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Stay classy Denver
Nothing like taking an alleged sexual assault against one of your own and turning it into fodder to be used against the other team’s star player.
I’m not sure what this Nuggets fan will do with her t-shirt now that the Nuggets season is finally over.
Kobe Bryant was never convicted of raping 19-year old Katelyn Faber in a hotel room in Cordillera, Colorado back in 2003. Mostly that’s because Faber kept on changing her story as to what happened that night. She also refused to testify against Bryant in criminal court after she reached an out-of-court settlement with Bryant in civil court.
Terms of the settlement were never made public. [Photo: Deadspin]
Gandolfo’s New York Deli
We stopped in at a Gandolfo’s New York Deli today to eat lunch and ended up quickly leaving. It’s a chain eatery that’s supposed to mimic the type of deli you would see in New York City.
It is to New York delis what Outback Steakhouse is to the Australian outback.
I’ve eaten in a lot of New York delis. None of them have been like Gandolfo’s. You walk in and you see a giant black and white poster of John Lennon wearing a t-shirt with the words “NEW YORK” printed across the front. There were also Knicks and Mets banners hanging from the ceiling.
If I didn’t realize it was a crap restaurant by the looks of the hokey, jive decor, one look at the menu told me everything I needed to know. Instead of having sandwiches listed as what they are (e.g., turkey, roast beef, etc) everything had a cutesy, hokey name. There was the “King of Queens” and the “Madison Square Garden”. There was the “Yankee in the Rye” and the “Tri-Borough Bridge”.
I just wanted half a turkey sub. Is that too much to ask? When eating in actual New York delis in the actual city of New York and I wanted a turkey sub, all I had to ask for was a turkey sub.
We left before ordering and instead went to went to Freddie’s Subs, a real deli that doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. I ordered half a turkey sub and it was delicious.
When I got home, I looked up Gandolfo’s New York Deli on Google. They have franchises in 17 states. You know what’s one of the states they are not in?
New York.
It’s not like there is even an original Gandolfo’s New York Deli located a stone’s throw from the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s total crap.
The original Gandolfo’s New York Deli is located in Provo, Utah. The Gandolfo cooperate office is in Lawrenceville, Georgia. In other words, it’s about as fake as fake can be.
Ohio man arrested for mowing unkempt grass at a public park
An Ohio man was arrested by Sandusky police because he was mowing the grass at a public park. The grass was about a foot high and John Hamilton decided to take control of the situation and go over it with his ridding mower. The police were called and when he refused to stop mowing, they placed him under arrest and charged him with obstructing official business and disorderly conduct. If he is found guilty, he could face up to 90 days in jail and $1,000 in fines.
City Manager Matt Kline said budget cuts have left Sandusky understaffed for seasonal maintenance work.
I’ve heard of good Samaritans who put coins in parking meters that are about to expire get threatened with arrest on similar charges. The motive for the police is that the city is losing money by not being able to level parking fines. What motive would the police have in this case to stop someone from mowing the grass? I realize that they probably don’t like it when people don’t obey their commands, because police officers normally get off on telling people what to do.
The guy was only cutting the grass.
I think it would be funny if he’s found guilty and sentenced to 40 hours of community service. He would perform his community service by gutting the grass at the Sandusky Central Park. Recent budget cuts have left Sandusky understaffed for seasonal maintenance work and word on the street is that Sandusky Central Park really needs a good mowing. [Link]
What’s The Learning Channel teaching with ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8′?
For the life of me, I cannot figure out what exactly The Learning Channel is trying to teach people with it’s hit reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8. Whatever it is, it must be really important. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be on The Learning Channel. It claims to be the only television network dedicated to lifelong learning for viewers who want to grow up, not old.
From what I can tell, the only thing people can learn from Jon & Kate Plus 8 is that men should avoid marrying bitchy women addicted to fertility drugs. That’s the only thing I’ve ever learned from the show. Not that I needed that particular lesson taught to me.
Jon and Kate Gosselin have been in the tabloids lately because of rumors that Jon and Kate have essentially split up. They are also saying that Jon is seeing another woman. I don’t know if that’s true, but I say anything he can do that stops him from putting the business end of a loaded shotgun in his mouth, is more than okay. At least I’m not going to judge him for it.
Sonia Sotomayor
I’m not very impressed with president Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor. I get the impression that she was picked to replace Supreme Court Justice David Souter not because she’s a capable judge or because she would make a great Supreme Court justice, but because she’s a woman and because she’s Hispanic.
I think it’s just as wrong to hire someone because of their sex or their racial make-up as not hiring someone because of their sex or their racial make-up. The fact that she’s a woman or that she’s Latnia should have nothing to do with choosing her as a replacement for Souter.
I can’t help but think it had a lot to do with Obama choosing her.
And there’s the problem with her saying something stupid about thinking that a “wise Latina woman” would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived a certain type of life. I think that’s just as overtly racist as saying that a “wise white male” would more often than not come to better conclusions than a Latina woman would.
One of the reasons I think Rush Limbaugh is an idiot is because he says stuff like that.
The only factor that should be considered when choosing a new Supreme Court justice should be their knowledge of the law. That’s it. Nothing else should matter.
The last time I looked, the Supreme Court doesn’t have any Asian justices. Does that mean the next judge should be Asian? How about a Native-American judge? How about an Albino judge? When will the pigment-challenged have a voice in the most important court in the land?
When will it end?
Finally
Looks like the Baltimore Orioles will finally be bringing top prospect Matt Wieters up to the Major Leagues this Friday. It’s about time.
Wieters to debut on Friday [Camden Chat]
Looking at Wieters, O’s fans have star in eyes [Baltimore Sun]
Wieters ‘madness’ hits Baltimore [Washington Times]
Matt Wieters Will Start for Orioles Friday [FanHouse]
Christopher Handley agreed to plead guilty over a month ago
Like most people who have been following the Christopher Handley manga child porn case, I read that he agreed to accept a plea bargain from the federal prosecutor on May 20.
The Department of Justice issued a press release stating just that.
The following day, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) issued a press release stating that they were disappointed to learn from the DoJ press release that Mr. Handley had agreed to a plea agreement. Even though the CBLDF had been working as a consultant to the defense since last year, they did not learn about the plea agreement until they read the DoJ press release like everyone else.
