27, who are called by name Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah (Numbers 27:1) walked a journey of grief. Their father died, and they were left without provision. Together they went to Moses and appealed to his compassion and subsequently the compassion of God. They posed a respectful yet pointed question: “Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son?” (Numbers 27:4a, NIV).
In essence, they asked for the rights to their father’s property, which is not something women were usually granted in this ancient context. Fathers gave their daughters a dowry or gift upon marriage, but daughters did not inherit property. Still, Moses heard their case and brought their request to God. I love God’s response: “So Moses brought their case before the LORD, and the LORD said to him, ‘What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them’” (Numbers 27:5-7).
This story teaches us a lot about God’s heart for women. The word translated “case” here is mishpat in Hebrew, which can also mean “justice” and is used throughout the Bible. The women made a personal case for justice, which affected the entire community. The law was changed, and all women who were left without fathers and brothers would benefit (Numbers 27:8-11).
These women stepped out in community with courage. They serve as examples to all of us today. God gives us intelligence, agency and creativity to move in our respective spheres of influence. And because He goes with us and provides others to bolster our courage, we don’t have to do it alone. Who can you link arms with to go with them courageously toward change?
Maybe God is calling you to go with your daughter by offering her wisdom and encouragement. Maybe He’s calling you to lead your organization and go with your team in a new direction. Maybe your husband needs you to go with him by praying over him. Maybe you can go with your sister in Christ who is learning to rise up and voice her story. Let’s pray about ways we can move forward in faith and community like the daughters of Zelophehad who changed history.
Finding Courage in Community
July 3, 2023
by Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young
“So Moses brought their case before the LORD, and the LORD said to him, ‘What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.’” Numbers 27:5-7 (NIV)
Recently, I gathered with a group of women leaders in my city. These women head up nonprofits, work as teachers and administrators in local schools, run businesses, and lead in churches. Many of them were feeling run down and overwhelmed by needs in their circles of influence. Maybe that describes you today: run down, overwhelmed, and ready to throw in the towel. No matter where we lead whether in our city, church, workplace or home we all reach a point where we’re not sure how to keep going. Loss, obstacles and opposition wear us down and wear us out. The women leaders in my city were hungry for some encouragement in their various leadership roles. So I opened up my Bible to the book of Numbers and read a story about five sisters who were part of the nation of Israel: the daughters of Zelophehad. These women in Numbers 27, who are called by name Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah (Numbers 27:1) walked a journey of grief. Their father died, and they were left without provision. Together they went to Moses and appealed to his compassion and subsequently the compassion of God. They posed a respectful yet pointed question: “Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son?” (Numbers 27:4a, NIV).
In essence, they asked for the rights to their father’s property, which is not something women were usually granted in this ancient context. Fathers gave their daughters a dowry or gift upon marriage, but daughters did not inherit property. Still, Moses heard their case and brought their request to God. I love God’s response: “So Moses brought their case before the LORD, and the LORD said to him, ‘What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them’” (Numbers 27:5-7).
This story teaches us a lot about God’s heart for women. The word translated “case” here is mishpat in Hebrew, which can also mean “justice” and is used throughout the Bible. The women made a personal case for justice, which affected the entire community. The law was changed, and all women who were left without fathers and brothers would benefit (Numbers 27:8-11).
These women stepped out in community with courage. They serve as examples to all of us today. God gives us intelligence, agency and creativity to move in our respective spheres of influence. And because He goes with us and provides others to bolster our courage, we don’t have to do it alone. Who can you link arms with to go with them courageously toward change?
Maybe God is calling you to go with your daughter by offering her wisdom and encouragement. Maybe He’s calling you to lead your organization and go with your team in a new direction. Maybe your husband needs you to go with him by praying over him. Maybe you can go with your sister in Christ who is learning to rise up and voice her story. Let’s pray about ways we can move forward in faith and community like the daughters of Zelophehad who changed history.
7
Fun, Games And Silliness / Pets
« on: April 20, 2024, 10:38:44 AM »
A little boy took his dog on a "take your pet to school" day. There were prizes for the smallest, the prettiest, the cutest, and the smartest pet. Determined that his dog win a prize, the boy put his pet through a whole series of tricks. Finally the boy turned to the dog and asked, "Mindy, how much is two plus two minus four?"
The dog sat quietly, making no sound, remaining still and silent. "Right!" exclaimed the boy.
His dog won first prize.
The dog sat quietly, making no sound, remaining still and silent. "Right!" exclaimed the boy.
His dog won first prize.
8
Articles / Max Azzarello DIES just hours after setting himself on fire while protesting...
« on: April 20, 2024, 10:36:35 AM »
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13330347/Max-Azzarello-dead-fire-Trump-trial-NYC.html
Max Azzarello DIES just hours after setting himself on fire while protesting outside Trump's hush money trial in NYC as friends reveal the heartbreaking moment that triggered his spiral into self-destruction
Protester Max Azzarello has died after setting himself ablaze in Manhattan Friday
The 37-year-old doused himself in accelerant before igniting himself with a light
Flames engulfed the conspiracy theorist, who has now succumbed to his injuries
By Alex Hammer For Dailymail.Com
Published: 04:51, 20 April 2024 | Updated: 07:46, 20 April 2024
The man who set himself on fire outside Trump's hush money trial in New York has died from his injuries, as his friends and neighbors said it was the death of his mother two years ago that made him increasingly unstable. Max Azzarello, a 37-year-old from St. Augustine, Florida, died Friday night hours after the shocking display, said to be 'an 'extreme act of protest [against] a totalitarian con, and our own government' on his own Substack. The Florida native was a graduate from Rutgers University, where he received a master’s degree in city and regional planning in 2012, friends said. He was rushed to a nearby hospital’s burn unit where died just before 11 pm, sources familiar with the matter added Friday night hours after was seen throwing a stack of pamphlets that included a link to his conspiracy-laden Substack seconds before igniting. In interviews carried out within that span, several who knew Azzarello described a different sort of man from the one responsible for a slew of rambling, paranoid posts plastered throughout his social media. 'He was super curious about social justice and the way things "could" be,' fellow Rutgers alum Katie Brennan told the New York Times Friday of the self-professed 'investigative researcher. He was creative and adventurous.'
An friend from high school, Steven Waldman, remembered Azzarello who had a job in marketing, sales, and tech before becoming unemployed at some point in 2021 or 2022 as one of the smartest people he knew. 'He was a good friend and person and cared about the world,' he told the publication.
Both talked up the confirmed conspiracy theorist has decidedly normal, as did his neighbors in historic St. Augustine, where he lived in a small apartment near the Matanzas River. '[He was] an extremely nice person,' recalled the property manager of his apartment building, Larry Altman. He went on to add: 'He had political views that I would not consider mainstream. He called our government and the world government a Ponzi scheme,' Altman remembered, before disclaiming those views were hardly a cause for concern.
'If you met Max, he’d shake your hand, and you’d have a nice conversation,' he told The Times. 'He’d treat you with respect.'
His oldest friends were left even more surprised by his sudden act, with Carol Waldman, the mom of his childhood friend, recalling: 'He was kind and a gentle soul. A real wonderful, terrific young guy. Who had his whole life ahead of him.'
But things quickly changed after the death of his mother, Elizabeth Azzarello, on April 6, 2022 almost two years to the day before his self-immolation. After the loss spurred by a bout with pulmonary disease his friends in St Augustine said they saw a change, one that culminated with Azzarello secretly traveling to New York City at some point this year, without his family's knowledge. 'That was around the time when he became more outspoken,' Waldman said of this period, referring to the last eight or so months of 2022. They were close, and they had a good relationship. He was heartbroken.' he recalled.
By the next year, Azzarello and his writings after penning a beautifully worded memorial following his mother's death were almost unrecognizable. 'This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery,' Azzarello wrote in part of his online manifesto, titled The Ponzi Papers. We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup.'
He added how this supposed regime 'is about to hit us with an apocalyptic facist world coup,' just months after a series of arrests in his home state for incidents that took place in August, including hurling a drink at a photo of Bill Clinton.
Oddly, the alleged research investigator is seen smiling in an undated photo with the Democrat seen on his still-up LinkedIn, where he wrote, 'we have a secret facist problem.'
In March 2023, he changed his profession on LinkedIn as 'Research Investigator,' self-employed, and in June reportedly tagged Brennan and others to make sure they had seen something he had written. Speaking to The Times, she framed it as a 'manifesto', and remembered how she called him to intervene. When that didn't work, she said she wrote to one of his relatives to make sure they were aware he was not in the right state of mind just over a year before he woudl set himself on fire as Trump's criminal trial entered its fourth day. Eight months before this, though, Azzarello posted to Facebook to tell his online friends he had visited a mental health treatment facility, writing, 'Three days in the psych ward, and all I got were my new favorite socks.'
He was also spotted outside the courthouse both Thursday and Friday, where he reportedly told The New York Times, 'Trump's in on it.'
Trump is facing allegations he falsified business records related to payments made to ex-porn star Stormy Daniels. Again framing himself as a 'research investigator', Azzarello told the paper his beliefs were influenced by research he had carried out into Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist whose seed money helped start firms like PayPal and Facebook. Photographed holding a sign that read 'Trump is with Biden and they're about to facist coup us', he said: 'It's a secret kleptocracy, and it can only lead to an apocalyptic fascist coup.'
