NAPLES - A teenager is the third person in Florida this month to die after being zapped with a Taser, the Associated Press reports via the Miami Herald.
A teenager died after he was zapped with a Taser gun and doused with a substance similar to pepper spray during a fight with Collier County sheriffs deputies, officials said.
Christopher Hernandez, 19, of Fort Myers was the third suspect to die in Florida this month after being subdued with a Taser gun. Hernandez died Tuesday, several hours after officials say he attacked deputies, kicking and ripping their uniforms. He ignored orders to stop.
Taser stun guns zap suspects with 50,000 volts of electricity, incapacitating them. Arizona-based Taser International says its weapons are safe to use to subdue violent individuals, and are a nonlethal alternative to shooting a suspect.
In the first case this month, 36-year-old Kevin M. Downing of Coral Springs died after he was zapped with a Taser on Dec. 15 by Hollywood police, and 31-year-old Timothy Bolander died Dec. 23 after being zapped with a Taser by Delray Beach police. The cause of those deaths has not been determined.
In Collier County, Hernandez, who had no local criminal record, was taken for treatment at Naples Community Hospital for a cut above his eye, but Collier County sheriffs spokesman Dennis Huff said there had been no indication that Hernandez wounds were life-threatening. An autopsy will be performed.
Most television stations, newspapers and magazines would like us to reflect on the unforgettable moments of 2004, but some bloggers, such as Arianna Huffington, suggests a few things she would like to forget. For us tbloggers feel free to add your 'Forgets for 2004' as a comment to this blog or let us know which Foget you think should be the number one thing to forget. Happy New Year!
To begin Here are some of Arianna's Political Forgets:
On the economy:
—That the Federal budget deficit hit $413 billion this year, and two-thirds of it is the result of Bush's tax cuts.
—That Dick Cheney is talking about another round of tax cuts.
On September 11th:
—That the woman who dismissed a presidential briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." as a "historical" document is going to be our next secretary of state.
—That it took 14 months and public protests from the victims' families before the president OK'd the 9/11 Commission, but only two weeks before the first hearings were held on Janet Jackson's boob.
—That, thanks to presidential cutbacks, we actually have fewer police and first responders on the streets today than we had on 9/11.
On Iraq:
—That 42 percent of Americans still think Saddam Hussein was "directly involved in planning, financing or carrying out" the 9/11 attacks.
—That Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld couldn't find time to personally sign letters of condolence to the families of troops killed in Iraq.
—That Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz couldn't remember the number of soldiers who'd lost their lives in Iraq.
However, as much as we would like to put these examples of appalling judgement errors and brazen disregard for the public good behind us, Arianna suggests, remembering is the only way to prevent them from recurring in the coming year.
Thank you Ms. Huffington. Now, take a look at the ones below. Pick your number one from the list, suggest your own number one Forget, and post it as a comment. If enough comments occur, the top five or top ten choices will be blogged. Have fun. Let's hope that by December 2005 this list doesn't seem timid.
-Bernard Kerik's nanny. Bernard Kerik's Ground Zero love nest. Bernard Kerik.
-That the woman who dismissed a presidential briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." as a "historical" document is going to be our next secretary of state.
-That a man who finds the Geneva Conventions "quaint" is going to be our next attorney general.
-Janet Jackson's briefly exposed right boob.
-That it took 14 months and public protests from the victims' families before the president OK'd the 9/11 Commission, but only two weeks before the first hearings were held on Janet Jackson's boob.
-That the media thought "Don't be economic girlie men" was a great line.
-Scott Peterson's love of golf. And that his lawyers thought it was a reason he shouldn't be sentenced to death.
-Paris Hilton's new perfume. Paris Hilton's new album. Paris Hilton's new book. Paris Hilton.
-"Surviving Christmas," "Jersey Girl," J-Lo: Ben Affleck goes 0-for-2004.
-Madrid, Spain, March 11, 2004.
-Beslan, Russia, Sept. 3, 2004.
-That the Federal budget deficit hit $413 billion this year, and two-thirds of it is the result of Bush's tax cuts.
-That Dick Cheney is talking about another round of tax cuts.
-What Colin Powell did to his credibility. "You break it, you live with it for the rest of your life."
-"I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."
-That picture of Lynndie England holding the leash.
-The way the administration tried to sweep Abu Ghraib under the rug.
-William Hung, recording artist.
-Ashlee Simpson, lip synch artist.
-Bob Dylan, lingerie salesman.
-That George Tenet, who knew that the intel on Iraqi WMD was thinner than Lara Flynn Boyle on Dexatrim, turned into the Dick Vitale of WMD: "It's a slam dunk, baby!"
-That George Tenet was subsequently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
-That a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich allegedly bearing the likeness of the Virgin Mary sold for $28,000 on eBay.
-The 10,000 Web remixes incorporating The Dean Scream.
-That of the roughly 550 enemy combatants held captive in Guantanamo Bay, only four have been formally charged.
-The Pistons/Pacers basketbrawl.
-The looks on George and Laura Bush's faces when Dr. Phil asked them about the "epidemic levels of oral sex" in America's middle schools.
-That Osama is still on the loose — and releasing tapes.
-That the Kyoto Protocol was ratified — and we aren't part of it.
-That Ken Lay has still not gone to trial or served a minute in jail.
-That 35.9 million Americans live below the poverty line — 12.9 million of them children.
-That 42 percent of Americans still think Saddam Hussein was "directly involved in planning, financing or carrying out" the 9/11 attacks.
-That, thanks to presidential cutbacks, we actually have fewer police and first responders on the streets today than we had on 9/11.
-Star Jones' wedding.
-The Movie Multiplex from Hell: "Alexander," "My Baby's Daddy," "Thunderbirds," "Sleepover," "Around the World in 80 Days."
-The iPod Party Mix from Hell: Jessica Simpson's "Take My Breath Away," William Hung's "She Bangs," Britney Spears' "Toxic," Britney Spears' "My Prerogative," Britney Spears' "I've Just Begun Having My Fun."
-That Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld couldn't find time to personally sign letters of condolence to the families of troops killed in Iraq.
-That Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz couldn't remember the number of soldiers who'd lost their lives in Iraq.
-Drilling for oil in ANWR (I've been desperately trying to forget this one since 2001, but the White House just won't let me!).
Panzerfaust Mission: ' We just don't entertain racist kids … We create them.'
Hate Music: New Recruitment Tool for White Supremacists In the spring of 2004, the owners of a neo-Nazi record company announced their plan to produce 100,000 sampler CDs containing hate music for distribution to the youth of Germany. The German government banned the CD. But not the U.S. ...
This fall, hate groups took their longstanding effort to recruit teen-agers into the white supremacist movement to a new level, with the owners of a neo-Nazi record company promising to deliver "hatecore" music into the hands of 100,000 teenagers during the 2004-2005 school year. They even created a CD filled with racist music expressly for this purpose.
