http://www.facebook.com/OccupyCanada - Idle No More Toronto today -Over 1000 people! Idle No More FlashMob Round Dance Took Over Yonge-Dundas Square today in downtown Toronto as part of the Idle No More rallies happening in solidarity with First Nations across Canada and the world.There's a google map of all the worldwide #IdleNoMore events and rallies scheduled
Susan Thayer, a former Planned Parenthood clinic manager, is suing Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa) for Medicaid fraud. According to the lawsuit, from January 1, 1999 to the present, Planned Parenthood knowingly made “false, fraudulent, and/or ineligible claims for reimbursement” to the Iowa Medicaid Enterprise. One way in which Thayer claims Planned Parenthood committed Medicaid fraud was through its “C-Mail Program.” The program was designed to give birth control to all patients, especially those on Medicaid, through the U.S. Postal Service. According to the lawsuit, in 2008, the program was changed from “opt-in” to mandatory, and Planned Parenthood would mail birth control to patients for at least one year, often without their consent. Thayer claims that all the while, Planned Parenthood was being reimbursed $26.32 by Medicaid to cover the $2.98 cost of the oral contraception. Any prescriptions which were returned by the Post Office were reused for other patients, and Planned Parenthood was reimbursed a second time for the same contraception. According to the lawsuit, from mid-2006 through and after December 31, 2008, Planned Parenthood made such false claims to Medicaid totaling more than $824,000 a year... READ MORE
As the coal industry collapses, BHP wants to dump its coal mine on the Navajo Nation and continue its abuse
By Dine' CARE Censored News http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
The announcement this week that Navajo Nation has agreed to buy the Navajo coal mine from BHP Billiton has already sparked dissent among Navajo Nation residents and communities as word of the deal has begun to spread.
Magnitude 6.8 Date-Time Friday, December 21, 2012 at 22:28:09 UTC Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 09:28:09 AM at epicenter Location 14.382°S, 167.260°E Depth 207.9 km (129.2 miles) Region VANUATU Distances 129 km (80 miles) N (6°) from Santo (Luganville), Vanuatu
Magnitude 4.4 Date-Time Friday, December 21, 2012 at 19:24:57 UTC Friday, December 21, 2012 at 12:24:57 PM at epicenter Location 27.572°N, 111.630°W Depth 25.4 km (15.8 miles) Region GULF OF CALIFORNIA Distances 70 km (43 miles) ENE of Santa Rosalia, Mexico
Does making schools “gun-free zones” really protect children, or make them easy targets?
The recent mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., has left many wondering how best to keep children safe from mad gunmen who ignore the “gun-free zone” laws – and indeed any gun-control laws – to open fire on our nation’s most innocent.
According to news reports of the Connecticut massacre, Adam Lanza, 20, shot his mother Nancy dead at their family home, then drove to the school, where he gunned down six more adults and 20 children, before killing himself.
But what if one of the teachers had a gun, too? Could Lanza have been stopped and many of the children’s lives saved?
The question isn’t new. Back in 1999, the year of the Columbine school shooting, an organization called Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership interviewed Dr. David Th. Schiller, a leading gun-rights advocate in Europe on how to combat the school shootings that even then were deemed “quite common” on U.S. soil.
Conclusions: #1. The photo at the top shows an Israeli school among many schools there, which are all guarded by caring, responsible adults carrying -- gasp -- rifles. Not one of those children goes to school in fear. They did, however, during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict years where schools were attacked by unscrupulous individuals. The outcome? Attacks on schools ceased entirely. In every single case, pro-gun arguments are backed by facts, and anti-gun arguments are backed by emotion (and are usually wrong). When it comes to children's safety, should we let fact or emotion guide their safety?
Another fabulous week in Key West gone in a dizzying blur. Father Tony and I scarcely left the gorgeous Island House this time, except to revisit one of our favorite restaurants, El Siboney (twice!), and hit the charmingly ramshackle seafood joints like Bo's Fish Wagon (cracked conch!) Huge thanks to Island House owner Jon and his very friendly team. I already can't wait to return. Next stop on this trip: Orlando.
Google has a special holiday offer for America's teachers. Via Engadget:
Teachers will be able to purchase the already-cheap Samsung Series 5 Chromebook for $99 this holiday season, Google just announced on its blog. Mountain View will offer the Chromebook for that discounted price thanks to a partnership with the online charity DonorsChoose.organd that $99 covers management and support in addition to the hardware. Public-school teachers who qualify will need to head to the Donors Choose website and to put in a request for up to 30 units. Everyone else can simply admire that act of benevolence -- or head to the aforementioned URL to make a donation of their own.
I considered getting a Chromebook, but they were always sold out when I looked.
SUZY FAVOR HAMILTON Events: Middle Distance Height: 5-4 Weight: 108 PRs: 800m - 1:58.10 (2000); 1000m - 2:33.93 (1995); 1500m - 3:57.40 (2000); Mile - 4:22.93 (1998); 3000m 8:46.16 (2000); 5,000m - 15:06.48 (2000) Born: August 8, 1968, in Stevens Point, Wis. Current Residence: New Glarus, Wis. High School: Stevens Point (Wis.) 86 College: Wisconsin 90 Coach: Peter Tegen Agent: Jos Hermens Club: Nike
Career Highlights: -time Olympian (92, 96, 00); 9-time NCAA champion; 3-time USA Outdoor 1500m champion (90, 91, 98); 2-time Junior Pan American gold medalist (84, 86); 3-time USA Indoor champion (91, 98, 99).
