Tux of Borg

I'm the same size as Roscoe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...3/wgoogle13.xml Terrorists 'use Google maps to hit UK troops' By Thomas Harding in Basra Royal Green Jackets provide ‘top cover’ from their Bulldog armored vehicle outside Basra Palace Terrorists attacking British bases in Basra are using aerial footage displayed by the Google Earth internet tool to pinpoint their attacks, say Army intelligence sources. Documents seized during raids on the homes of insurgents last week uncovered print-outs from photographs taken from Google. The satellite photographs show in detail the buildings inside the bases and vulnerable areas such as tented accommodation, lavatory blocks and where lightly armored Land Rovers are parked. Written on the back of one set of photographs taken of the Shatt al Arab Hotel, headquarters for the 1,000 men of the Staffordshire Regiment battle group, officers found the camp's precise longitude and latitude. "This is evidence as far as we are concerned for planning terrorist attacks," said an intelligence officer with the Royal Green Jackets battle group. "Who would otherwise have Google Earth imagery of one of our bases? "We are concerned that they use them to plan attacks. We have never had proof that they have deliberately targeted any area of the camp using these images but presumably they are of great use to them. "We believe they use Google Earth to identify the most vulnerable areas such as tents." One soldier has been killed in the past six months following a mortar attack and there have been several injuries. Since the maps were found intelligence chiefs have been keeping track of where rounds land to see if the insurgents are using them to pinpoint weakly protected areas. The British camps experience mortar and rocket attacks on a daily basis. Salvos are fired from up to four miles away and are increasingly accurate. Yesterday three rounds were fired into Basra Palace at a block close to where The Daily Telegraph was staying. No one was injured. Intelligence sources also believe that the insurgents are receiving more training and weaponry from Iran to improve their fighting skills. But the British are gathering more intelligence on mortar crews and launching several "strike operations" to detain the operators. Anyone with the internet can sign up to Google Earth and by simply typing in the name of a location they can receive very detailed imagery down to identifying types of vehicles. The company is one of several internet outlets that buy aerial imagery, usually taken by aircraft but sometimes by satellite, from governments or mapping companies. It is unclear how old the maps are but it is believed the Basra images were made within the past two years. Major Charlie Burbridge, the British military spokesman in Iraq, said: "We take the security of our bases very seriously and we constantly review the means to provide secure accommodation for our soldiers. "There is a constant threat of reconnaissance missions to access our bases and using these internet images is just another method of how this is conducted." A Google spokesman said the information could be used for "good and bad" and was available to the public in many forms. "Of course we are always ready to listen to governments' requests," he said. "We have opened channels with the military in Iraq but we are not prepared to discuss what we have discussed with them. But we do listen and we are sensitive to requests." There have also been reports that the images are being sold to rogue militias in the market place in Basra. The British security services are concerned that terrorists will be able to examine in detail sensitive infrastructure such as electricity stations, military basis, and their own headquarters in London. Soldiers from the Royal Green Jackets based at the Basra Palace base said they had considered suing Google Earth if they were injured by mortar rounds that had been directed on the camp by the aerial footage. "Even if they did blank out the areas where we are based it is a bit after the horse has bolted as the terrorist now have the maps and know exactly where we eat, sleep and go to the toilet," one soldier said.

I've seen Chris a few times this year. He's now an analyst for college and nfl games.

Article NSFW: Pamela Rogers pics. Teacher Accused of Sex With 13-Year-Old Boy Gets More Jail Time By Associated Press MCMINNVILLE, TN -- Former school teacher Pamela Rogers has been handed an additional two years for sending nude photos of herself to a boy she was convicted of having sex with. Rogers was on probation at the time. Wednesday morning in McMinnville, the 29-year-old Rogers entered a plea agreement, pleading guilty to two counts of solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor. The new sentence is to be served at the end of the first term, but Rogers will become eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of the ten years at the Tennessee Prison for Women. Rogers was first arrested in February 2005 and pleaded no contest to charges of having sex with a 13-year-old boy who attended the rural Centertown Elementary School where she was then teaching. In a deal with prosecutors, she served six months in jail and got a lengthy probation under the condition that she not contact the student or his family or use the Internet.

Explosion rips through U.S. Embassy compound in Athens, Greece. No details on injuries or damage yet. Details soon.