In one sense, there was nothing new here. Hate groups have for years sought to reach a younger audience with their message of hatred and bigotry, changing with the times and technology. We have seen hate groups create racist and anti-Semitic Web sites designed to appeal to children, and even the creation of racist video games with names like "Ethnic Cleansing."
But with the start of the 2004 school year, the neo-Nazi Panzerfaust Records upped the ante with a brazen campaign dubbed "Project Schoolyard," geared specifically to middle and high school students, ages 13–19. Panzerfaust announced plans to distribute as many as 100,000 free CDs to students in schools across the country. They indicated that they would produce the CDs cheaply and in large quantity, making them widely available to white supremacists across the country, who would in turn volunteer their time to hand out the CDs and help make the campaign a success.
Panzerfaust made no effort to hide the main purpose of "Project Schoolyard." Their Web site proudly proclaims: "We just don't entertain racist kids … We create them."
This was no idle threat. Panzerfaust offers for sale CDs from hundreds of hate music bands from the U.S. and abroad, and the label has grown considerably in the last few years. Based in Newport, Minnesota, the company is run by a former member of the virulently anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi National Alliance. It now competes with the Alliance's own hate music company, Resistance Records, once the most successful such business in the country.
By Vincent J. Schodolski Tribune national correspondent -- A legal confrontation is playing out as a student organization seeks official recognition and money from a state-run university even though the students plan to exclude non-Christians and gays.
A group of Christian students at Arizona State University's law school formed a chapter of the Christian Legal Society, a national organization that unites Christian lawyers and law students for fellowship, mutual legal support, meetings and Bible readings.
After the university refused to recognize the group, the society's national headquarters in Washington, D.C., drafted a lawsuit challenging the university over its anti-discrimination policies, a move that echoes similar and sometimes successful efforts across the country.
In the lawsuit, the society argues that the members at Arizona State have a constitutionally protected right to organize and receive university recognition under the 1st and 14th Amendments.
Members of the Christian Legal Society must sign a statement of faith, a document that essentially is the Apostles' Creed. In the declaration, members attest to their faith in God and also say the Bible is the "inspired word of God."
Exclusionary position
Based on their interpretation of biblical passages on homosexuality, members draw the groundwork to exclude practicing homosexuals from membership. In the federal lawsuit, lawyers from the Christian Legal Society spell out their position.
Story by News4Jax. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Civil rights leaders are not allowing the holidays to slow down their push for justice for two men who died in police custody earlier this month.
Tuesday, the Florida and regional executives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People joined local leaders and ministers to announce a rally on Thursday and a protest march Saturday, both designed to keep the heat on local, state and federal officials looking into the deaths of Sammy Evans Jr., 49, and Ezra Jones, 29.
The two men died in separate incidents the first weekend of December after they were arrested on misdemeanor charges.
Colin Powell: Insurgents Want Tyranny, Not Representative Government
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iraq's deadly insurgency will rage on, no matter what the outcome of next month's elections may be, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said, amid new questions about the polls after a boycott call by the main Sunni Muslim party.
Pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has won Ukraine's re-run presidential election, three weeks after authorities annulled a previous poll.
Yushchenko: his "orange revolution" forced a re-run of the presidential poll
But his pro-Russia rival Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich claimed the vote was riddled with irregularities and his campaign vowed to appeal the results to the Supreme Court.
He has since refused to concede defeat. In a televised interview, he said: "I will never acknowledge such a defeat because the constitution and human rights were violated".
The re-run election was forced after the Supreme Court upheld charges of fraud in the earlier poll of which Yanukovich was initially declared the victor.
Observers said that, unlike Yushchenko's appeal, Yanukovich will not be able to derail the election with legal challenges because of the opposition leader's formidable lead in the ballot count.
With 99 per cent of polling precincts reporting, Yushchenko leads Yanukovich by some 2.3 million votes, grabbing 52.07 percent of ballots cast compared with 44.13 percent received by his rival.
Today's result indicates Yushchenko has won by a big enough margin to carry out a major overhaul of what he sees as years of corrupt government.
Have you seen the Rumsfeld quote some conspiracy theorists are spinning as evidence that we shot down Flight 93 on 9/11?
WASHINGTON – Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, there have been questions about Flight 93, the ill-fated plane that crashed in the rural fields of Pennsylvania.
The official story has been that passengers on the United Airlines flight rushed the hijackers in an effort to prevent them from crashing the plane into a strategic target – possibly the U.S. Capitol.
During his surprise Christmas Eve trip to Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld referred to the flight being shot down – long a suspicion because of the danger the flight posed to Washington landmarks and population centers.
Was it a slip of the tongue? Was it an error? Or was it the truth, finally being dropped on the public more than three years after the tragedy of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000?
Donald Rumsfeld
Here's what Rumsfeld said Friday: "I think all of us have a sense if we imagine the kind of world we would face if the people who bombed the mess hall in Mosul, or the people who did the bombing in Spain, or the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania and attacked the Pentagon, the people who cut off peoples' heads on television to intimidate, to frighten – indeed the word 'terrorized' is just that. Its purpose is to terrorize, to alter behavior, to make people be something other than that which they want to be."
By Craig S. Smith The New York Times. Proving that he retains his theatrical flair, Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, took credit for President George W. Bush's re-election in an interview on Italian television Friday.
In what was billed as Qaddafi's first televised interview since United Nations sanctions were lifted last year, the iconoclastic head of North Africa's richest nation delivered a characteristic performance, swinging between the serious and the absurd.
He told Giovanni Minoli of Italian state television's investigative news program "We Are History" that he was still waiting for the United States to reward him for giving up prohibited weapons.
He said Libya's move was responsible for Bush's election victory and said he now wanted the United States and other Western nations to provide Libya with nuclear technology for nonmilitary purposes. He said Iran and North Korea might follow his lead if they saw that Libya was compensated for its actions.
"It was Mr. Bush who promised to reward Libya if we got rid of this program," Qaddafi said, according to an English-language transcript. "We know that with this withdrawal, we contributed by 50 percent to his electoral campaign."
He said Libya was now a partner in the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism, adding that one of his country's greatest contributions in the fight was to "present itself as a model of moderate Islam."
"Theocratic regimes that base their political regimes on a reactionary, Salafite religious idea will always be a base for terrorism," he said, in what appeared to be a thinly veiled criticism of Saudi Arabia.
He warned Europe against letting Turkey into the European Union, suggesting that its entry would lead to Islam's domination of Europe.
"The Islamic world, even the Islamic extremists, even bin Laden, rejoice for the entrance of Turkey in the European Union," he said. "This is their Trojan horse."
Qaddafi also maintained that he did not play an official role in governing the country.
"The power is now in the hands of the Libyan people," he said. "Every Libyan, man or woman, exercises the power, every Libyan over 18 of age, man or woman - they all participate in the popular congress and in the people's committees. I do not exercise any power."
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Writer Janis Hirsch faced a painful ritual at one sitcom: She'd get a tap on the shoulder from one or another male colleague, turn around and find them exposing themselves.