When I read that, I thought that Eric Chase, Handley’s lawyer, really should have shown the CBLDF the professional courtesy of telling them that his client was pleading guilty. After all, the CBLDF had been working with Chase on Handley’s behalf, spending both time and money on the case. I then thought about it further and I figured that maybe the amount of time from when Handley decided to accept the plea agreement to when the DoJ issued the press release was too short an amount of time to facilitate something like informing the CBLDF.
It appears now that was not the case.
If you read the 13-page plea agreement, you will see that it was signed by Charles Handley on April 16. His lawyer then signed the agreement on April 21. It was then later signed by Craig Peyton Gaumer, Assistant United States Attorney, on May 20 and then filed with the court that same day.
The CBLDF really should have been told that Handley was accepting the plea agreement. How much time and money did they spend from April 21 till May 20 when they read the DoJ press release like everyone else?
They really should have been told.
European Champions
I just got done watching Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final in Rome to be crowned Europe’s best professional football (soccer) team.
I was rooting for Barcelona, but I figured Man U was going to win. Things just always seem to go Man U’s way.
That wasn’t the case today.
Pastor’s husband is a registered sex offender
From NBC Channel 25:
A Methodist minister in Boonsboro is in hot water with her church. Pastor Helen Smith is accused of not telling her parishioners that her husband is a registered sex offender.
Dr. Helen Smith has been pastor at Benevola United Methodist Church for 15 years. Her husband, 57-year-old David Smith has also been working in the music ministry. But now Pastor Smith’s leadership is in question.
It all started when a church member saw David’s picture on the internet. He was convicted of a third-degree sex offense after his adult daughter brought charges against him, claiming he sexually abused her from the age of five until she was 12.
According to the United Methodist Church, Pastor Smith knew about the allegations as early as 2005. The conviction happened in July 2008. Church leaders say Pastor Smith did not inform them or the congregation until December of last year and what she disclosed was inconsistent with court records.
His entry on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry site can be seen here.
In January, the Herald-Mail published an article about David and Helen Smith of Keedysville, detailing their eco-friendly, “green” lifestyle. It stated that they live off the grid, getting all of their electricity from wind and solar. The article mentioned that the Smith’s travel around the area speaking to groups, teaching people how they too can be more green.
Do any of these other groups include children?
Yes. The article mentions that they’ve worked with the Boonsboro High School Environmental Club, having students come over to their home. Maybe there needs to be a law against convicted child sex offenders from working with schools, having children come to their home. Oh, wait a minute. There already is.
OSHA fines Wal-Mart $7,000 for Black Friday trample death
Remember the Wal-Mart temporary employee that was sent to open the doors at the Long Island, New York and was crushed to death by 2,000 Wal-Mart shoppers? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has investigated the case and they found that Wal-Mart erred that fateful morning and because of that, finned one of the world’s most richest corporations a whole $7,000.
From the Los Angeles Times:
The death of a temporary employee who was crushed in a stampede of post-Thanksgiving shoppers at a Wal-Mart store could have been prevented, federal officials said Tuesday as they proposed fining the world’s largest retailer $7,000 — as much as it makes in about 18 seconds.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it was citing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management after the Nov. 28 death of Jdimytai Damour at a Long Island store.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Damour had been on the job about a week when a crowd estimated at 2,000 broke down the store’s doors in search of predawn bargains, trapping him in a vestibule. Damour, 34, died of asphyxiation. Eleven other people, including a pregnant woman, were injured.
My guess is that was the very first time anyone from OSHA ever stepped foot in a Wal-Mart store. Except of course to buy something. I’ve worked in industrial production environments that utilized lots of high-speed, automated equipment. You know how many OSHA inspectors I’ve seen?
None.
Even after accidents where workers had been injured, some severely. I remember one incident where a worker had gotten the tip of his thumb cut off when he reached inside a book binder and attempted to clear a jam. The machine had safety interlocks on all of the access doors that stopped the machine from operating if and when a door was opened, but all of those interlocks had been deactivated. I can remember being tasked with reengaging every safety interlock, not only on that machine, but every other machine in the plant the day following that accident. Management was concerned that someone from OSHA would come to the facility and investigate.
To the best of my knowledge, nobody from OSHA ever came.
To me OHSA inspectors have always been mythical creatures, a lot like unicorns or leprechauns. I’ve heard stories of their existence, but I have never seen any.
What do you know, all men are not created equal
The California Supreme Court upheld the state’s gay-marriage ban today. The 6-1 decision upholds Proposition 8, the recent ballot initiative that asked California voters if the state’s constitution should be amended to ban same sex marriage.
A “yes” vote to Proposition 8 was saying “no” to same-sex marriage. A “no” vote to Proposition 8 was saying “yes” to same-sex marriage. Confusing? Sure, but that was the intention.
This court ruling makes me thankful that God made me straight and not gay. I didn’t choose my sexual orientation any more than I picked my height, my shoe size, or my skin color.
I’m straight because that’s the way I was born. It’s the way God made me.
I’m lucky. Very lucky. I get to be married to the person I love. Sheri and I are afforded all the rights and privileges bestowed to those who are married. When I came down with pneumonia last year and had to go to the emergency room, Sheri was able to be there with me right at my side. She was able to do this not because she was my official guest or some other hokey designation, but because she was my legal spouse. It was very comforting to have her with me that day.
Being married has it’s privileges.
While I feel thankful that I’m allowed to marry the person I love, I feel bad for people that are not. Life’s hard enough without the government throwing up obstacles making it needlessly harder. The fact that democracy was used to take something away from so many California couples seems especially perverse.
More RAM fixes everything
What do you know, if you replace your laptop’s 512MB of memory with 2GB of memory, Ubuntu is much faster. Go figure.
I noticed a decline in performance shortly after upgrading to Ubuntu 9.04. I didn’t even realize my HP Pavillion dv6000 only had 512MB of RAM installed. I would have increased it a long time ago. I was able to get two (2) sticks of 1GB SoDIMM PC530 memory at Best Buy for only $34.99 each. I purchased them yesterday online and picked them up at the Hagerstown Best Buy on my way home from work today.
It couldn’t have been easier. Seriously, Best Buy has their stuff together when it comes to buying something online and then picking it up at the store.
