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BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: JohnInKansas Date: 03 May 08 - 06:11 AM Criminals claim 'copyright' malware Virus writers selling software with a detailed licensing agreement By Jordan Robertson The Associated Press updated 5:58 p.m. CT, Wed., April. 30, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO - Even criminal hackers want to protect their intellectual property, and they've come up with a method akin to copyrighting — with an appropriate dash of Internet thuggery thrown in. Professional virus writers are now selling a suite of software on the Internet with an unusual attachment: a detailed licensing agreement that promises penalties for redistributing the malicious code without permission. ... Symantec researchers noticed a Russian-language example floating around the Internet and wrote about it on the company's official blog this week. The software is used to infect computers and control them remotely. The zombie machines can be used to pump out spam, launch more attacks or steal personal information ... . Networks of zombie machines — known as "bot nets" — can be extremely lucrative, sometimes bringing millions of dollars in profit for their authors and their distributors. To maximize that profit, the software analyzed by Symantec's researchers contained the following rules: The customer can't resell the product, examine its underlying coding, use it to control other bot nets or submit it to antivirus companies and agrees to pay the seller a fee for product updates. The threat: Violate the terms, and we'll report you ourselves to the antivirus companies by giving them information about how to dismantle your bot network or prevent it from growing bigger. [Zulfikar Ramzan, senior principal security researcher with Symantec Corp] said: "What's funny is they put more effort into their EULA (end-user license agreement) than traditional software companies might." The ultimate rub? Apparently the threat was not only hollow but unheeded. Symantec said the program that's accompanied by the novel rules is being traded freely online — and so far its authors haven't called Symantec to make good on their threat. ©2008 The Associated Press. /quote Don't think for a moment that it isn't big business. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 May 08 - 10:08 PM 80 and 90 year-old scoff laws. . . Indiana nuns lacking ID denied at poll by fellow sister AP About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph. Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote. The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway. "One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, 'I don't want to go do that,'" Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives. The convent will make "a very concerted effort" to get proper identification for the nuns in time for the general election. "We're going to take from now until November to get them out and get this done. "You can't do this like school kids on a bus," she said. "I wish we could." Late Tuesday, Secretary of State Todd Rokita was unapologetic. "Indiana's Voter ID Law applies to everyone. From all accounts that we've heard, the sisters were aware of the photo ID requirements and chose not to follow them," he said in a statement released by his office. follow the link for the rest |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 17 May 08 - 11:00 PM Friday May 16, 2008, 11:01 PM Dorothy Scanlon's Friday morning wake-up call came with antlers and hoofs. A young deer crashed through the Muskegon woman's room at the Christian Care Nursing Center around 6:45 a.m. The deer, which broke its two front legs and received several cuts, proceeded to crawl around the home's hall, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. "I heard the loud boom and I thought the furnace blew up, but then I saw the deer head and I was so startled I started screaming," Scanlon said. "Luckily I didn't get hit because I sleep rolled up in a ball." Nancy Mckinney, inservice director at the home at 1275 Kenneth, was relieved no one was hurt during one of the "biggest things to happen here within the last year." |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 18 May 08 - 12:13 PM How unusual? Dinner delivered itself! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 18 May 08 - 02:56 PM Oh, bring something to eat, would you? There's a deer... A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 May 08 - 07:43 PM Police woman nurses orphaned babies in this front page photo they mentioned on NPR today. If you read Chinese, here is the front page. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 19 May 08 - 08:04 PM Well, all I can say is 个婴儿:奶几个娃没啥好讲(图. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 May 08 - 08:29 PM Should I read that left to right or right to left? |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 20 May 08 - 10:42 AM I think right to left and top down. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: bobad Date: 21 May 08 - 09:58 AM 8-year-old girl asks for divorce in court By: Hamed Thabet SANA'A, April 9 - An eight-year-old girl decided last week to go the Sana'a West Court to prosecute her father, who forced her to marry a 30-year-old man. Nojoud Muhammed Nasser arrived at court by herself on Wednesday, April 2, looking for a judge to handle her case against her father, Muhammed Nasser, who forced her two months ago to marry Faez Ali Thamer, a man 22 years her senior. The child also asked for a divorce, accusing her husband of sexual and domestic abuse. According to Yemeni law, Nojoud cannot prosecute, as she is underage. However, court judge Muhammed Al-Qathi heard her complaint and subsequently ordered the arrests of both her father and husband. "My father beat me and told me that I must marry this man, and if I did not, I would be raped and no law and no sheikh in this country would help me. I refused but I couldn't stop the marriage," Nojoud Nasser told the Yemen Times. "I asked and begged my mother, father, and aunt to help me to get divorced. They answered, 'We can do nothing. If you want you can go to court by yourself.' So this is what I have done," she said. Nasser said that she was exposed to sexual abuse and domestic violence by her husband. "He used to do bad things to me, and I had no idea as to what a marriage is. I would run from one room to another in order to escape, but in the end he would catch me and beat me and then continued to do what he wanted. I cried so much but no one listened to me. One day I ran away from him and came to the court and talked to them." "Whenever I wanted to play in the yard he beat me and asked me to go to the bedroom with him. This lasted for two months," added Nasser. "He was too tough with me, and whenever I asked him for mercy, he beat me and slapped me and then used me. I just want to have a respectful life and divorce him." Nasser's uncle, who does not want to reveal his name, is following the case now as her guardian. According to her uncle, after Muhammed Nasser, the girl's father, lost his job as a garbage truck driver in Hajjah, he became a beggar, and soon after suffered from mental problems. Thamer is in jail now. "Yes I was intimate with her, but I have done nothing wrong, as she is my wife and I have the right and no one can stop me," he said. "But if the judge or other people insist that I divorce her, I will do it, it's ok." So far, no accusations have been made against her father, who was later released due to health problems, or Nasser's husband, who will remain in jail for further investigation. "So far there is no case and no charges, as Nojoud arrived by herself to court asking just for a divorce," said Shatha Ali Nasser, a lawyer in the Supreme Court who is following Nojoud Nasser's story. Shatha Ali Nasser confirmed that item number 15 in Yemeni civil law reads that "no girl or boy can get married before the age of 15." However, this item was amended in 1998 so parents could make a contract of marriage between their children even if they are under the age of 15. But the husband cannot be intimate with her until she is ready or mature," said Nasser."This law is highly dangerous because it brings an end to a young girl's happiness and future fruitful life. Nojoud did not get married, but she was raped by a 30-year old man." Nasser confirmed that Nojoud Nasser's case is not the first of its kind in Yemen, but it is the first time that a girl went to court by herself to ask for a divorce. "We are not planning to return Nojoud to her family. Who knows? Maybe after a few years the same thing will happen to her again," said Shatha Ali Nasser. "We are planning to put her in Dar Al-Rahama [an non-governmental organization that works with children], where she can have a better life and education. We do not want her family to pay her expenses, as they are poor." http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1145&p=front&a=2 |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 May 08 - 11:25 AM Notice how the victim is photographed but the criminal has some protective alteration of the photo of him. She is a tiny little thing, but has a great heart. I hope they do well for her at the new institution. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 21 May 08 - 11:44 AM MORRIS, Ill. (AP) — Traffic's backed up in northern Illinois after a trailer loaded with 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos overturned, spilling boxes of cookies into the median and roadway. Illinois State Police Sergeant Brian Mahoney says the truck's driver was traveling on I-80 near Morris around 4 a.m. Monday when he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into the median, spilling some of the 28,000 pounds of treats. The crash about 50 miles southwest of Chicago remains under investigation. Mahoney says no charges have been filed but both lanes of traffic remain closed while authorities remove the cookies. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 May 08 - 12:48 PM Next you'll post news of a hijacked milk truck. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 25 May 08 - 11:39 PM Well...close: A traffic advisory is in effect for a man who was killed after running into traffic on northbound Interstate 5 near Clairemont Drive in the Bay Park neighborhood of San Diego, according to the California Highway Patrol. The man ran onto the freeway for unknown reasons and was hit by a Jeep towing a trailer at about 3 p.m., the CHP said. What did the advisory say? "Be more careful running onto busy freeways, next life-time, and look both ways."??? A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 May 08 - 10:53 AM Cat hired as station chief brings passengers back to debt-ridden Japanese train company link TOKYO - A money-losing Japanese train company has found the purr-fect mascot to draw crowds and bring back business - tabby Tama. All the 9-year-old female cat has to do is sit by the entrance of western Japan's Kishi Station, wearing a black uniform cap and posing for photos for the tourists who are now flocking in from across the nation. Her job makes cultural sense in Japan, where cats are considered good luck and are believed to bring in business. Tama has done such a good job of raising revenue for the troubled Kishikawa train line that she was recently promoted to "super-station-master." "She never complains, even though passengers touch her all over the place. She is an amazing cat. She has patience and charisma," said Wakayama Electric Railway Co. spokeswoman Yoshiko Yamaki. "She is the perfect station master." People have been snatching up novelty goods - postcards, notebooks and erasers - bearing Tama's photos. The cat had been about to lose her place to live, with the nearby store where she was raised being torn down. Now, the station is home. The Kishikawa line had been losing $4.9 million a year as passenger numbers fell steadily to as low as about 5,000 a day, or some 1.9 million a year. After Tama's appointment last year passenger numbers have risen by 10 percent to about 2.1 million a year. In December Tama was rewarded with bonus pay - all in cat food. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 26 May 08 - 11:45 AM Road workers in a small New Zealand town got their wish granted when a woman stripped saying she was fed up with their wolf-whistles. The Israeli tourist was about to use an ATM in the main street of Kerikeri, in the far north of the country, when the men whistled, the New Zealand Press Association reported. She calmly stripped off, used the cash machine, before getting dressed and walking away. The woman told police she didn't take too kindly to the whistling from the men repairing the road. "She said she had thought 'bugger them, I'll show them what I've got'," Police Sergeant Peter Masters told NZPA. "She gave the explanation that she had been ... pestered by New Zealand men. She's not an unattractive looking lady," Masters said. "She was taken back to the police station and spoken to and told that was inappropriate in New Zealand." |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: KB in Iowa Date: 29 May 08 - 12:58 PM May 27, 2008 Nude maid cleans Cheval house, including the jewelryTAMPA — A 50-year-old Lutz man hired a nude maid to clean his 2,281-square foot home Friday.The woman arrived at the Cheval home in a one-piece light colored dress. She took off the one-piece light colored dress. She cleaned the house per their $100-per-hour agreement. Four bedrooms, three baths. She redressed and left. Shortly after, the man's wife came home from vacation to discover $40,000 in jewelry missing from their bedroom. The man told Hillsborough Sheriff's deputies he'd only left the maid alone in the bedroom a short while, spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. Deputies are investigating. The nude maid, whom the man found on the Internet, is described as a white female, age 21 to 24. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 29 May 08 - 01:56 PM That's what he gets for leaving a naked 20-something alone in the bedroom, man. Hell, anybody coulda tole him that! A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: KB in Iowa Date: 29 May 08 - 02:32 PM I have been imagining the conversation the fella had with his wife. I think he has a bit of explaining to do. I have also been imagining how she got the jewelry out of the house. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 29 May 08 - 03:18 PM Tucked underneath her arm, of course... A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: KB in Iowa Date: 29 May 08 - 05:35 PM Dunkin' Donuts pulls Rachael Ray adThe coffee and donut chain says it yanked online spot to avoid 'misperception'; professor says links to extremism are narrow-minded and even racist.BOSTON (AP) -- Dunkin' Donuts has pulled an online advertisement featuring Rachael Ray after complaints that a fringed black-and-white scarf that the celebrity chef wore in the ad offers symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism. The coffee and baked goods chain said the ad that began appearing online May 7 was pulled over the past weekend because "the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee." In the spot, Ray holds an iced coffee while standing in front of trees with pink blossoms. Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin complained that the scarf wrapped around her looked like a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress. ''The kaffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,'' Malkin wrote in her syndicated column. "Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons," she said. A statement issued Wednesday by Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Brands Inc., however, said the scarf had a paisley design, and was selected by a stylist for the advertising shoot. "Absolutely no symbolism was intended," the company said. Dunkin' spokeswoman Michelle King said the ad appeared on the chain's Web site, as well as other commercial sites. Amahl Bishara, an anthropology lecturer at the University of Chicago who specializes in media matters relating to the Middle East, said complaints about the scarf's use in the ad demonstrate misunderstandings of Arab culture and the multiple meanings that symbols can take on depending on someone's perspective. "I think that a right-wing blogger making an association between a kaffiyeh and terrorism is just an example of how so much of the complexity of Arab culture has been reduced to a very narrow vision of the Arab world on the part of some people in the U.S.," Bishara said in a phone interview. "Kaffiyehs are worn every day on the street by Palestinians and other people in the Middle East - by people going to work, going to school, taking care of their families, and just trying to keep warm." While some extremists and terrorists may wear kaffiyehs, "To reduce their meaning to support for terrorism has a tacit racist tone to it," Bishara said. Malkin, in a posting following up on last week's column, said of Dunkin's decision to pull the ad, "It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists." Ray, host of the Food Network television program "30 Minute Meals" as well as a syndicated daytime talk show, began appearing in ads for Dunkin' Donuts in March 2007. When Dunkin' announced the partnership, it said Ray would be featured in TV, print, radio and online spots in a campaign running through 2010. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 29 May 08 - 06:14 PM That is the most ridiculous pea-brained thing I have heard in months. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: KB in Iowa Date: 30 May 08 - 12:26 PM Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad Don't think, just believe. Would we lie to you? Reminds me of the flap over the Proctor & Gamble logo a few years back. Remember that? The logo they had used for something like 100 years had to go because some folks decided it had satanic images in it (something like that anyway). |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 30 May 08 - 08:01 PM Low Caste battles for the Right to be "Untouchables" India's centuries-old controversy over caste and discrimination brought parts of Delhi to a halt yesterday as thousands of members of an ethnic group demanded that their official status be lowered in order to provide them with better access to jobs and education. Members of the Gujjar tribe blocked major roads and highways into Delhi in sit-down protests and set fire to tyres as they vowed to create gridlock across India's capital and the surrounding area. Some train services were suspended and many IT and outsourcing companies with offices in Delhi's satellite cities sent staff home early. In some locations, police fired tear gas at the stone-throwing demonstrators. "This will go on until our demands are met," Surjit Singh, a Gujjar protester who was standing in front of hundreds of cars, told reporters. According to Indian law, the Gujjars Ð many of whom live in the nearby desert state of Rajasthan Ð are classified as belonging to the country's second-lowest group, known as Other Backward Classes (OBC). In the complex, divisive system this category is one step up from the lowest level known as Scheduled Tribes and Castes (STC) otherwise known as Dalits, or "Untouchables". The Gujjars say they have been discriminated against in terms of jobs, health care and education Ð particularly in Rajasthan Ð but say that by being reclassified as STC they will be eligible for government positions and university places that are reserved for that group. The Indian government reserves about half of all seats in state colleges and universities for lower castes and tribal groups Ð a massive affirmative-action plan it says is designed to counter centuries of discrimination. Many have criticised the quota system, however, saying that it accentuates caste differences at a time when India is seeking to modernise and develop economically and socially. A government panel that was set up to look into the Gujjars' claims, recommended that a £40m aid package be set aside for their community but ruled out reclassifying the tribe. That plan has not satisfied the Gujjars. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: bobad Date: 01 Jun 08 - 10:40 AM Homeless Japanese woman evicted from closet TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- A homeless woman who sneaked into a man's house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food began disappearing. Police found the 58-year-old woman Thursday hiding in the top compartment of the man's closet and arrested her for trespassing, police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya town said Friday. The resident of the home installed security cameras that transmitted images to his mobile phone after becoming puzzled by food disappearing from his kitchen over the past several months. One of the cameras captured someone moving inside his home Thursday after he had left, and he called police, believing it was a burglar. However, when they arrived, they found the door locked and all windows closed. "We searched the house ... checking everywhere someone could possibly hide," Itakura said. "When we slid open the shelf closet, there she was, nervously curled up on her side." The woman told police she had no place to live and first sneaked into the man's house about a year ago when he left it unlocked. The closet is part of a Japanese-style room, one of several rooms in his one-story house where the man lived alone -- or so he had thought. Police were investigating how she managed to go in and out of the house unnoticed, as well as details of her life inside the closet and whether she had taken anything else besides food. She had moved a mattress into the small closet space and apparently even took showers, Itakura said, calling the woman "neat and clean." |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Jun 08 - 12:10 PM That sounds like the beginning of an interesting short story, doesn't it? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: JohnInKansas Date: 08 Jun 08 - 03:40 PM Fire guts Texas governor's mansion 150-year-old Texas mansion was undergoing $10 million in renovations The Associated Press updated 12:17 p.m. CT, Sun., June. 8, 2008 AUSTIN, Texas - Arson is suspected in the fire that struck the historic Texas Governor's Mansion early Sunday, causing damage that state officials described as "bordering on catastrophic," the state fire marshal said. /quote A photo at the link shows quite a lot of damage. Fortunately, no one is in residence, and historical artifacts had been removed - both due to the in-process renovation. The extent of visible damage suggests that it will take some major investigation to determine whether the historic building can be salvaged. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jun 08 - 10:17 AM This morning's newspaper with the article is on the kitchen table waiting to be read. Big photo above the fold. Arson? You'd think they'd have a security plan for a place like this. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: JohnInKansas Date: 11 Jun 08 - 11:06 PM Man walks 25 miles for DUI sentencing He says his brother didn't show up to give him a ride The Associated Press updated 8:07 p.m. CT, Wed., June. 11, 2008 CARLISLE, Pa. - A Pennsylvania man says he had one alternative when his brother didn't show up to give him a ride to court: start walking. Stephen Shoemaker of Shippensburg was scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for sentencing on a 2007 drunken-driving conviction. Shoemaker, 33, doesn't have a car or driver's license. So he started walking to the Cumberland County Courthouse in Carlisle at dawn. He kept walking for about 25 miles in 90-plus-degree heat. Shoemaker arrived about 3:30 p.m., after a detour to Carlisle Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for dehydration. Judge Edward Guido had issued an arrest warrant when Shoemaker failed to appear. Instead he agreed to defer sentencing until July. Guido says he hesitated only because "that means he'll have to walk back to Shippensburg." Deputy Public Defender Anthony Adams volunteered to give Shoemaker a ride home. © 2008 The Associated Press. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 11 Jun 08 - 11:08 PM That's interesting! Clearly he got the message! |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 12 Jun 08 - 10:27 PM CHICAGO (Reuters) - A casualty of powerful storms that hit the Kansas State University campus on Wednesday was the Wind Erosion Lab, which the university said was destroyed by an apparent tornado. "The damage on campus is extensive," said Tom Rawson, the university's vice president for administration and finance. "The Wind Erosion Lab is gone. There is significant damage to the engineering complex." Storms and tornadoes raked Kansas overnight and caused an estimated $20 million damage at the university campus in Manhattan. No one was injured, a spokeswoman said. "Roofs have been damaged or torn off, windows have been blown out in many buildings," Rawson said in a statement. One of the damaged buildings housed the university's nuclear reactor, but the reactor remains unharmed, the university said. Wait, wait!! You can't blow me away!! I'm here to study wind erosion!! A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 18 Jun 08 - 11:20 AM BANGKOK, Thailand — For teen boys who prefer to dress as girls at one rural high school in Thailand, taking a bathroom break no longer means choosing between "male" and "female" restrooms. There's now a "transvestite toilet." The Kampang School in northeastern Thailand conducted a survey last term that showed more than 200 of the school's 2,600 students considered themselves transgender, said school director Sitisak Sumontha. So, when classes resumed in May, the school unveiled a unisex restroom designated by a human figure split in half — part man in blue and part woman in red. Below it are the words "Transvestite Toilet." Three transgender students praised the new restroom as they plucked their eyebrows and applied face powder in front of the mirror outside the stalls. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 19 Jun 08 - 01:16 PM I want to know what is up with the floating feet that have been washing up on the western shore of Canada. I mean, what is UP with these feet?? " Investigators are pursuing a variety of theories in their quest to unravel the mystery of six human feet that have washed up on the shores of the Canadian province of British Columbia in the last 11 months. The sixth foot turned up Wednesday -- a right foot in a man's size 10 black Adidas athletic shoe, police said. As in the previous cases, however, immediate answers as to the foot's origin eluded detectives. "We are exploring the possibility that it could be people who may have drowned," said Annie Linteau, a spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "It could be missing fishermen. It could be the remains of people who may have died in a plane crash." When asked about the suspicion of foul play, Linteau noted that the first four feet contained no tool marks and were therefore deemed not to have been severed. Watch woman describe finding severed foot » It is too early to say how the foot found Wednesday was separated from a body, and Linteau did not address the question of how the fifth foot came to be detached. "It is certainly a very unusual situation," she said. "We have to explore all avenues and investigate all theories." The coroner's office plans to examine DNA from the foot found Wednesday to try to identify the person to whom it belonged, she said. The authorities also are combing through missing persons reports and trying to determine when and where the shoe was manufactured and sold. " (CNN) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 19 Jun 08 - 08:33 PM CBD chaos as Apple Store opens (Sydney, Australia) while the link works, have a look at the great pic of the new store! June 19, 2008 Hundreds of Apple fans and onlookers clogged the pavements of George Street in the heart of Sydney's CBD tonight to witness the opening of Australia's first Apple Store. Fifteen minutes before the allotted hour of 5pm, the queue to enter the store stretched from the corner of George and King Streets, around the block and back down York Street, almost to Market Street. In places the line was five deep and police, City of Sydney council officials and private security guards had their job cut out keeping order as workers spilled out of their offices and merged into the streets with late night shoppers. With fans penned in by metal barricades and flashbulbs illuminating York Street, passers-by could have been forgiven for thinking an international movie star had just arrived on a red carpet for a movie premiere. Inside the store as zero hour approached, Apple Store staff faced the massive, 15m high glass atrium that frames the store and began singing, dancing an clapping. For the people at the head of the queue, 5pm marked the end of a 30-plus hour vigil that earned them nothing more than a free t-shirt and the right to say they were among the first customers to visit the new $15 million store. Although none of the first three in line bought anything, other's behind them were not so frugal and soon after the doors were open Apple's tills were ringing. By about 4.25pm the streets resembled the home stretch of a marathon as scores of Apple employees poured out of the store ran a lap of the block, high-fiving members of the cheering crowds as thanks for their devotion. "It's pretty incredible; far more than I expected," said Brisbane inventor and self-confessed Apple geek Moyzschya Belle, who slept out overnight with scores of other enthusiasts and was among the first wave to enter the store. "But right now, I'm going home to have a hot shower and snuggle up to my sweetie." Gary Allen from Berkeley in California, who writes a blog about Apple Stores and has attended some 30 store openings, also camped outside the store overnight. He rates the Sydney store as among the top five in the world in terms of design and presentation. For Anthony Agius from Melbourne who runs the MacTalk forum website, the best part of the overnight experience was the camaraderie. "We just spent all night talking about Macs," he said. Apple's executive were also very pleased with themselves. The turnout had been better than expected and was achieved without any large-scale advertising or paid promotion. "They all magnificent, but there's something very special about this [opening]," said Steve Cano, Apple's senior director of international retail, as the crowd poured in to the store. "There's a real energy." =================================== I saw the beginning of the event on Wednesday afternoon - a few folks sitting on fold-up chairs outside the backlit newly unveiled shop, folks in the new store pottered around & a cleaner polished the railing on the second floor while city workers went about their business. sandra (bemused Mac owner) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Jun 08 - 11:08 PM You want to slap this young mother upside the head and see if there is any brain inside. This is an AP story. Girl finds teen sister's premature baby, abandoned but alive BRECKENRIDGE (Texas)— A premature baby was found alive between a mattress and door several days after a teenage mother gave birth, hid the infant there and went on a trip, police said. The teen's younger sister found the baby girl Saturday morning when she heard faint cries coming from a bedroom, opened the door and found a newborn completely wrapped in two towels between a mattress and bathroom door, Breckenridge Police Chief Larry Mahan said. "Her sister heard whimpering and didn't know what it was, thought it was an animal and went in her sister's bedroom," Mahan said. The girl immediately called authorities, who took the baby to a hospital in Fort Worth, about 100 miles east of Breckenridge, a town of about 6,000. The infant remained hospitalized, but her condition was unavailable Wednesday. Lauren Renee McDonald, 19, of Breckenridge was charged with child abandonment and endangerment after she returned from her trip Sunday. She has since been released from jail on $10,000 bail. Her attorney, David Wimberley, did not immediately return a call Wednesday afternoon from The Associated Press. If convicted, she faces up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Investigators believe McDonald, who had hidden her pregnancy from her friends and family, gave birth one or two days before she left June 12 to visit a relative in West Virginia, Mahan said. Texas has a "safe haven" law that allows a mother who does not want her baby to leave the child at a hospital, fire station or other designated place without being questioned or arrested. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: JohnInKansas Date: 20 Jun 08 - 01:43 AM Enema of the people: Statue unveiled Spa director: 'An enema is almost a symbol of our region' The Associated Press updated 12:04 p.m. CT, Thurs., June. 19, 2008 MOSCOW - A monument to the enema, a procedure many people would rather not think about, has been unveiled at a spa in the southern Russian city of Zheleznovodsk. The bronze syringe bulb, which weighs 800 pounds and is held by three angels, was unveiled at the Mashuk-Akva Term spa, the spa's director said Thursday. "There is no kitsch or obscenity, it is a successful work of art," Alexander Kharchenko told The Associated Press. "An enema is almost a symbol of our region." The Caucasus Mountains region is known for dozens of spas where enemas with water from mineral springs are routinely administered to treat digestive and other complaints. Kharchenko, 50, said the monument cost $42,000 and was installed in a square in front of his spa on Wednesday. A banner declaring: "Let's beat constipation and sloppiness with enemas" — an allusion to a line from "The Twelve Chairs," a famous Soviet film comedy — was posted on one of the spa's walls. Sculptor Svetlana Avakina said she designed the 5-foot-high monument with "irony and humor" and modeled the angels on those in works by Italian Renaissance painter Alessandro Botticelli. "This device is eternal, it will never change," she told the AP. "We could promote this brand, turn it into a franchise with souvenirs and awards for medical doctors." Dozens of monuments dedicated to characters from tall tales and popular jokes have been erected in post-Soviet Russia. ©2008 The Associated Press. [Photo at link] John |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 20 Jun 08 - 09:43 AM It's a political statement, right? A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Jun 08 - 06:59 PM National Bathroom Reading Month was just announced on NPR. It seems appropriate, after the last item. "Would you like a free bathroom reader?" the woman featured in the news piece asks as she hands out articles and stories. She says people are shy about admitting to reading in the john. I don't think they should be encouraging lengthy reading retreats to users of the public johns in NYC (that's where this promotion took place). They're needed by more than four people an hour (15 minutes max per user.) Read somewhere else--like on the subway. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Jun 08 - 03:01 PM IRS agent allegedly was too amorous The agent was removed from the Everett Housing Authority's audit after reported innuendo and suggestions of IRS penalties. link EVERETT -- An IRS agent was kicked out of an audit of the Everett Housing Authority after he allegedly asked about a female employee's perfume, invaded her personal space and talked about the two being "alone again." The agent was three days into a weeklong audit in April when the Housing Authority employee told a manager that she no longer wanted to meet privately with the auditor. "My first reaction was, 'We are done with three days, we've got a couple more days, can't we just get through this?' " said Bud Alkire, the Housing Authority's executive director. "As the discussion went on and we learned about the (IRS agent's) conduct, we couldn't let this persist." The Housing Authority employee was assigned the task of providing the IRS agent with the authority's payroll and other financial records, according to an e-mail obtained by The Herald through public records laws. The employee told managers the agent positioned himself close to her while talking, leaned in toward her and asked if he was making her "uncomfortable." She described the IRS agent as "slimey" (sic), according to a letter sent by Alkire to the IRS. The agent also reportedly made several references to the woman about the penalties the IRS could bring down on the Housing Authority if he found problems. Citing privacy concerns, the Housing Authority is not disclosing the employee's name. Reached at home and at work last week, the IRS agent declined to comment. He said he is forbidden to discuss with the press any topic regarding his employment. The Herald is not naming him. IRS spokeswoman Judy Monahan in Seattle and spokesman Jesse Weller in Oakland, Calif., said they could not comment on the allegations or even confirm the IRS audited the Housing Authority. The IRS agent's behavior was egregious, created a potentially hostile workplace and opened the possibility of a sexual harassment complaint for the IRS and Housing Authority, Alkire said in his letter to the IRS. "Interspersed with personal comments were extensive remarks ... about the fines and penalties the IRS could impose," he wrote. "(The employee) was intimidated by the sexual innuendo in the tone and content of (the IRS agent's) comments, and by the remarks about penalties." After being asked to leave on April 9, the agent stayed and attempted to discuss the matter. He warned the IRS would react by subpoenaing the Housing Authority's records and reviewing them at its Bellevue offices, according to Alkire's letter. The agent works as an auditor with the IRS's Federal, State and Local Governments unit. Two days after the agent was sent away, a criminal investigator with the U.S. Department of Treasury was sent to Everett. The Treasury Department investigates allegations of abuse by the IRS. The agent wanted to interview the woman but was thwarted after Alkire questioned whether he was qualified to handle the investigation, records show. Alkire told him that it wasn't a criminal matter but an "issue of violation of discrimination laws." The investigator told Alkire that he would decide that. Alkire wanted to have the Housing Authority's female attorney sit in on the interview. The investigator left after the pair could not agree on how the interview should occur, records show. Treasury Department spokesman David Barnes said it's against policy to confirm or discuss investigations. This month, the IRS flew out a second auditor from its Nevada offices who completed the review, Alkire said in an interview last week. The auditor reviewed payroll records and policies on the personal use of Housing Authority cell phones, laptop computers, cars and employer-provided meals. Tax forms sent to landlords who participate in the housing voucher program, known as Section 8, also were inspected. A few irregularities were uncovered, but nothing serious enough to trigger fines, Housing Authority officials say. Everett Housing Authority commissioner Lyle Ryan -- one of six appointed by Everett's mayor to oversee the public agency -- said the incident was unusual and he believes Housing Authority managers handled the complaint appropriately. The Housing Authority, which operates mostly on grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has an annual budget of about $30 million. It has more than 100 employees, assists 2,400 households through its housing voucher program and another 1,000 families that live in public housing units in Everett. The special IRS unit that inspects government agencies for tax compliance is taking a closer look at community colleges and housing authorities this year. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 27 Jun 08 - 07:26 PM HEre's a cousin of ours who prefers very close friends to enemas: "The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the most volatile and hostile countries on the planet, yet its dark interior is home to a group of pacifists who look like refugees from the Summer of Love. Pygmy chimps or bonobos are both literally and metaphorically our kissing cousins. If you know them at all, it is probably as the most highly sexed of all the apes, but they are also considered by many to be our closest living relative - closer even than the common chimp. Bonobos seem to live by the principle "make love, not war". They are very docile towards one another, never aggressive or murderous, and possess many of the psychological traits we value most, including altruism, compassion, empathy, kindness, patience and sensitivity. How did they get to be so nice? Think of it this way. Somewhere between 6 and 8 million years ago, our ancestors split from the line that would become today's two species of chimps. Then around 2.5 million years ago, bonobos and common chimpanzees went their separate ways. Today our human world is characterised by war, oppression and terror. Common chimps also have a reputation for aggression and bloodshed. And then you have the bonobos. Which poses a few questions. How come they have taken such a different evolutionary path? Can they teach us to be more tolerant? What would it take to turn on our inner bonobo? The question of how bonobos got to be the way they are has long baffled primatologists. Nobody has been able to put their finger on exactly what makes this ape so different. What is becoming clear now though is that its behaviour is influenced less by its nature - the genes - and more by its environment, culture and learning. What bonobos eat, how they structure their social interactions, and their ability to pass on certain psychological attitudes from one generation to another all seem to play a part. That being so, there may indeed be lessons we can draw about how to make human society more peaceable. At most, there are a few hundred thousand bonobos left in the wild. They live only in the rainforests of the central Congo basin in DRC. Although their exact distribution is still unknown, the northern extent of their territory is bounded by a loop in the Congo river that forms an impassable barrier. On the face of it, their habitat looks very similar to a chimpanzee's, although the latter are much more widely distributed (see Map). The habits of the two species couldn't be more different, though. When communities of bonobos from different areas of a forest meet, the females of each tribe initiate sex with males from the other. When chimp tribes meet, the encounters are extremely violent and it isn't unusual for at least a few individuals to end up mauled or even dead. Chimps create despotic male-controlled societies where males beat up females to display dominance. Bonobo society is egalitarian, until it is time to feed, at which point females tend to get preferential access. Tool use is another huge disparity between the two species. Chimps make use of varying tools in different regions to obtain and prepare food. To date, wild bonobos have never been observed using even a single tool. ÒBonobos are very docile towards one another, never aggressive or murderousÓ Then there is the sex. Bonobos are famous for it. Aside from the typical male/female activity, they also engage in more "creative" behaviours: wet kissing, masturbation, oral sex, female/female and male/male couplings, group activities, the list goes on and on. The only restriction seems to be incest between mothers and their children. Chimps by contrast restrict themselves almost entirely to male/female sex and don't have nearly as much of it as bonobos. What's more, males are dominant, frequently use food to lure females into having sex with them, and sometimes beat uncooperative females" See New Scientist for complete article. Apparently it all boils down to protein. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 29 Jun 08 - 03:22 PM Socialism, as any right-wingnut knows, can go entirely too far. An example: "An eight-year-old boy has sparked an unlikely outcry in Sweden after failing to invite two of his classmates to his birthday party. The boy's school says he has violated the children's rights and has complained to the Swedish Parliament. The school, in Lund, southern Sweden, argues that if invitations are handed out on school premises then it must ensure there is no discrimination. The boy's father has lodged a complaint with the parliamentary ombudsman. He says the two children were left out because one did not invite his son to his own party and he had fallen out with the other one. The boy handed out his birthday invitations during class-time and when the teacher spotted that two children had not received one the invitations were confiscated. "My son has taken it pretty hard," the boy's father told the newspaper Sydsvenskan. "No one has the right to confiscate someone's property in this way, it's like taking someone's post," he added. A verdict on the matter is likely to be reached in September, in time for the next school year. " (BBC News) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 29 Jun 08 - 03:42 PM The US dentist who masterminded thefts from hundreds of human corpses from funeral homes will serve between 18 and 54 years in jail, a judge has ruled. Michael Mastromarino's ring stole parts from more than 1,000 bodies, including that of BBC presenter Alistair Cooke. The group then sold the parts to doctors who transplanted them into patients in a scam worth $4.6m (£2.3m). Mastromarino, 44, had pleaded guilty to body stealing, reckless endangerment and enterprise corruption in March. The organs, extracted from bodies which had not been medically screened, were stolen from funeral homes in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania between 2001 and 2005. They were sold around the country for 10,000 surgical procedures including knee and hip replacements, as well as dental implants. (BBC) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 30 Jun 08 - 11:52 AM Irish Town Honors His Goatness In the town of Killorglin in County Kerry, the reins of power are handed to a wild billy goat once a year. It's an opportunity for the people to let out their inner beast -- and for tourists to party the night away, writes reader Desmond F. Kelly. The crowning of a king has always been cause for celebration. In the small town of Killorglin in the south-west corner of Ireland, it still is -- with a hitch. The king in question is a goat. "King Puck" is one of the last regents of Ireland, though his reign is a short one -- from August 10 to 12 every year. Nevertheless, the small Irish town of Killorglin (about 100 km. from Cork) has been crowing King Puck since (officially) 1610. The goat-fawning fair is one of the oldest of Ireland's traditional rural celebrations -- and one of its better known. Still, despite the fair's fame, its origins are somewhat unclear. One theory has the fair dating back to pagan times. Puck, as the male goat is called, could have been seen as a symbol of fertility for a late summer harvest festival. The more modern theory is that King Puck is a celebration of the fact that a herd of goats, which had been grazing in the countryside nearby, were scared up by pillaging "Roundheads," the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell. One goat galloped off towards the town in a state of fear, thus alerting the townspeople to the approaching danger. (A third, and less romantic, version involves legal loopholes, greedy landlords and tax evasion.) Whatever its origins, it has grown to be an interesting collection of traditions and customs. Some days before the fair begins, a group of the most fearless and strong lads from the town head off into the McGillycuddy's Reeks (as the nearby hills are called) and attempt to corner and capture one of the wild goats grazing there. Bumps, cuts and bruises suffered during the chase are, of course, worn as badges of honor. While their fathers and brothers are off traipsing through the hills, the young girls of the town compete to be crowned as "Queen Puck." The