"You learn to laugh with it even if it steals your soul," she says.
Television shows, especially comedies, are created in an often brutal atmosphere. "It's one of the few places on earth where everybody says exactly what's on their minds," says veteran writer Dennis Klein. "It's as dark and nasty as possible."
But if the tradition of the raucous, freewheeling "writers room" is the Hollywood status quo, Amaani Lyle is fighting it. The 31-year-old former writer's assistant for "Friends" has filed a lawsuit that has landed before the California Supreme Court.
Lyle alleges the raw sexual remarks that peppered writers' work sessions and conversations added up to harassment, even though they weren't aimed directly at her or other women in the room.
Her suit, which also alleges demeaning remarks were made about blacks and constitute racial harassment, names "Friends" producers Warner Bros. Television Productions and Bright Kauffman Crane Productions, as well as writers Adam Chase, Greg Malins and Andrew Reich. (Warner Bros. Television Producers is a unit of Time Warner, as is CNN.)
Lyle worked for four months in 1999 before she was told she was a poor typist and fired. But Lyle, who is black, claims she was let go after pressing for black characters on the sexually charged NBC comedy about six pals in New York. It ended a successful 10-year run last season.
Her suit has galvanized the entertainment industry and news organizations, who argue it could imperil professional freedom of speech. Lyle supporters say workplace anti-discrimination laws will be undermined if the defense prevails.
Recovering from a mild stroke in the hospital, TV personality Dick Clark, will be hosting ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005" from his hospital bed on December 31.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to be in the studio." Stated Dick Clark, "However, we are building a studio right around my bed. We will have dancers all around me. There will be really nice lights installed on top of my bed and we will have 3 cameras in the room. A big apple will be dropped on top of my head at midnight! All in all I think it is going to be a great night full of excitement."
Hustler Magazine has laid bare the history of closeted gay Rep. David Dreier (R-CA).
The issue, dated for February, includes an article chronicling the rise and seeming fall of the House Republicans’ shining star David Timothy Dreier, a 52-year-old Californian legislator whose gay life was laid bare earlier this summer by RAW STORY and blogACTIVE.com, then picked up by LA Weekly. Dreier was targeted because he had repeatedly voted against gay rights measures (Dreier has a 17 percent vote rating from the Human Rights Campaign, and a 92 percent rating from the Christian Coalition), all the while keeping his alleged male partner on his office payroll.
Titled “CONGRESSMAN DAVID DREIER: GAY & ASHAMED,” the piece offers a handful of new details not previously reported, including a charge that high-level California Republicans have been aware of (and sanctioned) Dreier’s gay lifestyle for many years.
By ALLAN TURNER--Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle. There's not much laughter today at the home of a Pasadena information technology specialist who has decided to auction off his sons' Christmas presents — and possibly dismantle the family tree — because the youngsters, ages 9, 11 and 15, have been naughty, not nice.
'Twas the week before Christmas, and chaos did reign. The kiddies were squabbling. Oh, what a pain! Their language was shocking, their demeanor obscene. But to correct them was useless, you know what I mean?
"One thing we teach around this house," said the man, who asked that his name not be revealed, "is that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people."
In a Christmas context, bad people get switches or lumps of coal — or lose the presents they want the most.
"BAD CHILDREN get no Nintendo DS. Santa will skip our house this year," the man announced in his eBay posting to sell three DS systems with PictoChat and Metroid. Also offered were three games for use with the system. "No kidding. Three undeserving boys have crossed the line. Tonight we sat down and showed them what they WILL NOT get for Christmas this year. I'll be taking the tree down tomorrow."
As the auction wound down Thursday night, bidding was up to $465.01 — below the minimum price the man had set. Across the eBay site, 1,552 others were selling Nintendo DS items.
"If you don't buy them, we'll return them to the store," the seller known online as magumbo_2000 reported on the site.
The man would not divulge his reserve price, saying late Thursday that he would probably list the items again.
"These are normally really good kids," he said. But in a single day, he added, the boys fought one another, used vulgar language and gestured obscenely. The family discord has been in progress for about two weeks, said the man, attributing it, in part, to the laxness of previous discipline.
"It seems like we'd say what we were going to do, then bend and back off a little," the father, 41, said. "We'd ground them for a week, but they'd really be grounded for three days; we'd take away video games, but they would still watch television. ... It decayed to the point that groundings don't work, putting them in their room, timeouts don't have any effect."
John Picciano, Kerik's Former Chief of Staff Leaves Giuliani Partners
The fallout from the Bernard Kerik melt down has burned one of the former NYPD boss' aides.
John Picciano, Kerik's former chief of staff in city government, is leaving Giuliani Partners on the heels of Kerik's resignation, company officials said.
Picciano is "leaving on his own volition, and he leaves on good relations with us and we wish him the very best," said Giuliani Partners spokeswoman Sunny Mindel.
A man alleged to have kidnapped a two-year-old girl before roasting her on a fire and eating her because he was starving has been arrested by police in India.
The gruesome incident took place in a jungle hamlet in the Nellore district in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh about a week ago, a police officer said, and came to light after the 42-year-old man was later discovered gorging on a buffalo carcass.
"He was caught and handed over to us by villagers who found it strange that he was eating such a large animal with his bare hands with flourish," the officer told Reuters. The man was arrested on Wednesday.
Parents of the missing girl, who lived in a neighbouring village, feared the worst when they heard of the incident and went to the area where the man was caught.
Their fears were confirmed when they found the girl's head, a limb, some jewellery and clothes strewn near the site.
If convicted of murder, the man faces the death penalty or a life in prison.
Mandatory Tolerance Training Faces Parental Objection
SUMMIT, Ky. -- A civil rights advocacy group is monitoring an eastern Kentucky school system to see if students are getting anti-harrassment training.
The American Civil Liberties Union wants to ensure students at Boyd County middle and high schools are getting mandatory training under the terms of a court order, said Chris Hampton, spokeswoman for the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.
The order was part of a February settlement of a lawsuit against the district by a gay-awareness club at Boyd County High School.
Some parents have said they will take their children out of school on the day of the training.
The worst consequence for students who don't go to school for the training would be an unexcused absence, Superintendent Bill Capehart said.
There is no specific number of absences that would trigger action by the ACLU, Hampton said, but added that the district should have some mechanism for makeup sessions.
Teachers and staff throughout the district took anti-harassment training Monday and Tuesday.
Students first petitioned to form a club at Boyd County High School in October 2002, saying that gay students at the high school had been subjected to threats and harassment and the club was needed to foster tolerance and understanding.
The school district denied their request and the Gay-Straight Alliance filed suit. The group accused the district of violating the constitutional rights of its members by denying them the privilege to meet.
Part of the settlement also required the board to allow the students to meet.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Former police commissioner and one-time Cabinet nominee Bernard Kerik said Wednesday he will leave Giuliani Partners, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's consulting firm.