I don't want to hear any bitching when ticket prices go up.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/s...0111walker.html Notre Dame's Walker to enter NFL draft By JOHN HOLLIS The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 01/11/07 Notre Dame junior running back Darius Walker will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. At a press conference Thursday in South Bend, Ind., the former Buford High standout said he was fulfilling a lifelong dream. Associated Press Notre Dame junior RB Darius Walker would likely be a third- or fourth-round draft pick, NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt says. The former Buford standout has rushed for 3,249 yards in three seasons with the Irish. "I just really feel like it's right for me," he told The Associated Press. "I wrote down the pros and cons and feel like it's the right thing for me to do at this time." Walker, a three-year starter at tailback for the Irish, said he plans to hire an agent shortly and begin preparations for the upcoming NFL combine. He will remain in school in South Bend for the remainder of this semester to continue working toward his degree. Walker became just the fourth back in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing plateau in consecutive seasons when he chewed up 1,139 yards and nine touchdowns last fall, capped by an impressive 128-yard effort in last week's loss to LSU in the Sugar Bowl. His 54 catches for 354 yards and a touchdown broke his own single-season record for catches by a back and set a new career mark for catches by a Notre Dame running back. Walker finished his collegiate career ranked fourth all-time in Irish rushing history with 3,121 yards. He was the AJC Player of the Year in 2003 after rushing for 2,406 yards and and 46 touchdowns, breaking Herschel Walker's Georgia High School Association record of 42 TDs. Walker is coming off one of his best performances in which he gained 128 yards on 22 carries in Notre Dame's 41-14 loss to LSU in the Jan. 3 Sugar Bowl. "I thought he played the best he has played, and I've seen him five or six times this year," NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt, the Dallas Cowboys' former pro personnel director, told the Chicago Tribune. "(But) I don't think he'll be a first-day (draft) pick. He's a guy who's probably somewhere in the bottom of the third, fourth round. He's a good player. I don't know if he's a great player." The rap on Walker is that he doesn't possess NFL speed. Last year eight running backs were chosen in the first three rounds of the NFL draft. Brandt expects California's Marshawn Lynch, Auburn's Kenny Irons, Alabama's Kenneth Darby, Louisville's Michael Bush, Penn State's Tony Hunt and Florida's DeShawn Wynn all will be picked before Walker. If as expected Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson decides to forego his senior season, he also likely would go ahead of Walker. Walker has rushed for 3,249 yards in his three seasons, fourth on Notre Dame's career list. If he were to stay and match his 2006 performance, he would wind up with 4,332 yards rushing, just enough to edge current all-time leader Autry Denson's 4,318. Brandt said, in general, college players are better served spending an extra year in college rather than bolting early for the pros. "Players who leave school early usually don't turn out as well as players that stay for four years," he said. "I imagine that after what he did against LSU, he probably feels pretty good about himself. But I think players are mentally and physically not as well equipped to play in the NFL after three years as they are after four years."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070111/pl_af...cs_070111150615 US sees signs financial sanctions against Iran are biting by David Millikin Thu Jan 11, 10:06 AM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - Weary of the drawn-out diplomatic battle to rein in Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, Washington welcomed signs that unilateral US measures designed to squeeze Tehran financially are starting to bear fruit. The latest move came Tuesday when the US Treasury Department blacklisted Iran's fifth largest bank, Bank Sepah, for allegedly helping finance the country's illicit weapons programs. The move bars the state-owned bank from carrying out transactions in US dollars -- a step which has wide implications in an interlocking global financial system heavily dependent on the US currency. The impact swiftly spread to Europe, where Germany's second biggest bank, Commerzbank, announced Wednesday that it would stop handling dollar transactions for Iranian clients, though it would continue dealings in euros. US officials said other international banks and businesses were also reassessing the wisdom of doing business with Iran, which was slapped with limited UN sanctions last month for refusing demands to suspend its nuclear enrichment program -- a possible step towards development of atomic weapons. "Some financial institutions and other organizations are making a pretty dry-eyed assessment as to whether now is the right moment for them to be involved with" Iran, said State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey. "And if Iran continues down this path, then there may be further measures that will be taken against them," he told reporters Wednesday. The UN sanctions were unanimously adopted by the Security Council, but only after months of difficult negotiations in which Russia and China -- both key economic partners of Iran -- succeeded in greatly watering down the measures. The final sanctions package banned sales to Iran of materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programs and froze the assets of 10 Iranian firms and 12 individuals linked to those sectors. But it stopped short of more sweeping steps sought by Washington to isolate Iran. Casey said this week's action against Bank Sepah fell under the terms of the UN resolution, but so far US allies in Europe, Asia and the Gulf have viewed the resolution more narrowly and not followed suit with similar financial restrictions. Frustrated with the laborious pace of UN negotiations and the world body's uneven record in implementing sanctions, Washington already took action in September against another Iranian bank, Saderat, citing its alleged support for terrorism. At the same time, senior US officials led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson were pressing allies to take financial action against Iranian firms allegedly involved in illicit activities. "Over the past several months we have been sharing information with our foreign counterparts and key executives in the private sector about these deceptive practices and discussing how best to safeguard the international financial system against them," Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey said. Underlying the message, was a tacit warning that foreign banks and companies could eventually lose access to the US financial system if found to be dealing with Iranian interests linked to terrorism or weapons proliferation. Such leverage effectively extends the reach of the US measures against Iran into other countries which may not otherwise have chosen to take such action -- as witnessed by the decisions of several major foreign banks to restrict or cut off business with Tehran in recent months, officials said. Similar US steps against a Macau bank accused of money-laundering and circulating counterfeit US currency on behalf of North Korea had the same kind of knock-on effect and was credited with helping entice Pyongyang back into nuclear disarmament negotiations late last year. There have also been some signs that the pressure is beginning to fuel unease in Iran with the hardline regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Two conservative newspapers ran editorials Wednesday complaining that Ahmadinejad's unyielding and confrontational approach had led to the UN sanctions. "I don't think the Iranian people think that being isolated from the rest of the world, being further cut off and being under sanctions is something they want to see happen," remarked the State Department's Casey.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6252975.stm Afghan warlord 'aided Bin Laden' Gulbuddin Hekmatyar The interview was conducted in Afghanistan nearly three weeks ago Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar says his fighters helped al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden escape a US offensive five years ago. Bin Laden was moved to "a safe place" when the US assault on the Tora Bora mountains began in late 2001, the Hezb-e-Islami leader told Pakistani TV. Mr Hekmatyar said Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, was also taken to the undisclosed location. The rare interview was broadcast on Thursday by the private Geo TV network. The authenticity of the interview could not be independently confirmed, but interviewer Saleem Safi told Reuters news agency it was conducted in Afghanistan nearly three weeks ago. Mr Hekmatyar, who served as Afghan prime minister in the early 1990s and was in exile in Iran in 2001, was speaking in Pashto. He said that when US troops surrounded the cave complex at Tora Bora, his followers decided to help the al-Qaeda leaders, as they had helped the mujahideen defeat the Soviet troops. "We helped them get out of the caves and led them to a safe place," he said. Only fragments of the interview were audible under a voiceover translated into Urdu, Pakistan's main language. Although US forces have been unable to locate the two al-Qaeda leaders since the 11 September, 2001 attacks, they are believed to have come closest to trapping Bin Laden after he retreated to a complex of caves in the mountainous Tora Bora region near the Pakistani border in 2001.