The day before, he reportedly held a sign critical of New York University before heading to the courthouse, while handing out literature on the subject. On Friday, the self-employed 'investigative researcher' suddenly tossed a stack of pamphlets into the air that included links to his manifesto, seconds before suddenly setting himself ablaze. After the self-immolation, cops descended on the area just before 2pm, after which he was brought to a nearby hospital’s burn unit. He died shortly before 11 pm, sources familiar with the matter confirmed. In an article authored hours before he spewed unfounded theories about the 'elites', COVID, and Clinton, who appeared to have become a source of fascination for Azzarello over the years. The post bore the startling succinct headline: 'I have set myself on fire outside of the Trump Trial', as other social media posts provided more insight into the college graduate's fragile state of mind.
DailyMail.com gained more insight after learning the activist just week ago completed a six month probation sentence - handed out following a string of incidents in Florida involving either disorderly conduct, destruction of property, and overall erratic, 'rambling' behavior. DailyMail.com obtained criminal complaints for each, which all place within a matter of days in August. In the first of three, cops wrote how Azzarello threw a glass of wine at a framed and autographed photograph of President Clinton displayed in the lobby of the Casa Monica Hotel in his hometown of Saint Augustine the evening of August 19, 2023, The complaint, which lists him as unemployed, notes the incident took place as Azzarello had just finished dinner at the hotel restaurant. He went on to launch the glass at the image, breaking the glass on the framed photograph and damaging it with wine in the process. Then, two days later, Azzarello was arrested again at the Case Monica, after he was reported for 'standing outside, stripping his clothes off and yelling at customers.' When cops arrived, they noted how the suspect was 'wearing nothing but his underwear, standing on the sidewalk [, and] holing [sic] a speaker blasting music and yelling', officers wrote eight months ago. The hotel manager, meanwhile, was said to have told officers that customers were 'scared for their safety', and that many were unable to enter or exit for fear of being caught up in the then-suspect's episode. On August 24, he was arrested once more for graffitiing property and rifling through a woman's belongings in the flatbed of her truck, after allegedly being seen yelling in someone's yards after 'misinterpreting' an exterminator's sign warning people to keep their children and pets off a lawn that had just been treated. Cops, at the time, wrote how the conspiracy theorist was convinced the pest control company was 'there to exterminate children and dogs', as all the events occurred within walking distance of Azzarello's apartment. In a discovery that provided more insight into the man behind the incident, DailyMail.com found Azzarello had posted to Facebook earlier that month, this time to tell his friends that he had just spent three days in a psych ward. 'I was handcuffed, shoved, and put into a psych ward,' he wrote in the update, in which he described how cops suddenly showed up at his St Augustine pad necause he had tipped a Starbucks barista $200 and wrote 'Go F*** Yourself' on the receipt.
'I was given no information about why I was there until after my discharge,' he said, as another post a few weeks later indicated her served jail time for the alleged stunt.
Less than three months later, a suit he filed against Clinton and 100 other influential figures was tossed when he failed to follow up with required court filings, after claiming Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, the country of Saudi Arabia, and more were carrying 'an elaborate network of Ponzi schemes' dating back to the 1990s and continuing through 2023. Other defendants named in the 2023 suit included 1992 Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, who died in 2019. The case filed by Azzarello without a lawyer was tossed this past October. Then, in an Instagram story posted a little over nine weeks ago, Azzarello shared a picture of Taylor Swift donned in Super Woman apparel. He wrote in the caption: 'Super Bowl LVII Forecast: 100% chance of broflakes melting down and whining across the nation.'
Azzarello wrote: 'Why are we all so divided? Because the people who stole the American Dream are shouting 'You're divided! You're divided!' in all directions.'
In another post from this time period, Azzarello appeared to show support for the Eras performer, commenting on a photo of her flashing the peace sign while delivering a commencement speech at New York University. 'Still her best picture,' Azzarello wrote over the May 2022 image, held in front of the same school would go on to slam two months later days before setting himself ablaze.
'NYU is a mob front', the headline of literature being passed around by the activist in Lower Manhattan not far from the courthouse Wednesday read. An accompanying tagline added that the pamphlet was 'a brief guide to[the school's] most criminal secrets.' Reporters with the Times, meanwhile, confirmed the suspect was holding a sign on Wednesday critical of the school at Washington Square Park Wednesday, before moving on Thursday to the park where the incident occurred. A link to his Ponzi Papers Substack was provided. On Wednesday, he also posted an Instagram highlight saying he would be 'spending the week at Washington Square Park airing out all of NYU's dirty laundry', a day before a final Instagram story just minutes before the blaze. 'I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you,' it read.
At 1:37 pm, law enforcement responded to calls reporting the fire, before rushing Azzarello to a city hospital where he is said to be in critical condition. The New York Police Department said an investigation is ongoing, as other recent social media posts show how Azzarello recently praised 'martyrs' like the former U.S. military member who also lit himself on fire, but died during protest. 'Heroes and martyrs, folks,' Azzarello posted on his Instagram after the February death of US Air Force Active Duty Member Aaron Bushnell, adding 'God f****** bless you, Aaron Bushnell.'
Bushnell, 25, died after self immolating outside the Israeli Embassy this past February in Washington, D.C., in protest of Israel's war in Gaza. 'My name is Aaron Bushnell, I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide,' Bushnell is heard saying in video of the incident. '
'I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.'
Like Bushnell, Azzarello released his own manifesto before his act on Friday. However, unlike the late servicemen, his motives appear a bit more muddied with most of his pages attacking facism and the supposed complacency of the general public. In his Substack, he again states he is an 'investigative researcher'. The rest of the profile amounts to a rambling diatribe ageist the establishment, which Azzarello appears to be the authors of 'totalitarian con'. He also warns of a 'an apocalyptic fascist world coup', and in fliers posted to his social media, he flaunts other self made pamphlets centered around the 'dipshit secrets of our rotten world'. 'When the economy collapses and it feels like World War III overnight, you'll know exactly why,' Azzarello warns in the flier. His profile claims he has been self-employed since March of 2023. In one post, he claimed to have served 40 days in jail for one of the incidents back in August. The NYPD investigation into the incident, as of writing, remains ongoing.
Max Azzarello DIES just hours after setting himself on fire while protesting outside Trump's hush money trial in NYC as friends reveal the heartbreaking moment that triggered his spiral into self-destruction
Protester Max Azzarello has died after setting himself ablaze in Manhattan Friday
The 37-year-old doused himself in accelerant before igniting himself with a light
Flames engulfed the conspiracy theorist, who has now succumbed to his injuries
By Alex Hammer For Dailymail.Com
Published: 04:51, 20 April 2024 | Updated: 07:46, 20 April 2024
The man who set himself on fire outside Trump's hush money trial in New York has died from his injuries, as his friends and neighbors said it was the death of his mother two years ago that made him increasingly unstable. Max Azzarello, a 37-year-old from St. Augustine, Florida, died Friday night hours after the shocking display, said to be 'an 'extreme act of protest [against] a totalitarian con, and our own government' on his own Substack. The Florida native was a graduate from Rutgers University, where he received a master’s degree in city and regional planning in 2012, friends said. He was rushed to a nearby hospital’s burn unit where died just before 11 pm, sources familiar with the matter added Friday night hours after was seen throwing a stack of pamphlets that included a link to his conspiracy-laden Substack seconds before igniting. In interviews carried out within that span, several who knew Azzarello described a different sort of man from the one responsible for a slew of rambling, paranoid posts plastered throughout his social media. 'He was super curious about social justice and the way things "could" be,' fellow Rutgers alum Katie Brennan told the New York Times Friday of the self-professed 'investigative researcher. He was creative and adventurous.'
An friend from high school, Steven Waldman, remembered Azzarello who had a job in marketing, sales, and tech before becoming unemployed at some point in 2021 or 2022 as one of the smartest people he knew. 'He was a good friend and person and cared about the world,' he told the publication.
Both talked up the confirmed conspiracy theorist has decidedly normal, as did his neighbors in historic St. Augustine, where he lived in a small apartment near the Matanzas River. '[He was] an extremely nice person,' recalled the property manager of his apartment building, Larry Altman. He went on to add: 'He had political views that I would not consider mainstream. He called our government and the world government a Ponzi scheme,' Altman remembered, before disclaiming those views were hardly a cause for concern.
'If you met Max, he’d shake your hand, and you’d have a nice conversation,' he told The Times. 'He’d treat you with respect.'
His oldest friends were left even more surprised by his sudden act, with Carol Waldman, the mom of his childhood friend, recalling: 'He was kind and a gentle soul. A real wonderful, terrific young guy. Who had his whole life ahead of him.'
But things quickly changed after the death of his mother, Elizabeth Azzarello, on April 6, 2022 almost two years to the day before his self-immolation. After the loss spurred by a bout with pulmonary disease his friends in St Augustine said they saw a change, one that culminated with Azzarello secretly traveling to New York City at some point this year, without his family's knowledge. 'That was around the time when he became more outspoken,' Waldman said of this period, referring to the last eight or so months of 2022. They were close, and they had a good relationship. He was heartbroken.' he recalled.
By the next year, Azzarello and his writings after penning a beautifully worded memorial following his mother's death were almost unrecognizable. 'This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery,' Azzarello wrote in part of his online manifesto, titled The Ponzi Papers. We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup.'
He added how this supposed regime 'is about to hit us with an apocalyptic facist world coup,' just months after a series of arrests in his home state for incidents that took place in August, including hurling a drink at a photo of Bill Clinton.
Oddly, the alleged research investigator is seen smiling in an undated photo with the Democrat seen on his still-up LinkedIn, where he wrote, 'we have a secret facist problem.'