At a news conference in Manhattan, Kerik said he had apologized to Giuliani for being a distraction because of his messy withdrawal as a candidate to head the Department of Homeland Security.
Kerik had been CEO of Giuliani-Kerik LLC, an affiliate of Giuliani Partners LLC. In a statement Wednesday, Giuliani said Giuliani-Kerik would be renamed Giuliani Security & Safety.
Kerik said he told Giuliani his resignation would be effective immediately. He said he would seek other unspecified business opportunities, and did not take questions from reporters.
President Bush tapped Kerik, 49, earlier this month as his nominee for homeland security secretary, but Kerik abruptly withdrew his name December 10 after revealing that he had not paid all required taxes for a family nanny-housekeeper and that the woman may have been in the country illegally.
He has been hit with other allegations as well, including that he had connections with people suspected of doing business with the mob and that he had simultaneous extramarital affairs with two women, Judith Regan, the publisher of his recent memoir, and a city correction officer.
Kerik's nomination became a political embarrassment for Giuliani, a rising star in the GOP who had recommended his friend and business partner to Bush.
After leaving the police department in 2002, Kerik joined Giuliani Partners, becoming a security consultant and then signing on to help launch the Iraqi police force.
Giuliani Partners has advised business and government agencies on security, leadership and other issues. The consulting firm advised Trinidad in its battle against a rise in kidnappings and murders and was paid $4.3 million by Mexico City officials for advice on reducing crime there.
National Identity Card: Brit Approve, Will America Follow?
Government plans for national identity cards were approved by the Commons last night despite more than a quarter of MPs not voting.
Although Conservative and Labour rebels failed to derail the Identity Cards Bill, they provoked a highly embarrassing mass abstention.
The Bill was given a second reading by 385 votes to 93, a Government majority of 292, indicating that dozens of Labour and Tory backbenchers abstained.
Of a total voting strength of 651, 173 MPs were absent or decided not to vote on one of the Government's flagship measures proposing the biggest changes to individual liberties for 50 years.
A wrecking amendment proposed by Tory and Labour rebels seeking to deny the Bill a second reading was rejected by 306 to 93, a Government majority of 213.
The revolt was a blow both for Tony Blair and Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, who backed the legislation despite the misgivings of many of his MPs.
Charles Clarke, the new Home Secretary, who inherited the plans from David Blunkett, said they would help tackle terrorism, fraud and trafficking in people, as well as making life easier for millions of people.
At one stage Bill Cash (C, Stone) brandished a copy of George Orwell's novel 1984 at the Home Secretary, challenging him to repudiate claims that the measure would effect a "sea change" in the relationship between state and individual.
WHITEWASHING HISTORY Letter to principal of a school using booklet whitewashing slavery
By John Steinberg | RAW STORY COLUMNIST
Larry Stephenson Principal Cary Christian School Cary, North Carolina Dear Mr. Stephenson:
I read a story on the net a few days ago about how you are using some unusual and controversial source material in the 623-student Cary Christian School you run for students from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. The 43-page booklet that put you into the national spotlight is called "Southern Slavery as it Was." Based upon the quotes I saw, it is a startling revisionist polemic for the proposition that slavery was no more offensive than a ride on "Pirates of the Caribbean" at Disneyland.
Here are some excerpts from the booklet:
"Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character, it was a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence." (page 24)
"There has never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world." (page 24)
"Slave life was to them a life of plenty, of simple pleasures, of food, clothes, and good medical care." (page 25)
"But many Southern blacks supported the South because of long established bonds of affection and trust that had been forged over generations with their white masters and friends." (page 27)
"Nearly every slave in the South enjoyed a higher standard of living than the poor whites of the South—and had a much easier existence." (page 30)
I certainly applaud your efforts to get your students to think for themselves, and to present more than one side to an issue. Teaching children how to deconstruct specious reasoning and encouraging them to challenge unsubstantiated opinions presented as facts is the most important thing you could possibly teach them. Christian schools have a bad rap for that failing to do that sort of thing, you know. And I think it is fine to dare your students to be outraged and to refute what they are taught—essential even.
You were quoted as saying that "A student may be assigned an opinion they may not agree with, so they will understand both sides." I couldn't agree more, sir. The way to create intellectually curious citizens who have the tools to challenge simplistic pabulum from their teachers, their church or their government is to expose them to a wide range of opinions and ideas, including those we may disagree with.
So I assume that when you teach your elementary school kids about families, you assign them "Heather Has Two Mommies;" that when you teach them the Genesis story that you also have them read "Darwin and Evolution for Kids;" that when you preach abstinence to your junior high and high schoolers that you also give them a copy of Ruth Westheimer's "Sex for Dummies;" that when you teach them how the American West was won, you also have them read "Trail of Tears;" and perhaps most importantly, that when you present the Bible as literal truth, you have them read "Atheist Universe: Why God Didn't Have A Thing To Do With It."
Mr. Stephenson, if you do these things, and truly teach your charges to think for themselves, you have my highest admiration, and I thank you for not fitting the stereotype I would have blindly applied to you. If you are giving your kids the kind of (dare I say it) “liberal” education that flows from your stated commitment to multiple viewpoints and the application of reason to opinion, you are a model of excellence in your field.
If, on the other hand, you would fire on the spot any teacher who dared to bring such blasphemy into your school, then it is hard to escape the conclusion that you are indeed the kind of hypocritical, white sheet-wearing racist asshole I would have guessed you are, and I am sad there isn't really a hell for you to rot in.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bernard Kerik's nanny problem might have proved the least of his troubles if he had pressed ahead with his bid to become homeland security secretary.
The past few days have seen news reports about a rash of possible personal and professional improprieties on the part of the former New York City police commissioner, including big stock-option windfalls, connections with people suspected of doing business with the mob, and, on Monday, allegations he had simultaneous extramarital affairs with two women.
Citing unidentified sources, the New York Daily News said Kerik had overlapping affairs with Judith Regan, the publisher of his recent memoir, and a city correction officer.
He used the same New York City apartment for liaisons with the women during his 18-month tenure as head of the nation's largest police department ending in 2001, the paper said.
Kerik, 49, who married his current wife in 1998 and has two children with her, apparently grew close to Regan while writing his book, "The Lost Son," in which he described being abandoned by his prostitute mother.
Is "Christian Porn" An Antidote to Budding Porn Habits? When a young man's secret fascination with online porn sites was discovered by his mother, he decided it was time to check out another triple-X Web site, www.xxxchurch.com. The Web site, created by Mike Foster and Craig Gross, two California youth ministers who have vowed to help online porn fans find new hobbies, offers advice to those seeking assistance in breaking their online porn habit.
The ministers say they created the site and their mobile porn-fighting machine, "the Porn Mobile," because they feel it's their duty as Christians.
