Spartans To Play BC In Champs Sports Bowl

Spartans To Play BC In Champs Sports Bowl

Whenever the subject of bowl games came up, players on Michigan State’s Spartans football team insisted that they did not care what bowl game they played in, so long as they got a chance to play. Regardless of those previous statements, players could not contain their excitement Sunday night when they received the official word that they will be facing off against Boston College in the Champs Sports Bowl later this month.

As the news spread through the Michigan State campus, Spartans were overjoyed at knowing they would be facing off against #14 Boston College in the bowl game. The Spartans closed out the regular season of college football with a 7-5 record, while Boston College faired slightly better with a record of 10-3.

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Clinton Sets New Fundraising Records

Clinton Staff Reports Highest First Quarter Fundraising

By Jerry Garner

Although results from the first quarter of campaign fundraising are not due yet, some campaigns are already reporting their results, and the Clinton campaign appears to be breaking new ground. The Clinton campaign is reporting record shattering fundraising activities for the first quarter. If the results are indicative of the Presidential race to come, this will prove to be a very exciting and expensive campaign.

Fundraising results for the first quarter, which ended March 31, must be reported to the Federal Election Committee no later than April 15th. However, some campaign headquarters are reporting their results early as a show of strength. With the amount of money being raised, the Democratic primary elections looks to be a highly competitive race that will likely consist of record spending.

Clinton’s campaign is leading the pack in terms of fundraising receipts. The Senator’s bid for the Democratic nomination has reported a record breaking $26 Million in donations to her campaign during the first quarter. Clinton has also transferred over $10 Million left over from her Senate Campaign, giving her a total of $36 Million for the first quarter fundraising efforts.

Ex-Senator John Edwards comes in a close second with $14 Million raised for his campaign. This is double the amount raised for the same period during his 2004 bid for the Presidency. By comparison, John Kerry had boasted fundraising receipts of just over $10 Million during his run in the primaries.

The world now has their eye on Senator Barack Obama, who is the only Democratic candidate to not report their fundraising results early. It seems the world will have to wait until after the April 15th deadline to know just how much money the Obama campaign has raised, but the Presidential hopeful remained confident during recent press conferences.

"I think we'll do well," Obama said. "I think that we should meet people's expectations. More importantly, I think we will have raised enough money to make sure we can compete for the next quarter and beyond. I think we'll do pretty well."

Early reports hint that the Obama campaign has taken donations from 83,000 people. The Clinton campaign reported that over 50,000 people from all 50 states contributed to Senator Clinton’s campaign, with 80 percent of donations being less than $100 each.

Senator Clinton has repeatedly expressed gratitude at the grass roots efforts that have propelled her campaign forward. Clinton’s campaign boasted over $4.2 Million in campaign contributions that came through the internet, and another $1.8 million that were the results of volunteer telemarketing efforts.

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Taliban Hang 3 Accused of Being NATO Spies

Taliban Commanders Hang Three In Southern Afghanistan

By Jerry Garner

Taliban forces hanged three men in the Southern Afghan province of Helmand Sunday. A Taliban commander claiming responsibility for the executions said the men were found guilty in Taliban courts of spying for NATO and the Western-backed Government of Afghanistan.

The executions occurred in the town of Musa Qala, in the Southern province of Afghanistan called Helmand. The region filled headlines last September when a controversial truce was reached between the British-led NATO forces in the area and the Taliban rebels they were fighting. As the truce fell apart, the Taliban moved into the area and have been firmly in control of the Helmand region since February.

A Taliban Commander who identified himself as Mullah Nizamuddin spoke to reporters from Reuters and the Associated Press by telephone. During these conversations, Nizamuddin claimed responsibility for the three killings, saying that the men were found guilty of spying in a Taliban court and that they admitted to the charges against them.

"They were spying for the British troops and had tipped them off about the location of one of our commanders who was killed by an air strike," Nizamuddin, told Reuters, "They confessed they were spying for the government and foreign forces. We hanged them to set an example for others not to spy on us."

Nizamuddin claimed that the three men were guilty of spying on the late Taliban Commander, Mullah Abdul Manan. Manan’s forces had taken over the Helmand province in early February, but an anonymous tip from locals led to a precision air strike that killed the Taliban leader on February 11th. Remaining Taliban insurgence have continued to thrive in the opium rich region of Afghanistan, turning Musa Qala, in particular, into a Taliban stronghold.

Two of the men were hanged outside of Musa Qala along roads that lead into the town. The third was hanged in the center of town. Namatullah Khan, a villager from Musa Qala, told the Associated Press that the body remained hanging in the town square for hours before the townspeople were courageous enough to take it down for burial.

"The Taliban told the other people of Musa Qala that whoever gives information to the government and our enemies will be punished in the same way as this informer," Khan said.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has remained out of Musa Qala, leaving the fighting to be done outside of the town. This was done at the request of local tribal elders who said they were keeping the Taliban in check. The executions of these three men have left many to wonder exactly who is in charge in Musal Qala, and what should be done about it.