competition entails them writing essays and giving interviews about why they want to be queen, and why they think that they are the best choice for the role -- a rather gruelling selection process. Once the goat has been wrestled down from the heights, he is paraded through the town on what is known as "Gathering Day," the day before the fair starts. The goat is then placed onto the lowest tier of a three-tiered platform. The Queen then delivers the Puck Proclamation and crowns her new king. The newly crowned king is then elevated to the topmost tier of the platform, there to look down on, and survey his subjects below for the next 3 days. Three days of trading and drinking, and singing, and drinking, and storytelling, and drinking follow -- giving rise to the saying, "Where a goat acts the king, the people can act the goat!" For the town of Killorglin -- population 1,359 -- the goat festival has turned into a cash cow. More than 100,000 people pass through during the three days of the fair, and festival organizers estimate the event is worth over €6 million to the local economy. Puck Fair is one of the only places, and times, of the year in Ireland that the pubs are allowed to stay open till three in the morning. At the end of it all, the king is dethroned (in a nice way) and returned to the wild to rejoin his comrades on the foothills of Ireland's highest mountain. Submitted by Desmond F. Kelly in Karlsruhe, Germany |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Jun 08 - 12:01 PM The aspect of Carnival isn't mentioned directly in that piece but is clearly at play to a large degree in that town. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 30 Jun 08 - 12:11 PM Well, yeehaw. That's what I say! A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 30 Jun 08 - 01:17 PM Why optimism is good for you, especially when young: "MRI study suggests novelty is its own reward By John Timmer | Published: June 30, 2008 - 08:28AM CT Humans frequently face a straightforward dilemma: stick with something that has a known benefit or try something new and face the unknown. The ability to choose novelty over a known quantity can help us find new and more rewarding experiences, and it adds a wildcard to human behavior. An open access study published in the journal Neuron looks into how the brain processes decisions between options with unknown and expected outcomes, and it finds that the brain responds to the unknown in the same way that it anticipates a positive outcome. Clearly, exploring novel options is a necessity, since otherwise people would never be able to optimize their behavior. The authors discuss how behavioral models performed on computers have attempted to approximate this through a mathematical analysis of past instances where an unknown was chosen—apparently, this becomes computationally expensive once the number of instances gets large. Instead, many models simply perform an approximation where the novel choice is given a slight positive value, which approximates real behavior quite well. So well, in fact, that the authors decided to test whether this is actually the way the brain operates. To do so, they set up a test where subjects were asked to choose one of four pictures displayed at the same time. Each one of those was assigned a permanent reward frequency; whenever it was picked, it had a set probability of winning the subject £1. Each image would appear an average of 20 times in succession, allowing the subject a chance of getting a feel for its odds. Whenever an image was dropped, a new one would replace it with its own distinct odds of rewards. Over extensive repetitions, the test offered the subjects many chances to choose a novel photo or stick with a known risk. The subjects also underwent functional MRI imaging in order to examine the regions of the brain that were active during the test. With the statistics in hand, the authors sought to figure out the parameters that gave the best approximation of the test subjects' behavior and found that people do appear to assign a value to novel picture options. Given the fact that a successful choice was worth £1, researchers could actually calculate a price for the value of novelty: four pence. In the brain, neural activity associated with a novel choice occurred in an area identical to that activated when a known image triggered the expectation of a positive result. In essence, the test subjects chose novelty because their brains—specifically, the right ventral striatum—interpreted it in a manner similar to a known positive result. To confirm that this was specific to novelty, the authors determined that the degree of activity in specific test subjects correlated with the frequency that they choose a previously unknown image. The activity also correlated with novelty-seeking behavior when the subjects filled out a personality survey. Overall, the researchers build a pretty compelling case that people try the new in part because they view a novel choice as its own reward. In their discussion, the authors note that there are limits to this behavior. Nearly any animal humans have tested will learn to avoid novelty if it is frequently associated with negative outcomes. The discussion also points out that novelty seeking may not always be rewarding, as it can be associated with substance abuse. Still, behavior indicates that novelty is prized in a variety of animals, suggesting it's an old evolutionary adaptation and therefore a major influence on human development. " (Ars Technica) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Jun 08 - 06:10 PM Budweiser, the toast of Belgium America's most famous beer may taste like water, but if InBev succeeds in taking over its brewer the US will lose a national symbol From the Guardian (UK) Ian Williams Thursday June 26, 2008 There is probably a graph somewhere correlating the decline in the strength of American beer and the value of its dollar. If so, it would likely feature Budweiser, the archetypal American beer. There are many mysteries about the US for non-Americans, but few so imponderable as their attraction for the fizzy, aqueous substance. The old Q&A sums it up. Why is drinking Bud like making love in a canoe? Because it's f*ing close to water! There is surely a thesis to be written about what happened to hundreds of varieties of cheese, beer and sausage taken by European emigrants to the US in the 19th century. By the time they reached Ellis Island, only the frankfurter, Wisconsin cheddar and Budweiser were left. Somewhere around the mid-Atlantic ridge, will future marine archaeologists discover, preserved in the cold dark depths, a huge depositary of tasty, nutritious brands dumped overboard to ensure tasteless homogeneity on arrival? So there is multiple irony in the threatened InBev takeover of the iconic American brand. InBev is mostly owned by a company from Brazil, home to one of the world's strongest liquors, cachacas, but it is itself from Belgium, a thoroughly heterogeneous country whose one unifying factor is an attachment to hundreds of tasty and strong varieties of beer. However, Budweiser has the seeds of hope, emblematic of the new world. In a sense, it is already very cosmopolitan. In total defiance of the ancient Nuremburg laws on brewing, it is made with rice, so in one sense, it is America's most popular brand of sake, thus anticipating Asian domination of the US economy, and a Belgian takeover would somehow bring in the theme of Euro-power. It is also a pleasant counterpart to the deranged, reactionary Coors brewing empire, bankers to all the causes that led us into Iraq and may yet lead us into teetotal Iran – probably with compulsory beer consumption as part of the occupation agenda. And we really should cheer a company that gets "Pinko George Clooney", in the words of one Christian conservative blogger, to do their voiceover work. "I mean, come on, has this country gotten so pathetic where an American beer company can hire a radical liberal pansy to be its spokesperson," he continued, wondering why middle America was not "so freaked out that they have to fire him and issue an apology within two weeks!?" Let us hope that InBev continues the good work – and, if the takeover is successful, improves the strength of flavour of its new brand so that the Bud blossoms at last toward the flavoursomeness of its Bohemian Budovar origins. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: JohnInKansas Date: 30 Jun 08 - 06:22 PM Federal Appeals Court Compares Military Evidence To Lewis Carroll Poem Judges cite nonsense poem in Gitmo case Ruling says Chinese Muslim was improperly labeled as enemy combatant The Associated Press updated 1:54 p.m. CT, Mon., June. 30, 2008 WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court reviewing evidence at Guantanamo Bay compared a Bush administration legal argument to one made by a hapless, dimwitted character in a 19th century nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit cited the 1876 poem, "The Hunting of the Snark," in ruling that the military improperly labeled a Chinese Muslim as an enemy combatant. The ruling was issued last week but an unclassified version of the opinion was released only Monday. It was the first time a court has reviewed the military's decision-making and considered whether a detainee should be held. The ruling provides guidance to federal district judges, who are about to begin reviewing dozens of such cases now that the Supreme Court says detainees can challenge their detention in federal court. The appeals court said military review panels, known as Combatant Status Review Tribunals, were unable to assess much of the evidence against the detainee, Huzaifa Parhat, and at times treated accusations as evidence. "The big issue now is, can any CSRT decision survive this kind of scrutiny?" Parhat's lawyer, Susan Baker Manning said. /quote Check the link for background that may help explain how Alice (of Wonderland fame) appears also to have been involved in US "secret detentions." It appears there may be several non-enemy-combatants who, now being identified and their whereabouts known, have no place safe to go if released. Maybe we'll have to grant them US asylum(?) (if we ever get an immigration act that accomplishes anything). John |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Jun 08 - 11:20 PM You should have pasted the entire thing, John, you left out the best part:
The three-member court, which was made up of two Republican judges and one Democrat, was particularly pointed in its criticism of the argument that evidence is reliable because it appears on multiple documents. "The government insists that the statements made in the documents are reliable because the State and Defense Departments would not have put them in intelligence documents were that not the case," the court wrote. "This comes perilously close to suggesting that whatever the government says must be treated as true." The judges compared the argument to the logic in Carroll's nonsense poem, in which a hapless crew hunts for a creature that is never quite defined. The Bellman, the ship's leader, led his men across the ocean, guided by a map that was just a blank piece of paper. He rallied and reassured his crew simply by repeating himself. "I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true," the Bellman says in the poem. "Lewis Carroll notwithstanding, the fact that the government has 'said it thrice' does not make an allegation true," the court wrote. The court said Parhat deserved a new hearing or should be released — though it didn't say to where he would be released. The U.S. does not want to send him to China for fear he will be tortured. Guantanamo isn't torture? As an aside, isn't there a community in the U.S. of these Chinese Moslems, who fled after WWII or maybe Korea? They helped the U.S. during the war. I don't think it was as late as Vietnam, but I won't rule it out. They were persecuted and some were allowed to immigrate. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Jul 08 - 11:58 AM I'm glad I don't live near this guy. Man Cleared for Killing Neighbor's Burglars 'Castle Doctrine' Gives Texans Unprecedented Authority to Take Action Against Intruders A Texas man who shot and killed two men he believed to be burglars while he was talking to a 911 dispatcher won't be going to trial. A grand jury on Monday declined to indict Joe Horn, a 61-year-old computer technician who lives in Pasadena, Texas, just outside Houston. Before making its decision, the grand jury listened to the dramatic 911 tapes from Nov. 14, 2007, when Horn called to say two burglars were robbing his neighbor's home. Horn ignored the dispatcher's pleas not to open fire. Joe Horn: "I've got a shotgun; you want me to stop him?" Dispatcher: "Nope. Don't do that. Ain't no property worth shooting somebody over, OK?" Joe Horn: "Hurry up, man, catch these guys, will you? Because I ain't gonna let them go. I'm gonna kill him." Dispatcher: "OK, stay in the house." Joe Horn: "They're getting away!" Dispatcher: "That's alright." Joe Horn: (Shouts to suspects) "Move, you're dead." Three gunshots can be heard on the tape. Both suspects were shot in the back and were pronounced dead at the scene. Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson stood by the grand jury's decision. "I understand the concerns of some in the community regarding Mr. Horn's conduct," Magidson told reporters at the courthouse. "The use of deadly force is carefully limited in Texas law to certain circumstances. ... In this case, however, the grand jury concluded that Mr. Horn's use of deadly force did not rise to a criminal offense." The dead men, Diego Ortiz and Miguel de Jesus, were two illegal immigrants from Colombia. Family and friends wanted to see Horn prosecuted. "This man took the law into his own hands," Stephanie Storey, De Jesus' fiancée, told ABC News just after the shootings. "He shot two individuals in the back after having been told over and over to stay inside. It was his choice to go outside and his choice to take two lives." Monday's decision ignited a firestorm in Houston on both sides of the issue. Debate raged on local talk radio, on street corners and on blogs. One resident, Keith Sabharwal, said, "That's what I want my neighbor to do; I really don't think he should have gotten into trouble for it." But another resident, Ronald Elkins, disagreed. "His actions were rash and he did not take into account [what] the consequences of his actions were going to be". The same debate raged on Timberline Drive, where Horn still lives. "I think it's a good thing," Diana Null, who lives nearby, said. "I mean, people come in and try to rob us. I mean, we're just protecting our homes." But Josie Karaze disagrees. "He had no right, and he had been told not to do it." And law enforcement officials and law experts have been debating the merits of Castle Law since it was passed. "There's too many imponderables in this law, whereas the previous law was working just fine," said Warren Diepraam, the Harris County Assistant District Attorney, told ABC a few months ago. "Frankly, life is precious." The critical legal question hinged on whether Horn acted in a reasonable way to defend his neighbor's property. "You cannot take another person's life in defense of their property unless you're somehow given permission by the other person to protect their property," Diepraam said. On that 911 call, the dispatcher asked Horn directly about the owners of the house that was being burglarized and whether he knew them. "I really don't know these neighbors," Horn said. "I know the neighbors on the other side really well … I can assure you if it had been their house, I'd already have done something." Still, Lambright, Horn attorney told ABC News that his client "absolutely" had his neighbors' permission. "There's no question about it," he said. "They'd tell you today that they are very happy that he was there and that he was watching out. Every neighbor in the state of Texas watches out for one another." Reporters Kevin Quinn, Christine Dobbyn and Katisha Cosley from ABC's KTRK-TV in Houston contributed to this story. |
