Penniless Jellyfish

LOS ANGELES - A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.

Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis allegedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Josh didn't exist.

Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006 after receiving cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.

Salvador Hernandez, assistant agent in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, called the case heart-rending.

"The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girl's weaknesses," Hernandez said. "Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions."

She's denied sending messages
Drew was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress on the girl.

Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Megan.

U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said this was the first time the federal statute on accessing protected computers has been used in a social-networking case. It has been used in the past to address hacking.

"This was a tragedy that did not have to happen," O'Brien said.

Both the girl and MySpace are named as victims in the case, he said.

MySpace is a subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based Fox Interactive Media Inc., which is owned by News Corp. The indictment noted that MySpace computer servers are located in Los Angeles County.

Due to juvenile privacy rules, the U.S. attorney's office said, the indictment refers to the girl as M.T.M.

FBI agents in St. Louis and Los Angeles investigated the case, Hernandez said.

Each of the four counts carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison. Drew will be arraigned in St. Louis and then moved to Los Angeles for trial.

Citing terms of MySpace service
The indictment says MySpace members agree to abide by terms of service that include, among other things, not promoting information they know to be false or misleading; soliciting personal information from anyone under age 18 and not using information gathered from the Web site to "harass, abuse or harm other people."

Drew and others who were not named conspired to violate the service terms from about September 2006 to mid-October that year, according to the indictment. It alleges they registered as a MySpace member under a phony name and used the account to obtain information on the girl.

Drew and her coconspirators "used the information obtained over the MySpace computer system to torment, harass, humiliate, and embarrass the juvenile MySpace member," the indictment charged.

After the girl killed herself, Drew and the others deleted the information for the account, the indictment said.

A joke taken too far
Last month, an employee of Drew, 19-year-old Ashley Grills, told ABC's "Good Morning America" she created the false MySpace profile but Drew wrote some of the messages to Megan.

Video   Mom speaks in MySpace hoax Jan. 9: Tina Meier, the mom of a girl who committed suicide after a MySpace hoax, speaks with TODAY show co-host Meredith Vieira. Today show

Grills also said she wrote the message to Megan about the world being a better place without her. The message was supposed to end the online relationship with "Josh" because Grills felt the joke had gone too far.

"I was trying to get her angry so she would leave him alone and I could get rid of the whole MySpace," Grills told the morning show.

Megan's death was investigated by Missouri authorities, but no state charges were filed because no laws appeared to apply to the case.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24652422/

ATLANTA - About 1 in 50 U.S. infants is a victim of nonfatal child abuse or neglect in a year, according to the first national study of the problem in that age group.

The study focused on children younger than 1 year, and found nearly a third were one week old or younger when the abuse or neglect occurred.

“It is a particularly vulnerable group,” said study co-author Rebecca Leeb, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We were struck by the fact there was a clustering of maltreatment with the very, very early age group.”

The researchers counted more than 91,000 infant victims of abuse and neglect in the period Oct. 1, 2005 to Sept. 30, 2006.

The information came from a national data base of cases verified by protective services agencies in 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Other studies have looked at national child abuse and neglect cases, but this is believed to be the first to focus on infants, said Leeb, a CDC epidemiologist.

The 91,000 infants were age 1 year or younger. About 30,000 of those cases were infants aged one week or younger. About 68 percent of those cases were attributed to neglect.

Not about rookie mistakes
Federal officials define neglect as a failure to meet a child’s basic needs including housing, clothing, feeding and access to medical care. But the counted cases did not include new parents stumbling their way through breast-feeding or making other rookie mistakes.

“Things like abandonment and newborn drug addiction would qualify as neglect, not things like parents learning how to be parents,” Leeb said.

Medical professionals identified about 65 percent of the maltreated newborns to protective services staff. The others came from law enforcement, relatives, friends, neighbors and from protective services staff.

The results mirror what a study in Canada found, Leeb said.

The CDC collaborated on the study with the federal Administration for Children and Families.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23937497/

There was something seriously wrong with McInerney to shoot that boy in the head for being asked to be King's valentine. Tolerance of all types of people should be taught in all schools along side with sex education. Make kids grasp the reality of the isolation people may feel who aren't the "norm" in our society and the reality of hate crimes. I'm glad that boy was tried as an adult, he made an adult decision and should pay the consequences. How about just saying, "I'm sorry, I'm not gay, but thanks anyway". That would have gotten the message across just as well...

There is no way the founding fathers of this country had any idea we would use this Amendment as an excuse to carry around hand guns and kill each other. When this Amendment was made, they wanted to make sure that every American had adequate protection against anyone who tried to crush our dreams of freedom. I think having guns is acceptable, certain guns. Considering that the fathers only had our best interest and safety in minds (letting citizens keep guns), what do you think the pro's are to having hand guns? None, you don't go hunting with hand guns, automatic or semi-automatic weapons. The only gun we as citizens should be allowed to have are rifles. Police should be the only ones with any other weapon. I am sure that when this Amendment was written, gangs were not having shoot outs in the streets, drug dealers weren't shooting people left and right while trying to smuggle drugs into the country and disturbed people weren't walking into Lane Bryant shooting everyone. This Amendment NEEDS to be amended.

Despite mountains of scholarly research, enough books to fill a library shelf and decades of political battles about gun control, the Supreme Court will have an opportunity this week that is almost unique for a modern court when it examines whether the District's handgun ban violates the Second Amendment.

The nine justices, none of whom has ever ruled directly on the amendment's meaning, will consider a part of the Bill of Rights that has existed without a definitive interpretation for more than 200 years.

"This may be one of the only cases in our lifetime when the Supreme Court is going to be interpreting the meaning of an important provision of the Constitution unencumbered by precedent,'' said Randy E. Barnett, a constitutional scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center. "And that's why there's so much discussion on the original meaning of the Second Amendment.''

The outcome could roil the 2008 political campaigns, send a national message about what kinds of gun control are constitutional and finally settle the question of whether the 27-word amendment, with its odd structure and antiquated punctuation, provides an individual right to gun ownership or simply pertains to militia service.

"The case has been structured so that they have to confront the threshold question," said Robert A. Levy, the wealthy libertarian lawyer who has spent five years and his own money to bring District of Columbia v. Heller to the Supreme Court. "I think they have to come to grips with that."

The stakes are obviously high for the District, which passed the nation's strictest gun-control law in 1976, just after residents were granted the authority to govern themselves. It virtually bans the private possession of handguns, and requires that rifles and shotguns in the home be kept unloaded and disassembled or outfitted with a trigger lock.

The law's challengers -- security guard Dick Anthony Heller is the named party in the suit -- say the measure has been an abysmal failure at cutting crime or stanching the city's homicide rate, and a success only in depriving the law-abiding of a ready weapon for protection. The District contends that banning handguns is a logical decision in an urban setting, where more guns would result in more killings.

The city's lawyers argue that the Second Amendment does not provide an individual right and that, even if it does, the amendment is not implicated by legislation that concerns only the District of Columbia.

Bold breaks
The case could be a revealing test of the court headed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Roberts came to the bench saying justices should decide cases as narrowly as possible, but last year he was part of a slim majority that made bold breaks with the court's jurisprudence in cases both recent and old, on issues such as school integration and abortion.

Clues to the justices' interpretations of the Second Amendment are scant and cryptic, and Roberts said during his 2005 confirmation hearings that the last time the court considered the issue -- in 1939 -- it "sidestepped" the fundamental questions.

That is part of the reason that the outcome -- not expected until near the end of the court's term in late June -- will be so intriguing, said Suzanna Sherry, a law professor at Vanderbilt University.

"It is very rare that the justices write on a clean slate," she said. "In some ways, it gives them great freedom."

Levy and lawyers Alan Gura and Clark Neily were able to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last year to do what no other federal appeals court had ever done: strike down a local gun-control ordinance on Second Amendment grounds.

The amendment says that "a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,'' and all but one of the circuits that had considered the issue previously had interpreted it as providing a gun-ownership right related only to military service.

But Senior Judge Laurence H. Silberman, a conservative icon, wrote for a 2 to 1 panel that the amendment provides an individual right just as other provisions of the Bill of Rights do. And because handguns fall under the definition of "arms," he wrote, the District may not ban them.

The Supreme Court's endorsement of an individual right would be a monumental change in federal jurisprudence, but perhaps not surprising. Even a small but growing group of liberal constitutional scholars -- "against my political instincts," in the words of Harvard law professor Laurence H. Tribe -- have endorsed the individual-right view.

But even fundamental rights are subject to government restrictions, and whether the justices are ready to decide on the reasonableness of the District's ban could be the crucial question of the case.

The city received an unlikely lifeline from the Bush administration, which told the court that the amendment provides an individual right but that the appeals court erred in deciding that the District's ban was automatically unconstitutional.

"If adopted by this court," Solicitor General Paul D. Clement wrote in the government's brief, "such an analysis could cast doubt on the constitutionality of existing federal legislation prohibiting the possession of certain firearms, including machineguns."

Clement said that the District's law may well be unconstitutional, but that the case should be returned to lower courts for "application of a proper standard of review" and to permit "Second Amendment doctrine to develop in an incremental and prudent fashion."

Gun rights supporters were furious about the government's position, and Vice President Cheney went so far as to join a friend-of-the-court brief that specifically rejects the administration's view. Levy said returning the case to lower courts would be a "death knell," and his team has urged the court to apply "strict scrutiny" to any government action that would restrict gun ownership.

'Take prohibition off the table'
Said Gura: "What we want to do is take prohibition off the table."

The case is complicated by the District's secondary argument that the Second Amendment is not implicated by legislation that applies only to the District of Columbia.

The challengers have received a broad array of political support, signs of the strength of the gun rights movement: More than 31 states and a majority of the House and Senate have signed friend-of-the-court briefs.

Among the presidential candidates, Republican Sen. John McCain signed on, while Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton did not. Both Democrats have looked for a middle ground, saying they believe the Second Amendment preserves an individual right, but one that is subject to government restrictions.

That position would seem popular. A Washington Post poll shows that 72 percent of the public believes the Constitution provides an individual right, but respondents were evenly split on whether it is more important to protect the rights of Americans to own guns or to control gun ownership.

Nearly 60 percent said they would support the kind of law in question.

But nationally, it is hard to find many laws as restrictive as the one in the District, partly because of the gun rights lobby's vigilance. More than 40 state constitutions have gun ownership guarantees. Maryland's is one of the few that does not.

As a result, it is difficult to know what gun-control legislation across the country would be at risk even if the Supreme Court upheld the D.C. Circuit's decision.

Levy said the next targets will be handgun laws in Chicago and New York City, although the court has never held that the Second Amendment is applicable to states. And one legal theory is that the provision is a restriction only against the federal government.

Both sides agree that the court's decision could send a powerful message beyond the District.

Tribe, whose support of the individual right is often cited by gun rights supporters, wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal recently that said the District's law could still be upheld and urged the court to decide the case narrowly.