Coming off one of the most impressive seasons of her professional career in 2002, Favor Hamilton enjoyed another strong campaign in 2003 highlighted by her 1,500m performance of 4:01.69 in Rome, the second fastest by an American that year. A lower calf strain kept her from competing at the 2003 World Outdoor Championships in Paris. In 2002 Favor Hamilton ran three sub-four minute 1,500s, becoming the only American except Mary Slaney to accomplish the feat. In 2001, she had the fastest time by an American with 4:00.38 at Monaco, and she had the fastest U.S. time in 2002 with her 3:59.10 at Zurich. A three-time Olympian and the second fastest American ever at 1,500 meters, Favor Hamilton posted the fastest womens 1500m time in the world in 2000 with her 3:57.40 at the 2000 Bislett Games. Only Mary Slaney has run faster among Americans. Also in 2000, Favor Hamilton set PRs at 800, 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 meters and was considered a medal contender for Sydney at 1,500m. Running with an avulsion of the ischium bone and a strained hamstring, Favor Hamilton collapsed during the last lap of the Olympic final before picking herself up and finishing the race. She was treated by Olympic medical staff after the race and later chalked up the collapse to the injury, combined with a panic attack and dehydration in the final straight went through therapy after the Olympics to work through the reasons for her collapse. After graduating from Wisconsin in 1990, she moved to Eugene, Ore., to train with coach Dick Brown at the end of 1996, disappointed by her Olympic season, she moved back to Madison to reunite with college coach Peter Tegen and has made rapid improvement since then. Wisconsins biggest star ever, with 23 Big 10 titles (21 of them in individual events)won 9 NCAA titles, a record that still stands NCAA All-American 14 times as a senior, was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup as the nations top collegiate athlete trains with Canadian (now British) star Kathy Butler and American 1,500m up-and-comer Sarah Schwald holds a degree in graphic arts, and remains very active with her artworks as an assistant coach to the Badger cross country and track programs married to Mark Hamilton, a former Badger baseball player in 2000 changed her name from Hamilton to Favor Hamilton in honor of her brother, who committed suicide Hamilton and her husband, Mark, welcomed their daughter, Kylie, into the world on September 21, 2005 official website is www.suzyfavorhamilton.com.
2005: did not compete 2004: 3rd at USA Indoors (4:12.87). Did not compete in final at 2004 Olympic Trials. 2003: Runner-up USA Outdoor 1,500m (4:03.70)2nd at Nike Prefontaine Classic Outdoors 1,500m (4:03.47) 2nd at Home Depot Invitational (4:04.36) 3rd at Rome Golden Gala (4:01.69)1st in Madrid (4:02.89)ranked #2 in U.S. at 1,500m by T&FNbest of 4:01.69. 2002: Runner-up at USA Outdoor 1500m (4:11.31)ran fastest womens mile time in the world in 02 of 4:25.27 2nd at Zurich GL 1500m (3:59.10 fastest by an American in 02) 2nd at Berlin (3:59.40)1st at Rieti (3:59.43)2nd at Paris (4:01.08)3rd at World Cross Country Championships (13.47)5th in 4 km at USA XC (13:47)ranked #4 in the world (#1 U.S.) at 1,500m, #8 at 3,000m in U.S. by T&FNbests of 3:59.10, 4:25.27, 8:56.03. 2001: 2nd at USA Outdoor 1,500m (4:06.61)did not finish in semifinal at World Outdoor Champs1st in 1,500m at Prefontaine Classic (4:06.93)3rd in Paris (4:02.64)3rd in Monaco (4:00.38) 2nd at Oslo (4:03.60)3rd at Golden Gala (4:03.10) was diagnosed with hypoglycemia at the end of the outdoor campaign ranked #6 in the world (#1 U.S.) by T&FNbest of 4:00.38. 2000: 12th in Olympic final (4:23.05) after collapsing during final lap...did not compete indoors...opened the outdoor season with an impressive 15:06.48 for 5000 meters in her first try at the race and in May set a personal best in the 3000m (8:46.16)... 2nd at Olympic Trials 1500 (4:01.81)...followed up with a world-leading 3:57.40 PR win at the Bislett Games July 28 in Oslo, where she defeated the last three World Champions in the event (Sonia OSullivan, Carla Sacramento and Svetlana Masterkova) and the 1996 Olympic Champion (Masterkova)...then ran 1:58.10 PR at Stockholm Aug. 1...ranked #7 in world (#1 U.S.) in 1500 and #7 in U.S. in 800m by T&FN...bests of 1:58.10, 3:57.40, 8:46.16 and 15:06.48. 1999: USA Indoor 1500m champion...best of 1:58.92iAR...sidelined by achilles surgery in April... did not compete outdoors. 1998: Won USA Outdoors (4:05.28)... won USA Indoor mile (4:34.16) and Millrose mile (4:30.91)... won the Prefontaine Classic in May (4:10.11) with a 56.5 last lap...ran 800 PR of 1:58.66 to win in Lucerne...left the circuit after her 11th at Zurich (4:04.37) because she no longer felt fit...ranked #1 in U.S. at 1500 and #8 at 800 by T&FN... bests of 3:58.43 and 4:22.93. 1997: 2nd in 1500 at USA Indoor (4:08.83 indoor PR)...runner-up at USA Outdoors 1500 (4:04.36 PR)...ran 2nd at Sheffield in PR 4:03.50...6th in semi (4:07.19) at World Champs, missing final by 0.13 seconds...ranked #5 in world at 1500 (#2 U.S.) and #9 in U.S. at 800 by T&FN...bests of 4:03.50 and 4:26.01. 1996: 3rd in Olympic Trials 800 (1:59.04), 13th in 1500 (4:17.28)...4th in heats of 800 at Olympics...ranked #10 in U.S. at 1500 and #3 in U.S. at 800 by T&FN...bests of 4:08.18 and 4:31.65. 1995: Runner-up in 1500 at USA Outdoors...8th in semi at World Champs...ran 1000m in an American record 2:33.93 at the Prefontaine Classic... ranked #3 in U.S. at 1500 and #6 at 800 by T&FN...bests of 4:05.14 and 4:28.18. 1994: 2nd at 1500 in USA Outdoors...ran 2000m in 5:42.86... 9th in the USA Indoor mile after falling...ranked #2 in U.S. at 1500 and #5 at 800 by T&FN...bests of 4:04.57 and 4:37.47. 1993: 4th in 1500 at USA Outdoors...ranked #5 in U.S. at 1500 by T&FN... bests of 4:10.69 and 4:36.30. 1992: 3rd at the Olympic Trials...11th in heat at Olympics...ranked #3 in U.S. at 1500 and #7 at 800 by T&FN... bests of 4:04.53 and 4:32.39. 