According to the Science Channel, the sun has been getting 10% hotter every billion years since it's creation. How does lil' tidbit factor into Al Gore's global warming theory? Do he and his lil' scientist friends blame that on civilization, too? When are they going to tell us that the sun will eventually vaporize the earth no matter how many aerosol products we use?
Is Al Gore's kid a pot head and prescription drug junkie?
Al Gore III, son of former US vice president Al Gore, is facing drug and traffic charges in California after being stopped for speeding and being in possession of marijuana.
A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff's Department in suburban Los Angeles said that the 24-year-old was driving more than 160km/h, far above the legal speed limit, when he was stopped early yesterday in Laguna Hills, California.
The sheriff's deputy making the traffic stop smelled marijuana and conducted a search, which yielded a small amount of cannabis and several controlled medications, for which he had no prescriptions, authorities said.
The "several controlled medications for which he had no prescription, included drugs for ADD, Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall. Heh. Can you blame him? I'd need a helluva lot more than that to numb myself if Al Gore was my dad.
HIGHlarious.
Wait ... Prius's can go 160mph?
I don't have a problem that U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera smokes. I don't even care that they showed him smoking on national television.
What I do care about is him tossing away his cigarette butts on the golf course--or anywhere else besides an ashtray or other appropriate receptacle.
I think the cigarette butt pet peeve of mine comes from the new Californian in me--cigarettes are the #1 littered item on California freeways.
But my issue with littering in general isn't anything new. Three years ago, Scarlett Johanssen broke my heart and my girl crush on her over some fast food trash.
I've been stewing about the Cabrera thing since I read it on The Fanhouse the other day, but I hadn't been inspired enough to post even though a lit cigarette on a golf course is what charred my favorite park last month.
Then tonight, I watched the premiere of "Heartland." The Treat Williams character pulled out a cigarette and his daughter called him out on it, something about treating people with lung cancer. So he thought better of it. Then he tossed the cigarette out of his car window into the street!
I was completely turned off and wrote the show off in that moment. TNT's audience services will be hearing from me
What's worse is that I see this every day on my 6-mile, 30-minute drive to work. Endless numbers of people who think that the streets of Los Angeles are they're personal ashtray. Do you know many smokers there are in LA? and how much time they spend in their cars? Any idea how many butts that adds up to?
Are cigarette butts trash?
Of course they're trash! And to litter them anywhere is positively rude, ugly and bad for the environment. And when they're lit, they're also unsafe.
Like, duh. I just have zero tolerance for it.
If you're random person who got cursed out by a crazy blonde in the car next to you, that might have been me. If only the City of Los Angeles would give me a citation book, I'd be passing out $1,000 fines on the regular to help the city pay for all the asses it has to clean up after.
There's nothing like bad parenting news to bring me out of a blogging coma.
Summer is upon us.
And would you believe that there are still people stupid enough to leave their young children alone in the car?
This kid almost died because mom and grams were getting their hair done and didn't want to be bothered by the kid. Oh... right. They thought gramps had him. Ok... so what's grandpa's excuse?
Somehow the three-year-old is smarter than his caretakers and started blaring on the horn when he got too hot after fifteen minutes of baking in the 100° Rancho Cucamonga sun. Alert passersby broke the window and rescued him from death.
How can parents be so stupid?
Note to all parents everywhere: It is not ok to leave a child that age in the car alone under ANY circumstances. If not death by heat suffocation it could be abduction by pedophile.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
More Stupid Parents
Toddler Takes Heroin To School, Says It's 'Candy
So... I get that something went horribly awry with the mental care provided to the Virginia Tech shooter. Sounds like he belonged in an institution, not a college.
But something has gone horribly awry with our legal system when a straight-A student is arrested for completing an assignment as instructed.
Allen Lee, 18, a student at Cary-Grove High School in Illinois has been charged with disorderly conduct for his thoughts on paper--after he was instructed to "write whatever comes to your mind. Do not judge or censor what you are writing."
