December 30, 2009 11:28 a.m.E-mail Print Share Text Size
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has set down strict guidelines for when police officers may use Tasers.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a Coronado, Calif., police officer used excessive force when he used his Taser on an unarmed, nonviolent suspect. The unanimous three-judge panel upheld a trial court's decision allowing the suspect, Carl Bryan, to pursue his lawsuit against the city, police department and officer.
The appeals court says police should use a Taser only in threatening situations because it inflicts more pain than other so-called nonlethal weapons at an officer's disposal.
Experts expect some police departments will have to change their Taser policies if the decision stands."
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Damn - Now we all have to take off our underwear to board a plane!!!!
Eugene Robinson - Air terrorism attempt reveals bigger 'system' failure - washingtonpost.com
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano's initial assessment of the Christmas Day airliner attack -- that "the system worked" -- doesn't quite match the absurdity of "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." But only because she quickly took it back.
A 'system' dangerously off course
A system that allows a man identified to U.S. officials as a potential threat -- by his own concerned father -- to board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with powerful explosives sewn into his underwear? That lets this man detonate his bomb as the plane prepares to land, igniting a potentially catastrophic fire? That depends on a young, athletic passenger to be seated nearby? That counts on this accidental hero to react quickly enough to thwart the terrorist's plans?
If that's how the system works, we need a new system.
Don't misunderstand. I'm not blaming the Obama administration for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's alleged terrorist attack, and it would be reprehensible for anyone to try to use the incident to score political points. The White House is guilty only of defensiveness in not immediately recognizing the obvious: We have a problem. Actually, we have two problems.
The first is that the incident reveals serious deficiencies in the "system" that Napolitano and others were so quick to defend. At this point, no one can doubt that civilian aviation remains a major target of al-Qaeda, affiliated groups and imitators. Most of us are under the impression that removing our shoes at the airport and limiting ourselves to those tiny, trial-size containers of toothpaste, shaving cream and lotion are enough to ensure a safe flight. For passengers on Northwest Flight 253, this was not the case.
One solution -- expensive and intrusive, but effective -- would be to make use of new airport screening technology mandatory. Either a "whole-body imaging" scanner, which gives a much more detailed picture than a regular metal detector, or a "sniffer" machine, which analyzes trace chemicals, would have been likely to detect the explosives that Abdulmutallab allegedly was carrying.
In this instance, however, the system seems to have malfunctioned well before Abdulmutallab reached Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. Abdulmutallab's father, wealthy Nigerian banker Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, had warned U.S. and Nigerian authorities about his son's increasing radicalization -- information that led U.S. officials to put Abdulmutallab's name in a database, along with 550,000 other names, but not to revoke his multiple-entry visa or keep him off a Detroit-bound jetliner.
It is an ordeal for anyone from the developing world to obtain a visa to enter the United States. We already turn away multitudes. It will be no small task, but the system needs to be re-engineered to let the right people in and keep the dangerous people out.
When Abdulmutallab allegedly set his lap on fire, there were no air marshals on board to handle the situation. I realize it is not possible to provide an armed federal escort for every flight. But whatever algorithm officials use to determine which flights get marshals evidently needs improvement.
The second problem we face is much bigger, and there is no real solution in sight.
According to reports of Abdulmutallab's statements to authorities after his arrest, he claims to have gotten the bomb -- and instruction on how and when to use it -- from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. As noted previously in this space, and illustrated by a sobering report Monday in The Post, Yemen features prominently in al-Qaeda's expansion plans. Abdulmutallab's story suggests that an infrastructure for indoctrination, training and bomb-making is already in place, and that this ambitious young branch of al-Qaeda is confident enough to launch an attack on what the George W. Bush administration infelicitously called the "homeland."
Our enemy apparently sees its future in places such as Yemen -- or perhaps Somalia, a failed state for almost two decades, where militant fundamentalist Islam is on the march. The enemy's leadership is believed to be ensconced in remote areas of Pakistan, beyond the government's reach. Yet the United States will soon have about 100,000 troops chasing shadows in Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda's presence is now minimal.
I understand and appreciate the fear that if the Taliban were to take power again, it could invite al-Qaeda back into Afghanistan to set up shop. But I can't escape the uneasy feeling that we're fighting, and escalating, the last war -- while the enemy fights the next one.
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano's initial assessment of the Christmas Day airliner attack -- that "the system worked" -- doesn't quite match the absurdity of "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." But only because she quickly took it back.
A 'system' dangerously off course
A system that allows a man identified to U.S. officials as a potential threat -- by his own concerned father -- to board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with powerful explosives sewn into his underwear? That lets this man detonate his bomb as the plane prepares to land, igniting a potentially catastrophic fire? That depends on a young, athletic passenger to be seated nearby? That counts on this accidental hero to react quickly enough to thwart the terrorist's plans?
If that's how the system works, we need a new system.
Don't misunderstand. I'm not blaming the Obama administration for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's alleged terrorist attack, and it would be reprehensible for anyone to try to use the incident to score political points. The White House is guilty only of defensiveness in not immediately recognizing the obvious: We have a problem. Actually, we have two problems.
The first is that the incident reveals serious deficiencies in the "system" that Napolitano and others were so quick to defend. At this point, no one can doubt that civilian aviation remains a major target of al-Qaeda, affiliated groups and imitators. Most of us are under the impression that removing our shoes at the airport and limiting ourselves to those tiny, trial-size containers of toothpaste, shaving cream and lotion are enough to ensure a safe flight. For passengers on Northwest Flight 253, this was not the case.
One solution -- expensive and intrusive, but effective -- would be to make use of new airport screening technology mandatory. Either a "whole-body imaging" scanner, which gives a much more detailed picture than a regular metal detector, or a "sniffer" machine, which analyzes trace chemicals, would have been likely to detect the explosives that Abdulmutallab allegedly was carrying.
In this instance, however, the system seems to have malfunctioned well before Abdulmutallab reached Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. Abdulmutallab's father, wealthy Nigerian banker Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, had warned U.S. and Nigerian authorities about his son's increasing radicalization -- information that led U.S. officials to put Abdulmutallab's name in a database, along with 550,000 other names, but not to revoke his multiple-entry visa or keep him off a Detroit-bound jetliner.
It is an ordeal for anyone from the developing world to obtain a visa to enter the United States. We already turn away multitudes. It will be no small task, but the system needs to be re-engineered to let the right people in and keep the dangerous people out.
When Abdulmutallab allegedly set his lap on fire, there were no air marshals on board to handle the situation. I realize it is not possible to provide an armed federal escort for every flight. But whatever algorithm officials use to determine which flights get marshals evidently needs improvement.
The second problem we face is much bigger, and there is no real solution in sight.
According to reports of Abdulmutallab's statements to authorities after his arrest, he claims to have gotten the bomb -- and instruction on how and when to use it -- from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. As noted previously in this space, and illustrated by a sobering report Monday in The Post, Yemen features prominently in al-Qaeda's expansion plans. Abdulmutallab's story suggests that an infrastructure for indoctrination, training and bomb-making is already in place, and that this ambitious young branch of al-Qaeda is confident enough to launch an attack on what the George W. Bush administration infelicitously called the "homeland."
Our enemy apparently sees its future in places such as Yemen -- or perhaps Somalia, a failed state for almost two decades, where militant fundamentalist Islam is on the march. The enemy's leadership is believed to be ensconced in remote areas of Pakistan, beyond the government's reach. Yet the United States will soon have about 100,000 troops chasing shadows in Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda's presence is now minimal.
I understand and appreciate the fear that if the Taliban were to take power again, it could invite al-Qaeda back into Afghanistan to set up shop. But I can't escape the uneasy feeling that we're fighting, and escalating, the last war -- while the enemy fights the next one.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
California is in deep doo-doo again!!
California again faces massive deficit, projected at $21 billion
The state's chief budget analyst foresees a fiscal mess extending past the recession for years to come. He puts much of the blame on unrealistic budgeting assumptions.
Reporting from Sacramento - California government is again beset with red ink, facing a nearly $21-billion deficit over the next year and half, according to a report released today by the state's chief budget analyst.
Nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor projected state spending severely out of line with tax collections not just amid the current recession but for years to come. Solving the fiscal mess will require "painful choices" in both cutting services and raising revenue, Taylor warned.
The gloomy forecast, which comes after Sacramento officials have already raised taxes and slashed programs this year, portends a fierce budget battle again in 2010.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who last week predicted more across-the-board budget cuts, in January must unveil his plan to address the deficit.
"We look forward to receiving the governor's new budget proposal in January," Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement, "and will immediately begin work on crafting budget solutions that will once again require both difficult spending reductions and additional revenues."
The legislative analyst, whom both Republicans and Democrats look to for fiscal advice, reported that the current budget year accounts for $6.3 billion of the deficit. Much of that is the result of unrealistic budgeting assumptions that have evaporated in the four months since lawmakers and Schwarzenegger agreed on a spending plan.
That budget, currently in place, assumed receipts of nearly $1 billion from the federal government for Medi-Cal, a sum the analyst questioned. Another $1 billion was assumed from the sale of a quasi-public workers' compensation agency that has stalled. Prison spending has outstripped its allotment, and schools are owed more than had been expected under the state's complex funding formula.
An additional $14.4 billion of the deficit is for the fiscal year that begins next summer.
The deficit is expected to be worse in the years beyond, as temporary taxes expire and raids on local government funds must be repaid by Sacramento. The analyst projected a $21.3-billion deficit in fiscal 2011-12 and $23 billion in 2012-13.
Even those numbers could turn out to be conservative. The figures assume that California wins all its pending court cases, in which billions in spending reductions are being challenged.
The forecast also assumes no cost-of-living adjustments for state workers and programs, after the Legislature suspended them this year.
The state's chief budget analyst foresees a fiscal mess extending past the recession for years to come. He puts much of the blame on unrealistic budgeting assumptions.
Reporting from Sacramento - California government is again beset with red ink, facing a nearly $21-billion deficit over the next year and half, according to a report released today by the state's chief budget analyst.
Nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor projected state spending severely out of line with tax collections not just amid the current recession but for years to come. Solving the fiscal mess will require "painful choices" in both cutting services and raising revenue, Taylor warned.
The gloomy forecast, which comes after Sacramento officials have already raised taxes and slashed programs this year, portends a fierce budget battle again in 2010.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who last week predicted more across-the-board budget cuts, in January must unveil his plan to address the deficit.
"We look forward to receiving the governor's new budget proposal in January," Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement, "and will immediately begin work on crafting budget solutions that will once again require both difficult spending reductions and additional revenues."
The legislative analyst, whom both Republicans and Democrats look to for fiscal advice, reported that the current budget year accounts for $6.3 billion of the deficit. Much of that is the result of unrealistic budgeting assumptions that have evaporated in the four months since lawmakers and Schwarzenegger agreed on a spending plan.
That budget, currently in place, assumed receipts of nearly $1 billion from the federal government for Medi-Cal, a sum the analyst questioned. Another $1 billion was assumed from the sale of a quasi-public workers' compensation agency that has stalled. Prison spending has outstripped its allotment, and schools are owed more than had been expected under the state's complex funding formula.
An additional $14.4 billion of the deficit is for the fiscal year that begins next summer.
The deficit is expected to be worse in the years beyond, as temporary taxes expire and raids on local government funds must be repaid by Sacramento. The analyst projected a $21.3-billion deficit in fiscal 2011-12 and $23 billion in 2012-13.
Even those numbers could turn out to be conservative. The figures assume that California wins all its pending court cases, in which billions in spending reductions are being challenged.
The forecast also assumes no cost-of-living adjustments for state workers and programs, after the Legislature suspended them this year.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Management assignment 11/12/2009
For this assignment I am going to use as a consumer item a new Blu-ray player. Analyzing this using the four Ps of marketing that are product, price, place, and promotion (Nichels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2008, p. 352). These factors are the marketing mix.
First step is to find a product that is in demand. Blu-ray players are big today and consumers want extra bells and whistles in their electronic purchases. Next is setting up a price for the product. Your price needs to remain competitive to other Blu-ray players on the market. Setting the price too high for comparable features would keep consumers from purchasing your product. Not charging enough and the company will lose money and quickly be out of business. The company needs to find the “sweet spot”. Third, is place. The Blu-ray player is an electronic device and will be purchased from an outlet such as Best Buy or similar electronic outlet stores. People looking to buy consumer electronics will shop these stores and the company needs product in the mix to move units. Fourth in the mix is promotion. The company may design an eye-catching flyer to accompany the player on the store shelf. There can be a large banner placed in front of the store announcing the new addition to the Blu-ray player scene. The company must develop some sort of consumer relationship (Nichels et al., 2008, p. 356). Obtain customer feed back with questionnaires or handouts. Ask the customer how to improve the product or what options they need in the next model.
Marketers must watch closely the economic climate of the products they are promoting. Take the housing market crash that has occurred over the last couple of years. Not keeping a close watch on economic developments caused many small and large businesses to go under. Keep watchful of signs of economic change to the target market. Consumers need to have a desire for a product and the resources to purchase the product. An overpriced item that the consumer purchases and has regrets having paid too much is cognitive dissonance (Nichels et al., 2008, p. 367). The customer must be reassured that purchasing the product is a good decision.
I have purchased in the past products that were marketed directly to me and my demographic. That item would be Williams Lectric Shave. As their marketing campaign goes, “It makes your beard stand up for a smoother, closer shave”. I have never been able to use an electric shave but once in a while I try them out again. I do not receive a nice, close, and clean shave with an electric. I am a blade guy, always have, always will. An item that I have purchased that is not marketed to my specific demographic is ponytail hair bands. Ponytail hair bands are marketed to women, but as my hair is longer, I like to keep it clean looking. I want to project a professional image and unkempt hair is not the way to go.