Nationals Park leaves a lot to be desired
Sheri and I went down to Washington D.C. yesterday to see the Baltimore Orioles play the Washington Nationals. We wanted to go to a Nats game last year to check out the new ballpark, but just never got around to it.
I wasn’t impressed. It’s by far the worst ballpark I’ve very been to.
Granted, it’s better than the old RFK stadium, but not by much. The only real difference is that it doesn’t look like it’s about to fall down.
When they put the seats in, they really packed them in. There’s very little leg room at Nationals Stadium. Compounding the problem is the fact that each seat has not one, but two cup holders attached to the back. I couldn’t find a way to sit without one of these cup holders jammed into each knee. Because of this lack of leg room, every time someone in your row needs to get up, everyone must stand up to let them pass. When people in the row in front of you do this, it’s impossible to see the game. It’s distracting no matter how many rows in front of you people are sitting. It’s like people are constantly doing the wave.
Also making it difficult to see the game are the vast amount of men selling food and drinks. They constantly walk up and down the steps shouting that they have $7.50 beer or $4.50 water. It’s nonstop and it’s very annoying. I was sitting at the end of the row so I constantly had someone near me yelling that they had overpriced food or drink to sell.
We rode the metro subway to the game and I’m glad we did. Parking near the ballpark was quite expensive. I saw a sign for $25 parking, but we walked past a dirt lot that was charging $40 to park. People were parking there, so I had to think the $25 lot was filled or close to being filled. That’s a lot of money to park on dirt.
Outside the ballpark is really quite barren. I guess I’m spoiled with going to Orioles games at Camden Yards at Orioles Park. I didn’t see any shops, bars, or restaurants near this ballpark. It appears they built the stadium around a bunch of office buildings. There was nobody selling food or drinks outside the ballpark. If you want something to eat or drink, you have to buy it inside the stadium.
We bought two hot dogs, two orders of fries, and two bottles of water for $29. They didn’t even have paper trays or holders for the food. They also take the cap off the bottles of water before selling them to you. I normally put the cap back on my bottle when I’m not drinking it. I don’t know why they do this. I thought it might be so that you can’t throw a bottom of water onto the field, but Sheri read on the Nationals website that they allow each visitor to bring in one (1) bottle of water as long as it still has it’s factory seal.
I don’t think we’ll be going back the Nationals Park anytime soon.
‘Terminator: Salvation’ comes in short at the box office
The long Memorial Day weekend is not even offer yet, but it looks as though Terminator: Salvation will be coming up short at the box office. Most movie experts thought it would be the number one movie this weekend. It was not. Ben Stiller’s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, made the most money, $53.5 million from Friday-Sunday compared to $43 million made by Terminator: Salvation.
What I find interesting about this is that both movies were panned by the critics. I think what this shows is that people are more willing to go see a negatively reviewed movie if they are confident they will still gets some laughs. If you’ve seen any of the commercials for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, you know that it has at the very least a few funny parts. What does Terminator: Salvation have other than Christian Bale blowing stuff up?
Not that a movie needs anything more than that.
There’s also the fact that people will kids can take them to go see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian no matter their age. Even though Terminator: Salvation is rated PG-13 and not R, I don’t think it’s the type of movie most people will want to take their young children to go see. The fact is, people with young children can take their kids with them to go see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. If they want to go see Terminator: Salvation, they would have to find someone to watch their kids while they go watch Christian Bale kill robots.
Seeing Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is just easier.
Denver Channel 9 News appreciates the sentiment behind vandalism of public property
From Denver’s Channel 9 News:
9NEWS doesn’t condone the defacing of public property, but we do appreciate the sentiment displayed on stop signs in Denver’s Baker neighborhood.
Just west of Broadway, it appears a Nuggets fan, or fans, tagged at least 10 stop signs within a two-block area.
Partially stenciled in black paint the sign now reads: “Kobe stop crying.”
According to a neighbor, the signs were painted Tuesday night after the Denver Nuggets lost Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant.
They don’t condone the defacing of public property? Way to take a noble stand on something important. By promoting the vandalism, they are not only condoning it, they are encouraging it.
If I was in the Denver Police Department, I think I’d try to get a warrant to search the Channel 9 News van and see if I could find a stencil and some empty cans of black spray paint. Not that Kobe Bryant has many friends in law enforcement in the Denver area.
Checking in on some of the Liverpool FC fan forums
I wrote a few days ago about the Liverpool Football Club posting a statement on their official website condemning the statements made by Steven Cohen, a radio talk show host here in the United States, 38 days after the fact. What I thought was remarkable was not that they waited so long to respond to this controversy, but that they did not address the death threats and other assorted hate speech coming from Liverpool FC supporters.
Someone today left a comment in the comment section of that post claiming, among other things, that Liverpool FC supporter groups have been denouncing this type of speech, but that fact is getting ignored by everyone.
I found this to be quite remarkable because it’s simply not true.
If you go to public Liverpool FC fan sites today, you will find all sorts of things being spewed by Liverpool FC supports directed against Steven Cohen.
For example, LFC Online. It claims to be the “longest-running independent” Liverpool FC website on the Internet. It has a popular public message forum. Here are only some of the comments posted there concerning Steven Cohen:
- “I just wish that people who made “death threats” actually had the balls to follow through with them.“ – Tom R
- “When he dies (of natural causes), I hope it happens slowly.” — Newport
- “Someone should shove a pineapple up his rectum.” — Strontium Dog
- “If anyone can think of a way to upload a virus to their satellites I think that would be doing the planet a favour.” – Scouse Missionary
- “I was about to say, sounds like a jew.“– Phily Hamann
- “I’d be quite happy if he dies in screaming agony quite soon. Some kind of painful, terminal illness, maybe.” — Silverlining
- “Waiting for him to do a sports talk in Orlando so i can personally break his fuckin legs.” — scouselad1991
- “A real shithouse of a cunt and no mistake. Hope the thick fucker gets the bullet.“ — Mozzaretti
What I find interesting about these comments is that the forum administrator allows them to remain. One might think that if they didn’t agree with the sentiment of the comments, a responsible administrator would simply delete them.
The fact that they remain for the whole world to see says quite a lot.
King James
I’m pretty sure people will be talking about this shot long after LeBron James retires from the NBA, gets a pot belly, and invents his very own hot dog cooker or a solar powered crock-pot.
