(Little Rock, AR 11/12/09) A jury convicted Curtis Vance, 29, for the October 2008 murder of Little Rock television anchor Anne Pressly and now he's been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Under state law, jurors had to select either the death penalty or a life sentence. There was no reaction in the courtroom when the sentence was announced.
Earlier, handcuffed and dressed in a bulletproof vest, Vance was led from the Pulaski County Courthouse by an army of sheriff's deputies. Once outside, he told reporters, "It's a corrupt system, that's what it is."
( ++++++ )
High-profile parents make private school a target for protesters
By Michael Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Its parent-teacher conferences made the evening news. So did cases of swine flu. And Sidwell Friends School has recently been the target of a few small protests that seem aimed at prominent parents, not students.
Demonstrators from Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas protest across the street from Sidwell Friends; students hold a counter-protest. (Carol Guzy/the Washington Post)
The school, long a favorite of Washington's leading families, is no stranger to presidential children. But in the months since Barack and Michelle Obama decided to send their daughters there, Sidwell has been pulled into the spotlight of a distinctly 21st-century culture -- one that is increasingly celebrity-obsessed and often shockingly unmannered.
( cut )
thoughts?
A soldier has been given leave from her duties to represent England in the Miss World competition.
L/Cpl Katrina Hodge, 21, from Tunbridge Wells, will take over from the previous Miss England who stepped down after her arrest over an alleged nightclub brawl.
Organisers of Miss England said 21-year-old Rachel Christie wanted to concentrate on clearing her name.
Miss Hodge, nicknamed Combat Barbie after being commended for bravery in Iraq, will take on beauty queen duties.
( She's a soldier AND a part-time model, jfc! )
Wow!!! A soldier and a potential Olympic athlete? Now these are beauty queens I can totally get behind. Katrina Hodge doesn't talk about world peace. SHE FUCKING FIGHTS FOR IT.
EDIT: Forgot to add the source, silly me...
Federal Election Commission Records show the RNC purchases its insurance from Cigna. Two sales agents for the company said that the RNC’s policy covers elective abortion.
Informed of the coverage, RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho told POLITICO that the policy pre-dates the tenure of current RNC Chairman Michael Steele.
“The current policy has been in effect since 1991, and we are taking steps to address the issue,” Gitcho said.
( Read more )
Source
Taking it out cause it made the news, RNC?
Feds move to seize 4 mosques, tower linked to Iran
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.
In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets.
The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York.
Confiscating the properties would be a sharp blow against Iran, which has been accused by the U.S. government of bankrolling terrorism and trying to build a nuclear bomb.
A telephone call and e-mail to Iran's U.N. Mission seeking comment were not immediately answered. Nor was a call to the Alavi Foundation.
It is extremely rare for U.S. law enforcement authorities to seize a house of worship, a step fraught with questions about the First Amendment right to freedom of religion.
The action against the Shiite Muslim mosques is sure to inflame relations between the U.S. government and American Muslims, many of whom are fearful of a backlash after last week's Fort Hood shooting rampage, blamed on a Muslim American major.
"Whatever the details of the government's case against the owners of the mosques, as a civil rights organization we are concerned that the seizure of American houses of worship could have a chilling effect on the religious freedom of citizens of all faiths and may send a negative message to Muslims worldwide," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Sgt. Todd and Sgt. Munley on The Oprah Winfrey Show
On November 5th, in Killeen, Texas, there was a massacre inside the military base of Fort Hood which resulted in the death of 13 people and the injuries of dozens. It was Thursday evening and there were such chaos and shock that initially, the news were confused about the number and state of the shooter(s) and the people who responded. NBC News reported that 'One gunman was reportedly in custody and another was on the loose'.
By Thursday night, civilian police officer Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who had confronted the singular gunman and was wounded, but survived, was hailed by sources such as the Houston & Texas News, Chron, as the lone hero of the hour: she stood ground, even as the bullets hit her.
One week after the Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik, had killed and wounded his colleagues using two handguns, what is certain now was that Officer Munley was not the lone hero who brought down the assailant. On Wednesday, James C.McKinley Jr. of The New York Times, reports At Fort Hood, Witness Credits Second Officer, that 1. "Major Hasan wheeled on Sergeant Munley as she rounded the corner of a building and shot her, putting her on the ground.", and 2. "Senior Sgt. Mark Todd, a veteran police officer, rounded another corner of the building, found Major Hasan fumbling with his weapon and shot him."
On Wednesday, police partners Sgt. Munley and Sgt. Todd appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show (The Heroes of Fort Hood). Daniel Nasaw of guardian.co.uk, noted in New account of Fort Hood shooting... that "Munley insisted that she fired at Hasan, but did not say whether she had hit him. Todd talked of firing the shots that brought down Hasan - the first time he had ever fired at a human being in his 25-year career - but could not say whether Hasan had already been shot."
