Man Trapped In 23-Year 'Coma' Was Conscious

An engineering student thought to be in a coma for 23 years was actually conscious the whole time, it has emerged.

Rom Houben was misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative state after a car crash left him totally paralysed.

For the whole time, he was trapped in his own body with no way of letting friends and family know he could hear every word they were saying.

The 46-year-old, who can now tap out computerised messages and read books on a device above his hospital bed, has revealed: "I screamed, but there was nothing to hear.

"All that time I literally dreamed of a better life. Frustration is too small a word to describe what I felt.

"I shall never forget the day when they discovered what was truly wrong with me - it was my second birth.

"I want to read, talk with my friends via the computer and enjoy life now people know I am not dead."

His misdiagnosis was discovered by neurological expert Dr Steven Laureys, who fears there may be similar cases all over the world.

He looked at Mr Houben's case again at the University of Liege, Belgium, using state-of-the-art imaging that showed the patient was aware of what was happening around him even though he had lost control of his body.

Dr Laureys, who leads the Coma Science Group, was unavailable for comment when contacted by Sky News Online.

He told the Daily Telegraph: "In Germany alone each year some 100,000 people suffer from severe traumatic brain injury.

"About 20,000 are followed by a coma of three weeks or longer. Some of them die, others regain health.

"But an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people a year, remain trapped in an intermediate stage: they go on living without ever come back again."

Rom, a martial arts enthusiast who remains in constant care at a facility near Brussels, was repeatedly wrongly assessed in Zolder, Belgium, by doctors using technology available at the time.

They used the internationally accepted Glasgow Coma Scale to assess his eye, verbal and motor responses. But each time he was graded incorrectly.

The disclosure is likely to renew the right-to-die debate over whether people in comas are truly unconscious.

There have been several cases where people in deep comas have recovered.

Carrie Coons, 86, from New York, regained consciousness 20 years ago.

Days before her recovery, a judge had granted a request for the removal of her feeding tube which had been keeping her alive.

Wigan Players Refund Tickets After 9-1 Loss

Wigan's humiliated players are to personally refund every supporter who bought a ticket for Sunday's game at Tottenham, where they were thrashed 9-1 by Spurs.

It was the second worst defeat in Premier League history as the Latics let in eight goals in the second half at White Hart Lane.

Defender Mario Melchiot admitted the result was embarrassing.

He and the rest of his Wigan team-mates will now reimburse the club's fans the cost of their tickets.

Melchiot told the club's website: "We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday, and this is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty.

"There is not a lot else to say, just that as a group of professionals we were embarrassed by the way we performed, we feel it was below our standards and this is something we feel we owe to the fans.

"Now we have to draw a line under the game, focus completely on training this week and bounce back on Saturday.

"We are professionals, we will take it on the chin and move on but it's important that we do not take our supporters for granted."

Wigan return to action when they host Sunderland this weekend and the club's owner, Dave Whelan, has insisted manager Roberto Martinez's job is safe, despite the humiliation at Spurs.

Whelan said: "9-1 is a serious, serious defeat and we have got to get our heads up.

"And I am sure Roberto will be working on the lads now to get them going again and get their heads back in the air and get some pride back in Wigan Athletic.

"He is Wigan's manager and I have complete faith in him and I know the supporters have.

"I am absolutely 100% behind Roberto, he's a great manager and he will pull this team around."

The club says every supporter who bought a ticket for the game from the DW Stadium ticket office should contact the office.

They should go there in person or by calling 0871 33 66 552 and a full refund will be posted to their home address hopefully within 14 days.

Refunds must be claimed on or before Friday 4 December 2009.

Robin Hood Banker Gave Millions To Poor

A German bank manager who secretly transferred millions of pounds from rich clients to debt-ridden customers has been spared jail.

The 62-year-old, dubbed the "Robin Hood banker", was found guilty of moving a total of 7.6 million euros (£6.85m) between 2003 and 2005.

She carried out 117 separate transfers to try and stop people's accounts closing due to lack of funds.

As a rule, the banker - whose name was not reported under German media conventions - moved the money back when the indebted clients were solvent again.

But 1.1 million euros (£991,000) was lost when certain customers were unable to pay their debts.

A court, in the western city of Bonn, took a lenient view of the fraud because the defendant owned up immediately and did not take any money for herself.

A judge also said the banker had suffered enough after losing her job and paying compensation.

The manager was given a 22-month suspended jail term, a court spokesman said.

According to press reports, she now lives off a tiny pension.

