"We snuck out into the middle of Broad Street to snap a pic in front of City Hall and all the crowds. When Will raised his hands for the picture, cheers erupted. So he continued to repeat the gesture, getting wild response from the crowd on both sides of the street up and down the street as far as we could see. We couldn't have planned this if we practised and practised. I wish the video was longer."
"The European Court of Human Rights this morning rejected claims that the men, Babar Ahmad, Syed Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled Al-Fawwaz, would be subject to "ill treatment" if they are sent to the US to be tried for terrorist offences.And on the case against him:
They have three months before today's ruling is made final, and will not be put on a plane until the Grand Chamber of the court has considered whether to allow an appeal."
"A decision on a sixth man, Haroon Aswat, alleged to be an aide to Hamza, was delayed after judges ruled they needed more information about him.So my message to him is as follows:
Of the cases, the charges against Hamza are the most serious. The former preacher of Finsbury Park mosque in north London, who was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in Britain in 2006 for inciting hatred, is accused by US authorities of being in contact with Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists, and of being involved in a plot to take 16 western tourists as hostages in Yemen in December 1998. Four people were killed during that incident.
He is also charged with attempting to set up a training camp for "violent jihad" in Oregon in 1999."
"The article, entitled “After-birth abortion: Why should the baby live?”, was written by two of Prof Savulescu’s former associates, Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva.
They argued: “The moral status of an infant is equivalent to that of a foetus in the sense that both lack those properties that justify the attribution of a right to life to an individual.”In the UK abortion is legal up until the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy, although many might want to have the procedure before then. Whether or not the foetus can be described as a life from the moment of conception is debatable, however what is certain is that before the twenty-fourth week of the pregnancy the foetus is, for the most part, not covered or protected by law. However after the twenty-fourth week, and indeed after the birth it is legally covered whereupon any physical damage to the child will result in the person(s) responsible to be criminally charged.
Rather than being “actual persons”, newborns were “potential persons”. They explained: “Both a foetus and a newborn certainly are human beings and potential persons, but neither is a ‘person’ in the sense of ‘subject of a moral right to life’.
“We take ‘person’ to mean an individual who is capable of attributing to her own existence some (at least) basic value such that being deprived of this existence represents a loss to her.”
As such they argued it was “not possible to damage a newborn by preventing her from developing the potentiality to become a person in the morally relevant sense”.
The authors therefore concluded that “what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled”."
"Dog walkers on the Homefield Recreation Ground in Chiswick were aghast when they saw workmen smash down and saw the heads off snowmen earlier this week.Of course some people were annoyed because they had put a lot of effort into building the snowmen with their kids and quite frankly in this sort of weather the grass is bound to take a beating. It goes without saying that the parks should be maintained to a standard but to be so over zealous that you have to resort to decapitating snowmen, you really are trying a little too hard.
When passers-by complained, the men claimed that they were protecting the grass"
"A spokesman said: “It would appear that some contractors employed to look after parks can occasionally get a bit carried away with their snow clearing duties. However it is certainly not the policy of local government to persecute snowmen.”Those poor persecuted snowmen, someone call Shami Chakrabarti!!!
"Pope Benedict said Monday that gay marriage was one of several threats to the traditional family that undermined "the future of humanity itself."I'm not sure really where to start with this. I'm not sure what his idea of the traditional family is but it's certainly not the nuclear family. If the idea of the nuclear family ever existed it certainly hasn't for fifty plus years.
""This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself," he said."
"One leading opponent of gay marriage in the United States is New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, whom the pope will elevate to cardinal next month.So not only are there other idiots who hold this view but they are in a fairly powerful and influential position. This is incredibly worrying and a destructive attitude to have. It is wrong in so many ways and yet the blind and the ignorant continue this attitude.
Dolan fought against gay marriage before it became legal in New York state last June, and in September he sent a letter to President Barack Obama criticising his administration's decision not to support a federal ban on gay marriage.
In that letter Dolan, who holds the powerful post of president of the U.S. Bishops Conference, said such a policy could "precipitate a national conflict between church and state of enormous proportions."