U.S. warns about Canadian spy coins By TED BRIDIS WASHINGTON - Money talks, but can it also follow your movements? In a U.S. government warning high on the creepiness scale, the Defense Department cautioned its American contractors over what it described as a new espionage threat: Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside. The government said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada. Intelligence and technology experts said such transmitters, if they exist, could be used to surreptitiously track the movements of people carrying the spy coins. The U.S. report doesn't suggest who might be tracking American defense contractors or why. It also doesn't describe how the Pentagon discovered the ruse, how the transmitters might function or even which Canadian currency contained them. Further details were secret, according to the U.S. Defense Security Service, which issued the warning to the Pentagon's classified contractors. The government insists the incidents happened, and the risk was genuine. "What's in the report is true," said Martha Deutscher, a spokeswoman for the security service. "This is indeed a sanitized version, which leaves a lot of questions." Top suspects, according to outside experts: China, Russia or even France — all said to actively run espionage operations inside Canada with enough sophistication to produce such technology. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about the coins. "This issue has just come to our attention," CSIS spokeswoman Barbara Campion said. "At this point, we don't know of any basis for these claims." She said Canada's intelligence service works closely with its U.S. counterparts and will seek more information if necessary. Experts were astonished about the disclosure and the novel tracking technique, but they rejected suggestions Canada's government might be spying on American contractors. The intelligence services of the two countries are extraordinarily close and routinely share sensitive secrets. "It would seem unthinkable," said David Harris, former chief of strategic planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "I wouldn't expect to see any offensive operation against the Americans." Harris said likely candidates include foreign spies who targeted Americans abroad or businesses engaged in corporate espionage. "There are certainly a lot of mysterious aspects to this," Harris said. Experts said such tiny transmitters would almost certainly have limited range to communicate with sensors no more than a few feet away, such as ones hidden inside a doorway. The metal in the coins also could interfere with any signals emitted. "I'm not aware of any (transmitter) that would fit inside a coin and broadcast for kilometers," said Katherine Albrecht, an activist who believes such technology carries serious privacy risks. "Whoever did this obviously has access to some pretty advanced technology." Experts said hiding tracking technology inside coins is fraught with risks because the spy's target might inadvertently give away the coin or spend it buying coffee or a newspaper. They agreed, however, that a coin with a hidden tracking device might not arouse suspicion if it were discovered in a pocket or briefcase. "It wouldn't seem to be the best place to put something like that; you'd want to put it in something that wouldn't be left behind or spent," said Jeff Richelson, a researcher and author of books about the CIA and its gadgets. "It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense." Canada's largest coins include its $2 "Toonie," which is more than 1-inch across and thick enough to hide a tiny transmitter. The CIA has acknowledged its own spies have used hollow, U.S. silver-dollar coins to hide messages and film. The government's 29-page report was filled with other espionage warnings. It described unrelated hacker attacks, eavesdropping with miniature pen recorders and the case of a female foreign spy who seduced her American boyfriend to steal his computer passwords. In another case, a film processing company called the FBI after it developed pictures for a contractor that contained classified images of U.S. satellites and their blueprints. The photo was taken from an adjoining office window.