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ICANN Rejects .XXX Porn Domain Extension

Porn Sites Don’t Get .XXX Web Addresses

By Jerry Garner

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has ruled against opening “.xxx” (dot xxx) domain names for use by pornographic web site. This is the third time ICANN has rejected the idea of using “.xxx” domain names, which are widely criticized by both religious groups and those who work in the adult entertainment industry.

For almost seven years, Stewart Lawley and his Florida based company, ICM Registry LLC, has petitioned ICANN to develop a “.xxx” domain extension. Lawley envisioned his company has overseeing all web sites that used the pornographic extension, creating a virtual red light district on the internet. Lawley’s proposal, however, met stiff criticism by religious groups and the adult industry alike.

Adult entertainment web sites, while split on the issue, managed to muster strong opposition to the idea of a “.xxx” domain extension. While the proposal was purely a voluntary alternative, web site operators feared that it could open the door for some countries to force adult web sites to use the extension. Preferring to use a traditional “.com” web address, these companies expressed concerns about being cast into a wasteland if they were forced to use “.xxx” instead.

In contrast, religious groups were extremely vocal in their opposition to offering “.xxx” domains. However, the opposition from this community was based on fears that using “.xxx” domains could bring a degree of legitimacy to the adult entertainment industry.

ICANN voted 9-5 on Friday to deny the application that Lawley and his company had presented. Lawley’s petition had been twice revised since it’s original filing in 2000. His company boasts more than 76,000 pre-registrations for the domains, which Lawley sites as evidence that the internet supports the concepts, but opponents state is evidence of Lawley’s financial motivation.

"We are extremely disappointed by the board's action today," said Lawley, ICM's president and chief executive. "It is not supportable for any of the reasons articulated by the board, ignores the rules ICANN itself adopted for (new domains) and makes a mockery of ICANN bylaws' prohibition of unjustifiable discriminatory treatment."

After the vote was complete, ICANN members who voted against the “.xxx” domains said that one of the chief reasons why the application was declined was because it could have led to ICANN being put in a position of regulating content on the internet, which is a role ICANN does not wish to assume.

"I believe we have to guard very carefully against ICANN ever becoming a regulator in that sense," said board member Steve Goldstein.

Is this the end for the “.xxx” domain extension? Perhaps, but only time will tell. Having been denied three times now, Lawley has at least shown that he is persistent in his belief of creating a voluntary red light district on the internet.

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Pacman Jones Could Face NFL Suspension

Titans Cornerback Pacman Jones May Be Disciplined

By Jerry Garner

Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones, the Cornerback of the Tennessee Titans NFL team, could face disciplinary action. This action could include fines, suspension or even loss of their NFL draft pick. Pacman Jones has faced a series of legal troubles that tarnish the image of both the Titans and the NFL as a whole, and now NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is poised to clean up that image.

Pacman Jones has had to speak to police in reference to 10 separate incidents since he was drafted by the NFL in April 2005. Of those incidents, five resulted in the professional football player’s arrest. The charges against Pacman Jones, which span three states, involve excessive drinking and disorderly conduct. However, the football player is alleged to have been involved in more serious criminal acts, including a shooting at a Las Vegas topless club.

On February 19th, Pacman Jones was involved in a drunken fight at the Crazy Horse Too strip club in Las Vegas. The disturbance later resulted in two bouncers at the strip club being shot in the parking lot of the topless dance clubs. Pacman Jones originally reported himself as being a witness to the shooting, but later reports showed that the gunman was part of the football player’s entourage that night.

Although Pacman was not the gunman in that incident, Las Vegas Police issued a recommendation to prosecutors on Monday that the NFL player be officially charged with a felony count of Coercion. Police also recommended that Pacman Jones be charged with misdemeanor charges of battery and threat as a result of the strip club altercation.

If prosecutors in Nevada do file charges against Pacman Jones, the Titan’s Cornerback could also face charges in Tennessee from an earlier event in January. At that time Jones was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly. The football player made a deal with Tennessee prosecutors that charges would be dropped as long as he could stay out of trouble until July 5th.

The NFL player also faces unrelated charges in the State of Georgia. With so many repeated incidents in the players private life, the off-field activities have actually drawn the light away from the Titan’s turnaround season and have given both the team and the NFL a black eye in the public view. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell seeks to remedy that situation.

It has been reported by the Associated Press that Goodell has called for hearings with Pacman Jones for April 3rd to discuss the football player’s conduct off the field. Goodell is not expected to make an official ruling on the case for at least 10 days after the hearing, but the NFL Commissioner could impose stiff fines, lengthy suspensions or entirely revoke the player’s NFL draft.

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Oral Vaccine For Alzheimer’s Works In Mice

Alzheimer’s Vaccine Will Move To Clinical Trials

By Jerry Garner

Scientists in Japan have developed a vaccine that targets Alzheimer’s disease. The vaccination, which is taken orally, has proven to be safe and effective in studies with mice. Scientists and drug manufacturers are hoping to move the vaccine into early stage clinical trials for human Alzheimer’s patients.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease that is most widely known for destroying one’s ability to remember. Lesser-known effects of Alzheimer’s disease include reductions in a person’s ability to learn, reason, make judgements or communicate. Alzheimer’s also impedes the ability to carry out daily life functions. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than five million are afflicted with the disease in the United States alone.

