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blog-heap o' links
Army Pfc. Robert A.
Liggett, 23, of Urbana, Ill., died May 29 in Rustamiyah, Iraq, from
injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. His death is under
investigation. Liggett was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment,
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga. defenselink.mil/ ... 13:07:47Army Staff Sgt.
Joseph M. Weiglein, 31, of Audubon, N.J.Army Sgt. Richard V. Correa, 25, of
Honolulu. Army 1st Lt. Keith N.
Heidtman, 24, of Norwich, Conn.Army Chief Warrant Officer Theodore U. Church,
32, of OhioNavy Lt. Michael T. Newell, U.S. Navy, of Ellenville, N.Y.
will be buried today in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On
Dec. 14, 1966, Newell was flying an F-8E Crusader aircraft as wingman in a
flight of two on a combat air patrol over North Vietnam. During the mission,
the flight leader saw a surface-to-air missile explode between the two
aircraft. Although Newell initially reported that he had survived the blast,
his aircraft gradually lost power and crashed near the border between Nghe An
and Thanh Hoa provinces in south central North Vietnam. The flight leader did
not see a parachute nor did he hear an emergency beacon signal. He stayed in
the area and determined that Newell did not escape from the aircraft prior to
the crash. Between 1993 and 2002, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), visited the
area of the incident five times to conduct investigations and survey the crash
site. They found pilot-related artifacts and aircraft wreckage consistent to an
F-8 Crusader. In 2004, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team began excavating the crash
site. The team was unable to complete the recovery and subsequent teams
re-visited the site two more times before the recovery was completed in 2006.
As a result, the teams found human remains and additional pilot-related
items.... 
Spain has
ditched plans to build a 300-km motorway across the country's sun-baked plains
because it would have threatened the Iberian lynx, one of the world's most
endangered animals... hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:31:23A rare
northern white rhinoceros died Wednesday at the San Diego Zoo, dwindling the
critically endangered species' population to as few as 13 worldwide... hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:30:47Banning
the trade in endangered wildlife can actually result in increased trade in the
animals and their parts, a report published Thursday said... Conservationists
can recommend that CITES bans the trade in a particular endangered species. But
because CITES can take between 240 and 420 days to actually implement the ban,
the volume of trade in that species actually tends to rise during that period
as traders try to beat the time limit. Once the ban is imposed, prices can
spiral upward... The price of rhino horns on the South Korean market, for
example, increased by 400 percent in the two years after CITES banned the trade
in the items and the poaching of black rhinos rose... hosted.ap.org/ ... 12:29:35
NEWPORT, Ore... Experts
could not determine what killed a 40-foot-long whale that washed ashore at Seal
Rock last weekend... news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:27:28
The first Chinese panda
released into the wild after being bred in captivity has died... released in
April 2006... was said to be adjusting well to his new life. But the
five-year-old was found dead in February... likely due to a fight with wild
pandas... 
Five people were arrested
Wednesday afternoon in connection with a marijuana growing operation at a
rental property in Princess Anne. Police discovered the marijuana when they
stopped a car... Several marijuana plants were visible inside a glass
greenhouse located in the backyard... 73 marijuana plants ranging in height of
from 2 feet to seedlings... theday.com/ ... 13:03:03After its longest debate of
this legislative session, the Connecticut House of Representatives last week
passed for its second time in three years what today is known as House Bill
6715, An Act concerning the Palliative Use of Marijuana... During debate,
advocates seldom challenged the opposition's many erroneous assertions. One of
the bill's co-sponsors, Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Somers, did say after the vote
that she could have disputed the opposition's claims, but instead she coolly
sat it out and let the heated debate take its course. As a paraplegic who has
used marijuana medicinally for 17 years, and publicly for the past 10, I
instead must take a stand... cbs2.com/ ... 13:02:12ANCASTER, Calif... Sheriff's
deputies found blank credit cards inside a car during a Lancaster traffic stop,
then went to the driver's home, where forgery equipment and a marijuana growing
operation were discovered... Three adults were arrested at the home and two
children were placed in protective custody... [Repeal would get such
criminals out of the pot distribution business!!] dunndailyrecord.com/ ...