http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S21143.html?cat=1 Students kicked off school bus in St. Paul Imagine sending your kids off to school, but when they get to the bus they are told they can't get on because they speak English. That's right, English. It happened to a few children in St. Paul and now the school district is apologizing. Rachel Armstrong sent her kids to pick up the bus as usual Monday, but after the driver let the kids on, he told them he would not pick them up again. He even said he wouldn't take them home that afternoon. Armstrong left work early Tuesday, forced to pick up her kids from Phalen Lake Elementary School. Her twin girls, 10, and her son, 8, were kicked off their regular school bus. They were told by the bus driver the route is for non-English speaking students only. "I was furious. I was at work and I was just mad." Armstrong said. "I felt like we were being discriminated because we speak English. Just because they speak English, they can't ride the school bus. I mean, this is America, right?" Administrators at St. Paul Public Schools admit the district made a mistake when it stranded the kids at school Monday. However, the district points out, that particular bus route serves one of three language academies. The one at Phalen Lake is for Hmong students learning English. The academies all have separate bus routes to keep its students together. The district decided to enforce the separate routes beginning Monday, but it did not tell the Armstrong family. "It is our responsibility to ensure the safety of these kids and we made a mistake. The kids should have gotten home that day," Dayna Kennedy, a public relations representative said. The district also discovered the Armstrongs no longer live in the Phalen Lake School boundary because they moved last year. So even though the district apologized, if they want to still go to Phalen, they are going to have to get their own ride.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/new...ed_from_lockers NY firefighters say U.S. flags removed from lockers Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:30pm ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York firefighters have been forced to strip their lockers American flags, stickers expressing support for U.S. troops in Iraq and cards commemorating firefighters who died in the September 11, attacks, the firefighters' union said on Wednesday. The Uniformed Firefighters Association threatened to sue the New York Fire Department, claiming it violated the free speech rights of New York's 8,800 firefighters and 2,500 fire officers. The action comes under an old policy more strictly enforced since early last month. A fire department spokesman said flags and commemorative cards were allowed but offensive material was not. "Over the past 18 months, the New York City Fire Department has made a concerted effort to eliminate offensive material from firehouses," said spokesman Anthony Sclafani. "However, American flags and mass cards of firefighters killed on September 11, 2001, are certainly permitted." The union said it would distribute 10,000 American flag stickers on Thursday to firefighters to stick on their lockers in protest. "They are proposing that these people who save lives on a daily basis can't be trusted to maintain their locker," said Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy, who demanded the policy be changed or said the union would sue the department on January 21. The fire department has enforced the policy more strictly since early last month when a slogan considered degrading to women was found in a Brooklyn firehouse, a department source said. Cassidy said such items as American flags and stickers supporting U.S. troops helped maintain morale. Some 343 firefighters died in the September 11 attacks on New York. "Firefighters by and large are patriotic Americans; they care about the country and they care about the city of New York," he said. "We consider ourselves a second family to Americans."