Alzheimer’s is a disease has proven to be incurable thus far. The new vaccine provides hope that the disease can be effectively reversed if caught in the early stages. When the Alzheimer’s vaccine was administered to mice suffering from the disease, the Alzheimer’s vaccine was proven to reduce the amount of amyloid plaques in the brain while increasing mental functions.

Scientists believe the amyloid plaques are the basic cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s vaccine works by bonding amyloid plaques with a non-harmful virus. When the virus is ingested orally, the body’s immune system is stimulated and begins to attack the amyloid plaques. This attack carries over to the amyloid’s in the brain that cause Alzheimer’s disease.

The initial tests cleared up Alzheimer’s disease in mice, without causing any inflammation or bleeding in the brain. The scientists conducting the tests did note, however, that it is easier for animals to recover brain functions after being afflicted with the disease, so the vaccine may only work on humans who are in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Animals are able to recover their functions after developing symptoms, but humans are less able to do so. It may be that this only works in the early stages of the disease, when symptoms are light” said Takeshi Tabira, director of the National Institute for Longevity Sciences in Aichi in central Japan.

Tabira and the drug makers that sponsored the tests are hoping to move the Alzheimer’s vaccine, referred to as ACC-001, to early stage human trials. The initial research was conducted in conjunction with scientists at Nagoya University. The research is set to be published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. The published version is expected to be released in July.

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Cassini Shows Bizarre Hexagon On Saturn

Geometric Wonder Appears To Be Permanent

By Jerry Garner

The Cassini space probe has beamed back some unusual images from the planet Saturn. The planet’s North Pole is covered by an enormous hexagon four times the size of Earth. Saturn’s South Pole contains a giant hurricane in the shape of a human eye.

The odd hexagon shape was first photographed on Saturn 26 years ago by the Voyager One space probe, and again later by the Voyager Two. Because the hexagon shaped storm has been seen so many years apart, it is a long lasting storm at the very least, but some scientist have began speculating that the hexagon may actually be a permanent feature on Saturn.

Kevin Baines, an atmospheric expert and member of Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California marveled at the hexagon shape. Baines pointed out that strange planetary feature was laid out in a precise geometric fashion, with six sides that were straight and nearly equal in length.

"We've never seen anything like this on any other planet. Indeed, Saturn's thick atmosphere, where circularly-shaped waves and convective cells dominate, is perhaps the last place you'd expect to see such a six-sided geometric figure, yet there it is." Baines said in a public press conference.

The size of Saturn’s hexagon is enormous. The hexagon is nearly 15,000 miles (25,000 kilometers) across at it’s widest point. It is so large, in fact, that the planet Earth could fit inside it almost four times. A thermal imaging study of the hexagon estimates that it extends some 60 miles (100 kilometers) down into Saturn’s cloud cover.

The Cassini space probe also showcased another geometric oddity on Saturn’s South Pole. While the North is dominated by an enormous hexagon, Saturn’s South Pole is covered by a giant hurricane. What makes this storm system so unique is that rather than being circular like hurricanes on Earth, this one is oblong and shaped like a human eye.

"It's amazing to see such striking differences on opposite ends of Saturn's poles," said Bob Brown, team leader of the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at the University of Arizona.

When comparing images of Saturn’s hexagon that were taken by the voyager space probes to those taken by Cassini, scientists have speculated that the hexagon seems to be fixed and in sync with the planet’s rotation. Scientists have never known how long a day on Saturn is because it is difficult to measure Saturn’s rotation. Analyzing the spinning motion of the hexagon could finally crack the code and reveal how long a day on Saturn is in comparison to an Earth day.

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British Sailors Taken Prisoner By Iran

British Troops In Iraqi Waters Captured By Iranian Navy

By Jerry Garner

The Iranian Navy has captured at least 15 British sailors and marines. The men were abducted while conducting inspections of ships passing through Iraqi waters. The unlawful attack comes as tensions mount over Iran’s uranium enrichment program, creating a very complicated situation for the two nations.

According to the British Defense Ministry in London, the attack occurred at 10:30am Iraqi time. The sailors, who are all stationed on the Royal Navy’s HMS Cornwall, were conducting routine inspections of merchant vessels passing through Iraqi waters. The men had just completed their inspection, according to the Defense Ministry, when they were surrounded and captured by ships from the Iranian Navy.

Margaret Beckett, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, has summoned the Iranian Ambassador to the Foreign Affairs Office in an effort to gain clarification on the situation and the well being of the British troops.

"We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest level and on the instructions of the Foreign Secretary, the Iranian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office. The British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment," Beckett said in a written statement to the press.

There have been reports of an independent witness to the attacks. The witness is an Iraqi fisherman who was traveling with a group of Iraqis near the Northern area of the Gulf. The fisherman wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, but recounted what he witnessed to reporters from the Associated Press.

"Two boats, each with a crew of six to eight multinational forces, were searching Iraqi and Iranian boats Friday morning in Ras al-Beesha area in the northern entrance of the Arab Gulf, but big Iranian boats came and took the two boats with their crews to the Iranian waters," said the fisherman.

