A True Ghost Story

In honor of Halloween, Narratives of the Weird has sent the following special mailing. It's a true tale of one woman's encounter with a spirit on a lonely country road...

My family and I moved this last year to a very small town in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin. I took a job working on a farm about an hour from our new home and to get there I have to take the most twisted curvy road. At 3 in the morning you cant go very fast because of the hundreds of suicidal deer that run out in front of your car.

There is a stretch of road, about a mile and a half, that has 7 sudden turns. For some reason this part of the drive, day or night, has always given me the willies. No reason for it as far as I could see. It is a beautiful road. Rustic and the kind of road I’d like to live on, but creepy just the same.

One morning mid July at about 3:30 I drove this road as usual and drove past a woman walking on the side. Being a female myself I make it a habit not to pick up strangers in my car but it seemed to me that a woman that early in the morning needed help and I stopped to give her a ride. She introduced herself as Rebecca and we had a short friendly conversation while I drove her about three miles up the road. She had told me she missed a curve back a bit and her car went into the ditch and she would just have to have her husband go back and get it in the morning. I pulled to the end of a long driveway leading up to a farm where she said she lived. She got out of the car, leaned back in and warned me to watch out for the deer. She thanked me for the ride, stood back up and I swear to god just vanished, leaving the door hanging open. It took a few seconds for me to register what had happened and being too scared to get out and shut the door I took off and drove as fast as I could not stopping to close the door until I hit the next stop sign.

I told my story to a few people at work that morning. Most people giving me a weird look but all of them commenting on how many accidents have been on that road due to the deer and the sharp turns. A week later I told my aging aunt who has lived in this area for her whole life about what had happened to me. She smiled and said, "that was Rebecca, dear." apparently Rebecca had been driving that road in1989 and lost control of her car on an icy turn. She was on her way home to tell her husband that she was pregnant with their first child when she went off the road and hit a tree. She got out of the car and drug herself about a half mile down the road before she passed out and froze to death.

My heart goes out to Rebecca and I pray her soul finally rests peacefully but I will not drive down that road again.

Happy Halloween 2005

REMEMBER KIDDIES

Perjury and lying to a Grand Jury is only a crime if you’re NOT the President.... Well, a democratic president from Arkansas...

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

The Daily Show's Samantha Bee tells us about a yummy new treat!

Whoop

Suicide Mistaken for Halloween Decoration

and in other news of the dead day:
Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack

Woman Fired For Missing Work After Seeing Husband Off To War

CALEDONIA, Mich. -- A woman who took an unpaid leave of absence from work to see her husband off to war has been fired after failing to show up for her part-time receptionist job the day following his departure.

"It was a shock," said Suzette Boler, a 40-year-old mother of three and grandmother of three. "I was hurt. I felt abandoned by people I thought cared for me. I sat down on the floor and cried for probably two hours."

Officials at her former workplace, Benefit Management Administrators Inc., confirmed that Boler was dismissed when she didn't report to work the day after she said goodbye to her husband of 22 years.

"We gave her sufficient time to get back to work," Clark Galloway, vice president of operations for Benefit Management, told The Grand Rapids Press for a story published Wednesday.

He added that other factors were involved in the decision but he declined to elaborate.

On Oct. 16, Boler went with her husband, Army Spc. Jerry Boler, 45, to an Indianapolis-area airfield, where he and others in his National Guard unit gathered to be transported to Fort Dix, N.J. The unit soon will be deployed to Iraq, where he will help guard convoys from insurgent attacks.

Suzette Boler had received permission to take off work the week leading up to her husband's departure.

As a part-time employee at Benefit Management, she did not receive vacation pay and was not compensated for her time off.

When Boler returned home from Indiana on the night of Oct. 16, a few hours after leaving her husband at the airfield, she said she felt drained by the emotional ordeal.

She said she had told her bosses that she would try to return on Oct. 17 but if she could not, she would definitely be back Oct. 18, she said.

But on the afternoon of Oct. 17, she received a call from work telling her to come in the following day and get her things because she was being fired. Her pink slip said the reason was she failed to show up for work Oct. 17, a Monday, she said.

"If I had even an inkling that I would be fired for not coming in Monday, I would have been there," she said. Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

--

Contact Info:

Benefit Management Administrators Inc.
6307 84TH STREET SOUTHEAST
CALEDONIA, MI 49316
UNITED STATES

phone (616) 891-1984
fax (423) 870-3574

A Coming Pandemic? Here's a Timeline:

CHRONOLOGY: Key dates in spread of bird flu from Asia
Wed Oct 19, 2005 3:39 PM BST

(Reuters) - A British laboratory detected the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in new samples taken from Romania last week, Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur said on Wednesday.

