/
/
blog-heap o' links
from
2007-mar
Just random links galore. Latest on top.
Links load in a separate page.
Suggestions welcome.
SAT 2007-MAR-31
Theory of Sex Education
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:57:28
SPEARSVILLE, La... Two fifth-graders had sex on a classroom floor while two others fondled each other in the classroom, according to a teacher at Spearsville High School... First-year teacher Michael Walker, who teaches fifth- through eighth-grade English... Students at the kindergarten through 12th grade school are unruly, disrespectful and rarely disciplined, Walker said. "They cuss at the teachers and throw things at them, and nothing is done," Walker said. "There was even one student who grabbed a teacher in the butt and nothing was done. The students run the school..." teachers learned Wednesday about the incident, which allegedly occurred during an assembly Tuesday to talk about a 15-year-old student accused of stabbing another student to death over the weekend...
[Get government out of the education business! Privatize schooling!]
Industrial Tragedy
reuters.com/ ... 22:54:12
Chinese police have detained 10 people in connection with the collapse of a Beijing subway tunnel being built for the 2008 Olympics that killed six workers... Wednesday morning... the construction company failed to report it for nearly eight hours and instead tried to rescue the trapped workers on its own... Project managers also ordered workers not to talk to media or police and confiscated their mobile phones... the project supervisor and tunnel designers were among those detained... The bodies of three of the workers had been brought to the surface, but rescuers were still struggling to recover the bodies of the remaining three...
Digital Tyranny Threat
books.guardian.co.uk/ ... 22:49:22
...The internet has provided an efficient conduit for people to share all manner of information other people don't want them to, whether those people are government whistle-blowers, child pornographers, political dissidents, intellectual property pirates or terrorists. From the Drudge Report to beheading videos, censorship is being successfully circumvented around the globe. Looked on from the neutral standpoint adopted by network engineers, this is proof of a robust system. Ethical or political judgements about the content of the information flowing through the networks aren't relevant. It's all data. We should celebrate. However, around the world, people have also discovered that, despite the abstractions of network architecture and the nostrums of boosters who predicted a "new economy" free of material constraints, the internet is also a physical thing, which has its existence on real telephone lines, internet service provider (ISP) routers, undersea fibre-optic lines and hard drives humming under tangible desks. And it's used by people sitting in real offices with real doors that can be broken down by all-too-real police if the information they're sharing contravenes local laws - and in some cases even if they don't...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
news.independent.co.uk/ ... 22:54:36
US military commanders in Iraq have accused insurgents of using children in suicide bombings and staging poison gas attacks in a campaign to undermine the month-old security "surge" in Baghdad and Anbar province. The clampdown in the capital is credited with bringing a sharp reduction in civilian deaths in recent weeks, even though the number of attacks has remained fairly constant...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:12:40
Suspected Taliban militants attacked a checkpoint manned by Afghan troops, leaving eight militants and five Afghan troops dead...
Violence
boston.com/ ... 12:03:58
AUBURN, Maine --A 16 1/2-hour standoff in which a man refused to leave a house after killing his 70-year-old mother ended when a tactical squad entered the home and found the gunman dead early Saturday...
Sick, Sick, Sick
chron.com/ ... 12:03:26
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. A homeless Army veteran was recovering in a hospital Friday after two 10-year-old boys and a teenager were accused of attacking him on a street and smashing a concrete block into his face. The three boys were in custody...
Healing Ourselves
playfuls.com/ ... 12:07:39
A newly developed technique... While bronchial thermoplasty is not meant (at least for now) to replace inhalers and drugs, it can greatly improve the quality of an asthma sufferers life, reducing the frequency of those much dreaded asthma attacks and making the inhaler somewhat less of a desperately needed accessory... doctors insert a thin tube down the throat into the bronchial airways and insert a catheter that carries an array of four electrodes at its end. This is heated, which in turn warms the inner surface of the airways... Researchers don't know yet why it works...
World Zookeeping
sfgate.com/ ... 12:05:40
San Francisco... rescuers plucked the eggs of celebrity peregrine falcons George and Gracie from their perilous perch on the Bay Bridge on Friday morning... "The bridge is a great place for peregrines to nest but a bad place for their young to fledge... When they fly for the first time, they are not strong enough to reach either Treasure Island or the city, and they fall in the water and drown... We've seen it happen before..."
Animal Companions
chicagotribune.com/ ... 00:07:01
the FDA said Friday it has identified a company that manufactures both wet and dry pet food and had imported the contaminated wheat gluten... Hill's Pet Nutrition recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food. The cat food included wheat gluten from the same supplier that Menu Foods used. The company said the recall did not involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products... the FDA had received calls from pet owners who said their pets had died after eating dry food...
bloomberg.com/ ... 00:04:59
Menu Foods recalled food sold under brands such as Procter & Gamble Co.'s Iams, Nestle SA's Mighty Dog and retailers' own labels. Iams dry food isn't made by Menu Foods and doesn't contain wheat gluten, Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble said today in a statement...
Sportsmanship
nytimes.com/ ... 22:58:28
todays young cheerleaders, who perform tricks once reserved for trapeze artists, may be in more peril than any female athletes in the country... Of 104 catastrophic injuries sustained by female high school and college athletes from 1982 to 2005 head and spinal trauma that occasionally led to death more than half resulted from cheerleading...
Long Underwear Heroes are Dead
upi.com/ ... 22:55:21
"Spider-Man 3" will open in China the day before its North American premiere... during a peak movie-going season surrounding the weeklong national holiday that kicks off May 1... "It will be almost a day-and-date release because of the time difference, but China will see 'Spider-Man' first..."
Digital Culture
iht.com/ ... 22:53:14
A Congressional subcommittee is calling upon Google Inc. to explain why it was "airbrushing history" by replacing post-Hurricane Katrina satellite imagery on its popular map portal with images of the region as it existed before the storm destroyed neighborhoods, uprooted trees and dashed bridges... John Hanke, Google's director for maps and satellite imagery, said "a combination of factors including imagery date, resolution, and clarity" go into deciding what imagery to provide. "The latest update from one of our information providers substantially improved the imagery detail of the New Orleans area," Hanke said in a statement in explaining the switch...
Woman's Right
reuters.com/ ... 22:51:53
A controversial U.S. health official, Dr. Eric Keroack, has stepped down from his position overseeing programs that include birth control for poor women... "Yesterday, Dr. Eric Keroack alerted us to an action taken against him by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Office of Medicaid," [Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. John] Agwunobi said in a statement released late on Thursday. "As a result of this action, I accepted his resignation as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Population Affairs..." HHS did not give any details about what action Massachusetts took against Keroack... The Planned Parenthood Federation of America welcomed the news. "It's a good day for women's health..."
But is it Art?
abc.net.au/ ... 12:11:53
A Manhattan art gallery has cancelled its Easter-season exhibit of a life-size chocolate sculpture of a naked Jesus after an outcry by Catholics. The gallery's artistic director has tendered his resignation to protest the cancellation.
Reasons for Repeal
paktribune.com/ ... 22:50:37
Short-term cannabis use does not seem to adversely affect CD4+ cell counts or viral loads in HIV -infected patients, according to a report published in the August 19th issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine...
t-g.com/ ... 22:49:54
Police say they found marijuana in a car stopped for speeding Thursday night on North Main Street. A "roach" was detected in an ash tray and seeds with a small amount of marijuana between the car's seats by drug dog...
[absurd!]
indystar.com/ ... 12:11:29
Indianapolis metropolitan police seized 75 marijuana plants Thursday and arrested a 28-year-old man they say was growing and selling the drug in an Eastside house... 22 full-grown and 53 immature marijuana plants and other evidence, including a high-powered grow light... found [prohibition victim] sitting in a van near the home where, police said, he was preparing to smoke marijuana "blunt" when he saw the detectives approach his home.
kpho.com/ ... 12:10:32
PHOENIX -- The Border Patrol made a major pot bust south of Tucson... A trash truck was carrying a lot more than garbage -- almost 13,000 pounds of pot... Agents were able to stop more than $10.3 million worth
[according to the BULL$#!+ prohibitionist propaganda machine]
of marijuana from hitting the streets...
policeone.com/ ... 12:09:23
NOGALES, Ariz. - U.S. Border Patrol agents seized 1,100 pounds of marijuana worth about
[absurdly-inflated prohibition-supported]
$879,000... 45 miles east of Wellton... Agents responded to an activated ground sensor and discovered vehicle tracks leading to an unoccupied gray 2006 Ford F-250...
naplesnews.com/ ... 00:12:08
Investigators from the Collier County Sheriffs Office seized
[grossly-inflated prohibition-supported]
$202,000 worth of marijuana Thursday morning after receiving a tip that a Golden Gate Estates home was being used as a grow house... 202 marijuana plants that weighed more than 86 pounds and $20,000 worth of equipment used to grow the marijuana...
[AND REMEMBER... these are just the ones they catch! Everyone who wants to smoke can still get it! REPEAL! REPEAL! REPEEEEAAALLLLL! STOP THE MADNESS!]
heraldsun.com/ ... 00:10:23
The Durham Police Department's Interstate Criminal Enforcement (ICE) team recovered 43 pounds of marijuana during two traffic stops this week... stopped a 2007 Chrysler on Interstate 85... found 30 pounds of marijuana, with a
[grossly inflated prohibition-supported]
street value of approximately $30,000... stopped a Nissan Xterra on I-85... 13 pounds of marijuana, with a
[grossly inflated prohibition-supported]
street value of approximately $13,000...
kfoxtv.com/ ... 00:09:05
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers made the biggest marijuana bust at an El Paso port of entry in years... two large finds at the Bridge of the Americas Thursday... Both involved false compartments in tractor-trailers and they happened about 20-minutes apart... 430 lbs. of marijuana in the rear of a trailer.... discovered 4,700 lbs. of marijuana by drilling into the wall... This week alone, 12,000 lbs. of marijuana have been confiscated. At this time last year, that number was only at 2,500 lbs...
[AND REMEMBER! This is just what they're catching, tip of the iceberg....]
FRI 2007-MAR-30
Transport Incident
hosted.ap.org/ ... 23:52:41
CHAPEL HILL, N.C... A taxi driver told police he was stiffed on an $8,200 cross-country fare by a female passenger he shuttled from Beverly Hills, Calif. to North Carolina...
[I would think he'd ask to see some cash up front... or at least get paid every so often....]
2,600-mile journey... rider's family paid him only $800...
Nicotine is a Drag
reuters.com/ ... 23:42:23
By the end of 2008, more than 600,000 cigarette vending machines across Japan -- where most teenagers get their smokes -- will be installed with an electronic age-verification device. This will be a tough change for underage smokers in Japan, who have been purchasing 300-yen cigarette packs on their way to school as readily as buying a can of soda. According to a government survey of Japanese high-school seniors in 2004, about 42 percent of the boys and 27 percent of the girls have either tried smoking or are regular smokers... To buy cigarettes from vending machines in the future, smokers will have to flash a smart card against an electronic reader to prove they are above the legal age of 20...
[Which means... the kid who can create fake electronic ids will reap a fortune...]
Nature can be Deadly
cbsnews.com/ ... 12:09:45
A powerful spring storm unleashed dozens of tornadoes over the past two days in the central Plains states... A tornado near Oklahoma City left two people in critical condition, damaged a dozen homes, knocked down high voltage power lines and pushed vehicles off the highway like toys... Tornadoes or high winds are believed to have killed at least four people in three states, including a woman who was flung into a tree by a twister that witnesses said was as wide as two football fields... At least 65 tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska by late Wednesday... The outbreak might not be over, however... "Today's threat will be found from Texas into Oklahoma and Arkansas, while the rest of the Plains will be dealing with major flooding issues, as another 3-5 inches of rain is likely to fall from midday today into the later part of Saturday..." Vance and Barbra Woodbury were killed Wednesday when a twister blew apart their home near the Panhandle community of Elmwood [Okla]. "We set off the tornado sirens, but they live too far out to hear them," said Dixie Parker, Beaver County's emergency management director. "The house was just flattened, the out buildings are gone. All that's left is debris..."
Sick, Sick, Sick
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:01:43
Some Long Island eighth graders apparently got an early start on April Fool's Day pranks on Friday, when they handed out doughnuts laced with laxatives to classmates... no apparent injuries...
Criminally Stupid
hosted.ap.org/ ... 23:55:59
A bank robbery suspect was arrested after leaving a trail of cyberclues, including an online search for "how not to rob a bank..."
hosted.ap.org/ ... 23:53:47
ATHENS, Ala.... Steve Bauer had had enough after two nights of someone breaking into his business and stealing antiques. So he armed himself with a cola bottle and a .44-caliber Magnum and spent the night at work. Soon, Bauer had his man. And a woman...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:01:16
Each Wednesday night for four weeks running, the same man came into the same O'Charley's restaurant and ordered... [two] gin and tonic... and a rib-eye steak... At the end of each meal, the wait staff would present him with his bill for $25.96, and he would excuse himself to use the restroom, then skip out without paying... The man appeared a fifth time Wednesday night, but the restaurant was ready for him... Police arrested the man on preliminary charges of theft and resisting law enforcement...
Transport Threat
reuters.com/ ... 11:59:34
Airplane crew and passengers who frequently fly between several time zones face a number of health problems including disruptions in a woman's menstrual cycle and even short-term psychiatric disturbances... There seems to be no getting use to long-haul flights... poor and interrupted sleep, mood changes, irritability, stomach problems, and decreased brain power... Jet lag from crossing several time zones also causes a dip in an athlete's performance...
Under Digital Tyranny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:57:12
The U.S. has failed to change its ban on Internet betting to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling that said the legislation unfairly targets offshore casinos, the global trade body said Friday. The ruling opens the door to possible commercial sanctions against the U.S...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:56:49
Cell phone text messaging will be blocked during this weekend's local elections in Cambodia, where the government is imposing a two-day "tranquility period" to keep voters from being inundated with campaign messages. But the country's main opposition party said the move would curb constitutionally guaranteed freedoms...
Digital Threat
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:57:40
Animated cursors could prove risky for Windows users, Microsoft has warned... reports that the way Windows handles alternatives to the traditional arrow cursor can leave PCs open to attack. By booby-trapping a website or e-mail attachment with code that exploits the flaw, malicious hackers could hijack a Windows PC...
reuters.com/ ... 11:44:01
Junior sales staff are most likely to be responsible for technological security breaches at work... poll of 942 IT managers found that salesmen aged between 26 and 35 are most at risk from computer viruses and other online attacks... too busy to worry about protecting themselves and their company from fraud...
No Good Deed...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:40:35
ROCK HILL, S.C... A man robbed a good Samaritan who had helped pushed his truck to a nearby gas station... [25yo] charged... "It's getting to the point that it's hard to be a good Samaritan because you don't know who you're stopping to help," police Lt. Jerry Waldrop said...
Sex can be... disturbing
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:36:21
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn... A statutory rape case against a 42-year-old charged as a man took on a different look after a jail shower revealed the defendant is actually a woman... she pleaded guilty... charge stems from a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl...
Yuck!
wcco.com/ ... 12:17:15
A Minneapolis city worker is worried about blood in the sewer system because he said, while he was cleaning the system, blood sprayed out of a hole and got all over him. "We could tell it was blood, I mean large amount of blood..." near a lab that does medical testing and dumps blood into the sewer. It is allowed but the city is now making changes to help protect workers in the future... "Blood just all over my face, in my mouth, I could taste it. It was terrible. I had it in my mouth and I kept spitting and I couldn't get rid of it..."
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:36:36
After four suspects in a jewelry store robbery were arrested, police surmised one of the men may have swallowed a missing two-carat diamond ring worth $30,000. The theory proved correct, police said, when the ring was found Wednesday in the toilet inside Dandre Turk's jail cell...
reuters.com/ ... 11:34:16
The caterer at a dormitory on Bangladesh's Dhaka University has been fired after students complained they were served dog meat... or fox...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
playfuls.com/ ... 12:10:26
At least 13 people -- eight civilians and five soldiers -- have died in the latest fighting in Sri Lanka between the military and separatist Tamil Tigers...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:51:15
More than 800 people, many of them of school age, were arrested after clashes in Chile's capital and other parts of the country... violence erupted during an annual left-wing demonstration... In Santiago, 38 police officers were hurt... The demonstration often turns violent but this year tension was increased amid public anger over chaos caused by the capital's new transport system... Roads were blocked in central Santiago, shops damaged, and in some neighbourhoods flaming barricades were erected. Riot police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in the centre of the capital...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:48:08
Fighting between local and foreign militants Friday killed 52 people, bringing to more than 200 the number of dead in recent days in a conflict between Pakistanis and suspected al-Qaida-linked extremists...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:33:34
29 March... Ethiopian helicopter gunships have fired at a market near an insurgent stronghold in the Somali capital... hundreds of insurgents armed with rocket launchers and machine guns are battling Ethiopian troops. Ethiopian tanks are also deployed. Crowds dragged several dead bodies in uniform through the streets...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:30:31
Mar 29... Five suicide bombers struck Shiite marketplaces in northeast Baghdad and a town north of the capital at nightfall Thursday, killing at least 122 people and wounding more than 150 in one of Iraq's deadliest days in years... At least 178 people were killed or found dead Thursday...
Under Tyranny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:27:03
Fidel Castro signaled Thursday he is itching for a return to public life after eight months of illness that has kept him out of sight, lambasting U.S. biofuel policies in a front-page newspaper editorial. But Castro's scathing attack in the Communist Party daily left unanswered what role he will play in politics and government, and when he might appear again in public...
Healing Ourselves
reuters.com/ ... 11:58:44
Cells from a pig transplanted into a diabetic man from New Zealand are still producing insulin nearly 10 years later, prompting a biotechnology company to plan research to see if others could benefit...
Antiquity - still with us
reuters.com/ ... 11:50:21
A French architect said on Friday he had cracked a 4,500-year-old mystery surrounding Egypt's Great Pyramid, saying it was built from the inside out. Previous theories have suggested Pharaoh Khufu's tomb, the last surviving example of the seven great wonders of antiquity, was built using either a vast frontal ramp or a ramp in a corkscrew shape around the exterior to haul up the stonework. But flouting previous wisdom, Jean-Pierre Houdin said
advanced 3D technology had shown the main ramp which was used to haul the massive stones to the apex was contained 10-15 meters beneath the outer skin, tracing a pyramid within a pyramid...
Animal Companions
hosted.ap.org/ ... 23:55:32
A snake and his owners were reunited this week after the missing reptile was found in the glove compartment of a rented car... 4-foot red-tailed boa constrictor... disappeared two weeks ago after his owners left him in the car while they went into an east side video rental store...
reuters.com/ ... 11:48:53
U.S. officials said on Friday that melamine, a chemical found in fertilizers in Asia and which should not be in pet food in any amounts, has been detected in the wheat gluten used by Canada-based Menu Foods...
Geology
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:47:54
A deep scar under the North Sea thought to be the UK's only impact crater is no such thing, claims a leading geologist... surveys reveal nine similar vast chasms in the area... probably the movement of salt rocks at depth, not a one-off meteorite impact...
Staying Healthy
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:47:15
Exclusively breastfeeding until a baby is six-months old can significantly reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission...
World Zookeeping
reuters.com/ ... 11:55:41
Poachers have killed three Asiatic lions in the rare animal's only natural habitat... less than a month after killing another three of the big cats... In all six cases, claws, skulls and bones of the lions were missing... The bones are used for traditional Chinese medicine and the claws are worn by some men as pendants in the hope of increasing their virility...
reuters.com/ ... 11:44:24
A blind spider-like animal has stopped development of a multi-billion-dollar iron ore mine in Australia after an environmental body rejected the project for fear the tiny cave-dweller would become extinct...
Digital Future is Now
reuters.com/ ... 11:42:59
People who use the Internet to read the news have a greater attention span than print readers
, according to a U.S. study that refutes the idea that Web surfers jump around and don't read much...
Cosmology
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:42:39
Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope has found that
planetary systems are as common around double stars as they are around single stars...
US Military
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:59:44
The Department of Defense announced today that a detainee at Guantanamo,
David Matthew Hicks of Australia, has been convicted
of material support to terrorism in the first trial by military commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Hicks, 31, plead guilty earlier this week to one charge of providing material support to terrorism, a non-capital offense that carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. As part of a pretrial agreement, Hick's sentence has been limited to not more than nine months confinement. A military commission panel of eight officers decided a sentence of seven years confinement, although six years and three months will be suspended per the conditions of the agreement. The sentence will be served in Australia as part of a transfer agreement with the United States. As part of the pretrial agreement, Hicks admitted to 35 facts that supported the charge. These facts included training at multiple al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and joining fighters at Kandahar Airport and frontline forces in Konduz after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Hicks will be transferred to the control of the Australian government within 60 days. Hicks affirmed that he has never been illegally treated by anyone while in U.S. custody, from the time of his capture in Afghanistan in December 2001 through his time at Guantanamo....
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:58:24
Periodically, the Department of Defense conducts world-wide reviews to determine whether a continued imminent danger area designation is appropriate. Imminent danger pay is compensation paid at the rate of $225 a month to recognize duty in a foreign area in which the member was subject to the threat of physical harm or imminent danger on the basis of civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism, or wartime conditions. The Department of Defense announced today that the following locations will no longer be classified imminent danger pay zones: Angola, Georgia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Macedonia. Hardship duty-location is compensation paid to recognize members in designated hardship duty locations (i.e. areas where quality of life is substantially below that most members in the U.S. generally experience). Factors considered include physical environment, living conditions, and personal security. To ensure members in these areas are compensated appropriately, increases to hardship duty-location (HDP-L) will occur in the following areas: Angola, Georgia, and Sierra Leone are increased from $100 to $150 a month. Macedonia is increased from $0 to $100 a month. All of the above changes are effective Nov. 1, 2007.
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:57:38
The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of one detainee from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United Kingdom. The transfer is a demonstration of the United States' desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary. It also underscores the processes put in place to assess each individual and make a determination about their detention while hostilities are ongoing -- an unprecedented step in the history of warfare. The Department of Defense has determined -- through its comprehensive review processes -- that approximately 80 detainees at Guantanamo are eligible for transfer or release. Departure of these detainees is subject to ongoing discussions between the United States and other nations.... There are approximately 385 detainees currently at Guantanamo.
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:55:06
As it increases its use of robots in war zones, the military will begin using an explosive-sniffing version that will allow soldiers to better detect roadside bombs, which account for more than 70 percent of U.S. casualties in Iraq...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:41:41
SEATTLE... A group of soldiers has been busy testing a series of high-tech military concept vehicles outfitted with remote weapons systems, night-vision capabilities and enough strength to sustain the concussion of a roadside bomb. The vehicles, while only in the concept stage, are part of the Army's $60 million program to modernize its aging tactical fleet for the challenges of today's military missions...
Big Whoops Cascade
hosted.ap.org/ ... 23:54:36
DULUTH, Minn... An imitation volcano at the center of a swimming pool at a hotel and waterpark here... started to belch black smoke and shoot out flames... Thursday, forcing guests to flee into the parking lot in their bare feet and swimsuits...
Theory of Sex Education
hosted.ap.org/ ... 23:51:16
Some parents are protesting the "sex" edition of the student newspaper at Winnacunnet High School. Several said they were especially offended by a photograph of two women kissing under the headline, "Why men love women who love women," a quiz question about anal sex, and an interview with an unnamed custodian who said he had found a vibrator in the girls' shower....
Big Nanny
reuters.com/ ... 23:50:45
Rules that allow parents to exempt their children from immunization requirements for "philosophical" reasons are putting all kids at risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease, Arkansas researchers warn... Since 2003, when the state began allowing these exemptions from school vaccine rules, rising numbers of children have been going without immunization... Arkansas had previously allowed exemption from vaccine requirements for religious or medical reasons, but parents had to belong to a "recognized religion that included tenets against immunization" for the exemption to be allowed... a federal court ruled that requiring a religion to be "recognized" was not constitutional...
[Wow! An actual intelligent judgment. Now, here's evidence of socialist group-think:]
"Concentrations of children who are not immunized could result in a loss of community-level immunity and ultimately erode public health protection against vaccine-preventable illness..."
[ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this article suggests there are any actual ill EFFECTS from this....]
But is it Art?
today.reuters.com/ ... 12:17:39
A life-size sculpture of a naked Jesus made out of chocolate has angered a Roman Catholic organization and forced a Manhattan art gallery to reconsider exhibiting it during Easter week... The sculpture "My Sweet Lord" by Cosimo Cavallaro...
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
159.54.226.83/ ... 12:14:48
Marijuana. Legalize marijuana and tax it... Thinking differently about marijuana is hardly new to Oregon... Really, the question is not whether marijuana should be legalized. The question is how it should be legalized...
I call upon the Oregon Legislature and Gov. Kulongoski to adopt a new law establishing the Oregon Marijuana Legalization Commission...
Oregonians, kill the double standard. Let common sense prevail. Let the people decide. Get government off marijuana smokers backs and into their pockets. The potential revenue stream looks nothing less beautiful than amber, no, emerald, waves of leaves. Yeah, I know again what many of you are thinking. I dont even use the stuff! I use other drugs, you know, the kind whose trade organization flies a states lawmakers to Hawaii and then pumps them full of their deadly product to assure it remains socially accepted and lightly taxed...
english.vietnamnet.vn/ ... 12:12:50
Marijuana fields of thousands of square meters have been found in provinces around the northern city of Hanoi... found a 1,000 sq.m marijuana field in Tho Xuan Commune... "Straight beds of marijuana are surrounded by banana, maize trees and only several meters from residential areas. This is the first time I saw criminals who dared to grow marijuana in such a public manner..." According to police, marijuana is planted for years without being detected because local people dont know what a marijuana tree is. The owner of a marijuana field said that they were medicinal plants because marijuana looks like artemesia, an herbal tree...
US Executive Branch
nydailynews.com/ ... 12:11:33
Political mastermind Karl Rove can't sing and he has no rhythm, but his new hip-hop video was nonetheless making the rounds yesterday on YouTube.com and other Web sites. Rove got suckered into a musical skit Tuesday night at the Radio and Television Correspondents' dinner in Washington that had him jigging, swaying and flailing like a rap star - though not a very good one...
April Foolishness
reuters.com/ ... 12:02:04
As April Fools' Day looms, the curator of the Museum of Hoaxes has a word of caution for those who want to believe the unbelievable -- a good hoax is hard to find...
Woman's Right
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:58:22
Several thousand women marched through the Mexican capital in support of a bill to legalize abortion in the first three months of pregnancy, a proposal that has drawn harsh criticism from the Roman Catholic Church. About 3,000 protesters led by city legislators from various political parties on Thursday shouted "Freedom to choose!" and criticized President Felipe Calderon, a social conservative who has spoken out against the reform...
Music industry is dead
reuters.com/ ... 11:57:57
Thinking of sending your band's demo CD to a music label in the hope of landing a deal? Don't try SonyBMG, who want to sample your music online instead...
Digital Sex & Politics
reuters.com/ ... 11:56:25
The U.S.-based Internet governing body rejected a proposal on Friday to create an adults-only zone on the internet, or a .XXX domain... Supporters of an .XXX domain for pornography have argued it would be easier to confine sex sites and filter them out. Opponents have argued it would make sex on the Internet easier to find. The anticipated rejection of the .XXX domain has prompted the European Union to accuse the United States of political interference in the Web's governance...
World Energy
reuters.com/ ... 11:44:47
New technology to make ethanol from crops such as grasses and trees instead of corn could ease price spikes of the grain within a decade...
Oh! The Irony!
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:41:18
WASHINGTON... Journalists hoping to learn from a Thursday teleconference the winners of the largest government telecommunications contract in history were accidentally left out of the loop for about 20 minutes due to a phone glitch...
Digital Culture
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 23:43:44
Technology giant, IBM, is soon to launch a multimedia browser to make audio and video content accessible to people with vision impairments... the software was created by a blind employee in Japan... Using the A-Browser, a vision-impaired person can control media content by using predefined shortcut keys, rather than having to look for the control buttons using a mouse... also allows video to be slowed down, speeded up and can accommodate an additional audio description or narration track that is often included to make films and television programmes more comprehensible to blind people...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:48:32
A move to provide free internet access to native Indian tribes to help protect the Amazon rainforest from illegal logging has been announced in Brazil... will provide satellite access to 150 isolated regions...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:40:53
Buses equipped with wi-fi are being used to deliver web content to remote rural villages in the developing world...
Lost & Found
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:39:11
COPENHAGEN, Denmark... A wristwatch buried in the ice at the North Pole three years ago was found by a boy more than 1,800 miles away after it floated ashore on the Faeroe Islands... was still working, and was accompanied by a letter from Joergen Amundsen. "It was so unbelievable," she said. "It had been buried in the North Pole..." ice breaking off is not related to global warming, as the phenomenon was first observed more than 100 years ago...
Digital Whoops Cascade
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:38:03
EASTON, Pa... A firefighter clicked on a link on the city's Web site and got a recording of a bogus dispatcher saying... "Our offices are closed because everyone is at the doughnut shop..." was accidentally left on the site by former Fire Chief Frank Chisesi, who had been hired to improve the city's Internet offerings...
Marriage Today
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:29:40
Kathleen Tarbell "fell head over my stomach" for her husband Waldo when they met at a dance. They married in 1927, during Calvin Coolidge's presidency. This weekend, they'll celebrate their 80th anniversary. Waldo is 101 and Kathleen will turn 100 in June... The 2007 Guinness Book of World Records lists a Rhode Island couple wed for 83 years as having the longest marriage among living people...
Supernatural Consequences
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:28:40
Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre has been identified as the long-mysterious nun whose claim that she was cured of Parkinson's disease could prompt the Roman Catholic Church to beatify Pope John Paul II. Described as a gentle, reserved woman who had hoped to keep her identity under wraps, the limelight could come as a shock. The nun is expected to speak at a news conference Friday about how she inexplicably recovered from Parkinson's after she and her community of nuns prayed to John Paul...
THU 2007-MAR-29
Civilization vs Gangsterism
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 13:13:31
A woman seized and held captive by Pakistani religious students after being accused of running a brothel has been freed unharmed... Before her release, the alleged brothel owner read a statement confessing she had committed immoral acts. She later said it had been made under duress...
news24.com/ ... 13:12:43
Iraq's embattled government admitted on Thursday that
police were behind the vengeful slaughter of at least 70 Sunni Arabs
in a northern town as more bodies of men, killed execution-style, were found... An Iraqi army source speaking on condition of anonymity said 13 policemen had been detained for the mass killings of Sunni Arabs in the town on Tuesday. But later an Iraqi military spokesperson in Mosul said the detained policemen were released as many of them had lost relatives in the truck bombing which had killed 85 people the same day prior to the brutal rampage...
Industrial Tragedy
allafrica.com/ ... 01:05:56
A huge fireball killed about 83 people as they tried to scoop fuel from a cracked petrol tanker on Monday night in Katugal, in Kagarko local government area of Kaduna State. About 20 others are in critical condition in several hospitals...
International Incidents
theglobeandmail.com/ ... 01:02:52
Britain and Iran have entered an escalating battle of televised propaganda and diplomatic brinksmanship over the imprisonment of 15 British sailors and marines captured in the waters between Iran and Iraq... Iran had initially offered... proof that the boat had strayed over the marine boundary, but the co-ordinates it offered were shown to be in international waters. Iran later released a revised set of co-ordinates, those ones on the Iranian side of the boundary. British and Iranian officials exchanged counterclaims over the boat's position throughout the day... If the reaction from Britain was increasingly hostile, within Iran it appeared chaotic and divided...
Digital Threat
baltimoresun.com/ ... 13:17:16
In 1916,
Charlotte L. Winters
called on the secretary of the Navy and asked why women weren't allowed to enlist. A year later, she had begun her military career... This week, Mrs. Winters - the nation's oldest female military veteran - died in her sleep at the Fahrney-Keedy life care community in Boonsboro. She was 109. "She is the last female World War I veteran," American Legion spokeswoman Ramona E. Joyce said yesterday... there are only
four surviving U.S. veterans
from the "war to end all wars..." Since the beginning of the year, six - including Mrs. Winters on Tuesday - have died...
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:50:29
Cyber bullies are even forcing their girlfriends to undress in front of webcams and then sharing the images with others online... The images are even more likely to be passed on if the couple breaks up...
Theory of Sex Education
news.yahoo.com/ ... 00:37:34
The arrest of two women teachers on charges of having sex with their male students has brought cries of lingering racism in one of South Carolina's most conservative counties and evoked some of the South's oldest and deepest-seated racial taboos. Both women are white. The boys six in all are black...
It came from the sky
stuff.co.nz/ ... 01:03:50
United States space agency Nasa is convinced flaming objects falling perilously close to an Auckland-bound jet on Tuesday night were not from a Russian satellite...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 13:21:41
Army Master Sgt.
Sean M. Thomas
, 33, of Harrisburg, Pa., died March 27 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using indirect fire during combat operations. Thomas was assigned to the 28th Division Support Command, Harrisburg, Pa.
defenselink.mil/ ... 13:21:18
Marine Staff Sgt.
Marcus A. Golczynski
, 30, of Lewisburg, Tenn., died March 27 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Golczynski was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Nashville, Tenn.
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:53:09
Army Spc.
Sean K. McDonald
, 21, of Rosemount, Minn., died Mar 25 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. McDonald was assigned to the 9th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Wiesbaden, Germany.
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:52:47
Army Sgt.
Curtis J. Forshey
, 22, of Hollidaysburg, Pa., died Mar. 27 in Homburg, Germany, of a non-combat related illness. Forshey was assigned to the 129th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.
US Military
associatedcontent.com/ ... 01:07:07
Marine's from all over the country are in a rush to get their tattoos of choice in an effort to beat the Sunday deadline of a new policy that bans any new, extra-large tattoos below the elbow or knee. Their reason: such body art is harmful to the Corps' spit-and-polish image...
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:52:27
National Guard.... This week, the Marine Corps announced an increase, while the Army, Air Force and Navy had a decrease.... This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to
79,896
, including both units and individual augmentees...
World Zookeeping
telegraph.co.uk/ ... 00:51:35
A deadly species of jellyfish, translucent and the size of a thumbnail, is spreading along Australias coastline as a result of global warming, scientists warned today... Irukandji jellyfish are among the worlds most toxic creatures all but impossible to detect in the water but packing a potentially lethal punch belying their tiny size... marine biologists have now found them off Queenslands Fraser Island a popular tourist spot about 400 miles south of their previously assumed range. Their discovery has halted production of a Hollywood film, Fools Gold, starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, who were originally due to be filmed swimming in the sea...
Monarchy is Dead
euronews.net/ ... 13:16:08
A Swiss man is starting a 10-year prison sentence in Thailand because he insulted the country's King... He claimed he was drunk at the time. But defacing images of the King is a serious crime in Thailand...
US Congress
ohionewsnow.com/ ... 13:15:43
Senate Democrats ignored a veto threat and pushed through a bill Thursday requiring President Bush to start withdrawing troops from "the civil war in Iraq," dealing a rare, sharp rebuke to a wartime commander in chief. In a mostly party line 51-47 vote, the Senate signed off on a bill providing $122 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also orders Bush to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of passage while setting a nonbinding goal of ending combat operations by March 31, 2008...
Your Government at Play
townhall.com/ ... 13:15:04
...When there are 10 things in a bill that you support and five things you don't, pork politics compels your vote according to your stake in the political smorgasbord. A prime example is the vote held recently in Congress on the measure to set a strict timetable for pulling troops out of Iraq. The House of Representatives voted 218-212 in favor of the Democrat-led legislation. I voted against the proposal, because I believe that a publicly-declared timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq will hurt our troops and damage national security. How disheartening that Speaker Pelosi and her House lieutenants included in the bill the worst, rawest form of political bribery - spending on the parochial pet projects of wavering Members of Congress...
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
hendersonvillenews.com/ ... 13:20:33
An Alamance County daycare is closed after police found guns and marijuana inside while children were present... officers immediately smelled marijuana in the home, and after they asked, owner... handed them four ounces of marijuana... Officers also found handguns, rifles and rounds of ammunition, along with iguana, rabbits ahd other animals running through the house...
[day care operators severely unclear on the concept! Even repeal won't help this kind of folk.]
foxnews.com/ ... 13:18:42
Some 960 pounds of marijuana was found hidden inside concrete pillars in the back of a tractor-trailer at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales... U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they pulled the truck over Wednesday afternoon for secondary inspection due to the
nervous behavior
[yeah, sure]
of the 32-year-old Mexican driver and suspicions about the cargo's destination in Colorado...
thetandd.com/ ... 01:10:21
ST. MATTHEWS Three people were arrested Wednesday after the U.S. Postal Service delivered 50 pounds of marijuana to a Calhoun County residence in what officials are calling a controlled mail delivery. Calhoun County Sheriff Thomas Summers said his deputies, along with U.S. Postal Service agents, intercepted the parcel containing two plastic containers filled with marijuana. "This is yet another major blow that we have dealt the people who choose to deal drugs in our county," Summers said...
nbc11.com/ ... 01:09:53
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Authorities seized a dozen guns, flak jackets and more than $250,000 in marijuana during a raid of an alleged drug dealer's compound guarded by pit bulls and surveillance cameras... [33yo] arrested Tuesday after police said they found 148 marijuana plants growing in his house. Officers also discovered assault rifles, sawed-off shotguns, high powered rifles and other firearms in nearly every room, including a bathroom.... "It was like an armed camp...."
nashuatelegraph.com/ ... 01:08:56
CONCORD A legislative move that would have allowed the chronically ill to use marijuana for a "medically debilitating" condition came up just nine votes shy of clearing the House of Representatives on Wednesday...
sfgate.com/ ... 01:08:30
DIAMOND BAR, Calif...Authorities on Wednesday seized nearly $10 million worth of marijuana being grown inside a four-bedroom home that was being used as a pot greenhouse... more than 1,800 plants in every part of the house along with lights, an irrigation system and other equipment used to cultivate marijuana...
Disinformation Propaganda & Spin
dawn.com/ ... 01:03:32
Saudi Arabias King Abdullah on Wednesday described the presence of US forces in Iraq as an illegitimate foreign occupation, drawing an immediate rejoinder from the White House that
`the US soldiers are in Iraq because the Iraqi nation invited them...
US Election 2008
nysun.com/ ... 01:05:13
announcement yesterday by the magazine executive and former presidential candidate, Steve Forbes, that he is endorsing Mayor Giuliani in 2008... We saw it in the interview Mr. Giuliani did this week... "The tax code needs a simplification in addition to lowering your sum taxes..."
breitbart.com/ ... 00:44:14
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson said the United States needs to do more to prevent a "nuclear 9-11," a threat that he argues has been neglected because the Bush administration has been consumed with Iraq. The New Mexico governor said the United States must lead an effort to secure nuclear materials in Russia and dangerous areas of the world so they can't get into terrorists' hands.....
WED 2007-MAR-28
Transport Incident
local6.com/ ... 12:45:52
A 16-year-old girl from Hawaii was ordered off a Continental Airlines flight after she began uncontrollably coughing in her seat... was returning to Honolulu from a spring break trip to New York and Washington... [Mother:] "...Why they would do that, especially with two teachers escorting 40 children across the United States, and for the pilot to make that kind of decision..."
Alcohol Was Involved
reuters.com/ ... 12:29:01
A Greek tavern owner who tried to break up a fight between customers watching a Greece-Turkey soccer match had both ears bitten off...
Sick, Sick, Sick
reuters.com/ ... 12:28:39
unemployed [38yo]... Japanese man was sentenced to death Wednesday for killing three people he met through an Internet site for group suicides in 2005...
Under Digital Tyranny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:25:50
Beijing police are threatening jail and fines for people who transmit pornography via cell phones after merchants were caught selling such movies on phone memory chips...
Fun can be Dangerous
youtube.com/ ... 12:25:31
YouTube clip of man who filmed himself skiing down the longest escalator on London's underground rail network...
reuters.com/ ... 12:24:54
A man who filmed himself skiing down the longest escalator on London's underground rail network was branded "dangerous, stupid and irresponsible..." hurtled down nearly 200 feet at Angel tube station with a camera strapped to his head and posted the video on the YouTube Web site...
Industrial Tragedy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:16:42
Rescuers scrambled on Wednesday to reach at least 20 miners trapped underground after a gas explosion struck a coal mine in northern China... second mine blast in Shanxi province this month... not immediately clear how many people were in the mine...
WW2 - still with us
reuters.com/ ... 12:19:29
The first black U.S. Air Force unit will finally receive national recognition this week for fighting a double war -- one against the Nazis abroad, the other against racial segregation at home. President George W. Bush will honor the surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress, at a ceremony on Thursday at the U.S. Capitol...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:57:08
A French court has overturned a ruling that ordered the state railway to compensate the family of World War II Jewish deportees...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
reuters.com/ ... 12:19:02
Insurgents with two chlorine truck bombs attacked a local government building in Falluja in western Iraq on Wednesday... 15 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers were wounded in the blasts and many more suffered chlorine poisoning... "Numerous Iraqi soldiers and policemen are being treated for symptoms such as labored breathing, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting that are synonymous with chlorine inhalation..." no Iraqi or U.S. forces were killed...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:18:12
Iranian state television has broadcast an interview with captured British female sailor Faye Turney [26] and footage of 14 male captured colleagues... She said her captors were "friendly", "thoughtful" people and she and her colleagues were unharmed. The Foreign Office said the footage was "completely unacceptable". Earlier Iran said it would release Leading Seaman Turney "very soon"...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:17:21
Gunmen have killed up to 50 people in a Sunni district in the northwestern Iraqi border town of Talafar. The deaths were in apparent reprisal for bombings in a Shia area on Tuesday, which left about 55 people dead...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:17:09
Dozens of young women from a religious school in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, have broken into an alleged brothel and kidnapped the owner... demanding the premises be shut down... The women say they have a right to end immoral activity under Islamic law...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:16:06
Hundreds of militants fired rockets, killed one security official and kidnapped a school principal Wednesday in a northwestern town where police had slain two men accused of recruiting students for suicide attacks...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:57:46
Up to 600 people may have been killed in last week's clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, Kinshasa... in violence between the army and armed guards loyal to opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba... EU diplomats expressed concern at the government's "premature" use of force which they say led to fighting...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:56:05
A suicide bomber trying to blend in with street beggars exploded himself near a top intelligence official in a crowded part of the capital early Wednesday, wounding five people... apparently targeted the investigations chief of Afghanistan's intelligence service...
reuters.com/ ... 11:54:37
A U.S. combat post was attacked by two suicide truck bombs and about 30 gunmen west of Baghdad on Monday, but American soldiers succeeded in repelling them and killed 15... in the Garma area, near Falluja... Eight U.S. soldiers were wounded... soldiers opened fire on two trucks loaded with explosives that tried to smash their way into the compound, detonating both of them...
Mass Madness
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:53:50
PARIS... Riot police firing tear gas and brandishing batons clashed Tuesday with bands of youths who shattered windows and looted shops at a major Paris train station, officials said. Nine people were arrested... about 100 people were involved in the melee at Gare du Nord, one of Paris' most important transport hubs. Officers, some with police dogs, fired tear gas and charged at groups of marauding youths, some of them wearing hoods and swinging metal bars. The youths responded by throwing trash cans and other objects at the officers...
US Military
apnews.myway.com/ ... 12:47:05
The Naval Academy said Tuesday it is investigating allegations of lewd behavior and heavy drinking by a group of midshipmen on a spring break Caribbean cruise. One passenger wrote that she and other women were groped, and that some of the midshipmen offered alcohol to teenage girls on the cruise...
Feeding Ourselves
nytimes.com/ ... 12:42:14
Burger King, the worlds second-largest hamburger chain, said yesterday that it would begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that did not confine their animals in cages and crates...
It came from the sky
breitbart.com/ ... 12:41:15
Flaming space junk from a Russian satellite narrowly missed hitting a Chilean airliner over the Pacific Ocean... about eight kilometres (four miles) in front of the plane and behind it... apparently fallen into the area 12 hours earlier than the time advised by the Russians...
Animal Companions
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:27:30
After receiving complaints from neighbors, Seattle Animal Shelter staffers found 110 parakeets Tuesday in a cage in the living room of a o ne-bedroom apartment... being kept in unsanitary conditions and were surrendered by their owner, an unidentified man in his 50s who had been collecting them for about five years... will be offered to qualified adopters...
Orbiting Overhead
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:05:44
Astronaut Sunita Williams is stuck in space - at least temporarily. She flew up to the international space station last December planning to come home in early July after a seven-month stay... The problem is that a hail storm that damaged the fuel tank of the space shuttle Atlantis has knocked NASA's flight schedule for the year out of whack. Her ticket home, space shuttle Endeavour, may get off the ground several weeks later than its originally scheduled June 28 launch... Williams... got a bit of attention for her accident with wasabi which wound up on the walls of the space station...
Antiquity - still with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:03:23
A geological engineering company said Monday it has agreed to help in an archaeological project to find the island of Ithaca, homeland of Homer's legendary hero Odysseus. It has long been thought that the island of Ithaki in the Ionian Sea was the island Homer used as a setting for the epic poem "The Odyssey," in which the king Odysseus makes a perilous 10-year journey home from the Trojan War. But amateur British archaeologist Robert Bittlestone believes the Ithaca of Homer is no longer a separate island but became attached to the island of Kefallonia through rock displacement caused by earthquakes. The theory could explain inconsistencies between Ithaki and Homer's description of Odysseus' island...
Only Natural
reuters.com/ ... 12:23:50
One in 10 people in the world, mostly in Asia, live in coastal areas at risk from rising seas and more powerful storms that may be caused by global warming...
reuters.com/ ... 12:06:19
Global warming could re-make the world's climate zones by 2100, with some polar and mountain climates disappearing altogether and formerly unknown ones emerging in the tropics...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:58:30
Mount St. Helens may be following the example of Kilauea in Hawaii with magma being replaced from a reservoir beneath the volcano as fast as it emerges as lava at the surface... St. Helens appears to have become an "open system" as its domebuilding eruption that began in the fall of 2004 continues at a pace that has been unchanged for the past year...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:48:55
Army Sgt.
Jason W. Swiger
, 24, of South Portland, Maine
Army Cpl.
Jason Nunez
, 22, of Naranjito, Puerto Rico
Army Pfc.
Orlando E. Gonzalez
, 21, of New Freedom, Pa.
Army Pfc.
Anthony J. White
, 21, of Columbia, S.C.
died Mar. 25 in Baqubah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations. They were assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Supernatural Silliness
news.com.au/ ... 12:46:42
HELL is a place where sinners really do burn in an everlasting fire, and not just a religious symbol designed to galvanise the faithful, Pope Benedict XVI has said...