Early reports hinted that US Troops may have also been seized during the brazen move by the Iranian military. A spokesman for the US Naval Central Command stated that it has been confirmed that no US military personnel were involved in the incident.

The attack by the Iranian Navy reminds many of a similar incident that occurred in 2004. At that time, six British marines and two sailors were seized in an area between Iraq and Iran. The troops were broadcast on Iranian television, bound and blindfolded, and forced to state that they had entered Iranian waters illegally.

In the 2004 incident, the captured troops were released after three days of intense discussions. The stakes are much higher in the present situation, due to increased pressure by the West for Iran to halt it’s uranium enrichment program.

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Official Report Says Cricket Coach Was Murdered

Pakistan’s Cricket Coach Was Strangled To Death

By Jerry Garner

The world of cricket was shaken when the 58 year old coach of the Pakistan cricket team, Bob Woolmer, was found dead in his hotel room following a St Patrick’s Day loss to the Irish cricket team. Authorities initially refused to speculate as to the cause of death, but official reports now state that the cricket coach was murdered. This has opened the door for speculation about everything from angry fans to organized crime and match fixing.

Cricket is generally thought of as being a slow paced, gentlemanly sport. The game, which takes breaks for tea and socializing, makes other sports seem fast paced by comparison. But the gentle nature of the game can be deceptively misleading as tensions flare during the Cricket World Cup championship games. This was evidenced in India earlier in the week, as protestors burned effigies of their players, and even burned one player’s home to the ground, after the team suffered a loss to Bangladesh.

Despite high tensions during the world cup championships, Woolmer’s death caught many by surprise, and shocked the nation of Pakistan, who’s team Woolmer coached. Early reports of Woolmer’s death indicated that he was discovered in his hotel room, which was splattered with blood and vomit. Rumors have also circulated that strange marks were found on Woolmer’s body, but those reports have not been confirmed.

Although no cause of death was officially announced, authorities have now released details from a pathologists report that stated the official cause of death was “asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation.” Because of Woolmer’s large size, authorities suspect that multiple people were involved in his homicide.

There have been fingerprints found in Woolmer’s hotel room that have been proven to not belong to Woolmer or hotel staff. Police have fingerprinted associates and team members as part of the process of eliminating suspects. At this time the team has no restrictions of movement. The team is expected to return to Pakistan soon.

While the investigation into the cricket coach’s death is still early, a number of rumors have cropped up among those who have followed the case. In addition to being murdered by angry fans, other speculation includes the possibility that Woolmer could have been murdered by organized crime figures who were angry over failed attempts to fix the cricket match.

This rumor is largely the result of Woolmer’s coaching activities in South Africa during the 1990s. During that time, Woolmer’s Team Captain was admitted that he had been paid to fix matches. Although Woolmer was never implicated in the case, it has left many to wonder if organized crime connections could have led to his ultimate demise.

With speculation and conjecture aside, the reality is that many are in a state of shock and mourning over the untimely passing of Bob Woolmer. Woolmer was an Indian-born Brit who started his career as a player and grew to be the coach of multiple cricket teams. Pakistan’s President General Pervez Musharraf will be presenting Woolmer’s wife with the Star of Excellence in honor of her husband’s contribution to the sport.

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Alaska Pays Bounty To Kill Wolves

Gunmen Paid To Shoot Wolves From The Air

By Jerry Garner

The Alaskan wolf cull has always been a controversial topic. Opponents describe it as savage and brutal, while proponents say it is necessary for the protection of other species. Alaska has upped the ante once more by offering to pay $150 for every wolf killed in the Alaska interior.

Mankind has always had a fear of the wolf, which often times resulted in hatred. This sparked the species of being hunted to near extinction in Europe, and aroused outspoken protests from ranchers when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. Alaska is one of the few places on Earth where wolves have flourished, but that livelihood is in jeopardy as the Government pays hunters to kill the animals from the air.

Shooting wolves from the air has always sparked heated debates in Alaska. It was first put to a public vote in 2000, when the citizens of Alaska gathered around a public referendum to ban the aerial hunting of wolves. Discouraged by the public view, then-Governor Frank Murkowski bypassed the aerial hunting ban by still allowing pilots to participate in land-and-shoot practices.

While the practice outraged many of the State’s residents, who often have a love of Alaska’s wildlife, the land-and-shoot wolf hunts continued for years. In 2003, Governor Murkowski opened the door for aerial wolf hunting, which he called the Predator Control Program. This program has been continued, and now expanded, by Murkowski’s successor, Governor Sarah Palin, despite numerous ballots and petitions to stop the killing of wolves.

Under the revised Predator Control Program, the 180 pilots and gunners who have received permits to shoot wolves from the air will now be paid a bounty of $150 for each wolf they kill. The bounty will be collected when the hunter turns in the left front leg of the wolf, which will be used for scientific study by State biologists.

According to Denby Lloyd, commissioner for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the left foreleg of the wolf can be used to determine the age of the wolf that was killed. This information will help the State adjust the program in future years.