With time expiring, LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers launches a three-pointer from around 23 feet to win the game. This ties the best-of-seven series with the Orlando Magic to one game each.
This is why you watch sports. You hope that you might luck out and see a shot like this happen with time expiring. The proverbial buzzer beater.
I just want to go on the record and say that LeBron James is an awesome basketball player. I realize I’m really sticking my neck out on this, but that’s just the way I roll.
Because everyone loves free food
There are a large variety of wild birds living around our apartment. We thought it would be fun for our cats if we put bird feeders out on the balcony to help attract them.
So far, it’s been a huge success.
At first I couldn’t figure out what would be the best type of feeder to use. I finally just settled on two large tin pans. They are made to put under a potted plant, but they work great as balcony bird feeders. In one we put black sunflower seeds and the other we put regular bird seed. The black sunflower seeds are intended for the blue jays and the cardinals. Not only do they come and eat the black sunflowers, they eat the regular bird seed too.
Not only do blue jays and cardinals show up to eat, but we get a lot of other birds too. Sparrows, finches, doves, and a few other birds I can’t identify. No orioles yet. I’ve lived in Maryland now for 15 years and the only orioles I’ve ever seen are the kind that get in trouble for using steroids.
Did Last.fm hand over user information to the RIAA?
I’ll be honest and admit that I never really understood what was so great about Last.fm. It’s a music community website based out of the UK that allows users to track their listening habits. Users can then share their musical listening habits with others on social networks or on blogs. I remember installing a WordPress plugin that displayed the recent albums that I’ve listened to on my iPod or in iTunes.
I quickly realized that I was rightfully embarrassed by my own musical tastes and promptly deleted the plugin. I don’t need the whole world knowing just how fond I am of 80’s new wave music.
It now appears that Last.fm wasn’t only making this information available to it’s users, but to the The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as well.
From TechCrunch:
Last.fm didn’t hand user data over to the RIAA. According to our source, it was their parent company, CBS, that did it. That corresponds to what our original source said in conversations we had after our initial post and before CBS lawyers became involved. But we didn’t want to update until we had an independent source for that information, too.
I didn’t even know that CBS owned Last.fm. I’m sure that if I ever bothered to read the Last.fm user agreement, that tidbit of information was embedded deep in the fine print.
If this is truly, it’s truly a scummy thing to do on the part of CBS. Not that this would be the first scummy things they ever did.
Problems with Ubuntu 9.04
Ever since “upgrading” to Ubuntu 9.04, my notebook computer has been acting slow. Firefox will lock up and the screen will turn gray.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think someone came in when I wasn’t home and reinstalled Windows XP on it. Things just seemed a lot quicker when I was running the prior version of Ubuntu.
I think the problem is connected to Flash. I’ve been playing a lot of Bejeweled Blitz lately (that’s an understatement) on Facebook and it uses Flash. Maybe I should go a day or two without playing Bejeweled Blitz or watching videos and see if the problem goes away.
A whole day without Bejeweled Blitz? I might get withdrawals.
Owners of Emily the Strange get litigious
Marjorie Sharmat and Marc Simont, creators of the book Nate the Great, a book featuring Rosamond, a creepy girl character very similar to the Emily the Strange character, are being sued by Cosmic Debris, the company that controls the rights of Emily the Strange.
Nate the Great was first published in 1978.
The Emily the Strange character first appeared in 1991.
The lawsuit appears to be strictly precautionary. It seeks to restrain Marjorie Sharmat and Marc Simont from recovering damages regarding Emily, and to stop them from claiming that Emily infringes on their work.
The lawsuit seems ridiculous in that anyone looking at Rosamond and Emily can see the obvious similarities. It’s a no-brainer. Instead of suing Marjorie Sharmat and Marc Simont, Cosmic Debris ought to be writing them a big check.
A whole 38 days later, Liverpool FC condemns comments made on a popular radio talk show
From the official Liverpool Football Club website:
Liverpool Football Club totally condemns the comments regarding the Hillsborough disaster made by the radio and TV broadcaster Steve Cohen.
“Mr Cohen has obviously never taken the time to read the Taylor Report which stated clearly that ticketless fans were not a contributory factor or responsible for the events of that day.
“To use the 20th anniversary of the disaster to repeat false claims about Liverpool fans (which Mr Cohen first broadcast and then apologised [sic] for in 2006) is even more unacceptable.
The statement is really quite remarkable. Not because of the amount of time it took the team to issue a response, but because of the fact that the Liverpool FC organization chose not to address the death threats and other assorted comments made against Steven Cohen by Liverpool FC supporters.
That’s really quite unfortunate. The organization, in my opinion, missed a golden opportunity to help ratchet down the over-the-top, visceral behavior coming from some of their supporters. If anything, this statement from the team 38 days after the fact will only help fan the flames.
They should have denounced the death threats.
The kind of creepy, massivly talented kid lost on ‘American Idol’
Adam Lambert, the favorite to win this year’s American Idol came up short last night and lost to the other guy, Kris Allen.
Adam Lambert was robbed.
Not that it really matters. Both Adam Lambert and Kris Allen will both get recording contracts. It’s not like the winner of American Idol gets a large amount of money or one of those tricked out homes from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They don’t even get a trophy or a special sash.
I think people will quickly forget about Kris Allen. Adam Lambert, not so much. I think he has the best voice out of anyone to ever be on American Idol.
Christopher Handley pleads guilty to possessing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children
It looks as though the Christopher Handley virtual child porn case is now over. From a Department of Justice Press release:
Christopher Handley, 39, of Glenwood, Iowa, pleaded guilty today in Des Moines, Iowa, to possessing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children and mailing obscene material.
According to court documents, in May 2006, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intercepted a mail package coming into the United States from Japan that was addressed to Handley. Inside the package was obscene material, including books containing visual representations of the sexual abuse of children, specifically Japanese manga drawings of minor females being sexually abused by adult males and animals. Pursuant to a search warrant, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) searched and seized additional obscene drawings of the sexual abuse of children at Handley’s residence in Glenwood. Handley was indicted by a grand jury sitting in the Southern District of Iowa in May 2007.