Heaven or Hell for 2PAC and BIG

This is no hating on anyone, 2PAC and BIG are seperate individuals with different personalties. Their size, skin colour and most importantly where they wish to spend their eternity... 2PAC always sings about heaven while BIG always sings about hell.
Below are the excerpts from their various songs.

BIG said in his song titled "Hold ya head"; "fuck it when i die, i wanna go to HELL". Then he said in his song "Ready to die"; "I'm ready to die and nobody can save me"

2PAC said in his song titled "Life goes on" which was a tribute to his late mentor "KATO" that:
"How many brothas fell victim to tha streetz?
Rest in peace young nigga, there's a HEAVEN for a 'G'".
"hey Kato, Mental y'all niggas make sure it's popin' when we get UP there
don't front." UP meaning HEAVEN.

I wonder where they are now.

White Man hawking and Street Trading in Lagos Nigeria for 6months

An American, Mr. Sean Alsilski, was seen hawking a particular brand of snacks called Gala at the Ojota area of Lagos State. He easily drew a large crowd as people laughed and wondered what could have made him to hawk Gala in Lagos, and on a sunny day too.



But Alsilski, unperturbed by the people watching and giggling at him, continued to sell his stuff to motorists and passers-by who were eager to buy from him, some just for the fun of it.

He rebuffed people trying to ask him why he was out in the streets selling snacks, saying he was too busy to talk to anyone. After much prompting by the writer of this report, he opened up on why he was out selling Gala on Lagos streets.

Alsilski said he came to Lagos to carry out a six-month research project on hawking and street trading in Lagos, and the best way to get the answers that he wants was to get involved in the real business rather than be an observer.

He said he had already spent five months in Lagos, hawking snacks at different parts of the state.

“I am here to do a research on hawking and street trading. I was billed to be in Nigeria for six months as part of the Fullbright exchange programme.

“I have been here for five months now, hawking. I have one month to go. I am going to give a presentation to the United States Embassy about my research,” said Alsilski.

What are you doing?

Here, Obama seem to be looking at the lady's rear view, but the real truth was that he was actually looking at the steps behind him. it was a coincidence. Obama is a faithful man.

Man arrested for exiting Cyprus plane at takeoff

NICOSIA, Cyprus - Cyprus police arrested a Greek man for allegedly opening the rear exit of an airplane and sliding down an emergency chute as the plane was preparing to take off.

Suspect Moreno Tavares Lizason is being held for questioning on a four-day court detention order issued Monday. The 28-year-old sailor faces charges of causing damage to an aircraft.

Lizason is suspected of exiting the Athens-bound Cyprus Airways A320 jet Saturday night just moments after the captain ordered the crew to lock the aircraft doors.

Police say the man claimed he wanted to see if the aircraft's safety systems were working properly. They say after leaving the plane Lizason jumped a fence at Larnaca International Airport before police caught up with him.

First lady awarded for looking good in jeans

TOKYO — She's been called Japan's most colorful first lady for her cheerful character and quirky comments. Now the wife of new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has won an award for looking good — in her jeans.
Miyuki Hatoyama, 66, won the annual prize given to celebrities who look best in denim, along with four Japanese musicians and a Taiwanese actor.
The first lady was recognized for “wearing jeans gracefully, with a bit of a revolutionary touch,” according to the Japan Jeans Association, which represents denim importers and manufacturers.
“I have long wished to win the prize, as I'm a big fan of jeans,” Hatoyama said.
Japan's past first ladies made few public appearances and wore conservative dresses — rarely even trousers.
Hatoyama, a strong believer in spiritualism, has previously made headlines by saying she met actor Tom Cruise in a previous life and that her soul has traveled to Venus on a UFO.
The former actress said she is trying to change her husband's rather stiff and professor-like appearance.
“I've been encouraging him to wear jeans more often when he can be casual,” she said.

Man rescues phone from dump by listening for ring

ASPEN, Colo. – A determined Colorado man found his missing cell phone at a trash dump after dialing the number and listening for the ring.
Billy Boyd says he dropped the phone Tuesday while raking his yard outside Aspen and unknowingly scooped it into a bag of leaves.
He says he didn't realize his mistake until after he left the leaves at a city recycling center.
Boyd says he could hear the phone ringing but couldn't reach it because of the grate across the recycling bin. By the time he reached city officials, the bin had been emptied onto a massive leaf pile at the dump.
After a half hour of dialing, listening and sifting at the dump, Boyd found his phone.
Landfill manager Chris Hoofnagle says it's the first time he can remember anyone finding a lost item at the dump.