He faces 30 days in jail, a $1,500 fine and a damaged reputation for doing as he was told.
Lee's essay reads in part, "Blood, sex and booze. Drugs, drugs, drugs are fun. Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, s...t...a...b...puke. So I had this dream last night where I went into a building, pulled out two P90s and started shooting everyone, then had sex with the dead bodies. Well, not really, but it would be funny if I did."
"In creative writing, you're told to exaggerate," Lee said. "It was supposed to be just junk. ... There definitely is violent content, but they're taking it out of context and making it something it isn't."
Per usual, I'm not in favor of lawsuits. But I hope this student's family sues the asses off the school and law enforcement agency.
If they seriously think he needs mental help, they need to make sure he gets it.
But the day we start locking innocent people up for their thoughts is the day our streets are empty.
Update: If you'd like to share your safety concerns about the students at CGHS, they have a form on their website. I wonder if those get to anyone that matters though.
More contact info:
Cary Community Consolidated School District 26
400 Haber Road
Cary, IL 60013
847-639-7788
Village of Cary
655 Village Hall Drive
Cary, IL 60013
(847) 639-0003
(847) 639-2761 (fax)
villagehall@caryillinois.com
Village Administrator: Cameron Davis
Comments/Questions: stilton@caryillinois.com
NY Post: Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui's maternal grandfather says he'd rather be dead than see his progeny's shame - the first comments from a family member. "I should have died a long time ago and I would never have seen this!" Cho's 81-year-old grandpa told South Korea's Hankyoreh newspaper. The paper identified the grandfather as a resident of Go-yang City but declined to identify him. "Unlike his bright sister, we were worried that he would never learn to talk because he was so quiet as a young child," the heartbroken grandfather said. "And then this happens!"
At long last the voice of reason about Don Imus and the reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. It's random guy I've never heard of, but it's nice to know I'm not completely alone. Meet Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star columnist, who isn't afraid to state the obvious:
Money Quotes
"We keep deluding ourselves and getting caught up in distractions that have nothing at all to do with what is setting back, holding black people back and it's our own self-hatred. Don Imus is irrelevant to what is going on with black people. Don Imus is no threat to us. Don Imus will not shoot one of us in the street. He will not impregnate our daughter or our sister and abandon that kid and that woman."
"Two ministers, who have needed forgiveness in their own life, don't have the moral integrity to give this man the forgiveness he has asked for in a sincere fashion."
"They go around the country starting fires, dividing people and then start picking everyone's pocket. You never see them go back and apologize for the messes they make ... They're terrorists."
WTF is wrong with Tucker Carlson that he has to ask if Sharpton and Jackson are connected to this story?
The bad parenting stories are endless:
ALVARADO, Texas (AP) - A woman led police on a 25-mile high speed chase until she crashed into a concrete median, killing her 9-month-old daughter in the collision, authorities said.
Alexxus Riza was thrown Friday night from the SUV, which rolled several times under an Interstate 35 overpass, said Trooper Dub Gillum of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The vehicle struck a traffic light before hitting the concrete barrier, officials said.
Aimee Andrea Riza, 36, of Keene, sustained minor injuries and was charged with manslaughter, evading arrest, resisting arrest and reckless driving, Gillum said.
“She was combative after the crash when they tried to extract her out of the vehicle,” he said. “The officers had to wrestle her to get her under control.”
What the #$&* was she on?
Murray Energy Corporation: Al Gore is the shaman of gloom and doom - "more dangerous than his global warming."
Brandy Killin must really hate her job.
LMAO!
A Human Resources company was recruiting for "person with ample experience in using the internet (navigation, searches, formats...)." There were 50 applicants, 30 of which were deleted immediately upon receipt in the HR inbox.
Why?
They came from Hotmail accounts.