"‘Papa John’s acted after PR rep Cho, 24, posted the bill on Twitter alongside the message: ‘Hey @PapaJohns just FYI my name isn’t ‘‘lady chinky eyes’’.’Said employee has now been fired and the company are trying to reach Ms Cho for an apology.
Several hours later, the message had gone viral and Papa John’s apologised for the racial slur on its Facebook and Twitter pages."
"A spokeswoman for La Redoute said: ‘We are looking at how this mistake has occurred internally. La Redoute are working on it to get an explanation.Mistake or publicity stunt? Hmmm
‘Again, La Redoute presents its apologies to customers and Internet users.’
"The 60-year-old said he was “devastated” by his “irresponsible actions” and that he would seek treatment after security staff caught him stealing cheese and wine.
Worrall Thompson was arrested and given a police caution after he was captured on camera not paying for items at a self-service checkout at the store in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire"Of course this led to countless jokes being created and spread throughout Twitter and jokes website "Sickipedia."
"The footballer, who would need the backing of 500 elected officials by the end of February to run, has sent a letter to French mayors describing himself as an "engaged citizen" and asking for their support.But even if he was to get he five hundred signatures required, in April the first round finishes and from what I understand only two candidates go through to the next round.
"This engagement obliges me to speak, more earnestly than usual, but also with a keen sense of my responsibility, at a time when our country faces difficult choices which will be decisive for its future," said the letter.In his letter, printed in the Liberation newspaper, Cantona denounced the limited opportunities for young people in France and social injustices which were "too numerous, too violent, too systematic", the newspaper said."
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"I do wish everyone would stop saying 'the black community' though. WHICH ONE?"And then:
"I'm saying that the use of 'black community' in media is often lazy way of generalising."Then shortly after she posted:
"Clarifying my 'black community' tweet: I hate the generally lazy thinking behind the use of the term. Same for 'black community leaders'."Cue Diane Abbott's response:
"Ethnic communities that show more public solidarity & unity than black people do much betterSo she's clearly trying to make a point about the black community and integration and it's relationship within London and around the country, however she did it badly.#dontwashdirtylineninpublic"
"Ms Bachmann did not signal any intention to bow out of the race following her poor performance."The overall table of results looks like this:
| Candidate | Number of votes |
|---|---|
| Mitt Romney | 30,015 (25%) |
| Rick Santorum | 30,007 (25%) |
| Ron Paul | 26,219 (21%) |
| Newt Gingrich | 16,251 (13%) |
| Rick Perry | 12,604 (10%) |
| Michele Bachmann | 6,073 (5%) |
"There’s no question why a liberal woman would not care for Bachmann, or at least her policies. She is aggressively pro-life, promises to abolish “Obamacare,” and has called for the military to draw up war plans to bomb Iran. But why aren’t conservative women supporting one of their own?And another quote:
Iowa voters-- both men and women-- told the Des Moines Register that they just don’t see Bachmann as up to the job, no matter her gender. Bachmann was considered the least knowledgeable on the issues of any candidate running for president tied with Gingrich in the Register’s latest poll on the question of who would be least likely to bring real change."
"But more detrimental to Bachmann than the prominent GOP women who are not endorsing are the everyday Republican women who say they’re not voting for her. In Iowa State University’s latest poll of likely caucus-goers, Bachmann was again polling in the single digits, with slightly fewer women (7.2%) supporting her than men (7.3%). Ron Paul, on the other hand, had a huge gender gap, with far more women (31%) supporting his candidacy than men (22%.)"It's an interesting article and worth reading:
"A totally innocent 18-year-old youth on the threshold of a promising life was brutally cut down in the street … by a racist, thuggish gang. You were both members of that gang. I have no doubt that you fully subscribed to its views and attitudes."But there are still doubts about their guilt:
Addressing Dobson, he said: "You are now 36. At 17 years and 10 months you were very nearly 18 when you murdered Stephen Lawrence."
The judge said under rules at the time of the killing in 1993 he must sentence both men as juveniles to be detained at her majesty's pleasure with recommended minimum life terms.
In Dobson's case he sentenced him to a minimum term of 15 years and two months. Dobson stood with his hands behind his back and stared at the judge as he made his remarks.
