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Happy New year 2010 Cool Wallpapers 01

The new year 2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It will also be the first year of the 2010s decade. Since we are facing problems related to climate change, the United Nations also proclaimedthe year 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity.

The proclamation of the International Year of Biodiversity is aimed at raising the awareness of people worldwide about the importance of biodiversity. Saving biodiversity requires an effort from everyone. The UN hopes that through activities and events in many countries, the global community will work together to ensure a sustainable future for us all.

Meanwhile, according to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, which begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The Tiger is the third sign in the cycle of Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs. It is a sign of courage. This fearless and fiery fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as the sign that wards off the three main disasters of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts.
Thus, the Biodiversity Year and the year of the tiger has been the dominant theme of most New Year wallpapers for 2010.

Here, we gathered 20 of the most creative new year wallpaper designs to welcome 2010. Have a happy new year everyone!

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Happy New year 2010 Cool Wallpapers 02

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Source - http://latest-news-hub.blogspot.com/

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Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan Died of Heart attack

Kannada superstar Vishnuvardhan died of a heart attack in Vikram Hospital at Mysore on tuesday 2-30 am.

The actor was 59 year old and has acted in 199 Kannada films.

As a mark of respect to the actor, all schools and Colleges in Karnataka have been declared holiday

As the Kannada Film industry was reeling under the loss C Ashwat yesterday this is another big blow for the film industry

Sahas Simha Dr. Vishnuvardhan had entered Kannada film industry with Puttanna Kanagal’s Nagara Havu.

Vishnu who is also called as ‘The Bellary Naga‘ is survived by his wife Bharathi Vishnuvardhan and two adopted children.

For the past 4-5 years, Dr. Vishnuvardhan was suffering from a health hazard and recently he was staying in Mysore for rest.

He was admitted to Vikram Hospital Mysore after he complained of severe chest pain. After the treatment, he returned to his house in the evening.

Again he suffered same pain at 2.30 am today. He breathed his last while he was being rushed to the hospital.

Dr. Vikram, who was treating Abinava Bhargava in Mysore, said, “Dr. Vishnu was visiting our hospital for physiotherapy. Yesterday, he had come for the same. At 2.30 am, we received a call from his family complaining of chest pain. Suddenly, we sent an emergency Ambulance, but he breathed his last on the way to the hospital. He was simple, generous and human being.”

Source - panasianbiz.com


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Now in the care of Dave Seville's nephew, chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore take a break from pop-music stardom and return to school. Almost immediately, the tiny tunesmiths get the giant task of saving their school's music program by winning a battle of the bands contest. Though the boys think winning the contest will be easy, romantic and musical sparks fly when they meet Brittany, Eleanor and Jeannette -- also known as The Chipettes.

Trailer for: 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel'

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Weighing Medical Costs of End-of-Life Care

Dr. Tamara Horwich with Salah Putrus, right, and his brother-in-law, Fouad Abdulla. A change of drugs helped Mr. Putrus avoid a heart transplant.

LOS ANGELES — The Ronald Reagan U.C.L.A. Medical Center, one of the nation’s most highly regarded academic hospitals, has earned a reputation as a place where doctors will go to virtually any length and expense to try to save a patient’s life.

“If you come into this hospital, we’re not going to let you die,” said Dr. David T. Feinberg, the hospital system’s chief executive.

Yet that ethos has made the medical center a prime target for critics in the Obama administration and elsewhere who talk about how much money the nation wastes on needless tests and futile procedures. They like to note that U.C.L.A. is perennially near the top of widely cited data, compiled by researchers at Dartmouth, ranking medical centers that spend the most on end-of-life care but seem to have no better results than hospitals spending much less.

Listening to the critics, Dr. J. Thomas Rosenthal, the chief medical officer of the U.C.L.A. Health System, says his hospital has started re-examining its high-intensity approach to medicine. But the more U.C.L.A.’s doctors study the issue, the more they recognize a difficult truth: It can be hard, sometimes impossible, to know which critically ill patients will benefit and which will not.

That distinction tends to get lost in the Dartmouth end-of-life analysis, which considers only the costs of treating patients who have died. Remarkably, it pays no attention to the ones who survive.

Take the case of Salah Putrus, who at age 71 had a long history of heart failure.

After repeated visits to his local hospital near Burbank, Calif., Mr. Putrus was referred to U.C.L.A. this year to be evaluated for a heart transplant.

Some other medical centers might have considered Mr. Putrus too old for the surgery. But U.C.L.A.’s attitude was “let’s see what we can do for him,” said his physician there, Dr. Tamara Horwich.

Indeed, Mr. Putrus recalled, Dr. Horwich and her colleagues “did every test.” They changed his medicines to reduce the amount of water he was retaining. They even removed some teeth that could be a potential source of infection.

His condition improved so much that more than six months later, Mr. Putrus has remained out of the hospital and is no longer considered in active need of a transplant.

Because Dartmouth’s analysis focuses solely on patients who have died, a case like Mr. Putrus’s would not show up in its data. That is why critics say Dartmouth’s approach takes an overly pessimistic view of medicine: if you consider only the patients who die, there is really no way to know whether it makes sense to spend more on one case than another.

According to Dartmouth, Medicare pays about $50,000 during a patient’s last six months of care by U.C.L.A., where patients may be seen by dozens of different specialists and spend weeks in the hospital before they die.

By contrast, the figure is about $25,000 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where doctors closely coordinate care, are slow to bring in specialists and aim to avoid expensive treatments that offer little or no benefit to a patient.

“One of them costs twice as much as the other, and I can tell you that we have no idea what we’re getting in exchange for the extra $25,000 a year at U.C.L.A. Medical,” Peter R. Orszag, the White House budget director and a disciple of the Dartmouth data, has noted. “We can no longer afford an overall health care system in which the thought is more is always better, because it’s not.”

By some estimates, the country could save $700 billion a year if hospitals like U.C.L.A. behaved more like Mayo. High medical bills for Medicare patients’ final year of life account for about a quarter of the program’s total spending.

