William Zantzinger, a Maryland socialite whose fatal beating of a black barmaid was recounted in a Bob Dylan protest song of the 1960s, was buried Friday.
He was 69.
Zantzinger died January 3rd.
The tobacco farmer served six months and was fined $500 for manslaughter in 1963 for striking the 51-year-old barmaid with his cane for taking too long to serve him a drink.
Hattie Carroll later died of a stroke.
In the "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," Dylan criticized different standards of justice meted out to whites and blacks.
Zantzinger was allowed to delay the start the sentence two weeks so he could harvest his tobacco crop and served the time in the Washington County jail, working in its kitchen.
"There is something wrong with this city when a white man can beat a colored woman to death and no one raises a hand to stop him," the Revrerend. Thomas C. Jackson said in his sermon at Gillis Memorial Church the Sunday after Carroll's death.
News accounts at the time said Zantzinger had been seen drinking with his wife at a dinner before a ball.
While dining, Zantzinger told jurors he began hitting waitresses with the cane.
"I'd been smacking - tapping - waitresses on the tail, and they didn't say anything.
I was just playing," Zantzinger told the jury in Hagerstown, where the case was tried.
"I had no other purpose than to have a good time," Zantzinger testified.
"The last thing I intended was to harm or injure anyone. I never even thought about it."
Zantzinger, who later became a foreclosure auctioneer, didn't answer questions about Dylan's song for years.
In 2001, he told Dylan biographer Howard Sounes the singer was "just a scum bag of the earth.
I should have sued him and put him in jail.
(The song is) a total lie."
Saturday, January 10, 2009
South Korean blogger arrested
A South Korean blogger pleaded not guilty Saturday to charges that he spread false economic information on the Internet, a news report said, in a case that drew heated debate over freedom of speech.
The blogger, identified only by his surname Park, gained prominence among South Koreans because some of his dire predictions about the global economy, including the collapse of Lehman Brothers, later proved to be correct.
Known widely by his pen name "Minerva," the mythological Greek goddess of wisdom, the 31-year-old Park was accused of spreading false information on an Internet discussion site last month that the government had ordered major financial institutions and trade businesses not to purchase U.S. dollars.
Kim Yong-sang, a judge at the Seoul Central District Court who issued an arrest warrant for Park following Saturday's court hearing, said the case "affected foreign exchange markets and the nation's credibility,"
Park told the judge he wrote articles to help underprivileged people and did not seek any personal financial gain or harm the public interest.
In about 100 postings on the popular Web site last year, Park criticized the government's handling of the economy and made predictions, largely negative, on the future.
His writings were sprinkled with jargon that convinced some readers he was an economic expert.
Park described himself in Web entries as a former securities firm employee with a master's degree earned in the United States and experience in the field of corporate acquisitions and takeovers, according to local media.
His deeply analytical style and sometimes prescient forecasts made Park a star on the Web, earning him the nickname "economic president on the Internet."
But prosecutors said Park was an unemployed resident of Seoul who studied economics on his own after graduating from a vocational high school and a junior college with a major in information and communication.
It is rare for bloggers to be arrested in South Korea, one of the world's most wired and tech savvy nations.
Critics say the case could undermine freedom of speech on the Internet.
"It is as if control on the Internet started as of today," a blogger wrote on a bulletin board in Daum Communications, one of South Korea's popular Web portals after news came of Park's detention on Wednesday.
Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a prominent human rights group, has called for Park's release and urged the prosecution to stop its investigation.
It is extremely intolerant for the government "to punish those who freely express their opinions and discuss them on the Internet," the group said Friday.
In a statement, the main opposition Democratic Party expressed disappointment over the arrest and accused the judiciary of paving the way for human rights violations.
If indicted and convicted, Park could be sentenced to up to five years in prison or receive a fine of up to 50 million won ($37,250).
Park was transferred to a Seoul detention center after the court issued the warrant.
The blogger, identified only by his surname Park, gained prominence among South Koreans because some of his dire predictions about the global economy, including the collapse of Lehman Brothers, later proved to be correct.
Known widely by his pen name "Minerva," the mythological Greek goddess of wisdom, the 31-year-old Park was accused of spreading false information on an Internet discussion site last month that the government had ordered major financial institutions and trade businesses not to purchase U.S. dollars.
Kim Yong-sang, a judge at the Seoul Central District Court who issued an arrest warrant for Park following Saturday's court hearing, said the case "affected foreign exchange markets and the nation's credibility,"
Park told the judge he wrote articles to help underprivileged people and did not seek any personal financial gain or harm the public interest.