Indeed. You most certainly cannot claim to be an internet expert if you are still using Hotmail for any reason other than to receive junk mail. Gmail is definitely the way to go.
Via Catorze.blog via sugiero via Boing Boing
A study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, has found that about one-third of the people living in the national's capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally.
One third? No wonder we have so many issues. And one-fifth across the nation? That is just pathetic.
The study considers adults to be functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out job applications.
New York Post - In a soon-to-be released book entitled "Being There" (Lyons Press), Eric Mirlis gets the list of the Top 5 Sports Moments some of the biggest names in the media business have seen in person, along with recollections from their experience at each event.
Some of the fun stories told include Marv Albert talking about Willis Reed and Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals; what was going through Joe Starkey's mind as he was calling the final play of the 1982 Cal-Stanford game; Verne Lundquist's thoughts while Tiger Woods' chip was hanging on the edge of the 16th hole at the 2005 Masters, and many more.
Other people involved in the project include Keith Jackson, Pat Summerall, Keith Olbermann, Ernie Harwell, Bob Wolff and The Post's Steve Serby and Jay Greenberg. In total, there are 100 Top 5 lists. It is already available for pre-sale on Amazon.com, and will be on shelves May 1.
The most popular events listed in the book were: 1994 Rangers win Stanley Cup (13 people); Mookie Wilson-Bill Buckner (11); Cal Ripken breaks Lou Gehrig's record (7); Super Bowl XXV - Giants-Bills (7); Lake Placid (6); Kirk Gibson's 1988 Game 1 World Series home run (5) and Christian Laettner's 1992 overtime buzzer-beater that beat Kentucky in the East Regional Finals (5).
Go, Mirl!!!!!!
Being There: 100 Sports Pros Talk About the Best Sporting Events They Ever Witnessed Firsthand
The Lyons Press (May 1, 2007)
"We watched the events on television, read about them afterward, and dreamed about what it would have been like to have seen the games in person. In Being There: The Top Five Sports Events I’ve Ever Seen in Person, Eric Mirlis presents "Top 5" lists from 100 of the most respected names in the sports media. When it comes to great sports moments, there's nothing like Being There. Includes "Top 5" lists from: Marv Albert, Dave Anderson, Linda Cohn, Bill Conlin, Steve Levy, Keith Olbermann, Jayson Stark and George Vecsey.
About the Author
Eric Mirlis is a writer and editor for the College Sports TV website and a statistician for several networks. He lives in New York City.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom used to champion marriages for all:
“Marriage didn’t come to an end as an institution (when gays were allowed to marry). The fact is there is no irreparable harm. We are talking about marriage, an institution of stability. Isn’t that our ideal?”
~ Newsom, not apologizing for violating his own state's law and allowed gays to marry in his city (Feb. 8, 2005)
Two years later this no longer appears to be the case:
"I want to make it clear that everything you've read is true and I'm deeply sorry about that. I hurt someone I care deeply about, Alex Tourk and his family and friends, and that is something I'm deeply sad about and sorry for."
~ Newsom, apologizing for screwing his campaign manager's wife (Feb. 1, 2007)
Animator Iwao Takamoto, creator of the beloved cartoon dog Scooby-Doo and director of the cartoon classic "Charlotte's Web," has died. He was 81.
A spokesman from Warner Brothers, where Takamoto was still employed as a Vice President, died Monday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Takamoto is said to have created Scooby-Doo after talking with a Great Dane breeder and named him after Frank Sinatra's final phrase in "Strangers in the Night."
In addition to Scooby, Takamoto created cartoon pups Astro, from "The Jetsons," and Muttley, who appeared in several Hanna-Barbera animations. He also contributed his talent to such features and television shows as "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," and "The Flintstones."
The government discriminates against blind people by printing money that all looks and feels the same, a federal judge said Tuesday in a ruling that could change the face of American currency.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson ordered the Treasury Department to come up with ways for the blind to tell bills apart. He said he wouldn't tell officials how to fix the problem, but he ordered them to begin working on it.