But he acknowledged in an interview that the justices might "jump at the opportunity" to write broadly when they finally have a chance to put their mark "on a part of the Constitution that isn't already paved over with layer upon layer of judicial precedent."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23656329/

I think it's sad and unexcusable that things like this happen. There are ALWAYS signs that someone's going to do something like this. I bet you this kid didn't grow up in a great home, with a secure family, financially stable. He had a criminal history, was suspended from school. We have tons of articles on Britany Spears loosing her kids, Jennifer Lopez having twins, someone might have said John McCain could have maybe, possibly had an affair. We're focusing on exciting news, not the things that matter. Of course there were no warning signs. No one was listening.

MOBILE, Ala. - A student recently charged in a robbery and suspended from school fired a gun into the ceiling of his high school gym and then killed himself in front of about 150 classmates during a school assembly, police said.

Jajuan Holmes, 18, fatally shot himself about 10 a.m. at Davidson High School, police Chief Phillip Garrett said. He described the shooting as an isolated incident and said no one else was injured.

Holmes was charged a few weeks ago in a Dairy Queen robbery, which may have been a factor leading to the shooting, Garrett said. But he said the teen's death remained under investigation.

He said there had been no indication that Holmes might be suicidal.

Holmes had been released on bond on the robbery charge and was suspended from school on Wednesday, Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. said. He didn't have details on what led to the suspension.

He said Holmes did not enter the school through the front office as required, but made it into a student assembly in the gym during a test day that changed class routines.

Chelsea Smith, a senior, said she was seated in the gym bleachers when Holmes appeared at the top of the bleachers and walked down to the center of the gym court.

"He had a gun to his head," she said.

Smith said a coach walked toward Holmes, who pointed the gun at the coach until the coach retreated. She said Holmes then fired into the ceiling and shot himself.

Grief counselors were sent to the school, said Nancy Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Mobile County school system. She said classes would resume Friday.

Traffic was heavy outside the school around noon as concerned parents arrived. Police were directing traffic and the departure of students was orderly.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23510245/

This is a WONDERFUL idea!

Hartford — Those plastic bags you carry home every time you buy a tube of toothpaste or a loaf of bread are the ultimate symbol of the throwaway consumer culture — light, compact, convenient, disposable, relatively cheap to produce — and a scourge on the environment.

On Monday, the growing movement to curtail the use of plastic bags by grocery stores and other retail outlets gained a foothold in Connecticut when the legislature's Environment Committee heard testimony on a bill that would ban the use of non-biodegradable bags by 2010. Americans use an estimated 50 billion to 80 billion plastic bags annually, only a small fraction of which get reused or recycled.

“Life will go on without plastic bags, as it did for thousands of years,” said Emily Rintoul, 15, of Portland, one of several youths who urged lawmakers to push Connecticut to become the first state to enact a law to ban or discourage their use. “Please don't pass this burden of these bags onto my generation.”

Eleven-year-old Malaika King of Hartford, who preceded Rintoul with similar testimony, concluded by handing out nylon reusable bags to each member of the committee. Her mother, Imari Zito, sells the bags in her store, The Green Vibrations Alchemy Café and Eco Boutique in Hartford.

“Bags are bad for the planet because they are made from fossil fuels, and that continues our dependence on foreign oil,” King said.

Internationally, several countries have taken actions in recent years to reduce or eliminate all the plastic bags that litter the landscape, clog storm drains, harm wildlife, don't decay in landfills, leach toxins into the soil and consume billions of gallons of fossil fuels in their manufacture. Two U.S. cities, San Francisco and New York, have also taken steps within the last six months, and others are considering it. The retailer IKEA began charging 5 cents for the bags last year, and Whole Foods plans to eliminate them from its stores next month.

Retail representatives told the committee they agree plastic-bag use should be reduced and substituted with reusable cloth bags, but argued against an outright ban.

The Connecticut Food Association, which represents about 450 grocery stores in the state, would prefer an education campaign to get more consumers to recycle or reuse their bags, said Stan Sorkin, the group's executive director. Without a ready supply of throwaway plastic bags to line trash cans and pick up dog waste, he said, people would end up buying plastic bags instead.

In response to a question from state Rep. Edward Moukawsher, D-Groton, Sorkin said the group would be willing to consider a revised version of the bill that would institute a charge for each bag, with some of the funds collected going to the state for environmental cleanup work.

Moukawsher added that stores should better train employees to pack more items in each bag.

“We use far too many,” he said. “Sometimes you end up with as many bags as items.”

While Sorkin argued for more recycling of plastic bags into products such as planks for decking, others, including Salem resident David Bingham, said recycling itself consumes too much energy and that the only sensible answer is not to use the bags in the first place.

Martin Mador, legislative and political chairman for the Connecticut Sierra Club, said Ireland's example shows that charging consumers for the bags is a very effective incentive to get people to use fewer bags. There, plastic-bag use has declined by more than 90 percent since the law took effect in 2002, and consumers have gotten into the habit of bringing their own cloth bags to the store. He added that the plastic bags constitute most of the hazardous trash collected in the club's annual coastal cleanups.

“This would let the public internalize the cost of pollution, when you have the environmental cost imbedded in the product,” he said.

Substituting plastic bags for paper would not be preferable, Mador said, because of the large amounts of energy and resources used to make paper bags. They also cost retailers more — about five cents each compared to two cents each for a plastic bag — and are not as readily biodegradable as people assume.

Instead of an outright ban, retailers would prefer more voluntary efforts to curtail bag use, said Lorelei Mottese, manager of government relations for Wakefern Food Corp., which owns the ShopRite grocery cooperative.

ShopRite, like many grocery stores, collects any plastic bag for recycling in bins at the store entrance, gives customers a 2-cent-per-bag discount each time they bring their own bags, and sells reusable cloth bags for 99 cents.

“The goals set forth in (the bill) are commendable,” Mottese said, “but a more comprehensive solution like the one taken by Wakefern/ShopRite will achieve the results anticipated and not jeopardize current recycling systems.”

Representing bag manufacturers was Donna Dempsey, senior managing director of Progressive Bag Affiliates, part of the American Chemistry Council. She said the programs instituted in Ireland and San Francisco have met with unanticipated pitfalls — in Ireland people are buying more of the heavier grade plastic bags to replace the thin ones they used to get in stores, and in San Francisco, retailers are using paper bags because compostable plastic bags were not available in sufficient quantities. Measures that would increase use of cloth bags, she said, is probably the best option.

“Part of this is a litter issue, but we need a common-sense solution,” Dempsey said. “This is a chance for environmental groups and the retail community to get together.”

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=eb52fdbe-5a2a-4116-97d7-513c5fed1ff2

A new, up and coming, rock out, kick ass band.

Being able to test for mental illness is a godsend. People are misdiagnosed every day. People go untreated or over treated. "The tests are particularly concerning if they could be used to screen for mental illness in the workplace or for college admittance". Using these tests for college admittance or in the workplace is beyond illegal. Testing for metal illness and basing someone's admittance either in college or the workplace is exactly like testing someone for HIV/AIDS and not admitting them. A person's personal business is just that, their personal business. I always think, that when our country makes decisions that are completely outragous, if they go one step further, I'm moving to another country. Some examples of this would be when Bush wanted to make the military our police force. If they ever outlawed abortions or completely got rid of Medicare or Medicaid (like Huckabee wanted to do) I would move. This is yet another example. If our legislative branch ever legalized testing for mental illness and allowed that to have an effect on hiring or admittance to colleges, I'd be so disappointed, I'd just have to move. (I'm not "unpatriotic" for saying that either. I don't want anyone to accuse me of that. That seems to be the latest fad)

A blood test could be used to diagnose and assess the severity of certain mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, according to a new study. But some experts think this raises ethical concerns about prying into a person's mental status.

Lab tests that can accurately detect mental illnesses have long been considered the “Holy Grail” of psychiatry. Currently, bipolar disorder and other conditions such as depression are diagnosed based on the patient's description of their symptoms and the physician's judgment, sometimes making it difficult to get an accurate diagnosis or determine the severity of a patient's condition. But now researchers have shown that 10 genes that can be detected in the blood could provide a better way to assess a patient.

“Patients aren’t sure how ill they really are, and neither is the clinician — sometimes dismissing their symptoms, sometimes overestimating them,” said Dr. Alexander Niculescu, III, a psychiatrist at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, who led the research published Tuesday by the journal Molecular Psychiatry. “Having an objective test for disease state, disease severity, and especially to measure response to treatment, would be a big step forward.”

More work remains to be done to confirm these findings, Niculescu said, adding that tests could hit the market in as little as five years.

The goal of the new study was to identify genes or biomarkers that could be used to track the severity of the symptoms of mania or depression in people already diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but these same genes could ultimately be turned into a test to make an initial diagnosis, he said.

Niculescu, who is also working on identifying biomarkers for diagnosing anxiety and stress as well as hallucinations in schizophrenia, said the bipolar findings could be the dawning of a new age in psychiatry. “It would put psychiatry on par with other medical specialties,” he said.

This could be especially helpful for ensuring a patient is getting the right medication. Bipolar patients are sometimes first seen by a physician during one of their low periods. Consequently, they may be misdiagnosed with depression and prescribed antidepressants, which can trigger a dangerous manic state. A blood test that could be used to monitor the patient might enable physicians to catch this mood elevation before it was too late.

“This may be especially important in children and adolescents, who are hard to diagnose for sure using clinical criteria only, and in whom mood states can change fast, sometimes dangerously so,” Niculescu said.

Beyond the stigma
Dr. Carlos Pato, chair of the psychiatry department at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles, thinks a test for mental illness should be viewed no differently than a test for other medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease risk.

“We should look beyond the stigma of a mental illness because the most important thing is to have a very clear diagnosis to get the best treatment for the patient,” Pato said.

Genetic testing for disease has long been controversial, but Art Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania and an msnbc.com columnist, said a genetic test for mental state could intensify that debate.

“We're likely to see much more controversy with genetic testing when it's about behavior, mental states and personality characteristics than when you're testing for cancer risk or prostate problems,” Caplan said.

The tests are particularly concerning if they could be used to screen for mental illness in the workplace or for college admittance, Caplan said. Other controversial areas include requiring people pass a blood test for mental competency to purchase a gun or for high sensitivity jobs, such as police officer or to enroll in the military.

Genes predict mood state
In the new study, designed to assess the severity of the disease, Niculescu's team first drew blood samples from 29 bipolar patients (27 men and two women) who were also asked about their mood level at the time of collection.

The researchers looked for differences in gene activity (whether the genes were turned on or off) between the high and low mood groups. They then incorporated the results with genetic data from animal models and gene activity from samples taken from the brains of deceased bipolar or depressed patients. The comparison enabled them to identify 10 genes for predicting mood state. (It is not yet known if any of these genes play a direct role in causing bipolar disorder or depression.)

By calculating a score based on whether each gene is active in a blood sample, the researchers could predict high mood if the score was high and low mood if the score was low. When these genes were examined in the initial group of patients, the calculated scores were 85 percent accurate in predicting high mood and 77 percent accurate in predicting low mood.

While this isn't perfect, Niculescu said this accuracy rate is within range of other medical tests, such as some cancer screening methods.

But one challenge of the test could be a disconnect between the results and how a patient says they feel, said Dr. Peter Rabins, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University's Berman Bioethics Institute in Baltimore. Rabins noted that in cases of severe depression, a patient sometimes will look better to their friends and doctors after starting treatment, but will say they don’t feel better. 

