Tuesday, March 04, 2008

March Mourning

Anticipated mourning
as well as ongoing mourning, this month...

Condamné à la décapitation
Mohamed Kohail

Mohamed Kohail MAY die - and his family MAY be mourning him this month...
Archbishop Rahho, for his part, DID DIE - and there can be no doubt that *his* journey on this earth has been ended in a most sickening and cowardly way, by another's hands...

This photo taken in Nov. 2007 shows Chaldean Catholic archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho posing by St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The body of Rahho, kidnapped in Iraq last month, was found just outside the northern city where he was abducted, the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad said Thursday March 13, 2008. Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was seized in Mosul and three of his companions were killed Feb. 29 when gunmen attacked them soon after he left mass.
(AP Photo/Courtesy of Rev. Amer Youkhanna, ho)

Another instance that proves yet again how intricately linked death and taxes truly are...

Sued: Crocodile Hunter

Creditors want Steve Irwin's zoo to cough up millions.» More details

Canadian faces beheading

Family, government appeal man's Saudi death sentence.» Details

That news item about "one-in-millions triplets" proves that, no matter how many Death reaps, Life is still battling back...

Students are not just in danger abroad - as for everyone else, danger exits right on our home turf and in the humdrum, run-of-the-mill existence that is campus life as is the case more particularly here...

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Fire kills chief's grandchildren on Manitoba First Nation

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Despres found not criminally responsible for slayings

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Ok, OK - Here's an all-American U.S. Video now...

Dying girl's wish denied

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Euthanasia advocate's autopsy uncertain AP - Fri Mar 21, 8:03 PM ET
Results were inconclusive for an autopsy performed on the body of a woman found dead days after French authorities denied her euthanasia request, the Dijon prosecutor said Friday. (March 21)
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Tempest in a Tea Cup FOX News - Fri Mar 21, 6:05 PM ET
'Line Rage' at Disney World could send mom to prison for 15 years
Some mothers are indeed terrible examples for their kids - does that mean that those prospective moms should have taken the m.a. pill...?
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Officials: force of flying ray killed woman AP - Fri Mar 21, 5:09 PM ET
Authorities say a 57-year-old woman died from blunt force head trauma, struck by a spotted eagle ray leaping from the ocean into a boat. The animal died from the collision. (March 21)

And to end on a less lugubrious but truly luminous note -
another video-link with a song and video-clip at the other end that reflects Life, Hope, the passing of the years, nostalgia therefore -saudade- but the lyrical evermore quality of it all - the certainty that we shall be together once again, one day... All that I simply see in this song by the irresistible Isabelle Boulay.

Isabelle Boulay : Simplement tout

+++

Labels: Archbishop P.F. Rahho, Arthur C Clarke, Baron, Cachao, Chiara Lubich, Dave Stevens, Ereck Plancher, Eve Carson, Jeff Healey, Kenny Reardon, Leon Greenman, Tibetans, Vicki Van Meter

32 Comments:

At 4:25 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: JEFF HEALEY March 25th, 1966 - March 3rd, 2008

Legendary blues and jazz guitarist Jeff Healey has died at 41. The Canadian musician had battled cancer his entire life. "It was something he fought with considerable bravery," his publicist, Richard Flohil, told Newsnet late Sunday. Healey, 41, had lost his eyesight to a rare form of the disease, Retinoblastoma, at the age of one. The musician had performed with such acclaimed guitar players as B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins and George Harrison. He was one of the world's best blues/rock guitar players. R.I.P.

THE JEFF HEALEY BAND - Platinum & Gold Collection (2004)

Canada's Jeff Healey enjoyed success in the early 1990s with a pair of flamethrowing covers of John Hiatt songs, "Angel Eyes" and"Confidence Man," both of which are included on this collection of tracks drawn from his four Arista albums. The blind guitarist's unorthodox laptop playing style, coupled with a solid rhythm section of Tom Stephen on drums and Joe Rockman on bass, gave the songs a bluesy, hardrocking and slightly edgy feel, a template the trio never abandoned, and which gives this compilation a comfortable feeling of cohesion. A cover of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" works well here, as does a gospeltinged take on Jimi Hendrix's "Angel." But the most affecting track may well be the album's closer, a looselimbed, barroom romp through Big Joe Williams' "Highway 49," which just plain rocks, pure and simple.

01. I Think I Love You Too Much
02. Confidence Man
03. Angel Eyes
04. Cruel Little Number
05. Heart of an Angel
06. Full Circle
07. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
08. Nice Problem to Have
09. Angel
10. Hell to Pay
11. It Could All Get
Blown Away
12. Highway 49

http://rapidshare.com/files/96679275/THEJEFFHEALEYBANDPlatinumGoldCollection2004.rar

*

Mass grave discovered north of Baghdad

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN,
Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 11 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - A mass grave containing about 100 bodies was discovered Saturday in a region north of Baghdad that has seen years of intense fighting between Shiites and Sunni extremist members of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The grisly discovery came as Iraq's Sunni parliament speaker called on the nation's Shiites and Kurds to work together with the minority he represents to pass an election law that would help reconcile Iraq's often warring sects and splinter groups.

The grave, near Khalis in the Diyala province about 50 miles north of Baghdad, is still being investigated, but the U.S. military said the skeletal remains appear to have been there for a long time.

It was not immediately clear how the people had died, the military said.

Police Col. Sabah al-Ambaqi said the grave was discovered in an orchard near al-Bu Tumaa, a Sunni village outside Khalis. He said authorities including both Iraqi and U.S. forces were conducting a search when they uncovered the site.

Khalis is a Shiite town surrounded by Sunni communities and has been the scene of repeated sectarian attacks. Al-Qaida in Iraq is active in the area, which has seen hundreds of kidnapping and mass abductions in past years.

Police in Diyala reported two separate bombings Saturday in which six people were killed.

The U.S. is in charge of security in Baghdad and other parts of central and northern Iraq, but they plan to eventually hand it over to Iraqi forces. The two countries have reportedly been hashing out some of the terms for some time now, but the Defense Department said the negotiations were to officially commence Saturday.

Diplomats have been discussing agreements for a long-term relationship between the two countries and a deal that will define the legal basis for a U.S. troop presence in the future.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said late Friday the United States' goal is to complete a deal by December, when the U.N. Security Council resolution that now governs the U.S. and coalition presence in Iraq expires.

Morrell would not discuss specifics, but said the final agreement "does not seek permanent bases, will not in any way codify the number of troops that will remain in Iraq; it will not tie the hands of a future commander in chief, it will not require Senate ratification, but we will make every effort to keep Congress apprised of progress in these talks."

Both sides see an agreement as the basis for establishing a normal state-to-state relationship, enabling Iraq to function with full sovereignty.

To do so, Iraq must work toward national reconciliation between its sectarian groups, which includes holding provincial elections on Oct. 1. The elections would transfer some power from the national government to the provinces and decentralize the decision-making process.

Parliament last month approved a bill that was to set up provincial elections. It was rejected by the Shiite member of Iraq's three member presidential council.

The disagreement over the proposed law comes over who has the right to appoint a local governor. The bill says it's the prime minister's prerogative, but some influential Shiites want the power to rest with provincial legislatures — where they have influence.

"We are seeking ... a unified stance to go forward together in the right direction," Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said.

In Basra, Iraq's second-largest city and the urban center of an oil-rich region, thousands of people took to the streets to protest deteriorating security in the southern city where Iraqi forces assumed responsibility for safety in December.

Its Shiite residents are becoming increasingly alarmed about security, saying that killings, kidnappings and other crimes have increased significantly since British forces turned over security responsibility.

In February, two journalists working for CBS were kidnapped in Basra. One was released but the other, a Briton, is still being held.

A long line of marchers, estimated to be as many as 5,000 people, demonstrated near the Basra police command headquarters Saturday, demanding that the police chief, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Khalaf, and the commander of joint military-police operation, Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fireji, resign.

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Demonstrators call for the resignation of the police chief and commander of security operations in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq on Saturday, March 8, 2008. Thousands of people took to the streets in southern Basra, protesting deteriorating security in a city where Iraqi forces assumed responsibility for safety last December. Many carried banners, decrying the killing of women, workers, academics and scientists. Dozens of women were slain in Basra by religious extremists last year because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against 'violating Islamic teachings.'(AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)
AP Photo: Demonstrators call for the resignation of the police chief and commander of security operations in...

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Bombs kill more than 50 in Baghdad

By ANNA JOHNSON,
Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 6, 4:55 PM ET

BAGHDAD - Two bombs went off within minutes of each other in a crowded shopping district in the capital Thursday, killing at least 53 people and wounding 130 — a reminder that deadly attacks are a daily threat even though violence is down.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility. But back-to-back bombings — designed to maximize carnage — became the hallmark of attacks on civilians by al-Qaida in Iraq during the worst of the violence in Baghdad in 2006.

Like in previous such attacks, the tactic seeks to draw in the people with the first blast — especially security and medical workers — before a second bomb detonates.

Iraqis were enjoying a pleasant spring evening when a roadside bomb hidden under a vendor stall detonated in the primarily Shiite, middle-class Baghdad neighborhood of Karradah. Five minutes later, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt detonated, Mohammed al-Rubaie, the head of the Karradah municipality, told the state-run Al-Iraqiya TV.

He said more than 50 civilians were killed and more than 100 injured. Many of the victims were teens or young adults, and four were women, police and officials at three hospitals said.

Interior Ministry officials and hospital officials said 53 people were killed and 130 were wounded. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because not authorized to speak to media.

Hassan Abdullah, who owns a clothing shop in the area, said he was walking to the site of the first blast to see what happened when the second bomb went off.

"I saw a leg and a hand falling near me as I was walking. The whole place was a mess. Wounded people were crying for help, and people started to run away," said Abdullah, 25. "The aim of such attacks is the random killing of as many people as possible in order to terrorize Iraqi people."

A police officer said the blasts also damaged seven shops and four parked cars. Like the rest of those who provided information, he spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release information.

Violence has dropped substantially in Baghdad over the last half-year with the boost in U.S. troops, a cease-fire by a powerful Shiite militia, and many Sunni fighters turning against al-Qaida in Iraq. But multiple killings are still a daily occurrence.

Southeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said it discovered a home in a farming area that served as an al-Qaida in Iraq training facility and prison.

The brick house was located on a dirt road in a remote area of Zambraniyah, about 20 miles southeast of Baghdad.

From the outside, nothing appeared unusual. But inside the house, found handcuffs attached to the floor and another connected to a barred window, hooks used to hang people attached to a wall and interrogation books written in Arabic, the military said.

"It looked like there were remnants where people suffered," said Spc. Daniel Murray, of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, who was on the mission Wednesday.

Troops also found a treadmill and stair-climbing machine in another room, said Murray, of Jacksonville, Ill.

Squadron commander Lt. Col. Mark Solomon said it appeared that the home was used as a base but it was hard to tell when it was last occupied.

"We didn't miss them by hours ... but certainly over the past weeks and months there was activity at the house," he told The Associated Press.

"They had invested in it, in terms of the shackles on the walls, the treadmills. It was a place they used for a good period of time," added Solomon, who is from Boston.

Solomon said the military worked with members of the Sons of Iraq to locate the house. Sons of Iraq is a phrase often used by the military to describe U.S.-funded Sunni tribesman who are now fighting al-Qaida.

The military, meanwhile, announced a flurry of raids over the last several days in which a total 13 suspected insurgents were killed and dozens captured.

The heaviest clash involved the Tal Afar Special Weapons and Tactics team, made up of U.S. forces and Iraqi SWAT teams.

Last Sunday, it targeted a cell responsible for assassinations and bombing attacks in the Tal Afar area of Iraq's restive Ninevah province, the military said in a statement.

During the raid, several fighters opened a barrage of gunfire at the Iraqi and U.S. troops, killing the three Iraqi soldiers and wounding three others.

The U.S.-Iraqi team killed nine suspected insurgents in the ensuing gunfight. Three Iraqi civilians were wounded and treated at the scene and eight suspected cell members were detained for questioning, the military said.

During one of the other operations, U.S. soldiers shot and killed a man who drew a pistol on them and then tried to detonate an explosives-laden suicide vest near the city of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.

____

Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.

Israel signals willingness to talk

By LAURIE COPANS,
Associated Press Writers
Fri Mar 7, 4:22 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Israel signaled a willingness Friday to move ahead with peace talks despite a deadly attack on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem. But a U.S.-backed Egyptian initiative for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in trouble due to the violence, which shattered four years of relative calm in the holy city.

Outside the bullet-scarred seminary, thousands of mourners marched in funeral processions Friday for the eight young students gunned down by a 25-year-old Palestinian from east Jerusalem whose family said he had been distraught over this week's carnage in the Gaza Strip.

A rabbi at the seminary, which is a flagship of Israel's West Bank settlement movement, recited Hebrew psalms that the crowd repeated. The bodies were taken away for burial. One of the dead students was 26; the rest were between 15 and 19, including Avraham David Moses, 16, an American whose parents moved to Israel in the 1990s.

Concerned about more violence, Israel slapped a closure on the West Bank and kept men under 45 from praying at Jerusalem's main mosque. And in a possible sign that Israel suspects Lebanese guerrillas could have been involved, Israel sent warplanes over Beirut, according to a Lebanese security official. Israel's army declined comment.

Despite the bloodshed, an Israeli official said his country would not cut off peace talks with the moderate Palestinian leadership — an apparent nod to Washington's insistence that extremist violence not be allowed to derail efforts to forge a deal by year's end.

Israel will push ahead with the talks "so as not to punish moderate Palestinians for actions by people who are not just our enemies but theirs as well," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the government had yet to make a formal announcement.

It was the second time in a month that Israel chose not to halt talks after an attack. When a Palestinian suicide bomber blew struck in the town of Dimona, killing one woman and wounding 11 people on Feb. 4, Israeli and Palestinian officials went ahead with a planned negotiating session.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas briefly suspended talks this week after more than 120 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli campaign against Palestinian rocket launchers in Gaza. Abbas later backed down under pressure from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Egypt, backed by the U.S., is exploring a truce deal between Israel and Hamas that would stop rocket fire on Israel in exchange for an end to Israeli attacks on militants and the resumption of trade and travel from Gaza, where border crossings have been closed since Hamas violently seized control of the coastal strip in June.

Militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad traveled from Gaza to the northern Egyptian city of el-Arish on Thursday to confer with senior Egyptian intelligence officials on a truce. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch also was in Egypt.

The diplomacy appeared to reflect a growing understanding that a peace deal between Israel and Abbas' moderate government based in the West Bank will simply not be possible as long as Hamas is playing the role of spoiler in Gaza.

However, the latest violence undermined cease-fire hopes — and raised the possibility of more harsh Israeli action in Gaza, especially if Hamas indeed was behind the seminary attack.

Relatives of Alaa Abu Dheim of east Jerusalem said he had carried out the attack, and the family set up a mourning tent, and both Hamas and Hezbollah flags hung outside it. Neighbors said he had been a driver for the seminary.

It was not clear if any group provided backing for the shooting, and Israeli TV stations said security officials believed he may have acted alone.

However, it is virtually impossible for a Palestinian Jerusalem resident to obtain a weapon legally, raising the likelihood he received some assistance. Israel annexed east Jerusalem after the 1967 Mideast War, and Arab residents enjoy freedom of movement in Israel, unlike Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hamas radio had said Friday the militant group took responsibility, but later retracted the report. Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, said the group was not yet taking official credit for the attack, adding to the confusion.

A previously unknown, Lebanese-based group, the "Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh" — after a senior Hezbollah commander killed in Syria last month — claimed responsibility, the Al-Manar satellite TV station reported. But the claim could not be independently confirmed. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for Mughniyeh's assassination and vowed revenge.

Abu Dheim's relatives said they did not know of his plot, but were not surprised. He had been transfixed recently by the bloodshed in Gaza, and "he told me he wasn't able to sleep because of the grief," said his sister, Iman Abu Dheim.

Relatives described Abu Dheim as intensely religious, but said he was not a member of a militant group. Family members said several relatives had been taken for questioning by Israeli police.

Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter said Arabs of east Jerusalem who have been involved in militant activity should be expelled to the West Bank, a move that would strip them of all their rights.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said the shooting had almost certainly been organized in the West Bank. But in a sign of the uncertainty over who was behind it, Regev did not point fingers.

He would not confirm that Israel had reached a decision to continue peace talks, but did not deny the other official's statement that negotiations would go on.

The shooting is likely to increase pressure on Olmert to react militarily. Palestinian militants from Gaza have repeatedly bombarded southern Israel with rockets. On Thursday, Gaza militants ambushed an army patrol along the border, killing a soldier.

___

Associated Press writers Dalia Nammari in east Jerusalem and Sarah el Deeb in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.

Auschwitz survivor Greenman dead at 97

LONDON, March 8 (UPI) --

Leon Greenman, the only British national thought to have been imprisoned in the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, has died at the age of 97.

Born in London, Greenman was living with his family in Holland when they were taken by Nazi forces in 1943. He was sent with 699 Dutch Jews to the infamous concentration camp, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

While his Dutch wife and young son were killed in the Nazis' gas chambers, Greenman and one other man represented the only individuals out of the initial 699 prisoners who left the camp alive.

After surviving Auschwitz and five other Nazi death camps, Greenman dedicated his life to fighting racism and letting others know about what exactly occurred during the Holocaust.

"Young and old alike must learn about the Holocaust as warning against the dangers of racism. There is no difference in color or religion. If I had survived to betray the dead it would have been better not to survive," said Greenman, who died Friday. "We must not forget. Please do not forget."

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* Mar 8, 2008 4:30 pm US/Eastern
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Tragic Accident Kills Good Samaritan On Route 93

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Tragic Accident Kills Good Samaritan On Route 93
RANDOLPH, Mass. (WBZ) ― A man who pulled over to help another driver, whose vehicle had broken down, was killed early Saturday when a truck rolled back into him after he got out of his vehicle.

State police said 53-year-old Stephen Cullen, of Stoughton, pulled his Dodge Dakota over around 12:30 a.m. into the breakdown lane of Route 93 North in Randolph to help another driver whose Ford Explorer was disabled off the right shoulder of the roadway.

After Cullen got out of his truck, it began to roll backwards. His 23-year-old passenger, Aliycia Cullen, tried to stop the truck but was unable to do so before it hit him.

Cullen suffered serious injuries and later died at Quincy City Hospital.

The crash remains under investigation.

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* Mar 7, 2008 9:23 pm US/Eastern
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Man Stabbed To Death In Boston

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Man Stabbed To Death In Boston
Man, Woman Arrested In Connection With Stabbing Death
BOSTON (WBZ) ― A man was stabbed to death Friday afternoon at Melnea Cass Blvd., and Washington Street, Boston police confirmed.

The stabbing victim, who police say was in his late 30s, was rushed to Boston Medical Center where he later died. A woman was also taken to Boston Medical Center, though it's unknown if she was stabbed. Police said she did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

Police said two suspects were taken into custody in connection with the stabbing after they fled the scene on an MBTA bus.

Juan Ramirez, 25, will be charged with murder, and 29-year-old Aida Rodriquez will be charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Both will be arraigned Monday in Boston Municipal Court.

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Brother charged with killing 6 in Tenn.

By WOODY BAIRD,
Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 56 minutes ago

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A convicted killer recently released from prison was charged Saturday with fatally shooting his brother during an argument and then killing five witnesses, including two of his brother's children, police said.

Three remaining children were critically wounded in the attack last Sunday, but one of them was able to tell investigators about their assailant, an arrest warrant affidavit said.

Jessie L. Dotson, 33, was arrested on Friday — five days after the six bodies were discovered in a small rental house in a rough neighborhood called Binghampton. The affidavit said Dotson admitted to the killings.

"He tried to kill everyone in the house. He thought everyone in the house was dead," police Lt. Joe Scott said.

Dotson was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder, police said. Among those killed was Dotson's brother, Cecil, 30, who was the father of all the children, ages 9 to 2 months.

Also killed were Hollis Seals, 33, Shindri Roberson, 25, and Marissa Rene Williams, 26, the mother of four of Cecil Dotson's children. Police identified the dead children as Cemario Dotson, 4, and Cecil Dotson, 2.

The surviving children remain under police custody at a children's hospital, but police declined to reveal their identities or their conditions.

One of the children "implicated Jessie Dotson as the person responsible," an arrest warrant affidavit said.