The State estimates that there are 7,000 to 11,000 wolves living in the Alaska interior. The cull on wolves has been implemented to protect Moose and Caribou, by reducing the number of their natural predators. The plan has outraged many Alaskans.

"What the state is involved in here has more to do with animal husbandry than science, the elimination of one species to artificially inflate another." said John Toppenberg, director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance.

The state was hoping to kill 382 to 664 wolves this Winter, but only 114 have been reported dead so far. With the end of the wolf killing season drawing near, authorities have offered the reward as an incentive for pilots, who have reported difficult times in wolf hunts due to escalating fuel prices and bad weather.

The Department of Fish and Game seems to have taken a “whatever it takes” approach to reaching their annual goal in the wolf cull. The Department stated that it will increase the number of aerial wolf hunter permits if necessary, and even fly in biologists to help pilots track the wolves. The Department even went on to say that, as a last resort effort, State employees may be used to track and kill wolves by helicopter.

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Woody Harrelson’s Father Dies In Prison

Charles Harrelson was Convicted of Two Murders

By Jerry Garner

Charles Harrelson, father of famous actor Woody Harrelson, has passed away in his cell in the SuperMax prison. Harrelson is believed to have died in his sleep as the result of Coronary Artery Disease. He was 69 years old.

Charles Harrelson has been in prison for murder for most of his famous son’s life. Woody Harrelson was just 7 years old when his father was first convicted for murdering a Texas businessman. The elder Harrelson was later convicted of an unrelated murder of a federal judge.

Harrelson, 69, was found “unresponsive” in his prison cell last Thursday. Authorities did not make news of the death public until the medical examiner completed a formal investigation into the cause of death. Freemont County Coroner Dorothy Twellman issued a formal announcement, stating that an autopsy revealed the official cause of death to be advanced coronary artery disease.

Harrelson was serving a sentence in federal prison for his 1979 conviction of murdering U.S. District Court Judge John Wood Jr. outside his home in San Antonio, Texas. Wood was known as “Maximum John” for the sentences he imposed against drug offenders. In one instance, he sentenced an elderly man to 20 years in prison for possession of 30 grams of marijuana. When the man said he did not think he would live that long, Wood reportedly told him to do his best.

Prosecutors contend that Harrelson was hired to kill the federal judge by a drug dealer who did not want the judge to preside over an upcoming trial. Harrelson has maintained to the end that he was innocent of the charges, stating that he was 270 miles away in Dallas, Texas at the time of the assassination. Wood’s case marked the first time in the 20th century that a federal judge was murdered.

Harrelson was originally serving his sentence at the federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia. After an attempted escape in 1995, he was transferred to the SuperMax outside of Denver, Colorado. The SuperMax is the highest security federal prison in the country.

Harrelson shared his home with such infamous criminals as the “unibomber”, Ted Kaczynski, the “Olympic Park Bomber”, Eric Rudolph, and Terry Nichols, a conspirator of the Oklahoma City bombing.

In stark contrast to his father’s life, Woody Harrelson first gained fame in the public spotlight in 1985 when he played a lovable bartender on the television series “Cheers”. He went on to greater success as he landed leading roles in movies such as “Natural Born Killers”, “White Men Can’t Jump” and “The People vs Larry Flynt”.

Harrelson has not yet issued a statement regarding his father’s passing.

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Lost Chopin Piano Discovered in Britain

Chopin's Piano Located After 150 Years

By Jerry Garner

The piano used by the composer Frederic Chopin during his final concert tour was lost after the tour and faded into obscurity. After more than 150 years the famed piano has resurfaced, being found by a musical scholar in a countryside home in Surrey, UK.

The Polish-born pianist and composer, Frederic Chopin had lived in Paris since 1831. In 1848 he moved to London to avoid the French Revolution, taking with him his prize piano. The piano was manufactured by Chopin's close friend, Camille Pleyel.

With the exception of a Broadwood piano Chopin used on a couple of occasions in the United Kingdom, Chopin would use Pleyel pianos exclusively. It was stated that the composer and the piano maker had a verbal agreement. Under the agreement, the French piano maker would supply Chopin with pianos free of charge. In exchange, the composer would endorse the product to his students and fans.

Chopin once remarked that, "Pleyel pianos are the last word in perfection."

After touring Britain and Scotland, Chopin returned to London in November 1848. At that time, the composer played a charity recital at Guildhall to benefit Polish refugees. This was the last public performance of Chopin's life, making the missing piano even more special in terms of it's musical history.

Chopin sold the piano to Lady Trotter, who's daughter Margaret was a pupil of the composer, for £80 before returning to France at the end of the month. The piano used for Chopin's final performance lay forgotten in the Trotter home for years. Margaret Trotter, who never married and had no children of her own, is believed to have left the piano to her grand-niece.

Eventually the piano was auctioned off to a music dealer, who sold the Chopin piano to Alec Cobbe for £2000 in 1988. Neither party realized that the Pleyel piano was the one used by Chopin. Mr. Cobbe purchased the piano to include with his collection of antique musical instruments.

Cobbe's collection of antique instruments is considered to be one of the finest in the world. It includes instruments that were owned or played by famous composers, including Purcell, Bach, Mozart and Mahler. As it turns out, the collection also boasted a Chopin piano without even realizing it.