“So who's right? The patient or the test?” he said. “Ultimately, my feeling would be we have to listen to the person and what they're experiencing and not the blood test.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23337532/

This is just such a shame. I am going to school for psychology and at times I get fed up with school, but seeing a tragedy like this gets me...motivated I guess is the best word. I feel like this could have been prevented. It says she had a history of depression, which means she was probably seeing a counciler. A counciler who makes a big enough impact on a patient could have prevented this. As for the mother and girl who made up this fake guy online, that is repulsive and makes me sick to my stomach. The reason the police can't press charges against them is because in Mo. it's only considered harrassment if it's to a persons face. I hope they find a way around that ridiculous law! What a horrible thing for her "ex friend" to do and what a horrible mother to go along with that plan. There should be jail time for them both! Charles Manson never actually killed anyone, he convinced the other members of his cult to, isn't this sort of the same thing? They didn't actually kill her, but they told a 14 year old girl with a history of depression and ADD she would be better off dead and that she should kill herself. What a shame, she was beautiful.

DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo. - Megan Meier thought she had made a new friend in cyberspace when a cute teenage boy named Josh contacted her on MySpace and began exchanging messages with her.

Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel.

The next day Megan committed suicide. Her family learned later that Josh never actually existed; he was created by members of a neighborhood family that included a former friend of Megan's.

Now Megan's parents hope the people who made the fraudulent profile on the social networking Web site will be prosecuted, and they are seeking legal changes to safeguard children on the Internet.

The girl's mother, Tina Meier, said she doesn't think anyone involved intended for her daughter to kill herself.

‘Absolutely vile’
"But when adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year-old, with or without mental problems, it is absolutely vile," she told the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, which first reported on the case.

Tina Meier said law enforcement officials told her the case did not fit into any law. But sheriff's officials have not closed the case and pledged to consider new evidence if it emerges.

Megan Meier hanged herself in her bedroom on Oct. 16, 2006, and died the next day. She was described as a "bubbly, goofy" girl who loved spending time with her friends, watching movies and fishing with her dad.

Megan had been on medication, but had been upbeat before her death, her mother said, after striking up a relationship on MySpace with Josh Evans about six weeks before her death.

Josh told her he was born in Florida and had recently moved to the nearby community of O'Fallon. He said he was homeschooled, and didn't yet have a phone number in the area to give her.

Megan's parents said she received a message from him on Oct. 15 of last year, essentially saying he didn't want to be her friend anymore, that he had heard she wasn't nice to her friends.

Megan seemed upset
The next day, as Megan's mother headed out the door to take another daughter to the orthodontist, she knew Megan was upset about Internet messages. She asked Megan to log off. Users on MySpace must be at least 14, though Megan was not when she opened her account. A MySpace spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.

Someone using Josh's account was sending cruel messages. Then, Megan called her mother, saying electronic bulletins were being posted about her, saying things like, "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."

Megan's mother, who monitored her daughter's online communications, returned home and said she was shocked at the vulgar language her own daughter was sending. She told her daughter how upset she was about it.

Megan ran upstairs, and her father, Ron, tried to tell her everything would be fine. About 20 minutes later, she was found in her bedroom. She died the next day.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21844203/

Good, if a huge company such as Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. doesn't have the time to care about their product, they deserve every thing that is coming to them. I don't understand why people or companies can't just do their job and take better care of their animals. What a horrible person that forklift operater must be do to such a thing. Heartless. Obviously this company isn't that concerned about staying in business if it neglects their animals they way they do. Haven't they ever seen those Laughing Cow comericals, "A happy cow, makes happy cheese". (The same goes for beef I would think). I hope they get bought out by a company who can do this job properly (however it is that you would properly kill a cow).

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle.

Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats.

The federal agency said the recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino, California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., which supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and to some major fast-food chains.

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said his department has evidence that Westland did not routinely contact its veterinarian when cattle became non-ambulatory after passing inspection, violating health regulations.

"Because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection, Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined them to be unfit for human food and the company is conducting a recall," Schafer said in a statement.

Federal officials suspended operations at Westland/Hallmark after an undercover video surfaced showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts.

Two former employees were charged Friday with animal cruelty. No charges have been filed against Westland, but an investigation by federal authorities continues.

Officials estimate that about 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to school programs, but they believe most of the meat probably has already been eaten. There have been no reported illnesses linked to the beef at any of the schools.

"We don't know how much product is out there right now. We don't think there is a health hazard, but we do have to take this action," said Dr. Dick Raymond, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety.

Federal regulations call for keeping downed cattle out of the food supply because they may pose a higher risk of contamination from E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease because they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems are often weak.

About 150 school districts around the nation have stopped using ground beef from Hallmark Meat Packing Co., which is associated with Westland.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23212514/

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This song by Lupe Fiasco combines multiple serious problems from all over the world. It includes child rebels in Africa, young kids shooting up schools, getting guns from their parents and the violence of video games. This is NOT Lupe's actual video, I couldn't find it, but this is an eye opener.

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Little Terry got a gun, he got from the store,
He bought it with the money he got from his chores,
He robbed candy shop told her lay down on the floor,
Put the cookies in his bag took the pennies out the drawer.

Little Kalil got a gun he got from the rebels,
To kill the infidels and American devils,
A bomb on his waste,
A mask on his face,
Prays five times a day,
And listens to Heavy Metal.

Little Alex got a gun he took from his dad,
That he snuck into school in his black book bag,
His black nail polish, black boots and black hair,
He's gonna blow away the bully that just pushed his ass...

I killed another man today,
Shot him in his back as he ran away,
Then I blew up his hut with a hand grenade,
Cut his wife's throat as she put her hands to pray,
Just five more dogs then we can get a soccer ball,
That's what my commander say,
How Old?
Well I'm like ten, eleven, been fighting since I was like six or seven,
Now I don't know much about where I'm from but I know I strike fear everywhere I come,
Government want me dead so I wear my gun, I really want the rocket launcher but I'm still too young,
This candy give me courage not to fear no one,
To fear no pain, and hear no tongue,
So I hear no screams and I shed no tear,
If I'm in your dreams then your end is near.
Yeah

Little Weapon,
Little Weapon,
Little Weapon
We're calling you
There's a war
if it comes not just too tall for you
We'll find you something small to use
Little Weapon, Little Weapon, Little Weapon
Yanked you now, pow

Now here comes the march of the boy brigade
Of a McCar Parade of the toys he made
And in Shimmer shades who looks half his age
About half the size of the flags they waved
And Camouflage suits that made to fit youths
'cause the ones of the dead soldiers hang a little loose
And AK-47's that they shooting into heaven
Like they're trying to kill the Jetson's
They struggle little recruits
Cute Smileless, Heartless, violent
Childhood destroyed, avoided of all childish ways,
Can't write their own names or read the words on their own graves
Think you gangster popped a few rounds,
These kids will step in and murder a whole town,
Then sit back and smoke and watch it burn down,
The grave gets deeper the further we go down

[Chorus]

Imagine if I had the console,
The family of those slain,
I slain on game consoles,
I aim I hold, right trigger to squeeze,
press up and Y one less nigga breathe,
B for the Bombs press pause for your moms,
Make the room silent, she don't approve of violent games,
She leaves resume activity,
Start and blew hearts with poor harsh wizardry,
On next part I insert code
To sweeten up the purses of murder work load
I tell him he work for
CIA with A
With operative, I operate this game all day
I hold a controller connected to the soldier
With weapons on his shoulder he's only seconds older than me
We playful but serious, now keep that on mind
for on line experience

Lawyers for former Coast Guard cadet Webster Smith will ask an appeals court to reverse his conviction for sexual misconduct on the grounds that the defense team at his court-martial was not allowed to fully cross-examine one of his accusers.

Attorneys will ask the U.S. Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse Smith's conviction on charges of sodomy, indecent assault and extortion because the jury was not allowed to hear testimony that the accuser, a female cadet, had once had consensual sex with a Coast Guard enlisted man and then called it sexual assault.

“The excluded cross-examination would have devastated (the accuser's) credibility, on which the government's case depended completely, making it all but certain that the outcome in this pure credibility contest would have been different,” according to a brief filed by Smith's lawyers from the WilmerHale law firm.

The convictions on the three charges were based on the testimony of the female cadet, who said Smith coerced her by threatening to reveal a secret she had confided in him. That secret was about the past relationship.

Smith is also asking the court to set aside his convictions on two lesser charges of failing to obey an order and abandoning watch.

The criminal appeals court has agreed to hear oral arguments from both sides Jan. 16 in Arlington, Va.

Smith was expelled from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London after his court-martial for sexual assault last year — the first court-martial of a cadet in the school's history.

Lt. Cmdr. Patrick M. Flynn, the government's lawyer for the appeal, said Tuesday that the jury in the case “heard enough” and the trial judge was within his rights to impose reasonable limits on the cross-examination.

Flynn said the jury heard that the accuser confided in Smith “about something she had done wrong, and she omitted certain facts and later told him the full truth, and that whatever it was that she told him was information that could have gotten her in trouble because it was a violation of cadet regulations and possibly a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

“They didn't need to hear the additional details the defense is arguing they should have been allowed to hear,” he said.

An attorney for Smith declined to comment on the record Tuesday.

Besides the question of whether the military judge abused his discretion, oral arguments will focus on wheth-er Smith's con-viction for sodomy was constitutional and whether the government proved the extortion charge.

In court records, the government says the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Smith was not engaged in consensual activity and did commit sodomy, while Smith's lawyers argue that Smith engaged in private, consensual sexual activity with another adult and should not be punished.

Smith's lawyers said the evidence does not prove the extortion charge because prosecutors did not demonstrate a direct link between the female cadet's presumption of a threat and a sexual encounter, which occurred a few hours apart. She said Smith told her he needed more “motivation” to keep her secret, according to the records.

“Criminal sanctions cannot be based on the subjective perceptions of the recipient of a communication, perceptions that the communicator plainly cannot control,” Smith's lawyers argued in the records.

Flynn said the way Smith said “motivation” led the female cadet to believe that he meant sexual favors. Within hours, Smith committed sodomy with the cadet, Flynn said.

The court may hear arguments about the failing to obey an order and abandoning watch charges or issue a ruling based on the briefs filed by both sides.

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=47b77820-b09a-410f-853d-0ccd5c0cfbbc

I don't know what else needs to be said, and by whom, to make the government understand how desperate we are to get out of the Middle East, and bring our soldiers home. Not only are there hundreds of protests everyday all over The United States, citizens writing Congress, the President, everyone we can think of, but now the troops themselves are forced to break the law to save their lives.

WASHINGTON - Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

While the totals are still far lower than they were during the Vietnam War, when the draft was in effect, they show a steady increase over the past four years and a 42 percent jump since last year.

"We're asking a lot of soldiers these days," said Roy Wallace, director of plans and resources for Army personnel. "They're humans. They have all sorts of issues back home and other places like that. So, I'm sure it has to do with the stress of being a soldier."

The Army defines a deserter as someone who has been absent without leave for longer than 30 days. The soldier is then discharged as a deserter.