Yeah, Willis Sucks. Let's trade him for a top 5 pick.

http://www.pall-times.com/articles/2007/01/08/news/news1.txt STUDENTS SAY THEY'RE GOOD NEIGHBORS, NOT A FRAT By COLIN KENNEDY, Staff Writer After a recent disturbance caused by a Christmas party at 53 W. Seneca St., better known as the former Sigma Gamma fraternity house in Oswego, debates concerning its residents and their activities within the house have been rejuvenated. Neighbors have complained that the residents continue to hold Greek-related events at the residence, including the Dec. 9 bash, even though the house was officially stripped of the privilege to operate as a fraternity after a March 2006 Supreme Court decision. However, Sigma Gamma members and their proponents argue that the party was not associated with the fraternity, but rather, was a get-together held by the residents of the house who were also “brothers” of the organization. “Anybody should be able to have social gatherings,” said John Kares Smith, faculty advisor to the Sigma Gamma fraternity who attended the function for a couple of hours. “Were they operating illegally as a frat house? In my judgment they weren't.” Smith added that after he left the house that night he walked around the premises and did not notice excessive noise. “You couldn't hear anything unless you put your ear up the wall,” he said. Apparently the party was too rowdy for neighbors who called local authorities to break it up. The incident that followed included at least five arrests, according to Smith, including the arrest of a brother who was asleep on a couch. “It was absolutely ridiculous,” said James McGuinness, a senior with the fraternity who lives at the house and attended the party. He claims that the party was not related to the fraternity in any way. “We all have girlfriends and they all have friends too. You can't tell people that they can't have friends,” he said. However, residents in the 1st Ward who neighbor the house continue to say that the disruptive parties at the residence are violating the terms of the court decision. Without the status of “fraternity house,” the place may only house four residents, and may not serve as the arena for fraternity activities like parties or hazing, both of which neighbors claim to have seen. In a letter to the editor that appeared in the Dec. 26 edition of The Palladium-Times, former councilor of the 1st Ward Jay Scanlon said that illegal drug use was occurring at the residence. and at least two intoxicated females were seen leaving the house, neither “being able to stand or even stagger out on her own.” Neither of these accusations has been proven true. “Neighbors have concerns about the ongoing fraternity activity because they witness it regularly,” said Scanlon. “It surprises me that a college professor acting as an advisor ends up at all these parties if they are not fraternity related,” he said, speaking about Smith's involvement. “It seems awfully strange.” Everyone in connection to the fraternity maintains that only four people live at the questioned address and that business relating to the fraternity, like meetings, takes place at Hewitt Union on the SUNY Oswego campus. The residents also “went to great lengths” to obtain the necessary Certificate of Occupancy for both floors of the house, according to Smith in his own letter to the editor on Dec. 15. “The fraternity does not ‘operate as an illegal fraternity house,'” he said. Smith was also quick to point out the volunteer work that Sigma Gamma brothers have provided for the community. Besides the work they did for the Oswego Democratic Party, chronicled in his letter to the editor, members have also been involved in litter removal from West Park that sits in their front yard, as well as programs like Canal Cleanup, Toys For Tots and Meet The Neighbors. “I am sympathetic to the neighbors,” said Smith, “but these guys are doing a lot of good. I think lots of the neighbors are responding to the Sigma Gamma of 10 or 15 years ago.” McGuinness mirrored this sentiment saying, “We're trying our best to be good neighbors and be good to the community.” The entire issue lies somewhere in that “gray area,” according to Councilor Connie Cosemento, D-1st Ward. She said it is tough to tell whether a party is a Greek party or a regular party. If a Greek theme is included, or if party-goers are wearing their colors, then a party can be classified as being Greek, she said. However, Cosemento noted it is still difficult to distinguish. “We need to find another way to prove if they are indeed having Greek parties,” she said. In terms of how out of hand the parties get at the residence in question, Cosemento says they are no more rowdy than others in the ward. It is realizations like this that have left certain brothers like Jeff Frenzel disheartened. “It's a nice area so the neighbors want us out. They're not giving us a chance. They never gave us a chance,” he said.