To Norris, 35, the judge said he would impose a minimum term of 14 years and three months.
Under the current law which is encompassed in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, if the crime had been committed today, both men could have expected to receive a minimum term of 25 years as juveniles committing a racist knife murder."
"But Dobson's mother continued to protest that her son was innocent. Speaking at the front door of her home in Eltham, south-east London, after arriving home from the Old Bailey after the verdict, Pauline Dobson, said: "He's innocent. We are absolutely devastated as a family – devastated.The case was revived from being a cold case after forensic evidence which previously had been missed or overlooked had been found and deemed acceptable to use in a trial. There are of course doubts about this evidence with some saying that the evidence could have been tampered with, however I believe that without proof that it actually has been tampered with, the theory that it could have been tampered with simply isn't enough in my eyes.
"My son is innocent and one day we will prove that.
I really don't know what we are going to do but we will find a way to prove he is innocent. Ask all the police who have been involved in this case – every single policeman says Gary never did it."
"The prosecution had relied on new forensic evidence after an earlier case was dropped and a private prosecution by the Lawrence family against three men - including Dobson - failed.
Scientists conducting a review of the case in 2007 found a tiny bloodstain on Dobson's jacket that could only have come from Mr Lawrence. They also found a single hair belonging to the teenager on Norris's jeans. The scientists recovered the material from evidence the police had held all along using advanced techniques which were not available to the original case scientists.
Dobson and Norris denied murdering Mr Lawrence and said their clothing had been contaminated as police mixed up evidence over the years. Detectives spent months establishing the movements and handling of the exhibits since 1993 - and the jury were told that contamination was implausible."
"The actor Harry Morgan, who has died aged 96, was best known as Colonel Sherman T Potter, commander of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in M*A*S*H, the wonderfully witty and sharp television series set in an army camp during the Korean war. He played Potter, an expert surgeon and a father figure in the camp, from 1978 until 1983."His character had been involved in both world wars and the Korean war. He played his character with humility, grace, and a presence that was kindly but authoritative. I don't think that is necessarily an easy character to play, so I think it's a testament to Harry Morgan that he pulled it off so well and that so many people recognise him and admire him for that.
"Exuding an air of respectability, Morgan played the tough but reasonable judge in the famous "monkey trial" of 1925, in which a schoolteacher was tried for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution, in Stanley Kramer's Inherit the Wind (1960), and was General Ulysses S Grant in How the West Was Won (1962). Later he played sheriffs in a number of westerns, notably in The Shootist (1976), John Wayne's final film. When Morgan hears that Wayne's ex-gunfighter has cancer, he starts to whoop and laugh. "The day they lay you away, what I do on your grave won't pass for flowers!" he yells.Rest in peace Harry Morgan. A great actor, a true gentlemen.
Throughout the next two decades, Morgan was active in films and on television, including the TV movies The Incident (1990), Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992) and Incident in a Small Town (1994), in all three of which Walter Matthau, as a small-town lawyer, and Morgan, as a judge, sparred amiably. But it was his Colonel Potter in M*A*S*H that gave him his widest claim to fame, and won him an Emmy in 1980 as outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series. He also appeared as Potter in the spinoff AfterMASH (1983-85), set in a veterans' hospital in the fictional town of River Bend, Missouri"
"Analysts, who studied 270 interviews with people who took part in the disturbances, said distrust and antipathy towards officers was a key driving force behind why thousands took to the streets.And then a little further down:
A complex mix of other political, social and economic grievances also contributed to the unprecedented trouble, according to the research conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE) and The Guardian.
Out of those questioned, 85% said policing was an "important" or "very important" factor in why the riots happened. It was second only to poverty, which saw 86% of rioters class it as one of the main causes of the four consecutive nights of unrest during the summer"
"Other major factors included media coverage, greed, inequality, boredom, criminality, moral decline and racial tensions, the study found. Poor parenting and gangs were also said to be an important cause of the trouble, which led to the deaths of five people and saw more than 4,000 arrested."This is interesting, but ultimately I don't buy it. Of course the people who were interviewed were biased. They would think that it was the police's fault, with their stop and search methods and the way that the police that area and others like it.