Under the House health care legislation pending in Congress, the Institute of Medicine would conduct a study of the regional variations in Medicare spending to try to determine how to reward hospitals like Mayo for providing more cost-effective care. Hospitals identified as high-cost centers might even be penalized, perhaps receiving lower payments from the government. The Senate bill calls only for studies of Medicare spending variations, so it will be up to House-Senate negotiators to resolve the matter in the final legislation.

That prospect worries Dr. Rosenthal and his U.C.L.A. colleagues, who say that unless the distinction can be clearly drawn between excellence and excess in medical care, efforts to cut wasteful spending could be little more than blunt rationing.

“There’s a real risk of doing harm here — real harm,” he said.

Indeed, U.C.L.A. and five other big California medical centers recently published their own research results with a striking conclusion: for heart failure patients, the hospitals that spend the most seem to save the most lives.

Testing the Thesis

Dr. Rosenthal remembers a pivotal meeting back in 2005 when he and officials at the other California hospitals met with Dartmouth researchers to discuss their findings.

“We were inspired,” Dr. Rosenthal recalled, saying he found himself agreeing with much of the criticism aimed at his institution for its aggressive approach.

The Dartmouth analysis prompted Dr. Rosenthal to seek further data. He collaborated with colleagues at U.C.L.A. and four other medical centers affiliated with the University of California system, as well as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, to design a study of why some hospitals spent so much more on dying patients than others and what they got from their efforts.

To focus their analysis, the researchers chose to look only at a single category of patients: elderly people with heart failure. The dead would be counted, as Dartmouth does, but so would the living.

What they found seemed to contradict the Dartmouth thesis. The hospital that spent the most on heart failure patients had one-third fewer deaths after six months of an initial hospital stay.

The researchers did not disclose which of the six hospitals had the best results. But for the doctors involved, the implications were clear: spending more can sometimes save lives.

“It doesn’t look like it is all waste,” said Dr. Michael K. Ong, a U.C.L.A. internist and health policy researcher who was one of the authors of the study, which was recently published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

The New York Times Health News

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Recession Slows Population Rise Across Sun Belt

MIAMI — States in the South and the West that grew by exceptional leaps and bounds during the real estate boom of just a few years ago are now experiencing sharply slower growth in population, the Census Bureau said Wednesday.

Many of those states are still projected to gain seats in Congress after the 2010 census, however, while industrial states in the Northeast and the Midwest will most likely see their delegations shrink.

But in a sign of the recession’s power to reshape established demographic trends, the new census figures show that growth has slowed substantially in Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, while in Florida, Nevada and California, more Americans moved out than in.

As a corollary, the new data show that several states in the Northeast — like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts — are holding on to more residents.

“What we have is a decade of a roller coaster in terms of migration,” said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. “If you look at the middle part of this decade, Florida led the country in net domestic migration. Now it’s in the negative part of the ledger.”

The figures released Wednesday — the last state estimates to be published before actual results from the 2010 census count become available — reflect data as of July. The numbers are both the most up-to-date reflection of the recession’s impact nationwide, and the best available predictor of Congressional reapportionment.

In all, 17 states would be subjected to redistricting if the estimates hold in the door-to-door head count next year. Influence would generally shift from traditionally Democratic northern areas struggling with industrial decline and an aging population, to the South and the West, where independents are ascendant and disputes over immigration, taxes, and environmental issues, like water supply, tend to stand out.

Texas, for example, appears to be the big winner. It would gain three seats in Congress under the July estimate, bringing its total to 35. Between July 2008 and July 2009, it added more people from home and abroad than any other state — 231,539. That is more than Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida and Nevada, combined.

More broadly, however, the recession that began in 2007 has significantly slowed the great American migration toward warmth and sun. It was a move, earlier in the decade, driven as much by quality of life as easy credit, according to demographers and economists. But the reversal is nearly as striking.

State rankings prepared by Mr. Frey, based on the new numbers, show that Florida is now 45th in domestic migration growth after ranking first from July 2001 to July 2005. It lost 31,179 people to other states from July 2008 to July 2009.

In terms of its total growth rate with foreign arrivals included, Florida now ranks 32nd, down from third in 2002.

Similarly, Nevada has fallen to 17th on the total growth-rate list, after leading the country from 2000 to 2004. It now ranks 36th in domestic migration, losing 3,801 people after adding more than 170,000 from other areas of the country from July 2003 to July 2006. Arizona, meanwhile, dropped to eighth in overall growth rate. Only three years ago, it was in first place.

“The population trends are obviously now being shaped by this economic decline,” said Andrew A. Beveridge, a Queens College demographer. “The places that have had a really big decline economically, the states hit most heavily by the real estate crisis, have certainly had a real decline of people showing up there.”

Earlier census reports suggested that the recession has been defined in part by a lack of mobility, as millions of Americans stay in homes they cannot sell. The new data also show that for the third year in a row, international immigration declined.

Politically, to some extent, that means that the demographic changes from the boom earlier in the decade are being locked in by the bust.

Formerly high-growth states are likely to gain seats in Congress. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington would add one seat each, according to an analysis of the figures by Dr. Beveridge at Queens College.

Politicians in Texas, whose economy has been buffered by high oil prices, a growing technology sector and less of a crash in real estate, are already haggling over what promises to be a contentious redistricting fight. In all, 18 Congressional districts in the state have added more than 100,000 people since 2000.

Much of the growth has been in conservative suburban districts around Dallas and Houston, but political scientists believe that many of the newcomers will lean liberal. “It means a Republican state becomes bigger and a little less Republican,” said Sean Theriault, a professor of government at the University of Texas.

Meanwhile, most of the states that would lose representation in Congress are those that spent the first two-thirds of the decade funneling people south. Ohio would lose two seats, leaving it with 16, Dr. Beveridge found. States losing one seat include Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Or at least that is how it looks right now. Cincinnati officials fought what they described as a census undercount tied to a population estimate in 2007, and state officials in Ohio said Wednesday that they were doing everything possible to ensure that everyone was counted so that only one seat would be lost.