[Thanks to our loving & merciful Heavenly Father....]
World Without Borders
sun-sentinel.com/ ... 12:42:30
more than 100 Haitians migrants aboard a wooden fishing boat landed on the city's southern beach Wednesday morning. At least nine were hospitalized and at least one person died in the crossing...
Yawn
msnbc.msn.com/ ... 12:38:29
Cover of the new Harry Potter book
Reasons for Repeal
pressofatlanticcity.com/ ... 12:37:47
Police found about $1.1 million
[absurdly inflated prohib-supported propagandized by-the-joint priced]
worth of marijuana in an Egg Harbor Township home this week... more than 500 marijuana plants...
fox19.com/ ... 12:36:37
CINCINNATI... An ordinance that allows sentences of up to 30 days in jail for possession of small amounts of marijuana is responsible for removing 62 guns from the streets in the past year, and that alone is reason enough to extend the law, police say...
[HOW unclear on the concept can you BE?]
"It's like a no-brainer..." [said] Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr...
[Got that right!]
About 50 people attended a hearing of council's law and public safety committee to voice their objection to the ordinance. Several disputed police statistics that violent crime has been reduced because of the ordinance. They cited the record number of homicides in the city in 2006 and promised to make the ordinance a campaign issue in the next council election. "We will unseat anybody who votes for this ordinance..."
cbc.ca/ ... 12:35:09
A medical marijuana activist in Calgary was sentenced Tuesday to four months in jail for trafficking in marijuana, but the judge ruled that corrections officials must make sure he has access to the drug while behind bars...
Why People Go Vegan
reuters.com/ ... 12:26:21
U.S. women who eat a lot of beef while pregnant give birth to sons who grow up to have low sperm counts... believe pesticides, hormones or contaminants in cattle feed may be to blame...
Look Who's Talking!
reuters.com/ ... 12:24:04
China has called for a treaty to stop the spread of weapons in outer space...
Your Government at Play
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:23:32
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday fined the federal Energy Department $1.1 million over violations of an agreement to clean up the Hanford nuclear reservation, the nation's most polluted nuclear site...
People are Born
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:13:43
"semi-identical" twins... They are the result of two sperm cells fertilising a single egg, which then divided to form two embryos -
and each sperm contributed genes to each child...
[answers the question I asked below]
reuters.com/ ... 12:12:17
Doctors said on Monday they have identified a third type of twins -- somewhere between identical and fraternal -- after performing extensive genetic tests on two young children. They are referring to the pair as "semi-identical" -- two sperm cells fused with a single egg -- and said this is a previously unknown way for twins to arise... The new case came to light because one of the twins had an abnormality in sexual development -- ambiguous genitalia -- and was considered a hermaphrodite with both ovarian and testicular tissue. This child is being raised as a girl. The other twin is a boy... Some experts... theorized that such twins might exist, and these twins are the proof...
[How can they tell if two sperm fused with a single egg, or whether the egg underwent mitosis before the sperm got to 'em, a theory that's been around for years?]
Print is Dead
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:26:01
Spending on UK internet advertising surged in 2006, overtaking newspaper ads for the first time...
today.reuters.com/ ... 12:08:04
Time Inc. said on Monday it would stop publishing Life, the iconic photography magazine that has been a weekly newspaper insert since 2004... It shut down in 1972, but came back in 1978 before being shut down again in 2000... It is the latest magazine to shut down as more readers desert print publications for online news and photos... the brand name will survive on the Internet... Time will make Life's collection of 10 million images available online... free for personal use...
World Energy
reuters.com/ ... 12:04:34
There's an old joke about the number of people it takes to change a light bulb. But because the newer energy-efficient kinds
contain tiny amounts of mercury
, the hard part is getting rid of them when they burn out. Mercury is poisonous, but it's also
a necessary part of most compact fluorescent bulbs
, the kind that environmentalists and some governments are pushing as a way to cut energy use...
Digital Culture
foxnews.com/ ... 12:44:37
...what was supposed to have been a dignified end for a long-suffering single mom instead turned into what friends called a disgustingly public travesty, an example of the current Wild West atmosphere of Internet privacy issues, and a sordid showcase of just how far a beef can go. Just hours before her death, "Cathy Seipp" suddenly seemed to undo decades of hard work with an oddly written letter posted on the Web site, www. cathyseipp.com. In what came off as more bizarre rant than heartfelt apology, her supposed "very last blog entry" called her years of journalism a "shoddy," "despicable" and "irresponsible" career as a "fourth-rate hack." Her political stance? All a mistake... the letter was the work of an infamous character known as "Troll Dolls" who'd positioned himself as the blogger's archenemy and bought the domain name www.cathyseipp.com years earlier (Seipp's real Web site is www.cathyseipp.net). Troll Dolls is really Eliot Stein, a 54-year-old former online talk-show host and stand-up comedian who had taught Maia in a journalism class for a brief period in 2004, and who blamed Maia and Seipp for his departure from the school after only five weeks...
today.reuters.com/ ... 12:13:58
Satirical newspaper the Onion has entered the world of online video, debuting three Onion News Network clips on its site (http://www.onion.com)...
today.reuters.com/ ... 12:12:44
Bombarded by spam, e-mail users are eager for tools like a "report fraud" button that would help weed out unwanted messages that litter inboxes, according to a survey by the Email Sender and Provider Coalition released on Tuesday. More than 80 percent of e-mailers already use tools such as "report spam" and the "unsubscribe" button to manage their in-boxes, the survey found...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:02:47
Prominent blogger Kathy Sierra has called on the blogosphere to combat the culture of abuse online. It follows a series of death threats which have forced her to cancel a public appearance and suspend her blog... The police are investigating while the blogosphere has launched its own enquiry... Ms Sierra, author of popular blog Creating Passionate Users, began receiving death threats four weeks ago... "I have cancelled all speaking engagements. I am afraid to leave my yard, I will never feel the same. I will never be the same," she said on her blog...
Supernatural Consequences
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:55:28
It's one of the Roman Catholic Church's closely guarded secrets: the identity of the French nun whose testimony of an inexplicable cure from Parkinson's disease is likely to be accepted as the miracle the Vatican needs to beatify Pope John Paul II. The nun, who says she was cured of Parkinson's after she and her community of nuns prayed to John Paul, is coming to Rome for ceremonies Monday marking the second anniversary of the pontiff's death and the closure of a church investigation into his life...
In Self-Defense
reuters.com/ ... 11:51:44
[Texas] Governor Rick Perry's office said on Tuesday that he had signed a new law that expands Texans' existing right to use deadly force to defend themselves "without retreat" in their homes, cars and workplaces. "The right to defend oneself from an imminent act of harm should not only be clearly defined in Texas law, but is intuitive to human nature," Perry said on his Web site. The new law, which takes affect
[they mean "effect"]
on September 1, extends an exception to a statute that required a person to retreat in the face of a criminal attack. The exception was in the case of an intruder unlawfully entering a person's home. The law extends a person's right to stand their ground beyond the home to vehicles and workplaces, allowing the reasonable use of deadly force, the governor's office said...
TUE 2007-MAR-27
Industrial Tragedy
breitbart.com/ ... 15:12:41
At least four Palestinians drowned in a tsunami of raw sewage on Tuesday when a water treatment reservoir burst, flooding a village in the northern Gaza Strip... Two women, one more than 70 years old, and two toddlers aged one and two died in the flood. Fifteen people were injured and scores more are still missing... a septic system aid organisations had long warned was dangerously overburdened...
Industrial Incident
wcbstv.com/ ... 15:11:23
A large section of a six-story building under construction collapsed Tuesday morning in Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood... about 12 construction workers were inside the vacant building at the time working in the basement when the roof came crashing down. There was only one apparent injury, however...
Meth is Murder
breitbart.com/ ... 15:10:35
ST. LOUIS... A former trucker whose documentary chronicled an agonizing descent as methamphetamine ravaged his body has died, optimistic to the end that his story would keep others from the highly addictive stimulant...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
defenselink.mil/ ... 15:49:50
The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of a dangerous terror suspect to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Abdul Malik, who was captured as a result of our ongoing conflict against Al Qaida, has admitted to being involved in terrorist attacks in East Africa. Malik has admitted to participation in the 2002 Paradise Hotel attack in Mombasa, Kenya, in which an explosive-filled SUV was crashed into the hotel lobby, killing 13 and injuring 80. He also has admitted to involvement in the attempted shootdown of an Israeli Boeing 757 civilian airliner carrying 271 passengers, near Mombasa. The capture of Malik exemplifies the genuine threat that the United States and other countries face throughout the world in the war on terrorism. Due to the significant threat this terror suspect represents, he has been transferred to Guantanamo. The detainees being held at Guantanamo have provided information essential to our ability to understand better how Al Qaeda operates, and thus to prevent future attacks against innocent civilians. As with all the detainees in Guantanamo, Malik will undergo a combatant status review tribunal, where he will be given the opportunity to review an unclassified summary of the evidence against him and contest his enemy combatant status. The International Committee of the Red Cross will be granted access to this detainee. With today's transfer there are approximately 385 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
chron.com/ ... 15:25:40
Two nearly simultaneous truck bombs including one detonated by remote control ripped through markets in Tal Afar on Tuesday, killing at least 48 people and wounding dozens...
breitbart.com/ ... 14:55:50
Iran said Monday it was questioning 15 British sailors and marines to determine if their alleged entry into Iranian waters was "intentional or unintentional" before deciding what to do with themthe first sign it could be seeking a way out of the standoff...
ft.com/ ... 14:55:29
The British government is preparing to release what it says is evidence demonstrating that its 15 naval personnel detained by Irans Revolutionary Guards last Friday were seized while in Iraqi waters and not inside Iranian territory...
reuters.com/ ... 14:54:43
A rocket landed in Baghdad's heavily fortified international Green Zone on Monday, rocking the U.S. embassy but causing no casualties
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 15:48:52
Marine Cpl.
Henry W. Bogrette
, 21, of Richville, N.Y., died March 22 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 2nd Marine Corps Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Lance Cpl.
Trevor A. Roberts
, 21, of Oklahoma City, Okla., died March 24 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Oklahoma City, Okla.ionEmail A Copy
US Military
estripes.com/ ... 15:26:11
The Marine Corps plans to notify 1,800 Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve this month that they could be mobilized for one year, to include an expected seven-month deployment to Iraq...
World Zookeeping
breitbart.com/ ... 15:19:15
DARWIN, Australia... An environmental group said Tuesday it had captured
a "monster" toad the size of a small dog.
...a body the size of a football and weighing nearly 2 pounds... among the largest specimens ever captured in Australia...
Frogwatch
... is dedicated to wiping out a toxic toad species that has killed countless Australian animals...
Cane toads were imported from South America during the 1930s in a failed attempt to control beetles on Australia's northern sugar cane plantations. The poisonous toads have proven fatal to Australia's delicate ecosystems, killing millions of native animals from snakes to the small crocodiles that eat them...
"We kill them with carbon dioxide gas, stockpile them in a big freezer and then put them through a liquid fertilizer process" that renders the toads nontoxic.... "It turns out to be sensational fertilizer..."
Science Marches Onnnnnn
breitbart.com/ ... 15:09:55
A group of scientists have found a way to bend and direct liquid using only the force of light... used a laser beam to produce a surprisingly long and steady jet of soapy liquid that was narrower than a human hair. When directed at a different angle, it pushed the liquid into a hump-like shape. It is believed to be the first time a laser had been used to generate bulk flow in fluids...
Animal Companions
azcentral.com/ ... 15:14:11
OTTAWA - An woman says she became violently ill after eating some of her dog's food... could be related to the tainted pet food... After noticing her dog, Missy, wasn't eating, [she] said she took bites of Iams pet food in order to trick the terrier into thinking it was people food... the mealtime routine continued for about two weeks...
breitbart.com/ ... 15:08:55
CALVERT, Md.... Toby, a 2-year-old golden retriever, saw his owner choking on a piece of fruit and began jumping up and down on the woman's chest. The dog's owner believes the dog was trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver and saved her life....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:03:17
A woman with three crocodiles strapped to her waist was stopped at the Gaza-Egypt border crossing after guards noticed that she looked "strangely fat..." "Even though she was veiled and covered, even with so many clothes on there was something strange..."
reuters.com/ ... 14:59:57
Global drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline faces a court case on Tuesday for misleading advertising after two 14-year-olds found its popular blackcurrant drink Ribena contained almost no vitamin C... advertising claims that "the blackcurrants in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges" in 2004...
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
swnebr.net/ ... 15:28:28
The Nebraska State Patrol Headquarters Troop-Lincoln, Sunday, March 25, 2007, seized 950 pounds of marijuana during a routine traffic stop along Interstate 80... license plate violation... 950.2 lbs of marijuana...
wdbj7.com/ ... 15:27:35
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. Virginia Beach police say they have seized more than two-thousand marijuana plants in a barn used for growing the illegal drugs -- the largest seizure of a pot-growing operation in the city's history...
wlos.com/ ... 15:27:09
JERUSALEM... A pro-marijuana party in Israel is advising its religious supporters to abstain during Passover... The Green Leaf party says cannabis is among the substances Jews are forbidden to consume during the week-long festival that begins Monday...
Theory of Justice
breitbart.com/ ... 15:20:02
A Jacksonville, Fla., judge drew his handgun when an accused child molester was attacked by an alleged victim's father in court...
Human Right
cnsnews.com/ ... 15:15:33
Liberal Democrats in the Senate and House plan to resume "the fight for women's equality" on Tuesday, when they
reintroduce the Women's Equality Amendment...
[By the wording, it's not a WOMEN'S Equality Amendment. It's an EQUAL RIGHTS Amendment that does not mention men or women!]
US Election 2008
nysunpolitics.com/ ... 15:16:30
* Romney's support drops to within the margin of error of not existing (that's 3% support in a poll where the margin of error is 3%).
* Giuliani's support drops 13 percentage points since the last USA Today/Gallup poll, March 2-4 (that's gotta hurt).
* Fred Thompson (not running, by the way) is now the No. 3 in the GOP field, at 12%...
thehill.com/ ... 15:05:26
Half of voting-age Americans say they would not vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) if she became the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, according to a Harris Interactive poll released Tuesday...
Supernatural Threats
reuters.com/ ... 15:04:40
With creationism now coming in Christian and Muslim versions, scientists, teachers and theologians in France are debating ways to counteract what they see as growing religious attacks on science...
World of Sexual Cultures
reuters.com/ ... 15:01:44
....a local English radio station offers a chance to join the mile high club over America.... inviting couples for the next week to go on air and describe how they are growing old in a suitably disgraceful manner. The winning couple... will be flown to Atlanta, Georgia and put onboard a private plane equipped with champagne and a double bed...
reuters.com/ ... 14:58:41
LONDON... Lap-dancers at one of Britain's biggest strip clubs must pay their own value added tax (VAT) bills, a senior judge ruled on Friday.... said it was the women and not their club... who should foot the bill... backed the chain's argument that the self-employed dancers provide the entertainment on offer, rather than the club....
MON 2007-MAR-26
Under Digital Tyranny
itwire.com.au/ ... 09:23:06
The South Korean government has already blocked access to all local pornographic web sites along with over 200 overseas sites, and is looking to put another 180 onto the blacklist by May...
Violence
nydailynews.com/ ... 09:22:48
Boston cops were hunting last night for the gunman who killed a beautiful young Manhattan woman as she left a late-night house party in a seedy part of town... caught in the crossfire when an argument at the party erupted into gunplay... had come to Boston for a great-aunt's 90th birthday celebration, but she and two male friends reportedly followed some local men to the party after meeting them at a bar that had closed at 2 a.m... was in a car with her friends and at least one of the new acquaintances trying to leave the party when she was shot in the head about 3:20 a.m. Saturday...
Animals can be Dangerous
local6.com/ ... 01:43:12
A large dog nearly severed the foot of a 70-year-old woman during a sudden attack at Wickham Park Pavilion in Melbourne, Fla., Sunday as a crowd of people watched in horror...
Digital Threat
financialexpress.com/ ... 01:37:49
Tens of thousands of junk web pages, created only to lure search-engine users to advertisements, are proliferating like billboards strung along freeways. Now Microsoft researchers say they have traced the companies and techniques behind them...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 01:35:36
Fewer than half of the UK's 29m adult internet users believe they are responsible for protecting personal information online... One in six of the 2,441 people surveyed felt responsibility rested with banks... The same number (5%) had experienced fraud while shopping online as had had their bag, wallet or mobile stolen...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:13:01
Two foreign students, one a Muslim from France, have been killed in an attack by Shia rebels on a religious school in a restive region of Yemen... the students were part of a group guarding the Sunni religious school at night...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:12:15
Police challenged a group of suspected militants Monday at a high school in northwestern Pakistan after hearing that they wanted to "motivate" students for holy war, sparking a gunbattle that left six people dead... Five militants and one police officer were killed... Oxford Public School in Tank, a town about 60 miles from the Afghan border... unclear whether any students were hurt...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 01:31:00
The suicide attack against Iraq's Sunni deputy prime minister is now seen as an inside job carried out by a member of his own security detail - a distant relative who had been arrested as an insurgent, freed at the official's request, then hired as a bodyguard...
Staying Healthy
reuters.com/ ... 09:18:09
To better tame your blood pressure and cholesterol, you may want to consult a woman doctor... Female physicians do a better job of keeping those risk factors for heart disease in check than do their male counterparts... better than men in treating fellow women with high-blood pressure and cholesterol, and they also are better at helping men control cholesterol...
AmerIndians Today
reuters.com/ ... 09:17:26
Chileans are rediscovering the ancient herbal remedies of the Mapuche indigenous tribe, including a sexual energizer touted as a natural Viagra and other inexpensive alternative medicines... The natural remedies got a boost four years ago when the Mapuche community took over the administration of the Maquehue Hospital in Temuco and set up a pharmacy project using regular doctors and Mapuche healers called machis...
Animal Companions
breitbart.com/ ... 01:45:05
The Canadian company that sold tainted pet food blamed for at least 14 pet deaths expanded its product recall Saturday... said some of its pet foods, possibly tainted with a toxin used as rat poison, were still being sold...
Science Marches Onnnnnn
mailonsunday.co.uk/ ... 01:44:12
Scientists have created the world's first human-sheep chimera - which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs. The sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells...
Reasons for Repeal
themonitor.com/ ... 09:24:34
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized
[prohib-inflated street by-the-joint price to make Customs' stupid efforts look good]
$2.172 million in marijuana last week from a tractor-trailer carrying watermelons through the Falfurrias checkpoint... 126 bundles of the drug...
also seized nearly $1 million in cocaine from a Ford Windstar minivan stopped at the Sarita checkpoint on the same day...
US Election 2008
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:14:30
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Monday to create a universal health care system if elected, saying she "learned a lot" during the failed health care effort of her husband's presidency...
[She will later unveil her "5-year-plan" for top-down control of the economy, and her plan to unify all media news under the Prada news agency...]
CD/DVD/etc is Dead
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:11:05
Movie pirates are spraying chemicals on their bootleg DVDs to confuse two U.S.-loaned dogs who this month helped Malaysian authorities sniff out nearly 1 million illegal discs...
Unclear on the Concept
dnaindia.com/ ... 01:42:25
SYDNEY: Australias largest city will be plunged into darkness for an hour on Saturday in an attempt at a world first blackout to raise awareness of global warming, organisers say... The lights will go out in landmark headquarters buildings in Sydneys central business district, on the iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House, and in tens of thousands of suburban homes...
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
seattlepi.nwsource.com/ ... 01:39:24
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Some medical marijuana advocates and patients are protesting a measure they supported at the beginning of the legislative session, saying it has been watered down by the process and is now useless. "There's nothing left in the bill worth keeping..."
dailyvidette.com/ ... 01:39:04
With certain research indicating possible benefits of marijuana, many believe Illinois should be one of the next states to legalize it for medicinal purposes...
Modern Family Life
news.bostonherald.com/ ... 01:37:28
Once a proud lesbian, shes now a pariah in the gay community - arguing that gays dont have the legal right to adopt children...
Lost & Found
hosted.ap.org/ ... 01:36:13
MENASHA, Wis.... When their photographer's camera was stolen shortly after they exchanged vows, Karen and Tory Nordlinder figured they'd never have keepsakes of their wedding day. This week, they got a pleasant surprise when the camera turned up in a vacant lot near a lake, a year after it disappeared...
Digital Culture
hosted.ap.org/ ... 01:33:23
In just six years, Wikipedia has mushroomed into one of the Web's most astonishing successes, with 1.7 million articles in English alone. The downside is that the free encyclopedia has its share of errors and juvenile vandalism, and sometimes the writing is incomprehensibly arcane. To Wikipedia fans, these blemishes are an unavoidable - and relatively small - price to pay for the dazzling breadth spawned by its "anyone can edit" open design. But Larry Sanger doesn't buy it. To Sanger - who was present at the creation of Wikipedia (in fact, call him a co-founder, although that, like many things within Wikipedia, is disputed) - its charms seem to outweigh its warts simply because it has no competition. And that's precisely what Sanger hopes to change. This week, Sanger takes the wraps off a
Wikipedia alternative, Citizendium
. His goal is to capture Wikipedia's bustle but this time, avoid the vandalism and inconsistency that are its pitfalls... Unlike Wikipedia, Citizendium's volunteer contributors will be expected to provide their real names. Experts in given fields will be asked to check articles for accuracy. "If there's going to be a free encyclopedia, I'd like there to be a better free encyclopedia..."
SUN 2007-MAR-25
Criminally Stupid
whptv.com/ ... 11:57:19
PITTSBURGH... Police say a Pittsburgh attorney took marijuana and rolling papers to an inmate he was visiting in the Allegheny County Jail yesterday...
[Idiot]
Theory of Sex Education
reuters.com/ ... 11:54:20
Four Albanian teachers have been censured for drunken and lewd behavior in a remote village school after they had sexual intercourse behind a classroom blackboard... The Education Ministry sacked two male teachers, replaced the headmaster and put a female teacher on probation after incensed parents in Xhyre, near the Macedonia border, locked the schoolhouse to stop the drinking and fornication in class... "I saw them acting shamefully through the window and I told my friends and parents," fourth-grader... told the Shqip daily. "They saw me and threatened to expel me from school..."
Industrial Tragedy
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:10:03
A fire has swept through a Moscow nightclub, killing 10 people and injuring several others... a performer staging a nightly "fire show" inadvertently set his clothes alight...
Nature can be Deadly
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:08:56
A powerful earthquake struck central Japan on Sunday, killing at least one person and injuring 170 others as it toppled buildings, triggered landslides and generated a small tsunami along the coast. The quake was followed throughout the day by aftershocks... magnitude-6.9 quake struck at 9:42 a.m. off the north coast of Ishikawa...
Violence
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:08:15
With U.S. attack helicopters buzzing overhead, gunmen and Iraqi security forces clashed Sunday in a Sunni area in central Baghdad, and police said at least two people were killed... started about 1:30 p.m. when gunmen attacked Iraqi army positions in the Fadhil neighborhood...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:18:25
Army Sgt.
Greg N. Riewer
, 30, of Frazee, Minn., died Mar. 23 in Habbaniyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive devise detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 136th Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Bemidji, Minn.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:17:51
Army Sgt.
Adrian J. Lewis
, 30, of Mauldin, S.C., died Mar. 21 in Ramadi, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:17:32
Army Spc.
Lance C. Springer II
, 23, of Fort Worth, Texas, died Mar. 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:17:04
Army Sgt.
Freeman L. Gardner Jr.
, 26, of Little Rock, Ark., died Mar. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol. He was assigned to the 18th Engineer Company, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Staying Healthy
reuters.com/ ... 11:15:05
dark chocolate improves the function of blood vessels... An upper arm artery's ability to relax and expand to accommodate increased blood flow -- known as flow mediated dilation (FMD) -- was measured using high-frequency ultrasound before and after daily cocoa or placebo consumption. Of the 39 subjects who completed the trial, FMD improved significantly in both cocoa groups -- by 2.4 percent among those who had it without sugar and 1.5 percent among those who had it with sugar. It dropped 0.8 percent in the placebo group...
Animal Culture
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:14:12
WATERVILLE, Maine... There's a mouse in Bill Exner's house that he says he has captured three times. Each time, the mouse escaped, and the last time the rodent made off with his lower dentures...
Reasons for Repeal
nypost.com/ ... 11:58:29
Since the act was passed into law, thousands of pot "clinics" have opened across the state. In San Francisco, things got so out of control that Mayor Gavin Newsom, a very liberal guy, had to close many of the "clinics" because drug addicts were clustering around them, causing fear among city residents. In San Diego, there's another problem: Some high school kids have found a loophole in the Compassion Act. Incredibly, there is no age requirement to secure medical marijuana in California - and no physical exam needed, either. So some kids tell a doctor they have a headache, pay him $150 for a card, and then buy all the pot they want. Unbelievable, but true... But storefront "clinics" run by irresponsible adults who are aided by corrupt doctors are a joke only a confirmed stoner would find funny...
[editorial]
estripes.com/ ... 11:56:20
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy An airman assigned to the 603rd Air Control Squadron pleaded guilty to marijuana use at a special court-martial last week... sentenced to a reduction in rank to E-4, forfeiture of $100 monthly for a year and hard labor without jail for 90 days...
[Had he had something much more dangerous but legal, like a drink of booze, isn't it unlikely this would have happened... presuming he wasn't stoned on duty?]
Lost & Found
cnn.com/ ... 11:53:30
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two passengers in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday five hours after they fell off a Princess Cruises ship... a man and woman in their 20s... "found the man nude in the water..." The two were reported missing after their friends "heard screams" from an outside balcony and, upon searching the balcony, "noticed their two friends missing..."
Woman's Right
reuters.com/ ... 11:16:06
A Texas legislator has proposed that pregnant women considering abortion be offered $500 not to end their pregnancies...
[Note: the legislator woefully unclear on the concept was male....]
People are Born
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:13:01
Doctors are planning an attempt this spring to gradually separate 3-year-old twin girls who were born connected at the head... from Italy... of Romanian descent... The top of Tatiana's head is attached to the back of Anastasia's.
Twins born joined at the head - called craniopagus twins - are extremely rare, occurring in about 1 in 2.5 million births...
World Without Borders
theaustralian.news.com.au/ ... 11:48:23
THE European Union, which turned 50 yesterday, is the US's pampered godchild. But you won't find people saying that at the EU birthday party that Angela Merkel is throwing in Berlin. Instead, praise will be lavished on the two European luminaries, Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, whose vision of reconciliation through united endeavours created the European Steel and Coal Community and led to the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The European Economic Community was unquestionably "made in Europe". But it would have been a sickly infant had it not been for Washington's strategic and financial support for European recovery, and for the ideal of European unity... At the age of 50, the EU should at last be able to shed its childishly defensive attitude to the US. So even should France. For only by pooling the skills and talents of Europeans and Americans will the European Union achieve its true international potential.
The Times
...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:10:59
High-security driver's licenses aimed at letting U.S. citizens return from Canada without a passport could be adopted elsewhere if Washington state's experiment works... "enhanced" driver's licenses... They will look much like conventional driver's licenses, but will be loaded with proof of citizenship and other information that can be easily scanned at the border... Radio frequency ID chips and other advanced security features... At about $40, they also would be less expensive than a $97 passport...
SAT 2007-MAR-24
Nature can be Dangerous
localnewsleader.com/ ... 12:37:21
At least 13 tornadoes swept along the New Mexico-Texas state line, destroying homes and other buildings and injuring several people, two of them critically...
Supernatural Threats
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:31:42
For a coffee shop, T-shirts of a Mormon angel with java flowing into his trumpet are selling well. But they don't have the blessing of religious leaders... Not only is Moroni a revered figure... but LDS members are discouraged from drinking coffee...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:31:17
The Vatican's top anti-abortion campaigner kicked off the Roman Catholic Church's aggressive campaign against plans to legalize abortion in Mexico Friday...
9/11 - still with us
reuters.com/ ... 12:30:20
Debris that may have contained bits of bone from victims of the World Trade Center attacks was used to fill potholes and pave city roads, according to court papers filed on Friday...
Mass Murdering Monsters
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:29:16
More than 50 people have died in a wave of attacks across Iraq, including 20 killed when a suicide bomber struck a Baghdad police station... Most of those killed were police officers. A further 26 people were injured in the blast... Another suicide truck bomber targeted a Shia mosque in Iskandariya, south of Baghdad, killing eight people. In Talafar, in northwest Iraq some 75km (50 miles) from Syria, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a market, killing 10 people. Three suicide attacks on one of the main roads from the Syrian border left 11 people dead and 25 injured...
Digital Threat
reuters.com/ ... 12:21:45
Cell phone use does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of glioma -- the most common type of brain tumor, according to a new study. The story may be different, however, for intense use of cell phones over many years...
Violence
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:21:05
A Brazilian housewife was convicted and sentenced to 19 years in prison Friday for killing her husband, chopping his body into small pieces and frying it... two years ago in Salvador, about 900 miles northeast of Sao Paulo... before hiding in plastic bags beneath a staircase in her house... either part of a black magic ritual or an attempt by the wife to collect life insurance worth about $34,000... [or] "to avenge many years of humiliation from her husband..."
Scary Times
wcnc.com/ ... 12:19:58
Passengers onboard a flight landing at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport on Friday were quarantined for several hours because a fellow passenger claimed he had smallpox... [which was eradicated nearly 30 years ago... The threat was proven false... The 112 passengers and four crew members on Flight 1014 from New Orleans were cleared to leave the plane at around 7:30 p.m., after being detained upon landing four hours earlier...
International Incidents
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:55:18
Fifteen Royal Navy personnel captured at gunpoint by Iranian forces had sailed into Iran's waters illegally, its government has insisted.... UK maintains the eight sailors and seven marines had been carrying out routine duties in Iraqi waters... [Iran] accused British sailors of having illegally entered Iranian waters "a number of times"... US Navy spokesman Commander Kevin Aandahl told the BBC: "They were in Iraqi territorial waters. "We have been operating in those waters for years now. We know what the territorial lines are, we respect those territorial lines and we expect the Iranians to respect those territorial lines as well..."
World Zookeeping
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:30:58
Taiwan will cordon off part of a highway to create a safe passage for a massive seasonal butterfly migration in the coming days... milkweed butterflies - which are indigenous to the island... have distinct white dots on purple brown wings...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:28:19
...As I got dressed I found myself wondering what extraordinary circumstance had brought an eagle to crash through my window. There seemed something both wonderful and vaguely disturbing about it...
Animal Companions
breitbart.com/ ... 12:19:01
Investigators have reportedly found
a rodent-killing chemical sprayed on imported Chinese wheat
in the tainted pet food that has killed several animals in the US and Canada....
US Military
examiner.com/ ... 12:01:24
The top American general in Afghanistan has expelled a U.S. Marine special operations company for the way the men responded to an ambush March 4... now redeploying to Kuwait after just a few weeks in Afghanistan in what was supposed to be a six-month tour...
Extraterrestrial
azstarnet.com/ ... 12:00:00
Tucson, Arizona... Former Gov. Fife Symington says now that those strange lights that appeared over Phoenix a decade ago were from another world and that he had a close encounter with an alien craft on March 13, 1997... recently told a UFO investigator making a documentary that he had kept quiet about his personal close encounter because he didn't want to panic the populace... the craft he saw was "enormous. It just felt other-worldly. In your gut, you could just tell it was other-worldly..."
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
sctimes.com/ ... 12:39:27
MILACA Investigators arrested a Milaca man Tuesday and seized... a total of 53 pounds of marijuana during the investigation, worth
[absurdly-inflated prohibition-supported value]
$85,000...
World Water
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:26:40
More than 5.5 million people are short of drinking water because of an acute drought in south-western China...
US Judicial Branch
news.yahoo.com/ ... 12:18:05
...Justice Stephen Breyer... held his own with a panel of people who are paid to be funny on National Public Radio's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me."
Being the funniest Supreme Court justice, he said, "is like being one of the shortest tall people..."
People are Trashy
nytimes.com/ ... 12:15:53
Welcome to Walden Pond, Fifth Avenue style... Colin Beavan, 43, a writer of historical nonfiction, and Michelle Conlin, 39, a senior writer at Business Week, are four months into a yearlong lifestyle experiment they call No Impact. Its rules are evolving, as Mr. Beavan will tell you, but to date include eating only food (organically) grown within a 250-mile radius of Manhattan; (mostly) no shopping for anything except said food; producing no trash (except compost...);
using no paper
[including toilet paper]
; and, most intriguingly, using no carbon-fueled transportation...
Reporting Science
longmontfyi.com/ ... 12:13:18
Humans dont cause global warming, a jury of sixth graders at Trail Ridge Middle School concluded Thursday after hearing opposing arguments from their peers... With Earths warming accepted as a tenet, pre-teen "lawyers" and "scientists" debated whether humans have caused it...
US Election 2008
nytimes.com/ ... 12:12:44
...the SoulCycle spinning studio... spinning... involves riding a bike in standing and seated positions, and at alternating levels of resistance, while music plays... on the Upper West Side in Manhattan last evening, as about 35 women and 5 men paid $2,300 apiece (or per stationary bike) to hear former President Bill Clinton speak... "People tend to wear sexy spandex outfits with midriffs showing," Ms. Krupp said. "But in deference to the president, we wore these [long-sleeved white cotton T-]shirts that said, Exercise Your Vote...."
[Didn't want Bill to start drooling and lose his concentration?]
Supernatural Equality
today.reuters.com/ ... 12:06:49
A new English-language interpretation of the Muslim Holy book the Koran challenges the use of words that feminists say have been used to justify the abuse of Islamic women. The new version, translated by an Iranian-American, will be published in April and comes after Muslim feminists from around the world gathered in New York last November and vowed to create the first women's council to interpret the Koran and make the religion more friendly toward women... challenges the translation of the Arab word "idrib," traditionally translated as "beat," which feminists say has been used to justify abuse of women...
World Without Borders
nytimes.com/ ... 12:08:35
Craig Carton and Ray Rossi think mental illness is hilarious and Asian-Americans are best mocked with sing-song Chinese accents. The men, hosts of an afternoon radio show called "The Jersey Guys" that is heard here on WKXW (101.5 FM), favor adjectives for politicians that have to be bleeped out. Two weeks ago, Mr. Carton and Mr. Rossi started "Operation Rat a Rat/La Cucha Gotcha," a listener-participation game that encourages people to turn in friends, neighbors and "anyone suspicious" to immigration authorities...
chron.com/ ... 12:05:24
Documents released in the controversy about eight fired U.S. attorneys show that federal prosecutors in Texas generally have declined to bring criminal charges against illegal immigrants caught crossing the border until at least their sixth arrest... DOJ officials would not say Thursday whether it has adjusted the number since the memo was written, citing "law enforcement reasons..."
Surreality TV
thisislondon.co.uk/ ... 12:04:17
A [42yo] father-of-two hanged himself live over the internet in Britain's first 'cyber suicide'... after being goaded by dozens of chatroom users from across the world who initially believed he was play acting.... chatroom users immediately contacted the police... had been suffering from depression after being badly injured in a car crash last year...
Digital Culture
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:58:26
A little under one-third of U.S. households have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives...
[Heh... introduce them to it properly and see how long that attitude lasts!..]
Keeping Time
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:57:40
...when the nation switches to summer time in Sunday's early hours. It will be the last time a British time change will be signalled from Rugby, in Warwickshire, which has been the source of the time signal since 1927. From 31 March, the long-wave signal, used to keep the "pips" heard on BBC radio services accurate, will start to be broadcast from Anthorn, Cumbria... The national time signal is accurate to within 1,000th of a second of Co-ordinated Universal Time. It is controlled by two caesium atomic clocks housed at the antenna in Rugby... These are kept in line by comparing them to GPS signals and a suite of reference clocks at NPL in Surrey... The master clocks at NPL are in turn kept in check by comparing them with measurements from atomic clocks around the world, a task co-ordinated by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), near Paris...
FRI 2007-MAR-23
Civilization vs Gangsterism
hosted.ap.org/ ... 18:00:05
Afghan forces launched what appeared to be their biggest independent operation ever against the Taliban, killing as many as 69 militants in fighting in the south that also left seven police dead...
Disturbing Family Patterns
hosted.ap.org/ ... 17:56:36
...[4yo] Rebecca - who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity and bipolar disorder, or what used to be called manic depression - died Dec. 13 of an overdose of prescribed drugs, and her parents have been arrested on murder charges, accused of intentionally overmedicating their daughter to keep her quiet and out of their hair... many of those who were supposed to protect Rebecca... suspected something was wro ng, but never went quite far enough...
Supernatural Threats
reuters.com/ ... 11:18:41
A hundred residents of a Russian village... Bogolyubovo, which means "God-loving" in Russian... have refused to switch to new passports because they believe the documents' bar codes contain satanic symbols... "They have these bar codes and people say they contain three sixes. We are against that..."
Criminally Stupid
reuters.com/ ... 11:17:43
A hapless German thief snapped his credit card in two while prying open a lock, inadvertently leaving behind his name and account details for police...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:13:00
MANCHESTER, Conn.... A man landed in hot water after police say he hid a tiny camera in a shampoo bottle to watch two of his female roommates as they took showers... A male roommate, curious why the shampoo wasn't moved for some time, found wires protruding from the back of the bottle, then called police... no evidence he transferred the files to the Internet...
Violence
hosted.ap.org/ ... 17:59:42
A cargo plane that had delivered equipment for Ugandan peacekeepers in the Somali capital was shot down by a missile during takeoff Friday... crashed in flames... fate of the 11-member crew was unknown...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:52:02
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam Zaubai has been injured in a double bombing in Baghdad in which nine people were killed... suicide bomber... He is reported to be undergoing surgery to remove shrapnel at a US military hospital in the Green Zone... Two of the dead were Mr Zaubai's bodyguards and 15 people were injured...
Industrial Tragedy
playfuls.com/ ... 18:01:42
The death toll from a series of blasts at an arms depot outside Maputo climbed to 96... over 400 injured...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:47:21
At least 72 people have been confirmed dead after a series of explosions at a weapons depot in Mozambique.... the blasts near Maputo international airport threw shells and shrapnel into the air. More than 100 people were injured in the blasts, as the initial blasts caused further detonations.... second time in less than two months that aging explosives in the arsenal have detonated....
International Incidents
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:48:51
Sweden's foreign minister is standing by his criticism of Cuba's human rights record, as a diplomatic row between the two countries shows no sign of abating. Cuba responded... by deriding what it called Sweden's imperial past. Mr Bildt has hit back describing Havana's response as "a desperate attack by a desperate regime"...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:46:30
Iranian naval vessels on Friday seized 15 British sailors
who had boarded a merchant ship in Iraqi waters of the Persian Gulf as part of efforts to protect the Iraqi coastline and its oil terminals.... The U.S. Navy... said
Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces were responsible.
The British Navy personnel were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters," and had completed a ship inspection when they were accosted by Iranian vessels...
Feeding Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 17:58:13
The likely source of an E. coli outbreak in spinach that killed three people and sickened more than 200 was a small cattle ranch about 30 miles from California's central coastline, state and federal officials said Friday as they concluded their investigation... found E. coli "indistinguishable from the outbreak strain" in river water, cattle feces, and wild pig feces on the ranch within a mile a from the spinach fields... could not make a "definitive determination" as to how the E. coli contaminated the spinach...
Science Marches Onnnnnn
msnbc.msn.com/ ... 14:39:49
...lab mice... had their vision genetically upgraded and can now see colors normally invisible to rodents...
Most mammals, mice included, have dichromatic vision. They see the world in shades of grey and a few other colors because they only have two types of light-sensitive molecules, called "photopigments," in their eyes. A genetic mutation in primates 40 million years ago endowed our early ancestors with a third photopigment sensitive to red light, vastly expanding the color palettes of their eyes...
The findings testify to the remarkable flexibility of the mammalian brain, since the mice learned to distinguish colors their brains had never evolved to see...
Animal Companions
hosted.ap.org/ ... 17:53:56
LA CROSSE, Wis... They were called Wallace and Gromit, a couple of abandoned yellow Labrador retriever siblings... 5 months old... when they were adopted out... to separate homes. Months later, Pat Kucera at Diggity Dog Daycare noticed two yellow Labs named Levi and Cooper would "play like crazy" every time they got the chance during visits to his facility... [Owners] hoping to set up play dates...
boston.com/ ... 14:28:13
Rat poison was found in the pet food suspected of causing kidney failure that killed at least 16 cats and dogs... aminopterin... not registered for killing rodents in the United States... "Any amount of this product is too much in food..."
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:16:19
A woman said she was so worried about reports of tainted pet food she spent more than $1,000 buying all the product she could find at her local Wal-Mart... She returned Wednesday morning to buy more food and came back that night to buy even more, but Trask said store officials asked her to leave. She said store employees were taking some of the food off the shelves. Trask plans to throw the food away so no animals eat it. She figures she spent more than $1,000... Not all the food Trask bought was included in the recall...
Healing Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:09:37
A 46-year-old man whose
body was powered by three separate hearts in the span of a month
walked out of the hospital Thursday and said he felt like competing in a triathlon. "I feel like a million dollars, actually...."
Prehistory - still with us
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:06:44
The biggest whale fossil ever discovered in Italy... five-million-year-old skeleton, 33ft (10m) in length... dug up in the northern grape-growing area of Tuscany... The vineyards of Castello Banfi... produce the famed Brunello de Montalcino wine, one of Italy's most prized... skeleton appears to be complete...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 18:02:12
Army Sgt.
Nicholas J. Lightner
, 29, of Newport, Ore., died Mar. 21 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol March 15 in Baghdad, Iraq. Lightner was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:07:50
Army Sgt. 1st Class
Darrell R. Griffin Jr.
, 36, of Alhambra, Calif., died Mar. 21 in Balad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with small arms fire during combat operations. Griffin was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:07:11
Army Pfc.
Joey T. Sams II
, 22, of Spartanburg, S.C., died Mar. 21 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, of injuries suffered when he was pinned between two vehicles. His death is under investigation. Sams was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:05:49
Army Spc.
Curtis E. Glawson Jr.
, 24, of Daleville, Ala., died Mar. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Glawson was assigned to the 610th Brigade Support Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:04:38
Marine Cpl.
Dustin J. Lee
, 20, of Quitman, Miss., died March 21 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lee was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga.
It's All in Your Mind
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:04:03
[70yo] from Bedford... has a rare sleep disorder which causes him to become violent when he sleep-walks. He has destroyed furniture, attacked his wife and injured himself during the night - but remembers nothing. Doctors at Papworth Hospital have found a drug which has successfully treated [his] "unique" condition... He said: "I am not violent - I do not swear or curse and I can't believe what I do at night..."
World Zookeeping
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:10:38
OXNARD, Calif... City officials have purchased 1,000 hand-held boat horns to help residents scare off coyotes...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:54:46
Five of 17 trained dolphins rescued during Hurricane Katrina and taken to a marine mammal center in the Bahamas are pregnant, officials said Thursday. A sixth dolphin gave birth to a stillborn calf earlier this week, the Dolphin Cay center said in a statement. The dolphins were from a Mississippi marine park that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Some of the animals were swept out to the Gulf of Mexico following the storm. After being rescued, the dolphins were moved to a Bahamas' resort early last year. The mammals had lived at Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Miss., doing jumps and other tricks for tourists, before it was severely damaged by Katrina...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:54:10
An extremely rare species of tiny owl has been seen in the wild for the first time... The long-whiskered owlet, one of the world's smallest owls, was discovered in 1976. Researchers have caught a few specimens in nets after dark but had not seen it in nature. It was spotted in the wild in February by researchers monitoring a private conservation area in Peru's northern jungle...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:53:44
COLUMBIA, Mo... A Bengal tiger that once worked on the carnival circuit was recovering after undergoing surgery to correct a badly deformed right forelimb... had been abused as a cub.... condition... comparable to rickets.... On Wednesday, three veterinary surgeons at the University of Missouri-Columbia, spent six hours cutting and reorienting his leg bones so that he could eventually walk without limping....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:52:22
Grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park no longer need Endangered Species Act protection, the federal government said Thursday. The area had an estimated 136 to 312 grizzlies when the species was listed as threatened in 1975, but has more than 500 of the bears today...
Digital Whoops Cascade
washingtonpost.com/ ... 18:01:05
Washington Post's Web site... The Democratic presidential candidate had already announced that he was continuing his campaign, despite the recurrence of his wife's cancer, when washingtonpost.com put up a headline... "John Edwards Suspends White House Bid..." For 51 seconds... "It was not an error of journalism.... It was an error of production . . . Nobody knows how it got up because nobody hit the publishing button...."
Digital Culture
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 17:59:14
France's national space agency has opened its UFO files to the public by launching a website which documents sightings over five decades. So many people have already tried to look at the files that it has become impossible to access the site...
Big Whoops Cascade
hosted.ap.org/ ... 17:55:10
CRANBERRY, Pa... A fingertip found at a bus stop by schoolchildren, touching off a police investigation... was claimed Friday by a man who injured his hand... trying to clear a snowblower...
People are Born
hosted.ap.org/ ... 17:51:50
ASHLAND, Wis... Jereme Tauer Jr. was born at almost 100 mph... "I just kind of cradled him as he came out, and watched him, watched the road. Watched him, watched the road," Jereme Tauer Sr. said. "There wasn't even time to stop, to hit the brakes and stop..."
Human Right
reuters.com/ ... 11:17:01
A Japanese man angry that a new apartment building put his house in the shade was arrested after shooting about a dozen bullets at it with a competition rifle...
Big Nanny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:14:23
EAU CLAIRE, Wis... The idea of making rural residents pay $9 a year for a postcard reminder to get their septic systems inspected sounds like a load of you-know-what to some local officials...
Lost & Found
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:11:20
Twenty-two years ago, Mahlon Webb Jr. wrote a note, put it in a bottle and tossed it into the ocean at a North Carolina Beach. Five years ago, he got a call from a woman on Grand Cayman Island saying she'd found the bottle. Last week, Webb made the same type of call, this time to an Arkansas school where children sent a balloon aloft with a note attached... found the balloon March 12 as he rode around the course checking on its condition...
