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BS: I Read it in the Newspaper
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Nov 06 - 06:13 PM I missed posting a couple of stories while the 'cat was down. I'll have to see if I can relocate them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Donuel Date: 27 Nov 06 - 06:46 PM Another Worrying Bush Appointee : Abstinence Czar By: Nicole Belle @ 7:15 PM - PST In yet another appointment made apparently from Bizarro World, Bush has named Dr. Eric Keroack the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs, overseeing the Office of Family Planning. AlterNet : He's a favorite guest speaker at meetings of the National Right to Life Committee. He's on the medical advisory council for the notorious Leslee Unruh's National Abstinence Clearinghouse, whence he expounds on such topics as the physical and emotional consequences of premarital sex. He teaches that there is a physiological cause [pdf link] for relationship failure and sexual promiscuity — a hormonal cause-and-effect that can only be short-circuited by sexual abstinence until marriage.[..] He's the full-time medical director for A Woman's Concern, a chain of Boston area crisis pregnancy centers, where he spreads all the usual lies about abortion and uses ultrasound scans as a tool to influence the decisions of women who might be considering abortion. He was one of the "experts" who determined that federally funded abstinence education programs must mention contraceptives only in relation to their failure rates and promote abstinence until marriage. [..]Keroack works his heart out for the Christian right. And it appears that, as of Monday morning, he'll be working for us, too. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Nov 06 - 10:10 AM I heard about this yahoo on NPR recently. Ol' Dubya just keeps pushing his agenda along. And this guy, he's going to give the name a bad reputation (for those who don't know the difference between Jack Kerouac and Eric Keroak). SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 28 Nov 06 - 11:06 AM VIVE la difference!!! A |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 28 Nov 06 - 05:31 PM EFF Accepts Barney's Surrender |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Nov 06 - 11:47 PM I had to go look for a longer version of this story online. The local paper edited out a couple of paragraphs. Even with all of the information, it's a really strange story (and one wonders at how they managed to stay in the house that long with that "strange smell," and how hard they needed to be hit over the head to figure out what that smell means, regardless of a missing relative): Woman's body found behind bookcase NEW PORT RICHEY, Florida (AP) -- A woman's body was found wedged upside-down behind a bookcase in the home she shared with relatives who had spent nearly two weeks looking for her. A spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said Mariesa Weber's death was not suspicious. Family members said they believe she fell over as she tried to adjust the plug of a television behind the bookshelf. Weber, 38, came home October 28 and greeted her mother, then wasn't seen again. Her family thought she had been kidnapped and contacted authorities. Family members scoured her room for clues but found nothing, although they did notice a strange smell. On November 9, Weber's sister went into her bedroom and looked behind a bookcase, where she saw the woman's foot. Using a flashlight, the family saw Weber was wedged upside-down behind the unit. "I'm sleeping in the same house as her for 11 days, looking for her," her mother, Connie Weber, told the St. Petersburg Times. "And she's right in the bedroom." Both Weber and her sister previously had adjusted the television plug by standing on a bureau next to the shelf and leaning over the top. Her family believes Weber, who was 5-foot-3 and barely 100 pounds, may have fallen headfirst into the space. "She's a little thing," her mother said. "And the bookcase is 6 feet tall and solid. And she couldn't get out." The sheriff's office said Weber appeared to have died because she was unable to breathe in the position she was in. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 29 Nov 06 - 07:44 AM Man accused of spray-painting goats The Associated Press Updated: 6:03 a.m. CT Nov 29, 2006 MAHOPAC, N.Y. - A man broke into a barn on Thanksgiving morning, spray-painted three pet goats and scattered pages of pornographic magazines on the floor, apparently to harass the property owner, police said Tuesday. That's probably enought to give the gist of the story. Details at the link. There's apparently some sort of local feuding going on. The vet says there was harm to the goats - largely from digesting the porn(?). One cop said ""Obviously it's not an occurrence you see every day," Yes? ... No? ... John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 29 Nov 06 - 08:24 AM Trade sanctions imposed on N. Korea: U.S. bans sales of iPods to N. Korea "The U.S. government's first-ever effort to use trade sanctions to personally aggravate a foreign president expressly targets items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government." "But the list of proposed luxury sanctions, obtained by The Associated Press, aims to make Kim's swanky life harder: No more cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes, artwork, expensive cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles or even personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis. The new ban would extend even to music and sports equipment. The 5-foot-3 Kim is an enthusiastic basketball fan; then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright presented him with a ball signed by Michael Jordan during a rare diplomatic trip in 2000. "Experts said the effort — being coordinated under the United Nations — would be the first ever to curtail a specific category of goods not associated with military buildups or weapons designs, especially one so tailored to annoy a foreign leader. U.S. officials acknowledge that enforcing the ban on black-market trading would be difficult. "The population in North Korea, one of the world's most isolated economies, is impoverished and routinely suffers widescale food shortages. The new trade ban would forbid U.S. shipments there of Rolexes, French cognac, plasma TVs, yachts and more — all items favored by Kim but unattainable by most of the country." "U.S. intelligence officials who helped produce the Bush administration's list said Kim prefers Mercedes, BMW and Cadillac cars; Japanese and Harley Davidson motorcycles; Hennessy XO cognac from France and Johnny Walker Scotch whisky; Sony cameras and Japanese air conditioners." Is this a switch on the WWII US project to airdrop pornography into Germany "to drive Hitler insane" - and will it work as well? John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 29 Nov 06 - 08:39 AM IHOP will stop carding customers A Quincy Massachusetts IHOP began demanding that customers surrender their drivers licenses before being seated, "to stop Dine-and-Dash customers." Some people objected, but apparently quite a few gave their ID to the "security guard." The company has stated that this is NOT corporate policy, and the restaurant involved has agreed to stop the practice. The real question is whether the management at this restaurant is more stupid than those who were willing to let them "hold" their personal IDs. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 29 Nov 06 - 02:00 PM Ve haff VAYS off makink you pay for your pancakes. I suggest you surrender your documentz kvietly... |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 03 Dec 06 - 02:30 PM The Russian web site AllofMP3.com has been offering mp3 downloads for significantly less than the $0.99 (US) per piece typical for other web sources. A news item suggests that anyone who wants a bunch might want to grab them before the site goes down, although the details are a bit fuzzy. [quote – with link added] Update: U.S., Russia Target AllofMP3.com for Shutdown, 11.29.06, By Mark Hachman According to a document released by the U.S. Trade Representative to Russia, controversial MP3 download site AllofMP3.com is to be targeted for closure by U.S. and Russian authorities. The meeting was characterized as the results of "bilateral negotiations on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization". A spokesman for AllofMP3.com said Wednesday that the site would not be shut down. The document, a "fact sheet" dated Nov. 19, identifies AllofMp3.com as an example of "Internet piracy". "The United States and Russia agreed on the objective of shutting down websites that permit illegal distribution of music and other copyright works. The agreement names the Russia-based website allofmp3.com as an example of such a website. "Russia will take enforcement actions against the operation of Russia-based websites; and investigate and prosecute companies that illegally distribute copyright works on the Internet," the sheet added. Russia said it would also act by June 1, 2007 to take action and prevent rights societies from taking action without consent of the rights holders themselves; AllofMP3.com claims it holds licenses from the Russian Licensing Societies, including the Federation of Rights Holders for Collective Management of Copyright with Respect to the Use of Musical Works in Interactive Regime (FAIR) and the Russian Organization on Collective Management of Rights of Authors and Other Right Holders in Multimedia, Digital Networks & Visual Arts (ROMS). The meeting was designed to "strengthen border enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting," according to the USTR document. Among other concerns was bringing Russia in line with the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, known as the TRIPS Agreement. However, a spokesman for AllofMP3.com denied the report. "AllofMP3 will not shut down and the Russian authorities have not agreed to shut down the company," a company spokesman said. "The Russian government agreed to make changes to the Copyright Law but the changes are far from being decided. However, AllofMP3 will alter its business plan to fit within the new parameters." AllofMP3.com has said previously that it would move to an ad-subsidized format. Editor's Note: This story was updated at 5:04 PM EDT on Nov. 29 with comments from an AllofMP3.com representative. [end quote] Oh Yeah: Disney is suing YouTube – again – and again - - - John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 05 Dec 06 - 10:52 PM Mom has son arrested for premature ... .... .... unwrapping? A South Carolina woman called the cops when she found her 12 y.o. son repeatedly sneaking out a gift he was to receive for Christmas from his grandmother. Cops cooperated by "taking the boy in," later released him to mother's custody. The story sound like the kid has some real problems, but I suppose it made a cute headline. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 05 Dec 06 - 10:57 PM Swedish border cops busted [quote] Two border control officers face discipline for photo collection The Associated Press Updated: 1:36 p.m. CT Dec 5, 2006 STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Two Swedish border control officers risk disciplinary action for keeping a photo collection of "exceptionally beautiful" women who passed through their checkpoint, police officials said Tuesday. The officers, who were working at a ferry terminal near Stockholm, made photocopies of the women's passport photos and placed them in a binder. They also noted the date of birth next to each entry, the Stockholm police department said. The binder contained instructions on how to compile the collection, and orders to make backup copies in case the binder would go missing or be confiscated by "evil-minded bores," police said. The instructions also stated that only "exceptionally beautiful" women belonged in the collection and that no personal data, aside from the date of birth, should be included. The men's employer found the binder and reported them to police, but the matter was dismissed because the compilation was not considered illegal. Stockholm police passed the matter to the national police's disciplinary board, which recommended the men get away with a warning. [endquote] Have any of our mudcat ladies "crossed the line" recently? May we see the pictures? John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Dec 06 - 12:26 PM From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram today (a href="http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/16193785.htm">link) Woman jailed after shooting victim diesFORT WORTH - A 47-year-old man who was shot in the head Wednesday night during an exchange about whether he could smoke inside a friend's house died Thursday afternoon, authorities said. Robert Williams was pronounced dead at 3:10 p.m. at John Peter Smith Hospital. Margore Carter, 49, was arrested Thursday evening by members of the U.S. Marshal's Task Force at a relative's home in Arlington, police said. She faces a murder charge. Witnesses told police that Williams was drinking with Carter, her sister and the sister's husband in her house in the 3200 block of Todd Avenue. About 8 p.m., the sister's husband suggested that Williams should go outside to smoke, homicide Detective Tom Boetcher said. Williams refused. A witness said that "the suspect then jokingly stated that she had something that would make him go outside," Boetcher said. Carter went to her bedroom and returned with a gun, investigators said. Acting Sgt. Mike Carroll said she first aimed the gun at a window near Williams and pulled the trigger. The gun just clicked. "From the other witnesses' statements, they all thought she was kind of playing around," Carroll said. "She then walks up to him, puts it to his head and pulls the trigger, and it does go off. "According to her, she was surprised." Carter remained at the house Wednesday evening and cooperated with investigators, police said. Boetcher said the case should serve as a reminder of the importance of gun safety. "People should be aware that all weapons can be deadly -- whether the gun is believed to be loaded or unloaded," he said. "And people are responsible for their actions if their reckless conduct results in someone's death." |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Don Firth Date: 08 Dec 06 - 05:58 PM That story is a good example of the pandemic ignorance even a lot of gun owners have about the way firearms function and the trouble they can get into as a result. The gun in this case was undoubtedly a revolver with some chambers empty and at least one loaded. Every time you pull the trigger, it rotates the cylinder and the hammer falls on a new chamber. Keep pulling the trigger until a loaded chamber comes up and things can get loud. And sometimes nasty. But I guess that can work a couple of ways. Ignorance of the way firearms function once saved President Gerald Ford's life. "Squeaky" Fromm, a disciple of Charles Manson's, was sent to assassinate Ford on a visit he made to California. She was given a Colt .45 automatic, loaded with five rounds in the magazine. She was told that all she had to do is walk up to Ford, point the gun at him, and pull the trigger. The Secret Service apparently didn't pay any attention to the scruffy little hippie, and she got to within a few feet of Ford. She apparently knew enough to cock the hammer, which she did, pointed the gun at Ford, and pulled the trigger. The hammer fell with a click. She was crying, "It didn't fire! It didn't fire!" as the Secret Service belatedly disarmed her and wrestled her to the ground. But what happened, of course, was that whoever loaded the gun slipped the loaded magazine into the grip as usual, and apparently assumed it was ready to fire. Either that, or he assumed that "Squeaky" knew something about handguns, which she didn't. After inserting the magazine, you have to pull the slide back and release it. As the mainspring snaps the slide forward, it strips a cartridge off the top of the magazine and chambers it. So, although there were bullets in it, the gun that "Squeaky" was using was functionally not loaded. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 11 Dec 06 - 09:41 AM "EDINBURGH, Scotland - "In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics. "It's teaching youngsters the neglected art of writing with a fountain pen. "… "Teachers taught too "The children learn a handwriting style developed by teachers at the school, which charges $12,500 a year. New teachers are also put through a course on how to write with pens — as well as refresher courses on literacy and numeracy — before they are let loose in classes." Such radical reactionary concepts would never be permitted in my school district! Imagine! Expecting literacy from teachers. Must be a bunch of nutcases…. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 11 Dec 06 - 09:55 AM Seems appropriate to bring back an old favorite: Primary Emergency Network Computer Interface Liaison device This device is designed to meet short time emergency needs in case of a computer operations failure, or operational delay. This device is the Primary Emergency Network Computer Interface Liaison device (P.E.N.C.I.L.). This device has been field tested extensively, including certification testing, as well as volume and stress testing. Properly maintained, the device meets all the requirements for coding and data input. Prior to use, the (P.E.N.C.I.L.) will require preparation and testing. Tools and supplies required will be: A sharpened knife or grinding device; and a supply of computer paper (with or without holes). Gripping the device firmly in your hand, proceed to scrape or grind the wooded end until it has a cone-like appearance. The dark core area must be exposed to properly function. Place a single sheet of computer paper on a smooth, hard surface. Take the backup device, place the sharpened point against the paper, and pull it across the paper. If properly done, this will input a single line. CAUTION: Excessive force may damage components of the device or damage the data reception device. If either the P.E.N.C.I.L. or the paper are damaged, go back to the preparation instructions above. Proper use of the device will require data simulation input by the operator. Placing the device against the computer page forming symbols as closely resembling the computer lettering system you normally use. At the completion of each of the simulated letters, lift the device off the page, move it slightly to the right, replace it against the page, and form the next symbol. This may appear tedious, and somewhat redundant, but, with practice, you should be able to increase yourspeed and accuracy. The P.E.N.C.I.L. is equipped with a manual deletion device. The device is located on the reverse end of the P.E.N.C.I.L. Error deletions operate similarly to the "backspace" key on your computer. Simply place the device against the erroneous data, and pull it backwards over the letters. This should remove the error,and enable you to resume data entries. CAUTION: Excessive force may damage the data reception device. Insufficient force, however, may result in less than acceptable deletion, and may require re-initialization of action as above. This device is designed with user maintenance in mind. However, if technical support is required, you can still call your local computer desk supervisor at (800)-YOU-DUMMY |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 12 Dec 06 - 12:08 AM I cannot believe that a puppy that size and age, no matter WHAT the breed, did this. And that the parents were just "asleep" in the room all of the time? Something stinks about this story, and it isn't the dog! Louisiana Police: Puppy Gnawed Off Baby's Toes December 11, 2006 BOSSIER CITY, La. - A pit bull puppy chewed off four of a baby girl's toes while the child's parents slept, police here said Monday. The parents were booked on charges of child desertion and criminal negligence and were being held in the Bossier Parish Jail pending an initial court appearance. Police said the parents were sleeping on a mattress in the living room of their residence and the month-old girl was in an infant seat beside them when the puppy began chewing on their baby's toes. Mary Shannon Hansche, 22, and Christopher Wayne Hansche, 26, told police they woke up to the sound of the baby crying, found her mangled foot and took her to the hospital about 8:30 a.m. Sunday. "They did not see the dog injuring the child," police spokesman Mark Natale said. The girl underwent surgery Sunday at Sutton's Children's Hospital in Shreveport. There was no way to reattach the child's toes, Natale said Monday. The puppy was 6 weeks old and had no record of receiving its shots and will be quarantined for 10 days to check for rabies. Natale said he did not know what the puppy's fate would be after that. "The puppy itself was just several weeks old! I mean this was essentially a puppy," Natale said. "This puppy might have been trying to nurse on the toes of this baby," veterinarian Michael Dale speculated. "I know that sounds a little far fetched, but that's the first thing that comes to my mind." Teresa Miller, who sold the puppy to the Hansches, was skeptical the dog did it. "He didn't chew on anything while he was with me. Out of all of them (in the litter), he was the least chewy." Another veterinarian, Dr. Valri Brown, said if the puppy chewed off the infant's toes, it would not have happened quickly. "It would have to be a period of time - maybe at least an hour," she said. Meanwhile, the puppy's been quarantined at Bossier City's animal control office for the next 10 days to check for rabies. Natale said he did not know what the puppy's fate would be after that. When she is released from the hospital, the child will be placed in a foster home until the case against her parents is settled, officials said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 12 Dec 06 - 05:01 AM Woman bitten by spider loses 10 lbs. of skin Doctor predicts it may take six months for full recovery from small nip Updated: 8:13 p.m. CT Dec 11, 2006 HERMISTON, Ore. - A small spider bite turned out to be a big problem for Cindy Pettey. Pettey awoke when she was bitten on the stomach in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, but thought little else of it. Then she started running a fever, she felt achy and weak. The bite sore became larger. Next thing Pettey knew, a doctor was telling her he believed she'd been bitten by a dangerous hobo spider. Pettey had surgery that removed 10 pounds of skin and flesh, leaving her with an abdomen covered in stitches. "It looks like I was bit in half by a shark," Pettey said. Rob Hendrickson, a physician and director of the Oregon Poison Control Center, said the hobo is a non-aggressive spider that bites only when cornered. For example, when someone puts on a shoe with a spider inside. The hobo is one of two dangerous spiders in Oregon. The other is the black widow. The brown recluse does not exist in Oregon, he said. "In reality, most spiders are venomous, but aren't capable of penetrating human skin," Hendrickson said. Hobo spider venom may cause necrosis, or death of the skin. When a spider injects venom below the skin, it reddens, swells, then turns black. But there is some doubt in the medical community about whether venom causes the skin death, Hendrickson said. "If the venom can actually cause necrosis in humans," he said, "... then it is a very rare event." John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 12 Dec 06 - 05:27 AM Updated: 2:35 p.m. CT Oct 5, 2006 OSLO - German drugmaker Schering warned consumers on Thursday not to use hemorrhoid cream on their faces. The warning came after a male stylist said on Norwegian television that many photo models used the cream in the morning to get rid of puffy eyes, which the drug company said seemed to have boosted demand for such products at pharmacies. Beauty magazines in the U.S. have been advising the same for years. "This is a pharmaceutical and not a cosmetic," the group's Norwegian subsidiary Schering Norge AS said in a statement, warning especially to keep hemorrhoid cream out of the eyes. No comment. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 12 Dec 06 - 09:39 AM Don't those benign and peaceful christians just give you a warm and fuzzy feeling this time of year? Trees Being Returned to SeaTac Airport December 12, 2006 SEATAC, Wash. - Christmas trees are going back up at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Pat Davis, president of the Port of Seattle commission, which directs airport operations, said late Monday that maintenance staff would restore the 14 plastic holiday trees, festooned with red ribbons and bows, that were removed over the weekend because of a rabbi's complaint that holiday decor did not include a menorah. Airport managers believed that if they allowed the addition of an 8-foot-tall menorah to the display, as Seattle Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky had requested, they would also have to display symbols of other religions and cultures, which was not something airport workers had time for during the busiest travel season of the year, Airport Director Mark Reis said earlier Monday. Port officials received word Monday afternoon that Bogomilsky's organization would not file a lawsuit at this time over the placement of a menorah, Davis said in a statement. "Given that, the holiday trees will be replaced as quickly as possible," he said. Davis added that the rabbi "never asked us to remove the trees; it was the port's decision based on what we knew at the time." There were no immediate plans to display a menorah, airport spokesman Bob Parker said, saying restoration of the trees was expected to take place overnight Monday. "A key element in moving forward will be to work with the rabbi and other members of the community to develop a plan for next year's holiday decorations at the airport," the port statement said. The rabbi has also offered to give the port an electric menorah to display, said his lawyer, Harvey Grad. "We are not going to be the instrument by which the port holds Christmas hostage," Grad said, emphasizing the rabbi never sought removal of the trees, but addition of the menorah. The rabbi had received "all kinds of calls and emails," many of them "odious," Grad said, adding he was "trying to figure out how this is consistent with the spirit of Christmas." Thirteen trees had sat above foyers that lead outside to the airport drive. The largest tree, which Reis estimated to be 15 or 20 feet tall, was placed in a large lobby near baggage claim for international arrivals. After the removal, some airline workers decorated ticketing counters with their own miniature Christmas trees. Customer service agents with Frontier Airlines pooled their money Monday morning to buy four 1-foot-high Christmas trees, which they placed on the airline's ticketing counter. Atop a Delta counter, workers put up a tree several feet tall. The airlines lease space for ticket counters from the airport, and can display trees there if they want, Reis said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 12 Dec 06 - 10:41 PM A lot of people are putting their lives on the line because these three climbed Mt. Hood in December. December is NOT the month in which one climbs a volano in the Pacific Northwest. Not if one has a lick of common sense. Search Continues for Missing Climbers From Associated Press December 12, 2006 COOPER SPUR, Ore. - Rescue teams equipped with ice axes, ropes and other high-altitude gear were once again frustrated Tuesday in their efforts since the weekend to find three climbers on Oregon's highest mountain. After battling high winds and blowing snow, search teams broke for the day without success. An Oregon National Guard helicopter was able to survey the lower half of the mountain, but bad weather kept the crew from getting much higher than the 6,000-foot level on the 11,239-foot peak. Crews began coming off the mountain in the afternoon to conclude their search by dark. Rescue teams planned to debrief and map out a strategy for Wednesday, said Deputy Gary Tiffany, spokesman for the Hood River sheriff's office, which has been coordinating the search. More snow and high winds were expected Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. "Right now, they're dealing with 50 to 60 mph winds in the area they're searching, and blowing snow. It really cuts down their visibility," Joseph Wampler, sheriff for Hood River County, said earlier Tuesday. Rescue teams have been combing the upper elevations since Monday in search of the three experienced climbers. Winds weren't as gusty on Tuesday and snowfall wasn't as heavy, but the weather conditions were bad enough to once again frustrate efforts to locate the climbers. The last anyone heard from the climbers was on Sunday, when one, 48-year-old Kelly James, used his cell phone from a snow cave to say the group was in trouble. He said his two companions - Brian Hall, 37, also of Dallas, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, 36, of New York City - had gone for help. Officials have not been able to reach James on his cell phone since then, Wampler said, but search officials have been able to narrow the approximate location through cell phone signals. Searchers believe James' snow cave is near the summit, on the northeast side, but it is unclear where the other two climbers might be. "A snow cave can provide excellent shelter from wind and precipitation," said Steve Rollins, a search leader with Portland Mountain Rescue. "If you're well prepared in a snow cave, you can last a really long time." Two more storms are expected this week, with one beginning early Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Families of the missing climbers have flown to nearby Hood River to await word on their loved ones. They include Frank James of Orlando, Fla., Kelly's older brother. Frank James said at a news conference that it wasn't clear from the four-minute call his brother placed to family members on Sunday whether he was injured. His brother did say he was feeling the effects of the cold and was worried about the weather. "Today's the day for courage and for prayers. Courage can help us see through this snowstorm, and our prayers can literally move mountains," he said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 13 Dec 06 - 03:27 PM Wouldn't it be amazing to have a collection like this to leave to a university or other research facility? link A Triumph in a Garage Mayme Clayton's Trove of Black History Gathers Dust, and Momentum By William Booth Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 13, 2006; C01 LOS ANGELES Working entirely on her own, spending her librarian's salary and later her Social Security checks, Mayme Clayton amassed one of the finest collections of African American history in the world -- and stored it in her garage. "I got to warn you, it's scary in here." This is Mayme's son, Avery Clayton, talking. He's jiggling his keys and opening the door. He reaches, finds the light switch, clicks. Inside? It is amazing . "Originally," Avery apologizes, "there were tables and chairs, like a library, and you could sit down. But as you can see -- " The roof sags, it may leak. There are books, floor to ceiling on shelves, but the passages between the stacks are blocked, with storage cabinets and film cases and cardboard boxes overflowing with photographs, journals, cartoons, correspondence, playbills, magazines, all dusted with a soft fungal dander. Mold. The old garage appears held together by its peeling paint, out in an overgrown garden, behind a bungalow in a modest neighborhood. For a moment, before the eye begins to settle on the antique book spines in the gloomy light, the garage looks like a hoarder's hiding place, ready for a bulldozer and a trip to the city dump. "She was a hoarder, she was," Avery says. "But she was a hoarder with a vision." That is the opinion of the experts, too. "She has everything," says Sue Hodson, curator of literary manuscripts at the prestigious Huntington