Police said the bodies of the victims were discovered Monday. The adults were shot with a semiautomatic handgun, while the children were stabbed with a knife or bludgeoned, police said.

The adults were found in the living room and the children were found in the two bedrooms of the residence and in the bathroom, Police Director Larry Godwin said.

Police said the bodies were discovered after relatives were unable to make contact with them, either by phone or in person.

Cecil Dotson and Seals each had extensive criminal records that include possession of illegal drugs and firearms. Cecil Dotson is identified in jail records as a known gang member.

Godwin said investigators at first thought the killings might have been some kind of "gang-related retaliation."

"I know the fear that gripped this community. I think we all felt it," Godwin said.

Records also show that Jessie Dotson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 1994 and spent 14 years in prison. He was released from prison in January. No other details were available.

District Attorney General Bill Gibbons said his office has not yet decided if it will seek the death penalty.

Jail records showed Dotson was not yet allowed visitors and no lawyer was listed for him. No court dates had been set.

Man charged in Auburn U. student death

By DESIREE HUNTER,
Associated Press Writer
Sat Mar 8, 8:45 PM ET

AUBURN, Ala. - A man arrested after a car and foot chase by police who suspected him in a string of robberies was charged with capital murder in the abduction and shooting death of an Auburn University freshman, police said Saturday.

Courtney Lockhart was arrested Friday in Phenix City, about 30 miles from the campus. Lauren Burk, 18, was found shot on the side of an off-campus road Tuesday night and her car was found burning in a campus parking lot.

Police would not say what led them to charge Lockhart, 23, in her killing or divulge evidence linking them.

On Saturday in Burk's hometown of Marietta, Ga., hundreds gathered at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church to mourn her death and remember the Delta Gamma sorority girl with twinkling eyes and a broad, beaming smile.

"As students, I know it's easy to feel a bit invincible, but you're not," said the Rev. Bryant Wright, pastor of the church. "This is a reminder of how vulnerable we all can be in a world of evil."

Several of those closest to her spoke during the service, including her boyfriend of two years.

"That smile of hers could light up even the darkest of places," said Sean McQuade, who attended Auburn with her. "Her happiness was infectious. She lived her life with radiance and joy.

"She was the most amazing person I ever met and she changed me in more ways than I could ever describe," he said.

Lockhart, 23, was charged with three capital counts accusing him of murder along with kidnapping, robbery and attempted rape, Auburn Assistant Police Chief Thomas Dawson said.

Lockhart tried to flee Phenix City police after being pulled over Friday, Dawson said. He said Lockhart's vehicle matched the description of one in a string of robberies. After a short pursuit and a foot chase, he was captured.

Dawson said investigators have a photo of the suspect that was enhanced with the help of NASA, but he wouldn't say how the photo was obtained. "We have the right individual in jail, I'm 100 percent sure of that," Dawson said.

Investigators don't believe Lockhart had any connection to the university or that he knew Burk before abducting her.

"I don't believe he targeted her that long, if he targeted her at all," Dawson said.

Lockhart, from rural Smiths in Russell County, was in custody Saturday with bail set at $250,000, Dawson said. He may still be charged with robberies, Dawson said.

There was no immediate word if he had a lawyer to speak for him; if he is indigent, a lawyer could be appointed at a Lee County Circuit Court hearing Monday in Auburn. The university planned a campus-wide memorial service for her Monday.

Auburn Police Chief Frank deGraffenreid said the increased police presence on campus that began after the shooting will continue indefinitely to "help calm some fears and anxieties of parents."

Alysha Kambeyanda said she still felt safe at her school and hoped that the tragedy will remind fellow students to be more aware of their surroundings.

"I think the people on campus need to be safer with what they do, make smarter decisions about where they go," she said. "I've seen girls running alone at night, listening to their iPods. That doesn't seem like a good idea."

Police in North Carolina, investigating the killing of a university student there, had been in contact with Alabama authorities investigating Burk's killing. However, officials said the cases did not appear to be connected.

In North Carolina, police released two surveillance photos of the suspect in Eve Carson's killing, taken as the man used her ATM card in Chapel Hill. Another photo of the suspect's baseball cap was also released.

Carson, 22, of Athens, Ga., was found Wednesday morning lying on a street about a mile from campus. She had been shot several times, including once in the right temple. She appears to be the victim of a random crime, authorities said.

___

Associated Press writer Errin Haines in Marietta, Ga., contributed to this report.

Ils sont fous ces Français...
Actually...
Eles não são mais doidos de que os Brasileiros!

The following story item does nothing else other than prove than the French are envious copycats! It used to be English envy - not they've just broadened their horizons, that's all...

French village bans death

Thu Mar 6, 3:25 PM

PAU, France (AFP) - The mayor of a French village has issued a decree banning residents from dying in his territory unless they own a spot in the overcrowded cemetery.

"It is forbidden for any person not having a plot in the cemetery ... to die on the territory of the village," the mayor of the southwestern village of Sarpourenx wrote in a decree that warned of "severe punishment" for offenders.

Mayor Gerard Lalanne told AFP he had taken the radical measure to protest against a legal ruling preventing him from enlarging the burial ground in the village of 260 people.

"The first dead person to come along, I'll send him to the state's representative," he said.

Lalane said he had been inspired by the mayor of another French village, Cugnaux, who had also outlawed death as a protest last year and who thus won the right to enlarge the village's cemetery.

Indeed, this French mayor's apparent "original ban" is nothing but a rehash - he ripped off the idea from a Brazilian mayor who did the exact same thing quite some time ago. (Not sure if no one's died since, over in Brazil's dystopian village there, but the French version has the same problem we ALL will have, sooner or later: cemeteries overflowing while the living keep on dwindling; birth rates are lower than death rates in Canada anyways...)

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* Free trade negotiator known for toughness
Toronto Star - 18 hours ago
* Tough-talking former trade negotiator Simon Reisman dies
Canada.com - Mar 10, 2008
* Reisman remembered
Canada.com - Mar 10, 2008

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Father of Canada-U.S. trade deal Simon Reisman dies in Ottawa at 88
March 11th, 2008

OTTAWA — He is still remembered by many Canadians as the scrappy street fighter who stormed out of the Canada-U.S. free trade negotiations and other public blowups that characterized the controversial talks.

Simon Reisman, Canada's cocky chief free-trade negotiator during talks with the United States in the late 1980s, died in his sleep of cardiac arrest early Saturday morning at the Heart Institute in Ottawa at the age of 88.

But the stories about Reisman remain legendary, even the untrue ones of him stubbing out his stogie on the wooden desk of U.S. Treasury Secretary John Connolly during a particularly testy meeting in the mid-60s.

Most, however, are true, says Gordon Ritchie, his lifelong friend and deputy during the free trade talks.

"Simon didn't back down," Ritchie said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "He even took a swing at me once over a misunderstanding. Simon told me he never stubbed his cigar out on the desk, though he may have let the ash fall on it."

The blowups were real, Ritchie says, but they don't detract from Reisman's accomplishments as a key player in building Canada into a modern economic power. His role ranged from negotiating the auto pact signed in January, 1965, to becoming Canada's first deputy minister of Industry, a department created on his recommendation, to his central role in negotiating the so-called FTA in 1986 and 1987, which at the time was the world's biggest and most influential trade deal.

"I don't think people realize that the free trade agreement was fundamentally Simon's baby, even though a lot of people take credit for it now," Ritchie says.

"I was with the prime minister (Brian Mulroney) at the meeting with Ronald Reagan in Quebec City where they announced they wanted to have negotiations. But they were talking about more modest negotiations and the prime minister asked Simon for his views and Simon wrote a note to the PM to say let's go for the whole enchilada."

Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to the United States, also said Reisman's bluster was the real deal.

Still, many had doubts. Thomas Niles, U.S. ambassador to Canada during the talks, wondered if his loud, indignant objections were more strategic than spontaneous.

While his angry walkout on free-trade talks in the 1980s seemed to end the negotiations in a very public way, it actually moved them up a notch to top politicians who pushed the agreement ahead.

But Ritchie said Niles is wrong, although he may be right about Reisman's most famous blow up, when he stormed out of the negotiating table in Washington and brought the talks to the brink of failure.

The impasse was over U.S. negotiator Peter Murphy's refusal or lack of authority to negotiate a dispute settlement procedure that would take away America's right to unilaterally decide that some Canadian imports were dumped or illegally subsidized.

Ritchie said he flew back to Ottawa the night before to brief Mulroney that they were getting nowhere, then returned to Washington with approval to declare an impasse. Reisman was initially reluctant, fearing that his baby would not recover, he said.

"It wasn't spontaneous at all and it was not a bluff," Ritchie said. "Without us walking away from the table, we would not have gotten the deal."

"He was one tough bird," Allan Gotlieb, former Canadian ambassador to the United States, told the Globe. "He was extremely direct and totally unfearful of the consequences of his comments. He was the diametric opposite of the namby-pamby civil servant."

Born in Montreal on June 19, 1919, Reisman studied economics at McGill University and the London School of Economics where he received a master's degree in economics. After joining the civil service in 1946, he worked on a number of significant economic agreements under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that helped establish international trading systems and regulations after the Second World War. He also played a major role in the establishment of the Canadian-U.S. Auto Pact in 1965.

His son, physician John Reisman, said Saturday that his father appeared to have come through a pacemaker operation a few days earlier without any difficulties. "He was reading The Wall Street Journal yesterday and was active mentally and we thought he was going to make it," Dr. Reisman told the Globe.

Reisman leaves his wife Constance and three children. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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Violence across Iraq kills at least 42

By BRADLEY BROOKS,
Associated Press Writer
Tue Mar 11, 4:44 PM ET

BAGHDAD - Violence killed at least 42 people Tuesday, including 16 bus passengers caught in a roadside bombing in southern Iraq, after the deadliest day for U.S. troops in precisely six months.

The U.S. military announced that three American soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad on Monday, bringing to eight the number of troops who died that day. The last time so many U.S. military personnel were killed in Iraq was Sept. 10, when 10 died.

Bloodshed has increased recently, despite what the military said has been a 60 percent drop in attacks across Iraq since June. Last Thursday, two massive bombs killed 68 people in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood. On March 3, two car bombings killed 24 people in the capital.

According to an Associated Press count, at the height of unrest from November 2006 to August 2007, on average approximately 65 Iraqis died each day as a result of violence. As conditions improved, the daily death toll steadily declined. It reached its lowest point in more than two years on January 2008, when on average 20 Iraqis died each day.

Those numbers have since jumped. In February, approximately 26 Iraqis died each day as a result of violence, and so far in March, that number is up to 39 daily. These figures reflect the months in which people were found, and not necessarily — in the case of mass graves — the months in which they were killed.

Military spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith said Sunday that recent violence should not be taken as evidence of "an increase or a trend of an increase."

"I think we need to continue to look at historically what has happened over the last year to really put in perspective a one-week or two-weeks' worth of activity inside Baghdad," Smith said.

But Smith, in what has become a military mantra of caution, also noted that "on any given day, al-Qaida and other extremist groups are still very much disposed toward handing out violence indiscriminately to achieve whatever means and ends they hope to achieve with those attacks."

While al-Qaida in Iraq is Sunni, Shiite extremists with alleged ties to Iran are also believed to have carried out attacks.

In an interview with CNN Tuesday, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he was in favor of substantive discussions with Iran about what the U.S. claims is Tehran's continued funding and training of extremists in Iraq.

Petraeus said he did not meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to Iraq last week because he thought it would have been a "relatively meaningless encounter."

But he added: "What we would like to do with Iran of course is sit down across the table and let's discuss. You know, the Iranians have pledged at the very highest levels to stop arming, training, funding and equipping and directing the special groups and these other militia extremist elements ... and yet it appears very clear that Iran does continue."

The roadside bombing that killed the three U.S. soldiers and an interpreter Monday took place in Diyala, a violent province where al-Qaida in Iraq has been active. Another soldier was wounded.

The five other U.S. soldiers were killed while on foot patrol in central Baghdad. A suicide bomber approached them and detonated his explosives vest. Three American troops and an Iraqi interpreter were wounded. Iraqi police said two civilians also were killed in the attack.

Tuesday's attack on the bus traveling from Najaf to Basra killed 16 civilians and wounded 22, a policeman said.

Gunmen also sprayed another bus with machine-gun fire shortly after it hit a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad. One person was killed and four others were wounded, police said. The bomb was apparently targeting a nearby police patrol.

In Duluiyah, 45 miles north of Baghdad, police said a suicide bomber blew up his truck at a checkpoint near the headquarters of the local Awakening Council, killing five people. Awakening Councils are made up of mostly Sunni fighters who have accepted U.S. backing to switch allegiances and fight al-Qaida in Iraq.

And in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, clashes with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia left 12 dead and 14 injured. Thirty people were arrested. Southern Iraq often sees clashes between rival Shiite groups battling for power.

In Mosul, an unknown number of gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in Mosul, killing four policemen and injuring one civilian. Four of the attacking gunmen also were killed in the firefight, according to a Ninevah police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

___

Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub and Hamid Ahmed contributed to this report, as did the AP News Research Center in New York.

2 charged in UNC student leader slaying
By ERIN GARTNER and MIKE BAKER,
Associated Press Writer
27 minutes ago

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. - Two suspects were charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the killing of the University of North Carolina's student body president, though one remains at large.

Demario James Atwater, 21, of Durham, was arrested and ordered held without bond. Police said they are still searching for the second suspect, 17-year-old Lawrence Alvin Lovett Jr.

Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian would not say which of the suspects shot and killed Eve Carson, 22, of Athens, Ga., who was found a week ago lying on a street about a mile from campus. The biology and political science major had been shot several times, including once in the right temple.

In the days after Carson's death, police focused their investigation on several ATM and convenience store surveillance photos.

Police believe Lovett was pictured in two photos taken at an ATM, driving Carson's Toyota Highlander with Atwater in the back seat. Police also believe Atwater was the suspect shown trying to use Carson's ATM card inside a convenience store.

Curran has previously declined to say when the surveillance photos were taken or the exact location of the ATM machine and convenience store, or whether any money was successfully withdrawn from Carson's account.

The Board of Trustees at North Carolina offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in her death, and police received hundreds of tips after the first two photos were released over the weekend.

Curran declined to say whether Lovett was the subject of an intense police standoff Wednesday afternoon in nearby Durham. City Councilman Eugene Brown said it appears the standoff was resolved without an arrest.

Police in Durham refused to comment, referring all questions about the standoff to police in Chapel Hill.

Shackled at the ankle and waist and with a public defender at his side, Atwater whispered "yes" when asked whether he understood the charges against him. His next court appearance was scheduled for March 24.

"I hope the arrest can ease the minds of some in the community," District Attorney Jim Woodall said.

Messages left with the Orange County public defender's office were not returned Wednesday.

State records indicate both suspects are on parole. Lovett was given a suspended sentence in January for misdemeanor larceny and breaking and entering. Atwater was convicted of felony breaking and entering in 2005 and illegal possession of a firearm in 2007. He also received a suspended sentence.

Carson was a prestigious Morehead-Cain scholar at North Carolina, where she was remembered by thousands who gathered Thursday at two campus memorial services. Hundreds of mourners filled the First United Methodist Church in Athens on Sunday at a memorial service in her hometown.

The university said Wednesday a third memorial service will be held next week at the campus basketball arena.

"Our interests are in seeing justice served and helping our community during this difficult time," university Chancellor James Moeser said in a statement. "We are thankful for all of the expressions of support pouring in for the Carolina family and our local community in these past few days. Those kind thoughts and prayers for Eve Carson's family and our community have made a difference."

___

Associated Press writer Erin Gartner reported from Chapel Hill.

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Shooting spree that began at Miss. bank leaves 3 dead; gunman wounded
Module body

Wed Mar 12, 2:53 PM

By The Associated Press

McCOMB, Miss. - Police say a gunman fatally shot two people at a southern Mississippi bank and later killed his wife before wounding himself.

McComb police Chief Billie Hughes describes Wednesday's shootings as a domestic dispute. For a time police blocked off the area around the Regions Bank branch where the first shootings occurred and told people to stay inside.

Hughes says the gunman walked into the bank and shot a customer and an employee. He says the man then took his wife and fled in a car.

The chief says the woman's body was found along U.S. Highway 51 near Fernwood. The gunman apparently shot himself and crashed his vehicle in the town of Magnolia.

The gunman is being treated at a hospital but his condition hasn't been released.

China sets deadline for rioters to surrender

1 hour, 1 minute ago

By Chris Buckley
and Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING (Reuters) - China set a "surrender deadline," listed deaths and showed the first extensive television footage of rioting in Lhasa on Saturday, signaling a crackdown after the worst unrest in Tibet for two decades.

But a source close to the Tibetan self-proclaimed government-in-exile suggested China's official death toll of 10, which comes just months before the Beijing Olympics, may not tell the full story.

Xinhua news agency said the 10 "innocent civilians" died in fires that accompanied bitter clashes in the remote, mountain capital on Friday. It said no foreigners died but gave few other details, and the report could not be verified.

The source close to the Tibetan exile administration in India said at least five Tibetan protesters were shot dead by troops, and other groups supporting Tibetan independence have claimed many more may have died.

"Law enforcement authorities in China's Tibet Autonomous Region issued a notice on Saturday ... demanding the lawbreakers to give themselves in by Monday midnight, and promised that mitigation and leniency would be given to those who surrender," Xinhua said.

China has accused followers of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, of masterminding the rioting, which has scarred its image of national harmony in the build-up to the Beijing Olympics and already sparked talk of a boycott.

The Olympic torch is to arrive in Lhasa in a matter of weeks.

Tibetan crowds in the remote mountain city attacked government offices, burnt vehicles and shops and threw stones at police on Friday in bloody confrontations that left many injured.

A Reuters picture showed a protester setting fire to bicycles and a Chinese national flag. Another depicted security personnel shielding themselves against rocks hurled by protesters.

Television footage showed plumes of smoke rising over Lhasa and individual buildings ablaze.

Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Government, told reporters in Beijing that Tibetan authorities had not fired any shots to quell the violence in Lhasa, which Xinhua said had "reverted to calm."

But the International Campaign for Tibet, a group that supports demands for Tibetan autonomy, cited unconfirmed reports of scores of Tibetans killed and hundreds of local university students arrested.

John Ackerly of the group said in an e-mailed statement he feared "hundreds of Tibetans have been arrested and are being interrogated and tortured."

Residents of Lhasa waited anxiously in homes and closed shops on Saturday, wondering if the day would bring fresh confrontation.

"It's quite tense still," said one hostel manager who requested anonymity, as did other residents spoken to.

"We don't dare go outside, so I can't tell you what's happening," said one.

Xinhua said its reporters in Lhasa on Friday saw many rioters "carrying backpacks filled with stones and bottles of inflammable liquids, some holding iron bars, wooden sticks and long knives, a sign that the crowd came fully prepared and meant harm."

NO CHANGE OF POLICY

The riots have emerged from a volatile mix of pre-Olympics protests, diplomatic friction over Tibet and local discontent with the harsh ways of the region's Party leadership which has heated up in past months.

China has said the Dalai Lama engineered what were the biggest protests in the predominantly Buddhist Himalayan region since 1989, a claim he quickly denied.

China has chided the leaders of the United States and especially Germany in past months for hosting the Dalai Lama, saying such acts boost what they call his "separatist" goals. It has also urged India to stop protests there by exiled Tibetans.

The hardline Communist Party boss of Tibet, Zhang Qingli, formerly served in Xinjiang, the far western region where China has refined tough controls on restive Uighur Muslims.

While it was uncertain whether the clashes would flare again over the weekend, Beijing has already made clear it saw no reason to change its policies in Tibet, where many locals resent the presence of the Han Chinese, China's biggest ethnic group.

"We are fully capable of maintaining the social stability of Tibet," Xinhua quoted an official as saying in a statement repeated across Chinese state media on Saturday.

China may not respond as harshly as it did to the 1989 protests in Tibet, when now President Hu Jintao was Communist Party boss of the region, but nor will it show any softness, said Drew Thompson, a China expert at The Nixon Center in Washington.

Already the eruption of popular anger at China's presence in Tibet has become an international issue likely to trouble Beijing's preparations for the Olympics.

The Games should be boycotted if Beijing mishandles the protests, Hollywood actor and Tibetan activist Richard Gere said.