Reference
Nichels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., & McHugh, S. M. (2008). Management, leadership, and employee empowerment. In Understanding business (pp. 180-203). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
First step is to find a product that is in demand. Blu-ray players are big today and consumers want extra bells and whistles in their electronic purchases. Next is setting up a price for the product. Your price needs to remain competitive to other Blu-ray players on the market. Setting the price too high for comparable features would keep consumers from purchasing your product. Not charging enough and the company will lose money and quickly be out of business. The company needs to find the “sweet spot”. Third, is place. The Blu-ray player is an electronic device and will be purchased from an outlet such as Best Buy or similar electronic outlet stores. People looking to buy consumer electronics will shop these stores and the company needs product in the mix to move units. Fourth in the mix is promotion. The company may design an eye-catching flyer to accompany the player on the store shelf. There can be a large banner placed in front of the store announcing the new addition to the Blu-ray player scene. The company must develop some sort of consumer relationship (Nichels et al., 2008, p. 356). Obtain customer feed back with questionnaires or handouts. Ask the customer how to improve the product or what options they need in the next model.
Marketers must watch closely the economic climate of the products they are promoting. Take the housing market crash that has occurred over the last couple of years. Not keeping a close watch on economic developments caused many small and large businesses to go under. Keep watchful of signs of economic change to the target market. Consumers need to have a desire for a product and the resources to purchase the product. An overpriced item that the consumer purchases and has regrets having paid too much is cognitive dissonance (Nichels et al., 2008, p. 367). The customer must be reassured that purchasing the product is a good decision.
I have purchased in the past products that were marketed directly to me and my demographic. That item would be Williams Lectric Shave. As their marketing campaign goes, “It makes your beard stand up for a smoother, closer shave”. I have never been able to use an electric shave but once in a while I try them out again. I do not receive a nice, close, and clean shave with an electric. I am a blade guy, always have, always will. An item that I have purchased that is not marketed to my specific demographic is ponytail hair bands. Ponytail hair bands are marketed to women, but as my hair is longer, I like to keep it clean looking. I want to project a professional image and unkempt hair is not the way to go.
Reference
Nichels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., & McHugh, S. M. (2008). Management, leadership, and employee empowerment. In Understanding business (pp. 180-203). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Amazon Kindle E-book Deletion Prompts Lawsuit -- Amazon Kindle -- InformationWeek
Electronic book burning if you ask me!!!!
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Amazon Kindle E-book Deletion Prompts Lawsuit
Amazon angered customers when it remotely deleted two books in from Kindle e-book readers without notifying their owners.
By Antone Gonsalves InformationWeek July 31, 2009 04:57 PM
A high school student has sued Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), claiming the retailer ruined his homework on George Orwell's 1984 by deleting the electronic version of the book without warning from the teenager's Kindle.
Justin D. Gawronski, who lives in Michigan, filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Seattle. He was joined in the complaint by Antoine J. Bruguier of California, who also had the book deleted from his Kindle.
The plaintiffs, who claim Amazon did not have the right to remove the book, are seeking class-action status.
Amazon angered customers and drew severe criticism from consumer advocates when it deleted 1984 and Orwell's other well-known book Animal Farm in mid-July from Kindle e-book readers without notifying their owners.
Amazon, which developed and sells the Kindle, later said it took the unusual action after learning that the books had been added to its e-book catalog by a third-party who did not have the rights to sell the books.
Removing the books from the catalog alone would have sparked little controversy. But Amazon's decision to also delete them remotely from customers' Kindles highlighted the retailer's control over electronic content purchased for the devices. This week, the Boston non-profit, The Free Software Foundation, said it would present Amazon with a petition asking that Amazon relinquish control of the e-books customers load on Kindles.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that Amazon never disclosed its ability to remove content at will, a fact that might have affected customers' decision to buy the Kindle.
"The capability for Amazon to remotely delete purchased items is material in a consumer's decision to buy Kindles or e-books through the Kindle Store," the lawsuit says. "The value of Kindles and reading materials purchased through the Kindle Store are significantly diminished by Amazon's ability to remotely delete digital content, including e-books, magazines and newspapers."
In Gawronski's case, the student lost more than just the Orwell book. The copious notes he had made on the e-book version of "1984," which had been assigned to him as a summer homework assignment, "were rendered useless because they no longer referenced the relevant parts of the book."
"Mr. Gawronski now needs to recreate all of his studies," the suit says.
Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos last week apologized for removing the books, saying the company's handling of the problem presented by unknowingly selling illegal copies of the books was "stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles."
Nevertheless, Gawronski and Bruguier argue that Amazon is still liable for the damages caused by its actions that go beyond refunding the money spent on the e-books. The plaintiffs are seeking restitution for "all damages caused by its conduct," as well as litigation expenses and attorney fees. The plaintiffs are being represented by the Chicago law firm KamberEdelson.
In addition, the suit asks the court to rule that Amazon does not have the right to remotely delete digital content from Kindles and such action is a violation of Amazon's terms of use for the device.
"Unless restrained and enjoined, Amazon will continue to commit such acts," the lawsuit says.
==============================
Amazon Kindle E-book Deletion Prompts Lawsuit
Amazon angered customers when it remotely deleted two books in from Kindle e-book readers without notifying their owners.
By Antone Gonsalves InformationWeek July 31, 2009 04:57 PM
A high school student has sued Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), claiming the retailer ruined his homework on George Orwell's 1984 by deleting the electronic version of the book without warning from the teenager's Kindle.
Justin D. Gawronski, who lives in Michigan, filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Seattle. He was joined in the complaint by Antoine J. Bruguier of California, who also had the book deleted from his Kindle.
The plaintiffs, who claim Amazon did not have the right to remove the book, are seeking class-action status.
Amazon angered customers and drew severe criticism from consumer advocates when it deleted 1984 and Orwell's other well-known book Animal Farm in mid-July from Kindle e-book readers without notifying their owners.
Amazon, which developed and sells the Kindle, later said it took the unusual action after learning that the books had been added to its e-book catalog by a third-party who did not have the rights to sell the books.
Removing the books from the catalog alone would have sparked little controversy. But Amazon's decision to also delete them remotely from customers' Kindles highlighted the retailer's control over electronic content purchased for the devices. This week, the Boston non-profit, The Free Software Foundation, said it would present Amazon with a petition asking that Amazon relinquish control of the e-books customers load on Kindles.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that Amazon never disclosed its ability to remove content at will, a fact that might have affected customers' decision to buy the Kindle.
"The capability for Amazon to remotely delete purchased items is material in a consumer's decision to buy Kindles or e-books through the Kindle Store," the lawsuit says. "The value of Kindles and reading materials purchased through the Kindle Store are significantly diminished by Amazon's ability to remotely delete digital content, including e-books, magazines and newspapers."
In Gawronski's case, the student lost more than just the Orwell book. The copious notes he had made on the e-book version of "1984," which had been assigned to him as a summer homework assignment, "were rendered useless because they no longer referenced the relevant parts of the book."
"Mr. Gawronski now needs to recreate all of his studies," the suit says.
Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos last week apologized for removing the books, saying the company's handling of the problem presented by unknowingly selling illegal copies of the books was "stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles."
Nevertheless, Gawronski and Bruguier argue that Amazon is still liable for the damages caused by its actions that go beyond refunding the money spent on the e-books. The plaintiffs are seeking restitution for "all damages caused by its conduct," as well as litigation expenses and attorney fees. The plaintiffs are being represented by the Chicago law firm KamberEdelson.
In addition, the suit asks the court to rule that Amazon does not have the right to remotely delete digital content from Kindles and such action is a violation of Amazon's terms of use for the device.
"Unless restrained and enjoined, Amazon will continue to commit such acts," the lawsuit says.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Police: Woman accused of killing newborn ate brain - Yahoo! News
SAN ANTONIO – A woman charged with murdering her 3 1/2-week-old son used a knife and two swords to dismember the child and ate parts of his body, including his brain, before stabbing herself in the torso and slicing her own throat, police said Monday.
Otty Sanchez, 33, is charged with capital murder in the death of her infant son, Scott Wesley Buchholtz-Sanchez. She was recovering from her wounds at a hospital, and was being held on $1 million bail.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the early Sunday morning attack occurred a week after the child's father moved out. Otty Sanchez's sister and her sister's two children, ages 5 and 7, were in the house, but none were harmed.
Otty Sanchez's aunt, Gloria Sanchez, said her niece had been "in and out" of a psychiatric ward, and that the hospital called several months ago looking to check up on her. She did not elaborate on the nature of her niece's health problems.
"Otty didn't mean to do that. She was not in her right mind," a sobbing Gloria Sanchez told The Associated Press on Monday by phone. She said her family was devastated.
McManus, who appeared uncomfortable as he addressed reporters, said Sanchez apparently ate the child's brain and some other body parts. She also decapitated the infant, tore off his face and chewed off three of his toes before stabbing herself.
"It's too heinous for me to describe it any further," McManus said.
McManus described the crime scene as so grisly that police officers barely spoke to each other while looking through the house. Parts of the child were missing, including pieces that Sanchez allegedly ate.
"At this particular scene you could have heard a pin drop," McManus said. "No one was speaking. It was about as somber as it could have been."
Officers called to Sanchez's house at about 5 a.m. Sunday found her sitting on the couch screaming "I killed my baby! I killed my baby!" McManus said. They found the boy's body in a bedroom.
Police said Sanchez said the devil told her to kill her son and that she was hearing voices.
"It was a spontaneous utterance," McManus said.
Police said Sanchez did not have an attorney, and they declined to identify family members who might speak on her behalf.
No one answered the door Monday at Sanchez's one-story home, where the blinds were shut. A hopscotch pattern and red hearts were drawn on the walk leading up to the house.
Neighbor Luis Yanez, 23, said his kids went to school with one of the small children who lived at the house. He said he often saw a woman playing outside with the children but didn't know whether it was Otty.
"Why would you do that to your baby?" said Yanez, a tire technician. "It brings chills to you. They can't defend themselves."
Authorities said Sanchez and her sister took turns watching the baby Sunday morning, and that the boy was placed in Sanchez's care at about 1:30 a.m. Her sister discovered what happened about three hours later and called police.
Investigators are looking into Sanchez's mental health history to see if there was anything "significant," and whether postpartum difficulties could have played a role in the attack, McManus said.
The killing called to mind the drowning of five children by their mother in the bathtub of their Houston-area home in 2001. Attorneys for the woman, Andrea Yates, said she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and, in a delusional state, believed Satan was inside her and was trying to save them from hell. A jury found Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in 2006.
Otty Sanchez, 33, is charged with capital murder in the death of her infant son, Scott Wesley Buchholtz-Sanchez. She was recovering from her wounds at a hospital, and was being held on $1 million bail.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the early Sunday morning attack occurred a week after the child's father moved out. Otty Sanchez's sister and her sister's two children, ages 5 and 7, were in the house, but none were harmed.
Otty Sanchez's aunt, Gloria Sanchez, said her niece had been "in and out" of a psychiatric ward, and that the hospital called several months ago looking to check up on her. She did not elaborate on the nature of her niece's health problems.
"Otty didn't mean to do that. She was not in her right mind," a sobbing Gloria Sanchez told The Associated Press on Monday by phone. She said her family was devastated.
McManus, who appeared uncomfortable as he addressed reporters, said Sanchez apparently ate the child's brain and some other body parts. She also decapitated the infant, tore off his face and chewed off three of his toes before stabbing herself.
"It's too heinous for me to describe it any further," McManus said.
McManus described the crime scene as so grisly that police officers barely spoke to each other while looking through the house. Parts of the child were missing, including pieces that Sanchez allegedly ate.
"At this particular scene you could have heard a pin drop," McManus said. "No one was speaking. It was about as somber as it could have been."
Officers called to Sanchez's house at about 5 a.m. Sunday found her sitting on the couch screaming "I killed my baby! I killed my baby!" McManus said. They found the boy's body in a bedroom.
Police said Sanchez said the devil told her to kill her son and that she was hearing voices.
"It was a spontaneous utterance," McManus said.
Police said Sanchez did not have an attorney, and they declined to identify family members who might speak on her behalf.
No one answered the door Monday at Sanchez's one-story home, where the blinds were shut. A hopscotch pattern and red hearts were drawn on the walk leading up to the house.
Neighbor Luis Yanez, 23, said his kids went to school with one of the small children who lived at the house. He said he often saw a woman playing outside with the children but didn't know whether it was Otty.
"Why would you do that to your baby?" said Yanez, a tire technician. "It brings chills to you. They can't defend themselves."
Authorities said Sanchez and her sister took turns watching the baby Sunday morning, and that the boy was placed in Sanchez's care at about 1:30 a.m. Her sister discovered what happened about three hours later and called police.
Investigators are looking into Sanchez's mental health history to see if there was anything "significant," and whether postpartum difficulties could have played a role in the attack, McManus said.
The killing called to mind the drowning of five children by their mother in the bathtub of their Houston-area home in 2001. Attorneys for the woman, Andrea Yates, said she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and, in a delusional state, believed Satan was inside her and was trying to save them from hell. A jury found Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in 2006.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Saucy sausage ads condemned
LONDON (Reuters) – A saucy radio advert for sausages which encouraged listeners to reveal "where you like to stick yours" was criticized by Britain's advertising watchdog on Wednesday.
The ads for Mattesons smoked sausages elicited 21 complaints from listeners who said they were offensive because of the sexual innuendo and should not have been aired when children were likely to be listening.
"Think about all the things you can stick this tasty, extraordinarily large sausage in," one advert said.
"Mmm... Pizza, pasta, stir fry. You have any ideas? Give me a call and tell me where you like to stick it."