In about 100 postings on the popular Web site last year, Park criticized the government's handling of the economy and made predictions, largely negative, on the future.
His writings were sprinkled with jargon that convinced some readers he was an economic expert.
Park described himself in Web entries as a former securities firm employee with a master's degree earned in the United States and experience in the field of corporate acquisitions and takeovers, according to local media.
His deeply analytical style and sometimes prescient forecasts made Park a star on the Web, earning him the nickname "economic president on the Internet."
But prosecutors said Park was an unemployed resident of Seoul who studied economics on his own after graduating from a vocational high school and a junior college with a major in information and communication.
It is rare for bloggers to be arrested in South Korea, one of the world's most wired and tech savvy nations.
Critics say the case could undermine freedom of speech on the Internet.
"It is as if control on the Internet started as of today," a blogger wrote on a bulletin board in Daum Communications, one of South Korea's popular Web portals after news came of Park's detention on Wednesday.
Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a prominent human rights group, has called for Park's release and urged the prosecution to stop its investigation.
It is extremely intolerant for the government "to punish those who freely express their opinions and discuss them on the Internet," the group said Friday.
In a statement, the main opposition Democratic Party expressed disappointment over the arrest and accused the judiciary of paving the way for human rights violations.
If indicted and convicted, Park could be sentenced to up to five years in prison or receive a fine of up to 50 million won ($37,250).
Park was transferred to a Seoul detention center after the court issued the warrant.
Yemen releases Osama bin Laden's former driver
The lawyer for Osama bin Laden's former driver says his client has been released from a Yemeni prison after serving out his sentence.
Lawyer Khaled Al-Anas says Salim Hamdan was released Friday.
A Yemeni Interior Ministry official has confirmed the release but says it happened Saturday.
The reason for the discrepancy was not clear.
A U.S. military tribunal convicted Hamdan in August of aiding al-Qaida and sentenced him to 5 1/2 years in prison.
He had already served five years and a month at Guantanamo Bay prison at the time.
The U.S. transferred Hamdan to his home country Yemen at the end of 2008 to serve out the rest of his sentence.
Lawyer Khaled Al-Anas says Salim Hamdan was released Friday.
A Yemeni Interior Ministry official has confirmed the release but says it happened Saturday.
The reason for the discrepancy was not clear.
A U.S. military tribunal convicted Hamdan in August of aiding al-Qaida and sentenced him to 5 1/2 years in prison.
He had already served five years and a month at Guantanamo Bay prison at the time.
The U.S. transferred Hamdan to his home country Yemen at the end of 2008 to serve out the rest of his sentence.
Run for your lives ... Yellowstone's going to explode!
Yeah, but today, tomorrow or next week?
Hundreds of small earthquakes at Yellowstone National Park in recent weeks have been an unsettling reminder for some people that underneath the park's famous geysers and majestic scenery lurks one of the world's biggest volcanoes.
In the ancient past, the volcano has erupted 1,000 times more powerfully than the 1980 blast at Mount St. Helens, hurling ash as far away as Louisiana.
No eruption that big has occurred while modern humans have walked the earth, however, and geologists say even a minor lava flow is extremely unlikely any time soon.
Some observers are nonetheless warning of imminent catastrophe.
"To those of us who have been following these events, we know that something is brewing, especially considering that Yellowstone is over 40,000 years overdue for a major eruption," warned a posting on the online disaster forum Armageddononline.org.
Another Web site contained a page entitled "Yellowstone Warning" that encouraged "everyone to leave Yellowstone National Park for 100 miles around the volcano caldera because of the danger in poisonous gasses that can escape from the hundreds of recent earthquakes."
That site, which carried the U.S. Geological Survey logo, has since been taken down.
"A casual observer would be led to believe that was an official source," Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said, pointing out that the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, which monitors the park for seismic activity, hasn't changed the volcano's alert level from "normal."
Working with the Geological Survey, Nash issued a news release Thursday, saying no evacuation had been ordered.
Jessica Robertson, a Geological Survey spokeswoman in Reston, Va., said the Web page violated the USGS trademark and that the agency's attorneys were investigating whether a federal offense was committed.
Earthquakes are hardly unusual in Yellowstone. Hundreds occur in the park every year. Earthquake "swarms" like the recent activity also aren't uncommon, although the 900 or so quakes that began December 26, 2008 and significantly tapered off about a week later appear to have been the most energetic swarm in more than 20 years.
The most powerful temblor was magnitude 3.9, just short of being able to cause moderate damage. The vast majority of quakes were too weak to be felt by people.
Scientists knowledgeable about Yellowstone's geology aren't publicly speculating about what caused the swarm before they can analyze data.