Library east of Los Angeles. "This is probably the finest collection of African American literature, manuscripts, film and ephemera in private hands. It is just staggering. It is just superior in every way." Hodson says that when the Mayme Clayton Collection is moved, secured, cleaned and catalogued, it will be among the top such archives in the United States, alongside the Vivian G. Harsh Collection at the Chicago Public Library and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library. (The Schomburg's director, Howard Dotson, described the Clayton holdings as "major and significant" in the Los Angeles Times.) Avery, a retired art teacher who is now the force behind preserving his mother's legacy, says this is "only a fraction of the collection." The rest of the Claytonia is scattered in storage rooms around Los Angeles and in a climate-controlled vault at a film warehouse, which protects its vast cinema archive of more than 1,700 titles and represents the largest pre-1959 black film collection in the world, including rare silent reels. Many people may forget that alongside white cinema was its black counterpart, "race movies" seen in some 600 African American theaters and starring the likes of Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Katherine Dunham and Sammy Davis Jr. The most prolific director and producer was Oscar Micheaux, and Clayton found original prints of many of his films, including the silent movie "Body and Soul," which introduced Paul Robeson to the screen, and "The Exile," Micheaux's first talkie, made in 1931. By the time she died in October, at age 83 of pancreatic cancer ("I've got a so-so body with a go-go mind," she said in her later years), Mayme Clayton amassed almost 30,000 rare, first-edition and out-of-print books. She was especially strong on the writers of the Harlem Renaissance, obtaining first editions and correspondence from Langston Hughes, Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston. Her trove includes the first book published in America by an author of African descent, Phillis Wheatley's "Poems on Various Subjects Religious and Moral," dated 1773, when she was a slave in Boston. Clayton has the only known copy signed by the author; she paid $600 for it in 1972, far more than she usually spent. Her collecting style was more bargain basement than Sotheby's auction. She'd prowl used bookstores, flea markets, estate sales. When old people died, she'd get into their attics. In the garage, it still feels like a treasure hunt. There are the first issues of Ebony magazine (She picked up Vol. 1, No. 1, for a dime). A book about Denzel Washington next to "The Negro in Tennessee: 1865 to 1880." There's a "How to Box" manual by Joe Louis lying on a box of Jim Crow cartoons with the label "Negro Jokes" beneath the original movie poster for "Porgy and Bess." "Oh, that's the one that hung at the premiere at the Orpheum Theatre in New York," says Avery. "Here, look at this." His mother possessed a complete set of the first abolitionist journal in America, "The African Repository," dated 1830 to 1845. Among the manuscripts, there is an emphasis on paper that predates the Civil War: travel passes and bills of sale for slaves, and plantation inventories. Avery describes one dated 1790. "They had 408 slaves in the inventory, along with the livestock, the chickens and cows and whatnot. For the slaves, it lists occupation. Field hand. House worker. Blacksmith. Distiller. You know the number one job? Breeding stock. Sixty-two women. You can read all about slavery, but when you hold a document like that in your hand, that is powerful." In an interview with NPR, Mayme Clayton said, "Unless you know where you've been, you really don't know where you're going." She was born in Van Buren, Ark., and went to New York at age 21 to work as a model and a photographer's assistant, which is where she met her husband, a barber 16 years her senior who brought her back to Los Angeles, and the little house and its garage in the West Adams neighborhood where she lived at the time of her death. Clayton was known as competitive golfer, a quiet force in the community, an obsessive collector/stacker/finder/keeper who enjoyed e-mailing bawdy jokes. She went on to get her master's and doctoral degrees, spending most of her career as a librarian at the University of Southern California and UCLA; she began her collecting because the universities didn't seem that interested in African American artifacts. Avery Clayton remembers his mother collecting right until the very end. "She bought a poster for a thousand dollars a few months before her transition and I still don't know where she got the money," he says. It was for a black cowboy movie, a popular subgenre, called "The Bronze Buckaroo." Clayton has assembled a robust group of volunteers and local politicians for the task at hand. He needs to raise $7 million, but doesn't seem too worried. Culver City has already leased him a 24,000-square-foot former courthouse (for a dollar a year), and various universities will provide technical help to curate and organize the pieces. The Mayme Clayton Collection, Avery says, will be out of the garage in weeks. "Before the winter rains," he promises. Julie Page, head of the preservation department at the University of California at San Diego library, is managing the move, under a federally funded program to save endangered collections. The garage makes her nervous. "I just can't wait to get it all out of there. That collection really needs to be in a secure, safe environment." It is time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 14 Dec 06 - 03:22 PM Blind Texas Gun LawsWill equal protection shoot down personal protection?Visually impaired Texans, grab your rifles! State Representative Edmund Kuempel has introduced an amendment that would allow blind people to hunt game using laser sights (not even Cheney could miss!). Currently prohibited, such sights would greatly assist the guides of blind sportsman to aim and say when to shoot at the animals. According to Kuempel, a Republican from the San Antonio area, "this opens up the fun of hunting to additional people, and I think that's great." While few people would argue that the visually impaired aren't entitled to enjoy life to its full extent, is allowing them to shoot guns in public areas really such a "great" idea? If the measure passes, as expected in 2008, should we anticipate similar legislation allowing blind people to compete at auto racing? |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 14 Dec 06 - 08:04 PM I heard this yesterday--they were treating it like a joke on the local news. Scary thought, eh? |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 14 Dec 06 - 08:11 PM The state of the Brave New World: Man in Germany Foils Burglary in Brazilhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/ 2006/12/13/financial/f102507S62.DTL "Businessman Joao Pedro Wettlauser was in Cologne, Germany, on Sunday when he received an alert on his phone informing him that someone had entered his vacation house in Guaruja, 54 miles south of Sao Paulo, police said. He quickly turned on his laptop and, thanks to security cameras connected to the Internet, was able to see a tattooed man stuffing goods into trash bags..." |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 15 Dec 06 - 12:39 AM World's tallest man saves plastic eating dolphinsBEIJING, China (AP) -- The long arms of the world's tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs, state media and an aquarium official said Thursday. The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province. Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins' stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, the China Daily newspaper reported. Veterinarians then decided to ask for help from Bao Xishun, a 7-feet-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia with 41.7-inch arms, state media said. Bao, 54, was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest living man. Chen Lujun, the manager of the Royal Jidi Ocean World aquarium, told The Associated Press that the shape of the dolphins' stomachs made it difficult to push an instrument very far in without hurting the animals. People with shorter arms could not reach the plastic, he said. "When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday," Chen said. "The two dolphins are in very good condition now." Photographs showed the jaws of one of the dolphins being held back by towels so Bao could reach inside the animal without being bitten. "Some very small plastic pieces are still left in the dolphins' stomachs," Zhu Xiaoling, a local doctor, told Xinhua. "However the dolphins will be able to digest these and are expected to recover soon." |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 15 Dec 06 - 09:13 AM A Heart(?) Warming Story Tabasco scraps museum to 'protect the nation' Reuters Updated: 8:37 p.m. CT Dec 14, 2006 NEW ORLEANS - The maker of the world famous Tabasco hot pepper sauce has scrapped plans for a museum to pay for a more urgent need: the building of a levee to protect itself from another hurricane. McIlhenny Co. will shore up its Avery Island facility in Louisiana, 15 months after Hurricane Rita's tidal surge came within inches of flooding the plant and halting production of Tabasco, The Times-Picayune newspaper reported Thursday. The plant, which sits over 9 feet above sea level and 13 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, will be protected by a 17-foot levee that will cost $4.5 million. "We've got to protect the nation from bland food," company vice president Tony Simmons said. ©2006 Reuters Limited John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Dec 06 - 10:27 AM Woman Puts Baby Through Airport X-Ray December 20, 2006 LOS ANGELES - A woman mistakenly put her 1-month-old grandson through an X-ray machine at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said. A startled security worker noticed the shape of a child on the carry-on baggage screening monitor and immediately pulled him out, the Los Angeles Times reported for a story in Wednesday's editions. The infant was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined he did not receive a dangerous dose of radiation. "This was an innocent mistake by an obviously inexperienced traveler," said Paul Haney, deputy executive director of airports and security for the city's airport agency. The incident happened early Saturday, airport officials said. Haney said in 1988, an infant in a car seat went through an X-ray machine at the Los Angeles airport. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 21 Dec 06 - 02:26 PM And from the Poetry in Science department, this highly inspiring image: Moths drink the tears of sleeping birds00:01 20 December 2006 NewScientist.com news service Debora MacKenzie The moth uses its barbed proboscis (close-up below) to penetrate the eyelid of sleeping birds and drink tears (A close-up of the moth's proboscis reveals its barbed tip (Image: Roland Hilgartner / Mamisolo Raoilison)A species of moth drinks tears from the eyes of sleeping birds using a fearsome proboscis shaped like a harpoon, scientists have revealed. The new discovery – spied in Madagascar – is the first time moths have been seen feeding on the tears of birds. Roland Hilgartner at the German Primate Centre in Göttingen, Germany, and Mamisolo Raoilison Hilgartner at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar, witnessed the apparently unique sight in the island state's Kirindy forest. Tear-feeding moths and butterflies are known to exist elsewhere in Africa, Asia and South America, but they mainly feed on large, placid animals, such as deer, antelope or crocodiles, which cannot readily brush them away. But there are no such large animals on Madagascar. The main mammals – lemurs and mongoose – have paws capable of shooing the moths. Birds can fly away. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Dec 06 - 05:39 PM I read an essay by David Quammen ("Natural Acts" used to appear in Outside magazine) about the moths that do this. They'll go for human tears also. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 21 Dec 06 - 11:46 PM Babies with made-to-order defects? "Prenatal testing creates controversial options for parents with disabilities The Associated Press Updated: 8:10 p.m. CT Dec 21, 2006 The power to create "perfect" designer babies looms over the world of prenatal testing. But what if doctors started doing the opposite? Creating made-to-order babies with genetic defects would seem to be an ethical minefield, but to some parents with disabilities — say, deafness or dwarfism — it just means making babies like them. And a recent survey of U.S. clinics that offer embryo screening suggests it's already happening. Three percent, or four clinics surveyed, said they have provided the costly, complicated procedure to help families create children with a disability." I would suggest following the link and reading the entire article before leaping to an opinion on this one. Click "Print this" at the bottom of the first page, and just cancel the printer, to get the whole thing in one scroll. Quite probably reading the whole thing won't change most peoples "first leap opinion" but it's only fair to see the whole thing first. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 22 Dec 06 - 02:06 AM Three bag ladies: wanted by London Police Purse-wielding women bag suspect U.K. police looking for trio of unarmed purse pursuers they 'admire greatly' The Associated Press, Updated: 7:16 p.m. CT Dec 21, 2006 LONDON - They are the purse pursuers, the handbag heroes. Police said Thursday they are looking for a trio of women who bagged a fleeing fugitive, armed only with their purses. The plot: The man, who was wanted on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and assaulting three police officers, was being chased by police across a bridge in Worcester, central England on Dec. 14. Uniformed and plain-clothed officers had been chasing the man, whom they had been trying to trace for three months, but were unable to catch him. Closed-circuit TV captured one woman bravely blocking the sidewalk, forcing the fugitive to run into the road, while a second lambasted him with her purse. The third joined in, forcing the man into the arms of a nearby van driver, who held him until police arrived. "There they were, all minding their own business, when they realized simultaneously that action needed to be taken," said Richard Bull, spokesman for West Mercia Police. "They didn't know one another, but they all thought the same thing." "They surprised the man, but also demoralized him — after all, the world and his wife were already after him," Bull added. He said police do not encourage citizens to apprehend suspects, who can turn nasty. "But we admire greatly what they have done." © 2006 The Associated Press John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: wysiwyg Date: 22 Dec 06 - 11:25 AM Patrons toss dead cat through drive-thruCEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- An employee working the drive-through window at a McDonald's will have a tale to tell. When the worker went to the open window thinking the car pulling up had already ordered, the people in the car threw a dead cat through the window, police said. Cedar Rapids Animal Control officer Matt McAtee said the black domestic shorthair appeared to have been dead for a while. "It looked like somebody had picked it up off the road," McAtee said. Police were called to the restaurant about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. The people in the car drove off. A description of the car was not available, but employees knew the people in the car, police said. No charges had been filed. The investigation was continuing. McDonald's officials declined comment. --- Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/ © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Charley Noble Date: 24 Dec 06 - 10:25 AM Here's something fascinating, glowing pigs! This is just what the world has been waiting for: Click here for