Reasons for Repeal
chron.com/ ... 14:37:02
LOS ANGELES A minister who was arrested on charges of marijuana possession has
sued police for $30 million
, contending his civil and religious rights were violated because he heads a church that uses pot during worship.... Rev. Craig X Rubin, 41, is the founder of Temple 420... Rubin has made several appearances on the Showtime series "Weeds" as the owner of a medical marijuana club... ordained in 1990 by the Universal Life Church, which ordains everyone who asks...
metnews.com/ ... 14:34:37
The fact that a man had a medical marijuana prescription did not negate an officers probable cause to search his car after finding that it smelled of marijuana, the First District Court of Appeal ruled yesterday
origin.elpasotimes.com/ ... 14:32:33
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers performing anti-terror inspections at the Bridge of the Americas port of entry in El Paso seized 478 pounds of marijuana Thursday night... in the trunk of a vehicle being driven by a 17-year-old female U.S. citizen... [ludicrous prohib-supported] estimated street value of $478,000...
stoneycreeknews.com/ ... 14:30:39
Hamilton Police Service's Vice and Drug Unit seized more than $2 million
[grossly-inflated prohibition value]
in marijuana contained in 12 units in an apartment building in Stoney Creek Wednesday... 2,166 marijuana plants, ranging in height from two to three feet...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:09:55
New "landmark" research finds that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than some illegal drugs like
marijuana or Ecstasy and should be classified as such in legal systems...
Digital Business
hosted.ap.org/ ... 17:58:57
Neiman Marcus Group Inc. is suing a pair of domain name companies, accusing them of improperly registering more than 40 Internet addresses that resemble the department store chain's trademarks...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:08:22
Activist groups sued Viacom Inc. on Thursday, claiming the parent of Comedy Central improperly asked the video-sharing site YouTube to remove a parody of the cable network's "The Colbert Report." Viacom responded by saying it had no records of ever making such a request. Although the video in question contained clips taken from the television show, MoveOn.org Civic Action and Brave New Films LLC argued that their use was protected under "fair use" provisions of copyright law....
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:05:20
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission took a small step to address a growing debate on whether high-speed Internet providers like AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. should be barred from charging extra fees to guarantee access to the Internet... The concept of broadband providers treating all Internet content in the same way is also known as "net neutrality" and has been the subject of much debate among lawmakers...
THU 2007-MAR-22
Civilization vs Gangsterism
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:40:17
Foreign and Afghan forces have killed about 40 militants in the southern Afghan province of Helmand... in two separate operations... no reported casualties among international troops... no independent confirmation of the latest deaths...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:36:59
The U.S. military said Thursday it had captured the leaders of a Shiite insurgent network responsible for kidnapping and killing five American troops... over the past three days in the cities of Basra and Hillah south of Baghdad...
Threats
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:40:40
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has been left shaken by a blast which interrupted a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in Baghdad... mortar or rocket landed about 50 metres (165ft) from the building, causing him to duck...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:36:06
...In his first visit to China as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace went directly into meetings with Defense Minister Gen. Cao Gangchuan and other top leaders of China's 2.3 million-member armed forces. His four-day visit also includes a seminar at the Military Science Academy, visits to military installations and meetings with regional military leaders in the northern city of Shenyang and Nanjing in the east...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:35:15
Pakistan on Thursday successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile with the capability to avoid radar detection... range of 434 miles...
Animal Companions
msnbc.msn.com/ ... 10:11:14
The pet food linked to the deaths of 16 animals has shown no signs of contamination, the manufacturer says, and the company cannot explain why the cats and dog developed acute kidney failure and died... tests... performed by an outside company... on 10 cats that died... show only that the cats died of acute kidney failure... Call centers hired by the company received 47,000 calls over the weekend...
telegram.com/ ... 10:09:02
Her daughter... said she called Menu Foods hotline yesterday and was rudely told that the Special Kitty brand was not on the companys list before the call taker hung up. The brand actually is on the list. She said she tried back numerous times during the day and was hung up on. She tried again with a reporter present, and the call taker apologized for the way [she] had been treated earlier and advised her to return unused food for a refund. "Thats poor public relations..."
Staying Healthy
reuters.com/ ... 09:54:27
Laser treatments do not permanently remove birthmarks known as port-wine stains... Probably the most famous stain is on the head of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev... improvement was often only temporary, even after repeated treatments...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:48:29
UK universities are teaching "gobbledygook" following the explosion in science degrees in complementary medicine, a leading expert says... University College London Professor David Colquhoun urged watchdogs to act, as complementary medicine was not based on scientific evidence... cited the example of homeopathy. He said it had barely changed since the start of the 19th Century and was "more like religion than science"... suggested it would be better if courses in aromatherapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, reflexology, naturopathy and traditional Chinese medicine were taught as part of a cultural history or sociological course... A spokeswoman for the... Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education... said there were no serious concerns about degrees being offered...
Solar System
reuters.com/ ... 09:34:00
X-ray images taken from a new international spacecraft show that
the Sun's magnetic field is much more turbulent than scientists knew
... A turbulent magnetic field would, in theory, generate more energy than a steady-state field...
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
fox11az.com/ ... 10:14:53
A federal jury here has found a former U.S. Border Patrol agent guilty of taking a bundle of marijuana from a smuggler's load as a video camera filmed him... a video camera inside a DPS car then filmed Gonzalez as he backed up his vehicle to the front of the truck, took a bundle of marijuana and put it in the trunk of his car. The video also shows him moving other bales to fill the space left by the missing bundle...
[corrupt AND an idiot....]
abclocal.go.com/ ... 10:13:41
DIAMOND BAR, Mar. 22, 2007... Sheriff's narcotics officers raided a home in Diamond Bar Wednesday and confiscated an estimated
[totally absurd prohibition-inflated]
$12.5 million worth of marijuana in what authorities said could be part of a larger scale operation in affluent neighborhoods throughout Southern California... 2,100 plants were seized in the seven bedroom home, some of them valued
[because of prohibition price-support]
as at much as $5,000 each on the street...
Supernatural Consequences
nj.com/ ... 10:02:56
Reiterating their support for gay rights, Episcopal Church leaders rejected a demand to allow conservative parishes in the United States to have a new leader who agrees with them on issues involving homosexuality...
US Election 2008
computerworld.co m/ ... 10:02:29
The former Internet communications director for the 2006 campaign of Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) claims he is "ParkRidge47" -- the creator of the "Hillary 1984" video mashup that has scored over 2 million views on YouTube Inc.'s Web site... Phil de Vellis said he created the remix of the Apple Inc. classic "1984" Macintosh television ad... "I did it. And I'm proud of it..."
CD/DVD/etc is Dead
breitbart.com/ ... 10:18:15
US sales of music compact discs plummeted 20 percent in the first three months of the year as downloading of songs continued to knock the underpinnings from record studio revenues...
reuters.com/ ... 09:52:31
Malaysian movie pirates have put a bounty on the heads of two sniffer dogs who busted a fake DVD ring with a seizure of discs worth about $3 million...
Big Brother
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:51:50
An inquiry into the growing use of surveillance in society is to be held by an influential committee of MPs... The Information Commissioner last year warned the UK risked
"sleep-walking into a surveillance society"
...
Free Expression
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:51:01
A federal judge on Thursday
dealt another blow to government efforts to control Internet pornography
, striking down a 1998 U.S. law that makes it a crime for commercial Web site operators to let children access "harmful" material. In the ruling, the judge said
parents can protect their children through software filters and other less restrictive means that do not limit the rights of others to free speech.
"Perhaps we do the minors of this country harm if First Amendment protections, which they will with age inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection,"
wrote Senior U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed Jr....
mindfulwebworks.com/ ... 09:39:26
Flashback: Cartoon Crisis 2006 -- Editorial cartoon reactions to the controversial cartoons depicting Mohammed -- and related issues -- critiqued & rated...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:37:19
A French court cleared a satirical weekly newspaper Thursday in a case brought by Muslims who were angered by its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad...
WED 2007-MAR-21
Transport Incident
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:08:50
NEWPORT NEWS, Va....'s $385,000, state-of-the-art fire boat sank Wednesday, still tied up at a dock and without ever being put to use...
Nicotine is a Drag
reuters.com/ ... 22:08:16
Smoking during pregnancy is known to boost the risk of attention problems in children, but a study published on Wednesday suggests that teens who smoke and were also exposed to nicotine in the womb are even more impaired...
Supernatural Violence
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:05:28
Secondary school pupils in north-eastern Nigeria have killed a teacher after apparently accusing her of desecrating the Koran... The teacher, a Christian, was attacked after supervising an exam... not clear what she had done to anger the students...
Transport Tragedy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:00:45
An explosion aboard a nuclear-powered Royal Navy submarine under an Arctic ice cap killed two British sailors and injured a crewmember... The forward compartment of the HMS Tireless was damaged in the explosion... air purification system malfunctioned... a self-contained oxygen generation candle exploded...
Prison Sucks
hosted.ap.org/ ... 21:59:47
LAS VEGAS... A norovirus outbreak sickened at least 150 inmates and seven guards at the county jail
Disturbing Family Patterns
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:13:07
Minneapolis police are trying to find out how a 2-year-old boy allegedly ended up with a gun and shot his father... man told police that his 2-year-old son had taken the gun from his mother's purse and fired it at him...
thisislondon.co.uk/ ... 13:27:11
A foster mother was found guilty today of subjecting three young children to a "horrifying catalogue of cruel and sadistic treatment"... random acts of bizarre and sadistic violence...
[Descriptions and pictures are very graphic...]
Digital Threat
dailymail.co.uk/ ... 13:21:43
The 39-year-old is so sensitive to the electromagnetic field (emf) or 'smog' created by computers, mobile phones, microwave ovens and even some cars, that she develops a painful skin rash and her eyelids swell to three times their size if she goes near them...
Mass Murdering Monsters
breitbart.com/ ... 13:20:00
Insurgents in Iraq
detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle with two children in the back seat
after US soldiers let it through a Baghdad checkpoint over the weekend.... "Children in the back seat lowered suspicion. We let it move through. They parked the vehicle, and the adults ran out and detonated it with the children in the back...." Major General Michael Barbero of the Pentagon's Joint Staff... said Al-Qaeda in Iraq is changing tactics in response to the tighter controls around the city....
Threats
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:52:38
Iran's supreme leader has warned his country could pursue nuclear activities outside international law if illegal action is taken against it...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
cbsnews.com/ ... 13:21:09
After warning that the threat of deadly EFPs, or Explosively Formed Penetrators, was growing at an alarming rate, the U.S. military now says there's been a "dramatic" decrease in the use of the powerful roadside bombs... since December... According to... Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman... the reasons for the marked drop in EFP incidents could include the detention of three Iranians in Baghdad in December. One of the men was believed to be a high-level Operations Officer with the Quds Force of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard. Garver says the men were suspected of involvement with weapons smuggling...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:49:15
The number of police deaths in Mexico in incidents involving organised crime has jumped 50% this year... At least 61 police officers have been killed in Mexico since the year began... Only last Sunday in Monterrey, the main city in the state, three police officers were shot dead after stopping a car for a routine check... Officials believe all 61 policemen died in incidents involving organised crime or drug-related violence...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:48:22
Eight al-Qaeda-linked militants have been killed in fierce clashes with US and Iraqi forces near the restive city of Falluja... Five Iraqi policemen were also wounded in the battles, which went on for several hours...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:46:59
At least 66 people have been killed in three days of clashes between local and foreign militants in Pakistan... at least 49 of those killed were foreign fighters with suspected al-Qaeda links. Local sources say troops have been sent in. The military denies this...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:46:30
U.S. troops killed five insurgents and destroyed a bomb-making factory Wednesday north of Baghdad, and dozens more were detained after fierce clashes in a Sunni-dominated province west of the capital...
Fun can be Dangerous
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:25:41
ANOKA, Minn... [19yo] got an unexpected, terrifying ride down the Mississippi River on a giant slab of ice that broke off as he stood along the shoreline.... stood frozen with fear as the six foot by 15 foot ice chunk swirled in the water, floating toward shore then drifting back to the middle of the river... A rescue team from the Anoka-Champlin Fire Department sent three firefighters in survival suits into the water... one of the firefighters managed to hop up onto the ice with him. The other two pulled them to safety...
Sex can be... disturbing
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:09:41
SUPERIOR, Wis... A 20-year-old man received probation after he was convicted of having sexual contact with a dead deer... was found guilty in April 2005 of felony mistreatment of an animal after he killed a horse with the intention of having sex with it...
reuters.com/ ... 12:59:36
South Korean carmakers plan to cut down on the number of scantily clad models at the Seoul Motor Show hoping people will look at the cars instead...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:23:52
A Phoenix television station fired an employee suspected of inserting pornography into a broadcast of a news show featuring former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw...
Under Tyranny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:46:08
Seven out of 10 North Koreans are believed to have insufficient food...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:22:18
HAVANA... Government supporters broke up a public protest Tuesday by prisoners' wives who intermittently shouted "Freedom! Freedom!" as they marched through a neighborhood in the capital to mark the crackdown that put their loved ones behind bars. More than 40 government supporters shouted down the smaller "Ladies in White" group with cries of "Long Live Fidel!..." no physical confrontations... not immediately known if there were any arrests...
It's All in Your Mind
reuters.com/ ... 22:06:32
Scientists said on Wednesday a study involving... people... with damage in a part of the brain's frontal lobe... has produced unique insights into the brain mechanics of moral decision making and showed that in some key situations emotions play a fundamental role in moral judgments...
Feeding Ourselves
washingtonpost.com/ ... 13:06:09
The typical Chinese restaurant menu is a sea of nutritional no-nos, a consumer group has found... loaded with... sodium and... calories...
Staying Healthy
news.yahoo.com/ ... 13:22:50
The West Branch schools superintendent said officials still do not know what caused students at Beloit [Wisconsin] Elementary School to break out in a rash... The school, along with West Branch Middle School, was closed Tuesday because the mysterious rash is still showing up on students... Thirty-five students and two adults were treated at nearby hospitals with symptoms of a red, itchy rash...
reuters.com/ ... 12:59:05
People diagnosed with clogged arteries have a one-in-seven chance of dying, having a heart attack or stroke, or of being admitted to the hospital within a year, even if they feel fine...
Animal Companions
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:13:55
Santa Cruz County authorities have confiscated more than two dozen animals from a couple who were hoarding them in their motel room they shared with two children... 20 domestic birds, a cat and a rabbit... one dead bird in a cage and three others stuffed in the freezer...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:47:57
A US woman who claims her cat died after eating tainted pet food is suing the manufacturer, Menu Foods... Chicago resident Dawn Majerczyk claims the company knew that there was a problem earlier and failed to act. Her nine-year-old cat Phoenix suffered kidney failure last week after, she says, eating just one of the pouches... Special Kitty Select Cuts... reportedly lost 6lb (2.7kg) in the four days and was unable to walk and almost blind by the time he was put down...
Dinosaurs -- still with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:07:17
...scientists have dismantled a 75-foot-long sauropod dinosaur that roamed Wyoming 150 million years ago and will rebuild it to reflect the latest paleontological research findings. The fossil display of the plant-eating Apatosaurus that had dominated the University of Wyoming Geological Museum in Laramie for about 45 years will be worked on for a year and then returned to the museum in 2008...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:38:50
The fossil remains of small dinosaurs that burrowed into the ground have been found by scientists in Montana... 95-million-year-old... adult and two juveniles... first definitive evidence that some dinosaurs dug dens and cared for their young in such structures... have not been seen by palaeontologists before and have been given the scientific name Oryctodromeus cubicularis, meaning "digging runner of the lair"... estimated width of the animal fits neatly with the size of the tube it was digging...
World Zookeeping
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:37:05
RENO, Nev... Federal land managers working to keep a rare Nevada butterfly off the list of endangered species have closed scores of off-road vehicle trails at one of the biggest, most popular sand dunes in the West. The closure affects about six square miles of public land where an ancient lake once existed...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:36:06
The number of wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming continues to grow, with at least 1,300 in the three states at the end of 2006, federal officials say... The wolf population has, on average, grown by about 26 percent a year for the past decade. The reports of livestock being killed by wolves have also increased, as has the number of wolves killed after livestock attacks... The number of elk, which are wolves' primary winter prey, has declined 50 percent in the area since 1995. A decreasing prey base and increasing wolf density is likely to mean a decline in wolf numbers over the next several years, biologists said...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:34:40
Berlin Zoo's abandoned polar bear cub Knut looks cute, cuddly and has become a front-page media darling, but an animal rights activist insisted Monday he would have been better off dead than raised by humans...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:34:24
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declassified the American crocodile as an endangered species Tuesday...
US Military
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:29:13
National Guard... This week, the Navy announced an increase, while the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps had a decrease. The Coast Guard number remained the same. The net collective result is
1,034
fewer reservists mobilized than last week.... This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to
80,373
, including both units and individual augmentees....
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:15:18
Army Sgt.
Wayne R. Cornell
, 26, of Holstein, Neb.
Army Pfc.
Stephen K. Richardson
, 22, of Bridgeport, Conn.
died Mar. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, F ort Riley, Kansas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:14:48
Army Staff Sgt.
Gina R. Sparks
, 35, of Drury, Mo., died Oct. 4, 2004, at Fort Polk, La., from a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the 115th Field Hospital, Warrior Brigade, Fort Polk. The incident was under investigation.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:14:31
Army Lt. Col.
Peter E. Winston
, 56, of Plant City, Fla., died Nov. 13, 2006, in Kaiserslautern, Germany, from a non-combat related incident while in Iraq. He was assigned to the 143rd Sustainment Command, Orlando, Fla. The incident is under investigation.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:28:35
Army Sgt.
John E. Allen
, 25, of Palmdale, Calif.
Army Sgt.
Ed Santini
, 25, of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
Army Pfc.
William N. Davis
, 26, of Adrian, Mich.
Army Pfc.
John F. Landry Jr.
, 20, of Lowell, Mass.
died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:27:42
Army Spc.
Marieo Guerrero
, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas, died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Guerrero was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:27:22
Army Sgt.
Ryan P. Green
, 24, of Woodlands, Texas, died Mar. 18 in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol Mar. 15 in Baghdad, Iraq. Green was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Woman's Right
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:14:10
Two weeks after Kroger Co. said it was clarifying its policy on stocking the so-called "morning after" pill, activists say dozens of stores continue to block sales of the emergency contraceptive...
Cascading Weirdness
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:12:14
McMINNVILLE, Ore... a transient, broke into the rear of... Evergreen Aviation Museum this week... smashed the glass panel of a display case... removed the coat, hat and pants from a World War II uniform and put them on... attacked two employees... punched [one] several times and bit [the other]... also accused of pulling a fire alarm and knocking a television set to the floor... second run-in with the law in less than 24 hours...
US Election 2008
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:07:50
a video war has erupted between supporters of Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, their opening skirmish on the new campaign battleground -- the Internet. The supporters have posted their own political versions spoofing a 1984 commercial in which Apple Computer introduced its Macintosh personal computer by attacking larger rival IBM as totalitarian...
Digital Liberty
reuters.com/ ... 12:58:47
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit backed a 2004 decision by the Federal Communications Commission that exempted Internet telephone companies from rate regulation and from being required to seek certification before offering service...
Reporting Science
signonsandiego.com/ ... 13:18:14
Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on Wednesday that
fighting global warming has turned into a a 'religion' that replaced the ideology of communism and threatens to clip basic freedoms...
breitbart.com/ ... 13:17:56
Al Gore... spoke out on his signature issue Wednesday, warning of a "true planetary emergency" if Congress fails to act on global warming...
reuters.com/ ... 12:54:34
Some of the world's leading meteorologists said on Wednesday they had no doubt that humans were responsible for global warming... Asked if natural warming cycles, as the earth has seen in the past, could be behind climate change, the director general of the Spanish National Meteorological Institute was adamant they were not... He also dismissed as over simple other theories some scientists say undermine the idea humans are to blame, such as changes in solar activity, or the theory that carbon dioxide increases are lagging behind temperature rises. "This is too complex a phenomenon to use one single scientific argument to knock it down..."
New Year 2007
en.wikipedia.org/ ... 12:52:20
Norouz... As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday, it is also a holy day for adherents of Sufism as well as Bahá'í Faith... Tradition dates Noruz as far back as 15,000 years ago -- before the end of the last ice age...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:51:05
Kurds are celebrating the festival of Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, which marks the arrival of Spring. Although festivities were peaceful in northern Iraq, crowds clashed with police in south-eastern Turkey...
Transport Law
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:34:02
The new Dutch transportation minister ordered a safety review of Segways and said he hoped to eventually lift a ban on the self-balancing scooters in public places...
Digital Culture
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:33:38
...Many owners of Internet addresses face this quandary: Provide your real contact information when you register a domain name and subject yourself to junk or harassment. Or enter fake data and risk losing it outright. Help may be on the way as a key task force last week endorsed a proposal that would give more privacy options to small businesses, individuals with personal Web sites and other domain name owners.... At issue is a publicly available database known as Whois.... Hearings on the changes are expected next week in Lisbon, Portugal, before the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.... Resolution, however, could take several more months or even years.... Under the endorsed proposal - some six years in the making - domain name registrants would be able to list third-party contact information in place of their own.... The requirements for domain name owners to provide such details... contradict, in some cases, European privacy laws that are stricter than those in the United States.... Over the past few years, some companies have been offering proxy services, for a fee, letting domain name owners list the proxy rather than themselves as the contact.... some stakeholders including businesses and lawyers have pushed an alternative known as special circumstances. Domain name holders would have to make personal contact details available, as they do today, unless they can justify a special circumstance, such as running a shelter for battered women....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:30:08
When a California woman recently gave birth to a healthy baby just two days after learning she was pregnant, the sudden change to her life was challenging enough. What April Branum definitely didn't need was a deluge of nasty Internet comments. Postings on message boards made cracks about Branum's weight (about 400 pounds - one reason she says didn't realize sooner she was pregnant). They also analyzed her housekeeping ability, based on a photo of her home. And they called her names.... "The thing that bothered me most was, people assumed because I am overweight, I'm going to be a bad mom...." yet another example of how the Internet - and the anonymity it affords - has given a public stage to people's basest thoughts, ones that in earlier eras likely never would have traveled past the watercooler, the kitchen table or the next barstool... There are examples everywhere of anonymous comments that cause harm. On even the most innocuous sites - a parenting message board, for example - anonymity often leads to the type of response that would hardly be likely if names were attached.... Yahoo News took down its message boards completely in December, with the goal of finding a new system that doesn't let a small group of vocal users dominate the discourse.... One entrepreneur is trying to help people recover from such attacks with a company he started last year: ReputationDefender. "It takes one person 20 minutes to destroy your reputation.... It can take you 200 hours to try to clean it up...."
Reasons for Repeal
news-bulletin.com/ ... 13:14:18
Meadow Lake, NM... An indoor marijuana grow was discovered last week in Meadow Lake, according to State Police, who estimate that it could have been sold on the streets for
[government prohibition-supported black market inflated price]
more than $300,000...
toledoblade.com/ ... 13:10:59
Sixty-five marijuana plants with an estimated
[grossly inflated prohibition-supported]
street value of $104,000 were seized from a North Toledo residence after the homeowner was arrested in Wood County on domestic violence and drug-related offenses...
abclocal.go.com/ ... 13:10:02
The Georgia House has overwhelmingly passed a measure banning the sale of marijuana-flavored candies to minors... says the candies... promote drug use... Some critics fear the Legislature is overstepping its bounds by attempting to legislate taste... measure now moves to the state Senate...
oregonlive.com/ ... 13:09:11
Multnomah County, Oregon... Parole and Probation Supervisor Shadman Afzal invited his co-workers to his home to celebrate the holidays last December, but when the host pulled out a bong and began smoking marijuana, the party was over... says he was emotionally distraught over the disease [Parkinson's] and his future ability to support his family... His resignation was effective Monday, and
prosecutors announced this week that he won't face criminal charges...
[Hmmm....]
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:23:23
TUCSON, Ariz... An 82-year-old man who was caught trying to smuggle 170 pounds of cocaine into the country from Mexico has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison... caught trying to drive his car through the Nogales border crossing in August... admitted to agents that he was being paid to deliver the drugs...
TUE 2007-MAR-20
Civilization vs Gangsterism
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:35:15
The Afghan government
agreed to some Taliban demands
in a deal to secure the release of a kidnapped Italian journalist, but one prisoner the militants wanted freed
preferred to remain in jail
... Daniele Mastrogiacomo was freed Monday after two weeks in captivity. The reporter's Afghan driver, who also was seized, was beheaded, and the fate of his translator is not known... About 150 angry relatives of the driver, identified as Sayed Agha, demonstrated Tuesday in Helmand province against the government, saying it ignored his plight to focus on securing Mastrogiacomo's release...
Two Afghan officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said prisoners had been released in exchange for Mastrogiacomo. One official said five prisoners were released; the other said three had been freed...
Iran
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:32:33
Russia is pulling out its experts from the Iranian nuclear reactor site they were helping build... reflected a growing rift between Iran and Russia that could lead to harsher U.N. sanctions on the Islamic republic for its refusal to stop uranium enrichment...
Iraq
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:31:22
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says there has been an "abject denial" around the world of the humanitarian impact of invading Iraq. The UN faces an enormous task in helping countries such as Jordan and Syria cope with the huge influx of Iraqi refugees... Syria says it is home to 1.2m Iraqi refugees, with up to 800,000 in Jordan...
Mass Murdering Monsters
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:28:54
A cult leader in Papua New Guinea known as "Black Jesus" is facing at least 30 charges of murder and rape. Police have alleged that Steven Tari killed and ate three young women he recruited as sex slaves... Among his disciples were allegedly dozens of sex slaves... called them his "flower girls"... was captured by a group of villagers and was apparently beaten so badly before being handed over to the police that he has been too unwell to appear in court...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:27:33
Saddam Hussein's former deputy... Taha Yassin Ramadan, who was Saddam's vice president... hanged before dawn in what was once Iraq's military intelligence headquarters... on the fourth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq for the deaths of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail...
Industrial Tragedy
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:35:41
Rescuers found one survivor on Tuesday and hunted for four still missing in a Siberian coal mine, after 106 workers died in Russia's worst mining disaster since the collapse of the Soviet Union... Smoke, pockets of gas and collapsed roofs were hampering rescue efforts...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:25:56
KAMYSHEVATSKAYA, Russia ... Fire swept through a nursing home in southern Russia
after the night watchman ignored two alarms
Tuesday, killing 62 people in a town where the closest fire station was nearly an hour's drive away.... 35 were injured... A fire alarm system that had not been fully installed signaled three times, but a watchman - at the facility but outside the building - ignored the first two alarms and reported the fire only after he saw flames... In addition, nursing home personnel were absent from their posts when the fire broke out, slowing efforts to find keys and open an emergency exit... renovation work had been carried out in the building and... interior wall panels released toxic gases when they burned...
Violence
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:49:36
A Chinese court has upheld jail terms for two brothers, acting as surgeons, whose
cataract laser treatments resulted in nine people having their eyes surgically removed...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:33:48
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan... Local and foreign militants fought a gunbattle in northwestern Pakistan, leaving at least 46 dead... the second clash this month in an area where the government is urging tribesmen to move against al-Qaida-linked fighters. At least two children were also reported killed and about 20 wounded when a stray mortar round from the fighting in South Waziristan hit their school bus. The clash between Uzbek militants and tribesmen broke out near the town of Wana on Monday and continued Tuesday....
breitbart.com/ ... 00:23:01
CHILTON, Wis... A man who spent 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit was convicted Sunday of murdering a photographer, whose charred bones were found in a burn pit outside his home...
Transport Trouble
freep.com/ ... 00:01:25
[Woman] was enduring stress from caring for sick loved ones -- was convinced she would be run off the highway... Police say that [she] pulled her 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier alongside the pickup as the two vehicles traveled down I-94 in Harrison Township last month. She then grabbed the 9mm pistol she's been licensed to carry for nine years, pointed it out of the window and fired at the tires of the truck driven by a New Baltimore man... When she was arrested, she told police, "I'm tired of people tailgating me..."
Animal Companions
cbsnews.com/ ... 12:00:30
As many as one in six animals died in tests of suspect dog and cat food by the manufacturer
last month
after complaints the products were poisoning pets around the country, the government said Monday. "That's a huge number, considering when you feed pet food no animal should die..." A federal investigation is focusing on wheat gluten as the likely source of contamination... Wheat gluten, a protein source, is commonly used as filler... Menu Foods told the FDA it received the
first complaints
of kidney failure and deaths among cats and dogs from pet owners on
Feb. 20
. It began new tests on Feb. 27... The company has reported just 10 deaths, of nine cats and a single dog. "We are still trying to find out what the true picture is out there of animals. We're talking about 1 percent of the pet food (supply) and it's really just impossible to extrapolate at this point..."
Lasting Contributions
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:46:37
John Backus
, whose development of the Fortran programming language in the 1950s changed how people interacted with computers and paved the way for modern software, has died. He was 82... Prior to Fortran, computers had to be meticulously "hand-coded..." Fortran was a "high-level" programming language because it abstracted that work - it let programmers enter commands in a more intuitive system, which the computer would translate into machine code on its own... The breakthrough earned Backus the 1977 Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery... Backus also won a National Medal of Science in 1975 and got the 1993 Charles Stark Draper Prize, the top honor from the National Academy of Engineering.
"Much of my work has come from being lazy,"
Backus told Think, the IBM employee magazine, in 1979. "I didn't like writing programs, and so, when I was working on the IBM 701 (an early computer), writing programs for computing missile trajectories, I started work on a programming system to make it easier to write programs..."
World Zookeeping
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:43:36
The short-necked oil beetle... thought to be extinct in the UK since the 1940s has been rediscovered in south Devon... Up to 40 of the insects, which survive by hitching rides on miner bees as larvae and then eating the bees' eggs, were found at the Devon site... gets its name from the highly toxic oil secretions it produces when threatened... is also known as Meloe brevicollis...
Staying Healthy
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:29:13
Just 15 minutes a day of kicking around a ball or swimming might be enough to keep children from becoming obese...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:16:34
Army Sgt. 1st Class
John S. Stephens
, 41, of San Antonio, Texas, died March 15 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his patrol came under attack during combat operations. Stephens was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.
Army Sgt.
Nimo W. Tauala
, 29, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died March 17 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. His death is under investigation. Tauala was assigned to the 209th Aviation Support Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Feeding Ourselves
orlandosentinel.com/ ... 00:24:10
for more than seven years, his family-owned company has called on a Polk County business to zap its burgers with cobalt-60, a radioactive material that kills bacteria such as E. coli, which can contaminate the surface of beef during slaughter and sicken or even kill people... It's a process that has drawn vocal critics but gets the stamp of approval from government and leading health agencies...
Extraterrestrial
trentonian.com/ ... 00:21:20
Four men claiming diplomatic immunity as members of a "indigenous nation" that includes people from "the so-called planet Earth" and other planets such as Mars and Venus have been arrested and called frauds this week by Trenton police...
Just Random Chance
playfuls.com/ ... 11:57:35
A New Jersey couple says they will take early retirement after winning half of a record-breaking
$390 million
Mega Millions lottery jackpot... largest jackpot in the history of North American lotteries... The other half of the record jackpot was claimed by a Georgia man earlier this month...
Lost & Found
freep.com/ ... 11:56:53
McGRADY, N.C. Park rangers were escorting a weak and dehydrated boy out of the rugged North Carolina mountains Tuesday, four days after a 12-year-old Boy Scout wandered away from his troops camp site... The radio communication set off a celebration among leaders of several scout troops waiting for news about the boy....
World Without Borders
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:50:39
Ukrainian border guards arrested Belarus's national rowing team Tuesday for illegally entering the country on a flotilla of eight boats...
Alert Citizenry
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:50:27
An 81-year-old Dutchman who saw a shoplifter flee a supermarket in The Hague chased after the thief on his bike and crashed into the man to stop him... cyclist injured his hand and shin in the fall and had to undergo treatment... Cycling is very popular in the Netherlands. The famously flat country has more bikes than people with each resident riding an average of more than 900 km (560 miles) a year...
Transport Pre-Automation
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:49:20
Driving my battered old Volkswagen Santana on the streets of Beijing, I made the mistake of stopping at a red light. It turned out I was doing the right thing. I know that, because I later checked the Chinese highway code. It was a red light on a left turn. Not one of those red lights where you don't actually have to stop. That did not prevent the drivers lined up behind me from leaning on their horns and making all sorts of gesticulations suggesting that perhaps I should get out of their way... That is the problem with driving in China... About 1,100 new cars and other vehicles hit the streets of Beijing every day. There are rules, but many, many people don't obey them...
CD/DVD/etc is Dead
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:47:29
A whiff of plastic led sniffer dogs in Malaysia to a cache of about one million pirated game and movie discs with a street value of roughly $3 million, film industry officials said on Tuesday. The fake DVDs were hidden along with replicating machines and other tools on four floors of an office building in the southern city of Johor Baru, neighboring Singapore...
Digital Business
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:48:04
Nokia and up to three other potential bidders are interested in buying Palm Inc., which could be sold for some $2 billion as early as this week...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:47:01
The market for massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) in the West is now worth more than $1bn (£511m) Games such as World of Warcraft and worlds like Habbo Hotel are fast becoming "significant platforms" in the converged media world...
Big Whoops Cascade
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:45:01
...imagine wiping out a disk drive containing information for an account worth $38 billion. That's what happened to a computer technician reformatting a disk drive at the Alaska Department of Revenue. While doing routine maintenance work, the technician accidentally deleted applicant information for an oil-funded account - one of Alaska residents' biggest perks - and mistakenly reformatted the backup drive, as well. There was still hope, until the department discovered its third line of defense, backup tapes, were unreadable... Nine months worth of applicant information for the yearly payout from the Alaska Permanent Fund was gone: some 800,000 electronic images that had been painstakingly scanned into the system months earlier, the 2006 paper applications that people had either mailed in or filed over the counter, and supporting documentation such as birth certificates and proof of residence. And the only backup was the paperwork itself - stored in more than 300 cardboard boxes. "We had to bring that paper back to the scanning room, and send it through again, and quality control it, and then you have to have a way to link that paper to that person's file..."
Woman's Right
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:30:50
The European Court of Human Rights has awarded a Polish woman $33,000 (£16,000) in damages after she was refused an abortion. Alicja Tysiac's eyesight worsened drastically after she had her third baby and she fears she may go blind. The 35-year-old mother was refused an abortion despite warnings that having a baby could make her go blind. In staunchly Catholic Poland, abortion is illegal unless the health of the mother or unborn child is at risk...
Rebuilding
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:30:17
Striking a subdued tone on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war, President George W. Bush pleaded for patience on Monday and warned skeptical Americans of dire consequences of a swift troop withdrawal... "Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult but it can be won...
It will be won if we have the courage and resolve to see it through..."
Reasons for Repeal
abclocal.go.com/ ... 12:04:49
March 20, 2007 (MACHESNEY PARK, Ill.) - Authorities from the U-S Drug Enforcement Administration say they seized
[and absurdly prohibition-inflated]
500-thousand dollars worth of marijuana packaged in florist boxes at a northern Illinois home.... more than 300 pounds of marijuana and ten-thousand dollars in cash...
nbc-2.com/ ... 12:03:48
PORT CHARLOTTE: A traffic stop early Tuesday morning led Charlotte County sheriff's deputies to marijuana and morphine pills... he was caught doing 55 mph in a 35 mph zone... found more than 8 pounds of marijuana and 72 morphine pills.... deputy who stopped Wilkinson said he could smell the marijuana coming from Wilkinson's station wagon... also found a gym bag in the station wagon with 10 plastic bags of marijuana and two pill bottles with morphine inside.... was carrying $1,403 in cash in his front shorts pocket...
[Another person partaking too much of his own product?]
fox21.com/ ... 12:02:08
Should Georgia businesses be allowed to sell candy that's flavored like marijuana to minors? The House will take up the question today when lawmakers consider a measure that would ban retailers from selling lollipops, gumdrops or other candy flavored to taste like the drug...
[PLANT!]
tompaine.com/ ... 12:01:42
New Mexico's state legislature assured that New Mexico will become the 12th state to allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest. It also proved that the medical marijuana movementbased on science, compassion and plain common senseis now unstoppable... --Rob Kampia is executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C...
brandonsun.com/ ... 12:01:17
A 27-year-old Toronto woman is facing prosecution in the United States following the seizure of 10 kilograms of marijuana at the Canada-U.S. border... found 39 vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana in the spare tire...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:21:52
Panamanian police seized a boat off the nation's Pacific coast carrying
21.4 tons of cocaine
in one of the biggest maritime cocaine busts anywhere on record.... arrested 12 men on the boat, including Mexicans and Panamanians, and another two suspects in Panama City.... boat... was sailing under a Panamanian flag....
[And remember... this is just what they caught; consider it the tip of the iceberg....]
US Election 2008
miamiherald.com/ ... 00:20:45
People chuckled when presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon raised in Michigan and elected in Massachusetts, bungled the names of Cuban-American politicians during a recent speech in Miami. But when he mistakenly associated Fidel Castro's trademark speech-ending slogan -- Patria o muerte, venceremos! -- with a free Cuba, listeners didn't laugh. They winced... Castro has closed his speeches with the phrase -- in English, "Fatherland or death, we shall overcome" -- for decades. "Clearly, that's something he was ill-advised on or didn't do his homework on..."
latimes.com/ ... 00:19:58
...it's clear that Obama also is running for an equally important unelected office, in the province of the popular imagination the "Magic Negro." The Magic Negro is a figure of postmodern folk culture, coined by snarky 20th century sociologists, to explain a cultural figure who emerged in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. "He has no past, he simply appears one day to help the white protagonist," reads the description on Wikipedia http://en.-wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Negro . He's there to assuage white "guilt"... this figure is chiefly cinematic embodied by such noted performers as Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Scatman Crothers, Michael Clarke Duncan, Will Smith and, most recently, Don Cheadle. And that's not to mention a certain basketball player whose very nickname is "Magic..." The senator's famously stem-winding stump speeches have been drawing huge crowds to hear him talk of uniting rather than dividing.... Speaking as an African American whose last name has led to his racial "credentials" being challenged often several times a day I know how pesky this sort of thing can be.... Like a comic-book superhero, Obama is there to help, out of the sheer goodness of a heart we need not know or understand. For as with all Magic Negroes, the less real he seems, the more desirable he becomes. If he were real, white America couldn't project all its fantasies of curative black benevolence on him...
Your Government at Play
worldnetdaily.com/ ... 00:13:06
A Chicago radio host who tried to trademark the phrase "It's an Obamanation" in connection with the presidential campaign of Barack Obama has not only been turned down for being "offensive," the federal government mysteriously sent him "disgusting" sexual photos and text as part of its rejection... "...a pretty disgusting, unorthodox sexual device...."
MON 2007-MAR-19
Sex Laws can be Dangerous
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:42:42
PROVIDENCE, R.I... A mother and her boyfriend were sentenced to three years probation on Monday for having intercourse in front of the woman's 9-year-old daughter to teach the girl about sex... probation and a three-year suspended sentence... The judge said he wanted to spare the young girl, now 11, from testifying...
Yuck!
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:41:40
MONUMENT, Colo... A dead mouse that an eighth-grader found in a bag of potato chips probably chewed its way in after the snack was delivered to the school, a company spokeswoman said Monday....
Disturbing Family Patterns
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:41:04
A nasty bite on the hand that a man got from his sister's Siamese cat is worth $122,400. A jury on Friday awarded [57yo] the money for an injury he got when the cat...
Theft
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:40:05
A group of burglars stole a massive block of gold worth over $2 million from a Japanese museum in a heist that police said could have been prevented - if only the curators hadn't left the showcases wide open...
Nicotine is a Drag
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:39:45
Smoking not only can wrinkle the face and turn it yellow -- it can do the same to the whole body... smoking affects the skin all over the body -- even skin protected from the sun...
Digital Threat
macworld.com/ ... 22:52:16
Identity thieves are offering a persons credit-card number, date of birth and other sensitive information for as little as US$14 over the Internet, said a new report on online threats released Monday...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:33:48
The number of computers hijacked by malicious hackers to send out spam and viruses has grown almost 30% in the last year... More than six million computers world wide are now part of a "bot network..." Computer users typically do not know that their PC has been hijacked....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:32:17
The United States generates more malicious computer activity than any other country, and sophisticated hackers worldwide are banding together in highly efficient crime rings, according to a new report...
Under Digital Tyranny
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:31:56
A prestigious Chinese university has fired one of its deans days after he complained about being sidelined for bold remarks on academic freedom and berated the country's higher education woes on the Internet...
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:31:38
A Chinese court jailed an editor of a news portal for six years on Monday for inciting subversion by publishing anti-government essays, his lawyer said, the latest case in a government crackdown on dissent...
Fun can be Fatal
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:10:05
A pioneering, biodiesel-fueled powerboat trying to set a speed record for circling the globe collided with a fishing skiff off Guatemala's Pacific coast, leaving one fisherman missing and another seriously injured... The 78-foot trimaran's captain, Peter Bethune, said he dove into the water after the accident to try to rescue the fisherman who is now missing. "The crew is unhurt, but we are all very upset...."
Industrial Tragedy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:09:18
A
methane gas explosion deep in a Siberian coal mine killed at least 78 people and left another 50 trapped
Monday in Russia's worst mining disaster in a decade. Among the missing were company officials and safety experts who had been inspecting a British-made hazard-monitoring system... in Kemerovo... about 1,850 miles east of Moscow....
Transport Incident
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:07:56
A first-class passenger on a flight from New Delhi to London awoke to find the corpse of a woman who had died in the economy cabin being placed in a seat next to him.... "...The stewards just plonked the body down without saying a thing..."
British Airways said in a statement that about 10 passengers die each year in flight....
Civilization vs Gangsterism
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:51:04
An Italian journalist freed after being kidnapped by the Taleban in Afghanistan says he
saw his captors cut off the head of one of two Afghans with him...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:13:02
in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk... Eight bombs went off in various parts of the city within half an hour. More than 30 people were hurt... police in Baghdad said a bomb had exploded near a Shia mosque, killing at least five people...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:06:11
A suicide bomber exploded his car next to a U.S. Embassy convoy Monday... killed a [15yo] pedestrian and wounded five security guards.... knocked one armored SUV across Jalalabad Road, which sees more bombings and rocket attacks than any other area in Kabul...
Animal Companions
news.yahoo.com/ ... 23:58:38
Wheat gluten was the likely cause of contamination that prompted a recall last Friday of more than 50 "cuts-and-gravy"-style labels of wet pet food made by Canada-based Menu Foods... 1 percent of all the pet food sold in the United States... timing of the complaints coincided with the use of an ingredient from a new supplier... "We're trying to find out whether or not that company may have supplied other companies..."
According to the FDA, Menu Foods received the first of six complaints about kidney failure in pets on February 20. Seven days later, the company began an internal taste test of its food. A cat in the study exhibited signs of kidney failure and died on March 2. The FDA said at least seven, and perhaps all, of the 10 deaths, were linked to this tasting trial....
Menu Foods estimates the recall will cost it between C$30 million ($25.6 million) and C$40 million ($34 million)...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:45:21
Army Sgt. 1st Class
Christopher R. Brevard
, 31, of Phoenix, died Mar. 16 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. Brevard was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:45:01
Army Sgt. 1st Class
Benjamin L. Sebban
, 29, of Chattanooga, Tenn., died Mar. 17 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. Sebban was assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:44:36
Army Pfc.
Anthony A. Kaiser
, 27, of Narrowsburg, N.Y., died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire. Kaiser was assigned to the 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:44:06
Marine Lance Cpl.
Harry H. Timberman
, 20, of Minong, Wis., died March 17 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Timberman was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Digital Future is Now
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:35:15
theaters of the future will be digitized complexes with LED signs, ATM machines that dispense money and movie tickets and concessions selling everything from pizza to steak taquitos... ShoWest, the world's largest annual movie exhibition and trade show... Food companies... gobbled up a nice chunk of convention space...
Animal Culture
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:26:30
Nuthatches appear to have learned to understand a foreign language - chickadee. It's not unusual for one animal to react to the alarm call of another, but nuthatches seem to go beyond that - interpreting the type of alarm and what sort of predator poses a threat...
It's All in Your Mind
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:25:47
Researchers are studying a pervasive psychological phenomenon in which oh man we've got to finish doing the taxes this weekend ... C'mon, admit it. Your train of thought has derailed like that many times. It's just mind-wandering. We all do it, and surprisingly often, whether we're struggling to avoid it or not...
World Zookeeping
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:30:26
A genetically-modified (GM) strain of malaria-resistant mosquito has been created that is better able to survive than disease-carrying insects...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:24:55
Seven pilot whales that came ashore on the Galapagos Islands died Sunday, despite the efforts of rescuers who dug makeshift pools in the sand to keep them from dehydrating. Five other whales in the group were returned to the ocean. The whales, which are 10 to 30 feet long, came ashore late Saturday near the southern town of Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island, the largest of the Galapagos...
Healing Ourselves
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:03:44
UK scientists believe in the future they will be curing babies in the womb of serious diseases with the use of gene therapy. The work is controversial not just because of the ethics but also safety concerns.... Scientists have already successfully treated patients with haemophilia and infants with rare "bubbly boy" disease, who have no immune system, using gene therapy...
[I think they mean "bubble boy"....]
Reporting Science
dailymail.co.uk/ ... 23:59:58
Leading climate change experts have thrown their weight behind two scientists who hit out at the "Hollywoodisation" of global warming. Professors Paul Hardaker and Chris Collier, both Royal Meteorological Society figures, criticised fellow scientists they accuse of "overplaying" the message...
US Election 2008
sfgate.com/ ... 22:55:11
ust who is ParkRidge47 the mystery figure who introduced an Internet political attack ad that has stirred the press and political junkies tuned into the early presidential campaign and what does the videomaker have against Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton?.. The video portrays "Hillary 1984" as an ominous Big Brother figure while portraying her rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, as the symbol of a new generation. Obama's campaign maintains it had nothing to do with the video...
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
charlotte.com/ ... 23:00:10
A student... Middle School... accused of selling brownies laced with marijuana...
sunstar.com.ph/ ... 22:59:35
A TOTAL of 100,000 fully-grown marijuana plants valued at P21.25 million were eradicated by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea) policemen at Mt. Kasablotan in Barangay Loccong, Tinglayan, Kalinga over the weekend... failed to arrest any marijuana cultivator. Enmodias said the eradication operation is part of "Implan Green Gold-Cordillera," a massive eradication campaign in identified marijuana cultivation sites in the region... The Pdea official also had an informal audience with Tinglayan Mayor Johnny Maymaya, who informed him that the
town is developing an alternative livelihood for farmers by urging them to cultivate Arabica coffee plants....
[If you want to completely eliminate the huge profit motive for this, then REPEAL! REPEAL! REPEEEEEEAAAALLLLLL!]
14wfie.com/ ... 22:58:01
Cook County police say an investigation that began with a marijuana seizure worth $2 million has led to another pot bust worth
[an absolutely absurdly prohibition-inflated]
$6 million...
[It's just a stupid herb!!!]
95 pounds of marijuana, 300 hits of LSD and five grams of heroin. They say the pot was hydroponic marijuana, a more potent and expensive type of the drug...
