| |
In a follow up from Woman Faces 15 Years for Cutting Line at Walmart, KKK Involved.Judge denies Ellis' request for Sokoloff's recusal, prosecutor later voluntarily steps down and files for appointment of new attorneyTuesday, November 10, 2009 ~ Updated 1:25 PM
A motion filed in a Dunklin County courtroom brings a new twist to the case against Heather Ellis, a case that has garnered national media attention.
Ellis, an African-American woman from Kennett, is charged in connection with an incident at the Kennett Walmart in 2007 during which she was arrested and charged with two counts of the Class C felony assault on a law enforcement officer, one count of the Class B misdemeanor peace disturbance and one count of the Class A misdemeanor resisting arrest. Ellis was charged as a result of a scuffle that broke out in a checkout line at the store, following Ellis being accused by associates employed by Walmart of cutting in line.
The motion in question, filed by Ellis' attorney on November 2, involves Ellis' legal representation requesting Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Sokoloff to recuse himself from the case.
Sokoloff is accused by Ellis' camp of "...making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."
According to the three-page document, Sokoloff replied to a story written on the case by Michael I. Niman of Progressive Populist.
The article, entitled "Felony charge for cutting in line while black in Missouri," tells Ellis' side of the story in which she claims to have been racially targeted by both Walmart employees and Kennett police officers. The story also accuses a police officer of intimidating her family with a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) business card.
Sokoloff wrote a two-page letter in response to the article in which he accused Niman of having done no background research and spoke of his "disregard for objective facts and its reliance on biased and purposefully misleading statements and outright lies."
He also suggested that Niman speak with any of Ellis' three fired attorneys who withdrew following "threats from her family."
Sokoloff goes on to state that one officer allegedly received a split lip from a "punch thrown by the 'innocent' Ms. Ellis."
In his defense, Sokoloff said in a written statement, that "over the last several months, the defendant and her supporters have made a concerted attempt, through the traditional media and the internet, to portray me as an overly aggressive and racially biased prosecutor."
"They have distorted the facts and my record to try to divert the public's attention from her (Heather Ellis') conduct," Sokoloff alleged.
( Cut to spare your flist )
Original source here! | | |
|
 After yet another week in which women's bodies have been used as bargaining chips to trade liberal reforms with the American centre-right, our choices denigrated and our self-expression questioned, politicised and ridiculed, I want to shout out for an unsung hero of improper, joyful, self-actualising women everywhere: Knickers Girl.When a Sun photographer snapped Knickers Girl - aka 20 year old teaching assistant Sarah Lyons -cavorting in Cardiff centre with a pair of pants around her ankles, she instantly became the face of female reprobation up and down the country. Never mind that she wasn't exposing any naughty bits; never mind that dancing with a pair of knickers around your ankles is perfectly legal behaviour; never mind that the pants in question weren't the ones she'd been wearing, but a comedy pair of David Hasselhof knickers a mate had picked up in a bar. Never mind that poor Ms Lyons was on a course of antibiotics and hence was actually stone-cold sober at the time: the new postergirl of binge-drinking ladettes everywhere has been suspended from her job pending a disciplinary inquiry, for the dubious crime of having fun in public. And they say sexism in the workplace is dead. A reminder: this is The Sun we're talking about. The Sun, whose page three 'news in briefs' section features topless glamour models every single day. The Sun, whose problem with women dancing in their pants in public only extends to those of us who aren't getting paid to perform for the male gaze like good little tarts.Knickers girl also has a starring role to play in the latest rotten misogynist egg Quentin Letts has laid in the Mail, although Letts has to satisfy himself with a slavering description of the picture, as the Sun is damned if it's going to share the rights to such a juicy piece of moral propaganda. In his article, Letts blames feminism - and Germaine Greer in particular - for spawning 'an entire generation of loose-knickered lady louts'. "British girls have become fat-faced 'ladettes', goose pimples rising on the skin of their exposed thighs as they clack-clack-clack along the pavement en route to the weekend disco, destination bonk...Older generations would call these women 'slappers' - and they would be right." Not satisfied with fat-shaming, mocking women's bodies and clothes and branding us slags for any attempt to own our own sexual desire, Quentin goes on to tell eager readers that today's ladettes "have lost the centuries-old idea of being demure in public. The sort of slender-lipped, self-questioning, hesitant lover played by Celia Johnson in David Lean's 1945 film Brief Encounter is now found only in recently arrived immigrant families."
