Tux of Borg

I migrating south and have lived in NC, SC and GA. A few reasons why I would never move back. * Economy * Weather * Things to do * Taxes * Roads * People

I wonder what her position is about leaving the toilet seat up.

http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_018210510.html CBS 5 Poll: Majority Oppose Calif. Spanking Ban (CBS 5 / KCBS) SAN FRANCISCO Do parents have the right to spank their children? It is a controversial issue, and while a Bay Area lawmaker wants it addressed in Sacramento -- a majority of those surveyed for a new CBS 5 poll expressed opposition to a spanking ban. In California, it's currently against the law for anyone but parents to spank a child. A proposed new law would make it illegal for them, too, if the child is 3 years old or younger. Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D-Mountain View) wants the practice of swatting a child on the behind outlawed and is in the process of drafting a bill to do so. A poll of 500 Bay Area adults conducted for CBS 5 by Survey USA on Thursday found 57% would oppose such a bill, while only 23% would support it. The poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%, showed 11% undecided. Parents at the playgroup at Parent's Place in San Francisco, non-profit Jewish family child and parents service group, said they don't believe in spanking young children, but they said outlawing it worries them. Joanna Jhanda as a one year old girl, said she understands the need for a law, but it troubles her: "There are certainly cases of extreme abuse,and those need to be addressed. I don't know if this law would help those children." Victoria Wylie has a four month old and she's worried about where the law draws the line. She said, "If someone sees me doing something.. what they would consider spanking.. and it's not, I'm a little uncomfortable I'd be under investigation." The proposed law would make spanking a child under 3 misdemeanor child abuse, an extenstion of current corporal punishment laws. Violators could spend a year in jail, and pay up to $1000 in fines. Enforcement is unclear. San Francisco assistant district attorney Paul Henderson prosecutes child abuse cases, and he welcomes a no spanking law. "If you're going to spank your child, you need to know the limit," said Henderson, "and you need to know that doing it in a way that's cruel or traumatic causes injury, and that you could be prosecuted." At the parenting classes at Parent's Place, spanking is considered the wrong discipline. Lee Ann Slaton leads discipline classes there. She said, "It teaches a child, if you're bigger you can hit. Violence begets violence.. and they're not learning." An anti-spanking law in California would be the country's first. Supporters claim the U.S. is far behind some other nations in this issue. According to Lieber, fifteen countries worldwide have outlawed spanking of children, and under international law, it's considered a human rights abuse. Critics maintain a spanking ban is an intrusion on the family, while supporters call it protecting a defenseless child.

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fus...65-7dc37ec39adf The Weather Channel Mess January 18, 2007 | James Spann | Op/Ed Well, well. Some “climate expert” on “The Weather Channel” wants to take away AMS certification from those of us who believe the recent “global warming” is a natural process. So much for “tolerance”, huh? I have been in operational meteorology since 1978, and I know dozens and dozens of broadcast meteorologists all over the country. Our big job: look at a large volume of raw data and come up with a public weather forecast for the next seven days. I do not know of a single TV meteorologist who buys into the man-made global warming hype. I know there must be a few out there, but I can’t find them. Here are the basic facts you need to know: *Billions of dollars of grant money is flowing into the pockets of those on the man-made global warming bandwagon. No man-made global warming, the money dries up. This is big money, make no mistake about it. Always follow the money trail and it tells a story. Even the lady at “The Weather Channel” probably gets paid good money for a prime time show on climate change. No man-made global warming, no show, and no salary. Nothing wrong with making money at all, but when money becomes the motivation for a scientific conclusion, then we have a problem. For many, global warming is a big cash grab. *The climate of this planet has been changing since God put the planet here. It will always change, and the warming in the last 10 years is not much difference than the warming we saw in the 1930s and other decades. And, lets not forget we are at the end of the ice age in which ice covered most of North America and Northern Europe. If you don’t like to listen to me, find another meteorologist with no tie to grant money for research on the subject. I would not listen to anyone that is a politician, a journalist, or someone in science who is generating revenue from this issue. In fact, I encourage you to listen to WeatherBrains episode number 12, featuring Alabama State Climatologist John Christy, and WeatherBrains episode number 17, featuring Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University, one of the most brilliant minds in our science. WeatherBrains, by the way, is our weekly 30 minute netcast. I have nothing against “The Weather Channel”, but they have crossed the line into a political and cultural region where I simply won’t go.

I can still do 82 in two minutes.