Kerry Foods, which makes the sausages, said its adverts were intended to be tongue-in-cheek and were not designed to be offensive.
The Advertising Standards Authority did not uphold the complaints about the innuendo because it was not sexually explicit, but said the ads could "cause harm to children."
It ruled the ads should not be aired at times when they were likely to be heard by children.
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Listen to the ad and give your opinion!!!! Click the link below
Listen to Mattesons sausages 'Where do you like to stick it?' advert Media guardian.co.uk
The ads for Mattesons smoked sausages elicited 21 complaints from listeners who said they were offensive because of the sexual innuendo and should not have been aired when children were likely to be listening.
"Think about all the things you can stick this tasty, extraordinarily large sausage in," one advert said.
"Mmm... Pizza, pasta, stir fry. You have any ideas? Give me a call and tell me where you like to stick it."
Kerry Foods, which makes the sausages, said its adverts were intended to be tongue-in-cheek and were not designed to be offensive.
The Advertising Standards Authority did not uphold the complaints about the innuendo because it was not sexually explicit, but said the ads could "cause harm to children."
It ruled the ads should not be aired at times when they were likely to be heard by children.
==============================
Listen to the ad and give your opinion!!!! Click the link below
Listen to Mattesons sausages 'Where do you like to stick it?' advert Media guardian.co.uk
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Man claims he found condom in French onion soup - Yahoo! News
This can only happen in America folks!!
===================================
Man claims he found condom in French onion soup
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man has sued a local Claim Jumper restaurant claiming he ordered French onion soup and bit into a condom instead of melted cheese. Zdenek Philip Hodousek filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court seeking unspecified damages over fears he may have contracted a disease.
Hodousek's attorney Eric Traut said his client wants to have restaurant employees' DNA tested to find a match to the condom.
A public relations firm representing Claim Jumper said no one can prove the so-called "foreign object"
Hodousek took from the restaurant is the item that was submitted to a lab for testing.
The firm said an internal probe revealed no employee wrongdoing.
===================================
Man claims he found condom in French onion soup
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man has sued a local Claim Jumper restaurant claiming he ordered French onion soup and bit into a condom instead of melted cheese. Zdenek Philip Hodousek filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court seeking unspecified damages over fears he may have contracted a disease.
Hodousek's attorney Eric Traut said his client wants to have restaurant employees' DNA tested to find a match to the condom.
A public relations firm representing Claim Jumper said no one can prove the so-called "foreign object"
Hodousek took from the restaurant is the item that was submitted to a lab for testing.
The firm said an internal probe revealed no employee wrongdoing.
Katherine Jackson lives on Michael Jackson's money - Suprised????
from The Dish Rag by Elizabeth Snead
Michael Jackson's estate attorneys -- and Katherine Jackson's lawyer -- are seeking temporary money from the singer's estate for Jackson's mom and his kids.
Seems Katherine desperately needs money to live on. And to take care of his kids.
Why are we not surprised? Who wasn't living off Michael Jackson's money and talent?
Lawyers for the estate wrote: "We are informed that Mrs. Jackson was also financially dependent upon Michael Jackson and that other than extremely modest social security benefits, Mrs. Jackson has no independent means of support."
The attorney's papers cite an urgent need for the Special Administrators to be authorized to pay family allowance for the benefits of Minor Children "in order to ensure that the Minor Children's needs for maintenance and support are met."
No word what will happen until Aug. 3, when the lawyers -- who cost a ton of money -- all appear in court again.
Wanna bet this estate is quickly eaten up by legal fees?
And good luck suing whoever was responsible for Michael Jackson's death, if that comes to pass.
Michael Jackson's estate attorneys -- and Katherine Jackson's lawyer -- are seeking temporary money from the singer's estate for Jackson's mom and his kids.
Seems Katherine desperately needs money to live on. And to take care of his kids.
Why are we not surprised? Who wasn't living off Michael Jackson's money and talent?
Lawyers for the estate wrote: "We are informed that Mrs. Jackson was also financially dependent upon Michael Jackson and that other than extremely modest social security benefits, Mrs. Jackson has no independent means of support."
The attorney's papers cite an urgent need for the Special Administrators to be authorized to pay family allowance for the benefits of Minor Children "in order to ensure that the Minor Children's needs for maintenance and support are met."
No word what will happen until Aug. 3, when the lawyers -- who cost a ton of money -- all appear in court again.
Wanna bet this estate is quickly eaten up by legal fees?
And good luck suing whoever was responsible for Michael Jackson's death, if that comes to pass.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Can anyone say Duh??
French tourists seen as world's worst: survey - Yahoo! News
PARIS (Reuters Life!) – French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant, according to a survey of 4,500 hotel owners across the world.
They finish in last place in the survey carried out for internet travel agency Expedia by polling company TNS Infratest, which said French holidaymakers don't speak local languages and are seen as impolite.
"It's mainly the fact that they speak little or no English when they're abroad, and they don't speak much of the local language," Expedia Marketing Director Timothee de Roux told radio station France Info.
"The French don't go abroad very much. We're lucky enough to have a country which is magnificent in terms of its landscape and culture," he said, adding that 90 per cent of French people did their traveling at home.
"So when they're on holiday they can be a bit stressed, they're not used to things, and this can lead them to be demanding in a way which could be seen as a certain arrogance."
French tourists are also accused of generally spending less than other nationalities when abroad.
De Roux said the French, not accustomed to leaving large tips at home where a service charge is automatically levied on restaurant bills, can seem "tight-fisted" compared with other nationalities.
The Japanese ranked top of the Best Tourist survey, with the British and the Germans judged the best of the Europeans.
But French tourists received some consolation for their poor performance, finishing third after the Italians and British for dress sense while on holiday.
PARIS (Reuters Life!) – French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant, according to a survey of 4,500 hotel owners across the world.
They finish in last place in the survey carried out for internet travel agency Expedia by polling company TNS Infratest, which said French holidaymakers don't speak local languages and are seen as impolite.
"It's mainly the fact that they speak little or no English when they're abroad, and they don't speak much of the local language," Expedia Marketing Director Timothee de Roux told radio station France Info.
"The French don't go abroad very much. We're lucky enough to have a country which is magnificent in terms of its landscape and culture," he said, adding that 90 per cent of French people did their traveling at home.
"So when they're on holiday they can be a bit stressed, they're not used to things, and this can lead them to be demanding in a way which could be seen as a certain arrogance."
French tourists are also accused of generally spending less than other nationalities when abroad.
De Roux said the French, not accustomed to leaving large tips at home where a service charge is automatically levied on restaurant bills, can seem "tight-fisted" compared with other nationalities.
The Japanese ranked top of the Best Tourist survey, with the British and the Germans judged the best of the Europeans.
But French tourists received some consolation for their poor performance, finishing third after the Italians and British for dress sense while on holiday.
The Associated Press: El Nino conditions return to affect weather
WASHINGTON (AP) — El Nino is back.
Government scientists said Thursday that the periodic warming of water in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which can affect weather around the world, has returned.
The Pacific had been in what is called a neutral state, but forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say the sea surface temperature climbed to 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal along a narrow band in the eastern equatorial Pacific in June.
In addition, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said temperatures in other tropical regions are also above normal, with warmer than usual readings as much as 975 feet below the ocean surface.
In general, El Nino conditions are associated with increased rainfall across the east-central and eastern Pacific and with drier than normal conditions over northern Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
A summer El Nino can lead to wetter than normal conditions in the intermountain regions of the United States and over central Chile. In an El Nino year there tend to be more Eastern Pacific hurricanes and fewer Atlantic hurricanes.
The forecasters said they expect this El Nino to continue strengthening over the next few months and to last through the winter of 2009-2010.
"Advanced climate science allows us to alert industries, governments and emergency managers about the weather conditions El Nino may bring so these can be factored into decision-making and ultimately protect life, property and the economy," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a statement.
NOAA officials noted that not all El Nino effects are negative. For example, it can suppress Atlantic hurricanes and bring needed moisture to the arid Southwest.
But it can also steer damaging winter storms to California and increase storminess across the southern United States.
The warming of the ocean can also lead to a reduction in the seafood catch off the West Coast, and fewer fish can also impact food sources for several types of birds and marine mammals.
A recent study by researchers at Georgia Tech suggests there may actually be two forms of El Nino, depending on whether the warming is stronger in the eastern or central pacific.
While the current warming seems to be strongest in the east, the more traditional form, government forecasters did not categorize it.
If the Georgia Tech study is correct, this would be the type of El Nino that reduces hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean. The other form, centered farther west, reportedly seems to promote Atlantic storms.
Government scientists said Thursday that the periodic warming of water in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which can affect weather around the world, has returned.
The Pacific had been in what is called a neutral state, but forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say the sea surface temperature climbed to 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal along a narrow band in the eastern equatorial Pacific in June.
In addition, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said temperatures in other tropical regions are also above normal, with warmer than usual readings as much as 975 feet below the ocean surface.
In general, El Nino conditions are associated with increased rainfall across the east-central and eastern Pacific and with drier than normal conditions over northern Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
A summer El Nino can lead to wetter than normal conditions in the intermountain regions of the United States and over central Chile. In an El Nino year there tend to be more Eastern Pacific hurricanes and fewer Atlantic hurricanes.
The forecasters said they expect this El Nino to continue strengthening over the next few months and to last through the winter of 2009-2010.
"Advanced climate science allows us to alert industries, governments and emergency managers about the weather conditions El Nino may bring so these can be factored into decision-making and ultimately protect life, property and the economy," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a statement.
NOAA officials noted that not all El Nino effects are negative. For example, it can suppress Atlantic hurricanes and bring needed moisture to the arid Southwest.
But it can also steer damaging winter storms to California and increase storminess across the southern United States.
The warming of the ocean can also lead to a reduction in the seafood catch off the West Coast, and fewer fish can also impact food sources for several types of birds and marine mammals.
A recent study by researchers at Georgia Tech suggests there may actually be two forms of El Nino, depending on whether the warming is stronger in the eastern or central pacific.
While the current warming seems to be strongest in the east, the more traditional form, government forecasters did not categorize it.
If the Georgia Tech study is correct, this would be the type of El Nino that reduces hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean. The other form, centered farther west, reportedly seems to promote Atlantic storms.
Could tremors be building for new California quake?
Thu Jul 9, 2009 4:00pm EDT
WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - Constant tremors along part of California's San Andreas fault could be building up to a more serious earthquake in an area due for a big one, researchers reported on Thursday.
A team at the University of California, Berkeley, has measured 2,198 tremors after the 6 magnitude quake in 2004 centered near Parkfield, California.
"The persistent changes in tremor suggest that stress is now accumulating more rapidly beneath this part of the San Andreas Fault, which ruptured in the ... magnitude 7.8 Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857," seismologist Robert Nadeau and colleagues wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.
That region, in southern California north of Los Angeles, experiences a quake every 85 to 142 years, they said -- making a quake theoretically 10 years overdue.
There have been some quakes nearby in the meantime, but the tremors keep occurring, Nadeau said.
"What's surprising is that the activity has not gone down to its old level," Nadeau said in a statement.
A series of small tremors was seen a few days before the Parkfield quake, so Nadeau hopes there may be a way to interpret them to get some kind of warning of future quakes.
Seismologists have taken many different tacks but remain unable to accurately predict when quakes will occur, although they usually know where.
"If earthquakes trigger tremors, the pressure that stimulates tremors may also stimulate earthquakes," Nadeau said.
The tremors are not volcanic but Nadeau is not sure what is causing them. Underground movement of fluids is one possibility, but Nadeau says it is possible that shattering bits of sharp rock in a deep region of hot soft rock may be responsible.
WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - Constant tremors along part of California's San Andreas fault could be building up to a more serious earthquake in an area due for a big one, researchers reported on Thursday.
A team at the University of California, Berkeley, has measured 2,198 tremors after the 6 magnitude quake in 2004 centered near Parkfield, California.
"The persistent changes in tremor suggest that stress is now accumulating more rapidly beneath this part of the San Andreas Fault, which ruptured in the ... magnitude 7.8 Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857," seismologist Robert Nadeau and colleagues wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.
That region, in southern California north of Los Angeles, experiences a quake every 85 to 142 years, they said -- making a quake theoretically 10 years overdue.
There have been some quakes nearby in the meantime, but the tremors keep occurring, Nadeau said.
"What's surprising is that the activity has not gone down to its old level," Nadeau said in a statement.
A series of small tremors was seen a few days before the Parkfield quake, so Nadeau hopes there may be a way to interpret them to get some kind of warning of future quakes.
Seismologists have taken many different tacks but remain unable to accurately predict when quakes will occur, although they usually know where.
"If earthquakes trigger tremors, the pressure that stimulates tremors may also stimulate earthquakes," Nadeau said.
The tremors are not volcanic but Nadeau is not sure what is causing them. Underground movement of fluids is one possibility, but Nadeau says it is possible that shattering bits of sharp rock in a deep region of hot soft rock may be responsible.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Rejects Michael Jackson Resolution
All I can say is that there are much better things the government can be doing besides giving this to Michael Jackson. Bravo Nancy! I applaud you.
==========================================
'I don't think it's necessary,' Pelosi says.
By Gil Kaufman
During the Michael Jackson memorial on Tuesday, Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas proudly proclaimed her support for House Resolution 600 in praise of the King of Pop, even holding up a copy of her proposal honoring the singer for his humanitarian efforts during a lengthy, loving speech about the singer.
A number of Republicans in the House — most notoriously New York Representative Peter King — were quick to shoot down the effort and on Wednesday, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined the chorus. While she said she would allow fellow House members to express their sorrow over the pop icon's passing, Pelosi stated emphatically that she didn't think a resolution was necessary.