[ONLY BECAUSE OF PROHIBITION!]
newsday.com/ ... 22:56:20
BUFFALO, N.Y... Border agents found 22 pounds of marijuana concealed in the spare tire of a car Monday and arrested the Canadian driver...
taipeitimes.com/ ... 22:55:56
An African-American man who was given a life sentence when he tested positive for marijuana in violation of his parole has been freed after serving 17 years in prison...
[One small victory for humanity over stupid prohibitionist insanity]
The governor granted Tyrone Brown a pardon last week, but he must live with his mother, see a parole officer and undergo counselling and treatment...
pr-inside.com/ ... 22:53:08
The Florida judge who heard evidence in the ANNA NICOLE SMITH DNA paternity test has been arrested on marijuana charges...
[Oh, the irony...]
Lost & Found
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:43:21
...S Samy Pillai, 50, was believed to have been killed in a hit-and-run accident in June 2005, after his wrecked motorcycle was found along the same stretch of road as a body mangled beyond recognition, the Star newspaper said. But he was found to be alive, although speechless and partly paralyzed by the accident, after a social worker encountered him hobbling around on crutches about 300 km from his home and took him to authorities, who identified him from his thumbprints...
Headline of the Day
ktva.com/ ... 22:44:44
Runner-up for headline of the day...
Bong Hits in court...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:36:10
Study Casts Doubt on Duct Tape Wart Cure
...
[Is this news? I thought I read this months ago!]
Digital Culture
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:34:11
a new generation of IT workers has grown up, people who turn a laptop, a wireless connection and a café into an office and work wherever they happen to be...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:33:15
News of a website for leakers and whistleblowers worries Bill Thompson. Wikis, or user-editable websites, are one of the most interesting and potentially empowering technologies available on today's internet..." Wikileaks, seems to represent a lot that is bad about having web pages that just anyone can edit... Wikileaks calls itself "an uncensorable version of Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis" and claims to combine "the protection and anonymity of cutting-edge cryptographic technologies with the transparency and simplicity of a wiki interface..."
Lead line of the day
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:31:17
Dr. Carla Pugh seems an unlikely patron of porn shops...
Disinformation Propaganda & Spin
foxnews.com/ ... 22:23:15
Anti-war protests may have lost some of their sting, say others, because like the anti-globalization protests of recent years, radical elements representing myriad far-left causes that don't appeal to "mainstream" Americans seem to have hijacked many of the demonstrations. One of the major organizers, ANSWER, which stands for "Act Now to Stop War & End Racism," has links to the socialist Workers World Party, which has expressed support for the Communist governments in China and Cuba. ANSWER's major public supporters include former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, now a defense attorney for deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. "They're crazy," Rocco DiPippo, a conservative columnist who edits The Autonomist Web blog, said of today's protesters. "Decent people look at that and they say they don't want to be a part of it..."
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:15:51
Police arrested more than 100 Iraq war protesters in San Francisco and New York City on Monday as the nation marked the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Uniformed police outnumbered the fewer than 100 protesters outside the stock exchange building at the corner of Broad and Wall streets in New York's historic financial district. "Stop the money, stop the war," demonstrators chanted as police hauled away limp-bodied protesters...
Free Expression
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:15:23
In its first major student free-speech rights case in almost 20 years, U.S. Supreme Court justices struggled on Monday with how far schools can go in censoring students. In a case involving a Juneau, Alaska, high school student suspended for unfurling a banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," several justices seemed wary about giving a principal too much authority at the expense of the student's right to express his views.
"It's political speech, it seems to me. I don't see what it disrupts,"
a skeptical Justice David Souter said...
"And no one was smoking pot in that crowd,"
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said...
Order & Disorder
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:13:37
"A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder..." a new book that argues neatness is overrated, costs money, wastes time and quashes creativity...
Rebuilding
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:12:20
Four in five Iraqis have little or no confidence in U.S.-led forces and most think their presence is making security worse, but despite that only about a third want them to leave now, a poll showed on Monday...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:12:05
Iraqis are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the future of their country and unhappy about their lives, a survey suggests...
Pure Mathematics
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:04:46
An international team of mathematicians has detailed a vast complex numerical "structure" which was invented more than a century ago. Mapping the 248-dimensional structure, called E8, took four years of work and produced more data than the Human Genome Project... E8 is a "Lie group", a means of describing symmetrical objects. The team said their findings may assist fields of physics which use more than four dimensions, such as string theory... Lie groups were invented by the 19th Century Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie (pronounced "Lee")...
SUN 2007-MAR-18
Fun can be Fatal
cbsnews.com/ ... 10:41:43
Authorities have recovered the bodies of two divers who died Friday while exploring the wreckage of a sunken U.S. military ship off the Florida Keys. The bodies had been trapped in the U.S.S. Spiegel Grove... A third diver, who was pulled from the water Friday, died at a hospital. A fourth member of the party, who had stayed out of the wreck, swam to the surface when he ran low on air and called for help.... remains unclear how exactly the three men... died... Officials say the men didn't take enough air tanks with them and didn't have a dive plan... also didn't have dive reels to show them the way back out of the wreck....
Scary Times
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:23:54
A man and a woman posing as police officers were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport as they tried to board a plane with a gun...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
apnews.myway.com/ ... 10:55:20
The U.S. military on Sunday announced the deaths of seven more troops in Iraq, including four killed by a roadside bomb while patrolling western Baghdad... A U.S. official, meanwhile, blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for chlorine bomb attacks that struck villagers in Anbar province earlier this week but said tight Iraqi security measures prevented a higher number of casualties... The attacks killed at least two people and sickened 350 Iraqi civilians and six U.S. troops... at least one of the attackers detonated his explosives after he was unable to get past an Iraqi police checkpoint in Amiriyah, just south of Fallujah, killing only himself... After the explosion that killed four U.S. soldiers on Saturday, the unit came under fire and another soldier was wounded.
During this month's crackdown in the capital, the battalion had found eight weapons caches and two roadside bombs and helped rescue a kidnap victim...
An explosion in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad killed another soldier Saturday and injured five. A sixth soldier died Saturday in a non-combat related incident... A U.S. Marine also was killed Saturday in fighting in Anbar...
alertnet.org/ ... 10:40:31
The Taliban said on Sunday they had handed a kidnapped Italian journalist to tribal leaders, but added they would recapture him unless all their ransom demands were met by the Afghan government...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:23:14
Hundreds of Mexican federal police and soldiers surrounded the headquarters of Tabasco's state police and arrested top current and former commanders in a raid apparently linked to an assassination attempt against the state's public safety secretary... at Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco located 410 miles east of Mexico City... After the raid, state police officers returned to their duties with only nightsticks, while armed federal officers performed patrols...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:21:56
SABAYOI, Thailand... Bamrungsart Pondok boarding school was attacked Saturday evening as 75 boys were sleeping. Attackers lobbed explosives and sprayed dozens of bullets into a dormitory, killing a 12-year-old and two 14-year-olds... sparking a riot by angry Muslim villagers.... After the school attack, suspected Muslim insurgents stormed a nearby charcoal factory Sunday, killing two Buddhist workers and wounding at least two others... raising fears that a festering insurgency that has already taken more than 2,000 lives could erupt into open combat between the Muslim and Buddhist communities..... police
believe Muslim insurgents staged the school attack in an attempt to convince villagers that authorities were responsible and win them over to the insurgents' cause.
Villagers, however, refused to believe Muslims were behind the violence and blamed government security forces, he said. Thai authorities also blamed insurgents for a bombing at a mosque and a grenade attack at a tea shop last Wednesday that killed two Muslims in neighboring Yala province.... hours after suspected Muslim insurgents killed eight Buddhist passengers in a commuter van in the same district of Yala.... Separately, a Buddhist man riding a motorcycle was gunned down.
Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist, but the country's far south is predominantly Muslim, and residents of the region have long felt that they are treated like second-class citizens. The southern Muslim provinces have hundreds of religious Islamic schools, and authorities have accused some of them of harboring insurgents and serving as a training ground for violence.
....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:18:10
KABUL, Afghanistan.. A two-hour clash between suspected Taliban militants and police
left two officers dead
in western Afghanistan... Taliban attacked the highway police checkpoint Saturday night in the Bakwa district of Farah province...
Separately, a
U.N. mine-clearing worker was wounded
by suspected Taliban militants during an ambush on Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces north of Kabul.... hit in the shoulder and treated by a paramedic traveling with him.... No Afghan or coalition forces were wounded or killed in the attack....
Animal Companions
menufoods.com/ ... 10:52:21
Information page on pet food recall, cat and dog food brands recalled listed
columbiatribune.com/ ... 10:47:53
PET FOOD RECALL
...millions of containers of dog and cat food sold at major retailers across North America were recalled. Menu Foods, the Ontario-based company that produced the wet pet food, said yesterday it was recalling dog food sold under 48 brands and cat food sold under 40 brands, including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba... Select cans of Schnucks-brand cat food and dog food... At a Petsmart store in Union, N.J., Silviene Grzybowski became worried when the four types of Iams products she buys for her cat, Smokey, vanished from shelves. The cat was very sick and had not been eating for days, she said. "The vet told us to buy her her favorite food, but Im going to call the vet right now..."
World Zookeeping
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:35:16
Thieves stole a baby... 23-inch freshwater crocodile, 47 blue tongue lizards, three bearded dragons and two pythons... from an Australian wildlife park... worth 20,000 Australian dollars ($16,000)... Jason Watson, owner of the Wildlife Wonderland park in southern Victoria state, said... "I feel physically sick.... It's like they have stolen my kids...."
Staying Healthy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:32:10
Surgery for back pain is also on the rise, leading some doctors to question whether they're seeing an epidemic of back pain or an increase of back pain complaints and treatments... researchers agree that a more sedentary lifestyle combined with the country's obesity problem isn't helping people's backs. Americans are also staying active longer, which puts new strains on old backs... I stopped doing back exercises and my right leg started to hurt...
Earth-Moon System
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:27:36
Scientists are investigating the possible threat posed to astronauts by inhaling lunar dust... the smallest particles in lunar dust might be toxic, if comparisons with dust inhalation cases on Earth apply... Nasa has set up a working group to look into the matter ahead of its planned return to the Moon by 2020...
US Election 2008
msnbc.msn.com/ ... 10:56:35
A leading indicator of his intentions could be Gore's waistline. The theory is that slimming down will be a signal he intends to run. "He has lost a few pounds, and Hillary can read into that what she wants," says a longtime adviser...
[An Inconvenient Contender]
Reasons for Repeal
wluctv6.com/ ... 10:52:38
State Police were investigating a littering complaint when it was revealed that the 25-year-old suspect was also growing marijuana at his residence...
Reporting Science
jpost.com/ ... 10:44:39
I just saw a very inconvenient movie. Not An Inconvenient Truth, starring Al Gore, but a new documentary that aired last week on BBC 4 called The Great Global Warming Swindle, which can be seen in its entirety over Google Video. The film is not inconvenient because it predicts environmental disaster, but because it forced me to think heretical thoughts. As Patrick Moore, a founder of Greenpeace, said in the film, questioning the global warming orthodoxy has become tantamount to denying the Holocaust... Global warming has become a religion not only in the sense of intolerance toward dissent, but also as the animating moral crusade of our age. Here too, it is not harmless, if environmentalism is allowed to trump ethics. Our children should not be taught that the height and essence of being good is to be green...
To do good, one must first do no harm. Global warming extremism, by harming the poorest of the poor and by substituting for real moral causes, fails this test...
Big Nanny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:33:16
Glenn Eurick's 1996 Mercedes has had the license plate reading "merlot" for 10 years. He says the plate never got a lot of notice until the Utah Tax Commission told him last week that he had to remove it because the state doesn't allow words of intoxicant to be used on vanity plates... Eurick was fine until an anonymous caller told the state that merlot was also an alcoholic beverage...
Music industry is dead
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:28:15
In the 80s, according to record companies, home taping was killing music. Fast forward some 20 years and the devices we use to listen to music may have changed, but the recording industry is still claiming that the illegal copying of their product harms future production. When a piece of music is purchased you might assume you can listen to it in on any number of different devices: at home, in the car or on a portable music player. But, in the UK at least, you would be wrong...
St Patrick
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:24:54
Again this year thousands of Tokyoites took the streets on Sunday to watch what may be the world's most unlikely St. Patrick's Day parade... Dressed in green clothing and sporting shamrocks painted on their faces, many of the onlookers appeared unfazed by the fact that they weren't Irish, or that the parade was held a day after the Irish national holiday. "Irish people are friendly," said Masahito Aitsuki, a 45-year-old man who was wearing a luminous green blazer and emerald-colored shoes... They have something spiritual about them, which is kind of like the Japanese spirit...
SAT 2007-MAR-17
Alcohol Was Involved
www2.potsdam.edu/ ... 23:14:42
Myth
Binge drinking is an epidemic problem on college campuses.
Fact
Binge drinking is clinically and commonly viewed as a period of extended intoxication lasting at least several days during which time the binger drops out of usual life activities. Few university students engage in such bingeing behavior. However, a number sometimes consume at least four drinks in day (or at least five for men). Although many of these young people may never even become intoxicated,
they are branded as binge drinkers by some researchers. This practice deceptively inflates the number of apparent binge drinkers.
In reality, the proportion of college students who drink continues to decline, as does the percentage of those who drink heavily....
[Other myths & facts on this page.]
Under Tyranny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:47:45
HAVANA... Forty Cuban women took turns Saturday standing behind fake prison bars to symbolize their loved ones' arrest during a government crackdown on dissidents four years ago.... a 12-hour protest... hung a Cuban flag scrawled with the names of their jailed loved ones.... Those arrested were tried as "mercenaries" working with Washington to undermine Fidel Castro's socialist system and sentenced to prison terms of up to 27 years. Both the dissidents and American officials denied the U.S. government was paying opponents to harm Cuba...
Criminally Stupid
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:44:38
MILWAUKEE... A 28-year-old mother was arrested after her 6-year-old daughter tipped police off to her drug dealing ways.... father reported she had been hit in the face with a curling iron while visiting her mother... the girl was wise to her mother's cocaine dealing, telling them she chops up a white substance, puts it in bags and takes them - and the girl - to alleys. There, people gave the mother money for the bags...
1960s - still with us
smh.com.au/ ... 10:16:16
...
Bobby Kennedy
's affair with the screen idol
Marilyn Monroe
has been documented, but a secret FBI file suggests the late US attorney-general
was aware of - and perhaps even a participant in - a plan "to induce" her suicide
... detailed three-page report
implicates the Hollywood actor Peter Lawford, Monroe's psychiatrist, staff and her publicist in the plot...
compiled by an unnamed former special agent working for the then Democrat governor of California, Pat Brown, and forwarded to Washington by Curtis Lynum, then head of the San Francisco FBI. Despite a disclaimer that it could not be sourced or authenticated, it was considered important enough to immediately circulate to the FBI's five most senior officers, including director J. Edgar Hoover's right-hand man, Clyde Tolson... was in effect buried for decades as a classified document, and even the released version contains censored sections... details aspects of Kennedy's on-and-off affair with the movie star, including sex parties and a lesbian dalliance, as well as her emotional departure from 20th Century Fox and descent into depression... gives no precise reason why she would be killed but hints it may be linked to her threats to make public her affair with Kennedy... "Robert Kennedy made a telephone call from St Charles Hotel, San Francisco, to Peter Lawford to find out if Marilyn was dead yet..."
Scary Times
reuters.com/ ... 09:49:17
the White House... Friday... [a 66yo] man jumped the fence and threw a bag of items onto the grounds that turned out to be... a book and a tape recorder....
Epidemic Without Borders
today.reuters.com/ ... 09:32:43
WASHINGTON... The
2-year-old
son of a soldier deployed to Iraq is
in critical condition after developing a reaction to his father's smallpox vaccination
... being treated in a Chicago hospital, has a rare but very serious reaction to the vaccination site called Eczema vaccinatum... first such case since vaccination against smallpox resumed in 2002... evidently [soldier's] wife and son touched the vaccine site and became infected...
The smallpox vaccine is made using a closely related virus called vaccinia. It is scratched into the surface of the skin, where it causes a mild infection that makes people much less susceptible to smallpox. But because it uses a live virus, the vaccine can cause severe and sometimes deadly side effects. Eczema vaccinatum is one of them, although this is the first case to be reported since smallpox vaccinations resumed in the United States in 2002...
Transport Tragedy
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:30:10
At least seven people have been killed and more than 20 hurt after a passenger plane made an emergency landing in central Russia... in the city of Samara, some 900km (550 miles) south-east of Moscow... 50 passengers and seven crew were aboard the... twin-engine aircraft... unclear what caused the incident...
WW2 - still with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 08:59:41
A New Zealand Maori trooper was posthumously honored Saturday for courage in battle during WWII - 64 years after he was denied a top gallantry award despite a commendation signed by four commanding generals.... Lance Sgt.
Haane Manahi
, who died in 1987.... Manahi, an indigenous Maori, had earlier been awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his courage under fire - though he had been nominated for a Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery in battle in the then-British Empire and later the British Commonwealth. Manahi won the commendation for his actions against overwhelming odds in the bloody battle for Takrouna, a fortified citadel in Tunisia, North Africa, in 1943... "
In my opinion it was the most gallant feat of arms I witnessed in the course of the war
and I was bitterly disappointed when Sgt. Manahi, whom we recommended for a VC, only received a DCM," Lieut. Gen. Sir Brian Horrocks, Manahi's wartime commander, had written earlier...
Mass Murdering Monsters
today.reuters.com/ ... 09:33:38
Two suicide bombings involving toxic chlorine gas made 350 people ill in Falluja on Friday... and another smaller bomb attack near Ramadi also released chlorine gas... eight people were killed and dozens were became ill...
The U.S. military said they discovered an al Qaeda car bomb factory last month near Falluja that was constructing bombs with chlorine.
The gas causes severe burns when breathed in and can cause death...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 08:57:07
A suicide bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy killed a child and wounded a NATO soldier and three other people Saturday in southern Afghanistan...
Extraterrestrial
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:48:58
Oil exploration work in California's Central Valley region has uncovered a possible space impact crater... 5.5km-wide bowl is buried under shale sediments west of Stockton, in San Joaquin County... thought to be between 37 and 49 million years old...
Feeding Ourselves
forbes.com/ ... 09:50:55
Millions of children eat in school cafeterias that don't get the twice-yearly health inspections required by Congress
to help prevent food poisoning.... one in 10 schools didn't get inspected at all last year.... Thirty percent were visited only once.... the news is not all bad: Sixty-one percent of schools got two or more inspections in the 2005-2006 school year. That was the first year Congress required two inspections; the old requirement was one inspection per year...
US Military
voanews.com/ ... 09:47:55
US Army Sergeant Raymond Girouard... has been convicted in the shooting deaths of three Iraqi detainees last year [by a] military jury... three counts of negligent homicide in the May 2006 incident.... also convicted of obstruction of justice and other charges... jury acquitted him of premeditated murder, which could have earned him a life sentence.....
Staying Healthy
playfuls.com/ ... 09:51:50
Heart attack victims do twice as well with chest compressions alone and no mouth-to-mouth help in breathing as with traditional CPR...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:34:53
Office workers glued to computer screens are at greater risk of deadly blood clots forming in their legs than long-distance air travelers... Deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT, is a condition in which a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the legs. The condition can be fatal if part of the clot breaks off and blocks a blood vessel in the lungs. The condition has been linked to long-haul flights and dubbed "economy class syndrome," because passengers traveling coach often do not have the space or opportunity to stretch enough to reduce the risk of blood clotting...
Solar System
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:30:58
Scientists studying pictures from Nasa's Odyssey spacecraft have spotted what they think may be seven caves on the surface of Mars... on the flanks of the Arsia Mons volcano... of sufficient depth their floors mostly cannot be seen through the opening... may be the only natural structures capable of protecting primitive life forms from micrometeoroids, UV radiation, solar flares and high energy particles that bombard the planet's surface...
Transport Future
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:01:08
Vehicles may soon be swapping information about road conditions
to warn drivers about jams and dangers.... Cars or bikes experiencing problems would pass data that would ripple down the chain of vehicles behind them.... the ad hoc communication system could mean that drivers found out about dangers or jams ahead much more quickly than they do now.... the system would use data from sensors that were likely to be fitted to cars, bikes and trucks in the future...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:43:43
Army Spc.
Forrest J. Waterbury
, 25, of Richmond, Texas, died Mar. 14 near Ramadi, Iraq, when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:43:17
Army Spc.
Joshua M. Boyd
, 30, of Seattle, died Mar. 14 at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device exploded near his unit Mar. 5 in Samarra, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
defenselink.mil/ ... 08:50:50
Army Staff Sgt.
Blake M. Harris
, 27, of Hampton, Ga.
Army Staff Sgt.
Terry W. Prater
, 25, of Speedwell, Tenn.
Army Sgt.
Emerson N. Brand
, 29, of Rigby, Idaho
Army Pfc.
James L. Arnold
, 21, of Mattawan, Mich.
died Mar. 15 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit during combat operations. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Rebuilding
timesonline.co.uk/ ... 22:52:56
MOST Iraqis believe life is better for them now than it was under Saddam Hussein, according to a British opinion poll published today... One in four Iraqis has had a family member murdered... In Baghdad, the capital, one in four has had a relative kidnapped and one in three said members of their family had fled abroad. But when asked whether they preferred life under Saddam, the dictator who was executed last December, or under Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, most replied that things were better for them today...
Reporting Science
theage.com.au/ ... 22:51:43
"
Before this century is over, billions of us will die
and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic," predicted James Lovelock, a renowned environmental scientist.... Some don't buy any of this "climate porn", as a UK think tank recently described such talk. Al Gore's movie is "bullshit from beginning to end", according to Ray Evans, a former Western Mining executive and author of the Lavoisier Group's Nine Facts About Climate Change (2006). For Evans and many others, man-made climate change panic is a bugaboo, perhaps even a hoax...
St Patrick
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:46:31
DUBLIN, Ireland... Lithuanian musicians, drum-beating Punjabis and West African dancers used Dublin's St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday to celebrate their place in a booming Ireland that has become a land of immigrants. One man dressed as St. Patrick in papal hat and sunglasses did the samba, while another float nearby featured "Miss Panty," Dublin's premier drag queen... Dublin's freewheeling parade drew a half-million spectators and included Christine Quinn, the first openly gay leader of the New York City Council.
Quinn is boycotting the more conservative New York parade because the organizers refuse to let gay and lesbian groups march...
Oh! The Irony!
boston.com/ ... 10:11:52
Mass... a group of religious leaders started walking across the state Friday to bring attention to global warming... The nine-day haul from downtown Northampton to Copley Square in Boston was planned far before forecasts called for a weekend of snow and sleet just a few days before the start of spring. "It was windy and cold. I was walking on the front of the line and I felt like I was bow of a ship with the wind just coming into my face..."
Disinformation Propaganda & Spin
chron.com/ ... 10:09:13
"My name and identity were carelessly and recklessly abused by senior government officials in both the White House and the State Department," [Valerie] Plame testified to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform... She said the security breach may have endangered agency officials but also "jeopardized and even destroyed entire networks of foreign agents, who in turn risk their own lives and those of their families to provide the United States with needed intelligence. Lives are literally at stake." Plame said she had long been aware that her identity could be discovered by foreign governments. "It was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my cover," she said, and did so "from purely political motives..."
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
kndo.com/ ... 10:05:20
HERMISTON, Ore... Houston Police Department told Hermiston Law Enforcement that dogs had smelled marijuana in a box addressed to Hermiston. When the box arrived in Hermiston, police got a search warrant for the house it went to... found a 6-pound block of marijuana.
Neighbors couldn't believe it.... "I was shocked. I would not want my cousins around that thing...."
[What a hoot of a "neighbor" quote. This report smacks of small-town 1960!]
[Three suspects were] arrested on seven counts, including unlawful delivery of marijuana within one-thousand feet of a school....
southcoasttoday.com/ ... 10:02:02
WAREHAM A canine search team from the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department located three small bags of marijuana at Wareham High School....
Ten K-9 teams, including teams from other counties, participated in the search
...
[Ten teams from multiple counties to catch three high school kids' small stashes. Overkill!]
localnewscomesfirst.com/ ... 10:00:47
The Oregon Senate has passed
a bill that would allow businesses to prohibit the use of medical marijuana in the workplace.
...
[Not exposing others to second-hand pot smoke: understandable. Not allowing those who allegedly need to smoke for medical reasons: unacceptable. But there's always brownies instead....]
midhudsonmostwanted.com/ ... 09:59:25
West Nyack A Fed Ex box arrived at a business on West Nyack Road in West Nyack the other day and when an employee didnt recognize the name on the box, he opened it and found 20 pounds of marijuana inside. He called the police who believe someone was supposed to intercept the delivery before getting into the business.... a second package also containing 20 pounds of pot was intercepted... estimated wholesale value of the two shipments is
[an absurd prohibition-inflated]
$120,000.... Both packages were shipped from Georgia....
californiaprogressreport.com/ ... 09:58:01
Last week, as President Bush was touring South America, there was another story about the failure of our $4 billion program to eradicate Colombia's coca crop. Yet even as U.S. ports, refineries and chemical plants remain famously vulnerable to attack, and as Afghanistan produces record amounts of opium, the feds continue to bust up little California marijuana dispensaries and try to send the marijuanistas to prison. It's obvious that the war on drugs, our longest war, is another war we're not winning. It's gone on for 75 years and, like the war on terror, it's been pursued with fatally counterproductive strategies. If Washington doesn't alter course, it could last forever. There's now a chance, albeit slim, that things could change... Now there are also signs that the new Congress, though unlikely to soon roll back the longer sentences and other punitive laws passed by its predecessors, isn't disposed to pass more. There's even a chance that it may begin to exercise some oversight over the zealotry of the drug cops... key members in both houses are backers of drug war reform and/or supporters of legislation that would bar the feds from cracking down on medical marijuana in the states that have legalized it... Among them: Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who heads the House committee that has oversight over Walters' office; Rep. David Obey, D-Wisconsin, chair of the House Operations Committee; Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois; and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, whose own state twice voted to approve medical marijuana...
Courage is scarce, so don't expect too much, certainly not before 2008...
insidebayarea.com/ ... 09:55:27
SAN FRANCISCO A federal judge on Friday gave a prosecutor one month to decide and a lecture to guide his way on whether to continue the government's case against "Guru of Ganja" Ed Rosenthal.... The government already has said it won't seek more than the one-day jail sentence Rosenthal already served for his original conviction should he be convicted anew on the marijuana crimes. [U.S. District Judge Charles] Breyer made it clear Friday he'd like to see the case go away, suggesting the government should weigh whether its time and energy, and the court's, is best spent on the trial of a man who already has served his sentence... Breyer... ordered everyone back to court on Friday, April 13, and chuckled over the date's superstitious connotation. "I can't imagine a better day," he said dryly. "How about 4/20?" Rosenthal quipped...
World Without Borders
washingtonpost.com/ ... 09:46:27
Mexican President Felipe Calderón said Friday that U.S. border policies are marred by many "absurd" paradoxes that hurt the Mexican economy and force more Mexicans to migrate illegally to the United States... criticized construction of more border fencing and accused U.S. border agents of slowing the flow of commerce between the countries by sometimes failing to staff enough crossing booths... argued against plans to line with concrete the massive All-American Canal, which connects the Colorado River to farms in California. Calderón said the project would cut off groundwater that flows into Mexico and possibly hurt the businesses of Mexican farmers enough that they would need to migrate illegally to make a living...
FRI 2007-MAR-16
Police Riot
breitbart.com/ ... 22:35:10
BALTIMORE... Police arrested a 7-year-old boy, handcuffed him and hauled him down to the station house on a charge of riding a motorized dirt bike on a sidewalk.... was handcuffed to a bench and interrogated before being released to his parents. "They scared me," [he said]... before breaking down in tears... Mayor Sheila Dixon apologized Friday for the arrest, and police commissioner Leonard Hamm said it would be investigated internally...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:27:39
Defense lawyers want the word "terrorist" banned as too inflammatory in the U.S. trial of Jose Padilla and two other men charged with conspiring to aid Islamist extremists overseas...
[which are... what?.. terrorist organizations....]
Nature vs Transport
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:26:57
Big U.S. airlines and their affiliates canceled more than 2,000 flights on Friday as a late-winter storm hit the Northeast's biggest cities...
Meth is Murder
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:26:06
Mexican police have seized what they say is one of the biggest amounts of cash confiscated in an anti-drug raid. More than $205m (£103m) were found in the Mexico City safe house, as well as guns and drugs. Seven people were arrested... accused of illegally importing chemicals to make methamphetamines....
Under Tyranny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:25:32
ABC News' Barbara Walters said Friday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is an intelligent and passionate man...
[So have been many of the world's worst dictators...]
Ummm....
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:26:35
Border guards in Kazakhstan have arrested a man for trying to smuggle a home-made grenade in a pot of honey... a Russian citizen, was traveling by train from the Russian town of Omsk.... told police he
did not know it was a grenade and that his wife had given it to him as a present for her relatives in Kazakhstan...
Yuck!
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:25:36
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo... A middle school student's claim of finding a mouse inside a bag of Frito-Lay barbecue potato chips purchased at a school lunch line appears credible...
Nature can be Dangerous
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:23:27
Winter returned to the northeastern United States on Friday... snowstorms forcing airlines to cancel hundreds of flights.... The Weather Channel forecast 1 to 2 feet of snow in some areas...
Prison Sucks
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:21:14
Eleven detainees have escaped from a British military prison in southern Iraq.... Ten of them had "swapped" places with visitors over the past week... the prisoners had been held without charge for the past two years...
Violence
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:21:33
The mayor of Sadr City, a Shi'ite militia stronghold in Baghdad, was wounded when gunmen opened fire on his car and a senior police officer was killed...
foxnews.com/ ... 11:05:10
BRUNSWICK, Ga. An autopsy will be performed Friday on the body of a 6-year-old Georgia boy who was found in a trash bag not far from his home.... had been missing for a week in coastal Georgia... obvious the child had been slain.... County Police Chief... expected to file murder charges against four people already in custody... a 32-year-old convicted sex offender; his parents... and family friend...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:02:52
At least four people have been killed by a bomb in the busy Colombian port of Buenaventura, on the Pacific coast. Officials said all the victims were passers-by. At least five people were wounded in the blast...
The city has been hit by violence involving left-wing rebels, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers...
theaustralian.news.com.au/ ... 11:02:31
FOR those who like their irony raw and bloody, I recommend The Herald, the state-run newspaper mouthpiece of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's brutal, ageing autocrat... Here was a violent threat, disguised as journalism... All tyrannies have a tipping point, a moment when the power of the dictator crumbles, and he reads the writing on the wall... For Mugabe, the symbolic image that marks the end may be the photograph of... Morgan Tsvangirai, the Zimbabwean opposition leader... emerging from police captivity, head gashed and face swollen, his wrist broken, with brain injury and a suspected fractured skull...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:38:12
Army Pfc.
Alberto Garcia Jr.
, 23, of Bakersfield, Calif., died Mar. 13 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire and an improvised explosive device. Garcia was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:37:53
Marine Lance Cpl.
Raymond J. Holzhauer
, 19, of Dwight, Ill., died March 15 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. His death is currently under investigation. Holzhauer was assigned to 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:37:31
Army Sgt.
Robert M. Carr
, 22, of Warren, Ohio, died Mar. 13 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Carr was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:37:05
Army Spc.
Stephen M. Kowalczyk
, 32, of San Diego, died Mar. 14 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire. Kowalczyk was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:36:43
Army Cpl.
Brian L. Chevalier
, 21, of Athens, Ga., died Mar. 14 in Mufrek, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near him. Chevalier was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:36:23
Army Spc.
Adam J. Rosema
, 27, of Pasadena, Calif., died Mar. 14 south of Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during recovery operations. Rosema was assigned to the 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:35:59
Marine Lance Cpl.
Steven M. Chavez
, 20, of Hondo, N.M., died March 14 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Chavez's death is currently under investigation. Chavez was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Healing Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:29:37
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla... A 15-year-old girl who hiccuped her way through part of January and all of February... began hiccuping again Thursday morning after a nose bleed... [on her] second day back at school since her first bout of hiccups stopped Feb. 28...
World Zookeeping
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:28:01
PHILADELPHIA... Wildlife authorities have found the first bald eagle nest in the city in more than 200 years...
Digital Convergence
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:23:56
At the Cebit technology fair, German hi-tech firm Devolo is showing off home networking technology that can handle signals from a set top box. While many firms are working on ways to route data via the mains power circuits in the home, Devolo is among the first to use it to send TV signals...
That's
Not Funny!
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:34:18
Comedian Carol Burnett has filed a copyright infringement suit against the makers of Fox TV's cartoon sitcom "Family Guy" over an episode poking fun at the performer and her variety show from the 1960s and '70s... claims "Family Guy" violated Burnett's exclusive rights to her name and likeness by depicting her signature cleaning-woman character in a segment last April without her consent... A spokesman for 20th Century Fox Television, which produces "Family Guy," said on Friday the suit was without merit and that references to Burnett and her show in an 18-second sequence of the cartoon amounted to parody...
Let It Go Already!
thisislondon.co.uk/ ... 22:32:21
A painter fascinated with best-selling conspiracy thriller The Da Vinci Code committed suicide after becoming convinced she was the subject of a real-life murder plot... [38yo] moved to Italy to pursue her interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, but her mind became "muddled" by the mysteries surrounding his work, her father said... suffered paranoid delusions that she and her family were in danger "because of the knowledge that she had" of Leonardo after working on an exhibition about his paintings...
Defending Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:31:26
SOUTHAVEN, Miss... [Two Kroger grocery baggers]... bagged a man who police said had grabbed a customer's purse and tried to flee... "They tackled him hard... His collarbone was broken when he hit the pavement...."
[The thief will probably sue the store and the baggers... sigh!]
...
Human Right
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:24:55
MEXICO CITY... An economist and a journalist became the first couple united under Mexico City's new gay civil union law... which took effect on Friday...
US Election 2008
breitbart.com/ ... 22:33:22
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa... Republican presidential contender John McCain on Friday.... discussing federal involvement in custody cases... he said, "For me to stand here and ... say I'm going to declare divorces invalid because of someone who feels they weren't treated fairly in court, we are getting into a tar baby of enormous proportions and I don't know how you get out of that...."
[Whoops!]
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:20:31
California has brought the date of its 2008 presidential primary elections forward by four months to 5 February. The move is intended to give the most populous US state more clout in choosing presidential nominees...
Reasons for Repeal
dunndailyrecord.com/ ... 11:16:13
Sampson County Sheriff's deputies seized more than $9,000 worth of marijuana following a routine traffic stop
[yeah, sure]
Tuesday on Indiantown Road near Tram Road in Clinton... the deputy who made the seizure was a member of the Highway Enforcement Awareness Team, which patrols high-crime areas on the alert for suspicious activities...
[routine, sure]
observed suspicious behavior...
[yeah, sure]
The license plate did not belong on that vehicle...
[idiots]
"Two pounds of marijuana is a substantial seizure," Sgt. Stroud said. "It could have affected a number of people..."
[that wanted to be affected on purpose, by the way. REPEAL! REPEAL! REPEAL!]
news.balita.ph/ ... 11:14:36
Police Regional Director Leopoldo Bataoil has ordered no let-up operations against production and shipment of marijuana plants soon after a mini-dump truck was intercepted by the police in Sugpon, Ilocos Sur on Tuesday with 15 kilograms of dried marijuana concealed in its luggage...
click2houston.com/ ... 11:13:50
MAUMELLE, Ark. -- Three men posing as paramedics were arrested after investigators found nearly 400 pounds of marijuana in an ambulance...
[Giving new meaning to "medical marijuana"?]
after suspicious activity was reported at a gasoline station... "An individual, that was actually an off-duty police officer, called and said that he just felt like things were out of sort..."
[yeah, sure]
[absurdly inflated prohibition-reinforced]
street value of about $500,000...
Digital Culture
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:24:57
Two dogs trained in Northern Ireland are getting a break in the movie business, by sniffing out pirates. Female black Labradors, Flo and Lucky, are being used by the authorities in Malaysia in the battle against music and film rip-offs. They are believed to be the first dogs in the world trained to sniff the chemicals used to make optical disks. They can lead handlers to disks labelled as other items, but
cannot tell which are real and which are fake....
[well, duh!]
informationweek.com/ ... 11:12:07
oogle says it will change some of the digits in logged IP addresses and alter cookie file information to anonymize users. The technical details have yet to be worked out. Don't expect a guarantee of anonymity, however... David McClure, president and CEO of the U.S. Internet Industry Association... points out that the cost of keeping a gigabyte of data for a year is about $7.60, twice that if the data is stored in a secure data center. According to an IDC study commissioned by storage vendor EMC, 161 exabytes of digital information were created and copied in 2006. One exabyte equals a billion gigabytes. By 2010, IDC expects the volume of data created and copied to rise sixfold to 988 exabytes, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 57%. Privacy suddenly looks a lot like savings...
fin24.co.za/ ... 11:09:43
oogle is faced with two lawsuits in as many weeks, from two different companies - both for massive copyright infringement; doesn't this sound like a conspiracy?.. Microsoft, on behalf of a group of publishers, is suing Google for scanning hardcopy material. Viacom... the holding company of MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon... is suing YouTube, which Google... for hosting copyright material that was broadcast on some of the Viacom media networks...
newsfactor.com/ ... 11:07:49
Many industry watchers believe the Viacom lawsuit could represent the beginning of a copyright-owner onslaught from all sides... Whether those "fans" to which Viacom referred mind Google making money from the traffic they drive to the video-sharing site is not the issue. Whether the fans are liable in future copyright suits is.
According to some legal experts, YouTube's uploading community could find itself in the line of fire...
Theory of Justice
theaustralian.news.com.au/ ... 11:00:28
Heavily armed Pakistani police last night fired volley after volley of tear gas to
disperse hundreds of lawyers
gathered outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad in defiance of a ban on all gatherings in the capital. The lawyers had gathered to support chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry as he appeared before the Supreme Judicial Council on charges of misconduct brought by President Pervez Musharraf... Despite the Government's massive show of strength, and with roads and buildings barricaded with barbed wire, hundreds of lawyers and prominent opposition figures marched towards the Supreme Court, clashing with security forces. Even before the march started, police detained hundreds of opposition figures across the country. During the march they swooped to arrest Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of the hardline Islamic party the Jamiaat-i-Islami, or MMA. Ahmed has been in the forefront of the protest at the chief justice's treatment and had planned to say Friday prayers outside the Supreme Court...
THU 2007-MAR-15
Fraud
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:18:13
CANBERRA... A [54yo] truck driver who was once jailed for armed robbery posed as an army officer, mixed with the top brass and talked his way into high-level security meetings... joined meetings of Operation Acolyte, the defense force's security operation for last year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and was issued with a defense force identity card...
Hospitals can be Dangerous
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:15:21
NEW YORK... Hundreds of patients including newborn babies may have been exposed to tuberculosis by an infected hospital employee...
Vertically Challenged
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:09:05
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia... Malaysian police detained an eight-member gang of small-sized robbers dubbed the "midget gang," who allegedly confessed to committing 14 break-ins over the past three months... All the gang members, aged between 14 and 23 years, were diminutive... newspaper said without saying whether they were dwarfs or just small...
Criminally Stupid
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:06:06
VALPARAISO, Ind... A teenager clocked driving at 93 mph told a deputy he had to get home in time to catch the school bus... [had been sentenced] to ride the bus to school after an earlier speeding conviction....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:04:51
HAMPTON, Virginia... courthouse... Security officer... told [RH] to empty his pockets. Out tumbled [his] cell phone and a half-ounce bag of
marijuana. "You can't bring that crap in here...." [22yo RH] took the phone and the drugs and hid them in the bushes outside, then passed the security checkpoint.... [Guard] summoned a police officer, who waited for Hall to return and watched as he retrieved the phone and the pot....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 21:57:11
BETTENDORF, Iowa... A burglary suspect was arrested after he left behind a Corrections Department identification card he used to jimmy a lock...
Cold War - still with us
washtimes.com/ ... 11:43:56
Cuban intelligence agents are working inside the U.S. government and one mole uncovered in the Defense Intelligence Agency caused the death of a U.S. special operations soldier in Central America, a senior DIA counterintelligence official says in a new book...
Violence
wnbc.com/ ... 11:42:05
NEW YORK -- A gunman rampaged through a strip of restaurants and bars in a trendy Manhattan neighborhood, killing two unarmed volunteer police officers and a pizzeria employee... Regular police officers then shot and killed gunman David Gavin, who had a bag with a fake beard, two guns and 100 rounds of ammunition... a former employee of the pizzeria...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:26:15
The top official in Baghdad's main Shiite district of Sadr City was seriously wounded Thursday when gunmen ambushed his convoy in eastern Baghdad, killing two of his bodyguards...
Mass Murdering Monsters
washingtonpost.com/ ... 22:24:20
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's claims that he was responsible for dozens of successful, foiled and imagined attacks in the past 15 years relies on a loose definition of the word "responsible." Officials say the 9/11 mastermind was key to some plots but a bit player in others...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 21:55:40
Police in Morocco have arrested 18 people in connection with a suicide bomb attack on Sunday at an internet cafe in the port city of Casablanca... six other suspects remained at large...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 21:55:25
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's capture four years ago didn't shut down al-Qaida or bring the Americans to Osama bin Laden. But if his mega-confession is to be believed, his arrest was a crushing blow to bin Laden's plans for even more deadly attacks in the wake of 9/11...
today.reuters.com/ ... 21:53:10
Iraq... a roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers... killed in eastern Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicles... Separately, four car bombs, two of them in Baghdad, killed another 16 people in Iraq...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:29:27
Four car bombs, two of them in Baghdad, killed 16 people in Iraq on Thursday... In the deadliest attack, a suicide car bomber targeting an Iraqi army and police checkpoint killed eight policemen and soldiers in the Karrada district of central Baghdad.... wounded 25 people, including two bodyguards of city mayor Sabir al-Issawi, who was unhurt...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:26:00
Communist rebels armed with rifles, hand grenades and petrol bombs attacked a police post in the jungles of eastern India on Thursday, killing at least 49 officers...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:28:29
Top al Qaeda suspect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said he beheaded U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, according to the transcript of a hearing at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp released on Thursday...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:25:38
Jordan's military court on Thursday sentenced to death four Iraqi al-Qaida militants charged with terror attacks on Jordanians in Iraq. Of the four, only one is in custody while the other three remain at large and were tried in absentia...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:24:41
The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks has confessed to his role in them, and 29 other terror plots around the world, the Pentagon says. "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z," said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a transcript of a US hearing at Guantanamo Bay prison camp. He also said he had planned attacks on Big Ben and Heathrow airport in London... opens the way for Mohammed to face criminal charges... also claimed to be behind plots to assassinate the late Pope John Paul II and former US President Bill Clinton...
Disturbing Family Patterns
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:17:46
A [42yo] Russian woman paid a former convict to kill her 17-year-old son because she was fed up with sharing her small one-room apartment with him... shared the tiny apartment in the Moscow region with their respective partners and there were frequent rows, which became worse when the son's girlfriend became pregnant...
Chronic housing shortages have dogged Russia for decades. The problem has eased slightly since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but many families of several generations still share cramped apartments...
Alcohol Was Involved
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:36:04
on college campuses... higher rates of frequent binge drinking and prescription drug abuse, and more negative consequences for students such as arrests and risky sexual behavior...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:13:18
Binge drinking continues to be a problem in Ireland, Britain, Finland and Denmark, according to a European Union survey of alcohol consumption released Wednesday... almost one in five people between the ages of 15 and 24 reported drinking five or more alcoholic beverages in one session, or 19 percent of those asked across the 27-nation bloc, Croatia and northern Cyprus... defined binge drinking as consuming more than five alcoholic drinks in one sitting... 34 percent of Irish people questioned said they "usually" binge drink, followed by Finland, where 27 percent of respondents said they did the same. Britain was third with 24 percent and Denmark fourth with 23 percent...
Animals can be Dangerous
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:07:56
SANDY, Utah... A 50-year-old man said his femur broke "like a twig" when a humpback whale whipped her tail during an excursion in the Dominican Republic... an area where divers are allowed to swim with humpback whales... But there was nothing playful about a mother who had a calf on her back...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:59:37
NORTH PLATTE, Neb... Two stray
cats attacked three people
after they got into a house... A call for help Monday took animal control officer John Pettit to the home of Melissa Breva... Breva told Pettit she had captured two cats in a bedroom.... "the cats had gotten into the house when the front door was open...." then attacked two women who were visiting... Pettit went to his truck for snares - his "cat catchers." Then he heard screaming... The cats had attacked a boy who had opened the bedroom door... Both cats were shot, tranquilized and taken to the animal shelter, where they were euthanized...
Iraq
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:56:51
A struggle for power among sectarian groups and criminals is now the main feature of the Iraq war
, the Pentagon said in a report released on Wednesday... also said violence reached a new high in early 2007, although the figures were compiled before U.S. and Iraqi forces began a security crackdown in Baghdad...
Sex can be... disturbing
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:13:42
The secret behind Japan's plunging birth rate? A record 39.7 percent of Japanese citizens ages 16-49 have not had sex for over a month - up 5 percentage points from two years ago... Among married couples, the rate was only slightly lower, at 34.6 percent...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:55:12
MESA, Ariz... A cable news program... a health show featuring former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw... was temporarily replaced with hard-core pornography... Monday night on KPPX-TV... "an act of human sabotage..." "Maybe five or 10 minutes into the show there was no volume.... I thought it was the TV, but when I looked up, there were these images...."
Healing Ourselves
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:16:11
Little glitches in the DNA of people with autism suggest that the disease might be caused by as many as 100 different genes...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:14:50
The human papillomavirus is the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases - so common that researchers estimate most people will have some form of it in their lifetime. Young adults are especially at risk because they tend to be the most sexually active group. And yet Poynor finds that most of her young patients - even if they've heard of a new vaccine aimed at preventing the worst kinds of HPV - know little about the virus and the harm it can do...
Transport Future
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:12:03
Intel and Infineon Technologies AG announced partnerships with BMW and Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday, reflecting the growing importance of electronics in cars. German chipmaker Infineon and Korean carmaker Hyundai said they would cooperate in the development of automotive electronics and opened a joint innovation center in Seoul... Infineon and Hyundai... expect the first jointly developed products to be used in the 2010 Hyundai and Kia models.
A modern luxury car contains more than 100 microchips...
Solar System
today.reuters.com/ ... 21:58:21
A spacecraft orbiting Mars has scanned huge deposits of water ice at its south pole so plentiful they would blanket the planet in 36 feet of water if they were liquid... up to 2.3 miles thick, are under a polar cap of white frozen carbon dioxide and water...