1991: Won mile (4:37.55) at USA Indoors...won USA Outdoors (4:06.13 PR)...placed 9th in her 1500 heat at the World Champs...ranked #3 in U.S. at 1500 by T&FN... bests of 4:06.13 and 4:32.99. 1990: Won USA Outdoors (4:13.47)...won NCAA 800 (1:59.11) and 1500 (4:08.26)...won NCAA Indoor mile (4:38.19) and 3000 (9:02.30 PR)...won Big 10 800, 1500 and 3000...2nd at NCAA XC Champs...ranked #1 in U.S. at 1500 and #4 at 800 by T&FN... bests of 4:08.00 and 4:38.1. 1989: Placed 2nd at USA Outdoors ...won mile at NCAA Indoor in a meet record 4:30.63...won 1500 at NCAA Outdoors (4:15.83)...won Big 10 800, 1500 and 3000...won silver medal at 1500 in World University Games...won 800 at Olympic Festival...ranked #1 in U.S. at 1500 and #4 at 800 by T&FN...bests of 4:09.7 and 4:27.31. 1988: Won 1500 at NCAA Outdoors (4:13.83)...anchored second-place 4x800 relay at NCAA Indoor...won Big 10 800m, 1500m and 3000m...finished 5th in 800 heats at Olympic Trials... qualified for the semis in the 1500 but did not run...6th in NCAA XC Champs... bests of 4:13.91 and 4:35.97. 1987: In her frosh year, won NCAA Indoor mile and NCAA 1500 Outdoors (4:09.85)...captured Big 10 800 and 1500 titles...6th in the 1500 at USA Outdoors...9th in the World University Games 1500...21st in the NCAA XC Champs...ranked #5 in U.S. at 1500 by T&FN... bests of 4:09.10 and 4:41.69. 1986: Won her third straight 1500 title at the USA Juniors, an unprecedented achievement...won her second gold at the Pan Am Juniors...placed 9th in the World Junior 1500...2nd in the NCAA XC Champs... bests of 4:18.62 and 4:42.5 (1600). 1985: Won her second 1500 title at the USA Juniors... bests of 4:19.43 and 4:45.2. 1984: Won the 1500 at the USA Juniors...gold medal at 1500 in the Pan Am Juniors... bests of 4:19.46 and 4:51.8...also ran 10:26.2 for 3200 indoors.
NOW! (Mi’kmaq IdleNoMore blockade of Highway 11 by Rexton, NB, via @itsClairbear) By Tim Fontaine Please click link below for APTN as photos are temporarily blocked APTN National News HALIFAX – The Idle No More movement made its presence known today in Atlantic Canada with protests and events held across the region. At 7 a.m., people from the Millbrook First Nation near Truro blocked one lane
Walid al Nassasra and two of his daughters stand staring into the pit where his brothers sheet-metal roofed, cinder-block home stood until it was hit in a pin-point strike with a precision guided bomb from an F-16 fighter jet (provided by the United States) on 19 Nov 2012 at 10 pm as the family slept. If not for the clothes and bedding strewn about, it would be difficult to tell that a home once stood here. His brother Taqwfiq, like Walid, is a farmer. Their family has been farming in the Rafah area for 35 years. They are poor people, scratching out a living on a small plot of land. As we sat and talked with Walid, Israeli F-16's roared across the sky.
His brother as well as a 12 year old nephew remains hospitalized, the nephew is in the ICU with skull and hip fractures. His sister-in-law is blind after her head and upper body was severely burned.
His 4 year-old niece suffers severe burns and a fractured leg stabilized by an external fixation device. In this kind of reduction, holes are drilled into uninjured areas of bones around the fracture and special bolts or wires are screwed into the holes. Outside the body, a rod or a curved piece of metal with special ball-and-socket joints joins the bolts to make a rigid support.
Over 3,000 US troops have secretly returned to Iraq via Kuwait for missions pertaining to the recent developments in Syria and northern Iraq, Press TV reports.
According to our correspondent, the US troops have secretly entered Iraq in multiple stages and are mostly stationed at Balad military garrison in Salahuddin province and al-Asad air base in al-Anbar province.
Reports say the troops include US Army officers and almost 17,000 more are set to secretly return to Iraq via the same route.
In his Christmas address to Vatican officials, Pope Benedict reportedly praised an essay by France’s chief rabbi on the negative effects of gay marriage.
According to Reuters, the Pope called the essay by Rabbi Gilles Bernheim “profoundly moving” during the Pope’s speech in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Friday.
In an essay published in October,“Gay Marriage, Parenthood and Adoption: What We Often Forget To Say,” Bernheim argues that plans to legalize gay marriage are being made for “the exclusive profit of a tiny minority” and are often supported because of political correctness.
Homosexual rights groups “will use gay marriage as a Trojan Horse” in a wider campaign to “deny sexual identity and erase sexual differences” and “undermine the heterosexual fundamentals of our society,” Bernheim also wrote.
Last month, France’s Socialist government unveiled a draft law that would allow gay marriage. That same month Spain’s highest court upheld a gay marriage law.
New York City is poised to finish its warmest year since modern record-keeping began, with an average temperature projected to top 57.2 degrees.A Wall Street Journal analysis of federal temperature data from an observation station at Central Park puts 2012 on course to surpass the three-way tie for the city's warmest year, which is currently shared by 1990, 1991 and 1998. Temperature records at Central Park date back to 1869, the longest-running set of government weather data in the five boroughs. Eight of the 10 warmest years in that span have occurred since 1990.Tree-ring analysis and other proxy data compiled by climate scientists suggest 2012 might be the warmest since the Dutch opened the trading post of New Amsterdam in 1624, said William Solecki, director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College."I think it is entirely possible that 2012 might be the warmest year for the city since its founding," he said.
