No matter how powerful our brains are, they need recuperation time, to be kept in shape, and even an occasional charge. Think of it as a tune up for your brain. Skipping brain maintenance is as silly as the person wandering the parking garage because they forgot where they parked. Is that you? Are you that person? Sure. We all are at some point. No worries, there is hope.
Read more from 14 Simple Ways to Super Charge Your Brain
Pre-Columbian soundsThe Aztecs sounded the low, foghorn hum of conch shells at the start of ceremonies and possibly during wars to communicate strategies. Hunters likely used animal-shaped ocarinas to produce throaty grunts that lured deer.
The modern-day archaeologists who came up with the term Whistles of Death believe they were meant to help the deceased journey into the underworld, while tribes are said to have emitted terrifying sounds to fend off enemies, much like high-tech crowd-control devices available today.
Experts also believe pre-Columbian tribes used some of the instruments to send the human brain into a dream state and treat certain illnesses. The ancient whistles could guide research into how rhythmic sounds alter heart rates and states of consciousness.
Eve Carson was shot four other times, according to the report from the Office of the State Medical Examiner that simply lists her cause of death as "multiple gunshot wounds." The 22-year-old from Athens, Ga., was found March 5 lying on a street not far from the university's campus.
Prosecutors have charged two Durham men - Laurence Lovette, 17, and Demario Atwater, 22 - with first-degree murder in her death. Lovette and another man are also charged with the January murder of Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato.
The report on Carson's death was unsealed and made public for the first time on Monday, weeks after its completion. Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall had requested it remain shielded from public review so that investigators could complete their work on the case.
The report said Carson was shot five times, including once in the right cheek by a "full metal jacketed bullet" and in the right shoulder by a similar bullet that penetrated her right lung and traveled into her small intestine. She was also shot in the right upper arm and in the right buttock.
But the most vicious wound came from a shotgun blast that struck her right hand before impacting her head and brain, where the medical examiner recovered a "numerous birdshot pellets and a plastic shot cup."
"These wounds most likely represent a single shot with the hand acting as an intermediate target," the report said.
The autopsy report said Carson was wearing a light gray T-shirt, dark blue sweat pants and light blue, gray and white athletic shoes at the time of her death. She was also wearing a yellow metal necklace with a small locket and a white paper wristband on her left wrist that said "Be true" and "Nike."
In court documents released last week, authorities said a confidential informant told police that Atwater said he and Lovette entered Carson's home through an open door, took her and her vehicle to an ATM, and ended up withdrawing about $1,400 over two days. Investigators confirmed the dollar figure by reviewing Carson's bank records, according to the records.
The informant also said Carson was shot by both suspects. An affidavit signed by an investigator said the informant's statements were corroborated because two separate weapons were used in the shooting.
Lovette and Stephen Oates, 19, of Durham, are charged in Mahato's death. That autopsy showed the 29-year-old had been shot once at point-blank range in the forehead.
Devo sues McDonald's"We are in the midst of suing them," (Devo's Jerry) Casale
"This New Wave Nigel doll that they've created is just a complete Devo rip-off and the red hat is exactly the red hat that I designed, and it's copyrighted and trademarked.
"They didn't ask us anything. Plus, we don't like McDonald's, and we don't like American Idol, so we're doubly offended."
Six Flags officials in Georgia say a teenager was struck and killed by a roller coaster after entering a restricted area at the amusement park outside Atlanta.
Six Flags spokeswoman Hela Sheth said in a news release that the unidentified 17-year-old was struck and killed by the Batman roller coaster at about 2 p.m. Saturday.
Sheth says the teenager scaled two six-foot fences to enter the ride area.
She says there are signs warning the restricted area is dangerous.
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In Addendum:
A teenager was decapitated by a roller coaster after he hopped a pair of fences and entered a restricted area Saturday at Six Flags Over Georgia, authorities said.Six Flags officials are uncertain why the unidentified 17-year-old from Columbia, S.C. scaled two six-foot fences and passed signs that said the restricted area was both off-limits and dangerous to visitors, spokeswoman Hela Sheth said in a news release.
Authorities were investigating reports from witnesses who said the teenager jumped the fences to retrieve a hat he lost while riding the Batman roller coaster, said Cobb County police Sgt. Dana Pierce. Three security guards were keeping visitors away from the ride on Saturday.