According to a transcript of her weekly press conference provided by her office, when asked at a news conference if she would support the resolution, Pelosi said, "Michael Jackson was a great, great performer ... [there's] lots of sadness there for many reasons."
She went on to say there is plenty of "opportunity on the floor of the House to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish. I don't think it's necessary for us to have a resolution." She added that a resolution would open up Jackson's life to "contrary views that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite different," seemingly referring to the more sordid elements of Jackson's life, including two allegations of child molestation and allegations that he abused prescription medication.
The non-binding resolution proposed by Jackson Lee — who noted during her speech on Tuesday that Jackson was acquitted on criminal charges of sexual molestation of a child in 2005 — would have been a symbolic gesture from lawmakers with no legal or political implications. Pelosi's spokesperson said the House Speaker was not available at press time for further comment and a spokesperson for Jackson Lee could not be reached for comment.
==========================================
'I don't think it's necessary,' Pelosi says.
By Gil Kaufman
During the Michael Jackson memorial on Tuesday, Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas proudly proclaimed her support for House Resolution 600 in praise of the King of Pop, even holding up a copy of her proposal honoring the singer for his humanitarian efforts during a lengthy, loving speech about the singer.
A number of Republicans in the House — most notoriously New York Representative Peter King — were quick to shoot down the effort and on Wednesday, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined the chorus. While she said she would allow fellow House members to express their sorrow over the pop icon's passing, Pelosi stated emphatically that she didn't think a resolution was necessary.
According to a transcript of her weekly press conference provided by her office, when asked at a news conference if she would support the resolution, Pelosi said, "Michael Jackson was a great, great performer ... [there's] lots of sadness there for many reasons."
She went on to say there is plenty of "opportunity on the floor of the House to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish. I don't think it's necessary for us to have a resolution." She added that a resolution would open up Jackson's life to "contrary views that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite different," seemingly referring to the more sordid elements of Jackson's life, including two allegations of child molestation and allegations that he abused prescription medication.
The non-binding resolution proposed by Jackson Lee — who noted during her speech on Tuesday that Jackson was acquitted on criminal charges of sexual molestation of a child in 2005 — would have been a symbolic gesture from lawmakers with no legal or political implications. Pelosi's spokesperson said the House Speaker was not available at press time for further comment and a spokesperson for Jackson Lee could not be reached for comment.
Renting a kilt - helpful information!!!!
Scottish Import Store Toronto, ON, Canada
(This gentleman works at a Scottish import store that specializes in kilts. They mostly rent them out for weddings.)
Me: “Okay, guys, you’re all fitted up. Everything will be ready for pick-up the Thursday before the wedding.”
Customer: “Guys, you know what we have to do, right? We have to go commando! No wearing anything under the kilt!” *to me* “That’s the way to do it, right?”
Me: “Well, gentlemen, we don’t have a policy on that one way or the other. Personally, though, before you decide, I’d advise you to take a moment and consider ALL the implications of the word…’rental.’”
Customer: “What? But…oh…oh! Ewww!”
(This gentleman works at a Scottish import store that specializes in kilts. They mostly rent them out for weddings.)
Me: “Okay, guys, you’re all fitted up. Everything will be ready for pick-up the Thursday before the wedding.”
Customer: “Guys, you know what we have to do, right? We have to go commando! No wearing anything under the kilt!” *to me* “That’s the way to do it, right?”
Me: “Well, gentlemen, we don’t have a policy on that one way or the other. Personally, though, before you decide, I’d advise you to take a moment and consider ALL the implications of the word…’rental.’”
Customer: “What? But…oh…oh! Ewww!”
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The brilliant NFL overtime silent auction system
No one seems to be satisfied with the NFL’s current “Win the coin toss, get the football” overtime system. I’ve been against changing it, though, mainly because I haven’t heard any ideas that I’ve liked better. Until today, anyway.
The Fifth Down brought to my attention a beautiful system that involves strategy, rewards the boldest head coach, does not lengthen the game, keeps the basic structure of a football game intact, and, perhaps most importantly, leaves no one with any room to whine.
Here’s how it would go. The sudden death system stays in place, and the first team to score still wins the game. If that happens on the first possession, so be it. That's still the same.
However, we throw out the coin toss, and in its place, to determine which team gets the football first, we have a silent auction.
Each coach writes down the yard-line at which they’d be willing to accept the ball, and they put their bid in a sealed envelope. Both coaches hand the envelopes to an official at midfield, and the coach who’s written down the least advantageous yard-line gets the ball, at the yard-line he's written down.
So, for example, say the Steelers and Cardinals are going to overtime. Naturally, both teams want the ball first. Mike Tomlin would like the ball, but he wouldn’t mind putting the responsibility on his great defense, either, so he writes down “22 yard-line.” But Ken Whisenhunt is willing to take more of a risk, trusts his offense more, and he’s written down “11 yard-line.”
So we start overtime with the Cardinals having possession of the ball, first and 10 at their own 11. The Cards have the ball, but they’ve got quite a bit of work to do to get into field goal range. The Steelers defense has them in a tough spot, and if they do their job, the Steelers get the ball in good field position.
If Ken Whisenhunt doesn’t like that, he shouldn’t have been willing to take the ball at the 11. If Mike Tomlin doesn’t like not getting the ball first, he should have been willing to start from deeper than his own 22.
I think it’s brilliant. Perhaps some will bristle at the thought of a silent auction, a term more traditionally associated with vintage cars or estate sales, but I really think it’s perfect here. The randomness of the coin toss is eliminated, and instead, the reward goes to the coach who makes the best football decision.
The plan was dreamt up in 2003 by a fellow named Chris Quanbeck, but today’s the first I’ve heard of it. They wrote to the league about it, and NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira expressed some interest, but nothing ever came of it.
Maybe a bit more publicity will help, so this is me, doing my part. Really give it some thought, NFL. This is the best system, and I think it’s something fans would eventually grow to love.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Michael Jackson Not Biological Father to His Kids
This explains why none of the kids look like Michael!!!!
Reports: Michael Jackson Not Biological Father to His Kids
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 
Jackson's children, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. -- also known as "Prince" -- in an undated photo.
Michael Jackson is not the biological father of his three children, according to multiple internet reports.
Sources tell TMZ that Jackson did not provide sperm donations for any of his children and that Debbie Rowe was merely a surrogate for Prince Michael Jr. and Paris.
According to a report in Us magazine, Jackson’s dermatologist and Rowe’s former boss Arnold Klein is the biological father to Prince and Paris.
He is the dad," a Jackson insider told Us. "He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth."
In the case of Jackson’s youngest son Blanket, TMZ reports that the surrogate was never told that the baby was for Jackson.
A custody battle for the Jackson children has already begun, with his mother Katherine Jackson winning temporary guardianship. A hearing is set for August 3.
Ten or more face possible Madoff charges
Round 'em all up and put them in front of a firing line!!
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investigators believe 10 or more people associated with imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff could be criminally charged in the coming months or beyond, a law enforcement source said on Tuesday.
The source, who asked not be identified because of the ongoing investigation into the multibillion-dollar Madoff fraud, said the FBI was "closer to the beginning than the end" of the probe.
Disgraced financier Madoff, 71, was sentenced to 150 years imprisonment on Monday after he pleaded guilty in March to orchestrating a worldwide investment scheme of as much as $65 billion. Madoff has not named accomplices in the classic "cash in, cash out" fraud and the only other person charged so far is his outside accountant.
"There will probably be more people charged," the law enforcement source said. "It is likely to be 10 or more, but it is going to be a lengthy process that could take months or more."
A spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, which prosecuted Madoff and accountant David Friehling, declined to comment on the investigations.
Federal investigators have declined to identify who is the focus of their inquiries, but they are skeptical of the claims by some people who worked at the Madoff firm that they had no knowledge of the scheme.
Lawyers and white-collar crime experts have said all along that Madoff's decades-long scheme appeared to be too complex to have been the work of one person alone.
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in New York had a brokerage unit and an investment advisory business. The court-appointed trustee winding down the firm said the nefarious activity took place on the investment side.
The trustee and regulators have sued several businessmen, who made billions in handling Madoff money through so-called feeder funds, charging that they knew or should have known the financier was running a fraud.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson broke the internet!!
News of Michael Jackson’s death broke on the Internet late Thursday afternoon. Not long after that, the Internet broke too. Twitter crashed, as did Michael Jackson’s Wikipedia entry. Facebook lumbered under countless Michael Jackson video uploads retrieved from an over-accessed YouTube, and both ground to a halt.
Everything else online, including the historic battle over democracy currently being raged in Iran, paled as people clambered onto social networks to confirm what they were hearing was really true.
Eventually, the World Wide Web recovered, Jackson traffic cranked into gear, and per their predictable nature, Internet cranks made their feelings known.
“‘Micheal Jackson’ (sic) is the trending topic. Good job, America,” one unusually adroit culture critic posted on Twitter, in reference to the microblogging site’s leading topics (and the misspelling). Most were more typically ranty about Michael Jackson usurping Iran as the latest historical moment in both the news and social networking history, such as this tweet:
“It's pitiful how fickle the American people are. People ate, slept and breathed Iran until Michael Jackson died. Really?! Good grief.”
Or this “Not that this is more important than Michael Jackson dropping dead...Iran doctor tells of Neda's death.”
Yep. For every social network, there are countless passive-aggressive jackasses who seem to believe anyone expressing a thought on a single topic is obviously incapable of multitasking interests and emotions. If anything, social networks prove that we as a species are not mono-themed. Maybe the news is wall-to-wall MJ, but social networks can chew gum and walk at the same time.
When Twitter support for the protesters in Iran hit critical mass, author and Internet smartypants Clay Shirky pointed out once again that Twitter’s immediacy meant it wasn’t the best source for accurate information, but a perfect gauge of universal emotion.
Our concerns, both internal and external, do not operate on zero-sum balance. While #Michael Jackson, #RIP MJ, #Thriller, #Pop (as in “Prince of…”), and even #Farrah Fawcett take up most of Twitter’s current trends, #iranelection never left the list. (Nor did #unfollowperezhilton, for that matter.)
Social networks are a collective brain that, like individual brains, allow for dissimilar ideas to occur simultaneously: A pop star who died. A historic battle for demoracy in a region devoid of it. This is social networks on mourn.
Rest assured, those who temporarily switch their green-shaded Twitter avatars to a Michael Jackson headshot are not dooming Iranian protesters any more than re-tweeting every piece of information and/or misinformation about Iran and changing your Twitter location to Tehran will save them.
Meanwhile, this sudden wave of mournful nostalgia, all these videos and songs posted on personal profiles, come from three generations of Americans that grew up with Michael Jackson as a constant. To spite ourselves, we feel like we know him. As much as it pains me to draw attention to John Mayer’s generally insipid tweets, his anomalous comment about MJ is true, no matter what you think about Jackson, he is “a major strand of our cultural DNA.”
(Meanwhile, 10 hours later Mayer was back to his regular Twitter form, updating the world on his Nyquil intake.)
It was as if the past 20 years had been erased. As always the case of grief, Jackson's death gave us permission to ignore decades of weirdness, and appreciate everything that was great about him. And there was a lot great about him. We listened to his music and watched is videos an enjoyment that can only be described as pure.
“It's amazing how music can store so many memories,” Shantae Joseph posted on her Facebook status.
“It's amazing how many stations can all play ‘Thriller’ at the same time,” her friend Angel responded, aptly.
Unlike two days previous, nobody was interested in making jokes about the plight of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. No more punny lines such as “Appalachian Tail” or “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” Even those given to Internet cynicism weren’t in the mood.
“Please Note: If you feel the need to bitch about Michael Jackson getting coverage, know you will be blocked. Emo is being EMO.” tweeted @emokidsloveme, whose avatar still features an Iran-supporting fist wrapped in green.
This isn’t just about a pop star of talent directly inverse to his oddness. This is about us too. When a childhood totem dies, we feel the wind blow across our graves.
What’s more, as blanket pooh-poohers on Twitter, Facebook and everywhere else criticize what they see as America’s fickle tweets, they succumb to their own Western centrism. The United States is far from alone in this social network wake.
More than any entertainer ever, Michael Jackson is an international phenomenon, perhaps even more beloved beyond this hemisphere, where news about his increasingly odd behavior was overshadowed by his music and glamour.
The morning after Jackson’s death, it seemed the whole world shared their grief. Even Iran. Friday morning on MSNBC, Iranian-born international affairs author Reza Aslan talked about how strange it was, monitoring Twitter feeds from Iran, seeing tweets about horrific gun fire interspersed with those about Michael Jackson. “It shows not just what a big influence (Jackson) had in the world but how much we have in common with Iranians,” he said.
Like the international support for Iran, Jackson’s death marked an historic point in social networking. His death generated the most tweets per second on Twitter since Barack Obama was elected president.
"We saw over twice the normal tweets per second the moment the story broke as people shared their grief and memories," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone told the Associated Press via e-mail.
Of course, it wasn’t all about memories. Along with the “Is this the only thing we care about?”
monothoughtist cranks, there were plenty of gallows guffaws ranging from giggle-inducing to tasteless.
Then there were the pranksters who slammed Twitter with rumors about actor Jeff Goldblum’s fictional demise, enough to get the actor’s name briefly in the site’s top trends. Once the Internet recovered after the initial slam, budding urban legends about the “facts” of Jackson’s death took hit warp speed.
On “Oh No They Didn’t,” which suffered various crashes along with other celebrity gossip sites, snarky users expressed their collective grief by posting a Fantasia Barino gif, in which the American Idol star wails and flails her arms wildly. Many bemoaned how the humor was now gone from another popular image taken from “Thriller,” featuring an excited Jackson eating popcorn, commonly posted by an uninvolved party when a flame-worthy topic hits the forum.