'Not What God Has Intended' "We believe also that it's not what God has intended for us," Gross, 28, said on ABC News' "Good Morning America." "Pornography is accessible to kids, whether through a magazine or the Internet, but with the rise of Internet pornography, American homes have a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week porn pipeline coming in. And those most affected by that are young people."
Youth ministers Mike Foster, left, and Craig Gross say they don't want teens to get sucked into the world of online porn. (ABCNEWS.com)
By Georg F. Wills-WASHINGTON-Some liberals simply cannot control their insuppressible reflex to look down their upturned noses at the American electorate. Writing in The American Prospect, a liberal monthly of which he is co-editor, Robert Kuttner, in a thoughtful analysis of Democrats' difficulties developing a distinctive values vocabulary, argues that "when Democrats fail to articulate pocketbook issues as values, class resentments become cultural ones," and Republicans prosper. Then, in his penultimate paragraph, his own cultural resentments against the American majority, as he imagines it, drive him into a ditch:
"Bill Clinton won election by declaring, as a matter of values, that people who work hard and play by the rules should not be poor. Middle America forgave him for treating gays as people."
Gonzales' Step-Son Working for Larry Flynt's Hustler Magazine Until Last Month. By John in DC. Who'd have thought that Alberto Gonzales and Larry Flynt had something in common?! UP UNTIL LAST MONTH, Gonzales' step-son was working for Hustler magazine, when he abruptly quit after step-daddy Alberto asked him to. Why? Because Gonzales was being nominated to be the next Attorney General, fighting porn, that kind of thing. Wouldn't be very nice to have Alberto covering up boobies of statues while his son was helping disseminate nude boobies across America.
Apparently the religious right isn't very thrilled about this, nor should they be. Gonzales apparently only JUST asked his son to quit working for Hustler last month. That suggests he was okay with boobies until he got the nomination. Wonder if Gonzales will now be soft on Hustler (no pun intended) if he gets the AG job? Will Flynt try to use his Gonzales connection to help soften the blow from any anti-porn policies the administration puts out? Ah, family values hypocrites, how we love you.
By DONNA DE LA CRUZ, WASHINGTON (AP)--The White House renewed its search for a homeland security chief Saturday as the candidate President Bush thought ideal apologized for an immigration problem involving a family housekeeper that forced him to withdraw. "I owe the president ... a great apology that this may have caused him and his administration a big distraction," Bernard Kerik said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Speaking from his home in Franklin Lakes, N.J., the 49-year-old Kerik said he had discovered a few days ago that he did not pay all required taxes for a family nanny-housekeeper and that the woman may have been in the country illegally.
The surprise withdrawal by the former New York City police commissioner sent Bush back in search of a nominee to head the sprawling Department of Homeland Security, which was created after Sept. 11, 2001, to improve coordination and protection against future terrorist attacks.
On Saturday, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has been mentioned as a possible choice, expressed no interest in the job. "I am not a candidate," he told reporters in New York.
One Blogger Comments: "Is there something else in this guy's past that the Bush Administration does not want brought to light?"
What do you think? Should Unpaid taxes for his nanny have stopped Kerik?
BIDEN JUMPS INTO P2008 RACE. US Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) -- the ranking Dem on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- essentially announced his candidacy for President in 2008 during a Thursday appearance on MSNBC's Imus in the Morning show. When asked if he planned to enter the 2008 White House race, Biden quickly answered: "I'm going to proceed as if I'm going to run ... Here's the bottom line for me: Two years from now I've got to make a hard decision. I don't want to do this for the exercise. I'm pretty certain about what I think needs to be done. I'm not sure the country's where I am ... I'm not in any position at this stage in the game to compromise what I think needs to be done." Biden's first bid for President -- a disastrous run in 1988 -- ended before the first primary under the weight of allegations that he plagiarized some material in his campaign speeches (including biographical segments) from other politicians.
Kathryn Harris to Start US Senate Race as Heavy Favorite
FLORIDA: A new Strategic Vision poll showsthat Congresswoman Kathryn Harris would start the US Senate race as a heavy favorite to capture the GOP nomination. However, the same poll also has her trailing incumbent US Senator Bill Nelson (D) by 11-points in a general election match-up. Nelson also led every other potential GOP candidate, but by narrower margins than his lead over Harris. The same poll also shows that each of the three most likely GOP candidates for Governor would hold wide leads over any of the current Democratic hopefuls for this open seat.
Supreme Court Allows Church Use of Hallucinogenic Tea
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court sided Friday with a New Mexico church that wants to use hallucinogenic tea as part of its Christmas services, despite government objections that the tea is illegal and potentially dangerous.
The high court lifted a temporary stay issued last week against using the hoasca tea while it decides whether the Brazil-based O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal is permitted to make it a permanent part of its services.
The legal battle began after federal agents seized 30 gallons of the tea in a 1999 raid on the Santa Fe home of the church's U.S. president, Jeffrey Bronfman.
The tea is brewed from plants found in the Amazon River Basin and contains DMT, which officials say is a controlled substance under an international treaty.
However, Bronfman's complaint contends the tea is "non-addictive, is not harmful to human health and poses none of the risks commonly found with the use of certain controlled substances."
Bronfman sued the government for the right to use the tea and the church won a preliminary injunction, which was upheld by 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. The Bush administration then took the case to the Supreme Court.
"They're delighted," attorney Nancy Hollander said of the church members she represented. "They're so thrilled that they can celebrate Christmas for the first time since 1998."
Bronfman and attorneys for the government did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The church, which has about 140 members in the United States and 8,000 worldwide, said the herbal brew is a central sacrament in its religious practice, which is a blend of Christian beliefs and traditions rooted in the Amazon basin.
Hollander said the tea is drunk in a ritual similar to the Catholic Communion. Church members then sit in a circle and meditate; they believe the tea brings them closer to God.
The church had drawn parallels to federal protection for members of the Native American Church using peyote, which also has hallucinogenic properties.
By SUSANNA LOOF, Associated Press Writer. VIENNA, Austria - Dioxin poisoning caused the mysterious illness of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, a doctor said Saturday, adding that the poison could have been put in his soup.
Yushchenko is now in satisfactory condition and dioxin levels in his liver have returned to normal, Dr. Michael Zimpfer, director of Vienna's private Rudolfinerhaus clinic, said at a news conference.
A series of tests run over the past 24 hours provided conclusive evidence of the poisoning, Zimpfer said.
"There is no doubt about the fact that Mr. Yushchenko's disease — especially following the results of the blood work — has been caused by a case of poisoning by dioxin," Zimpfer said.
The 50-year-old opposition leader first fell ill in September and was rushed to the Vienna hospital. He resumed campaigning later in the month but his mysterious illness had left his face pockmarked and ashen.
Yushchcenko also suffered back pain, acute pancreatitis and nerve paralysis on the left side of his face.
He has accused Ukrainian authorities of trying to poison him ahead of Ukraine's presidential vote — an allegation they have denied.
"We suspect involvement of an external party, but we cannot answer as to who cooked what or who was with him while he ate," Zimpfer said, adding that tests showed the dioxin was taken orally.