Police said the ride was going full-speed when the teen was struck. The ride's top speed is 50 mph, according to the Six Flags Web site.
No one riding on the roller coaster was injured, Sheth said. The teen's friend also entered the restricted area but was not injured, Pierce said.
The teen and his parents were at the park with a group from the Oakey Spring Baptist Church near Springfield, S.C., police said.
Lt. Col. John Clearwater said Saturday that the soldier is training at a school where special operations ranging from raids to reconstruction projects are taught. Clearwater says the student has not been charged with any crime.
Police have called the death of Spc. Megan Lynn Touma suspicious. Police did not immediately return telephone messages Saturday.
Touma was found after a motel maintenance supervisor smelled a foul odor coming from a room.
Touma was a dental specialist who had recently arrived from a base in Germany. She was seven months pregnant.
An Ecstasy tablet. That’s what it took to make Donna Kilgore feel alive again that and the doctor who prescribed it. As the pill began to take effect, she giggled for the first time in ages. She felt warm and fuzzy, as if she was floating. The anxiety melted away. Gradually, it all became clear: the guilt, the anger, the shame.
Read more from Ecstasy Is the Key to Treating PTSD
The treeline will eventually stretch for 318 miles along the border between the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas.
Coahuila Gov. Humberto Moreira Valdes says "our wall is of life, and it competes with shame and hate."
The U.S. government says its fence is critical to security. Critics say it fuels animosity between the two countries and raises environmental and private property concerns.
The mayor of a Texas border town attended Friday's tree planting in Piedras Negras. Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster opposes the ongoing construction of 670 miles of border fence.
The Mexicans have the right idea ... trees, not only do they help the environment, they look better to the eye than concrete, steel and barbed wire and they have the added bonus on luring people to them as opposed to frightening them away.
ExtremophilesThere's hardly a niche on Earth that hasn't been colonised. Life can be found in scalding, acidic hot pools, in the driest deserts, and in the dark, crushing depths of the ocean. It has even found a toehold in the frigid polar regions and in toxic dumps.
"Life on Earth has radiated into every conceivable – and in some cases almost inconceivable – ecological niche," says Chris Impey of the University of Arizona in Tucson, US.
The very existence of these hardy organisms hints that life might be able to eke out an existence in the cold, dry climate of Mars, the icy, acidic conditions of Jupiter's moon Europa, or in countless other spots beyond our solar system.
Despite strong objections by defense attorneys, Superior Court Judge R. Allen Baddour released six warrants that helped police arrest Laurence Lovette, 17, and Demario Atwater, 22, both of Durham. Both are charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Eve Carson, the former student body president at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Lovette's attorney, Karen Bethea-Shields, said the warrants largely rely on hearsay from a confidential informant that could unfairly taint potential jurors in the high-profile case.
"Things that you get, you must make sure that you understand these are just allegations and evidence will come from the courtroom," she said.
Jonathan Brown, a defense attorney for Atwater, said: "This is obviously a terrible tragedy, and we have great sympathy for the family and friends of Eve Carson. At this time, we just want to have the legal system do its job and avoid any rush to judgment."
The warrants contradict the original accounts of the slaying, which first appeared to be a random carjacking in Chapel Hill.
One warrant said a confidential informant told police that Lovette and Atwater entered Carson's home through an open door, took her and her vehicle to an ATM, and used her pin to withdraw money from her bank account, totaling $1,400 over two days.
Investigators found a Bank of America receipt from Carson's account during a search of her vehicle when it was found a day after she was killed. There was a partial shoe print on the receipt, and investigators said they have seized several pairs of gym shoes from the suspects' homes, the warrants said.
The informant said Carson was shot multiple times by Lovette and was later shot by Atwater. An affidavit signed by State Bureau of Investigation special agent Brian Fleming said the informant's statements were corroborated because two separate weapons were used in the shootings.
A warrant also says police took blood, hair and saliva samples from the suspects to investigate if a sexual assault took placebut Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said Friday the tests are standard and there's no reason to believe Carson was sexually assaulted.
Carson was found dead March 5, laying in the middle of a residential street in Chapel Hill about a mile from campus. Police have said the Athens, Ga. native had been shot multiple times, including once in the right temple. The autopsy report remains sealed but was expected to be released next week.