“The bottom line is no one should count Ohio out,” said Amanda Wurst, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat. “We’re going to make sure that the population is accurately reflected in the census, and fight for that Congressional seat.”

James C. McKinley Jr. contributed reporting from Houston, and Ian Urbina from Washington.

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Editorial: 'Twas a year of survival

The year 2009 has been an eventful and challenging one for the Cayman Islands in general and Cayman Net News in particular as we all try to survive “Hurricane Lehman” – the term coined by Britain’s Guardian newspaper to describe the global financial crisis precipitated by the collapse of investment bankers Lehman Brothers.

Compared to the day or so of direct impact and the weeks of initial recovery thereafter brought upon us by Hurricane Ivan five years ago, the effects of the global economic storm have been with the Cayman Islands for a year or more and there is still some doubt as to when we will come out the other side.

In 2004, dominance in local media was in effect thrust upon us by the hand of nature rather than man when, for a period of time, we became the only source of news in print and online in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.

And lest readers forget – or never knew in the first place – the publisher of this newspaper was the first to bring the Cayman Islands to the world in the shape of the venerable Nor’wester magazine some 40 years ago and the world to the Cayman Islands through the introduction of the country’s first television service to homes and businesses.

Yes, we have had to face some major challenges this year but we have kept going and, in fact, some of the changes that have in effect been forced on us are helping us to weather the ongoing economic storm.

In particular, we have slashed our production and operating expenses, whilst at the same time continuing to publish a quality newspaper, which now includes some improvements in presentation and layout that we hope readers and advertisers will appreciate.

It is fitting at this time of year that we once again pay tribute and give thanks to those individual members of our loyal staff who remained with us who, along with other local individuals and businesses, have helped us bring news, information and commentary to the people of the Cayman Islands and the world.

In addition, we would like to give thanks to those advertisers and financial institutions that not only supported us when times were better, but have sustained us during this difficult economic situation.

Thanks are also due to our many readers for their moral support and encouragement during these tough times.

The year ahead will no doubt be another difficult one for these Islands as we continue to try to find a way through the economic morass in which we all seem to be stuck. Having discovered that there was, in fact, no Santa Claus in the shape of substantial foreign aid donors following Hurricane Ivan, we are once again left to rely on our own resources of adaptability and ingenuity during the current economic storm.

The one bright spot in recent months was the emphatic vote of confidence on the part of international investors, led by the sterling efforts of HSBC Bank, in the shape of the four times oversubscribed first sovereign bond issue by the Cayman Islands government.

We hope that the government and private sector will have the necessary acumen and wisdom to build on this foundation during 2010 in order to put the country on a far better and sustainable financial footing for the future.

For our part, we will continue to address the issues of the day with rigorous political neutrality and, once again, we remind politicians that they should not construe our airing of what might be an uncomfortable issue for them as political partiality. Our only agenda is the good of the Cayman Islands and the best interests of our people, and we do so quite frankly in this regard.

We have never succumbed to intimidation or manipulation by printing only what the financially rich and politically powerful want us to publish. We are in the business of publishing news, information and opinion, regardless of whether or not those in positions of authority and influence want to read it.

We do not seek controversy, but we will not shrink from it. We do not seek confrontation, but we will not avoid it. We consider that we have a duty to all the people who live in the Cayman Islands and our international audience to keep them informed and up-to-date with current events in these Islands, the region and the world at large, and we will not shirk from fulfilling that duty.

As we close out a year of survival and look forward to better times ahead, it is our sincerest wish that God’s richest blessings and the good news be yours this Christmas and in the New Year 2010.

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Trial and Execution: The Dramatic Deaths of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu

Twenty years ago on Christmas Day, the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena were executed after a summary trial. Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, anyone can view the highlights of the proceedings on YouTube.

The Ceausescus had ruled Romania with an iron hand, presiding over what had become the most tyrannical regime in Europe. Under their rule, the economy was run into the ground and the country and its unfortunate citizens reduced to penury. Romanians were subjected to pervasive surveillance. Any and all signs of dissent were crushed.

That changed when brave Romanians, first in the western city of Timisoara and then in the capital of Bucharest, defied the regime's tanks and guns and poured into the streets to demand their freedom. (I describe these events in detail in my novel "Romance Language.") After trying in vain to rally the masses while simultaneously ordering the army to crush the revolt using all necessary force, the Ceausescus fled Bucharest by helicopter on December 22. Their first stop was the presidential retreat of Snagov not far from the capital where Ceausecu apparently made several phone calls, trying to assess his options.

Snagov is the site of a beautiful monastery known as the burial place of Vlad Ţepeş, or Vlad the Impaler, a brutal 15th century Wallachian prince who inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula. The Dracula theme runs strangely through this narrative. Ceausescu regarded Vlad as a national hero, identified with him and marked the 500th anniversary of his death by issuing a commemorative postage stamp. (Interestingly, the United States issued its own 32 cent Dracula stamp in 1997 -- to honor Bela Lugosi, a Hungarian-born actor who portrayed the vampire on Broadway in in an iconic 1931 movie).

On the subject of tainted blood, it should be noted that one of Ceausescus' most invidious legacies to Romania was Europe's worst HIV/AIDS crisis, the leader having refused to accept the existence of the disease for many years and having banned the use of contraceptives.

To resume our story: after a brief stop at Snagov, the Ceausescus took to the air again until the helicopter pilot warned them they might be tracked by radar and shot down. Ceausescu ordered him to land and the aircraft came to ground in a field northwest of the capital.

In his book, "The Romanian Revolution," historian Peter Siani-Davies describes how the fugitives and their bodyguards next hijacked a car driven by a local doctor. When it ran out of gas, they commandeered a second vehicle which brought them to Târgovişte, fittingly Vlad's historical capital.
It was there they were finally detained and brought to an army barracks where they stayed the next two days in a strange limbo. Meanwhile violence continued to rage in Bucharest.