13:01:12Two
separate car crashes led to the discoveries of marijuana and LSD in Sampson
County... troopers discovered approximately $400 worth of marijuana in [18yo's]
1995 Ford van... charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver
marijuana, manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a vehicle for the
sale/storage of a controlled substance... The American Academy of Family
Physicians (AAFP)The
American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM)The American Bar Association (ABA)The American Medical Student
Association (AMSA)The
American Nurses Association (ANA)... [many more] cbsnews.com/ ... 12:59:05The self-proclaimed "guru of
ganja" was convicted again Wednesday in federal court of illegally growing
hundreds of marijuana plants that he said were meant to treat sick people,
which state law allows... [Once again the judge] prohibited the marijuana
activist's lawyers from telling the jury he was working for a pot club
sanctioned by Oakland government officials... Army Pfc. Charles B.
Hester, 23, of Cataldo, Idaho, died May 26 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when the vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device. He
was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd
Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:45:09Army Staff Sgt.
Thomas M. McFall, 36, of Glendora, Calif.Army Pfc. Junior Cedeno Sanchez,
20, of Miami, Fla. Army Spc. Clinton C.
Blodgett, 19, of Pekin, Ind., died May 26 in Baghdad, Iraq, when the
vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the
1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry
Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:44:15Marine Lance Cpl.
Emmanuel Villarreal, 21, of Eagle Pass, Texas, died May 27 from a
non-hostile vehicle accident at Kuwait Naval Base, Kuwait. He was assigned to
Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 13th Marine
Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:43:58Army Spc. Francis M.
Trussel Jr., 21, of Lincoln, Ill., died May 26 in Tahrir, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position. He
was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat
Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:43:37Army Spc. Mark R. C.
Caguioa, 21, of Stockton, Calif., died May 24 at the National Naval Medical
Center, Bethesda, Md., of wounds suffered on May 4 in Baghdad, Iraq, when the
vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the
1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:43:16Marine Lance Cpl.
David P. Lindsey, 20, of Spartanburg, S.C., died May 25 from a
non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd
Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C The incident is currently under investigation. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:42:48Marine Sgt. Nicholas
R. Walsh, 27, of Millstadt, Ill., died May 26 from wounds suffered while
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. The Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office said three illegal immigrants were charged early Friday
with possessing three pounds of marijuana for resale at a barn in the
Sweetwater area... kentucky.com/ ... 11:36:41Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement officials
announced Wednesday the largest marijuana seizure in the department’s
history. On Sunday evening on Interstate 65 in Warren County, an officer
stopped a northbound tractor-trailer, which turned out to have more than 1,400
pounds of marijuana with a street value of about $2.8 million... columbusdispatch.com/ ...
11:36:10Drug
agents have discovered the largest marijuana crop ever found on a state
wildlife area and one of the top five marijuana busts in [Ohio] history... more
than 10,000 plants with an estimated street value of $10.5 million... [WOW!
Thanks to prohibition, the profits on pot are higher than ever, too! $1000 each
for this easily-grown vegetation! No wonder there's more and more and more and
more and more of it flooding in every day. Aren't you glad we're spending,
spending, spending, spending, spending to prevent it?] Army Sgt. Clayton G.
Dunn II, 22, of Moreno Valley, Calif.Army Spc. Michael J. Jaurigue, 20,
of Texas City, TexasArmy Spc. Gregory N. Millard, 22, of San Diego, Calif.
Army Spc. Erich S.
Smallwood, 23, of Trumann, Ark, died May 26, near Balad, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was
assigned to A Company, 875th Engineer Battalion of the Arkansas Army National
Guard in Marked Tree, Ark. 
An elephant in eastern
India has sparked complaints from motorists who accuse it of blocking traffic
and refusing to allow vehicles to pass unless drivers give it food... hosted.ap.org/ ...
09:31:24MATTITUCK, N.Y... An escaped steer's six-week romp through back
yards, roadways and beaches ended when he was finally cornered and returned to
his owner... after showing up on a crowded beach... An early
morning disturbance call for Lewis County Sheriff... Shortly after 3 a.m...
found resident... near a fence a the rear of the residence... had allegedly
driven a vehicle through the yard, damaging shrubs and anything in his path...
front porch of the residence was allegedly damaged... had also allegedly set
the residence on fire... Further investigation... revealed another problem...