She was last seen alive earlier that morning, around 1:30 a.m. when she stayed home to do schoolwork while her roommates went out, authorities said. Officers found her body in the street after neighbors reported hearing shots around 5 a.m.
Police received hundreds of tips after releasing surveillance photographs from an ATM machine and a convenience store. Atwater and Lovette were arrested within a week of Carson's death.
Lovette also is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato, who was found dead Jan. 18 in his apartment near the university's campus in Durham, about a 20-minute drive from Chapel Hill. An autopsy showed Mahato, 29, had been shot once at point-blank range in the forehead. Stephen Oates, 19, of Durham, also is charged with murder in Mahato's death.
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Attorneys worried about tainting the jury pool in a high profile case - so what else is new?!
Here's a clue for you - the jury pool already knows most of the particulars of this case and the further tainting of it isn't your biggest problem having guilty clients is.
The workers testified that they were beaten with brooms and umbrellas, slashed with knives, and forced to take cold showers by Mrs., Sabhnani
Yesterday, Varsha Sabhnani received an 11-year sentence for her treatment of the women.
A gang of Pakistani militants executed two Afghan prisoners in front of thousands of cheering supporters Friday, beheading one man and shooting the other after accusing them of aiding a U.S. missile strike.
The executions in the Bajur region highlighted the power of local Taliban forces in lawless tribal areas near the Afghan border.
Also Friday, a top U.N. official expressed fears that Pakistan's peace deals with militants were sparking a wave of similar abuses.
Militants calling from the loudspeakers of mosques summoned people to the banks of a stream outside the town of Khar, about 120 miles northwest of Islamabad. At least 5,000 people gathered to watch the executions.
Masked militants pulled the two blindfolded Afghans from a car and forced them to kneel on the ground.
Waliur Rehman, a local Taliban commander, told the crowd that the two men had confessed to aiding in the strike on a house in the border town of Damadola that killed 14 people last month. The men disclosed the names of others accused of involvement, who would be killed as well, Rehman said. Pakistan's army lodged a formal protest to "allied forces" in Afghanistan after saying Pakistan had concluded the attack was launched by drones from across the border. The U.S. did not comment on the incident.
"Whoever, for the sake of money, for the sake of America, harms the interest of the Islamic world will meet the same fate," Rehman said.
Gunmen with daggers then pounced on one of the men - identified as Jan Wali, 36 - decapitated him and waved his bloody head to the cheering crowd, according to an Associated Press reporter and AP Television News footage from the scene.
The militants then argued over how to kill the other man because he may have been a teenager, before one lost patience and shot him with an assault rifle.
The crowd erupted in cheers of "God is great!" and gunmen fired in the air in jubilation. The celebratory gunfire killed two bystanders and wounded six, local official Fazal Rabbi said.
There was no immediate reaction to the killings from U.S. or Pakistani officials.
The recently elected Pakistani government has supported negotiations that would give local tribes and militants broad authority over some tribal areas. The U.S. says those deals will only give Taliban and al-Qaida forces in the border region more freedom to attack Afghanistan.
A deal has not yet been reached over Bajur, but the militants are clearly able to operate freely in the area.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said Friday she was concerned that the peace deals undermined state authority and left residents vulnerable to a range of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings.
"The government has the responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians," she told reporters in Islamabad. She did not refer specifically to the executions in the Bajur area.
Minorities and women were particularly in danger, she said.
Hours before Arbour spoke, suspected Taliban militants torched two girls schools in the Swat region, the latest in a string of attacks on the female education system in the area, police said.
The attack on the schools cast doubt on efforts to shore up the collapsing peace deal in Swat. Local government officials said talks Thursday with representatives of a pro-Taliban cleric were a success, however both sides acknowledged serious disagreements remained.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met with Arbour on Friday to discuss the human rights situation in the country.
A statement released by his office did not directly address her concerns about abuses in tribal areas. However, he told her the U.S.-led war on terror had badly damaged Pakistan's economy and the country needed to take action, the statement said.
The government was talking with "the moderate elements who have laid down arms" and would resort to military force if the agreements were violated, he told her according to the statement.