That will take months.
"I could come up with 100 different theories without any evidence for them and they would all be equally likely," said Jake Lowenstern, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based scientist in charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
"Unless you have some reason to say that's what's going on, then you're not going to get a whole lot of people convinced by your speculation."
Park geologist Hank Heasler said the odds of a cataclysmic eruption at Yellowstone any time soon are astonishingly remote - about the same as a large meteorite hitting the Earth.
The last such eruption occurred 640,000 years ago.
The last eruption of any kind at Yellowstone was a much smaller lava flow about 70,000 years ago.
OK, Yellowstone is going to 'explode' - it IS a volcano after all. However, the likelihood of it happening anytime soon is relative. Soon - has a whole different meaning geologically than it does to we humans. Yellowstone's last eruption could be viewed as but a moment ago geologically and that was 70,000 years ago to we humans.
I for one am not going to fret about an eruption in Yellowstone ... then again, I live a bit away from there.
Hundreds of small earthquakes at Yellowstone National Park in recent weeks have been an unsettling reminder for some people that underneath the park's famous geysers and majestic scenery lurks one of the world's biggest volcanoes.
In the ancient past, the volcano has erupted 1,000 times more powerfully than the 1980 blast at Mount St. Helens, hurling ash as far away as Louisiana.
No eruption that big has occurred while modern humans have walked the earth, however, and geologists say even a minor lava flow is extremely unlikely any time soon.
Some observers are nonetheless warning of imminent catastrophe.
"To those of us who have been following these events, we know that something is brewing, especially considering that Yellowstone is over 40,000 years overdue for a major eruption," warned a posting on the online disaster forum Armageddononline.org.
Another Web site contained a page entitled "Yellowstone Warning" that encouraged "everyone to leave Yellowstone National Park for 100 miles around the volcano caldera because of the danger in poisonous gasses that can escape from the hundreds of recent earthquakes."
That site, which carried the U.S. Geological Survey logo, has since been taken down.
"A casual observer would be led to believe that was an official source," Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said, pointing out that the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, which monitors the park for seismic activity, hasn't changed the volcano's alert level from "normal."
Working with the Geological Survey, Nash issued a news release Thursday, saying no evacuation had been ordered.
Jessica Robertson, a Geological Survey spokeswoman in Reston, Va., said the Web page violated the USGS trademark and that the agency's attorneys were investigating whether a federal offense was committed.
Earthquakes are hardly unusual in Yellowstone. Hundreds occur in the park every year. Earthquake "swarms" like the recent activity also aren't uncommon, although the 900 or so quakes that began December 26, 2008 and significantly tapered off about a week later appear to have been the most energetic swarm in more than 20 years.
The most powerful temblor was magnitude 3.9, just short of being able to cause moderate damage. The vast majority of quakes were too weak to be felt by people.
Scientists knowledgeable about Yellowstone's geology aren't publicly speculating about what caused the swarm before they can analyze data.
That will take months.
"I could come up with 100 different theories without any evidence for them and they would all be equally likely," said Jake Lowenstern, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based scientist in charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
"Unless you have some reason to say that's what's going on, then you're not going to get a whole lot of people convinced by your speculation."
Park geologist Hank Heasler said the odds of a cataclysmic eruption at Yellowstone any time soon are astonishingly remote - about the same as a large meteorite hitting the Earth.
The last such eruption occurred 640,000 years ago.
The last eruption of any kind at Yellowstone was a much smaller lava flow about 70,000 years ago.
*****
OK, Yellowstone is going to 'explode' - it IS a volcano after all. However, the likelihood of it happening anytime soon is relative. Soon - has a whole different meaning geologically than it does to we humans. Yellowstone's last eruption could be viewed as but a moment ago geologically and that was 70,000 years ago to we humans.
I for one am not going to fret about an eruption in Yellowstone ... then again, I live a bit away from there.
Interesting tidbit
No invention of the Industrial Revolution influenced Impressionism more than the camera.
Most of the Impressionists had cameras and experimented with their new images.
Photography inspired impressionists to capture the moment, but did you know that some of the most famous paintings of Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec or Gauguin were inspired on an original photograph?
Most of the Impressionists had cameras and experimented with their new images.
Photography inspired impressionists to capture the moment, but did you know that some of the most famous paintings of Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec or Gauguin were inspired on an original photograph?
China's internet 'spin doctors'
The Chinese Communist Party has reportedly raised a "50-Cent Army" of astroturfers who are paid RMB0.50 for each patriotic, pro-Chinese comment they post on blogs and social media sites. Some estimates have the size of the army at 300,000 people.