From The Daily Free Press, the independent student newspaper at Boston University:
Looking to draw attention to what they call the "worst form of bigotry confronting America today," Boston University's College Republicans are circulating an application for a "Caucasian Achievement and Recognition Scholarship" that requires applicants be at least 25 percent Caucasian.
"Did we do this to give a scholarship to white kids? Of course not," the scholarship reads. "Did we do it to trigger a discussion on what we believe to be the morally wrong practice of basing decisions in our schools and our jobs on racial preferences rather than merit? Absolutely."
The scholarship, which is privately funded by the BUCR without the support of the university, is meant to raise awareness, group members say. BUCR member argue that racial preferences are a form of "bigotry." The group has a similar view on affirmative action.
Me too. Bravo.
Did I mention the most memorable frat party I ever attended was at BU? I was 18, there was alcohol involved, there was the spotting of hot guy across the room and moving straight in for a kiss, there was the leaving of the car behind and getting a cab home, there was not having enough cash to pay the cabbie upon arrival. And then there are the few hours in between I can't remember at all...
Iranian President Mahoud Ahmadinejad: "The western powers created the Zionist regime in order to expand their control of the area. This regime massacres Palestinians everyday, but since this regime is against nature, we will soon witness its disappearance and destruction."
Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris: "Israel is a cancer spreading through the body of the Islamic nation... the Jews are a virus resembling AIDS from which the entire world suffers."
Jay-Z and Russell Simmons: "What's hot? Respect for people. What's not hot? Hating people for their color or religion."
I'm a little heated that we live in a day an age when even firefighters can't be trusted.
TIPTONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The city's fire chief and three volunteer firefighters, including the chief's grandson, were arrested on arson charges stemming from a string of fires over the past two years.
The four men, all members of Tiptonville Volunteer Fire Department, were arrested Monday and expected in court later Tuesday.
Police Chief Norman Rhodes said the investigation had been going on for about two years
"We've been pretty sure who it was for about the last year," Rhodes said. He didn't give a motive for the arsons beyond saying the suspects had formed a clique."
Awwww. A little morsel of news that just warms the cockles of my heart.
Streisand Has Outburst at NYC Concert
"Shut the (expletive) up!. Shut up if you can't take a joke!"
Barbra, How about you do what people paid you to do? Shut the fuck up and sing.
AP - "A woman used her 4-week-old baby as a weapon in a domestic dispute, swinging the infant through the air and striking her boyfriend with the child, authorities said.
The boy was in serious but stable condition Monday at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, police said.
"Never, never, never. I can never remember anything like this," District Attorney Bradley Foulk told the Erie Times-News.
Chytoria Graham, 27, of Erie, was charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and simple assault. She was held Monday in the Erie County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.
The infant, whose name was not released, suffered a fractured skull and some bleeding in the brain, authorities said. His head hit Graham's boyfriend, the baby's father, police Lt. Dan Spizarny said.
Authorities removed four other children from Graham's home and placed them with the Erie County Office of Children and Youth, Foulk said.
Boy lovers: A term used by pedophiles who are attracted primarily to boys.
Ephebophila: A condition in which an adult, usually male, is sexually attracted to young people about the age of puberty. It is sometimes used as a synonym for "hebephilia."
Girl lovers: A term used by pedophiles who are attracted primarily to girls.
Hebephilia: A condition in which an adult, usually male, is sexually attracted to post-pubertal adolescents (14 to 17).
Infantophilia: A rare form of pedophilia in which the primary interest is a child 24 month or younger.
Lolita syndrome: Synonym for ephebophilia.