He also assured Arbour he was committed to women's rights and to ensuring that girls have access to education, the statement said.
Arbour also expressed concerns about the human rights violations in the government's counterterrorism operations, including the disappearances of hundreds of people.
She also called on the ruling coalition to resolve its dispute over reinstating dozens of senior judges fired by President Pervez Musharraf last year, saying the crisis was paralyzing the government.
(From the AP)
Okay, so those are not views around MY library but after going through my library and cataloging everything last April it sure seemed like the photo collage above was appropriate.Under beautiful blue skies, members and visitors enjoyed a wonderful afternoon while clothed in the sun. There was live music and a barbeque lunch. Many members and visitors went home with fabulous door prizes including a pink boxing glove autographed by former heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes.
Sky Farm and its members sponsored a local woman Sherri Lynn of Manville as she continues her quest to participate in all 9 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer cities.
*****
How many of you would do the same?!
Carolina naturally has been given a FOUR-STAR rating by the folks at Intelligent Blogger.
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;—
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingëd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre,
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:—
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
~
Edgar Allan PoeGiant squidA flock of gulls feeding on the carcass alerted the crew to the remains. Their first thought, said crew members, was that the animal was a seal but after motoring closer to it they recognized the chewed-up squid...
(Giant squid expert and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History curator Eric) Hochberg said there's likely several squid along the California coast, but because the animal swims at depths of thousands of feet, it's almost never seen and difficult to study...
"The animal is just so big and so rare ... it's very easy for people to get a little nervous about what it is, and the stories go from there," Hochberg said.
GERMANY:
Requires license to obtain and use firearms and stipulates a check on the "reliability and suitability" of holders at least once every three years. Under-25s must undergo psychological screening. Buyers must justify why they need a gun.
Would-be buyers of recreational firearms must produce proof of regular membership in shooting club for at least one year. Legal age for owning recreational firearms is 21. That was raised from 18 in 2002, the year an alienated former pupil killed a dozen teachers and four others at a high school in Erfurt.
Hunters require a special hunting certificate to obtain arms.
SWITZERLAND:
Switzerland has strict rules for obtaining firearms, although there are hundreds of thousands of assault rifles, carbines and handguns in the homes of active and retired army members, who are on standby for national militia.
Requirements for obtaining handguns vary from one canton (state) to another. Under federal law, any person 19 or older can buy a gun, if they can obtain gun ownership certificate which is issued only to people without a police record. Gun dealers decide whether potential buyer poses threat to himself or others. Buyers must justify why they need a gun. Hunting, sports and self-defense are acceptable reasons.
ITALY:
Local authorities issue permits to bear arms. Validity periods and procedures vary depending on whether the permit is for self-defense, sport, hunting or collecting.
All requests must be accompanied by medical certificate showing the applicant is sound in mind and body. If the permit is for self-defense, the request must be based on a valid reason to bear arms.
BRITAIN:
The government bans semiautomatic rifles and handguns. These bans do not include deactivated handguns or replica handguns, but the 2006 Violent Crime Reduction Act made it illegal to buy sell or manufacture "a realistic imitation firearm." Owning guns for self-defense is not permitted.
AUSTRALIA:
In 1996 reforms led to uniform gun laws across all states of Australia that include: tougher licensing, registration of all guns, removal of guns from domestic violence offenders, and a ban on semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.
Gun ownership for self-defense is not legal. Civilian gun ownership is only valid for hunting, target sports, historical collection or occupational need.
A person must be at least 18 and undertake adequate safety training to purchase a firearm. The waiting period is not less than 28 days, and the license is issued for no more than five years.
SOUTH AFRICA:
The minimum age for gun possession is 21.
To obtain a gun, the applicant needs to obtain a competency certificate, showing they can use a firearm safely and are not a threat to the public, then they may apply for a firearms license for a specific gun they wish to obtain. That gun is registered with the police before it is transferred to the applicant based on a number of conditions.
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As it has over the centuries, the ancient temple is fueling nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border, and opposition supporters in the Thai parliament are raising it as a reason for why the prime minister should step down.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej last week endorsed Cambodia's bid to register the temple as a UNESCO World Heritage site - enraging opposition lawmakers who say he is yielding national sovereignty to Cambodia.