Comments, rumours and opinions can be quickly spread between internet groups in a way that makes it hard for the government to censor.So instead of just trying to prevent people from having their say, the government is also attempting to change they way they think.
To do this, they use specially trained - and ideologically sound - internet commentators.
They have been dubbed the "50-cent party" because of how much they are reputed to be paid for each positive posting (50 Chinese cents; $0.07; £0.05).
Eternal flame only lasts until gas bill arrives
An "eternal" flame at Bullhead City's new veterans memorial park that only lasted until city officials received a $961 gas bill has been re-lit following complaints by veterans groups.
The Medal of Honor Memorial at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Park alongside the Colorado River was lit on Veterans Day in November. When the bill arrived in late December, city officials were stunned.
"It caught us by surprise," City Manager Tim Ernster said Thursday. "What we decided to do for the time being is to turn the flame on ... for special events, for Veterans Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day - those types of activities."
The flame was extinguished on Monday. The Mohave Valley Daily News published a story Friday quoting city officials and disgruntled veterans who had worked to pay for and build the memorial before turning it over to the city.
The flame was back on by mid-morning Friday following a meeting of city officials.
"What happened was really a miscommunication," city spokesman Steve Johnson said. "The issue came up one day and it was never intended to be shut off."
Johnson said the flame is impressive, but city parks officials are looking at ways to put a smaller burner in place and only use the larger one at special events.
"We're looking at alternatives, because $1,000 a month in these economic times is certainly a consideration," Johnson said.
Idaho pizza workers use tips for tropical holiday
And more power to them ...
Employees at an Idaho pizzeria are using more than $115,000 earned from tips over the past 13 years to pay for a week-long tropical vacation.
The Idaho Statesman reports that two locations of Flying Pie in Boise will close starting Jan. 13 so that 54 current and former employees and eight guests can go to Costa Rica. The guests paid for a portion of their costs.
The workers of the State Street and Fairview Avenue locations had been investing 10 percent of their tips toward a trip to Hawaii since the mid-1990s. The pizzeria pulled the money out last year after deciding to go to Costa Rica instead.
*****
I hope they have one helluva great trip.
Masked man waited in line to rob bank
Like DUH?!
A man may have tipped his intentions when he stood in line at a Stow, Ohio, bank wearing a ski mask before staging a holdup.
Police in Stow near Akron say 24-year-old Feliks Goldshtein of Highland Heights was arrested minutes later on Thursday following a brief car chase.
Police say the teller asked the man to take off the mask before being served. At that point the man displayed what turned out to be a toy gun and told the teller to give him all the money. He made off with an undisclosed amount.
Police Captain Rick Myers says it's unusual for a masked robber to wait in line at a bank.
Goldshtein was held at the Summit County Jail Friday on charges of aggravated robbery and failure to comply with a police order.
*****
It never ceases to amaze ... how stupid crooks are!
Carolinas, 30 other states have toxic ponds
156 power plants store coal ash in lagoons similar to one that ruptured in Tennessee
Millions of tons of toxic coal ash are piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a situation the government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has done nothing about.
An analysis of the most recent Energy Department data found that 156 coal-fired power plants store ash in surface ponds similar to one that ruptured last month in Tennessee.
Yesterday, a pond at a northeastern Alabama power plant spilled a different material.
Records indicate that states storing the most coal ash in ponds are Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama.
The man made lagoons hold a mixture of the noncombustible ingredients of coal and the ash trapped by equipment designed to reduce air pollution from the power plants.
Over the years, the volume of waste has grown as demand for electricity increased and the federal government clamped down on emissions from power plants.
The analysis found that in 2005, the most recent year for which data is available, 721 power plants generating at least 100 megawatts of electricity produced 95.8 million tons of coal ash. About 20 percent – or nearly 20 million tons – ended up in surface ponds. The remainder ends up in landfills or is sold for use in concrete, among other uses.
The Environmental Protection Agency eight years ago said it wanted to set a national standard for ponds or landfills used to dispose of wastes produced from burning coal.
The agency has yet to act.
As a result, coal ash ponds are subject to less regulation than landfills accepting household trash, even though the industry's own estimates show that ash ponds contain tens of thousands of pounds of toxic heavy metals. The EPA estimates that about 300 ponds for coal ash exist nationwide.
Without federal guidelines, regulations of the ash ponds vary by state. Most ponds lack liners and have no monitors to ensure that ash and its contents don't seep into underground aquifers.
“There has been zero done by the EPA,” said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. Rahall pushed through legislation in 1980 directing the EPA to study how wastes generated at the nation's coal-fired power plants should be treated.