According to the Army, about nine in every 1,000 soldiers deserted in fiscal year 2007, which ended Sept. 30, compared to nearly seven per 1,000 a year earlier. Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this year, compared to 3,301 last year.

The increase comes as the Army continues to bear the brunt of the war demands with many soldiers serving repeated, lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military leaders — including Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey — have acknowledged that the Army has been stretched nearly to the breaking point by the combat. Efforts are under way to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps to lessen the burden and give troops more time off between deployments.

"We have been concentrating on this," said Wallace. "The Army can't afford to throw away good people. We have got to work with those individuals and try to help them become good soldiers."

Still, he noted that "the military is not for everybody, not everybody can be a soldier." And those who want to leave the service will find a way to do it, he said.

While the Army does not have an up-to-date profile of deserters, more than 75 percent of them are soldiers in their first term of enlistment. And most are male.

Soldiers can sign on initially for two to six years. Wallace said he did not know whether deserters were more likely to be those who enlisted for a short or long tour.

At the same time, he said that even as desertions have increased, the Army has seen some overall success in keeping first-term soldiers in the service.

There are four main ways that soldiers can leave the Army before their first enlistment contract is up:

_They are determined unable to meet physical fitness requirements.

_They are found to be unable to adapt to the military.

_They say they are gay and are required to leave under the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

_They go AWOL.

According to Wallace, in the summer of 2005, more than 18 percent of the soldiers in their first six months of service left under one of those four provisions. In June 2007, that number had dropped to about 7 percent.

The decline, he said, is largely due to a drop in the number of soldiers who leave due to physical fitness or health reasons.

Army desertion rates have fluctuated since the Vietnam War — when they peaked at 5 percent. In the 1970s they hovered between 1 and 3 percent, which is up to three out of every 100 soldiers. Those rates plunged in the 1980s and early 1990s to between 2 and 3 out of every 1,000 soldiers.

Desertions began to creep up in the late 1990s into the turn of the century, when the U.S. conducted an air war in Kosovo and later sent peacekeeping troops there.

The numbers declined in 2003 and 2004, in the early years of the Iraq war, but then began to increase steadily.

In contrast, the Navy has seen a steady decline in deserters since 2001, going from 3,665 that year to 1,129 in 2007.

The Marine Corps, meanwhile, has seen the number of deserters stay fairly stable over that timeframe — with about 1,000 deserters a year. During 2003 and 2004 — the first two years of the Iraq war — the number of deserters fell to 877 and 744, respectively.

The Air Force can tout the fewest number of deserters — with no more than 56 bolting in each of the past five years. The low was in fiscal 2007, with just 16 deserters.

Despite the continued increase in Army desertions, however, an Associated Press examination of Pentagon figures earlier this year showed that the military does little to find those who bolt, and rarely prosecutes the ones they find. Some are allowed to simply return to their units, while most are given less-than-honorable discharges.

"My personal opinion is the only way to stop desertions is to change the climate ... how they are living and doing what they need to do," said Wallace, adding that good officers and more attention from Army leaders could "go a long way to stemming desertions."

Unlike those in the Vietnam era, deserters from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars may not find Canada a safe haven.

Just this week, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the appeals of two Army deserters who sought refugee status to avoid the war in Iraq. The ruling left them without a legal basis to stay in Canada and dealt a blow to other Americans in similar circumstances.

The court, as is usual, did not provide a reason for the decision.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071117/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_deserters_9

WASHINGTON - Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population, according to a report to be released Thursday.

And homelessness is not just a problem among middle-age and elderly veterans. Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens seeking services, treatment or help with finding a job.

The Veterans Affairs Department has identified 1,500 homeless veterans from the current wars and says 400 of them have participated in its programs specifically targeting homelessness.

The Alliance to End Homelessness, a public education nonprofit, based the findings of its report on numbers from Veterans Affairs and the Census Bureau. 2005 data estimated that 194,254 homeless people out of 744,313 on any given night were veterans.

In comparison, the VA says that 20 years ago, the estimated number of veterans who were homeless on any given night was 250,000.

Some advocates say such an early presence of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan at shelters does not bode well for the future. It took roughly a decade for the lives of Vietnam veterans to unravel to the point that they started showing up among the homeless. Advocates worry that intense and repeated deployments leave newer veterans particularly vulnerable.

“We’re going to be having a tsunami of them eventually because the mental health toll from this war is enormous,” said Daniel Tooth, director of veterans affairs for Lancaster County, Pa.

Advocates fight for more resources
While services to homeless veterans have improved in the past 20 years, advocates say more financial resources still are needed.

With the spotlight on the plight of Iraq veterans, they hope more will be done to prevent homelessness and provide affordable housing to the younger veterans while there’s a window of opportunity.

“When the Vietnam War ended, that was part of the problem. The war was over, it was off TV, nobody wanted to hear about it,” said John Keaveney, a Vietnam veteran and a founder of New Directions in Los Angeles, which provides substance abuse help, job training and shelter to veterans.

“I think they’ll be forgotten,” Keaveney said of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. “People get tired of it. It’s not glitzy that these are young, honorable, patriotic Americans. They’ll just be veterans, and that happens after every war.”

Keaveney said it’s difficult for his group to persuade some homeless Iraq veterans to stay for treatment and help because they don’t relate to the older veterans. Those who stayed have had success — one is now a stockbroker and another is applying to be a police officer, he said.

“They see guys that are their father’s age and they don’t understand, they don’t know, that in a couple of years they’ll be looking like them,” he said.

One vet's story
After being discharged from the military, Jason Kelley, 23, of Tomahawk, Wis., who served in Iraq with the Wisconsin National Guard, took a bus to Los Angeles looking for better job prospects and a new life.

Kelley said he couldn’t find a job because he didn’t have an apartment, and he couldn’t get an apartment because he didn’t have a job. He stayed in a $300-a-week motel until his money ran out, then moved into a shelter run by the group U.S. VETS in Inglewood, Calif. He’s since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.

“The only training I have is infantry training, and there’s not really a need for that in the civilian world,” Kelley said in a phone interview. He has enrolled in college and hopes to move out of the shelter soon.

Historical precedent
The Iraq vets seeking help with homelessness are more likely to be women, less likely to have substance abuse problems, but more likely to have mental illness — mostly related to post-traumatic stress, said Pete Dougherty, director of homeless veterans programs at the VA.

Overall, 45 percent of participants in the VA’s homeless programs have a diagnosable mental illness and more than three out of four have a substance abuse problem, while 35 percent have both, Dougherty said.

Historically, a number of fighters in U.S. wars have become homeless. In the post-Civil War era, homeless veterans sang old Army songs to dramatize their need for work and became known as “tramps,” which had meant to march into war, said Todd DePastino, a historian at Penn State University’s Beaver campus who wrote a book on the history of homelessness.

After World War I, thousands of veterans — many of them homeless — camped in the nation’s capital seeking bonus money. Their camps were destroyed by the government, creating a public relations disaster for President Herbert Hoover.

The end of the Vietnam War coincided with a time of economic restructuring, and many of the same people who fought in Vietnam were also those most affected by the loss of manufacturing jobs, DePastino said.

Their entrance to the streets was traumatic and, as they aged, their problems became more chronic, recalled Sister Mary Scullion, who has worked with the homeless for 30 years and co-founded of the group Project H.O.M.E. in Philadelphia.

“It takes more to address the needs because they are multiple needs that have been unattended,” Scullion said. “Life on the street is brutal and I know many, many homeless veterans who have died from Vietnam.”

VA partners with homeless programs
The VA started targeting homelessness in 1987, 12 years after the fall of Saigon. Today, the VA has, either on its own or through partnerships, more than 15,000 residential rehabilitative, transitional and permanent beds for homeless veterans nationwide. It spends about $265 million annually on homeless-specific programs and about $1.5 billion for all health care costs for homeless veterans.

Because of these types of programs and because two years of free medical care is being offered to all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, Dougherty said they hope many veterans from recent wars who are in need can be identified early.

“Clearly, I don’t think that’s going to totally solve the problem, but I also don’t think we’re simply going to wait for 10 years until they show up,” Dougherty said. “We’re out there now trying to get everybody we can to get those kinds of services today, so we avoid this kind of problem in the future.”

Group: 500,000 vets homeless in past year
In all of 2006, the Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that 495,400 veterans were homeless at some point during the year.

The group recommends that 5,000 housing units be created per year for the next five years dedicated to the chronically homeless that would provide permanent housing linked to veterans’ support systems. It also recommends funding an additional 20,000 housing vouchers exclusively for homeless veterans, and creating a program that helps bridge the gap between income and rent.

Following those recommendations would cost billions of dollars, but there is some movement in Congress to increase the amount of money dedicated to homeless veterans programs.

On a recent day in Philadelphia, case managers from Project H.O.M.E. and the VA picked up William Joyce, 60, a homeless Vietnam veteran in a wheelchair who said he’d been sleeping at a bus terminal.

“You’re an honorable veteran. You’re going to get some services,” outreach worker Mark Salvatore told Joyce. “You need to be connected. You don’t need to be out here on the streets.”

I did a case study for my first Sociology class on the homeless sub-culture in Connecticut. While I was interviewing these homeless men, a surprisingly large amount of them were vets that did not recieve adequite funding, if any at all.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21678030/

The Green Party is a relatively new, international party.  What 
attracts me the most is that it was founded on values - 10 Key 
Values, in fact - that include Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice, 
Ecological Wisdom, Nonviolence, Decentralization, Community-based 
Economics, Gender Equality & Cooperation, Respect for Diversity, 
Personal Responsibility and Future Focus.  My favorite value is the 
last, Future Focus, because for me it all boils down to the need for 
our actions today to contribute to building the kind of future we 
want for our children, grandchildren and future generations.

Some of the national Green Party stances: Against the Iraq War, 
Against the Patriot Act, Against Eminent Domain abuse, Against 
*Corporate Personhood, Against the **Drug War; Pro Universal Health 
Care, pro-Choice, Pro Gay Equality; Pro Sustainable Energy.

I think it's relatively easy to apply the values and national 
platform to local government. The NL Greens on both the Council and 
Board of Ed sides of the ticket support participatory budget (citizen 
involvement in the entire process) and a 'greening' of the city's 
infrastructure to conserve energy and reduce operating costs. The 
Council candidates favor Charter Revision that would provide district 
representation in some form; a shift in city taxation that would be 
based more on land than on buildings; supporting small, local 
business rather than trying to attract big box development.

The BoE candidates want to see more integration of the schools with 
the community at large; a more engaging (and challenging) project-
based curriculum; investment in early education to close the 
kindergarten readiness gap.

My personal interest, other than the above, is rethinking the Drug 
War, which is counterproductive, expensive and is particularly 
damaging to urban areas; this was a major plank of Cliff Thornton's 
platform in his run for Governor last year.

(Thanks Ronna!)

*Our Bill of Rights was the result of tremendous efforts to institutionalize and protect the rights of human beings. It strengthened the premise of our Constitution: that the people are the root of all power and authority for government. This vision has made our Constitution and government a model emulated in many nations.