Never mind that the International Court of Justice awarded the temple and the land it stands on to Cambodia in 1962 - it remains an issue in both countries.
"The Preah Vihear temple is part of a wounded history of Thailand and Cambodia," said Charnvit Kasetsiri, a historian at Bangkok's Thammasat University. "It was used to stir up a nationalist movement during World War II, and again during the Cold War ... and is now threatening to inflame politics again."
The crumbling stone temple, which is a few hundred feet from Thailand's eastern border with Cambodia, is the centerpiece of a no-confidence motion against Samak. The opposition accuses the prime minister of policy mistakes and of being a proxy for deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra.
"Preah Vihear is the knockout punch" that could bring down Samak, opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told Parliament. However, Samak's ruling coalition has an overwhelming majority, and he is expected to easily survive Friday's vote.
The dispute comes shortly before the World Heritage Committee starts its annual meeting July 2 to consider bids for special status, which helps attract funds for preservation of a site as well as raising its tourism profile.
Thai senators sent a petition to UNESCO this week asking that consideration of Cambodia's request be deferred until both countries file a joint nomination for World Heritage status. UNESCO has not responded.
Anger is simmering on both sides of the border, particularly in Thailand.
"The Temple of Gloom," ran one banner headline in The Nation newspaper, under a photo taken in March of Samak shaking hands with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Samak insists his endorsement of Cambodia's bid has no effect on Thai sovereignty, saying the temple belongs to Cambodia and the Cambodians are entitled to seek its listing as a World Heritage site. A stretch of disputed territory around the temple was not included in the request to UNESCO, Samak told lawmakers.
Thai protesters have gathered near the hilltop site since Sunday, singing patriotic songs and shouting that the temple belongs to Thailand, said Hang Soth, director-general of Cambodia's Preah Vihear Authority.
As a result, Cambodia closed the border gate that leads from Thailand to the temple.
Preah Vihear, a Hindu-themed temple that reflects the beliefs of the kings who ruled what was then the Angkorean empire, is located on the top of a 1,722-foot cliff in the Dangrek Mountains, about 150 miles north of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Reaching it by road is easiest from the Thai side of the border.
"We are the owners of the temple, and it has nothing to do with Thailand," said Moeung Son, a Cambodian tour group operator and founder of the Khmer Civilization Foundation.
Last week, his group held a rally in Phnom Penh to support Cambodia's UNESCO bid and dispel what he called the "myth among some Thais who say that Preah Vihear temple is theirs."
Built between the 9th and 11th centuries, the stone temple is revered partly for having one of the most stunning locations of all the temples constructed during the Khmer empire - the most famous of which is Angkor Wat.
As the Khmer empire, which once encompassed parts of Thailand and Vietnam, shrank to the size of present-day Cambodia and the country was plunged into civil war, the temple fell into disrepair. Steps, walls and pillars have collapsed.
Hun Sen has pledged "a serious commitment" to building a road to the temple "whatever the cost."
It was the first concentrated academic sweep of the long-private archive administered by the International Tracing Service since it opened its doors last November to Holocaust survivors, victims relatives and historical researchers.
The opening of the files to scholars followed a series of stories on the archive by The Associated Press, which was the first news organization to be granted extensive access to the long-restricted files.
German historian Christel Trouve said the nameless millions of forced laborers began to take shape as individual people as she studied small labor camps - which existed in astonishing numbers.
Among the striking revelations was the identification of the man who rescued an 8-year-old boy in Buchenwald, Israel Meir Lau, who later became Israel's chief rabbi.
Lau had said his rescuer was a person called Fyodor from Rostow. Kenneth Waltzer of Michigan State University found it was Fyodor Michajlitschenko, 18, arrested by the Gestapo in 1943, who gave the small boy ear warmers and treated him like a father in Block 8 until the camp's liberation.
"A lot of us found the collections here, approached in the appropriate way, really opened up new significant scholarly lines of inquiry," said Waltzer, who is director of his university's Jewish Studies department.
Jessica Anderson Hughes of Rutgers University discovered that prostitutes servicing other prisoners in concentration camp brothels often came from ordinary backgrounds - exploding the myth that most had been prostitutes before their arrest.