According to Siani-Davies, the decision to put the couple on trial was taken on the evening of December 24 by a small group of leaders worried that the security situation on Târgovişte was precarious and the Ceausescus might still be able to pose a threat.

The trial lasted for just under an hour. Watching film of the proceedings today, one is filled with a queasy sense of history at its rawest, stripped to brutal fundamentals. Here are two living people, once all powerful rulers of their country, now defenseless, about to become dead. How would it have been, one wonders, to see the show trials of King Louis XVI of France or Marie Antoinette or the trumped-up trial of Anne Boleyn? This comes pretty close.

The Ceausescus were charged with four counts including genocide. Nicolae Ceausescu refused to recognize the authority of the court and maintained that the revolution was organized by a gang of traitors backed by foreign interests. He seemed convinced to the end that the Romanian people still adored him.

Once sentence was pronounced, four soldiers approached the couple to tie their hands with a crude ball of twine. The intention was apparently to shoot them one at a time but they insisted on dying together. The footage takes on an unrefined, unedited quality far more dramatic than any Hollywood production.

Elena: "We have the right to die together. Together, together!"
Nicolae: "What kind of thing is this?" (Still apparently in disbelief that his last moments are approaching).
Elena: "Don't tie us up, don't offend us. Please don't touch me"
Nicolae: "I have the right to do what I want."
Elena: "Shame, shame on you. I brought you up as a mother. Stop it. You're breaking my arms. Let go of them. Let me go. Why are you doing this?"
A soldier: "No-one will help you now."
Elena: "We're powerless now."

They are led outside. The film records the bursts of gunfire and then zooms in on the two twisted bodies lying like broken dolls, blood streaming from their wounds. And then those famous final portraits of death that flashed around the world.

Twenty years later, those images have lost none of their power to shock.

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Telangana bandh: TRS supporters, students get violent on the streets

HYDERABAD: Normal life was paralysed across Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh as the 48-hour bandh called by TRS and other parties to protest the Centre's decision to hold further consultations on the statehood issue began with violence breaking out at some places.

The shutdown call had an immediate impact as students and other Telangana supporters came on to the streets and resorted to stone pelting on buses and shops in Hyderabad and other Telangana districts.

Violence broke out in Hyderabad, Warangal and other places in the region within hours of the Centre's announcement as police resorted to baton-charge to disperse angry crowds of protesters.

In the state capital, several petrol pumps were shutdown soon after TRS President K Chandrasekhar Rao and other Telangana leaders gave the bandh call. Long queues were witnessed at the few petrol stations that remained open.

Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) suspended services in the city and other Telangana districts. A large number of commuters were stranded in Hyderabad as the city buses run by APSRTC remained off the roads.

Incidents of buses and other vehicles being burnt were reported from several places in the city since late last night after the shutdown began.

Centre on Wednesday night said there was a need to hold wide ranging consultations on the Telangana issue with all political parties and groups in the state.

Tags: India News, Political News, Indian Government News

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3 idiots | 3 idiots review | 3 idiots movie review | 3 idiots movie | 3 idiots trailer |

Three Idiots is a forthcoming Indian Bollywood film directed by Rajkumar Hirani, Kajol will make a special appearance in the film. It is slated for a release on 25 December 2009. The film also has the unique distinction of being the first Indian film to officially release on YouTube three months after its release on 25th December 2009.

Cast :

* Aamir Khan as Ranncchoddas Shamalaldas Chancha (Rancho)
* R. Madhavan as Farhan Qureshi
* Sharman Joshi as Raju Rastogi
* Kareena Kapoor as Pia Sahastrabuddhe
* Boman Irani as Viru Sahastrabuddhe
* Mona Singh as Mona



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Carols n Joys,

Laughter n Love,

Its DECEMBER..

Wishing you a Blessed Month of Christmas!!

==============================

() ”’*()

(….’o’.)

Hmm…..

() “‘* ()

(.’o'….)

Where are you?

()*”’ ()

(……..)

where?

() ””*()

(.’o-…).”)

Ah..! There u r…

just want to say

Merry Christmas

==============================

From Home to home,

and heart to heart,

from one place to another.

The warmth and joy of Christmas,

brings us closer to each other.

May this Christmas be so special

that you never ever feel lonely again

and be surrounded by loved ones throughout!

==============================

A silent night,

a star above,

a blessed gift of hope

and love.

A blessed Christmas to you!

==============================

Christmas is a time when

everybody wants his past forgotten

and his present remembered.

What I don’t like about office Christmas parties

is looking for a job the next day.

==============================

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;

It makes no noise at all,

But softly gives itself away;

While quite unselfish,

it grows small.

==============================
 

CLICK HERE TO MORE CHRISTMAS SMS

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Amy Winehouse Charged With Assault After Theater Incident

Singer Amy Winehouse was charged Wednesday in connection with an assault at a theater, police said.

The 26-year-old soul diva was arrested after she presented herself at a police station with her lawyer, Thames Valley Police said in a statement.

SLIDESHOW: Amy Winehouse: To Hell and Back.

She was charged with a public order offense and common assault under the name Amy Civil, following a Saturday incident at Milton Keynes Theater, police said. Winehouse was granted a divorce from her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, in July.

She is free on bail and must appear in court on Jan. 20.

Police did not provide details on the incident, but British media have reported that the singer allegedly struggled with a member of the theater's staff after heckling at a performance

Winehouse was acquitted earlier this year of assaulting a fan who asked to take her picture, after a judge said he could not be sure whether she lashed out at the woman deliberately. Prosecutors said Winehouse was drunk when she punched the woman in the eye, but the singer said she had merely acted to fend away an over-friendly fan.

Winehouse shot to international stardom with the Grammy-winning album "Back to Black" in 2006, but her music has been overshadowed by reports of drug use, run-ins with the law and a tempestuous marriage.