Paraphilia: An umbrella term which includes many conditions in which an adult's sexual arousing fantasies involve non-human objects, the infliction of pain, non-adults, or other non-consenting persons. Some examples are: ephebophila, exhibitionism, hebephilia, fetishism, frotteurism, pedophilia, sexual masochism, sexual sadism, transvestite behavior, and voyeurism. It is derived from two Greek words: ''para" means "beyond" and "philia" means "love for."
Pederasty: A condition in which an adult, usually male, is sexually attracted to post-pubertal adolescents (14 to 17).
Pedophile: According to the American Psychiatric Association: "A person who over at least a 6 month period has recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (age 13 years or younger). The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children. Not to include an individual in late adolescence involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 12 or 13 year old (straight or gay). Individuals with pedophilia generally report an attraction to children of a particular age range. Some individuals prefer males, others prefer females, and some are aroused by both males and females. Pedophila involving female victims is reported more than pedophilia involving male victims." 1
Pedophila: A condition in which an adult, usually male, is sexually attracted primarily to pre-pubertal children -- those aged 13 years or under. It is derived from two Greek words: ''pedo" means "child;" and "philia" means "love for." Most are attracted to children in a specific age group (e.g. 5 or 6). Fewer are attracted to young people of any age up to puberty.
Phebophilia: Alternative term for Ephebophilia. Both words are derived from the Greek words ''phepius" means "youth;" and "philia" means "love for."
And while one or more of these afflictions may conflate, the above should not be confused or used interchangeably with this...
Homosexuality: A sexual orientation characterized by aesthetic attraction, romantic love, and sexual desire exclusively or almost exclusively for members of the same sex or gender identity. Sexual relations with another of the same sex or gender regardless of sexual orientation or self-identification. A sexual identity or self-identification, which may or may not imply exclusively homosexual behavior or attraction.
MORE
Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation (UC Davis Psychology)
Innocent mothers of missing children don't commit suicide because of a little berating. (See also: Melinda Duckett suicide)
Innocent politicians don't resign without even beginning a fight. (See also: Rep. Mark Foley resigns)
I'm just saying.
Airlines/TSA to Passengers:
No blistex, no lip gloss, no water, no spray cheese, no cameras, no lighters. You might blow someone up. Well, at least we thought so for a few days, but now we've changed our minds.
Screwdrivers and wrenches ok. We trust you with those as long as they're less than 7 inches in length. But no knives or swords. You could poke someone's eye out. Scissors ok.
Also, no kissing or touching.
Wait...
No kissing? Hmmmm. That's a new one.
But not to worry if you're heterosexual. The rule apparently only applies to same sex couples who make "Texas-haired" American Airline stewaresses uncomfortable.
Is it just me, or is there something uncomfortable about that rule?
I was uninspired to watch either major networks 9/11 specials last night and have not been sufficiently inspired to blog on the subject, not really feeling like I have and new insight and I'm not sure people need to be reminded to remember--at least not those reading Drink this... Who could forget?
But, I will at least pose the question I haven't heard anyone asking. Where is the follow up on this...?
Stories of Prior Knowledge of 9/11 More Than Urban Legend
by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
Stories of Prior Knowledge of 9/11 More Than Urban Legend
"What are you looking at?" asked the schoolteacher as she approached one of her freshman students. The boy, a 14-year-old Palestinian, seemed captivated as he stared out the window across Brooklyn toward the lower downtown area of Manhattan.
"Do you see those two buildings?" he asked while pointing toward the World Trade Center. "They won't be standing there next week." It was noon, Sept. 6, 2001.
Antoinette DiLorenzo didn't take her student's comment all too seriously. Of course the twin towers would be there next week, she assured him. The student shook his head and reiterated his prediction until his 15-year old brother, a sophomore, elbowed him and told him to be quiet. "He's just kidding," the older boy said politely.
Five days later at 8:45 a.m., DiLorenzo heard a loud explosion from the north. Thunderstruck, she turned to the window and eventually watched both towers collapse into shattered glass and crumpled steel.