This too is grief. Grief is weird. It expresses itself in often odd, seemingly inappropriate ways. Grief permeates in all areas of life, including the Internet. And that’s no sin.
Everything else online, including the historic battle over democracy currently being raged in Iran, paled as people clambered onto social networks to confirm what they were hearing was really true.
Eventually, the World Wide Web recovered, Jackson traffic cranked into gear, and per their predictable nature, Internet cranks made their feelings known.
“‘Micheal Jackson’ (sic) is the trending topic. Good job, America,” one unusually adroit culture critic posted on Twitter, in reference to the microblogging site’s leading topics (and the misspelling). Most were more typically ranty about Michael Jackson usurping Iran as the latest historical moment in both the news and social networking history, such as this tweet:
“It's pitiful how fickle the American people are. People ate, slept and breathed Iran until Michael Jackson died. Really?! Good grief.”
Or this “Not that this is more important than Michael Jackson dropping dead...Iran doctor tells of Neda's death.”
Yep. For every social network, there are countless passive-aggressive jackasses who seem to believe anyone expressing a thought on a single topic is obviously incapable of multitasking interests and emotions. If anything, social networks prove that we as a species are not mono-themed. Maybe the news is wall-to-wall MJ, but social networks can chew gum and walk at the same time.
When Twitter support for the protesters in Iran hit critical mass, author and Internet smartypants Clay Shirky pointed out once again that Twitter’s immediacy meant it wasn’t the best source for accurate information, but a perfect gauge of universal emotion.
Our concerns, both internal and external, do not operate on zero-sum balance. While #Michael Jackson, #RIP MJ, #Thriller, #Pop (as in “Prince of…”), and even #Farrah Fawcett take up most of Twitter’s current trends, #iranelection never left the list. (Nor did #unfollowperezhilton, for that matter.)
Social networks are a collective brain that, like individual brains, allow for dissimilar ideas to occur simultaneously: A pop star who died. A historic battle for demoracy in a region devoid of it. This is social networks on mourn.
Rest assured, those who temporarily switch their green-shaded Twitter avatars to a Michael Jackson headshot are not dooming Iranian protesters any more than re-tweeting every piece of information and/or misinformation about Iran and changing your Twitter location to Tehran will save them.
Meanwhile, this sudden wave of mournful nostalgia, all these videos and songs posted on personal profiles, come from three generations of Americans that grew up with Michael Jackson as a constant. To spite ourselves, we feel like we know him. As much as it pains me to draw attention to John Mayer’s generally insipid tweets, his anomalous comment about MJ is true, no matter what you think about Jackson, he is “a major strand of our cultural DNA.”
(Meanwhile, 10 hours later Mayer was back to his regular Twitter form, updating the world on his Nyquil intake.)
It was as if the past 20 years had been erased. As always the case of grief, Jackson's death gave us permission to ignore decades of weirdness, and appreciate everything that was great about him. And there was a lot great about him. We listened to his music and watched is videos an enjoyment that can only be described as pure.
“It's amazing how music can store so many memories,” Shantae Joseph posted on her Facebook status.
“It's amazing how many stations can all play ‘Thriller’ at the same time,” her friend Angel responded, aptly.
Unlike two days previous, nobody was interested in making jokes about the plight of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. No more punny lines such as “Appalachian Tail” or “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” Even those given to Internet cynicism weren’t in the mood.
“Please Note: If you feel the need to bitch about Michael Jackson getting coverage, know you will be blocked. Emo is being EMO.” tweeted @emokidsloveme, whose avatar still features an Iran-supporting fist wrapped in green.
This isn’t just about a pop star of talent directly inverse to his oddness. This is about us too. When a childhood totem dies, we feel the wind blow across our graves.
What’s more, as blanket pooh-poohers on Twitter, Facebook and everywhere else criticize what they see as America’s fickle tweets, they succumb to their own Western centrism. The United States is far from alone in this social network wake.
More than any entertainer ever, Michael Jackson is an international phenomenon, perhaps even more beloved beyond this hemisphere, where news about his increasingly odd behavior was overshadowed by his music and glamour.
The morning after Jackson’s death, it seemed the whole world shared their grief. Even Iran. Friday morning on MSNBC, Iranian-born international affairs author Reza Aslan talked about how strange it was, monitoring Twitter feeds from Iran, seeing tweets about horrific gun fire interspersed with those about Michael Jackson. “It shows not just what a big influence (Jackson) had in the world but how much we have in common with Iranians,” he said.
Like the international support for Iran, Jackson’s death marked an historic point in social networking. His death generated the most tweets per second on Twitter since Barack Obama was elected president.
"We saw over twice the normal tweets per second the moment the story broke as people shared their grief and memories," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone told the Associated Press via e-mail.
Of course, it wasn’t all about memories. Along with the “Is this the only thing we care about?”
monothoughtist cranks, there were plenty of gallows guffaws ranging from giggle-inducing to tasteless.
Then there were the pranksters who slammed Twitter with rumors about actor Jeff Goldblum’s fictional demise, enough to get the actor’s name briefly in the site’s top trends. Once the Internet recovered after the initial slam, budding urban legends about the “facts” of Jackson’s death took hit warp speed.
On “Oh No They Didn’t,” which suffered various crashes along with other celebrity gossip sites, snarky users expressed their collective grief by posting a Fantasia Barino gif, in which the American Idol star wails and flails her arms wildly. Many bemoaned how the humor was now gone from another popular image taken from “Thriller,” featuring an excited Jackson eating popcorn, commonly posted by an uninvolved party when a flame-worthy topic hits the forum.
This too is grief. Grief is weird. It expresses itself in often odd, seemingly inappropriate ways. Grief permeates in all areas of life, including the Internet. And that’s no sin.
Ode to The One
Ode to The One
And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the people of the
Land called America, having lost their morals, their work
Initiative, and their will to defend their liberties, chose as their
Supreme Leader that person known as "The One". He emerged from the
vapors with a message that had no meaning; but He hypnotized the
people telling them, "I am sent to save you. My lack of experience, my
questionable ethics, my monstrous ego, and my association with evil
doers are of no consequence. For I shall save you with Hope and
Change. Go, therefore, and proclaim throughout the land that he who
preceded me is evil, that he has defiled the nation, and that all he
has built must be destroyed."
And the people rejoiced, for even though they knew not what "The
One" would do, he had promised that he would bring change, and they
proclaimed "Yes We Can".
And "The One" said "We live in the greatest country in the world.
Help me change everything about it!"
And the people said, "Hallelujah!! Change is good!"
Then He said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats,"---- And the
people said "Sock it to them!" "---- and "Redistribute their wealth."
And then He said, "Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody"
And the people said, "Show us the money!"
And Joe the plumber asked, "Are you kidding me? You're going to
steal my money and give it to the deadbeats??"
And "The One" ridiculed and taunted him, and Joe's personal records
were hacked, publicized, and ridiculed; though no crime could be
found.
One lone reporter asked, "That shouldn't be, isn't that Marxist policy?"
And she was banished from the kingdom!
Then a citizen asked, "With no foreign relations experience and
having zero military experience or knowledge, how will you deal with
radical terrorists?"
And "The One" said, "Simple. I shall sit with them and talk kindly
to them and show them how nice we really are; and they will forget
that they ever wanted to kill us all!"
And the people said, "Hallelujah!! We are safe at last, and we can
beat our weapons into free cars for the people!"
Then "The One" said, "I shall give 95% of you lower taxes."
And one, lone voice said, "But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes."
So "The One" said, "Then I shall give you some of the taxes the
fat-cats pay!"
And the people said, "Hallelujah!! Show us the money!"
Then "The One" said, "I shall tax your Capital Gains when you sell
your homes!"
And the people yawned and the already slumping housing market fully
collapsed.
And He said, "I shall mandate employer-funded health care for EVERY
worker and raise the minimum wage, and lower the white collar wage.
And I shall also give every person unlimited healthcare and medicine
and even transportation to the free clinics."
And the people said, "Give me some of that!"
Then he said, "I shall penalize employers who ship jobs overseas."
And the people said, "Where's my rebate check?"
Then "The One" said, "I shall bankrupt the coal industry, and
perhaps even the oil industry (Cap & Trade/Carbon Tax) and though
electricity rates will skyrocket, we shall soon build wind farms and
solar power stations and drive green cars that I shall mandate in
Detroit!"
And the people said, "Coal is dirty, coal is evil, no more coal!
But we don't care for that part about higher electric rates."
So "The One" said, "Not to worry. If your rebate ($10/week) isn't
enough to cover your extra expenses ($3,000/year), we shall bail you
out. Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over!" "Only
the fat cats will have to pay."
Then He said, "Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let's
grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches,
free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing..."
And the people said, "Hallelujah!!" And they made him King!
And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and
ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers; though
they sold much less of their products. Others simply gave up and
went out of business, and the economy sank like unto a rock dropped
from a cliff. The banking industry was destroyed. Manufacturing
slowed to a crawl. And more of the people were without a means of
support.
So "The One" again blamed the prior administration, extended
unemployment benefits to a year, bailed out his favorite banks, and
then took over the banks and auto industries. "The One" said, "I am
the "The One" - The Messiah - and I'm here to save you! We shall
just print more money so the government will have enough!" "Surely
one trillion dollars will make everyone happy." And immediately the
Fed complied and the money presses roared.
And China reconsidered their one trillion dollars of loans to the
US ,, and threatened to call in their debts. Other fo reign trading
partners said unto "The One", "Wait a minute. Your dollar is not
worth a pile of camel dung! You will have to pay more.. for
everything.. as your dollar becomes worth less."
And the people said, "Wait a minute.. That is unfair!!"
And the world said, "Neither are these other idiotic programs you
have embraced. Lo, you have become a Socialist state and a
second-rate power. What factories are not owned by your government
are owned by us. Now you shall play by our rules!"
And "The One" said "Americans are arrogant, divisive, and
derisive!" "We will listen."
And the people cried out, "Alas, alas!! What have we done?"
But yea verily, it was too late. The people eventually set upon
"The One" and spat upon him and stoned him, and his name was dung. But
the once mighty nation was no more; and the once proud people were
without sustenance or shelter or hope. And the Change that "The One"
had given them was as like unto a poison that had destroyed them from
within, and like a whirlwind that consumed all that they had built.
And the people beat their chests in despair and cried out in
anguish, "Give us back our nation and our pride and our hope!!"
But it was too late, and the once-glorious "Home of the Brave and
Land of the Free" was no more..
###############################################################
You may think this is a fairy tale, but it's not. It's happening
RIGHT NOW, Already everything down to the last couple of lines....
And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the people of the
Land called America, having lost their morals, their work
Initiative, and their will to defend their liberties, chose as their
Supreme Leader that person known as "The One". He emerged from the
vapors with a message that had no meaning; but He hypnotized the
people telling them, "I am sent to save you. My lack of experience, my
questionable ethics, my monstrous ego, and my association with evil
doers are of no consequence. For I shall save you with Hope and
Change. Go, therefore, and proclaim throughout the land that he who
preceded me is evil, that he has defiled the nation, and that all he
has built must be destroyed."
And the people rejoiced, for even though they knew not what "The
One" would do, he had promised that he would bring change, and they
proclaimed "Yes We Can".
And "The One" said "We live in the greatest country in the world.
Help me change everything about it!"
And the people said, "Hallelujah!! Change is good!"
Then He said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats,"---- And the
people said "Sock it to them!" "---- and "Redistribute their wealth."
And then He said, "Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody"
And the people said, "Show us the money!"
And Joe the plumber asked, "Are you kidding me? You're going to
steal my money and give it to the deadbeats??"
And "The One" ridiculed and taunted him, and Joe's personal records
were hacked, publicized, and ridiculed; though no crime could be
found.
One lone reporter asked, "That shouldn't be, isn't that Marxist policy?"
And she was banished from the kingdom!
Then a citizen asked, "With no foreign relations experience and
having zero military experience or knowledge, how will you deal with
radical terrorists?"
And "The One" said, "Simple. I shall sit with them and talk kindly
to them and show them how nice we really are; and they will forget
that they ever wanted to kill us all!"
And the people said, "Hallelujah!! We are safe at last, and we can
beat our weapons into free cars for the people!"
Then "The One" said, "I shall give 95% of you lower taxes."
And one, lone voice said, "But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes."
So "The One" said, "Then I shall give you some of the taxes the
fat-cats pay!"
And the people said, "Hallelujah!! Show us the money!"
Then "The One" said, "I shall tax your Capital Gains when you sell
your homes!"
And the people yawned and the already slumping housing market fully
collapsed.
And He said, "I shall mandate employer-funded health care for EVERY
worker and raise the minimum wage, and lower the white collar wage.
And I shall also give every person unlimited healthcare and medicine
and even transportation to the free clinics."
And the people said, "Give me some of that!"
Then he said, "I shall penalize employers who ship jobs overseas."
And the people said, "Where's my rebate check?"
Then "The One" said, "I shall bankrupt the coal industry, and
perhaps even the oil industry (Cap & Trade/Carbon Tax) and though
electricity rates will skyrocket, we shall soon build wind farms and
solar power stations and drive green cars that I shall mandate in
Detroit!"
And the people said, "Coal is dirty, coal is evil, no more coal!
But we don't care for that part about higher electric rates."
So "The One" said, "Not to worry. If your rebate ($10/week) isn't
enough to cover your extra expenses ($3,000/year), we shall bail you
out. Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over!" "Only
the fat cats will have to pay."
Then He said, "Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let's
grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches,
free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing..."
And the people said, "Hallelujah!!" And they made him King!