"Seems that some people have only *just* noticed that Jeremy Clarkson is a steaming bellend.."So a resounding criticisms there, although to be honest I rather prefer Jeremy Clarkson any day (even with his foot in his mouth) over an attention seeking harpie who constantly embarrasses her husband.
“Clarkson’s comments on the One Show were totally outrageous, and they cannot be tolerated. We are seeking urgent legal advice about what further action we can take against him and the BBC, and whether or not his comments should be referred to the police.
“Public sector workers and their families are utterly shocked by Jeremy Clarkson’s revolting comments. We know that many other licence fee payers share our concerns about his outrageous views. The One Show is broadcast at a time when children are watching – they could have been scared and upset by his aggressive statements. An apology is not enough - we are calling on the BBC to sack Jeremy Clarkson immediately. Such disgusting statements have no place on our TV screens."
"Lilly, six, was barely a puppy when she was struck down by a condition that caused her eyelashes to grow into her eyeballs, damaging them beyond repair."
"It was after this traumatic event that her relationship with seven-year-old Maddison developed as she took her under her wing.The best buddies lived together until their owners decided they couldn't look after them any more.Miss Campbell said:
'With her lack of sight, Lily's other senses have heightened so although we don't split them up often she can tell if Maddison is nearby. 'They curl up together to go to sleep and they are very vocal with each other. 'We haven't analysed their different barks but if Lily wants to go forward and Maddison is in her way, the bark will have a different pitch.
'They are very close to one another and enjoy each other's company'."
"Why did we spend billions of our money on Libya if we are not going to get any of the country's oil? What do we get out of this?"So did the USA seek to help the Libyan rebels for the sole purpose of strengthening ties to secure oil deals? Or maybe was it to actually help the Libyans. Even if the USA did involve itself in the Libya conflict purely to strengthen oil deals, that would not send out the best impression. It would portray said country as selfish amongst other things.
"A mentally handicapped person (often used as a general term of abuse)."Actually what it should only be is a description for a mentally handicapped person, however the use of it has become so common that it is now deemed acceptable as a term of abuse. The English language is vast, there are so many words that could be used but instead Mr Holmes, like many others have chosen to use "the R word."
"Morales-Rodriguez told detectives her boyfriend wanted a baby boy but she was unable to get pregnant, then feigned a pregnancy and panicked when it was time to have the baby, authorities said.Chilling, disturbed, disgusting, none of these do the story justice. To take not just one life but two and in such a gruesome and inhumane act is beyond belief.
She drove around her neighborhood, locating the victim outside a public agency frequented by pregnant women, and offered her a ride to a local drug store, according to the complaint.
Morales-Rodriguez then told the pregnant woman she needed to stop at home to change her shoes. While the victim was inside using the bathroom, Morales-Rodriguez struck her in the head several times with a baseball bat, the complaint said.
Court documents said she then strangled her and taped her mouth, hands and feet with duct tape before trying to cut out the fetus.
"She cut at the bikini line attempting to duplicate the process she had seen on the Discovery Channel, depicting a caesarean section birth," the district attorney wrote in the complaint.
Morales-Rodriguez then called the paramedics to report that she had just given stillbirth to a child in the shower, the complaint said.
"She said that she had just given birth and the baby was not breathing," Police Chief Ed Flynn said during a news conference over the weekend.
The baby was pronounced dead at the scene and Morales-Rodriguez was taken to the hospital by paramedics.
Police later learned that the woman was not the mother of the child. Investigators returned to Morales-Rodriguez' home where they discovered the mother's body in the basement by the hot water heater."
"The 75million-year-old Jurassic egg is to be auctioned at Hasons Auctioneers by its anonymous 80-year-old owner, who bought the historic artifact while visiting Asia in the 1950s.
The egg was discovered by an archaeologist and historic artifact collector who identified it as belonging to the Therizinosaur reptile, a land dinosaur that stood upright and had an extended neck.
With a weight comparable to a bag of sugar, there has been much care taken to preserve the egg's condition. Auctioneers only handle the egg with special gloves on.
The dinosaur egg will be bid for alongside the owner's other pieces of history from his timeless collection."