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArtic...ia-284390-2.xml Hillary Clinton takes first step for 2008 U.S. race Sat Jan 20, 2007 By Ellen Wulfhorst NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Saturday she planned to form an exploratory committee for the 2008 presidential race, the first step toward becoming a candidate for her party's nomination. "I'm in. And I'm in to win," Clinton wrote on her Web site that reads "Hillary for President." The second-term U.S. senator from New York and former U.S. first lady had been widely anticipated to announce her bid to become the first woman to win the U.S. presidency. She is considered a front-runner among five other candidates in the Democratic White House field. "I am forming a presidential exploratory committee. I am not just starting a campaign though, I am beginning a conversation with you, with America," she said in a videotaped message on her Web site. "After six years of George Bush it is time to renew the promise of America," she said. President George W. Bush was elected to a second four-year term in 2004. Her announcement comes days after a similar move by Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, whose campaign could make him the first black U.S. president. His candidacy has stoked enthusiasm among Democrats looking for an alternative to Clinton, who some fear could be too polarizing to defeat a Republican candidate next year. The wife of former President Bill Clinton made history with her bid for U.S. Senate in New York in 2000, becoming the first former first lady to win one of the most powerful political jobs in the nation. Clinton, 59, was re-elected by a huge margin to a second Senate term in November. AIMING AT BUSH In her posted written statement, Clinton took immediate aim at what she called "six years of Bush administration failures." "I have never been afraid to stand up for what I believe in or to face down the Republican machine," she wrote. "Only a new president will be able to undo Bush's mistakes and restore our hope and optimism. "Only a new president can renew the promise of America -- the idea that if you work hard you can count on the health care, education, and retirement security that you need to raise your family. These are the basic values of America that are under attack from this administration every day," she wrote. "And only a new president can regain America's position as a respected leader in the world." Clinton said she would be launching a series of live, online video conversations with voters, beginning on Monday. Before officially declaring her candidacy for U.S. Senate in 2000, Clinton traveled around New York on a "listening tour" to meet voters and hear their issues. Prior to her husband's two terms in the White House, Clinton was a successful attorney and advocate of children's rights, a former member of several corporate boards and public-interest boards. She was active in causes ranging from lowering infant mortality to providing legal assistance to the poor. "Let's talk about how to bring the right end to the war in Iraq and restore respect for America around the world," she said a videotaped message on her Web site, mentioning several issues she would address in her campaign such as energy, health care and retirement security. Clinton worked on the House of Representatives committee on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. She attended Yale Law School where she met fellow student Bill Clinton and followed her husband to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was governor and she was a lawyer, mother and political wife. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington)

Hurry up Liberals, spend your kids college money before it's too late!

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../701190373/1009 Citizens group fights Hooters Residents plan rally to oppose opening of eatery on Big Beaver TROY -- A citizens group is gearing up to stop Hooters of America Inc. from opening its new restaurant on the highly visible Big Beaver corridor, joining an already heated legal fight between city officials and the company over its liquor license. The group, named the Troy Concerned Citizens Group, is contacting city and state officials and organizing a citizens rally to garner support for what its members view as a fight to keep the reputation of the commercial road upstanding and family friendly. "We will stand up for the values and what makes sense for that location," said Herb Everss, a group's unofficial spokesman and a city resident since 1972. The group met Thursday to strategize its countermove to the company's latest salvo: its announcement earlier this week it would operate two Hooters restaurants in Troy, opening the new restaurant later this month -- sans liquor license -- as well as keeping its existing restaurant on John R open rather than closing it as previously promised. "This 'putting us in a corner with a gun to the head' approach -- it's not good business tactics," Everss said. Hooters sued Troy after the City Council voted 4-3 in June to deny the new restaurant a license that would allow the sale of alcohol. A federal court hearing is scheduled Feb. 7. On Jan. 8, council members tabled any action on Hooters pending the court outcome, rebuffing Hooters' offer to reduce signage and operate only one restaurant in the city in exchange for the liquor license. Members of the citizens group say they support the council. Several say that membership is growing; leaders received about 80 e-mails and phone calls from residents. The location of a Feb. 5 rally has yet to be confirmed. Hooters, known for waitresses wearing tight shorts and tight tops, often faces neighborhood opposition to new restaurants. "I respect what they're doing," said Mike McNeil, vice president of marketing for Hooters of America. "But the same constitution that allows them to assemble and express their opinion gives us a right to exist in that location." He added that he believed the group was a "very vocal minority" in the community. "If we felt it represented the feelings of the majority, we wouldn't be going there," he said.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story...9-10388,00.html Porn star wants Scarlett for role SCARLETT Johansson is being lined up to play porn sensation Jenna Jameson in a movie of her life story. The stunning actress has been handpicked by adult movie legend Jenna as her personal choice for the lead in a film adaptation of her book, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale. Jenna is currently in talks with producers and hopes filming will begin next year. The X-rated actress told Britain's FHM magazine: "We're looking hopefully at Scarlett Johansson. She's my choice. I think she's beautiful." Scarlett has already vowed to strip off for the cameras if the right role comes along, saying last year: "I'm not opposed to doing nudity - it would just have to be the right project." There's certainly been plenty of nudity in Jenna's life - the racy star has appeared in around 100 porn films and is one of the highest paid adult actors in the world. She may be ten years younger than 32-year-old Jenna, but sultry Scarlett, 22, already shares the porn queen's sex symbol status. The Black Dahlia star, who is famed for her curvy figure, was voted Sexiest Woman Alive by readers of American men's magazine Esquire last year. Both actresses also have trademark blonde hair and are renowned for their glamorous image.

