truesee's Blog

Atlanta Falcons

1:30 p.m. Saturday, January 9, 2010

Report: Michael Vick got ‘adrenaline' rush while killing dogs

Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Michael Vick seemed to get an “adrenaline high” when he killed dogs that didn’t measure up at his now-defunct Virginia dog fighting operation, according to documents obtained by WSB TV.

The records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- part of the federal investigation of the former Atlanta Falcons, now Philadelphia Eagle, quarterback – describe graphically how Vick and others at Bad Newz Kennels killed dogs that lost or refused to fight.

Losing was not accepted, according to the records.

”All of the pit bull dogs were destroyed after they lost a fight or refused to fight,” an unnamed confidential witness told investigators. “The dog that won the fight was the only dog that was allowed to live.”

Vick pleaded guilty in 2007 to bankrolling a dog fighting operation and then served a year and a half of a 23-month federal prison sentence. Released to home confinement on May 22, 2009, he volunteered with the Humane Society of the United States' anti-dog fighting program that targets young men who may tempted because they find that world glamorous.

While still serving his federal prison sentence, Vick also pleaded guilty to a Virginia state charge of attending, sponsoring and participating in dogfights. He received a three-year suspended prison sentence for the Virginia charges.

Three others associated with Bad Newz Kennels -- Tony Taylor, Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace -- also have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to federal prison time.

In public, the former football star has been contrite about his zeal for fighting pit bulls. But the records of interviews in the federal investigation suggest a man who was more interested in the bloody fights, one of which lasted more than three hours, than in the money that came out of them.

“Vick never took portions of the winning wages,” according to a summary of an interview with one of the witnesses, whose identity was redacted from the records.

Witnesses said Vick, known as “Ookie” at the kennel, would bankroll bets for others but he didn’t claim any winnings. He also didn’t take the cash prize for the winning dogs.

And the money collected at the door to get into the fights – between $5 and $20 per person – was used only to buy food for the dogs, according to the WSB documents.

Yet, Vick paid for almost everything.

He paid for the dogs and the Surry County, Va., property for the kennel. He paid for a double-wide trailer to go on the land and then covered the costs of building a $400,000 house and sheds for training, fighting and treating injured dogs, a witness told investigators.

According to the records:

• In 2003, Vick and two other men attended a dog fight in Blackstone, Va., bringing with them two pit bulls. Both lost so “the dogs were left with the owner of the property because Vick did not keep dogs that lost matches.”

• In April 2007, Vick tested several dogs to determine if they had the predisposition to fight and if they were capable of winning. Vick ordered six or eight dogs destroyed because they did not meet his standards. The witness said Vick personally helped drown three or four dogs, a process that took two people to hold the animal’s legs while the dog’s head was held under water. Vick also hung dogs. The witness told investigators Vick, Peace and Phillips “seemed to get an ‘adrenaline high’ when killing the dogs.”

Attempts to reach Vick or his representative have not been successful.

Sen. Harry Reid says sorry to President Obama for 'no Negro dialect' remark

Saturday, January 9th 2010, 5:24 PM

 NY DailyNews

Brandon/AP

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologized Saturday for his "no Negro dialect" comments.

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologized Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama's race during the 2008 presidential bid.

And Obama accepted.

Reid's remarks were reported in a book about the campaign to be released this week. The Nevada Democrat described Obama as "light-skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

"I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words," Reid said in a statement. "I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments."

Obama said Reid called him and apologized personally.

"I accepted Harry's apology without question because I've known him for years, I've seen the passionate leadership he has shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart," he said. "As far as I am concerned, the book is closed."

Reid was neutral during the Democratic primary contest between Obama and Hillary Clinton. But the book, "Game Change," says he urged Obama to run.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/01/09/2010-01-09_reid_sez_hes_sorry_for_bam_negro_gaffe.html#ixzz0cAMtDeL2

Doctors have operated on a Chinese girl who was born with six virtually identical fingers on her right hand and no thumb.