In 1988 and 1993, the EPA decided that coal ash should not be regulated as a hazardous waste. The agency has also failed to take other steps to control how the waste is stored.
The Tennessee spill was at a Tennessee Valley Authority plant and covered 300 acres in a slurry of coal ash and water, destroying homes and tainting waterways and soil with high levels of arsenic.
The utility reported a second leak yesterday (January 9, 2009) at a pond at a northeast Alabama power plant that was storing gypsum, a material trapped in air pollution control devices that is different from the sludge that spilled in Tennessee. Some of the gypsum reached a nearby creek before the leak was stopped.
Coal Ash ponds in the Carolinas
Power plants in the Carolinas with coal ash ponds and the amount in tons stored, according to an analysis of Energy Department data from 2005, the latest year statistics were available.
North Carolina
Progress Energy Carolinas. Buncombe County. 106,000 tons.
Progress Energy Carolinas. Chatham County. 101,300 tons.
Progress Energy Carolinas. Wayne County. 106,100 tons.
Progress Energy Carolinas. Person County. 46,300 tons.
Progress Energy Carolinas. New Hanover County. 166,000 tons.
Progress Energy Carolinas. Robeson County. 47,000 tons.
Progress Energy Carolinas. Person County. 212,800 tons.
Duke Energy. Gaston County. 143,400 tons.
Duke Energy. Rowan County. 121,900 tons.
Duke Energy. Cleveland County. 96,900 tons.
Duke Energy. Rockingham County. 28,500 tons.
Duke Energy. Catawba County. 33,500 tons.
Duke Energy. Gaston County. 93,100 tons.
Duke Energy. Stokes County. 41,400 tons.
South Carolina
Progress Energy Carolinas. Darlington County. 62,200 tons.
Duke Energy. Anderson County. 63,500 tons.
S.C. Electric & Gas Co. Colleton County. 101,100 tons.
S.C. Electric & Gas Co. Aiken County. 12,500 tons.
S.C. Public Service Authority. Berkeley County. 10,900 tons.
S.C. Public Service Authority. Horry County. 7,000 tons.
S.C. Public Service Authority. Berkeley County. 34,900 tons.
S.C. Public Service Authority. Georgetown. 8,950 tons.
Job loses in 2008 highest in Sixty years
The nation lost 524,000 jobs in December, reflecting a fear among employers that if they fail to shed workers quickly their companies might go under in a recession poised to become the worst in generations.
Rainy forecast, sunny outlook for Panthers
Good morning, Panther fans.
Our team is a 9.5-point home favorite against Arizona tonight.
Game time weather in Charlotte is likely to be rain, possibly dampening the potent Cardinals passing game.
The only person you know who's picking against the Panthers is ESPN analyst and possibly embittered Keyshawn Johnson.
All in all, a good start to your day.
The details:
The weather: Forecast calls for likely showers at game time, probably developing into rain by 9 a.m. Temperature: 52 degrees. Historically, rain hampers passing games, but it needs to fall at a decent rate to impact a game.
The picks: The more prominent predictions have rolled in at week's end. For early and midweek picks, click here and here. Also, click on available links below to see how experts picked the weekend's other games.
Peter King, Sports Illustrated: Carolina 26, Arizona 17. Go back to draft day. Remember the deal Panthers GM Marty Hurney made in the middle of round one? He dealt second- and fourth-round picks in the 2008 draft, and a first-rounder in 2009, for the Eagles' first-round choice (19th overall). Was right tackle Jeff Otah really worth that kind of quarterback-ish ransom? Apparently he was because the Panthers rushed for 30 touchdowns this year. Thirty! John Fox wanted an offense that was more slug-it-out than throw-it-deep. Luckily for him, the Panthers are blessed with the ability to do both, and I don't trust Arizona's running game to be as good this week as it was last week against Atlanta, when Edgerrin James swam in the Ponce de Leon pool. I think Carolina controls the clock and the game.
Sporting News football staff:
Vinnie Iyer - Carolina , 30-27
Arnie Spanier - Carolina, 31-20
Dennis Dillon - Carolina, 21-16
Greg Cosell - Carolina, 27-20
Clifton Brown - Carolina, 27-18
Albert Breer - Carolina, 31-13
Real Scouts - Carolina, 27-24
Brian Baldinger - Carolina, 24-23
ESPN football staff: Carolina wins - Seth Wickersham, David Fleming, Merrill Hoge, Ron Jaworski, Mark Schlereth, Marcus Allen, Chris Mortensen, Mike Golic, Mike Ditka, Cris Carter, Tom Jackson. Arizona wins - Keyshawn Johnson.