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.d.../701170463/1987 Couple charged with locking girl in bedroom for nearly two years Girl spent 22 hours a day in a room for almost 2 years By Jennifer K. Woldt of The Northwestern An Oshkosh couple is accused of locking their daughter up in a small room for nearly two years as punishment for behaving badly. The couple only allowed the 13-year-old girl to leave for bathroom breaks, meals and to do chores, according to a criminal complaint filed in Winnebago County Circuit Court Tuesday. The complaint states the girl was locked in a small bedroom for 22 hours a day for nearly two years. The bedroom was secured with a dead bolt accessible only from the outside and an alarm system that went off if the door was opened. There was a camera in the room that recorded what the girl was doing during at all hours of the day and night and the only furnishings in the room was a urine soaked mattress, a blanket, a pillow and an empty dresser. Clint M. Engstrom, the girl's 32-year-old father, and her stepmother, Lynn M. Engstrom, 35, are charged with causing mental harm to a child, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 12 years, six months in prison and a $25,000 fine. "The facts are bizarre in this case," Winnebago County District Attorney Christian Gossett said. "This case is charged as causing mental harm to a child, but the behavior they engaged in and the conditions this child was kept in are just appalling." Court Commissioner Daniel Bissett ordered the Engstroms to each be held in the Winnebago County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond. They are due back in court for a preliminary hearing Jan. 25. The girl's maternal grandfather, Joe Zimmer, said the couple had shut him out of his granddaughter's life about the same time that police said the girl was first confined to her room. "We were aware that Lynn (Engstrom) was pretty strict in regards to bedtime, but we had no idea this stuff was going on," Zimmer said. "We've had no contact with (the girl) since they shut us out about two years ago." Officers from the Oshkosh Police Department were called on Jan. 12 to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Appleton, where the 13-year-old girl had been brought because she was hearing voices. The girl told detectives her parents had been confining her to a bedroom for nearly two years as a form of punishment, the complaint sates. The girl told officers that she had been living with her father and stepmother in their home at 1612 Minnesota Street, and that she had been grounded to her room since February 2005. She said she was only allowed out of the room for meals, timed bathroom breaks and to do chores. Minnesota Street resident Tammy Ponzer, said she and her neighbors knew the Engstroms as a couple who had fixed up a dilapidated home, but had little social contact with others on the street. "They seemed friendly enough," Ponzer said. A search warrant carried out showed that the home was lavishly furnished with high-end electronics and toys for three other children, however the room were the girl was confined had no toys, books or other things associated with a child, the complaint states. Detectives also noted the room contained a single light bulb and there was no heat or air conditioning duct work and that the only source of heat was a space heater that was controlled from outside the room. Clint and Lynn Engstrom acknowledged to detectives that the girl had been grounded to her room for 1½ to 2 years and Clint Engstrom told detectives he installed the alarm on the door because they had problems with the girl sneaking out of her room to eat candy or watch television, the complaint states. He told detectives the girl spent about 22 hours a day in the room and the girl told officers, "she was required to sit on her bed all day and night," the complaint states. The girl told detectives that she was allowed to leave the room to eat meals, but she was only fed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a fruit and grain bar. If she did not hear when she was called for a meal, she would not be allowed to eat. The girl said she would steal food because she was hungry and that "she would sneak downstairs to the kitchen and find scraps of food and leftovers," the complaint states. She told police she would have to skip two meals as punishment if she was caught. She also told officers her stepmother only allowed her one minute to use the bathroom, she was not allowed to have any presents or cake for her birthday and was not allowed to read any books, including the Bible. She told detectives that during the summer, she was allowed to go outside for a half hour to do chores that included picking up dog feces and taking out the garbage.

http://www.wftv.com/news/10763324/detail.h...sp=irresistible Attorney Arrested After Allegedly Found Naked In Courthouse With Teen A criminal defense lawyer was arrested after a sheriff's deputy found him naked with a 14-year-old girl in a courthouse conference room, authorities said Tuesday. The deputy looked into the room during rounds Monday afternoon and discovered 49-year-old Larry Charles and the girl, said Lt. Dan Bagnell of the police department's Special Victims Unit. "He had asked for sex. But there was no physical contact we're aware of," Bagnell said. Bagnell said the girl was not a client of Charles, but their exact relationship was unclear. Charles was charged with solicitation, attempted statutory sexual assault and related counts. He was awaiting arraignment Tuesday and bail had not yet been set. A woman who answered the phone at his office said she could not comment.

No love for Dax?