In March 2023, he changed his profession on LinkedIn as 'Research Investigator,' self-employed, and in June reportedly tagged Brennan and others to make sure they had seen something he had written. Speaking to The Times, she framed it as a 'manifesto', and remembered how she called him to intervene. When that didn't work, she said she wrote to one of his relatives to make sure they were aware he was not in the right state of mind just over a year before he woudl set himself on fire as Trump's criminal trial entered its fourth day. Eight months before this, though, Azzarello posted to Facebook to tell his online friends he had visited a mental health treatment facility, writing, 'Three days in the psych ward, and all I got were my new favorite socks.'
He was also spotted outside the courthouse both Thursday and Friday, where he reportedly told The New York Times, 'Trump's in on it.'
Trump is facing allegations he falsified business records related to payments made to ex-porn star Stormy Daniels. Again framing himself as a 'research investigator', Azzarello told the paper his beliefs were influenced by research he had carried out into Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist whose seed money helped start firms like PayPal and Facebook. Photographed holding a sign that read 'Trump is with Biden and they're about to facist coup us', he said: 'It's a secret kleptocracy, and it can only lead to an apocalyptic fascist coup.'
The day before, he reportedly held a sign critical of New York University before heading to the courthouse, while handing out literature on the subject. On Friday, the self-employed 'investigative researcher' suddenly tossed a stack of pamphlets into the air that included links to his manifesto, seconds before suddenly setting himself ablaze. After the self-immolation, cops descended on the area just before 2pm, after which he was brought to a nearby hospital’s burn unit. He died shortly before 11 pm, sources familiar with the matter confirmed. In an article authored hours before he spewed unfounded theories about the 'elites', COVID, and Clinton, who appeared to have become a source of fascination for Azzarello over the years. The post bore the startling succinct headline: 'I have set myself on fire outside of the Trump Trial', as other social media posts provided more insight into the college graduate's fragile state of mind.
DailyMail.com gained more insight after learning the activist just week ago completed a six month probation sentence - handed out following a string of incidents in Florida involving either disorderly conduct, destruction of property, and overall erratic, 'rambling' behavior. DailyMail.com obtained criminal complaints for each, which all place within a matter of days in August. In the first of three, cops wrote how Azzarello threw a glass of wine at a framed and autographed photograph of President Clinton displayed in the lobby of the Casa Monica Hotel in his hometown of Saint Augustine the evening of August 19, 2023, The complaint, which lists him as unemployed, notes the incident took place as Azzarello had just finished dinner at the hotel restaurant. He went on to launch the glass at the image, breaking the glass on the framed photograph and damaging it with wine in the process. Then, two days later, Azzarello was arrested again at the Case Monica, after he was reported for 'standing outside, stripping his clothes off and yelling at customers.' When cops arrived, they noted how the suspect was 'wearing nothing but his underwear, standing on the sidewalk [, and] holing [sic] a speaker blasting music and yelling', officers wrote eight months ago. The hotel manager, meanwhile, was said to have told officers that customers were 'scared for their safety', and that many were unable to enter or exit for fear of being caught up in the then-suspect's episode. On August 24, he was arrested once more for graffitiing property and rifling through a woman's belongings in the flatbed of her truck, after allegedly being seen yelling in someone's yards after 'misinterpreting' an exterminator's sign warning people to keep their children and pets off a lawn that had just been treated. Cops, at the time, wrote how the conspiracy theorist was convinced the pest control company was 'there to exterminate children and dogs', as all the events occurred within walking distance of Azzarello's apartment. In a discovery that provided more insight into the man behind the incident, DailyMail.com found Azzarello had posted to Facebook earlier that month, this time to tell his friends that he had just spent three days in a psych ward. 'I was handcuffed, shoved, and put into a psych ward,' he wrote in the update, in which he described how cops suddenly showed up at his St Augustine pad necause he had tipped a Starbucks barista $200 and wrote 'Go F*** Yourself' on the receipt.
'I was given no information about why I was there until after my discharge,' he said, as another post a few weeks later indicated her served jail time for the alleged stunt.
Less than three months later, a suit he filed against Clinton and 100 other influential figures was tossed when he failed to follow up with required court filings, after claiming Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, the country of Saudi Arabia, and more were carrying 'an elaborate network of Ponzi schemes' dating back to the 1990s and continuing through 2023. Other defendants named in the 2023 suit included 1992 Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, who died in 2019. The case filed by Azzarello without a lawyer was tossed this past October. Then, in an Instagram story posted a little over nine weeks ago, Azzarello shared a picture of Taylor Swift donned in Super Woman apparel. He wrote in the caption: 'Super Bowl LVII Forecast: 100% chance of broflakes melting down and whining across the nation.'
Azzarello wrote: 'Why are we all so divided? Because the people who stole the American Dream are shouting 'You're divided! You're divided!' in all directions.'
In another post from this time period, Azzarello appeared to show support for the Eras performer, commenting on a photo of her flashing the peace sign while delivering a commencement speech at New York University. 'Still her best picture,' Azzarello wrote over the May 2022 image, held in front of the same school would go on to slam two months later days before setting himself ablaze.
'NYU is a mob front', the headline of literature being passed around by the activist in Lower Manhattan not far from the courthouse Wednesday read. An accompanying tagline added that the pamphlet was 'a brief guide to[the school's] most criminal secrets.' Reporters with the Times, meanwhile, confirmed the suspect was holding a sign on Wednesday critical of the school at Washington Square Park Wednesday, before moving on Thursday to the park where the incident occurred. A link to his Ponzi Papers Substack was provided. On Wednesday, he also posted an Instagram highlight saying he would be 'spending the week at Washington Square Park airing out all of NYU's dirty laundry', a day before a final Instagram story just minutes before the blaze. 'I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you,' it read.
At 1:37 pm, law enforcement responded to calls reporting the fire, before rushing Azzarello to a city hospital where he is said to be in critical condition. The New York Police Department said an investigation is ongoing, as other recent social media posts show how Azzarello recently praised 'martyrs' like the former U.S. military member who also lit himself on fire, but died during protest. 'Heroes and martyrs, folks,' Azzarello posted on his Instagram after the February death of US Air Force Active Duty Member Aaron Bushnell, adding 'God f****** bless you, Aaron Bushnell.'
Bushnell, 25, died after self immolating outside the Israeli Embassy this past February in Washington, D.C., in protest of Israel's war in Gaza. 'My name is Aaron Bushnell, I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide,' Bushnell is heard saying in video of the incident. '
'I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.'
Like Bushnell, Azzarello released his own manifesto before his act on Friday. However, unlike the late servicemen, his motives appear a bit more muddied with most of his pages attacking facism and the supposed complacency of the general public. In his Substack, he again states he is an 'investigative researcher'. The rest of the profile amounts to a rambling diatribe ageist the establishment, which Azzarello appears to be the authors of 'totalitarian con'. He also warns of a 'an apocalyptic fascist world coup', and in fliers posted to his social media, he flaunts other self made pamphlets centered around the 'dipshit secrets of our rotten world'. 'When the economy collapses and it feels like World War III overnight, you'll know exactly why,' Azzarello warns in the flier. His profile claims he has been self-employed since March of 2023. In one post, he claimed to have served 40 days in jail for one of the incidents back in August. The NYPD investigation into the incident, as of writing, remains ongoing.
9
Articles / Britain's 'worst mother' Karen Matthews seen for the first time since ....
« on: April 18, 2024, 03:25:27 PM »
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13323451/Karen-Matthews-Michael-Donovan-daughter-Shannons-kidnap.html
Britain's 'worst mother' Karen Matthews seen for the first time since kidnapper Michael Donovan's death and still protests her innocence that daughter Shannon's ordeal had NOTHING to do with her
Michael Donovan died on Tuesday after collapsing in a mental health hospital
By Vivek Chaudhary and Eirian Jane Prosser and Aidan Radnedge
Published: 12:35, 18 April 2024 | Updated: 14:55, 18 April 2024
This is Karen Matthews, pictured for the first time since the man she conspired with to help kidnap her daughter died. Kidnapper Michael Donovan had colluded with Matthew's in 2009 when he abducted her nine-year-old daughter Shannon and held her captive in a plot to claim a £50,000 award. The schoolgirl, who had been drugged and hidden in the draw of a divan bed, was found 24 days later after police raided Donovan's council flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire. Donovan and Matthews were both found guilty of kidnap, false, imprisonment and perverting the court of justice and served half their sentence of eight years in jail. On Tuesday, it was announced that the Donovan had died age 54 after collapsing in a mental health unit at the Three Valleys Hospital in Keighley. He had been suffering from brain cancer. Emerging for the first time today, wearing a long beige puffer coat and with her face hidden behind a pink scarf, Matthews emerged from her shabby flat and shouted 'I'm innocent, leave me alone.'
She stared intensely ahead as she rushed away with her hands in her pockets. Matthews, 47, became a household name exactly 15 years ago when she appeared on TV crying as she appealed for people to come forward with information about her daughter's whereabouts. Speaking on behalf of Matthews, her boyfriend Paul Saunders, a convicted paedophile told MailOnline: 'She's over the moon that Donovan is dead. It's the best news she's had in ages. Karen hopes that he rots in hell, we both do. Donovan is scum, we hope that he had a painful death.'
He added: 'She was told about it in a phone call and she screamed with happiness. She was punching the air because this man deserved to die. Good riddance to him.'
Despite Matthews' conviction, Saunders insisted: 'She's innocent. It was Donovan who did the crime and kidnapped Shannon. She had nothing to do with it. People have got this all wrong.'