Four-year-old Xiao Qian, of Wuhan, eastern China's Hubei province, also has five fingers on her left hand, reports Chutian Golden News.

Her parents took her to see doctors in Pu'ai Hospital who said they had never seen a hand like the little girl's before.

Although, six-fingered hands were not very rare, it was highly unusual for somebody to have six nearly identical fingers, they said.

Doctor Xin Danmo operated on Qian, removing her left-most finger and trying to thicken the second finger in a bid to turn it into a thumb.

He believes that the girl's abnormity was caused by radiation or chemical exposure to the mother during pregnancy.

LINK TO PHOTO OF HAND WITH SIX FINGERS

http://www.ananova.com/News/story/sm_3630380.html

Shoplifter gets 10 years for purloined tenderloin

RICHARD WALKER

T&D Staff Writer  

Thursday, January 07, 2010

12-year-old holds up store with toy gun

January 08, 2010 3:50 PM

Angel McCurdy

Daily News

WALTON COUNTY – A 12-year-old boy was arrested Thursday after pointing what turned out to be a toy gun at a convenience store clerk in northern Walton County.

Just after 7 p.m., the boy walked into Paxton Tom Thumb on U.S. Highway 331, according to a press release by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the release, the boy pointed a wood barreled, long gun at the clerk and demanded money from the cash register. After handing him an undisclosed amount of money, the clerk told deputies the boy said thank you and left the store.

A Walton County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol in the area noticed the boy walking north on Highway 331. The boy attempted to run before being stopped.

The boy was crying and said, “Please don’t take me to jail,” to the deputy. Authorities found the stolen money and toy weapon used in the stick-up just off U.S. Highway 331.

The boy was first transported to the Walton County Jail, and later transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Crestview.

An investigator for the Department of Children and Families has been contacted, and is assisting the Walton County Sheriff’s Office in the case, the release said.

Liberty Head 1913 nickel sells for $2.3m

A US nickel dubbed the "Mona Lisa of rare coins" has sold at auction for $2.3 million.

Published: 6:19PM GMT 08 Jan 2010

A rare 1913-dated U.S. Liberty Head nickel Photo: AP

Tens of millions of the Liberty Head coins were made between 1883 and 1912 but the design changed to depict an American Indian in 1913.

However, five nickels with the old design were secretly were made at the Philadelphia Mint that year and eventually sold to collectors.

The coin became famous when it was featured in an episode of Hawaii Five-O entitled The $100,000 Nickel in 1973.

It has previously been owned by King Farouk of Egypt who was deposed in 1952 and Los Angeles Lakers owner, Dr Jerry Buss.

The names of the seller and the winning bidder at the sale in Orlando were not disclosed.

Glenn Beck may have stepped in it again.

Sort of.

The radio host and Fox News Channel commentator has folks in a minor uproar for even questioning the term African-American on his syndicated radio show Thursday.

“African-American is a bogus, PC, made-up term,” Beck said, in a discussion about the new Census forms.

That is not a race. Your ancestry is from Africa, and now you live in America. Okay, so you were brought over, either your family was brought over in the slave trade, or you were born here and your family immigrated here, or whatever. But that is not a race.”

Beck’s on-air guests agreed, noting the frequent misuse of African-American as a label, using, for instance, the term incorrectly applied to  someone from Jamaica. Also, it’s not used to describe South African-born Charlize Theron. who is white and now a U.S. citizen.

The conversation stemmed from the new Census documents that give respondents three boxes from which to chose from: Black, African-American or Negro.

The watchdog group Media Matters picked up on the conversation and posted a clip on its Web site as has Thinkprogress.org.

“Negro used to be — is it still — not acceptable, is that still the clinical term, I don’t know,” Beck said. “It has negative connotations in this country. But what I’m asking is: what are the clinical categories?”

Not surprising, the clip, now circulating in the blogosphere, has generated a load of anti-Beck comments.

