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Bizarre Auctions

Police hard drive sold on eBay
By OUT-LAW.COM
Published Thursday 7th April 2005 08:48 GMT
A computer hard drive, containing confidential data from the Brandenburg police in Germany, has been auctioned over eBay for €20, according to a report by Spiegel, a leading weekly German newspaper. It was bought by a student.

The used 20GB hard drive capacity contained, according to Spiegel, internal alarm plans on how the Police should handle "specific incidences" such as hostage or kidnapping situations, gave contact names of who to contact in the crisis management group, and tactical orders and analysis of political security situations.

According to the report, such information is strictly confidential and should be available only to top level people of the intelligence services, the head of police, and the executive group around the Minister of Interior Schönbohm.

After a student from the city of Potsdam bought it for €20, without knowing about the sensitive content, Minister Jörg Schönbohm immediately initiated an investigation, to find out how the information ended up being sold over eBay and whether the blame was down to a third party or leaked as part of a criminal act.

This oversight by the Brandenburg Police is not the first time a hard drive sold over eBay has triggered a security breach and publicly exposed an organisation.

Last summer, mobile security specialists Pointsec conducted research to find out how many hard drives they could buy over eBay containing sensitive company information to prove the point that very few companies thoroughly wipe clean or re-format their discs before disposing of them. The first one they bought over eBay for just ₠8 contained the access and log-in codes to a major financial services group.

Pointsec found that they were able to read seven out of 10 hard drives bought over the internet at auctions such as eBay, for less than the cost of a McDonald's meal, all of which had supposedly been wiped-clean or re-formatted.

Peter Larsson, CEO of Pointsec Mobile Technologies, said "Even when companies or individuals believe they have wiped the hard drive clean, it is blatantly clear how easy it is to retrieve sensitive information from them both during their current lifetime and beyond it."

He added that this week's exposure of leaked and highly critical information from the Brandenburg police in Germany "reinforces how important it is to never let mobile devices or hard drives leave the office without being adequately protected with encryption and strong password protection – even after they have been discarded."

Pointsec recommends that, if the data on your old equipment is not encrypted, make sure that you re-format the device at least eight times before disposal, or use professional "wiping-clean" software to erase the data. It adds that, if the information is very sensitive and you want to ensure that not even the cleverest hacker will ever be able to read the old hard drive, burn it.
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Money for old rope

eBayers demand money for old rope
By Lester Haines
Published Tuesday 12th April 2005 15:16 GMT
Ta very much this afternoon to wags Bob & Paul who send news of perhaps the ultimate antidote to preposterous eBay auction syndrome.

Regular readers know the score - mad people punting voodoo cuddly toys or 24 small Asian children or offering their todgers as advertising space for thrusting dotcoms.

Well, we applaud the Attleborough pair for demanding money for old rope - literally. Said rope is approx one metre in length, although the vendors cannot confirm that old rope as finally delivered will actually be the fine length of old rope as illustrated here.

Which is a shame, because we reckon there are many - including no doubt Golden Palace Casino - willing to part with good money for this particularly excellent example of old rope. ®

Bootnote
Ta very much too to those readers who have written to point out that the BBC's Money Programme pulled a similar stunt about a month ago. We're sure Auntie's piece of old rope was equally impressive.
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eBay shocker: Case of stolen pacemaker


By Janet Moore / Star Tribune
startribune.com

Vintage party dress. Antique lamp. Pacemaker?

Medtronic Inc. recently discovered that one of its pacemakers was stolen from a California hospital, sold on eBay and then implanted in an Arizona man.

The unusual case highlights the growing online market for prescription medical devices and how these sophisticated products are tracked by manufacturers such as Fridley-based Medtronic, hospitals and federal regulators.

The case surfaced in early March when police in Sacramento, Calif., arrested a 21-year-old woman on an embezzlement charge. Amber Bowen, a nurse's aide at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento, also ran an Internet medical supply business on the side called Body Fantasy Inc., according to Sacramento police.

Bowen allegedly stole two Medtronic pacemakers from the hospital in October 2004 and then posted them for sale on eBay, the online marketplace. Typically, a pacemaker costs about $6,000, but Bowen sold them for $255 each, police said.

The buyer was Greg Etts, a purchasing manager for a large cardiac practice based in the Phoenix area called Advanced Cardiac Specialists, according to a report issued by the Arizona Medical Board. Etts later admitted to board officials that he knew the pacemakers were stolen when he bought them and that he often purchased devices on eBay.