"It snowed a few times in 2012, therefore climate change is a communist conspiracy concocted by leftists to destroy American capitalism," said every wingnut in Teabagistan.
And the winner for Most Random Insult of the Year goes to... Igor Miroshnichenko!
This Ukrainian politician went off in a Facebook rant against Mila Kunis, slamming her heritage and saying she isn't a true Jew because the actress is a "zhydovka."
That word translates to an Anti-Semitic slur that's been used against Jewish people since the Holocaust.
The Ukrainian government has defended Miroshnichenko.
But the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles has sent a letter to the nation in which his organization expresses "our outrage and indignation against the slanders of the Svoboda Party directed against the Jewish community in the Ukraine."
Rabbi Marvin Hier says that "zhydovka" (translation: "dirty Jewess") is an "insidious slur invoked by the Nazis and their collaborators as they rounded up the Jews to murder them at Babi Yar and in the death camps."
He is urging the Ukraine Prime Minister to "publically condemn this attack and to take measures to defeat the xenophobic forces that threaten your democracy."
Los Angeles Police Department officials said their efforts to investigate an in-custody death of a drug suspect has been hampered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which has refused to allow its agents to cooperate for more than two years.
The suspect died shortly after he was arrested in a DEA operation, according to LAPD records. An autopsy found that the suspect's ribs had been fractured in 21 places and coroner's officials concluded that the injuries were caused by "blunt force." The fractures led to internal bleeding, which ultimately killed the man, the coroner found.
Without assistance from the DEA, they cannot determine how the man's injuries occurred, according to documents reviewed by The Times.
The LAPD believes DEA agents may have caused the injuries when they placed the suspect on his stomach while handcuffing him, according to the documents. But without being able to interview the DEA agents who made the arrest, it's impossible for the detectives to determine whether excessive force was used.
Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for the DEA, said the U.S. Justice Department's own Office of the Inspector General is conducting an investigation into the death to determine whether DEA agents broke federal civil rights laws by using excessive force when arresting the man. Dearden said the DEA has provided the LAPD with some information and documentation about the incident.
"However, it is not uncommon for an agent under multiple ongoing investigations to decline specific law enforcement interviews until an inspector general investigation is completed," she said.
LAPD officials said they need to conduct their own homicide investigation. Chief Charlie Beck outlined the department's struggles with the case in a report recently submitted to the Los Angeles Police Commission. Beck reports to the civilian panel on all serious use-of-force cases and in-custody deaths.
Beck wrote that his detectives had made "numerous requests" to the DEA for interviews with the involved agents but have repeatedly "been met with negative results."
The birth of an ice island is rarely seen. But what begins in remote high Arctic latitudes can, in the years and decades that follow, have a real impact on places that are far more visible, like shipping lanes and offshore oil platforms.
Recent years have produced a wave of ice islands. Researchers tracking the giant formations have tabulated roughly 1,000 square kilometres that have broken free from Greenland and Canada’s Arctic islands.
O Oriens, splendor lucis æternæ et sol iustitiæ: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.
O Dayspring, Brightness of Light Everlasting, and Sun of Righteousness: Come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
Today Fr East's ("Oriens") wonderful explication of the “O” antiphons is resumed. (My copy of his posts for the 19th and 29th of December remain among the missing.
My illustrious namesake derives his title from the Song of Zechariah, or Benedictus, which I quoted yesterday. Luke 1:78-79,
Per viscera misericordiae Dei nostri: In quibus visitavit nos, Oriens ex alto, Illuminare his qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent . . . 'Through the bowels of compassion of our God, Through which the Dayspring from on high has visited us, To illuminate those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death . . .'
Notice that our antiphons are proceeding in a chronological direction through the Bible; not in the texts quoted, which are from here, there and everywhere, but in the events alluded to: Creation - Exodus - Jesse - David - and now the beginning of the Gospel, John the Baptist.
The symbolism of light is often applied to Christ in the NT, but for specifically eternal light we should look to Isaiah 60, which is all about light. The chapter begins,
Surge, illuminare, Ierusalem, quia venit lumen tuum, Et gloria Domini super te orta est. 'Arise, shine, Jerusalem, for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.'
Note orta, 'risen', the past participle of orior, of which Oriens is the present participle. At verse 19 of this chapter we find,
Non erit tibi amplius sol ad lucendum per diem, Nec splendor lunae illuminabit te; Sed erit tibi Dominus in lucem sempiternam. 'The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light.'
This is taken up in the Book of Revelation, or Apocalypse:
Et civitas non eget sole, neque luna ut luceant in ea, nam claritas Dei illuminavit eam, et lucerna eius est Agnus. (Rev. 21:23)
'And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.'
We should also note the Second Letter of St Peter, 1:19,
Et habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem: cui benefacitis attendentes quasi lucernae lucenti in caliginoso donec dies elucescat, et lucifer oriatur in cordibus vestris.
'We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.'
The 'Sun of Righteousness' comes from Malachi 4:2,
'Et orietur vobis timentibus nomen meum Sol iustitiae, et sanitas in pennis eius.'
(note again the use of orior)
'And there shall rise upon you who fear my name the Sun of Righteousness, with healing in his wings.'
To quote a much later writer who continued this highly creative tradition of turning the scriptures into liturgy:
"Christ, whose glory fills the skies, Christ, the true, the only Light, Sun of Righteousness, arise, Triumph o'er the shades of night; Dayspring from on high, be near; Daystar, in my heart appear."
(Charles Wesley).
Or again, by the same author - I quote it in his original form; we are more familiar with it in the slightly altered form it received from G. Whitefield, M. Madan and others:
"Hail the heavenly Prince of peace! Hail the Sun of righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, Risen with healing in his wings."
