News on Toast: Pulver case to remain a mystery

Collar bomb hoaxer’s guilty plea sheds no light on Pulver mystery, a blogger exposes airport security flaws and a beauty sale turns ugly in Melbourne: The morning’s hot topics in bite sized pieces just right for dunking.

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Pulver attacker’s guilty plea sheds no light on mystery

Hoe Paul Douglas Peters (right) terrorised Madeleine Pulver. Pic: Herald Sun

The mystery of why Paul Douglas Peters strapped a fake collar bomb to Sydney teenager Madeleine Pulver and terrorised her for hours on August 3 seems destined to remain that way after he yesterday pleaded guilty to the crime.

Fortunately for the 18-year-old the case now won’t have to go to trial, but it means the motivations for the attack will likely remain unclear.

Today’s Australian reports Peters, a 51-year-old father of three, may have targeted the schoolgirl after seeing her through her window while talking to a neighbour. The burgeoning writer had visited Pulver’s street “on and off for 10 days” leading up to the attack while apparently researching a new novel about a Hong Kong newspaper man.

Peters is due for sentencing on March 16.

It’s unclear if the full story of the Pulver case – which surely will have to go down as one of Australia’s most bizarre crimes – will ever be unravelled. It’s a small irony that the events that unfolded on and since August 3 are likely far more gripping than anything Peters planned to write in his novel.

Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.

>> What other true crime cases have fascinated you?

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Blogger drops a bomb on airport security 

A new YouTube video reportedly shows how to beat new airport body scanners.

Air travel just isn’t stressful enough, is it? I mean, you’ve only got long waits, delays, hidden fees and confusing restrictions to adhere to, not to mention exhausting security procedures. So thank goodness one intrepid blogger has discovered one more source of paranoia: A loophole that allows passengers to sneak metal objects past those new body scanners.

American blogger Jonathan Corbett has published a YouTube video allegedly demonstrating how to beat the new body scanners, which are being rolled out across Australian airports, by concealing metal objects on the side of the body. Because metal objects show up on the scans in black, and the background of the scans is also black, Corbett alleges metal items can be concealed by wearing them on the side of the body (see pic to the left).

America’s Transport Security Administration has told  WIRED magazine the machines are “safe”, but has refused to directly address Corbett’s claims about the machines.

Without anyone having independently tested Corbett’s claims it’s hard to know whether they’re true. Nevertheless his video has already kicked off a debate about whether it’s irresponsible to highlight security issues in this way.

>> Do you think it’s irresponsible to draw attention to these security issues, or is it the best way to effect change?

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Beauty sale turns ugly as crowd stampedes

Is it worth taking a smack in the kisser for a discount lipstick?

File this one under “Things that aren’t a great look on International Women’s Day”: Yesterday police had to calm a crowd of 300 allegedly aggressive women after a cosmetics sale got out of hand in Melbourne, Adelaidenow reports.

Organisers of the “L’Oreal Friends and Family” warehouse sale were reportedly forced to shut down the event after hundreds of shoppers stampeded to get inside, with six cop cars called to control the crowd.

Police said no charges were laid and no one was injured, despite reports of women “throwing punches”. And thank GOODNESS for that because seriously, how embarrassing would that have been? I mean really, punching someone over L’OREAL? I know Megan Gale thinks “you’re worth it”, but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t think a Colour Riche lipstick is worth smacking someone over.

Still, I can understand why so many people turned up – it’s hard to say no to a sale. Personally I wouldn’t queue for discount makeup, particularly stuff you can buy fairly cheaply at the supermarket in the first place.

But if that had been a shoe sale… GET OUT OF MY WAY, GIRLS, I MEAN BUSINESS.

>> Shoes? Clothes? Makeup? What’s your favourite type of sale? And have you ever deployed any dirty tricks to grab a bargain?

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And thus concludes today’s News on Toast – what do you reckon? Nutritious enough? Needs more butter? Who am I kidding, EVERYTHING needs more butter. If you’ve got something to share, leave me a comment below.

Main pic: Herald Sun.