In December, a male cardiac patient, who has not been publicly identified, had his pacemaker battery replaced at Mesa General Hospital. Implanted in the chest, pacemakers treat hearts that beat too slowly, and their batteries need to be replaced after several years of use.

Dr. Ashok Garg, a physician with Advanced Cardiac Specialists, implanted the stolen pacemaker in the patient and then paged a Medtronic sales representative, according to the medical board. The board is investigating Garg's role in the matter and could revoke his license as a result.

It's common in the medical device industry for a company sales rep to be in the operating room when a device is implanted to help the doctor program it, Medtronic spokesman Rich Fischer said.

The Medtronic rep later told Garg that the pacemaker was purchased on eBay and was probably stolen, the report said. Garg told board officials that the news surprised him, and that he didn't quite believe it.

The report also indicates that the medical board had previously received information that Dr. Garg had implanted a Medtronic pacemaker in 2003 that was "mysteriously obtained from Utah."

Garg could not be reached for comment this week. When Advanced Cardiac Specialists was asked to comment, a spokeswoman said, "Since you're in Medtronic's hometown, we prefer not to comment."

Because Medtronic maintains a shipping record of all devices that are delivered to hospitals, a red flag went up when there was a discrepancy between where this particular pacemaker was sold -- California -- and Arizona, where it was implanted and registered.

"It was our current system that led to the discovery of the missing pacemakers," Fischer said.

Medtronic notified Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento, which contacted police when it discovered the pacemakers were missing. (The patient implanted with the device is reportedly doing well.)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires manufacturers like Medtronic to track devices to the patient level in case there is a problem with the product, said Gladys Rodriguez, director of division of enforcement B in the FDA's Office of Compliance at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

It is not illegal for a company to post prescription medical devices on eBay, and the sale of products such as contact lenses and external defibrillators is quite common -- if the prescription can be verified, said Chris Donlay, a spokesman for the San Jose, Calif.-based company.

But since this "delivery was outside of normal channels, a manufacturer could not guarantee the product's viability," Medtronic's Fischer said. Typically, sophisticated devices like pacemakers are sold by the manufacturer to a hospital or clinic.

The fact that these particular pacemakers were purchased on eBay at drastically reduced prices raises some ethical issues as well, said Steven Miles, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota's Center for Bioethics.

"One issue is just the ethics of profiteering," he said. "The second is the integrity of packaging throughout the process" -- once the device leaves the medical system, it could be tampered with. (Garg reportedly told the medical board that the disputed pacemaker he implanted had a serial number and was sealed in original packaging.)

Fischer said Medtronic has periodically alerted eBay about removing potentially problematic listings of its devices. And eBay officials are apparently happy to comply.

While eBay does not screen items before they are posted on its website, "if we find listings that are not appropriate, then we take them down," Donlay said.

But some items apparently slip through. A quick perusal of eBay's site late Thursday found several devices for sale, including Medtronic's external defibrillator, which needs a prescription. And the sale of these devices is certainly not limited to Medtronic products; in one case a single size DD silicone breast implant was being sold for $22 by a seller in Texas.
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Rocking chair pulled from eBay

Calgary -- The owner of a wooden rocking chair with a knot that bore a likeness to Jesus has pulled the item from eBay, saying the bids weren't high enough.

After getting just one bid of $5,000 for the chair, Jonathon Fenton decided to keep it after all in a Calgary furniture store.

Mr. Fenton said most visitors concede to seeing the spiritual spot, and some are outright moved by it.

Mr. Fenton's chair, which was originally priced at $650, got 17,000 hits on eBay.
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My cat hacked up an Elvis Presley hairball!

It was late, I was snuggled warmly in bed when I heard Mr. Boogers and the all-too-familiar cack cack cack cack urrrrrrp SPLAT! I knew he had just hacked up a hairball, but I couldn’t bear the thought of getting up in the middle of the night and stepping in his ooey, gooey slime-covered fur-offering in the dark so I went back to sleep knowing it would be much easier to see it and scrape it up in the morning.

