2

2/24/2012 9:07:09 AM

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/blog/2012/02/tangling-with-teleportation/

Quote :

"Tangling with Teleportation Will we ever realize the sci-fi dream of human teleportation? Physicists have already successfully teleported tiny objects. (See Beam Me Up, Schrödinger for more on the mechanics of quantum teleportation.) What will it take to extend the technique to a living, breathing human being? Quantum teleportation is possible because of two quantum phenomena that are utterly foreign to our everyday experience: entanglement and superposition. Entanglement is the connection that links the quantum states of two particles, even when they are separated: The two particles can be described only by their joint properties. Though there is no classical analogue for entanglement, in his book Dance of the Photons Zeilinger imagined how entanglement might work if it could be applied to a pair of ordinary dice instead of a pair of subatomic particles: “The science fiction Quantum Entanglement Generator produces pairs of entangled dice. These dice do not show any number before they are observed.” In other words, they are in a superposition of states where there is an equal chance of producing any number between one and six. “When one die is observed, it randomly chooses to show a number of dots. Then, the other distant die instantly shows the same number.” This works no matter how far apart the dice are. They can be sitting beside each other or on opposite ends of the universe. In either case, when the particle over here is measured to be in one of many possible states, then we can infer the state of the particle over there, even though no energy, no mass, and no information travels between A and B when the first one is observed. The state of particle B simply is what it is. The difficult concept is that B’s state corresponds with the state of the measured particle A. Entanglement is so confounding that in the early days of quantum theory, when entanglement was supported only by thought experiments and math on paper, Einstein famously derided it as “spooky action at a distance.” Today, though, entanglement has been thoroughly tested and verified. In fact, entangling particles isn’t even the hard part: For physicists, the most difficult task is maintaining the entanglement. An unexpected particle from the surrounding environment—something as insubstantial as a photon—can jostle one of the entangled particles, changing its quantum state. These interactions must be carefully controlled or else this fragile connection will be broken. If entanglement is one gear in the quantum machinery of teleportation, the second critical gear is superposition. Remember the thought experiment about Schrödinger’s cat? A cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are all placed in a sealed box. If the source decays and emits a particle, then the flask breaks and the cat dies. While the box is closed, we can’t know whether the cat is living or dead. Moreover, the cat can be considered both alive and dead until the box is opened: The cat will stay in a superposition of the two states until we look in the box and observe that the cat is either alive or dead. Schrödinger never tried this on a real cat—in fact, he drew up the thought experiment just to demonstrate the apparently preposterous implications of quantum theory—but today scientists have demonstrated that superposition is real using systems that are increasingly large (albeit still much smaller than a cat). In 2010, a group of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara demonstrated superposition in a tiny mechanical resonator—like a tuning fork, it vibrates at a characteristic frequency, but just like the cat it doesn’t exist in a single position until measured. Last year, another group of researchers demonstrated quantum superposition in systems of as many as 430 atoms. Before superposition and entanglement appear in a human-scale teleporter, if ever, they will be harnessed for multiple applications in computing. Quantum cryptography uses entanglement to encode messages and detect eavesdropping. Because observation perturbs entanglement, eavesdropping destroys information carried by entangled particles. And if two people each receive entangled particles, they can generate an entirely secure key. Quantum cryptography is an active area of research and some systems are already on the market. Quantum mechanical superposition and entanglement could also be exploited to make faster and more powerful computers that store information in quantum states, known as “qubits,” instead of traditional electronic bits. Quantum computers could solve problems that are intractable for today’s computers. Whether it’s possible to make a working quantum computer is still in question, but roughly two dozen research groups around the world are avidly investigating methods and architectures. So we know how to teleport one particle. But what if we want to make like Captain Kirk and teleport an entire human being? Remember that we wouldn’t be moving Kirk’s molecules from one place to another. He would interact with a suite of previously-entangled particles, and when we read the quantum state we would destroy the complex quantum information that makes his molecules into him while instantly providing the information required to recreate his quantum state from other atoms in a distant location. Quantum mechanics doesn’t forbid it. The rules of quantum mechanics still apply whether you’re talking about a system of two particles or human being made of 1027 atoms. “The size doesn’t matter in and of itself,” says Andrew Cleland, a physicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Macroscopic systems like superconductors and Bose-Einstein condensates show quantum effects while arbitrarily large. From an engineering standpoint, though, teleporting larger objects becomes an increasingly tough problem. Cleland comments, “Taking any object and putting it in a quantum state is hard. Two is multiply hard.” Maintaining entanglement between particle requires isolating them from interactions that would break their entanglement. We don’t want Captain Kirk to end up like The Fly, so we need to keep the particles absolutely isolated. What if we start with something simpler: Instead of teleporting a person, can we teleport a much smaller living thing—like a virus? In 2009, Oriol Romero-Isart of the Max-Planck-Institut fur Quantenoptik in Germany and his colleagues proposed just such an experiment. Using current technology, it should be possible to demonstrate superposition in a virus, they argued. They didn’t try it, but laid out a procedure: First, store the virus in a vacuum to reduce interactions with the environment, and then cool it to its quantum ground state before pumping it with enough laser light to create a superposition of two different energy states. This is possible in theory because some viruses can survive cold and vacuum. But humans are hot, and that thermal energy is a problem. “We have quadrillions of quantum states superimposed at the same time, dynamically changing,” says Cleland. Not only are we hot, but we interact strongly with our environment: We touch the ground, we breathe. Ironically, our need to interact with our environment, our sheer physicality, could come between us and the dream of human teleportation. "

2/24/2012 9:21:09 AM

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46504285/ns/today-good_news/#.T0eoKHnD_kw

Quote :

"Cat named Pudding rescues owner hours after his adoption Pudding the cat is big. He is orange. He is laid-back. And he’s a lifesaver. Just ask Amy Jung. The 36-year-old Wisconsin resident credits 21-pound Pudding with saving her from the grip of diabetic seizure mere hours after she adopted him from a local animal shelter. “If something or someone hadn’t pulled me out of that, I wouldn’t be here,” Jung told the Green Bay Press-Gazette newspaper. Here’s what happened: On Feb. 8, Jung visited the Door County Humane Society with her son, Ethan. She had no intention of adopting a pet; she and her son just wanted to play with the cats, who are allowed to roam free at the no-kill shelter. But, as can happen with felines and humans, Pudding and Jung felt a strong and immediate connection. “He just gravitated to her,” Door County Humane Society Executive Director Carrie Counihan told TODAY.com. Jung made an on-the-spot decision to bring Pudding home. Always a calm and relaxed guy, Pudding took to his new digs right away, displaying not a hint of skittishness on his first day there. That evening Jung, who has been living with diabetes since the age of 4, went to bed at about 9:30 p.m. About 90 minutes later, she started to have a diabetic seizure. That’s when, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, “Pudding planted his weight on her chest and, when he could not wake her, began swatting her face and biting her nose.” Jung came to her senses enough to yell out to her son for assistance. At that point, Pudding jumped up onto Ethan’s bed and startled him into action. He immediately rushed to get his mom the help she needed. “Her doctor said she could have gone into a coma and not come out of it if much more time had gone by,” Counihan said. “The fact that Pudding did what he did without knowing her that well is just amazing to me.” Since the scary Feb. 8 incident, Jung has followed her doctor’s advice to have Pudding registered as a therapy animal. “I think he’s already made his first trip to Walmart,” Counihan said. Pudding had been living at the shelter for about a month before Jung took him home. He arrived there in early January with another cat named Wimsy after their owner died. Jung adopted Wimsy, too, because she didn’t want to separate them. This wasn’t Pudding’s first stint at the Door County Humane Society. In 2008, a family surrendered him to the shelter because their son was allergic to cats. His name at that time was Starbuck. His last owner, the woman who just passed away, decided to change his name to Pudding. “Pudding is 8 1/2-ish now — not too old,” Counihan said. “And Wimsy is 3 years old. Maybe he’ll pick up some of Pudding’s powers.”"