HOUSTON -- Sitting in front of his computer, Al Alverson said he couldn't believe what he saw when went back to look at surveillance video recorded from a camera he had installed above his front door three years ago.
Wednesday, he and his wife Sandra Alverson were expecting two Christmas gifts that they had purchased online to be delivered, but when they got home, one of them -- delivered by Federal Express -- wasn't there. They thought it was strange because the delivery company emailed them a notification confirming the package had been dropped off earlier that morning.
"It said it was delivered at 9:29 a.m.,” Al Alverson said. “So I go up and I have a DVR with all the cameras on it to take a look."
And sure enough at 9:29 a.m. he clearly saw his iPad Mini being delivered. He continued to search the video and at 1:15 p.m. he saw the family's second holiday gift delivered by UPS, but two minutes later, the UPS employee returns.
"I said, ‘oh my god,’ it is the UPS guy," Alverson said.
And he was right. Dressed in the familiar brown uniform, the video showed the driver returning and taking the FedEx package sitting by the front door with the iPad Mini inside.
The Alversons told KHOU 11 News they contacted UPS and felt they were getting the run around until they posted their video on YouTube.
"I got a call this morning and they were very helpful. They promised they would get me a replacement iPad today," said Alverson.
And they did. UPS told KHOU 11 News it was also able to identify its employee and he was fired. The company said he was a seasonal worker who was hired just to deliver packages during the holidays. UPS also said the Harris County Sheriff's Office arrested him Thursday. He was charged with theft.
The Alversons wonder if they were the only victim of the suspect.
WASHINGTON - Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association, on Friday called for armed police officers and other security measures at every school in the United States.
"The NRA is going to bring all its knowledge, all its dedication and all its resources to develop a model National School Shield emergency response program for every school in America that wants it," he told a news conference.
LaPierre was speaking at the powerful gun lobby group's first news conference since a shooting one week ago at a Connecticut primary school that killed 20 young children and six adults.
MONSEY — A firefighter suffered minor burns Thursday afternoon at a house fire at 9 Cape Court.
The Monsey firefighter, who is in his early 20s, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern with second-degree burns to his neck, said Steve Kaye, president of the Spring Hill Ambulance Corps. No one else was injured in the fire, which started around 11:30 a.m.
Monsey Fire Chief Adam Gordon said no one was at home when the fire broke out in the attic of the single-family house. Firefighters arrived two minutes after someone called 911.
About 50 firefighters from Monsey, Hillcrest and Spring Valley had it under control within 30 minutes, Gordon said. Firefighters used a ladder truck to reach the roof, which they cut open in several places to let the heat and smoke escape.
Gordon credited the rapid response for keeping a “small incident from going to a bigger one.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation, and officials suspect it might have started in the basement.
Ramapo Deputy Fire Inspector Adam Peltz said the home’s 13 residents would not be able to spend the night in the house due to heavy water and smoke damage, but could return once repairs were made.
The home is a legal single-family with an accessory apartment, Ramapo Building Inspector Tony Mallia said.
Ramapo police and Rockland Colunty Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation were at the fire.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has resigned, paving the way for a general election next year.
Mr Monti, a former European commissioner, had been appointed last year to lead a technocratic government tasked with saving Italy from a worsening financial crisis.
He won plaudits in Europe for passing much-needed reforms but his austerity measures have also earned him the opposition of many Italians.
BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. — Emergency officials are on the scene of a deadly shooting in Frankstown Township, in Blair County.
Right now, sources tell KDKA-TV that four people are dead, and three Pennsylvania State Troopers were also hurt, but are expected to be okay.
Sources say at least part of the shooting took place at the Juniata Valley Gospel Church.
Troopers responded to a 9-1-1 shots fired call about 9 a.m. Additional 9-1-1 calls reported an armed man shooting at additional locations.
According to sources, two troopers were fired at by the driver of a pickup truck on Juniata Valley Road and a third officer was injured in a head-on crash with the pickup.
Sources say the suspect was Jeffrey Lee Michael of Hollidaysburg, Pa.
Michael exited the truck and immediately shot at troopers. Troopers returned fire, killing Michael.
One trooper was hit by two bullets, one in the chest area, which hit his body armor. A second bullet hit the trooper in the wrist. A second trooper was injured from shattered glass, and shrapnel to the face from the gunfire. A third trooper was injured in the motor vehicle crash.
No word on the three people Michael’s allegedly killed before firing at troopers.
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The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete. The awards are voted on annually by a panel of AP sports editors from across the United States.
A large majority of the winners, as one would expect from an award given by an American organization, have been Americans (this bias is also reflected in the list of recipients of the Sportsman of the Year award given by the American magazine Sports Illustrated). However, non-Americans are also eligible for the honor, and have won on a few occasions, but the list of recipients reflects the award's American perspective.