Last July, Beck created a real firestorm when when, during an appearance on the Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends,” he said President Obama’s initial reaction to the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest situation in Cambridge, Mass., suggested a “deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.”

The show’s co-host, Brian Kilmeade then reminded Beck Obama had many whites in prominent positions.

“I’m not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem,” Beck responded. “This guy is, I believe, a racist.”

LINK TO VIDEO

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/01/08/2010-01-08_glenn_beck_africanamerican_a_bogus_pc_madeup_term_not_a_race.html#ixzz0c3xHLs6q

A Northbrook man arrested at his own wedding reception for slugging his new brother-in-law admitted guilt to misdemeanor battery Tuesday under a plea deal in which prosecutors dismissed seven felony weapons charges stemming from the same incident.

Sean T. Kelly, 26, of the 3500 block of Lawrence Lane, was sentenced to two years probation, fined $250 and ordered to undergo an anger evaluation under terms of the negotiated plea. He also was sentenced to 30 days in the McHenry County jail, but that already has been served since his July 26 arrest in Huntley.

In exchange for the guilty plea, county prosecutors dropped six counts of possession of a firearm without a valid firearm owner's identification card and one count of possession of ammunition without a FOID card filed after police arresting Kelly found three rifles, three handguns and 39 rounds of rifle ammunition in the trunk of his car.

The charges, which alleged Kelly could not lawfully possess the weapons because his FOID card had been revoked, were Class 3 felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.

Kelly's attorney, Senior Assistant Public Defender Richard Behof, noted Tuesday that it was his client who told police about the guns because he feared someone would take them from his car.

"He thought his card was valid and was doing the right thing," Behof said. "He didn't want to leave (the weapons) on the street. He was trying to be responsible."

Huntley police arrested Kelly after a brawl left several people bloodied and bruised during his wedding reception at a home on the 11200 block of Nicollete Lane. During the altercation, police said, Kelly punched a 30-year-old man later identified as his roommate and new brother-in-law, in the face.

Police said the brawl began when an exchange of words got out of hand. Many of those involved in the fight, police said, were intoxicated.

As officers arrested Kelly, police said, he asked if he could give his brother some items in the trunk of his car. Those items turned out to be the guns and ammunition, police said

.

Courtroom scuffle with texter leaves deputy with broken leg

Anne Arundel authorities to review their cell phone policy

Andrea F. Siegel

Baltimore Sun

2:44 p.m. EST, January 7, 2010

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/01/07/tetrapods.poland.evolution.discovery/

Swiss millionaire fined $290,000 for speeding

Court bases record-breaking fine on man's wealth of over $20 million

  ST. GALLEN, Switzerland - A Swiss court has slapped a wealthy speeder with a chalet-sized fine — a full $290,000.

Judges at the cantonal court in St. Gallen, in eastern Switzerland, based the record-breaking fine on the speeder's estimated wealth of more than $20 million.

A statement on the court's Web site says the driver — a repeat offender — drove up to 35 miles an hour faster than the 50-mile-an-hour limit.

Court clerk Heidi Baumann-Becker said Thursday the unidentified driver can appeal the decision, handed down in November, to the Swiss supreme court.

The Blick daily newspaper in Zurich reported the fine was more than twice the previous Swiss record of about $107,000.

29-year-old lottery winner found dead at home

Police have launched an inquiry after one of Britain's youngest lottery jackpot winners was found dead at his home.

Auslan Cramb

Scottish Correspondent
4:08PM GMT 07 Jan 2010

One of Britain's youngest lottery winners Stuart Donnelly, who was found dead at his home in Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire Photo: PA

Stuart Donnelly, 29, won almost 2 million when he shared a $25 million jackpot at the age of 17 in 1997.

The trainee pharmacist, who famously toasted his win with Coca Cola because he was too young to drink champagne, was said to have become a “virtual recluse” in recent years.