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

Captive archbishop's body found in Iraq

By SAMEER N. YACOUB,
Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 13, 5:29 PM ET

BAGHDAD - The body of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found in a shallow grave in northern Iraq on Thursday, two weeks after he was kidnapped by gunmen in one of the most dramatic attacks against the country's small Christian community.

The sad discovery of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho's body came on a day that saw more violence elsewhere in Iraq. A parked car bomb exploded in a commercial district of central Baghdad, killing 18 people and wounding dozens more, police said. Gunmen also killed five members of an anti-al-Qaida group near Tikrit, and a correspondent for a newspaper in Baghdad.

Pope Benedict XVI, President Bush and Iraq's prime minister all deplored the archbishop's death, with the pontiff calling it an "inhuman act of violence that offends the dignity of the human being and harms the peaceful coexistence of the dear Iraqi people."

Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi Christians have been targeted by Islamic extremists who label them "crusaders" loyal to U.S. troops. Militants have attacked churches, priests and businesses owned by Christians. Many Christians have fled the country, a trend mirrored in many dwindling pockets of Christianity across the Islamic world.

Rahho, 65, was seized on Feb. 29, just minutes after he delivered a mass in Mosul, a city considered by the U.S. military the last urban stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq. Three of Rahho's companions were killed.

After two weeks of searching and praying, officials at the archbishop's church received a phone call Wednesday from the captors. The caller told the officials that Rahho had died and where to find his body, Monsignor Shlemon Warduni, the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, told The Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear if Rahho was killed or if he died of an illness. Shortly after his abduction, church officials had said they were especially worried because the archbishop had health problems, which they did not identify.

A Mosul morgue official, speaking on condition of anonymity for security concerns, said Rahho's body had no bullet holes. The official said police found the body in an early stage of decomposition under a thin layer of dirt just north of the city, suggesting that Rahho had been dead for a few days.

There have been no claims of responsibility for the archbishop's kidnapping or his death.

The Chaldean church is an Eastern-rite denomination that recognizes the authority of the pope and is aligned with the Roman Catholic Church. Chaldean Catholics make up a tiny minority of the current Iraqi population but are the largest group among the less than 1 million Christians in Iraq, according to last year's International Religious Freedom Report from the U.S. State Department.

In a telegram of condolence sent to the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Pope Benedict said he hoped that the "tragic event" would at least help build a peaceful future for the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who pledged last fall to protect and support the Christian minority, said in a statement Thursday that "we condemn and denounce this ugly crime and consider it as an aggression that aims to ignite strife among ... the Iraqi people."

In Washington, Bush said he sent his condolences to the Chaldean community and the people of Iraq.

"I deplore the despicable act of violence committed against the Archbishop of Mosul," the president said in a statement. "The terrorists will continue to lose in Iraq because they are savage and cruel. Their utter disregard for human life, demonstrated by this murder and by recent suicide attacks against innocent Iraqis in Baghdad and innocent pilgrims celebrating a religious holiday, is turning the Iraqi people against them."

U.S. and Iraqi forces have been trying to root out extremists from Mosul, a violent city 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.

In an interview in November with AsiaNews, Rahho said the situation in Mosul was not improving and "religious persecution is more noticeable than elsewhere because the city is split along religious lines."

Thursday's bombing in Baghdad, meanwhile, killed 18 people near a bridge in Tahrir Square, a district of clothing shops just outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, a police official said.

In other violence, five members of an Awakening Council were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked two separate checkpoints near Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad. Nine others were wounded in the attacks.

Unknown gunmen also killed a correspondent for a Baghdad newspaper.

Qassim Abdul-Hussein al-Iqabi, 36, was shot while walking in Baghdad's largely Shiite Karradah neighborhood, according to a police official. Both police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information.

Excluding the latest death, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded at least 127 journalists and 50 media support workers killed since the U.S.-led war began in March 2003.

___

Associated Press writers Ryan Lenz in Baghdad and Alessandra Rizzo in Rome contributed to this article.

Georgia storms kill 2 after Atlanta twister

By ERRIN HAINES,
Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 25 minutes ago

ATLANTA - Tens of thousands of basketball fans at two arenas were perfectly safe, officials insisted Saturday, even though the crowds apparently weren't warned about an approaching tornado — one that would ravage skyscrapers and injure dozens.

About 18,000 people were watching the Southeastern Conference men's tournament Friday night at the Georgia Dome when its fabric roof began rippling, the catwalks above the court started swaying and chunks of insulation rained onto the players.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning about eight minutes before the twister hit, but it wasn't clear when or if that alert was passed on to fans, said Katy Pando, a dome spokeswoman. Fans claimed they never heard or saw one.

Another 16,000 fans watching an NBA game at Philips Arena, in the same complex as the dome, weren't told of the weather, either. The arena apparently sustained little damage, Atlanta Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said.

The tornado, with wind up to 130 mph, cut a 6-mile path through downtown Atlanta, smashing hundreds of windows in and around the CNN Center, blowing furniture and luggage out of hotel rooms and crumbling part of an apartment building. At least 27 people were hurt, though no injuries was believed to be life-threatening, and no injuries were reported at the arenas.

"I thought it was a tornado or a terrorist attack," said Mississippi State guard Ben Hansbrough, whose team beat Alabama 69-67 after an hourlong delay under a roof with at least two visible tears.

"Ironically, the guy behind me got a phone call saying there was a tornado warning," fan Lisa Lynn said. "And in two seconds, we heard the noise and things started to shake. It was creepy."

Elsewhere in Georgia on Saturday, storms killed one person in Polk County and another in Floyd County, both near the Alabama line, emergency management officials said.

Crews hauled broken glass and furniture out of streets in downtown Atlanta, where all events scheduled for Saturday were canceled, including the St. Patrick's Day parade.

Local and state officials were reluctant to weigh in on whether public venues and businesses are responsible for alerting patrons of imminent weather danger. Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine said his office would look into whether people at the Georgia Dome got a timely tornado warning, though he considered the question premature.

Dome officials were monitoring the weather throughout the evening, Pando said.

Several calls to Philips Arena on Saturday were not immediately returned.

"There wasn't much time to tell anybody anything" before the storm hit, said Catherine Woodling, a spokeswoman for Mayor Shirley Franklin.

A warning from the weather service gave residents in nearby neighborhoods about eight minutes to seek cover. Guests at the Omni Hotel were quickly ushered into hallways, away from glass and flying furniture, and the only injuries were "some cuts and scrapes and no major issues as far as we know," hotel spokesman Mike Sullivan said.

"It was crazy. There was a lot of windows breaking and stuff falling," said Terrence Evans, a valet who was about to park a car at the hotel when the twister hit.

The 1,000-room hotel was fully booked, though many guests were out at the arenas when the storm hit.

More thunderstorms headed toward the city Saturday. "We're bracing for another round of whatever mother nature throws at us," said Lisa Janak of the state emergency management agency.

Oxendine estimated damage from Friday night's storm at $150 million to $200 million, most of it at the Georgia World Congress Center, a state convention facility near the CNN Center and the Georgia Dome.

CNN said its headquarters building suffered ceiling damage that allowed water to pour into the atrium, and windows were shattered in the CNN.com newsroom and the company's library.

A loft apartment building had severe damage to one corner and appeared to have major roof damage. Property manager Darlys Walker said there was one minor injury. A vacant building also collapsed, with no apparent injuries, Fire Capt. Bill May said.

Grady Memorial Hospital, the city's large public hospital where many of the injured were taken, had broken windows but was operating as usual.

Melody and Brad Sorrells were home in their living room with their two children when the storm hit, and the huge pine in their front yard crash into their east Atlanta house.

"I saw it falling and we ran into the back bedrooms in the closet," Melody Sorrels said. "I feel sick."

The tornado was the first on record in downtown Atlanta, said Vaughn Smith, another weather service meteorologist. The last tornado to strike inside the city was in 1975, and it hit the governor's mansion north of downtown, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Dorie Turner and Daniel Yee and AP Sports Writer Paul Newberry contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Four people died and at least five were trapped Saturday after a crane collapsed in midtown Manhattan, emergency management officials said.

art.crane.collapse.irpt.jpg
iReporter Jarrett Hoffman's image shows damage caused by a crane collapse Saturday.

A portion of the crane damaged a high-rise residential building across the street from the construction site about 2:30 p.m., according to eyewitnesses and New York police. Video Watch a flyover of the scene »

The crane was at least 15 stories tall, and its wreckage destroyed a small brick building, according to The Associated Press.

John PlaGreco, who owns Fu Bar in the crushed building, said he feared that one of his employees was dead in the rubble.

"Our bar is done," he said. "The crane crashed the whole building. If I wasn't watching a Yankees game, I would've come to work early and gotten killed."
(...)

Pilot dead in F-16 crash in Ariz.

19 minutes ago

PARKER, Ariz. - The pilot of an F-16C fighter jet that crashed in a rugged area of western Arizona was killed when his plane went down, Air Force officials confirmed Saturday.

The student pilot was practicing air-to-air combat with another F-16 from Luke Air Force Base about noon Friday when his plane crashed, base spokeswoman Mary Jo May said.

Aircraft from the Air Force, Marines, Civil Air Patrol and Arizona Department of Public Safety spent hours trying to find the wreckage, which was spotted late Friday in a remote area about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.

Rescuers could only reach the site by helicopter and arrived at daybreak Saturday, May said. They found the pilot's parachute and some of his gear about 150 feet from an impact crater. It took several hours for the Air Force to confirm that he had died in the crash.

The pilot, whose identity hasn't been released pending notification of relatives, was part of the 62nd Fighter Squadron, one of eight squadrons at the base. The base is in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale and is the world's largest F-16 training base with about 185 F-16s.

There have been 17 other crashes of Luke-based F-16s since 1998, and only one of those resulted in a fatality, May said. That crash happened in May 2004, when a pilot with the Singapore air force died after his jet went down during a training mission at an Air Force bombing range in southwest Arizona.

The most recent crashes came in 2006. A pilot ejected safely from an F-16 in April 2006 after the lone engine on the jet exploded just after takeoff from the base. The aircraft came down in a cornfield.

Nearly nine months later, a two-seat F-16 crashed during a training mission at the same range where the Singapore pilot died. The pilot and instructor bailed out safely.

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My sincere condolences to all of the bereaved affected by all of these tragedies.

March is synonymous with MOURNING and BEREAVEMENT for me too...

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At 4:34 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Toronto shootings kill one, hurt five.

TORONTO
March 15 (UPI) --

Toronto police Saturday investigated a shooting spree that left one man dead and another five people hospitalized, reports said.

One resident told the Toronto Star he heard youths were "playing with their guns" when the gunfire broke out just before 10 p.m. Friday night in a northern residential part of the city.

Another person who asked not to be identified said the shootout might have started with the accidental firing of the first shot, the Star said.

Police said little, but confirmed one man was killed.

Emergency Medical Services said the five men were taken to the Sunnybrook trauma hospital, the Toronto Sun reported. One of them had a life-threatening injury to the head, another was in serious condition shot in the groin and the remaining three were described as walking wounded with wounds in the arms or legs, the Sun said.

Police with dogs spent hours on the sealed-off street searching for evidence and taking photographs.

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Atlanta man found guilty of pool murder

ATLANTA,
March 15 (UPI) --

An Atlanta jury found a man guilty of murder after they heard testimony he beat his neighbor and forced him under water in a pool until he had a heart attack.

Craig S. Tomko, 38, was convicted of felony murder, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and battery. Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter dismissed an aggravated assault charge and sentenced Tomko to five years in prison, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Saturday.

The jury heard testimony that Tomko had a brawl with his neighbor Meredith "Mac" McNair, 54, in their condominium's pool after McNair complained about Tomko letting his Labrador Retriever swim in it.

During the July 2006 attack, Tomko head-butted and beat McNair and forced him under water until he had a heart attack, prosecutions said.

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NIU killer had taken anti-anxiety drug

DEKALB, Ill.,
March 15 (UPI) --

The man who killed five students in Northern Illinois University lecture hall last month had traces of an anti-anxiety drug in his body, authorities said.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday that Steven Kazmierczak, a former NIU graduate student who opened fire in a campus auditorium on Feb. 14, had less than .025 micrograms of anti-anxiety drug Alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, in his system, autopsy results released by the school said.

The newspaper reported toxicology tests also found trace amounts of nicotine and cold medicine, benzodiazepine and pseudoephedrine.

"This combination of drugs in his system could have had no effect whatsoever on his mental status," said Angelos Halaris, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Loyola University Medical Center.

Kazmierczak's girlfriend told CNN he had been taking Prozac, Ambien and Xanax, but had stopped taking the Prozac weeks before the shooting.

The newspaper said an autopsy found that Kazmierczak died of a "contact-range gunshot'' wound to his mouth, which caused skull fractures and a laceration of the brainstem.

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Sincere sympathy, once more -
while still hoping that the injured in T.O. are not anyone that I know over there...

I dare believe that I would have been informed if it was the case.

+++
At 9:03 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Firing at Pakistani Jirga leaves five dead

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan,
March 16 (UPI) --

A meeting called to discuss ending violence in a Pakistani tribal area reportedly turned violent when militants fired on the members, leaving five dead.

The incident occurred in the Spinwam area of North Waziristan, Dawn newspaper reported Sunday.

The newspaper quoted sources as saying the Jirga or assembly of the Hassankhel tribe had been called to find ways to restore peace in the area, one of many in Pakistan's tribal regions that have been wracked by escalating Taliban violence for months.

About 60 militants went to disrupt the meeting and later opened fire, Dawn said.

Among the dead were four Jirga members and one militant, the report said.

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Tibetans say at least 80 killed

BEIJING, March 16 (UPI) --

At least 80 people died during a Tibetan protest against Chinese rule in Lhasa, it was reported Sunday.

"As the Tibet uprising continues, reliable sources have confirmed that at least 80 people were killed on 14th March 2008 in Lhasa," the official Web site Tibet.net said in a report from Dharamshala, India, where refugees led by the Dalai Lama administer their government in exile.

Separately, China's official Xinhua news agency claimed the protesters were violent and had come fully prepared for violence.

"The Tibet regional government said on Saturday at least 10 people were confirmed dead, including several from burns and gunshot wounds," Xinhua said.

The Xinhua report also said police "managed to rescue more than 580 people, including three Japanese tourists, from the violent array of sabotage."

The Tibetans said there were reports the Chinese military and police were being deployed throughout Tibet.

"Even home guards and surveillance police (have) been called in by Chinese authorities to suppress the protests inside Tibet," the report said.

The Dalai Lama told the BBC he feared there would be more deaths unless China changes its policies toward Tibet.

Xinhua said "vandals carrying backpacks filled with stones and bottles of inflammable liquids smashed windows, set fire to vehicles, shops and restaurants along their path."

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Chiara Lubich dies; founded Catholic group

ROME, March 16 (UPI) --

Chiara Lubich, who founded Focolare, a Roman Catholic group active in 182 countries, has died in Italy at the age of 88.

As a sign of Lubich's importance to the church, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, will be the celebrant at her funeral Tuesday, The New York Times reported.

Lubich died Friday morning. She had been discharged the day before from a Rome hospital so she could die at her home near the city.

An elementary school teacher, Lubich founded Focolare or "Hearth" during World War II. Some of the first meetings were held in air-raid shelters.

Focolare began as a group of women who wanted to serve the poor. As it grew, men were allowed to join and the group's major purpose became working with other religious groups.

The group now has 140,000 members and 2 million associates.

When he learned of Lubich's death, Pope Benedict XVI sent Focolare a telegram praising her "constant commitment for communion in the church, for ecumenical dialogue and for brotherhood among people."

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R.I.P. Chiara Lubich

R.I.P. Jirga members and militant
- if you can rest in peace at all.

R.I.P. Tibetants

A bit of trivia now...

Why did an American President say "get out of Kuwait" to Iraq but no American President will ever say "get out of Tibet" to China?

Oil.
Or the absence of it.
And/or the size of the potential opponent.

All of the above, really.
At 5:32 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Abba drummer found dead in his garden

By CIARAN GILES,
Associated Press Writer
Mon Mar 17, 9:13 AM ET

MADRID, Spain - A former drummer for the Swedish pop band ABBA was found dead with cuts to his neck in the garden of his house on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Police said Monday an autopsy showed it was an accident.

A neighbor found the body of 62-year-old Ola Brunkert on Sunday evening at his house in a coastal area outside the eastern town of Arta, a Civil Guard spokesman told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

He said an autopsy was carried out and confirmed initial investigations. "It was an accident," he said.

The spokesman said Brunkert hit his head against a glass door in his dining room, shattering the glass and cutting himself in the neck. He managed to wrap a towel around his neck and left the house to seek help, but collapsed in the garden.

Brunkert lived in the coastal apartment complex of Betlem in the municipality of Arta, in the eastern part of Mallorca.

Brunkert had lived in Arta for around 20 years. His wife, Inger. died less than a year ago, an Arta municipal official told the AP. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the case.

ABBA band member Benny Anderson told Swedish daily Expressen he was sad to hear of the drummer's death. "It is tragic," he said.

Band member Bjorn Ulvaeus added that Brunkert had been "one of the best."

"I remember him as a good friend when we worked together in the mid-1970s. He was a very creative musician who contributed a lot when we toured together and worked in the studio," Ulvaeus told Expressen.

According to ABBA's official Web site, Brunkert and bass player Rutger Gunnarsson were the only musicians to appear on all ABBA albums.

Brunkert first played with ABBA on the group's first single, "People Need Love," and toured with the band in 1977, 1979 and 1980.

He had been a jazz drummer and a member of the blues band Slim's Blues Gang, before joining pop group Science Poption in the mid-1960s.

ABBA, with the four regular members Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Ulvaeus and Andersson, was one of the world's most successful bands, with album sales of more than 370 million. The group has not performed together since 1982, but continues to sell nearly 3 million records a year.

___

On the Net:

ABBA:

http://www.abbasite.com

Russian Orthodox leader, Laurus, dies

NEW YORK,
March 17 (UPI) --

Vassily Mikhailovich Skurla, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, died at a seminary in New York, RIA Novosti reported. He was 80.

Skurla, the tonsured diocesan bishop known by his moniker, Metropolitan Laurus, renewed canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church in a historic unification ceremony with the Patriarch of Moscow, Alexy II, on May 17.

The churches were embroiled in a rift that spanned several decades and religious analysts see the death of Laurus as a threat to the recent unification.

Alexy II mourned the loss of the metropolitan as a "big loss" saying he "had enough wisdom and courage to put an end to decades-long rift between the churches."

One of the 11 bishops from the Potifical Synod will replace Laurus sometime after Easter.

Laurus was born in Czechoslovakia in 1928 and emigrated to the United States in 1946 following his evacuation to Switzerland during World War II.

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Female suicide bomber kills 43 in Iraq

By KIM GAMEL,
Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 6 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber struck Shiite worshippers in the holy city of Karbala on Monday, an official and a witness said, killing at least 43 people and leaving pools of blood on the street leading to one of Iraq's most revered mosques.

The blast was the deadliest in a series of attacks that left at least 72 Iraqis dead, including six youths killed when mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field in eastern Baghdad.

Two U.S. soldiers also were killed Monday in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, bringing the American death toll closer to 4,000 as the U.S.-led war enters its sixth year. At least 3,990 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The violence marred overlapping trips by Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain to Baghdad. Their visits were aimed at touting recent security gains and stressing Washington's long-term commitment to fighting insurgents in Iraq.

The U.S. Embassy and military issued a joint statement blaming al-Qaida in Iraq for the Karbala attack.

The bomber struck after the worshippers had gathered at a sacred historical site about half a mile from the golden domed shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed in a seventh-century battle.

A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, said the attacker was a woman — as did a witness.

The U.S. military described the attack as a suicide operation but put the casualty toll at 40 Iraqis killed and 65 wounded. The U.S. statement said the identity of the bomber remained unknown.

Brig. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat, Karbala's police chief, said 43 people were killed and 73 wounded. He denied it was a suicide attack, saying a bomb had been planted in the area. The discrepancies could not immediately be resolved.

Karim Khazim, the city's chief health official, said seven of those killed were Iranian pilgrims who had traveled to the holy site.

AP Television News footage showed a man carefully picking up pieces of flesh and wires apparently from a fuse as evening prayer services were broadcast from loudspeakers nearby.

The witness, who did not identify himself, told AP Television News that a woman in the crowd had blown herself up.

If true, it would be among the deadliest attacks carried out by women during the Iraq conflict.

