New Zealand: Helicopter Crashes Installing Christmas Tree (VIDEO)

New Zealand -- A helicopter helping install a Christmas tree on Auckland's waterfront has crashed in dramatic fashion, but the pilot escaped serious injury.

Footage captured by Television New Zealand on Wednesday shows the pilot slowly descending from about 25 feet (8 meters) when the chopper's blades appear to get caught in cables attached to scaffolding. The rear of the helicopter snaps and the pilot is tossed about as the helicopter smashes into the ground.

The television station reports that pilot Greg Gribble, who has 20 years experience, says he's "doing fine" after his ordeal.

Terry Martin, Australian MP, Convicted Of Sex Crimes Against 12-Year-Old - Full Video

12-year-old girl who allegedly was pimped by her own mother.

But according to The Mercury, there was much more to Terry Martin's troubles, now including an admission that at one point he had hired both a transexual prostitute and a male prostitute. The new admission came out during pre-sentencing submissions after Martin was convicted of having sex with a person under 17 and producing child exploitation material.

Martin's defense had been a bit conspicuous, to say the least. According to ABC.net.au, the defense has maintained that medications the former Mayor of Glenorchy took for Parkinson's disease caused him to stray from his normal sexual patterns. While doctors testified that the medications altered the politician's behaviors, Martin was still found guilty of the charges.

World's Scariest Roller Coaster - Full Video

Austrian downhill coaster is nevertheless terrifying, as evidenced by this first-person video of the downhill plunge.

The single-pipe alpine coaster located in Mieders, Austria, is reachable only by taking a suspended cable car to the top of the mountain. Once at the top, riders sit on a small car equipped with a brake lever and zoom down the steep mountainside. But this brave soul decided to show us what it would be like without using the brake lever through the entire ride.

Thrill-seekers looking for an even more extreme ride can always give the world's fastest roller coaster a try, which can be found at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Formula Rossa achieves speeds of up to 150 miles per hour by using an "aircraft carrier-like hydraulic launch system" to propel cars along the track.

Occupy Melbourne Protesters Arrested, Dragged By Police (VIDEO)

Friday, nearly 100 Occupy-protesters were arrested while 20 suffered minor injuries. A police officer and a protester were taken to the emergency room. Eight police cars were damaged during the protest, police told the newspaper.

Occupy Melbourne protesters have been camping out in the City Square for over a week, PerthNow reports. Chaos broke out on Friday as about a hundred activists defied an order and refused to leave the square by 9am.

According to The Australian, police had taken down the campsite and destroyed tents before the arrests. Despite Friday's events, 400 protesters rallied in Federation Square in Melbourne on Saturday.

Yet the arrests on Friday continue to fuel reactions on Twitter.

@Suicidegirls tweeted, "This is INSANE!!!! Mass arrests @OccupyMelbourne..."

@peacegalaxy tweets, "Shame on Melbourne Police. POWER TO THE PEACEFUL! Riot Police Brutalize Occupy Melbourne Protesters."

Osama Bin Laden Home Video Released

Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan reveal a bit of vanity in the terrorist leader: He died his gray beard for videos and watched iconic footage of himself on television.
Saturday, the al Qaeda leader was described as far more than the "figurehead" of the organization. U.S. officials had dismissed bin Laden's relevance as over the years after he slipped away from capture at Tora Bora a few months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Far from a strategic or symbolic leader of a global terrorist network, the videos reveal bin Laden was an active player in plotting new attacks that focused on transportation and infrastructure targets.

“This compound in Abbottabad was an active command and control center for al Qaeda," said a Pentagon official, who spoke on condition he not be identified by name. Bin Laden "was not just a strategic thinker. He was active in operational planning" for attacks, he said.

When pressed for evidence of plots masterminded by bin Laden, though, the official provided no examples. He also would not say whether the videos have so far provided any actionable intelligence that would allow the United States to target other al Qaeda leaders.

Osama Bin Laden Dead VIDEO

The compound was located in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan, about two hours outside of Islamabad. According to the Times, while comfortable in some respects, the residents did take security seriously.

Obama To Restart

Guantanamo has been a major political and national security headache for the president since he took office promising to close the prison within a year, a deadline that came and went without him ever setting a new one.

Obama made the change with clear reluctance, bowing to the reality that Congress' vehement opposition to trying detainees on U.S. soil leaves them nowhere else to go. The president emphasized his preference for trials in federal civilian courts, and his administration blamed congressional meddling for closing off that avenue.

"I strongly believe that the American system of justice is a key part of our arsenal in the war against al-Qaida and its affiliates, and we will continue to draw on all aspects of our justice system – including (federal) courts – to ensure that our security and our values are strengthened," Obama said in a statement.

"Going forward, all branches of government have a responsibility to come together to forge a strong and durable approach to defend our nation and the values that define who we are as a nation."

The first Guantanamo trial likely to proceed under Obama's new order would involve Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. Al-Nashiri, a Saudi of Yemeni descent, has been imprisoned at Guantanamo since 2006.

Defense officials have said that of around 170 detainees at Guantanamo, about 80 are expected to face trial by military commission.

On Monday, the White House reiterated that the administration remains committed to eventually closing Guantanamo – which is on a U.S. Navy base – and that Monday's actions were in pursuit of that goal. But the outcome Obama wants seemed even more distant.

Critics of the military commission system, which was established specifically to deal with the detainees at Guantanamo, contend that suspects are not given some of the most basic protections afforded people prosecuted in American courts and that serves as a recruitment tool for terrorists.

World's Most Flirtatious Cities 2011 - Full Photo

"World Flirtation League," which ranked cities by the number of online flirtations initiated per month on the popular social networking and dating site Badoo.com. Officials analyzed 12 million "flirtatious" contacts made on the site over the course of a month, with 108 million unique users flirting in 180 different countries.
Moscow came in second place, while Rome trailed at number 8. London and New York came in at a measly 57 and 89, respectively.

AMA 2010- FULL VIDEO

2010 American Music Awards. Hosts Lance Bass, Whitney Port, and Danny Gokey are on red carpet ready to chat with some of music’s biggest names as they arrive at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles for tonight’s ceremony.

The Black Eyed Peas, Train, Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull, Taylor Swift, Kid Rock, Miley Cyrus, Carlos Santana and Gavin Rossdale, Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block, Rihanna, Diddy-Dirty Money, Ne-Yo, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Christina Aguilera, Bon Jovi, Usher, and a newly-pregnant Pink are slated to perform. And there’s no telling what Watercooler-worthy moments we may be in for: last year, Jennifer Lopez took a tumble while performing her single “Louboutin” and Adam Lambert set off a gender-bending controversy after he locked lips with another man during his showclosing set.