He used his money to buy homes for his parents – his father has since died - an executive seat at Celtic Park and a new house in the countryside near Castle Douglas in south-west Scotland.

He was found dead at his home on Wednesday morning and although police are investigating they said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Mr Donnelly, who also gave $15,000 to Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow where his younger brother was treated for a genetic disorder, told of the strain of winning the lottery at such a young age in an interview in 2003.

He said: "It was very hard to deal with all the attention I got. I even had people camping outside my house. It put a huge strain on me and my family."

On his page on the social networking site Bebo, he admitted that he was scared of socialising, and listed his activities as: "Sleeping, watching TV, listening to music, surfing the net. Basically, anything that involves not leaving the house."

A Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary spokesman said: "We can confirm we are investigating the death of 29-year-old Stuart Donnelly from the Castle Douglas area. The procurator fiscal has been informed of the death.

"Early investigations suggest that there are no suspicious circumstances and a post mortem is being arranged."

NM Family Sues Funeral Home Over Brain In Bag

Family Receives Mother's Brain In Bag Of Personal Effects

POSTED: 6:53 pm MST January 6, 2010
UPDATED: 11:58 am MST January 7, 2010

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A New Mexico family is suing after making a gruesome discovery -- a bag of personal effects given to them after their mother's death contained her brain.

Funeral homes in New Mexico and Utah, where the woman died in a Sept. 28 car crash, are blaming each other for the mistake.

According to the complaint filed Monday in state District Court in Albuquerque, the woman's relatives "smelled a foul odor coming from the bag" they received from DeVargas Funeral Home and Crematory of the Espanola Valley.

Funeral home owner Johnny DeVargas denied any fault, telling The Albuquerque Journal that the Utah funeral home was responsible.

The lawsuit names DeVargas, Serenicare Funeral Home in Draper, Utah, and Inman Shipping Worldwide, an Ohio shipping company that transported the body to New Mexico.

A woman, who answered the telephone after hours at Inman's, said nobody from the company was available to comment.

Serenicare owner Dick Johnson denied that his funeral home combined the brain and personal items in a single bag.

The chief medical examiner in Utah told a TV station in Salt Lake City that the standard procedure post-autopsy is to "return all organs and tissues to the body."

If a body part can't be put back, it's place in a bright red bio hazard bag and placed with the body.

Albuquerque attorney Richard Valle is handling the family's suit.

"No loved-one's brain should be part of those belongings," Valle told the Albuquerque Journal.

The lawsuit sites 17 areas of concern including professional negligence, mishandling of a body and outrage.  Funeral homes in New Mexico and Utah, where the woman died in a Sept. 28 car crash, are blaming each other for the mistake.

According to the complaint filed Monday in state District Court in Albuquerque, the woman's relatives "smelled a foul odor coming from the bag" they received from DeVargas Funeral Home and Crematory of the Espanola Valley.

Funeral home owner Johnny DeVargas denied any fault, telling The Albuquerque Journal that the Utah funeral home was responsible.

The lawsuit names DeVargas, Serenicare Funeral Home in Draper, Utah, and Inman Shipping Worldwide, an Ohio shipping company that transported the body to New Mexico.

A woman, who answered the telephone after hours at Inman's, said nobody from the company was available to comment.

Serenicare owner Dick Johnson denied that his funeral home combined the brain and personal items in a single bag.

The chief medical examiner in Utah told a TV station in Salt Lake City that the standard procedure post-autopsy is to "return all organs and tissues to the body."

If a body part can't be put back, it's place in a bright red bio hazard bag and placed with the body.

Albuquerque attorney Richard Valle is handling the family's suit.

"No loved-one's brain should be part of those belongings," Valle told the Albuquerque Journal.