Female suicide bombers have been involved in at least 20 attacks or attempted attacks since the war began, including the grisly bombings of two pet markets in Baghdad that killed nearly 100 people last month.

The U.S. military has warned that insurgents are using female attackers because they can more easily avoid checkpoint searches and can hide the explosives under traditional all-encompassing black Islamic robes.

Police closed the area around the twin golden dome mosques and blocked all roads leading to the sites, which include tombs of Imam Hussein and his half brother, also a Shiite saint.

Ali Hassan, 30, a clothing merchant who was wounded in the blast, said he was standing near his stall "when I heard a big explosion and I felt strong fire throwing me in the air."

"The only thing I know is there was a big explosion and I saw bodies flying in the air," said Hassan Khazim, 36, who was wounded in the face. "All the tight security measures designed to protect us were in vain."

The predominantly Shiite city of Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, enjoys tight security. Monday's attack was the deadliest in Karbala since a suicide car bomber killed at least 63 people on April 28, 2007.

Explosions also struck earlier Monday not far from the capital's heavily fortified Green Zone, shortly after Cheney arrived. Helicopter gunships circled central Baghdad.

Despite several high-profile bombings, violence levels have dropped sharply in recent months with a U.S. troop buildup, a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq and a cease-fire by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.

But noting the fragility of the security gains, Cheney warned against large drawdowns of American troops, saying it is very important that "we not quit before the job is done."

McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who has linked his political future to military success in Iraq, also promised to uphold a long-term military commitment to the country so long as al-Qaida in Iraq is not defeated.

Both men met in back-to-back meetings with Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose government has been accused of failing to make sufficient political progress.

Al-Maliki said he and the vice president discussed ongoing negotiations over a long-term security agreement between the two countries that would replace the U.N. mandate for foreign troops set to expire at the end of the year.

"This visit is very important. It is about the nature of the relations between the two countries, the future of those relations and the agreement in this respect," the prime minister told reporters. "We also discussed the security in Iraq, the development of the economy and reconstruction and terrorism."

McCain stressed it was important to maintain the U.S. commitment in Iraq, where a U.S.-Iraq operation is under way to clear al-Qaida in Iraq from what the military says is the terror group's last urban stronghold of Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.

"We recognize that al-Qaida is on the run, but they are not defeated," McCain said after meeting al-Maliki. "Al-Qaida continues to pose a great threat to the security and very existence of Iraq as a democracy. So we know there's still a lot more of work to be done."

McCain, who arrived in Iraq on Sunday, told reporters that he also discussed with the Shiite leader the need for progress on political reforms, including laws on holding provincial elections and the equitable distribution of Iraq's oil riches.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., speaking to reporters from Kuwait after a visit to Iraq, said Iraq should begin picking up more of the bills.

"We're paying for things that Iraqis clearly should be paying for," Levin said. "They have the capability, the surplus funds to do their own reconstruction, and to do their own weapons purchases and other things which we're paying for and they need to pay for."

___

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.

R.I.P. Departed Souls...
At 5:11 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Writer Arthur C. Clarke dies at 90

By RAVI NESSMAN,
Associated Press Writer
6 minutes ago

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who co-wrote "2001: A Space Odyssey" and won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday, an aide said. He was 90.

Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s, died at 1:30 a.m. in his adopted home of Sri Lanka after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.

Co-author with Stanley Kubrick of Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey," Clarke was regarded as far more than a science fiction writer.

He was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality. Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground, are called Clarke orbits.

He joined American broadcaster Walter Cronkite as commentator on the U.S. Apollo moonshots in the late 1960s.

Clarke's non-fiction volumes on space travel and his explorations of the Great Barrier Reef and Indian Ocean earned him respect in the world of science, and in 1976 he became an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

But it was his writing that shot him to his greatest fame and that gave him the greatest fulfillment.

"Sometimes I am asked how I would like to be remembered," Clarke said recently. "I have had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer and space promoter. Of all these I would like to be remembered as a writer."

From 1950, he began a prolific output of both fiction and non-fiction, sometimes publishing three books in a year. He published his best-selling "3001: The Final Odyssey" when he was 79.

Some of his best-known books are "Childhood's End," 1953; "The City and The Stars," 1956, "The Nine Billion Names of God," 1967; "Rendezvous with Rama," 1973; "Imperial Earth," 1975; and "The Songs of Distant Earth," 1986.

When Clarke and Kubrick got together to develop a movie about space, they used as basic ideas several of Clarke's shorter pieces, including "The Sentinel," written in 1948, and "Encounter in the Dawn." As work progressed on the screenplay, Clarke also wrote a novel of the story. He followed it up with "2010," "2061," and "3001: The Final Odyssey."

In 1989, two decades after the Apollo 11 moon landings, Clarke wrote: "2001 was written in an age which now lies beyond one of the great divides in human history; we are sundered from it forever by the moment when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped out on to the Sea of Tranquility. Now history and fiction have become inexorably intertwined."

Clarke won the Nebula Award of the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979; the Hugo Award of the World Science Fiction Convention in 1974 and 1980, and in 1986 became Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He was awarded the CBE in 1989.

Born in Minehead, western England, on Dec. 16, 1917, the son of a farmer, Arthur Charles Clark became addicted to science fiction after buying his first copies of the pulp magazine "Amazing Stories" at Woolworth's. He read English writers H.G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon and began writing for his school magazine in his teens.

Clarke went to work as a clerk in Her Majesty's Exchequer and Audit Department in London, where he joined the British Interplanetary Society and wrote his first short stories and scientific articles on space travel.

It was not until after the World War II that Clarke received a bachelor of science degree in physics and mathematics from King's College in London.

In the wartime Royal Air Force, he was put in charge of a new radar blind-landing system.

But it was an RAF memo he wrote in 1945 about the future of communications that led him to fame. It was about the possibility of using satellites to revolutionize communications — an idea whose time had decidedly not come.

Clarke later sent it to a publication called Wireless World, which almost rejected it as too far-fetched.

Clarke married in 1953, and was divorced in 1964. He had no children.

He moved to the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka in 1956 after embarking on a study of the Great Barrier Reef.

Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, discovered that scuba-diving approximated the feeling of weightlessness that astronauts experience in space. He remained a diving enthusiast, running his own scuba venture into old age.

"I'm perfectly operational underwater," he once said.

Clarke was linked by his computer with friends and fans around the world, spending each morning answering e-mails and browsing the Internet.

At a 90th birthday party thrown for Clarke in December, the author said he had three wishes: for Sri Lanka's raging civil war to end, for the world to embrace cleaner sources of energy and for evidence of extraterrestrial beings to be discovered.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Clarke once said he did not regret having never followed his novels into space, adding that he had arranged to have DNA from strands of his hair sent into orbit.

"One day, some super civilization may encounter this relic from the vanished species and I may exist in another time," he said. "Move over, Stephen King."

___

On the Net:

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation: http://www.clarkefoundation.org

Director Anthony Minghella dies at 54

By JILL LAWLESS,
Associated Press Writer
15 minutes ago

LONDON - Anthony Minghella, a screenwriter, opera director and the Oscar-winning filmmaker of "The English Patient," died of a hemorrhage Tuesday at age 54. Minghella's death came five days before the British TV premiere of his final film, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."

Spokesman Jonathan Rutter said Minghella died early Tuesday at London's Charing Cross Hospital. Rutter said Minghella underwent surgery last week for a growth in his neck. He said the operation "seemed to have gone well. At 5 a.m. today he had a fatal hemorrhage."

Britain's arts community reacted with shock to the loss of one of its best-known and best-liked figures. Tributes poured in from people as diverse as movie star Jude Law, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the president of Botswana.

Law, who appeared in three of Minghella's films, said he was "deeply shocked and saddened."

"He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family whom he adored and to whom I send my thoughts and love," said Law, who appeared in Minghella's films "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Cold Mountain" and "Breaking and Entering." "I shall miss him hugely."

Blair, who became friends with Minghella after the filmmaker directed a Labour Party election commercial in 2005, said Minghella was "a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with."

"Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest caliber," Blair said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Minghella was "one of Britain's greatest creative talents, one of our finest screenwriters and directors, a great champion of the British film industry and an expert on literature and opera."

Minghella was in Botswana recently filming an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," which the BBC plans to broadcast Sunday. A spokesman for Botswana's President Festus Mogae said Minghella's death was a "shock and an utter loss."

The project was the latest of Minghella's literary adaptations, which also included the Italy-set thriller "The Talented Mr. Ripley," the U.S. Civil War saga "Cold Mountain" and the World War II-era story "The English Patient," which came out in 1996 and earned the Academy Award for best picture, with Minghella winning an Oscar for best director.

But Minghella, who began his career as a writer, confessed he was not sure of his place as a director.

"I am a writer who was able to direct the films that I write," he said recently. "It is a naked thing to admit, but I feel very strongly that I want people to appreciate that I am not just a flash in the pan."

Minghella also turned his talents to opera. In 2005, he directed a highly successful staging of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" at the English National Opera in London — choreographed by Minghella's wife, Carolyn Choa.

The following year, he staged it as the season opener of New York's Metropolitan Opera.

Minghella was working with composer Osvaldo Golijov on a new opera titled "Daedalus," for which he was to write the libretto and direct. It was to have premiered in the Metropolitan Opera's 2011-12 season.

Met general manager Peter Gelb remembered how the chorus invented its own award to present to Minghella during "Madama Butterfly."

"He was a brilliant renaissance man. This wasn't just a gifted filmmaker," Gelb said. "He was a musician, played the piano, was a playwright. It's a tremendous loss. It's very sad for me and the Met. He was deeply loved by everybody he came into contact with at the Met, from the performers to the stage crew. They respected him and his clarity of thinking and his kindness."

Born in 1954, Minghella grew up on the Isle of Wight, a holiday island off England's southern coast where his Italian parents ran an ice cream factory, and studied at the University of Hull in northern England.

Minghella came to moviemaking from a playwrighting career on the London "fringe" and, in 1986, on the West End with the play, "Made in Bangkok," a hard-hitting look at the sexual mores of a British tour group in Thailand.

He also wrote for radio and television, penning episodes of the BBC kids' drama "Grange Hill" and the popular detective series "Inspector Morse."

Film was a natural progression.

"I was never happy writing plays just set in rooms," Minghella told The Associated Press in a 1996 interview. "I wanted the plays to move and for time to shift — a more liquid way of storytelling."

He made his film directing debut in 1990 with "Truly, Madly, Deeply," a comedy about love and grief starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman.

His biggest hit was "The English Patient," a romantic epic set against the backdrop of World War II that won nine Oscars and became such a part of pop culture, it inspired an entire "Seinfeld" episode.

The success of the film, which also starred Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas, was evidence of Minghella's strengths. It was adapted from a poetic, multi-stranded novel by Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje that many considered unfilmable. In Minghella's hands it was lush, evocative and epic.

Minghella typically wrote and directed his films — to acclaim, in the cases of "The English Patient" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley," less successfully with "Breaking and Entering," an underpowered 2006 drama set in London's gritty King's Cross district.

The 1999 movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley," starring Matt Damon as a murderous social climber, was based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith and earned five Oscar nominations, including best screenplay for Minghella.

His 2003 "Cold Mountain," based on Charles Frazier's novel of the U.S. Civil War, brought a best supporting actress Oscar for Renee Zellweger.

"The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" was based on the first in a series of novels about the adventures of Botswanan private eye Precious Ramotswe. HBO recently commissioned a 13-part TV series.

Minghella is survived by his wife, his actor-son Max Minghella and his daughter Hannah, who recently was named president of production at Sony Pictures Animation.

___

Associated Press Writers Raphael G. Satter in London and Celean Jacobson in Gaborone, Botswana, contributed to this report.

Dave Stevens, 52; artist created 'Rocketeer' comic
Robert Gabriel / Los Angeles Times
Dave Stevens presented “The Rocketeer” in the style of 1930s pulp-fiction adventures and movie serials. The comic — in which a stunt pilot battles evil after finding a rocket-powered backpack — became a cult success.

By Valerie J. Nelson,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 13, 2008

Dave Stevens, an artist best known for creating "The Rocketeer" comic book, which reflected a fascination with Bettie Page that brought the 1950s pin-up queen renewed attention, has died. He was 52.

Stevens, whose home was in North Hollywood, died Monday at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, Calif., from complications related to treatment for leukemia, said his friend William Stout.

--------------------------
FOR THE RECORD:
Stevens obituary: The obituary in Thursday's California section on Dave Stevens, an artist who created "The Rocketeer" comic book, left out a survivor. In addition to his mother, Carolyn, and sister, Jennie, Stevens is survived by a brother, Dan. —
------------------------

In 1981, Stevens was working as a commercial illustrator when a friend asked him to contribute a story to another comic book. His "throwaway idea," as he called it, was a succinct ode to 1930s-style, pulp-fiction adventures and movie serials.

The comic -- in which a stunt pilot battles evil after finding a rocket-powered backpack -- became a cult success. A decade later it was made into the live-action Disney movie "The Rocketeer" with Billy Campbell as the title character.

In trying to explain the comic's popularity, author Harlan Ellison wrote in the introduction to the 1985 graphic novel "The Rocketeer": The comics "are hip-deep in the right kind of nostalgia . . . adventure and affection, melded in just the right way. . . . "

Disney was attracted to the story because it had "a clear heroic structure . . . an innocent guy stumbles on something and ends up saving the world . . . and it was a world we hadn't seen before," David Hoberman, then president of Touchstone and Walt Disney Pictures, told The Times in 1991.

The Art Deco look that defined "The Rocketeer" had preoccupied Stevens since childhood. He grew up saving photos of old planes, trains and buildings -- streamlined designs that were "so much more charming than the world I found around me," he told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1991.

Stevens served as a producer on the film, giving input on architectural details. He also designed the helmet that the Rocketeer wears in the movie.

Writing in The Times in 2003, Geoff Boucher called "The Rocketeer" comic "sexy, irreverent and snappy" and said the movie "had an Indiana Jones-like bonhomie."

The comic's square-jawed hero, Cliff Secord, bore more than a passing resemblance to the soft-spoken Stevens. The female love interest, a lingerie model, was drawn as a tribute to pin-up Page.

"Bettie was a look, a standard of beauty that I spotted as an adolescent," Stevens told the Post-Intelligencer.

The attention the retired Page received because of the comic helped revive interest in her. Stevens paid Page to use her likeness and helped her get paid by publishers who used her image, friends said.

Artist and subject became friends, which led Stevens to marvel: "After years of fantasizing about this woman, I'm now driving her to cash her Social Security checks."

Mark Evanier, a comic book and television writer, observed that Stevens "was a student of great glamour illustrators from the past, a brilliant artist and a meticulous craftsman" with perfectionist tendencies.

"For the several years he did 'The Rocketeer,' it was enormously popular, but it only came out every time Halley's Comet passed," Evanier joked of the serial's eight installments. "He was so fierce about doing it properly."

Born July 29, 1955, in Lynwood, Stevens was the son of a "frustrated cartoonist" father who taught him to draw, he told The Times in 1991.

From early childhood, he was a fan of movie serials and vintage aircraft.

After graduating from high school in Portland, Ore., he attended San Diego City College for two years.

In 1975, he was hired to help Russ Manning draw his "Tarzan" newspaper comic strip.

Within two years, Stevens was a freelance illustrator, creating concepts to advertise such movies as "Superman II" and "Melvin and Howard," the 1991 Times story said.

He also helped draw the storyboards for the 1981 film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video in 1983.

A brief marriage to B-movie queen Brinke Stevens in the early 1980s ended in divorce.

After "The Rocketeer," Page remained central to his art, and he continued to draw and sell classic glamour-style drawings of the model and other women. He was inspired by 1930s pin-ups commonly referred to as "cheesecake," said Stout, who also is an illustrator.

"His pin-ups weren't salacious. They had a charm and innocence, humor and mischievousness," Stout said. "Whatever he did, he did it with sort of a wink."

Stevens is survived by his mother, Carolyn; and a sister, Jennie.

Services will be private.

Memorial donations may be made to the Hairy Cell Leukemia Research Foundation, www.hairycellleukemia.org.

valerie.nelson@latimes.com

R.I.P. ARTHUR C. CLARKE

R.I.P. ANTHONY MINGHELLA

R.I.P. DAVE STEVENS

The first one will see the future from a higher front-row seat than ever, now...

The second will see panoramas like he's never seen before - and reacquaint himself with the age-old wise saying that reality is greater than fiction indeed - even the greatest fiction of all...

The third will fly higher and faster than any Rocketeer ever could have...

All three will know the Truth ahead of the rest of us.

+++
At 5:18 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Former Canadiens star Reardon dead at 86
Rugged defenceman inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966
Last Updated: Saturday, March 15, 2008 | 10:48 PM ET Comments0Recommend9CBC Sports
Ken Reardon, a rugged defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1940s, has died following a lengthy illness, the NHL team announced Saturday night. He was 86.

The Hall of Famer was a two-time NHL first team all-star during his seven-year career, which included a pair of Stanley Cup championships.

Reardon, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, also earned three second-team all-star selections.

Reardon's career was temporarily halted after he joined the Canadian Army in 1942.

He retired as a player in 1950 but remained with the Canadiens as a scout, manager and vice-president during Montreal's run of Stanley Cup titles from 1956-60.

Reardon finished his career with 26 goals and 96 assists in 341 NHL games.
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R.I.P. Ken Reardon

Now, one wonders, this must be a sign given by kismet itself that this man's former team's hopes of another championship are dead in the water this year...?
At 5:29 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Record-setting child pilot dies at 26

By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer
26 minutes ago

PITTSBURGH - Vicki Van Meter, who made headlines in the 1990s for piloting a plane across the country at age 11 and from the U.S. to Europe at age 12, has died, an apparent suicide. She was 26.

Van Meter died Saturday of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Crawford County coroner said. Her body was found in her Meadville home on Sunday.

Her brother said she battled depression, but her family thought she had been dealing with her problems.

"She was unhappy, but it was hard for her to open up about that and we all thought that she was coping," Daniel Van Meter said. He said she had opposed taking medication.

Van Meter was celebrated in 1993 and 1994 when she made her cross-country and trans-Atlantic flights accompanied only by a flight instructor. Her instructors said she was at the controls during the entirety of both trips.

"If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything," Van Meter said before her second trip. In her teens, she said she hoped to become an astronaut when she grew up.

Later she earned a degree in criminal justice from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania and spent two years with the Peace Corps in the former Soviet republic of Moldova. She recently worked as an investigator for an insurance company.

Her mother, Corinne Van Meter, said her daughter had begun applying to graduate schools and wanted to study psychology.

Van Meter was a sixth-grader in September 1993 when she flew from Augusta, Maine, to San Diego over five days. She had to fight strong headwinds and turbulence that bounced her single-engine Cessna 172 and made her sick.

At the time, she was believed to be the youngest girl to fly across the United States. That record was broken by a 9-year-old girl in 1994.

Also in 1994, Van Meter flew from Augusta to Glasgow, Scotland, and was credited with being the youngest girl to make a trans-Atlantic flight. She battled dizziness brought on by high altitude and declared upon landing: "I always thought it would be real hard and it was."

The child pilot phenomenon ended in 1996, when 7-year-old Jessica Dubroff, her father and the instructor supervising the flight were killed in a crash in Wyoming while Jessica was trying to become the youngest person to fly across the country. Congress quickly passed a bill banning record-setting attempts by unlicensed pilots.

"I was really rooting for her, but I guess reality says accidents do happen," Van Meter, then 14, said at the time of the crash. "It's unfortunate it had to happen to someone so brave, someone trying to fulfill her dreams."

Corinne Van Meter said her daughter "led a full and interesting life. ... She had more guts than any of us could ever imagine."

Van Meter's funeral will be held in Meadville, but arrangements have not been finalized.

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R.I.P. VICKI VAN METER

+++
At 5:37 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: 2 elderly women on trial in murder plot

By LINDA DEUTSCH,
AP Special Correspondent
Tue Mar 18, 4:15 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - Two elderly women accused of killing two transient men with a car so they could collect nearly $3 million in insurance money were videotaped talking about the scheme while in FBI custody, the prosecutor said in opening statements Tuesday.

"It's your fault," Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, told co-defendant Helen Golay, 77, in the tape played for the jury. "You can't have that many insurers. ... You were greedy. That's the problem."

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Truc Do said the women befriended the two men, took out insurance policies on their lives, then drugged them and ran them over to make it look like the two homeless men had been killed in hit-and-run accidents.