But corporate lawyers (acting as both attorneys and judges) subverted our Bill of Rights in the late 1800's by establishing the doctrine of "corporate personhood" -- the claim that corporations were intended to fully enjoy the legal status and protections created for human beings.

We believe that corporations are not persons and possess only the privileges we willfully grant them. Granting corporations the status of legal "persons" effectively rewrites the Constitution to serve corporate interests as though they were human interests. Ultimately, the doctrine of granting constitutional rights to corporations gives a thing illegitimate privilege and power that undermines our freedom and authority as citizens. While corporations are setting the agenda on issues in our Congress and courts, We the People are not; for we can never speak as loudly with our own voices as corporations can with the unlimited amplification of money.

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/personhood/

**Legality

In his essay The Drug War and the Constitution,^[26] Libertarian philosopher Paul Hager makes the case that the War on Drugs in the United States is an illegal form of prohibition, which violates the principles of a limited government embodied in the Constitution. Alcohol prohibition required amending the Constitution, because this was not a power granted to the federal government. Hager asserts if this is true, then marijuana prohibition should likewise require a Constitutional amendment.

[edit] Federalist argument

In her dissent in Gonzales v. Raich, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor argued that drug prohibition is an improper usurpation of the power to regulate interstate commerce, and the power to prohibit should be reserved by the states. In the same case, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a stronger dissent expressing the similar idea.

[edit] Substantive due process

There is the argument that the War on Drugs in United States violates the implicit rights within the substantive due process doctrine, that the drug laws achieve no reasonable state interest while arbitrarily restrict a person's liberty under the Fifth and the Fourteenth Amendment. One proponent of this notion is attorney Warren Redlich.^[27]

The substantive due process is sometimes used in medical marijuana cases. NORML once wrote in an amicus brief on United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative that the right to use medical marijuana to save one's life is within the rights established by the substantive due process.^[28] However, the Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas did not accept the argument and ruled against the medical marijuana dispensaries.

Some opponents of the substantive due process doctrine who support the War on Drugs have also noted that the doctrine can potentially lead to the invalidation of drug laws.^{(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs#Criticism)}

Shocking Site With Facts on The War On Drugs http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/08/17/drugWarVictims.html

This is a song by a young man who lives in New London (my home town) and the video is shot all around New London's different areas. This is actually really good.

The toy industry had its Tickle Me Elmo, the automakers the Prius and technology its iPhone. Now, the food world has its latest have-to-have-it product: the cage-free egg.

The eggs, from chickens raised in large, open barns instead of stacks of small wire cages, have become the latest addition to menus at universities, hotel chains like Omni and cafeterias at companies like Google. The Whole Foods supermarket chain sells nothing else, and even Burger King is getting in on the trend.

All that demand has meant a rush on cage-free eggs and headaches in corporate kitchens as big buyers learn there may not be enough to go around.

The Vermont ice cream maker Ben and Jerry’s got plenty of attention last September when it became the first major food manufacturer to announce it would use only cage-free eggs that have been certified humane by an inspecting organization. But the company says it will need four years to complete the switch.

“It’s not easy to find all the eggs you’re looking for,” said Rob Michalak, a spokesman for Ben and Jerry’s. “The marketplace is one where the supply needs to increase with the demand.”

The eggs can cost an extra 60 cents a dozen on the wholesale market. But most chicken farmers are not ripping out cages and retrofitting their barns. They question whether the birds are really better off, saying that keeping thousands of hens in tight quarters on the floor of a building can lead to hunger, disease and cannibalism. They also say that converting requires time, money and faith that the spike in demand is not just a fad.

“There is a lot of talk about cage-free, but are people actually buying them?” said Gene Gregory, president of the United Egg Producers. “I think the consumer walking into the grocery store sees cage-free and they cost two or three times more, and they don’t buy them.”

It takes about six months to build a cage-free operation from the ground up, including raising the chicks, said John Brunnquell, who owns Egg Innovations, based in Port Washington, Wis. The cost for a well-designed facility is about $30 a bird. Building a conventional operation with the stacks of cages known as batteries costs about $8 a bird, he said.

Converting to a cage-free operation can cost less than building anew, but it can still mean the loss of several months’ income and the complexities that come with new methods.

A few years ago, about 2 percent of the 279 million laying hens in the United States were not confined to small cages, according to statistics from the United Egg Producers. Now that figure is closer to 5 percent.

Growing consumer concern with farm animal welfare and interest in local and sustainable agriculture have driven some of the popularity, but campaigns by animal rights activists have had a lot to do with it. The Humane Society of the United States began a campaign against battery cages in 2005, pressuring egg producers to improve conditions and companies to change their policies. Last week, the group took on Wendy’s with a series of print and radio advertisements urging the company to follow Burger King’s lead on eggs.

If chickens are not raised on "cage free" farms, it means that hundreds of chickens are shoved into tiny cages together with no room to move at all, in any direction. There is a hole underneath their bottom so the eggs can drop down, but thats it. Most farmers chop off their beaks and feet so that they won't peck or scratch the other chickens because the loss of a chicken would be the loss of profit. I only buy cage free/organic eggs, and it's only a few cents more expensive. Organic means that the chickens are not shot full of growth hormones and other chemicals, like most other chicken farms. Cage free chickens roam free on their farm and in their barn and are healthy and happy. Can't you afford a few extra cents to make a chicken happier?

Don't these chickens look happier than these chickens?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/us/12eggs.html?hp

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In my Life Span Development class, we were talking about Pro Ana sites. So I went home and Googled it and found these horrible sites that were all pro-anorexia. They had blogs like "I am on anti-depressants, which ones will make me loose weight". So I wrote MySpace and LiveJournal for allowing their users to create such a site. I also wrote Google for allowing people to look up such a site. If they write back and say it's for academic use, I'm going to write them and tell them to put it under the Academia section of their site than. Here is the letter I wrote to the Editor of The Day Paper about this situation:

I recently heard about the Pro Ana sites online that encourage eating disorders, give tips on how to maintain an eating disorder and how to hide the disorder from one's parents. Most of the search engines that are used have blocked such sites (not all though) and to my surprise, many blog websites or social networking sites such as MySpace or LiveJournal allow their members to create a website encouraging this type of lifestyle. I contacted these websites with the following letter. Hopefully they will realize the dangers of eating disorders and discourage such sites by blocking these users!
My name is Charity, I am not a user of your website, I use FreeWebs(www.freewebs.com/pennilessjellyfish). However, I came upon a users website here on (APPROPRIATE SITES NAME) that was strikingly similar to the Pro Ana sites that most search engines blocked.
I am wondering if you are aware that people are using your website to promote eating disorders?
If you are completely aware of this horrific fact, are you aware that 5-10 million women in America suffer from some sort of eating disorder and that 4-5 women in America hate the way they look due to bodily images that are presented to young women in the media today.
How do you feel knowing that you are helping young women kill themselves by allowing such a site to be on (APPROPRIATE WEBSITES NAME)?
Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail.
Charity

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Reproduction of an ad campaign to counter discrimination against gays showing a newborn with the word "homosexual" written on his wristband. The slogan on the ad which was published in Italian national newspapers, reads "Sexual orientation is not a choice."

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071024/photos_od_afp/a33d00f88ddcd5f52593c93d28fcd24a;_ylt=AlyTC_lQhqahKJk7ISPTnOUjr7sF

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NEW YORK - The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder. What used to last four days might last half that long now. Pay the gas bill, but skip breakfast. Eat less for lunch so the kids can have a healthy dinner.

Across the nation, Americans are increasingly unable to stretch their dollars to the next payday as they juggle higher rent, food and energy bills. It's starting to affect middle-income working families as well as the poor, and has reached the point of affecting day-to-day calculations of merchants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 7-Eleven Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc.

Food pantries, which distribute foodstuffs to the needy, are reporting severe shortages and reduced government funding at the very time that they are seeing a surge of new people seeking their help.

While economists debate whether the country is headed for a recession, some say the financial stress is already the worst since the last downturn at the start of this decade.

From Family Dollar to Wal-Mart, merchants have adjusted their product mix and pricing accordingly. Sales data show a marked and more prolonged drop in spending in the days before shoppers get their paychecks, when they buy only the barest essentials before splurging around payday.

"It's pretty pronounced," said Kiley Rawlins, a spokeswoman at Family Dollar. "It seems like to us, customers are running out of food products, paper towels sooner in the month."

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said the imbalance in spending before and after payday in July was the biggest it has ever seen, though the drop-off wasn't as steep in August.

And 7-Eleven says its grocery sales have jumped 12-13 percent over the past year, compared with only slight increases for non-necessities like gloves and toys. Shoppers can't afford to load up at the supermarket and are going to the most convenient places to buy emergency food items like milk and eggs.

"It even costs more to get the basics like soap and laundry detergent," said Michelle Grassia, who lives with her husband and three teenage children in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Her husband's check from his job at a grocery store used to last four days. "Now, it lasts only two," she said.

To make up the difference, Grassia buys one gallon of milk a week instead of three. She sometimes skips breakfast and lunch to make sure there's enough food for her children. She cooks with a hot plate because gas is too expensive. And she depends more than ever on the bags of free vegetables and powdered milk from a local food pantry.

Grassia's story is neither new nor unique. With the fastest-rising food and energy prices since the 1980s, low-income consumers are stretching their budgets by eating cheap foods like peanut butter and pasta.

Industry analysts and some economists fear the strain will get worse as people are hit with higher home heating bills this winter and mortgage rates go up.

It's bad enough already for 85-year-old Dominica Hoffman.

She gets $1,400 a month in pension and Social Security from her days in the garment industry. After paying $500 in rent on an apartment in Pennsauken, N.J., and shelling out money for food, gas and other expenses, she's broke by the end of the month. She's had to cut fruits and vegetables from her grocery order — and that's even with financial help from her children.

"Everything is up," she said.

Many consumers, particularly those making less than $30,000 a year, are cutting spending on nutritious food like milk and vegetables, and analysts fear they're further skimping on basic medical care and other critical services.

Coupon-clipping just isn't enough.

"The reality of hunger is right here," said the Rev. Melony Samuels, director of The BedStuy Campaign against Hunger, a church-affiliated food pantry in Brooklyn.

The pantry scrambled to feed 5,000 new families over the past 12 months, up almost 70 percent from 3,000 the year before.

"I am shocked to see such numbers," Samuels said, "and I am really concerned that this is just the beginning of what we are going to see."

In the past three months, Samuels has seen more clients in higher-paying jobs — the $35,000 range — line up for food.

The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, which covers 23 counties in New York State, cited a 30 percent rise in visitors in the first nine months of this year, compared with 2006.

Maureen Schnellmann, senior director of food and nutrition programs at the American Red Cross Food Pantry in Boston, reported a 30 percent increase from January through August over last year.

Until a few months ago, Dellria Seales, a home care assistant, was just getting by living with her daughter, a hairdresser, and two grandchildren in a one-bedroom apartment for $750 a month. But a knee injury in January forced her to quit her job, leaving her at the mercy of Samuels' pantry because most of her daughter's $1,200 a month income goes to rent, energy and food costs.

"I need it. Without it, we wouldn't survive," Seales said as she picked up carrots and bananas.