Contents [hide] 1 List of award winners 2 See also 3 Footnotes 4 Notes
[edit] List of award winnersYear Male Female 1931 Pepper Martin Major League Baseball Helene Madison Swimming 1932 Gene Sarazen PGA golf Babe Didrikson Track and field 1933 Carl Hubbell Major League Baseball Helen Jacobs Tennis 1934 Dizzy Dean Major League Baseball Virginia Van Wie Golf 1935 Joe Louis Boxing Helen Wills Moody Tennis 1936 Jesse Owens Track and field Helen Stephens Track and field 1937 Don Budge Tennis Katherine Rawls Swimming 1938 Don Budge Tennis Patty Berg Golf 1939 Nile Kinnick College football Alice Marble Tennis 1940 Tom Harmon College football Alice Marble Tennis 1941 Joe DiMaggio Major League Baseball Betty Hicks Newell Golf 1942 Frank Sinkwich College football Gloria Callen Swimming 1943 Gunder Hägg Track and field Patty Berg Golf 1944 Byron Nelson PGA golf Ann Curtis Swimming 1945 Byron Nelson PGA golf Babe Didrikson Zaharias Golf 1946 Glenn Davis College football Babe Didrikson Zaharias Golf 1947 Johnny Lujack College football Babe Didrikson Zaharias Golf 1948 Lou Boudreau Major League Baseball Fanny Blankers-Koen Track and field 1949 Leon Hart College football Marlene Bauer Golf 1950 Jim Konstanty Major League Baseball Babe Didrikson Zaharias LPGA golf[1] 1951 Dick Kazmaier College football Maureen Connolly Tennis 1952 Bob Mathias Track and field Maureen Connolly Tennis 1953 Ben Hogan PGA golf Maureen Connolly Tennis 1954 Willie Mays Major League Baseball Babe Didrikson Zaharias LPGA golf 1955 Howard "Hopalong" Cassady College football Patty Berg LPGA golf 1956 Mickey Mantle Major League Baseball Pat McCormick Diving 1957 Ted Williams Major League Baseball Althea Gibson Tennis 1958 Herb Elliott Track and field Althea Gibson Tennis 1959 Ingemar Johansson Boxing Maria Bueno Tennis 1960 Rafer Johnson Track and field Wilma Rudolph Track and field 1961 Roger Maris Major League Baseball Wilma Rudolph Track and field 1962 Maury Wills Major League Baseball Dawn Fraser Swimming 1963 Sandy Koufax Major League Baseball Mickey Wright LPGA golf 1964 Don Schollander Swimming Mickey Wright LPGA golf 1965 Sandy Koufax Major League Baseball Kathy Whitworth LPGA golf 1966 Frank Robinson Major League Baseball Kathy Whitworth LPGA golf 1967 Carl Yastrzemski Major League Baseball Billie Jean King Tennis 1968 Denny McLain Major League Baseball Peggy Fleming Figure skating 1969 Tom Seaver Major League Baseball Debbie Meyer Swimming 1970 George Blanda National Football League Chi Cheng Track and field 1971 Lee Trevino PGA golf Evonne Goolagong Tennis 1972 Mark Spitz Swimming Olga Korbut Gymnastics 1973 O.J. Simpson National Football League Billie Jean King Tennis 1974 Muhammad Ali Boxing Chris Evert Tennis 1975 Fred Lynn Major League Baseball Chris Evert Tennis 1976 Bruce Jenner Track and field Nadia Comăneci Gymnastics 1977 Steve Cauthen Horse racing Chris Evert Tennis 1978 Ron Guidry Major League Baseball Nancy Lopez LPGA golf 1979 Willie Stargell Major League Baseball Tracy Austin Tennis 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team Ice hockey Chris Evert Tennis 1981 John McEnroe Tennis Tracy Austin Tennis 1982 Wayne Gretzky NHL ice hockey Mary Decker Track and field 1983 Carl Lewis Track and field Martina Navratilova Tennis 1984 Carl Lewis Track and field Mary Lou Retton Gymnastics 1985 Dwight Gooden Major League Baseball Nancy Lopez LPGA golf 1986 Larry Bird NBA Martina Navratilova Tennis 1987 Ben Johnson Track and field Jackie Joyner-Kersee Track and field 1988 Orel Hershiser Major League Baseball Florence Griffith Joyner Track and field 1989 Joe Montana National Football League Steffi Graf Tennis 1990 Joe Montana National Football League Beth Daniel LPGA golf 1991 Michael Jordan NBA basketball Monica Seles[2] Tennis 1992 Michael Jordan NBA basketball Monica Seles Tennis 1993 Michael Jordan NBA basketball Sheryl Swoopes College basketball 1994 George Foreman Boxing Bonnie Blair Speed skating 1995 Cal Ripken, Jr. Major League Baseball Rebecca Lobo College basketball 1996 Michael Johnson Track and field Amy Van Dyken Swimming 1997 Tiger Woods PGA golf Martina Hingis Tennis 1998 Mark McGwire Major League Baseball Se Ri Pak LPGA golf 1999 Tiger Woods PGA golf U.S. women's soccer team soccer 2000 Tiger Woods PGA golf Marion Jones Track and field 2001 Barry Bonds Major League Baseball Jennifer Capriati Tennis 2002 Lance Armstrong Cycling Serena Williams Tennis 2003 Lance Armstrong Cycling Annika Sörenstam LPGA golf 2004 Lance Armstrong Cycling Annika Sörenstam LPGA golf 2005 Lance Armstrong Cycling Annika Sörenstam LPGA golf 2006 Tiger Woods PGA golf Lorena Ochoa LPGA golf 2007 Tom Brady National Football League Lorena Ochoa LPGA golf 2008 Michael Phelps Swimming Candace Parker WNBA 2009 Jimmie Johnson[3] NASCAR Serena Williams Tennis 2010 Drew Brees National Football League Lindsey Vonn Skiing 2011 Aaron Rodgers National Football League Abby Wambach Soccer 2012 Michael Phelps Swimming Gabby Douglas Gymnastics
"I've heard of people being killed playing ping-pong -- ping-pongs are more dangerous than guns. Flat-screen TVs are injuring more kids today than anything." - Texas GOP state Rep. Kyle Kacal, who vows to block any attempt to strengthen gun laws.
Australian activists have launched a social media campaign urging people to bring up the topic of marriage equality over the Christmas table.
"Christmas is a time when family and friends gather together, making it the perfect time to spread the message about the importance of marriage equality,’ AME national convenor Rodney Croome said."We know from experience here and overseas that attitudes to marriage equality are shaped, more than anything else, by personal one-to-one conversations. It doesn't matter if you're [Australian Opposition Leader] Tony Abbott's sister, a church parishioner, a farmer, or a mum or dad - the more people talking about marriage equality the harder it will be for our MPs to oppose reform." The campaign will also be supported by a selection of shareable Facebook covers and e-cards with the same theme.