The piano was eventually tracked down by one of the world's leading Chopin scholars, Professor Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger. Eigeldinger tracked the Chopin piano by tracing the ledgers of Camille Pleyel. Professor Eigeldinger was able to identify the piano owned by Mr Cobbe, no 13819, as the one Chopin had brought to England in 1848.

Cobbe, who was astonished by the discovery that he owned the famous Chopin piano that had been missing for over 150 years, was thrilled that perhaps the world can once again hear Chopin's music the way the composer played it. The sound could never be duplicated due to the signature sound of the Pleyel piano.

"The pianos of today produce lone, sustaining, liquid notes, whereas with the Pleyel the notes die away much more quickly and this gives a completely different texture to the music," Cobbe said in an interview with The Times of London.

Cobbe also said that, "There are only three other pianos known to have been possessed by Chopin. One is in Paris and one is in Majorca and neither of those work. The last is in Warsaw."

Cobbe stated that his Chopin piano plays beautifully.

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Masked Men Steal 221 Pounds of Gold

Museum Heist of a Solid Gold Block

By Jerry Garner

Three masked men entered a small museum in central Japan on Sunday and stole a solid gold block weighing 221 pounds. The gold, valued at up to $2 Million US Dollars, had very little protection or security because the museum wanted the treasure to be open to the public.

Located in central Japan is the quiet town of Takyama, which is home to the Ohashi Collection Kan Museum. The museum prides itself on providing education and cultural awareness to residents of Takyama and surrounding areas.

Among the many crafts and artifacts on display at the museum is a treasure that the Ohashi Collection Kan Museum acquired in 1994. This unique treasure is a solid block of gold weighing 221 pounds. Experts estimate the value at between $1.7 Million and $2 Million US Dollars. Suffice it to say, this is an enormous block of gold that is both heavy and highly valuable.

That value makes it surprising that the museum provided relaxed security for the gold, and that this decision was intentional. Museum curators wanted visitors to have the unique opportunity to actually touch the enormous block of gold. As such, there was virtually no security to protect the gold.

Motion sensors were out of the question, since people were constantly walking up to the display, and pressure sensors could not be used since the heavy block was constantly touched and rubbed. The display even lacked a basic glass display case, which would have prevented museum patrons from having direct access to the precious metal.

There were security cameras, but not on the floor the gold was located on, and the only security offered was the weight of the gold block. It seems that museum curators felt that the gold block was too heavy to be carried away from the museum, but that is exactly what happened when a group of masked men visited the property on Sunday.

Three men ran up to the museum, with one standing guard outside as the other two headed for the gold. A female museum employee noticed the masked me when she heard running footsteps. She attempted to intervene, but was easily pushed aside as the two men gathered up the gold and departed the museum. Police suspect that a fourth bandit may have been driving a get away car.

"We were very shocked ... but of course this was a big block of gold, and there was no security," the female employee, named Kurake said. "I suppose they could have been a little more careful."

The museum was closed on Monday citing an “emergency holiday” as authorities and museum staff try to make sense of what has happened. No arrests have been made in the case.

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Corpse Flies First Class on British Airways

Elderly Woman Passed Away After Take Off

By Jerry Garner

First Class passengers on a British Airways flight between New Delhi and London were in for a surprise on Monday, as the body of an expired passenger was moved from the Economy Class to an available seat in First Class. According to statistics provided by the airline, this happens more often than you would expect.

British Airways is the third largest air carrier in Europe, and the leading airline in the United Kingdom. The company was officially formed in 1935 as several smaller carriers merged into one company. The precursor airlines dated back to as early as 1919. The airline flies more than 35 million passengers per year to destinations around the world.

The flight was all but routine for an elderly passenger who was flying from the Indian capitol of New Delhi to London’s Heathrow airport. The flight began late Sunday night and arrived in the United Kingdom Monday morning. Three hours into the flight, the 70 year old woman passed away on the aircraft.

The company’s official “Corpse Policy” is to cover the deceased with a blanket and, if an empty seat is available, to relocate the body to a First Class seat where there are fewer people to be disturbed by the passenger’s untimely demise. The airline acted in a consistent manner last November when an American man passed away during the six hour flight from London to Boston.

What complicated Monday morning’s flight was that the body of the deceased was seated next to a sleeping passenger who closed his eyes to an empty seat and awoke to a corpse being buckled into the seat next to him.

Paul Trinder, a 54 year old British Airways Gold Card holder, awoke at 30,000 feet to see the flight crew moving the woman to the seat next to him.

"I woke to see cabin crew maneuvering what looked like a sack of potatoes into the seat. Slowly, through the darkness, I realized it was a body. At first, I thought I was dreaming.” Trinder said in an interview with the UK Daily Mirror.

"The corpse was strapped into the seat but because of turbulence it kept slipping down on to the floor. It was horrific. The body had to be wedged in place with lots of pillows,” Trinder continued.

Trinder, who had paid £4,000 for the Delhi-Heathrow flight, was seated next to the corpse for the remaining five hours of the trip, along with mourning family members who were “moaning and wailing” hysterically.