Pursuant to his plea agreement, Handley today pleaded guilty to one count of possessing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1466A(b)(1), which prohibits the possession of any type of visual depiction, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, that depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct that is obscene.
Handley also agreed to plead guilty to one count of mailing obscene material and to forfeit all seized property. Handley faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a three-year term of supervised release.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Peyton Gaumer and Elizabeth M. Yusi of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The case is being investigated by USPIS, ICE and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. In addition, the FBI’s Language Services Section has provided significant assistance in the prosecution.
I realize that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) was assisting in Handley’s defense because they thought this case somehow pertained to comic books in general, but I have never agreed with this position. In a written press release, they stated that they spent $2,400 in research pertaining to the Handley case.
If I believe that the medium is just another instrument for crafting stories, one that is just as important and significant as other mediums, if I’m to believe that it is capable of creating intelligent works of art, I have to believe it can also be used to create obscenity. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be giving the medium the respect I think it deserves.
The argument that they are “just comics” falls flat in my opinion.
Because the majestic beauty of Yosemite is just not the same if you cannot pack heat
The House of Representatives overwhelming passed credit card reform legislation today. This should have been done years ago when the bankruptcy laws were changed making it harder for people to declare personal bankruptcy.
Better late than never, right?
The bill passed 361-64 and now awaits president’s signature. How did they get so many Republicans to vote against the interests of the credit card companies? Because an amendment to allow guns in National Parks was attached to the bill. If someone has a concealed weapons permit, they will now be allowed to to bring that concealed weapon with them when they visit a National Park like Yosemite or Gettysburg.
I guess it could be worse. They could have made it legal to bring an AK-47 with you to Disneyland.
I don’t really care. My personal rule is to assume that everyone has a conceled weapon, whether they do or not.
It looks like Jason Lee will finally be able to shave off that stupid mustache
It looks like NBC has decided to cancel My Name Is Earl. Evidently Jeff Ingold, executive vice president of comedy programming, called creator Greg Garcia with the news only 30 minutes before the new Fall schedule was released to the media.
Classy.
In case you’ve never watched My Name Is Earl, it was only one of the best comedy shows on TV. It featured a funny and talented ensemble cast and in my opinion, the very best writing on TV. There’s signs that ABC might be picking the show up. Maybe they will, maybe they wont. I just don’t understand stuff like this.
What happened to NBC? They used to have some of the best shows on TV.
Hubble is fixed
Astronauts finished repairs and upgrades today to the Hubble telesope. NASA says that with these repairs and upgrades, the telescope is “better than new”. They then go on to say that this will enable the telescope to go on for another five to 10 years taking pictures of space.
If it’s as good as new, why will it only last for another five to 10 years?
The Hubble is now 19-years old. If it’s now as good as new, that means it should be able to go on taking pretty pictures of space for the next 19-years.
Steven Cohen apologizes
At the beginning of the second hour of today’s Word Soccer Daily, co-host Steven Cohen read an apology for this recent comments concerning the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. He also posted the apology on the Word Soccer Daily website.
It reads:
First of all I would like to apologize for comments made on World Soccer Daily on Monday April 13th that referred back to an event from April 1989. My apology is directed at any and all people whose feelings have been hurt and people who have had awful memories and scars re-opened. The apology is heartfelt, genuine and sincere.
There are some I suspect who will look at this apology with a cynical eye and of course you are entitled to see it as you like.
We are all football fans, we are all passionate football fans and the events that I am referring to could have happened to any club, in any sport, in any country at any public gathering. This is proved by events in the Ivory Coast recently as well as in South America, Ghana, the old Soviet Union etc …
Let me continue by saying that I came to this country 27 years ago, I believe in this country and what it stands for and most importantly I believe in the freedom of speech, opinion and expression and hold these values and freedoms as being amongst the most treasured of all freedoms. I wore the uniform of the US Army for 4 years between 1982 and 1986 because these freedoms are worth defending and worth fighting for. While there are many people in this world who’s views make my blood boil I would fight to defend their right to say what they believe.
I recognize that with my position as one of the hosts of a popular radio show I have a responsibility to my audience and perhaps the radio is not the ideal place to express every opinion and every belief I have if the net result is many people being hurt and upset.
By the same token those who use a keyboard and computer to exercise their own freedom of speech, opinion and expression also have a responsibility. They have a responsibility not to sensationalize comments made and twist them for their maximum appeal especially when this is done only for their own commercial benefit and clearly with malice intended.
Finally, to those out there in the United States who have hidden behind computers and monitors to send correspondence including too many death threats to count know that your actions and words hurt this game in this country more than help it. This game has yet to find a solid and guaranteed footing in the American sporting landscape and the baggage that this game carries with it from the past is only re-enforced and emphasized by threats of violence and death.
Lastly the subjects being addressed in this statement will never be discussed on this show again unless it is in a open forum or debate where both sides view points can be addressed and considered.
I for one hope this puts an end to this whole “controversy”.
Who knew Maureen Dowd needed help writing her columns?
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd has found herself in a bit of hot water over a column she wrote that appeared in Sunday’s edition. Her column features a paragraph that is nearly identical to one written last week by Josh Marshall on the liberal blog Talking Points Memo.
From Josh Marshall’s original column posted last Thursday, May 14:
More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when we were was looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq.
From Maureen Dowd’s New York Times column published Sunday, May 17:
More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when the Bush crowd was looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq.
She simply changed “we were” to “the Bush crowd” and called it her own.
In an email to the The Huffington Post, she claimed that she didn’t read Talking Points Memo last week. Instead, she claims that she got the paragraph from a friend who she had told she writing about torture and the friend suggested the line, never telling her that she read it on a blog.
Right.
I read a lot of blogs, but I don’t think that I’ve ever memorized complete paragraphs that I could then later quote to my Pulitizer Prize winning columnist friends. Not that I have any friends who’ve won the Pulitzer Prize, but you get my drift.
Dowd’s lame excuse is almost actually worse. Instead of just saying that she stole the line from a blog, she in a sense says that she needed help writing her column from a friend evidently too dumb to know what she was doing was plagiarism. Shouldn’t a columnist as successful and respected (past tense) as Maureen Dowd be able to write her own columns without help from her friends?
The New York Times needs to fire her while they still have some respectability. Maybe they could replace her with Josh Marshall.