My Website Supreme Court Won't Hear Washington Police Dog Case The Associated Press The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to consider the case of a bystander bitten by a police dog as officers tried to track down a suspect. Lawyers for the city of Kennewick, Wash., and several police officers asked the justices to take the case, hoping to overturn lower court rulings that authorities engaged in an unconstitutional seizure when the dog bit the man, Ken Rogers. Police were using the dog to hunt down a motorcyclist who failed to stop and then eluded police on foot. In trying to find the motorcyclist, police let the dog off the leash. The dog unexpectedly bolted and found Rogers on the other side of a fence. "The unfortunate situation involving Rogers was simply an accident," lawyers for the town said in court papers. The police officers argue there was no Fourth Amendment seizure because they did not intend to seize Rogers. The lower court decisions would hold every police dog handler constitutionally liable for the action of any police dog while off its leash, the town's court papers state.

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10097258.html Fatah says uncovers possible plot against leaders Gaza: Palestinian security forces uncovered an extensive network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip that the Fatah faction said on Monday could have been used to assassinate its top leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas. The ruling Hamas faction would not say whether it dug the tunnels, discovered by Fatah-dominated security forces in central and northern Gaza on Monday and over the weekend. A Fatah spokesman, AbdulHakim Awad, held Hamas responsible but stopped short of accusing the group of being behind any specific assassination plot. Awad said some of the tunnels were lined with explosives and ran directly beneath the homes of prominent Fatah members. One of the tunnels ran underneath the main road leading to the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, a key route used by some Palestinian workers into the Jewish state. The crossing and road are also used by Abbas and Mohammad Dahlan, a possible successor to Abbas, and other Fatah officials to reach the West Bank. "This represents ... a premeditated intention to carry out assassination attempts against leaders and symbols of Fatah," Awad said, singling out Abbas and Dahlan. "Any attack on any of our leaders will turn the Palestinian situation into serious chaos and internal fighting, which will spare no one," Awad said. At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Abbas of Fatah called for fresh elections last month, raising the stakes in his bitter power struggle with the governing Hamas group. Abbas said he would give negotiations over a unity government with Hamas one last chance. But Fatah's accusations about the tunnels could cast a shadow over the renewed talks. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, declined to comment on the tunnels. "Hamas will not respond to such media provocations ... in order to provide a positive atmosphere to defuse the crisis and to allow the resumption of national dialogue over the formation of a unity government," Barhoum said. Other Hamas officials said Fatah is violating an agreement to stop trading accusations and maintain calm between the two parties. p to now, Palestinian groups have used tunnels under the Gaza borders with Israel and Egypt for attacking Israeli army posts and smuggling goods and weapons. The last major tunnel operation was in June 25 between Gaza and Israel, when Hamas-linked militias attacked an Israeli army position, killing two soldiers and capturing a third. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Esmail Haniya said on Monday the Islamist militant group Hamas would never recognise Israel. Haniya said in an interview from Gaza with Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah's Al Manar television station: "Hamas will never recognise the legitimacy of the occupation (Israel)." "Hamas will never show flexibility over the issue of recognising the legitimacy of the occupation," he added. Hamas took control of the Palestinian government last March after winning parliamentary elections a year ago.

Iran Intelligence Plans Takeover of Southern Iraq BY THOMAS HARDING - The Daily Telegraph January 16, 2007 URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/46758 BASRA, Iraq — Iranian intelligence is preparing for complete dominance of southern Iraq by penetrating Basra's security network and political parties when the British withdraw. Iraqi intelligence sources disclosed to the Daily Telegraph that Iran plans to reap the huge financial rewards presented by the southern oil fields and prevent Western businesses from gaining a foothold inside Basra. British and American political and military leaders are also concerned over Tehran "giving succor" to terrorists who continue to kill troops every week. Commanders are anxious that once they pull out of Basra in May, the Iranian-backed militias will take over the political and security structures, undoing four years of work that has cost 129 British lives and millions of dollars. Only the Iraqi army stands in the way of the murderous militias. But while it is regarded as competent, the key moment will come when responsibility for administering Basra is given to the Iraqi government with local politicians taking over. At that point, a showdown between the Baghdad-controlled Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Basra militias is expected. Iran has found it easy to build alliances with fellow Shiites who form the majority in southern Iraq. The Iranian-backed insurgents have many recruits among the city's jobless. They are encouraged to attack British patrols and positions to make them look strong as part of the power struggle for Basra, an Iraqi official said. He added that if the British withdrew from the region too early Sunnis would be killed to drive them out and the work of the last four years would have been destroyed. The ammunition and weapons used to kill and maim British troops have almost certainly crossed the border from Iran 10 miles outside the city and gone straight into the hands of terrorists. British military intelligence is certain that the insurgents have received training from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard with the accuracy of mortar and rocket attacks improving by the week. "We know some extreme elements in Basra are being given support and succor from Iran and get weaponry, money and IED technology in order to try to destabilize this part of the country," said Lieutenant Colonel Justin Maciejewski, the commanding officer of the 1,200-strong 1st Battalion Royal Green Jacket battle group. "Local people here are pretty fed up with it. Its impact in certain segments of Basra society is causing violence against us and those elements of the Iraqi security forces seen as not susceptible to Iranian influence." A senior American official, based in the British camp, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was deep concern over the "destabilizing effect" Iran was having on the area. "The indications we are receiving is that the militia firing rockets into this compound are receiving support from Iranian factions," he said. "This is very troubling when we are trying to bring peace and stability." Iraq's most senior politicians have no doubts about the ambitions of their eastern neighbor. Speaking during an official visit to London, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi of Iraq accused Iran of "playing a disastrous role in our internal affairs." "We have plenty of evidence that Iran is becoming, unfortunately, the main player in Iraq. They do have a deep influence on everything in Iraq. Wherever you go in Iraq, you see their fingerprints on everything." In the past three months the murder rate in Basra has dropped from 45 to five a week, partly due to the British breaking up the death squads of a corrupt police unit. Colonel Maciejewski said the locals were "looking forward to the day we go," but only when the job was done with strong Iraqi security forces in place. While the Iranians support their fellow Shiites in Iraq, there is evidence that the minority Sunni population, estimated at 200,000, has received support from fellow Sunnis in Saudi Arabia. There are worries this could lead to a full-blooded sectarian war that could spread amongst the two branches of Islam throughout the Middle East. When it withdraws from the city the Army can only watch and hope, but it appears there are greater powers at work. Iran has always known Britain's presence was transient and is well prepared for the departure — and for the next round of almost inevitable conflict.