World Zookeeping
hosted.ap.org/ ... 21:56:37
Biologists enter dens to manage bears... By the end of March, he will have visited some 30 bear dens around the state, tagging, weighing and taking the vital signs of hibernating mothers and their offspring as part of an effort to gauge the health and size of Pennsylvania's bruin population... As caretaker of the state's 15,000 black bears, Ternent must figure out the optimal ratio of bears to people. That number will determine how many bears need to be killed by hunters to keep the population under control...
Feeding Ourselves
foodconsumer.org/ ... 22:26:35
a new study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry suggests that a glass of grape juice may be better than any other juice...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:15:46
Fewer than a third of American adults eat the amount of fruits and vegetables the government recommends, a trend that's remained steady for more than a decade... That's "well below" the government's goal of getting 75 percent of Americans to eat two servings of fruits and having half of the population consume three servings of vegetables each day by 2010...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:33:52
A New York restaurateur has cooked up the most world's most extravagant pizza -- a $1,000 pizza topped with six sorts of caviar and fresh lobster...
Evolution Isn't Easy
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:19:41
Clouded leopards found on Sumatra and Borneo represent a new species, research by genetic scientists and the conservation group WWF indicates. Until now it had been thought they belonged to the species that is found on mainland southeast Asia. Scientists now believe the two species diverged more than one million years ago, and have evolved separately since...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:19:22
Scientists have unearthed a fossil of a mammal the size of a chipmunk that skittered around with the dinosaurs, with a key feature in the evolution of mammals -- the middle ear bones -- fabulously preserved.... named Yanoconodon for the Yan Mountains in China's Hebei Province... lived 125 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, the third and final act of the Mesozoic era, sometimes called the Age of Dinosaurs... body was shaped very oddly for a mammal -- with an elongated torso and short, stubby limbs... "sort of a salamander-like body form..."
Digital Convergence
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:15:45
A Northern Ireland undertaker has begun broadcasting funerals live on the internet...
Animal Companions
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:12:04
WALES TOWNSHIP, Mich... Taking time to remember a wild turkey may seem strange, but a church will hold a moment of silence this Sunday for what the pastor called a model member of his congregation.... the turkey regularly attended Sunday services and greeted people as they arrived.... The turkey died last week after it was hit by a car on a road near the St. Clair County church... The fowl never missed a service... had been hanging around since late last year, when residents began feeding it.... Some people said it would show up like clockwork each morning at the community's bus stop, where it would chase children. Others enjoyed watching the bird strut down the middle of the street, trying to impress a group of female turkeys...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:05:37
LINZ, Austria... A housebroken pet pig with an unusual black hide was mistaken for a wild boar and shot by a hunter in woods near its owner's farm.... officials... concluded there was no way the unidentified hunter could have realized the pig not the wild quarry he was after.... [Hunter] brought the carcass to the owner, who shared the pork...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:18:57
Marine Pfc.
Angel Rosa
, 21, of South Portland, Maine, died March 13 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Rosa was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:53:28
Army Sgt. 1st Class
Douglas C. Stone
, 49, of Taylorsville, Utah, died Mar. 11 in Iraq of wounds suffered from a non-combat related incident. His death is under investigation. Stone was assigned to the 96th Regional Readiness Command, Salt Lake City.
US Military
hosted.ap.org/ ... 21:55:01
Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback... Kansas senator... is backing the Pentagon's top general over his remarks that homosexual acts are immoral... Brownback's letter called the criticism [of Marine Gen. Peter Pace] "both unfair and unfortunate..."
today.reuters.com/ ... 21:52:19
A U.S. Marine charged with murdering 18 unarmed civilians in Haditha, Iraq, said in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" he regretted the deaths but would make the same decisions today. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich admitted shooting five unarmed Iraqi men in the back in the interview and said his actions were justified because he believed the men had hostile intent toward the Marines.... "...Those are decisions that I made in a combat situation and I believe I had to make those decisions..."
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:53:00
The Department of Defense notified Congress today that the Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (WMD-CST) of the Wyoming National Guard is now certified. The 84th WMD-CST of Cheyenne, Wyo., is fully ready to assist civil authorities in responding to a domestic weapon of mass destruction incident and possesses the requisite skills, training and equipment to be proficient in all mission requirements. The team certified today brings the total number of teams certified by DoD to 48. Congress has authorized a total of 55 WMD-CSTs, which is enough to field at least one team in every state, territory and the District of Columbia. The remaining seven teams will be certified by September 2007.
US Congress
bloomberg.com/ ... 22:24:37
The Senate rejected Democratic- backed legislation that calls for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq just hours after a House panel approved a plan to bring the troops home...
CD/DVD/etc is Dead
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:13:19
HANOVER, Germany... The Blu-ray disc association said on Thursday it aimed to replace the DVD storage format within three years... Blu-ray, which offers five times more storage capacity than DVDs for storing high definition films and other content, will first have to beat the rival HD-DVD format which offers somewhat lower storage capacity but claims cheaper production of players, burners and discs...
[Spinning discs are ultimately out. Solid-state memory is the future....]
Headline of the Day
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:09:23
What's that smell? Oh, it's the police...
Marriage Today
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:07:05
KANSAS CITY, Mo... Even in the messy legal world of dividing property after a failed romance, this case was exceptional. A Jackson County judge was asked to consider whether a transvestite had misled a former male fiance into believing she was a woman...
People are Trashy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:02:27
Crazy-sounding ideas for saving the planet are getting a serious look from top scientists... There's the man-made "volcano" that shoots gigatons of sulfur high into the air. The space "sun shade" made of trillions of little reflectors between Earth and sun, slightly lowering the planet's temperature. The forest of ugly artificial "trees" that suck carbon dioxide out of the air. And the "Geritol solution" in which iron dust is dumped into the ocean...
[At which point, we will find out that, whereas human impact on environment had previously been minimal, we were now seriously damaging the planet...?]
Digital Culture
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:01:07
Condolences flowed for U.S. comedian Sinbad after the online encyclopedia Wikipedia announced his death on Thursday, but it turned out the grieving was premature and the comic was alive and well... although the error was quickly caught and changed, some Internet users had sent e-mails with a link to the old version... "This caused people to inadvertently change the entry throughout the day to the vandalized version..." "We are currently looking into who made this edit, and have protected the page. We regret any confusion or distress this may have caused Sinbad and his fans everywhere..."
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:00:14
Latino adults in the United States are less likely than their white or black counterparts to use the Internet... 56 percent of adult Latinos in the United States reported using the Internet compared to 71 percent of white adults and 60 percent of blacks...
Language Culture
today.reuters.com/ ... 21:59:54
If you think "wiki" doesn't sound like English, you are right. But it's English now. This word born on the Pacific Island of Hawaii finally got an entry into the latest edition of the online Oxford English Dictionary (OED) along with 287 other new words... "Wiki Wiki", meaning "quick" in Hawaiian... in its new host language: a type of Web page designed so that its contents can be edited by anyone who accesses it...
Digital Business
cbronline.com/ ... 11:48:55
Linux distributor Red Hat Inc has launched version 5 of its Enterprise Linux offering, including a new Advanced Platform version that enables users to run an unlimited number of virtual operating system images. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based company has repackaged both the desktop and server versions of its operating system, as well as delivering improved customer support and application stack capabilities...
US Election 2008
allheadlinenews.com/ ... 22:26:19
After Gen. Peter Pace's claim that "homosexuality is immoral" prompted outrage among the gay and lesbian community, many politicians have still been hesitant to publicly criticize Pace for his comments... Obama told Newsday, "I think traditionally the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman has restricted his public comments to military matters. That's probably a good tradition to follow." Hillary handled the question similarly, unwilling to explicitly say she disagrees with Gen. Pace's comments on homosexuality when asked by reporters. The New York Senator instead told ABC News, "Well, I am going to leave that to others to conclude..."
[And lo, the waffling begins....]
thehill.com/ ... 11:41:21
"I want to wait and hear what John Edwards has to say, hes kind of good-looking..." -Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)...
During an appearance in West Burlington, Iowa, the phrase appeared again, this time with Edwards as "kind of cute..."
World of Sexual Cultures
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:35:10
A brothel in Germany hopes to capitalize on the growing number of retirees by offering them a 50 percent discount for sex in the afternoon... for clients aged 66 and above -- provided they can prove they are old enough...
Researching the Obvious
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:31:30
Young people, wealthy families and graduates use the Internet more than the elderly, poor or unqualified, according to a report that highlights Britain's growing "digital divide..."
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:21:36
New York University researchers have found that to be found attractive, a woman had to move in a feminine way - swaying her hips... men were more attractive if they moved with a "shoulder swagger"...
Big Whoops Cascade
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:16:48
A [42yo] Hong Kong woman... slipped... somehow swallowed her toothbrush but still managed to dial 999 and call for an ambulance...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:16:04
A 91-year-old German sparked a rescue operation when he slipped mending his roof and got stuck fast in tar "like a beetle on its back..."
Theory of Medicine
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:23:04
Sleep deprivation may lead not only to bleary-eyed mornings, but clouded moral judgment as well... Army researchers found... lack of shut-eye seemed to hinder participants' ability to make decisions in the face of emotionally charged, moral dilemmas...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:22:24
People who have heart attacks on weekends are more likely to die and get poorer care than those stricken on weekdays...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:15:33
CHICAGO... Bradley Bernstein's parents say an
electric cattle prod is the only thing that stops him from banging his head and violently punching his eyes
, nearly blinding himself. The Illinois couple's fight to continue shock treatment on their severely autistic 48-year-old son and the uproar over a Massachusetts school that uses similar treatment, have pulled back the curtain on this extreme form of behavior modification. Critics call it outmoded, barbaric and unethical... "The beauty of it is there's no side effects.... It's a temporary painful experience for two seconds..."
Theory of Justice
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:04:16
a [32yo] pediatric nurse... A tenant in court defending herself from a civil complaint by her landlord... was speaking when she noticed that the [77yo] plaintiff... appeared stricken. "...she just started shaking and her eyes rolled back.... noticed that she wasn't breathing...." placed [landlord] on the floor and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. A court clerk assisted.... paramedics arrived and used a defibrillator to regain a heartbeat.... was in stable condition Wednesday....
[What we need here is a follow-up... did the landlord drop the suit?]
Reasons for Repeal
www1.whdh.com/ ... 11:52:55
HAMPDEN, Mass. -- Three members of the same Hampden family are facing charges that they imported thousands of pounds of marijuana from Canada... 56-year-old... his 26-year-old son... and his 24-year-old son-in-law... after an investigation that started about a year and a half ago.... brought more than four-thousand pounds of pot worth
[absurd prohibition-inflated]
millions of dollars into the U.S.... Police say the three Hampden men were part of a much larger smuggling operation...
sfgate.com/ ... 11:50:56
The federal government's five-year effort to throw one of the nation's most prominent advocates of marijuana in prison appears to be all but dead after a judge ruled that
prosecutors had vindictively piled on charges
against the Oakland man after he successfully appealed his pot-growing convictions. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Wednesday that
prosecutors had illegally retaliated
against Ed Rosenthal, 62, last fall when they added tax-evasion and money-laundering charges to his previous indictment for growing marijuana for medical patients...
[One small victory for human liberty... One giant war yet to be ended... REPEAL! REPEAL! REPEAL!]
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:56:16
A woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive can face federal prosecution on drug charges...
the latest legal defeat for Angel Raich, a mother of two from Oakland suffering from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other ailments who sued the federal government pre-emptively to avoid being arrested for using the drug. On her doctor's advice, Raich eats or smokes marijuana every couple of hours to ease her pain and bolster her appetite...
WED 2007-MAR-14
Sick, Sick, Sick
courttv.com/ ... 11:04:19
A Portland [OR] couple [27yo male & 22yo female] arranged to trade marijuana for the chance to have sex with a 5-year-old girl... a fictitious character created by an agent who met Dudley in an Internet chat room...
[folks unhelpful to the cause but yet another of the many reasons for repeal]
Alcohol Was Involved
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:54:49
BILLINGS, Mont.... [42yo] man told police not to blame him for crashing his truck into a light post - it was that
unicorn behind the wheel
.... pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony charges of criminal endangerment and drunken driving....
Criminally Stupid
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:51:30
HILLSIDE, N.J.... [41yo man] raised suspicions Monday morning when he stopped by his daughter's school in Hillside, saying he had left his keys in her jacket.... staff... would not let him in because [he] was not the girl's legal guardian.... [Guardian] grandmother arrived, saying she wanted the girl's jacket. It was all so strange that principal... called police.... officer checked the coat and found
25 vials of cocaine and a half-ounce rock of crack
in the pocket inside....
Data Threat
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:44:36
...most digital copiers manufactured in the past five years have disk drives - the same kind of data-storage mechanism found in computers - to reproduce documents. As a result, the seemingly innocuous machines that are commonly used to spit out copies of tax returns for millions of Americans can retain the data being scanned. If the data on the copier's disk aren't protected with encryption or an overwrite mechanism, and if someone with malicious motives gets access to the machine, industry experts say sensitive information from original documents could get into the wrong hands...
Violence
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:23:14
At least seven people have died after police in eastern India fired at farmers protesting at industrial plans.... Nandigram in West Bengal... protests against land being used for a planned chemical hub. Police confirm two deaths. Doctors say five others died of bullet wounds. Unrest in January claimed six lives. Protests have gone on despite the state government pledging to move the plant elsewhere.
New economic zones are a hugely contentious issue in India...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:20:21
The U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said Wednesday that all indications showed that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained in Iran....
WW2 - still with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:18:45
WARSAW, Poland... A 97-year-old woman credited with saving 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust was honored by parliament Wednesday at a ceremony during which Poland's president said she deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Irena Sendler, who lives in a nursing home in Warsaw, was too frail to attend the special session in which members of the Senate unanimously approved a resolution honoring her and the Polish underground Council for Assisting Jews... Sendler led about 20 helpers who smuggled Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto to safety between 1940 and 1943, placing them in Polish families, convents or orphanages. She wrote the children's names on slips of paper and buried them in jars in a neighbor's yard as a record that could help locate their parents after the war. The Nazis arrested her in 1943, but she refused - despite repeated torture - to reveal their names... "Every child saved with my help and the help of all the wonderful secret messengers, who today are no longer living, is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory," Sendler said in a letter read by Elzbieta Ficowska, who was saved by Sendler as a baby.
"Over a half-century has passed since the hell of the Holocaust, but its specter still hangs over the world and doesn't allow us to forget the tragedy..."
Mass Murdering Monsters
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:26:53
The bodies of Saddam Hussein's two sons and his grandson have been reburied near the former Iraqi leader's grave in his hometown...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:25:16
...five people have been killed and 41 injured in a suicide bomb attack in the south-eastern province of Khost. A high-ranking police officer was among those hurt... three suicide attacks on Tuesday and six in the past week, most of them in the south in the country....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:19:56
NEW DELHI... Two people who allegedly sold the suitcases used to make bombs that ignited deadly fires on a train linking India and Pakistan have been arrested, police said Wednesday, announcing ... the first arrests in the attack that killed 68 people.... Investigators believe suitcases bombs were used to start fires in two cars of the Samjhauta Express because they found similar devices in a third car. It's believed the bombs in the third car did not detonate because their timers were not properly synchronized...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:16:55
Suspected Muslim insurgents
opened fire on nine Buddhists
who were riding in a commuter van in Thailand's restive south Wednesday, killing all of them execution-style... The driver, who was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the face, was the only survivor from the morning attack... in the south... a Muslim insurgency has claimed more than 2,000 lives since 2004...
Digital Convergence
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:45:20
A startup led by a team of veterans in the digital music arena seeks to offer "personal radio" that lets users choose the tunes, genres or artists they want, and listen to them on the go. Slacker Inc., based in San Diego, launched its radio service Wednesday, making its Web site, http://www.slacker.com , available in a beta, or testing, stage. A separate Wi-Fi-enabled pocketable gadget that will be able to play the personalized selections will be available in the early summer...
It's All in Your Mind
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:43:48
One socially crushing moment -- think schoolyard bullies -- can challenge the survival of new nerve cells in the brain and may even lead to depression.... In a study of young rats threatened by aggressive, older rats, the bullied ones were able to generate new nerve cells in key memory and emotion regions of the brain but most of those cells later died....
Feeding Ourselves
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:43:13
...Greenpeace said a study it had commissioned that was published in the journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Technology showed rats fed for 90 days on Monsanto's MON863 maize showed "signs of toxicity" in the liver and kidneys. "It is the first time that independent research, published in a peer-reviewed journal, has proved that a GMO authorized for human consumption presents signs of toxicity," Arnaud Apoteker, a spokesman for Greenpeace France said in a statement...
Solar System
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:30:44
Nasa's Cassini probe has found evidence for seas, probably filled with liquid hydrocarbons, at the high northern latitudes of Saturn's moon Titan... The largest is some 100,000 sq km (39,000 sq miles) - greater in extent than North America's Lake Superior...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:30:17
Two animations released by Nasa allow viewers to "hang-glide" over the terrain currently being explored by the US space agency's Mars rovers...
World Zookeeping
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:49:22
KNOXVILLE, Tenn... wildlife officers discovered a 5-foot alligator Sunday in Watts Bar Lake near Spring City, about 60 miles south of Knoxville.... Alligators are not indigenous to Tennessee, and the state's climate is too cold to support a reproducing population.... "Somebody probably bought this one as a pet down in Florida and kept it until it got too large and uncontrollable.... That's when they just let it go...." the Watts Bar alligator will be
stuffed by a taxidermist and used as an educational display.
[HEY!??! Was that necessary?]
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:33:50
Bats at risk of being killed by the growing number of wind farms could be saved with the use of radars. Bat deaths at wind farms are thought to exceed those of birds and it is feared some species could eventually become endangered if action is not taken... researchers at Aberdeen University... found [bats] did not forage where electromagnetic radiation could be measured....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:29:55
Federal biologists are examining decades of witness reports and scientific research as they try to determine once and for all if eastern mountain lions thought to be extinct are actually living in Maine. Mountain lions, also known as cougars or panthers, are believed to be extinct east of the Mississippi River, from Maine to South Carolina. But biologists receive at least a dozen reports each year of sightings in southern Maine alone....
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:12:09
Army Sgt.
Thomas L. Latham
, 23, of Delmar, Md., died March 11 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:11:48
Army Sgt.
Daniel E. Woodcock
, 25, of Glennallen, Alaska, died Mar. 11, in Ad Dawr, Iraq, of wounds suffered from a building explosion while on combat patrol. Woodcock was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:11:22
Marine Lance Cpl.
Nathanial D. Windsor
, 20, of Scappoose, Ore., died March 13 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Windsor was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
US Military
news.yahoo.com/ ... 11:08:54
The Navy temporarily lost communication with a submarine off Florida's coast and sent ships and aircraft to search for the USS San Juan before the vessel was contacted early Wednesday... no problems with the Los Angeles class sub...
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:13:01
National Guard... This week, the Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard announced an increase, while the Army and Navy had a decrease. The net collective result is
645 fewer reservists mobilized
than last week.... This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to
81,407
, including both units and individual augmentees....
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:10:54
A Statement From Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Yesterday, during a wide ranging interview with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, I was asked if I think the current policy as codified in U.S. Code, generally referred to as "Don't Ask Don't Tell," should still hold. People have a wide range of opinions on this sensitive subject. The important thing to remember is that we have a policy in effect, and the Department of Defense has a statutory responsibility to implement that policy. I made two points in support of the policy during the interview. One, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" allows individuals to serve this nation; and two, it does not make a judgment about the morality of individual acts. In expressing my support for the current policy, I also offered some personal opinions about moral conduct.
I should have focused more on my support of the policy and less on my personal moral views.
Reporting Science
businessweek.com/ ... 11:13:10
venture capitalist John Doerr... "I'm scared," he told the audience, looking down at his 15-year-old daughter in the front row. "I don't think we're going to make it."
[Might expire from panic?]
Doerr issued a passionate call to action for everyone to make environmental concerns their "next big thing..."
summitdaily.com/ ... 11:12:25
Global warming is the hottest story of our time, and it will get even bigger as the full implications of melting ice caps and rising sea levels percolate through the media pipeline and into general public awareness, a panel of
journalists
said last weekend during the American Bar Association's environmental law conference... even though the basic global warming science heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere is "third-grade" stuff, according the Wall Street Journal's John Fialka, the issues have been
clouded by a massive, industry funded propaganda and disinformation campaign aimed at creating uncertainty...
"We live in a country where more people care about the death of Anna Nicole Smith than the death of a planet," said moderator Judy Muller, a long-time NPR contributor... Colorado Springs Gazette editorial page editor Sean Paige, took a contrarian view... "Maybe the wolf is at the door now," Paige said, referring to global warming. "But the public has tuned out.
We (journalists) haven't been skeptical enough of the environmental anxiety industry...
" Paige also said he sees a form of eco-McCarthyism on the rise, with the fixation on "consensus" leading to a muzzling of dissenting voices. "Let's silence everybody who doesn't agree..."
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
freep.com/ ... 11:05:52
Wayne County sheriff's deputies confiscated between 800 and 1,000 pounds of marijuana Tuesday night in the back of a rented moving truck after its driver led... officers on a nearly 10-mile chase... was driving erratically
[yeah, sure]
... when deputies tried to pull him over... an estimated
[absurd prohibition-inflated]
value of $500,000... [driver] did not have a valid driver's license and is not cooperating with deputies....
abclocal.go.com/ ... 11:02:06
BLOOMINGTON, Ill.... Authorities in central Illinois say they discovered 60 pounds of marijuana stuffed in a duffel bag during a traffic stop near Normal.... [49yo male & 34yo female] of Inkster, Michigan face several drug charges.... police pulled over Taylor's minivan after midnight yesterday.... because of improper lane usage....
[yeah, sure!]
He was arrested for driving with a suspended license....
freenewmexican.com/ ... 11:00:37
New Mexico... House narrowly approved a bill Tuesday to legalize the use of [marijuana] for medical purposes... approved Senate Bill 523 on a 36-31 vote after nearly two hours of debate Tuesday. The bill returns to the Senate for consideration of a minor House change. Gov. Bill Richardson... heralded House passage of the measure...
[And someday it will be legalized...?]
It's Only Money
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:53:33
DENVER... new presidential dollar coin they found last week... [couple] found one with nothing stamped on either flat side. It does have "In God We Trust" on the edge. What's missing is the image of George Washington on the front and the Statue of Liberty on the back.... could be worth thousands of dollars, maybe more... will depend on how many similar misprints are found, but [theirs] will always be worth more because it will be the first one independently authenticated...
Digital Business
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:39:23
Google Inc. is confident its popular video-sharing site YouTube and other Web services Google offers have strong legal protections under current copyright law... said their actions are squarely within the protections offered by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 and they were prepared to defend the company aggressively... DMCA... limits liability for firms that act quickly to block access to pirated materials once they are notified by copyright holders of specific infringement...
Supernatural Silliness
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:38:12
Stephen Pfann, a textual scholar and paleographer at the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem... looking into the basis of... ["The Lost Tomb of Jesus"] said Tuesday that a crucial piece of evidence filmmakers used to support their claim is a mistake.... when they identified an ancient ossuary from the cave as belonging to the New Testament's Mary Magdalene.... The scholars who analyzed the Greek inscription on one of the ossuaries after its discovery read it as "Mariamene e Mara," meaning "Mary the teacher" or "Mary the master...." Pfann... [asserts] that it doesn't read "Mariamene" at all... [but] is made up of two names inscribed by two different hands: the first, "Mariame," was inscribed in a formal Greek script, and later, when the bones of another woman were added to the box, another scribe using a different cursive script added the words "kai Mara," meaning "and Mara..." a different form of the name Martha.... In the interest of telling a good story, Pfann said, the documentary engaged in some "fudging" of the facts...
Holy Land
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:26:27
A UN report will call for an immediate halt to work by the Israeli authorities at a Jerusalem site holy to both Muslims and Jews... will say Israel must draw up a new work plan for the site... also call for consultation between Israel, the Muslim authorities and Jordan over the excavation works.... Israeli newspapers have reported the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) will also say Israeli excavations comply with international standards....
Human Right
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:24:36
A mayor who conducted the first gay wedding in France has vowed to continue his fight... But [the marriage] was declared illegal by France's highest court on Tuesday. The two men... said they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights....
TUE 2007-MAR-13
WW2 - still with us
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:42:53
Some 75 years after Braunschweig (Brunswick) enabled the then stateless Hitler to get German citizenship, Social Democrats (SPD) in the state that now incorporates the former statelet want to strip the Nazi dictator of his nationality... "Who would want Hitler to have wormed his way into citizenship in their home city, of all places?.."
Epidemic Without Borders
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:36:38
EZBET SIDI OMAR, Egypt... Health officials say the cultural practice of keeping birds at home, often in secret, is aiding the spread of bird flu in the most populous Arab country, where 24 people have contracted the disease since it emerged in Egyptian poultry a year ago...
Under Digital Tyranny
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:35:44
China will intensify controls of the growing numbers of bloggers
using the Internet to lay bare their thoughts, politics and even bodies... forming rules to further regulate Internet publishing, including the country's legions of bloggers.... director of China's General Administration of Press and Publication, Long Xinmin... said "citizens' freedom of expression would be fully protected"...
[yeah, sure!]
By last September, the number of blog sites in China reached 34 million, a 30-fold increase from four years before...
World Zookeeping
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:43:41
A Japanese fisherman drowned on Tuesday after a whale he was trying to rescue capsized his small fishing boat... the sperm whale, about 10-meter (yard) long... strayed into a bay...
Antiquity - still with us
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:33:55
A DNA survey of wild and domestic pigs has thrown new light on how early humans reached the remote Pacific... clear genetic link between modern and ancient pigs in East Asia and several Pacific islands... suggests that colonists who transported the animals may have travelled from Vietnam via numerous islands....
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:32:48
Remains of 14 people were discovered at Wayland's Smithy, near Uffington White Horse, Oxfordshire, in the 1960s. Latest techniques date the bones at between 3590 BC and 3560 BC, and have led experts to believe the people may have died in a Neolithic Age massacre... the findings suggest the Neolithic Age was more violent than previously thought...
US Military Casualties
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:27:53
The air force bombed a strategic Tamil Tiger jungle base in eastern Sri Lanka, killing at least eight rebels, including two senior guerrillas... tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in recent weeks due to an escalation of fighting..... The rebels... confirmed the air raid, but denied there were any casualties...
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:12:37
Army Spc.
Jonathan K. Smith
, 19, of Atlanta, died Mar. 11 in Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat related incident, which is under investigation. Smith was assigned to the 115th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Only Rock n Roll
hecklerspray.com/ ... 18:12:03
...Take Van Halen, for example. When it was announced that they'd be inducted into this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Van Halen promptly reformed and announced plans for a stadium tour. But come actual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame night, and Van Halen were in tatters - Eddie Van Halen was in rehab, Alex Van Halen didn't turn up because Eddie Van Halen was in rehab and David Lee Roth didn't turn up because the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame organisers wouldn't let Van Halen perform because Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen weren't going to turn up...
Reasons for Repeal
daytondailynews.com/ ... 18:17:15
DAYTON Ohio Highway Patrol troopers seized 350 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Preble County. [38yo] of Los Angeles, Calif., was charged with second-degree felony trafficking and fifth-degree felony possession... also cited for speeding... estimated the street value of the marijuana at
[prohibition-inflated absurd value of]
$794,500. ...stopped ...for a speed violation
[yeah, sure!]
... One of the patrol's drug-detection canines was used to check the vehicle and alerted to the presence of drugs.... could face up to nine years in prison on each charge and a fine of up to $17,500...
nj.com/ ... 18:11:07
...The first arrest came shortly before noon on Friday when cops responded to a reported break-in.... When they arrived on the scene, cops noticed that the boyfriend of the resident who called in the burglary... had left a partially smoked marijuana joint and a pipe in plain view....
[stupid on the boyfriend's part, but still not right]
Shortly before midnight Saturday night, Bayonne cops made another arrest when they caught two men passing a joint while crossing Silver Street near Orient Street....
[Now, don't we all feel safer thanks to these officers' vigilence!! NOT!!!]
t-g.com/ ... 18:08:50
...Officer Gregg Loyd said he smelled marijuana after making a traffic stop of a car driven by [20yo male]... early Sunday on Depot Street. [Driver] allowed a vehicle search
[yeah, sure]
, Loyd said, and a partially-burned, hand-rolled cigar
["blunt"]
containing a substance believed to be marijuana was found within a Newport cigarette box in the console.... [Driver] was initially stopped for allegedly weaving in and out of a traffic lane
[yeah, sure]
, Loyd said...
[If you've ever been stopped and hassled by an officer on these trumped-up premises, or seen how police can fudge facts on their reports, you begin to be very skeptical of police reports...]
Why People Go Vegan
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:42:01
HIBERNIA, Ind... After a four-year absence, raccoon is back on the menu for the Hibernia Community Building's annual fundraiser... hunters in the town... have bagged 103 raccoons for the event... flavor is similar to pork...
Digital Business
portableplanet.co.uk/ ... 18:05:29
Intel Corporation announced today its entry into solid state drives with the Intel Z-U130 Value Solid-State Drive. Based on NAND flash memory with industry standard USB interfaces... With advantages over hard disk drive (HDD) or removable universal serial bus (USB) storage devices, Intels Solid State Drives deliver faster boot times, embedded code storage, rapid data access and low-power storage alternatives for value PCs, routers, servers, gaming and industrial applications...
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:32:01
Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. said on Tuesday that it was suing Google Inc. and its Internet video-sharing site YouTube for more than $1 billion over unauthorized use of its programming online... accuses the Web search leader and its unit of "massive intentional copyright infringement..." contends that almost 160,000 unauthorized clips of its programming have been uploaded onto YouTube's site and viewed more than 1.5 billion times... Viacom said its decision to sue Google followed "a great deal of unproductive negotiation" with the company...
World Without Borders
nytimes.com/ ... 10:45:53
Just a few days before President Bush was scheduled to land here on Monday for bilateral talks, the Mexican Foreign Ministry sent an angry diplomatic note to the United States...
[but at least this article focuses on American-Mexican relationships...]
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:31:05
US President George W Bush has arrived in Mexico on the final leg of his seven-day tour of Latin America... expected to discuss sensitive issues such as immigration, border control and drug trafficking....
[Yet most of this BBC article deals with the tyrant Chavez on a "parallel" tour!]
MON 2007-MAR-12
Alcohol Was Involved
hosted.ap.org/ ... 23:32:43
RICHMOND, Ky.... A bizarre incident at a Waffle House led to four Lexington men being cited by police following a high-speed chase.... [they] were sitting at the counter in the restaurant early Friday morning when a fight between two girls broke out. A restaurant employee flagged down nearby police officers to help break up the fight, and when the officers entered the restaurant the four men took off without paying.... All four men were charged with alcohol intoxication....
Civilization vs Gangsterism
today.reuters.com/ ... 23:25:53
Spanish police have arrested a [61yo] Canadian man suspected of helping finance Islamist military operations, the interior ministry said on Monday... wanted by U.S. authorities for fraud amounting to more than $20 million and is believed to have helped finance a training camp in Afghanistan... thought to be linked to Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, a New York businessman who has been indicted on terrorism charges in the United States and is also accused of funding Afghan military projects...
Under Tyranny
examiner-enterprise.com/ ... 17:00:13
Venezuelas state oil company said Thursday that ConocoPhillips Co. and Chevron Corp. have agreed to discuss handing over their heavy oil projects to the government by May 1. President Hugo Chavez has decreed that Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, will take a minimum 60 percent stake in four heavy oil-upgrading projects in the Orinoco River region and invited the six private companies operating there to stay on as minority partners...
Industrial Incident
chron.com/ ... 16:38:03
WEATHERFORD, Texas A fiery gas line accident in rural Parker County caused flames to shoot several hundred feet into the air and burned several nearby vehicles. All workers were accounted for...
Sex can be... disturbing
hosted.ap.org/ ... 16:25:22
Israel has recalled its ambassador to El Salvador... Two weeks ago, El Salvador police found [him] naked outside his residence, tied up, gagged and drunk... wearing several sex toys....
Violence
hosted.ap.org/ ... 16:22:45
A roadside bomb targeting a police convoy killed nine officers, including a local commander, and left one critically wounded Monday in western Afghanistan... in Farah province's Bakwa district... the area lies on a major heroin smuggling route into Iran... Elsewhere in the same province, Taliban insurgents attacked a police post Sunday near the border with Iran, and the ensuing clash left two militants dead and one wounded...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 16:20:25
central China... Several people were injured as up to 20,000 people clashed with 1,000 police in Hunan province on Friday... sparked by rising public transport costs... sporadic incidents continued on Monday...
Rural regions of China have seen mounting unrest in recent years. Thousands of protests were held last year amid growing discontent over the widening gap between rich and poor and corruption among officials at local level and above...
today.reuters.com/ ... 16:19:30
CASABLANCA, Morocco... on Sunday night a man with explosives hidden under his clothes had a dispute with... [an Internet] cafe proprietor and the blast occurred as the two men were coming to blows... The man armed with explosives was killed and four people were wounded in the blast... Another man at the scene... one of the wounded four... who tried to run away was arrested by police and also found to have explosives...
Transport Trouble
bloomberg.com/ ... 23:39:23
An All Nippon Airways Co. airplane slid on its nose to a safe landing at Kochi airport in Japan after its front landing gear failed to lower. No injuries were reported...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 16:20:56
Dubai international airport was forced to close for more than seven hours after a Biman Bangladesh Airlines plane aborted its take-off on the runway. Up to 15 people were slightly injured... the plane's nose suddenly dived towards the ground and it skidded to a halt...
today.reuters.com/ ... 16:17:43
NEW YORK... A freight train carrying propane gas derailed and exploded into flames outside Oneida in New York state on Monday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people within a one-mile radius.... Twelve cars were burning but no one was injured...
Threats
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:59:50
Lebanese security forces defused a bomb hidden in a potato chip packet and arrested the man who was carrying it... Two hundred grams of explosives were found rigged for detonation... The security forces have been regularly finding explosives in the recent weeks, most not rigged for detonation. Reports of the finds have kept Lebanese on edge as their country goes through a political crisis which many fear could spill into civil war...
Staying Healthy
today.reuters.com/ ... 23:30:09
Exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and memory loss.... Tests on mice showed they grew new brain cells in a brain region called the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus that is known to be affected in the age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans.... MRIs [of humans]... found the same patterns, which suggests that people also grow new brain cells when they exercise....
US Military
washingtonpost.com/ ... 23:40:06
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday he considers homosexuality to be immoral and the military should not condone it by allowing gay personnel to serve openly... likened homosexuality to adultery, which he said was also immoral... said he supports the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell policy" in which gay men and women are allowed in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation private...
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:24:40
The Department of Defense announced today its recruiting and retention statistics for the active and reserve components for the month of February. All Services met or exceeded recruiting goals for February.... The Army, Marine Corps and Air Force are meeting or exceeding overall retention missions.... The Navy is expected to meet its end strength targets.... Two of the six Reserve components met or exceeded accession goals for February 2007.... Army National Guard retention was 114 percent of the cumulative goal of 13,446, and Air National Guard retention was 97 percent of its cumulative goal of 4,209. Both the Army and Air Guard are currently at 99 percent of their end strength. Losses in all reserve components for January are well within acceptable limits. Indications are that trend will continue into February....
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 23:22:36
Army Sgt.
Gregory D. Fejeran
, 28, of Barrigada, Guam
Army Sgt.
Christopher J. C. Fernandez
, 28, of Dededo, Guam.
died Mar. 5 in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over. The incident is under investigation. The soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment, Barrigada, Guam.
Animal Companions
today.reuters.com/ ... 23:34:44
New Mexico outlawed cockfighting on Monday in a victory for animal welfare groups, leaving Louisiana as the last state in the country where the controversial practice is legal...
mtexpress.com/ ... 16:55:44
A Hailey [Idaho] woman [in her 60s] was... attacked by her own cat... numerous bite wounds.... "Somebody came to her door with another cat that they thought was her cat. She went to the door, and her cat went berserk...."
Antiquity - still with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 23:28:33
YORKTOWN, Ind.... A circular formation discovered in a wooded area next to a highway slated for widening is likely some sort of an earthen enclosure built by prehistoric Indians.... Workers... found the earthen structure more than a year ago while studying contours on a large topographical map.... The 150-foot diameter feature was likely constructed by excavating a circular ditch around a space archaeologists call a central platform.... believed to be the work of prehistoric, Woodland Indians, although the property's owner has not permitted an examination of the site to determine its true origins.... aside from Mounds State Park, most of east-central Indiana's 300-plus known mounds and enclosures built by the Hopewell-Adena people about 2,000 years ago have been completely or partially destroyed by agriculture, development and artifact hunters.... the structure is so prominent it shows up dramatically on Google Earth.... such earthen enclosures were probably gathering places for American Indians for ceremonies, dances and feasts during particular religious events, such as the winter solstice....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 16:16:36
CHICAGO... The Field Museum... a new [permanent] exhibit called "The Ancient Americas" shows that the Western Hemisphere was home to hundreds of diverse societies established long before European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries... a major overhaul of the museum's old exhibit, which dated to the 1950s and focused on the archaeology of the Americas... The hunter-gatherers of the Clovis society of North America... The Tairona culture of present-day Colombia... in 500 A.D., more people lived in the city of Teotihuacan in central Mexico than in Rome... the Pueblo people of the North American Southwest... the Zapotec of Oaxaca, Mexico...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 16:12:21
Archaeologists have found traces of a Roman settlement at a 5,000-year-old landmark man-made hill in Wiltshire. English Heritage believes there was a Roman community at Silbury Hill about 2,000 years ago...
Science Marches Onnnnnn
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 16:11:27
UK scientists have identified a way of using light to rapidly detect the presence of bacteria. The technology could have wide applications in wound healing, counter-terrorism and screening patients for MRSA infection...
Digital Future is Now
today.reuters.com/ ... 23:25:03
All U.S. households with televisions that use analog technology will be eligible for $40 discount coupons to buy digital converter boxes
, the Commerce Department said on Monday...
today.reuters.com/ ... 16:10:16
not until Burton's 1993 film was re-released in October in 168 theaters, grossing $8.7 million, did all the naysayers admit that perhaps 3-D was here to stay. It spurred the deployment of digital cinema... provider Real D said last week that it expected to have nearly 700 digital-cinema screens worldwide equipped with Real D's 3-D Cinema technology, with an eye toward the release late this month of Disney's "Meet the Robinsons." That compares with November 2005, when "Chicken Little" debuted in 3-D on about 84 3-D-ready d-cinema screens in North America. By March 30, Real D expects at least 680 Real D-based 3-D-ready screens globally, including 50 internationally...
It's All in Your Mind
today.reuters.com/ ... 16:04:23
...a hormone produced by the body in response to stress that normally serves to calm adults and younger children instead increases anxiety in adolescents... may help account for the mood swings and anxiety exhibited by many adolescents...
World Energy
today.reuters.com/ ... 23:31:19
CHICAGO... A new,
more efficient method for manufacturing biofuels could generate enough fuel to supply the entire U.S. transportation sector
while sharply reducing the amount of raw material required to make it.... By recycling the carbon dioxide wasted in current manufacturing methods, scientists at Purdue University in Indiana believe they could reduce the amount of plant and plant-derived material required to make biofuels....
Disinformation Propaganda & Spin
newsbusters.org/ ... 16:53:09
Of the broadcast network evening news shows, on Friday the NBC Nightly News uniquely covered the "history-making" federal court ruling striking down Washington, D.C.'s restrictive gun control laws. While anchor Brian Williams made the story his show's lead item, with correspondent Pete Williams calling it "the most important gun control ruling in 70 years,"
the CBS Evening News and ABC's World News ignored the story entirely...
Big Whoops Cascade
hosted.ap.org/ ... 16:45:15
COLBERT, Okla... A woman looking for a cocaine dealer called a number on her son's cell phone only to discover later that she had phoned a police officer... "Her son had told her that if she ever needed help with anything to give me a call. I think she misunderstood. She thought she was talking to a drug dealer..."
Big Nanny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 16:44:11
New Mexico is on the verge of becoming the latest state to
require sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated
against a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer... Texas is the only state to require the vaccine so far, but other states are considering doing the same. While federal regulators have approved the vaccine, the issue of making it a requirement for girls has been surrounded by controversy...
US Election 2008
worldnetdaily.com/ ... 16:52:28
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican known for his libertarian views, today announced he will vie for the GOP presidential nomination next year...
voanews.com/ ... 16:39:12
Among those who could decide on a White House bid in the coming months is Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel [R]... former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson [R] is considering a presidential run next year...
Supernatural Threats
news.com.au/ ... 16:34:38
A LEADING Muslim cleric has blamed the devastating drought, climate change and pollution on Australians' lack of faith in Allah...
Reporting Science
telegraph.co.uk/ ... 16:34:00
Scientists who questioned mankind's impact on climate change have received death threats and claim to have been shunned by the scientific community. They say
the debate on global warming has been "hijacked" by a powerful alliance of politicians, scientists and environmentalists who have stifled all questioning
about the true environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions...
Print is Dead
nytimes.com/ ... 16:33:19
Time magazine is coming out with a new look and editorial approach on Friday. In: A cleaner, simpler design, heavy on labels at the top of each page and the names of its columnists in World War II size type the better to brand with. Out: The last remnants of Times signature syntax, parodied by the humorist Wolcott Gibbs with his phrase, "Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind..."
Reasons for Repeal
abcnews.go.com/ ... 16:53:55
Tyrone Brown, the man sentenced to life in prison for violating probation with a single marijuana cigarette, will be a free man...
dailyillini.com/ ... 16:31:21
...Illinois... on Tuesday a bill was sent to the Senate Public Health Committee regarding the legalization of medical marijuana in Illinois. This bill would legalize the use of medical marijuana in some hospitals as a medicinal treatment...
wsbtv.com/ ... 16:29:55
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- A group of teenagers found about 28 pounds of marijuana along Blue Angel Parkway in Escambia County, Florida... when they were picking up trash... had a
[prohibition-inflated absurd]
street value of between $25,000 and $50,000...
Transport Law
hosted.ap.org/ ... 16:26:16
An EU official called on Germany to give up the famous freedom of its highways and impose
speed limits on the autobahn to fight global warming
- a demand that drew angry responses on Sunday in a country that cherishes what it calls "free driving for free citizens..."
Digital Business
hosted.ap.org/ ... 16:43:33
Attention owners of primitive TVs: If you still use an antenna to watch "American Idol," your picture will disappear at midnight on Feb. 17, 2009, unless you buy something called a digital converter box. No one knows how much these boxes, which have yet to be produced, will cost. But the government will help you pay for them, at least until the money runs out...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 16:13:39
Tests have been carried out to see if spelling internet domains with non-English characters will disrupt the smooth running of the net. The tests are a step towards the formal use of non-English character sets such as Chinese and Arabic in domain names. Internationalised domain names will make the net easier to use for the majority of net users who do not have English as their first language...
Digital Beatles
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 16:13:16
The Beatles' record label has moved to dampen rumours that the band's music is about to become available online. The Fab Four are the last major act to withhold their back catalogue from stores like iTunes and Napster....
Light Pollution
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 16:07:18
A growing number of people are unable to see the night sky because of glare from poorly-designed outdoor lights in built up areas, a survey suggests...
Digital Threat
today.reuters.com/ ... 16:43:07
The Internet's key site identity system is in mounting danger from new techniques that could cause havoc by turning it into a free-for-all market, the World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO warned on Monday. And the United Nations' agency said the latest trends in registering top-level domain names (TLDs) -- like www.reuters.com -- could undermine dispute procedures under which patent holders can pursue "cybersquatters..."
computerworld.com/ ... 16:28:56
Go Daddy Group Inc. was hit with "significant and sustained" distributed denial-of-service attacks Sunday... caused four to five hours of intermittent disruptions to services, including hosting and e-mail...
today.reuters.com/ ... 16:05:21
One of India's top engineering schools has restricted Internet access in its hostels, saying addiction to surfing, gaming and blogging was affecting students' performance, making them reclusive and even suicidal...
today.reuters.com/ ... 16:05:06
a military-style boot camp near Beijing is at the front-line of China's battle against Internet addiction, a disorder afflicting millions of the nation's youth... uses a blend of therapy and military drills to treat the children of China's nouveau riche addicted to online games, Internet pornography, cybersex and chats...
What's in a Number?
hosted.ap.org/ ... 16:03:13
once a year many of them gather to talk about pi, rhapsodize about it, eat pi-themed foods (actual pie, sure, but so much more), have pi recitation contests and, just maybe, feel a little less sheepish about their unusual passion. That day falls on Wednesday this year: March 14. Or 3.14. Obviously... they start talking about some very simple ideas. Like the beauty of a number that seems to go on forever and yet has no discernible pattern to it... the world record belongs to Chao Lu, a Chinese chemistry student, who rattled off 67,890 digits over 24 hours in 2005. It took 26 video tapes to submit to Guinness...
Star Trek -- still with us
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:58:47
A Finnish member of parliament is aiming for re-election by campaigning with a translation of his Web site into Klingon, used in the TV series "Star Trek..."
SUN 2007-MAR-11
Violence
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:26:52
A police officer has allegedly gunned down five colleagues while guarding a bank in India's capital... Another officer was injured... apparently sparked by an argument between the police, all from north-eastern Sikkim state...
Mass Murdering Monsters
today.reuters.com/ ... 12:26:26
Suicide bombers killed 29 people in Baghdad on Sunday, after a meeting of officials of world powers, Iraq and neighboring states agreed it was vital to all to stop sectarian violence spreading across the region. A car bomber attacked a truck carrying Shi'ite pilgrims in central Baghdad, killing 19 people and wounding 25.... A suicide bomber blew himself up on a minibus, killing 10 people and wounding eight, in northeastern Baghdad near the Shi'ite militia stronghold Sadr City...
Under Tyranny
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:53:44
Russians voted Sunday in regional ballots marred by complaints that Kremlin opponents are increasingly sidelined ahead of national parliamentary elections in December and a vote to replace President Vladimir Putin next year. The elections were held under new rules critics say restrict the ability of voters to voice discontent and featured a new party that casts itself as the opposition but is widely seen as a tool aimed to channel public anger at authorities while broadening the Kremlin's support base...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:53:58
A Taleban commander has called for the withdrawal of Italian troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the release of an Italian journalist...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:53:08
Islamic militants threatened to attack Germany and Austria unless the two European nations break ranks with the U.S. and withdraw their personnel from Afghanistan, according to a Web statement...