Many people believed this story was nothing more than an urban legend when they first heard it. Everyone has heard similar stories in the wake of such a disaster. Despite the almost unbelievable circumstances of the story, I was able to confirm it last October while working as a crime reporter for the Journal News, a New York-based Gannett newspaper. Catie Marshall, a spokeswoman for the New York City Board of Education, confirmed that school officials reported the incident to police and that the matter since had been taken over by the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force [FBI-JTTF].
New Utrecht High School was closed Sept. 12, 2001, but as soon as it reopened the following morning, a shaken DiLorenzo quietly approached a New York City Police Department [NYPD] school-safety officer in the school's first-floor lobby. Soon, a dozen investigators stormed the school, interrogating students and searching lockers.
After federal agents questioned DiLorenzo, police detectives questioned her fourth-period class to see if anyone else had heard the boy's comments. Once the detectives were finished, the boy and his brother were taken to 62nd Precinct headquarters, where two investigators with the FBI-JTTF questioned them for several hours. Their father, who was visiting Palestinian relatives in Israel at the time of the attacks, was scheduled to fly home Sept. 11 on a commercial airliner, but he was delayed when all flights to the United States were grounded.
"They asked us if we knew [Osama] bin Laden or if we knew the airline hijackers," the older brother told me. "They were convinced my brother was not only a part of the attacks but that he had helped plan them. They believed it. I could see it in their eyes."
The two boys were grilled for hours. By the end of the interviews, they had answered repeated questions about what they had said in class the week before.
"From the angle we were looking at, you could only see one of the trade towers because one was hidden behind the other," the older brother told me. "My brother likes attention, and so he called me over and pointed out the window toward the tower. He smiled at me and said, 'Do you know why you can only see one building? Because I blew the other one up.'"
The first time I heard the boy's explanation I considered that he was telling me the truth. But school officials said the explanation about the twin towers simply didn't add up. "You may not have been able to clearly see the gap between them, but you could certainly tell there were two buildings," one official told me.
My story was published Oct. 11, 2001, by the Journal News - on page 7A. [The story incorrectly identified the boys as Pakistani.] The editors' reason for publishing the story on the inside was that it was "sensitive" and could cause a great deal of "outrage and backlash." By the end of the day I was back to being a free-lancer.
The next day, Jonathan Alter published an online column for Newsweek.com that verified my story, and MSNBC repeatedly played an interview I had given Matt Lauer that morning on the Today show. Both the Daily News and the New York Post published follow-ups crediting the Journal News, and I received phone calls from media organizations across the nation.
Both Dateline NBC and ABC's 20/20 invited me to their offices and asked me to do a follow-up with them. Unfortunately, no one from the school or police department was authorized to grant them an on-camera interview, which made it difficult for them to go forward. Luckily an editor at a Manhattan-based magazine contracted me to stay on the story.
During my continued investigation I learned that the FBI-JTTF was investigating two other students in the New York metropolitan area for the same reason.
On Sept. 10, 2001, a sixth-grade student of Middle Eastern descent in Jersey City, N.J., said something that alarmed his teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. "Essentially, he warned her to stay away from lower Manhattan because something bad was going to happen," said Sgt. Edgar Martinez, deputy director of police services for the Jersey City Police Department. Initially, the Jersey City rumor was met with some controversy. The New York Times called it an unsubstantiated rumor, and both the Daily News and the Jersey City Journal quoted a board-of-education official who denied that the boy had made any reference to the Sept. 11 attacks at all. Despite their reports, Martinez said the FBI-JTTF took over the matter for further investigation.
On Sept. 11, NYPD school-safety officers interrogated a Middle Eastern boy at Health Opportunities High School in the Bronx who had made similar comments that alarmed his teacher. Catie Marshall said the boy told his peers something as the school was being evacuated on Sept. 11.
"He warned them not to ride any city buses because he had been told at his mosque the week before to stay off all public transportation for a while," said one NYPD officer from the investigating 40th Precinct. "He said it wouldn't be safe." The FBI-JTTF since has taken over the matter.