When I awoke I had all but forgotten about it until I saw the dark gray blob on the bathroom floor. I was about to wipe it up with a wad of toilet paper when I noticed this hairball had a distinct shape. Figuring I was seeing things, I summoned my mother to come and take a look (Note to self: Mothers, no matter how good and sweet and kind and motherly, do not appreciate being summoned and driving 30 miles to look at hairballs at the break of dawn). She saw it too…someone’s profile in Mr. Booger’s hairball…
But not just ANY someone, this someone looks amazingly like THE King himself! Elvis Presley in cat hair on MY bathroom floor! This was definitely a first for Mr. Boogers whose previous hairball-art offerings included mostly hotdog, bratwurst, wiener and the occasional sausage patty shapes, but never anything quite so artistic or slimy. I wiped the excess goo-age from the floor around Mr. Boogers’ project, put a cardboard box over to allow it some drying time and avoid disturbing my cat’s obvious masterpiece.

This morning, after allowing Elvis to dry to perfection, I scraped him off my bathroom floor and now offer him to you today. The discerning collector of hairballs will see a good-sized glob of Mr. Boogers’ hair, but this is not only Mr. Boogers’ hair, it also the hair of his friends Fartimus Blossom, Itsy Bitsy, Julius Sneezer, Thomas Wetherby Thumbles and Schmidty (no, I am not one of those crazy cat ladies), all of whom Mr. Boogers likes to pin down and groom against their will.

Mr. Boogers and Elvis have many, many things in common! They have both been on eBay before (no, not as your most recent non-paying bidders). Mr. Boogers appeared when he auctioned off a cheesecake photo of himself (see my "Me" page) to benefit victims of the 911 tragedy in eBay’s Auctions for America. Elvis regularly appears on eBay as well as various fast food establishments, however, I believe this is the first time he graced the Internet, eBay or the "real" world in hairball form. Elvis Presley enjoyed eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Mr. Boogers enjoys eating period. Elvis sang “Blue Suede Shoes,” Mr. Boogers likes untying shoes. Elvis Presley was inducted into the US Army in March of 1958, Mr. Boogers once chewed all the toes off of a G.I. Joe doll…er, I mean action figure.

Yikes! I do blather on! Lucky winning bidder will receive the genuine Mr. Boogers Elvis Presley hairball pictured here which I will carefully package on the requisite bed of cotton balls that all highly collectible items must be laid upon and enclose it in a clear plastic box for ultimate display as well as transportability! Take Elvis everywhere you go!

The Elvis hairball is about 4” from top of his pompadour to the bottom of his neck (add an inch for the stringy end of the hairball) and is a tad under 2” at its widest point.
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[snip shipping details]

*****TEENIE TINY ALMOST ILLEGIBLE DISCLAIMER*****
Pleeeeeease before sending me any mail telling me what an evil and horrible and cruel cat owner I am for allowing my precious Mr. Boogers to hack up hairballs, please know that I have tried every remedy on the market to stop them. Mr. Boogers HATES to be brushed. I can not stress enough that he absolutely LOATHES everything about being brushed. I have tried every brush out there including those snazzy gloves with the bristles, the gloves with the nubs, and the gloves with the Velcro-like texture all over that you are supposed to wear and just calmly pet your cat while he is relaxing in your lap and bonding with you. Yeah…right. The only good thing I can say about those gloves is that they did give an extra layer of protection against Mr. Boogers’ fangs. I have tried the treats that are supposed to prevent hairballs, I have tried the liquid medications, I have resorted to chasing Mr. Boogers around the house with a scissors in an attempt to give him a stylish trim, but as you can see, my efforts are in vain. Mr. Boogers weighs about 20 pounds and I am guessing that at least twelve of those twenty pounds is pure hair. Mr. Boogers was found with several siblings in a ditch and when no one else wanted him, I volunteered to take him home until someone else who was actually a “cat person” could adopt him. That was 12 years and 37 cats ago. (No, I swear, I am really not one of those crazy cat ladies.)
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Ooh, there's more, and it ties in with the modern art thread!

On Apr-17-05 at 00:24:35 PDT, seller added the following information:

Due to the overwhelming number of emails I have received, I cannot, in good conscience, offer this hairball as Elvis Presley without acknowledging the concerns of the masses that this may not be Elvis at all, but our illustrious 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Could it be that Mr. Boogers is actually more of a history buff than I gave him credit for?

Did Mr. Boogers channel the King of Rock-n-Roll himself before “coming up” with his very special outsider art or was he possessed by Honest Abe himself when emancipating the hairball from within???

I offer these comparison photographs, so that the lucky winner can truly make an informed decision and settle this burning controversy...