Rutterschmidt and Golay each have pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder for financial gain in the deaths of 73-year-old Paul Vados in 1999 and 51-year-old Kenneth McDavid, 51, in 2005.

"We have evidence to show she's not guilty," Golay's attorney, Roger Jon Diamond, said in an interview Monday. "They have over 100 witnesses but they have no eyewitness, no confession. It's all circumstantial."

The prosecutor told the jury the women found the men in a homeless shelter at a Hollywood church, set them up in apartments and supported them for two years, all the while taking out multiple life insurance policies on them.

Do said the women ultimately profited of the deaths with $2.8 million and were still trying to collect on policies when they were arrested.

The jury also was shown pictures of the victims' bodies, receipts for rent, a car that has been linked to one of the killings and a rubber stamp with one victim's signature that was allegedly used to sign insurance policies.

The case began in 2006 in federal court with a grand jury indicting the women on nine counts each of mail fraud and related charges for making false insurance claims. But when further evidence developed in the alleged hit-and-run scheme, the case was transferred to Los Angeles County Superior Court and murder charges were filed.

Maybe Paul and Kenneth will finally R.I.P. now...

I would be remiss though if I did not say: shades of ARSENIC & OLD LACE...!
At 5:51 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Central Florida player dies after drills

By TRAVIS REED,
Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 22 minutes ago

ORLANDO, Fla. - A Central Florida wide receiver died Tuesday after voluntary strength and conditioning drills, the day before spring practice was set to begin.

Police said there was no foul play or obvious cause for redshirt freshman Ereck Plancher's late morning collapse. UCF athletic director Keith Tribble said the players had been lifting weights, then ran for about 10 minutes.

After the workout, the team huddled for a quick chat. As everyone was leaving, Plancher, a 19-year-old from Naples, took a knee in obvious distress, Tribble said. UCF trainers on site immediately provided CPR and the redshirt freshman was taken by ambulance to the hospital. He was pronounced dead just before noon.

"I know that I speak for our entire UCF family in saying that our thoughts and prayers are with Ereck's family on such a tragic day," Tribble said. "We offer our full support to Ereck's family, teammates, classmates and friends to cope with this unexpected loss."

An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of Plancher's death.

Tribble said Plancher had passed a physical. The practice was inside an air-conditioned building, but the weather outside wasn't excessively hot. The National Weather Service said it topped out at about 78 degrees, with about 50 percent humidity.

High-temperature training has become an issue in college football after the 2001 deaths of Eraste Autin of Florida, Devaughn Darling of Florida State and Rashidi Wheeler of Northwestern. Also, in January 2007 South Florida running back Keeley Dorsey fatally collapsed while lifting weights at the school's athletic facility. The autopsy pointed to an undiagnosed genetic heart disorder, but DNA tests couldn't confirm it.

UCF's spring practices weren't scheduled to start until Wednesday, but Tribble said 82 players were there for conditioning. He could not say who led the practice, or whether coach George O'Leary was present, but said there was no concern it was not compliant with NCAA rules. Tribble said O'Leary called the player's family and told the team in a meeting.

"As you can imagine, this is family, this is a teammate, a friend, and there are a lot of emotions in there," Tribble said.

O'Leary wasn't available for comment.

Plancher, 5-foot-10 and 184 pounds, was a two-time letterman at Lely High School in Naples. He majored in business and was a high school National Honor Society member.

"There is no sign of anything that would lead us to think that something was inappropriate or improper," UCF police chief Richard Beary said. "It's just a tragedy that happened to a fine young man."

R.I.P. ERECK PLANCHER

Where you are now, there are no more drills - there will never be any more.

+++
At 7:11 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: New York Yankees Honor Victims and Play Hokies at Virginia Tech

Mar 18, 8:53 PM (ET)
Email this Story

By HANK KURZ Jr.

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and the rest of the New York Yankees stood on the third-base line, caps over their hearts while they gazed toward the outfield.

As 32 oversized orange balloons were released into the air, the storied team in its famous pinstripes watched right along with Virginia Tech players, fans and family members of victims from last year's campus massacre.

And when the national anthem was finished and the players headed for their dugouts, it was time to play a game that was less about baseball than it was about healing.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi could feel it when 200 people were waiting as the team bus made its first stop at the memorial to 32 people slain last April, and in the first inning while Girardi was sitting in the stands with football coach Frank Beamer.

"A young lady came up to me and said her brother was one of the children killed, and her mother thanks us for being here," Girardi said. "That really hit me hard."

From beginning to end, the visit Yankees owner George Steinbrenner promised moments after seeing the tragedy unfolding on television last April 16 was one to remember.

The Yankees had made a $1 million contribution to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, created to cover grief counseling, memorials and other costs for the victims and their families after Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people in two campus buildings before committing suicide.

The Yankees presented the donation to school president Charles Steger last May in New York, but said the visit to Blacksburg was a key part of the assistance.

Rodriguez said starting out at the on-campus memorial was powerful.

"There are certain things that happen that are so devastating that time stops," he said, comparing the shootings to the terrorists attacks in 2001. "For me, this is one of them. This is probably the proudest day I've ever (had) to wear a Yankee uniform."

Hearing that, Hokies coach Pete Hughes said, "knocks you on your heels."

Girardi looked at the 32 stones at the memorial and thought of the parents.

"To think of the anxious moments of all the parents who had students here and especially the ones who lost loved ones, how difficult that must have been," he said.

Jeter posed for a picture with a woman in front of the stone that memorialized her fiance. His only request to her was that she smile, which she did.

"It's part of the reason that we're here," Jeter said. "People always ask, well, what can you do? How does this help? I really don't know. If it just makes people smile or enjoy themselves for the three hours that we're here, it's all worthwhile."

During batting practice, the Yankees wore caps in the Hokies' orange and maroon, their 'NY' emblem on the front and a 'VT' logo on the side. Those were also the caps worn by Virginia Tech, while the Yankees switched to a Navy blue for the game, still with both emblems.

The pregame ceremony also included presentations to the Yankees of four nameplates engraved in "Hokie stone," the limestone building material of choice on campus.

As the balloons drifted high above and out of sight, chants of "Let's go Hokies" broke out. But the cheers were just as loud for the Yankees.

Rodriguez batted in the first with the bases loaded, and hit the first pitch for a sacrifice fly to right. When Hokies starter Andrew Wells got Jason Giambi to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, the Hokies bench emptied to greet him.

"Seeing how they were pumped to have little moments that will last the rest of their lives, to have the conversations of, 'Remember when?' That was neat," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "This was fun for them and fun for our guys.

"What we did puts everything else in a little more perspective."

Rodriguez and Jeter and most of the starters came out in the fourth inning, and A-Rod strolled across the field with two bats and sat with the Hokies in their dugout.

"He was giving our guys trivia questions for his battings gloves and his bat," Hokies coach Pete Hughes said. "He signed everything they threw at him."

Jeff Karstens pitched four innings for the Yankees in their 11-0 victory, allowing both Virginia Tech hits and striking out two. Nine Hokies pitchers combined to walk 10 batters and allow 10 hits, but the score meant nothing.

"I think it was just the sort of thing we were looking for," said Virginia Tech pitcher Rob Waskiewicz, who retired the side in order in the third. "We've been through some hard times, and people are starting to feel better, but I think this was a great thing."

Second baseman Matt Hacker agreed.

"It was everything everybody wanted it to be," he said.

---=

Associated Press Writer Sue Lindsey contributed to this report.

Damn Yankees - who are they trying to kid...

Giving one mill is like sparing a dime to them...

A dime that generates GOOD PUBLICITY though...
At 7:01 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: 13 dead, 3 missing in central US storm

By BETSY TAYLOR,
Associated Press Writer
19 minutes ago

PIEDMONT, Mo. - Residents of low-lying towns stacked sandbags or grabbed belongings and evacuated Wednesday after a foot of rain pushed rivers and creeks out of their banks in the nation's midsection. At least 13 deaths had been linked to the weather, and three people were missing.

Record or near-record flood crests were forecast at several towns in Missouri. Flooding was reported in large areas of Arkansas and parts of southern Illinois, southern Indiana and southwestern Ohio, and schools were closed in parts of western Kentucky because of flooded roads.

"We've got water rising everywhere," said Jeff Korb, president of the Vanderbugh County, Ind., commissioners.

The National Weather Service posted flood and flash flood warnings from Texas to Pennsylvania.

After two days, rain had finally stopped falling by Wednesday afternoon in much of Missouri and Arkansas as the weather system crawled toward the Northeast, drenching the Ohio Valley and spreading snow over parts of northern New England. A parallel band of locally heavy rain stretched from Alabama and Georgia to the mid-Atlantic states.

Atlanta police closed some downtown streets in case the stormy weather knocked down more broken and debris from buildings damaged by Friday's tornado.

In Ohio and other areas, the rain fell on ground already saturated from heavy snowfall less than two weeks ago.

A foot of rain had fallen in sections of southern Illinois and at Mountain Home, Ark., and Cape Girardeau, Mo., while 6.2 inches fell at Evansville, Ind., the weather service said.

Five deaths were linked to the flooding in Missouri, five people were killed in a highway wreck in heavy rain in Kentucky and a 65-year-old Ohio woman appeared to have drowned while checking on a sump pump in her home. In southern Illinois, two bodies were found hours after floodwaters swept a pickup truck off a rural road.

Searches were under way in Texas for a teenager washed down a drainage pipe, and two people were missing in Arkansas after their vehicles were swept away by rushing water.

Searchers in Missouri found the body of Mark G. Speir Jr., 19, on Wednesday about 2 miles downstream from where he was reported swept into a creek the previous evening.

"He was going down the creek screaming and hollering," Lawrence County emergency management chief Mike Rowe said.

An estimated 300 houses and businesses were flooded in Piedmont, a town of 2,000 residents on McKenzie Creek. Dozens of people were rescued by boat.

Outside St. Louis, the Meramec River was threatening towns including Eureka and Valley Park, where Chandra Webster's kids ran bags of toys and clothes to the car while she moved boxes of belongings to the second floor and her husband moved furniture out of harm's way.

"It's a lot of work, but it's worth it to save your stuff," Webster, 34, said Wednesday. "In '82 we lost everything when I was a little girl. I don't want to put my kids through that."

The Meramec hit a record 39.7 feet that year; flood stage is only 16 feet. A levee completed just three years ago is designed to hold a flood of 43 feet, three feet above the crest forecast for later this week.

Valley Park alderman Steve Drake helped fill sandbags.

"We've got everybody working together," Drake said. "It's going to be interesting."

Gov. Matt Blunt said he was seeking a federal disaster declaration for 70 of Missouri's 114 counties and the city of St. Louis.

Widespread flooding in Arkansas had washed out some highways and led to evacuations in some areas, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. The Highway and Transportation Department reported state roads blocked in 16 counties.

Some residents of southern Illinois had to evacuate. In Marion, firefighters in some cases used their own fishing boats to rescued 13 residents of the city's housing authority.

Key roads were closed in the Cincinnati area, where water 4 feet deep was reported in businesses in the suburb of Sharonville, police said.

Ohio rescue workers were busy helping people out of cars swamped by the flooding.

"The biggest problem has been people driving into floodwater," Young said. "There are a lot of stupid people. When that sign says 'Road closed, high water,' that's what it means."

___

Associated Press writers Terry Kinney in Cincinnati; Paul Weber in Dallas; Chuck Bartels in Little Rock, Ark.; Marcus Kabel in Springfield; Jim Salter, Cheryl Wittenauer and Christopher Leonard in St. Louis; Chris Blank in Jefferson City; and Jim Suhr in southern Illinois contributed to this report.

4 die in Calif. wrecking yard shooting

Wed Mar 19, 4:26 PM ET

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Police alleged Wednesday that a son of an auto wrecking yard owner shot four people to death at the business, including at least one relative and two employees.

Panicked customers fled the busy yard Tuesday afternoon as the gunman shot his victims at close range, police said. The shootings were "very deliberate" and the suspect likely reloaded at least once, Santa Maria police Chief Danny Macagni said.

Lee Isaac Bedwell Leeds of Santa Maria was booked for investigation of murder and was held without bail. Police issued a news release saying witnesses at the scene identified the 31-year-old as the gunman.

At least one of those killed at Black Road Auto was related to Leeds, two were employees and the fourth victim appears to have been a customer of the business, investigators said. The wrecking yard is in the outskirts of Santa Maria, about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

One victim was found in the junk yard's office and three outside. Police said at least 10 shots were fired in the attack, but no one else was hurt.

"There were a lot of customers on the property, and they were running outside," police Lt. Dan Ast said. "It was a pretty chaotic situation."

One of the victims found outside still had a pulse, Ast said. While police searched for the gunman, officers escorted paramedics onto the property to treat the victim, but he did not survive, Ast said.

Ast told reporters late Tuesday that the gunman "took off running, tried to get over a fence and was captured." The gunman discarded a semi-automatic handgun before he was taken into custody, and it was found later, police said.

There was no telephone listing for a Lee Leeds in Santa Maria. A man who answered the phone at another residence under the name Leeds hung up when a reporter called seeking comment.

R.I.P. Missouri residents

R.I.P. Californians

Some will drown, some will be shot, some have been crushed (like those Quebec unfortunate ones who saw the roofs over their heads cave in suddenly, under the weight of thick layers of accumulated snow and ice...)

everyone heading towards the same direction: the afterlife.

Two options once you get there, of course, but that is another story...

My condolences to the bereaved, once more. This month more than ever I sympathize even more than I usually do...

+++
At 7:27 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Finally, some "NICE" Lugubrious News...

As incongruous as that may sound...!

Phone company recovers deleted phone message from N.Y. man's late wife

Tue Mar 18, 6:26 PM

By The Associated Press

IRVINGTON, N.Y. - An 80-year-old New York man can hear his late wife's voice again, any time he wants.

The telephone company Verizon has recovered a lost message recorded by Charles Whiting's wife, Catherine, before her death in 2005.

When Verizon upgraded the man's telephone service, his wife's voice disappeared from his voicemail system.

The message said "Catherine Whiting," and her husband said he listened to it every day for comfort.

Company spokesman John Bonomo says a contractor found the recording in an archive and restored it to the new voicemail system.

Charles Whiting says he's very happy.

For once, the phone company does something REAL nice!

:)

+++
At 9:47 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: No bringing back the theme song of ITC supermarionation classic "Stingray" now... Sometime during the summer, maybe, but just not *now*...

Stingray leaps from water, kills woman on boat in Florida Keys

By Associated Press
Article Launched: 03/20/2008 02:15:14 PM PDT

MARATHON, Fla.- A 75-pound stingray killed a Michigan woman today when it flew out of the water and struck her face as she rode a boat in the Florida Keys, officials said.

Judy Kay Zagorski, of Pigeon, Mich., was sitting in a boat going 25 mph when the spotted eagle ray, with a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet, leaped out of the water, said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The 57-year-old woman's father was driving the boat on the Atlantic Ocean side of Vaca Key, Pino said.

"He had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously," Pino said.

The impact likely killed the woman, but it was not immediately clear whether she had any puncture wounds from the ray's barb, Pino said. An autopsy is planned, Pino said.

The stingray died from the impact, officials said.

Spotted eagle rays can weigh 500 pounds and have a wingspan of up to 10 feet. They are known to occasionally jump out of the water but are not aggressive and use the venomous barb at the end of their tail for defense.

The rays are protected in Florida waters and are typically seen swimming on the water's surface.

"Rays jump to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites," said Lynn Gear, supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. "They do not attack people."

Oscar-winning actor Paul Scofield dies

By AUDREY WOODS,
Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 20, 1:35 PM ET

LONDON - Paul Scofield, a commanding stage and screen actor indelibly stamped on filmgoers' minds as the doomed philosopher-statesman Sir Thomas More in "A Man For All Seasons," has died at age 86.

Agent Rosalind Chatto said Thursday that Scofield died in a hospital near his home in southern England. He had been suffering from leukemia and died Wednesday.

Scofield won an Academy Award and international fame for the 1966 film "A Man For All Seasons," in which he played the Tudor statesman and author of "Utopia" executed for treason in 1535 after clashing with King Henry VIII.

But he followed that breakthrough with relatively few film roles. Scofield was a stage actor by inclination and by his gifts — a dramatic, craggy face and an unforgettable voice likened to a Rolls-Royce starting up or the sound rumbling out of low organ pipes in an ancient crypt.

"He had a charisma, a hypnotism, a kind of spell that he cast on an audience, which was an extraordinary thing to negotiate as a young actor," said Simon Callow, who performed alongside Scofield in the play "Amadeus" in 1979. "He was an absolutely towering actor."

Judi Dench, who appeared with Scofield in Kenneth Branagh's film of "Henry V" in 1989, remembered him as "a great friend and a great man."

Even Scofield's greatest screen role was a follow-up to a play — the London stage production of Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons," in which he starred for nine months. Scofield then turned in a performance in the 1961 New York production that won him extraordinary reviews and a Tony Award.

"With a kind of weary magnificence, Scofield sinks himself into the part, studiously underplays it, and somehow displays the inner mind of a man destined for sainthood," Time magazine said.

Actor Richard Burton, once regarded as the natural heir to Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud at the summit of British theater, said it was Scofield who deserved that place. "Of the 10 greatest moments in the theater, eight are Scofield's," he said.

Scofield's infrequent films included Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance"; "Henry V," in which he played the king of France; "Quiz Show," Robert Redford's film about a 1950s TV scandal; and the 1996 adaptation of Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible."

"Quiz Show" brought Scofield a second Oscar nomination, this time as best supporting actor. He played Mark Van Doren, the famed author and poet whose son, Charles, was the key figure in the scandal.

Scofield was an unusual star — a family man who lived almost his whole life within a few miles of his birthplace in southern England and hurried home after work to his wife and children. He didn't seek the spotlight, gave interviews sparingly and, at times, seemed to need coaxing to venture out even onto the stage he loved.

But, he insisted in The Sunday Times in 1992: "My reclusiveness is a myth. ... I suppose I'm not wildly gregarious. Yes, I've turned down quite a lot of parts. At my age you need to weed things out, but the idea that I can't be bothered anymore with acting — that's quite absurd. Acting is all I can do. An actor: That's what I am."

Scofield reportedly had been offered a knighthood, but declined.

"It is just not an aspect of life that I would want," he once said. "If you want a title, what's wrong with Mr.?"

In 2001, however, he was named a Companion of Honor, one of the country's top honors and limited to 65 living people.

His temperament, too, was unexpected in an actor who remained at the very top of his profession.

"It is hard not to be Polyanna-ish about Paul because he is such a manifestly good man, so humane and decent, and curiously void of ego," said director Richard Eyre, former artistic director of Britain's National Theatre. "All the pride he has is channeled through the thing that he does brilliantly."

David Paul Scofield was born Jan. 21, 1922, son of the village schoolmaster in Hurstpierpoint, eight miles from the southern coast of England. When he married actress Joy Parker in 1943, they settled only 10 miles to the north, in the village of Balcombe.

Scofield trained at the Croydon Repertory Theater School and London's Mask Theater School before World War II. Barred from military service during the war for medical reasons, he toured in plays to entertain troops and acted in repertory in factory towns around the country.

All through the 1940s, he worked repertory and in London and Stratford in plays ranging from Shakespeare and Shaw to Steinbeck and Chekhov.

In his 20s and 30s, he worked with director Peter Brook, touring as Hamlet in 1955. The collaboration included the stage adaptation of Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory" in 1956, which Gielgud regarded as Scofield's greatest performance.

Scofield's huge success with "A Man for All Seasons" was followed in 1979 by another great historical stage role, as the thwarted composer Salieri opposite Callow's Mozart in Peter Shaffer's "Amadeus."

His later stage appearances included "Heartbreak House" in 1992 and the 1996 National Theatre production of Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman."

He is survived by his wife and children.

R.I.P. JUDY KAY ZAGORSKI

R.I.P. PAUL SCOFIELD

R.I.P. STINGRAY, also...

+++
At 9:59 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Father of Canada-U.S. trade deal Simon Reisman dies in Ottawa at 88

Mar 10, 2008

OTTAWA — He is still remembered by many Canadians as the scrappy street fighter who stormed out of the Canada-U.S. free trade negotiations and other public blowups that characterized the controversial talks.

Simon Reisman, Canada's cocky chief free-trade negotiator during talks with the United States in the late 1980s, died in his sleep of cardiac arrest early Saturday morning at the Heart Institute in Ottawa at the age of 88.