Yes, this is the same Quentin Letts, writing for the same newspaper that regularly shames Muslim women for choosing to wear the veil. Clearly, signifiers of female modesty and social repression are fine and dandy as long as they're not foreign.( Read more... )
Source: Penny Red | | |
|
Mount Alvernia College bans girl for shaving headNovember 09, 2009 07:05pm A 15-YEAR-old Brisbane school girl has been suspended for shaving her head to raise money for vital cancer research. Emily Pridham and her family told Channel Nine News her father is battling leukemia. He underwent a bone marrow transplant a few weeks ago but has been given only a few months to live. Ms Pridham decided to shave her head as part of a fundraiser for cancer research. "Basically my way of coping is to try and help other people going through the same thing," she said. Ms Pridham said she has been banned from Mount Alvernia College until her hair grows back. Barbara Pridham said she supports her daughter's fundraising decision. "I am just appalled that she could be suspended by a Catholic school that promotes joy, respect and community spirit," she said. Mount Alvernia College released a statement to Channel Nine News that said Ms Pridham had breached the college's uniform guidelines and had been suspended because of "ongoing issues". By Tuesday morning, Ms Pridham had established a Facebook group to support her and was quickly gathering members. She said on the page: "My inbox and Facebook wall are overflowing with messages of support. I Love my MAC girls, and thanks for standing behind me, It realy shows that in times of need the girls will always stick together .." Source | | |
|
NEW YORK – The famed Navajo Code Talkers, the elite Marine unit whose unbreakable code stymied the Japanese in World War II, fear their legacy will die with them.
Only about 50 of the 400 Code Talkers are believed to be still alive, most living in the Navajo Nation reservation that spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many are frail or ill, with little time left to tell the world about their wartime contribution.
But on Tuesday, 13 of the Code Talkers, some using canes, a few in wheelchairs, arrived in New York City to participate for the first time in the nation's largest Veterans Day parade, set for Wednesday.( Read more )Source | | |
|
Fandoms2 Aaron Stone
1 Beauty and the Beast
7 Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe
1 Cinderella8 icons/4 banners Degrassi 2 Enchanted
4 icons/ 3 bannersGeneral Hospital
3 Gossip Girl (Bree Williamson)
1 NaNoWriMo Novel Promo Banner
2 One Life To Live
1 Snow White2 What The Buck (Degrassi) Rules: Comment if you take, Credit if you use, Nominate if you like DO NOT HOTLINK....if you wish to use on a outside Live Journal or the forums which I cross post to then please ask me first posts public for a month so Join ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) not_the_dramato see more... Teaser:13.  16.  19.  HERE | | |
|
Sniper John Allen Muhammad executed By Jeanne Meserve and Mike M. Ahlers, CNN November 10, 2009 9:37 p.m. EST Jarratt, Virginia (CNN) -- Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad was executed Tuesday by lethal injection, a Virginia prisons spokesman said.
He was declared dead at 9:11 p.m., said Larry Traylor, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Corrections."There were no complications; Mr. Mohammad was asked if he wished to make a last statement," he told reporters. "He did not acknowledge this or make a last statement whatsoever." Mohammad, 48, said nothing from the time he entered the death chamber accompanied by guards, Traylor said. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine denied a last-minute clemency request Tuesday for Muhammad, the mastermind behind the Washington-area sniper attacks of 2002 that terrorized the nation's capital.( Read more... )Source. I feel morbid because I did the other post discussing his execution, and now he's actually, you know, dead. I don't know how I feel about this, really. I don't know how I feel about the death penalty in general, much less how I feel about him being executed so rapidly (it feels like it was rapid anyway, compared to other cases with appeals and what not). | | |
|
Bill O'Reilly: 'We Can't Kill All The Muslims... So We Wanna Win As Many Hearts And Minds As We Can'Bill O'Reilly believes that the US effort to win the popular support of Muslims around the world is based on the notion that the US cannot kill every single Muslim. There are roughly 1.3-1.5 billion followers of Islam worldwide. O'Reilly brought this up during a discussion Tuesday evening about alleged Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan. The Fox News host was discussing the alleged attack with novelist and retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters who was "outraged" that Obama did not refer to the attack as terrorism during his speech at Tuesday's memorial service. Source is filled with RAGE RAGE RAGE | | |
|