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Aerosmith Singer Steven Tyler Back in Rehab | Steven Tyler has entered a rehabilitation facility

Steven Tyler has entered a rehabilitation facility to treat an addiction to painkillers the Aerosmith frontman has taken to cope with 10 years of performance injuries.

Tyler said he's eager to return to work with his band mates.

"I love Aerosmith; I love performing as the lead singer in Aerosmith. I am grateful for all of the support and love I am receiving and am committed to getting things taken care of," the 61-year-old rocker said in a statement released Tuesday.

The band canceled a summer tour in August after Tyler fell off the stage during a performance in South Dakota and broke his left shoulder.

Dr. Brian McKeon, who is treating Tyler, said in a statement that orthopedic injuries over the past decade have left the singer with severe chronic pain that will require surgeries on his knees and feet.

Tyler checked into rehab last year to recover from several foot surgeries and physical therapy. Tyler said the procedures were to correct longtime foot injuries resulting from his physical performances with Aerosmith.

The singer for the blues-rock band was known for heavy drug and alcohol abuse in the 1970s and early 1980s, but completed rehabilitation in 1986, after which Aerosmith enjoyed a successful revival.

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Merida Mexico military helicopter crash | 1 dead, 2 hurt in Mexico military helicopter crash

One has been confirmed dead and two others hurt in Mexico military helicopter crash.

Mexico military helicopter crash

A Mexican military helicopter has crashed in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, killing an air force sergeant and seriously injuring two soldiers.

The Defense Department blames a mechanical problem for Wednesday's accident.

The Bell 212 helicopter was transporting an army officer and nine soldiers when it went down in a rural area in mountains known to be frequented by drug and criminal gangs.

U.S. officials recently delivered five Bell helicopters of a different model to Mexico as part of the "Merida Initiative" for aiding the Mexican campaign to curb drug traficking.

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Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins split - political power couple | Susan Sarandon And Tim Robbins' Split

When I read that Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins separated after 23 years together, my thoughts immediately turned to their two decades of liberal political activism. The Democratic power couple was particularly active during the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

Here's Susan Sarandon talking about Sarah Palin at Boston University in September 2008, when she says that Palin's views are "worrying" and would set the woman's movement back. She also quoted actor Ed Harris, who said Palin "would be a really large footnote in the annals of moose hunting". Saradon also expresses her thoughts on the media's coverage of politics.



Tim Robbins was no less involved in political commentary and activism. In this video originally provided by CrooksandLiars.com, Robbins appears on Real Time with Bill Maher and really gets after Steve Hayes, who tried to claim a connection between al-Queda and Saddam Hussein. Tim Robbins got the best of him:



Robbins: "You're partly responsible, you could start with an apology. You wrote a book saying there was a connection Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda."

Hayes: "You want to know why I wrote that book? Because there was a connection Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda."

Maher: "No there wasn't."

Robbins: "You can lie a thousand times-it doesn't make it true."



But when I think of Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, this photo comes to mind. It says it all and was taken before the passing of NBC's Tim Russert. I saw it in January 2008 during the New Hampshire Primary and added it to Zennie62.com.

I found this photo on Flickr, with this explaination: Tim Russert died on June 13, at the age of 58. He was photographed while covering a house party for presidential primary candidate, John Edwards, in Bedford NH on the eve of the NH primary in January 2008. Elizabeth Edwards speaks to Tim Russert. Also pictured are Matt Lauer, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. He really enjoyed getting out there it seems. Russert will be missed.

This is sad news. I really enjoyed seeing them in action, together.

Tags: susan sarandon, tim robbins, why did susan sarandon and tim robbins split, susan sarandon and tim robbins, eva amurri pics

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Adam Lambert Clears Up Rumors On 'The Jay Leno Show' | The Jay Leno Show Season 1 Episode 69 | Watch The Jay Leno Show s01e69 Stream Online |

Adam Lambert appeared on "The Jay Leno Show" on Monday night, where he discussed how dramatically his life has changed since he competed on "American Idol," performed at the American Music Awards and released his first album, For Your Entertainment.

"I'm hanging on white knuckles. It's a good ride. I mean how hasn't [life changed since 'Idol']?" he said. "It's wild. I have people that are so supportive of me that are buying the CD."

Lambert said the new season of "American Idol," set to begin in January, will be very different without Paula Abdul sitting at the judges' table. "I think Paula's amazing," he said. "It's bound to be different. She provided so much warmth and positive critiques. [Simon's] great at what he does. He's hard on people. Paula's the flip ... she provides positive reinforcement."

The singer also talked about what he did before his career in entertainment. "I worked at Starbucks when I was 16. ... It was all right," he said about his former day job. "I liked meeting new people. I used to come home and I stunk of coffee beans and it was awful."

Lambert explained his short-lived stay at college, saying, "[My parents have] always been really supportive [like] when I decided to drop out of college after five weeks. I tried. ... [I was studying] musical theater. I don't know. ... I thought to myself I don't want to learn this in a classroom. [My father] was always supportive. My mother was always supportive. They were always there for me and ... I know they're very proud."

The singer also discussed his younger brother on the show, noting that he did manage to graduate school. "You know he's got a little artistic [side]," he said. "He just graduated college. He was a political science major. He's a great writer. He's a lot more cynical than I am, but he's funny. He's really smart."

The "Idol" runner-up also took some time to clear up rumors that have been floating around about him. "I haven't started a makeup line. I might, but I haven't yet," he said. "My father was rumored to be mortified by what I did [at the 'American Music Awards'] and that we're not speaking. That's a rumor. ... I think Bill O'Reilly perpetuated that. Lovely man. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. [My dad and I] were laughing about it ... so that was a rumor."

Lambert ended his "Leno" appearance with a performance of his song "Whataya Want From Me."

Tags: jay leno show, jay leno, joseph mazzello, snow to go, deer rump bottle opener

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T.V. legend Larry King takes the stage at Fallsview in March | Shawn King | Larry King To Take The Stage At Fallsview

Patti LaBelle kicks off line-up, return of Twelve Irish Tenors & Cruisin' Classics

NIAGARA FALLS, ON, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ - Legendary CNN interviewer Larry King makes his debut at Fallsview, performing a pair of shows on March 26 & 27, 2010, joined by his wife and country artist, Shawn King.