But the stories about Reisman remain legendary, even the untrue ones of him stubbing out his stogie on the wooden desk of U.S. Treasury Secretary John Connolly during a particularly testy meeting in the mid-60s.

Most, however, are true, says Gordon Ritchie, his lifelong friend and deputy during the free trade talks.

"Simon didn't back down," Ritchie said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "He even took a swing at me once over a misunderstanding. Simon told me he never stubbed his cigar out on the desk, though he may have let the ash fall on it."

The blowups were real, Ritchie says, but they don't detract from Reisman's accomplishments as a key player in building Canada into a modern economic power. His role ranged from negotiating the auto pact signed in January, 1965, to becoming Canada's first deputy minister of Industry, a department created on his recommendation, to his central role in negotiating the so-called FTA in 1986 and 1987, which at the time was the world's biggest and most influential trade deal.

"I don't think people realize that the free trade agreement was fundamentally Simon's baby, even though a lot of people take credit for it now," Ritchie says.

"I was with the prime minister (Brian Mulroney) at the meeting with Ronald Reagan in Quebec City where they announced they wanted to have negotiations. But they were talking about more modest negotiations and the prime minister asked Simon for his views and Simon wrote a note to the PM to say let's go for the whole enchilada."

Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to the United States, also said Reisman's bluster was the real deal.

Still, many had doubts. Thomas Niles, U.S. ambassador to Canada during the talks, wondered if his loud, indignant objections were more strategic than spontaneous.

While his angry walkout on free-trade talks in the 1980s seemed to end the negotiations in a very public way, it actually moved them up a notch to top politicians who pushed the agreement ahead.

But Ritchie said Niles is wrong, although he may be right about Reisman's most famous blow up, when he stormed out of the negotiating table in Washington and brought the talks to the brink of failure.

The impasse was over U.S. negotiator Peter Murphy's refusal or lack of authority to negotiate a dispute settlement procedure that would take away America's right to unilaterally decide that some Canadian imports were dumped or illegally subsidized.

Ritchie said he flew back to Ottawa the night before to brief Mulroney that they were getting nowhere, then returned to Washington with approval to declare an impasse. Reisman was initially reluctant, fearing that his baby would not recover, he said.

"It wasn't spontaneous at all and it was not a bluff," Ritchie said. "Without us walking away from the table, we would not have gotten the deal."

"He was one tough bird," Allan Gotlieb, former Canadian ambassador to the United States, told the Globe. "He was extremely direct and totally unfearful of the consequences of his comments. He was the diametric opposite of the namby-pamby civil servant."

Born in Montreal on June 19, 1919, Reisman studied economics at McGill University and the London School of Economics where he received a master's degree in economics. After joining the civil service in 1946, he worked on a number of significant economic agreements under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that helped establish international trading systems and regulations after the Second World War. He also played a major role in the establishment of the Canadian-U.S. Auto Pact in 1965.

His son, physician John Reisman, said Saturday that his father appeared to have come through a pacemaker operation a few days earlier without any difficulties. "He was reading The Wall Street Journal yesterday and was active mentally and we thought he was going to make it," Dr. Reisman told the Globe.

Reisman leaves his wife Constance and three children. Funeral arrangements are pending.

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Copyright © 2008 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

R.I.P. FREE TRADE...

Uh, I mean...

R.I.P. SIMON REISMAN

You tried...

+++
At 10:21 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: You can't play football without being a target either - and catching a bullet instead of a touchdown.

The only thing more despicable would have been shooting dead a feeble basketball player or an effeminate tennis player...
But that is another story...

1 charged with killing LA football star

By ROBERT JABLON,
Associated Press Writer
Tue Mar 11, 6:23 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - A man police say is a member of a Los Angeles street gang was charged with murder Tuesday in the fatal shooting of a high school football star.

Pedro Espinoza, 19, is accused of killing 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr., a standout running back at Los Angeles High School, yards from the student's home in the Crenshaw area on March 2.

Espinoza was charged with a single murder count with a special-circumstance allegation that could make him eligible for the death penalty, said Shiara M. Davila, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

The special circumstance was that it was a gang-related shooting, Davila said. Prosecutors also included special allegations that the crime involved the personal use of a firearm and that it was a gang-related felony offense.

Espinoza was arrested Friday and appeared in court Tuesday for arraignment, but it was postponed until March 25 at his request while a public defender is assigned to him, Davila said.

Shaw's killing comes amid an outbreak of gang-related violence that has victimized schoolchildren and teens around the city.

At Shaw's funeral Tuesday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told mourners that he thinks Shaw would have wanted more than words of remembrance.

"He'd tell us that the madness of gang and gun violence metastasizing in our streets absolutely has got to stop," Villaraigosa said to applause. "I think he'd tell us that we can't give in to fear, that we must stand up to it."

Shaw's mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, was sent home from Iraq after her son was slain.

Shaw's teammates and coach, Hardy Williams, also attended the funeral. A bouquet of blue-and-white flowers — his school colors — lay atop the blue-and-silver casket.

Shaw, the Southern League's most valuable player as a junior last year, had drawn interest from the football programs at Stanford and Rutgers universities, Williams said.

Espinoza is a "documented member" of the 18th Street gang, Davila said.

Police have said two Hispanic gang members approached Shaw, who was black, and asked him where he was from — meaning the name of his gang — and then shot him.

Shaw was not in a gang, authorities and his family said. And while the races of the victim and attacker were different, Espinoza was not charged with a hate crime and Shaw's father has said he did not believe the attack was racially motivated.

It was one of several gang-related attacks that killed or wounded youngsters in recent weeks, including an attack on a family left a 6-year-old boy on life support and another that wounded five schoolchildren.

R.I.P. JAMIEL SHAW JR.

You've been drafted by the best team of all - and will star in the best league of all: the HFL. The Heavenly Football League.

Jamiel does rhyme with Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel...

+++
At 10:28 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Death can be swift - too swift.

As swift as 1-2-3...
Or 9-1-1...

Calif. woman slain while calling 911

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON,
Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 20, 9:52 PM ET

WEST COVINA, Calif. - A woman made a 911 call from her suburban mansion to report an attempted break-in, but her pleas were interrupted by gunshots, then silence: She had been shot to death.

The woman told the dispatcher late Wednesday morning that someone was trying to break into her home in upscale West Covina, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Dan Rosenberg said.

"Deputies heard gunshots followed by silence and an open phone line," he said.

Investigators combed the neighborhood Thursday outside the three-story house with a tennis court, pool and four-car garage. Investigators examined the opening mechanism of the driveway's black iron gates, and later a repairman worked on the gates.

The victim was identified as Hsiao Hsu, 45, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Hernandez.

Sheriff's deputies responding to the call entered the home and found the victim. She was pronounced dead at the scene. One or more males were reported seen running away from the house, the Sheriff's Department said.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune carried a report describing a man who came to the scene about an hour after the shooting and asked deputies, "Is my wife OK? Did you find the guy?"

The man collapsed and cried out, "No! No! No! She just called me, you lie," the newspaper said. A patrol car drove the man away.

A KABC-TV report showed an investigator in the neighborhood examining what appeared to be a handgun under a shrub.

The house is east of Los Angeles in an unincorporated area where many homes stand well back from roads, with tall hedges and gates. Horses stood quietly in a corral at one neighborhood home Thursday.

A neighbor said a couple recently occupied the home, described on real estate Web sites as being nearly 6,000 square feet and having recently sold for more than $2 million.

"They moved in only about six months ago. I've only seen them drive in and out," said Ronald Wheeler, 57, who lives across the street.

Irene and Jesus Marquez, who live nearby, said the family has two children.

"They were really nice, good people," said Irene Marquez.

___

Associated Press writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.

R.I.P. HSIAO HSU

I feel sorry for your having trusted so much in the system, the police, the 911 dispatcher you called... as to hope that they would come to your rescue in time.

+++
At 10:39 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Being evicted does put most in a killing mood...
Some "inspectors" make you cringe while putting you in a killing mood...

Ultimately, this case had all the makings of a ticking timebomb - that did explode too.

Man kills 2, self at Va. apartments

By SONJA BARISIC,
Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 20, 7:51 PM ET

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A man opened fire on workers coming to inspect the apartment his mother had been ordered to leave, killing two and wounding three before committing suicide, authorities said Thursday.

William T. Smith opened the door Wednesday afternoon at the Thalia Gardens complex and began shooting with an AK-47 assault rifle and a Mac 10 9mm semiautomatic handgun, police spokeswoman Margie Long said.

Smith, 52, fatally shot 63-year-old maintenance technician Sam Shestul inside the two-story brick apartment building, Long said. The other workers ran outside, but Smith followed them, still shooting, she said.

Officers arrived to find maintenance technician Rebecca Diane Hughes, 32, dead in the parking lot and three injured people. Most of the victims were shot multiple times, and none had been armed, Long said.

Apartment managers had told Smith's mother her lease was not being renewed and gave her until the end of the month to leave, said Michael R. Devine, vice president for the company that manages the complex. He would not give the reason or the woman's name but said she had told managers she had already moved out.

It was unclear whether Smith had been living in the apartment, but Devine, of S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co., said workers entering the apartment for a routine inspection did not know he was there.

"This was not an eviction," Devine said, correcting earlier statements by police. "This was a normal, routine operation. It was just like Virginia Tech. It was a normal day and then something went wrong."

Long said two of the injured were maintenance technicians and one was a community manager at the Thalia Gardens complex. One person was in critical condition Thursday evening and the others were listed as stable, police spokesman Adam Bernstein said.

Bob Wesner, a registered nurse, said he was taking out his garbage when he heard six shots. He ran into the parking lot, where he saw Hughes lying on her right side in a pool of blood with wounds to her head and abdomen. He saw one of the injured maintenance workers stagger around the corner and collapse.

Wesner said a security officer directed him and others to the complex's clubhouse, where they stayed for several hours.

Smith went back inside the building, but when police arrived they were not sure where he was, Long said.

Several streets were closed off and residents were told to stay indoors while police searched for the gunman, and a nearby high school was locked down. Most students had already been sent home for the day.

SWAT team members began issuing orders by loudspeaker to the gunman to come out around 7 p.m. Police entered the building and found the bodies of Smith and Shestul after 10 p.m.

It wasn't immediately known when Smith died, but Long said it was clear he killed himself because police fired no shots.

A bullet hole was visible Thursday in a window in the apartment building across the parking lot from the shooting, and gauze and a coil of plastic medical tubing lay on the ground beneath the window.

Police were checking to see whether Smith had permits for the guns, Long said. She said she could not comment on whether he had a criminal record.

Wesner said he did not know Smith but knew the maintenance staff well. He described Shestul was a jovial man who had been married for a long time. Hughes, he said, "was one of their hardest workers, very conscientious, a very pleasant person."

Residents and staff at the sprawling, 590-unit apartment complex said Shestul had immigrated about 10 years ago, possibly from Russia or Czechoslovakia.

"We loved him. Sam was like Uncle Sam," Devine said.

Katie Larkin, a maintenance secretary at the complex, carried a pot of Easter lilies past the spot where Hughes died as she made her way from a visit with one of the grief counselors the realty company made available for residents and employees.

Hughes had two children, and her husband is in Korea with the military, Larkin said. She said they were best friends and often went to karaoke bars, where Hughes would demand that Larkin sing "Here Without You" by Three Doors Down.

Devine said his company is setting up a fund for donations to help the families of the victims.

R.I.P. SAM SHESTUL

R.I.P. REBECCA DIANE HUGHES

Both of you were just doing your jobs...

Trying to earn a living and finding death instead is always such a cruel irony...

+++
At 12:27 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Boston news...
Lugubrious still, yes - for they are added here after a Boston Bruins loss, as it is...

Two dead after fiery crash on Fellsway

By Jessica Fargen
Friday, March 21, 2008 -
Updated 4hrs ago

+ Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio
General Assignment Reporter
Check out Jessica Fargen's Reporter's Notebook blog.
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The Fellsway has reopened following a fiery early-morning crash that killed two people, sent a teen-aged passenger to the hospital and left a home damaged.

State police said a 1996 BMW traveling northbound between Malden and Salem Streets went off the road about 4:30 a.m. and burst into flames. The vehicle crashed through a wrought-iron fence and slammed into the side of a two-family home at the corner of Fellsway and Charles Street.

Deputy Fire Chief Phillip Cargill said a teen-aged girl inside the car was ejected and pronounced dead. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The third passenger, a teen-aged girl, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with serious injuries.

Police have not released the identities of the crash victims.

No one was injured inside the house.

One neighbor was not surprised at the fatal crash.

“This is nothing new,” said Stephane Anderson, 35, who lives three doors down from the scene of the crash. “They are always flying up and down the Fellsway.”

She said her husband heard the crash.

“He heard squeals and screeching,” she recalled this morning while standing at the crash scene. “Then he heard an explosion and a bomb-like sound.”

This morning, a twisted and mangled fence lay on the lawn and tiny pieces of glass covered the sidewalk. Inside the house, a vase, telephone, shards of glass and other debris were scattered on the kitchen floor. The car hit the house with such force that it punctured the wall, allowing light to shine through a small hole.

State Police Major Kevin Kelly said there is an indication that speed may have been a factor in the crash, which closed the Fellsway also known as Rt. 28 northbound at the east/west split.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Dog walks death row after killing goat

By Philip Mallory

Friday, March 21, 2008 -
Added 17hrs ago

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A Rowley pooch has been sentenced to death for slaughtering a pet goat in what one Bay State animal advocate characterized as cruel and unusual punishment for an animal-on-animal killing.

Town selectmen handed down the sentence Monday for the Feb. 13 attack by Niko, a 6-year-old black lab mix, on “Miss Daisy,” a neighbor’s pet goat. Niko is in custody pending a possible appeal.

“I don’t care if it’s a dog or what it is, it’s a family pet,“ said Miss Daisy’s owner Richard Lebel, who described his late goat as a gentle animal who frolicked with his children.

Niko’s death sentence struck Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokesman Brian Adams as excessive. The board is “dealing with an irrevocable outcome,” Adams said.

David Petersen, chairman of the Rowley Board of Selectmen, said the panel acted on the recommendation of a local animal control officer. “We make a decision and if anyone is unsatisfied, they can go to district court,” Petersen said.

Niko’s owner, Mike Passanisi of Rowley, acknowledged Niko may have killed Miss Daisy but insisted the dog did not receive a fair shake from the selectmen at the hearing.

“Their minds were made up before I walked in that room,“ Passanisi said.

Passanisi also offered an alternative theory to Miss Daisy’s slaying, saying it was possible a coyote was the real culprit, and that Niko happened along after the killing.

But Lebel, Miss Daisy’s owner, discounted that notion.

“Coyotes would have eaten the animal. That did not occur,” he said.

Passanisi said he has not decided whether he will take the matter to court. In the meantime, he said the ordeal has soured him on the small North Shore farming town, where he moved just a little over a month ago.

“It’s just been very emotional,” he said.

May those who fell on Fellsway rest in peace.

And that poor goat as well.
And the Rowley pooch too.

+++
At 3:53 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Cachao and Gross are no more.

I don't know about you, but where I come from, "um caixão" means "a COFFIN" quite eeriely and fittingly, in a creepy way here...
While a "cachao" is actually a broth...

And "gross" is just that - gross.

Could be the French "grosse" too - which is the feminine for "fat" if you Grosse Pointe residents don't know that still...

But evidence that a name is just that and a book cannot be judged by its cover (nor its labeling) is found right here: Israel "Cachao" Lopez and George Gross were, each in their own way, as big to their respective field as Arthur C. Clarke was to his. And even if they had been "unknowns" and "nobodies" - one's rather odd monicker and the other's unattractive last name were in no way reflective of the men who bore them.

No name ever is.

They do say that our names are written in the Book of Life - those of us who are worthy of being found therein, of course. Since we cannot even begin to comprehend the Mind of God, I'll hazard a guess right here and now that the inscription found in that Book is not our given name but really code only God Can Comprehend - code that describes every single fiber of our SOUL, so there can never be a mix-up, ever. After all only God Is Infaillible - us humans can't even run a simple elective process without screwing up and putting the wrong guy in charge...
But that is another story...

Cuban composer-bass player Cachao dies in Miami area

Sat Mar 22, 1:27 PM

By The Associated Press
ADVERTISEMENT

MIAMI - A family spokesman says Cuban bassist and composer Israel "Cachao" Lopez has died in a Miami-area hospital.

Spokesman Nelson Albareda says the musician died early Saturday at age 89 after falling ill in the past week.

Known simply as Cachao, the bass guitarist is widely credited as a pioneer of the mambo.

Sun legend George Gross dies

By SUN MEDIA

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The Baron is dead.

George Gross, the founding sports editor of the Toronto Sun and a legendary figure of both Canadian sports and journalism, died of a heart attack early Friday morning at his Etobicoke home. He was 85.

Gross was active to the end, working a full day in the Sun newsroom on Thursday.

Gross was known as the Baron for more than half a century because his elegant European accent and suave continental style.

A talented athlete who would have represented his native Czechoslovakia in the 1940 Olympics had not World War II intervened, Gross was a respected sports and political journalist before his writings landed him in jail under the postwar communist regime.

In 1949, Gross and a friend escaped across the Danube to Austria in a rowing shell under the noses of armed border guards. He made his way to Canada, working as a farmhand before re-establishing his career as a sports journalist on the Toronto Telegram.

With other ex-Tely staffers, Gross was a founding member of the Toronto Sun, its first sports editor when the Sun hit the streets on Nov. 1, 1971.

He won a National Newspaper Award in 1974 for his exclusive story on the defection to Canada of Czech hockey star Vaclav Nedomansky.

In 1994, Gross was awarded the Olympic Order for his commitment to amateur athletics and the Olympic cause. He was the only North American journalist ever to receive the honour.

Gross called the award “the highlight of my sports life ... I never did make the Olympics as an athlete, but I never lost the attraction I felt for the Olympic Games and what they represented.”

Locally, Gross was a driving force in amateur athletics in Toronto and for decades was a champion of Variety Village, the beautiful Scarborough complex that provides recreational and other facilities and programmes for special needs children and youth in the GTA.

In a career that spanned more than 60 years, Gross was inducted into five different halls of fame.

Even after he gave up the reins of the Toronto Sun sports department in 1986 to become corporate sports editor, Gross was never far from the action. He continued to write regular columns and was a generous advisor to colleagues, Toronto’s sports teams and friends throughout the world.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, son George and daughter Elizabeth (Teddy).

Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized.

Copyright © 2008, Canoe Inc.
All rights reserved.

Sci-fi writer Clarke buried in brief secular funeral in Sri Lanka

Sat Mar 22, 11:16 AM

By Krishan Francis,
The Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Science-fiction visionary Arthur C. Clarke has been buried in Sri Lanka to the music of his most famous work, the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey."

His brief funeral today was held according to his written instructions: "Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral."

The Ekanayake family, with whom the British author lived in the final decades of his life, cried as his coffin was lowered into the grave at the general cemetery in Colombo, capital of the island-nation in the Indian Ocean.

His brother, Fred Clarke, and other family members were among the mourners.

Some fans and followers also sprinkled soil into the grave.

Music from the 1968 movie "2001," which Clarke wrote with director Stanley Kubrick, was played at the funeral and at Clarke's home before the ceremony.

Tamara Ekanayake, the daughter of Clarke's business partner and longtime friend Hector Ekanayake, made a brief speech at their home before the funeral procession began. She said Clarke's gravestone would be engraved according to his wishes: "Here lies Arthur C. Clarke. He never grew up and did not stop growing."

Clarke, who moved to Sri Lanka in 1956, died at a Colombo hospital Wednesday at age 90 after years of suffering debilitating post-polio syndrome.

In the days since Clarke's death, students, space enthusiasts, politicians and Buddhist monks travelled to his Colombo home to pay their last respects and to salute a man who inspired many of them.

Born in western England on Dec. 16, 1917, Clarke earlier served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War before moving to Sri Lanka.

He won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future. Clarke also was credited with coming up with the concept of communications satellites decades before they became a reality.

R.I.P. BARON

R.I.P. CACHAO

and, once again, R.I.P. ARTHUR

+++
At 4:38 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: And in other death tolls:

(where death reaps undiscriminatively - and news agencies do not bother with any names, usually, only the numbers...)