And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and
ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers; though
they sold much less of their products. Others simply gave up and
went out of business, and the economy sank like unto a rock dropped
from a cliff. The banking industry was destroyed. Manufacturing
slowed to a crawl. And more of the people were without a means of
support.
So "The One" again blamed the prior administration, extended
unemployment benefits to a year, bailed out his favorite banks, and
then took over the banks and auto industries. "The One" said, "I am
the "The One" - The Messiah - and I'm here to save you! We shall
just print more money so the government will have enough!" "Surely
one trillion dollars will make everyone happy." And immediately the
Fed complied and the money presses roared.
And China reconsidered their one trillion dollars of loans to the
US ,, and threatened to call in their debts. Other fo reign trading
partners said unto "The One", "Wait a minute. Your dollar is not
worth a pile of camel dung! You will have to pay more.. for
everything.. as your dollar becomes worth less."
And the people said, "Wait a minute.. That is unfair!!"
And the world said, "Neither are these other idiotic programs you
have embraced. Lo, you have become a Socialist state and a
second-rate power. What factories are not owned by your government
are owned by us. Now you shall play by our rules!"
And "The One" said "Americans are arrogant, divisive, and
derisive!" "We will listen."
And the people cried out, "Alas, alas!! What have we done?"
But yea verily, it was too late. The people eventually set upon
"The One" and spat upon him and stoned him, and his name was dung. But
the once mighty nation was no more; and the once proud people were
without sustenance or shelter or hope. And the Change that "The One"
had given them was as like unto a poison that had destroyed them from
within, and like a whirlwind that consumed all that they had built.
And the people beat their chests in despair and cried out in
anguish, "Give us back our nation and our pride and our hope!!"
But it was too late, and the once-glorious "Home of the Brave and
Land of the Free" was no more..
###############################################################
You may think this is a fairy tale, but it's not. It's happening
RIGHT NOW, Already everything down to the last couple of lines....
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Man Rules
The Man Rules At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down Finally,the guys' side of the story.
(must admit, it's pretty good.) We always hear"the rules". From the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1 "
ON PURPOSE!
1.Men are NOT mind readers.
1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.
1. If you think you're fat, you probably are.
Don't ask us.
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done.
Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..
1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine..Really
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as FOOTBALL or motor sports
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!
1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.
Pass this to as many men as you can to give them a laugh.
Pass this to as many women as you can -to give them a bigger laugh
(must admit, it's pretty good.) We always hear"the rules". From the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1 "
ON PURPOSE!
1.Men are NOT mind readers.
1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.
1. If you think you're fat, you probably are.
Don't ask us.
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done.
Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..
1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine..Really
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as FOOTBALL or motor sports
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!
1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.
Pass this to as many men as you can to give them a laugh.
Pass this to as many women as you can -to give them a bigger laugh
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Air Down There - June 18, 2009
The Air Down There - June 18, 2009
Busted for indecent exposure, Memphis man give cops unique excuse
JUNE 18--Nabbed yesterday for indecent exposure, a Memphis man offered cops a unique explanation for his alleged criminal behavior. Augustus Hudgins, 41, was arrested after witnesses reported seeing him "masturbating on the bench in Court Square," according to the below police affidavit.
When questioned by cops, Hudgins denied fondling himself, explaining instead that he was "giving [his] penis some air."
Despite that claim, Hudgins was booked into the Shelby County jail, where the mug shot at right was snapped.
Click the above link to view the Smoking Gun website for the police report.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Gives a whole new meaning to "Bunny Ranch"
Oregon woman obsessed with rabbits arrested again - Yahoo! News: "TIGARD, Ore. – Authorities said a woman obsessed with rabbits is in trouble again: In violation of probation terms, she was found holed up in a hotel room with more than a dozen rabbits. Officers said they had to break into the room Tuesday and found eight adults and half a dozen baby rabbits, one dead. The police say some were caged, some roaming.
They arrested 47-year-old Miriam Sakewitz.
She was arrested in 2007 with more than 250 rabbits in squalid conditions. In a plea deal, she was forbidden to have animals for five years.
Before her conviction, police said, she broke into a holding area to retrieve her rabbits. Four months after the plea deal, she was sent to jail for three days for having a rabbit."
They arrested 47-year-old Miriam Sakewitz.
She was arrested in 2007 with more than 250 rabbits in squalid conditions. In a plea deal, she was forbidden to have animals for five years.
Before her conviction, police said, she broke into a holding area to retrieve her rabbits. Four months after the plea deal, she was sent to jail for three days for having a rabbit."
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Man accused of spitting on officer's Egg McMuffin
BERRIEN SPRINGS, Mich
Authorities said a man faces a felony charge after allegedly spitting on a police officer's McDonald's breakfast sandwich. Police said a 32-year-old man was working the drive-thru window at the southwest Michigan restaurant when an unidentified officer bit into an Egg McMuffin on June 3 and immediately realized something was wrong.
A police report obtained by The Herald-Palladium said the restaurant's assistant manager noted the sandwich contained a 'stringy with mucus' substance. She placed the sandwich in the off-duty manager's trash bin, but said it disappeared while she phoned him.
The suspect, a parolee who spent 14 years in an Indiana prison, said he has nothing against police. He's being held in the Berrien County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
A June 23 preliminary hearing has been set."
Authorities said a man faces a felony charge after allegedly spitting on a police officer's McDonald's breakfast sandwich. Police said a 32-year-old man was working the drive-thru window at the southwest Michigan restaurant when an unidentified officer bit into an Egg McMuffin on June 3 and immediately realized something was wrong.
A police report obtained by The Herald-Palladium said the restaurant's assistant manager noted the sandwich contained a 'stringy with mucus' substance. She placed the sandwich in the off-duty manager's trash bin, but said it disappeared while she phoned him.
The suspect, a parolee who spent 14 years in an Indiana prison, said he has nothing against police. He's being held in the Berrien County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
A June 23 preliminary hearing has been set."
Boston is messing up all over - see previous post!
BOSTON – Officials said a two-pound, eight-week-old kitten was dropped in a public mailbox in Boston and later found unharmed among envelopes and packages. According to the MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center, the kitten they're calling 'Postina' likely was stuffed Friday through a small opening of the mailbox and dropped several feet below.
A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier discovered Postina on Saturday during a scheduled afternoon pick-up.
The MSPCA is offering Postina for adoption after several days of nourishment and a round of vaccinations.
Animal abandonment in Massachusetts is punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and 5 years in prison.
The MSPCA said there has been a 48 percent increase in pet owners citing financial reasons for surrendering their pets."
A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier discovered Postina on Saturday during a scheduled afternoon pick-up.
The MSPCA is offering Postina for adoption after several days of nourishment and a round of vaccinations.
Animal abandonment in Massachusetts is punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and 5 years in prison.
The MSPCA said there has been a 48 percent increase in pet owners citing financial reasons for surrendering their pets."
Airline sends Cleveland-bound girl, 10, to Newark
BOSTON – Continental Airlines is apologizing for sending a 10-year-old Massachusetts girl flying alone to New Jersey instead of Ohio. Jonathan Kamens said he brought his daughter, Miriam, to Logan International Airport in Boston on Sunday. She was to fly to Cleveland to visit her grandparents.
He tells WBZ-TV that shortly after the plane landed in Ohio, his father-in-law called saying she had not arrived.
Kamens says for 45 minutes no one could tell him where his daughter was, setting off a panic among the family. She was finally located unharmed in Newark, N.J.
The airline says the error was caused by staff miscommunication. The two flights used the same doorway at the airport.
Kamens says the number of people who failed to do their jobs is 'mindboggling.'"
He tells WBZ-TV that shortly after the plane landed in Ohio, his father-in-law called saying she had not arrived.
Kamens says for 45 minutes no one could tell him where his daughter was, setting off a panic among the family. She was finally located unharmed in Newark, N.J.
The airline says the error was caused by staff miscommunication. The two flights used the same doorway at the airport.
Kamens says the number of people who failed to do their jobs is 'mindboggling.'"
$3.4M for a 13 foot tunnel for turtles!!!
Report Cites Wasteful Stimulus Spending
Vice President Biden Contests Report Listing 100 Stimulus Projects Coburn Considers Dubious
By JONATHAN KARL
June 16, 2009
Why did the turtle cross the road? Because there was no tunnel for him to go through, but thanks to $3.4 million in stimulus money for an "eco tunnel" in Florida, that's about to change.
The 13-foot tunnel under U.S. Rte. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla., -- you might call it the Turtle Tunnel because it primarily designed for turtles that are frequently killed as they cross the highway -- is one of 100 stimulus projects targeted in a report released Tuesday by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a leading critic of the $787 billion stimulus plan passed by Congress in February. Coburn's report, entitled "The Stimulus: A Second Opinion," lists 100 stimulus projects the senator considers dubious.
But the stimulus watchdogs in Vice President Biden's office are pushing back hard, arguing that Coburn's report is poorly researched, littered with errors and includes several projects that will never be funded with stimulus dollars.
"We have approved more than 20,000 Recovery Act projects to get America's economy moving again," said Ed Deseve, director of the White House's Recovery Office, which is tracking stimulus spending. "The program is, overall, a great success. With 20,000 projects approved, there are bound to be some mistakes -- when we find them, we have been transparent about it, and worked on a bipartisan basis to shut them down immediately."
The Turtle Tunnel project, however, seems to be moving forward. The Florida Department of Transportation has been awarded $3.4 million to build the tunnel.
Local officials defend it as necessary because so-many wild animals -- including alligators, otters, lizards and turtles -- have been killed crossing U.S. Rte. 27 in Jackson Lake that the road killing has become hazardous to both animals and drivers.
Coburn Report Lists Skylights, Marijuana Analysis
Here are some other projects highlighted by Coburn that, as of now, appear to be going forward:
$2.2 million to put skylights in a state-run liquor warehouse in Montana. It's called "daylighting." Local officials say it's a green energy project that will eventually save money by cutting down electricity costs at the warehouse.
The towns of Union, N.Y., and Altoona, Pa., are getting hundreds of thousands of dollars for homeless programs, though both towns say they don't have any homeless people.
The town of Washington, N.C., is using $40,000 in stimulus money to pay for a "project-funding manager" whose primary job will be to drum up more stimulus money. Washington State University is getting $148,438 to analyze "the use of marijuana in conjunction with medications like morphine."
Vice President Biden's office says the administration has acted aggressively to stop wasteful projects before they get started. For example, Coburn's report also highlights a $1.15 million project to build a guard rail around remote Optima Lake in Oklahoma, which barely has any water. The White House, however, says that project was stopped last week, shortly after Coburn raised questions about it with the Army Corps of Engineers.
It is unclear whether any of the other projects highlighted by Coburn will be now be defended, but Coburn's report also included some projects that were never funded in the first place, including money to repair a steam room at a fitness center on Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. In fact, the administration says this proposal was never part of the stimulus and had been rejected by the Department of Defense.
Vice President Biden Contests Report Listing 100 Stimulus Projects Coburn Considers Dubious
By JONATHAN KARL
June 16, 2009
Why did the turtle cross the road? Because there was no tunnel for him to go through, but thanks to $3.4 million in stimulus money for an "eco tunnel" in Florida, that's about to change.
The 13-foot tunnel under U.S. Rte. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla., -- you might call it the Turtle Tunnel because it primarily designed for turtles that are frequently killed as they cross the highway -- is one of 100 stimulus projects targeted in a report released Tuesday by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a leading critic of the $787 billion stimulus plan passed by Congress in February. Coburn's report, entitled "The Stimulus: A Second Opinion," lists 100 stimulus projects the senator considers dubious.
But the stimulus watchdogs in Vice President Biden's office are pushing back hard, arguing that Coburn's report is poorly researched, littered with errors and includes several projects that will never be funded with stimulus dollars.
"We have approved more than 20,000 Recovery Act projects to get America's economy moving again," said Ed Deseve, director of the White House's Recovery Office, which is tracking stimulus spending. "The program is, overall, a great success. With 20,000 projects approved, there are bound to be some mistakes -- when we find them, we have been transparent about it, and worked on a bipartisan basis to shut them down immediately."
The Turtle Tunnel project, however, seems to be moving forward. The Florida Department of Transportation has been awarded $3.4 million to build the tunnel.
Local officials defend it as necessary because so-many wild animals -- including alligators, otters, lizards and turtles -- have been killed crossing U.S. Rte. 27 in Jackson Lake that the road killing has become hazardous to both animals and drivers.
Coburn Report Lists Skylights, Marijuana Analysis
Here are some other projects highlighted by Coburn that, as of now, appear to be going forward:
$2.2 million to put skylights in a state-run liquor warehouse in Montana. It's called "daylighting." Local officials say it's a green energy project that will eventually save money by cutting down electricity costs at the warehouse.
The towns of Union, N.Y., and Altoona, Pa., are getting hundreds of thousands of dollars for homeless programs, though both towns say they don't have any homeless people.
The town of Washington, N.C., is using $40,000 in stimulus money to pay for a "project-funding manager" whose primary job will be to drum up more stimulus money. Washington State University is getting $148,438 to analyze "the use of marijuana in conjunction with medications like morphine."
Vice President Biden's office says the administration has acted aggressively to stop wasteful projects before they get started. For example, Coburn's report also highlights a $1.15 million project to build a guard rail around remote Optima Lake in Oklahoma, which barely has any water. The White House, however, says that project was stopped last week, shortly after Coburn raised questions about it with the Army Corps of Engineers.
It is unclear whether any of the other projects highlighted by Coburn will be now be defended, but Coburn's report also included some projects that were never funded in the first place, including money to repair a steam room at a fitness center on Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. In fact, the administration says this proposal was never part of the stimulus and had been rejected by the Department of Defense.