2/24/2012 10:10:20 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/asian-american-journalists-association-releases-guidelines-jeremy-lin-155822233.html

Quote :

"Asian American Journalists Association releases guidelines on Jeremy Lin media coverage Given the media's "Linsanity" surrounding Jeremy Lin, perhaps this was inevitable. Following (justified) outrage over several examples of racially-insensitive coverage of Lin--including a headline published by ESPN.com which resulted in the firing of one staffer and suspension of another--the Asian American Journalists Association has issued a set of guidelines for media outlets salivating over the NBA's Asian-American sensation. "As NBA player Jeremy Lin's prowess on the court continues to attract international attention and grab headlines, AAJA would like to remind media outlets about relevance and context regarding coverage of race," the group wrote in an advisory. "In the past weeks, as more news outlets report on Lin, his game and his story, AAJA has noticed factual inaccuracies about Lin's background as well as an alarming number of references that rely on stereotypes about Asians or Asian Americans." Among the "danger zones" identified by AAJA: "CHINK": Pejorative; do not use in a context involving an Asian person on someone who is Asian American. Extreme care is needed if using the well-trod phrase "chink in the armor"; be mindful that the context does not involve Asia, Asians or Asian Americans. And: "ME LOVE YOU LIN TIME": Avoid. This is a lazy pun on the athlete's name and alludes to the broken English of a Hollywood caricature from the 1980s. AAJA urged caution "when discussing Lin's physical characteristics, particularly those that feminize/emasculate the Asian male (Cinderella-story angles should not place Lin in a dress). Discussion of genetic differences in athletic ability among races should be avoided. In referring to Lin's height or vision, be mindful of the context and avoid invoking stereotypes about Asians." The group added: "Stop to think: Would a similar statement be made about an athlete who is Caucasian, African American or Latino?" Below are the AAJA's guidelines in full: THE FACTS 1. Jeremy Lin is Asian American, not Asian (more specifically, Taiwanese American). It's an important distinction and one that should be considered before any references to former NBA players such as Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, who were Chinese. Lin's experiences were fundamentally different than people who immigrated to play in the NBA. Lin progressed through the ranks of American basketball from high school to college to the NBA, and to characterize him as a foreigner is both inaccurate and insulting. 2. Lin's path to Madison Square Garden: More than 300 division schools passed on him. Harvard University has had only three other graduates go on to the NBA, the most recent one being in the 1950s. No NBA team wanted Lin in the draft after he graduated from Harvard. 3. Journalists don't assume that African American players identify with NBA players who emigrated from Africa. The same principle applies with Asian Americans. It's fair to ask Lin whether he looked up to or took pride in the accomplishments of Asian players. He may have. It's unfair and poor journalism to assume he did. 4. Lin is not the first Asian American to play in the National Basketball Association. Raymond Townsend, who's of Filipino descent, was a first-round choice of the Golden State Warriors in the 1970s. Rex Walters, who is of Japanese descent, was a first-round draft pick by the New Jersey Nets out of the University of Kansas in 1993 and played seven seasons in the NBA; Walters is now the coach at University of San Francisco. Wat Misaka is believed to have been the first Asian American to play professional basketball in the United States. Misaka, who's of Japanese descent, appeared in three games for the New York Knicks in the 1947-48 season when the Knicks were part of the Basketball Association of America, which merged with the NBA after the 1948-49 season. DANGER ZONES "CHINK": Pejorative; do not use in a context involving an Asian person on someone who is Asian American. Extreme care is needed if using the well-trod phrase "chink in the armor"; be mindful that the context does not involve Asia, Asians or Asian Americans. (The appearance of this phrase with regard to Lin led AAJA MediaWatch to issue statement to ESPN, which subsequently disciplined its employees.) DRIVING: This is part of the sport of basketball, but resist the temptation to refer to an "Asian who knows how to drive." EYE SHAPE: This is irrelevant. Do not make such references if discussing Lin's vision. FOOD: Is there a compelling reason to draw a connection between Lin and fortune cookies, takeout boxes or similar imagery? In the majority of news coverage, the answer will be no. MARTIAL ARTS: You're writing about a basketball player. Don't conflate his skills with judo, karate, tae kwon do, etc. Do not refer to Lin as "Grasshopper" or similar names associated with martial-arts stereotypes. "ME LOVE YOU LIN TIME": Avoid. This is a lazy pun on the athlete's name and alludes to the broken English of a Hollywood caricature from the 1980s. "YELLOW MAMBA": This nickname that some have used for Lin plays off the "Black Mamba" nickname used by NBA star Kobe Bryant. It should be avoided. Asian immigrants in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries were subjected to discriminatory treatment resulting from a fear of a "Yellow Peril" that was touted in the media, which led to legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act."

2/24/2012 2:03:01 PM

That aint news

THIS is news

http://blogs.baselinemag.com/bottom_line/content/the_industry/single-atom_computer_gives_moores_law_the_cold_shoulder.html

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

2/24/2012 2:08:37 PM

Before she was Gaga: The unseen photos

http://cnnphotos.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/24/before-she-was-gaga-the-unseen-photos/

2/27/2012 12:50:29 PM

http://www.wral.com/news/political/story/10789445/

Quote :

"Hank the cat in Virginia sets sights on US Senate SPRINGFIELD, Va. — A new U.S. Senate candidate in Virginia wears a tie, has a campaign website and even launched an ad. One big difference? He has a thick coat of fur. Hank the cat has thrown his paw into the race, running to mock the political status quo. The cat's owner, Anthony Roberts, says he and his partner set up the campaign as an inside joke. But the campaign's website has crashed after a recent spate of publicity. Hank's campaign posters show the Maine Coon gazing upward, wearing a tie. An ad says Hank, a moderate, will work to make sure America stays the greatest land of all. Hank is running for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. James Webb, a Democrat."

http://www.hankforsenate.com/

2/28/2012 3:39:50 PM

he's got my vote

2/28/2012 3:43:14 PM

Here's the problem with teleportation. Assuming a device could be invented which would identify the quantum state of matter of an individual in one location and transmit that pattern to a distant location for reassembly, you would not have actually transported the individual, you would have destroyed him in one location and recreated him in another. Personally, I would never use a transporter because the original Ryan would have to be disintegrated in order to create a new Ryan.

2/28/2012 3:44:14 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/baby-seal-sneaks-woman-home-cat-door-curls-couch-a-nap-article-1.991767

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"Baby seal sneaks into woman’s home through cat door, curls up on the couch for a nap Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/baby-seal-sneaks-woman-home-cat-door-curls-couch-a-nap-article-1.991767#ixzz1nnkPbjIo A New Zealand woman thought she was hallucinating when a clattering noise prompted her to run downstairs and check on the cats - and she found a baby seal in her kitchen. A seal pup had wandered from his nearby waterfront home, through the residential area where Annette Swoffer lives, and finally wriggled though the cat door at her house, the New Zealand Herald reported. “I thought the cats brought a rabbit or something in, so I went down and had a look – and there’s a seal in my kitchen,” she said. “I was standing there thinking, ‘this is really strange.’” After calling a neighbor over to verify what she was seeing was true, Swoffer called the SPCA. “They were giggling away and I’m saying, ‘I’m not drunk, I’m not lying,’ there’s a seal in my house,” she told the New Zealand Herald. Meanwhile, the seal, undisturbed, waddled right past Swoffer into her living room and plopped down on the couch. “Then it looks at me with those huge brown eyes,” she said to the New Zealand Herald. “It was so cute, but I didn’t touch it because you don’t with wild animals.” The SPCA called the Department of Conservation, which was already on the hunt for the missing seal, who had been spotted traipsing in someone else’s garden earlier in the afternoon. The department removed the stray pup and returned him to the water. "

2/29/2012 2:38:37 PM

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10796795/

Quote :

"Raleigh, N.C. — A car slammed into an apartment complex on Bedell Street in Raleigh causing major structural damage on Wednesday night, police said. The wreck happened just after 8 p.m. at the Winslow Park Apartments, 5001 Bedell St. There was someone inside the apartment when it was hit, but the resident was not injured. The driver had minor injuries. Police said the car had been involved in a hit and run minutes earlier on Louisburg Road near Spring Forest Road. In that wreck, one car overturned and the driver was briefly pinned. There were no injuries. The vehicle that fled the scene was speeding and lost control near Louisburg and Fox roads, before it hit the apartment complex. Authorities said Winslow Park Apartments sustained major structural damage. A structural engineer was headed to the scene to determine how many apartments were uninhabitable. "