Are You Lonesome Tonight? Own this and you can kiss Friday nights in front of the tv with your best pals Ben and Jerry goodbye forever! Friends, family and complete strangers will find their way to your door to get a look at the hairball. You could even charge admission! Whatever your decision, do not get All Shook Up and forget to bid! The winner Can't Help Falling In Love with this one of a kind collectible of Elvis Presley and/or Abraham Lincoln! Don't Be Cruel and Treat Me Nice and this work of art may be yours to cherish A Hundred Years From Now! As a side note, for those with concerns about the hairball, it is no longer slimey or gooey, so it will not get Stuck On You.
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Hrm, it won't let me click on the photos to save them. Oh well. Thing's got 4 bids already. :shock:
 
Nuremberg wants to prevent auction of Hitler-picture
Jörg Völkerling

Nuremberg - the auction of a previously unknown watercolour by Adolf Hitler is feared in Nuremberg because of possible political turbulence. The auction house has announced (on the 60th anniversary of the conquest of Nuremberg by the American troops) for 4600 Euros the sale of a 1910 picture by Hitler, called "Bergaden Hoher Göll”. Now city and police search for ways, to prevent this.

A summer meadow, village church before the Alps - with such works the young Hitler tried to earn his way through life. Artistically "insignificant" says Herbert Weidler.

As a "city of the empire party conventions" and "German Schatzkästlein", Nuremberg counted long as a national socialistic stronghold. With the nuremberg residents processes an image change used, that Nuremberg propagates today "city of the human rights" with the title. Through the offer of Auktionator Weidler, one fears an assembly of right Hitler-fanatic in the city hall now. "That is all very unpleasant", means more piously. Weidler sees no danger: "most rights know not once, that Hitler generally painted has."

Articles appeared on 23 April 2005. Thanks also to: www.freetranslation.com

http://www.welt.de/data/2005/04/23/708598.html

From the auction catalogue:

337. 1 Aquarell von Adolf HITLER (1889-1945) "Bergaden Hoher Goell" R.u.sign. l.u.bez. 20X26cm RhG (mit Expertise Archiv fuer NS-Zeitgeschichte Wien) **siehe Fotokatalog** 10166 4.600,00

http://www.auktionshausweidler.de/Kataloge2005/1000.Preiskatalog.pdf
 
Mind Reading Machine

36_2.JPG
 
Pope's old car smashing records on eBay

Mon May 2, 1:06 PM ET

BERLIN (AFP) - Interest in Pope Benedict XVI's old Volkswagen, currently on offer on eBay Germany, has smashed all records for the Internet auction site with nearly four million hits, the company said.

"It was viewed more often than any other item we have ever had on eBay Germany," the Berlin headquarters said.

The bidding for the metallic gray 1999 Golf IV in mint condition started at 9,999 euros (about 12,800 dollars), and by Monday, with more than 136 registered offers, had reached 62,595 euros.

Because the auction is not due to end until Thursday -- Ascension Day -- eBay expects the price to continue to rise.

The Golf is being offered by Benjamin Halbe, 21, who bought it in January from a used car dealer having no idea that its previous owner, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, would become pope.

"It's a heavenly ride," Halbe said.

Ratzinger's private secretary bought it for him in 1999 in southern Germany. It was then taken to Ratzinger in Rome.

The company said that it had taken measures to guard against fraudulent offers by requiring bidders to provide their eBay user name, a phone number and a copy of their German identification card.

Coincidentally Volkswagen, Europe's leading automaker, said last month it is interested in building a new "Pope-mobile", a car especially designed and built for the pope.
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Online casino buys Britney Spears' alleged home pregnancy test

Updated at 18:16 on May 4, 2005, EST.

NEW YORK (CP) - Online casino Golden Palace has spilled $5,001 for Britney Spears' alleged home pregnancy test. "It's hard to put a price on Britney Spears' urine," Golden Palace spokesman Drew Black told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Golden Palace says it purchased the test from Ottawa radio station Hot 89.9, which insists the test was retrieved from the trash inside Spears' Los Angeles hotel room months ago.

"We've had a connection in Los Angeles, a guy who works at a hotel chain in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas," Jeff Mauler, co-host of the Morning Hot Tub on The New Hot 89.9, said Wednesday in Ottawa.

"He knew Britney and Kevin were staying at this hotel back in January and ... he came across the pregnancy test in their room and he offered it for us to buy for a pretty penny."