Hughes said the lists in Bad Arolsen allowed her to attach names to the prisoner-prostitutes at Buchenwald, one of the largest concentration camps which had one of eight known brothels for prisoners.
With the names she could look up incarceration records - and she found some women were married, some single, some were mothers. The records said many were arrested for petty theft or other minor crime.
"We always portrayed them as volunteers, but I wanted to know why they volunteered," she said. She believed the prostitutes faced "a choice-less choice."
The research project was organized jointly by the tracing service and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, which brought scholars from six countries to begin assessing the significance of the archive, the largest collection of Nazi documents.
The 50 million pages stored in this central German spa town since the mid-1950s previously had been used by Red Cross staff to respond to inquiries about missing persons or the fate of family members, and later to document compensation claims.
With the population of survivors quickly shrinking, the 11 countries that govern the archive agreed in 2006 to widen access to the files. It took another 18 months for all 11 to ratify the required treaty amendments before the archive could open.
Reto Meister, the archive's director, said he still gets 1,000 inquires a month asking for personal information. Now, the archive is also getting dozens of academic inquiries or visitors every month, he said.
The gray metal shelves and cabinets contain 16 miles (25 kilometers) of transport lists, camp registries, medical records, forced labor files and death certificates of some 17.5 million people subjected to Nazi persecutions.
Taken together with written and oral testimonies and the transcripts of war crimes trials, the dry data at Bad Arolsen add texture to the known picture of the Holocaust, from the first concentration camps created within weeks of Hitler's rise to power in January 1933 to the defeat of Nazism in May 1945.
"It was much more than I expected," said Trouve.
"I've been working on concentration camps for 15 years. We know there was forced laborers in Germany - millions of them," she said. "But then you go through these lists. You see the farmer employing so many people. You see the factory employing hundreds of people. Everything was blurred, but suddenly you have a clear image."
Jean-Marc Dreyfus, of Manchester University in Britain, said the archive "won't utterly change our view of the Holocaust, but it will be very precious for researchers to complement and pursue new research."
It was less than a year ago that Iraqis poured into the streets in a rare show of unity and celebration after the national soccer team won the prestigious Asian Cup.
Celebratory gunfire roared across Baghdad and other cities. A beaming Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki later awarded each team member a $10,000 bonus and held a homecoming celebration filled with fanfare - albeit limited to the U.S.-protected Green Zone.
But on Thursday, the Iraqi Football Association said it has dissolved the national soccer team and dismissed the Iraqi coach four days after the team's loss to Qatar ended the country's hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
"It was decided to disband the team, with all its players and coaching staff, including (head coach) Adnan Hamad," the association said in a statement.
Tareq Ahmed, a senior federation official, told The Associated Press that Hamad "is no longer useful to our team."
Ahmed said a new coach - who was not named - would choose players for a new national team. The statement did not single out any players, raising the possibility that some of the current team members could make the new roster.
"We think that the team needs new blood and that new young players will strengthen it," Ahmed said.
Officials did not rule out keeping some of the current players.
"Anyone who has skills and is deemed appropriate by the new coach can join the national team regardless of his identity," said the Iraqi Olympic Committee spokesman, Jazier al-Sahlani.
He also said the decision wasn't entirely related to the level of play.
Al-Sahlani said Hamad also was being punished for purportedly criticizing a controversial government decision to disband the previous Iraqi Olympic Committee because of corruption allegations. The International Olympic Committee had responded by suspending Iraq's national Olympic body for "political interference."
"Hamad did not stick to his technical job and he was involved in politics," al-Sahlani said.
Hamad could not immediately be reached for comment. He was appointed to coach the national team in February, taking over from Norwegian Egil Olsen after another disappointing Iraqi performance in World Cup qualifications.
The jubilation over the victorious run of the team last year gave Iraqis a welcome respite from the daily violence. Revelers of all ages danced in the streets after each win, despite fears of attacks.
Iraqi fans were poised for another round street celebrations this year. Before Sunday's match, President Jalal Talabani issued a statement encouraging the squad to win.
Instead, many were angered by the team's unconvincing and weak performance. The team needed only a draw to reach the final qualification, but instead lost to Qatar 1-0.
Saad Karim, a 24-year-old physical education student, noted that "the team and the coach were treated as heroes" in previous wins.