Another first time guest to Fallsview in March is Band From TV - a group consisting of highly acclaimed television stars from shows including House, Heroes, Desperate Housewives and The Bachelor.

Fallsview opens the month in style with a one-night performance by Grammy Award winner Patti LaBelle on March 5th, 2010.

Two highly energetic production shows - Twelve Irish Tenors and Cruisin' Classics: A Night At The Diner - make their return to Fallsview in March for multi-night performances.

Fallsview continues its International tribute with a pair of Asian shows from entertainer Tsai Chin, Live in Concert 2010 with Special Guest: Yeh Chia Hsiu.

The complete March 2010 performance schedule for Fallsview Casino Resort is as follows:

Patti LaBelle

Friday, March 5
Showtime: 9pm, doors open at 8pm
Tickets start at $45
Legendary award-winning singer, Patti LaBelle, takes the stage to perform
hits such as: "New Attitude", "On My Own", "If You Only Knew", "Lady
Marmalade" and "If You Asked Me To".

Band From TV

Saturday, March 6
Showtime: 9pm, doors open at 8pm
Sunday, March 7
Showtime: 3pm, doors open at 2pm
Tickets start at $50
Band From TV features a powerhouse of well-known and acclaimed actors,
including: Hugh Laurie & Jesse Spencer from House M.D., Greg Grunberg &
Adrian Pasdar from Heroes, James Denton from Desperate Housewives and Bob
Guiney from The Bachelor.

Twelve Irish Tenors

March 13 - 20
Saturday Showtimes: 3pm & 9pm
Sunday Showtimes: 3pm & 7pm
Monday, Wednesday & Thursday Showtimes: 3pm & 8:30pm
Tuesday Showtime: 8:30pm
Friday Showtime: 9pm
Tickets start at $20
This hugely talented group of twelve Irish singers perform some of the
greatest music of the 20th Century, including Opera, Pop, Musicals, and
Swing.

Tsai Chin
Live in Concert 2010 with Special Guest:
Yeh Chia Hsiu

Sunday, March 21
Showtime: 7pm, doors open at 6pm
Monday, March 22
Showtime: 8:30pm, doors open at 7:30pm
Tickets start at $88
Direct from Taiwan and joined by special guest Yeh Chia Hsiu, Tsai Chin
brings your favourite pop and folk hits to the stage in both Mandarin and
Taiwanese.

Larry King
With Special Guest Shawn King

Friday, March 26
Saturday, March 27
Showtime: 9pm, doors open at 8pm
Tickets start at $50
Legendary radio personality and host of CNN's Larry King Live, Larry
King takes the stage with special guest, Shawn King, live at Fallsview
Casino Resort.

Cruisin' Classics
A Night at the Diner

March 28-31, April 4-7, 11-14 & 18-21
Showtime: 3pm, doors open at 2pm
All tickets are $20
Relive the '50s style music that you used to love, live at Fallsview
Casino Resort, as we bring the Cruisin' Classics to the stage.

Tickets to the March 2010 shows at Fallsview Casino Resort will be available beginning at noon on Friday, December 4, at the Fallsview Casino Box Office (on any show date) or at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-877-833-3110 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca.

Built on a cliff overlooking the world-famous Horseshoe Falls, Fallsview Casino Resort is one of the largest and most elegant gaming resort facilities in Canada and the crown jewel in Niagara's stunning array of wonders. In addition to the intimate, 1,500-seat Avalon Theatre, Fallsview features a casino with over 3,000 slot machines and 142 gaming tables, a 374-room luxury hotel, a full-service spa and fitness centre, dozens of dining and shopping options and over 30,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

SOURCE Fallsview Casino

Tags: Shawn king, Larry king, suzanne malveaux, aa crash, aa crash in jamaica, aa crash jamaica

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23 Utah Defeats Cal 37-21 in SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl | Poinsetta Bowl | Poinsettia Bowl 2009 | Utes | Pointsettia Bowl | University Of Utah Football

The #23-ranked Utah Utes, behind an impressive performance from quarterback Jordan Wynn, defeated the Cal Golden Bears 37-27 in the fifth annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.

The Utes were led by freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn, a graduate of Oceanside High School. Wynn lit up the Cal defense most of the night as he completed 26 of 36 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns earning him the game's Offensive MVP trophy.

After two early first quarter scores by the Bears, the Utes came roaring back as they scored 27 unanswered points to take the lead for good. The Utes took their first lead of the game on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Moeai, his second TD reception of the night.

The Utes extended their nation-best bowl game winning streak to nine games with their victory over the Bears. The Bears had their four-game bowl winning streak snapped tonight.

The Utah defense wreaked havoc in the Cal backfield all night, as they sacked Kevin Riley five times, intercepted him twice and forced a fumble.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Cal made one last attempt to bring themselves within one score of the Utes, but their hopes died when Utah linebacker Stevenson Sylvester intercepted Kevin Riley at the 27-yard line and returned it for a touchdown to extend the Utes lead to 37-21 with 5:27 left on the clock. Sylvester finished as the game's Defensive MVP.
The Golden Bears got on the scoreboard first, scoring touchdowns on offense and defense on back-to-back plays midway through the first quarter. Shane Vereen capped a five play, 54-yard drive with a 36-yard touchdown for the game's first score. On the very next Utah play from scrimmage, Cal's Eddie Young intercepted a pass by Wynn and returned it 31-yards for a touchdown.

But Utah didn't wait any longer to get on the scoreboard. After kick returner Shaky Smithson gave Utah great field position after a 61-yard kickoff return, the Utah offense put together a quick 30-yard scoring drive, capped off by a Jordan Wynn 6-yard pass to Kendrick Moeai.