2/29/2012 10:02:16 PM

Quote :

"Couple to return to NY Waldorf at '52 rate: $16.80 NEW YORK — A Connecticut couple will mark their 60th wedding anniversary at New York's Waldorf-Astoria for the same $16.80 per night they paid on their honeymoon. Isidore and Joan Schwartz, of East Lyme, Conn., still have their hotel bill from March 2, 1952. Today, rooms at the Waldorf start at $319 a night. The hotel charges the original room rate for returning guests celebrating a milestone. It says two to three couples a year take advantage of the deal. The former New Yorkers met on a blind date in 1950. Their wedding reception was on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Joan Schwartz tells the Daily News (http://bit.ly/AdkIzW) that it cost $4.75 a head for a catered steak dinner and ice sculpture decorations."

http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/family/story/10798173/

3/1/2012 4:12:07 PM

Bond reduced for 'Santa' on child sex charges

Quote :

"RALEIGH, N.C. — A judge on Monday reduced the bond for "Santa John," a 70-year-old Cary man who is charged with several child sex offenses. John Thomas Peters, of 113 Crestpoint Court, is charged with first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, solicitation of a child by computer or certain other electronic devices to commit an unlawful sex act and dissemination of obscene material to a minor under the age of 16 years. Peters, who is known for portraying Santa Claus at malls and holiday events, is accused of having inappropriate conversations with a 15-year-old girl on the Internet. The girl's mother said he sent pornographic pictures and said he wanted to have sex with her daughter. District Judge Robert Rader set Peters' bond at $600,000 following his January arrest, but Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan lowered it to $100,000. If Peters posts bond, Morgan ordered that he be under house arrest on electronic monitoring, that he have no access to computers and that he have no contact with children, other than supervised visits with his grandchildren."

3/5/2012 1:08:03 PM

Detroit-area woman stalked by aggressive turkey

Quote :

"COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, MICH. — An Oakland County woman says she's become a prisoner on her own property, stalked and harassed by a 25-pound turkey. Edna Geisler calls the foul bird "Godzilla." The 69-year-old told the Detroit Free Press (http://on.freep.com/xzbbJI ) that the turkey wanders near her Commerce Township property each day from nearby woods. She recently couldn't get to her front door after a trip to the grocery store. "I have to go to the post office at 6 o'clock in the morning to avoid him," said Geisler, who has been bumped and clawed. She has tried changing her schedule but this turkey is no dummy. A friend, Rick Reid, said the turkey went after him, too, when he opened the door on his minivan. "He tried to come right in the door," Reid said. "He bit me on the elbow." Indeed, a video posted online by the Free Press shows Godzilla roaming the grounds like they're his own. State wildlife expert Tim Payne said adult turkeys are known to aggressively defend their territory, although most fear people. "This bird has probably attacked, and the person retreats," said Payne of the Department of Natural Resources. "What it tells the bird is, 'What I'm doing is good.' It reinforces the aggressive behavior." Payne suggested Geisler open a large umbrella to drive the turkey back to the woods. "Make some runs at the bird and become the aggressor," he said. "The bird needs to learn who's the boss." Geisler wants the turkey gone by summer so she can work in her garden. The hunting season opens in April. "Every time I eat turkey I smile," she said. "I'd like to do that to him.""

http://www.wral.com/news/strange/story/10813765/

3/6/2012 1:39:53 PM

^hahaha I'm trying so hard not to laugh too loud

3/6/2012 2:06:54 PM

I held it in, up until the last sentence.

3/6/2012 2:21:06 PM

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120219/NEWS/302190036/Hermitage-woman-faces-vehicular-homicide-after-handing-over-keys-boyfriend

Quote :

"A 21-year-old Hermitage woman who had been out drinking late one night in December gave her car keys to her 23-year-old boyfriend, thinking he was sober enough to drive. But the night turned tragic when her boyfriend struck and killed two young men about their same age on Demonbreun Street near the Music Row roundabout, then drove her Toyota Scion across a median and hit a taxicab head-on. Erin Brown’s boyfriend was charged with vehicular homicide and assault. She had been in the passenger seat. But in a rare use of the law, police also are charging Brown with the same crimes. She faces as many as three decades in prison. Police and prosecutors says Brown violated a part of the highway safety section of the Tennessee Code that makes it unlawful for the owner of a vehicle to direct, require or knowingly permit the operation of a vehicle in any manner contrary to the law. Allowing someone to drive your car when you know they are drunk, prosecutors say, makes you criminally responsible for their actions. The District Attorney’s Office commonly charges vehicle owners with driving under the influence for allowing a drunk person to drive their car. But the vehicular homicide charge, a felony, against Brown is the first of its kind in Nashville. Brown told police that she gave her keys to her boyfriend, Trevor Bradshaw, who she said “was drunker than she thought he was,” according to the arrest warrant. The unprecedented nature of the case has caught the attention of defense attorneys across Tennessee, who say their clients are often unaware they could be criminally responsible for someone else driving their car. Brown’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday in General Sessions Court. Arrest warrants for Brown and Bradshaw shed some light on what took place the early morning hours of Dec 10. At about 2:30 a.m., Bradshaw was driving the Scion west on Demonbreun when it struck 22-year-old Michael Brooksher and his best friend 23-year-old Tommy Allen, police say. The Scion then crossed the median and hit a taxicab head-on. Bradshaw immediately fled the area only to be brought back to the scene by two witnesses, according to the warrant. Bradshaw fled again before police arrived on the scene, according to police. After being transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Brooksher died on Dec. 12. Allen was in a coma for nearly two months before succumbing to his injuries on Feb. 7. The taxi driver suffered minor injuries. Brown, who also had minor injuries, stayed on the scene. And eventually, Bradshaw turned himself into police. 'High bar to clear' Nashville attorney Richard McGee, who is representing Brown, said the district attorney would have “an awfully high bar to clear” to prove the charges against his client. McGee did not respond to requests for further comment, and multiple efforts to reach Brown were unsuccessful. But Nashville-area defense attorneys who frequently handle DUI cases agree with McGee’s assessment. “You’re not going to win that case in trial,” said Nashville criminal defense attorney Joel Crim, who worked in the District Attorney’s Office for five years. “The jury is going to understand the tragedy. I mean, the driver didn’t want anybody to get killed. The young lady, of course, didn’t want anybody to get killed.” The District Attorney’s Office feels differently. Kyle Anderson, who leads the DA’s Vehicular Crimes Unit, said this is the first time a non-driver has been charged with vehicular homicide since he took over the unit in 2007. By comparison, the unit has handled 50 cases against drivers for vehicular homicide over that same time. Metro police spokesman Don Aaron, who has been with the department for 20 years, said he was unaware of a vehicular homicide charge against a non-driver in Davidson County before Brown’s case. Anderson said he could not comment on the charges against Brown because of the pending charges. But Anderson said he did believe the owner of a vehicle should be responsible if he knowingly gives his keys to a person whose driving would be impaired. Defense attorneys say they frequently represent clients charged with DUI for giving their keys to a drunken driver. In 2007 former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was arrested under those circumstances when his friend Jamie Cartwright was arrested for a DUI while driving McNair’s Dodge pickup. The charges against McNair and Cartwright were ultimately dismissed. “It seems common sense to me. If you let a drunk or impaired person drive a car, you’re responsible,” Anderson said. Anderson added that it is a “typical use of prosecutorial discretion” for a district attorney to drop charges against the owner of a vehicle in a DUI case if the driver pleads guilty. Similar incident Recent case law reveals one similar incident, which took place in Stewart County in 2004. Christopher Pierce was convicted of vehicular homicide in that case. Police say Pierce bought beers for a 17-year-old and then directed him to drive a car. The 17-year-old ultimately lost control of the vehicle and struck a tree at a high speed, killing a 13-year-old passenger. Though the circumstances of that case were different than the December hit-and-run, the Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s conviction by specifically pointing out the evidence was sufficient for the jury to conclude Pierce knew the driver was intoxicated. Metro police say Brown also knew Bradshaw was drunk. “Ms. Brown provided the keys to Mr. Bradshaw and allowed him to operate her vehicle after she had knowledge Mr. Bradshaw had been drinking that night and was drunk,” the warrant states. In addition to criminal charges, Brown and Bradshaw have already been subjected to a civil suit from Brooksher’s family. Brooksher’s father, Jeffrey Brooksher, is seeking $10 million. On his Facebook page, Jeffrey Brooksher says he wants Brown and Bradshaw to be held accountable. “I just feel all this (could have) been avoided with a simple phone call. One of them (could have) called (their) parent to pick them up. (So) what if they (would have) caught hell. Least Michael & Tommy would still b here for us to (cherish),” says one Facebook post. Crim said case law establishes that Brown could be responsible for the deaths of Brooksher and Allen in a civil lawsuit, but he questioned whether criminal charges were appropriate. “It’s so far down the causal chain for her. It’s a negligent act, and I think somebody can sue her. But in terms of, ‘Should she go to jail for her decision?’ No, I don’t think she should,” Crim said. “A jury is going to look and they’re going to see a 21-year-old girl. They’re going to ask themselves, ‘Do we think this girl’s life should be ruined because she let someone else drive her car?’ That’s a tough conclusion to come to.”"