Utah middle school principals know nothing about cross-dressing
Craig Jessop, the principle of Rocky Mountain Junior High in West Haven, Utah has been asked by the Weber School District to apologize for forcing a kilt-wearing student to change his clothes. Principle Jessop told the boy, 14-year-old Gavin McFarland, that the outfit could be misconstrued as cross-dressing.
I hate when that happens.
McFarland says he wore the kilt twice to school as a prop for an art project. I’m no expert, but I think that if I saw a kid with the name Gavin McFarland and he was wearing a plaid skirt, I would think he was embracing his Scottish roots, not that he was a transvestite.
Unless of course he was wearing lipstick and high-heels. There’s nothing Scottish about a man wearing women’s shoes.
Shocker of all shockers, Manchester United wins English Premier League title
Manchester United wrapped up it’s third straight English Premier League title yesterday with it’s 0-0 tie game yesterday with Arsenal. All Man U needed to lock up the title was one single point. A scoreless draw with Arsenal game them that one point.
Not only is this the 3rd straight English Premier League title for Manchester United, it marks the 11th championship in the last 17 seasons, which I guess means they are really good or something.
Since it’s inception in 1991, only four teams, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal, and Chelsea, have been English Premier League Champions. One might say that the EPL surfers from a acute inequality. Since the 1994-95 season, only three clubs have won the championship.
This year, it’s once again Manchester United.
The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
There’s an ad on the back of The Walking Dead #61 for something called the The Walking Dead Compendium One. It’s described as a black & white paperback collecting issues #1 – #48 of the series. It retails for $59.99.
I already own all of those issues, either in collected trade paperback or in individual issues. With that said, I’m tempted to get this. It would be nice to have the first 48 issues all in one single volume. Amazon lists the book as being 10.1 x 6.5 x 1.9 inches, in other words, the same exact size as the monthly comic.
The only thing I’m curious about is the quality of the paper. When Marvel or DC republish comic books in their Essential series or Showcase series, respectively, the pages are printed on pulpy newsprint type paper. I wonder, does this book have this type of cheap paper?
Since Amazon is listing the book as weighing more than 3 pounds, I doubt it.
NPR on the Steven Cohen Hillsborough controversy
NPR’s All Things Considered had a segment on Friday’s show about the recent controversy surrounding comments made by World Soccer Daily co-host Steven Cohen concerning the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. In the segment, they play that actual clip from World Soccer Daily that started the controversy, as well as comments made by blogger Christopher Harris (The Gaffer) of the popular soccer blog EPL Talk.
Harris comments on the death threats Cohen has received and says that he doesn’t condone them and finds them “equally despicable”. The inference is that threatening a man’s life over something he’s said is somehow equal to Cohen sharing his opinions on Hillsborough. That probably tells you everything you need to know about this drummed up controversy. How anyone can equate death threats to someone saying that at least partial blame for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster on drunk, out of control fans, is beyond me.
1989 U.K. Soccer Disaster Still Stirs Emotions [3 min 50 sec]
Internet tough guy Joseph Larkin must not like ‘Spinal Tap’
Comic book creators overreacting to the negative reviews of their work is nothing new. It’s a phenomenon almost as old as the Internet itself. Mostly they just whine and cry and denounce whoever is saying not-so-nice things about the comic book they created.
Joseph Larkin recently took his overreaction to a whole other, quite possibly criminal, level.
Kevin Church posted a review of Larkin’s Arcade Of Cruelty by posting a 48 second YouTube clip from This is Spinal Tap. It’s the scene where the fictional band is confronted with some of the most negative reviews.
Like most clips from This is Spinal Tap, it’s really quite hilarious. Equally hilarious is how Kevin Church employed the 48 second video clip to say so much about Larkin’s comic.
You know who didn’t find it so funny? Joseph Larkin. He showed up in the comment section by issuing the following comment:
LOL, my friend! I doff my cap to you, funny guy! A clever “review” like that deserves an equally clever retort. Here’s mine: I just Mapquested (not a real word) directions to [REDACTED], which you may recognize as your street address. I’m about to hop into my expensive luxury automobile, where I will write the word “FAIL” in black magic marker on the knuckles of my right fist, you know, my punching fist. Many hours from now, I will use that fist to pound on your door, which you will foolishly open only to be greeted by a tsunami of punches, kicks and gnashing teeth. I will pummel you until the word “FAIL” is tattooed on your stupid fucking face and imprinted on every one of your stupid fucking teeth, even the ones that will no longer be in your smart little mouth, the one that’s never ever kissed a girl. I’ll handily ask through clenched teeth, “How’d you like THAT shit-sandwich, bitch?!” You will say nothing in response because you are a cowardly pussy of a man that has never kissed a girl let alone fondled a girl’s breasts. See you soon!
I’ve never heard it said before that you can gauge a man’s courage by whether or not he’s ever fondled a girl’s breast. Would a man who has fondled two breasts, both the left and the right belonging to the same girl, be twice as courageous as a man who has only fondled one?
Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time believing a guy who starts out a comment by saying, “I doff my cap to you” is really all that much of a bad-ass.
As blogger Laura Hudson points out, his book has only recieved one review over on Amazon and it’s from Larkin himself.
The New York Times weighs in on the Steven Cohen controversy
Once again, the mainstream news media has weighed in on the recent controversy surrounding World Soccer Daily co-host Steven Cohen. Once again, they’ve come done on the side of Cohen.
Imagine that.
Jack Bell from the New York Times soccer blog Goal has written about the recent controversy surrounding Word Soccer Daily co-host Steven Cohen.
One can argue with the appeal of a TV chat show like “Fox Football Fone-In” on the Fox Soccer Channel, but what is hard to argue with is the right of one of the co-hosts, Steven Cohen, to state an opinion without becoming the victim of opprobrium, ugly scorn, death threats and vitriolic taunts.
Cohen’s transgression? During a call on April 13 from a Liverpool fan discussing the club’s past success, Cohen (a Chelsea supporter from north London who has been in the United States for nearly 30 years) said “what about the other side of your history,” and went on to discuss the club’s and its fans’ involvement in two of the worst stadium incidents in soccer history: Heysel in Brussels on May, 29 1985, and the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, England, on April 15, 1989.