In their first possession of the second quarter, Utah engineered a nine play, 65-yard drive to the Cal 11-yard line before place kicker Joe Phillips kicked a 28-yard field goal to bring the Utes within four points, 14-10. On their very next possession, Utah took advantage of good field position as Wynn led them on a quick eight play, 56-yard drive ending with Moeai's touchdown in the back of the endzone.

Utah's defense stepped up in the second quarter, as they forced consecutive three-and-outs by the Bears' offense. With the Utah offense out on the field once again, Wynn wasted no time as he completed a 29-yard pass to WR Eddie Wide, and then followed that up with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jereme Brooks to extend the Utes lead to 24-14.

After a high-scoring first half, both teams relied on their defenses to begin the second half. The Utes and Bears traded possessions without scoring until the Utes kicked a field goal with just over four minutes left in the quarter after Cal quarterback Kevin Riley fumbled as he was sacked at his own 14-yard line.

Cal responded quickly as Riley completed passes of 30, 19, and 11 yards on their next possession to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Shane Vereen. The touchdown cut the Utes' lead to 27-21 going into the fourth quarter.

The Utes extended their lead to 30-21 early in the fourth quarter on Joe Phillips' 25-yard field goal, his third of the game. The kick came after another long pass play from Wynn, this one a 39-yard strike to David Reed deep into Cal territory.

After pinning the Bears in their own endzone, the Utes defense stepped up as they sacked Riley for a loss two playes before Sylvester intercepted him and returned it for the clinching touchdown.

Tags: Poinsetta Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl 2009, Utes, Pointsettia Bowl, University of Utah Football

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WSLS Wytheville Hostage Update 8:30 pm | Wytheville Hostage | Wytheville | Wytheville Va | Wytheville Post Office |Wytheville Va Hostage | Wytheville

Wythe Co. Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Keith Dunagan says there are fewer than the original five or six hostages believed to be inside the post office. Dunagan would not say what led investigators to believe that are now fewer hostages.

Dunagan added that officers have confirmed that one of the hostages is an employee at the post office, and that the suspect has allowed a couple of the hostages to call their families to tell them they are OK.

Dunagan says the suspect still has not told officers what his name is, but is claiming to be a veteran of the Marine Corps, and not from Wytheville. Officers believe a red truck at the scene is the suspect’s.

Dunagan says the suspect has not made any additional demands, other than food and to talk with the FBI and a bomb tech expert. Dunagan says the suspect has spoken with the FBI, as well as explosives experts, and the FBI is now handling the negotiating.

Dunagan added that more FBI agents are on the way, since the post office is a federal building.

Earlier Reports:

The standoff continues at the Wytheville post office on Main Street. A man is holding at least five hostages and claims to have explosives. People in the area say shots have been fired from the post office. Police ask everyone in a three to four block area around the post office to evacuate. The Wytheville Fire department and the Red Cross have opened a shelter at the fire station for people who had to leave their homes because of the hostage situation . The shelter is located at 185 West Spring Street.

One of the hostages is 41-year-old Jim Oliver, Jr. of Wytheville. His mother Sandy says the gunman has allowed the hostages to make phone calls to family. His mother says her son sounds tired and exhausted. Oliver is retired from the military and works with his mother at Sandy's Floral Gallery in Wytheville. He was running an errand to the post office for the business when the gunman entered the post office.

The gunman has allowed his hostages to receive food tonight. Police apparently delivered the food to a door of the post office. News 7 has also learned that the gunman walked into the post office around 2:30 this afternoon pushing a wheelchair.

Michael Conroy with the Virginia State Police told us on News 7 at 6 that there were no reports of injuries to the hostages at this time. He says authorities remain in contact with the gunman and hope to resolve the situation peacefully.

Deputy Keith Dunagan of the Wythe County Sheriff's department has been in direct communication with the suspect on a cell phone. Dunagan says there are potentially five to six hostages. He says the suspect in not making any demands, but he refuses to tell authorities his name. The gunman claims to have military explosive experience.

A helicopter is now on standby at Spiller Elementary School in downtown Wytheville. Another helicopter has landed in Withers Park, near the downtown area.

A local store manager tells News 7 that he has been asked by local police to evacuate his business. An employee in the ABC store across the street says police told them a gunman was shooting out of post office and that they should lock their doors and stay away from the windows. The officer told customers who were trying to enter the store to run back to their vehicles and leave the area.

The Wythe County Community Hospital, Pulaski Community Hospital, Carilion New River Medical Center, Lewis-Gale Medical Center, and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital are on alert to possibly receive trauma patients.

Send photos or information by clicking here.

From the Associated Press:

WYTHEVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Negotiators are trying to coax an armed man into releasing five hostages from a post office in a rural, mountain town in western Virginia.

A negotiator has asked SWAT members, police and others surrounding the building Wednesday in Wytheville (WITH-vill) to be quiet because authorities were talking with the unidentified suspect.

State police say an officer delivered food and drink to the front door of the post office. They say the suspect requested it.

Police said in a press release that the man entered pushing a wheelchair but the purpose of the chair is not known. Earlier reports said he was in a wheelchair.

Shots were fired earlier, but there were no reports of injuries. Relatives say the hostages have been able to contact them by phone.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APNP 12-23-09 2038EST

WYTHEVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Authorities in Wytheville are dealing with a hostage situation at the town's post office, and Virginia State Police have responded with a SWAT team and bomb technician.

Mayor Trent Crewe says five hostages are inside the building, including three employees and two customers. Shots have been fired, but Crewe says no injuries have been reported.

The situation began at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The suspect has not been identified.

A state police spokeswoman confirmed the shooting, but could not confirm whether the situation involves the threat of explosives.

Wytheville is the county seat of Wythe County, a southwest Virginia locality with fewer than 30,000 people.


Tags: wytheville, wytheville va, wytheville post office, wytheville va hostage, wytheville va news

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UConn Star Has an Eye on Oxford | HARTFORD — Maya Moore of Connecticut is a first-team

HARTFORD — Maya Moore of Connecticut is a first-team all-American on the basketball court and in the classroom, which means there are points to be scored, averages to be kept and scholarships to seek on more than one level.