Zimpfer said Yushchenko's blood and tissue registered concentrations of dioxin — one of the most toxic chemicals — that were 1,000 times above normal levels.
"It would be quite easy to administer this amount in a soup," Zimpfer said.
Blood tests have been run on Yushchenko before, but this time the hospital sent the samples to a hospital in Amsterdam which is using a new analysis method that could test it for dioxin, Dr. Nikolai Korpan said.
Korpan added that no functional damage would remain and Yushchenko was "fully capable of working."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The wife of Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko said Friday she tasted medicine on his lips when she kissed him, and blamed the poisoning for disfiguring her husband's face.
"I thought there was something different about my husband when he came home that night -- because he has never taken any medicine, he's a very healthy man," Kateryna Yushchenko said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
"And I tasted some medicine on his breath, on his lips. And I asked him about it, he brushed it away, saying there is nothing."
She said the next day her husband became ill and eventually was rushed to a hospital.
"We were told that if we had only waited a few hours, we might have lost him," Kateryna Yushchenko said. She did not specify when the incident occurred.
Viktor Yushchenko fell ill in September while on the presidential campaign trail and was flown to Austria for treatment. He later accused the authorities of trying to kill him with poison.
Speaking from Kiev, the Chicago-born Kateryna Yushchenko said her husband's facial disfigurement increased over a period of weeks.
"It started slowly because obviously poison hits different parts of your body at different times, but it's been coming out more and more," she said.
"But doctors assure us that when the poison goes away, his face will return to the way it looked before. My husband was known as a very handsome man and I know he'll look the same."
Asked about who might have poisoned her husband, she replied, "My husband has said it's basically the people in power, the people who don't want the system to change."
Moscow-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich was declared the winner in the Ukrainian contest's November 21 runoff, sparking street protests in support of Yushchenko and accusations the government rigged the election against him.
Ukraine's Supreme Court later annulled the result on grounds of mass fraud and called a rerun of the vote for December 26.
Brookfield Zoo Holds Wake for Babs, the Beloved Gorilla
Gorillas behave much Like You or I At Wake for Loved One: "Bana, daughter of the deceased, sat down, held Babs' hand and stroked her mother's stomach. Then she sat down and laid her head on Babs' arm."
BROOKFIELD, Illinois (AP) -- After Babs the gorilla died at age 30, keepers at Brookfield Zoo decided to allow surviving gorillas to mourn the most influential female in their social family.
One by one Tuesday, the gorillas filed into the Tropic World building where Babs' body lay, arms outstretched. Curator Melinda Pruett Jones called it a "gorilla wake."
Babs' 9-year-old daughter, Bana, was the first to approach the body, followed by Babs' mother, Alpha, 43. Bana sat down, held Babs' hand and stroked her mother's stomach. Then she sat down and laid her head on Babs' arm. Babs suffered from an incurable kidney condition.
"It was like they used to do in the exhibit, lying side by side on the mountain," keeper Betty Green said. "Then Bana rose up and looked at us and moved to Babs' other side, tucked her head under the other arm, and stroked Babs' stomach."
Other gorillas also approached Babs and gently sniffed the body. Only the silverback male leader, Ramar, 36, stayed away.
Keepers said the display wasn't surprising.
"She was the dominant female of the group, the peacekeeper, the disciplinarian, the one who kept things in a harmonious state," Pruett Jones said.
Martha Stewart plans daytime, entertaining-at-home talk show, due fall 2005.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Three months ago Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia hired star TV producer Mark Burnett and charged him with two tasks: to revive a homemaking show featuring Stewart that had been canceled, and to develop a prime time program starring the queen of domesticity.
Burnett, the brains behind recent hits like "The Apprentice" and "Survivor," came through with half his mandate Wednesday.
Martha Stewart Living announced that a one-hour daily syndicated TV show will be broadcast on NBC starting next fall. The show will be taped live with a studio audience and will focus on consumer lifestyles.
Celebrity guests will help Stewart discuss new cooking and entertaining ideas. The format is similar to the "Martha Stewart Living" daily syndicated show that went on hiatus earlier this year, with a key exception: Stewart will interact with the audience.
From: frcpub@frc.org ------------------------- ------------------------- -------------Tony Perkins' Washington Update; The Family Research Council December 7, 2004 The World Unites to Support the Family Yesterday, the United Nations General Assembly (G.A.) observed the final event of the International Year of the Family. At preliminary conferences that took place throughout the world this year, nations affirmed foundational principles of human rights: marriage is the foundation of families, families are the foundation of societies, and the role of government is to protect and support families. Yesterday, representatives of many nations took the floor to affirm these principles, including the United States' assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Wade Horn, who noted that "the state's foremost obligation is to respect, defend, and protect the family."
The only dissent came from the European Union, which tried to use the occasion to advance various anti-family measures, including homosexual "marriage." However, that extremism was rejected by the rest of the world, which affirmed that marriage and the family form the base upon which every human society has always been built. FRC Senior Fellow William Saunders, who has been deeply involved in efforts throughout the year to promote, protect, and defend the family, was present at the G.A. for the historic vote. He noted, "This is a great day for the family, for men, for women, and for children. The world is united, at least on this one point: the family founded upon marriage is the bedrock of a healthy society. Government's role is to help create conditions which lead to the formation and the sustenance of healthy families. The reaffirmation of the original international consensus on these points gives us hope that the UN's observation of the International Year of the Family, rather than being a mere formality, marks the beginning of a united international effort on behalf of the family." Additional Resources
Reid Slanders Clarence Thomas Yesterday we did our best to give Harry Reid, the new incoming Senate Minority Leader, the benefit of the doubt relative to life issues. We still want to hope that he will bring more reasoned leadership to the Senate than his predecessor, Tom Daschle. We cannot, however, ignore Reid's comment about Clarence Thomas being an embarrassment to the Supreme Court. This statement is outrageous, disrespectful, and inaccurate. It is pure arrogance for Senator Reid to call into question Thomas's work on the Court. From the day he was nominated, Justice Thomas has been a target of the liberal establishment, yet he has performed his job with great dignity. He has been a quiet force that cannot be ignored, and he is respected by legal scholars from both the left and the right. His life story is one of rising above poverty and racial discrimination, all the way to the Supreme Court. One wonders why Sen. Reid would choose to be so unkind to one of the most powerful African-Americans of our generation.
Endowed By Our Creator With Unalienable Rights A teacher in Cupertino, Calif., has been barred from using historical documents in his classroom that refer to God--including the writings of Founding Fathers such as William Penn and Samuel Adams. This class cannot even read the Declaration of Independence on school time. Stephen Williams, who teaches fifth grade at Stevens Creek Elementary School, was reprimanded by his principal, who claimed that the historical documents were of a religious nature and accused Williams of trying to push his religious views on his students. This misguided attempt by public school administrators to prevent students from learning the role of religious faith in the founding of our country is downright wrong. The Founding Fathers' writings are replete with references to God, the Bible, and to the Christian faith. If students are not informed about what motivated the great principles upon which our country was built, schools have failed in the basic task of preparing educated citizens. The plight of Stephen Williams shows that modern revisionists would like to forget that we are truly one nation under God and move to redact God out of our history.