Sherri's face in the still pretty much sums up the tone of the entire interview.Carrie Prejean appears on The View to plug her book. Carrie has a serious case of the crazy eyes. Joy, Whoopi, Barbara, and Sherri are unleashed. View ladies ask if she thinks she's a huge hypocrite. Carrie answers ~tough questions~ with "BAWWWW OPPRESSION!!!" Elisabeth barely speaks. SourceIs it just me or does have major crazy eyes??? I've seen enough Intervention to know buggy meth eyes when I seem! /sarcasm... kind of. | | |
|
Pfizer pulling out of New London, eminent domain property an empty lotWhat you are looking at to the right is a monument to government folly. It is the vacant lot where the home of Susette Kelo once stood. A decade ago, the town of New London, Connecticut claimed Kelo's house by right of eminent domain. The plan was to demolish the residential neighborhood so that Pfizer could built a massive research and development plant on the adjacent land. Pfizer got the land for next to nothing. Five Supreme Court justices upheld the taking, ruling that although the primary beneficiary was a corporation, it met the constitutional requirement of "public use."Now Pfizer has announced that it is shutting down the plant. The Hartford Courant reports: Pfizer Inc. will shut down its massive New London research and development headquarters and transfer most of the 1,400 people working there to Groton, the pharmaceutical giant said Monday.... Pfizer is now deciding what to do with its giant New London offices, and will consider selling it, leasing it and other options, a company spokeswoman said. Scott Bullock, Kelo's co-counsel in the case, told the Examiner's Tim Carney: "This shows the folly of these redevelopment projects that use massive taxpayer subsidies and other forms of corporate welfare and abuse eminent domain." Here's how the Associated Press describes the vacant lot: Weeds, glass, bricks, pieces of pipe and shingle splinters have replaced the knot of aging homes at the site of the nation's most notorious eminent domain project. There are a few signs of life: Feral cats glare at visitors from a miniature jungle of Queen Anne's lace, thistle and goldenrod. Gulls swoop between the lot's towering trees and the adjacent sewage treatment plant. The promised 3,169 new jobs and $1.2 million a year in tax revenues vanished when the housing bubble popped and brought on the recession. why am I not surprised? There was once a thriving neighborhood in that area.. now it's a dump.Source : Business Insider but it's been ALL OVER the place | | |
|
( + ) | | |
|
 Glenn Beck Becomes Publishing Legend With Creepy Children's Book (NWS)
Erin Carlson | Nov. 9, 2009, 4:16 PM
File this under Things That Might Severely Traumatize Your Children: Glenn Beck has authored a holiday tome for kiddies entitled "The Christmas Sweater," and according to publisher Simon & Schuster, it will debut at No. 1 on the New York Time's children's picture book bestseller list.
( Read more... )
Source @ Business Insider | | |
|
It looks like Olympia Snowe could have a pretty hard time getting nominated for another term in the Senate as a Republican. There are now more folks in her party who disapprove than approve of Snowe's job performance. 46% of GOP voters think she's doing a bad job to 40% who give her good marks. Snowe is still pretty popular with the liberal/moderate wing of her party, earning a 64% approval rating from them. But even in Maine 68% of Republicans are conservatives and they give her just a 29% approval rating with a 56% majority disapproving of her.Asked how they would vote in a primary contest between Snowe and a more conservative challenger, just 31% of likely Republican voters say they would pick Snowe while 59% say they would go for the conservative alternative.Obviously 2012 is a long ways away. Snowe could get herself back into the good graces of the Republican electorate, or a conservative challenge could fail to materialize. But given the recent successes of the Club for Growth, at least within the sphere of GOP voters, Snowe seems a pretty likely target.Snowe's overall popularity is still decent, with 51% of voters approving of her to 36% disapproving. That owes to a 60% approval rating with Democrats and a 51% mark with independents. Even her pretty good marks with Democrats speak to the perils of moderation though- she's down from a 70% approval rating with them three weeks ago. It may be that while her actions on health care have proven to be too much for Republicans, they're not enough for some segment of the Democratic electorate. Ultimately Snowe's future political survival may have to come as an independent- winning either party's primary could be a challenge. And the good news for her is that Maine has been unusually hospitable toward independent candidates, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Primarying (is that a word?) Snowe has to be cutting off the GOP's nose to spite its face. I wonder if this will affect her health care vote . . . Source | | |
|