The lawsuit sites 17 areas of concern including professional negligence, mishandling of a body and outrage.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.koat.com/news/22166869/detail.html

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/22170979/

The Obama Administration's Systemic Failure on Terrorism

George Pataki

Former Governor of New York State

Huffington Post

January 6, 2010 07:31 PM

Following the Christmas Day near-disaster on an international flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, President Obama referred to a "systemic failure" of our nation's intelligence sharing. He is right in referring to a systemic failure, but it is not just in intelligence sharing. From day one, the Obama Administration's anti-terror policies have amounted to a systemic failure that have placed our country's security in grave jeopardy. As one who has seen and experienced the consequences of prior failures up close, I am urging the Administration to drastically change its approach to defending America.

Virtually every decision this Administration has made has placed American security at greater risk, since refusing from the very beginning to even acknowledge the existence of a War on Terror, or to call enemy combatants terrorists.

It is time for the Administration to wake up and smell the explosives.

It is time for them to acknowledge their mistakes and change course. Let me outline five specific actions that the president should take:

First, the decision to return six terrorists to Yemen last month was a mistake that should not be repeated. The Pentagon reported this week that one in five terrorists released from Guantanamo are either suspected or confirmed to have returned to the battlefield in places like Afghanistan. The president should suspend his effort to shut Guantanamo until we are certain of a secure alternative facility to hold all detainees.

Second, end the wrong-headed investigation of our own CIA officials. Against the strong recommendation of CIA Director Leon Panetta, the Obama Administration has begun an investigation into CIA agents who interrogated terrorists, even though this action was rejected time and again by prior Justice Department officials. The September 11th attacks were largely the result of a weak intelligence apparatus, and this Christmas Day near-disaster again was again a failure to appropriately share intelligence. The decision to investigate those devoting their lives to protecting us is an example of left-leaning political correctness run amok and greatly hurts morale at that agency at a time when we need a strong CIA more than ever.

Third, treat our military with respect and honor, not as criminals. Yes, we need our military to be professional, respectful and honorable, and they are. But to court-martial Navy Seals -- among the bravest of the brave, who are willing and prepared to die for our country -- because a barbaric terrorist complains of a bruised lip is absurd and unconscionable. What's next? Assault charges against the brave passenger who foiled the Christmas Day bomber? We count on our military professionals to protect us. They should be able to count on their government to support and stand with them against America's enemies.

Fourth, reverse the decision to treat Khalid Sheik Mohammad as a criminal defendant instead of a terrorist. He was captured while continuing to fight a war against us that he acknowledges, even if the Obama Administration refuses to acknowledge the same. As the mastermind of the September 11th attacks, he does not belong in our civilian court system and should be prosecuted under the military tribunal system created for this purpose. To give this butcher and his followers a global media forum to act like victims and spew their hate defies logic. It will inflame anti-American actions across the globe. To show the world such a weak, politically correct response to terrorists makes America and Americans less safe. This is an unprecedented, dangerous mistake and I implore President Obama to reverse this horrible decision before it is too late.

Finally, fire Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and replace her with a competent professional. I have met Secretary Napolitano and found her to be a perfectly nice, reasonable person. But on homeland security, she like the rest of the Obama Administration has been consistently wrong. From confidently asserting "the system worked" in the wake of the Christmas Day near-disaster, to her previous assertion that returning American servicemen and women were prone to right-wing terrorism and presented possible threats to our safety, she has consistently proven that she does not get it and is not up to the challenge of protecting Americans from terror threats.

I could go on. Failure to let Army officials know of the potential dangers prior to the Fort Hood massacre; calling the Christmas day bomber an "isolated extremist" although he was associated with the same radical Yemeni Islamist cleric who instructed the murderer at Fort Hood; issuing a hard timeline for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan at the same time as we are implementing a limited surge... The point is clear. Every week adds more to the growing list of missteps and mistakes made by the Obama Administration that greatly weaken American security and undermine our ability to identify threats and prevent terrorist attacks.

By taking the five steps outlined above, the president would demonstrate to the American people and the world that he understands the threats to our security and is willing to do what it takes to defend and protect our country.