One New Utrecht official told me that of the 509 Arab-American students who attend the school, many have come forward with their own stories about having prior knowledge. "Kids are telling us that the attacks didn't surprise them," she told me. "This was a nicely protected little secret that circulated in the community around here. I guess they were talking about it among themselves, but they didn't share it with us - at least not before the attacks."
According to students, many of their Arab-American peers were seen taking photographs of the crumbling twin towers from New Utrecht on Sept. 11. "Don't you think it's strange so many of them happened to take their cameras to school that particular day?" one student asked me.
I was beginning to get the picture. Both Brooklyn and New Jersey historically have been associated with terrorism. According to an FBI indictment against bin-Laden, al-Qaeda members used to operate secretly out of the now-defunct Alkifah Refugee Center on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, an office surrounded by Islamic schools and mosques. Today, the former organization's address has been stripped from the building and co-opted into a private business that sells Middle Eastern fragrances, incense and hardbound copies of the Koran. Those familiar with the center told me that New Jersey-based Egyptian cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman was a frequent visitor to the secret al-Qaeda hideout.
Police always have had concerns about sleeper agents in the area. They particularly were concerned by a story I had heard from several NYPD sources about an abandoned rental car that was parked in front of a mosque only a few blocks from New Utrecht.
The car had been rented under the phony name "Bomkr" from Logan International Airport in Boston shortly before the attacks. Investigators thought the name sounded a lot like "bomb car." The anonymous party rented several other cars from Logan, all of which either have disappeared or been abandoned. Police suspect the cars were used by al-Qaeda operatives to return to their home bases after the attacks.
I turned in my story to my editor who, after reading it, hesitated and then opted to pay me a kill fee instead. I called the New York Times Magazine. "I don't doubt the boy actually said these things," a top editor told me. "But we don't know why he said them."
I received a similar wave of responses from a variety of national magazines. I reflected on a conversation I had had with someone I knew at NBC who told me that Dateline actually had known about the New Utrecht incident before I published my story. "No one wanted to follow up on it," he told me. "They figured it either wasn't true or it would be too hard. They were only interested in the story after you broke it first."
It's been one year since I first began working this story. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what that man at NBC said to me. Even Marshall admitted she was surprised that it took as long as it did for the New Utrecht story to get out and that she was even more surprised that more news agencies didn't follow up.
I don't have the resources to continue an ongoing investigation into who had prior knowledge of the attacks - but I am sure someone out there does. Many things have happened since I broke my first story. On Nov. 9, 2001, my sources informed me that the same boy who predicted the attacks told school officials there would be a plane crash on Nov. 12. I decided to inform an FBI agent I knew who told me that, without specific information, there was little they could do.
Once again, the boy's prophecy came true. Three minutes after American Airlines Flight 587 took off from JFK International Airport to the Dominican Republic, its tail snapped off and both engines fell from its wings, dooming the plane to crash in Belle Harbor, located in the Rockaway section of Queens. None of the 260 people aboard survived. To date, authorities suspect the crash was an accident. I'm not so sure.
Recently I learned the investigation into the New Utrecht incident had been closed because authorities were "unable to obtain any further viable information that would explain what really happened." School sources tell me DiLorenzo has "stood firm" on her account of the boy's comments.
There's a story out there - and it needs to be covered.
Originally published in the Washington Post's "Insight on the News" - Oct. 1, 2002
Additional coverage:
Brad Pitt, ever the social activist, says he won't be marrying Angelina Jolie until the restrictions on who can marry whom are dropped.
"Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," the 42-year-old actor reveals in the October issue of Esquire, on newsstands Sept. 19.
Meow. A Pennsylvania judge is being asked to decide whether that word is a harmless taunt or grounds for misdemeanor harassment.