Trinder reported that he did not realize that the elderly woman was deceased at first. When he told the flight crew that she did not look so good, the flight attendants replied that they had called for a doctor, but that it was too late and the passenger had expired. Trinder then asked if they knew why she had passed away, noting that she could have some form of infectious disease.

"You could see they'd never thought of it. They looked at each other open-mouthed. It was surreal.” Trinder said.

When Trinder complained that he was seated next to a corpse, he was told to “get over it”. He was informed that the airline’s “Corpse Policy” would be followed.

Trinder and others were shocked that the event happens frequently enough for the airline to actually write a policy for how to handle corpses. Statistics released by the airline report that, on average, one person dies on a British Airways flight each month.

In a public press announcement, the company apologized for the incident, saying, " "We apologize, but our crew were working in difficult circumstances and chose the option they thought would cause least disruption."

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Thousands Of Protestors March On The Pentagon

Protestors Clash With Counter-Demonstrators Twice

By Jerry Garner

For most of the world, Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day, a day for wearing green, embracing Irish tradition, and perhaps sipping a few suds. For others, it was a day of protest against the war in Iraq and against President Bush in general. While demonstrations were staged around the world, the most notable was a group of 20,000 demonstrators that targeted the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

March 17 was not simply a day where the luck of the Irish touches us all. Saturday was also a day of anniversaries. It was the 4th year anniversary of the war in Iraq, a war that becomes increasingly unpopular as time wears on. Saturday also marked the 40th anniversary of an epic demonstration that protested the Vietnam war in 1967. The Vietnam protest is most memorable from images of hippies putting flowers into the barrels of soldiers’ rifles.

The two anniversaries, combined with escalating tensions about the war in Iraq, culminated in the large scale demonstration, which began at the National Cathedral and ended with a march to the Pentagon, headquarters of the US Military. The protest was noticeably smaller than January’s demonstration of 100,000 people, which included speeches by Congressmen and celebrities. Saturday’s war protest did muster 20,000 participants, however, making them a force that could have been difficult to control if tensions became too high.

As the anti-war protestors began their march from the cathedral to the Pentagon, they were initially confronted by a group of approximately 200 counter-demonstrators, who have been described as wearing “biker jackets” and shouting obscenities. The counter-protestors were Vietnam veterans who were merely protecting the Vietnam War Memorial, following rumors that protestors planned to vandalize the memorial with spray paint and water balloons filled with urine.

After passing the first group of counter-demonstrators with nothing other than harsh words exchanged, the anti-war protestors continued on to cross the Memorial Bridge, which would take the group past Arlington National Cemetery on the way to the Pentagon. At the cemetery a smaller group of around 50 counter-demonstrators greeted the protestors with a banner that read, “Go to hell, traitors. You dishonor our dead on hallowed ground."

The second group, although smaller in size, was certainly more aggressive than the group protecting the Vietnam War Memorial. Mounted police managed to keep the two groups separated, except for one girl who found herself in the midst of the counter-demonstrators and emerged in tears with her peace sign placard ripped to pieces.

Upon reaching the Pentagon, protestors were met by police wearing full riot gear and gas masks. It appeared that the protestors came prepared for action, as many gripped homemade plastic shields and some wearing gas masks of their own. As the two squared off, the police formed a shoulder to shoulder blockade across the street blocking the protestors from moving closer, and ordered the protestors to keep back.

Five of the protestors were arrested by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency for failure to obey a lawful order, after attempting to break through the police line. Across the city, an additional 200 protestors were arrested during a prayer vigil at the White House. No further arrests or injuries have been reported.

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Authorities Raid Drug Cartel In Mexico

More Than $206 Million In Drug Money Seized

By Jerry Garner

Authorities in Mexico raided a home in one of the wealthiest areas of Mexico City. The raid, carried out against a known drug cartel, resulted in the arrests of seven individuals on the property, and seized more than $206 Million in US bank notes.

After taking office last December, President Felipe Calderón proclaimed a nation-wide crack down on the Mexican drug trade, and so far the President has lived up to that promise. In addition to the current raid on a drug cartel residence in Mexico City, the President has also dispatched thousands of federal troops to some of the highest crime areas of the country in an effort to stamp out illegal drug trafficking in Mexico. The President has also extradited Osiel Cardenas, boss of the Gulf Cartel, to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

The most recent raid began late Thursday night and carried well into Friday morning, as federal authorities raided the private mansion of one of the largest drug lords in Mexico. The raid was conducted in the Lomas de Chapultepec district of Mexico City. This affluent, upscale area consists of secure compounds that are home to Ambassadors and multi-national business owners.

During the course of the raid, authorities arrested seven people found at the residence, and seized a large amount of property that was purchased with profits from the illegal drug trade. Among the items seized in the drug raid were eight luxury cars, a number of automatic weapons and specialized machinery for turning powder into pill form.

The largest prize of the drug raid was an unprecedented amount of cash. More that $206 Million of US bank notes was seized in the raid, found stuffed into suitcases, filling closets all the way up to the ceiling, and even hidden inside walls. Also found was more than 200,000 Euros and more than 157,000 Pesos. The funds, which represented the largest seizure of drug money in Mexico’s history, was transported to a secure location in a van that was guarded by two dozen police cars.