Jena Pianin (Amador Valley) 1 17:40 Oct 6 Clovis 5k 2 17:16 Oct 20 65th Mt. SAC 2.93 miles 1 17:56 Nov 17 North Coast Section MOC 3 miles 3 17:39 Nov 24 CIF State 5k
2012 CIF State Cross Country Championships Presented by Farmers Insurance November 24, 2012 Woodward Park 5K Course, Fresno CA Weather:Fair upper 60's lower 70's Robert Rush-Sports Consultant rushruner@aol.com RESULTS ON: RecordTiming.com, norcalstst.com Division 1 Girls Individual Results
Place Name Yr School D1girls Pace Bib# Sec 1 Sarah Baxter JR Simi Valley 16:40 5:22 1827 SS 2 Hagen Reedy SR Buchanan 17:10 5:32 263 CS 3 Jena Pianin SR Amador Valley 17:39 5:41 530 NCS 4 Kiara Mcintosh SR Paloma Valley 17:45 5:43 1717 SS 5 Megan Huebner JR La Quinta (l.Q.) 17:48 5:44 1636 SS 6 Fiona O'Keeffe FR Davis Sr. 17:49 5:44 1206 SJS 7 Kylie Nishisaka SR Marina 17:50 5:45 1670 SS 8 Vanessa Estrada SR San Benito 17:51 5:45 190 CCS 9 Miranda Kewley SR Great Oak 17:58 5:47 1598 SS 10 Ashley Helbig JR Great Oak 17:58 5:47 1596 SS 11 Tori Dutchover JR Yucaipa 17:58 5:47 1943 SS 12 Leigh Moffett JR Clovis North 18:00 5:48 290 CS 13 Haley Seward SR Edison 18:06 5:50 1565 SS 14 Nicolette Sorensen SR Torrey Pines 18:08 5:51 1134 SDS 15 Diribe Abdo SO Berkeley 18:10 5:51 553 NCS 16 Lauren Larocco JR St Francis (sac) 18:10 5:51 1338 SJS 17 Christian Calain JR Great Oak 18:10 5:51 1594 SS 18 Marissa Williams SO Palisades Charter 18:11 5:52 466 LAS 19 Haley Dorris JR Great Oak 18:12 5:52 1595 SS 20 Ali Teliha SR Bullard 18:14 5:52 272 CS 21 Bryn Rohner SR Rancho Buena Vista 18:21 5:55 1110 SDS 22 Christine Bayliss SO San Ramon Valley 18:23 5:55 742 NCS 23 Charlotte Utash JR Simi Valley 18:23 5:55 1828 SS 24 Melissa Eisele JR San Clemente 18:25 5:56 1786 SS 25 Maiya Larsen SO Great Oak 18:27 5:57 1597 SS 26 Hannah Kay SR Patrick Henry 18:27 5:57 1075 SDS 27 Veronica Yamane JR Arcadia 18:28 5:57 1410 SS 28 Kelsey O'Connell SR Torrey Pines 18:28 5:57 1135 SDS 29 Carina Gillespie SR Otay Ranch 18:30 5:58 1066 SDS 30 Peyton Bilo SO St Francis (sac) 18:31 5:58 1340 SJS http://rtspt.com/events/cif/xc2012/d1g_res.htm
Head coach Shelia Burrell announced today that SDSU will sponsor the men's 40+ FLASH100 at the Aztec Invitational in March.
Dec. 18, 2012
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State track and field team will be sponsoring the FLASH100 in conjunction with the 35th annual Aztec Track and Field Invitational from March 15-16, 2013, head coach Shelia Burrell announced today.
The FLASH100 will bring together the 18 fastest men in the world over the age of 40 for a 100-meter race that will determine the fastest American masters sprinter and possibly the world's fastest masters sprinter. The FLASH100 is a formal stop on this year's USA Track and Field (USATF) Masters Invitational Program schedule and is envisioned to be a permanent stop for years to come.
The FLASH100 is open to any male USATF member at least 40 years old who have met a wind-legal qualifying standard of 11.69 seconds (FAT) from a 2012 or 2013 USATF sanctioned meet, an IAAF sanctioned meet or a collegiate meet that used FAT timing. The 18 fastest applicants who apply by Feb. 19 at midnight and are accepted on Feb. 22 will compete in two preliminary heats on Friday, March 15 at 11:40 a.m. PT during the Aztec Invite. The top three finishers in each prelim heat along with the next three-fastest times will advance to the finals on Saturday, March 16 at 1:40 p.m. PT.
USATF Masters Invitational Program medals will be awarded to top three finishers. The FLASH100 champion will be presented with the Aztec Invitational event champions' baton and title of "World's Fastest Master." Additionally, the following cash prizes will also be awarded:
* 1st Place - $500 * 2nd Place - $300 * 3rd Place - $100 * Bonus (World Age Group Record) Prize Money - $100 (If more than one World Age Group Record is broken then funds will be distributed equally among the record setters)
Interested competitors can enter the FLASH100 through the USATF Masters Invitational Program website at http://www.usatf.org/Resources-for---/Masters/TF/Programs/Masters-Invitational.aspx.
The meet package for the Aztec Invitational, which includes maps, schedules and additional information pertinent to the FLASH100 can be found at http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/sdsu/sports/w-track/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/13AztecInvitationalInfo.pdf.
"The addition of the FLASH100 to SDSU's Aztec Invitational shows our commitment to all competitors in the sport," Burrell said. "I love this sport and being able to provide a competitive opportunity for athletes who are still dedicated is an inspiration to the track and field community and the weekend warrior. The trash talking has already begun amongst these guys. There is no better place to do this, but in San Diego, where we continue to build our relationship with a diverse and extensive track and field/cross county community."
The 35th annual Aztec Track and Field Invitational will bring together high school, junior college, university, professional and now masters athletes to a single venue for a single meet.
"This event is going to be epic," FLASH100 event director Kuba Wasowski said, "I'm really excited to be a part of something that will recognize these sprinters who have been honing their craft for so many years."