website Scientists Create Fluorescent Pigs Date: Friday, 13 January 2006 @ 17:33:16 GMT - Topic: General Scientists in Taiwan say they have bred three "glow in the dark" pigs. While other researchers have bred partly fluorescent pigs, these are claimed to be the only pigs in the world which are green through and through, reports the BBC: The pigs are transgenic, created by adding genetic material from jellyfish into a normal pig embryo. The researchers hope the pigs will boost the island's stem cell research, as well as helping with the study of human disease. In daylight, the researchers say the pigs' eyes, teeth and trotters look green. Their skin has a greenish tinge. In the dark, shine a blue light on them and they glow torch-light bright. The scientists will use the transgenic pigs to study human disease. Because the pig's genetic material is green, it is easy to spot. BBC - Taiwan breeds green-glowing pigs (by Chris Hogg) Naturally, scientists need more fluorescent pigs before such tests can begin, and the team hopes the three little pigs will mate and produce glow-in-the-dark offspring. And, of course, they will have a nice fundraising sideline in knocking out fluorescent bangers for the kids' novelty food market. Charley Noble, bringing home the bacon |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Dec 06 - 12:22 PM Do you suppose when they mate they experience a spectacular afterglow? |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Charley Noble Date: 24 Dec 06 - 01:25 PM Pigs is pigs! But I'm sure there will be some glowing reports with regard to the progress of this project. Can you imagine what will happen when the fluorescent pigs escape their pen and are seen by some half drunken motorist on his way back home after a hard evening's work at the local watering hole? Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Dec 06 - 02:45 AM Post Offices Catch Up After Snowstorm From Associated Press December 24, 2006 DENVER - An army of 1,500 mail carriers fanned out across Colorado and Wyoming on Christmas Eve, making rare Sunday deliveries in a bid to get hundreds of thousands of blizzard-delayed packages to their destinations on time. "This is an unprecedented effort," Postal Service spokesman Al DeSarro said. They all volunteered for the extra duty, he said. Normally, about 100 carriers would be working on Sunday, he said. A blizzard dropped up to 3 1/2 feet of snow on Colorado and Wyoming last week, disrupting mail service for parts of three days amid the Christmas delivery crunch. The storm also shut down roads, businesses, schools and airports - including Denver International, the nation's fifth-busiest. That delayed mail arriving from elsewhere as well as deliveries within the two states. "There were flights of packages that didn't get in until Saturday morning," DeSarro said, adding that 300,000 packages arrived at post offices in the two states on Saturday and Sunday. Mail carrier Robin Smith, who was delivering packages in suburban Aurora, said she volunteered for the gratification of helping other people. "I have two little girls, a 10- and a 6-year-old, and they think it's really cool that I'm playing Santa Claus," she said. Smith said one elderly woman was overwhelmed when she knocked on her door and handed her a package. "She looked very lonely and her car was buried" in snow, Smith said. "She was like, 'I didn't know I would see this.' I gave her a great big one. It was to 'Grandma.'" Mail carrier Danny Chavez said some people in Aurora were surprised to see him but others expected it. "They say 'Thank you very much and Merry Christmas' and I say the same to them," he said. DeSarro said about 500 carriers would make deliveries on Christmas Day. "It's going to be a huge load," he said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 29 Dec 06 - 02:09 PM Spices impact Puget Sound Tests of treated sewage in Seattle area find spike in cinnamon, vanilla The Associated Press Updated: 3:09 p.m. CT Dec 26, 2006 SEATTLE - Researchers at the University of Washington say all that holiday baking and eating has an environmental impact — Puget Sound is being flavored by cinnamon and vanilla. "Even something as fun as baking for the holiday season has an environmental effect," said Rick Keil, an associate professor of chemical oceanography. "When we bake and change the way we eat, it has an impact on what the environment sees. To me it shows the connectedness." Keil and UW researcher Jacquelyn Neibauer's weekly tests of treated sewage sent into the sound from the West Point treatment plant in Magnolia showed cinnamon, vanilla and artificial vanilla levels rose between Nov. 14 and Dec. 9, with the biggest spike right after Thanksgiving. Natural vanilla showed the largest increase, "perhaps indicative of more home baking using natural vanilla," Keil and Neibauer wrote. [The article continues to say that snickerdoodles aren't a significant environmental pollutant (a matter of opinion) but the presence of "spice contamination" in measurable quantities clearly illustrates the effects of all the other crap (pun intended) we flush down the toity.] John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 29 Dec 06 - 03:54 PM Interesting, from the same article: The county did not spend any money on the study, but officials at King County's Wastewater Treatment Division said they were happy to cooperate because they expected the results to reinforce their message: What goes down the drain has to come out somewhere. That goes both for pesticides and industrial chemicals as well as vanilla and cinnamon. "It's an ability to look at a whole population's behavior through one pipe," said Randy Schuman, a county science and technical support manager who helped arrange the wastewater testing. Keil's findings present a light side of what scientists say is potentially a serious situation. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies have documented that antibiotics, contraceptives, perfumes, painkillers, antidepressants and other substances pass through the sewage system into waterways. King County researchers several years took caffeine measurements to try to learn whether the city's coffee drinking habits had any effect on the sound. Caffeine was found in more than 160 of 216 samples in water as deep as 640 feet. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: wysiwyg Date: 30 Dec 06 - 03:16 PM Woman charged with malicious castration LILLINGTON, N.C. (AP) -- A woman attacked a man in his genitals during a Christmas party, injuring him badly enough that he needed 50 stitches, authorities said Friday. Rebecca Arnold Dawson, 34, was charged with malicious castration in a fight early Tuesday at a party hosted by the 38-year-old man's girlfriend, police said. All three were heavily intoxicated, police Chief Frank Powers said. Dawson is accused of grabbing the man's genitals. Police said a weapon was not used. He declined to elaborate. "I believe he needed more than 50 stitches to repair the damage, but he is back home at this point," police Cpl. Brad Stevens said. "All we can tell you is that the injury was done with her hands." Dawson does not have a listed phone number. State law describes malicious castration as cutting off, maiming or disfiguring a person's genitals with the intent to hurt or render the victim impotent. Dawson, who was released Wednesday on $50,000 bond, also was charged with offenses including assault causing serious bodily injury. The castration arrest was the first of its kind in Lillington, a town of about 3,000 roughly 30 miles south of Raleigh, Powers said. © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: GUEST,heric Date: 30 Dec 06 - 03:31 PM Whoa now there's a woman with a unique future. She might market a little video of her future employment interviewers as she makes the diclosure of "malicious castration." |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 30 Dec 06 - 04:56 PM France to publish UFO archive online CNES has collected statements and documents for almost 30 years Reuters Updated: 9:31 a.m. CT Dec 29, 2006 PARIS - The French space agency said it will publish its archive of UFO sightings and other phenomena online, but will keep the names of those who reported them off the site to protect them from pestering by space fanatics. Jacques Arnould, an official at the National Space Studies Centre, said the French database of around 1,600 incidents would go live in late January or mid-February. He said the CNES had been collecting statements and documents for almost 30 years to archive and study them. It consists of around 6,000 reports, many relating to the same incident, filed by the public and airline professionals. Their names would not be published to protect their privacy, Anould said. Advances in technology over the past three decades had prompted the decision to put the archive online, he said, adding it would likely be available via the CNES Web site.1 1 The CNES site appears to be attempting to connect, but today everyone seems "out to lunch" as it won't complete the page download for me. Perhaps later. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Dec 06 - 06:40 PM I was able to connect just now. I'll have to brush off my French! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: GUEST,heric Date: 30 Dec 06 - 06:47 PM Our Founders were illegal immigrants By William Hogeland December 28, 2006 Every nation is a nation of immigrants. Go back far enough and you'll find us all, millions of potential lives, tucked in the DNA of our African mother, Lucy. But the immigrant experience in the United States is justly celebrated, and perhaps no aspect of that experience is more quintessentially American than our long heritage of illegal immigration. You wouldn't know it from the immigration debate going on all year (the bipartisan immigration bill-in-progress, announced this week, is unlikely to mention it), but America's pioneer values developed in a distinctly illegal context. In 1763, George III drew a line on a map stretching from modern-day Maine to modern-day Georgia, along the crest of the Appalachians. He declared it illegal to claim or settle land west of the line, all of which he reserved for Native Americans. George Washington, a young colonel in the Virginia militia, instructed his land-buying agents in the many ways of getting around the law. Although Washington was not alone in acquiring forbidden tracts, few were as energetic in the illegal acquisition of western land. And Washington was a model of decorum compared with Ethan Allen, a rowdy from Connecticut who settled with his brothers in a part of the Green Mountains known as the Hampshire Grants (later known as "Vermont"). The province of New York held title to the land, but Allen asserted his own kind of claim: He threw New Yorkers out, Tony Soprano style, then offered to sell their lots to what he hoped would be a flood of fellow illegals from Connecticut. Meanwhile, illegal pioneers began moving across the Alleghenies and into the upper Ohio Valley, violating the king's 1763 proclamation and a few more besides. (George would today be accused of softness on immigration; he kept shifting the line westward.) Immigrants from such diclassi spots as Germany and Ireland violated the laws and settled where they pleased. The upper Ohio was rife with illegal immigrants, ancestors of people who, in country clubs today, are implying a Mayflower ancestry. Parallels to today's illegal immigration are striking. Then as now, it was potentially deadly to bring a family across the line. But once across, illegals had a good chance of avoiding arrest and settling in. Border patrols, in the forms of the British Army and provincial militias, were stretched thin. The 18th century forest primeval, like a modern city, offered ample opportunities for getting lost. Complex economies thrived in the virgin backwoods, unfettered by legitimate property titles. When conflicts developed between the first and second waves of illegals, some salient social ironies arose, too. By the early 1770s, George Washington had amassed vast tracts to which his titles were flatly invalid. The Revolution rectified that. With British law void, Washington emerged from the war with his titles legal by default. But he acquired another problem: low-class illegals were squatting on his newly authenticated, highly valuable property. Washington harbored no fond feeling for breakers of laws that he too had recently flouted. "It is hard upon me," he lamented without irony, "to have property which has been fairly obtained disputed and withheld." He went to court to have the squatters evicted, complaining that they had "not taken those necessary steps pointed out by the law." He was appealing to righteousness from atop a high but wobbly horse. Descendants of the great immigration experiences of the 19th and 20th centuries visit the Ellis Island Immigration Museum to learn of the tribulations of ancestors who risked much to become Americans. Those of us whose ancestors risked everything as illegal immigrants, and in the process helped found a nation, owe our forebears a debt of gratitude, too. Without their daring disregard of immigration laws, we might not be here today. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hogeland is the author of "The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and the Frontier Rebels Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty." |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 30 Dec 06 - 07:29 PM The CNES page has an English version reached by clicking on the word "English". But I don't seem to find their UFO collection. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 30 Dec 06 - 11:15 PM Amos - The MSNBC article indicated that the UFO collection won't be up until "sometime later." The expected date was vague. "Jacques Arnould, an official at the National Space Studies Centre, said the French database of around 1,600 incidents would go live in late January or mid-February." That would seem to be a "promise from a politician." I don't know if a promise from a French politician is more or less reliable than from any other kind. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Dec 06 - 11:49 PM I still need to brush up on my French! |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: JohnInKansas Date: 01 Jan 07 - 12:45 AM Washington Post: Scientists announce mad cow breakthrough A research company has succeeded, apparently, in producing a dozen calves in which the gene that codes for the production of prions has been "knocked out," leaving the animals with no normal prions. Mad cow disease is caused when malformed prions introduced into an animal pass their deformation to existing normal prions present in the animal. Prions cannot reproduce themselves, but can transmit their deformity to "good prions" that happen to be present. The implication of these "genetically engineered" cattle is that they should be completely immune to mad cow disease, as they have no natural prions. These experimental stock were produced to permit production of sera for other medical uses that would not be susceptible to inclusion of the mad cow prions. They were not intended, at this time, for use as food. The FDA has approved use of cloned animals for food, but has not yet approved "genetically engineered" animals for such use; and it is likely that gaining approval will be much more difficult than for clones. It is estimated that it will take at least 6 months to be reasonably assured that the calves produced will survive without problems, although at present they appear "normal" in all respects. Some researchers have believed that normal prions are required in some biological processes, particularly in brain development; but for now the absence of prions in these dozen critters doesn't seem to have harmed them. Stay tuned for more - maybe in about a year... John |
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Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper From: Amos Date: 01 Jan 07 - 10:24 AM Ils sont tous les meme animaux. Doesn't matter where they were born! :D A |