http://www.thefilmasylum.com/newsitem.php?...rom=&ucat=2 Abrams and Shatner on 'Star Trek XI'. Entertainment Weekly recently spoke with Mission: Impossible III director J.J. Abrams about Star Trek XI, targeted for a 2008 release. Abrams confirmed to that the script is done and it's a story that even non-Trekkers can enjoy. "On the one hand, for people who love Star Trek, the fix that they will get will be really satisfying," he said. "For people who've never seen it or know it vaguely, I think they will enjoy it equally, because the movie does not require you to know anything about Star Trek. I would actually prefer [that] people don't know the series, because I feel like they will come to it with an open mind." SCI FI Wire also caught up with William Shatner, who says the 11th movie will deal with the early years of Capt. James T. Kirk and Spock - and that he will definitely appear in the movie if director J.J. Abrams can find a place to use him. Shatner, who originated the role of Kirk in the original Trek series and several subsequent films, said in the interview that he was invited to meet with Abrams. "I met with J.J., and they told me they would like me to be part of their film, but they have to write the role," Shatner said. And confirming the rumors, Shatner added, "Yes, we know the story is based on young Kirk."

There is a lot of speculation that Mora was not a Vick fan in Atlanta.

http://kenoshanews.com/articles/index.php?articleNum=537159 Seventh-grader to serve 2 years Girl who stabbed classmate in heart will go to prison A Kenosha seventh-grader will spend two years in a Racine County girls' prison for stabbing a classmate in the heart with a comb. How much time she spends behind bars after that could largely depend on her, Kenosha County Circuit Judge Anthony Milisauskas said Thursday. Milisauskas said he would review the girl's case before she is released. Depending on her behavior in corrections, her prison stay could be extended every year until her 18th birthday. The accused girl admitted responsibility Thursday, similar to a guilty plea in adult court, for first-degree reckless injury with a dangerous weapon. The charge was part of a plea deal in which the case was handled in juvenile court. The child originally was charged in adult court with attempted murder for stabbing a classmate and former friend on Nov. 20, 2006, during an argument about prank phone calls. Under state law, any child age 10 or older charged with a homicide-related offense is automatically charged as an adult. If she had been convicted as an adult, the girl could have served up to 45 years for attempted murder. Even the lesser charge she pleaded to carried a 15-year prison sentence, in an adult court. Lawyers agreed that adult prosecution, and the resulting adult prison term, would not have been best for the child, although they also believed some incarceration was appropriate. The victim, also 12, had a metal comb handle embedded four or five inches into her chest wall, including two inches in her heart. A 31-minute surgery with bolt cutters saved her life. She is expected to recover fully, but might need more surgery. "This was a very difficult case for me," Prosecutor Kelly Birschbach said in court. "We have two 12-year-old girls here, and we have a very violent act. And I think our society is resorting to violence and (saying) that violence is OK. It's not." Birschbach said the suspect had to be held accountable for her violent act, but that both girls bore responsibility in the stabbing, which started because the victim reportedly called the suspect's house and hung up two days before the stabbing. What if the victim had apologized? Birschbach wondered. What if the suspect had simply gone to class instead of confronting her friend? What if she had simply kept her comb in her hair? "I can't help but be troubled by the actions of these two girls," Birschbach said. "... They have a lot of growing up to do." Defense attorney Mark Richards said he talked to his young client about how things could have been different. "This is one of those cases - and I've been doing this 20 years - that caused me sleepless nights," Richards said. "Rough justice is being served." "None of us would be sitting here today if one of these girls had used good judgment," Richards said. "...It takes a lot more to walk away than to throw that first punch." "They're both lucky," Milisauskas said. "One is lucky to be alive. Don't tell me there's not a God. To be stabbed in the heart and live? "And the other kid is not in the adult system - because you'd be in prison," the judge said, turning to the defendant. "Imagine that! And if she had died? You'd be in prison for a long time." Milisauskas was disturbed at what it means for our society that prank phone calls could inspire one child to stab another and both girls could continue to try to brawl even after the stabbing. "What's wrong with our world? We've got 12-year-olds that are that violent already. What caused that?" he asked. "...Everything is supposed to be advancing, but we've got kids who want to kill each other." Milisauskas also was bewildered by the dichotomy in the young defendant, perhaps the youngest person ever charged as an adult in Kenosha County. "You like jumping rope, playing in the park, listening to music and rollerskating. And we're here on a serious felony," Milisauskas said. "It's like night and day." The victim and her mother did not say anything in court. The defendant's mother cried throughout the hearing, but also said nothing. The defendant bit her lip and blinked her eyes hard before speaking. "I'm sorry," the girl said. "I never meant for it to happen."