Mauler wouldn't reveal the source or the name of the hotel, but admitted the station paid thousands of dollars for the First Response test.

"It was used," insists the radio personality. "It had the two lines on it (and) it was in the trash in the bathroom of this hotel room."

Staff at the station "were all running around" once they received the test in the mail in mid-to-late March, says Mauler.

"Somebody had to actually go out and buy gloves for this because nobody really wanted to touch it."

After encasing it in glass and engraving the front, the station auctioned it on EBay, but "about 24 hours later EBay took it down because there's a rule with EBay saying that you can't put anything on for auction that is DNA related," says Mauler.

"So obviously with the urine it's DNA related."

That's when the station posted the item on its website and held a public auction, which Golden Palace won. The station donated the money evenly to Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Trust and the Ottawa Chapter of Easter Seals.

The station didn't leak news of the test until Spears and husband Kevin Federline revealed her pregnancy to the public last month.

"We don't know for certain, of course," said Black. "Obviously, it's her alleged pregnancy test. I wasn't there when she took the test."

Golden Palace saw some buzz potential in the baby-making analyser.

"When we saw this particular item was up for grabs, we knew it was something we wanted to have to add to the collection of oddities we've amassed over the past several months," said Black.

Other off-the-wall items owned by Golden Palace include a sandwich resembling the Virgin Mary, a Doritos chip that looks like the Pope's hat and a haunted cane.

Black said Golden Palace is looking into going on tour with the out-of-the-ordinary objects.

Last month, the online casino paid $15,100 US to a Connecticut woman to name her newborn GoldenPalace.com.

-

The Canadian Press, 2005
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"OLD VOODOO ICON - GHOST TRAPPED IN A BOTTLE - VERY REA

"OLD VOODOO ICON - GHOST TRAPPED IN A BOTTLE - VERY REAL"
Source

Here for auction is something you will most definitely never find on eBay again.
A one of a kind auction for an item that will haunt, delight, and serve as your ultimate conversation piece for the rest of your days.

Up for auction is this late 19th century medicine bottle that inside contains a spirit. Or what has more commonly been called a ghost. However this bottle has an odd history that has been passed down through my family over generations. When I was a child I was told about the bottle in my grandmother's attic.

The Intro:

My family roots can be traced back to New Orleans in the late 19th century. VooDoo was a common practice and made Marie Laveau very "wealthy" woman through her secret arts.

I've done a great deal of research over the years about the bottle once it came into my possession. Even now I live only about 6 hours away from New Orleans and over Spring Break 2005 I took the bottle with me to see if I could find out more about it.

I had no idea the adventure I would be embarking on....

New Orleans is still a city of lore ghost stories are still the highlight of many of the walking tours taken through The Quarter. Voodoo is also another very strong art not only still practiced in New Orleans but celebrated with trips to Marie Laveau's gravesite, Voodoo shops, and even a museum.

While I was in New Orleans I was determined to find out if my bottle actually came from New Orleans voodoo like I was told as a girl or if it was all a bunch of gossip. My second day while in New Orleans I took the bottle with me to one of the many Voodoo shops in The Quarter.

When I showed the bottle to a local priestess she immediately knew what it was. She said and I quote "You have there one of the most powerful voodoo icons known to our world - a soul trapped inside of a bottle." I was delighted to know that all my childhood stories and the family gossip about the bottle was actually true.

She told me in detail about the bottle - how they are made, what the symbols painted onto the bottle stand for, and why it is absolutely imperative to never open the bottle unless I dared to wrestle with a hostile vengeful spirit.
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[Emp edit: Fixing big link.]
 
From my hometown, yet!

Back in college, she had always been a little curious about beaver, but never acted on it, even though many of her friends went to Trent University.
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:rofl:
 
Thatcher's shoes dance their way onto eBay
The online auction house eBay has put on sale three pairs of shoes that were reportedly custom-made for Margaret Thatcher when she was British Prime Minister.

The minimum bid for the Rayne shoes - coloured silver, gold and black suede - is 2,930 pounds ($7,037) but owner Eleanor Graham, 65, said she expects to fetch some 10,000 pounds ($24,000) on the auction website.

Ms Graham said she bought the shoes as an investment when she saw a member of Thatcher's staff donate some of the Prime Minister's possessions to a Sue Ryder charity shop in the 1980s.

"I was just lucky - I was there at the right place at the right time when the shoes were brought in by her secretary," Ms Graham said.