Attacks kill 57 in Iraq; Green Zone hit

By ROBERT H. REID,
Associated Press Writer
29 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Rockets and mortars pounded Baghdad's U.S.-protected Green Zone Sunday and a suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi army post in the northern city of Mosul in a surge of attacks that killed at least 57 people nationwide.

The latest violence underscored the fragile security situation and the resilience of both Sunni and Shiite extremist groups as the war enters its sixth year and the U.S. death toll in the conflict approaches 4,000.

Attacks in Baghdad probably stemmed from rising tensions between rival Shiite groups — some of whom may have been behind the Green Zone blasts. It was the most sustained assault in months against the nerve center of the U.S. mission.

The deadliest attack of the day was in Mosul when a suicide driver slammed his vehicle through a security checkpoint in a hail of gunfire and detonated his explosives in front of an Iraqi headquarters building, killing 13 Iraqi soldiers and injuring 42 other people, police said.

Iraqi guards opened fire on the vehicle but couldn't stop it because the windshield had been bulletproofed, said an Iraqi army officer. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the information.

Mosul, Iraq's third largest city about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, has been described as the last major urban area where the Sunni extremist al-Qaida group maintains a significant presence.

In Baghdad, rockets and mortars began slamming into the Green Zone about sunrise, and scattered attacks persisted throughout the day, sending plumes of smoke rising over the heavily guarded district in the heart of the capital.

A U.S. public address system in the Green Zone warned people to "duck and cover" and to stay away from windows.

At least five people were injured in the Green Zone, a U.S. Embassy statement said without specifying nationalities. The zone includes the U.S. and British embassies as well as major Iraqi government offices.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to release the information, said those injured included an American and four third-country nationals, meaning they were not American, British or Iraqi.

Iraqi police said 10 civilians were killed and more than 20 were injured in rocket or mortar blasts in scattered areas of eastern Baghdad — some of them probably due to misfired rounds.

Also in the capital, seven people were killed and 14 wounded in a suicide car bombing Sunday in the Shiite area of Shula in the capital, police reported. Such attacks are the hallmark of Sunni religious extremists.

Gunmen opened fire on passengers waiting for buses in a predominantly Shiite area in southeastern Baghdad, killing at least seven men and wounding 16 people, including women and children, according to police.

Police also found the bullet-riddled bodies of 12 people — six in Baghdad, four in Mosul and two in Kut, scene of clashes between government troops and Shiite militiamen.

Elsewhere, several mortars or rockets struck a U.S. base in the Shiite city of Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said. The American military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the attack.

No group claimed responsibility for the Green Zone attacks, but suspicion fell on Shiite extremists based on the areas from which the weapons were fired.

The attacks followed a series of clashes last week between U.S. and Iraqi forces and factions of the Mahdi Army, the biggest Shiite militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Al-Sadr led two uprisings against U.S.-led coalition forces in 2004. Last August he declared a six-month cease-fire to purge the militia of criminal and dissident elements.

U.S. officials have cited the truce, which al-Sadr recently extended, among the reasons behind a 60 percent drop in violence since President Bush ordered 30,000 U.S. reinforcements to Iraq early last year.

But the cease-fire has come under severe strains in recent weeks. Al-Sadr's followers have accused the Shiite-dominated government of exploiting the cease-fire to target the cleric's supporters in advance of provincial elections expected this fall.

Al-Sadr recently told his followers that although the truce remains in effect, they were free to defend themselves against attacks. Al-Sadr followers have demanded the release of supporters rounded up in recent weeks.

U.S. officials have insisted they are not going after Sadrists who respect the cease-fire but are targeting renegade elements, known as special groups, that the Americans believe have ties to Iran.

But the pattern of the attacks against the Green Zone could be a signal to the Americans and their Iraqi partners to ease their pressure against mainstream Sadrists or the special groups.

Elsewhere, 12 gunmen were killed Sunday in a raid against a suspected suicide bombing network east of Baqouba, the U.S. military said.

Iraqi police reported a dozen civilians killed in an airstrike in the same area. But the military said those killed in the raid were insurgents, including six who had shaved their bodies apparently in preparation for suicide operations.

A police commander was shot to death along with his driver in Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad.

A roadside bomb near the northern city of Tuz Khormato killed four Iraqi soldiers, including an officer.

The violence was reported by police officials who declined to be identified because they weren't supposed to release the information.

As of 7:36 p.m. EDT • Attacks kill 57 in Iraq; Green Zone hit by rockets, mortars
• Americans still wary of electronic voting systems

• Muslim baptized by pope says life now in danger

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Coast Guard: 4 dead, 1 missing from ship

By RACHEL D'ORO,
Associated Press Writer
12 minutes ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Four crew members died Sunday and another was missing after a Seattle-based fishing boat began sinking in high seas off Alaska's Aleutian Islands, the Coast Guard said.

The dead were among 47 crew members who abandoned ship after the 184-foot Alaska Ranger developed problems. Forty-two crew members were recovered safely, but a search was continuing for the missing person, said Chief Petty Officer Barry Lane.

The vessel started taking on water shortly before 3 a.m. after losing control of its rudder 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor, which is on Unalaska Island.

State environmental regulators were notified that the ship was carrying 100,000 gallons of diesel, according to Leslie Pearson, emergency response manager for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. A Coast Guard c-130 crew reported an oil sheen that covered an area of a quarter mile by a half mile, Coast Guard spokesman Ray Dwyer said.

Those on board the Alaska Ranger were heading to Dutch Harbor in a Coast Guard cutter and the doomed vessel's sister ship, the Alaska Warrior. The vessel took part in the rescue operation along with two Coast Guard helicopters that were used to pluck crew members from life rafts, Lane said.

A C-130 also remained to help search for the missing crew member.

Coast Guard Lt. Eric Eggan said it was unknown how or when the four died. The identities of the dead were unknown.

Chuck Harvey, a harbor officer on duty in Dutch Harbor, said his office was notified by the Coast Guard to clear a dock for its arrival, expected around 11 p.m. EDT Sunday.

The Coast Guard also told harbor officials to have an ambulance ready, but didn't specify the degree or nature of any injuries, Harvey said.

"I figure there's quite a bit of hypothermia going on," he said.

The Alaska Ranger is owned by Seattle-based Fishing Company of Alaska. A man who answered the company's phone Sunday afternoon declined to identify himself or comment. He said no one else was available to comment.

"Today, they're all pretty much tied up," he said.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read said the company had sent an insurance adjuster to Dutch Harbor, who was expected to arrive Sunday afternoon.

___

Associated Press writer Elizabeth M. Gillespie in Seattle contributed to this report.

R.I.P. NUMBERS OF SOULS...

+++
At 7:17 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Sri Lanka claims 85 killed in fresh fighting

Sun Mar 23, 6:39 PM ET

COLOMBO (AFP) - At least 80 Tamil rebels and five government soldiers were killed in fresh fighting as Sri Lankan security forces tried to break into rebel-held territory, the defence ministry said Sunday.

Fierce battles raged in the north of the island as the military smashed through a bunker line of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) inflicting heavy casualties on the rebels, the ministry said.

It raised the number of guerrillas killed in fighting since Saturday morning to 80 from the earlier figure of 22. The ministry added that the number of its troops killed had also risen to five.

But the guerrillas said they resisted the military push and inflicted heavy losses on government forces.

The pro-rebel Puthinam.com website said the Tigers had killed 55 troops and wounded another 120 in Saturday's fighting. The website did not give rebel casualties.

Saturday's heavy fighting erupted hours after the Tigers sank a navy fast attack craft off the island's northeastern coast, leaving 10 sailors missing believed dead.

Sri Lankan war planes bombed suspected LTTE facilities Saturday inside the area they control in the north of the island, the defence ministry said, adding that there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The government claims it has killed 2,322 rebels since January against the loss of 136 of its own troops. Colombo allows no journalists or rights groups into the embattled regions, making it impossible to verify the figures.

Thousands of people have been killed in a new wave of fighting since December 2005, when a Norwegian-brokered truce began to unravel. The truce was formally ended by the government in January.

The rebels have been battling for an independent homeland since 1972 in an ethnic conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

R.I.P. Tigers...

+++
At 7:28 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Don't know about you, but I've had enough of the faceless, nameless death tolls... It is hard to name everyone, especially right after the event, but I rarely ever see a "we remember" type of list for these types of tragic demises - unless they're All-American, of course...

Here are some definitively named and duly identified, thus honored, demises amidst tragedy also...

* Mar 23, 2008 11:15 am US/Eastern
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Mother, 2 Daughters Killed In N.H. Fire

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Mother, 2 Daughters Killed In N.H. Fire

FRANKLIN, N.H. (WBZ) ― A New Hampshire mother and her two daughters are dead after they were caught in a fire early Sunday morning.

The fire happened inside a newly-refinished carriage house located next their home on Cheney Drive in Franklin.

According to the Franklin Fire Marshal, the fire broke out inside the carriage house around 5 a.m. The two girls, ages 8 and 11, were having a sleepover inside the carriage house at the time of the fire.

Officials say the mother, Beth MacDonald, saw the fire from the main house and ran in to save the kids, but never came out. "This fire is a horrific tragedy and will be felt throughout our community," said Franklin Fire Captain Kevin LaChapelle.

The fire does not appear to be suspicious, but remains under investigation.

Fire departments from Tilton, Hill and Belmont helped fight the fire.

Beth's husband George MacDonald and their teenage daughter survived.

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The fire happened inside a newly-refinished carriage house located next their home on Cheney Drive in Franklin.

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The fire happened inside a newly-refinished carriage house located next their home on Cheney Drive in Franklin.
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Husband Of Musician Corinne Bailey Rae Found Dead

March 23, 2008, 2:27 pm PDT

celebs: Corinne Bailey Rae | Leona Lewis

LONDON, England -- The husband of former Grammy nominee Corinne Bailey Rae has been found dead, according to reports from the U.K.

Jason Rae's body was found in a flat in the northern British city of Leeds on Saturday, The Daily Telegraph reported.

[ Grammys: Mary J & Corinne Bailey Rae - Play it Now ]

According to the newspaper, reports suggest his death was caused by a suspected drug overdose. Jason Rae, who played saxophone in a band called Haggis Horns, was 31 years old.

A post mortem examination was performed Saturday evening, but has so far proved inconclusive, the Telegraph reported.

[ Pop Stars - Check Out the Photos ]

Toxicology reports are expected in the coming weeks.

Additionally, a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs, authorities told the paper. The man has been released on bail.

[ All Access: Music - Deaths ]

Corinne Bailey Rae, 29, was nominated for several Grammys in 2007 for her self-titled record.

Corinne and Jason married in 2001.

[ Leona Lewis Talks Fashion, New Album, & More - Play it Now ]

On Sunday, Corinne Bailey Rae's record label released a statement to the BBC.

"EMI Records would like to offer its sincere condolences to Corinne Bailey Rae and the Rae family at this tragic time.

[ Grammys Red Carpet 2007 - Check Out the Photos ]

"We ask that the media respects Corinne's privacy and that of her entire family," the statement read.

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R.I.P. Beth MacDonald and daughters

R.I.P. Jason Rae - you should have taken up another hobby, man...

+++
At 5:55 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Guatemala: Nine killed in shootout

GUATEMALA CITY, March 26 (UPI) --

Nine people were killed and seven wounded in a shootout between armed groups in Guatemala believed to be linked to the drug trade, authorities said.

The firefight took place in Zacapa province, about 60 miles east of the capital, Guatemala City, said local authorities, Prensa Libre reported online.

The area is a well-known transit point for drug shipments from Colombia to the United States.

Three Guatemalan and three Mexican suspects were arrested after the melee Tuesday.

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AP
25 dead in China fireworks blast

Thu Mar 27, 2:17 AM ET

BEIJING - Firecrackers that had been trucked to the desert to be destroyed exploded as they were dumped into a ditch, killing 25 people and leaving five others missing, state media reported Thursday.

Nine people were injured by the blast Wednesday evening in the northwest region of Xinjiang, including two who were in critical condition, China Central Television reported.

The accident happened in the Gobi Desert outside the city of Turpan. Footage aired on CCTV showed a large patch of brown sand that had been burned black and several sport utility vehicles reduced to charred shells. One was flipped on its back.

CCTV said 904 boxes of firecrackers had been scheduled to be destroyed. The explosives filled eight trucks, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The blaze was extinguished after about an hour, though firefighters had to work from a distance because some fireworks had not exploded, CCTV reported.

Victims included police officers and local journalists who had gone to cover the event, Xinhua reported.

The cause of the accident was under investigation. Numerous government and hospital officials contacted by The Associated Press said they had no additional details.

R.I.P. - ALL 34 NAMELESS ONES OF YOU...

+++
At 6:02 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: At the risk of sounding like the Soup Nazi...

"No more Egg McMuffin for you!"

Egg McMuffin inventor dies at 89

By DENISE PETSKI,
Associated Press Writer
Wed Mar 26, 11:06 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - Herb Peterson, who invented the ubiquitous Egg McMuffin as a way to introduce breakfast to McDonald's restaurants, has died, a Southern California McDonald's official said Wednesday. He was 89.

Peterson died peacefully Tuesday at his Santa Barbara home, said Monte Fraker, vice president of operations for McDonald's restaurants in that city.

He began his career with McDonald's Corp. as vice president of the company's advertising firm, D'Arcy Advertising, in Chicago. He wrote McDonald's first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day."

Peterson eventually became a franchisee and was currently co-owner and operator of six McDonald's restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta, Fraker said.

Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972. He "was very partial to eggs Benedict," Fraker said, and worked on creating something similar.

The egg sandwich consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, topped with a slice of cheese and grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin.

The Egg McMuffin made its debut at a restaurant in Santa Barbara that Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.

Fraker said that, although semiretired, Peterson still visited all six of his stores in the Santa Barbara area until last year when his health began to deteriorate.

"He would talk to the customers, visit with the employees. He loved McDonald's," Fraker said.

Fraker, who said he worked with Peterson for 30 years, said "he was amazing as far as giving back to the community."

"He embraced the community and the community embraced him," Fraker said. "We loved the man."

Peterson is survived by his wife, son and three daughters.

A public memorial service will be held April 23 at All Saints by the Sea church in Montecito.

R.I.P. Mr. Peterson

How singular that, just as you departed from this earth, Herb, I had a craving for eggs Benedict, vaunted the merits of HERBS over spices - plus, someone named D'Arcy approached me in order to be my "friend" on MySpace!

Our loss is Heaven's gain once again - another idea man gone up there!

+++
At 6:21 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Suicide.

Far more complex. oftentimes, than "seeking a way out"...

Some stories are downright heart-wrenching to read...

French euthanasia woman overdosed on barbiturates: prosecutor

1 hour, 9 minutes ago

DIJON, France (AFP) - A severely disfigured French woman, found dead this month after a court rejected her request for euthanasia, took a lethal overdose of barbiturates, a prosecutor said on Thursday.

Former schoolteacher Chantal Sebire, 52, suffered from a rare and incurable tumour which severely deformed her face and caused her to lose the sense of smell, taste and finally her eyesight.

Her body was found at her home in Plombieres-les-Dijon on March 19, two days after the high court in the eastern French city of Dijon decided current French law did not allow her doctor to prescribe her lethal drugs.

"The tests conducted reveal the presence in the blood of a toxic concentration of barbiturate, Pentobarbital," prosecutor Jean-Pierre Alacchi told reporters in Dijon.

"The concentration found is three times the lethal level for this product," he said, adding that investigators were working to establish how Sebire obtained the drug, which is not delivered by French pharmacies.

The drug Pentobarbital is commonly used for animal euthanasia and can be legally prescribed for assisted human suicide in Switzerland, Belgium and the US state of Oregon.

In her request to the high court, Sebire said she wanted to put an end to "atrocious suffering" and an irreversible worsening of her condition, called an esthesioneuroblastoma.

The mother-of-three had said she would not appeal the decision and that she would find life-terminating drugs through other means.

Before-and-after pictures of Sebire, along with her account of frightened children who ran away at the sight of her, attracted a strong outpouring of sympathy in France.

The case prompted doctors, politicians and intellectuals calling for a debate on a change to French law to allow euthanasia in exceptional cases.

Legislation adopted in 2005 allows families to request that life-support equipment for a terminally-ill patient be switched off, but does not allow a doctor to take action to end a patient's life.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are the only European Union countries that currently allow active euthanasia.

How could she be denied euthanasia... Did this judge, specifically, and law-makers generally-speaking believe that individuals such as Chantal Sebire deserved their fate and had to endure it, at all costs, just because "the law" is immovable... and hard to move, evidently.

The outpour of sympathy throughout her country did NOT include the judge who presided in her case, quite obviously - not enough, anyhow, for said judge to cause the PRECEDENT.

Law matters are truly where human folly shines through ever-so brightly - even moreso than in environmental and business matters (including instances when the two collide... but that is another story.)

R.I.P. CHANTAL SEBIRE

You are beautiful again - in the House of the Lord.

+++

FDA investigates suicide with Merck drug

By MATTHEW PERRONE,
AP Business Writer
Thu Mar 27, 5:29 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it is investigating a possible link between Merck's best-selling Singulair and suicide. FDA said it is reviewing a handful of reports involving mood changes, suicidal behavior and suicide in patients who have taken the popular allergy and asthma drug.

Merck has updated the drug's labeling four times in the past year to include information on a range of reported side effects: tremors, anxiousness, depression and suicidal behavior.

FDA said it asked the Whitehouse, N.J.-based company to dig deeper into its data on Singulair for evidence of possible links to suicide. The agency said it has not established a "causal relationship" between Merck's drug and suicidal behavior. An agency spokeswoman said the review was prompted by three to four suicide reports it received since last October.

It could take up to nine months before agency scientists can draw any conclusions, FDA said in a posting to its Web site.

The agency recently began notifying the public earlier about possible safety issues. The policy change came after the FDA was criticized for acting too slowly on information about the risks of Merck's painkiller Vioxx and, GlaxoSmithKline plc's diabetes pill Avandia.

Merck officials stressed that the FDA's inquiry is based on reports, not clinical studies — which are the standard tool for evaluating drug safety. The company said none of the 11,000 patients enrolled in 40 Singulair trials has committed suicide.

"We have no indication that anything about the mechanism of Singulair is consistent with these events," said George Philip, director of research and product development. "But because suicide is a life-threatening event we thought it was important to provide this information in the product label."

Merck said it recently added reports of suicide to Singulair's label, which already listed suicidal thinking and behavior as reported side effects.

In clinical trials of asthma patients, the most common side effects were headache, flu, abdominal pain and cough.

With sales of $4.3 billion last year, Singulair is used by millions of patients in the U.S, according to Merck. First approved in 1998, it's part of a class of asthma and allergy drugs that includes AstraZeneca's Accolate and Critical Therapeutics's Zyflo.

FDA said it is also reviewing reports of side effects with those drugs. Their labeling does not contain language about suicide.

"Patients should not stop taking Singulair before talking to their doctor," FDA said in its statement, adding that doctors should monitor patients for suicidal behavior and mood changes.

Shares of Merck & Co. Inc. rose 8 cents to close at $44.78.

How great is that - more evidence of human folly.
The FDA advises for patients to CONTINUE TO RISK BECOMING SUICIDAL BECAUSE OF THEIR DOCTORS HAVING PRESCRIBED TO THEM SINGULAIR IN THE FIRST PLACE...!

Great job, FDA.

Let's all do as they say - consult the quack that gave you the unsafe drug in the first place and beg for more - maybe the next one will kill you on the spot and you won't have to think or worry about doing it yourself, eh?

Quacks and the FDA - they can be worse than pushers and the MOB, I tell ya!

How singular, also, that so soon after I use the word 'singular' I notice the Singulair story...

+++
At 6:27 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Pestilence.

The second meekest one of the dreaded Four Horsemen shows his teeth - in Brazil.

The meekest one - Famine - is still busy in Africa...
And among the homeless community near you.

No need to talk about the other two.

Dengue claims 54 lives in Brazil

By MICHAEL ASTOR,
Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 27, 5:29 PM ET

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - A dengue epidemic has claimed at least 54 lives in Rio de Janeiro state since January, health officials said Thursday.

Hospitals have reported a total of 114 deaths from the mosquito-borne disease, but 60 of those cases are still being investigated.

Brazilian Health Care Secretary Jose Noronha said that 1,200 soldiers from the army, air force and navy would be deployed next week to set up three field hospitals, while an additional 500 would spray insecticide and place poison in standing puddles of water where the mosquitoes breed.