http://intouchweekly.hollywood.com/ Britney's model man moves out of MySpace! Maybe Isaac Cohen got too many "New Friend Requests"! Shortly after reports of a hotel hookup with Britney Spears, the 25-year-old male model has taken down his personal MySpace profile - but not before a revealing screenshot of the page was captured. Referring to himself as "Eyezik" and vowing "This is my year!" the Encino, Calif., resident's deleted page cited his interests as "duuurtt bikes, 4 Wheelin', kung fu flicks, rappin', slappin', tappin'" and facetiously names the Bible as his favorite book, claiming to have used pages of Leviticus 4:20 to roll "sweet, sweet chiba" joints. The profile also revealed a potential matchmaker: Britney choreographer Brian Friedman appears on Isaac's friends list. If this whole episode is giving you a case of deja vu, it's probably because producer JR Rotem also took down his MySpace page after his brief fling with Britney!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/13/water.int...rss_mostpopular Woman drinks so much water she dies SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A woman who competed in a radio station's contest to see how much water she could drink without going to the bathroom died of water intoxication, the coroner's office said Saturday. Jennifer Strange, 28, was found dead Friday in her suburban Rancho Cordova home hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND 107.9 promised a Nintendo Wii video game system for the winner. "She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's co-workers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying, and that was the last that anyone had heard from her." It was not immediately known how much water Strange consumed. A preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death," said assistant Coroner Ed Smith. John Geary, vice president and marketing manager for Entercom Sacramento, the station's owner, said station personnel were stunned when they heard of Strange's death. "We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred," he said. Initially, contestants were handed 8-ounce bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes. "They were small little half-pint bottles, so we thought it was going to be easy," said fellow contestant James Ybarra of Woodland. "They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk." Ybarra said he quit after drinking five bottles. "My bladder couldn't handle it anymore," he added. After he quit, he said, the remaining contestants, including Strange, were given even bigger bottles to drink. "I was talking to her and she was a nice lady," Ybarra said. "She was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for her kids."

Rivers played a hell of a game yesterday and gave his kicker a chance to win it at the end.

Upcoming Superhero Movies Cobalt 60 (2008) Universal Pictures O.C.T.: Occult Crimes Taskforce (2008) Dimension Films Lost Squad (2008) Rogue Pictures Spirit, The (2008) Warner Bros. Pictures Doom Patrol (2008) Warner Bros. Pictures Deadman (2008) Warner Bros. Pictures Blood: The Last Vampire (2008) — Thor (2009) Paramount Pictures Sgt. Rock (2008) Warner Bros. Pictures R.I.P.D. (2007) Universal Pictures Hack/Slash (2007) — Superman: The Man of Steel (2009) Warner Bros. Pictures Red Star, The (2008) Universal Pictures Killing Demons (2008) — Secret Drawer Society, The (2007) — Pac-Man (2007) — Werewolf by Night (2007) — Witchblade (2007) — Darkness, The (2007) — Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) Universal Pictures Spider-Man 3 (2007) Sony Pictures Astro Boy (2007) Sony Pictures —