"When they lost against Qatar, they were crucified. I think this decision is not fair and illogical because the IFA also should shoulder some responsibly for the defeat," Karim said.
Mohammed Haider, a 30-year-old grocer store owner in Baghdad, said he agreed with the decision to disband the team.
"The team needs new blood though the IFA itself, not the team only, should bear some of the blame," Haider said.
The official reaction evoked memories of the far harsher treatment of athletes under Saddam Hussein, whose son Odai was in charge of Iraqi sports and punished poor performances with torture or incarceration. In some cases, Odai was said to have forced players who missed shots during games to kick stone balls.
Iraq has not played a game at home in years. Because of the kidnapping and killing of athletes in various sports, the squad trains and plays abroad, mostly in Persian Gulf nations such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
"She kept coming over and tugging his seatbelt to make it tighter, 'This has to stay tight'. And then he was wiggling around and trying to get out of his seatbelt. And she kept coming over and reprimanding him and yelling at him," Farrell said...Link"The pilot made an announcement that there was a woman and her child on the plane and the child is uncontrollable. And at that point I just broke down," Farrell said.
So what is this Powder all about? It’s for motorcyclers. When you are driving on a motorcycle for hundreds of miles, at a time, your butt gets sweaty and irritated from all the constant rubbing. This can be extremely painful from what I am told. The Anti Monkey Butt Powder will absorb the sweat leaving your butt nice and dry and unirritated. The following is directly from the bottle fof this uniquely named product:“Anti Monkey Butt Powder is specially formulated to absorb excess sweat and reduce frictional skin irritation."
Ideal for butt busting activities such as truck driving, motorcycling, bicycling , horse back riding, and extreme sports. May also be applied inside footwear, under sports pads, and other areas prone to chafing.”
While you're laughing ... this is a real consumer product and can be found on the shelves at RiteAid and probably other places as well.
Coinciding with the first week of summer, a study published today underscores the importance of getting adequate amounts of sunlight for its vitamin D-boosting benefits. The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, shows that those with the lowest vitamin D levels have more than double the risk of dying from heart disease and other causes over an eight-year period compared with those with the highest vitamin D levels. The researchers cite “decreased outdoor activity” as one reason that people may become deficient in vitamin D. Another recent study found an increased risk of heart attacks in those with low vitamin D levels.
Read more from Time in the Sun: How Much Is Needed for Vitamin D?
U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle issued the ruling Tuesday in Gainesville. Last year, he granted a preliminary injunction against an earlier version of the law. He was reversed on appeal and the Legislature modified the law.
Both versions require elections officials to match Social Security, state identification or driver license numbers listed on voter registration applications with numbers in government databases.
"This ruling puts thousands of real Florida citizens at risk this November based on bureaucratic typos," lawyer Justin Levitt said Wednesday.
Levitt represents the Florida Conference of the National Association of Colored People and other groups challenging the law.
Under the new version, if the state is unable to match a number, an applicant can still register by providing verification of either his or her driver license, identity card or Social Security number regardless of which one was entered on the application.
The old version required that the number on the application had to be verified - no substitutes allowed.
The lawsuit alleges both versions of the law violate citizens' constitutional rights to vote and equal protection under the law.
In rejecting a preliminary injunction against the new law, Mickle wrote that challengers failed to establish a likelihood of prevailing on the constitutional issues that will be decided later. The judge also found that matching up identification is justified "by the state's compelling interest in fair and honest elections."
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The judge also found that matching up identification is justified "by the state's compelling interest in fair and honest elections".The efforts of nearly a dozen states to execute child rapists were derailed Wednesday by a Supreme Court decision that incensed supporters of such punishment. Officials in at least two states said they weren't ready to give up.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called the ruling "a clear abuse of judicial authority" and vowed state officials will "evaluate ways to amend our statute to maintain death as a penalty for this horrific crime." In Oklahoma, state senator Jay Paul Gumm promised similar efforts. "We will certainly look at what options we have," Gumm said. "I think the people of Oklahoma have spoken loudly that this is one of the most heinous of crimes."
Five states have laws that explicitly permit such executions. At issue before the high court was a Louisiana case involving Patrick Kennedy, sentenced to die for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter in her bed in 1998, an assault so severe she required surgery.