Additional Resources Quotes on America's Independence by the Founding Fathers
Tony Perkins' Washington Update Family Research Council 801 G Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 Order Line: 1-800-225-4008; Phone: 202-393-2100; Fax: 202-393-2134
Cat Awarded MBA HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) -- The Pennsylvania attorney general's office Monday sued an online university for allegedly selling bogus academic degrees -- including an MBA awarded to a cat.
Trinity Southern University in Texas, a cellular company and the two brothers who ran them are accused of misappropriating Internet addresses of the state Senate and more than 60 Pennsylvania businesses to sell fake degrees and prescription drugs by spam e-mail, according to the lawsuit.
Investigators paid $299 for a bachelor's degree for Colby Nolan -- a deputy attorney general's 6-year-old black cat -- claiming he had experience including baby-sitting and retail management.
The school, which offers no classes, allegedly determined Colby Nolan's resume entitled him to a master of business administration degree; a transcript listed the cat's course work and 3.5 grade-point average.
The state is seeking a permanent injunction, civil penalties, costs and restitution for violating consumer law and restrictions on unsolicited e-mail ads.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Hamid Karzai was sworn in Tuesday as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president, opening a new chapter for the impoverished country while warning that the wars against terrorism and drugs will require sustained international help.
A smiling Karzai, wearing a traditional green robe and a black lambskin hat, received a standing ovation on his arrival. Vice President Dick Cheney, the highest-ranking American official to visit Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, was among the 600 guests.
After the Afghan national anthem reverberated around a restored hall of the war-damaged former royal palace, Karzai placed his right hand on a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book. He repeated an oath of allegiance read to him by Afghanistan's white-bearded chief justice, Fazl Hadi Shinwari.
Karzai then swore in his two deputies, Ahmad Zia Massood and Karim Khalili, members of the country's two largest ethnic minorities.
My 5 year old son believes the ghost of my father haunts our house (which was once my fathers house) My son knows I sell on ebay and asked me to put my dads ghost up for auction. Since he wants to make sure someone gets the ghost he wants me to put his cane up so he goes with it.
Ever since my father died my 5 year old son has been afraid to go anywhere in the house alone whether it be day or night! I always thought it was just normal kid fears until a few months ago he told me why he was so scared. He told me "Grandpa died here, and he was mean. His ghost is still around here!" He then brought up the couple of times my dad tapped him with his cane and how mean his grandpa looked when he yelled at him. so up for auction is my dad's ghost along with his cane he used for getting around and hurt my 5 year olds feelings with. Here's the story: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&" title="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&" target="_blank"http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayIS...;category=19270&item= 5539709069&rd=1
SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is becoming the latest company aiming to bring blogging to the masses with a free new tool that lets people easily set up Web journals.
MSN Spaces, which debuts in test form Thursday, is targeted at home users who want to share things like vacation pictures, text journals or a list of favorite songs. The service, free to anyone with a Hotmail e-mail or MSN Messenger account, is part of Microsoft's effort to keep people in a Microsoft-branded universe for all their online communication needs.
MSN Spaces will be supported by banner ads that appear at the top of the Web logs.
Plenty of other companies already offer tools to make it easy for less tech-savvy users to create and maintain blogs, the popular Web logs that track everything from workday antics to political gossip.
Microsoft rival AOL has provided its members with a tool since mid-2003, and search engine leader Google Inc. -- another key Microsoft competitor -- offers a free service through its Blogger.com site. Movable Type offers the popular TypePad service, starting at $4.95 a month
Microsoft previously offered a service, called MSN Groups, which let people create their own Web sites. But this is the first time it is turning its attention to the growing blogging phenomenon.
Michael Gartenberg, research director with Jupiter Research, said he thinks Microsoft has learned from where it initially missed the boat on some technologies, such as Web search, that it's important to offer consumers these products early, or risk losing them to rival services.
Although Microsoft is trailing Google and AOL, Gartenberg said it's not too late since blogging is only just catching on with mainstream users.
Microsoft is closely integrating MSN Spaces with its Messenger and Hotmail programs, with the idea that people will hop from one Microsoft product to another for online communications.
For example, users can set up a system that alerts friends on MSN Messenger when they have updated their Web journals. If a blogger chooses to limit access to his or her Web journal to a select group of guests, those people will need to use Microsoft's "Passport" to log in. The most common way to get a Passport login is to sign up for a Hotmail or Messenger account.
Users can update their MSN Spaces from the Web or remotely via e-mail or cell phone. AOL lets you update via its instant messenger.
Microsoft also is more closely integrating some of its other products with its online communication tools, stepping up its competition with companies ranging from Apple Computer Inc. to Google.
The MSN Spaces tool that lets a user create a favorite music list will automatically link to Microsoft's MSN Music site, where Microsoft is hoping to build a business selling songs online. Blake Irving, a Microsoft corporate vice president in charge of MSN's communications efforts, said the company has no plans to give users the option of linking their music lists to another service, such as Apple's iTunes.
An update to MSN Messenger, also debuting in test from Thursday, will add Microsoft's MSN search bar to the messenger screen. Users also will be able to highlight and click on a group of words in an instant message to search the Web.
Microsoft is testing its own search engine to better compete with Google. Its MSN search currently uses Yahoo Inc. technology.
Other MSN Messenger updates will make it easier to send instant messages over the Web, even if the computer the person is using doesn't have Messenger installed, and add more sophisticated graphic messages called "winks."
The final version of MSN Spaces is expected by next June. For now, Irving said the company plans to keep MSN Spaces as a free service, but he wouldn't rule out the idea of creating a paid, premium blog service down the road.
New Leukemia Pill Put 86% of Patients Into Remission
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A next-generation leukemia pill designed to help patients not cured by the successful drug Gleevec works even better than doctors had hoped, researchers said Sunday. & nbsp; The new drug, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb put 86 percent of patients who tried it into remission -- meaning signs of their cancer disappeared, the researchers said.Although this was only a Phase I trial meant to show the drug was safe, the effects were dramatic, the doctors told a meeting in San Diego of the American Society of Hematology. & nbsp; "Certainly it is wonderful. It will save lives," said Dr. Alan Kinniburgh, senior vice president of research for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which helped sponsor the study. & nbsp; Rumors of the new drug's success have been leaking for months because cancer experts are so excited by the results. Oncologists hope the approach may work in many other cancers, too. & nbsp; The new drug is being tested in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, which affects about 4,400 Americans a year and 10,000 people around the world. & nbsp; The drug is known by its experimental name BMS-354825. During the trial, also financed by Bristol-Myers, 31 of 36 patients with advanced CML who had not been helped by Gleevec had a complete hematologic response, meaning their bodies stopped producing leukemia cells. & nbsp; This translates to an 86 percent remission rate, said Dr. Charles Sawyers, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of California Los Angeles who is helping test the drug. & nbsp; Gleevec, made by Swiss drug company Novartis, targets an enzyme called BCR-ABL that leukemia cells use to proliferate. It attaches to the cancerous cells and stops them from growing and spreading.