Madden NFL 09 Simulation: Carolina 23, Arizona 13.
Finally, some NFL odds:
Odds to win the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII:
New York Giants 13/4
Carolina Panthers 4/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 17/4
Tennessee Titans 6/1
Philadelphia Eagles 6/1
Baltimore Ravens 15/2
San Diego Chargers 9/1
Arizona Cardinals 20/1
Odds to win the 2009 NFC Championship
New York Giants 7/5
Carolina Panthers 3/2
Philadelphia Eagles 8/3
Arizona Cardinals 10/1
Odds to win the 2009 AFC Championship
Pittsburgh Steelers 8/5
Tennessee Titans 9/4
Baltimore Ravens 10/3
San Diego Chargers 7/2
Which team will score the most points this weekend?
Carolina Panthers 5/2
New York Giants 4/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 4/1
Arizona Cardinals 5/1
Philadelphia Eagles 5/1
Tennessee Titans 5/1
Baltimore Ravens 6/1
San Diego Chargers 6/1
source: bodoglife.com via NFLGridironGab
Our team is a 9.5-point home favorite against Arizona tonight.
Game time weather in Charlotte is likely to be rain, possibly dampening the potent Cardinals passing game.
The only person you know who's picking against the Panthers is ESPN analyst and possibly embittered Keyshawn Johnson.
All in all, a good start to your day.
The details:
The weather: Forecast calls for likely showers at game time, probably developing into rain by 9 a.m. Temperature: 52 degrees. Historically, rain hampers passing games, but it needs to fall at a decent rate to impact a game.
The picks: The more prominent predictions have rolled in at week's end. For early and midweek picks, click here and here. Also, click on available links below to see how experts picked the weekend's other games.
Peter King, Sports Illustrated: Carolina 26, Arizona 17. Go back to draft day. Remember the deal Panthers GM Marty Hurney made in the middle of round one? He dealt second- and fourth-round picks in the 2008 draft, and a first-rounder in 2009, for the Eagles' first-round choice (19th overall). Was right tackle Jeff Otah really worth that kind of quarterback-ish ransom? Apparently he was because the Panthers rushed for 30 touchdowns this year. Thirty! John Fox wanted an offense that was more slug-it-out than throw-it-deep. Luckily for him, the Panthers are blessed with the ability to do both, and I don't trust Arizona's running game to be as good this week as it was last week against Atlanta, when Edgerrin James swam in the Ponce de Leon pool. I think Carolina controls the clock and the game.
Sporting News football staff:
Vinnie Iyer - Carolina , 30-27
Arnie Spanier - Carolina, 31-20
Dennis Dillon - Carolina, 21-16
Greg Cosell - Carolina, 27-20
Clifton Brown - Carolina, 27-18
Albert Breer - Carolina, 31-13
Real Scouts - Carolina, 27-24
Brian Baldinger - Carolina, 24-23
ESPN football staff: Carolina wins - Seth Wickersham, David Fleming, Merrill Hoge, Ron Jaworski, Mark Schlereth, Marcus Allen, Chris Mortensen, Mike Golic, Mike Ditka, Cris Carter, Tom Jackson. Arizona wins - Keyshawn Johnson.
Madden NFL 09 Simulation: Carolina 23, Arizona 13.
Finally, some NFL odds:
Odds to win the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII:
New York Giants 13/4
Carolina Panthers 4/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 17/4
Tennessee Titans 6/1
Philadelphia Eagles 6/1
Baltimore Ravens 15/2
San Diego Chargers 9/1
Arizona Cardinals 20/1
Odds to win the 2009 NFC Championship
New York Giants 7/5
Carolina Panthers 3/2
Philadelphia Eagles 8/3
Arizona Cardinals 10/1
Odds to win the 2009 AFC Championship
Pittsburgh Steelers 8/5
Tennessee Titans 9/4
Baltimore Ravens 10/3
San Diego Chargers 7/2
Which team will score the most points this weekend?
Carolina Panthers 5/2
New York Giants 4/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 4/1
Arizona Cardinals 5/1
Philadelphia Eagles 5/1
Tennessee Titans 5/1
Baltimore Ravens 6/1
San Diego Chargers 6/1
source: bodoglife.com via NFLGridironGab
Motorist with 16 guns, ammo arrested at LA airport
From the "Bone-head move, there Sherlock" Department:
A motorist with more than a dozen guns - two of them loaded - and nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck was arrested Friday at a vehicle checkpoint as he entered Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.