"There were 71 plants, believed to be marijuana being grown in containers in
the yard behind the residence..." [Resident was charged under new
"stupidity" law... ?] earthtimes.org/ ... 11:38:19Swedish study suggests smoking marijuana
during pregnancy may damage the fetal brain... endogenous cannabinoids --
molecules naturally produced in the brain and functionally similar to THC from
marijuana -- play unexpectedly significant roles in establishing how certain
nerve cells connect to each other... 
CASSELBERRY, Fla....
Police say they're sure they shot a four-foot-long, 80-pound monitor lizard
that had been lurking in an Orlando suburb for months... The lizard didn't bite
anyone, but police officers were authorized to kill it because of the potential
danger it posed to small children and animals... animal scampered into a
retention pond... "If they did shoot it, I'm sure it's going to be angry if it
comes out now..." breitbart.com/ ... 19:26:00
JERUSALEM... A man clad
only in underwear and a T-shirt wrestled a wild leopard to the floor and pinned
it for 20 minutes after the cat leapt through a window of his home and hopped
into bed with his sleeping family... "I don't know why I did it. I wasn't
thinking, I just acted..." International wildlife
experts have located hundreds of wild elephants on a treeless island in the
swamps of south Sudan, where they apparently avoided unchecked hunting during
more than 20 years of war... Environmentalists are keeping the location of the
island in the Sudd area secret to prevent poachers from killing the animals...
science.monstersandcritics.com/ ...
19:28:19Two
humpback whales started heading out to sea Monday, with about 55 kilometres
left to return to the Pacific Ocean... Bernadette Fees, a biologist with the
California Department of Fish and Game, said in broadcast remarks that she
would be administering antibiotics - one dose for the calf and three doses for
the mother - to help them deal with skin infections that apparently resulted
from cuts delivered by passing boats. She also said she would work to take a
biopsy from the calf... Army Pvt. William L.
Bailey III, 29, of Bellevue, Neb., died May 25, in Taji, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Bailey
was assigned to the 755th Chemical Reconnaissance/Decontamination Company,
Nebraska Army National Guard, O'Neill, Neb. defenselink.mil/ ... 19:04:12Army Spc. Alexander
Rosa Jr., 22, of Orlando, Fla., died May 25 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was
assigned to the 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. defenselink.mil/ ... 19:04:00Army Spc. Mathew P.
LaForest, 21, of Austin, Texas, died May 25 in Taji, Iraq, of injuries
suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire
during combat operations. LaForest was assigned to 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry
Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis,
Wash. defenselink.mil/ ... 19:03:27Army Sgt. 1st Class
Robert E. Dunham, 36, of Baltimore, Md.Army Staff Sgt. Russell K.
Shoemaker, 31, of Sweet Springs, Mo. Army Cpl. Victor H.
Toledo Pulido, 22, of Hanford, Calif.Army Cpl. Jonathan D. Winterbottom,
21, of Falls Church, Va. New Zealand... Nelson College
for Girls says 16 girls caught for marijuana use during the school day remain
stood down while they are dealt with. A 17th girl is to appear before the
school's board for what's called a more serious matter... clearwatertimes.com/ ...
19:38:14On May 17
Clearwater RCMP responded to a report of an assault... During the investigation
police located and seized 499 marihuana plants... No charges were laid in the
assault... thetelegram.com/ ... 19:37:34The
RCMP in Baie Verte executed a drug search warrant on a residence in nearby
Smith’s Harbour on the Baie Verte Peninsula Saturday and discovered a
sophisticated indoor hydrophonic marijuana grow operation... one male and one
female... were arrested... home appeared to be used solely for the purpose of
growing marijuana, hydroponically, indoors... seized about 12 plants...
[with a rumored street value of sixty billion pesos...?] property
owner... is left with a home that has significant damage due to humidity, mold
and water requiring significant personal expense to repair... mymotherlode.com/ ...