Shannon was reported missing from her home estate in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on February 19, 2008. Police launched a £3.2million search to find Shannon, only to discover that she had been tied up and drugged in Donovan's home for 24 days hidden in his bedroom with a list of rules on how to behave. The girl was found in the drawer of a divan bed in his bedroom, just a mile from her Dewsbury home. Saunders today revealed that Matthews has not seen her daughter or her other six children for 'several years' and has no contact with the rest of her family. He said: 'Karen has been unfairly portrayed as Britain's worst mother. But it's total lies. Donovan is the only criminal here.'
Saunders was jailed for five years at Oxford Crown Court in 2010 for sexual activity with a child and sexual assault. He must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life. He and Matthews live together in the south of England and are believed to have been together for around five years. They met after Saunders worked at her home as a handyman. Shannon and her siblings have been granted new identities and lifelong anonymity following a High Court injunction in 2020 and are kept apart from their mother. Matthews and Donovan were both jailed for eight years at Leeds Crown Court in January 2009 after being convicted of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Each served four years of their sentences before being released in 2012. Matthews was released in April 2012 and given a new taxpayer-funded identity and home. Her new name Kate was said to have been inspired by one of her Hollywood idols. Since leaving prison Matthews, who is apparently teatotal, previously was receiving regular support from a group of religious volunteers. Matthews was seen in a fish and chip shop despite her disguise and somebody noticed her and threw a plate of mushy peas over her head, according to a passerby who saw her in 2017. Following the alleged attack in a chip shop, a source said: 'Karen thinks this is just the start and wonders how many more attacks she will suffer. She was glad it was just a few peas but next time it could be worse. She was living quite a peaceful life until this programme came along. But Karen being Karen, she doesn't think it is anything to do with what she did by kidnapping her daughter.'
The source added: 'She is a long way from Dewsbury and has only been recognised a couple of times in a year. But now with this new drama on the telly she's petrified. The show is bringing her crimes to the attention of lot more people, who were younger at the time and weren't aware of what she did.'
Matthews case was pushed back into the public eye following the 2017 BBC drama The Moorside which saw Sheridan Smith play family friend Julie Bushby. The BBC1 programme was made by ITV Studios and watched by 7.2million viewers at the time. Matthews cousin, Susan Howgate, slammed the drama at the time saying it would 'bring everything back' and cause unnecessary pain. 'Family members will get grief like they have done in the past. I've had a lot of trouble, and same with my auntie. People keep saying stuff to her still,' Ms Howgate said at the time.
Following the programme's release, Matthews was said to be fearing for her life, using a face scarf to cover her identity walking the street. Since leaving prison she reportedly gave up drinking. She took up a job at a charity shop after struggling to find another because of her notoriety. Matthews claimed she was struggling to survive on benefits of £25 a week and prayed every day to find the strength to carry on. In 2020 it was revealed that Matthews had been fired from her job at the charity shop after bosses found out she wanted to marry a paedophile. The good cause store is linked to a Christian group who were appalled when they heard what she had done. After news of her engagement to Saunders was made public the shop told she can no longer work there over here 'error in judgement over the relationship. 'The boss was gobsmacked when they found out what had happened, a source told The Sun. 'They told her they can't have someone working there in a relationship with someone like that. It goes against everything the charity stands for.'
Despite their convictions, Matthews and Saunders both appear to be living a normal life. The mother has been spotted leaving a B&M store, buying trainers and visiting a Pets at Home Store. The couple have also been buying fish and chips together. Julie Bushby has suggested Shannon 'can get some peace now' that Donovan has died. She told the Mirror: 'At least now the taxpayer will save some money, and Shannon can get some peace and some closure. Every time a picture of him is shown it must hurt her every time there's a picture of Donovan or her mother, it's alongside her picture. That's got to be hard to live with.'
Ms Bushby was one of the woman involved in the search for Shannon, later describing how the community 'paid the price' for Matthews' and Donovan's crimes. She was among those who slept all night in a community centre with the lights kept on to act as a beacon to help the schoolgirl find her way home. In 2016, Ms Bushby said many people living in the area felt like they were partly blamed for what had happened, said: 'It's as if they punished us for what happened and killed our community spirit. There's only about a handful of the originals left on the estate most have moved because they don't want to be associated with it.'
Donovan is said to have told a relative earlier this year he had been given just three to nine months to live after being diagnosed with Stage 3 brain cancer. He was given the name Paul Drake when born but later changed it to Michael Donovan after a TV sci-fi character, before another recent switch to Aiden Johnson. West Yorkshire Police was last year investigating him for the alleged possession of child pornography and he was placed under a sexual harm prevention order after appearing at Bradford Crown Court. A relative of Donovan said: 'He had told me in the past that he had cancer, but I didn't believe him at first because he would make things up. I was told he had lung cancer which spread to his brain. I'm glad that his suffering is finally over. I feel sorry for Mick he was a fool to himself.'
And Ms Bushby suggested she was not surprised by the revelation about the sexual harm prevention order, saying: 'It's clear he was still a danger to children - so it's good he's dead.'
Ms Bushby added: 'It would have been over in a breath if we'd been told that but instead it turned into one of the biggest police hunts ever.'
Donovan was pronounced dead on Tuesday afternoon after collapsing at Three Valleys Hospital, whose private operators Elysium Healthcare refused to comment.
Britain's 'worst mother' Karen Matthews seen for the first time since kidnapper Michael Donovan's death and still protests her innocence that daughter Shannon's ordeal had NOTHING to do with her
Michael Donovan died on Tuesday after collapsing in a mental health hospital
By Vivek Chaudhary and Eirian Jane Prosser and Aidan Radnedge
Published: 12:35, 18 April 2024 | Updated: 14:55, 18 April 2024
This is Karen Matthews, pictured for the first time since the man she conspired with to help kidnap her daughter died. Kidnapper Michael Donovan had colluded with Matthew's in 2009 when he abducted her nine-year-old daughter Shannon and held her captive in a plot to claim a £50,000 award. The schoolgirl, who had been drugged and hidden in the draw of a divan bed, was found 24 days later after police raided Donovan's council flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire. Donovan and Matthews were both found guilty of kidnap, false, imprisonment and perverting the court of justice and served half their sentence of eight years in jail. On Tuesday, it was announced that the Donovan had died age 54 after collapsing in a mental health unit at the Three Valleys Hospital in Keighley. He had been suffering from brain cancer. Emerging for the first time today, wearing a long beige puffer coat and with her face hidden behind a pink scarf, Matthews emerged from her shabby flat and shouted 'I'm innocent, leave me alone.'
She stared intensely ahead as she rushed away with her hands in her pockets. Matthews, 47, became a household name exactly 15 years ago when she appeared on TV crying as she appealed for people to come forward with information about her daughter's whereabouts. Speaking on behalf of Matthews, her boyfriend Paul Saunders, a convicted paedophile told MailOnline: 'She's over the moon that Donovan is dead. It's the best news she's had in ages. Karen hopes that he rots in hell, we both do. Donovan is scum, we hope that he had a painful death.'
He added: 'She was told about it in a phone call and she screamed with happiness. She was punching the air because this man deserved to die. Good riddance to him.'
Despite Matthews' conviction, Saunders insisted: 'She's innocent. It was Donovan who did the crime and kidnapped Shannon. She had nothing to do with it. People have got this all wrong.'
Shannon was reported missing from her home estate in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on February 19, 2008. Police launched a £3.2million search to find Shannon, only to discover that she had been tied up and drugged in Donovan's home for 24 days hidden in his bedroom with a list of rules on how to behave. The girl was found in the drawer of a divan bed in his bedroom, just a mile from her Dewsbury home. Saunders today revealed that Matthews has not seen her daughter or her other six children for 'several years' and has no contact with the rest of her family. He said: 'Karen has been unfairly portrayed as Britain's worst mother. But it's total lies. Donovan is the only criminal here.'
Saunders was jailed for five years at Oxford Crown Court in 2010 for sexual activity with a child and sexual assault. He must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life. He and Matthews live together in the south of England and are believed to have been together for around five years. They met after Saunders worked at her home as a handyman. Shannon and her siblings have been granted new identities and lifelong anonymity following a High Court injunction in 2020 and are kept apart from their mother. Matthews and Donovan were both jailed for eight years at Leeds Crown Court in January 2009 after being convicted of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Each served four years of their sentences before being released in 2012. Matthews was released in April 2012 and given a new taxpayer-funded identity and home. Her new name Kate was said to have been inspired by one of her Hollywood idols. Since leaving prison Matthews, who is apparently teatotal, previously was receiving regular support from a group of religious volunteers. Matthews was seen in a fish and chip shop despite her disguise and somebody noticed her and threw a plate of mushy peas over her head, according to a passerby who saw her in 2017. Following the alleged attack in a chip shop, a source said: 'Karen thinks this is just the start and wonders how many more attacks she will suffer. She was glad it was just a few peas but next time it could be worse. She was living quite a peaceful life until this programme came along. But Karen being Karen, she doesn't think it is anything to do with what she did by kidnapping her daughter.'
The source added: 'She is a long way from Dewsbury and has only been recognised a couple of times in a year. But now with this new drama on the telly she's petrified. The show is bringing her crimes to the attention of lot more people, who were younger at the time and weren't aware of what she did.'
Matthews case was pushed back into the public eye following the 2017 BBC drama The Moorside which saw Sheridan Smith play family friend Julie Bushby. The BBC1 programme was made by ITV Studios and watched by 7.2million viewers at the time. Matthews cousin, Susan Howgate, slammed the drama at the time saying it would 'bring everything back' and cause unnecessary pain. 'Family members will get grief like they have done in the past. I've had a lot of trouble, and same with my auntie. People keep saying stuff to her still,' Ms Howgate said at the time.