Phillip Dominguez of Orange was booked on suspicion of felony transportation of an assault rifle, but airport police said it appears he did not intend any harm and was there to pick up someone.
"He just made a very bad decision, and should not have been carrying those weapons," said airport police Sgt. Jim Holcomb.
The weapons - which included 10 handguns, five rifles and an antique black-powder musket - were in containers in the back of the 47-year-old man's truck, which was stopped by airport police officers at a major entrance to the passenger terminals area, said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.
Two of the weapons, a revolver and the musket, were loaded, Holcomb said.
Dominguez's wife, Sue Dominguez, said that her husband planned to go target shooting at an outdoor range with a friend whom he was picking up at the airport.
She said she found out about his arrest from a television news report and they later spoke on the phone.
She described him as a law-abiding citizen who treats his weapons with care.
"The guns are always double-locked. He has all the paperwork and everything. He's a fanatic about making it all legal," she said.
"He didn't lie to the police and he said they were polite and respectful to him."
Police initially reported that 37 weapons were found in the truck.
Castles said that count was an estimate based on the number of containers in the truck, which did not all contain weapons.
Airport police routinely set up vehicle checkpoints at roads leading into the airport's central roads.
The FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Los Angeles Police Department are investigating whether the weapons were properly registered.
A motorist with more than a dozen guns - two of them loaded - and nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck was arrested Friday at a vehicle checkpoint as he entered Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.
Phillip Dominguez of Orange was booked on suspicion of felony transportation of an assault rifle, but airport police said it appears he did not intend any harm and was there to pick up someone.
"He just made a very bad decision, and should not have been carrying those weapons," said airport police Sgt. Jim Holcomb.
The weapons - which included 10 handguns, five rifles and an antique black-powder musket - were in containers in the back of the 47-year-old man's truck, which was stopped by airport police officers at a major entrance to the passenger terminals area, said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.
Two of the weapons, a revolver and the musket, were loaded, Holcomb said.
Dominguez's wife, Sue Dominguez, said that her husband planned to go target shooting at an outdoor range with a friend whom he was picking up at the airport.
She said she found out about his arrest from a television news report and they later spoke on the phone.
She described him as a law-abiding citizen who treats his weapons with care.
"The guns are always double-locked. He has all the paperwork and everything. He's a fanatic about making it all legal," she said.
"He didn't lie to the police and he said they were polite and respectful to him."
Police initially reported that 37 weapons were found in the truck.
Castles said that count was an estimate based on the number of containers in the truck, which did not all contain weapons.
Airport police routinely set up vehicle checkpoints at roads leading into the airport's central roads.
The FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Los Angeles Police Department are investigating whether the weapons were properly registered.
Tests show algae toxin in some sick pelicans
A toxic chemical produced by algae has been detected in some sick California brown pelicans that are being found in record numbers along the West Coast, though researchers don't believe it's the primary cause of their widespread illness, wildlife experts said.
Three of six blood samples taken from sick pelicans tested positive for domoic acid, according to preliminary laboratory results from the University of Southern California.
Five of 14 water samples taken from waters off the Southern California coast also indicated low concentrations of domoic acid in the phytoplankton.
"We believe these results are significant but do not explain all the signs we are seeing in the pelicans," said Dr. Heather Nevill, a veterinarian at the International Bird Rescue Research Center, which provided the samples.
"We are seeing a number of conditions that are not typical of domoic acid toxicity or a domoic acid event."
Most of the hundreds of ailing pelicans are thin, but birds poisoned by domoic acid are typically of good body weight.
That leads researchers to believe that domoic acid is likely playing a secondary role to a larger problem.
Domoic acid, a neurotoxin, is produced by microscopic algae.
Birds and sea mammals ingest the acid by eating fish and shellfish that consume the algae.
Jay Holcomb, executive director of the Fairfield-based center, said two of the pelican samples showed relatively high levels of domoic acid and one was relatively mild.
The center said additional blood and tissue samples are being tested and more information is anticipated within the next two weeks.
Sick, disoriented pelicans have been found in unusual places far from their homes on roads, farm fields, alleys and backyards.In the last week, the birds have been reported staggering across Culver Boulevard in Playa del Rey and on a Los Angeles International Airport runway.
One bird was reported to have struck a vehicle.
The center said it has recorded 265 reports of dead or ailing pelicans from Baja California, Mexico, to Washington state.
More than 100 pelicans are being nursed back to health at the center's two facilities in Fairfield and San Pedro, with a combination of intravenous fluids, medications and a diet of smelt and squid.
The California brown pelican is a subspecies of the common brown pelican.
Its habitat stretches from the Sinaloa and Nayarit coast of Mexico to the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast.