19:36:00While there was no definitive proof, CAL FIRE's Dennis Townsend
says there is little doubt that Friday morning's Moccasin area vegetation
fire... was caused by an out-of-control campfire in a marijuana garden...
Detectives... eradicated approximately 1,000 small marijuana plants... fire
covered approximately 25 acres. No injuries or structure damage was reported...
...In front of me was whale
meat, from an animal which it is simply unthinkable to eat in Britain - so
unthinkable that I had to promise my daughters I would not touch a morsel of it
during my time in Japan. Yet once in Japan, nothing seemed more normal...
abcnews.go.com/ ... 13:47:16The parent company of the
Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast food chains sued rival Jack In The Box Inc. on
Friday to stop TV ads that it says suggest Carl's Jr. and Hardee's use cow anus
to make Angus beef hamburgers... an ad in which executives laugh hysterically
at the word "Angus" and another where the chain's pingpong ball-headed mascot,
Jack, is asked to point to a diagram of a cow and show where Angus meat comes
from. "I'd rather not," the pointy-nosed Jack replies... Police have arrested a Kingsport man and
charged him with burglary and possession of almost a quarter million dollars worth of marijuana. That’s the
[prohibitionist propagandized inflated] street price for 150
pounds. He and a 16-year-old male allegedly stole the marijuana and some
tools from a storage facility... pennlive.com/ ... 13:36:33NEW BLOOMFIELD - A Duncannon mother was
convicted Friday in Perry County Court of sharing marijuana with her
16-year-old son... also convicted of endangering the welfare of a child and
corruption of a minor... Outside the courtroom, several jurors said they didn't
believe [she] conspired with her then-boyfriend... to buy the marijuana
specifically to share with the teenager... fox28.com/ ... 13:35:22A Ferndale group is launching a petition drive to get a
medical-marijuana initiative on next year's statewide ballot. The Coalition for
Compassionate Care says it wants people with cancer, AIDS and other illnesses
to be able to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for pain relief. The
group plans to gather 550,000 signatures. It needs just over 304,000
signatures... kndo.com/ ... 13:34:59PASCO, Wash. -- One man sits
in the Franklin County Jail tonight after Franklin County Sherriff's Deputies
found him with 506 marijuana plants... sctimes.com/ ... 13:34:33It’s very disappointing
that Gov. Tim Pawlenty repeatedly threatened to veto the medical marijuana
bill. Because he was afraid to do the right thing, hundreds of sick and dying
Minnesota patients must live in fear of arrest and jail for another year.
Pawlenty and our lawmakers should have listened to President Bush in the State
of the Union address, when the president said, "In all we do, we must remember
that the best health care decisions are made not by government and insurance
companies, but by patients and their doctors..." sfgate.com/ ... 13:33:57"They completely trashed the
house -- they covered the floors with plastic, changed the electricity, added
fans. They were pouring corrosive chemicals down the pipes. In the end, the
walls were covered with mold. And then they threatened to sue us -- for mold."
She pauses. "It had been a house in mint condition. If my husband hadn't been a
contractor -- the damage they did would have cost us $25,000 or more." In the
pantheon of real estate nightmares, finding that your home or apartment has
been turned into a marijuana "grow room" should qualify any landlord for a seat
at the head of the table... 
LOS ANGELES... A 6
1/2-foot alligator believed to be the elusive "Reggie" who lurked in a park
lake for two years was captured Thursday in a wrestling match with a reptile
expert and rangers... 
Police in Clackamas County are
looking for a man they say locked three live pigs in his house in the hopes
that they would trash the place. All because he was upset the home went into
foreclosure... 
Bill Clinton wanted to divorce his wife in
1989 for another woman with whom he had fallen in love but Hillary Clinton
forbade it, according to one of two new highly unflattering books about the
former First Lady... 
A thick cloud of bees was sucked
into the engine of a passenger plane en route to Portugal, forcing the airline
to abandon the trip and grounding passengers for 11 hours... "Some witnesses
claimed there were around 20,000 bees..." 
Customs officers at Cairo's
airport on Thursday detained a man bound for Saudi Arabia who was trying to
smuggle 700 live snakes on a plane...