Targeted cancer pill
Sold in Europe under the name Glivec, it was the first "targeted" cancer drug. It made headlines when it was approved in 2001 because never before had a simple pill shown such dramatic effects in cancer. & nbsp; Later Sunday Novartis will report on its new compound AMN107, dubbed "super Glivec", also designed to overcome the weaknesses in Gleevec. & nbsp; Gleevec, or imatinib, is Novartis's second-biggest product, with sales in the first nine months of this year of $1.1 billion. But in a few patients, perhaps 12 percent, the cancer cells mutate just enough to slip out of Gleevec's grip. The cancer comes back. & nbsp; So some of the researchers who worked on Gleevec teamed with Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop the new pill, which is less picky about how it grabs onto a cancer cell to deactivate it. & nbsp; The Bristol-Myers drug affects a different enzyme called SRC, pronounced "sark". & nbsp; "It is definitely not Gleevec," Sawyers said in a telephone interview. "It's not Gleevec 2. It has a completely different chemical structure." & nbsp; Sawyers said he and colleagues worried that there could be unforeseen side-effects in patients, as no one had ever tested a SRC inhibitor in people. But so far it seems safe, he said. & nbsp; There are more than 17 known mutations in leukemia cells that allow the cancer to evade Gleevec's effects, but most of them seem to be susceptible to BMS-354825, Sawyers said. & nbsp; One mutation, known as T315I, resists both Gleevec and the Bristol drug. "That mutation will likely require a different drug, and researchers are working on that now," said Sawyers. & nbsp; Kinniburgh said it is likely that the new pills will be used in combination, like old-fashioned chemotherapy. & nbsp; "I know of no cancer where one single drug has ever cured the cancer," he said.
HOBART, Indiana (AP) -- A woman's effort to assuage her 6-year-old son's fears of his grandfather's ghost by selling it on eBay has drawn more than 34 bids with a top offer of $78.
Mary Anderson said she placed her father's "ghost" on the online auction site after her son, Collin, said he was afraid the ghost would return someday. Anderson said Collin has avoided going anywhere in the house alone since his grandfather died last year.
In a description titled "This isn't a joke," Anderson told Collin's story on eBay:
"I always thought it was just normal kid fears until a few months ago he told me why he was so scared. He told me 'Grandpa died here, and he was mean. His ghost is still around here!"'
Lest the boy's fears scare off potential bidders, Anderson added, "My dad was the sweetest most caring man you'd ever meet."
Some of the prospective buyers have posted their own messages.
"Your story brought tears to my eyes," one bidder said. "I just wonder how this will turn out for your son. I'm sure his Grandfather loved him very much."
Anderson also put her father's metal walking cane up for auction so she would have something to actually send the winning bidder. The proceeds from the auction will go to buy Collin a special present, she said.
Anderson makes one special request of the winner bidder: "I would like to ask you to write a letter after you've received the cane (and the ghost) to my son letting him know that he's there with you and you're getting along great."
HOBART, Indiana (AP) -- A woman's effort to assuage her 6-year-old son's fears of his grandfather's ghost by selling it on eBay has drawn more than 34 bids with a top offer of $78.
Mary Anderson said she placed her father's "ghost" on the online auction site after her son, Collin, said he was afraid the ghost would return someday. Anderson said Collin has avoided going anywhere in the house alone since his grandfather died last year.
In a description titled "This isn't a joke," Anderson told Collin's story on eBay:
"I always thought it was just normal kid fears until a few months ago he told me why he was so scared. He told me 'Grandpa died here, and he was mean. His ghost is still around here!"'
Lest the boy's fears scare off potential bidders, Anderson added, "My dad was the sweetest most caring man you'd ever meet."
Some of the prospective buyers have posted their own messages.
"Your story brought tears to my eyes," one bidder said. "I just wonder how this will turn out for your son. I'm sure his Grandfather loved him very much."
Anderson also put her father's metal walking cane up for auction so she would have something to actually send the winning bidder. The proceeds from the auction will go to buy Collin a special present, she said.
Anderson makes one special request of the winner bidder: "I would like to ask you to write a letter after you've received the cane (and the ghost) to my son letting him know that he's there with you and you're getting along great."
NAPLES - A teenager is the third person in Florida this month to die after being zapped with a Taser, the Associated Press reports via the Miami Herald.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Former police commissioner and one-time Cabinet nominee Bernard Kerik said Wednesday he will leave Giuliani Partners, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's consulting firm.
Apparently the religious right isn't very thrilled about this, nor should they be. Gonzales apparently only JUST asked his son to quit working for Hustler last month. That suggests he was okay with boobies until he got the nomination. Wonder if Gonzales will now be soft on Hustler (no pun intended) if he gets the AG job? Will Flynt try to use his Gonzales connection to help soften the blow from any anti-porn policies the administration puts out?
BIDEN JUMPS INTO P2008 RACE. US Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) -- the ranking Dem on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- essentially announced his candidacy for President in 2008 during a Thursday appearance on MSNBC's Imus in the Morning show. When asked if he planned to enter the 2008 White House race, Biden quickly answered: "I'm going to proceed as if I'm going to run ... Here's the bottom line for me: Two years from now I've got to make a hard decision. I don't want to do this for the exercise. I'm pretty certain about what I think needs to be done. I'm not sure the country's where I am ... I'm not in any position at this stage in the game to compromise what I think needs to be done." Biden's first bid for President -- a disastrous run in 1988 -- ended before the first primary under the weight of allegations that he plagiarized some material in his campaign speeches (including biographical segments) from other politicians.
FLORIDA: A new Strategic Vision poll showsthat Congresswoman Kathryn Harris would start the US Senate race as a heavy favorite to capture the GOP nomination. However, the same poll also has her trailing incumbent US Senator Bill Nelson (D) by 11-points in a general election match-up. Nelson also led every other potential GOP candidate, but by narrower margins than his lead over Harris. The same poll also shows that each of the three most likely GOP candidates for Governor would hold wide leads over any of the current Democratic hopefuls for this open seat.
By SUSANNA LOOF, Associated Press Writer. VIENNA, Austria - Dioxin poisoning caused the mysterious illness of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, a doctor said Saturday, adding that the poison could have been put in his soup. 
BROOKFIELD, Illinois (AP) -- After Babs the gorilla died at age 30, keepers at Brookfield Zoo decided to allow surviving gorillas to mourn the most influential female in their social family.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A next-generation leukemia pill designed to help patients not cured by the successful drug Gleevec works even better than doctors had hoped, researchers said Sunday.