In the News- Ninjas Might Just Be Cooler than...

Dolphins and Whales Playing Together.
This video features the first recorded examples of whales off the coast of Hawaii playing with other creatures. The two seperate recorded events occur near Kauai and Maui. This kind of interaction is rare between species. And in the article from which I first saw this, it uses two fun words --gregarious cetaceans.

Or are they?
Iran's Female Ninjas!
So this article showed a slide show of cool pictures of these female ninjas. And I thought they looked cool (I'd like a moment to say that I'd love to be a ninja) and so I'm sharing the link with you.

Cause who doesn't like ninjas?

Onto the rest of the news!
Teen gets Life in Prision for Murder.
Boys, girls, I'd like to take a moment to remind you that murder is wrong. And even if you're writing a murder mystery, killing someone so you know what it is like (even in the name of research) or because "you were curious" is wrong.

Apparenlty 18-year-old Alyssa Bustamante, thinks otherwise.

The Missouri teen confessed to killing 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten in October 2009. She has been given the mamium sentance for second degree murder (Life in prison with the chance of parole). She also was odered a 30-year term for armed criminal action (which is because she used a knife to slit and stab Elizabeth after strangling her unconsciousness). The article says:

Bustamante was 15 years old at the time of Elizabeth's murder in the small town of St. Martins, just west of Jefferson City. Evidence presented during her hearing revealed that Bustamante had dug a shallow grave in the woods several days in advance, then used her younger sister to lure Elizabeth out of her home with an invitation to play. Bustamante, who had hidden a knife in a backpack, said she had a surprise for Elizabeth in the forest. The surprise turned out to be her demise.

"I strangled them and slit their throat and stabbed them now they're dead," Bustamante wrote in her diary, which was read in court by a handwriting expert. "I don't know how to feel atm. It was ahmazing. As soon as you get over the 'ohmygawd I can't do this' feeling, it's pretty enjoyable. I'm kinda nervous and shaky though right now. Kay, I gotta go to church now...lol."

Bustamante then left for a youth dance at a Mormon church her family attended while hundreds of volunteers began a two-day hunt for the dead girl. Although she initially lied to authorities about Elizabeth's whereabouts, Bustamante eventually confessed to police and led them to Elizabeth's leaf-covered shallow grave.

What I find disturbing is that she killed a girl and then went to a church dance right afterwards. I don't ever see how anyone could go to a dance, much less, go to church right after this.  Even more is that she found it "ahmazing". Which is really creepy. Personally, I'm glad she's getting a life sentence. To read the whole thing and watch a video on it click here.

Texas Squatter lives in house for $16. 
Kenneth Robinson, 51, lived in a house worth $340,000 since June for only $16. He lived on Waterford Drive in Flower Mound, Texas but did not own or rent the house. Apparently, the owner of the house abandoned it after it had been forclosed and the mortgage company went out of business. So Kenneth, submitted $16 dollars at the local courthouse claiming that "adverse possesion" abled him to love in the house.

Adverse pssession was a law concept developed during the 1800s which could be enacted to ensure that a property was maintained and monitored. To use this law, all oyu have to do is post a public notice and stay there for usually 10 years. After that period of time, the person occupying the house could own it. Meanwhile, the original owner could try to fight a hefty legal battle to get the house bacl.

Robinson also wrote an ebook and created a website about his experience. And he's not the only one who knows a little about this. Searching on Google can lead to plenty of sites that will show you how to do this.

At AdversePossession.com, for example, for a mere $39.95, "average people" can learn how to "acquire valuable real estate for free." The site takes steps to assure potential Robinsons that adverse possession is not squatting. "Squatter," says the site, "is an unfortunate and negative term used to describe someone who unlawfully occupies a vacant property or other real estate." Nor is occupying abandoned homes for financial gain immoral, according to the site. It's "doing the neighborhood a favor."

But others disagree, like his neighbors who think that not only is it wrong, and "un-American" but that he should buy the house like everyone else. Other people state that while Robinson has a right to do this, its not the right thing to do. Read the whole article here.

In Other Squatter Related News...
A naturious mountain man is on the loose, who's identiy has yet to be discovered, has been avoiding capture for more than five years. He roams southern Utah, breaking into cabins, living off their stuff, stealing, and then vanishing. And while investigators have yet to catch or find him, they've found abandoned camps, dozens of guns, high-end outdoor gear stolen, and trash thrown around.

But the man authorities say is armed and dangerous and responsible for more than two dozen burglaries has continued to outrun the law across a swath of mountains not far from Zion National Park. He's roamed across 1,000 square miles of rugged wilderness where snow can pile 10 feet deep in winter.
And while there have been no violent confrontations, detectives say he's a time bomb. Lately he has been leaving the cabins in disarray and riddled with bullets after defacing religious icons, and a recent note left behind in one cabin warned, "Get off my mountain."

And while many theories run wild (like one claiming that he's from a Mormon fundamentalist, ploygamous sect), cabin owners are scared to return to their once relaxing second-homes. And  it appears they have good reason to be so. To read the whole, interesting article, click  here.

Sincerely,
Sareh