She said she convinced the store's cashier not to remove the label "Made Especially for Mrs Margaret Thatcher" from one pair by agreeing to re-sell the shoes only after the cashier had died, so that she would not get sacked.

The size five shoes did not fit her, she said, so she only wore them a couple of times while she washed the dishes.

Ms Graham said she then recently thought: "Gosh, I've had a couple of heart attacks and they'll get thrown out unless I do anything."
Last Update: Saturday, June 4, 2005. 12:22pm (AEST)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1384521.htm
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Now there's one pair of shoes I just don't have the Empathy to imagine myself walking a mile in...
Can you bid negatively? If you can I ask for -10.0 million Euros...
 
Why would anyone pay for a big chip?

:confused:

8-Inch French Fry Sold for Nearly $200


Jun 4, 6:24 PM (ET)

WALCOTT, Iowa (AP) - An 8-inch french fry found by a bartender has sold for nearly $200 on eBay. Mindy Marland said she was working at the Checkered Flag Bar & Grill, across from the Iowa 80 Truckstop, when she spotted the unusually long french fry.

"A waitress was walking by and I saw it sitting right on top of a plate she was getting ready to serve - I was intrigued by it and took it off the plate," said Marland, 29, of Walcott.

Marland said she decided to sell it on eBay. Bids started at $1. By the time bidding ended, it had sold for $197.50.

She said she was surprised at how much it sold for. She also said she was surprised about the size of the french fry, explaining how it had to travel from where it was made to the restaurant's freezer and finally into the fryer.

"I can't believe it didn't break," said Marland, a mother of two.

She said she plans to use the money for a little fun.

"I'm using it to take the kids to Great America in Chicago this summer," she said.

She also said she has contacted the Guinness Book of Records after reading the record for the longest french fry is 6 3/4 inches.

---

Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/
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http://apnews.excite.com/article/200506 ... 2KF00.html
 
JFK Grassy Knoll fence post for sale

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 53278&rd=1

Gotta love the disclaimer at the end!

Gordon

OWN THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE’S GRASSY KNOLL GUNMAN FENCE POST !



Own a piece of history! You are bidding on one of the two most important parts of the original fence from the famous Grassy Knoll which was taken down in January of 2000. This is the post which was located approximately ten feet to the west of the corner of the fence where the House Select Committee on Assassinations indicated that the “Grassy Knoll Gunman" most likely fired from!



If the committee was correct, the Grassy Knoll gunman and his weapon undoubtedly touched this fence post on that fateful day in November 1963. One can conclude with near certainty that a sniper would have needed to brace himself against this fence post in order to have fired at the President to the southeast of the location designated by the committee.

This is a truly amazing opportunity to own a piece of American History!

There has been much debate as to which parts of the fence that was taken down in 2000 were of the original, pre 1963 fence. There should be no debate however, that the heavy, galvanized steel fence posts (including this one) are in fact from pre 1963.



In 2000, I had worked around Dealey Plaza for a few years and had participated in several reenactments of the assassination for television and documentaries. Subsequently, the two most important fence posts (The HSCA & Badgeman posts) had special markings on them as reference points with which I was very familiar. I showed up in Dealey Plaza one day in January of 2000 and to my amazement, the entire fence on the Grassy Knoll was being taken down (see the before and after photos) to be replaced by a new one. A friend of mine had already arranged to obtain the entire fence which I ended up storing for a couple of years and also acquired a portion of for myself. I still have several important pieces of the fence including the HSCA post being offered here.



This historical fence post is suitable to be the prize of any President Kennedy, JFK assassination collection. It is a one of a kind piece and a VERY RARE opportunity to own a significant piece of American history.



According to the House Select Committee on Assassinations:



“SCIENTIFIC ACOUSTICAL EVIDENCE ESTABLISHES A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT TWO GUNMAN FIRED AT PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY; OTHER SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE DOES NOT PRECLUDE THE POSSIBILITY OF TWO GUNMEN FIRING AT THE PRESIDENT"...



They went on to identify the probable location of the Grassy Knoll Gunman as follows:



“Approximately 10 feet from the point on the grassy knoll (the corner of the fence) that was picked as the shooter location in the 1978 reconstruction”(of the assasination)…



This same location is where the late Lee Bowers saw men standing during the shooting and is where the first policemen on the scene found muddy footprints & other potential evidence...



Others saw what appeared to be gun smoke rising in the air from this same area behind the fence on the Grassy Knoll...