Sicilian prefers prison to house arrest with wife

PALERMO, Sicily (Reuters) – A Sicilian builder transferred from prison to house arrest tried to get himself locked up again to escape arguments with his wife at home, Italian media reported Thursday.
Santo Gambino, 30, did time for dumping hazardous waste before being moved to house arrest in Villabate, outside the Sicilian capital, Palermo, Italian news agencies reported.
Gambino went to the police station and asked to be put away again to avoid arguing with his wife, who accused him of failing to pay for the upkeep of their two children.
Police charged him with violating the conditions of his sentence and made him go home and patch things up with his wife.

Airliner loses contact, overflies destination

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Northwest Airlines flight carrying 144 passengers from San Diego to Minneapolis lost contact with air controllers for more than an hour and overflew its destination by 150 miles, officials said on Thursday.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the two pilots of Flight 188, an Airbus A320, told authorities after landing safely on Wednesday night that they had become distracted during a "heated discussion about airline policy."
The NTSB said on Thursday it would review the plane's flight data and voice recorders and interview the pilots. Among other issues, investigators will explore crew fatigue to see if the pilots were tired, the NTSB said.
Northwest is owned by Delta Air Lines, which said the pilots had been relieved from active flying pending completion of the NTSB investigation and an internal probe by Delta.
Safety board investigations can take several months to complete.
The plane was flying at 37,000 feet when it lost radio contact between 8 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. EDT.
Flight 188 was 150 miles off course by the time the crew re-established communications and requested permission to turn around, officials said.
Airport police boarded the plane in Minneapolis to ensure there had not been a hijacking or other criminal activity, a spokesman for the Minneapolis-St Paul Airport said.
Military authorities were alerted during the incident and put fighter jets on stand-by status temporarily, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said.
It was the second unusual incident involving a U.S. airliner this week.
On Monday, a Delta Boeing 767 with 182 passengers landed on a taxiway instead of its assigned runway at Atlanta's Hartsfield airport. The taxiway, which was parallel to the runway, was active but cleared of ground traffic.

God cited as reason for theft

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington police say a man who smashed a window at a car dealership claimed he was following a higher calling.
Police said 36-year-old David A. Silva was collared by a security guard at Freedom Dodge before he could get inside the showroom.
WLEX-TV reported Silva told the guard that God wanted him to steal a Dodge Charger.
When police arrived, Silva initially told them his name was "Seven."
Silva faces charges including criminal mischief.

SHOCKING: 11 YEAR OLD GIRL GIVES BIRTH ON HER WEDDING DAY!!! (PICS OF THE GIRL . . . HER BABY . . . AND HER 19 YEAR OLD HUSBAND)

MediaTakeOut.com just learned of a very disturbing story from their pals over at the UK newspaper NEWS OF THE WORLD. In today’s paper they’re reporting on a story about an 11 year old Bulgarian woman giving birth to a child by a 19 year old man.

Here's a piece of the article:
With proud husband Jeliazko Dimitrov, 19, at her side, Kordeza admitted: "It feels strange to be a mum and have a baby.

"I used to play with my toys but now she is my new toy. She is so beautiful, I love her. Violeta is the child and I must grow up. I am not going back to school - I am a mother now."

Kordeza met Jeliazko in the playground of her Roma gypsy school in Sliven, Bulgaria, when he rescued her from bullies.

This story gets even more disturbing. Apparently the 11 year old gave birth ON her wedding day. Here’s how the paper describes it:
She was still wearing her flowing white dress and tiara when she arrived at hospital and gave birth to 5lb 8oz Violeta.

But after spending the night with her newborn, Kordeza - who you can see on video below - changed back into her wedding dress and nipped out to finish the ceremony.

And oh, it gets better. Check out how the girl FOUND OUT she was pregnant:
within a WEEK of them meeting, their daughter was conceived. Kordeza admitted: "I haven't had sex education classes and I didn't know how to get pregnant. I'd never had a boyfriend and I'd never heard of condoms.

"I didn't know I was pregnant until my grandmother saw I had put on weight. I just thought I'd eaten too many burgers."

Well apparently it’s illegal to have sex with a minor in Bulgaria and so hubby may be getting locked up. Here’swhat he has to say about it:
"I'm scared. I want to look after my wife and child. Instead I may be going to prison. I made a mistake but I am not going to apologise for that because now I have beautiful Violeta." Raina added: "Everybody seems to be against Kordeza and Jeliazko but what have they done wrong? They are a young couple in love."

This is one of those stories that just sounds so hard to believe.