I can only image that Liverpool supporters will now come out of the woodwork and try their best to get advertisers to pull their ads from the New York Times and to get Jack Bell fired.
Lifting weights can be bad for you
As shocking as this video is, the guy under all that weight was not seriously hurt. It looks like the guy who was spotting him might be at fault, but if you pay close attention to the hands of the guy trying to bench all that weight, he isn’t using his thumbs.
Maybe he should take up yoga.
Steven Cohen: ‘Liverpool’s fans should share responsibility in the blame’
The Los Angeles Daily News published a story yesterday about the recent controversy generated by World Soccer Daily co-host Steven Cohen. From the article:
Cohen dove into the situation head-first when he said Liverpool’s fans should “share responsibility” in the blame.
“When people go to games without tickets and liquored up and 96 tragically die, at some point the fans have to share responsibility. You can’t just blame the police,” Cohen said.”I’m not saying they went with evil in their hearts to do it. Liverpool brought the same number of fans as the year before (to Hillsborough) even though they were at the smaller end of the stadium this time.
“I have expressed an opinion that there was a shared responsibility.”
The article goes on mention the death threats Cohen has received because of his comments. If you read the comments that have been left relating to the article, it’s not hard to believe Cohen’s claim of death threats.
Mel Abshier, the acting representative of the North American branches for Liverpool Football Club, is also quoted in the article. This is the same group that has been heavily involved in putting pressure on World Soccer Daily sponsors and advertisers. From the article:
“Imagine USC (football) supporters going to a game, being told to go down a tunnel into a packed, standing-room only area. And due to the crush, 96 USC supporters died. One might ask one self, why those who went in should ’share responsibility’ in the deaths of their fellow supporters because basically that is Stevens claim.”
Except that’s not Steven’s claim. It’s not a simple case of fans being “told to go down a tunnel”. If you read the report from the official government inquiry of the Hillsborough disaster, the Taylor Report, it’s obvious there was more going on that horrible day than too many supporters being told to go down the wrong tunnel. A good many Liverpool fans, for some unknown reason, were reluctant to enter the stadium and find a place to stand in the pens to watch the game. From the Interim Taylor Report (paragraph 57):
Towards the end of the morning, fans gathered on and around the bridge near the Leppings Lane entrance. They seemed reluctant to enter the ground early. All turnstiles were open at 12 noon and one or two as early as 11.30 am. Some 53 police had been deployed to operate outside the turnstiles and in the Leppings Lane area. They enquired at random whether fans had tickets. Those who had not were advised to go away; nevertheless, many returned more than once. Those who had tickets were guided in the right direction. The police tried to persuade them to enter the ground early. Officers, male and female, had been posted outside each turnstile with the duty of searching entrants for weapons, drink or drugs. Once through the turnstile, an entrant was liable to be searched again by one of a serial of officers positioned just inside.
Why would so many fans, especially those who needed to find a place to stand to watch the game, wait till the last minute to enter the stadium?
Also from the Interim Taylor Report (paragraph 64):
A drunken fan tried to push him off: a beer can was thrown at a mounted officer. But these were isolated acts by individuals;the menace came from the massive numbers single-mindedly determined to be in for the kick-off with time running out. At the back of the crowd fans were frustrated by the lack of progress as 3 o’clock approached. Some, mostly young men who had been drinking, tried to push and force their way forward. At the front, people were jammed together and against the turnstile walls. Some panicked as the pressure intensified. Some youngsters and women were fainting and in distress. They were helped out through the tubular barrier by turnstile G or were passed over the turnstiles elsewhere. Fans climbed up and over the turnstile building or on to the dividing fence. This was to escape the crush rather than to gain free entry since most of them had tickets.
It’s clear that conditions outside the stadium were quickly getting quite dangerous.
Also from the Interim Taylor Report (paragraph 67):
Superintendent Marshall realised the crowd had become unmanageable. Although loth to do so, since it was contrary to basic police strategy, he decided to request the exit gates be opened to relieve the pressure. Otherwise, he feared fatalities would occur. Other senior officers outside the ground agreed. At 2.47 pm he radioed control to permit the gates to be opened. At 2.48 pm, whilst Mr Duckenfield was considering the request, gate C opened to eject a youth who had climbed in with no ticket. Immediately, fans outside took advantage and about 150 managed to get in before a mounted officer enabled the gate to be closed again.
I think it’s clear from reading about this tragedy that there are a good many factors to blame for the disaster that happened. Was Cohen wrong about 6,000 ticketless fans? Probably, but there’s no denying that at least some of the fans there, the same fans that were mentioned in the Taylor Report that were single-mindedly determined to be in for the kick-off with time running out, helped contribute to the tragic events that transpired. The Taylor Report mentions that there were some fans outside the stadium who did not have tickets and that they were turned away by the police only to return later on. How many of them came through the exit gate when it was opened? Nobody knows.
I encourage anyone that’s interested in this to read the entire interim Taylor Report. Don’t just read the few paragraphs I have quted. You can download a pdf version for free and read it yourself.
The Vatican claims that the Pope never was a Hitler Youth
The Vatican claimed that German-born Pope Benedict was never a member of the Hitler Youth. In fact, Reverend Federico Lombardi, the official Vatican spokesman said that the pope had “never, never, never” been in the Hitler Youth. The only problem is that the pope himself as admitted that he was indeed a member of the Hitler Youth. Reporters covering the Holy Father’s visit to Israel pointed out that Pope Benedict himself had said he was in the Hitler Youth in a 1996 book on then cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger.
Lombardi revised his earlier statement to say that the pope had been signed up against his will and did not take an active part in the Nazi Youth movement. So he was a member of the Hitler Youth, but he didn’t like it. That’s kind of like saying that you smoked marijuana, but you didn’t inhale. Not that I am suggesting that the pope ever smoked pot. Then again, he wears a white dress and bright red shoes. Would it really be that surprising if he got baked every once in a while?
I say no.
The sucker punch heard around the world
Far be it for me to come to the defense of a Boston professional sports team, but this punch to the face of Boston Bruins Aaron Ward by Carolina Hurricane Scott Walker is just a tad bit ridiculous. Ward was still holding his stick in his left hand when Walker sucker punched him, possibly breaking his orbital bone.
This is such a cheap shot that it’s almost Sidney Crosby like. Almost.