John Vogel, a professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, worries that the squeeze will lead to a less nutritious diet and inadequate medical or child care.

In the meantime, rising costs show no signs of abating.

Gas prices hit a record nationwide average of $3.23 per gallon in late May before receding a little, though prices are expected to soar again later this year. Food costs have increased 4.5 percent over the past 12 months, partly because of higher fuel costs. Egg prices were 44 percent higher, while milk was up 21.3 percent over the past 12 months to nearly $4 a gallon, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The average family of four is spending anywhere from $7 to $10 extra a week — $40 more a month — on groceries alone, compared to a year ago, according to retail consultant Burt Flickinger III.

And while overall wage growth is a solid 4.1 percent over the past 12 months, economists say the increases are mostly for the top earners.

Retailers started noticing the strain in late spring and early summer as they were monitoring the spending around the paycheck cycle.

Wal-Mart and Family Dollar key on the first week of the month, when government checks like Social Security and public assistance generally hit consumers' mailboxes.

7-Eleven, whose customers are more diverse, looks at paycheck cycles in specific markets dominated by a major employer, such as General Motors in Detroit, to discern trends in shopping.

To economize, shoppers are going for less expensive food.

"They're buying more peanut butter and pasta. And they're going for hamburger meat," Flickinger, the retail consultant, said. "They're trying to outsmart the store by looking for deep discounts at the end of the month."

He said the last time he saw this was 2000-2001, when the dot-com bubble burst and the economy went into a recession after massive layoffs.

For now, low-price retailers are readjusting their merchandising and pricing.

Wal-Mart is becoming more aggressive on discounting. It announced Thursday it is expanding price cuts to 15,000 items, ranging from Motts apple juice and Progresso soups to women's fleece tops, heading into the holidays.

Family Dollar, whose food offerings were limited to candy and snacks until two years ago, has expanded its mix of groceries like fruit cups, cereal and such refrigerated items as milk and ice cream while cutting back on shoes. This summer the chain began accepting food stamps.

Food pantries are also getting creative. Samuels said her church, Full Gospel Tabernacle of Faith, just started offering free cooking classes to teach clients who are diabetic or have other health conditions how to prepare vegetables like squash. It's also offering free exercise classes.

"We are trying to make them health conscious," Samuels said. "It's not right to give them just anything. Our mantra is eat well and live well."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071019/ap_on_bi_ge/stretching_paychecks_12;_ylt=AtXamJw6tAFe4JtMsUhugv0E1vAI

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Ryan and I were out this Saturday and he mentioned to me that he saw a garden in New London near where I work, which is a lower income section of New London. It was called the "Community Garden", which I heard was started by St. Mary's Catholic Church up the street. The small garden is located between two apartment buildings and has herbs and vegies growing like tomatoes, so that the neighborhood can come and pick some vegie's for themselves, instead of spending money at the store. The idea is so that people who are tight on money, have more money to spend on rent, diapers, gas, etc. Ryan said he saw a man walking out of the garden with a plastic bag with 3 tomatoes. I think this is such a wonderful idea, and what's even more wonderful is that no one is taking advantage of it. I am thinking of trying to start a very similar garden somewhere in New London, only on a slightly larger scale. I need as much help as I can get. Help in any terms, like donations, advice, questions, comments, etc. I will update you on what's going on with this project, our progress, when we find a location, etc.

Delanis86@yahoo.com

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We left the Latin Quarter nightclub that night laughing that Red, my cousin, had finally found someone shorter than his five-foot-five frame to dance with him. My younger brother, K, was fiending for a turkey sandwich, so we all walked over to the bodega around the corner, just one block west of Broadway. We had no idea that class was about to be in session. The lesson for the day was that there is a special Bill of Rights for nonwhite people in the United States—one that applies with particular severity to Black men. It has never had to be ratified by Congress because—in the hearts of those with the power to enforce it—the Black Bill of Rights is held to be self-evident.

As we left the store, armed only with sandwiches and Snapples, the three of us saw a group of young men standing around a car parked on the corner in front of the store. As music blasted by the wide-open doors of their car, the men around the car appeared to be arguing with someone in an apartment above the store. The argument escalated when one of the young men began throwing bottles at the apartment window. Several other people who had just left the club, as well as a number of random passersby, witnessed the altercation and began scattering to avoid the raining shards of glass.

Amendment I:
Congress can make no law altering the established fact that a black man is a nigger.

My brother, cousin, and I abruptly began to walk up the street toward the subway to avoid the chaos that was unfolding. Another bottle was hurled. This time, the apartment window cracked, and more glass shattered onto the pavement. We were halfway up the block when we looked back at the guys who had been hanging outside the store. They had jumped in the car, turned off their music, and slammed the doors, and were getting away from the scene as quickly as possible. As we continued to walk toward the subway, about six or seven bouncers came running down the street to see who had caused all the noise. "Where do you BOYS think you're going?!" yelled the biggest of this muscle-bound band of bullies in black shirts. They came at my family and me with outstretched arms to corral us back down the block. "To the 2 train," I answered. Just then I remembered that there are constitutional restrictions on physically restraining people against their will. Common sense told me that the bouncers' authority couldn't possibly extend into the middle of the street around the corner from their club. "You have absolutely no authority to put your hands on any of us!" I insisted, with a sense of newly found conviction. We kept going. This clearly pissed off the bouncers—especially the big, bald, white bouncer who seemed to be the head honcho.

Amendment II:
The right of any white person to apprehend a nigger will not be infringed.

The fact that the bouncers' efforts at intimidation were being disregarded by three young Black men much smaller than they were only made matters worse for their egos (each of us is under five-foot-ten and no more than 180 pounds). The bouncer who appeared to be in charge warned us we would regret having ignored him. "You BOYS better stay right where you are!" barked the now seething bouncer. I told my brother and cousin to ignore him. We were not in their club. In fact, we were among the many people dispersing from the site of the disturbance, which had occurred an entire block away from their "territory." They were clearly beyond their jurisdiction (we spent weeks on the subject in Civil Procedure!). Furthermore, the bouncers had not bothered to ask anyone among the many witnesses what had happened before they attempted to apprehend us. They certainly had not asked us. A crime had been committed, and someone Black was going to be apprehended—whether the Black person was a crack addict, a corrections officer, a preacher, a professional entertainer of white people, or a student at a prestigious law school.

Less than 10 minutes after we had walked by the bouncers, I was staring at badge 1727. We were screamed at and shoved around by Officer Ronald Connelly and his cronies. "That's them, officer!" the head bouncer said, indicting us with a single sentence.

Amendment III:
No nigger shall, at any time, fail to obey any public authority figures—even when beyond the jurisdiction of their authority.

"You boys out here throwin' bottles at people?!" shouted the officer. Asking any of the witnesses would have easily cleared up the issue of who had thrown the bottles. But the officer could not have cared less about that. My family and I were now being punished for the crime of thwarting the bouncers' unauthorized attempt to apprehend us. We were going to be guilty unless we could prove ourselves innocent.

Amendment IV:
The fact that a Black man is a nigger is sufficient probable cause for him to be searched and seized.

Having failed to convince Connelly, the chubby, gray-haired officer in charge, we were up against the wall in a matter of minutes. Each of us had the legs of our dignity spread apart, was publicly frisked down from shirt to socks, and then had our pockets rummaged through. All while Officer Connelly insisted that we shut up and keep facing the wall or, as he told Red, he would treat us like we "were trying to fight back." The officers next searched through my backpack and seemed surprised to find my laptop and a casebook I had brought to the club so that I could get some studying done on the bus ride back to school.

We were shoved into the squad car in front of a crowd composed of friends and acquaintances who had been in the club with us and had by now learned of our situation. I tried with little success to play back the facts of the famous Miranda case in my mind. I was fairly certain these cops were in the wrong for failing to read us our rights.

Amendment V:
Any nigger accused of a crime is to be punished without any due process whatsoever.

We were never told that we had a right to remain silent. We were never told that we had the right to an attorney. We were never informed that anything we said could and would be used against us in a court of law.

Amendment VI:
In all prosecutions of niggers, their accuser shall enjoy the right of a speedy apprehension. While the accused nigger shall enjoy a dehumanizing and humiliating arrest.

After my mug shot was taken at the precinct, Officer Connelly chuckled to himself as he took a little blue-and-white pin out of my wallet. "This is too sharp for you to take into the cell. We can't have you slitting somebody's wrist in there!" he said facetiously. I was handed that pin the day before at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. . . . I wanted to be transported back there, where I had seen the ancient Egyptian art exhibit that afternoon. The relics of each dynastic period pulled a proud grin across my face as I stood in awe at the magnificence of this enduring legacy of my Black African ancestors.

This legacy has been denied for so long that my skin now signals to many that I must be at least an accomplice to any crime that occurs somewhere within the vicinity of my person . . . this legacy has been denied so long that it was unfathomable for the cops that we were innocent bystanders in this situation . . . this legacy lay locked all night long for no good reason in a filthy cell barely bigger than the bathroom in my tiny basement apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts . . . this legacy was forced to listen that night to some white guy who was there because he had beaten up his girlfriend the way the cops frisking my cousin had threatened to beat him down if he kept trying to explain to them what had really happened . . . this legacy is negated by the lily-white institutions where many Blacks are trained to think that they are somehow different from the type of Negro this kind of thing happens to because in their minds White Supremacy is essentially an ideology of the past.

Yet White Supremacy was alive and well enough to handcuff three innocent young men and bend them over the hood of a squad car with cops cackling on in front of the crowd, "These BOYS think they can come up here from Brooklyn, cause all kinds of trouble, and get away with it!"

Amendment VII:
Niggers must remain within the confines of their own neighborhoods. Those who do not are clearly looking for trouble.

Indeed, I had come from Brooklyn with my younger brother and cousin that evening to get our dance on at the Latin Quarter. However, having gone to college in the same neighborhood, I consider it more of a second home than a place where I journey to escape the eyes of my community and unleash the kind of juvenile mischief to which the officers were alluding. At 25 years old, after leaving college five years ago and completing both a master's degree and my first year of law school, this kind of adolescent escapism is now far behind me. But that didn't matter.

The bouncers and the cops didn't give a damn who we were or what we were about. While doing our paperwork several hours later, another officer, who realized how absurd our ordeal was and treated us with the utmost respect, explained to us why he believed we had been arrested.

Amendment VIII:
Wherever niggers are causing trouble, arresting any nigger at the scene of the crime is just as good as arresting the one actually guilty of the crime in question.

After repeated incidents calling for police intervention during the last few months, the 24th Precinct and the Latin Quarter have joined forces to help deal with the club's "less desirable element." To prevent the club from being shut down, they needed to set an example for potential wrongdoers. We were just unfortunate enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time—and to fit the description of that "element." To make matters worse from the bouncers' point of view, we had the audacity to demonstrate our understanding that for them to touch us without our consent constituted a battery.