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...D=2007701100322 Car hits streaking, post-game reveler By CINDY SWIRKO, AMY REININK and ALICE WALLACE January 10. 2007 6:01AM A celebratory streaker dashing across W. University Avenue following Florida's national championship victory ran into the path of a car and is hospitalized in critical condition, officials said. Police said that was the only serious incident resulting from the raucous partying near the University of Florida on Monday night. Injured was Matthew T. Schlagheck, 23. Police said they believe he is a recent University of Florida graduate and his page on the Facebook Web site indicated he is living in Orlando. Police said the accident happened about 1:06 a.m. near 2200 W. University Ave. The driver of the car that hit Schlagheck was George M. Harrison, 24, of Gainesville. Schlagheck came out of a house at 2291 W. University Ave. and ran into traffic, police said. "He was streaking. He ran out of the house. There was a break in eastbound traffic. He ran through the cars but never looked east, and a car was traveling west," Sgt. Keith Kameg said. "He ran into the car. He was knocked in the air and landed about 15 feet away." Schlagheck was listed in critical condition at Shands at the University of Florida Monday afternoon. Police said he is expected to survive. The only arrest associated with the celebration was an arson charge against Kelsey Smith, 21, for reportedly setting a Christmas tree afire on W. University Avenue outside the Swamp Restaurant, Kameg said. No one managed to climb the light poles to sit on the crossbars, as they did when Florida won the NCAA basketball championship in April, because the city greased the poles with PAM cooking spray. But some people tried. "The one I saw was like a cartoon. He got a running start, hit the pole, hugged it and slid right down," Kameg said. "He seriously looked like the Roadrunner." But trees were not greased and crowd members managed to climb and uproot a small one along at NW 17th Street and University Avenue. The post-game party started before the game had even ended. Gators head coach Urban Meyer's fourth-quarter victory fist-pump prompted the thousands of students watching the game at the O'Connell Center to head for the streets. Nick Rosado, a UF sophomore who was working security at the O'Connell Center, stepped back and watched as the doors to the lobby snapped open and a throng of screaming students sprinted outside. "That's why we moved the table and everything else out of the way," Rosado said, taking a step backward. "University is about to go nuts." The parade of orange and blue slowed to a brisk walk by the time it got outside and then stalled when it hit the first row of bars on W. University. Fireworks flew. Fans threw streamers and spewed Silly String. They burned Ohio State paraphernalia and screamed until their voices were hoarse. Saraa Basaria, a 19-year-old sophomore, emerged from the mob on W. University and 17th Street missing a shoe, and said while the loss of a shoe was all in good fun, she wouldn't be heading through the crowd again. "People are going to have a lot of missing stuff when this is over," said her friend, 19-year-old sophomore Alisha Bhimani. GPD's Kameg described the post-victory atmosphere as "controlled chaos." He said officials closed off W. University from 13th Street to 22nd Street at about 11:45 p.m. Monday to allow people a chance to celebrate in the street, and opened the street again at roughly 2:30 a.m.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=b...&id=4927177 Wedding guests cancel for Saints game January 11, 2007 (NEW ORLEANS) - Tara Chauffe understands she'll have some competition on her wedding day. She's getting married in New Orleans Saturday evening, the same time the Saints will be playing the Philadelphia Eagles in the Superdome. Chauffe says she's already had a dozen guests who've canceled because of the playoff game. She knows they have tickets and she's trying to be sympathetic. But two bridesmaids and a groomsman who have seats for the game are giving them up to attend the wedding. Chauffe and husband-to-be Corey Boland say they'll probably have a TV at the reception, so guests can track the Saint's fortunes. But they'll turn the sound down so there won't be any cheering interrupting their first dance.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16610772/site/newsweek/ Evidence Of Guilt? O. J. Simpson's 'If I Did It' provoked major controversy before the book was canceled. But what did he actually say? An exclusive look at the crucial chapter. By Mark Miller Jan. 22, 2007 issue - The firestorm burned hot and fast: within days of acknowledging one of its divisions was publishing O. J. Simpson's "hypothetical" account of the murders of his ex-wife and her friend, News Corp. reversed course and canceled the book in late November. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.'s chairman, apologized for the "ill-conceived project." Then the company fired Judith Regan, the hard-charging publisher who acquired the book for her ReganBooks imprint and who had conducted a TV interview with Simpson to air on Fox. All 400,000 copies of the book were recalled for destruction, save for one locked away in a News Corp. vault. Regan and News Corp. were pressured to drop the project (NEWSWEEK was among the critics) because they were, in effect, paying Simpson at least $880,000 to tell how he might have committed the murders, money that should have gone to satisfy the $33.5 million judgment a 1997 civil jury ordered him to pay to the victims' families. Throughout the uproar, however, almost no one knew what the proposed book, titled "If I Did It," actually said. As always with the so-called trial of the century, there were competing narratives. Regan called the book Simpson's "confession"; his attorney scoffed at the idea that the Juice had admitted to anything. But NEWSWEEK has obtained a copy of the book's key chapter from a source who asked not to be identified because of the ongoing controversy. The narrative is as revolting as one might expect, but it's also surprisingly revealing. What emerges from the chapter is