Scott Walker was fined $2,500 for the punch, but it turns out he will not face any kind of suspension. The NHL decided to rescind the automatic one-game suspension that was administered at the time of the hit. It makes me wonder what exactly is so “automatic” about it.
This wasn’t a fight. It takes two people to fight. The NHL erred in rescinding the suspension. All this means is that Bruins will undoubtedly take matters into their own hands and administer their own form of justice on the ice.
Facebook pulls ad featuring Power Girl for being too offensive
Two comic shops ran ads on Facebook to promote an upcoming appearance to their shops of Power Girl artist Amanda Conner. Both ads were removed from Facebook for being “too offensive”.
From Lying in the Gutters:
When asked in an upcoming interview for the column “Shop of Ideas,” Amanda Conner replied, “I don’t think it’s degrading at all. I think that the person they had red flagging that ad probably knows absolutely nothing about comics, they don’t know who the character is because they said it was irrelevant to the ad when it was 100% relevant. They just set themselves up as the morality police, that’s my guess as to the reason she was red flagged. I don’t feel Power Girl’s costume is degrading. I like Power Girl’s costume, I drew it.”
My guess is that whoever red flagged the ad knows quite a bit about comics, they just get easily offended by artwork they deem to be sexist.
Local student suspended for posting a video to the Internet from home
An honor student from Musselman Middle School was suspended from school because she posted a 41 second video taken with her camera phone of a fight between to students from her school. As far as fights go, it’s not much of one.
The “fight” supposedly took place next to the Inwood, West Virgina school’s football field.
The girl posted the video to YouTube not from a school computer on school grounds, but from her home using her own computer. So why then was she suspended from school? According to her principal, James J. Holland, posting the video created more problems than the actual fight. He also didn’t like the fact that the video was put to music.
Uh huh. Posting a video is worse than a punch in the face? I don’t believe that. I’ve been punched in the face. I’ve been videoed. Getting punched in the face is far worse than appearing in a video that gets posted to the world wide Internet web.
You can’t even tell who the two kids fighting in the video are.
It could have been worse. The principle boasted in a voice mail message to the girl’s parents that he could have automatically suspended her for 10 days if he had ruled that posting the 41 second video was “cyber bullying.” I’m sure whoever came up with the rule against “cyber bulling” is glad that an idiot like principal Holland can misuse the rule as he sees fit.
I’m not sure what they teach at Musselman Middle School, but I’m guessing that the Bill of Rights, specifically the First Amendment is not covered very much.
Yao Ming out with a broken foot
If you were planning on watching Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinal series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets later today, don’t expect to see a 7-foot-6 Chinese Man playing basketball. Houston’s all-star center Yao Ming is out the rest of the playoffs with a broken left foot. It’s the same foot he has broken before. Before his career is over, he’ll probably break it again.
Yao Ming must have a really wimpy left foot. Maybe he should stop jogging in high-tops.
Houston has been without Tracy McGrady since he had season-ending knee surgery in February. Since then, Yau Ming has been the focal point of the offense. Luckily for Houston, they have one more weapon in their basketball arsenal. If you read the New York Times, you know that one of the greatest players in the NBA is Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier. It looks like Battier will just have to strap the team on his back and take care of business. Now that he doesn’t have to contend with either McGrady or Yau Ming getting the ball, the offense can finally flow through Battier.
It should be fun to watch.
Update: Well, that certainly was not fun to watch. Shane Battier was on fire and scored 23 points proving that once again, I know nothing.
Chuck Daly 1930 – 2009
Former NBA coach Chuck Daly passed away from late stage pancreatic cancer. He was 78.
Though I hated the Detroit Pistons when he was coaching them, I always liked Daly. Now that I think about it, it makes absolutely no sense. His Pistons were tough, physical, and liked to play a little dirty. They did this under the direction of Daly. They were the team he made them to be. So why would I like the man?
He also coached the Dream Team in the Olympics. The real one. The one with Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Christian Laettner.
He always wore really nice suites and he took great care with his hair. He was a very stylish man.
He went on to coach the New Jersey Nets and the Orlando Magic after the Pistons, but he didn’t win any championship with either of those two teams.
So I guess this is why people buy instead of rent
We’ve been having a massive amount of problems with management at our new apartment. On April 21, we noticed the hardwood flooring in the main hallway was warped and buckling. We called the office and told them about it. After lots and lots of phone calls as well as emails to the vice-president of the company that owns this apartment complex, we were finally told that the flooring installers would be coming out on May 6 to replace the warped floor.
What caused the warping? The floor had been damaged by water leaking on the inside of the air-conditioning unit. I had to fix that myself since nobody from the apartment would come and do it. Read the full article »
Unfortunate ad placement on ESPN soccer page
ESPN Soccer ran a sad story yesterday about Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan who committed suicide by hanging himself with his Arsenal soccer jersey. He had just got done watching Arsenal lose to Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final with some friends at a pub. After the match, he left the pub crying.
It’s the last time he was seen alive.
The next day, he was found dead, hanging from a noose fashioned from the Arsenal jersey he had been wearing the night before. If this wasn’t sad enough, directly under the story was a Google ad for an Arsenal jersey. An Arsenal jersey just like the one Suleiman Alphonso Omondi used to kill himself with.
Click the image to see a much larger version.
One might think the self proclaimed world-wide leader in sports would not make a gaff like this. I guess not.
Area realator compares city employees to Nazis
At a public hearing held to discuss the City of Hagerstown’s property tax rate, Tim Light, an area realtor, took the stage and accused city employees working in the Code Compliance Office of being like the Nazis who worked in the Gestapo.
From my favorite newspaper, the Herald-Mail:
After Martin finished his presentation, Realtor Tim Light took the stage.
Light said he represented several Realtors and investors.
The city should consider making more cuts, he said, rather than relying on property owners to create tax revenue. Light suggested starting with the Code Compliance Office because its employees turn away investors by using strong-armed tactics.
He compared the Code Compliance Office to the Gestapo and the Nazis.
“Code Enforcement killed property values,” Light said. “Everyone knows not to invest in the City of Hagerstown. It’s not profitable.”
Unless the folks working in the Code Compliance Office are hearding people into box cars and sending them to work camps in eastern Europe, I don’t really understand the comparison.
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