Evolution Isn't Easy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:25:35
the idea behind eugenics - improving a population's health through genetics - was hardly unique to Germany, as shown by a traveling exhibit developed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and on display at The Andy Warhol Museum. "Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race" uses 200 photographs, videotaped survivor stories and several dozen artifacts to trace eugenics' development as a perversion of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to its Nazi justification for genocide. The exhibit also looks at eugenics in other countries, including Norway, Spain, Brazil, Japan and the United States, where nearly 300 "eugenic sterilizations" were done at Mendocino State Hospital between 1909 and 1935. Perhaps most chilling is how seemingly easy its noble-sounding goal was twisted. After all, who could argue against improving health? It was Darwin's cousin, Francis Galton, who coined the term eugenics from Greek, meaning "good birth," in 1883...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:46:26
Marine Lance Cpl.
Dennis J. Veater
, 20, of Jessup, Pa., died March 9 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Veater was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's Marine Wing Support Squadron 472, Marine Wing Support Group 47, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Wyoming, Pa.
US Election 2008
nypost.com/ ... 12:44:59
Headline: HILL: I'M THE JFK OF 2008...
[Umm... Hillary? Isn't making that comparison tempting fate just a tad, considering his ultimate fate?...]
Recall
freep.com/ ... 12:35:18
Chrysler Group announced recalls on almost half a million Jeep Liberty, Dodge Avenger and Dodge Durango vehicles on Friday for various problems. Owners of 2006-07 Jeep Liberty compact SUVs will be notified beginning in May of a recall to replace the heating-ventilation-air-conditioning blower motor on 149,605 vehicles. The company said the motors could fail under heavy use in hot weather. Owners of 2008 Dodge Avenger cars will be notified that 10,994 vehicles will be recalled to fix a front door latch mechanism. Owners of 2004-06 Dodge Durango SUVs will be notified in April that 328,424 vehicles are being recalled to fix an issue with the instrument cluster and interior lighting. A circuit in the instrument cluster may overload during certain conditions. The company said no accidents or injuries have been reported...
Music industry is dead
reuters.com/ ... 12:34:46
Record labels need the digital music market to take off. So why aren't they helping it any? Physical CD sales have been in decline for the last five years, and according to various estimates are expected to fall another 15%-20% again this year. And while digital revenue is on the rise, it is not yet reversing the trend. Sony BMG global digital business president Thomas Hesse says that if physical revenue drops by 15%, digital revenue must rise by 60% to compensate. This year, he expects net revenue to fall. So what are labels doing other than licensing their music to digital services that they hope will become successful? According to many service providers and industry analysts, the answer is -- nothing...
Lost & Found
cnn.com/ ... 12:34:14
LUBBOCK, Texas... A
newborn girl who was abducted Saturday morning
from a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, was
found Sunday in neighboring New Mexico
.... "in good condition...." suspect... a woman... has been apprehended.... 4-day-old infant... needs treatment for jaundice...
AmerIndians Today
theaustralian.news.com.au/ ... 12:32:22
An elite
group of Native American trackers is joining the hunt for terrorists crossing Afghanistan's borders
. The unit, the Shadow Wolves, was recruited from several tribes, including the Navajo, Sioux, Lakota and Apache. It is being sent to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to pass on ancestral sign-reading skills to local border units. In recent years, members of the Shadow Wolves have mainly tracked smugglers along the US border with Mexico.... The unit has earned international respect for its tracking skills in the Arizona desert. It was founded in the early 1970s to curb the flow of
marijuana into the US from Mexico and has since tracked people-smugglers across hundreds of square kilometres of the Tohono O'odham tribal reservation, southwest of Tucson...
Repeal Daylight Savings Time!
npr.org/ ... 12:24:05
How COMMERCE, not energy savings, is really behind the Daylight Slavings Time plot.
(RealPlayer or Windows Media player required) Features Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time. "Daylight Saving increases gasoline consumption.... Retail stores love Daylight Saving.... Americans tend to go shopping... The first and most persistent lobby for Daylight Saving in this country was the Chamber of Commerce.... For 25 years, candy makers have wanted Halloween to be covered by Daylight Saving...."
npr.org/ ... 12:14:52
Saving energy has long been the main argument for resetting our clocks; it's why Benjamin Franklin argued for the practice, which he said would save on candles...
[Note Wikipedia link below: Ben did not argue for resetting our clocks. He argued for "early to bed, early to rise."]
Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, says it's not clear that, say, golf courses will benefit as much in wintry March, "because it's obviously true that in Boulder, or in Bangor, Maine, people are going to have to shovel off their greens if they want to tee up." Downing says there are other minor problems, too. International airlines have had to change schedules, because many other countries won't spring forward until next month. Schoolchildren will spend more time at dark bus stops. Orthodox Jews who pray after sunrise may have to wait until 8:30 a.m. or even later, in some places, making it hard for them to get to work on time. Plus, darker mornings could simply depress millions of people who have seasonal affective disorder...
en.wikipedia.org/ ... 12:08:15
Governments often promote DST as an energy conservation measure because it substitutes summer afternoon sunlight for electrical lighting. However, in some cases DST can increase energy costs... DST was first proposed in 1907 by William Willett.[4] An avid golfer, he disliked cutting short his round at dusk. The proposal attracted many eminent supporters... On March 19, 1918, the U.S. Congress established DST from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. The wartime measure, however, proved unpopular among farmers, and Congress repealed it in 1919. Woodrow Wilson, another avid golfer, vetoed the repeal but the veto was overridden... DST can adversely affect farmers and others whose hours are set by the sun. For example, grain harvesting is best done after dew evaporates, so when field hands arrive and leave earlier in summer their labor is less valuable... U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) studies estimated in 1975 that DST would reduce the country's electricity usage by 1% during March and April.[7] A study after Mexico reintroduced DST in 1996 estimated a reduction of national electricity consumption by 0.7% and of peak load by 500 MW... In 2000 when parts of Australia began DST in late winter, overall electricity consumption did not decrease, but the morning peak load increased... Clock shifts disrupt sleep patterns, and correlate with decreased economic efficiency. Researchers estimated in 2000 that the daylight saving effect implies a one day loss of $31 billion on the NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ alone...
Critics also suggest that DST is, at its heart, government paternalism. They "detect the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier, to make them healthy, wealthy and wise in spite of themselves...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:00:25
The US has switched to daylight saving time, or summer time,
three weeks earlier than usual to cut fuel consumption and help the environment.
... Representatives Edward Markey and Fred Upton... sponsored the amendment to the original bill.... [Markey:] "Ultimately, daylight saving just brings a smile to everybody's faces."
Critics of the measure say the early switch may potentially lead to computer failures and cause minor headaches such as electronic calendars being out of synch, leading to missed appointments.
Canada also advances its clocks this weekend, with all provinces moving forward an hour, except Saskatchewan which does not observe Daylight Saving Time...
[HOORAY FOR SASKATCHEWAN! This is all B!S! Energy savings, if any, are not cost-effective.]
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
themaneater.com/ ... 12:38:41
In a lecture sponsored by the MU chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law, attorney Dan Viets taught students about their rights when dealing with law enforcement... He also said it is a mistake to accept promises made by the police. "Lying is a tool of law enforcement..." students should avoid talking to the police, if possible... Columbia Police Department Capt. Zim Schwartze said Viets is wrong about police intentions and is narrow-minded in his views. "Individuals who attend the meetings are only getting one side of the story..."
columbiamissourian.com/ ... 12:37:51
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Students for Sensible Drug Policy held their 2007 state conference at the MU Arts and Science building Friday and Saturday. About 35 people attended to hear professionals and activists discuss how to change drug policies at the university, city and statewide level. The conference schedule included educational sessions on industrial and medical marijuana use, lobbying and strengthening student activism and social events like dinner at the Grand Cru restaurant... For this years conference, Randall said an important focus is to raise awareness of a Missouri bill in the House of Representatives that calls for the medicinal use of marijuana to be legal on a statewide basis with doctors approval. In Columbia, since two propositions on the November 2004 ballot passed, possessing 35 grams or less of marijuana is legal if a person receives approval from a doctor. The other proposition passed on the ballot decriminalizes the possession of 35 grams or less of marijuana, allowing a maximum fine of up to $200, but no jail time. The charges are handled through the municipal court, rather than the state and federal courts...
[Incremental decrim is B!S! REPEAL! REPEAL! REPEAL for personal adult use just like those deadly and addictive recreational substances alcohol and tobacco.]
freenewmexican.com/ ... 12:36:02
New Mexico.... The state Senate on Saturday resurrected the medical marijuana issue, passing a new bill allowing people suffering certain serious medical conditions to smoke cannabis to treat their symptoms. The action came two days after the House voted 37-32 to defeat the original bill...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:56:51
California was the first of 12 states to allow the sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes, mainly pain control, and is regarded as having the loosest regulations... Oakland, Santa Rosa and even famously permissive West Hollywood are among cities that have imposed moratoriums on new clinics amid concerns owners and buyers are abusing the law. Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton has called for a similar moratorium in his city. The DEA also has taken notice, embarking on a stepped-up effort targeting clinics run by people who appear to flout the reasonable compensation provision. Federal officials raided 11 Los Angeles-area dispensaries in one day in January, the largest such crackdown. They returned to one of the clinics in West Hollywood this past Wednesday, breaking down a door and seizing additional records...
Democracy in Action
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:55:53
The U.S. Justice Department told the village of Port Chester [NY] to rewrite its election laws because they have denied Hispanics a seat in the local government, and the all-white board is fighting back. At issue is whether Port Chester is violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965... Although they make up 46 percent of Port Chester's population, no Hispanic has been elected to the board governing the town of 28,000 people... Many of the Latino immigrants whose rights are at stake remain at the margins of the debate, whether due to a language barrier, economic hardship or
fear of deportation
...
[ummm.... shouldn't those in "fear of deportation" be outside this debate about voting citizens?...]
SAT 2007-MAR-10
WW2 - still with us
myfoxdfw.com/ ... 10:45:26
The Bible has been a part of Alice Pilling's family since she was a teenager during World War II. And the story of how it came to the British household has been handed down over 60 years, told and retold until it etched itself in her memory... With each passing, Pilling vowed to herself that she'd get that Bible back to Grant M. Miller, the person whose name was written in neat script on the flyleaf. She wrote letter after letter and placed call after call looking for information. Slowly, patiently, she put together a puzzle that took her to Plano, where a man named Grant Melvin Miller died in 2002 at 85. His age matched one of two Grant M. Millers listed in American military archives as serving during World War II. The signature included in his military paperwork was unmistakable. "It was exactly the same as the one in the Bible," Pilling said. There was just one problem. According to Miller's meticulous memoirs of his wartime experiences, he had never been stationed in England...
Violence
latimes.com/ ... 10:26:43
One of the two Los Angeles women who were poisoned with thallium while in Moscow told federal and county health investigators that she believes the poisoning was an accident... doctors expect them to make a full recovery in about a month...
thallium, a toxic metal used as a catalyst in certain metal alloys, optical lenses, jewelry and semiconductors, as well as in dyes and pigments. Thallium compounds are also found in rat poison and insecticides... Experts say thallium can cause gastrointestinal irritation, paralysis, loss of vision, and heart and liver problems. Saddam Hussein, the late Iraqi dictator, was known to use thallium against his enemies...
[Woman's brother:] "My feeling is that it was an accident in that they were mistaken for someone else.... You cannot get thallium anywhere. My feeling is that it is impossible to find it.... [They] couldn't be targets for anything. Who would like to kill them?"
Mass Murdering Monsters
breakingnews.iol.ie/ ... 10:23:34
A suicide car bomb struck Baghdads Shiite militia stronghold today, killing at least 18 people... 48 wounded... hit an Iraqi patrol in Sadr City at midday... showered shrapnel across a joint US-Iraq security station 300 meters away. The partially shattered windscreen of a car landed at the gates of the compound...
Hang Those Who Betray Public Trust
oregonlive.com/ ... 10:17:25
A Multnomah County [Oregon] parole supervisor has resigned after admitting to stealing marijuana from a department property room and smoking it in front of co-workers at a holiday party... "The public has to know that the people who are charged with enforcing the law are following the law..."
Transport Tragedy
nytimes.com/ ... 10:14:07
A fifth college baseball player on Friday died of injuries suffered when his teams chartered tour bus plunged 30 feet off a highway overpass last week, bringing the death toll from the accident to seven...
Theft
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:06:06
ORANGE, Calif... A $25,000 diamond was found stuck in a shower drain at the prison housing the man accused of stealing it two years ago... swallowed and regurgitated the rock each time he was transferred. But 14 months ago, just as [he] was about to be searched he threw the diamond into a shower stall and it fell down the drain...
Disturbing Family Patterns
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:03:18
FOLSOM, Calif.... The mother of a 13-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly driving her son to a fight with another boy, then cheering him on as he struck his smaller opponent.... shouted down another woman who tried to break up the fight... suspicion of two felonies, endangering the life or health of a child and criminal conspiracy, as well as contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor... "You can hear her on the tape shouting, 'Hit him! Hit him!' The kid is throwing serious punches..." the fight was brief and neither boy was seriously injured...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:58:09
leader" of an al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group has been arrested in Iraq, according to an Iraqi military spokesman. The man was captured on Friday in a raid in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib district, spokesman Qassim Moussawi said. Earlier reports had suggested that the man was Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the self-styled leader of the Sunni Arab group the Islamic State in Iraq. But Mr Moussawi confirmed that this was not the case...
telegraph.co.uk/ ... 09:40:45
America is stepping up its hunt for Osama bin Laden by dispatching additional CIA operatives and paramilitary officers to Pakistan to kill or capture the al-Qa'eda leader. Osama... turns 50 [10-Mar]... "Reports that the trail has gone stone cold are not correct," an American official said afterwards. "We are very much increasing our efforts there..." Satellite photographs and details of communications intercepts were given to President Musharraf of Pakistan last week by Stephen Kappes, deputy director of the CIA... Kappes also met members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency... The decision to send such a senior intelligence officer to brief Mr Musharraf is an indication of the Bush administration's increasing concern about the borderlands between Pakistan and Afghanistan...
Healing Ourselves
dailymail.co.uk/ ... 10:46:16
Scientists have grown a beating "miniature heart in a dish" in a world first that offers hope to millions of cardiac patients...
Cryptozoology
celebrate10.wnd.com/ ... 10:41:02
"It's time people knew it was a hoax," said conscience-stricken Bob Heironimus. "I've been burdened with this for 36 years, seeing the film clip on TV numerous times. Somebody's making lots of money off this, except for me. But that's not the issue the issue is that it's time to finally let people know the truth." Hieronimus reportedly agreed to don a gorilla suit and walk in front of the camera for an amateur documentary maker named Roger Patterson. An associate of the filmmaker, now deceased, denied Heironimus' claim of a staged Sasquatch encounter. The mystery continues...
World Zookeeping
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:01:43
BRATTLEBORO, Vt.... A 125-pound pet alligator that had been living in a basement cage is headed to a new home after it was confiscated by the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. The 6-foot-4-inch American alligator, estimated to be 17-years old, had been living in the home for seven years...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:00:04
Mama Petite, described as one of the oldest hippos in the country, has died after several days of rapidly declining health at the Birmingham Zoo. The 50-year-old, 2,800-pound hippo was euthanized in her outdoor enclosure Wednesday while surrounded by her zoo caretakers... gave birth to nine offspring during her time in Birmingham...
Digital Culture
sfgate.com/ ... 10:47:08
The wife of a Chinese man imprisoned in Beijing for promoting democracy lashed out at Yahoo Inc. for turning over information about him to authorities and said she will sue the Internet portal for what she called its betrayal...
Digital Threat
computerworld.com/ ... 10:28:54
Microsoft will skip next week's usual Patch Tuesday because it has no fixes for users... the first time in 18 months that Microsoft has not issued at least one security update in a scheduled patch rollout. Since January 2003, only three months have been sans security fixes.... According to security organizations, there are numerous problems still unfixed... Zero-Day Tracker... shows five vulnerabilities that have been reported... but not patched.... Internet Storm Center... lists nine bugs...
Ummm....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:06:54
WINSTED, Conn... Bank robbers, terrorists and prowlers have given ski masks a bad name for years, but a Connecticut man is wearing them around town to prove that not everyone who dons one is plotting mayhem...
Music industry is dead
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:01:10
In what is becoming an unfortunate tradition, Wilco's new album, "Sky Blue Sky," has leaked online, more than two months prior to its May 15 release date. The group's 2002 album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was online for nine months before it was eventually released in stores, and 2004's "A Ghost Is Born" also hit the Internet well before street date...
Digital Theory of Education
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:00:29
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will become by year's end the first U.S. university to offer all of its roughly 1,800 courses free on the Internet...
Reasons for Repeal
origin.sltrib.com/ ... 10:30:40
The odor of burning marijuana is insufficient to allow police to enter a residence without a warrant
, the Utah Supreme Court ruled Friday... aid only a limited number of circumstances create an exception to the warrant requirement, such as preventing the imminent destruction of evidence. Smelling pot is not one of them... "The aroma of marijuana must be accompanied by some evidence that the suspects are disposing of the evidence, as opposed to casually consuming it..."
latimes.com/ ... 10:16:06
Three tons of marijuana worth an estimated
[prohibition-inflated prohibitionism-vaunting by-the-joint value of]
$20 million on the street was found in a rental truck abandoned on a freeway onramp this week... No one was around, and nothing appeared to be wrong with the vehicle... truck was unlocked and its engine still warm... "Somebody's going be in some major trouble for walking away and leaving that quantity sitting on the side of freeway.... I'm glad I'm not him..."
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:04:46
CHANDLER, Ariz... A man who started a small fire while cooking methamphetamine drove to a Wal-Mart to buy a fire extinguisher when he couldn't put out the flames... was greeted by Maricopa County deputies when he returned...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:04:01
SAGINAW, Mich.... Police said they caught an 8-year-old trying to sell marijuana to other children at a counseling center... found the marijuana in a box of Lego toys... boy is enrolled in a program for students with disabilities...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:59:14
Thousands of Russians may have been poisoned by bootleg alcohol containing medical disinfectant causing drinkers' skin to turn yellow before they fall dangerously ill or die... There is something about the light - or the lack of it - that eats the soul in Russia, that makes you drink. The dark days in winter, the grimness of ordinary life. They say one in six Russians is an alcoholic. That is why President Putin, the former KGB man, is something of a puritan - at least in public. He has brought in a series of laws, tripling the price of vodka and threatening dire penalties if people drink black market moonshine... And that is, of course, what everybody who can't afford shop-bought vodka does...
US Election 2008
today.reuters.com/ ... 09:54:25
Nevada Democratic Party officials said on Friday they were canceling a presidential debate co-sponsored by Fox News, following a joke chairman Roger Ailes made about Democratic candidate Barack Obama... Fox News Vice President David Rhodes responded with a written statement criticizing the Democrats for
caving in to MoveOn.org. "News organizations will want to think twice before getting involved in the Nevada Democratic Caucus, which appears to be controlled by radical fringe out-of-state interest groups, not the Democratic Party..."
World Without Borders
sun-sentinel.com/ ... 09:49:22
Federal and local law enforcement agents wrapped up a two-day exercise Thursday simulating a possible mass exodus from Cuba after Fidel Castro's death.... simulation began just hours after a real U.S. Border Patrol mission picked up more than 40 Spanish-speaking migrants who happened to arrive Thursday morning along Miami-Dade beaches... Still Cuba experts said they don't expect massive waves of migrants like 1980's Mariel boatlift... More than 124,000 people were stopped at sea in a six-month period during the Mariel crisis, which was triggered when Castro said anyone who wanted to leave the communist island could...
Cartoons Count
msnbc.msn.com/ ... 09:47:53
The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called "The Frog Princess," which will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studios first black princess... a girl named Maddy who lives in the French Quarter in New Orleans... also is the first hand-drawn film Disney has committed to since pledging last month to return to... traditional animation... scored by composer Randy Newman... Disney introduced its first non-white animated heroine in 1992's "Aladdin": a Middle Eastern character named Jasmine. Three years later an American Indian princess appeared in "Pocahontas." The creation of the Chinese heroine from "Mulan" came in 1998. Other Disney princesses are the main characters from "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid..."
Modern Family Life
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:45:46
It looks like an ordinary family scene, but Patrick is Susan's brother and they are lovers. "Many people see it as a crime, but we've done nothing wrong... We are like normal lovers. We want to have a family. Our whole family broke apart when we were younger, and after that happened, Susan and I were brought closer together..." Patrick and Susan have been living together for the last six years, and they now have four children. The authorities placed their first son, Eric, in the care of a foster family, and two other children were also placed in care. "Our children are with foster parents. We talk to them as often as possible, but the authorities have taken away so much from us..." Incest is a criminal offence in Germany... Patrick Stuebing has already served a two-year sentence... and there is another jail term looming if paragraph 173 of the legal code is not overturned...
Big Nanny
latimes.com/ ... 09:43:58
SACRAMENTO -- Enjoy fast food? Like to light up while you watch the waves? Forget to sock away money for your kids' education? Some California lawmakers want to change your ways. They've planted a crop of proposals this year "nanny" bills, as they're called that would:
Restrict the use of artery-clogging trans fat... in restaurants and school cafeterias....
Bar smoking at state parks and beaches, and in cars carrying children....
Open a savings account, seeded with $500, for every newborn Californian...
Fine dog and cat owners who don't spay or neuter their pets by 4 months of age.
Require chain restaurants to list calorie, saturated fat and sodium content...
Phase out the sale of incandescent light bulbs
The debate has commenced in the Capitol: How far should government go?
The proposals are the brainchildren of Democratic legislators.
Republicans, who say the sponsors are trying to parent the whole state, are having none of it.
... Assembly's Republican leader, Mike Villines of Clovis.
"We all know you can't mandate behavior; it just does not work," he said. "It creates criminals of people for things that are not criminal behavior . You can't legislate for stupidity."
...
[There's more every day to inspire the cry, repeal! Repeal! REPEAL!]
FRI 2007-MAR-09
Civilization vs Gangsterism
breitbart.com/ ... 22:20:33
The leader of the al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq has been captured in a raid west of Baghdad.... Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was captured Friday in a raid in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad.... U.S. officials had no confirmation of the capture...
WW2 - still with us
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 15:20:20
Japanese emperor Hirohito expressed doubts about going to war with China in the 1930s and 40s, extracts from a diary of one of his advisers reveal... was afraid the Soviet Union would intervene... The diary by Kuraji Ogura, who worked as a chamberlain to Hirohito in World War II, was found recently...
Animals can be Dangerous
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:16:01
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo... As Walter was inspecting the Cape Rock Water Treatment Plant property Tuesday night, a rabbit leaped into his golf cart - followed by a 25-pound bobcat. The rabbit then jumped back out, leaving Walter alone with a large, frightened feline. "The cat went from a sleek predator after fast food to a ball of fur trying to jump through the windshield of the golf cart..." Walter received scratches on his neck while shoving the bobcat out, necessitating a round of rabies shots, but was otherwise unhurt...
Animal Companions
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:14:32
ANDERSON, Ind... A collie named Lassie roused her owners and enabled them to escape their burning home but died in the fire.... "Even the firemen said that. Isn't that amazing? It gives me goose bumps..." "...she was a wonderful dog..."
Virtual Future is Now
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:09:01
Italy's Gabetti Property Solutions has joined the Second Life land rush, laying claim to being the first real-life property company in the booming virtual world...
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:08:49
The founders of CherryTAP claim to have set up the Internet's first online pub that gives users the nuances of a pub but from the comfort of their home computer or laptop...
It's All in Your Mind
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:12:54
Doctors have long advised that a good night's sleep is important for memory - but researchers now say a familiar scent wafting in the bedroom might help sometimes, too.... it only worked for some kinds of memories and during one stage of sleep, meaning it's not the answer for people hunting a quick memory boost....
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 15:08:31
The brain does register subliminal images even if a person is unaware they have seen them... suggests subliminal advertising is probably effective... first used in the 1950s, has been banned in the UK, but is still permitted in the US... first time researchers have provided physiological evidence of the impact...
Orbiting Overhead
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:07:23
Four additional satellites will measure chemical makeup in the atmosphere and the signal turbulence of satellites. They also will allow satellites to inspect themselves...
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:05:10
A
prototype satellite repair robot
that can refuel, upgrade and repair satellites was launched from Florida on Thursday night to begin a three-month orbital field test. The two-satellite system, called Orbital Express, was developed by the U.S. military in cooperation with NASA to extend the lives of spy satellites and lay the groundwork for the servicing and repair of government-owned spacecraft and telescopes after the space shuttle fleet is retired...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:14:45
Army Staff Sgt.
Christopher R. Webb
, 28, of Winchester, Calif.
Army Spc.
Shawn P. Rankinen
, 28, of Independence, Mo.
Army Spc.
Michael D. Rivera
, 22, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
died Mar. 7 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 15:04:27
Army Pvt.
Mark W. Graham
, 22, of Lafayette, La., died Mar. 7 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol Mar. 2 in Baghdad, Iraq. Graham was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 15:04:01
Army Staff Sgt.
Justin M. Estes
, 25, of Sims, Ark.
Army Staff Sgt.
Robert M. Stanley
, 27, of Spotsylvania, Va.
Army Sgt.
Andrew C. Perkins
, 27, of Northglenn, Colo.
Army Spc.
Ryan M. Bell
, 21, of Colville, Wash.
Army Spc.
Justin A. Rollins
, 22, of Newport, N.H.
Army Pfc.
Cory C. Kosters
, 19, of The Woodlands, Texas
died Mar. 5 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit during combat operations. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Theory of Education
wbir.com/ ... 22:19:14
SAN DIEGO -- Officials at the Grossmont Union High School District have sent letters home to parents, notifying them that a number of students have been caught on campus with medical marijuana cards.... In the letters, parents, students and faculty are reminded that even if the cards are valid, it is against the law to have marijuana on school property.....
Reasons for Repeal
nzherald.co.nz/ ... 15:34:51
A woman who called Napier [New Zealand] police this morning to report a burglary became so upset she broke down in tears - although the police communications officer who took the initial call couldn't stop smiling.... called to report the theft of three marijuana plants which she had growing in pots outside.... bitterly complained that it was the fourth year in a row someone had sneaked on to her Ahuriri property and made off with her marijuana plants.... told the communications operator she was a good person and was sick and tired of "low-lifes" stealing her things...
ketv.com/ ... 15:33:31
[47yo] Omaha man was arrested Thursday after police said they found more than 120 marijuana plants in his home.... found the plants inside along with more than 2 pounds of packaged pot...
stopthedrugwar.org/ ... 15:32:49
The New Mexico House killed the medical marijuana bill there today on a vote of 36-33. The debate was filled with the usual bigotry, hypocrisy, and ignorance parading as expertise. I'm particularly irritated with Rep. John Heaton (D-Carlsbad), who, because he works as a pharmacist, apparently thinks he is an expert on medical marijuana....
wcsh6.com/ ... 15:32:14
Some California teens... are finding easy access to medical marijuana cards and presenting those cards to school authorities as a legitimate excuse for getting high.... the law doesn't apply to schools which are subject to federal law. The district also says the students most recently suspended for being high with cards in hand, didn't have major illnesses. "Students are getting them for things like sleeplessness and stress, it just draws into question how easy is it for people to get their hands on these cards...."
Bad for the Cause
indystar.com/ ... 15:31:15
LIGONIER, Ind... A girl is cooperating with police who say she admitted serving marijuana-laced brownies at her 14th birthday party, causing one [13yo] guest to become ill.... That child's parents became suspicious and used a drug-detection test purchased at a local drug store to test their child. ...[said she] baked the marijuana in the brownies to get even with one of the other girls at the party.... no evidence remaining, as all of the brownies were eaten at the party...
[define "ill" here...]
Digital Threat
technewsworld.com/ ... 15:29:37
Microsoft isn't talking about why it has decided to omit its monthly distribution of security patches. There are several serious problems awaiting fixes, including five zero-day vulnerabilities. The company might be holding off in order to give IT staff a break as they prepare for the early switch to daylight saving time...
Big Brother
voanews.com/ ... 15:28:47
An internal U.S. government report says the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, abused its powers in secretly obtaining personal information in investigations targeting terrorism or espionage suspects.... improperly and at times illegally abused its power when it demanded and received customer information from telephone companies, Internet service providers and financial institutions in the course of terrorism and espionage investigations.... misused the authority contained in what are called National Security Letters to compel the release of private information without getting prior approval from a judge or a grand jury....
Digital Business
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:22:06
The high-flying
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
of 2006 has given way to a company
in financial peril
, saddled with debt and bleeding from a brutal price battle with... Intel Corp.... subject of rumors of a possible takeover or private-equity cash infusion.... shares have plunged more than 60 percent over the past year on fears about the company's ability to continue gaining share without hurting profit margins. Meanwhile, Intel's stock is down just 4 percent. Investors are concerned AMD is spending too heavily to keep up with Intel's aggressive transition to next-generation manufacturing technology...
Digital Democracy
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:20:50
Politicians failed to tap the youth vote even after record turnout in the 2004 U.S. presidential election and will need the Internet to draw this block, a Harvard University survey showed on Friday. Young Americans were largely ignored by political campaigns during the 2006 congressional election, but their ballots helped decide two tight U.S. Senate races for Democrats....
Love is Strange
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:18:36
A 43-year-old German decided to settle his imminent divorce by chainsawing a family home in two and making off with his half in a forklift truck...
Digital Whoops Cascade
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:18:11
The mayor of a small town in Germany on Thursday called on Google Earth to delete a reference to a nearby "Mount Hitler" from its geographic image service, saying it was misleading.... had been known as Mount Hitler for a short time during the Third Reich but had been given back its original name of Heigelkopf after World War Two.... Google Germany spokesman Stefan Keuchel said the Hitler name had appeared due to a "technical accident..."
Modern Culture
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:16:44
Springfield, the Oregon one, is on a list of like-named towns competing for the big-screen debut of Homer, Bart and the rest of the TV Simpson family this summer...
[Why would any town want to be the Simpsons' "Springfield"?]
Human Right
bloomberg.com/ ... 15:29:19
A U.S. appeals court struck down a three-decade-old District of Columbia law that bans residents from keeping a handgun in their homes, saying the Constitution's Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Washington also threw out a district law requiring registered firearms to be kept disassembled or under trigger lock....
news24.com/ ... 15:27:48
Portugal's parliament voted overwhelmingly to legalise abortion up until the 10th week of pregnancy - a major step in bringing this small Roman Catholic nation in line with the vast majority of its European neighbours...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:13:07
Kroger Co. said Friday it was reiterating its drug policies to all of its pharmacists after a Georgia woman claimed she was denied the so-called "morning after" pill at one of the company's stores...
Digital Culture
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:10:35
Calls made on cell phones do not affect hospital medical devices, U.S. researchers said on Friday, but store anti-theft alarms might make implanted heart devices misfire...
Free Expression
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:10:13
Turkey lifted its ban on YouTube Friday... two days after a court ordered the Web site blocked...
Supernatural Threats
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:17:01
Pope Benedict was opposed to Bob Dylan appearing at a youth event with the late Pope John Paul in 1997 because he considered the pop star the wrong kind of "prophet," Benedict writes in a new book issued on Thursday...
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:09:30
Pope Benedict called on the media on Friday to promote family values and criticized the Internet and television's often "destructive" influence on young people...
World Without Borders
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 15:06:55
Greek Cypriots have demolished a key section of the barrier dividing the island's capital city, Nicosia. The Green Line has separated Cyprus's Greeks from the Turkish population since 1974... began under cover of darkness and had not been publicised in advance. But the Greek Cypriot authorities say Turkish troops must pull back before people can cross in either direction....
Big Nanny
blog.washingtonpost.com/ ... 22:19:50
His own party's club won't let him light up, so House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been sneaking over to the National Democratic Club to smoke. Ironic, and a tad scandalous -- considering Boehner sits on the board of the Capitol Hill Club, where Republican members of Congress do their boozing and schmoozing...
upi.com/ ... 22:18:03
A Swedish woman has been sued for smoking in her own garden. Her neighbor... a lawyer, demands 15,000 kroner ($2,000) in damages for her previous smoking plus another 2,000 kroner ($280) every time she lights up in the future....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 15:12:16
Full-page ads in college newspapers Friday call on university leaders, athletic conferences and the NCAA to "stop the madness" by banning alcohol marketing from college sports.... The ad claims that the alcohol industry spent more than $52 million to advertise its products during televised college sports in a recent year.... NCAA limits alcohol ads to one minute per hour of broadcast, won't allow ads for hard liquor and encourages "responsibility themes and messages" in the ads. The beer industry maintains the NCAA tournament draws a largely adult TV audience... with a median age of 48....
today.reuters.com/ ... 15:06:12
European homes, offices and streets will have to use energy-efficient lighting by the end of the decade, EU leaders decided on Friday.... German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who chaired the summit, told a news conference: "We're not saying people should throw out all the bulbs in their house today but people should start looking at what's in the shops.
Most of the light bulbs in my flat are energy-saving bulbs. They're not yet quite bright enough. When I'm looking for something I've dropped on the carpet, I have a bit of a problem
...."
THU 2007-MAR-08
Prison Sucks
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:31:22
A Paraguayan man walked free on Wednesday after
spending 19 years in prison without ever being tried....
[39yo] was held in the psychiatric wing of the Tacumbu prison in the capital Asuncion, but at his first court hearing in nearly two decades he was cleared of wrongdoing and immediately released.... originally detained on accusations of violent conduct, but he was never tried for any crime.... had been abandoned by his relatives and that jail wardens had not been able to contact them....
Scary Times
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:27:36
SHAWANO, Wis... Deputies got a surprise answer when they asked a man if an item in his bedroom was for smoking marijuana.... "That's not a dope pipe, it's my bomb..." could face up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine on a felony charge of possessing improvised explosives....
Betrayal
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:06:43
Police in Arizona arrested a former U.S. Navy sailor on charges of spying and providing material support to terrorists.... suspected of providing classified information to a London-based organization called Azzam Publications and knowing that it was to be used in a conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens.... related to disclosure [of] a U.S. Navy battle group movements as it traveled from California to the Gulf in 2001...
Under Sexist Tyranny
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:03:14
All but three of the 33 Iranian women activists arrested earlier in the week in Tehran have been freed.... warned not to take part in any protests to mark International Women's Day on Thursday....
Family Tragedy
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:01:06
Eight children and an adult have been killed in a fire which devastated a four-storey building in the New York City borough of the Bronx. Unconscious children were thrown out of windows to people waiting below... At least 10 people were injured... some... serious.... said to be one of the city's worst fires in recent times...
Violence
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:01:33
An elderly Palestinian died and several people were injured when police lost control of a crowd on the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. At least three people were shot as police opened fire to drive back crowds pushing towards the crossing. It was not immediately clear if the man was crushed or had a heart attack....
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:59:55
Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a member of a banned Pakistan Sunni militant group in the north-western town of Dera Ismail Khan... Two men on a motorbike, one in a full veil, killed Masroor Alam Alami as he walked to his shop... The group to which he is said to have belonged, Sipah-e-Sahaba, has a history of sectarian attacks and was banned in 2002 for having links with al-Qaeda. It is suspected of involvement in a string of recent bombings in Pakistan...
WW2 - still with us
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:02:41
A group of Norwegians who were fathered by German soldiers in World War II are suing the Norwegian authorities at the European Court of Human Rights... claim they suffered widespread abuse and discrimination after the war. During the war the Nazis encouraged liaisons between German troops and Norwegian women... part of a plan to breed an Aryan master race of blonde-haired, blue-eyed babies for the Thousand-Year Reich... In post-war Norway they became targets of abuse, often bullied, beaten, even locked away in mental institutions just because their fathers had been German soldiers... They are suing the Norwegian state for having failed to protect them after the war and for discriminating against them...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:55:10
Under intense pressure from Asia and the United States, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that
ruling party lawmakers will conduct a fresh investigation into the Japanese military's forced sexual slavery of women during World War II
. Abe triggered outrage in China, North and South Korea and the Philippines last week by saying there was no proof the women were coerced. He said Monday that Japan will not apologize again for the Japanese military's "comfort stations..."
Civilization vs Gangsterism
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:54:24
Fugitive Afghan rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar told The Associated Press that his forces have ended cooperation with the Taliban and suggested that he was open to talks with embattled President Hamid Karzai.... "The jihad went into high gear but later it gradually went down as certain elements among the Taliban rejected the idea of a joint struggle against the aggressor.... It was not a good move by the Taliban to disassociate themselves from the joint struggle," he said. "Presently we have no contact with the Taliban..."
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:47:32
Army Staff Sgt.
Darrel D. Kasson
, 43, of Florence, Ariz., died Mar. 4 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle at Bayji, Iraq. He was assigned to the 259th Security Forces Company, Phoenix.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:47:05
Army Spc.
Blake Harris
, 22, of Pueblo, Colo., assigned to the 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
Army Spc.
Ryan D. Russell
, 20, of Elm City, N.C., assigned to the 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
Army Pvt.
Barry W. Mayo
, 21, of Ecru, Miss., assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
died Mar. 5 in Baqubah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:45:48
Army Sgt.
Brandon A. Parr
, 25, of West Valley, Utah
Army Sgt.
Michael C. Peek
, 23, of Chesapeake, Va.
Army Sgt.
Ashly L. Moyer
, 21, of Emmaus, Pa.
died Mar. 3 in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. They were assigned to the 630th Military Police Company, Bamberg, Germany.
Animal Culture
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:29:45
When his chickens started disappearing a few weeks ago, a farmer in eastern India figured dogs or jackals were to blame - until he discovered his calf making a meal of his poultry... The local veterinarian was at a loss for an explanation. "I've never read or heard about cows turning carnivorous.... They eat grass and other vegetarian food but not fish or other non-vegetarian stuff..."
Military Culture
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:21:43
An Israeli defense firm on Thursday unveiled a portable robot billed as being capable of entering most combat zones alone and engaging enemies with an onboard armory that includes a machine-pistol and grenades. The VIPeR, roughly the size of a small television....
Dinosaurs -- still with us
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:20:25
scientists estimated the size of the genome -- the genetic composition of an organism -- for 31 species of dinosaurs and extinct birds, and found that the meat-eating types like T-rex had relatively small genomes...
Extraterrestrial
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:19:54
Sunlight can cause asteroids to spin more quickly... because they tend to be irregularly shaped and not perfectly round...
Feeding Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:24:34
A man who once weighed well over a half ton left his house for the first time in five years Wednesday.... "The sky is beautiful and blue and what I want is to enjoy the sun...." had once been certified by doctors as weighing 1,235 pounds.... has lost 395 pounds since he began a high-protein diet a year ago. He now weights about 840 pounds...
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:19:18
Food scientists at Ohio State University in Columbus have grown a special variety of orange tomatoes that may be healthier than garden-variety red tomatoes. The orange tomatoes contain a type of lycopene that is more readily used by the body than the type found in red tomatoes... Lycopene -- an antioxidant thought to have a number of health benefits such as reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease and age-related eye problems -- is what gives red tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables their rich color...
Virtual Future is Now
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:55:30
Sony is hoping to replicate the success of social networks and Second Life with a feature called Home. Playstation 3 gamers will be able to meet, chat and share content with friends inside a 3D universe...
Long Underwear Heroes are Dead
indystar.com/ ... 10:41:46
Captain America... Wednesday, the comic world was stunned to learn that the venerable superhero had been killed by a sniper in the latest issue of his namesake comic. It ended a long run for the stars-and-stripes-clad character, created in 1941. Over the years, 210 million copies of Captain America comic books, published by New York-based Marvel Entertainment, have been sold in 75 countries.... As word of the storyline spread among collectors, comic shops across the country -- including Indianapolis -- began selling out within hours.... In the comic-book universe, death isn't always final. Marvel Entertainment Editor in Chief Joe Quesada said a Captain America comeback isn't impossible. But even if Captain America turns out to have met his end in print, he may not disappear entirely. Marvel is developing a Captain America movie...
It's Only Money
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:32:14
In God We Trust. In machines? Not so much. An unknown number of new U.S. $1 coins bearing the image of George Washington are
missing the words "In God We Trust" and other lettering along the edges
, the U.S. Mint said on Wednesday.... were supposed to have the inscriptions "In God We Trust," "E Pluribus Unum," the date and the mint mark around the edge. It is unclear how the mistake occurred or how many of the coins are in circulation....
People Die
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:28:34
CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.... A 28-year-old woman may have kept the body of her roommate in their apartment for up to three weeks.... The body of the woman, believed to be in her 20s, was found covered by items of clothing on the living room floor.... [Police:] "She did give us a story as to her reasonings. We are hesitant to detail that now...."
Reasons for Repeal
freshplaza.com/ ... 10:38:13
Eight people were arrested after police busted what they believe is the largest indoor marijuana grow operation ever found in eastern Ontario. Ontario Provincial Police seized
3,100 marijuana plants
from the Imperial Mushroom Farm in North Stormont, Ont., on Tuesday.... They estimated the farm would have earned millions of dollars annually if it had been in full production...
usatoday.com/ ... 10:37:28
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. A decade ago, the Rev. Scott Imler co-wrote and organized the ballot initiative that made California the first state to legalize marijuana for medical use. Now Imler shakes his head with dismay over what his law has wrought: scores of storefront marijuana shops across Southern California with menus of pot varieties for sale to anyone with a doctor's note.... "It's really become a way of skirting the law for the recreational use of marijuana," Los Angeles police Lt. Paul Vernon says...
[Legalization... live with it!]
elpasotimes.com/ ... 10:36:19
A former El Paso trucking manager convicted of transporting marijuana in his tractor-trailers was
sentenced this week to life in prison
by a North Carolina judge....
firefightingnews.com/ ... 10:35:46
Oregon - A fire in an Aloha home this morning revealed an apparent marijuana growing operation.... firefighters discovered what appeared to be marijuana plants and grow lights in the large attic space... the renter was growing upwards of 100 marijuana plants in the attic of the house... appears that the fire started in the same area of the attic where the marijuana plants were growing...
star.txstate.edu/ ... 10:34:48
The
penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana could be reduced
if a bill in the Texas House of Representatives is passed.... would reclassify possession of up to one ounce of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor.... offenders do not receive jail time for a first offense... would only be required to pay a fine. The current law states possession of up to two ounces is considered a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a maximum fine of $2,000....
[THIS IS B!S! REPEAL! REPEAL! REPEAL!]
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:26:21
Britain's drug policy has failed
and should be replaced with a system that recognizes drinking and smoking can cause more harm than some illegal drugs
, according to an independent study published Thursday.... New laws are needed that acknowledge that "whether we like it or not, drugs are and will remain a fact of life.... On that basis, the aim of the law should be to reduce the amounts of harms caused to individuals, their friends and families, their children and their communities..." said current laws are "driven by moral panic," with large amounts of money wasted on futile efforts to stop supply rather than going after the criminal networks behind the drugs on British streets...
[URK! Still wrong! REPEAL! REPEAL! REPEAL!]
also called for jail sentences to be given for only the most serious drug-related crimes and for addicts to be given jobs and housing as part of treatment...
People Live
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:23:21
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo... A woman who went into a vegetative state more than six years ago awoke this week for three days and spoke with her family and a local television station before slipping back. "I'm fine," Christa Lilly told her mother on Sunday - her first words in eight months. She has awakened four other times for briefer periods since suffering a heart attack and stroke in November of 2000.... also got to see youngest daughter, Chelcey, now 12 years old, and three grandchildren.... mother and caregiver Minnie Smith said: "The good Lord let me know she's alright, he brings her back to visit every so often and I'm thankful for that..."
Digital Business
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:21:10
The on-line collaboration responsible for Wikipedia plans to build a search engine to rival those of Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., the founder of the popular Internet encyclopaedia said on Thursday. Wikia Inc., the commercial counterpart to the non-profit Wikipedia, is aiming to take as much as 5 percent of the lucrative Internet search market....
World Without Borders
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:05:24
Two thousand imaginary Cuban migrants set sail toward Florida during a massive two-day U.S. training exercise but were intercepted by federal, state and local agents armed with teamwork and acronyms...
Human Right
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:04:11
China has unveiled a landmark law that will boost the protection of private property rights. This is the
first piece of legislation in the Communist country to cover an individual's right to own assets.
...will also reportedly boost protection against land seizures, which have become a major source of unrest among farmers in rural areas...
Digital Culture
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:56:11
Thousands of prospective university students are using the internet to cheat in their applications, analysis by admissions service Ucas reveals. Checks on 50,000 personal statements found 5% had borrowed material... done after the 15 October deadline for Oxbridge, medicine, dentistry and veterinary science applications. Almost 800 drew on three example medicine statements on a free website, including a story about burnt pyjamas...
WED 2007-MAR-07
Love is Strange
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:01:44
SALT LAKE CITY.... a groom is in jail, accused of trying to run over his new wife after a weekend wedding in Las Vegas.... [29yo bride] apparently got out of the car and started to walk away when [33yo groom] drove off the road and hit her with the car, pushing her into a snowbank... not seriously injured but might have a broken leg... Both have jail records and are "well known to the sheriff's office..."
Wasn't the Pot
canada.com/ ... 11:12:24
ORANGEBURG, S.C.... A car with 43 pounds of
marijuana crashed into a trooper's cruiser... causing minor injuries to the trooper behind the wheel, Williamson said. Officers found two large duffel bags in the trunk with 43 pounds of marijuana in plastic bags, worth
[prohibition-inflated black-market value]
more than $150,000... also found a few marijuana cigarettes and cocaine.... 54-year-old driver from Daytona Beach Shores, Fla., was charged with driving under the influence, possession of cocaine and trafficking marijuana...
[What an idiot!]
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:59:20
STEVENS POINT, Wis... 24-year-old man called police to tell them he was trying to break into a church, but he wasn't having much luck.... told them he had hoped to get married in the church and was trying to use a metal shovel to break through the doors.... figured they could help. Officers search the man and found marijuana. He then invited them to his home, where he told them they would find more drugs.... showed them his stash of
marijuana and stolen prescription drugs...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:57:39
SHEBOYGAN, Wis... 22-year-old man was arrested for drug possession after police found a
marijuana pipe and drugs stashed in his underwear.... after they found the man's car stuck in a ditch in Wilson.... the man's pants were undone and officers asked if there was anything illegal in his clothing.... found a pipe and a small amount of marijuana.... charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, felony marijuana possession and operating a vehicle after having his license revoked...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:41:07
More than a million Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims poured into Iraq's holy city of Kerbala on Wednesday, defying insurgents who killed 155 people in two days in attacks blamed by the government on Sunni militants. At least 16 people were killed on Wednesday... A car bomb in Saidiya in southern Baghdad killed eight people, including seven pilgrims and a policeman.... Another seven pilgrims were killed by a roadside bomb and gunmen in Doura in southern Baghdad... One more was killed by gunmen in central Baghdad...