http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?Story...10-060443-9131r Imminent release of new jihadi software January 10, 2007 WASHINGTON -- The Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) has announced the imminent release of new computer software, Mujahideen Secret, to further jihadist outreach to the world. The Middle East Media Research Institute reports that according to the advertisement for the software, it is "the first Islamic computer program for secure exchange [of information] on the Internet," and it provides users with "the five best encryption algorithms, and with symmetrical encryption keys [256 bit], asymmetrical encryption keys [2,048 bit], and data compression [tools]." An announcement by the GIMF, an Al Qaeda mouthpiece, was recently posted on several jihadist forums in which the group claims to present information to both jihadis and "the Western peoples." The message, written by Ahmad Al Hatheq Bin Allah, argues that the Internet serves as the best alternative to broadcast television for Muslims to execute a "kind of jihad" involving preaching and information dissemination. According to Bin Allah's announcement, since the Western media obfuscates "facts," it is incumbent upon Muslims to join Western Internet forums, to portray the truth convincingly through visual or oral arguments, especially as it concerns Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Chechnya. With successfully engaging debate, Bin Allah claims the American people will place pressure upon the US government, "the guardian of terrorism and its promotion," to reverse its Middle East foreign policy. Otherwise, warned Bin Allah - echoing the words of Osama Bin Laden number two Ayman Al Zawahiri - the American people themselves will be to blame for attacks brought upon them.

I think their Air Force consists of ten Mig-21 and a few SU-27.

What are you feelings about Bush's strategy in Somalia?

Garbage Man Scare Prank Backfires 1/8/2007 - These guys decide it would be funny to scare the garbage man during his pickup by hiding in a seemingly empty cardboard box. I guess he didn't find it that funny. http://www.break.com/index/garbage_man_sca..._backfires.html