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- Music:Le tigre - rrriot girl
Where I don't bitch and cry but actually write. ENJOY AND FOLLOW PLEASE
Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman mauled by a 200 pound chimpanzee in February, appeared on "Oprah" Wednesday to reveal her face and share heartbreaking details on her life since the attack.
( Graphic/disturbing photo under the cut )
Nash who turned 56 Tuesday revealed "the remnants of her missing eyes, nose and lips," as ABC News described it.
Nash told Oprah that she feels no pain but that she tries not to touch her face so as to avoid knowing the full extent of her injuries.
"I don't ask a whole lot about my injuries... I know that I have my forehead," she said. She now drinks her meals "with a straw through a small hole where her mouth used to be," ABC added.
Nash lost both her hands in the attack, as well as her nose, an eyelid, and lips. Doctors removed her eyes due to an infection, and only recently did she learn she'll no longer be able to see.
"Only . . . in the past couple of weeks did she realize that she no longer had eyes, because she had been saying that she was hoping to be able to see at some point," Oprah said, according to the New York Post.
Nash now walks around her Cleveland hospital — from which she might be released soon — in a veil.
source
Partial video: A Day in the Life of Charla Nash
Does anyone know where we can find the full interview? It keeps getting yanked from YouTube.
As GamePolitics alerted you to late Tuesday, yesterday’s Fox & Friends morning show aired a segment covering Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
The short segment was introduced by host Steve Doocy, who began, “A popular new videogame actually allows you (points at camera) to be a terrorist and kill people.” He asked, “Is this fantasy game just a little too real and is it appropriate?” before kicking off a “fair and balanced” debate on the subject with Jim Steyer of Common Sense Media and John Christensen from SlashGamer.com.
Steyer was concerned about the age of the person playing the game, while a flummoxed Christensen attempted to explain the context of the scene in question.
Doocy followed up with the question, “Is it ever appropriate to simulate killing people?”
Steyer replied, “We live in a world of free speech so you can create these games. The issue for violent videogames is there’s no question that there is a correlation between videogame violence and screen violence and aggression in real life. The American Academy of Pediatrics just came out with a statement about that. The violence is the issue… you need to use common sense in terms of using games like this.”
GP: Of course, other researchers have refuted a suggested link between violent games and aggression. Overall, a less than engaging debate. What do you think?
--
Man, did the guy defending CoD:MW2 do a terrible job. It seems like it was the only guy Fox could get, though--I don't blame anyone for not wanting to go on there. And it was apparently 3:30 AM his time and they asked him that day to come on, so yeah.
And info about the controversial scene is here--basically, you're playing a CIA agent who has infiltrated a Russian terrorist cell, and they're attacking an airport and are shooting up civilians. You're in there as well, actually playing during this scene. The German version of the game will punish you and make you start over if you shoot a civilian, but I don't know about the North American version, and you have the option to skip potentially disturbing scenes.
And for the record, the game is rated M, meaning you can only buy it if you're over 17, so where Fox is getting "eight year olds can play it!" line from is mindboggling.
Companies:
o Bank Of America Corporation
o Jpmorgan Chase Co.
o Wells Fargo Company
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Banks will have to secure their customers' consent before charging large overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions, according to a new rule announced Thursday by the Federal Reserve.
The rule responds to complaints from consumer groups, members of Congress and other regulators that the overdraft fees are unfair because many people assume they can't spend more on a debit card than is available in their account. Instead, many banks allow the transactions to go through, then charge fees of up to $25 to $35.
( Read more )
- Mood:
sick
The challenge to myself was to complete a whole journal with automatic writings and drawings in one month, sadly I failed, possibly because my journal contained more than 30 pages. I do hope you enjoy browsing these :"D
( A Torrential Downpour +17 )
- Mood:hopeful
- Music:Spoonbill - Feather Leather
She Writes launches a day of action in response to Publisher's Weekly's sexism.
Apparently, women should breastfeed cause it will make you skinny again. Thanks NYT.
Esmerelda, a transgender asylum seeker from Mexico, speaks out against immigration detention.
Apparently, Apple's App Store has a category called "Apps for Girls." Among the iPhone's "essential" Apps for Girls are MASH, Fashion Fix, and lastly, Math Flash Cards, because girls are bad at math. To quote Barbie: "Math class is tough. I love shopping!"
The link and the list:
Thanks to Mike Healy for the iPhone screenshots. iTunes screenshots are here.