As Officer Connelly joked on about how this was the kind of thing that would keep us from ever going anywhere in life, the situation grew increasingly unbelievable. "You go to Harvard Law School?" he inquired with a sarcastic smirk. "You must be on a Ball scholarship or somethin', huh?" I wanted to hit him upside his uninformed head with one of my casebooks. I wanted to water torture him with the sweat and tears that have fallen from my mother's face for the last 20 years, during which she has held down three nursing jobs to send six children to school. I wanted to tell everyone watching just how hard she has worked to give us more control over our own destinies than she had while growing up in her rural village in Trinidad. I still haven't told my mom what happened. Seeing the look on her face when I do will be the worst thing to come out of this experience. I can already hear the sound of her crying when she thinks to herself that none of her years of laboring in hospitals through sleepless nights mattered on this particular evening.

Amendment IX:
Niggers will never be treated like full citizens in America—no matter how hard they work to improve their circumstances.

It did not matter to the officers or the bouncers that my brother is going to graduate from Brooklyn College in June after working and going to school full-time for the last six years. It did not matter that he has worked for the criminal justice system in the Department of Corrections of New Jersey for almost a year now. They didn't give a damn that I was the president of my class for each of the four years that I was at Columbia University. It did not matter that I am now in my second year at Harvard Law School. And in a fair and just society, none of that should matter. Our basic civil rights should have been respected irrespective of who we are or the institutions with which we are affiliated. What should have mattered was that we were innocent. Officer Connelly checked all three of our licenses and found none of us had ever been convicted of a crime.

Amendment X:
A nigger who has no arrest record just hasn't been caught yet.

It should have mattered that we had no record. But it didn't. What mattered was that we were Black and we were there. That was enough for everyone involved to draw the conclusion that we were guilty until we could be proved innocent.

After our overnight crash course in the true criminal law of this country, I know now from firsthand experience that the Bill of Rights for Blacks in America completely contradicts the one that was ratified for the society at large. The afternoon before we were arrested, I overheard an elderly white woman on the bus as she remarked to the man beside her how much safer Mayor Giuliani has made New York City feel. I remember thinking to myself then, "Not if you look like Diallo or Louima!" It's about as safe as L.A. was for Rodney King. About as safe as Texas was for James Byrd Jr. . . . and this list could go on for days. Although the Ku Klux Klan may feel safe enough to march in Manhattan, the rights of Black men are increasingly violated by the police of this and other cities around the country every day. In the context of some of these atrocities, we were rather lucky to have been only abducted, degraded, pushed around, and publicly humiliated. Nevertheless, Black people from all walks of life can have little security in a nation where police officers are free to grab Black bodies off the street at random and do with them whatever they please.

ADDENDUM: On Wednesday, February 23, 2000, after four court appearances over five months, the D.A.'s case against Bryonn Bain, Kristofer Bain, and Kyle Vazquez was dismissed. No affidavits or other evidence were produced to support the charges against them.

After five months and four court appearances with the assistance of Professor Kellis Parker of Columbia Law School, Bryonn Bain wrote this article for a Harvard Law School class called "Critical Perspectives on the Law." He submitted it for publication at the suggestion of his professor, Lani Guinier.

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0017,bain,14362,1.html

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Sometimes, when I think of all the awful things that happen in the world, especially going on right now, I can't help but feel sad. I just can't understand how everyone has so much hate in them. I sit sometimes, and think of Katrina, the Iraq war, 9/11, the sorry excuse we have for a government right now, problems all over the world, and just think damn, this is the world we live in today.

This is a picture of man who is being beaten by a member of The Gathering Of Eagles, which is a pig headed, ignorant conservative group made up of a bunch of drunk nothings who used to be important in high school when they made that great play, but now in the real world, they are nothing but a waste of air.

When I went to the Anti-war protest in front of the Coast Guard, the man being beaten in this picture was there accompanied by the coffin and dog tags of his son. This man goes to protests all over and apparently, The Gathering of Eagles felt like their patriotism was being threatened by Carlos Arredondo and proceeded to assault him in broad daylight. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 Carlos Arredondo at the protest he was assaulted at

Please click here to see pictures of the protest I was at, including his sons coffin.

This is a VERY POWERFUL home video of the protest I went to back in May.

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UPDATE

Michael Vick was sentenced 23 months in jail...he deserved more, but 23 months was good enough!

News watchers have been hearing lately, about the story covering Micheal Vick and his dog fighting scandal. I was just reading the news, and now rapper, DMX recently had his home raided, where police found several severly abused pitbulls and the remains of three others. "The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office received a tip more than a week ago about dogs being kept in inhumane conditions at the Phoenix-area home, said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Detectives visited the home and then called one of the rapper’s lawyers and told him that the conditions for the animals at the property needed to be improved or deputies would take action, Arpaio said. The dogs were not being fed or given water".

Micheal Vick just pleaded guilty to charges that accused him of dog fighting and animal abuse. On Vick's property they found tons of abused dogs, starved and scarred. They found many more remains of dogs. There was evidence that he burried dogs alive, soaked them in water and electrocuted them, put puppies and extremely inexperienced dogs in the ring with trained dogs to fight each other and many other forms of abuse. I have one question for Michael Vick, DMX (who's real name is Earl Simmons), What The Hell Is Wrong With You?!

Whatever sentence that Simmons (if convicted) or Vick recieves is not enough. I believe that killing an innocent animal is right up there with abusing and killing a human being. Obviously, killing a human is much worse because of the emotional attatchment, however, you've got to be seriously disturbed to do either. Why would someone want to see that much violence, and to that degree. Don't get me wrong, I love watching boxing, where people beat the hell out of each other. I think it's part of human nature, that little spark that all people still have, to see some sort of violence. But I don't get a thrill when someone gets seriously injured, or even killed. How would Vick or Simmons like it if someone doused them with water and stuck jumper cables to their ears? Or put them in a ring with a professional hit man?

The brown pitbull above with the scars on his face was one of the unfortunate dogs taken from Vick's house. The picture of the pitbull puppy on the left is what that scarred pitbull probably looked like before Vick got ahold of him. I was going to put more pictures to show the seriousness of dog fighting but while I was looking, I broke down in tears and couldn't look anymore. All I can tell you about the pictures was that the dogs were gushing blood from their faces, teeth were missing, eyes were missing, flesh was hanging from their face and throat. The only thing I have to say about Micheal Vick, Earl Simmons and dog fighting is that I honestly hope that they (and other dog fighters) feel every bit of pain that those poor dogs felt while they were being made to fight each other. And if that means resulting in death, my response is an eye for an eye.

MSNBC news

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

While you are at the PETA website, they give you the opportunity to write NFL and tell them how you feel. Make a difference. Here is my letter that I sent:

In light of Michael Vick's recent plea bargain, agreeing to plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges involving illegal dogfighting, and given the numerous incidents of alleged animal abuse cases involving NFL players in recent years, please update the NFL's personal conduct policy to include a statement that animal abuse will not be tolerated by the NFL. Expel Michael Vick for his intolerable behavior to set an example and show other sports players that this sort of behavior is inexcusable.

Please show the millions of football fans and compassionate people who have been following this case that the NFL is not soft on animal abuse, and demonstrate to all the athletes under your charge that they will not be allowed to get away with the sort of cruelty that Michael Vick has admitted to.

If these emails you are recieving from PETA and other concerned United States citizens are not convincing enough, all you have to do is type in "dog fighting" in Google Images. After you've looked at those innocent dogs with flesh hanging from their face, turn and look at your own pet. I hope that that will help you understand the seriousness of dog fighting and why it should not be tolerated in any sports organization.

Thank you,
Charity Nolan

UPDATE

SUSSEX, Va. - Michael Vick and three co-defendants were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on state charges related to a dogfighting ring operated on Vick’s Virginia property.

Vick, who already pleaded guilty in federal court to a dogfighting conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing Dec. 10, was indicted on one count of beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and one count of engaging in or promoting dogfighting. Each count is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20962932/

UPDATE AGAIN

RICHMOND, Va. - Michael Vick surrendered to U.S. marshals Monday and will remain in jail until his sentencing on a dogfighting charge in three weeks. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 10 but turned himself in because he anticipates a prison term on the federal dogfighting conspiracy charge, according to a court document.

Vick could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

"From the beginning, Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his self-surrender further demonstrates that acceptance," Billy Martin, one of Vick's lawyers, said in a statement. "Michael wants to again apologize to everyone who has been hurt in this matter, and he thanks all of the people who have offered him and his family prayers and support during this time."

Vick is being held at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw until his sentencing, U.S. marshals told The Associated Press. The mixed-gender facility houses about 450 inmates.

The order filed in U.S. District Court said: "Vick has indicated his desire to voluntarily enter custody prior to his sentencing hearing. It appearing appropriate to do so, the U.S. Marshal is ordered to take custody of the Defendant immediately upon his surrender."

The order added Vick was taken into custody "based solely on his desire to begin his period of incarceration prior to his sentencing hearing and not because of violation of any condition of his bond."

In an e-mail sent to the AP, the U.S. attorney's office confirmed Vick's surrender but declined further comment.

Vick's decision to begin serving time before sentencing was approved by the judge and Vick's lawyers.

Read The Rest

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According to Wikipedia, "A feral child (feral - wild or undomesticated) is a human child who, from a very young age, has lived in isolation from human contact and has no (or little) experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language. Feral children are extremely rare having been brought up by animals, confined by humans (often parents) or live in the wild in isolation. Throughout the world, just over a hundred incidences of the phenomenon have been reported in English.They are thus considered very interesting case studies from a sociological perspective. There are probably far more cases that are never reported. When completely brought up by animals the feral child exhibits behaviors (within physical limits) almost entirely like those of the particular animal-carer, including its variety of instincts, fear or indifference to humans, etc. Children with some human experience before isolation from humans are much easier to rehabilitate after discovery. Children who learn an alternative, animal culture, especially if from a baby age for the first 5 or 6 years, find it almost impossible to learn human language, to walk or engage meaningfully with other humans - even after intensive and loving care for years"

Feral children are very rare but are extremely interesting. Scientifically and psychologically, they prove so much, such as the specifics of certain developmental stages and how important human interaction is. Like Wisipedia said, a feral child can be many things. Either extreme cases of abuse, such as the story of Genie, a girl who had been severly neglected by her blind mother and abusive father. They locked her in a dark room, chained to a potty chair and was never spoken to. Since she was never spoken to, she never developed that critical part of her brain that helps develop language skills. After Genie was rescued, she did learn minimal language skills and now lives in a home for the mentally disabled in California.

A feral child can also be "raised" by animals. I know it sounds hard to believe, however there have been a couple cases world wide where a child is found living with animals and shows distinct animal like qualities. Click here to read about Kamala and Amala, Indian twins that were found living amongst wolves. I believe that they also could not talk, but did, after much studying, learned to say some phrases.

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1. Jesus loves you and shares your hatred for homosexuals and Hillary Clinton
2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.
3. Trading with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trading with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
4. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
5. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
6. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
7. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
8. Providing health caret o all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
9. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
10. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.
11. The Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.
12. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but GW Bush's driving record is none of our business.
13. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.
14. What Bill Clinton did in the 60's is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the 80's is irrelevant.