[Edited on March 7, 2012 at 2:47 PM. Reason : ]

3/7/2012 2:46:12 PM

Quote :

"ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The family of a 17-year-old African-American boy shot to death last month in his gated Florida community by a white Neighborhood Watch captain wants to see the captain arrested, the family's lawyer said on Wednesday. Trayvon Martin was shot dead after he took a break from watching NBA All-Star game television coverage to walk 10 minutes to a convenience store to buy snacks including Skittles candy requested by his 13-year-old brother, Chad, the family's lawyer Ben Crump said. "He was a good kid," Crump said in an interview, adding that the family would issue a call for the Watch captain's arrest at a news conference on Thursday. "On his way home, a Neighborhood Watch loose cannon shot and killed him." [Related: Fla. teen avoids deportation] Trayvon, who lived in Miami with his mother, had been visiting his father and stepmother in a gated townhome community called The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, 20 miles north of Orlando. As Trayvon returned to the townhome, Sanford police received a 911 call reporting a suspicious person. Although names are blacked out on the police report, Crump and media reports at the time of the shooting identified the caller as George Zimmerman who is listed in the community's newsletter as the Neighborhood Watch captain. Without waiting for police to arrive, Crump said, Zimmerman confronted Trayvon, who was on the sidewalk near his home. By the time police got there, Trayvon was dead of a single gunshot to the chest. "What do the police find in his pocket? Skittles," Crump said. "A can of Arizona ice tea in his jacket pocket and Skittles in his front pocket for his brother Chad." Zimmerman could not be reached for comment on Wednesday evening at a phone number listed for him on the community's newsletter. Crump said the family was concerned that police might decide to consider the shooting as self defense, and that police have ignored the family's request for a copy of the original 911 call, which they think will shed light on the incidents. "If the 911 protocol across the country held to form here, they told him not to get involved. He disobeyed that order," said Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the family. "He (Zimmerman) didn't have to get out of his car," said Crump, who has prepared a public records lawsuit to file on Thursday if the family doesn't get the 911 tape. "If he never gets out of his car, there is no reason for self-defense. Trayvon only has skittles. He has the gun." Since Trayvon, a high school junior who wanted to be a pilot, was black and Zimmerman is white, Crump said race is "the 600 pound elephant in the room." "Why is this kid suspicious in the first place? I think a stereotype must have been placed on the kid," Crump said."

what the fuck? that man should be in jail. Obviously he has connections.

3/8/2012 12:17:51 PM

Quote :

"Facebook 'friend' offer exposes man's other wife TACOMA, Wash. — A county corrections officer in Washington state has been charged with bigamy after Facebook discovered two women were connected to him and suggested they might want to be "friends." Pierce County prosecutors say Alan L. O'Neill married a woman in 2001, moved out in 2009, changed his name and remarried without divorcing wife No. 1. Wife No. 1 recently found out about Wife No. 2 when Facebook detected their connection to O'Neill and suggested the friendship connection. Wife No. 1 then called the defendant's mother, Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist told The News Tribune (http://is.gd/cRE9Mf ). "An hour later the defendant arrived at (Wife No. 1's) apartment, and she asked him several times if they were divorced," court records show. "The defendant said, 'No, we are still married.'" Neither O'Neill nor his first wife had filed for divorce, according to charging documents. The name change came in December, and later that month he married his second wife. O'Neill allegedly told Wife No. 1 not to tell anybody about his dual marriages, that he would fix it, the documents state. Wife No. 1 alerted authorities. "It's not the crime of the century, but it is a crime," Lindquist said. "I can't help but think Valentine's Day must have been real stressful with two wives," Lindquist told KOMO-TV. O'Neill, 41, was previously known at Alan Fulk. He has worked as a Pierce County corrections officer for five years, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. He was placed on administrative leave after prosecutors charged him Thursday. He could face up to a year in jail if convicted."

http://www.wral.com/news/strange/story/10834428/

3/9/2012 1:49:11 PM

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10894679/

Quote :

"Clayton, N.C. — A 23-year-old Clayton woman died early Friday after she was hit by an SUV along a Wake County highway. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said Kasie Leigh Moore was walking in the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 70 north of Clayon when she was hit around 3 a.m. Authorities said that their initial investigation found that speed was not a factor in the crash and said that the SUV's driver will not be charged. Charlie Dobbins, Moore's college softball coach at William Peace University in Raleigh, said family members told him that Moore had gotten into an argument with her twin sister and had gotten out of the car. When she wouldn't get back in, he said, the sister left. Investigators haven't said what led to the wreck. The Wake County Sheriff's Office said it had received reports of a woman walking in the roadway but that the SUV had already hit Moore by the time deputies arrived. Moore was a 2011 graduate of William Peace, where she and her sister played on the school's softball team. Moore graduated in 2007 from Clayton High School, where she also played softball. Dobbins described her as an "outstanding student" who graduated with nearly a 4.0 GPA. Moore also had plans to attend law school, he said, but had been taking some time off before returning to school."

How sad.

3/23/2012 3:58:54 PM

OMG so I forget what thread we talked in about this case but the guy was found GUILTY!

I'm so happy about this

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/23/10830572-jury-finds-polo-mogul-john-goodman-guilty-in-florida-dui-crash

Quote :

"Jury finds polo mogul John Goodman guilty in Florida DUI crash WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A jury on Friday found John Goodman, a South Florida polo mogul, guilty of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in the Feb. 12, 2010 crash that killed Scott Wilson. Police say a drunken Goodman, the founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, rammed his black Bentley convertible into Wilson's car two years ago, causing it to roll into a canal. Goodman is accused of leaving the scene and waiting nearly an hour to call 911 as Wilson died. Goodman was later found to have a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit. Prosecutors argued Goodman likely had 16 to 18 drinks before he got behind the wheel, and said Goodman walked away from the crash scene and called his girlfriend and a friend before finally calling 911, WPTV reported. Goodman's attorney, Roy Black, said his client only a had a few drinks that night. He claimed the Bentley malfunctioned and accelerated into the intersection. Black also said Goodman drank after the crash to ease his pain. The case made headlines after Goodman legally adopted his girlfriend, in what was seen as a legal manuever to protect some of his wealth from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Wilson's family. Goodman settled with the Wilson family for an unspecified amount earlier this month, shortly before the criminal trial began, according to WPTV. Goodman is facing up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 30. After nearly two weeks of testimony, the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments on Thursday before turning the case over to the six jurors late in the day. They deliberated for about a half hour before deciding end their deliberations and resume Friday morning. "The jury in the Goodman case exercised sound judgment in its analysis of the factual and expert evidence in this trial" said State Attorney Peter Antonacci in a statement after the verdict. "Scott Wilson was a young man with a bright future and his life was tragically cut short. I hope that Scott's family now experiences some closure so that the healing process can go forward in this particularly tragic event." Scott Wilson's mother thanked the jury after the verdict. "I know that it took a lot for them to come up with a conclusion and justice has been served," Lily Wilson said. "I'm always gonna miss my son.""

3/23/2012 4:45:05 PM

Breaking News: Chapel Hill town council voted Monday to ban all cellphone use behind the wheel, including hands-free devices. The ban is the first of its kind in the state.