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Gov. Don Carcieri vetoed legislation Tuesday that would give same-sex couples in Rhode Island the same right to plan the funerals of their late partners as married couples. The socially conservative Republican said the proposed protection represents a "disturbing trend" of the incremental erosion of heterosexual marriage. Rhode Island does not recognize same-sex marriage. "If the General Assembly believes it would like to address the issue of domestic partnership, it should place the issue on the ballot and let the people of Rhode Island decide," Carcieri said in a letter to lawmakers. Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in the Legislature and frequently override Carcieri's objections. Sen. Rhoda Perry and Rep. David Segal, the bill sponsors, said they would seek to override the veto. They proposed the legislation after one of their constituents was unable to retrieve the body of his late partner from the state medical examiner for weeks because they weren't married or next-of-kin. Gay rights supporters were indignant at the veto. "It is absolutely unconscionable that Gov. Carcieri would step in the middle of people being able to take care of their loved ones at such a sorrowful time," said Kathy Kushnir, executive director of Marriage Equality Rhode Island, which advocates for gay marriage. "Why would he make it more difficult? I just don't get it." The proposed funeral planning rights would apply to same-sex couples who have had a relationship for at least one year and pass other tests, such as owning property together. Carcieri said some of the guidelines were vague. Source- feelin':irate
| | |
|
TAMPA - A U.S. Marine reservist attacked a visiting Greek Orthodox priest he believed to be a terrorist, Tampa police say.
When the priest tried seeking directions from Jasen D. Bruce, 28, of Tampa, on Monday, Bruce struck the priest with a tire iron and chased him.
Police say he attacked the Rev. Alexios Marakis, 29, of Crete, Greece, who was visiting St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tarpon Springs and wound up lost in Tampa.
Marakis had performed a blessing of another retired Greek priest in the West Shore area and then accidentally exited Interstate 275 north into downtown Tampa. He followed cars into the Seaport Channelside Apartments on Twiggs Street and got out to ask Bruce for help.
...
"During the chase, the suspect called 911 and claimed an Arabic male attempted to rob him and he was going to take him into custody," a Tampa Police Department news release states. "When officers arrived, the suspect claimed the man was a terrorist."
Marakis, who speaks limited English, was treated at Tampa General Hospital and released.
Marakis declined to comment today, saying he did not speak much English. The Rev. Michael Eaccarino of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral said Marakis is doing well.
Police came to Bruce's home for a follow-up interview. Bruce's lawyer was there, and Bruce wasn't helpful, police say.
...
Officers say they are trying to determine if the attack meets the standard for a hate crime.
| | |
|
Hey all of you. I'm thinking of moving to the suburbs outside of western and north-western Paris to stay with a French family, and I have some questions regarding university courses and the area in general that I would really appreciate some help and suggestions with! 1. Where can I take an upper-level history course near the area? Which universities would be relatively easy for an American (who's pretty fluent en français) to still get into and take a course at this coming spring? I know l'Université Paris X Nanterre is there, but apparently their inscription date has already passed. I've already looked into the American University of Paris because I figure it'll be easy to take a course at that will count for credit if I can't find anything else, but I'd prefer to go to a French school if possible. 2. What is the western/northwestern suburbs region like? I've read fairly affluent and there seem to be a number of parks/forested areas on their western side. Is it still easy/inexpensive to get to the Paris city center on the RER if I want to visit and hang out in Paris a lot? Will I feel like Paris is accessible to me, or not, and that I definitely live outside of it? I want any info on Maisons-Laffitte, Sartrouville, Nanterre, Le Vésinet, Colombes, Houilles, Bezons, Saint Germain-en-Laye, Chatou, and the more northernly region (Saint-Leu-La-Forêt, Eaubonne, Épinay-sur-Seine) that you can give me! If there are fun things for young people to do, if there's a nightlife, etc. Or links to useful info...I can read all about them, but hearing information from people who've actually lived in or traveled there is so much more useful to me. I've only spent a few days in Paris, so I know very little about the regions outside the densely packed center. I would really appreciate any help you guys can give me, and if you live near the region or go to a university in Paris, let me know if you'd be willing to add me as an lj-friend and provide some further advice! ...oh and here are a few videos, ( enjoy. ) | | |
|
In her memoir, “Still Standing,” the former Miss California recounts her infamous response about gay marriage at the 2009 Miss USA competition. An excerpt. My moment of truth