(Funny T-Shirt's)

• (on an infant's shirt): Already smarter than Bush.
• That's ok, I wasn't using my civil liberties anyway.
• Bush, like a rock, only dumber.
• You can't be Pro-War and Pro-Life at the same time.
• If you can read this, you're not our president.
• Hey Bush supporters: Embarrassed yet?
• George W. Bush: Creating the terrorists our kids will have to fight.
• America, one nation, under surveillance
• They call him "W" so he can spell it.
• Which God do you kill for?
• No seriously, why did we invade?
• Bush: God's way of proving intelligent design is full of crap.
• Like Jesus would own a gun and vote republican.
• We need a president who's fluent in at least one language.
• We're making enemies faster than we can kill them.
• Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Blood.
• Bush doesn't care about white people either.
• Frodo failed, Bush has the ring.
• When Bush took office, gas was $1.46
• Texas wants you, we don't.

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Chocolate Rain
Some stay dry and others feel the pain
Chocolate Rain
A baby born will die before the sin

Chocolate Rain
The school books say it can't be here again
Chocolate Rain
The prisons make you wonder where it went

Chocolate Rain
Build a tent and say the world is dry
Chocolate Rain
Zoom the camera out and see the lie

Chocolate Rain
Forecast to be falling yesterday
Chocolate Rain
Only in the past is what they say

Chocolate Rain
Raised your neighborhood insurance rates
Chocolate Rain
Makes us happy 'livin in a gate

Chocolate Rain
Made me cross the street the other day
Chocolate Rain
Made you turn your head the other way

(Chorus)
Chocolate Rain
History quickly crashing through your veins
Chocolate Rain
Using you to fall back down again
[Repeat]

Chocolate Rain
Seldom mentioned on the radio
Chocolate Rain
Its the fear your leaders call control

Chocolate Rain
Worse than swearing worse than calling names
Chocolate Rain
Say it publicly and you're insane

Chocolate Rain
No one wants to hear about it now
Chocolate Rain
Wish real hard it goes away somehow

Chocolate Rain
Makes the best of friends begin to fight
Chocolate Rain
But did they know each other in the light?

Chocolate Rain
Every February washed away
Chocolate Rain
Stays behind as colors celebrate

Chocolate Rain
The same crime has a higher price to pay
Chocolate Rain
The judge and jury swear it's not the face

(Chorus)

Chocolate Rain
Dirty secrets of economy
Chocolate Rain
Turns that body into GDP

Chocolate Rain
The bell curve blames the baby's DNA
Chocolate Rain
But test scores are how much the parents make

Chocolate Rain
'Flippin cars in France the other night
Chocolate Rain
Cleans the sewers out beneath Mumbai

Chocolate Rain
'Cross the world and back its all the same
Chocolate Rain
Angels cry and shake their heads in shame

Chocolate Rain
Lifts the ark of paradise in sin
Chocolate Rain
Which part do you think you're 'livin in?

Chocolate Rain
More than 'marchin more than passing law
Chocolate Rain
Remake how we got to where we are

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During the fall semester, I took an anthropology class that I thoroughly enjoyed. Among the knowledge I aquired throughout the class, the piece of information that sticks out the most is about Fair Trade Coffee.

Did you ever wonder how coffee grows or who picks it?

Coffee bean picking is a grueling, all day task. The people who work on coffee farms, spend all day in the hot sun picking every individual cherry bean off trees by hand. After they've filled up all of their sacks, they haul these huge bags (with the help of donkeys) up hills, down paths and through the woods back to their farms. When they are back home, they lay all of the coffee out to dry in the sun. The bean goes through much more to make the final product of the coffee bean we see here in America, all of which the growers have to do manually. When it comes time to sell their product, trading is more complicated for the farmers who live too far away from a city where imports are sent out. Therefore, a middle man is created. Actually, from the time the bean leaves the sundried hands of the farmer, it goes through many middle men. The problem with this is that everyone has to take a percentage, leaving the original worker with a less than fair profit. "The United States consumes one-fifth of all the world's coffee, making it the largest consumer in the world. But few Americans realize that agriculture workers in the coffee industry often toil in what can be described as "sweatshops in the fields." Many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt...Most small farmers sell directly to middlemen exporters who are commonly referred to as coyotes. These coyotes are known to take advantage of small farmers, paying them below market price for their harvests and keeping a high percentage for themselves".

The Global Exchange buys directly from the farmer, so there is no middle man. A lot of farms in South America are wipped out by mud slides and people from Fair Trade Coffee help those communities build new farms. Since I first heard of Fair Trade coffee, I haven't bought another brand since. The brand I chose was Newman's Own, who buys everything Organic, their coffee is Fair Trade Certified, and every penny made when these products are bought are donated to charities, after compensating for the costs of production. Click here to see what companies help to eliminate the middle man.

 Those red berries are the beginnings of a coffee bean!

The quote I used can be found on this link (http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/faq.html)

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What Beef Is - Mos Def

Beef is not what Jay said to Nas
Beef is when workin' folks can't find jobs
So they tryna find niggas to rob
Tryna find bigger guns so they can finish the job
Beef is when the crack babies can't find moms
Cause they end up inna pine box or locked behind bars
Beef ain't the Summer Jam for Hot 97
Beef is the cocaine and AIDS epidemic
Beef don't come with a radio edit
Beef is when the judge is callin' you "defendant"
Beef, it comes with a long jail sentence
Handed down to you in a few short minutes
Beef is when your girl come through for a visit
Talkin' bout "I'm pregnant by some other nigga"
Beef is high blood pressure and bad credit
Need a loan for your home but you're too broke to get it
And all your little kids is doin is gettin' bigger
You tryin not to raise 'em around these wild niggas
Beef is when a gold digger got ya seat and a
A manicured hand out like "pay me nigga"
Or I'm tellin' your wife
Or startin' up some foul rumor that'll ruin your life
Beef is when a gangster ain't doin it right
Another gangster then decided what to do with his life
Beef is not what these famous niggas do on the mic
Beef is what George Bush would do in a fight
Yeah, beef is not what Ja said to 50
Beef is more than Irv not bein here with me
When a soldier ends his life with his own gun
Beef is tryin' to figure out what to tell his son
Beef is oil prices and geopolitics
Beef is Iraq, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip
Some beef is big and some beef is small
But what y'all call beef is not beef at all
Beef is real life happenin' everyday                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    And it's realer than them songs that you get at Kay Slay
This has been a Black Star PSA
From Mos Def, Pretty Flocko, black Dante
And the Black Star embassy, B to the K

(This version is live, so the lyrics are altered a bit)

These lyrics are different from the original because they're a different version, but I love them both.

If I was president,
I'd get elected on Friday, assasinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

If I was president...
If I was president

An old man told me, instead of spending billions on the war,
we can use some of that money, in the ghetto.
I know some so poor, they use the spring as the shower,
when screaming "fight the power".
That's when the vulture devoured

[chorus]
If I was president,
I'd get elected on Friday, assasinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

If I was president...
If I was president...
If I was president...
If I was president

But the radio won't play this.
They call this rebel music.
How can you refuse it, children of moses?

[chorus]
If I was president,
I'd get elected on Friday, assasinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

If I was president...
If i was president

Tell the children the truth, the truth.
Christopher Columbus didn't discover America.
Tell them the truth.
The truth
yeah Tell them about Marcus Garvey.
The truth YEAH! The truth.
Tell them about Martin Luther King.
Tell them the truth.
The Truth.
Tell them about JFK

If I was President
[chorus]
If I was president,
I'd get elected on Friday, assasinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

If I was president...
If I was president

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Is this attractive to men? Because that is the whole idea that women who look like this have isn't it? Desprately trying to get mens attention. America wonders why young girls think they're fat, why they starve themselves, why the take laxatives or throw up after eating everything in sight. Well here is your tiny little answer America. Girls do this to themselves because the models, actresses, singers, their big sisters, people they look up to set the example for them. I was watching this show on TLC about a rehab center for eating disorders. Half the girls were dying to be something their not. Literally. They all seemed so depressed, moping around, crying, going to group therapy. I feel bad for these girls, they are the victims. They were caught by a very intricate minipulating social trap. One to make young women feel bad about themselves so big corporations will profit.

If I could tell those girls one thing, it would be, EAT! Right now I'm enjoying a nice Nutty Bar, with all of it's chocolatey, peanut buttery goodness. You should too, I'll send you one.

Celebrities with eating disorders http://www.caringonline.com/eatdis/people.htm

National Eating Disorder Association http://www.edap.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=337

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I I grew up in a family full of women. My mom was a single mother, I have two sisters who have always lived close to me, my aunt Barbra lives in the next town over, she has two daughters who I saw frequently when I was younger...you get the point. I am proud to be a female. I know that most women can out smart most men, we're more compassionate, we mature faster, etc. However, I keep those thoughts to myself, becauses I don't feel the need to prove myself. I think that if the situation ever arose where I needed to prove my point, I could easily do so. But I don't go around nit picking about every small thing that doofy men do (no offense guys). I think that feminists go too far with womens rights. I sound like a gender traiter don't I? Well I don't think I am, I think that feminists go to far with womens rights. Please don't get me wrong, I am grateful that there are women out there, sticking up for the female population. I fully understand that if it weren't for feminists, I wouldn't be able to vote. But I think that complaining about the words in rap songs, or whether or not women can play on private golf courses is too much. My question is, who cares? Honestly, were all those women heart broken because they couldn't play golf with the guys on their private course? First of all, I hate golf, so I don't understand what all the fuss is about in that aspect. Secondly, if they were upset because they were so passionate about the sport of golf and wanted to play, my solution would be to go build your own golf course, and put up a big fat sign that says "NO BOYS ALLOWED!" on the front door. I do think it was childish of the men not to allow women play, but just like dealing with a child, you can't let them know how upset you are, because A) you won't get anything accomplished and B) you'll look silly trying to prove your point.

I saw on the news last night, this group of women in Connecticut were very upset because of the lyrics that are in hip hop songs. You know how that goes, "bitch this", "she's a ho", "this slut did that". And my question remains the same, who cares? If you don't like the song, than don't listen to it. I've been known to listen to a tune or two that has less than upstanding lyrics and half the time I'm not even listening to the lyrics because they don't make any sense, I like the beat of the music. If you listen to the rest of the lyrics, you would understand that you can't take offense to the sexist comments because the song is retarded. Excuse my politically incorrect language, but it's the only word that can describe people singing about their gold teeth, their tinted windows and how many ounces of drugs they sold last Tuesday to the school children down the street.

 

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My family has always been very involved in politics. Ever since I can remember, I've tagged along my mothers side while she went to neighborhood meetings, city council meetings, protests, helping with her petetions, answering questions from The Day paper for their articles, etc. My mother is either loved or hated, I don't think there is anyone in between, because of her political doings. The famous Eminent Domain case in Fort Trumbull, New London, was because of my mom. She helped all of the residents attempt to stay in their houses. Susette Kelo has my mother to thank for everything she's done, which I don't think Susette's done. Anyway, she and my sister Chrissy are where I got my political charge from. I recently went to a Bush protest. He was visiting The Coast Guard Academy for their graduation and I joined hundreds of protestors to tell Bush what horrible job he's doing as "president". Take a look at the pictures from the protest, or even a video from the protest, and check out the links to A.N.S.W.E.R, my mom's page, etc.

The Government Forgets Who It Works For.

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