This is the one and only fence post from the location described above on the original Grassy Knoll Fence. The very same one that was there on Friday, November 22, 1963 at 12:30 PM!



"THIS ITEM SHOULD BE CONSIDERED PRICELESS"



As you can see from the photo of the item, all three brackets are still on the post as are connecting bolts and two pieces of the wood fence supports. It has been preserved in it's unwashed, antique condition.





BUYER PAYS ACTUAL COST OF PACKING AND SHIPPING FOR THIS ITEM FROM DALLAS, TX.

PAYPAL IS PREFERED, CASHIERS CHECK, CASH OR PERSONAL CHECKS WILL ALSO BE ACCEPTED. FULL PAYMENT IS REQUIERED WITHIN 5 DAYS AFTER THE AUCTION CLOSES. PAYMENT MUST FULLY CLEAR BEFORE ITEM IS SHIPPED.



If you wish to contact me confidentially concerning this item, you may do so at: [email protected]



OWN A PIECE OF HISTORY
IT'S IMPORTANCE IS TIMELESS




Disclaimer:

The term “ OWN THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE’S GRASSY KNOLL GUNMAN FENCE POST” is NOT intended to imply that the item for sale was ever owned by or in the possession of said committee or any branch of the government associated with the committee. Rather, it is to imply that the item described above is believed to be significant to the findings of said committee as stated above. The item listed for sale was obtained through a legal transfer of ownership from the previous private owner of the item.
 
She also said she has contacted the Guinness Book of Records after reading the record for the longest french fry is 6 3/4 inches.
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Really? I've eaten bigger chips than that.
 
It would clearly depend on the size of one's spuds ;)

---------------
Looted Saddam Potrait Sold On Ebay

June 7, 2005, 10:26:01
Bizarre News,

Thats bizarre: A portrait of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein which was looted from one of his own palaces went on sale on an internet auction site this week.

The painting was looted from Saddam's palace in Basra by a member of the Royal Marines.

Seller J Arthur Rank of Ashford, Kent said: This painting has a spooky air about it."

It is being sold on Ebay with a starting price of £800.
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www.femalefirst.co.uk/bizarre/58202004.htm
 
Life Size Replica of Stonehenge

A Life-size 360 degree replica of Stonehenge, as it was constructed 4000 years ago. The replica, as featured in Five's Stonehenge-The Ultimate Experiment - Live on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st June, is made of 171 hand-crafted polystyrene 'stones' which vary in size up to approximately 5X2X2 metres each. The full replica of the famous ancient monument, the making of which featured in the Radio Times this week, reaches a diameter of 30 metres and weighs approximately 6 - 10 tonnes.

Buyer To collect.
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Auction of the bizarre

BY LAUREN WEBER
STAFF WRITER

June 16, 2005

During the search for his missing wife, Laci, Scott Peterson came upon a car in the parking lot of the Del Rio Country Club in Modesto, Calif. The car's owner, like many others in that Southern California community, had placed a flier on the dashboard with Laci's photo on it.

Peterson took out his business card and dashed a quick note on the back, then tucked it under the windshield wiper. The note read, "Thank you for having Laci's picture on your car. Scott."

Now, seven months after Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife, that business card has reappeared as Lot 139 in the current Americana auction held by Seaford-based firm Leland's.

Standing at the intersection of celebrity, money and the macabre, auction houses have found a significant market in the sale of memorabilia relating to highly publicized and often gruesome deaths, a niche that raises a multitude of questions of ethics and taste.

"We're known for specializing in unusual memorabilia," said Josh Evans, 43, founder of Leland's, whose primary expertise is sports memorabilia. "People bring these things to us. Our phone rings all the time."

Sprinkled into the Americana auction and a concurrent sports auction are a few morbid items, including the Peterson card (with a bid of $666, as of Wednesday evening); a section of the fence from the grassy knoll at Dealey Plaza, where John F. Kennedy was assassinated ($5,000 bid); and a piece of the airplane in which Pittsburgh Pirates player Roberto Clemente died in 1972 ($2,196.50 bid).

"We, as human beings, have always been interested in the darker side of human behavior," said Dr. Mitchell Schare, professor of clinical psychology at Hofstra University.

Indeed, the sale of crime- and death-related memorabilia is "an underground industry that's come into mainstream America via the Internet," said Andy Kahan, director of the crime victims assistance office for the mayor of Houston. In his off time, Kahan has become the leading expert on what he calls "murderbilia." He has discovered Web sites that sell nothing but items related to serial killers, like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy, and he has campaigned for laws banning the sale of such items.