3/26/2012 9:45:14 PM

what a psycho...

Quote :

"Her breakup, my heartbreak There was no way I was going to cry over his text. We barely knew each other. These long-distance things hardly ever work out anyway. “I’m not sure how I feel about you anymore,” he wrote. How could this be? A week earlier, he professed his love. He wanted to change his Facebook status to “in a relationship.” How did it go so wrong so fast? More curiously, why was I feeling devastated by my 14-year-old daughter’s first breakup when she seemed unscathed by it? Katie replied to her new ex that these things happen and there were no hard feelings. I couldn’t move on so quickly. “He’s not sure how he feels about you?!” I shouted. “You are smart, beautiful and kind. For God’s sake, you play piano for old folks at nursing homes and knit hats to support children in Africa! You’re borderline perfect. What’s he not sure of?” Katie told me to take a deep breath. It would all be fine, she assured me. She explained that John was a nice guy whom she enjoyed getting to know, but ultimately they had very different interests. They lived on different coasts. It could never work. “But … he was so cute,” I said, pouting. I asked if Katie wanted to ease the heartbreak by cracking open a fresh pint of Chunky Monkey and playing an endless loop of Amy Winehouse. She did not. I offered a marathon of cheesy romantic comedies so we could sob together at all of the sappy bits, even though she didn’t seem very sad. She declined and said she had to finish her position paper for Junior Model United Nations. I stared at her, incredulous. Was she having no reaction to being text-dumped by her first boyfriend? Maybe she needed a maternal embrace to just let it all out. “Do you need a hug?” I asked. “Uh, do you?” she replied. In fact, I did. Katie told me that there would be other boys. “If he can’t see what a great mom I have, he’s not worth it,” she joked. Then, more seriously, she explained that this was not a rejection, but two people realizing that they aren’t right for each other. I held her shoulders, examining my daughter at arm’s length. “Are you sure you’re 14?” I asked. “Are you sure you’re 45?” she retorted. I felt a bit guilty that my protracted adolescence might force Katie, in response, to grow up too quickly. She may have felt that one of us had to be mature, and since I’m clearly not up to the task, it fell to her. I wondered if I was cheating her out of something precious and irreplaceable by becoming too emotionally embroiled in her private life. Did my romance with her love life short-change her experience? Later, I confessed all this to Katie, who told me that I mustn’t overthink things. She said she knows how to establish boundaries and she would certainly let me know if I’d crossed any. Katie returned to her homework; I turned back to my novel, the pink one with the cupcake on the cover. I realize that becoming involved with my daughter’s love life is a somewhat pathetic attempt to dip myself into the Fountain of Youth. Because the reality is that being the mother of a teenager is a reality check, a constant reminder that I am no longer young, nor will I ever be again. I miss the simpler life of my teen years when I’d spend hours on the phone twirling my hair around my finger and giggling about boys. (It’s not quite the same with graying hair.) I miss the days before my feet needed their own doctor. I miss the time when I truly believed anything was possible. Now, I’m not so sure it is. After 45 years of living, there has been too much disappointment. Hope is alive, but it’s taken a few hits and may be a little worse for wear. As much as I admire Katie’s ability to feel whole outside the context of a romantic relationship, it poses a painfully stark contrast to who I was at her age. In fact, I’m not certain that I’ve come all that far. My need for validation is bottomless, and I am both astounded and grateful that I haven’t passed on this character defect to my child. My husband of nearly 20 years tells me he loves me every day. William humors me by making grand Shakespearean-style proclamations of his affection. (Sometimes there is even a horn involved.) He has been known to playfully throw down his jacket to demonstrate his chivalry. It is a loving gesture with an added layer of meaning: Is this enough? Are we there yet? Katie’s first boyfriend was special to me for several reasons. The two met at my 30-year summer camp reunion, the place where I shared my first kiss with Finn O’Lee under a crabapple tree near the playground. He had a mop of red hair and carried a basketball everywhere he went. It was true like. Camp St. Regis closed in 1981, but the owners, the Kennedy family, kept their 15-bedroom home and a large waterfront lot in New York. Through the miracle of Facebook, a camp alumni group was started and plans for a summer reunion began. At the event, the flag was lowered by two grandsons of the long-deceased “Papa Don” Kennedy, and the sun began to set on the bay. I’d spent 10 summers at Camp St. Regis and each sunset was a spectacular display of either fiery orange brushstrokes or sheets of pink cotton candy against the sky. This one topped them all. An hour later, a bonfire was blazing and old friends were singing Simon and Garfunkel classics with the usual suspects strumming their guitars. I was chatting with my old friend John when our heads instinctively turned toward the grassy area leading to the beach. We saw two silhouettes, a girl and a boy sitting 4 feet apart, their backs toward the rest of us. The tension between them was palpable as they looked out toward the water. “Who’s that girl with my son?” John asked, almost giddy. When I told him it was Katie, he did a little gallop-in-place girly move, which I took to mean he approved. We wondered how long they’d been sitting there and noticed that they had inched closer. Soon they were sitting just close enough that their arm hair touched. The youngest Kennedy grandson scurried to join us, and asked if John and I saw what was going on between our kids. We told him we had money on what time they would kiss. We had become helicopter cupids. Ultimately, the mutual first kiss never happened, and I honestly don’t know which parent was more disappointed. The elder John managed to snap a photo with his cellphone, which was such low quality that it wound up looking like a sonogram of twins. Katie and I returned home to San Diego, and the texting with young John continued for months. He added to his Facebook profile that one of his interests was waiting for Katie to return his texts. I thought that was the cutest thing I had ever heard. Katie shrugged and said she thought there were more direct ways to communicate that he wanted a quicker response. I looked at her like she was out of her mind. “Yeah, but none half as adorable!” “Want to Facebook stalk him?” I asked. “What do you mean?” I collapsed in a sigh of exasperation. I had so much to teach this child. “We check out his page and see what’s he’s doing, where’s he’s been, what’s on his wall, whose wall he’s writing on,” I explained. She looked blankly. “We can see photos,” I said stressing the word to entice. “This is really creepy, Mom.” I chose to see it as investigative. Remembering that she had an interest in joining the CIA or FBI, I tried to show her the parallels between Googling boys and saving the world. She wasn’t buying it. She gave me some lame response about how if she wanted to know something about him, she would simply ask. Days after the breakup, John and Katie were texting each other again. They were buddies now, and he told her he had a big date with a new girl. If his intent was to make her jealous, he missed the mark and instead hit me. Hard. “He has another girlfriend so soon?” I spat. “Why not?” Katie shrugged. “She sounds like a nice girl. They seem well suited for each other.” My love and admiration for Katie grew even more. I closed my eyes tight and I wished that she would never know heartbreak. I knew this was impossible, but in this moment, her life was perfect and I wanted to keep it this way for her. Katie reminds me of the delicate glass Christmas tree ornament I am always terrified of breaking. It is a clear, paper-thin glass teardrop that catches the light and sparkles on our tree perfectly. Each year when I pack it up, I am always surprised and relieved that it hasn’t fallen. John will probably always have a special place in Katie’s heart. He most definitely will have one in mine. He was the first boy with the good sense to adore my daughter. Even in his breakup text, John acted with integrity. He didn’t lash out or get mean. He didn’t play games. He told her the truth and I respect him for the way he handled the relationship from start to finish. He was a sweet kid. I miss him already. "

http://www.salon.com/2012/03/27/her_breakup_my_heartbreak/

3/27/2012 4:45:16 PM

^wow, that's just sad.

women.

3/27/2012 5:52:35 PM

Quote :

" John will probably always have a special place in Katie’s heart. He most definitely will have one in mine. He was the first boy with the good sense to adore my daughter"

Revoke her parenting license please.

3/27/2012 7:15:11 PM

^eh, i wouldn't go that far. she's just like pretty much all parents: thinks her kid is the best thing since sliced bread.

although, if this story is true, her daughter seems pretty level-headed and the mom seems pretty

3/27/2012 11:02:20 PM

To me she sounds like she desperately wants to be 15. Like the type of mom who serves alcohol to 15 year olds and fucks her kids friends.