Following the programme's release, Matthews was said to be fearing for her life, using a face scarf to cover her identity walking the street. Since leaving prison she reportedly gave up drinking. She took up a job at a charity shop after struggling to find another because of her notoriety. Matthews claimed she was struggling to survive on benefits of £25 a week and prayed every day to find the strength to carry on. In 2020 it was revealed that Matthews had been fired from her job at the charity shop after bosses found out she wanted to marry a paedophile. The good cause store is linked to a Christian group who were appalled when they heard what she had done. After news of her engagement to Saunders was made public the shop told she can no longer work there over here 'error in judgement over the relationship. 'The boss was gobsmacked when they found out what had happened, a source told The Sun. 'They told her they can't have someone working there in a relationship with someone like that. It goes against everything the charity stands for.'
Despite their convictions, Matthews and Saunders both appear to be living a normal life. The mother has been spotted leaving a B&M store, buying trainers and visiting a Pets at Home Store. The couple have also been buying fish and chips together. Julie Bushby has suggested Shannon 'can get some peace now' that Donovan has died. She told the Mirror: 'At least now the taxpayer will save some money, and Shannon can get some peace and some closure. Every time a picture of him is shown it must hurt her every time there's a picture of Donovan or her mother, it's alongside her picture. That's got to be hard to live with.'
Ms Bushby was one of the woman involved in the search for Shannon, later describing how the community 'paid the price' for Matthews' and Donovan's crimes. She was among those who slept all night in a community centre with the lights kept on to act as a beacon to help the schoolgirl find her way home. In 2016, Ms Bushby said many people living in the area felt like they were partly blamed for what had happened, said: 'It's as if they punished us for what happened and killed our community spirit. There's only about a handful of the originals left on the estate most have moved because they don't want to be associated with it.'
Donovan is said to have told a relative earlier this year he had been given just three to nine months to live after being diagnosed with Stage 3 brain cancer. He was given the name Paul Drake when born but later changed it to Michael Donovan after a TV sci-fi character, before another recent switch to Aiden Johnson. West Yorkshire Police was last year investigating him for the alleged possession of child pornography and he was placed under a sexual harm prevention order after appearing at Bradford Crown Court. A relative of Donovan said: 'He had told me in the past that he had cancer, but I didn't believe him at first because he would make things up. I was told he had lung cancer which spread to his brain. I'm glad that his suffering is finally over. I feel sorry for Mick he was a fool to himself.'
And Ms Bushby suggested she was not surprised by the revelation about the sexual harm prevention order, saying: 'It's clear he was still a danger to children - so it's good he's dead.'
Ms Bushby added: 'It would have been over in a breath if we'd been told that but instead it turned into one of the biggest police hunts ever.'
Donovan was pronounced dead on Tuesday afternoon after collapsing at Three Valleys Hospital, whose private operators Elysium Healthcare refused to comment.
10
Fun, Games And Silliness / SIGNS YOU OVERDID IT FOR THANKSGIVING
« on: April 16, 2024, 11:26:12 AM »
SIGNS YOU OVERDID IT FOR THANKSGIVING
> Paramedics bring in the Jaws of Life to pry you out of the EZ-Boy.
> The Gravy Boat you used was a real 12 foot boat.
> You get grass stains on your behind after a walk, but never sat down.
> You set off three earthquake seismographs on your morning jog Friday.
> Pricking your finger for cholesterol screening yields only gravy.
> You had five TV sets side-by-side to catch all the football games.
> That rash on your stomach turns out to be steering wheel burn.
> Representatives from the Butterball Hall of Fame called twice.
> It looks like the leftovers are gonna last until Christmas.
> Your arms are too short to reach the keyboard & delete this.
> Paramedics bring in the Jaws of Life to pry you out of the EZ-Boy.
> The Gravy Boat you used was a real 12 foot boat.
> You get grass stains on your behind after a walk, but never sat down.
> You set off three earthquake seismographs on your morning jog Friday.
> Pricking your finger for cholesterol screening yields only gravy.
> You had five TV sets side-by-side to catch all the football games.
> That rash on your stomach turns out to be steering wheel burn.
> Representatives from the Butterball Hall of Fame called twice.
> It looks like the leftovers are gonna last until Christmas.
> Your arms are too short to reach the keyboard & delete this.
11
Articles / British tourist is left in intensive care after being bitten by venomous ....
« on: April 16, 2024, 11:21:58 AM »
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13313385/venomous-snake-bite-british-tourist-cyprus-intensive-care.html
British tourist is left in intensive care after being bitten by venomous snake during meditation session while on holiday to Cyprus to mark her 40th birthday
Sam West, 40, was bitten by a blunt nosed viper on April 3 at her Cyprus hotel
By Miriam Kuepper
Published: 09:12, 16 April 2024 | Updated: 10:34, 16 April 2024
A British tourist has been left in intensive care after being bitten by a venomous snake during a meditation session while on holiday to Cyprus to mark her 40th birthday. Sam West, 40, from Shifnal, in Shropshire, was bitten by a 5ft-long blunt nosed viper on April 3 as she was getting ready to start a meditation session at the Atlantica Aphrodite Hills hotel. 'It quickly, before I had time to react, bit me just above my left ankle,' she told the BBC.
'I started to shake the snake off as I shouted that I had just been bitten by a snake.'
'My leg was burning and throbbing, the pain was instantaneous,' she added. Hotel staff quickly came to her aid and she was taken to A&E, where she was told she urgently needed anti-venom.
Ms West, who is on holiday in Cyprus with her wife, had to spent four days in intensive care and another in a different ward. She was finally discharged to the hotel with medication last Monday. She has since relied on a wheelchair to get around after pictures showed her leg being severely bruised and swollen due to the snake bite. Ms West is now paying £260 a night for a room with disabled-access. She is currently waiting on an update from her insurance company on when she could fly back to the UK after not being fit to fly until today. Ms West said the hotel had cut back the area around the meditation platform where she was bitten and has repeatedly called pest control. In addition, meditation sessions have since been moved to the hotel's dance studio. She reportedly received more than 350 messages since the incident and was being supported by TUI staff. The employees also rushed to her side to help her when she was bitten, Ms West said. TUI UK & Ireland told the BBC that it was 'aware' of Ms West getting bitten by a viper at the hotel, adding that the safety of the guests was the company's 'highest priority'.
British tourist is left in intensive care after being bitten by venomous snake during meditation session while on holiday to Cyprus to mark her 40th birthday
Sam West, 40, was bitten by a blunt nosed viper on April 3 at her Cyprus hotel
By Miriam Kuepper
Published: 09:12, 16 April 2024 | Updated: 10:34, 16 April 2024
A British tourist has been left in intensive care after being bitten by a venomous snake during a meditation session while on holiday to Cyprus to mark her 40th birthday. Sam West, 40, from Shifnal, in Shropshire, was bitten by a 5ft-long blunt nosed viper on April 3 as she was getting ready to start a meditation session at the Atlantica Aphrodite Hills hotel. 'It quickly, before I had time to react, bit me just above my left ankle,' she told the BBC.
'I started to shake the snake off as I shouted that I had just been bitten by a snake.'
'My leg was burning and throbbing, the pain was instantaneous,' she added. Hotel staff quickly came to her aid and she was taken to A&E, where she was told she urgently needed anti-venom.
Ms West, who is on holiday in Cyprus with her wife, had to spent four days in intensive care and another in a different ward. She was finally discharged to the hotel with medication last Monday. She has since relied on a wheelchair to get around after pictures showed her leg being severely bruised and swollen due to the snake bite. Ms West is now paying £260 a night for a room with disabled-access. She is currently waiting on an update from her insurance company on when she could fly back to the UK after not being fit to fly until today. Ms West said the hotel had cut back the area around the meditation platform where she was bitten and has repeatedly called pest control. In addition, meditation sessions have since been moved to the hotel's dance studio. She reportedly received more than 350 messages since the incident and was being supported by TUI staff. The employees also rushed to her side to help her when she was bitten, Ms West said. TUI UK & Ireland told the BBC that it was 'aware' of Ms West getting bitten by a viper at the hotel, adding that the safety of the guests was the company's 'highest priority'.
12
Articles / Schoolboy, eight, killed after being hit by a car in horror accident on quiet...
« on: April 14, 2024, 03:11:18 PM »
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13306641/Schoolboy-eight-killed-hit-car-horror-accident-quiet-Wiltshire-cul-sac.html
Schoolboy, eight, killed after being hit by a car in horror accident on quiet Wiltshire cul-de-sac
By Eirian Jane Prosser
Published: 10:41, 14 April 2024 | Updated: 11:39, 14 April 2024
An eight-year-old schoolboy has died after being struck by a car on a quiet Wiltshire cul-de-sac. Emergency services were called out to the crash in Woodland View, Dilton Marsh at 4.30pm on Saturday. The incident, which saw the quiet road in the rural village closed last night, involved a vehicle and the young boy who had been walking in the area. The tragic scene saw Wiltshire Air Ambulance scramble to the road alongside other 999 responders but despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. The little boy's family have been informed and is being supported by a specialist officers. A man in his 30s is being interviewed, the police said, as 'is usual in these circumstances'. Tributes have flooded social media this morning, with many paying their respects tot the boys family. One wrote: 'What an sad news fly high little sending hug and love to his family and friends at this sad occasion.'
Another said: 'This is so very very sad. Sending my thoughts to his family at this most unimaginably awful time.'
'Rest in paradise beautiful boy, thoughts are with the family,' a third added, while a fourth wrote: 'My condolences to the family, this is so tragic to read.'