At the urging of her academic advisers, Moore, a 6-foot junior forward who is the consensus best player in the country, said she was considering applying for a Rhodes scholarship. If selected for 2011, she would be the most prominent basketball player chosen since Bill Bradley in 1965 and Tom McMillen in 1974.

“I don’t think you can say that one aspect of my life built my perspective,” Moore, 20, said in an interview before scoring 23 points as top-ranked UConn defeated second-ranked Stanford, 80-68, here Wednesday. “It is a combination of my faith, my family, the people I’ve met at Connecticut and understanding that basketball is a platform for something bigger than the game, helping people, touching people’s lives. You can do that internationally with basketball.”

Of the 12 athletes chosen among 32 Americans as Rhodes scholars for 2009, two played women’s basketball in college — Caitlin Mullarkey, who also played soccer and ran track at Swarthmore; and Lindsay Whorton, an all-Missouri Valley Conference player at Drake. Rebecca Lobo of UConn was a candidate in 1995.

Moore, who has a 3.7 grade point average in sports media and promotion, could not say exactly what broadened her perspective in college. But she noted that she had traveled internationally with USA Basketball, playing in Serbia and in Slovakia. In November 2008, she got out of practice early and sprinted to a lecture by the author and poet Maya Angelou — after whom she was named because her mother admired Angelou’s work.

“She represents so many things, not just for African-Americans, but for our country,” Moore said at the time. “I think of her like a Barack Obama — one of the first icons for us.”

Moore later met President Obama when UConn traveled to the White House after winning the 2009 national title with an undefeated season. She was named both the national player of the year and a first-team academic all-American.

“I felt a deeper appreciation for the founders of this nation,” Moore wrote in a blog post after visiting the White House. “We truly do live in an amazing country. Actually walking where some of our great leaders have walked gave me chills! Meeting President Obama was as enjoyable as advertised, and he left an inspiring impression on us all.”

The fact that the president took time to shoot a few baskets with the players “made me remember what life is all about,” Moore wrote. “It is about investing in people and having faith that the love you impart on them will somehow make the world better than it was.”

She said she had not yet considered whether she, too, might be interested in a political career, as were Bradley and McMillen, who served in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively. Still, reflecting on her trip to the White House, Moore said, “When you have those type of experiences, you start thinking bigger than yourself.”

The application process for a Rhodes scholarship is complicated and arduous. Geno Auriemma, the UConn coach, said that for Moore to be a serious candidate, she must find a deeply felt subject to study at Oxford. She might have to delay her entry into the W.N.B.A., where she is expected to be the first pick in the 2011 draft. But it is a summer league, and Moore said she thinks she could juggle her academic and athletic responsibilities.

“Does she have a passion for one thing that will take her in that direction, like, ‘I want to be the greatest writer ever; I want to get my Ph.D. in this and I think this is the one thing that consumes my life’? ” Auriemma said. “I think you have to have a single-mindedness in order to do that. Some people do and some don’t.”

A chance to play in the 2012 Olympics could also play a factor in her decision, although Moore might find herself in an accommodating position. Auriemma will coach the United States women’s team at those Games, which will be held in London.

Still, athletes can feel tremendous pressure when applying for a Rhodes scholarship, Auriemma said. They excel at their chosen sports because they are in control and are often able to influence the outcome of a game. They become more vulnerable when putting their futures to a vote of a panel of judges.

“The chances of getting turned down are greater than being accepted,” Auriemma said. “You’ve got to be willing at the end to maybe be disappointed. Some of the great ones don’t like to put themselves in a situation where they can’t control the outcome. On the court, the scoreboard is the only vote that counts. But for these kids to put themselves in a situation of applying for a Rhodes scholarship takes courage. They have zero control. I admire anyone in that position. If Maya wanted to, I would do everything in my power to help her see it through.”

Whether Moore applies or not, and is accepted or rejected, she seems to have an insatiable appetite for knowledge and expertise of all sorts, said Kalana Greene, a teammate. “If there is an opportunity out there to get something, she goes and gets it,” Greene said. “She’s a great communicator. She can talk to anyone. We always crack on her, ‘Maya you’re not good at everything,’ but really she is. She’s even a good drummer. She can listen to any song, gather the beat and she has it.”

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Richard Heene - Balloon Boy dad and wife should not be jailed

Richard Heene, the Balloon Boy Dad, and his wife, have been sentenced to 90-days in jail for what was really a stupid hoax of a stunt of having the industrialized World believe his six-year-old son was trapped in a weather balloon far in the sky. Wrong, of course. Bad, totally. But jail time? Nuts.

I'm not at all saying he shouldn't have been punished. Not at all. But ordering Richard Heene to do jail time is too simple, stupid, and wasteful of tax dollars. The judge who laid down the sentence didn't give the matter a moment of creative thought. He just bent to mob rule. Reminds me of Frankenstein, where the screaming masses of bubble-headed town folks wanted nothing but the burning-at-the-steak of the so-called "Monster."



Nuts. And if you're angry or thinking of writing some weird comment at this point, then you're part of the horde I'm complaining about. Richard Heene should have been sentenced to make a reality TV show about a non-profit organization helping battered women recover from domestic violence assaults and violent relationships.

Yep.

My point is if Richard Heene wants to be a star, so what. Let him become one in the process of helping others rather than himself. See? There are scores of domestic violence prevention programs and organizations that go unnoticed except when a star like Nicole Kidman goes to Congress to talk about the problem.

Richard Heene could have put his considerable skills to work in getting those organizations publicity and funding.

I'm personally sick and tired of seeing people like Lil Wayne or Richard Heene punished for the sole reason of saying "They're just like anyone else." Why is that important? It's not true to start with. Moreover, expressing that point of view is the byproduct of many an unhealthy ego. But it does nothing to improve society. Moreover, it may not even curb Richard Heene's desire to be on TV.

It'll just delay it 3 months.

Geez.

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