Comments and requests for additional information about the FLASH100 should be sent to: Flash100SDSU@gmail.com
Macy's seems to have a Santa Claus problem this year. Macy's is having trouble keeping its Santas in line. From the Daily Rashcomes this hard hitting investigative journalism so lacking in today's left leaning Democrat propaganda machine we have come to know as the mainstream media (MSM)
Macy’s department store has fired yet another Santa Claus employee for being drunk at their Herald Square location in Manhattan, their fifth Santa termination since November 25th. A spokesperson for Macy’s said that two other Santas have been suspended without pay for three days and another was issued a verbal warning, all for consuming alcohol on the job...
Nathan Newton was the latest Santa to be let go. Newton ... was hired by Macy’s to work the weekend Santa shift. Macy’s terminated Mr. Newton on Sunday after a family saw him urinating in an alley behind the store. A Macy’s spokesperson said that normally Newton would have received a warning or suspension for drinking on the job but urinating in public was grounds for immediate dismissal...
A confused listener called in this week to a political talk show on the Shas-affiliated radio station Kol Barama. The listener is a student of Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak, the founder of the new political party Koah Lehashpia, which is targeting the same voters as Shas. He was distraught by an interview Yitzhak had given the day before in which he said he would not take into consideration the views of the spiritual leader of the Shas party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
"I don't know anymore what to believe," the listener complained on air.
The call was just the latest sign that even the sacred cows of the ultra-Orthodox are being taken out for the slaughter this election season, sowing confusion among voters and signaling a possible reduction in parliamentary power for the Haredi parties.
Instead of continuing to be treated as a sage who should be obeyed without question, Yosef has become a punching bag. At the same time, the rivalry between two ultra-Orthodox leaders is threatening to split the non-Hasidic Ashkenazi Haredim, while small political movements are attacking rabbis from both the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties. The infighting is expected to cost the more established parties, especially UTJ, dearly at the polls, though the extent to which they will be affected remains to be seen.
In the run-up to the January 22 election, what's happening among Haredim - Sephardi and Ashkenazi alike - is that the once-holy has lost some of its sanctity, and authority figures have become less authoritative.
Heresy on the air
Kol Barama operates under the aegis of the Second Television and Radio Authority, but was founded by Shas and follows rules set by its spiritual guidance committee, including not putting women on the air more than twice a week.
But on Tuesday the radio station aired live heresy. It gave prominent coverage to an interview with Yitzhak, which is itself unusual in light of the fact that he has rebelled against Shas and founded his own rival party. Then the station let him keep going once he began putting down Shas' spiritual leader, along with Ovadia Yosef's son, Shas wheeler-dealers and the radio station itself.
The program then interviewed Rabbi Shimon Badani of Shas, who called for Yitzhak to be ostracized. But that too was part of the circus. Yosef, Yitzhak and their respective supporters all seemed like contenders in one big boxing ring, holding up their fists as they sought to consolidate their power.
Another Shas defector, Rabbi Chaim Amsellem, is trying to promote his new party, Am Shalem, in part through a book of his that came out earlier this month in which he refers to Yosef's sons as a "sophisticated gang that is systematically shaping" their father's views. He writes that "quite a few rabbis are critical toward him, but are terrified of being the targets of all-out war."
Degel Hatorah at risk of split
And not only are Yitzhak and Amsellem waging a frontal assault on Shas' spiritual leader, but the usually self-censoring Haredi press is playing along.
It's not so easy at the top of the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox heap either, lately.
Degel Hatorah, the so-called Lithuanian (meaning non-Hasidic ) faction of United Torah Judaism, seems on the verge of being torn into two due to the rivalry between those in control - Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman and other rabbis from Bnei Brak, and a smaller group from Jerusalem.
Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, the leader of the Jerusalem group, is expected to decide shortly whether to support Netzah, a breakaway political party registered by his supporters.
This infighting is about ideology as well as ego. Auerbach is close to the more extremist Haredi groups and opposes adopting the more pragmatic approach that some of the Bnei Brak rabbis espouse. He recently instructed his followers not to respond to military draft notices.
Though Netzah appears to have virtually no chance of winning enough votes to get into the Knesset, the rift could still harm the political chances of UTJ, since Auerbach has thousands of students whose votes the party would lose.
The internal split would also probably be a source of friction between Degel Hatorah and its Hasidic partner in UTJ, Agudat Yisrael, since both factions would be affected by a drop in seats for the party as a whole.
JERUSALEM -- Jerusalem Police have arrested a man for vandalizing King David's Tomb.
Two men reportedly were caught smashing the ceramic tiles that cover the tomb's stone late on Wednesday night.
The arrested haredi Orthodox man, 30, told police that he came to the tomb in order to pray for a mate. He said that a second man, who fled the scene before he could be nabbed by police, told him that the only way for his prayers to be answered is if he prayed directly to the stones.
The two men then began cracking and removing the tiles, which are hundreds of years old.
The tomb recently was renovated including restoring the original structure and repairing the tiles.
Scholars doubt that King David is actually buried at the site.
I can hear Ivy League liberals gagging and kvetching over this study already.
Harvard Journal Study of Worldwide Data Obliterates Notion that Gun Ownership Correlates with Violence
Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy Confirms that Reducing Gun Ownership by Law-Abiding Citizens Does Nothing to Reduce Violence Worldwide...
States with concealed carry permit laws do have lower rates of gun violence for the simple reason that criminals don't know who might be packing heat at any place or point in time, but this is too much for liberals to comprehend let alone accept. Like they say in Texas, "An armed society is a polite society." My preferred manners in polite society include a Sig Sauer Pro SP 2022 in .40 caliber with a rail mounted red laser sight. Nothing says, "I'm not going to be a victim", more, then painting some punk intent on mayhem with a red laser sight.
Now, a Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy study shows that this is not just an American phenomenon. According to the study, worldwide gun ownership rates do not correlate with higher murder or suicide rates. In fact, many nations with high gun ownership have significantly lower murder and suicide rates... Read the cited article in its entirety at CFIF