The devastating collision happened in Dilton Marsh on the warmest day of the year so far. The quiet village has a local pub, called The Prince of Wales, a pre-school and a primary school as well as a parent and toddler group. Woodland View is a small cul-de-sac with a few new build houses backing onto a large field. It is a close walk from both the primary and prep school. 'Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time', a Wiltshire Police spokesperson said.
'A man in his 30s is being interviewed, as is usual in these circumstances,' they added.
Witnesses to the collision or anyone with dash cam footage are being urged to contact the serious collision investigation team on 01225 694597 quoting log number 218 of yesterday's date (13/04).
Witnesses can also contact the team directly by emailing SCIT@wiltshire.police.uk.
Schoolboy, eight, killed after being hit by a car in horror accident on quiet Wiltshire cul-de-sac
By Eirian Jane Prosser
Published: 10:41, 14 April 2024 | Updated: 11:39, 14 April 2024
An eight-year-old schoolboy has died after being struck by a car on a quiet Wiltshire cul-de-sac. Emergency services were called out to the crash in Woodland View, Dilton Marsh at 4.30pm on Saturday. The incident, which saw the quiet road in the rural village closed last night, involved a vehicle and the young boy who had been walking in the area. The tragic scene saw Wiltshire Air Ambulance scramble to the road alongside other 999 responders but despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. The little boy's family have been informed and is being supported by a specialist officers. A man in his 30s is being interviewed, the police said, as 'is usual in these circumstances'. Tributes have flooded social media this morning, with many paying their respects tot the boys family. One wrote: 'What an sad news fly high little sending hug and love to his family and friends at this sad occasion.'
Another said: 'This is so very very sad. Sending my thoughts to his family at this most unimaginably awful time.'
'Rest in paradise beautiful boy, thoughts are with the family,' a third added, while a fourth wrote: 'My condolences to the family, this is so tragic to read.'
The devastating collision happened in Dilton Marsh on the warmest day of the year so far. The quiet village has a local pub, called The Prince of Wales, a pre-school and a primary school as well as a parent and toddler group. Woodland View is a small cul-de-sac with a few new build houses backing onto a large field. It is a close walk from both the primary and prep school. 'Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time', a Wiltshire Police spokesperson said.
'A man in his 30s is being interviewed, as is usual in these circumstances,' they added.
Witnesses to the collision or anyone with dash cam footage are being urged to contact the serious collision investigation team on 01225 694597 quoting log number 218 of yesterday's date (13/04).
Witnesses can also contact the team directly by emailing SCIT@wiltshire.police.uk.
13
Faith / Re: Devotions
« on: April 12, 2024, 10:49:44 AM »
https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2023/06/09/the-end-of-all-weeping-is-coming?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotions&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9pCyOr7DLK86VQGbU2D28Fv0GtfyfsvlcDsti8pgla58QT-TedJQ48Lg339gnW4sz9DcWjF4HsmYoV6YUFhkj8At2Pdw&_hsmi=258837864&utm_content=258837864&utm_source=hs_email#disqus_thread
The End of All Weeping Is Coming
June 9, 2023
by Lysa TerKeurst
"'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
Do you ever feel like pain and sorrow are chasing you down?
Like you just can’t outrun all of the hurt?
I’ve been there. That’s why I want us to look at someone in Scripture who understands this kind of pain King David. Not only did David spend a significant amount of time running for his life from King Saul (before David himself became king), but he also eventually ended up running from his very own son Absalom. But whereas Saul openly sought David’s life, we find Absalom sneaked around behind his father’s back in an effort to rip the kingdom from David’s hands. With slick promises and conspiratorial kisses, Absalom easily “stole the hearts of the people of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6, NIV).
And it wasn’t long before David received word that his kingdom was crumbling right in front of him (2 Samuel 15:13). In light of these events, David saw that his situation was desperately dangerous. He needed to escape. The route we find him taking to escape the city, weeping as he went, trailed across the Kidron Valley, through the garden of Gethsemane, over the Mount of Olives, and into the Judean desert. This was the known escape route for those needing to flee from danger quickly in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:16-37). Within this story, we are reminded of a larger story. The people of God are continually wayward in our love and affections toward our King. We allow our hearts to be captivated by others. We are prone to stray. This wasn’t just the case when David was king. People also did this to another King who would come from David’s bloodline generations later King Jesus. Years later, Jesus would sit in the garden of Gethsemane, the very gateway of David’s escape route, facing extreme danger. We read about Jesus in these difficult moments in Mark 14:34-36, where He lamented: “‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, Stay here and keep watch.’ Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’” (NIV).
His people were turning against Him. Jesus wasn’t meeting their expectations as King. They wanted Him dead. As I once sat in the garden of Gethsemane during a visit to the Holy Land, my heart was overcome with the reality of what Jesus was facing while in that very place. He knew He could have escaped (Matthew 26:52-54). He knew He could have fled like David had done. He knew the way to take to save Himself. But Jesus stayed so He could save us. Though my heart strays from Him, Jesus’ heart is compelled to stay for me. Jesus ended His prayer to God with nine earth-shaking, demon-quaking, hell-shattering words: “Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36c, NIV). In other words, He completely submitted to God’s plan because He knew, in the end, it was best. Jesus is the only King who perfectly fulfilled God’s will. As we read the story of King David, we must always remember he simply points to the better David Jesus, who is the King of kings. The contrast between David’s experience and Jesus’ is important:
* Both David and Jesus wept on the Mount of Olives. David wept over the betrayal and potential loss he faced all things that affected him personally. Jesus wept over the city and people of Jerusalem.
* As David escaped over the Mount of Olives, he faced the potential loss of his kingdom. As Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives, He began His journey to the cross, where He conquered sin and death and established the Kingdom of heaven.
* David’s kingdom was eventually war-torn and broken. The Kingdom of heaven will reign forever.
What does this mean for us today?
I would imagine we can all relate to David’s weeping. Our lives are riddled with evidence that we live in a broken world loss, hurt, death, betrayal, heartbreak and relationship breakdowns. But may we remember Jesus’ weeping as well. He hurts when we hurt. And that’s the exact reason He made a way for us to enter His eternal Kingdom one day, where there will be no more sorrow and no more weeping. Hold on to these words. This coming day is closer than we realize: "'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
The End of All Weeping Is Coming
June 9, 2023
by Lysa TerKeurst
"'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
Do you ever feel like pain and sorrow are chasing you down?
Like you just can’t outrun all of the hurt?
I’ve been there. That’s why I want us to look at someone in Scripture who understands this kind of pain King David. Not only did David spend a significant amount of time running for his life from King Saul (before David himself became king), but he also eventually ended up running from his very own son Absalom. But whereas Saul openly sought David’s life, we find Absalom sneaked around behind his father’s back in an effort to rip the kingdom from David’s hands. With slick promises and conspiratorial kisses, Absalom easily “stole the hearts of the people of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6, NIV).
And it wasn’t long before David received word that his kingdom was crumbling right in front of him (2 Samuel 15:13). In light of these events, David saw that his situation was desperately dangerous. He needed to escape. The route we find him taking to escape the city, weeping as he went, trailed across the Kidron Valley, through the garden of Gethsemane, over the Mount of Olives, and into the Judean desert. This was the known escape route for those needing to flee from danger quickly in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:16-37). Within this story, we are reminded of a larger story. The people of God are continually wayward in our love and affections toward our King. We allow our hearts to be captivated by others. We are prone to stray. This wasn’t just the case when David was king. People also did this to another King who would come from David’s bloodline generations later King Jesus. Years later, Jesus would sit in the garden of Gethsemane, the very gateway of David’s escape route, facing extreme danger. We read about Jesus in these difficult moments in Mark 14:34-36, where He lamented: “‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, Stay here and keep watch.’ Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’” (NIV).
His people were turning against Him. Jesus wasn’t meeting their expectations as King. They wanted Him dead. As I once sat in the garden of Gethsemane during a visit to the Holy Land, my heart was overcome with the reality of what Jesus was facing while in that very place. He knew He could have escaped (Matthew 26:52-54). He knew He could have fled like David had done. He knew the way to take to save Himself. But Jesus stayed so He could save us. Though my heart strays from Him, Jesus’ heart is compelled to stay for me. Jesus ended His prayer to God with nine earth-shaking, demon-quaking, hell-shattering words: “Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36c, NIV). In other words, He completely submitted to God’s plan because He knew, in the end, it was best. Jesus is the only King who perfectly fulfilled God’s will. As we read the story of King David, we must always remember he simply points to the better David Jesus, who is the King of kings. The contrast between David’s experience and Jesus’ is important:
* Both David and Jesus wept on the Mount of Olives. David wept over the betrayal and potential loss he faced all things that affected him personally. Jesus wept over the city and people of Jerusalem.
* As David escaped over the Mount of Olives, he faced the potential loss of his kingdom. As Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives, He began His journey to the cross, where He conquered sin and death and established the Kingdom of heaven.
* David’s kingdom was eventually war-torn and broken. The Kingdom of heaven will reign forever.
What does this mean for us today?
I would imagine we can all relate to David’s weeping. Our lives are riddled with evidence that we live in a broken world loss, hurt, death, betrayal, heartbreak and relationship breakdowns. But may we remember Jesus’ weeping as well. He hurts when we hurt. And that’s the exact reason He made a way for us to enter His eternal Kingdom one day, where there will be no more sorrow and no more weeping. Hold on to these words. This coming day is closer than we realize: "'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
14
Articles / 'My 24-year-old daughter died inhaling three bottles of hippy crack a day. ....