Brown pelicans nearly became extinct in the 1960s and 1970s because the pesticide DDT infiltrated their food in nesting grounds such as Southern California's Anacapa Island.
The species started to recover in 1972 when DDT was banned in the United States.
Three of six blood samples taken from sick pelicans tested positive for domoic acid, according to preliminary laboratory results from the University of Southern California.
Five of 14 water samples taken from waters off the Southern California coast also indicated low concentrations of domoic acid in the phytoplankton.
"We believe these results are significant but do not explain all the signs we are seeing in the pelicans," said Dr. Heather Nevill, a veterinarian at the International Bird Rescue Research Center, which provided the samples.
"We are seeing a number of conditions that are not typical of domoic acid toxicity or a domoic acid event."
Most of the hundreds of ailing pelicans are thin, but birds poisoned by domoic acid are typically of good body weight.
That leads researchers to believe that domoic acid is likely playing a secondary role to a larger problem.
Domoic acid, a neurotoxin, is produced by microscopic algae.
Birds and sea mammals ingest the acid by eating fish and shellfish that consume the algae.
Jay Holcomb, executive director of the Fairfield-based center, said two of the pelican samples showed relatively high levels of domoic acid and one was relatively mild.
The center said additional blood and tissue samples are being tested and more information is anticipated within the next two weeks.
Sick, disoriented pelicans have been found in unusual places far from their homes on roads, farm fields, alleys and backyards.In the last week, the birds have been reported staggering across Culver Boulevard in Playa del Rey and on a Los Angeles International Airport runway.
One bird was reported to have struck a vehicle.
The center said it has recorded 265 reports of dead or ailing pelicans from Baja California, Mexico, to Washington state.
More than 100 pelicans are being nursed back to health at the center's two facilities in Fairfield and San Pedro, with a combination of intravenous fluids, medications and a diet of smelt and squid.
The California brown pelican is a subspecies of the common brown pelican.
Its habitat stretches from the Sinaloa and Nayarit coast of Mexico to the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast.
Brown pelicans nearly became extinct in the 1960s and 1970s because the pesticide DDT infiltrated their food in nesting grounds such as Southern California's Anacapa Island.
The species started to recover in 1972 when DDT was banned in the United States.
Teen gets probation in murder-for-hire plot
An Missouri teenager gets two years probation for introducing his high-school classmate to two would-be hit men.
The sentence 18-year-old Joseph Garcia of Independence received Friday in county court is the same one imposed last month against 19-year-old Jacob Jett.
Prosecutors say Jett gave the would-be hit men $260 and three handguns to kill his adoptive parents because he thought they were too strict and wanted to inherit their money.
The plot came to light after one of the would-be hit men was picked up for a parole violation.
Prosecutors have said they didn't believe the men intended on committing the murders.
Garcia pleaded guilty in October to two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
The sentence 18-year-old Joseph Garcia of Independence received Friday in county court is the same one imposed last month against 19-year-old Jacob Jett.
Prosecutors say Jett gave the would-be hit men $260 and three handguns to kill his adoptive parents because he thought they were too strict and wanted to inherit their money.
The plot came to light after one of the would-be hit men was picked up for a parole violation.
Prosecutors have said they didn't believe the men intended on committing the murders.
Garcia pleaded guilty in October to two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
Baby moose falls through family's window
A Spokane, Washington, family got an uninvited visitor when a moose calf fell through a basement window and into a bedroom.
The Spokesman Review reports that the baby moose was apparently foraging in shallow snow near the house Thursday when it fell into a deep window well.
As it tried to get out and join its mother and sibling, the moose kicked in the window and became trapped in the bedroom.
A state wildlife biologist managed to shoot a tranquilizer dart into the moose's rump.
Then he and four others used a tarp to haul the 375-pound baby up a narrow stairway.
Wildlife officers tracked down the calf's mother and sibling and trucked the reunited family to a spot near Mount Spokane and released them.
The Spokesman Review reports that the baby moose was apparently foraging in shallow snow near the house Thursday when it fell into a deep window well.
As it tried to get out and join its mother and sibling, the moose kicked in the window and became trapped in the bedroom.
A state wildlife biologist managed to shoot a tranquilizer dart into the moose's rump.
Then he and four others used a tarp to haul the 375-pound baby up a narrow stairway.
Wildlife officers tracked down the calf's mother and sibling and trucked the reunited family to a spot near Mount Spokane and released them.
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
You and a very attractive person can probably sneak away.
Now, that's what I'm talking about!
You and a very attractive person can probably sneak away.
Now, that's what I'm talking about!
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