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/arch...1/10/2003344169 Van Halen `jumps' into Hall of Fame AP, CLEVELAND Wednesday, Jan 10, 2007, Page 7 Van Halen entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, along with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -- the first rap act to be inducted into the hall -- and R.E.M., the Ronettes and Patti Smith. A panel of 600 industry figures selected the five acts to be inducted at the annual ceremony, to be held March 12 in New York. To be eligible, artists must have issued a first single or album at least 25 years before nomination. "R.E.M. and myself in particular are really terrible at looking backward," R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe, told reporters via telephone from London. "We kind of, as a band, continually look forward so it's really fantastic that someone, especially the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, are looking backward to recognize the work that we've done." "I'm just really honored that they thought of us," he added. Van Halen was the 1980s hard rock quartet led by guitarist Eddie Van Halen, lead vocalist David Lee Roth, and later, rocker Sammy Hagar, that put out hits such as Jump and Why Can't This Be Love. Eddie Van Halen stood out with his blistering guitar solos; his feud with Roth led to Hagar's run with the band, which produced hits into the 1990s. R.E.M. (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Stipe) was the quintessential indie rock band until breaking through to mass success in the early 1990s with songs like Losing My Religion. The unique sound of their first album in 1983 Murmur, was the beginning of the multiplatinum band's emergence as leader of the US alternative scene of the 1980s and 1990s. Punk rock poet Smith, known as the Godmother of Punk, came out of lower Manhattan in the early 1970s to create a blend of cerebral, raggedly emotional music. Stipe said got a congratulatory call from Smith, a good friend, on Monday. He noted that when he first heard her music in the 1970s, "I decided that I wanted to make music and be in a band ... now she and I are great friends. It was great to be able to congratulate her back." Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (Kid Creole, Cowboy, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Mr Ness, Raheim) led the most innovative act in hip-hop's formative era in the late 1970s, and the song The Message was like a letter from urban America. Grandmaster Flash was considered a pioneer in many DJ techniques. With beehive hairdos and dark eyeliner, the 1960s girl group the Ronettes (Estelle Bennett, Ronnie Spector, Nedra Talley) achieved their greatest success with producer Phil Spector and his "wall of sound" style. Phil Spector co-wrote the trio's biggest hit, Be My Baby, and was married to its lead singer, Ronnie Spector.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/loc...mallarrest.html Suspect exposed himself, police say By ELBERT AULL, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald Monday, January 8, 2007 SOUTH PORTLAND -- Police charged a South Portland man with exposing himself to children at a Maine Mall business Sunday afternoon, but not before an altercation, a foot chase and a violent brush with the rear window of a police cruiser. Police said the 39-year-old man pulled down his pants at Chuck E. Cheese's -- a restaurant and entertainment business geared toward children -- sometime before 2:22 p.m. When the restaurant manager told the man to leave, the suspect punched the manager and fled. South Portland Police Lt. Christopher Cook said restaurant employees, customers and mall security guards chased the suspect through a parking lot and into a wooded area several hundred feet from the restaurant. The suspect stopped after someone threatened to shoot him, but no one involved in the chase was carrying a gun, Cook said. Police arrived and arrested the suspect, who cooperated at first and was placed in the back seat of Officer Kevin Battle's police cruiser. Battle said that as he started to drive to the county jail, the handcuffed suspect "freaked out" in the car for no apparent reason and knocked out the passenger-side rear window with his forehead. Battle turned the car around and headed back to the scene of the arrest, where other officers could help him. Meanwhile, the suspect poked his head out the window and somehow managed to wiggle out of his seat belt. When the car stopped, the man dived out of the back seat and smacked the pavement, police and witnesses said. An ambulance took the suspect to Maine Medical Center, where he was treated for cuts and bruises to the face. He was taken to the Cumberland County Jail on Sunday night. Police charged the suspect with visual sexual aggression against a child, criminal mischief, aggravated criminal mischief and escape from custody. The suspect is not a registered sex offender, and Cook said the man has never been convicted of a sex crime. It is the policy of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram to withhold the identities of suspects in sex crimes until they have made a court appearance. Managers at Chuck E. Cheese's declined to comment Sunday, citing company policy.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=b...&id=4908198 Condom joke gone bad January 5, 2007 (PHILADELPHIA) - Janet Lee is getting a 180-thousand dollar legal settlement over what started as a condom joke. She was a freshman at Bryn Mawr College in 2003, when she tried to take three flour-filled condoms on a flight from Philadelphia to L-A. She says the condoms were a phallic toy that students at the women's college would squeeze to deal with exam stress. Lee thought the condoms were funny, so she packed them to show friends at home. But she was arrested and jailed for three weeks on drug charges. Authorities eventually discovered Lee's story was true and released her. Lee's lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia was to go to trial yesterday. But lawyers agreed to settle the condom case out of court.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews....xml&src=rss Prisoner probably ate parts of cellmate PARIS, Jan 5 (Reuters Life!) - A French prisoner who killed his cellmate "very probably" ate some of the victim's body parts, a prosecutor in the northern town of Rouen said on Friday. The victim's body was discovered in a prison cell on Wednesday, with a large wound to the chest. The alleged killer, who shared the cell, told investigators he had removed and eaten his victim's heart. Investigators initially discounted the possibility of cannibalism after the victim's heart was "found intact in its usual place and in its membrane which was also intact," Rouen state prosecutor Joseph Schmit said in a statement. However an autopsy revealed that pieces of muscle from the victim's rib area and part of his lung were missing. "The absence of these anatomic elements, which have not been found on the scene of the crime, render the confessions of cannibalism by the presumed perpetrator of the crime very probable," Schmit said. The case comes less than a year after a court in Germany sentenced Armin Meiwes, the cannibal who killed and ate a willing victim, to life in prison. The alleged Rouen killer and another cellmate who admitted he had not been asleep at the time of the crime, were in temporary custody and would be placed under formal investigation for premeditated murder, Schmit said.