"The intensity of the epidemic has brought intolerable death tolls," Noronha told reporters after a meeting with armed forces commanders.

The majority of the confirmed deaths, 31, have been in the city of Rio de Janeiro — Brazil's biggest resort city. Rio has seen a 25 percent drop in tourism as a result, the Brazilian Hotel Association said.

About half of the victims were children under the age of 13.

More than 43,000 people have contracted disease since January in Rio de Janeiro state — nearly double the 25,107 cases reported in all of 2007. The state is home to 16 million people.

State health official Victor Berbara said the outbreak highlights the importance of fighting the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito all year — not just between November and May when most infections occur.

"If nothing is done ... next year is going to be much worse," he told reporters.

Earlier this week, federal officials sent hundreds of health workers to Rio de Janeiro state to help care for victims in the state's overcrowded emergency rooms, and set up special tents with extra hospital beds in the city.

On Wednesday, Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Sergio Cabral ordered health officials to break into homes suspected of containing standing bodies of water if the owners could not be found.

Dengue, which has no vaccine, can incapacitate patients for over a week with severe headaches and joint pains, but is not usually fatal.

R.I.P. ALL 54 NAMELESS VICTIMS - SO FAR...

+++
At 6:39 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: When mother love

or auntie love

exceeds nornal "tough love"...

Cops: Texas boy was slain, not crushed

Wed Mar 26, 11:36 PM ET

LA JOYA, Texas - A morbidly obese woman who authorities originally thought might have crushed her 2-year-old nephew to death was arraigned in her bedroom Wednesday on a capital murder charge, accused of striking him in the head.

Mayra Lizbeth Rosales, who weighs at least 800 pounds, had told police that she slipped and hit the boy's head with her hand and that he fell from a chair. But investigators said the boy died of two blows to the head. The autopsy also found skull fractures that were estimated to be about a month old.

The 27-year-old bedridden woman was photographed and fingerprinted at her La Joya home before being released on a personal recognizance bond, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said.

Rosales' sister and the boy's mother, Jamie Lee Rosales, was arrested on a charge of injury to a child, accused of failing to protect the boy. She was being held on $50,000 bond. A capital murder conviction could carry a possible sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.

The 20-year-old mother had signed a safety plan in April with Child Protective Services that advised her not to leave her children with her sister because of the woman's disability, according to charging documents.

A woman who answered the phone at Mayra Rosales' home and wouldn't give her name said the family would have no comment. Authorities had no attorney contact information for the sisters.

Eliseo Gonzalez Jr. and his two younger siblings had been left in the sole supervision of Mayra Rosales, authorities say.

Less than two hours later, Mayra Rosales phoned her sister to say that Eliseo had gotten stuck under her bed and his head was swollen, according to the charging documents. Eliseo was removed from life support and declared dead that afternoon.

Bobby Contreras, Hidalgo County justice of the peace, said last week that investigators believed the woman had fallen on the child.

Cops: Mom killed 2 before campus threat

By BRETT BARROUQUERE,
Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 56 minutes ago

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A mother killed her two children and later went to the nearby college she attended and brandished a gun Thursday before handing the weapon to a health counselor, police said.

The threat at the University of Louisville ended with no injuries about half an hour after it began, but police who were then asked by school officials to check on the children found them dead with gunshot wounds.

Gail Lynn Coontz, 37, is charged with murder in the deaths of 14-year-old Greg Coontz and 10-year-old Nikki Coontz, said Louisville police Officer Phil Russell.

Gail Coontz was taken to a hospital psychiatric ward, said university President James Ramsey, and was later transferred to the Louisville jail. Officials there did not know whether she had a lawyer.

The woman was also charged with one count of terroristic threatening for pointing a handgun at an officer, university police Maj. Kenny Brown said. The woman gave her handgun to a counselor at the health services building, he said.

"When we were able to open the door and go in, the student and the counselor were both sitting on the couch," Brown said.

The children were shot sometime in the past day, Russell said, not citing a motive.

They were probably shot in their sleep, having been found "in the sleeping position" said Jo-Ann Farmer, chief deputy coroner for Jefferson County.

Coontz has been a student in the college of arts and sciences since fall 2006 and had not declared a major, university spokesman John Drees said.

The school sent safety alerts to student phones, cell phones and posted one on its Web site. The campus was not locked down, university spokeswoman Cindy Hess said.

The two-story red brick home where the children were found is in a tidy middle-class neighborhood about 10 miles south of the university. A garden at the home has a statue of two children playing with a bicycle.

Russell and neighbors said Coontz was a widow.

"She was a good mom," said next-door neighbor Sheryl Hayven. "I would have never thought anything, nothing like this would have indicated this to me."

The neighborhood is normally quiet and the neighbors generally know one another, said neighbor Patty Schneider.

Greg would run from the school bus to the house every day, while Nikki would arrive home later, get the mail and stroll inside, Schneider said.

"It just all seems like it's going to be a bad dream and I'm going to wake up from it," said Schneider, who lives directly across the street. "How am I ever going to look out the front of my house again?"

___

Associated Press writers Rebecca Yonker and Bruce Schreiner contributed to this report.

Some parents' love and FAITH lead, alas, to the wrong choices for their children's best interests...

No questioning the power of PRAYER for me; but with some rather "standard illnesses" some degree of medical assistance is best, yes... Minimal medical assistance cannot possibly lead to medical errors - I am sure...

Parents pick prayer over docs; girl dies

By ROBERT IMRIE,
Associated Press Writer
20 minutes ago

WESTON, Wis. - Police are investigating an 11-year-old girl's death from an undiagnosed, treatable form of diabetes after her parents chose to pray for her rather than take her to a doctor.

An autopsy showed Madeline Neumann died Sunday of diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that left too little insulin in her body, Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said.

She had probably been ill for about a month, suffering symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness, the chief said Wednesday, noting that he expects to complete the investigation by Friday and forward the results to the district attorney.

The girl's mother, Leilani Neumann, said that she and her family believe in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but that they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.

She insisted her youngest child, a wiry girl known to wear her straight brown hair in a ponytail, was in good health until recently.

"We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks," she said Wednesday. "And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering."

Her daughter — who hadn't seen a doctor since she got some shots as a 3-year-old, according to Vergin — had no fever and there was warmth in her body, she said.

The girl's father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said he started CPR "as soon as the breath of life left" his daughter's body.

Family members elsewhere called authorities to seek help for the girl.

"My sister-in-law, she's very religious, she believes in faith instead of doctors ...," the girl's aunt told a sheriff's dispatcher Sunday afternoon in a call from California. "And she called my mother-in-law today ... and she explained to us that she believes her daughter's in a coma now and she's relying on faith."

The dispatcher got more information from the caller and asked whether an ambulance should be sent.

"Please," the woman replied. "I mean, she's refusing. She's going to fight it. ... We've been trying to get her to take her to the hospital for a week, a few days now."

The aunt called back with more information on the family's location, emergency logs show. Family friends also made a 911 call from the home. Police and paramedics arrived within minutes and immediately called for an ambulance that took her to a hospital.

But less than an hour after authorities reached the home, Madeline — a bright student who left public school for home schooling this semester — was declared dead.

She is survived by her parents and three older siblings.

"We are remaining strong for our children," Leilani Neumann said. "Only our faith in God is giving us strength at this time."

The Neumanns said they moved from California to a modern, middle-class home in woodsy Weston, just outside Wassau in central Wisconsin, about two years ago to open a coffee shop and be closer to other relatives. A basketball hoop is set up in the driveway.

Leilani Neumann said she and her husband are not worried about the investigation because "our lives are in God's hands. We know we did not do anything criminal. We know we did the best for our daughter we knew how to do."

R.I.P. Eliseo Gonzalez Jr.

R.I.P. Greg Coontz

R.I.P. Nikki Coontz

R.I.P. Madeline Neumann

May the four of you now be playmates in Paradise.

Mayhaps, one Madeline will meet another up there, too...

+++
At 6:44 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: More sad news from my favorite town...

Boston zoo loses Mandy the mandrill

BOSTON, March 26 (UPI) --

Boston's Franklin Park Zoo has lost one of its most popular primates, a plum-colored mandrill named Mandy.

Just a month shy of her 20th birthday, Mandy was found dead recently inside the zoo's Tropical Forest, the Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

The exact cause of Mandy's death will not be known for months but head veterinarian Dr. Hayley Weston Murphy told the Globe she had been suffering from chronic uterine problems lately.

Charley, Mandy's mate of almost 10 years, is the zoo's only other mandrill.

Keepers are trying to distract Charley from the loss of his companion by giving him new toys and playing new nature videos on his VCR, the newspaper said.

Mandrills, close cousins of baboons, are found in the tropical forests of western Africa.

Their vibrant markings make them a favorite of zoo creatures. Males have reddish-purple snouts with bright pink stripes while females have splashes of color on their hairless hindquarters.

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R.I.P. MANDY MANDRILL

I hope they can get Frank Black - if not reunite all of the Pixies - to sing "Monkey Gone To Heaven" at your wake, at the zoo...

+++
At 5:35 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Enquête sur la mort de Guy Beauparlant (17/03/08)
Le Bureau du coroner enquête sur la mort de Guy Beauparlant, l’homme de 55 ans qui a perdu la vie dans l’effondrement du toit de sa demeure. (plus)

If you hurry, you may find some images of the house that was either poorly built - or not sturdy enough to withstand the weight of all that snow - here

R.I.P. GUY BEAUPARLANT

You were a hero for your children on that fateful tragic day when you lost your life - you got them out of the house before it collapsed upon them. It crushed only you to death, instead.

With a name like yours, and that allure I saw, you strike me as a loquacious winner type. There's no smooth-talking our way out of perillous situations like this though - especially not when the "roofs are caving in under the weight of the snow" topic was all over the news and it had happened to both public structures as well as private property...

He was heroic, after having been lacking in the prevention area.

+++
At 3:17 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Police probe 4 mysterious deaths
CHESTER CITY, Pa., March 30 (UPI) --

Now that carbon monoxide has been ruled out, the deaths of four people in Chester City, Penn., are being viewed as "suspicious," police said.

"It's suspicious until we hear further from the medical examiner," Chester City Police Chief Floyd Lewis told Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer.

Authorities Saturday evening found the bodies of two women, a man and a toddler on the second floor of a row house after receiving a call about a person being ill in the home, the newspaper said.

Police said the bodies were found in a bedroom and the living room and it did not appear anyone had broken into the home.

Authorities said the adults appeared to be under age 30.

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R.I.P. two ladies, one gentleman and one true innocent...

+++
At 8:52 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: O'Jays son dies after taken from jail

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN,
Associated Press Writer
Mon Mar 31, 6:21 PM ET

CLEVELAND - Sean Levert, a third of the 1980s R&B trio LeVert and son of lead O'Jays singer Eddie Levert, has died after falling ill while serving a jail term. He was 39.
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Authorities said Monday that an autopsy was inconclusive but foul play was ruled out.

Levert was sentenced last week to one year and 10 months in jail for failing to pay $89,025 in child support. He died at Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland late Sunday, less than an hour after he was taken there from the jail, said coroner Frank Miller.

Levert was sentenced by Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, who said a presentence report indicated he had been addicted to marijuana from the time he was 14 until recently. He didn't speak at his sentencing and gave no indication of any health problems, the judge said Monday.

His brother Gerald Levert, who had success as a solo artist after leaving their trio died in 2006 at age 40 of an accidental mix of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

The brothers had formed LeVert in the 1980s with childhood friend Marc Gordon. Their hits included "Baby I'm Ready," "(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind" and "Casanova."

"Casanova" was nominated for a Grammy in 1988 for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal. It was also nominated for best R&B song.

At Gerald Levert's funeral service in November 2006, Sean Levert and his father performed "Dance With My Father" and personalized the words for Gerald. The elder Levert's group, the O'Jays, was known for such smash hits as "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train."

Sean Levert found a new third partner last year and was trying to revive LeVert.

An autopsy was done Monday but no immediate cause of death was determined, according to Powell Caesar, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County's coroner's office, but he said there was no evidence of foul play or trauma.

Levert suffered from high blood pressure and had been hallucinating in jail, Caesar said. Toxicology reports could take four to six weeks, he said.

Warden Kevin McDonough said earlier that Levert had been sick and guards were watching him at the jail's regular cellblock because he had been acting strangely.

Sean Levert had pleaded guilty last week to six counts of nonsupport involving children ages 11, 15 and 17.

2 tied to killing of Russian reporter

2 hours, 16 minutes ago

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan - Officials said Monday that two men from Tajikistan have admitted robbing and killing a Russian TV journalist, a death that had bolstered Russia's image as one of the most dangerous countries for reporters.
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Ilyas Shurpayev, 32, a reporter for Russia's state-run TV network Channel One, was found dead March 21 in his rented Moscow apartment.

Tajik Interior Ministry spokesman Makhmadali Shafoatov said one of the two suspects, Masrudzhon Yatimov, claimed Shurpayev had offered him money nine days earlier to have sex.

"Shurpayev himself invited (Yatimov) to his house on March 12 and offered him money to have sexual relations," Shafoatov said.

During the visit, Yatimov learned the reporter had just received a large money transfer, and he and another man, Nadzhmiddin Mukhiddinov, then returned to Shupayev's apartment on March 21 to rob him, he said. After Shurpayev resisted, they ended up killing him, Shafoatov said.

The attackers set fire to Shurpayev's apartment and Russian police later found him with a belt around his neck and numerous stab wounds.

The two suspects "have already fully admitted their guilt in committing this crime," Shafoatov said.

Investigators took from the men Shurpayev's gold watch, his cell phone and $6,400 in cash, Shafoatov told reporters in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital.

Last week, Russian officials flew to Dushanbe as part of their investigation into the murder, and on Saturday, the Tajik Interior Ministry announced the arrest of the suspects.

It was unclear whether the two would be extradited to Russia.

Shurpayev was from the southern Russian province of Dagestan.

More than a dozen journalists have been slain in contract-style killings in Russia since 2000. Many appear to have been targeted because of their attempts to investigate alleged corruption.

Charges have rarely been filed, including in the 2006 slaying in Moscow of Anna Politkovskaya, an investigative reporter who won acclaim for her reporting of atrocities against civilians in war-scarred Chechnya.

R.I.P. Sean Levert

R.I.P. Ilyas Shurpayev

and, once again, I hope this tiny bit of justice will help ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA also rest in peace.

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At 10:16 PM, Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ said...: Baghdad's Sadr City mourns its dead and injured

By Leila Fadel,
McClatchy Newspapers
Tue Apr 1, 6:43 PM ET

BAGHDAD — In Baghdad's Shiite Muslim slum of Sadr City, U.S. airstrikes aimed at militants plague the population.

After a week of violence between the U.S.-backed Iraqi Security Forces and the militia of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr , the American military is targeting mortar teams and rockets that have bombarded the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to U.S. and Iraqi government headquarters.

Inside the Imam Ali Hospital in Sadr City on Tuesday, Haider Jassim , 4, pointed to his belly and told his mother "oowa." An American child would say "boo-boo." His abdomen was wrapped in bandages after doctors cut him open to remove shrapnel lodged in his colon.

Last week he was playing in his home as his mother slept nearby with her 4-day-old baby. Now she spends night and day in the hospital with Haider.

He can't eat, and he urinates into a tube.

"I just want safety for my baby," Saleema Dwaich said. Her son wept in pain; she wept in response.

"When we got rid of Saddam, things were supposed to get better," said her brother-in-law Sabah Kokas Jassim.

Upstairs, Sabah Raheem's family sat on the bed next to his. The skin on his face was black from the burning shrapnel of a U.S. airstrike. On his chest were black craters where metal pieces had gouged his flesh. His left eye was gone, along with one of his legs. Around him were four other men with missing limbs.

His parents were at home, mourning his two brothers, both killed in an airstrike.

"We haven't told him about his brothers yet," said his uncle, Saad Naathoul, 39. "He's just came out of the coma."

Raheem's chest heaved and his eyelids fluttered. Earlier that day his 8-month-old daughter came with his wife to see him. She cried in fright at his blackened skin and missing leg. A large piece of shrapnel wedged in his stomach couldn't be removed; bandages covered the area.

"A missile hit the house," Naathoul said. "It's a family of six, and last year they lost one in a car accident. Now two are gone and then him. The situation speaks for itself."

He waved toward Raheem's bed.

"They said there was a very small chance he would live," Naathoul said. "But by the grace of God he is getting better."

Nearby, 16-year-old Karrar Ali Hussein's chest also heaved, because a bullet pierced his side and remained inside him. He was playing soccer, his father said, when a U.S. sniper shot him.

Downstairs, Ammar Ensayer looked at his father in worry. He was shot in a marketplace; he, too, says it was an American military sniper.

"We are an oppressed people, but what shall we do?" he said. "We can do nothing."

Nearby, Jabar Abdul Ridha was stoic in his small, shabby home in a narrow alley of Sadr City. His wife, Kareema Hafout, and daughter Nisrene Jabar were killed in a U.S. airstrike last week.

He came home last Wednesday and found them dead. It was 5:30 p.m. The glass in the two top rooms of the home was shattered, and the glass frame around the portrait of the revered grandson of the prophet Hussein was cracked.

His wife had been hanging laundry as his daughter and niece, Zahra, washed for prayer. The airstrike killed his daughter instantly; her head was separated from her body. His wife struggled to get inside but bled to death before he came home. Zahra was healing in a hospital.

Downstairs, wails came from the kitchen. His teenage daughter hasn't stopped crying, the image of her sister and mother burned into her mind.

But he doesn't cry.

"What shall I do?" he said. "I have two young sons. I was sitting with them, and I went out for two minutes. Two minutes, and I would have been with them."

Sijad, 7, doesn't understand that his mother and sister were killed. For now he thinks that they're visiting relatives in southern Iraq .

Abdul Ridha blames the American military for his loss.

"They are oppressors," he said. "Shouldn't they attack those that hold weapons against them? I swear to God, since we've lived here, the biggest weapon we have is the knife we use to cut the meat."

Other rumors spread: A U.S. military sniper had shot two women and a child in the past 24 hours, officials in the Sadr office said. Residents warned visitors not to walk where American snipers waited on rooftops.

"It's impossible," said Lt. Col. Steve Stover , the U.S. military spokesman for Baghdad operations, denying the reports. "They are not killing women and children."

American snipers did kill one man Tuesday morning after three warning shots, Stover said. The victim was suspected of being a spotter to warn militants of U.S. positions, he said. The military denied that anyone hit by a sniper was a civilian.

American airstrikes may very well have killed civilians, Stover conceded. U.S. troops can't get into the crowded urban area to report on whether civilians were killed, he said.

"In the middle of the night, could there have been a family under the roof where an enemy combatant was firing rockets?" he said. "Yes. It's sad, but there may have been some civilians who were hurt."

The American military said the airstrikes were targeting militants who were using rooftops to fire rockets into the Green Zone, he said. They try to avoid civilians at all costs, he added.

"It's sad," he said.

For now, after a statement from Sadr, his militia has stood down. But it complains that the government continues to raid, detain and kill its members.

"We follow ( Muqtada al Sadr ) blindly," said Abu Amir , a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in the Mahdi Army in Sadr City. "He has wisdom."

At the start of the violence, he said, he followed the Shiite cleric's orders. He went to the Iraqi army and gave the soldiers olive branches and the Quran.

"You are our brothers," he recalled saying. "We won't fight you."

Then the U.S. military surrounded Sadr City and was getting closer, he said. His fellow fighters were being targeted in Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's operation in the southern port city of Basra, and he saw that people were being killed in Sadr City.

"We had to fight back; they were attacking us," he said. "But I swear to God I didn't fight one Iraqi soldier; they were attacking us, and we didn't fight. They are our blood."

Many members of the Iraqi Security Forces turned in their weapons to the Sadr office, refusing to fight the militia, Sadr officials said.

Now Abu Amir has hidden away his weapon. He isn't fighting, because Sadr ordered them not to. But Sadr also asked that the government raids stop.

"We realized what kind of government we have: They are like foxes," Abu Amir said. "The Americans are our enemies, not our friends. Maliki is an agent of the Americans."

In Sadr City, a U.S. airstrike was conducted Tuesday April 1st.

R.I.P. mortar attack victims, airstrike shooting targets and other innocent bystanders...

This concludes our March Mourning - to be continued in April with...
April Ausência ~ or Hello Allotropy

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