3/27/2012 11:13:07 PM

Quote :

" Man cuts off foot, throws it in furnace to avoid job assignment Hours before unemployment officials were to determine whether he was physically fit for work, an Austrian man sawed off his left foot with an electric saw, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported. The 56-year-old man had just learned that his benefits could be slashed if he did not accept work found for him, the Daily Mail reported. He reportedly placed the severed foot in a wood stove to make sure doctors could not reattach it to his leg. On Monday, after his wife and son had left the house, Hans Url, positioned his left leg against an electric saw in the boiler room and severed his foot above the ankle. Images from the scene show an electric table saw – apparently wiped clean – surrounded by shallow pools of blood. On the stove were a lighter and ashtray filled with cigarette butts. "

what?

Quote :

"Bleeding profusely and on the verge of death, Url called an ambulance. Emergency staff found him covered in blood, and they retrieved the foot from the fire."

Quote :

"Url may still qualify for work despite the amputation, the Daily Mail reported."

doh!

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/27/10890647-man-cuts-off-foot-throws-it-in-furnace-to-avoid-job-assignment

[Edited on March 28, 2012 at 11:51 AM. Reason : .]

3/28/2012 11:50:50 AM

^ mental issues right there

Quote :

"Boy robbed of money for wheelchair basketball gets it back — and then some A 12-year-old North Carolina boy was working hard to raise money in hopes of introducing his schoolmates to his favorite sport, wheelchair basketball, when his fund-raising cash was stolen. That single act of selfishness by one stranger has resulted in thousands of selfless acts from strangers nationwide — and surprised and delighted Nolan Turner. On March 22, Turner, who was born with spina bifida, was sitting in his wheelchair collecting donations in his Cary, N.C. neighborhood when a man approached him, made some brief small talk and then nonchalantly made off with a jar containing approximately $250. Turner screamed, but the man walked away before cutting through the nearby woods and disappearing. Local police are still searching for the man. Turner had hoped to raise $1,000 for a wheelchair basketball event at Briarcliff Elementary School put on by Bridge II Sports, a non-profit organization that helps physically challenged children and adults play team and individual sports. Once news of Turner’s situation became public, the donations came pouring in. He has now raised nearly $25,000 in increments of $5 to $500, according Ashley Thomas, the founder of Bridge II Sports. “It’s crazy how that mean act has turned into something positive that has allowed us to do so much more,’’ Thomas told TODAY.com. “The response has been huge.’’ Turner just finished his second season of playing wheelchair basketball for the Raleigh Junior Thunder team, which plays on Fridays from October to March and travels to places like Atlanta, Richmond and Tennessee. Bridge II Sports works with community partners to provide the equipment, coaching and playing space as well as developing the teams. Turner’s fifth-grade classmates had often asked him what it was like to play wheelchair basketball, so he came up with the idea to show them. “That was the real success,’’ Thomas said. “He chose himself to make a difference.’’ As a result of the outpouring of donations, Bridge II Sports will hold a full-day event at Turner’s school so the whole school can play. The additional money will help fund an event at Camp Carefree, a one-week summer camp in Stokesdale, N.C., for kids with health problems and disabilities that Turner has regularly attended. “I'm happy that there are so many good people in the world and that they are helping my team,’’ Turner told TODAY.com. “Junior Thunder is my favorite thing in my life. Playing wheelchair basketball lets me feel like a regular kid.’’ “I'm amazed at everyone who has donated,’’ said Turner’s mom, Amy Moore. “Most of his life he's been the oddity, and now this is a sport he's able to compete in. I remember after his first game we went and had pizza afterward, and when we were driving home, Nolan said, 'This makes me feel like a normal person.' I thought, ‘This is such a wonderful thing.’’’ Adaptive sports also have helped Turner work through health difficulties. Last summer, he spent a week in the hospital at Duke University Hospital with kidney failure. Story: Pedaling hope: War veterans plan 4,163-mile bike ride “He couldn’t get out of his wheelchair for months, but (wheelchair basketball) got him motivated,’’ his mother said. “He can walk some with his crutches now. We owe so much to wheelchair sports.’’ Turner has raised money for Bridge II Sports before with raffles and other events, and he is a fixture in the community. On the day he was robbed, his mother had been watching from the house because the heavy pollen outside had exacerbated her allergies. The thief was so carefree that she did not realize he had robbed her son until he ran off into the woods. After stealing the jar, he stripped it of its cash, about $150, before discarding the jar with nearly $100 in change still in it. Image: Nolan Turner, who raised money to bring wheelchair basketball to his school Courtesy of Bridge II Sports Nolan will next turn his fund-raising skills to scooping up money for track-and-field wheelchairs. “I look over and Nolan is yelling and then put his head down on the table,’’ Moore said. “I ran out to him and he said, ‘That guy just robbed me!’’’ “I felt so much anger,’’ said Thomas, who also has spina bifida. “You’re looked at as helpless, and it’s like, ‘I’ll take advantage of you because you can’t stop me.’ Unfortunately it made people see the disability instead of the things you can do.’’ Only minutes later, a man approached a distraught Turner and gave him $60 on the spot after hearing his story. Once his plight was highlighted in the News & Observer, donations started coming from as far away as New Mexico and California. There are still several piles of unopened mail and donations for Turner that have been sent to Bridge II Sports. “I know that I keep saying it, but we are amazed by all of the outpouring of support from friends, strangers, and basically everyone else,’’ Turner’s father, Ken, wrote on Nolan’s fundraising site at GoFundMe.com. “Whether you donated or just offered a supporting message, Nolan has been overcome with emotion at times as we read the messages that are pouring in from all over.’’ “Nolan had been with his father when everyone started hearing his story, and he came home and said, ‘Mom! You won’t believe it! I got famous over the weekend!’’ Moore said. She said Nolan, undaunted by the crime, plans to get back to fundraising right away. After all, there is money to be raised for a track and field program, which requires wheelchairs that can cost up to $5,000. “He is a card,’’ his mother said. “He told me, ‘I’m going to be the Martin Luther King Jr. of disabled people.’ He loves raising money. Maybe this time we should put a sign up like at the gas station or 7-Eleven: ‘Cashier does not carry more than $50.’’’ "

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46880896#.T3N2ytmAaRM

3/28/2012 4:39:52 PM

no description of the man that robbed him? I bet he had a hoodie on

3/28/2012 4:50:24 PM

Quote :

"Police are trying to identify the man who stole the money. He was described as black, in his early 20s, weighing around 160 pounds. He is bald and has a tattoo on the back of his left hand."

I like how the original description of the incident stated the man nonchalantly walked away with the money, and cut through trees so the boy couldn't follow "not even bothering to run."

3/28/2012 4:54:17 PM

***Breaking news **** : Bacon themed caskets now available!

Quote :

"SEATTLE — Do you love bacon to death? Is your dying wish to be buried in bacon? The local company behind Bacon Salt and Baconnaise is making it happen. J&D’s Foods has created the Bacon Coffin, what they call the world’s first bacon-wrapped casket. See the original story at KING "Yes, this is really real," wrote J&D owners Justin Esch and David Lefkow in a press release. “Bacon Coffins are finished with a painted Bacon and Pork shading and accented with gold stationary handles. The interior has an adjustable bed and mattress, a bacon memorial tube and is completed in ivory crepe coffin linens." The Bacon Coffins are available for $2,999.95 plus shipping. In the email announcing the Bacon Coffin, Justin and Dave added, "Don’t you judge us, after baconlube (bacon flavored personal lubricant), we all knew it was just going to keep getting weirder. And yeah, your (sic) right we’re probably going to hell for this one.""

3/29/2012 6:58:29 PM

3/30/2012 8:42:16 AM

http://www.wral.com/news/strange/story/10924323/

Quote :

"ORANGE, CONN. — There's a new twist for police in Orange, Conn.: They've had to break a man out of handcuffs. Assistant Chief Ed Koether tells the Connecticut Post newspaper (http://bit.ly/HoMRcs ) officers were called Thursday afternoon to an adult entertainment store in Orange, a town just west of New Haven. The man had been trying on the cuffs and locked himself in a pair. Koether says shop employees couldn't get the man free and called the fire department and then police. The cuffs were similar to the kind police officers carry. But Koether says the officers tried several keys that didn't work. The handcuffs had to be removed with bolt cutters. Koether says he doesn't know if the man had to pay for the broken handcuffs."