http://www.myfoxboston.com/myfox/pages/New...mp;pageId=3.3.1 ACLU sues state police By Karen Lee Ziner Journal Staff Writer PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the state police, alleging racial profiling and violation of the constitutional rights of 14 Guatemalan nationals during a July traffic stop that led to their detention by immigration officials. Steven Brown, director of the Rhode Island affiliate, yesterday noted the unusual nature of the lawsuit filed by ACLU volunteer attorney V. Edward Formisano. “It’s very rare for individuals like these plaintiffs to be willing to step forward and challenge questionable police practices that they’ve been subject to,” said Brown. “The citizenship status of the plaintiffs is really irrelevant to this lawsuit. These were individuals who were in a van that was stopped for a minor traffic violation. The question is whether police have a right to detain individuals for no other reason than the way they look …” Said Brown, “The law generally prohibits racial profiling on the highways. It prohibits stopping or searching vehicles based on the person’s race or ethnicity, all of which we think were present in this case. It also specifically bars police officers from detaining individuals in cars longer than necessary to address the initial traffic violation. From our perspective, that restriction was clearly violated in this case.” The lawsuit names the State of Rhode Island, the state police, state police Supt. Steven M. Pare and Trooper Thomas Chabot individually; and a “Jane Doe” state trooper whose identity the ACLU was unable to establish. State police spokesman Maj. Steven G. O’Donnell said yesterday, “We respect the ACLU’s right to file any lawsuit but we have reviewed this matter at length and continue to support Trooper Chabot’s actions. We also respect the court process and we’ll wait and see how the court rules” before making any comment. The allegations stem from a traffic stop by Chabot early on July 11 on Route 95 in Richmond. According to the lawsuit, Chabot pulled over a van operated by Carlos A. Tamup because Tamup had failed to use his turn signal when changing lanes. The lawsuit alleges that Chabot first confirmed that Tamup’s license and registration were valid and that he had no criminal record. “Chabot nonetheless proceeded to open the doors of the vehicle, and by utilizing Tamup as a translator, requested all the passengers to also provide identification,” according to an ACLU synopsis of the case. When some failed to do so, Chabot then asked them to produce documents “demonstrating their U.S. citizenship.” When none of the 14 were able to do so, Chabot advised them that they would all be escorted to the federal Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Providence. Then, the lawsuit states, Chabot instructed Tamup, the driver, that he was responsible for the vehicle’s passengers, and that if any passenger attempted to escape from the van en route to Providence, that passenger would be “shot.” Chabot and the trooper identified only as “Jane Doe,” then escorted the group to the Providence ICE office. Formisano, the ACLU lawyer, is seeking a declaratory judgment that the defendants violated the constitutional rights of the driver and his passengers, and demands punitive and compensatory damages on behalf of the 11 plaintiffs. Besides Tamup, the plaintiffs are: Astrid G. Estrada, Wendy M. Estrada, Guilfredo E. Munoz, Jose A. Aquino, Cruz F. Rivera, Jose Burgos, Abelino M. Urizar, Israel Tebalan, Rolando Noriega, Boris R. Cruz, and Elsa Hernandez Villavicencio, all of Providence. The lawsuit argues that the actions by the state police “violated the state’s Racial Profiling Prevention Act, as well as the driver’s and passengers’ constitutional rights to be free from discrimination and from unreasonable searches and seizures.” The suit argues that the defendants “knew or should have known that the search, seizure and detention of the plaintiffs were without reasonable or probable cause, and were therefore unlawful under the circumstances.” The lawsuit also steps into the heart of a national controversy over whether local police should be involved in enforcement of federal immigration laws. Brown said, “To their credit, many police departments across the country have rejected the opportunity to enforce those laws for a number of reasons. I think first they recognize they don’t have the expertise with these laws … also, that doing so undermines trust in the communities that they serve. People in immigrant communities are going to think twice before they contact police if they’ve been victims of a crime, if they think they’ll be the ones who end up on trial.” The van stop also rattled Rhode Island civil rights advocates, who during a public forum this summer and a subsequent news conference, criticized state police Superintendent Pare’s response to the incident. Pare ordered an internal review after the ACLU filed a complaint. That investigation cleared Chabot; Pare stated that Chabot acted “professionally and appropriately,” and denied racial profiling by the trooper. The state police response to the first complaint “expressed complete satisfaction with the way the stop and detention occurred, which led to this lawsuit,” said Brown.

The Bills would be lucky to get a 3rd round pick for WM.

Get those pretenders off the field!