« on: April 12, 2024, 10:37:55 AM »
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13298793/Mother-student-died-inhaling-hippy-crack-nitrous-oxide-class-drug.html
'My 24-year-old daughter died inhaling three bottles of hippy crack a day. If she knew the risk she'd still be alive': Mother calls for nitrous oxide to be a class A drug as she reveals she checks her messages every day 'to hear her daughter's voice'
Sharon Cook's daughter Ellen Mercer, 24, died on February 9 last year
Ms Mercer was rushed to hospital after losing feeling in her legs
By Eirian Jane Prosser
Published: 07:55, 12 April 2024 | Updated: 08:15, 12 April 2024
The heartbroken mother of a young woman who died after inhaling up to three large bottles of nitrous oxide has called for the 'hippy crack' to be made a Class A drug. Ellen Mercer, 24, from Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, died in hospital on February 9 last year after being rushed to hospital when she lost feeling in her legs. On Tuesday an inquest into the death of the business student, who had bipolar disorder, found that nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, in part caused her death. Sharon Cook, 54, is calling for the government to crack down on the party drug, exclusively telling MailOnline that her daughter would still be alive today if she had been aware of its harmful effects. Ms Cook also said she still checks her messages every day, 'thinking there will be a message from her daughter on WhatsApp or Messenger,' adding: 'I can still hear her voice.'
Ms Cook added: 'I don't think she realised how dangerous the drug was. As it was legal she was inclined to think it was safe. I don't think she realised just how harmful it is and if she had realised she wouldn't have taken it. I read somewhere that there had been 56 deaths in the last few years and they weren't very well publicised, I had no idea and hadn't heard about it. Obviously it's heartbreaking. [The government] needs to come down harder on it and they should definitely make it a Class A drug. It is dangerous so it should be up there with heroin and cocaine. Class C is not strong enough in my book.'
Nitrous oxide, sometimes referred to as NOS, was made illegal last year with the Government making it a Class C drug. Users can face a community order or an unlimited fine, with repeat offenders potentially serving up two years in prison. The drug can be used in medical settings but those caught supplying it for unlawful reasons could face 14 years behind bars. Ms Mercer's post-mortem found she had died of bilateral pulmonary thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis, and 'long-term complications of nitrous oxide use'.
'Large blood clots' had formed in the young woman's legs before moving to the arteries in her lungs which caused a 'sudden cardiorespiratory collapse'. In the months before her death Ms Mercer had required urgent medical care several times, including just days before on February 5 when she called the ambulance service saying she was 'unable to get up' and felt 'pain in both legs and lower back.' The student had initially told her boyfriend not to call an ambulance as she did 'not want to lose the buzz', it was reported. Ms Cook was unaware her daughter had been taking the drug but recalled the last time she spoke to her, Ms Mercer had complained about losing the feeling in her legs. She told MailOnline: 'I had no idea at all [that Ellen was taking the drug]. I spoke to her a few days before she died when she said she could not walk. And I said go to the hospital, you must go to the hospital and then I didn't speak to her after that. That was the last time I spoke to her. She did go to the hospital after that the following day and she called 999 but obviously it was too late. I just wish she had gone sooner. If she had gone two weeks prior when she first lost the feeling in her legs she would probably still be with us now, so that is hard to think she didn't have to die.'
The grieving mother, however, does not just place the blame of her daughter's death on the Government's laws on the drug.BBMs Cook blames the failures within the mental health services, who had discharged and failed to check up on her daughter despite warnings from her mother. She believes Ellen had been using the drug which cause people to feel relaxed, light headed or dizzy as a form of coping mechanism after not getting the correct support from the health service. 'I think had her mental health been more stable she would not have gone down this path with nitrous oxide. If she was in her right mind she would not have done it. So I think she was really failed by the mental health services, completely failed,' she said.
'She had bipolar and she got discharged from the mental health services before becoming ill again,' she added.
'They didn't follow her up and I rang them and asked them to go see her and they just ignored it. They didn't go see her. But she was struggling with her mental health.'
Upon her discharge from the mental health facility in April 2022, Ms Mercer was supposed to be given a higher dose lamotrigine to help treat her bipolar, however, her mother said this was never followed through. After Ms Mercer's death, her mother said she received a letter from the NHS trust 'admitting they had failed and should have done more' to help her daughter. Ms Cook said her daughter's mental health had declined after the death of her father when she was 19-years-old. 'She never really got over it. It hit her really hard and her grandmother had died just eight days before, so we had a double funeral. It was a really tough time,' she added.
Ms Mercer's brother, Joe, 27, also said mental health issues had also played a role in the death of his deeply 'kind and deeply caring sister'. He told MailOnline: 'At her core, she was a very bubbly, energetic person. She was incredibly positive. Whilst drugs were involved in the situation. I think really what we are looking at here is a mental health case that didn't receive as much attention as it should have. People with bipolar have addictive personalities and drugs are addictive substances the two will go hand in hand.'
Paying tribute to his younger sister, Mr Mercer added: 'She was incredibly energetic, a million miles an hour on anything she was passionate about. She was kind, caring and deeply thoughtful for people. She kind of filtered between a lot of different interests but the primary focus of a lot of them was art, in any form. Whether that was drama or singing or writing or drawing, she tried her hand at all of them to varying degrees of success.'
Ms Mercer had been living away from her family home for almost three years when she died. She had moved in with her boyfriend in a rented flat in Woodford Green in Buckinghamshire. She had done well at both GCSES and A Levels but had decided not to go to university because of her mental health. Paying tribute to her daughter the day after the inquest concluded, Ms Cook said: 'She was funny, kind, caring. She was just a lovely girl. She was really into acting, singing and dancing when she was younger. She was really outgoing, a real extrovert. A pleasure to have around. Always 100 miles an hour but funny with it.
What are the risks of nitrous oxide?
Nitrous oxide, has been nicknamed 'laughing gas' due to the euphoric and relaxed feeling people who inhale it can sometimes feel. The substance also known as 'hippy crack' is normally bought in pressured canisters, commonly transferred to a container, e.g. a balloon, from which the gas is inhaled. Although possession of laughing gas is not currently illegal, English law prohibits its sale to under-18s if there is a chance they will inhale it.
The effects of nitrous oxide:
• Feelings of euphoria, relaxation and calm.
• Dizziness, difficulty in thinking straight and fits of giggles/laughter.
• Sound distortions or even hallucinations.
• In some people, a headache can be an unwanted immediate effect.
Risks include:
• Unconsciousness or death from lack of oxygen. This occurs when the available oxygen for breathing is effectively pushed out by the nitrous oxide.
'You always knew she was in the room, you were well aware that she was around, you couldn't miss her. She really was so funny. One day she would just come rollypollying into the living room and she would just do these mad things.'
Ms Cook now lives with her son and her younger daughter Daisy, who was just 11-years-old when her older sister died. 'She misses her. It's been really hard on Daisy,' the mother, who used to work as a courier added.
The family are understandably still coming to terms with the sudden loss, but Ms Cook said they are coping as best they can. 'We are coping. It was obviously harder in the first few months,' she said. 'It has gotten easier as time has gone on but I still expect to hear from her. I still check my messages and think there will be a message from her on WhatsApp or Messenger. I can still hear her voice.'
Medics who tried to save her found there were 'features of neurological compromise' with later tests finding that laughing gas had left her with serious circulation and breathing problems. Michaela Kirtley, an emergency medical technician from Phoenix Response Services, a contractor that worked for South Central Ambulance Service, attended Ms Mercer's home on February 8. When she arrived at the scene, she was shown to the bedroom by Ms Mercer's boyfriend. 'I took notice of the room,' she said. 'There were no sheets on the bed at all. There was just the duvet, severely stained. The room was bare.'
The scene the medic had witnessed made it clear to her that she was dealing with a 'vulnerable person'. Ms Mercer was said to have been 'talking as normal' with the only vital sign outside its normal range was her heart rate, which could have been due to anxiety. The young woman said she had burned her legs after spilling a gas canister on them and that she had been unable to walk or go to the toilet for two weeks, she said. According to the emergency worker the 24-year-old looked six months pregnant and the wounds on her legs were described as being filled with pus. Ms Mecer's boyfriend then led her to a box of gas canisters, which were identified as nitrous oxide. 'I had never seen such big bottles,' Ms Kirtley said.
She told the inquest that the canisters were 600g and that Ms Mercer's boyfriend said she took 'two to three bottles' per day, but had slowed down in the last couple of weeks. Her boyfriend said she 'shouted at him' because she wanted to continue her high, when he was asked why he did not call an ambulance, according to the Sun. At the opening of Ms Mercer's inquest in February, Berkshire coroner Hannah Godfrey said that the student 'had a history of nitrous oxide abuse'.
Between 2001 and 2020, 56 deaths in England and Wales had nitrous oxide mentioned on their death certificate. Some deaths, however, included in medical settings so not all had been because of misuse. In recent years, use of the drug has become an increasing problem, being one of the most abused substances with those aged 16-24. Last summer, at Notting Hill Carnival it was reported that there were 13 tonnes of canisters containing the drug collected after the festival. Inhaling the gas brings about short-term feelings of lightheadedness, fits of giggles and hallucinations. Heavy, regular abuse, however, risks significant health risks including anaemia and in more severe cases, nerve damage or paralysis. It has been identified as having potentially fatal consequences on the UK's roads from incidents of drug driving. Nitrous oxide, however, does have legitimate uses such as being used on maternity wards during labour. It is still legal for those purposes. Licences are not needed to carry nitrous oxide, but users will be required to demonstrate they are not intending to consume it for psychoactive effects.