something new in the nearly 13-year Simpson saga: a seeming confession in Simpson's own voice. To be sure, Simpson never explicitly admits to slicing his ex-wife's neck so savagely that he almost decapitated her. (According to the source, he told the ghostwriter that he could not have his children read such gruesome details of the slashing.) Simpson's Florida attorney, Yale Galanter, said again last week that the account is "purely hypothetical": "In the final manuscript and in the book there is a clear, concise statement disclaiming anything that is contained in the chapter as being fact or close to fact." NEWSWEEK did not obtain the book's six other chapters. As a correspondent for this magazine, I covered the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman through the criminal trial and acquittal of O. J. Simpson in 1995. What is striking about the chapter I read, "The Night in Question," is how closely it tracks with the evidence in the case—and how clearly Simpson invokes the classic language of a wife abuser. In his crude, expletive-laced account, Simpson suggests Nicole all but drove him to kill her. He describes her as the "enemy." She is taunting him with her sexual dalliances, he says, and carrying on inappropriately in front of their two children. On June 12, 1994, Simpson attends his daughter Sydney's dance recital. He writes that he is in a foul mood after the performance, stewing over the behavior of his ex-wife. He is due to fly to Chicago late that night. But first he races to Nicole's Bundy Drive condominium in Brentwood. He parks in the dark alley behind her condo and dons the knit wool cap and gloves he keeps handy to ward off the chill on the golf course. He also has a knife in the Bronco, protection against L.A. "crazies." He intends to scare her. He enters through a broken back gate—he's told her a "million times" to get the buzzer and latch fixed—and encounters Goldman, who is returning the glasses of Nicole's mother, Juditha. She had left them at Mezzaluna, where the Brown family dined after Sydney's recital and where Goldman is a waiter. Simpson accuses Goldman of planning a sexual encounter with Nicole, which Goldman denies. Nicole tells Simpson to leave him alone. Goldman's fate is sealed when Kato, Nicole's Akita, emerges and gives him a friendly tail wag. "You've been here before," Simpson screams at Goldman. At Simpson's criminal trial, to explain how one man could have killed two people, the Los Angeles County coroner theorized that Simpson knocked out Nicole, then quickly slit her throat before turning to Goldman. If the book's account is true, the coroner's hypothesis was correct—almost. Simpson writes that his ex-wife came at him like a "banshee." She loses her balance and falls hard, her head cracking against the ground. Goldman assumes a karate stance, further angering Simpson. He dares the younger man to fight. Then, in the book, Simpson pulls back. He writes, "Then something went horribly wrong, and I know what happened, but I can't tell you exactly how." Simpson writes that when he regains control of himself, he realizes he is drenched in blood and holding a bloody knife. Both Nicole and Goldman are dead. Simpson heads back to the alley but before getting into the Bronco to flee, strips down to his socks. He rolls his bloody clothes and the knife into a small pile. (That's an important detail. The police never recovered those clothes or the murder weapon, but they did find Simpson's socks—with Nicole's blood on them—at the foot of his bed at his Rockingham estate.) As he nears his house, Simpson sees the limo that will take him to the airport for his Chicago trip. He steals onto his estate via a darkened, hidden path that takes him directly behind the guesthouse where Kato Kaelin is living. Simpson describes how he stumbles into an air conditioner for Kaelin's room, making a terrific racket—just as Kaelin told police he had heard. Simpson's account does diverge from the prosecution's theory of the case in one significant way. In his telling, a second man, a close friend he calls Charlie, is with him during the killings. Charlie is an unwilling accomplice, repeatedly urging Simpson to stop what he is doing. Does "Charlie" really exist? Perhaps. At the time, many wondered if Simpson had help, if not with the actual killings then with getting rid of evidence. The police never found sufficient evidence to charge anyone else. Fred Goldman, Ron's father, thinks the idea of a second man is absurd, but isn't surprised to hear what Simpson has written (he hasn't read it himself). "This is the guy who murdered them—of course he knows what the evidence is and how he did it," Goldman told NEWSWEEK. Denise Brown, Nicole's sister, told me in an e-mail that she agreed with my analysis. "It just goes to show you that he is guilty and that is what I have always said from the beginning ... Know this, though—I won't be reading [the book]." By the end of the chapter, Simpson reverts to his more familiar public stance: outrage that anyone could believe he committed the murders. He tells his lawyers that he is, as he declared at an early legal proceeding, "absolutely 100 percent not guilty." Readers may yet get their chance to judge the Simpson book for themselves. Galanter, Simpson's attorney, said last week that the rights to the book have already or will soon revert to the former football great (a spokesman for HarperCollins, of which ReganBooks was a part, declined to comment on any aspect of this story). Galanter wouldn't say if he has lined up a new publisher. More surprising was what Goldman family attorney Jonathan Polak had to say. Polak's pursuit of Simpson to pay the $33.5 million judgment has been largely fruitless; he's now attempting to claim the money ReganBooks paid for the book. He said he will also attempt to seize Simpson's copyright to the work. "This may be the one opportunity we have [to collect]," he said. Of course, to do that, the book would have to be printed and put on sale. Would the Goldman family really seek to publish the book in which Simpson, hypothetically or not, describes the brutal murders? Fred Goldman was noncommittal; Polak wouldn't rule it out.