Gives a whole new meaning to Scouting
Scout's Dishonor - June 16, 2009
Florida campers charged with forcing 12-year-old boy to drink urine
JUNE 16--A Florida boy attending Boy Scout camp was forced to drink urine after he was accused of using a racial slur, according to police.
The boy, 12, was accosted Friday by a quartet of attackers who pushed him to the ground and placed duct tape over his mouth. According to the below Putnam County Sheriff's Office report, the child told cops that he was "blamed for calling a black boy a nigger," which the boy denied.
The attack, which occurred at Camp Shands in Hawthorne, resulted in the arrest of three minors and Joseph Reid, a 21-year-old volunteer. The victim told investigators that he was lured into the woods, where he was set upon by the quartet. The child's attackers said that "they were going to teach him a lesson and he was either going to drink a bottle of urine, or they were going to beat him up," according to the report. One assailant took the tape off the Boy Scout's mouth "and poured urine down his throat." Police recovered two bottles of urine and pieces of duct tape that were apparently used during the attack.
Reid and the three minors were charged with kidnapping and aggravated child abuse, both felonies.
Florida campers charged with forcing 12-year-old boy to drink urine
JUNE 16--A Florida boy attending Boy Scout camp was forced to drink urine after he was accused of using a racial slur, according to police.
The boy, 12, was accosted Friday by a quartet of attackers who pushed him to the ground and placed duct tape over his mouth. According to the below Putnam County Sheriff's Office report, the child told cops that he was "blamed for calling a black boy a nigger," which the boy denied.
The attack, which occurred at Camp Shands in Hawthorne, resulted in the arrest of three minors and Joseph Reid, a 21-year-old volunteer. The victim told investigators that he was lured into the woods, where he was set upon by the quartet. The child's attackers said that "they were going to teach him a lesson and he was either going to drink a bottle of urine, or they were going to beat him up," according to the report. One assailant took the tape off the Boy Scout's mouth "and poured urine down his throat." Police recovered two bottles of urine and pieces of duct tape that were apparently used during the attack.
Reid and the three minors were charged with kidnapping and aggravated child abuse, both felonies.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Dyno-Rod Rescue Puppy From Drain
Dyno-Rod Rescue Puppy From Drain
Click the above link to visit the Dyn0-Rod website to see the amazing rescue of this 1 week old puppy!!
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When the Fire Brigade or the RSPCA can’t help who do you call? – Dyno Rod of course!
Click the above link to visit the Dyn0-Rod website to see the amazing rescue of this 1 week old puppy!!
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When the Fire Brigade or the RSPCA can’t help who do you call? – Dyno Rod of course!
Yesterday Dyno-Rod (BC Services) took a call from a very distressed lady from North London saying “Please help me, I don’t know what to do, the fire brigade are here and they can’t do it”.
The call was taken by Emma in BC Services Wembley offices who calmed the lady down and managed to establish that a week old puppy had accidentally been flushed down the toilet and was now stuck in the drains.
The Fire Brigade and the RSPCA had been on site for around 3 hours but they could not rescue the tiny puppy so of course the next thing to do was to call Dyno Rod for help.
Local Dyno Rod Operations Manager, Mark, soon took charge of the rescue operation. Quick thinking Mark, suggested that Dyno Rods CCTV technology could be used to find out exactly where the puppy was stuck within the drainage system and that the neighbours needed to be told not to flush any toilets to ensure the puppy wasn’t flushed into the main sewer. “The lady was very concerned” said Mark “she was worried about the puppy and about the cost of the rescue”. Mark was able to reassure her that there would not be a charge from Dyno Rod. “All we were concerned about was getting the puppy out alive” he added.
Dyno-Rod engineer Will Craig was at the scene a few minutes later to put the plan into action. CCTV was used to find the puppy and then the equipment was used to gently push him through the drainage system to the next manhole where a fireman was waiting to rescue him.
The puppy has now been checked over by the local vet and remarkably is unhurt and recovering well. As a tribute to the rescue team he has been named Dyno!
The Trials Of Paying For Health Care In A Recession : NPR
With health care reform back on Washington's agenda, NPR went to one locale to see how the big national issues play out there. In Howard County, Md., near Baltimore, we spoke with patients, doctors, administrators and employers about the costs of health care and access to the health care system.
Howard County is not typical: It's rich. It's progressive. The Maryland state government sets hospital fees. The local hospital is part of the elite Johns Hopkins system. And last year, the county itself launched its own program for the uninsured. If health care reform can work anywhere, it should work here.
But like the rest the country, Howard County is facing the impact of the recession: Employers have to cut back on benefits, so employees cut back on their coverage.
The Recession
Herb Huston, 61, was in a semiprivate room at Howard County General last month. Until that week, he had seldom seen the inside of a hospital. He was in the hospital for the first time in 1956 for a tonsillectomy and again in 1973 for injuries from an auto accident.
Herb worked as a computer programmer from the late 1960s until 2005 on everything from huge mainframe computers to personal computers and "quite a few things in between," he says.
Huston says he always had health insurance and contributed premiums for years but hardly ever filed claims against it.
Then, in his late 50s, Huston was laid off. For 18 months, he was covered by COBRA. But then his COBRA expired. Huston knew that he needed another health insurance policy.
"I was beginning to search around for a replacement plan when the current economic crisis hit," he says. "And instead of taking on new expenses, I had to desperately trim back my already existing expenses. The luckiest item for me was that I actually paid off my mortgage in August of last year."
The unluckiest was what happened one Saturday night in May. Huston says he was home and took an after-dinner nap. He awoke at 10 p.m. with "pretty acute chest pains."
He knew it was a heart attack. He called 911 and was rushed to the hospital, where he received a cardiac catheterization. Three days later, he was in good spirits, completely satisfied with his treatment and trying not to think about the cost, which should easily exceed $50,000 — a cost he is now responsible for.
"The various insurers for my employer got a real bargain from me," Huston says.
But that doesn't matter: Huston is uninsured. He is neither old enough for Medicare nor poor enough for Medicaid.
"And the thing is, this is going to be continuing," he says. "I've gone from someone who had very little interaction with the medical profession to the complete opposite."
All Expenses Covered
On the other hand, 62-year-old Judy Weeter of Ellicott City, Md., was also treated at Howard. The divorced mother of one grown child was diagnosed with breast cancer in February.
"I pay no premium, none. I'm one of the few fortunates — that is one of the benefits of where I work," says Weeter, who is an executive assistant for a search firm that places government contractors. "I have no monthly copayments for my health insurance. That was a marvelous plus of this job I have."
At Maryland Oncology, Weeter was getting her second chemotherapy treatment. She already had a lumpectomy and she expects radiation treatments after the chemo. And the cost to her, she says, will probably be nothing other than her $20 copays.
"I'm starting to get those reports back from my health insurance and I'm seeing the many many many many thousands of dollars being spent on me and I've had one treatment and two surgeries," Weeter says. "It's incredible. I'm blessed. I know it."
Most people in Howard County are somewhere between Weeter's situation at the top of the scale with perfect insurance coverage and Huston's at the other end with no coverage at all. But because of the recession, a lot of people have reduced their coverage.
The Burden Of Costs
Linda Faggio administers the oncology practice where Weeter gets chemo. She says she is seeing an increasing number of patients who are underinsured and can't afford adequate coverage.
"The burden of the cost of that is now their own," Faggio says. "They may have a $5,000 or $10,000 deductible and that's the only way they afford coverage at all. No one anticipates that they're going to be diagnosed with cancer. It's not unusual to have a dose of chemotherapy being several thousand dollars a dose up to even $10,000 a dose."
Often those patients have reduced their coverage because their employers have reduced their contributions.
Lisa Jolles, a Howard County insurance broker, says her clients — the employers — have typically experienced huge losses of business in the recession.
"A lot of them, their thinking is, 'The employee may have to pay more for the health plan, but they still have a job,' " Jolles says.
One of her clients is Lin Eagan, who employs 15 people at Lakeview Title in Columbia, Md. They do mortgage closings. There's been a rare bright spot in the business lately — homeowners are refinancing en masse, so there are closings once again.
But when the residential real estate crashed, Eagan cut her staff, and she went from paying 100 percent of her employees' health insurance to a 50-50 split. There are also higher deductibles that are covered in part by health savings accounts.
"In 2008 we didn't know what hit us, so of course we needed to make adjustments for the economy," Eagan says. "Every business did. Obviously we needed to look at cuts in the payroll. In our whole budget, health care was a big number."
For a family of four, Eagan says she guesses it cost $1,100 a month, or about $13,000 a year. For 25 employees, paying 100 percent was a lot of money.
"That's a number that becomes unsustainable especially when the economy starts to contract," she says.
Small businesses like Eagan's have been making similar decisions in Howard County and all over the country. Workers who are laid off get COBRA and without a new job could end up uninsured. But workers who keep their jobs face steeply increased premiums as the burden shifts to them, and they take cheaper options and risk being underinsured.
Howard County is not typical: It's rich. It's progressive. The Maryland state government sets hospital fees. The local hospital is part of the elite Johns Hopkins system. And last year, the county itself launched its own program for the uninsured. If health care reform can work anywhere, it should work here.
But like the rest the country, Howard County is facing the impact of the recession: Employers have to cut back on benefits, so employees cut back on their coverage.
The Recession
Herb Huston, 61, was in a semiprivate room at Howard County General last month. Until that week, he had seldom seen the inside of a hospital. He was in the hospital for the first time in 1956 for a tonsillectomy and again in 1973 for injuries from an auto accident.
Herb worked as a computer programmer from the late 1960s until 2005 on everything from huge mainframe computers to personal computers and "quite a few things in between," he says.
Huston says he always had health insurance and contributed premiums for years but hardly ever filed claims against it.
Then, in his late 50s, Huston was laid off. For 18 months, he was covered by COBRA. But then his COBRA expired. Huston knew that he needed another health insurance policy.
"I was beginning to search around for a replacement plan when the current economic crisis hit," he says. "And instead of taking on new expenses, I had to desperately trim back my already existing expenses. The luckiest item for me was that I actually paid off my mortgage in August of last year."
The unluckiest was what happened one Saturday night in May. Huston says he was home and took an after-dinner nap. He awoke at 10 p.m. with "pretty acute chest pains."
He knew it was a heart attack. He called 911 and was rushed to the hospital, where he received a cardiac catheterization. Three days later, he was in good spirits, completely satisfied with his treatment and trying not to think about the cost, which should easily exceed $50,000 — a cost he is now responsible for.
"The various insurers for my employer got a real bargain from me," Huston says.
But that doesn't matter: Huston is uninsured. He is neither old enough for Medicare nor poor enough for Medicaid.
"And the thing is, this is going to be continuing," he says. "I've gone from someone who had very little interaction with the medical profession to the complete opposite."
All Expenses Covered
On the other hand, 62-year-old Judy Weeter of Ellicott City, Md., was also treated at Howard. The divorced mother of one grown child was diagnosed with breast cancer in February.
"I pay no premium, none. I'm one of the few fortunates — that is one of the benefits of where I work," says Weeter, who is an executive assistant for a search firm that places government contractors. "I have no monthly copayments for my health insurance. That was a marvelous plus of this job I have."
At Maryland Oncology, Weeter was getting her second chemotherapy treatment. She already had a lumpectomy and she expects radiation treatments after the chemo. And the cost to her, she says, will probably be nothing other than her $20 copays.
"I'm starting to get those reports back from my health insurance and I'm seeing the many many many many thousands of dollars being spent on me and I've had one treatment and two surgeries," Weeter says. "It's incredible. I'm blessed. I know it."
Most people in Howard County are somewhere between Weeter's situation at the top of the scale with perfect insurance coverage and Huston's at the other end with no coverage at all. But because of the recession, a lot of people have reduced their coverage.
The Burden Of Costs
Linda Faggio administers the oncology practice where Weeter gets chemo. She says she is seeing an increasing number of patients who are underinsured and can't afford adequate coverage.
"The burden of the cost of that is now their own," Faggio says. "They may have a $5,000 or $10,000 deductible and that's the only way they afford coverage at all. No one anticipates that they're going to be diagnosed with cancer. It's not unusual to have a dose of chemotherapy being several thousand dollars a dose up to even $10,000 a dose."
Often those patients have reduced their coverage because their employers have reduced their contributions.
Lisa Jolles, a Howard County insurance broker, says her clients — the employers — have typically experienced huge losses of business in the recession.
"A lot of them, their thinking is, 'The employee may have to pay more for the health plan, but they still have a job,' " Jolles says.
One of her clients is Lin Eagan, who employs 15 people at Lakeview Title in Columbia, Md. They do mortgage closings. There's been a rare bright spot in the business lately — homeowners are refinancing en masse, so there are closings once again.
But when the residential real estate crashed, Eagan cut her staff, and she went from paying 100 percent of her employees' health insurance to a 50-50 split. There are also higher deductibles that are covered in part by health savings accounts.
"In 2008 we didn't know what hit us, so of course we needed to make adjustments for the economy," Eagan says. "Every business did. Obviously we needed to look at cuts in the payroll. In our whole budget, health care was a big number."
For a family of four, Eagan says she guesses it cost $1,100 a month, or about $13,000 a year. For 25 employees, paying 100 percent was a lot of money.
"That's a number that becomes unsustainable especially when the economy starts to contract," she says.
Small businesses like Eagan's have been making similar decisions in Howard County and all over the country. Workers who are laid off get COBRA and without a new job could end up uninsured. But workers who keep their jobs face steeply increased premiums as the burden shifts to them, and they take cheaper options and risk being underinsured.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Associated Press: Crosby dismisses Red Wings handshake flap
He knows that handshaking goes on after the finals - he was too busy getting his ungrateful ass kissed!!