In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled the death penalty a disproportionate punishment for raping children under the age of 12, despite the horrendous nature of such acts.
Justices made a similar ruling in 1977, when they said the death penalty was unconstitutional punishment for a Georgia man convicted of raping a teenager who was an adult under the law.
Louisiana's law, passed in 1995, is the broadest in the country. It also makes first-time offenders eligible for the death penalty, unlike Texas, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Montana - which required at least one previous conviction for child rape. Following Wednesday's ruling, all become unconstitutional.
Nationwide, only two men have been sentenced to death for sexually abusing children - both in Louisiana. The second case involves a man convicted of repeatedly raping a 5-year-old girl.
Several states, including Missouri, Alabama and Colorado had been considering similar laws. Supporters there were incensed by Wednesday's ruling.
"Anybody in the country who cares about children should be outraged that we have a Supreme Court that would issue a decision like this," said Alabama Attorney General Troy King, who represented one of nine states that filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Louisiana on the grounds that child rape represented "manifest evil."
Justices are "creating a situation where the country is a less safe place to grow up," King said.
Republican Louisiana governor Jindal said he, too, was outraged. "The opinion reflects a clear abuse of judicial authority, trampling the constitutional authority of states to act through the legislative process," Jindal said.
In South Carolina, Attorney General Henry McMaster, who pushed hard in 2006 to get lawmakers to approve such punishment, said states could ultimately fight Wednesday's ruling by waiting for a change in the makeup of the Supreme Court, or by getting legislatures to redo death penalty laws.
Legal experts were divided on the potential success of such tactics.
According to Douglas Berman, a professor at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, the justices' ruling appears ironclad. "In the absence of death, the death penalty is off the table," he said. "Instead of a highly contextual and nuanced discussion ... the court asserted that states can only use the death penalty against rapists in the case of death.
"It could have left open the possibility of revamping child rape laws, by age for example, but it did not."
Law professor Deborah Denno of Fordham University wasn't so sure.
"No case is necessarily definitive when you're looking at specific language," she said. "I don't think this is airtight." It could be possible to argue applying the death penalty against attackers who "intended to kill" their victims, but didn't, she said. Or those who assault especially young children, such as toddlers, she said.
(from the AP)
Three Los Angeles women have pleaded not guilty to burning, starving and beating the 5-year-old son of one of the women.
A Compton court commissioner accepted the pleas Wednesday in an abuse and torture case against the boy's mother, 24-year-old Starkeisha Brown; her live-in girlfriend and a baby sitter. The mother could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
The boy was hospitalized June 9 after being found ill and in the care of a homeless stranger outside a Los Angeles County child services office in Compton.
Prosecutors claim the women beat Brown's son, starved him, burned his genitals with cigarettes and forced him to place his hands on a hot stove.
The company has asked the court to use Shari’a Islamic law to make a ruling on the lawsuit. Why would a right-wing Christian company like Blackwater want to do that?
If the judge agrees, it would essentially end the lawsuit over a botched flight supporting the U.S. military. Shari’a law does not hold a company responsible for the actions of employees performed within the course of their work.According to NPR, Blackwater has over $800 million in government contracts.Erik Prince, who owns Blackwater and Presidential Airways, briefly discussed the lawsuit in a meeting today with editors and reporters at The News & Observer. Prince was asked to justify having a case involving an American company working for the U.S. government decided by Afghan law.
“Where did the crash occur?” Prince said. “Afghanistan.”
Blackwater says crash lawsuit governed by Islamic law (via Reason)
Pot as anti-inflammatoryEssential oils from cannabis plants — whose leaves and flowers are used to make the marijuana drug — contain up to 35 percent (E)-BCP...
"Our interest is to exploit the pharmacological nature of the CB2 receptor," because it does not have psychotropic side effects, (study author Jürg) Gertsch explained in an email.
Alan says: "So my wife and I were hiking at Multnomah Falls on the AK-Wanee trail...it is a 2 mile hike that is definitely the "less travelled." During the hike we came across this set of bones that looks like it was laid out. Couldn't find a skull. I was wondering if anyone had an idea of what type of animal this might be? This area of the hike is pretty steep either direction off the path, so wondering what animal might inhabit or wander these hills?" Photos of mystery bones
