Twitter Vigilante Reclaims a Stranger’s Stolen Laptop After Police Refuse to Help

Twitter helps break news and aid in political uprisings, but after one guy helped recover the stolen laptop of a stranger he followed on Twitter, it seems the social network is also going to revive a dying breed: the vigilante.

After Sean Power had his laptop stolen in New York City, he used Prey—the awesome (and FREE) tracking software—located the laptop, obtained the culprit's Skype name and snaped a screenshot of the guy using it. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to file a police report before having to leave NYC for a few days, so when he finally tracked down his computer, the cops more or less refused to help. That's when Power started tweeting.

What ensued was a flurry of tweets from followers who dug up all sorts of info on the accused, while spreading the word. A female friend of Power's was already at the bar where Prey had pinpointed the computer, but was hesitant to try and handle the situation alone.

But a complete stranger, Nick Reese, happened to be in the neighborhood where the laptop was located. After receiving links to the unfolding saga, debating whether or not to help, and having friends prod him, he finally hopped a cab and went down to the bar.

Once there, he casually confronted the thief (who worked—or possibly owned—the bar where he was using the computer), and got the laptop back with little resistance, scoring a victory for Twitter nerds everywhere. There's a whole, chronological twitter stream here, detailing what went down in realtime. And it's a pretty entertaining story to skim through, involving highs, lows, moments of doubt and multiple characters.

And internet, can we keep crowdsourcing all our law enforcement needs? With local police squads going bankrupt all around the country, I'm all about a bunch of shadowy, hockey-masked randoms popping up to save the day.

-Adrian Covert

Sheex Performance Bed Sheets

You know those workout shirts that keep you cool and dry? Like from Under Armour and Nike? These Sheex "performance" bedsheets are made out of the same material. And they're pretty much perfect for any type of activity you do in bed.

PLUSSES
Holy baby bottoms, these sheets are soft. You definitely feel the roots of performance wear, but the softness is more similar to satin or silk (but obviously more durable). There's a purposeful weight and texture to it, which lets your body breathe while keeping you warm. It's fantastic really—I've slept on many a high thread count and on the cotton of Phaorohs but none were as versatile as Sheex.

The set comes with a fitted sheet, a flat sheet and two pillowcases all made from the same 87% polyester/13% spandex fabric blend. Once you put the Sheex on, your bed becomes one constant cool side of the pillow. For a person like me, who gets hot easily, and lives in a city that stays hot midyear, Sheex is an absolute oasis. Or I guess deodorant if you're a sweaty sleeper. Either way, I've been sleeping wonderfully since I started using Sheex.

But, um, how do 'performance sheets' perform when you perform?

You are who you are, of course, but let's put it this way: Sheex eliminates the messy variables of night time relations. The fitted bed sheet is tight and stretchy so it wraps itself perfectly around the mattress so there's no needless fabric flapping around. This is crucial, as it gives you a blank slate for your penetrative masterpieces: you can spin, tango, and switch gears any which way without ever getting your knees, elbows or any of your other body parts caught in your sheets. Cotton is for virgins, people.

As for those who partake on solo missions, the flat sheet grooves itself onto your body, caressing its polyester around your knees and ankles while giving breathability to your backside. It's as easy as ever to find peace within yourself.

MINUSES
If you have any rough patches on your body (back of your heels, etc), rubbing against the sheets will make your rough skin feel like the carcasses of burnt alligators. It scratches and it's not fun knowing how gross your feet are. Also, because of Sheex's materials, it doesn't retain that 'fresh laundry' scent. And, lastly! The bed sheets might be so awesome that your impromptu one night bed dance partner (what was his/her name?) might want to stay with you through the morning after.

$200 for a Queen Set, Sheex

-Casey Chan

Hindu goddess swimsuits at Australian Fashion Week spark angry protests

The row has come close to creating a diplomatic incident between Australia and India. Models wearing colourful swimsuits and bikinis covered in pictures of the goddess took to the catwalk in front of hundreds of people in Sydney last week.
However, not everyone thought it was appropriate to use of the revered goddess's image on a skimpy piece of clothing.
When news of the fashion show reached India, some Hindus were outraged. Over the weekend, demonstrators in Amritsar burned the Australian flag in protest, waving photographs of the offensive swimsuit and demanding that all of the garments be recalled.

Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity, fertility and courage. She is worshipped every day by Hindus and her image is considered to be sacred. Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, demanded an apology from the designer. He said Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world and its deities deserved to be respected.
"Lakshmi was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not for pushing swimwear in fashion shows for mercantile greed of an apparel company," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Partya party (BJP) also called for an apology from the Australian government. The incident is the latest in a long line of fashion faux pas by Western designers when it comes to Indian gods, including US designer Guess using the image of Ganesh on a tank top and the French shoe brand Minelli putting images of Lord Rama on shoes. The Australian fashion house responsible for the design was quick to apologise. In a statement, Lisa Blue Swimwear said the company had put a halt on production of the new range and pulled the pieces that had been shown during Fashion Week.
"This range will never be available for sale in any stockists or retail outlets anywhere in the world," it said.
"We apologise to the Hindu community and take this matter very seriously.
"At no time would we ever have intended that the brand would cause offence."

Australia's relationship with India is only just starting to recover after a spate of attacks on Indian students last year which led to widespread protests and claims that the crimes were racially motivated.

500 Taliban Prisoners Just Escaped Through a Long Underground Tunnel—Built Using No Heavy Machinery

In their biggest prison break since 2008, nearly 500 Afghani detainees (mostly Taliban members) escaped from the Sarposa Prison through an underground tunnel, dug from the outside. Now the U.S. military is searching high and low, hoping to corral the escapees back in. The crazy thing is that they built this long tunnel using nothing but basic tools—no machinery.
UPDATE: Two of the imprisoned Taliban members reveal all about their escape through the underground tunnel.

According to Al Jazeera, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that a group on the outside spent five months digging a 320 meter tunnel that circumvented numerous security checkpoints (the length of the tunnel varies between 320 and 360 meters in different reports).

The militants launched the dig from a house "within shooting distance of the prison guard towers," the AP notes, but it's not clear whether they lived in the house as the dig continued. The head of Kandahar's prisons told The Guardian that constructing the tunnel must have been extremely labor-intensive given that the Taliban had to refrain from using heavy machinery that could attract attention to its efforts.

From the Times:

At 11 p.m. Sunday, three Taliban prisoners, who he said were the only ones who knew, "went from cell to cell waking people and guiding each of them to the tunnel."

"More Taliban were on hand as the prisoners emerged from the dirt and dust of the tunnel to guide the dazed prisoners to waiting vehicles. Also on hand were Taliban fighters and suicide bombers in case the security forces woke up and there was a fight.

The actual escape began around 11 pm, when imprisoned Taliban members who had obtained copies of the cell keys began guiding prisoners to the tunnel. The walk through the tunnel took over 30 minutes and when they emerged from the tunnel, they were taken away in waiting vehicles. Around 4 am, security guards discovered they had escaped (Taliban officials claim they didn't notice until 7:30 am).

The 2008 escape freed more than 1200 prisoners (and 350 Taliban members), but relied on a less stealth method in the form of a surprise attack on the prison. In that instance, 30 insurgence stormed the prison, which completely caught guards by surprise, creating an environment of chaos. This time around, the escape went totally undetected, leading some to believe some of the prison guards were involved. [NYT via The Atlantic]

[Image via Allauddin Khan/Associated Press]

Desi Humor

Senator Chuck Grassley Is the Worst Twitter User in the United States of America

Last year, 77 year-old Iowan senator Chuck Grassley vowed to do anything for reelection—including picking up Twitter. We almost wish he hadn't. Grassley's 1,147 tweets are possibly among the most incoherent, confounding, mind-boggling text on the internet.

Is This the US Navy’s Secret Helicopter?

Ever since SEAL Team 6 blew up its downed, stealth Black Hawk, aviation geeks around the globe have been trying to figure out what the hell it was. One flight expert has gathered the clues and created this detailed rendering.
David Cenciotti, the brain behind the sketch, has serious credentials: he's a former member of the Italian air force, current private pilot, computer engineer, and journalist. With the help of Ugo Crisponi, an artist at Aviation Graphic, we might have a better understanding of what whisked the commandos in and out without Pakistani interference (beyond a few photos of a severed tail rotor). It's still a drawing, of course, but here it's easier to appreciate the strange tail rotor, and the sleek, streamlined stealth chassis—particularly compared to the standard Black Hawk underneath (click images to expand). We're eager for more details to surface on this mystery bird, but I have a feeling the Pentagon wishes the whole thing had been blown to bits.