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby isn't apologizing for unintentionally failing to shake hands with some Detroit players after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, saying he didn't realize the Red Wings were leaving the ice before he joined the handshake line.
During a chaotic postgame scene on the crowded Joe Louis Arena ice following Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory on Friday, Crosby was ushered to several live TV interviews by NHL personnel, hugged some teammates and was handed the Stanley Cup by commissioner Gary Bettman.
Crosby was celebrating when Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom, alternate captain Kris Draper and some other key Red Wings players went to their dressing room. Crosby estimates he shook hands with about half the team, including goalie Chris Osgood and coach Mike Babcock, who congratulated him on his leadership ability.
That wasn't enough to satisfy Draper, who told The Associated Press that "Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand. That's ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that!"
Crosby finds any suggestion that he would intentionally avoid shaking hands nonsensical, saying, "It's the easiest thing in the world to shake hands after you win."
After losing is different, as the Penguins experienced a year ago against Detroit, so Crosby understands why some Red Wings players quickly shook hands and left before the Penguins' postgame celebration began.
"I really don't need to talk to anyone from Detroit about it," Crosby said Sunday. "I made the attempt to go shake hands. I've been on that side of things, too, I know it's not easy, waiting around. I just won the Stanley Cup, and I think I have the right to celebrate with my teammates.
"On their side of things, I understand if they don't want to wait around."
At 21, Crosby is the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup, but he routinely shows an understanding of NHL traditions and it would be out of character for him to snub any such ritual.
"I had no intentions of trying to skip guys and not shake their hands," Crosby said. "I think that was a pretty unreasonable comment. The guys I shook their hands with, they realized I made the attempt. If I could shake half their team's hands, I'm sure the other half wasn't too far behind. I don't know what happened there.
"I have no regrets. I've been on both sides of it, and it's not fun being on the losing end. But it doesn't change anything. You still shake hands no matter what."
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby isn't apologizing for unintentionally failing to shake hands with some Detroit players after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, saying he didn't realize the Red Wings were leaving the ice before he joined the handshake line.
During a chaotic postgame scene on the crowded Joe Louis Arena ice following Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory on Friday, Crosby was ushered to several live TV interviews by NHL personnel, hugged some teammates and was handed the Stanley Cup by commissioner Gary Bettman.
Crosby was celebrating when Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom, alternate captain Kris Draper and some other key Red Wings players went to their dressing room. Crosby estimates he shook hands with about half the team, including goalie Chris Osgood and coach Mike Babcock, who congratulated him on his leadership ability.
That wasn't enough to satisfy Draper, who told The Associated Press that "Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand. That's ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that!"
Crosby finds any suggestion that he would intentionally avoid shaking hands nonsensical, saying, "It's the easiest thing in the world to shake hands after you win."
After losing is different, as the Penguins experienced a year ago against Detroit, so Crosby understands why some Red Wings players quickly shook hands and left before the Penguins' postgame celebration began.
"I really don't need to talk to anyone from Detroit about it," Crosby said Sunday. "I made the attempt to go shake hands. I've been on that side of things, too, I know it's not easy, waiting around. I just won the Stanley Cup, and I think I have the right to celebrate with my teammates.
"On their side of things, I understand if they don't want to wait around."
At 21, Crosby is the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup, but he routinely shows an understanding of NHL traditions and it would be out of character for him to snub any such ritual.
"I had no intentions of trying to skip guys and not shake their hands," Crosby said. "I think that was a pretty unreasonable comment. The guys I shook their hands with, they realized I made the attempt. If I could shake half their team's hands, I'm sure the other half wasn't too far behind. I don't know what happened there.
"I have no regrets. I've been on both sides of it, and it's not fun being on the losing end. But it doesn't change anything. You still shake hands no matter what."
CIA head says Cheney almost wishing US be attacked - Yahoo! News
Smooth move ex-lax!!!!
WASHINGTON – CIA Director Leon Panetta says former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration's approach to terrorism almost suggests "he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point."
Panetta told The New Yorker for an article in its June 22 issue that Cheney "smells some blood in the water" on the issue of national security.
Cheney has said in several interviews that he thinks Obama is making the U.S. less safe. He has been critical of Obama for ordering the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, halting enhanced
interrogations of suspected terrorists and reversing other Bush administration initiatives he says helped to prevent attacks on the U.S.
Last month the former vice president offered a withering critique of Obama's policies and a defense of the Bush administration on the same day that Obama made a major speech about national security.
Panetta said of Cheney's remarks: "It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics."
Asked if he agreed with Panetta, Vice President Joe Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he wouldn't question the motive behind Cheney's criticism.
"I think Dick Cheney's judgment about how to secure America is faulty," Biden said. "I think our judgment is correct."
WASHINGTON – CIA Director Leon Panetta says former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration's approach to terrorism almost suggests "he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point."
Panetta told The New Yorker for an article in its June 22 issue that Cheney "smells some blood in the water" on the issue of national security.
Cheney has said in several interviews that he thinks Obama is making the U.S. less safe. He has been critical of Obama for ordering the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, halting enhanced
interrogations of suspected terrorists and reversing other Bush administration initiatives he says helped to prevent attacks on the U.S.
Last month the former vice president offered a withering critique of Obama's policies and a defense of the Bush administration on the same day that Obama made a major speech about national security.
Panetta said of Cheney's remarks: "It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics."
Asked if he agreed with Panetta, Vice President Joe Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he wouldn't question the motive behind Cheney's criticism.
"I think Dick Cheney's judgment about how to secure America is faulty," Biden said. "I think our judgment is correct."
Friday, June 12, 2009
Get a life Sarah Palin
Comics Crack Wise on Palin's Pregnant Daughter - ABC News
Jokes about your family are old news. Keep them home - not pregnant and quit having your tween daughter dressing like a 25 year old!!!!
Jokes about your family are old news. Keep them home - not pregnant and quit having your tween daughter dressing like a 25 year old!!!!
Bristol Palin, Like Jamie Lynn Spears Before Her, Is the Punch Line Du Jour
Teen pregnancy: If you can't prevent it, you might as well make it a punch line.
At least, that seems to be the country's current comic mantra.
Pundits from all over the pop culture world are sounding off on the pregnancy of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's unwed daughter.
(AP Photos)Pundits from all over the pop culture world are sounding off on the pregnancy of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's unwed daughter, and just as Jamie Lynn Spears was raked over the coals when she was with child, Bristol Palin's become the butt of a lot of jokes. (Spears sent her a message of solidarity along with a gift of $60 burp cloths: "Dear Bristol, Hang in there! XXOO, Jamie Lynn Spears.")
Below, a roundup of comedians, celebrities and talking heads opining on the younger Palin's pregnancy:
Kathy Griffin
"I think it's great the potential vice president basically has Jamie Lynn Spears as a daughter. If it were up to me I'd have Jamie Lynn Spears as vice president."
Related
"Sarah Palin talks about creationism. Well there's a lot of creationism going on in Bristol's tummy. She makes the Bush twins look like nuns. It was shocking when they were running around with beer in their hands. But she's made it trendy to be a pregnant teenager. I hope she has a really nice trailer park in Alaska."
"I might switch to the Republican Party just for the comedic material. I've got four shows coming up this weekend; I've got to send the Palins a muffin basket for everything they've given me."
"The only thing that would top this is if Bristol Palin were dating Samantha Ronson." -- ABCNews.com, 9/4/08.
Jay Leno
"Gov. Palin announced over the weekend that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. And you thought John Edwards was in trouble before! Now he has really done it." -- "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," 9/2/08
Craig Ferguson
"I don't think that a young lady getting pregnant should even be news, unless John Edwards is the father. Then that is kinda news." -- "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson," 9/2/08
David Letterman
"Here's good news, ladies and gentlemen: The Palin family crisis that we were talking about on Sunday and Monday, that has been solved now and, today, the baby is being adopted by Angelina Jolie." -- "The Late Show With David Letterman," 9/2/08
Conan O'Brien
"The theme for tonight's Republican convention is 'Who is John McCain' … Tomorrow night's theme is, `Who forgot to check if the vice president's daughter is pregnant?"' -- "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," 9/2/08
Related
Jimmy Kimmel
"Remember when the Republicans compared Barack Obama to Britney Spears? Now they've got their own Jamie Lynn Spears." -- "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," 9/2/08
Joan Rivers
"[Sarah Palin's] against premarital sex -- talk to her daughter. She's against abortion. She's against women's choice. She's against everything I stand for. … It's all right because God forgave [daughter Bristol.] God should have handed her a condom." -- Sky News, 9/3/08
Glen Beck
"I am white trash. And a lot of people are white trash, and hold their family together the best they can. And we're looking for somebody who's real, who's like us, who also has the courage to stand up, stand true to their convictions, and take on the Beltway robots." -- CNN, 9/2/08
Judge promises ruling on Coyotes' relocation issue to Hamilton, Ontario
PHOENIX (AP)—The issue of how much Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie should pay the NHL to move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario, will not be the subject of another hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Judge Redfield T. Baum said Thursday that he will deal with the fee issue as part of his ruling resulting from a 6 1/2 -hour relocation hearing held Tuesday.
Baum made the comment during a brief hearing Thursday requested by the Salt River Project utility for assurances that it would be paid for future electric service to the franchise.
Baum had indicated he might hold a separate hearing on the fee issue. The judge said Tuesday that he believes the NHL is entitled to a fee, leading to widespread speculation of how big it might be.
The league has indicated it would seek a relocation fee as well as an indemnity fee to pay the franchises in
Toronto and Buffalo for lost territory, a number that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
However, the court would have to determine any fee as fair.
Hamilton is just down the road from Toronto, where the Maples Leafs are considered the most valuable franchise in the NHL. Forbes magazine estimated the Maple Leafs’ worth at $448 million. The magazine said the Coyotes are the league’s least-valuable franchise at about $142 million.
Baum has made it clear that a franchise in Hamilton is more valuable than a franchise in Arizona.
Balsillie is offering $212.5 million for the Coyotes, contingent on moving the team. Any fee to the league would be separate from that offer.
Just when Baum will rule on the crucial relocation issue was uncertain. Attorneys for Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes filed an emergency motion Thursday seeking a hearing on the assumption of the contracts of 50 Phoenix players.
“It is absolutely imperative that the proposed sale, or a transaction with another party, close as soon as possible,” the motion said.
Moyes want the contract assumption hearing to be held June 22, the same day Balsillie wants to get an order from the judge allowing him to purchase the team. Baum said Tuesday he might go along with the June 22 purchase date to force the NHL to come up with a figure for the relocation fee.
Under Moyes’ proposal, Balsillie’s company, PSE Sports, would assume the player contracts when it takes over ownership. The team currently is being funded by the NHL.
If the fee is too big, Balsillie might balk and the NHL will get its way in court. The league says it has four prospective buyers who would keep the bankrupt team in Arizona, where it has lost more than $300 million since moving from Winnipeg in 1996.
The league says it will fund the Coyotes in Arizona for the coming season while the ownership issue is worked out.
The NHL has said that any new owner in Arizona would need to rework the lease agreement with the city of Glendale. That could be a politically difficult goal, since the city council would have to approve any changes.
The conservative Goldwater Institute, which strongly opposes government subsidies for private enterprise, has indicated it is closely watching the Glendale situation.
Balsillie says the sale must be completed by the end of June or he will withdraw his offer.
Judge Redfield T. Baum said Thursday that he will deal with the fee issue as part of his ruling resulting from a 6 1/2 -hour relocation hearing held Tuesday.
Baum made the comment during a brief hearing Thursday requested by the Salt River Project utility for assurances that it would be paid for future electric service to the franchise.
Baum had indicated he might hold a separate hearing on the fee issue. The judge said Tuesday that he believes the NHL is entitled to a fee, leading to widespread speculation of how big it might be.
The league has indicated it would seek a relocation fee as well as an indemnity fee to pay the franchises in
Toronto and Buffalo for lost territory, a number that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
However, the court would have to determine any fee as fair.
Hamilton is just down the road from Toronto, where the Maples Leafs are considered the most valuable franchise in the NHL. Forbes magazine estimated the Maple Leafs’ worth at $448 million. The magazine said the Coyotes are the league’s least-valuable franchise at about $142 million.
Baum has made it clear that a franchise in Hamilton is more valuable than a franchise in Arizona.
Balsillie is offering $212.5 million for the Coyotes, contingent on moving the team. Any fee to the league would be separate from that offer.
Just when Baum will rule on the crucial relocation issue was uncertain. Attorneys for Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes filed an emergency motion Thursday seeking a hearing on the assumption of the contracts of 50 Phoenix players.
“It is absolutely imperative that the proposed sale, or a transaction with another party, close as soon as possible,” the motion said.
Moyes want the contract assumption hearing to be held June 22, the same day Balsillie wants to get an order from the judge allowing him to purchase the team. Baum said Tuesday he might go along with the June 22 purchase date to force the NHL to come up with a figure for the relocation fee.
Under Moyes’ proposal, Balsillie’s company, PSE Sports, would assume the player contracts when it takes over ownership. The team currently is being funded by the NHL.
If the fee is too big, Balsillie might balk and the NHL will get its way in court. The league says it has four prospective buyers who would keep the bankrupt team in Arizona, where it has lost more than $300 million since moving from Winnipeg in 1996.
The league says it will fund the Coyotes in Arizona for the coming season while the ownership issue is worked out.
The NHL has said that any new owner in Arizona would need to rework the lease agreement with the city of Glendale. That could be a politically difficult goal, since the city council would have to approve any changes.
The conservative Goldwater Institute, which strongly opposes government subsidies for private enterprise, has indicated it is closely watching the Glendale situation.
Balsillie says the sale must be completed by the end of June or he will withdraw his offer.
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