"These acts will not stop us,"
said Jabar Ali, who walked for eight days from the southern city of Basra to Kerbala for Shi'ite mourning ceremonies...
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:38:46
Afghan soldiers have captured a Taliban leader who tried to flee a security operation in the south dressed in a burqa.... Mullah Mahmood... described as an expert bomb-maker
[and (Schwartznegger accent) girly-maann]
. U.S.-led coalition forces also detained five more suspected militants in eastern Khost this week....
Under Sexist Tyranny
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:33:58
A group of Iranian women activists are continuing a hunger strike in prison, after eight of their number were freed. Thirty-three women were arrested on Sunday after staging a demonstration outside a courthouse in Tehran.... showing solidarity with five women on trial for organising an anti-discrimination protest in 2006....
Nature can be Dangerous
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:33:16
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 has struck western Iran... 35 people... injured in the town of Dorud in Lorestan province... some damage to buildings.... Most of the injuries were caused by flying glass or when dazed victims were trampled in panicking crowds.... most of the casualties had minor wounds... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6426227.stm... same area ...hit by a stronger quake just under a year ago [when] Some 70 people were killed... and thousands made homeless....
Iraq
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:26:44
Iran will attend the international conference on Iraq that will be held in Baghdad on Saturday.... A deputy foreign minister will lead the Iranian delegation to the conference of Iraq's neighbors and the Big Five of the U.N. Security Council....
Violence
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:31:28
Israeli troops have arrested 18 people in a raid on the Palestinian military headquarters in Ramallah... Israeli army said the men were all suspected of involvement in shooting attacks on Israeli citizens.... Among those arrested was Khalil Shilo, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia linked to the Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas. He had been wanted since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000.... The Israeli military said about 70 people were detained initially, but most were later released...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:24:31
A bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded Wednesday near a vehicle carrying pro-government tribal elders in southwestern Pakistan, killing one of them and wounding 12 other people... One of the elders was killed and the other two were wounded. The other wounded people were passers-by... No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Sui, a town about 210 miles east of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, where Pakistan's main gas fields are located... Authorities have previously blamed such attacks on renegade tribesmen trying to force the central government to increase royalties from natural resources extracted from their territory...
Transport Tragedy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:23:35
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia... A packed jetliner crash-landed and erupted in flames Wednesday, killing at least 21 people trapped inside the burning wreckage. More than 115 others escaped through emergency exits.... two others remained unaccounted for... Survivors said the Boeing 737-400 operated by the national carrier, Garuda, shook violently as it approached Yogyakarta airport too fast in clear weather. It shot off the runway, bouncing three times before plowing through a fence and coming to a halt in a rice field...
Only Natural
smh.com.au/ ... 11:20:50
Pigs are a sign of fertility in China, and in the Year of the Pig, this piglet got more than his fair share, being born with two mouths, two noses and three eyes...
Digital Future is Now
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:55:00
An
ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa
, is being drawn up by South Korea.... A recent government report forecast that robots would routinely carry out surgery by 2018.... also predicted that every South Korean household will have a robot by between 2015 and 2020....
"Imagine if some people treat androids as if the machines were their wives...."
[ummm...]
The new guidelines could reflect the three laws of robotics put forward by author Isaac Asimov in his short story Runaround in 1942.... The European Robotics Research Network is also drawing up a set of guidelines on the use of robots.... A draft of the proposals said: "In the 21st Century humanity will coexist with the first alien intelligence we have ever come into contact with - robots...."
Lasting Contributions
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:29:46
The man who helped to create an international market for Californian wine,
Ernest Gallo
, has died, aged 97. He went into business with his brother, Julio, in 1933, after the United States abandoned the prohibition of alcohol.... became the world's biggest wine-producing company, although it was later overtaken.... Ernest Gallo died peacefully surrounded by his family in the Californian town of Modesto, where he was born almost 98 years ago....
US Military
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:13:57
National Guard... This week, the Navy and Marine Corps announced an increase, while the Army, Air Force and Coast Guard had a decrease. The net collective result is
794 fewer reservists
mobilized than last week.... This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to
82,052
, including both units and individual augmentees....
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:13:13
The Department of Defense announced today the completion of the second round of annual administrative review boards (ARB) conducted for enemy combatants detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.... Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, the designated civilian official (DCO) for the ARB process, has now made final decisions on all 328 board recommendations consisting of 55 (17 percent) transfers and 273 continued detentions.... More detainees have been released or transferred than remain in Guantanamo, underscoring the fact that the United States has put in place processes to assess each individual and make a determination about whether they may be released or transferred during the course of ongoing hostilities. This process is discretionary, administrative and is not required by the Geneva Convention or by U.S. or international law.... The number of detainees currently at Guantanamo is approximately 385, of which more than 80 have been designated for release or transfer, pending discussions with other nations or pending resolution of litigation in U.S. courts. All of the detainees remaining at Guantanamo are enemy combatants and represent a threat to the United States and our allies. Although individuals in the U.S. and in the international community have called for closing Guantanamo, no one has suggested a viable option to deal with these dangerous men. Guantanamo remains the most secure and efficient environment to process and contain these individuals....
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:10:37
Marine Lance Cpl.
Raul S. Bravo
, 21, of Elko, Nev., died March 3 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Bravo was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Your Government at Play
cbs4denver.com/ ... 11:17:55
The city of Denver has recycled old parking meters to help in the fight against homelessness. The old parking meters have been placed at various locations in downtown, including Skyline Park. The idea is to encourage people to put the money into the parking meters instead of giving to panhandlers. Money raised from the meters will go to organizations fighting homelessness...
Why People Go Vegan
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:15:05
British consumers increasingly take animal welfare into account in food purchases, but they don't want to know the gory details, a report said on Tuesday... 64 percent of consumers have considered animal welfare when buying food, although only 10 percent claimed they buy all higher welfare foods... The report noted that many consumers felt guilt about eating meat and were reluctant to explore welfare issues...
Just Random Chance
chron.com/ ... 11:07:38
At least two people can claim a share of a record $370 million lottery jackpot, and there could be more winners California was still checking its Mega Millions results... One winning ticket was traced to a liquor store in Woodbine, N.J., and another to a market in Dalton, Ga.... odds of hitting it: about 1 in 176 million...
Digital Business
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:56:07
Dell... is considering offering the Linux operating system as an alternative to... Windows on its personal computers....The only operating system that Dell currently offers on its PCs is Windows, with one exception.... It sells high-end Linux desktops designed specifically for use in oil and gas exploration...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:51:23
Internet music broadcasters worry that a new ruling could put many of them out of business by drastically increasing the royalty payments they have to make to record labels and artists. The new rates, which are retroactive to last year, were decided on Friday by the Copyright Royalty Board, a panel of three copyright judges, and made public Tuesday on the board's Web site, http://loc.gov/crb. The ruling could have the greatest impact on startup companies that make their living from broadcasting music online and selling advertising to pay for it.... former rate structure... called for paying royalties of 12 percent of revenues to music publishers.... the new rates... charge per song and per channel regardless of how much advertising money is being generated.... increasing [one company's] 2006 royalty bill from $48,000 to $600,000....
Digital Culture
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:48:32
MTV Networks, owner of the MTV and Comedy Central channels, is pushing a risky new Web strategy to win back young viewers from the likes of YouTube and MySpace. The network, which already has 150 Web sites in 162 countries, plans to build literally thousands more, hoping to draw viewers by letting them watch, contribute and even re-edit its television shows....
Free Expression
mediainfo.com/ ... 11:10:46
At least two more daily newspapers -- The Oakland Press of Michigan and The Mountain Press of Sevierville, Tenn. -- have dropped Ann Coulter's column. A daily in Pennsylvania had dropped the column two days ago. Oakland Press Editorial Page Editor Allan Adler, when reached this morning by E&P, said Coulter's use of the word "faggot" in a Friday speech was "definitely a factor" in the decision....
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:39:47
More than 30 Vermont towns passed resolutions on Tuesday seeking to impeach President Bush, while at least 16 towns in the tiny New England state called on Washington to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. Known for picturesque autumn foliage, colonial inns, maple sugar and old-fashion dairy farms, Vermont is in the vanguard of a grass-roots protest movement to impeach Bush over his handling of the unpopular Iraq war...
[Grassroots movements can be so cuuuute!]
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:36:43
Access to... YouTube has been suspended in Turkey following a court order.... imposed after prosecutors told the court that clips insulting former Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had appeared on the site. According to Turkish media, there has been a "virtual war" between Greek and Turkish users of the site, with both sides posting insulting videos. The clip prompting the ban reportedly dubbed Ataturk and Turks homosexuals.... The European Union, which Turkey is hoping to join, has long called for an easing of Article 301 - the law which prevents insults to Turkish culture - arguing that the law places severe restrictions on free speech in Turkey. About 50 writers in the country have been put on trial for allegedly contravening the rule... though most cases have eventually been dismissed by the judge...
Human Right
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:19:33
In a major victory for right-to-die advocates in Roman Catholic Italy,
prosecutors on Tuesday cleared a doctor of wrongdoing after he switched off the life support of a terminally ill patient who had asked to die.
...to end a life that the paralyzed patient had repeatedly described as torture....
The Roman Catholic Church went as far as to deny [MD sufferer] Welby a Catholic funeral and Pope Benedict joined the national debate by saying life was sacred until its "natural sunset"...
Reporting Science
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:18:08
Reclusive spiders living in the Arctic may yield clues to the impact of global warming
[Say "implact of climate change" rather than "impact of global warming" to be scientifically accurate and non-politicized... sigh!...]
just like bigger, better-known predators such as polar bears, a researcher said on Tuesday. Any disruptions to tiny Arctic spiders, little studied and living much of their lives under snow, could ripple through the food chain since they prey on insects and are in turn eaten by birds, said Michael Nickel of Stuttgart University in Germany. Nickel is to study Arctic spiders during a U.N.-sponsored International Polar Year in 2007-08, a 60-nation project to probe polar areas on the front lines of climate change. There are about 70 species of spiders in Greenland alone...
Reasons for Repeal
news.independent.co.uk/ ... 11:10:04
A grandmother who advocates cooking with cannabis was found guilty of growing and possessing the drug by a jury who deliberated for just 15 minutes today. Patricia Tabram, 68, was in breach of a six-month suspended jail sentence when police, acting on a tip-off, found four plants growing in a wardrobe at her bungalow in Humshaugh, Northumberland, in September 2005. They also found powdered cannabis in a jar next to her cooker. The jury heard Tabram's claims that she used cannabis to ease her depression, as well as aches and pains she still suffers from two car crashes....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:16:41
Government regulation of tobacco could backfire
by leading smokers to light up more often and inhale more deeply, the Food and Drug Administration chief said Tuesday.... if the FDA reduced nicotine levels in cigarettes, people would change their smoking habits to maintain current levels of the addictive drug. Bipartisan legislation introduced last month would give the FDA broad regulatory authority over tobacco and its ingredients, including nicotine...
[If only this thinking could be extended to all the government-regulation-induced ills of society.]
TUE 2007-MAR-06
Nature vs Transport
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:39:16
...Instead of lying down after being shot with a tranquilizer dart, a moose charged a hovering helicopter used by a wildlife biologist, damaging the aircraft's tail rotor and forcing it to the ground. Neither the pilot nor the biologist was injured, but the moose was maimed by the spinning rotor and had to be euthanized...
Cold War - still with us
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:24:30
Two American women... a mother and daughter aged 42 and 26... are being treated in a Moscow hospital for thallium poisoning... condition... "fairly serious".... circumstances are not yet clear.... The Soviet KGB used thallium against some of its enemies in the Cold War...
Nature can be Deadly
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:17:45
PADANG, Indonesia... A powerful earthquake crumpled houses across a large swath of western Indonesia on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people and injuring hundreds... magnitude 6.3... followed by several strong aftershocks...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:16:24
NATO-led troops launched an offensive against Taliban militants in a southern Afghan province where hundreds of militant fighters have massed in recent months. One NATO soldier was killed Tuesday in combat in the south. The operation... will eventually involve 4,500 NATO troops and 1,000 Afghan soldiers...
Under Digital Tyranny
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:12:26
Fearful of soaring Internet addiction and juvenile crime
[and the possibility of free communication]
, China has banned the opening of new Internet cafes this year, state media reported on Tuesday...
Mass Murdering Monsters
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:27:52
Up to 90 Shia pilgrims have been killed and more than 150 wounded in a double suicide bombing in the central Iraqi town of Hilla... Two bombers wearing explosive vests blew themselves up in a large crowd... deadliest in a number of attacks against pilgrims heading to the city of Karbala for a religious event...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:10:36
A suicide car bomber shattered a relative lull in Baghdad's violence Monday, killing at least 28 people in a blast that touched off raging fires and a blizzard of bloodstained paper from a popular book market... largest bombing in the capital in three days...
Iraq
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:10:09
Iraq's prime minister has called for an investigation into Sunday's raid by Iraqi and British forces in Basra on an intelligence agency detention centre. Nouri Maliki issued a statement calling for those behind the "illegal and irresponsible act" to be punished. The British military said the raid was part of an operation led by Iraqi counter-terrorist forces who were seeking a "known death squad leader". It said evidence of torture had been found at the southern Iraqi facility...
Violence
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:23:24
The Taleban say they have kidnapped a British journalist and two Afghan nationals in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:14:41
Mortar rounds slammed into Mogadishu's airport Tuesday during a ceremony welcoming the arrival of [Ugandan] peacekeepers. A policeman at the scene said one person was wounded... gunmen launched eight mortar rounds, but only two struck the airport...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:09:20
Suspected Maoists in India's eastern Jharkhand state have shot dead a member of the national parliament, sparking violent protests by his supporters... Sunil Mahato of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party was killed watching a football match on Sunday evening...
More than 6,000 people have died in 20 years of Maoist violence in Jharkhand...
An eyewitness... [said] that a female rebel squad had carried out the attack.
Transport Threat
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:04:57
The European Union has barred most of the planes of Pakistan International Airlines from flying to the 27-nation bloc because o f safety concerns. The ban affects 35 of the airline's fleet of 42 aircraft, with just seven Boeing 777s exempted....
War is Hell
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:04:20
Mar 5... Nine Afghan civilians have been killed in a bombing raid in Kapisa province... US forces have confirmed carrying out an air strike in the area but say they have no accurate casualty information... The news comes shortly after US forces were accused of killing 10 civilians during a shoot out on Sunday in Nangarhar province.
Journalists say US troops confiscated their photos and video footage of the aftermath of the violence
...
Transport Tragedy
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:27:24
At least 34 people have been killed after a commuter bus collided with a freight train at a rail crossing in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare... during the morning rush hour in Dzivarasekwa, on the city's western outskirts. The victims were all in the bus... overloaded with passengers, mostly market traders. It is believed that the bus driver - who also died - was speeding and ignored the train's siren....
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:22:48
A pilot and his eight-year-old daughter were killed when their small plane crashed into his in-laws' house in... Bedford... Indiana... A woman was in the house at the time, but she was not injured... preliminary investigation showed it was "an intentional act"...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:03:34
Eight people have been killed in a collision between a helicopter and a light plane near an Austrian ski slope, local officials have said.... The transport helicopter had seven people on board and was reportedly carrying equipment to a power plant. The plane had only the pilot on board and had taken off from Zell am See airport... not immediately clear how the accident had happened...
Nature can be Dangerous
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:21:36
Police have closed several major streets in Toronto after huge slabs of ice were reported falling off skyscrapers...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:00:14
ISLAMABAD... for many residents of Islamabad, spring heralds weeks of suffering and for some, it could mean death. Spring brings an explosion of pollen from
paper mulberry trees, an east Asian species planted when the city was built in the 1960s that has thrived and infested its open spaces.
The trees produce
levels of pollen
that experts say are
among the highest in the world...
Fun can be Dangerous
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:58:39
BERLIN... farmer... is claiming $6,450 in damages... claims that fireworks set off by the [three teenaged] boys made the previously lustful Gustav [the ostrich] both apathetic and depressed, and thus unable to perform for a half-a-year with his two female breeding partners.... estimates he lost out on 14 ostrich offspring - worth $460 apiece...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:43:01
Army Spc.
Christopher D. Young
, 20, of Los Angeles, Calif., died March 2 in Safwan, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, California Army National Guard, San Pedro, Calif.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:42:40
Navy Cmdr.
Morgan C. Tulang
, 36, of Hilo, Hawaii, died from apparent natural causes March 2, 2007, in Kuwait. Tulang was assigned to U.S. Central Command Deployment Distribution Operations Center, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Navy Hospitalman
Lucas W.A. Emch
, 21, of Kent, Ohio, died March 2, 2007, when an Improvised Explosive Device detonated in his vicinity while conducting combat operations in Al-Anbar Province, Iraq. Emch was a hospital corpsman assigned to 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:42:03
Army Staff Sgt.
Paul M. Latourney
, 28, of Roselle, Ill.
Army Spc.
Luis O. Rodriguez-Contrera
, 22, of Allentown, Pa.
died March 2 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle while on combat patrol. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:41:28
Marine Staff Sgt.
Dustin M. Gould
, 28, of Longmont, Colo., died March 2 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Gould was assigned to 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Extraterrestrial Threat
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:40:20
BLOOMINGTON, Ill.... When Dee Riddle heard breaking glass inside her central Illinois home on Monday morning, she first thought a bathroom mirror had shattered. But what had broken was a bedroom window and what had caused it to break was an object that had fallen from space... The small metallic object found near the window was most likely a meteorite... The last confirmed meteorite to strike Bloomington was in the '30s, he said....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:31:51
NASA officials say the space agency is capable of finding nearly all the asteroids that might pose a devastating hit to Earth, but there isn't enough money to pay for the task so it won't get done...
Animal Culture
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:33:10
A new study by German scientists of spiders' copulation techniques found that males leave part of their sex organ inside their female partner as a sort of "chastity belt" to deter rivals...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:31:29
People have long wondered how cowbirds can get away with leaving their eggs in the nests of other species, who then raise the baby cowbirds. Why don't the hosts just toss the strange eggs out? Now researchers seem to have an answer - if the host birds reject the strange eggs, the cowbirds come back and trash the place...
Geology
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:31:10
A pair of cave divers said Monday they have found subterranean passages in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula that constitute the world's longest underwater cave system... found flooded underground passages connecting two previously known cave systems - a discovery that shows how interconnected and vulnerable the Yucatan's fabled underground water system is...
Extraterrestrial
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:29:28
The world's first female astronaut Valentina Tereshkova, marking her 70th birthday on Tuesday, says she still dreams of flying to Mars -- even on a one-way ticket...
Digital Convergence
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:13:37
NBC and MSNBC.com have unveiled an extreme makeover of the "Today" show Web site that features a behind-the-scenes look at the three-hour and soon to be four-hour show. TodayShow.com launched Monday with a video blog from co-host Al Roker as well as exclusive content from "Today" contributors and other material from iVillage...
Digital Future is Now
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:02:32
Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment and a company called Digital Cinema Implementation Partners... are working on a new digital film delivery system that, if successful, could give theater operators the flexibility to put a popular movie on an extra screen as quickly as the demand for it arises. At the same time, theater operators could boot out a surprise stinker and even book in for a day or two an art-house film with a small but devoted audience..... would use satellite and broadband delivery systems to beam digital films directly to theaters, rather than have them copied onto hard drives and delivered by hand, as for the most part they are now....
Digital Culture
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:38:26
A new study that estimates how much digital information is zipping around (hint: a lot) finds that for the first time, there's not enough storage space to hold it all... determined that the world generated 161 billion gigabytes - 161 exabytes - of digital information last year. That's like 12 stacks of books that each reach from the Earth to the sun. Or you might think of it as 3 million times the information in all the books ever written... estimates that the world had 185 exabytes of storage available last year and will have 601 exabytes in 2010. But the amount of stuff generated is expected to jump from 161 exabytes last year to 988 exabytes (closing in on 1 zettabyte) in 2010...
Digital Whoops Cascade
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:26:31
...Wikipedia... controversy... a prominent editor had assumed a false identity complete with fake PhD.... described himself as a professor of religion at a private university.... was in fact [24yo]... college student from Kentucky who used texts such as Catholicism for Dummies... had the authority to arbitrate disputes between authors and remove site vandalism....
Reasons for Repeal
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:23:05
The United Nations says it fears that Afghanistan may grow even more poppies in 2007 - at a time when current levels are already running at record output. Poppy production rose 25% in 2006...
Human Right
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:05:42
A Mexican pop star has revealed to fans he is gay, breaking a taboo in a country where it is highly unusual for celebrities to make such statements. Christian Chavez, 23, belongs to RBD, a band that emerged from popular TV soap Rebelde (Rebel). He said he did not "want to keep on lying" about his life, after pictures emerged of him with a man apparently getting married in Canada...
Digital Threat
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:01:10
Microsoft's Live OneCare security software has failed tests which check how well it spots and stops malicious programs designed to attack Windows... the only failure among 17 anti-virus programs tested... only spotted 82.4% of the 500,000 viruses... the second [test] in less than a month that Microsoft's anti-virus software has failed...
People Die
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:13:03
www.deathclock.com lets you input your age, gender, weight and whether you smoke or not and then "calculates" how long you've got to live...
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:56:18
KARACHI... Pakistani police are hunting a man who dug up his father's two-year old corpse and took it home in a hijacked ambulance to try to bring him back to life... family say he is mentally ill...
[y'think?]
Theory of Education
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:55:11
BARI, Italy... An irate Italian family beat up a principal because they were unhappy with the grades a young relative had received and a ban on cell phones at school...
Business Culture
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:54:12
Starbucks Corp. is opposing Indian entrepreneur Shahnaz Husain's plans to start a chain of
coffee shops called Starstrucks
.... "Why should I give it up? Hundreds of others are deceptively similar. What to do? They have opposed and we will fight..." plans to open 25 stores in a year. The shops will have a glamour theme, with posters of movie stars, the paper said. "My concept's totally different..."
SUN 2007-MAR-04
US Civil War - still with us
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 21:39:39
Members of the Cherokee Nation of native Americans have voted to revoke tribal citizenship for descendants of black slaves the Cherokees once owned... Opponents said the amendment was racist and aimed at preventing those with African-American heritage from gaining tribal revenue and government funding. The Cherokee Nation has 250,000 to 270,000 members, second only to the Navajo...
Under Sexist Tyranny
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 21:37:55
Iran's authorities have arrested more than 32 women activists protesting outside a courthouse in Tehran.... showing solidarity with five women on trial for organising a protest last June against laws they say discriminate against women.... charged with endangering national security, propaganda against the state and taking part in an illegal gathering.... demonstration last June which was violently broken up by the police and led to the arrest of 70 people, many of them innocent bystanders.... The aim of the women is to draw attention to discriminatory Islamic laws on polygamy and child custody that often cause great suffering to women.... When the five women on trial left the court building they were arrested again, along with their lawyer.... The women believe the authorities are trying to intimidate them to prevent any kind of protest during International Women's Day on 8 March....
Iraq
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 21:35:22
More than 1,100 Iraqi and US troops have carried out an operation in Baghdad's Shia stronghold of Sadr City, the US military has said. It said no weapons cache had been found or suspected militant arrested. Meanwhile five people were detained in an early-morning raid by UK and Iraqi troops in the southern city of Basra.... In Basra, five people were held by British and Iraqi forces on suspicion of involvement in roadside bomb attacks against the multinational forces and Iraqi civilians, as well as kidnaps, torture and murder. As a result of information obtained, Iraqi counter-intelligence forces then raided the National Iraqi Intelligence Agency headquarters, where "further evidence of significant criminal activity such as torture" was found and a number of prisoners released.... Meanwhile the US military announced the death of three more servicemen in Anbar province....
chicagotribune.com/ ... 11:32:29
The U.S. military has reached an agreement with representatives of the Shiite community in Baghdad's Sadr City enclave that will allow American forces to maintain a permanent presence in the militia stronghold for the first time since 2004...
Cold War - still with us
msnbc.msn.com/ ... 11:24:51
FBI agents say they are assisting police in suburban Washington who are investigating the shooting of a Russian expert a man who spoke out on "Dateline NBC" last weekend and strongly suggested that remnants of the KGB were responsible for the bizarre poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko...
Threats
bloomberg.com/ ... 11:30:17
China will boost its 2007 defense budget by the most in five years, as an expanding economy gives the world's largest regular army resources for upgrades to rival Japan, the U.S. and Taiwan. Spending will rise by 17.8 percent to 350 billion yuan ($45 billion), to increase salaries for the 2-million strong People's Liberation Army and for "modernization" to deter Taiwan's push for independence, the National People's Congress spokesman Jiang Enzhu said at a press conference today in Beijing...
jpost.com/ ... 11:24:22
nalysis: What actually happened in Riyadh?.. Iran worries the Saudis greatly, especially its nuclear potential, which, as far as the Saudis are concerned, is the number one problem on the agenda. Obviously, this visit was significant for the Saudis. Saturday evening, Ahmadinejad landed in Riyadh to a king's welcome. Feasts were prepared for him. Abdullah meant to speak with him about everything, but first and foremost the nuclear issue. Because they don't share a common language (Ahmadinejad knows only Farsi, and Abdullah doesn't speak it) the conversation was conducted through an interpreter. Abdullah was obviously trying. He sat close to Ahmadinejad, something he doesn't often do with his guests, and tried to smile for the cameras before the meeting...
Violence
cbsnews.com/ ... 11:31:15
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, March 4, 2007... A man suspected of killing and dismembering his wife was captured Sunday as he fled searchers, running through snow in northern Michigan... police discovered what they believe to be the torso and other body parts of his wife, Tara Lynn Grant, in and around the couple's house in a suburb of Detroit... arrested in Bliss Township in northern Michigan, some 225 miles from his home...
eitb24.com/ ... 11:29:52
US military said a "complex" ambush involving a suicide car bomb and militant gunfire killed 16 Afghan civilians and wounded 34 people... involving a suicide car-bomb attack and militant gunfire... Afghan authorities said 10 civilians were killed and more than 30 wounded, at least eight of them when U.S. troops opened fire after the blast. They said they were not aware of the convoy coming under fire from gunmen after the blast... The U.S. military said its troops had returned fire in defence after a "complex ambush" but it did not make clear how the 16 civilians were killed and 24 wounded. The incident was being investigated by U.S and Afghan forces, it said...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:14:14
Eleven civilians and a police officer have been killed by a suicide car bomber in the Iraqi city of Ramadi.... the US military said it had killed several "key" insurgents north of Baghdad whom it blamed for shooting down a number of US helicopters.... The US says another air strike near Baghdad kills seven al-Qaeda suspects it blames for a large number of suicide car bombs.... Six Sunni Arab men are killed after receiving death threats for attending reconciliation talks with local Shia in Youssufiyah... Gunmen kidnap... a senior adviser to the Iraqi defence ministry in Baghdad...
Transport Near-Tragedy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:09:21
CHARLOTTE, N.C.... [11yo girl] was riding in the back seat of the family car Tuesday when her mother... started feeling lightheaded.... head rolled back and she passed out... [daughter] leaned forward and grabbed the wheel. Her mother's foot was still on the gas pedal, but [girl] steered to avoid a car before their car hit a telephone pole and stopped - unharmed....
Nature can be Deadly
hosted.ap.org/ ... 21:40:05
Avalanches killed at least five skiers in the Swiss and French Alps on Sunday following days of heavy snow... At least four other people died in unrelated mountain accidents...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:00:39
At least 40 people have been killed and scores more are missing in landslides on the Indonesian island of Flores... Indonesia is in the middle of its rainy season, which each year sparks dozens of landslides...
US Military Casualties
hosted.ap.org/ ... 21:24:26
CAIRO, Egypt... The Iraqi government is responsible for defusing the sectarian violence tearing the country apart and should redraft the constitution and rescind laws that give preferential treatment to Shiites and Kurds, Arab foreign ministers said in a statement Sunday.... strongest sign yet from the mostly Sunni Muslim Arab governments in the Middle East that they blame the Iraqi government for the country's sectarian strife....
defenselink.mil/ ... 20:20:16
Army Pvt.
Wesley J. Williams
, 23, of Philadelphia, Pa., died March 2, in Baghdad, of a non-combat related injury. Williams was assigned to the 163d Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Military Intelligence Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.
defenselink.mil/ ... 20:19:49
Army Staff Sgt.
Karl O. Soto-Pinedo
, 22, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, died Feb. 27 in Baghdad from wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire. Soto-Pineda was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
Dinosaurs -- still with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:12:16
A new dinosaur species was a plant-eater with yard-long horns over its eyebrows, suggesting an evolutionary middle step between older dinosaurs with even larger horns and the small-horned creatures that followed... horns, thick as a human arm, are like those of triceratops - which came 10 million years later.... belonged to a subfamily that usually had bony nubbins a few inches long above their eyes.... "It was sort of the grandfather or great-uncle of the really diverse horned dinosaurs that came after it...." Albertaceratops nesmoi, after the region and Cecil Nesmo, a rancher near Manyberries, Alberta, who has helped fossil hunters.... was about 20 feet long and lived 78 million years ago. The oldest known horned dinosaur in North America is called Zuniceratops. It lived 12 million years before Ryan's find, and also had large horns. That makes the newly found creature an intermediate between older forms with large horns and later small-horned relatives, said State of Utah paleontologist Jim Kirkland, who with Douglas Wolfe identified Zuniceratops in New Mexico in 1998. He predicted then that something like Ryan's find would turn up.
"Lo and behold, evolutionary theory actually works,"
he said...
Feeding Ourselves
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:21:24
The Food and Drug Administration may be poised to approve a controversial antibiotic for cattle despite fears it could hurt human health... cefquinome, is a fourth-generation cephalosporin, a class of antibiotics used for a range of human diseases including serious gastrointestinal diseases in children and meningitis... fear is that using such drugs in animals can lead to the emergence of new drug-resistant "superbugs..." The FDA's own advisors, the Veterinary Medical Advisory Committee, voiced such concerns when they voted in September to reject approval of cefquinome...
kansascity.com/ ... 11:05:31
SEATTLE... Tyson Foods late Friday voluntarily recalled about 16,473 pounds of ground beef that might be contaminated with a potentially fatal form of E. coli bacteria.... sent to distributors in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah.... recalled after federal tests at another, unidentified establishment indicated there might be a problem.... came in 60-pound boxes, each containing six 10-pound tubes (or "chubs") of ground beef... labeled "Round, coarse ground beef, 85/15"; the box end is labeled "Est. 9268" and has a "best before or frozen by" date of March 8....
People are Born
ocregister.com/ ... 21:46:28
[Woman] went to her local emergency room Monday night complaining of stomach pain and emerged with the biggest shock of her life. She was pregnant with a full-term fetus.... The fetus's lungs were fully developed, the heartbeat was strong, and no defects were detected. The baby was ready to be delivered... Two days later, the first-time mother gave birth by C-section to a healthy, 7-pound, 7-ounce boy.... at about 420 pounds, she was so large that no one including herself could tell she had carried a baby to term.... never had morning sickness and did not feel the baby kick, at least not until after doctors told her what was inside her womb.... The layers of fat padding her belly likely insulated the baby's movements...
Digital Family Patterns
hosted.ap.org/ ... 21:33:44
...a new breed of genealogists who are doing things that would have been impossible in the not-so-distant era of dusty archives and whirring microfilm readers. He has found so many of his relatives that he needs a computer database to keep track of them all - all 1.7 million of them.... new technologies have made it possible to achieve incredible genealogical feats with relatively modest effort...
Your Government at Play
contracostatimes.com/ ... 11:33:21
SACRAMENTO... The state-run lottery has run out of luck with its in-state lotto and controversial participation in multistate Mega Millions, suffering a drought of big jackpots that is forcing a cut in allocations to schools -- $136 million less than last year...
[Gambling with education. How about this: government has no place being involved with gambling OR schools...!]
World Without Borders
chron.com/ ... 11:25:10
Federal officials have charged six men with harboring scores of illegal immigrants who were found packed into a house in a quiet southeast Houston neighborhood...
Politics as Usual
nytimes.com/ ... 11:34:28
...The ouster of... [eight] United States attorneys has set off a furor in Washington that took the Bush administration by surprise. Summoning five of the dismissed prosecutors for hearings on Tuesday, the newly empowered Congressional Democrats have charged that the mass firing is a political purge, intended to squelch corruption investigations or install less independent-minded successors...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:20:14
In a political landscape populated by Bushes, Kennedys and Clintons, the children and kinfolk of longtime U.S. politicians do indeed have a better shot at winning elective office, but not necessarily at holding on or moving up, experts say. A study last year on political dynasties in the U.S. Congress found that politicians who held office for more than one term were 40 percent more likely to have a relative in Congress in the future than other members... The reason were not determined. It could be that children of political parents gained name recognition, learned valuable skills or got access to political machinery...
People Do Drugs
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:19:34
For the first time since 1990, the percentage of adults who drink a daily cup of coffee exceeds those who drink a soft drink every day...
Party On Dude
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:18:45
ACAPULCO, Mexico... U.S. spring-breakers are guzzling beers and slamming back tequilas in the Mexican Pacific beach resort of Acapulco, unfazed by a violent drug war that has killed police and left body parts strewn about town.... the once glamorous resort city has seen daytime shootouts between police and drug hit men who have dumped severed heads in public as part of turf battles that killed 2,000 people in Mexico last year.... heavily armed federal police now patrol the resort day and night as part of a nationwide crackdown....
[Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!]
US Election 2008
nytimes.com/ ... 21:44:38
Three of the leading Republican presidential candidates on Saturday denounced one of their partys best-known conservative commentators for using an antigay epithet when discussing a Democratic presidential contender at a gathering of conservatives here. The remarks by Ann Coulter, an author who regularly speaks at conservative events, were sharply denounced by the candidates, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. Their statements came after Democrats, gay rights groups and bloggers raised a storm of protest over the remarks... Ms. Coulter, asked for a reaction to the Republican criticism, said in an e-mail message: "Cmon, it was a joke.
I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean...
"
suntimes.com/ ... 11:32:13
Daley could easily take Giuliani... The only big-city mayor to be elected U.S. president was Grover Cleveland, back in the 19th century. I see no reason to tamper with that single precedent. But if the Repubs want to raise the bar by running a mayor for president, the Dems should do the same. How about this dream match-up: Time magazine's Man of the Year vs. Time magazine's Top Big-City Mayor? It would be the clash of the titans. And, when the dust settled, I'll bet it won't be Giuliani time...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:16:39
Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani, virtually tied with John McCain in a January poll, held a 25-point lead over the Arizona senator in a Newsweek magazine survey released on Saturday...
That's
Not Funny!
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:10:22
LINZ, Austria... A mystery triggered this week by the bizarre discovery of the carcass of a 3-foot-long shark in a freshwater river in northern Austria ended Saturday when a man confessed he had put it there as a joke... The prankster, an apprentice chef working at a hotel in the province of Upper Austria, told the newspaper Oesterreich that he put the dead shark in the river Voeckla after it began to smell while he was thawing it out for a buffet...
Big Whoops Cascade
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:07:57
CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich.... Two packages containing human body parts - including a liver and part of a head - meant for a medical research lab instead were delivered to a home.... sent from China.... "My husband started to unwrap one and said, 'This is strange, it looks like a liver....' He started the second one, but stopped as soon as we saw the ear...." Authorities believe 28 more bubble-wrapped human organs and body parts could be dispersed across the country.... Two of five packages headed to the northern Michigan lab broke open, scattering their contents....
[Big YUCKY whoops cascade of gore!]
Digital Culture
informationweek.com/ ... 11:06:05
Ning is making it easier for users to create their own, more elaborate social networking sites. Version 2 of the 3-year-old social networking development platform lets users create Web sites that have videos, photos, blogs, and discussion forums, among other features--all the functions you'd expect on MySpace or Facebook, but with more control...
Reasons for Repeal
csmonitor.com/ ... 21:31:46
SNELLVILLE, GA.... Raids on 40 houses in 12 suburban Georgia counties over the past two weeks are one recent sign of what police say is a national trend in marijuana marketing: growing the illicit crop year-round indoors, using suburban homes as "grow-houses...."
"It's the most impressive thing I've seen in 20 years of law enforcement,"
says Lt. Jody Thomas of the Fayette County Drug Taskforce.... signals that "production is moving closer to consumption...." Alarm about suburban pot-growing is rising, and some worry that efforts to eradicate crops grown outdoors are driving the illicit industry to become more entrenched in middle-class America, a la Showtime's hit TV show "Weeds," about a suburban mom who sells pot.... In the early 1980s, 80 percent of marijuana on US streets was imported, mostly from Mexico, according to... NORML... Today, 40 percent of the supply is grown domestically about half of it indoors...
14wfie.com/ ... 21:28:57
High school officials in suburban Barrington are alerting parents after
tainted marijuana
sent two teenagers to the hospital.... Police believe the teenagers smoked marijuana that was
laced with cocaine, PCP or embalming fluid
.... school urges parents to talk with their children about the dangers of drug use
[especially the dangers of "bathtub gin" under the insanity of a black market supported by DANGEROUS PROHIBITION]
....
waltontribune.com/ ... 21:27:02
WALTON COUNTY Calling it the largest drug bust in county history, 900 pounds of marijuana was seized at a dead end on Loth Wages Road Wednesday.... had been placed in 18 bags and left in a pile at the end of the road and discovered by a man who was later arrested.... believed to be part of a ring in Metro Atlanta that utilizes grow houses in suburban neighborhoods.... Officials say the bags may have been dumped because the growers thought police may have been closing in on them... estimated street value
[obscenely inflated by the insanity of prohibition ]
of $2.7 million...
mlive.com/ ... 11:36:32
MEDICAL MARIJUANA advocates are hailing... a victory Feb. 27. By a 1,777-1,101 vote, Flint became the fifth Michigan city to approve legally puffing pot for health reasons. Use remains illegal under state and federal law.... Other Michigan cities that have approved medical pot-use measures are Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale and Traverse City. Lansing is the next target, says NORML... Medical marijuana use is legal in 11 states....
The biggest fear coming from law enforcement circles is that legalized medical marijuana use could lead to additional abuse and wider recreational use....
[GASP!]
Yet the abuse of prescription drugs, the International Narcotics Control Board said last week, is about to exceed the use of "practically all illicit drugs with the exception of cannibis...."
origin.insidebayarea.com/ ... 11:03:56
The owner and several employees of a business that
produced marijuana-laced foods and drinks for medical marijuana clubs
were sentenced to federal prison terms Friday.... five years and 10 months behind bars as well as a $250,000 fine.... "Munchy Way" candy bars... "Pot Tarts..." "Trippy" peanut butter... patients say Affolter's "Beyond Bomb" line of products were appetizing ways of taking their medicine. Medical use of marijuana is legal under California law but remains banned by federal law....
[Lord! When will this madness end? Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!]
Supernatural Silliness
santacruzsentinel.com/ ... 10:59:55
I always feel a little funny defending Jesus Christ against the latest supposed threat to him from something like a James Cameron TV show or Dan Brown thriller. After all, the Bible says people will be drawn to Christ by the love of his followers, and by God's grace, not by some preacher's clever response to the latest conspiracy theory. But, people get worked up and then they ask us pastors what we think, and then we get worked up, too, until we stop and realize that these pop culture moments really are great opportunities for discussion. As long as we don't get distracted from the main thing.... here's why I think these are unlikely to be the ossuaries of the family of the biblical Jesus:
1. The opinion of the expert who knows these ossuaries best.... "...There is no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb. They were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem...
2. The names are common.... 71 other ossuaries have been found in Jerusalem with the name "Jesus" and two with "Jesus, son of Joseph...." One scholar estimates that 48 percent of women living at the time were named some form of "Mary...." imagine someone finding tombs in England with the common names "George," "William" and "Mary" and claiming they were the tombs of British royalty.
3. The probable misidentification of the Mariamne ossuary. The filmmakers... continually refer to the occupant as "Magdalene" when, in fact, the word "Magdalene" appears nowhere in the crypt.... the filmmakers show an agenda to perpetuate the popular Jesus-was-married-to-Magdalene storyline at the expense of other alternatives....
4. The misidentification of the James ossuary.... filmmakers contend that another ossuary reading "James, the brother of Jesus" was stolen from the group shortly after the tomb was found.... But the original documentation of the ossuaries plainly lists that 10th ossuary as having "No Inscription" If it had no inscription in 1980, how can it be the inscribed "James" ossuary today?... many scholars have already called the ossuary inscription "brother of Jesus" a modern-day forgery.
5. The opinions of other experts. Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar... is even unsure that the name "Jesus" on the caskets was read correctly. He thinks it's more likely the name "Hanun...." Anthropologist Joe Zias, who... personally stored and numbered the ossuaries... said "...they've simply tried in a very, very dishonest way to con the public into believing that this is the tomb of Jesus or Jesus' family. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus.... Projects like these make a mockery of the archaeological profession."
6. The track record of these filmmakers on biblical documentaries. Jacobovici and Cameron earlier made "Exodus Decoded," which claimed that the 10 plagues of the Exodus were caused by a volcanic eruption on a Greek island. None of the relics or arguments cited in that show has been accepted by archaeologists or any prominent institution as proof for the theory, and their interpretation of Egyptian hieroglyphics was ripped apart by experts in Biblical Archaeology Review.... The hype surrounding this latest show... heightens the sense that the
new documentary is more Erich Von Daniken than Ken Burns....
for Christians, it's now time to get back to the mission Jesus gave us... to show his love in practical ways and teach his gospel in respectful ways....
René Schlaepfer... senior pastor at Twin Lakes Church in Aptos....
SAT 2007-MAR-03
Nature can be Deadly
apnews.myway.com/ ... 11:28:46
Fierce wind blew snow across roads and stranded hundreds of drivers on Midwestern highways Friday, as thousands shivered without power and airlines were forced to call off hundreds of flights. At least 15 storm-related deaths... more than a foot of snow in some areas Friday.... gusts of 40 mph prompted blizzard warnings and prevented major highways from reopening. Officials at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport canceled 500 flights, blaming bad weather elsewhere... Hundreds of miles of interstate highway in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota remained closed for much of Friday... More than 100 vehicles were abandoned as their stranded drivers were rescued in Iowa... knocked out power to close to 80,000 Michigan homes and businesses...
Criminally Stupid
dfw.com/ ... 11:18:54
WATAUGA -- A 17-year-old man was arrested after Fort Worth police searching his Watauga home on a burglary warrant found a videotape that appeared to show someone helping his 2- and 5-year-old nephews smoke marijuana... found the video Feb. 22 on a camera seized in connection with area burglaries they suspected [17yo] and [18yo] of Fort Worth had committed....
[Criminally stupid in multiple ways...!]
Civilization vs Gangsterism
iht.com/ ... 11:19:34
BOGOTA, Colombia: Four police officers were killed Saturday while attempting to remove a powerful bomb allegedly planted by leftist rebels as part of an attempt to kill a city mayor...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:50:16
Pakistan's ambassador to the US... Mehmud Ali Durrani... has warned that
American pressure to do more in the war against terror could undermine President Musharraf.
He said the country could be destabilised as a result... [said] recent US congressional threats to cut off military aid to Pakistan could create major problems.... could strengthen anti-American extremist elements in Pakistan and jeopardise warm relations...
US Military
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:09:14
The Bush administration has selected the design for
America's first new nuclear warhead in nearly two decades...
will replace existing missiles.... will be used to replace Trident missiles on submarines... Democratic Senator Dianne
["Perpetually Unclear on Concepts"]
Feinstein was among the critics in Congress... "This could serve to encourage the very proliferation we are trying to prevent..." National Nuclear Security Administration... has said the destruction of ageing warheads will mean that in five years' time, the number held by the US will be at its lowest since the 1950s....
Healing Ourselves
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:05:55
Group therapy using a technique based on the theory of
"cognitive dissonance"
may help young women at risk of eating disorders... The idea of dissonance-based therapy is to address a person's "competing ideas...." An example would be women who are unhappy with their body size, but know that society's "ideal" for the female body is unhealthy....
History - still with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:04:37
RALEIGH, N.C... A shipwreck off the North Carolina coast believed to be that of notorious pirate Blackbeard could be fully excavated in three years... 10 years of research... has been conducted since the shipwreck was found just off Atlantic Beach.... ran aground in 1718, and some researchers believe it was
a French slave ship Blackbeard captured in 1717 and renamed Queen Anne's Revenge
... 25 cannons... an uncommonly large number to find on a ship in the region in the early 18th century...
Blackbeard, whose real name was widely believed to be Edward Teach or Edward Thatch, settled in Bath and received a governor's pardon. Some experts believe he grew bored with land life and returned to piracy. He was killed by volunteers from the Royal Navy in November 1718 - five months after the ship thought to be Queen Anne's Revenge sank...
Evolution Isn't Easy
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:59:55
Orthrozanclus reburrus... about half an inch (one centimetre) long, lived about 505 million years ago during the Cambrian Period... A spectacularly quirky creature with long, curved spines protruding from its armored body... 11 complete fossils retrieved from Canada's fossil-rich Burgess Shalehad... no eyes and no limbs and apparently moved along the ocean floor with a muscular foot, like a snail does, while dining on bacterial growths... covered in a shell and had almost three dozen long, pointy, curved spines sticking out from the edge of its body, and many smaller ones, too...
Feeding Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:55:39
New York... Wendy's, White Castle and Quiznos sandwich shops were among a handful of eateries that
yanked nutritional information from some restaurants or their Web sites this week
in an attempt to avoid having to post the same info on menus in New York... a reaction to a new regulation that will make the city the first in the country to require eateries to list calorie counts in the most prominent place possible: on their brightly-lit menu boards, right next to the price...
Just Random Chance
lotterypost.com/ ... 11:22:27
The $340 million jackpot for Tuesday's Mega Millions lottery drawing will be the largest since The Big Game became Mega Millions in May of 2002... $365 million [Powerball] jackpot on February 18, 2006... currently stands as the largest lottery jackpot in history.... The odds of winning the top prize are approximately 1 in 176 million...
US Election 2008
foxnews.com/ ... 11:33:03
Democratic Party boss Howard Dean demanded that Republican presidential candidates denounce conservative columnist Ann Coulter after she referred to Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards as a "faggot" during a speech Friday at a national conservative gathering... "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word "faggot," so I so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards..."
chicagotribune.com/ ... 11:20:54
Seeking to woo Jewish votes and contributions
, Sen. Barack Obama told an audience in Chicago Friday that he
considers Iran "one of the greatest threats to the United States, Israel and world peace"
and pledged he would try to end that nation's uranium enrichment program.... [yet] suggested that the danger posed by neighboring Iran has grown in recent years because of U.S. policy in the Middle East...
[Can Obama have his yellowcake and eat it too?]