Here is a chronology tracking the spread of Asian bird flu:

Dec 15, 2003 - South Korea confirms a highly contagious type of bird flu at a chicken farm near Seoul and begins a mass cull of poultry when the virus rapidly spreads across the country.

Dec 31 - Taiwan reports its first case and later destroys thousands of chickens with a milder form of avian flu.

Jan 8, 2004 - Vietnam says bird flu found on its poultry farms.

Jan 13 - World Health Organization confirms the deaths of three people in Vietnam are linked to bird flu.

Jan 25 - Indonesia discovers an outbreak among chickens.

Feb 12 - The World Health Organization says tests confirm there is no evidence bird flu is passing from person to person.

March 16 - China declares it has stamped out the disease.

May 26 - Thailand reports a fresh case of bird flu in several dead chickens on a university research farm.

Aug 19 - Malaysia says a strain of bird flu has been found in two chickens that died near the Thai border, its first cases.

Sept 27 - Thailand says it has found a case where one human probably infected another with bird flu. It said this was an isolated incident that posed little risk to the population.

Dec 15 - Taiwan says it has discovered two strains of avian flu in migratory birds in the north of the island, the milder H5N2 strain and the H5N6 strain.

April 5, 2005 - The U.N. says the H7 strain of bird flu, previously undetected in Asia, has been found in North Korea.

July 8 - The Philippines says it has found ducks with bird flu but later says the strain was not highly pathogenic.

July 26 - Japan says a fresh outbreak of bird flu has been discovered on a chicken farm in east Japan. All outbreaks in the Ibaraki prefecture were confirmed as the weak H5N2 strain.

Aug 10 - The bird flu virus has been found in Tibet, the world animal health body OIE says.

Aug 15 - Russia reports an outbreak of bird flu in the Urals region of Chelyabinsk, the sixth region to be affected.

Aug 23 - An outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu strain in seven villages in Kazakhstan is confirmed as dangerous to humans.

Sept 1 - Vietnam reports one new human death from bird flu, taking its total to 44. 65 people have died in Asia in total, including 12 in Thailand, five in Indonesia, four in Cambodia.

Oct 8 - Turkey reports its first cases of avian flu, and Romania reports suspected avian flu.

Oct 10 - Bosnia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Switzerland announce a ban on poultry imports from Turkey and Romania. The European Commission announces a ban on imports of live birds and feathers from Turkey to the 25-nation EU.

Oct 13 - A strain of the H5 bird flu virus has been detected in samples from Romanian ducks found in the Danube delta, confirming the virus has arrived in Europe.

-- The European Commission confirms the Romanian findings and immediately says it will ban Romanian imports.

-- The EU confirms Turkey has the type of bird flu dangerous to humans, the avian flu H5N1 high pathogenic virus.

Oct 17 - Greece says that a first case of bird flu in an EU member state had been detected on the Aegean island of Chios.

Oct 19 - A British laboratory has detected the H5N1 bird flu strain in new Danube delta samples from Romania taken from the village of Maliuc.

-- The southern German state of Bavaria has banned all poultry from being kept outdoors to prevent bird flu entering the region.

-- China reports a fresh outbreak among birds from Inner Mongolia [added by notweird.com editor based on reports from other news sources]

-- Virus may have spread westwards to the Tula region in European Russia [added by notweird.com editor based on reports from other news sources]
© Reuters 2005. All rights reserved.

Colbert vs. Phillps

On Monday, October 17, 2005 Comedy Centrals newest show debuted – The Colbert Report!
This show promises to be ‘The Daily Show’ version of ‘The O’Reilly Factor’. Here in this 3:47 clip, we’re treated to a Stephen Colbert – Stone Phillips smack down:

Horny Scientists To Probe Venus

On April 6th, this large phallus will arrive to penetrate the mysteries of Earth's closest neighbor. The mission: explore Venus' surface, marvel at her stormy weather patterns and of course, find out why she's such a hotty! Global warming has run amok on this planet, named for one of the sexiest gods, and European scientists plan to tease and gently stroke her globe into submission… prying her secrets from her bosom. Godspeed boys!

Human rights groups concerned over Saddam trial? You have got to be kidding me...