3/30/2012 12:26:16 PM

why would you call the cops for something like that?

3/30/2012 12:30:03 PM

Quote :

"http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120219/NEWS/302190036/Hermitage-woman-faces-vehicular-homicide-after-handing-over-keys-boyfriend "

good, thats exactly the shit duchess tried to pull, i think it should be charged that way

the ol "give the keys to the least drunk person" excuse.

3/30/2012 12:31:00 PM

Quote :

"our-year-old Genesis Reyes lost all her hair after battling cancer. Her plight inspired a Facebook campaign called "Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let's see if we can get it made." Well it looks like her prayers have been answered. After receiving more than 150,000 "likes" in less than four months, Mattel announced that it will create the bald dolls. Mattel announces Barbie for children with cancerWhen Genesis lost her hair, she told her parents that she did not feel like a princess anymore. The parent of another child, who had cancer and was being treated at the same hospital as Genesis, asked her close friend, who just so happened to be the CEO of Mattel, to make a one-off doll for Genesis. When Beckie Sypin and Jane Bingham heard about Genesis's heartbreaking story, they were inspired to create the Facebook group to get Mattel to manufacture the dolls for children dealing with hair loss. The bald Barbie dolls will not be sold in stores, because Mattel says it does not want to profit from them. Instead, the dolls will be distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada to hospitals treating children for cancer. The Barbies will be outfitted with hats, scarves, and wigs that can be interchanged for different looks. In addition to the Facebook campaign to get the hairless dolls made, there was also a petition started on change.org to get 35,000 signatures for a bald Barbie. So far, the petition is only 182 signatures shy of its goal. Mattel is not the first company to create bald dolls for ailing children. In January, Bratz and Moxie dolls announced their line of "True Hope" dolls for both boys and girls."

Feel good story of the day.

3/30/2012 8:18:15 PM

Ultra-marathon runner Micah True found dead in New Mexico

Quote :

"Ultra-marathon runner Micah True, missing for four days in the rugged wilderness of New Mexico, was found dead on Saturday, police said. True, 58, was found in the mountainous Gila National Forest in southwest New Mexico, near the Arizona border in the early evening, said Tom Bemis, incident commander with the New Mexico State Police. Nicknamed "Caballo Blanco," or White Horse, True became a celebrity after he was featured in the best-selling book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. True left the Wilderness Lodge and Hot Springs, four miles from the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, on Tuesday, and did not return. The lodge owner notified authorities on Wednesday. Police then launched a massive search for the missing man, with 15 search teams totaling 60 people combing through 200,000 acres of steep canyons and shallow rivers in the high desert. His body was found with no obvious signs of injury, police said. A medical examiner was en route, but because of the rugged terrain his body was not likely to be retrieved until Sunday. True had left for a 12-mile run carrying a water bottle and wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He left his dog at the lodge. In January, True wrote on his Facebook page: "If I were to be remembered for anything at all, I would want that to be that I am/was authentic. No Mas. Run Free!" True was the race director for the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, a roughly 50-mile race that drew a dedicated group of runners to Northern Mexico."

3/31/2012 11:54:26 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/grade-school-teacher-aide-fired-refusing-hand-over-172305406.html

Quote :

"Kimberly Hester, a grade school teacher's aide in Michigan, was fired for refusing to hand over her Facebook password to her supervisors. Hester posted a picture of a co-workers' shoes and pants bunched around her ankles on Facebook in April 2011 with the caption, "Thinking of you." She posted the picture in jest, but a parent who's on her Facebook friend list saw the image and reported it to Frank Squires Elementary where Hester was employed, prompting the investigation. Teachers have gotten in trouble for Facebook status messages before, but in Hester's case, it's her refusal to hand over her password that actually got her fired. One of the supervisors from the Lewis Cass Intermediate School District (ISD), the regional service center for education in Michigan, even wrote her a letter when she refused to give them her password for the third time. Part of the letter read: "... in the absence of you voluntarily granting Lewis Cass ISD administration access to you[r] Facebook page, we will assume the worst and act accordingly." Lewis Cass wanted to put Hester on a paid administrative leave before they fired her, but she chose to go on an unpaid leave because she believes she did nothing wrong. She plans to use the letter she received to sue the school district. An increasing number of companies and schools have started asking employees and students for their Facebook passwords. The practice has been growing at such an alarming rate, that Facebook released its official stance on the issue, telling its users that they have the right not to comply with their employers' request. Several politicians including Michigan's own State Representatives Aric Nesbitt and Matt Lori have been pushing for bills that will make the breach of privacy an illegal practice. Unfortunately, it hasn't been going very well for them — the House of Representatives recently rejected a legislation that would protect your passwords from employers' prying eyes."

4/2/2012 8:31:08 PM

I still don't get why

Quote :

"Hester posted a picture of a co-workers' shoes and pants bunched around her ankles on Facebook in April 2011 with the caption, "Thinking of you." "

is supposed to be funny... inside joke or not...

4/3/2012 11:30:02 AM

Parents are some overreacting zealous dicks.

4/3/2012 11:32:38 AM

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/07/student-suspended-for-speaking-native-american-language-96340

Quote :

"Student Suspended for Speaking Native American Language After a 12-year-old Menominee student spoke her Native language during class, she was suspended from playing in that night’s basketball game, and memories of past boarding school atrocities surfaced. Miranda Washinawatok attends Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Shawano, Wisconsin. According to Native News Network, the school is more than 60 percent Native American and is about six miles from the Menominee Indian Tribe Reservation. When Miranda was teaching a classmate to say “posoh” and “ketapanen” on January 19, her teacher scolded her. Native News Network reported her saying “You are not to speak like that! How do I know you’re not saying something bad? How would you like it if I spoke in Polish and you didn’t understand?” The words Miranda was chastised for translate to “hello” and “I love you” in Menominee. “Miranda kept saying she was only told by her assistant coach she was being benched because two teachers said she had a bad attitude,” Tanaes Washinawatok, Miranda’s mother, told Native News Network. “I wanted to know what she did to make them say she had a bad attitude.” There is dispute over who actually did the suspending, but the school has admitted it “failed miserably in its handling of the matter.” Deacon Ray DuBois, the communication director for the Diocese of Green Bay, which operates the school, also told Native News Network that the school does not prohibit the use of any language and that “the number one priority is to help this girl.” Miranda isn’t a troublemaker. Her mother told Native News that she is mature and respectful. Miranda plays basketball and is the team captain of a volleyball team. “When it comes to Native language, Miranda should be proud she learned and can speak her Native language,” wrote Levi Rickert in a February 4 post on Native News Network. Tara McGregor, a commenter at Nativenewsnetwork.com, says “As a teacher you have a responsibility to be culturally aware of your students and encourage diversity. This is a reminder to all of us that this type of oppression still exists. I hope that this example of ignorance is not forgotten, and we continue to move forward while creating a world that fosters children who embrace their heritage.” Rhonda LeValdo, of the Acoma Pueblo and president of the Native American Journalists Association, wrote a piece for Native Connection stating Indian country’s support for Miranda. She says: “All Americans need to know about the boarding schools. They need to know how the language was beaten out of many of our elders, so much that their children never learned the language for that fear of them being hurt. This all happened in this country and so many deny the abuses, but it happened.” "

4/3/2012 12:36:11 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17585734

Quote :

"US obesity 'higher than thought' The obesity problem in the US may be much worse than previously thought, according to researchers. They said using the Body Mass Index or BMI to determine obesity was underestimating the issue. Their study, published in the journal PLoS One, said up to 39% of people who were not currently classified as obese actually were. The authors said "we may be much further behind than we thought" in tackling obesity. BMI is a simple calculation which combines a person's height and weight to give a score which can be used to diagnose obesity. Somebody with a BMI of 30 or more is classed as obese. The US Centers for Disease Control says at least one in three Americans is obese. Many more? Other ways of diagnosing obesity include looking at how much of the body is made up of fat. A fat percentage of 25% or more for men or 30% or more for women is the threshold for obesity. One of the researchers Dr Eric Braverman said: "The Body Mass Index is an insensitive measure of obesity, prone to under-diagnosis, while direct fat measurements are superior because they show distribution of body fat." The team at the New York University School of Medicine and the Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, looked at records from 1,393 people who had both their BMI and body fat scores measured. Their data showed that most of the time the two measures came to the same conclusion. However, they said 539 people in the study - or 39% - were not labelled obese according to BMI, but their fat percentage suggested they were. They said the disparity was greatest in women and became worse when looking at older groups of women. "Greater loss of muscle mass in women with age exacerbates the misclassification of BMI," they said. They propose changing the thresholds for obesity: "A more appropriate cut-point for obesity with BMI is 24 for females and 28 for males." A BMI of 24 is currently classed as a "normal" weight. "By our cut-offs, 64.1% or about 99.8 million American women are obese," they said. It is not the first time BMI has been questioned. A study by the University of Leicester said BMIs needed to be adjusted according to ethnicity. Last year in the BBC's Scrubbing Up column, nutrition expert Dr Margaret Ashwell advocated using waist-to-height ratio to determine obesity. She said: "It is a real worry that using BMI alone for screening could miss people who are at risk from central obesity and might also be alarming those whose risk is not as great as it appears from their BMI.""