"This is the biggest seizure, not just in Mexico but perhaps in the world," said President Calderón.

In a public press conference, the President continued on to say, “"I don't want to think about how many young people this gang was poisoning with its drugs, but I can promise them they won't do it any more."

The drug gang that the President spoke of was one of the largest distributors of methamphetamines in the Western Hemisphere. The gang operated behind the front of a pharmaceutical company titled Unimed Pharm Chem de Mexico SA.

In December, authorities seized a large shipment including 19.5 tons pseudoephedrine in the Pacific port of Lazaro Cardenas, which was ordered by the drug cartel’s pharmaceutical company. Because pseudoephedrine is one of the base ingredients for manufacturing methamphetamine, often referred to as crystal meth, authorities launched a large scale investigation that ultimately led them to the drug cartel in Mexico City.

It is believed that the drug was being manufactured, possibly pressed into pill form, and smuggled into the United States for distribution. A recent report by the US Justice Department's National Drug Intelligence Center stated that methamphetamine producers in Mexico are attempting to muscle into the US market, after police in the United States began cracking down on illegal drug labs.

Mexico’s Federal Attorney General, Medina Mora, said that Mexican drug cartels smuggle tons of methamphetamine into the United States, but that investigators were unsure of what drug gangs the cartel sold to.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Mora stated that the cartel that was raided in Mexico City was operated by a native of China who had gained Mexican nationality. Authorities are presently searching for this individual, who has gone into hiding and suspected of leaving the country entirely.

"This organization had been introducing the illegally imported product to our country and maybe to the United States," Medina Mora said during the interview. "There is certainly connections between this group and methamphetamine producers."

There are currently three drug cartels that dominate the illegal drug trade in Mexico. The Tijuana Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel that stretches along the border between Mexico and Texas. Because of the activities of these three drug cartels, Mexico has become one of the world’s largest producers of methamphetamine.

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Wikipedia Hoax Falsely Reports Sinbad’s Death

Famous Comic Sinbad Returns From The Dead

By Jerry Garner

The online encyclopedia Wikipedia comes under fire once more after an entry falsely reported the death of Actor-Comedian Sinbad. The report falsely stated that the comic passed away on the morning of March 14 due to heart failure, but the comic was found laughing about the instance the following day.

Wikipedia is the world’s leading online encyclopedia. The web site is edited by it’s users, not only allowing any user to contribute information on a topic, but relying on other users to correct errors found on the site. This process, which many say is flawed by design, has opened the door for a number of mistakes, misreported news and deliberate hoaxes, which Wikipedia refers to as vandalism.

Along with factual errors and deliberate hoaxes, Wikipedia recently became the subject of scrutiny as it was found that Wiki-insiders obtained their position with false credentials. This led to further speculation about just how credible Wikipedia is as a source of information, and the web site quickly went into damage control mode to assert itself as a legitimate online encyclopedia.

"The accuracy varies from article to article," said Mark Pelligrini of the Wikipedia press committee. "Some articles are highly accurate because people keep it up. For the computer science field, there is a high level of accuracy."

That damage control may have very well been for nothing, as Wikipedia is once again used as a platform to propel a hoax across the internet. This time the subject of the hoax was actor and comedian David Adkins, who is best known simply by the name Sinbad.

Sinbad, who has appeared on many television sit-coms, as well as in movies like “Houseguest” and “Jingle All The Way”, was falsely reported as being deceased. The Wikipedia page about the comedian reported that Sinbad had passed away Wednesday morning. According to Wikipedia, the 50 year old entertainer had suffered from a massive heart attack.

The news was picked up by an internet user who is a fan of Sinbad, who then forwarded the announcement to other fans of the comedian. A cascade of emails followed, which were accompanied by web site entries and links back to the Wikipedia article about the death. The internet was soon in a state of wide-spread mourning for the comedian, who was not only alive and well, but actually on a comedy tour in the United States.

Sinbad first learned about the Wikipedia rumor from his daughter, who encountered the false posting through an internet web site. Soon after, the comedian was bombarded with phone calls, emails and text messages by the hundreds. Sinbad, ever the comic, seems to be taking the incident in stride, and just laughed when he was asked if he was upset.

"It's gonna be more commonplace as the Internet opens up more and more. It's not that strange," the Los Angeles-based entertainer told the Associated Press in a phone interview.

Wikipedia is taking the issue more seriously. Shortly after news of the false report broke, the comedian’s page on Wikipedia was locked down to prevent further editing, and carried a message that editing was not possible to prevent further vandalism.

"We are currently looking into who made this edit, and have protected the page. We regret any confusion or distress this may have caused Sinbad and his fans everywhere,” said Sandra Ordonez, a spokeswoman for Wikipedia, in an interview with Reuters.

While Wikipedia prepares to deal with more negative publicity from the hoax, fans of the comedian Sinbad can at least breath a sigh of relief in knowing that the comic is ok. More than ok, Sinbad is actually laughing over the matter, giving him the last laugh over the unknown prankster’s Wikipedia hoax.

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