Defending Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:53:52
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C... A man toting a 3-foot sword... broke into his ex-girlfriend's apartment: The woman's roommate... a sword collector... grabbed a sword of his own and sliced the intruder...
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
madison.com/ ... 11:25:09
People who are busted in Dane County for having less than 25 grams of marijuana - a little less than an ounce of pot, or the equivalent of about 20 to 25 joints - will no longer face criminal prosecution
,
but they could still pay some hefty fines
. Citing a lack of resources and continuing staff reductions, District Attorney Brian Blanchard has told police chiefs his office will no longer file charges of criminal possession against individuals for having less than 25 grams of marijuana - an amount many law enforcement agencies consider to be for personal use rather than for distribution to others. Blanchard's office also will not file charges for possession of drug paraphernalia related to marijuana use....
[Partial decrim just shows the HYPOCRISY and STUPIDITY of prohibition. REPEAL! REPEAL! TOTAL REPEAL!]
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:52:19
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands... Three tons of hashish went up in smoke Friday, incinerated by Dutch authorities after a van carrying the illicit cargo crashed and scattered it across the road.... $20 million [prohibition-inflated] cargo...
FRI 2007-MAR-02
Transport Threat
newschannel5.com/ ... 12:42:19
Former vice president
Al Gore was involved in a security breach
at the Nashville Airport when an American Airlines employee led him and his entourage around security, a clear violation of policy... bypassed the metal detectors, a blatant security breach... Airport police quickly caught up with them and Gore willingly went through security. It was unknown if the former vice president requested the special treatment or it was offered and he accepted, but it did violate airport policy...
Sex can be Dangerous
politico.com/ ... 12:39:48
Deborah J. Palfrey is unhappy. And, if you know who Deborah J. Palfrey isand especially if you know her by Jeaneyou probably dont want her unhappy. From 1993 until this past summer, Palfrey ran Pamela Martin and Associates, a "high-end adult fantasy firm which offered legal sexual and erotic services across the spectrum of adult sexual behavior," according to a statement she put out today hoping to raise funds for her legal defense. The way she plans to raise those funds could reverberate through Washingtons power corridors. She is considering "selling the entire 46 pounds of detailed and itemized phone records for the 13 year period...."
Cruel and Unusual
newsday.com/ ... 12:14:36
Twenty-one neglected dogs, many of them newborns, and 75 marijuana plants were discovered in a rundown house in suburban Rockland County.... Another dog, a pit bull, was found dead inside a bag in the basement.... [34yo] arrested Wednesday and charged with several felony drug counts. He is accused of growing the marijuana for distribution and raising pit bulls for sale.... neglected dogs included 20 pit bulls and a Rottweiler.... also recovered a loaded .38- caliber handgun, which they said was reported stolen several years ago in Rockland. A small amount of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, including two scales and four hypodermic needles, also were found....
Theft
voanews.com/ ... 12:07:35
U.S. investigators say they have cracked one of the biggest Wall Street insider trading rings since the 1980s... arrested 13 people... believed to have made as much as $15 million... Some... from Wall Street's top banks... Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and UBS...
Hospitals Suck
usatoday.com/ ... 12:06:30
Hospitalized children who lack health insurance are twice as likely to die from their injuries as those with insurance... also are less likely to get expensive treatment or rehabilitation and are discharged earlier...
Nature can be Deadly
bloomberg.com/ ... 12:05:48
At least 20 people, including eight high school students, were killed when tornadoes swept through parts of the southern U.S. yesterday, destroying an Alabama school and hitting a hospital in Georgia... As many as 29 tornadoes were reported yesterday in Alabama, Georgia and Missouri... storm system that stretched from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast... damaging hundreds of structures... At least nine deaths were reported in Georgia, and one person was killed in Missouri...
Prison Sucks
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:57:38
An inmate at an El Salvador jail was caught with a hand grenade stuffed up his backside -- a novel attempt to disguise his apparent escape plans... V40 grenade, about the size of a golf ball... They also caught another 16 inmates who each swallowed a mobile phone...
Violence
breitbart.com/ ... 12:47:05
A Missouri man accused of kidnapping and molesting two boys was indicted Thursday on federal charges he took pornographic pictures and videos of one of the youngsters... alleges Devlin photographed and videotaped a minor engaged in sexually explicit acts between 2002 and this year. Two other counts allege he took the minor to Illinois and Arizona with the intent to engage in sexual assault... all six counts involved the same child, identified only as "S." The charges did not name Shawn...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:54:40
[50yo] emotionally disturbed man... left the scene of an accident... driving his car on a sidewalk nearly ran over a nun on Thursday... Another man pushed the nun out of the way... When the driver tried to run away, two people tried to stop him, but they backed off when he threatened them with a kitchen knife, police said. Two responding officers confronted the driver, who then tried to stab one of them, Stuart Ingram, in the chest... the knife hit his badge and shattered. Ingram said he struck the man with an expandable baton and, with the help of a civilian, subdued him....
Criminally Stupid
thesmokinggun.com/ ... 12:33:47
Police tonight arrested two young women, a bank teller, and a fourth accomplice in connection with Tuesday's robbery of a Bank of America branch in Acworth, Georgia... While the incident first appeared to be a bank robbery, cops now consider it a felony theft and have charged the quartet accordingly... arrested less than two days after Cobb County Police Department officials circulated three surveillance photos showing the so-called Barbie Bandits wearing disguises consisting solely of the kind of oversized sunglasses favored by Hollywood starlets...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:49:32
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich... A 16-year-old fugitive believed to have posted a "Catch me if you can" message on his MySpace Web page was captured Friday, three days after his escape from a detention center... "What a smart aleck," [his] grandmother and guardian [said]...
9/11 - less with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:47:42
The view of ground zero just got a little smaller. The agency that oversaw the redesign of the World Trade Center site on Thursday stopped posting on its Web site hourly images from a camera pointed at ground zero... agency introduced the Web camera less than a year ago, saying it wanted to show progress in rebuilding... Reduced traffic on the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. Web site, at http://www.renewnyc.com , didn't justify the cost of hourly photo updates, said A.J. Carter, a spokesman for the Empire State Development Corp...
Missing
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:39:32
Several Britons with connections to the UK government are among a number of tourists missing in Ethiopia... "a national security dimension" to their disappearance... kidnapped in the remote north-east of the country, 800km (500 miles) from the capital, Addis Ababa. There are conflicting reports about the exact number of people missing...
WW2 - still with us
chron.com/ ... 12:04:15
Women's rights activists in the Philippines and lawmakers in South Korea on Friday denounced comments by Japan's nationalist prime minister that there was no evidence Japanese soldiers forced women into sexual slavery during World War II. Historians say some 200,000 women mostly from Korea and China served in the Japanese military brothels throughout Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. Many victims say they were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:38:52
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said there is no evidence that women were forced to become sex slaves by the Japanese army during World War II...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:38:37
A Pakistani judge has been seriously injured and three policemen killed by a bomb in the city of Multan... Mohammed Bashir Bhatti is an anti-terrorist judge who often hears cases against suspected militants... Two of Judge Bhatti's guards and his driver were killed... A number of policemen as well as passers-by were among those injured...
Transport Trouble
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:33:57
ATLANTA... At least six people were killed and 29 injured on Friday when a bus carrying a U.S. university baseball team fell off an overpass onto a freeway... 20 walking wounded, 9 serious injuries... from Bluffton University in Ohio.... fell off an exit bridge onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 75... cause of the crash was not immediately clear...
Mass Murdering Monsters
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:37:04
An Indian servant confessed to killing and sexually assaulting at least 19 children and women and stuffing their dismembered remains into a storm drain outside the house where he worked... The killings... prompted outrage after relatives of the victims said police had ignored their complaints as up to 38 people went missing over two years.... confessed to sexually assaulting victims before killing them... also admitted sexually abusing some of the corpses before disposing them... did not mention his employer [who has also been arrested]... Six police officers have since been fired and three senior officers were suspended for mishandling the case...
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:32:48
Iraqi police found the bodies of 14 policemen on Friday, all shot in the head, hours after an al Qaeda-linked group showed pictures of 18 men it said were seized to avenge the alleged rape of a woman last month.... close to Baquba...
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 21:56:23
Army Sgt.
Richard A. Soukenka
, 30, of Oceanside, Calif.
Army Cpl.
Lorne E. Henry, Jr.
, 21, of Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Army Spc.
Jonathan D. Cadavero
, 24, of Takoma Park, Md.
died Feb. 27 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. They were assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Antiquity - still with us
apnews.myway.com/ ... 21:50:55
Archaeologists have discovered extensive remains of what is believed to be an ancient marketplace with shops and a religious center at the southern edge of Athens... date from the 4th or 5th century B.C... The main building was a hollow square with a rock-cut reservoir in the center. The building had 12 rooms - probably shops - and a small temple with an open-air altar. Finds included large quantities of pottery, coins and lead weights that would have been used in transactions by traders...
Science Marches Onnnnnn
timesonline.co.uk/ ... 21:43:17
Scientists have created the thinnest material in the world and predict that it will revolutionise computing and medical research... layer of carbon has been manufactured in a film only one atom thick that
defies the laws of physics
...
[um... hyperbolically speaking...]
graphene, was created two years ago but could be made only when stuck to another material. Researchers have now managed to manufacture it as a film suspended between the nanoscale bars of scaffolding made from gold... thought to be able to exist because rather than lying flat it undulates slightly. Un- dulation provides the structure with a third dimension that gives it the strength to hold together...
Healing Ourselves
tucsoncitizen.com/ ... 12:37:13
A man infected with an especially virulent strain of tuberculosis has
spent eight months in a hospital jail ward under a court order and may be held until he dies.... has not been charged with a crime
, but the 27-year-old violated the rules of a voluntary quarantine, exposing others to a potentially deadly illness.... TB strain... so dangerous that he has never met his appointed lawyer... hospital room is designed so that air flows in, never out... has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Russia, contracted "extreme multidrug resistant tuberculosis" while living in Russia... 14,097 cases of TB in the United States last year. Just 15 were of the rare strain.... A 2006 medical assessment indicated the disease was mutating in [him]...
Digital Future is Now
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:51:29
A humanoid r
obot is teaching itself to walk and eventually run
around a California research lab. Dexter took its first tentative steps only a few days after it first discovered how to stand upright.... differs from commercially available predecessors because it can learn from its mistakes.... culmination of six years' work by Anybots, an independent research group of three engineers.... The aim is to design a robot that can adapt to several environments and roles... Anybots hopes Dexter will have taught itself to run within a few months....
World Zookeeping
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:45:30
A Japanese dolphin is squealing with delight after receiving a prosthetic tail to replace one amputated due to a skin disease... The tail was custom made for Fuji by a friend of the handler who works at Japan's leading tire company Bridgestone... made of material used for Formula One race car tires and the black silicon rubber was reinforced with artificial bone made of carbon-fiber... Sponge rubber was used for parts that come directly in contact with Fuji's skin. Bridgestone said they spent at least 10 million yen (about $83,000) to develop and produce the fin...
Extraterrestrial
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:42:05
The moon will turn shades of amber and crimson Saturday night as it passes behind the Earth's shadow - the first total lunar eclipse in three years. The eclipse will be at least partly visible from Asia to the Americas, although residents of Europe, Africa and the Middle East will have the best view... Residents of east Asia will see the eclipse cut short by moonset, while those in the eastern parts of North and South America will find the moon already partially or totally eclipsed by the time it rises over the horizon Saturday evening... The next total eclipse of the moon will occur on Aug. 28...
Digital Convergence
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:45:57
Google Inc. may be frustrated in efforts to reach comprehensive deals with major media companies such as NBC or Viacom Inc. to put their videos on YouTube, but it is signing up hundreds of smaller media partners, The New York Times reported on Friday... adding more than 200 mostly small media compamies or sites a quarter...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:37:51
The BBC has struck a content deal with YouTube... Three YouTube channels - one for news and two for entertainment - will showcase short clips of BBC content... The corporation will also get a share of the advertising revenue generated by traffic to the new YouTube channels...
US Military
tulsaworld.com/ ... 21:54:55
TAHLEQUAH [OK] -- Army Sgt. William J. Beardsley spent part of his young life growing up around the military, so when he came of age he knew it was the career he wanted to pursue. That career, however, was cut short on Monday when a bomb exploded near his vehicle at Diwaniyah, Iraq.... He had been in Iraq for eight months and was looking forward to returning home on leave next month....
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:30:40
"DOD's failure to appropriately consider National Guard needs and funding requirements has produced a National Guard that is not fully ready to meet current and emerging missions...." the commission concluded. not adequately equipping the Guard for its domestic missions.... Nearly 90 percent of Guard units in the United States are rated "not ready," partly because of equipment shortages.... National Guard units deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have been required to leave large quantities of gear behind when they return home...
Supernatural
ynetnews.com/ ... 21:50:06
Animal sacrifices should be renewed on the Temple Mount, a member of the radical Sanhedrin organization told Ynetnews...
Big Whoops Cascade
sfgate.com/ ... 21:47:21
The 22-year-old author of a column titled "Why I Hate Blacks" in the regional newspaper AsianWeek has been dismissed, and the paper's editors said Wednesday that they suffered "a serious lapse in editorial judgment" when they published his column...
Defending Ourselves
nbc6.net/ ... 21:46:33
MIAMI -- A man may have gotten away with [woman's] car, but he didn't take her children, thanks to a brave 6-year-old girl.... [man] was able to get inside the car.... speed out of her driveway... The two children were still in the back seat... "I was trying to stop the car and he didn't let me. That's why I smacked him on the head with my book," the 6-year-old said. "I was trying to fight him because he was bad and he wanted to steal the car because he wanted a car to steal. That's why it's rude." The carjacker let [the children] out of the car a few blocks from their home... unharmed...
People Die
seattletimes.nwsource.com/ ... 21:40:57
SEDRO-WOOLLEY [WA] A 52-year-old transient was found dead Wednesday in a load of trash, after he apparently was crushed in a garbage truck... apparently had been sleeping in a trash bin because of cold weather...
Reporting Science
news.nationalgeographic.com/ ... 12:45:38
Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a naturaland not a human- inducedcause, according to one scientist's controversial theory... Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of the St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, says the Mars data is evidence that the current global warming on Earth is being caused by changes in the sun. "The long-term increase in solar irradiance is heating both Earth and Mars..."
Business Culture
nytimes.com/ ... 12:38:38
Wal-Mart... John Fleming, the new chief merchandising officer, and Stephen Quinn, the new chief marketing officer, said that after a year of intense research, the discount giant is seeing its 200 million customers as belonging to three groups... "brand aspirationals" (people with low incomes who are obsessed with names like KitchenAid), "price-sensitive affluents" (wealthier shoppers who love deals), and "value-price shoppers" (who like low prices and cannot afford much more)...
US Election 2008
breitbart.com/ ... 21:51:22
Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday
blamed Bush administration failings in Iraq for strengthening the strategic position of Iran,
which he says must be stopped from acquiring nuclear weapons...
baltimoresun.com/ ... 21:49:16
Many people know that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas. But an intriguing sliver of his family history has received almost no attention until now: It appears that forebears of his white mother owned slaves, according to genealogical research and census records... one of Obama's great-great-great-great grandfathers, George Washington Overall, owned two slaves who were recorded in the 1850 census in Nelson County, Ky. The same records show that one of Obama's great-great-great-great-great-grandmothers, Mary Duvall, also owned two slaves...
msnbc.msn.com/ ... 12:32:43
The senior thesis of Hillary D. Rodham, Wellesley College class of 1969, has been speculated about, spun, analyzed, debated, criticized and defended. But rarely has it been read, because for the eight years of Bill Clintons presidency it was locked away.... examining the tactics of radical community organizer Saul D. Alinsky... few realize that it is no longer kept under lock and key.... is available to anyone who visits the archive room of the prestigious womens college outside Boston.... The confident young student... began with a feminist jab at the clichés of male authors: "Although I have no loving wife to thank for keeping the children away while I wrote, I do have many friends and teachers who have contributed to the process of thesis-writing." She thanks particularly "Mr. Alinsky for providing a topic, sharing his time and offering me a job..." The old Jewish radical was famous as a community organizer from Chicago's Back of the Yards... "Democracy is still a radical idea," she wrote, "in a world where we often confuse images with realities, words with actions..." In the end, she judged that Alinsky's "power/conflict model is rendered inapplicable by existing social conflicts" overriding national issues such as racial tension and segregation. Alinsky had no success in forming an effective national movement, she said, referring dismissively to "the anachronistic nature of small autonomous conflict..."
Repeal! Repeal! Repeal!
kpua.net/ ... 12:21:39
HONOLULU... A new study has found
legalizing marijuana in Hawaii would save ten (m) million dollars spent each year
on law enforcement efforts.... also found regulating marijuana in much the same way as alcoholic beverages are regulated would lead to
23 (m) million dollars in savings and new revenues annually....
nashuatelegraph.com/ ... 12:20:11
If the statewide movement to decriminalize marijuana is ever made into a movie, a Hollywood producer would probably ask Sean Penn to reprise his celebrated role as the unmotivated stoner Jeff Spicoli. But that would be the sort of typecasting that misses the point of New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, its members say. Among those pushing for decriminalization are a soccer mom, selectman and two doctorate students. Perhaps more telling of how coalition members dont fit the pot-smoking stereotype, they say, is that four of them dont use the drug, while two others say they need it for medicinal purposes. "I dont smoke, and I dont drink. But Im a really strong believer in decriminalization of marijuana.... Im a 48-year-old mother of two teens....
I listen to people say marijuana corrupts our youth . . . but thats a bunch of baloney. Theres no science behind it. Were living with a myth.
Prohibition is not working.
..
"
komotv.com/ ... 12:18:15
VERNONIA, Ore... State and federal authorities have arrested a [46yo] Vernonia mail carrier... on charges of distributing marijuana, sometimes from his postal delivery truck.... distributed pound quantities of the drug to underage buyers... at [his] home... an indoor marijuana-growing operation was found...
[Another idiot not helpful to the cause of repeal! But children are safer from alcohol and cigarets because they're legal than they are from illegal drugs....]
wfmynews2.com/ ... 12:16:17
Fayetteville, NC... A ton of marijuana and 26 kilograms of cocaine were seized in a nearly yearlong investigation... confiscated about $3 million in cash, a house and eight automobiles. The first arrest was last April when a person was caught receiving five kilograms of cocaine... a Fayetteville-centered business with connections in Texas." Ten people, who have known each other since high school in Fayetteville, have been charged.... marijuana had a street value
[obscenely and absurdly inflated by prohibition]
of about $9 million and the cocaine was worth about $2.6 million...
Headline of the Day
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:56:41
Swiss accidentally invade Liechtenstein
routine training exercise... [170] Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein... just over a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality... nobody in Liechtenstein had even noticed...
Liechtenstein, which has about 34,000 inhabitants and is slightly smaller than Washington DC, doesn't have an army...
Big Nanny
today.reuters.com/ ... 11:58:15
A Chinese province has taken the unusual step of fining hotels and bars more than $600 if they do not provide condoms...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 11:51:49
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday he would sign legislation requiring all sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer...
People Do Drugs
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:44:37
Physical differences in the brain may increase the chances of a person choosing to take drugs... The scientists used a game in which the rats had to wait to press a button and receive a reward, coupled with detailed brain scans, to see if those with the fewest dopamine receptors were impulsive, a type of behaviour often linked with drug use in humans. This was the case - even in rats which had no contact with drugs. When the 'impulsive' rats were introduced to the drugs, and given the opportunity to taker them, they were much more likely to do so than the rats with more dopamine receptors... the reasons for humans becoming addicted to any drug were more complex than simply their genetic make-up...
[And may be associated with some of the traits which make some humans constantly rise above their dull and mundane fellows.... But we'll "cure" them anyway because they might do drugs...]
THU 2007-MAR-01
Scary Times
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:22:12
Columbine High School in Colorado, scene of the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, was evacuated on Thursday after a bomb threat...
Nature can be Deadly
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:21:36
Tornadoes ripped across the Southern and Midwestern United States on Thursday and killed at least 19 people, most of whom had been taking shelter in a high school that collapsed in southern Alabama. Seventeen people died in the southern Alabama town of Enterprise, where the school building was torn open by the twister...
Theory of Sex Education
wltx.com/ ... 10:25:12
CLINTON, S.C.... Authorities say a 23-year-old female middle school teacher was arrested Thursday, accused of having sex with five boys in locations including the school, at a motel, in a park and behind a restaurant.... 14- and 15-year-old
victims
... could be more
victims
.... between December and earlier this month.... police began investigating... after a note containing inappropriate messages was given to school officials....
Nature can be Dangerous
headlines.accuweather.com/ ... 10:21:59
Overnight, numerous intense thunderstorms moving across the South and the western Ohio Valley produced destructive tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds and torrential downpours. More than a dozen tornadoes were reported across eastern Kansas and western Missouri. A tornado demolished a home north of Blue Mound, Kan., while baseball-sized hail pounded an area just north of Amsterdam, Mo... severe thunderstorms and tornadoes will continue to push across the South, the Ohio Valley and the southern mid-Atlantic states through tonight... The storm will unleash a major snowstorm across the Upper Midwest through today into tonight... 12 to 18 inches of snow is forecast for a large area stretching from northwestern Iowa to western end of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Winds gusting to 50 mph will create blizzard conditions across the region...
Transport Trouble
azcentral.com/ ... 10:29:14
Eight people were taken to hospitals overnight... a van carrying 17 to 19 undocumented immigrants overturned on I-17 on the far north side of Phoenix... at least one of the injured was critically hurt.... Some of the passengers fled into the desert. One of immigrants told investigators that the driver had swerved to avoid hitting another vehicle...
motoring.reuters.co.uk/ ... 10:14:20
Hundreds of cars have broken down in London and across south east England after filling up with what could be contaminated petrol. The pumps of retail giants Tesco, Morrisons and Asda are under suspicion after vehicles that filled up at supermarket petrol stations developed misfires and stalling problems... All the companies that received complaints from angry drivers are carrying out tests on their petrol but as yet "can't find an issue"...
Police Riot
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:06:08
FOSTORIA, Ohio... An attorney challenging the authority of the city's police chief wants the department's police dog to appear in court as an exhibit, because he says the dog and the chief have criminal justice degrees from the same online school.... is seeking to have a drug charge against a client dismissed by arguing that police Chief John McGuire - who is accused of lying on his job application - was not legally employed and had no authority as an officer.... Both McGuire and Rocko, who is listed as John I. Rocko on his diploma, are graduates of Concordia College and University, according to copies of diplomas that are part of Murray's motion....
Alcohol Was Involved
news.mywebpal.com/ ... 01:43:33
[20yo] of Enid [OK] has been charged in Alfalfa County Court with unlawful possession of marijuana after a traffic stop on Feb. 18... [also] unlawful possession of paraphernalia and driving under the influence of alcohol.... misdemeanors.... [He was stopped for erratic driving & speeding and searched because of the smell of alcohol.]
Disturbing Family Patterns
fox21news.com/ ... 01:35:38
In Pueblo, a 23-year old woman faces felony charges on suspicion she
sold her five-month old son for cash and to make a payment on a car.
...behind bars and the baby safely placed with a foster home.... traded her son... for a used Dodge Intrepid.... she admitted she was an illegal immigrant.... A friend and neighbor... [said she] did not want to have a baby in the first place. Still, she said she believed both parties had good intentions.....
Violence
news.monstersandcritics.com/ ... 01:31:44
Islamabad - Suspected militants slew a teacher for a madrassa Islamic religious school in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province after accusing him of working for US security agencies.... Militants in Pakistan's tribal areas have beheaded a number of people in recent months for allegedly providing intelligence to US forces fighting Taliban insurgents in neighbouring Afghanistan...
WW2 - still with us
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:41:42
NAPLES, Italy... A 74-year-old Italian grandmother who bought a sack of potatoes at the her local market found a live grenade among the spuds... had no pin and was still active... the same type used by U.S. soldiers in Europe in World War Two....
Mass Murdering Monsters
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:24:03
At least five people have been killed and 10 injured by a car bomb targeting an Iraqi police officer's wedding in the city of Falluja... victims were said to be guests driving in convoy behind the bride and groom... [groom] and his bride survived the attack, but several guests are reported to be missing...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 00:39:19
A roadside bomb in western Afghanistan left two civilians dead and 48 wounded, including 10 children... targeted a passing police vehicle in the city of Farah...
Theft
hosted.ap.org/ ... 00:35:53
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.... A man charged with robbing a bank, for the second time since 2005, tried to show police the loot, but discovered he had been robbed... Police later charged motel maintenance man...
Fun can be Fatal
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:29:46
An obese 26-year-old man in northeastern China died after a "marathon" online gaming session over the Lunar New Year holiday.... 150-kg (330-lb) man... collapsed on Saturday, the last day of the holiday, after spending "almost all" of the seven-day break playing online games...
Civilization vs Gangsterism
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:21:58
Dozens of loud explosions rocked southern Baghdad in quick succession on Thursday evening... part of a new security offensive against militants in the capital, Iraqiya state television reported...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:11:05
Pakistan arrested a former Taliban defense minister regarded as a top figure in the Afghan insurgency, a Pakistani intelligence official said Friday. Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, considered a key associate of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar, is the most senior leader from the hard-line militia to be arrested since U.S.-led troops ousted it from power in 2001. ...among five Taliban suspects arrested in a raid on a home in the southwestern city of Quetta earlier this week...
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:35:45
Iraqi security forces killed dozens of al Qaeda militants who attacked a village in western Anbar province on Wednesday, during fierce clashes that lasted much of the day...
today.reuters.com/ ... 09:56:21
BAGHDAD... Fierce clashes between insurgents and police left at least eight people dead and 11 wounded south of Baghdad on Thursday.... in the religiously mixed town of Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad... both sides suffered casualties. A police source said the clashes were still in progress and they expected the casualty toll to rise....
hosted.ap.org/ ... 09:53:17
A senior Taliban commander says Osama bin Laden is alive and in contact with leaders of Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents... Mullah Dadullah said he had not met bin Laden since the fall of the Taliban regime after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, but said "we know he's still alive.... He's not yet martyred. Such information would be easy to get - his comrades stand shoulder to shoulder with us. They keep us informed...."
playfuls.com/ ... 01:33:11
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Jack McConnell said al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan organizing new terrorist training camps...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 00:16:08
Four pirates who are part of the gang that have hijacked a United Nations-chartered cargo ship in Somali have been arrested... authorities in Puntland arrested the gunmen when they went to purchase supplies in Bargal port...
Transport Tragedy
hosted.ap.org/ ... 00:12:06
A passenger train derailed in northern Japan after slamming into a truck on Thursday, leaving dozens injured including 25 high school students... The train, pulling one passenger car, and a truck loaded with logs collided at a rail crossing...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 00:11:17
Two crowded commuter buses collided Tuesday on a slippery road in central Sweden, killing six people and injuring nearly 50...
Antiquity - still with us
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:21:09
THESSALONIKI, Greece... A 2,200-year-old statue of the goddess Hera has been found in a wall of a city under Mount Olympus, mythical home of Greece's ancient gods, archaeologists announced Thursday. The headless marble statue was discovered last year during excavations in the ruins of ancient Dion, some 50 miles southwest of Thessaloniki... life-sized statue had been used by the early Christian inhabitants of the city of Dion as filling for a defensive wall...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:19:17
The oldest solar observatory in the Americas has been found, suggesting the existence of early, sophisticated Sun cults... a group of 2,300-year-old structures, known as the Thirteen Towers, which are found in the Chankillo archaeological site, Peru. The towers span the annual rising and setting arcs of the Sun, providing a solar calendar to mark special dates...
World Water
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:18:45
Cave divers in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula have discovered what may be the world's longest underground river, connecting two cave systems with a waterway at least 95 miles long... believe it could be connected to two other major systems, adding more than 125 miles to its length...
Cryptozoology
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:18:06
A German tourist who claims to have photographed a Tasmanian tiger, solving one of Australia's enduring wildlife myths, said on Friday he had returned to the country to video the animal and end doubts over his find. The Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, was a striped, wolf-like native mammal which was hunted to extinction by European settlers. The last one died in a zoo in 1936. But stories of surviving animals persist and yearly unconfirmed sightings have turned the tiger, whose scientific name means pouched dog with a wolf's head, into a holy grail for mystery hunters from across the globe...
Animal Companions
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:13:02
GARBERVILLE, Calif... A woman found driving a U-Haul truck with 33 cats and three dogs inside claimed she was rescuing the animals....
Feeding Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:17:19
Federal inspectors found the strain of salmonella behind a recent food-poisoning outbreak at the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant that made the tainted peanut butter... Beyond the Sylvester, Ga., plant, the strain also has been isolated from open jars of the company's peanut butter and some of the 370 people who have fallen ill in the outbreak.... bulk Peter Pan peanut butter... was incorporated into various ice cream, sundae and shake toppings....
Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10.5 oz cans...
Carvel Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans...
J. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans....
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:36:46
Federal agriculture officials on Wednesday said the Kraft Foods contractor Carolina Culinary Foods has expanded its recall of cooked Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich chicken breast cutlets and strips because of ongoing concerns some packages may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. About 2.8 million pounds of meat will be taken off the market...
Solar System
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:20:36
The international Cassini spacecraft has beamed back to Earth never-before-seen angles of Saturn from high above and below its majestic rings. The planet is fully surrounded by the rings in images released Thursday by NASA...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:00:49
Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft has sent back images of a
huge volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon Io.
A massive dust plume, estimated to be 150 miles (240km) high, can be seen erupting from Io's Tvashtar volcano....
Geology
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:59:01
Scientists are to sail to the mid-Atlantic to examine
a massive "open wound" on the Earth's surface.
...Earth's crust appeared to be completely missing in an area thousands of kilometres across.... midway between the Cape Verde Islands and the Caribbean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.... not unique, but was recognised as one of the most significant.... an "open wound on the surface of the Earth", where the oceanic crust, usually 6-7km thick (3.7-4.3 miles), was simply not there. The crust does not seem to be repairing itself.... will test theories... including the possibility the missing crust was caused by a "detachment fracture".... "...the mantle did not melt as much as usual and that the normal amount of mantle was not produced." As a result, the mantle is exposed to seawater, creating a rock called serpentinite....
Healing Ourselves
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:14:09
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.... She sipped pickle juice, held her breath, breathed into a bag, even went to a neurologist, but for more than five weeks nothing would stop a 15-year-old girl's rapid hiccups - until they finally just stopped on their own... around 5 p.m. Wednesday. No one is certain why. "Right now, my nose is burning and my throat hurts...." hiccuping Jan. 23 close to 50 times a minute... only stopped when she was sleeping...
foodconsumer.org/ ... 10:15:35
Antioxidant vitamins may not always as good as intended, according to some researchers. A new meta-analysis of 68 randomized trials with 232,606 participants suggests that treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase risk of death whereas the effect of vitamin C and selenium on the death risk remains unclear... has drawn immediate criticism from the Council of Responsible Nutrition which issued a statement suggesting that the analysis is inadequate because the studies used in the analysis differ greatly in terms of their designs, size and quality...
bloomberg.com/ ... 01:40:29
In 1996, scientists solved a mystery surrounding certain gay men who were immune to AIDS. This year, Pfizer Inc. will sell the first drug based on that discovery.... a gene mutation... provides natural protection against HIV... This week, culminating an 11-year race among three drugmakers, Pfizer released successful studies of a new pill specifically designed to mimic the gene defect.... maraviroc... combined with other medicines... is more effective than existing therapies in treating AIDS patients.... Canadian and Kenyan investigators reported that
60 prostitutes in Nairobi didn't become infected
after being repeatedly exposed to the virus over 10 years.... The gay men of European descent, the scientists found, were shielded from HIV infections by inheriting a defective version of the cell receptor, called CCR5.... drug... worked by binding to the CCR5 receptor, thereby blocking the doorway HIV uses to infect cells....
It's All in Your Mind
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:34:04
People with schizophrenia cannot hear false notes in music as well as healthy people do, and often cannot make out important tones that convey meaning in speech...
Digital Future is Now
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 00:32:13
Within a decade the net will be able to deliver smells as fast as it does data...
[um... we will be able to have content filters, right?...]
Virtual Future is Now
hosted.ap.org/ ... 00:31:01
The virtual 3-D world of "Second Life" has always been a place where people could gather and communicate - but only by silently typing notes to each other. In attempt to add more realism, "Second Life"... is implementing voice-over-Internet software.... spatial audio. To mimic sound in the physical world, the ability to talk and hear conversations will be contingent on the separation between people in the virtual environment...
Digital Convergence
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:27:21
In a reversal of the trend of distributing branded TV programming to the Internet, Comedy Central is bringing original Web programming to late-night television viewers...
Evolution Isn't Easy
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 00:21:31
A drink of milk was off the menu for Europeans until only a few thousand years ago... suggests no European adults could digest the drink at that time... the rapid spread of a gene which lets us reap the benefits of milk shows evolution in action. But intolerance to milk remains common in modern times... Today, more than 90% of people of northern European origin have the gene...
World Zookeeping
breitbart.com/ ... 00:47:40
CISARUA, Indonesia... A pair of month-old Sumatran tiger twins have become inseparable playmates with a set of young orangutans... at the Taman Safari zoo where they share a room in the nursery... After being abandoned by their mothers shortly after birth, the four play fight, nipping and teasing each other, and cuddling up for a shared nap when they are worn out...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 00:20:23
LAWRENCE, Kan... during cold, wet nights, salamanders find the weather a perfect time to go outside and look for a partner. And that's a problem for salamanders who live along busy 31st street and in the nearby Baker Wetlands in Lawrence.... They move - very slowly - across the street to their breeding grounds. The animals have some help in their annual dangerous trek during the next couple of weeks.... an amateur naturalist, went out last Saturday to be a crossing guard for the salamanders.... met another man from Overland Park on Saturday night who was also concerned... The two men picked up a half-dozen of the creatures and moved them to the other side of the road....
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 00:15:22
Honeybees are vanishing at an alarming rate from 24 US states, threatening the production of numerous crops. The cause of the losses, which range from 30% to more than 70%, is a mystery, but experts are investigating several theories... "I have never seen anything like it," California beekeeper David Bradshaw, 50, told the New York Times. "Box after box after box are just empty. There's nobody home..." bee losses range from 30 to 60% on the West Coast... East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70%... Beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20% in the offseason to be normal...
US Military
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:12:11
Secretary Gates On Walter Reed Leadership Change -- endorse the decision by Secretary of the Army Fran Harvey to relieve the Commander of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "The care and welfare of our wounded men and women in uniform demand the highest standard of excellence and commitment that we can muster as a government. When this standard is not met, I will insist on swift and direct corrective action and, where appropriate, accountability up the chain of command."
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:35:04
A U.S. Army helicopter made a "hard landing" in northern Iraq on Thursday, but the military said the problem was mechanical and not the result of hostile fire....
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:09:45
National Guard... This week, the Navy and Marine Corps announced an increase, while the Army, Air Force and Coast Guard had a decrease. The net collective result is
872 fewer reservists
mobilized than last week.... This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to
82,846
, including both units and individual augmentees....
US Military Casualties
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:28:13
Marine Sgt.
Chad M. Allen
, 25, of Maple Lake, Minn., died Feb. 28 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Allen was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Pfc.
Bufford K. Van Slyke
, 22, of Bay City, Mich., died Feb. 28 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Van Slyke was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Saginaw, Mich.
defenselink.mil/ ... 22:24:40
Army Pfc.
Daniel Zizumbo
, 27, of Chicago, Ill., died Feb. 27 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. Zizumbo was assigned to 1st Transportation Movement Control Agency, 21st Theater Support Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:10:30
Army Sgt.
William J. Beardsley
, 25, of Coon Rapids, Minn., died Feb. 26 in Diwaniyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Beardsley was assigned to the 260th Quartermaster Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Troop Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:10:09
Marine Lance Cpl.
Anthony Aguirre
, 20, of Channelview, Texas, died Feb. 26 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Aguirre was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
defenselink.mil/ ... 00:09:05
Army Spc.
Ethan J. Biggers
, 22, of Beavercreek, Ohio, died Feb. 24 in Indianapolis, Ind., of wounds suffered while on combat patrol in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 5, 2006. Biggers was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Reporting Science
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:20:00
NORMAN, Okla.... Former Vice President Al Gore told Oklahomans on Thursday that dire environmental consequences will result if changes are not made to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that humans put into the air and sea. Gore spoke before a mostly supportive crowd estimated to be about 7,000 people at the university's Lloyd Noble Center, drawing a larger crowd at the arena than the Sooners have for some basketball games this season...
Yeah, Sure!
hosted.ap.org/ ... 22:15:15
...The Watson Post Office is one of the nation's 37,000 post offices in which clocks have been removed from retail areas as part of a "retail standardization program" launched last year. The effort is
designed to give the public-service areas a more uniform appearance
, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in Thursday editions. "We want people to focus on postal service and not the clock," said Stephen Seewoester, Dallas spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service...
Human Right
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:39:51
CINCINNATI... Lawmakers in Ohio said on Wednesday they want to force convicted sex offenders to use a fluorescent-green license plate on their cars so they can be easily identified... echoes measures in several U.S. states that require convicted drunken drivers to use a yellow, pink or red plate on their cars...
[Why not just have them wear "Kill me" stickers on their backs?]
Opponents of the proposed law argue the use of a special plate would stigmatize everyone who shared the offender's car -- including their spouse or children...
Digital Threat
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:17:42
More than a third of young drivers are more likely to go faster on the roads after playing on-screen driving games...
today.reuters.com/ ... 22:17:31
Russia's oldest theater has installed equipment to block cell phone signals...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 10:36:18
Computer maker Lenovo Inc. on Thursday recalled about 100,000 lithium-ion batteries used in ThinkPad laptops after receiving four reports of the Sanyo-built batteries overheating. In one case, a consumer suffered minor eye irritation...
Big Whoops Cascade
realcities.com/ ... 10:28:01
...It wasn't hard to figure out who was doing the talking when the White House released a transcript of a question-and-answer session this week aboard Air Force 2, Vice President Dick Cheney's plane. One big clue: The unnamed official used the pronoun "I" when discussing Cheney's visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan...
Your Government at Play
washingtonpost.com/ ... 10:11:40
WASHINGTON -- While Democrats try to restrict how President Bush can spend the $100 billion he wants for Iraq, they also hope to load his measure up with $10 billion in add-ons -- from aid for avocado growers to help for children lacking health insurance.... money for drought relief in the Great Plains, better levees in New Orleans and development of military bases that are closing down.... The expected battle with the White House over the add-ons is getting far less attention than debate over Iraq, but it could reveal a lot about how much Democrats will be able to rewrite the Republican president's budget later this year...
1960s - less with us
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 09:55:10
Pulitzer Prize winning historian and adviser to US President John F Kennedy
Arthur M Schlesinger Jr has died
aged 89 of a heart attack in New York.... helped define America's Cold War liberalism after World War II. He served in the OSS - the forerunner of the CIA - during WWII before taking up a dual role as political adviser and writer of prize-winning histories. He advocated defending American ideals abroad but in 2004 wrote a book critical of the war in Iraq.... adviser and speech writer to John F Kennedy's successful 1960 run for the presidency. He advised President Kennedy against the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961... After serving as an a special adviser in the Kennedy White House he won his second Pulitzer in 1965 for A Thousand Days: John F Kennedy in the White House...
Digital Whoops Cascade
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 10:03:34
...Some old installation discs that simplify the task of configuring a PC for broadband have refused to work on machines loaded with Vista. One reader was warned by Virgin Media that it would be "weeks" before its software worked with Vista. Other net service firms have also admitted that the appearance of Vista has caused some hiccups for users....
businessweek.com/ ... 01:47:15
The New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday continued its mop-up from the technical glitches that bottlenecked its trading system and triggered a temporary shutdown of electronic transactions during Tuesday's market plunge.... Investors encountered delays when they tried to bail out of stocks as a computer malfunction caused the Dow Jones industrial average to plummet 178 points in a minute. A backlog in the tracking of trades by a computer at Dow Jones & Co. produced the appearance of a plunge in its 30-stock benchmark index about 3 p.m. when the process was switched to a backup computer that caught up with the heavy volume. But, the question still being asked is why did the Big Board, Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. and major brokerages have problems executing trades....
Big City Stories
suntimes.com/ ... 01:36:47
Mayor Daley on Tuesday shook off three years of corruption scandals to earn the right to make history -- by becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor. Against two African-American challengers who hammered him incessantly about corruption, Daley captured all 50 wards on his way to a sixth-term victory that cemented his reputation as a master of coalition politics... 71.6 percent of the vote...
csmonitor.com/ ... 01:36:15
Why Chicago sticks with its Daleys
Mayor Richard M. Daley, reelected Tuesday in a landslide, overcame little-known opponents and whiffs of scandal...
Supernatural Justice
washingtonpost.com/ ... 01:32:52
The [US] Supreme Court, for the first time under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., confronted yesterday the devilishly complicated issue of church-state separation, and whether ordinary taxpayers have the right to sue over the Bush administration's embrace of faith-based organizations.... the justices bombarded the lawyers before them with questions about what kinds of government action could warrant a taxpayer suit. A church built by the government? The number of times a president appears at prayer breakfasts?.. Roberts even wondered whether opponents of the administration's initiatives would extend their concerns to the court itself, which opened yesterday's session, as it always does, with a marshal appealing for God to "save the United States and this honorable court..."
Unclear on the Concept
news-press.com/ ... 00:46:39
TALLAHASSEE -- A state legislator whose district is home to thousands of Caribbean immigrants wants to ban the term "illegal alien" from the state's official documents... "An alien to me is someone from out of space..."
Theory of Education
today.reuters.com/ ... 10:37:35
Exam supervisors at a German university stuck to rules so rigidly that a man with a bladder dysfunction had to urinate in a bottle in front of 120 fellow students because they would not let him go to the toilet... None of the three supervisors would accompany the man to the toilet despite other students' protests. Eventually one female student emptied her water bottle so the man could go to a corner of the room and relieve himself...
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:44:02
MILAN... teacher cut an unruly 7-year-old pupil's tongue with scissors to silence him... five stitches to close the wound.... Police are trying to find out whether the injury was inflicted intentionally or was a joke gone wrong...
Digital Theory of Education
hosted.ap.org/ ... 00:42:32
Victoria, Australia's second most populous state... has banned the video Web site YouTube from government schools in a crackdown on cyber-bullying... after a gang of male school students videotaped their assault on a 17-year-old girl on the outskirts of Melbourne...
People Do Drugs
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:33:41
Drinking a small amount of wine appears to extend men's life expectancy by a few years... Drinking a small amount of alcohol -- less than a glass per day -- was associated with lower rates of death from cardiovascular causes and overall causes...
hosted.ap.org/ ... 00:32:36
Abuse of prescription drugs is about to exceed the use of illicit street narcotics worldwide...
US Election 2008
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:43:02
Sen. John McCain made it official on Wednesday that he is seeking the 2008 Republican presidential nomination and said he plans a formal announcement in April... made the announcement during an interview on CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman..."
today.reuters.com/ ... 00:18:34
Top White House candidates unveiled their own YouTube video channels on Thursday, pushing the 18-month-old Web video-sharing site even farther into the U.S. political mainstream... Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson have signed up to have their own channels. So have Republicans John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani...
Reasons for Repeal
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:22:50
Opium production in Afghanistan reached record levels last year... Poppy production rose 25% in 2006... Four years after the US and its British allies began combating poppy production, Afghanistan still accounts for 90% of the world's opium trade... The US has recently given the Afghan government more than $10bn in assistance, but most of that money will be spent in security rather than encouraging alternative sources of income...
wyomingnews.com/ ... 10:27:10
CHEYENNE [Wyoming]... Gov.... [signed] bill that permanently removes the sales tax on groceries....
gwinnettdailypost.com/ ... 10:19:37
DACULA - Sheriff's deputies raided two homes Wednesday, finding marijuana-growing operations in rural areas of Dacula.... hundreds of marijuana plants.... [Neighbor] who watched the deputies work... said the homeowners would occasionally wave to her but were not friendly. "But I still would never expect this two doors down.... It's kind of freaky...."
tcpalm.com/ ... 10:18:09
Police suspect at least one of two homes raided Tuesday night was being used to receive multiple-pound shipments of marijuana through the mail... found more than 13 pounds of pot at a home in the 900 block of Southwest Haas Avenue along with a handgun that was stolen from South Carolina...
gorkhapatra.org.np/ ... 10:17:23
KATHMANDU... Police arrested [RR], 20, of Thakre-VDC, Dhading with 98.5 kilogram of marijuana Wednesday....
iht.com/ ... 10:16:31
Marijuana, the wonder drug
...
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: A new study in the journal Neurology is being hailed as unassailable proof that marijuana is a valuable medicine. It is a sad commentary on the state of modern medicine that we still need "proof" of something that medicine has known for 5,000 years. The study, from the University of California at San Francisco, found that smoked marijuana was effective at relieving the extreme pain of a debilitating condition known as peripheral neuropathy. It was a study of HIV patients, but a similar type of pain caused by damage to nerves afflicts people with many other illnesses including diabetes and multiple sclerosis... As all marijuana research in the United States must be, the new study was conducted with government-supplied marijuana of notoriously poor quality. So it probably underestimated the potential benefit...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 00:17:54
The authorities in the United States say they have arrested more than 400 people and seized 18 tonnes of drugs. The operation targeted a major Mexican drugs trafficking network... over a 20-month period throughout the country... the ring - allegedly run by Victor Emilio Cazares Gastellum - distributed cocaine, marijuana and other drugs throughout the United States... 66 arrests in recent days across four states... seized $6.1 million in property and assets, about 100 weapons and 94 vehicles...
Free Expression
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 00:16:45
The city council of New York has voted to ban the use of the word "nigger". The resolution to ban the so-called "N-word" is largely symbolic as it carries no weight in law and those who use the word would face no punishment...
Theory of Justice
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 22:23:24
A US military judge has filed terror charges against an Australian held without trial at Guantanamo Bay for five years. David Hicks, 31, is charged with "providing material support for terrorism"... despite Australian officials asking the United States not to bring such charges. Mr Hicks was detained in Afghanistan, where he allegedly fought alongside the ruling Taleban against US-led forces... first Guantanamo Bay detainee to be charged under a new US law authorising special military trials of "enemy combatants"...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 00:13:43
The US Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by a high school teacher from Arizona sentenced to 200 years in jail for possessing child pornography... he was living in Arizona when he was caught with thousands of images of child abuse on his computer... Mr Berger's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal. They argued the sentence was wildly disproportionate - much longer than that for rape or even second degree murder and claimed it amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. The state of Arizona argued each image of child abuse was a separate crime so the sentences had to run consecutively...
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