To victims' families, he said, "there's nothing more nauseating and disgusting" than to find that people are profiting from the death of a loved one.

Many families fight the public commodification of their private tragedies. Clemente's heirs threatened to sue Leland's in order to halt the auction of two pieces of the plane in which he died during a relief mission to Nicaragua. Evans says he is in discussions with the family but hasn't decided if he'll pull the items.

He adds, on the general topic of such sales, "If we think it's historically interesting, we'll sell it. If we think it's morbid and it's just for exploitation, we're not interested."

It's difficult to parse historical importance in our celebrity-obsessed culture, where newspapers and television broadcasts devote countless resources to grisly murders and runaway brides. What is truly historical, truly important?

The lines are often fuzzy, Evans admits. Jeffrey Dahmer items, for instance, are beyond the pale, but O.J. Simpson paraphernalia has historical value, he said.

Evans once passed on the album that John Lennon signed for Mark David Chapman moments before Chapman murdered the Beatle.

"We thought it was over the line," he said. "It was just too horrific."

That album is now owned by Gary Zimet, who, through his company, Moments in Time, plans to sell the record this winter at the 25th anniversary of Lennon's murder. Yoko Ono almost purchased the album last year for over $500,000; she eventually pulled out of the deal, Zimet said.

The Peterson card came directly from the owner of the car on which it was found. Evans said he accepted it because "most of the story is there in that card, because he's saying, 'I'm trying to help,' when in fact he wasn't."

As for those who bid on these mementos of the macabre, experts cite many motivations, occasionally sick and sometimes simply voyeuristic. For some, it's a vicarious way to connect with a national drama.

"The Scott Peterson case was a very emotional experience for people," Schare said. In buying a piece of that case, "they're holding on to the excitement, the publicity, the discussions, the questions about what it meant."
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www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzauct16,0,1694488.story
 
:eek!!!!: :eek!!!!:

I need to get rid of this car immediately - ideally in the next 2-3 hours before my cheating arsehole husband gets home to find it gone and all his belongings in the street.

I am the registered owner and I have the log book. Please only buy if you can pick up tonight.
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EBay
50p? Thats what I call a bargain! ;)
 
Oh. Dear.

BBC

Michael Jackson fans have come up with a novel form of memorabilia to mark the singer's acquittal on child abuse charges - toast with his face on it.

Slices of toast with the star's likeness and slogans such as "not guilty" have appeared on internet auction site eBay.

Vendors claimed the slices were not faked - but popped out of their toasters before or during the verdicts.

Toast said to look like the Virgin Mary sold for $28,000 (£15,400) last year.

That appears to have sparked a craze for novelty toast on eBay.

Slices currently on sale carry pictures of people ranging from Elvis Presley to Yoda, with a sideline in toast depicting jars of air breathed by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

One Michael Jackson fan promised: "This is a wonderful memento of this historic day that you will cherish for years to come."

Another said: "As I was watched the jury's verdict being announced on June 13, 2005, my toast popped up just as Michael was acquitted."

One vendor said a slice with "not guilty" written on it popped up just before the verdicts.

"I was shocked, so I saved it and waited, and then today at 4.30pm my time it came on the news, and there it was - Michael Jackson is found not guilty," they wrote.
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I've had a look on here but couldn't find anything on bayraider.

An eBay weirdness blog. Choice posts include the links to an Ugly Stick, Hen's Teeth and a boozy, stuffed Armadillo all for sale on, you've guessed it, eBay.
 
Pitt and Jolie Air For Sale

June 29, 2005, 9:42:37


A jar containing air reportedly breathed by Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is being sold on internet auction site eBay.

The seller's statement said: "Be the first to own this jar of celebrity air, which may contain air molecules that came in direct contact with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt."

The site features 13 pictures of the celebrity air being scooped up as Pitt and Jolie stroll down the red carpet at the premiere of their new film 'Mr and Mrs Smith'.

The seller said: "We are not guaranteeing this air sample contains air molecules that came in contact with any celebrity epidermal layer or respiratory system, but the sample was captured in proximity of the celebrities and air molecules that did come in direct contact."

Some 53 bidders were interested in the jar of air, pushing the price to over $15,000.
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www.femalefirst.co.uk/bizarre/67382004.htm
 
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