'My 24-year-old daughter died inhaling three bottles of hippy crack a day. If she knew the risk she'd still be alive': Mother calls for nitrous oxide to be a class A drug as she reveals she checks her messages every day 'to hear her daughter's voice'
Sharon Cook's daughter Ellen Mercer, 24, died on February 9 last year
Ms Mercer was rushed to hospital after losing feeling in her legs
By Eirian Jane Prosser
Published: 07:55, 12 April 2024 | Updated: 08:15, 12 April 2024
The heartbroken mother of a young woman who died after inhaling up to three large bottles of nitrous oxide has called for the 'hippy crack' to be made a Class A drug. Ellen Mercer, 24, from Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, died in hospital on February 9 last year after being rushed to hospital when she lost feeling in her legs. On Tuesday an inquest into the death of the business student, who had bipolar disorder, found that nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, in part caused her death. Sharon Cook, 54, is calling for the government to crack down on the party drug, exclusively telling MailOnline that her daughter would still be alive today if she had been aware of its harmful effects. Ms Cook also said she still checks her messages every day, 'thinking there will be a message from her daughter on WhatsApp or Messenger,' adding: 'I can still hear her voice.'
Ms Cook added: 'I don't think she realised how dangerous the drug was. As it was legal she was inclined to think it was safe. I don't think she realised just how harmful it is and if she had realised she wouldn't have taken it. I read somewhere that there had been 56 deaths in the last few years and they weren't very well publicised, I had no idea and hadn't heard about it. Obviously it's heartbreaking. [The government] needs to come down harder on it and they should definitely make it a Class A drug. It is dangerous so it should be up there with heroin and cocaine. Class C is not strong enough in my book.'
Nitrous oxide, sometimes referred to as NOS, was made illegal last year with the Government making it a Class C drug. Users can face a community order or an unlimited fine, with repeat offenders potentially serving up two years in prison. The drug can be used in medical settings but those caught supplying it for unlawful reasons could face 14 years behind bars. Ms Mercer's post-mortem found she had died of bilateral pulmonary thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis, and 'long-term complications of nitrous oxide use'.
'Large blood clots' had formed in the young woman's legs before moving to the arteries in her lungs which caused a 'sudden cardiorespiratory collapse'. In the months before her death Ms Mercer had required urgent medical care several times, including just days before on February 5 when she called the ambulance service saying she was 'unable to get up' and felt 'pain in both legs and lower back.' The student had initially told her boyfriend not to call an ambulance as she did 'not want to lose the buzz', it was reported. Ms Cook was unaware her daughter had been taking the drug but recalled the last time she spoke to her, Ms Mercer had complained about losing the feeling in her legs. She told MailOnline: 'I had no idea at all [that Ellen was taking the drug]. I spoke to her a few days before she died when she said she could not walk. And I said go to the hospital, you must go to the hospital and then I didn't speak to her after that. That was the last time I spoke to her. She did go to the hospital after that the following day and she called 999 but obviously it was too late. I just wish she had gone sooner. If she had gone two weeks prior when she first lost the feeling in her legs she would probably still be with us now, so that is hard to think she didn't have to die.'
The grieving mother, however, does not just place the blame of her daughter's death on the Government's laws on the drug.BBMs Cook blames the failures within the mental health services, who had discharged and failed to check up on her daughter despite warnings from her mother. She believes Ellen had been using the drug which cause people to feel relaxed, light headed or dizzy as a form of coping mechanism after not getting the correct support from the health service. 'I think had her mental health been more stable she would not have gone down this path with nitrous oxide. If she was in her right mind she would not have done it. So I think she was really failed by the mental health services, completely failed,' she said.
'She had bipolar and she got discharged from the mental health services before becoming ill again,' she added.
'They didn't follow her up and I rang them and asked them to go see her and they just ignored it. They didn't go see her. But she was struggling with her mental health.'
Upon her discharge from the mental health facility in April 2022, Ms Mercer was supposed to be given a higher dose lamotrigine to help treat her bipolar, however, her mother said this was never followed through. After Ms Mercer's death, her mother said she received a letter from the NHS trust 'admitting they had failed and should have done more' to help her daughter. Ms Cook said her daughter's mental health had declined after the death of her father when she was 19-years-old. 'She never really got over it. It hit her really hard and her grandmother had died just eight days before, so we had a double funeral. It was a really tough time,' she added.
Ms Mercer's brother, Joe, 27, also said mental health issues had also played a role in the death of his deeply 'kind and deeply caring sister'. He told MailOnline: 'At her core, she was a very bubbly, energetic person. She was incredibly positive. Whilst drugs were involved in the situation. I think really what we are looking at here is a mental health case that didn't receive as much attention as it should have. People with bipolar have addictive personalities and drugs are addictive substances the two will go hand in hand.'
Paying tribute to his younger sister, Mr Mercer added: 'She was incredibly energetic, a million miles an hour on anything she was passionate about. She was kind, caring and deeply thoughtful for people. She kind of filtered between a lot of different interests but the primary focus of a lot of them was art, in any form. Whether that was drama or singing or writing or drawing, she tried her hand at all of them to varying degrees of success.'
Ms Mercer had been living away from her family home for almost three years when she died. She had moved in with her boyfriend in a rented flat in Woodford Green in Buckinghamshire. She had done well at both GCSES and A Levels but had decided not to go to university because of her mental health. Paying tribute to her daughter the day after the inquest concluded, Ms Cook said: 'She was funny, kind, caring. She was just a lovely girl. She was really into acting, singing and dancing when she was younger. She was really outgoing, a real extrovert. A pleasure to have around. Always 100 miles an hour but funny with it.
What are the risks of nitrous oxide?
Nitrous oxide, has been nicknamed 'laughing gas' due to the euphoric and relaxed feeling people who inhale it can sometimes feel. The substance also known as 'hippy crack' is normally bought in pressured canisters, commonly transferred to a container, e.g. a balloon, from which the gas is inhaled. Although possession of laughing gas is not currently illegal, English law prohibits its sale to under-18s if there is a chance they will inhale it.
The effects of nitrous oxide:
• Feelings of euphoria, relaxation and calm.
• Dizziness, difficulty in thinking straight and fits of giggles/laughter.
• Sound distortions or even hallucinations.
• In some people, a headache can be an unwanted immediate effect.
Risks include:
• Unconsciousness or death from lack of oxygen. This occurs when the available oxygen for breathing is effectively pushed out by the nitrous oxide.
'You always knew she was in the room, you were well aware that she was around, you couldn't miss her. She really was so funny. One day she would just come rollypollying into the living room and she would just do these mad things.'
Ms Cook now lives with her son and her younger daughter Daisy, who was just 11-years-old when her older sister died. 'She misses her. It's been really hard on Daisy,' the mother, who used to work as a courier added.
The family are understandably still coming to terms with the sudden loss, but Ms Cook said they are coping as best they can. 'We are coping. It was obviously harder in the first few months,' she said. 'It has gotten easier as time has gone on but I still expect to hear from her. I still check my messages and think there will be a message from her on WhatsApp or Messenger. I can still hear her voice.'
Medics who tried to save her found there were 'features of neurological compromise' with later tests finding that laughing gas had left her with serious circulation and breathing problems. Michaela Kirtley, an emergency medical technician from Phoenix Response Services, a contractor that worked for South Central Ambulance Service, attended Ms Mercer's home on February 8. When she arrived at the scene, she was shown to the bedroom by Ms Mercer's boyfriend. 'I took notice of the room,' she said. 'There were no sheets on the bed at all. There was just the duvet, severely stained. The room was bare.'
The scene the medic had witnessed made it clear to her that she was dealing with a 'vulnerable person'. Ms Mercer was said to have been 'talking as normal' with the only vital sign outside its normal range was her heart rate, which could have been due to anxiety. The young woman said she had burned her legs after spilling a gas canister on them and that she had been unable to walk or go to the toilet for two weeks, she said. According to the emergency worker the 24-year-old looked six months pregnant and the wounds on her legs were described as being filled with pus. Ms Mecer's boyfriend then led her to a box of gas canisters, which were identified as nitrous oxide. 'I had never seen such big bottles,' Ms Kirtley said.
She told the inquest that the canisters were 600g and that Ms Mercer's boyfriend said she took 'two to three bottles' per day, but had slowed down in the last couple of weeks. Her boyfriend said she 'shouted at him' because she wanted to continue her high, when he was asked why he did not call an ambulance, according to the Sun. At the opening of Ms Mercer's inquest in February, Berkshire coroner Hannah Godfrey said that the student 'had a history of nitrous oxide abuse'.
Between 2001 and 2020, 56 deaths in England and Wales had nitrous oxide mentioned on their death certificate. Some deaths, however, included in medical settings so not all had been because of misuse. In recent years, use of the drug has become an increasing problem, being one of the most abused substances with those aged 16-24. Last summer, at Notting Hill Carnival it was reported that there were 13 tonnes of canisters containing the drug collected after the festival. Inhaling the gas brings about short-term feelings of lightheadedness, fits of giggles and hallucinations. Heavy, regular abuse, however, risks significant health risks including anaemia and in more severe cases, nerve damage or paralysis. It has been identified as having potentially fatal consequences on the UK's roads from incidents of drug driving. Nitrous oxide, however, does have legitimate uses such as being used on maternity wards during labour. It is still legal for those purposes. Licences are not needed to carry nitrous oxide, but users will be required to demonstrate they are not intending to consume it for psychoactive effects.
15
Articles / Re: Retired vet, 77, is found dead in his garden after being attacked by seven....
« on: April 05, 2024, 11:40:58 AM »
Shocking story and prove that any breed of dog can attack. One of the dogs I've had over the years was a Rottweiler who was 6 stone of solid muscle abd had the sweetest nature you can imagine. People who didn't know her were cautious but everybody who did know her knew what a fantastic dog whe was.