“Next, let’s have California, Carrie Prejean.” I looked directly at Billy Bush, Access Hollywood star and host of the Miss USA 2009 pageant. I strode over to the center of the stage, trying to display ease and confidence. Beneath the smile, however, my stomach churned with anxiety. When you’re on stage like that, though the bright lights blur out the crowd, you’re in a proverbial fish bowl: all eyes are on you. The lights make you want to squint, but you try to smile and walk across the stage naturally, even though you’ve practiced this same walk ten thousand times before. This was my last test. We were down to five semi-finalists. One of us would be crowned Miss USA. Answering any question before a world audience of seven million people is going to be hard; mine would be a lot harder than I could have imagined. I stepped forward and reached into a glass bowl and removed the folded card that would reveal the identity of my questioner. It was Judge Number Eight — Perez Hilton, self-styled celebrity blogger and professional gossip. “Are we worried?” asked the co-host, actress Nadine Velazquez. “You should be,” a deep voice said into a microphone. I turned to face Perez Hilton, a jowly, boyish-looking man with blond highlights in his hair. It was his deep voice that had given me this warning — no doubt half in jest, but half menacingly too. He asked his question: “Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?” ( More behind the cut )
Source. | | |
|
The fate of same-sex marriage collided with a dysfunctional political process in Albany on Tuesday as the State Senate delayed a vote on a bill that would make it legal for gay and lesbian couples to marry in New York, putting the issue off indefinitely.Though Gov. David A. Paterson put the bill on the agenda for an emergency session that convened Tuesday and gay rights advocates had been aggressively lobbying for an immediate vote, the legislation’s prospects have grown more complex in recent days. Supporters have had difficulty securing the 32 votes they need for approval in the Senate, and a dispute between Mr. Paterson and legislative leaders over how to close a budget deficit that now exceeds $3 billion has held up votes on major legislation. It remained unclear when — or if — the Senate would take up the marriage bill. Wednesday is Veterans Day, a holiday, and legislators were heading back to their districts late Tuesday. Mr. Paterson said he was hopeful an agreement could be reached on cutting the deficit by Monday, meaning that the Legislature could return to Albany early next week to vote on both the budget and the marriage bill. “Hopefully next week we clear this up,” Mr. Paterson said. ( Read more... )Source. | | |
|
Darren Manzella saw two tours of duty in Iraq, first as a combat medic and later as a liaison officer. He earned three promotions in his six years as a U.S. Army sergeant. Despite his professional success, Manzella says he began to question his personal life. "After returning from my first deployment in Iraq, after seeing death and violence, losing friends and comrades, it really made me look over my life," he said. "I looked at some issues I had always had trouble with. I had debated, 'Am I gay?' "As he struggled with his sexual identity, Manzella began a relationship with a man. Soon after, while in Texas between tours, Manzella said he began receiving anonymous, harassing e-mails and telephone calls. "They told me, 'You are stupid, the Army is going to kick you out, but before they do, they are going to take your rank away and all your money away.' "( Read more... )Source. | | |
|
 German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has been killed after being hit by a train at a level crossing, Hannover police said on Tuesday.
Police said that the death was likely a suicide.( More behind the cut )His poor wife - to lose first a child and then her husband...ETA: Sorry, forgot the source. | | |
|
 Paris Hilton's lawyers are preparing to move against the New Zealand firm who thought it would be a bit of wheeze to advertise empty billboard space in Auckland by sticking up a fetching snap of El Reg's fave celebutard with the slogan "Vacant".
According to the Sunday Star Times, the outrage (pic here) is the work of Media5, which has around 70 billboard sites in Wellington and Auckland. The company's Adam McGregor insisted it was merely "a bit of fun", and explained: "We wanted to draw some attention to some of our unsold display as we expanded, so we briefed a friend who runs his own boutique agency to work up a range of creative concepts. "We liked the ones he came up with using high-profile public figures the best because they were fun." He continued: "We were thinking about using Winston Peters, but Paris is much prettier and she has a proven ability to laugh at herself. We assume that the agency has taken care of the rights to the image of Paris, but we will ask the question." To answer McGregor's question, Hilton's manager Jamie Freed said Media5 "had no permission to use Hilton's image, and they could expect to hear from Hilton's lawyers". If that does happen, then McGregor said he'd "probably" pull the campaign. He concluded: "We're not trying to offend anyone." ® Source: The Register- tunes:Shogo Sakai - Gentle Rain
| | |
|
| |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
thedastardfunk in 