From the: "WHERE THE FUCK WERE THESE NUT-JOBS WHEN THIS DEFUNCT HUMAN PREDATOR WAS KILLING HUNDREDS OF THOUSAND OF INNOCENT PEOPLE" Files:

Human rights groups concerned over Saddam trial
Sun Oct 16, 2005 10:32 AM ET
By Luke Baker

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three days before Saddam Hussein goes on trial for crimes against humanity, human rights groups have raised profound concerns about the independence of the court trying him and whether it meets international standards.

Among other issues, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have expressed unease about limits on the ability of the accused to mount a defense, the burden of proof, political sway over the court and use of the death penalty.

Questions also surround the fact the Iraqi government has passed new laws governing the court, but has not yet brought them into force. Those new statutes could take effect in the next few days, or after the trial begins, raising further doubts about the clarity of procedures.

Saddam and seven others are due to appear in court on October 19 on charges of premeditated murder in the deaths of more than 140 Shi'ite men from the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad, following a failed attempt on the then-president's life in 1982.

In an 18-page report on Sunday, New York-based Human Rights Watch questioned trial preparations, including the amount of time the defense had been given to study evidence and its access to witnesses, and said proceedings might not be free or fair.

"We have grave concerns that the court will not provide the fair trial guarantees required by international law," said Richard Dicker, director of the group's international justice program.

"The proceedings must be fair and be seen to be fair, and that means ensuring that the accused can vigorously defend themselves."

Amnesty International, in a report released earlier this year, laid out similar concerns, and questioned if defendants were being granted their full rights under international law.

"The statute of the Iraqi Special Tribunal currently in place is not consistent with international law," Amnesty said.

"Trials and further investigations should not proceed until the concerns outlined ... have been adequately addressed."

Amnesty and Human Rights Watch are due to have observers in the courtroom on October 19, although it is not clear if passes provided by U.S. authorities for access to the fortified Green Zone compound, where the court is, will be granted on time.

LIMITED ACCESS

When the trial gets under way, Saddam's chief lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, is expected to challenge the legitimacy of the court, which under current statutes was set up in December 2003 by U.S.-backed authorities during the U.S. military occupation.

Over recent months Dulaimi has complained about a lack of access to his client, inability to question witnesses already interviewed by the investigating judge who built the case, and restrictions on support from foreign lawyers.

He has also said that the 45 days allowed to prepare for the trial after the investigator presented his evidence is insufficient, particularly in a trial alleging crimes against humanity, a complaint supported by Human Rights Watch.

The Special Tribunal says 45 days is enough under Iraqi law.

Many observers, including sources close to the tribunal, expect the trial to be adjourned after one or two days of hearings so that the five-judge panel trying the case can study any defense motions for a delay.

Though grim, Dujail is one of the lesser crimes of which Saddam is expected ultimately to be charged, but prosecutors are starting with it because it is relatively clear-cut, strong evidence exists and a conviction therefore appears more likely.

Since it also involves the deaths of Shi'ites linked to the Dawa Party, which was banned under Saddam but which is now in the -- Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari is from Dawa -- some see a political motive in bringing the Dujail case first.

In the coming weeks, other cases against Saddam and his associates are expected to be presented for trial, including his role in ordering the Anfal campaigns against the Kurds in northern Iraq in the 1980s, which included the gassing to death of as many as 5,000 people in the town of Halabja.

If Saddam and his seven co-defendants are found guilty in the Dujail case, they could be put to death.

Under the tribunal's new statutes, which have yet to take effect, convicted defendants must have their sentences carried out within 30 days of their last appeal failing.

In theory that means Saddam could be executed before facing trial for other crimes.

Human Rights Watch called such a provision "draconian", and called for a re-examination of the capital punishment provision, which international criminal courts reject as inhumane.

"The mandatory application of the death penalty, without any opportunity for clemency, directly violates Iraq's human rights obligations," it said.

"Areas of serious concern need to be addressed by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal if it aims to satisfy the promise of delivering justice rather than vengeance."
© Reuters 2005. All rights reserved.

Holy 'Mis-directed Concern' Batman...

Girls Gone Wild for Katrina

Rob Corddry at his usual Daily Show best:

NYC Heightens Subway Security After 'Credible' Bomb Threat

New York Police Commissioner says information received indicated subway system may be target of a terror attack "in coming days."

My wife - as she was entering the subway - reports a 'very noticable' increase in - 'the men with guns' (our phrase for national guard troops and NYC Transit Police).

Judy Miller Redux

Only The Daily Show can sum it all up:

HHEELLPP!!!

I need vodka!
I'm out of work and can't afford any. email me at: comments@notweird.com for my address.

I'm serious! I really really need vodka... it's for a recipe.