Inter Milan's Materazzi: I shouldn't be villain in Zidane row

Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi has again spoken of his clash with Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final.

Despite Zidane's headbutt and red card, Materazzi has been cast as the villain.

“Everywhere I go, in every continent, people tell me it was my fault or even that I was the one to give the headbutt,” said an incredulous Materazzi on Sky Italia.

“This tells you what a distorted message that public opinion wanted to send out about what happened. They wanted to make it seem as if I was the one who made the mistake, forgetting this wasn’t the first time Zidane headbutted someone. It was maybe the fourth or fifth.”

The pair were marking each other on a corner and then walking back to their positions when the incident unfolded.

“If you watch the footage from straight after the corner, I was almost apologising because I was scared of his potential header, just as he had 10 minutes earlier with [Gigi] Buffon’s save. When I made a gesture of apology, he looked at me from head to toe with an air of superficiality and superiority.

“It irritated me and I replied in a very Italian way. His response was probably not very French.”

Materazzi had already revealed the verbal exchange between the two men. Zidane suggested ‘If you want my shirt so badly I can give it to you after the match,’ to which the defender sniped: ‘I’d rather get the shirt from your sister.’

This is a classic Italian response to more or less any insult, the peninsula version of the American ‘Yo mama.’

“Maybe it was my destiny to become more famous for the headbutt than the goals, but that doesn’t change the fact in the Final I scored twice and Zidane only once,” smiled the Inter star.

“In that too I feel I beat Zidane, just like Italy beat France. That was the main objective. If public opinion wants to make it seem like something it wasn’t, that’s their prerogative, but it doesn’t change the result on the field.

“The French have that image of Zidane walking past the World Cup, whereas I put the Italy cap on top of it. I have a giant blow-up of that image in my house, it’s our symbol of the tournament.”

La Toya: 'Michael sends me messages'

Michael Jackson's sister La Toya has claimed that the late singer is sending her messages from beyond the grave.

The 53-year-old star admitted that she has felt Michael's presence on more than one occasion since he passed away in June.

Speaking to the Daily Record, she explained: "I have had messages from Michael since his death. It happened for me in his house. All of a sudden I said, 'Michael are you there?' and the light started blinking. I love it. I really love it.

"It doesn't happen every time I ask but it happened one time and then another when someone else was there with me. It's absolutely right there are times you can feel a person's presence. And there are moments when I can smell his cologne. It's weird."

Discussing how she has coped with losing her brother, she continued: "I've been going so fast. There's been so much going on that I've really had no time to just sit and go and relax. I notice when I have two or three hours to myself, it's that moment of silence when I begin to think about him and I go into tears and cry.

"I think when you see these tributes everyone is doing to Michael, it says how much he was loved."

La Toya is expected to present a tribute to the music legend at the MOBO Awards in Glasgow tomorrow.

JACKSON WAS REPULSED BY HIS 'LIZARD-LIKE' APPEARANCE

MICHAEL JACKSON was repulsed by his own appearance and hated looking at photographs of himself - comparing himself to a lizard.
In taped chats with his confidante Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Jackson explained why he covered his face in public, and hinted about his motives for undergoing extensive plastic surgery.
The late star said, "I look like a lizard, I look like, it's horrible. I don't like it, I never like it. That's why I wish I could never be photographed or seen and I push myself to go to the things that we go to.
"I just don't want to look old. I hate to see people grow old, Shmuley."
Boteach, who taped the interviews between 1999 and 2001, claims he confronted Jackson about his surgery addiction, but insists his pal was in denial.
Boteach tells TV host Meredith Vieira, "I used to always tell him that he had to stop. He swore to me he did. But he didn't."

JACKSON HATED THRILLER ALBUM

MICHAEL JACKSON considered quitting work on his iconic 1982 album THRILLER - because he thought it "sucked".
In newly released tapes, obtained by Britain's News of the World newspaper, the King Of Pop revealed he broke down in tears because he thought the record's sound was "c**p".
Jackson was unhappy with the Quincy Jones-produced album - and even told pals he didn't want to release it.
In the recordings, Jackson is heard saying, "Thriller sounded so c**p. The mixes sucked. When we listened to the whole album, there were tears... I just cried like a baby. I stormed out of the room and said, 'We're not releasing this'."
But a visit to a local school playground convinced Jackson to change his mind.
He added, "One of the maintenance crew in the studio had a bicycle and so I took it and rode up to the schoolyard. I just watched the children play. When I came back I was ready to rule the world. I went into the studio and I turned them songs out."
The album has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.