Police have charged a 14-year-old boy with that crime. Michael Loughner is accused of meowing whenever he sees his 78-year-old neighbor, Alexandria Carasia.
The boy's family got rid of their cat after Carasia complained that it was using her flower garden as a litter box. Now, she said, the boy makes meowing sounds every time he sees her.
Continue reading "A Florida judge needs 90 days to think about this..." »
My Recommended Fall TV Viewing Schedule (links to grid and premiere dates below)
MONDAYS
8PM Prison Break, starring my favorite TV hottie, premieres early on Aug. 21
9PM Vanished or Heroes (haven't seen either, hear good things about both)
10PM Studio 60 (Best new fall series)
TUESDAYS
8PM NCIS
9PM The Unit
10PM Boston Legal
WEDNESDAYS
8PM Jericho
9PM Criminal Minds
10PM The Nine
THURSDAYS
8PM My Name Is Earl
830PM The Office
9PM Grey's Anatomy
10PM Shark (the new series I am most looking forward to)
FRIDAYS
Eh... don't bother... go out instead. If you must stay in:
8PM Ugly Betty
9PM Las Vegas
10PM Numb3rs
SATURDAYS
Seriously?
SUNDAYS
7PM Everybody Hates Chris
8PM The Amazing Race
9PM Desperate Housewives
10PM Brothers and Sisters
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9News.com - A Boulder County District Attorney investigator is bringing a suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case back to the United States.
The suspect was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday morning.
The suspect has confessed to certain elements of the crime that are unknown to the general public.
The suspect is expected to arrive back in the United States, possibly within the next two days, accompanied by an investigator from the Boulder DA's office.
The Boulder County DA's office has not confirmed the identity of the suspect, but is expected to have a press conference later today.
9NEWS.com will live stream the event.
A 41-year-old second grade teacher?
John Ramsey's statement re: this...
"I want to have only very limited comment on today's arrest because I feel it is extremely important to not only let the justice system operate to its conclusion in an orderly manner, but also to avoid feeding the type of media speculation that my wife and I were subjected to for so many years.
"I do want to say, however, that the investigation of the individual arrested today in connection with JonBenet's death was discussed with Patsy and me by the Boulder district attorney's office prior to Patsy's death in June. So Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder. Words cannot adequately express my gratitude for the efforts of Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy and the members of her investigative team."
Standby... I'm trying to see what more I can find out from my buddy Shapiro, who is close to the case.
Why would anyone bother to read a whole statement from the Council on American Islamic Relations when the first sentence is a blatant lie:
"American Muslims have consistently condemned all acts of terrorism, whether carried out by individuals, groups or states."
Are you kidding me?
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group terrorist organization was founded by terrorists in 1994 and continues to support terrorist individuals, groups and states today.
In all of the daily emails I have received from CAIR since Hezbollah started the latest dustup in the middle east, not one has condemned Hezbollah for its actions against Israel. Not one has called for the release of the kidnapped victims, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. Not one has called on Hezbollah to do anything. All have called for Israel to stand down.
And people around the world actually support this...
Just like they supported this...
Um... did Hillary Clinton become president when I wasn't looking?
A presidential bust of Hillary Clinton is set to be unveiled at the Museum of Sex on August 9, 2006 at 10 am. Accentuating her sexual power and bolstered by the presidential seal, The Presidential Bust of Hillary Rodham Clinton: The First Woman President of the United States of America will be officially open for public viewing on August 9 for a limited six week run.
Artist Daniel Edwards describes this new sculpture as capturing Clinton “with her head held high, a youthful spirit and a face matured by wisdom. Presented in a low cut gown, her cleavage is on display prominently portraying sexual power which some people still consider too threatening.”
Huh? What? Presidential? The museum of sex? Wouldn't a bust of the Clinton presidential intern be more fitting?
In a rare move, the tallglassofmilk gave an insider tip to TMZ last night advising them to track down Samantha Cole (right)