4/3/2012 12:53:59 PM

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/06/us-usa-wolf-california-idUSBRE8350AH20120406

Quote :

"Lovelorn wolf back on the hunt in California (Reuters) - A male wolf that made headlines by becoming the first of its species in more than 80 years to be found in the wild in California has crossed back into the Golden State on its determined quest for a mate. The gray wolf, designated OR7 by wildlife managers, has traveled more than 2,000 miles since leaving its pack in northeastern Oregon last September and heading south, paying its first visit to California in late December. The animal, which wandered back to Oregon in early March, returned to California last Friday and was still roaming a forested area in northern Siskiyou County on Thursday, said Karen Kovacs, wildlife program manager with the California Department of Fish and Game. Young male wolves like OR7, which will turn 3 in mid-April, must leave the home range of their parents to find a female companion and reproduce because only the dominant pair in each wolf pack form a mating bond. "What happens is they leave looking for love. And when they don't find it, they keep walking - because the love of their life is just over that hill," said Ed Bangs, a wolf expert who spearheaded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's reintroduction of wolves to the lower 48 states in the 1990s. "He won't stop doing that until he dies. Or he finds the love of his life." OR7, fitted with a tracking collar, gained worldwide attention after entering California on December 28, making it the state's first wild wolf since the last one was trapped and killed in 1924 in Lassen County. The newcomer loped along the crest of the Cascade Mountains, crossed highways and rivers, including the Deschutes and Klamath, and traveled to within 15 miles of the Nevada border on its journey. OR7 spent about two months in northern California before heading back to its home state in early March. The gray wolf is listed as an endangered species in the Pacific Northwest, making it protected under federal law. Steve Pedery, conservation director of the environmental group Oregon Wild, said there are at last 29 wolves inhabiting Oregon. California wildlife officials were surprised to learn the wolf had returned. Most wolves travel less than 100 miles in search of new territory and mates. About a dozen gray wolves are known to have traveled distances of 180 miles or more since the species was reintroduced in the continental United States. One female wolf was documented to have roamed 3,000 miles from Wyoming and back again, Bangs said. OR7 presumably has picked the wrong direction by heading into California, where no others of his kind are known to exist in the wild. "He doesn't know there's nobody south of him," Bangs said."

awww poor wolfy!!!! I hope he finds a mate soon!

4/6/2012 10:01:09 AM

probably the saddest story I've read for awhile...



http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/11/11139382-6-year-old-accidentally-killed-in-dads-wood-chipper?lite

Quote :

"6-year-old accidentally killed in dad's wood chipper A 6-year-old Connecticut boy was killed in a tragic accident involving a wood chipper early Tuesday. Jeffrey Bourgeois, 6, was helping his father clear brush in a client's yard in Salem, Conn., when his arm got stuck in the chipper, state police said. "The youngest child attempted to help his father and when his father's back was turned, he picked a branch up and fed it into the chipper when he was pulled into the chipper," State Police Lt. Paul Vance said. For more, visit NBCConnecticut.com Advertise | AdChoices The father owns a tree removal service and brought his three children to the house where he was performing tree work. Police received a 911 call at 8:45 a.m. reporting that reporting a child had been seriously injured in the yard of a private home. The fire chief is a neighbor and was the first to respond. "The family lives right across the street from me. I saw what we had, and I kept everyone away," said Chief Gene Maiorano. Officials are investigating the incident, but they said it appears to be a tragic accident. Even though students are off this week, grief counselors will be on hand starting Wednesday."

4/11/2012 2:36:30 PM

file that under "shitty ways to go"

4/11/2012 3:00:15 PM

Man, that is a sad story I feel really bad for those parents.

4/11/2012 6:58:55 PM

http://jezebel.com/5900928/your-vagina-isnt-just-too-big-too-floppy-and-too-hairyits-also-too-brown

Quote :

"Your Vagina Isn’t Just Too Big, Too Floppy, and Too Hairy—It’s Also Too Brown Good news, ladies! Society has discovered another new thing that's wrong with you, which means another opportunity for you to make yourself more attractive for your man. Score! Turns out, the color of your vagina is gross and everyone hates it. So bleach that motherfucker. Bleach it right now! In this commercial for an Indian product called Clean and Dry Intimate Wash, a (very light-skinned) couple sits down for what would have been a peaceful cup of morning coffee—if the woman's disgusting brown vagina hadn't ruined everything! The dude can't even bring himself look at her. He can't look at his coffee either, because it only reminds him of his wife's dripping, coffee-brown hole! Fortunately, the quick-thinking woman takes a shower, scrubbing her swarthy snatch with Clean and Dry Intimate Wash ("Freshness + Fairness"). And poof! Her vadge comes out blinding white like a downy baby lamb (and NOT THE GROSS BLACK KIND) and her husband—whose penis, I can only assume, is literally a light saber—is all, "Hey, lady! Cancel them divorce papers and LET'S BONE." Needless to say, certain citizens are troubled by this product—which, in addition to just being fucking insane, brings up painful issues about the hierarchy of skin tone within the Indian community. As if it isn't bad enough that darker-skinned people are encouraged to stay out of the sun and invest in skin-bleaching products like Fair & Lovely, and that white actresses are being imported to play Indian people in Bollywood movies, now everyone has to be insecure about the fact that their vaginas happen to be the color that vaginas are??? Splendid! God, I was just saying the other day that my misogyny didn't have enough racism in it. So what are the pro-vadge-bleaching people thinking? Here's a hilarious explanation from a male ad exec: It is hard to deny that fairness creams often get social commentators and activists all worked up. What they should do is take a deep breath and think again. Lipstick is used to make your lips redder, fairness cream is used to make you fairer-so what's the problem? I don't think any Youngistani today thinks the British Raj/White man is superior to us Brown folk. That's all 1947 thinking! The only reason I can offer for why people like fairness, is this: if you have two beautiful girls, one of them fair and the other dark, you see the fair girl's features more clearly. This is because her complexion reflects more light. I found this amazing difference when I directed Kabir Bedi, who is very fair and had to wear dark makeup for Othello, the Black hero of the play. I found I had to have a special spotlight following Kabir around the stage because otherwise the audience could not see his expressions. See? It makes perfect sense. We just want our vaginas to reflect more light—is that so wrong? I mean, WHAT IF MY CAR BREAKS DOWN AT NIGHT AND I DON'T HAVE A REFLECTIVE ENOUGH VAGINA? Really, the ultimate one-vagina-to-rule-them-all would glow in the dark like one of those deep-sea fishes. I need my vagina to attract more krill so my husband will fuck me again! (My husband is a whale.) Basically the idea is to get as far away as possible from any color that vaginas actually come in. Because that's what's at the heart of this type of thinking—the perfect vagina would be something that's not a vagina at all."

Here's the ad:

4/12/2012 9:22:08 AM

That is crazy, but hilariously written.

4/12/2012 9:34:54 AM

^5 "Some kid jau.. He just hucked himself right into the wood chipper"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqFG7pHYPnU

But seriously

[Edited on April 12, 2012 at 9:35 AM. Reason : .]

4/12/2012 9:35:27 AM