The death of Timothy Garon, 56, at Bailey-Boushay House, an intensive care nursing center was confirmed to The Associated Press by his lawyer, Douglas Hiatt, and Alisha Mark, a spokeswoman for Virginia Mason Medical Center, which operates Bailey-Boushay.
Dr. Brad Roter, the physician who authorized Garon to smoke pot to alleviate for nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite, said he did not know it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant.
( Read more... )
Source
I've shared info about this beautiful film previously...as a refresher: it's a documentary film featuring five diverse artists who are also mothers. It explores the question, how do you do what you love, in this case art, and care for who you love? It goes into the economics of art, cultural and historical memory, feminism, family and labor, and so many other key issues of our time.
On Sunday I facilitated a post-screening panel at the Symphony Space in New York, which was streamed online and hosted at seven theaters across the country. You can watch it here.
One of the questions that has often come up in these screenings is the question: is it art if you don't share it? So many women shy away from putting their work out into the public, much less the marketplace, because they fear it's not good enough yet, or they don't want to seem too egocentric, or they just don't want to have to deal with assigning an economic value to what feels like such an organic process. But if art just sits in a drawer, can it really be considered art? Academy Award-winning producer Pamela Tanner-Boll, who put her blood, sweat, and tears into making this film, thinks not. At a recent talk back she talked about being sick of women making their art small or hiding it from the world. "You have a duty to share your art with the world," she advocated.
Both the educational release and the house party kit (which is so beautiful, filled with the art of the women featured in the film) are now available. Get your school library to order one. Give it to your artist mom for a holiday gift.(And please let em' know that you heard about it on Feministing if you decide to order--they'll make a small donation to us.)
MIA dog found in Afghanistan after 14 months
SYDNEY – A bomb-sniffing dog that disappeared during a fierce battle in Afghanistan between Australian troops and militant fighters has been found and returned to its unit after more than a year.
And Sabi the black labrador is getting a celebrity welcome home.
Sabi was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol ambushed in restive Uruzgan province in September 2008, triggering a gunfight that wounded nine troops and earned one Australian soldier the country's highest bravery medal.
But there was no sign of Sabi after the battle, and months of searching failed to find any sign of the retriever — until now.
Defense officials said Thursday that a U.S. soldier recovered Sabi at an isolated patrol base elsewhere in Uruzgan. Further details about the base were not given.
The dog was returned to the Australians' base in the province just in time for a visit by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was photographed Wednesday along with the U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal petting Sabi.
"Sabi is back home in one piece and is a genuinely nice pooch as well," Rudd told reporters.
Exactly where Sabi has been or what happened to her during the past 14 months will probably never be known, though that she was in good condition when she was found indicated somebody had been looking after her, military spokesman Brig. Brian Dawson told reporters in Canberra.
The dog was being tested for diseases before a decision was made on whether she can return to Australia.
More than 1,500 Australian troops are in Afghanistan and most of them are involved in training Afghan security forces. Among them are units that use dogs to sniff out roadside bombs and other explosive booby traps.
Nov 5th 2009
From The Economist print edition
Why conservative in-fighting may matter less than you might think
( Read more... )
Source
On Monday during an appearance on Don Imus’ radio show, which is simulcast on the Fox Business Network, former George H.W. Bush appointee and Fox News regular Bo Dietl used sexist and racist language to attack CBS News anchor Katie Couric. “Katie Couric, the cougar,” said Dietl. “If she gets her eyes done anymore, she’s going to look like a split face.” As Imus meekly attempted to defend Couric, saying “she’s fine,” Dietl unleashed a derogatory rant about Couric:
DIETL: She looks like a Halloween cartoon. She’s got her eyes pulled so far, she’s starting to look Chinese herself. Enough with these face lifts, alright Kate. And enough with the young guys Katie. You’re over the top baby. You’re over fifty. Start going out with guys your own age. This cougar stuff don’t work.
After some cross talk, Imus tried to get Dietl to “leave Katie Couric alone.” But as Dietl approached the end of his rant, Imus offhandedly called Couric “a rodent” as he tried to end the conversation:
IMUS: I’m just saying that if she wants — leave Katie Couric alone. She’s fine.
DIETL: Oh no no no. You like her eyes the way they look?
IMUS: She looks fine to me.
DIETL: They’re getting smaller and smaller.
IMUS: She looks fine.
DIETL: Ten years ago, she looked American. Today she is an oriental.
IMUS: She is a rodent. Leave her alone.
DIETL: She doesn’t like you either pal. She never stuck up for you.
( video & more under cut )
Sauce
EFF. YOU.
Also: OMG GAIZ! Fox News completely supports a sexist, racist, asshole? THIS IS NEWS. (Requesting water wet, bears shit in the woods newspaper macro.)
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