NewsWhoar Thread

[Cez★]

Some Giants fans think the throw was intentional, but Padres pitcher Mat Latos(notes) says it was an accident.

Either way, the young San Diego righty says he's sorry that a ball he threw into the stands during last Tuesday's batting practice cleared the left-field concourse at AT&T Park and did some Jason Heyward-type damage in the player's parking lot just beyond the ballpark.

The baseball crashed upon the sunroof of the new Honda Civic owned by Giants announcer Dave Flemming. The jilted jalopy is still in the shop awaiting an estimate for its DL time, but Latos says he'll pay the bill once the Giants forward it to him.

Here's what Latos told Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News on Monday night in San Diego:

"I've heard people are saying I threw it over the Coke bottle (in left field). That's not even close to true. Look, people are going to believe whatever they want to believe. If they send me a bill, I'll pay it. I'm sorry it happened and I'll be responsible for it. But I didn't know there was a parking lot back there. I wasn't trying to throw it out of the stadium."

Since I'm not a mind reader and am unfamiliar with the AT&T Park setup, I'm going to take Latos' word for it. The 22-year-old tells Baggarly that he did learn a valuable lesson, though:

"When you throw a ball in the stands. Throw it to the guy in the first row."

Padres fans, I'm guessing, won't mind if Latos keeps intentionally vandalizing the Giants' lineup on the field. He'll start Tuesday night's game against San Francisco at Petco Park having already been a smashing success against the team on two separate occasions. He nearly pitched a perfect game against the Giants last Thursday and is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA (and only five hits allowed) over 16 innings this season.

[BillyJeanKing]

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05...ed-about-de%2F

[Cez★]

Republican lawmakers from the top national security committees in Congress roundly criticized the White House for forcing the resignation of Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, saying the spy chief took the fall for other top officials who President Obama chose to protect.

Blair, who had a reputation as a "know-it-all" on Capitol Hill, was not the most popular member of the Obama administration. He also had been feuding with CIA Director Leon Panetta and other officials. His off-the-cuff public comments have caused problems for the administration and a scathing report released just days ago outlining intelligence failures before the attempted Christmas Day bombing -- one of three major security breaches since last fall -- could have put the nail in the coffin.

But top-ranking Republicans called the change-up a crass political move by Obama that ignored more entrenched intelligence problems in the administration. They said Blair's authority had been systematically weakened during his 16-month tenure and pointed the finger at Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan.

"Blair's resignation is the result of the Obama administration's rampant politicization of national security and outright disregard for congressional intelligence oversight," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. "Dennis Blair was the one person you could count on for rationality among Holder, Napolitano and Brennan -- and he's the one the president let go."

The lawmakers slammed the administration for transferring intelligence oversight to the White House and Justice Department -- in an apparent reference to the decision to create a specialized interrogation unit under the purview of the FBI and subject to oversight from the White House-based National Security Council.

"It must have been challenging to be forced on the sidelines by the attorney general but still catch all the blame for failings," Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Fox News.

The White House has already been interviewing potential successors. An administration official told Fox News that "several strong candidates" are in the running.

Some lawmakers, while praising Blair for his service, withheld criticism of the administration's decision, suggesting a change in leadership was needed after a string of high-profile plots against the United States.

A report from the Senate Intelligence Committee this week found 14 intelligence failures that allowed suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to allegedly board a plane to Detroit on Christmas Day armed with explosives. That came after the deadly Fort Hood shooting in November. Then on May 1, suspect Faisal Shahzad, an American citizen of Pakistani descent, allegedly tried to blow up a vehicle filled with explosives. As with the Christmas Day attempt, the explosives failed to properly detonate and the vigilance of bystanders helped defuse the situation.

"This type of failure cannot be tolerated," Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said.

Senators are apparently eager to hear Blair's side of the story. His resignation is effective May 28.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement that he looks forward to meeting with Blair "to understand why he is leaving his office now and whether he thinks the DNI needs more statutory authority than it currently has."

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, accused the administration of stifling Blair.

"It is unfortunate that the Obama administration did not allow him to do his job and tried to make him the scapegoat for the administration's intelligence failures. The problem was not with Dennis Blair, but with the White House itself, which, under John Brennan, attempts to control intelligence policy beyond the scope of congressional oversight while withholding necessary information from Congress," he said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010...ief-scapegoat/

---------- Post added at 09:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 AM ----------

wonder whos going to fill the spot

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010...air-resigning/

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said Thursday he will resign in the wake of a series of successful and attempted attacks that critics said pointed to U.S. intelligence failures -- from the Fort Hood shooting to the failed Christmas Day bombing plot to the attempted Times Square bombing.

"It is with deep regret that I informed the president today that I will step down as director of National Intelligence effective Friday, May 28th," Blair said in a written statement. "I have had no greater honor or pleasure than to lead the remarkably talented and patriotic men and women of the Intelligence Community."

In a written statement, President Obama said he was "grateful" for Blair's leadership in the job.

"During his time as DNI, our intelligence community has performed admirably and effectively at a time of great challenges to our security, and I have valued his sense of purpose and patriotism," he said.

"He and I both share a deep admiration for the men and women of our intelligence community, who are performing extraordinary and indispensable service to our nation," he said.

related links
RAW DATA: National Intelligence Director Blair's Resignation Letter
Intelligence Director Knew His Days Were Numbered
The president is already is interviewing potential successors.

"We have been interviewing several strong candidates to be his replacement," an administration official told Fox News.

A retired Navy admiral, Blair is the third director of national intelligence, a position created in response to the 9/11 attacks.

Blair's tenure as the overseer of the nation's intelligence agencies was marked by turf battles with CIA Director Leon Panetta and controversial public comments in the wake of the Christmas Day airliner bombing attempt.

The enmity between Blair and Panetta is well known, one Democratic senator told Fox News.

Republican lawmakers blamed the Obama administration for Blair's resignation.

"Blair deserves this nation's thanks for his long service to our country," said Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, the ranking Republican member on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "It must have been challenging to be forced on the sidelines by the attorney general but still catch all the blame for failings."

Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said Blair's resignation "is the result of the Obama administration's rampant politicization of national security and outright disregard for congressional intelligence oversight."

"Blair's resignation is disturbing and unfortunate," he said in a written statement. "The concerns I have come from how the Obama administration conducts national security, not over the director of national intelligence, who they never allowed to do it."

Hoekstra said Blair was more rational than Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Janet Napolitano or White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan.

"Congressional Republicans we will be watching closely who the president plans to name as a successor," he added.

Blair is described by some who worked with him as direct and straight-talking. The approach did not always mesh well with the White House, where increasingly, intelligence-related matters were being channeled to Brennan.

In the last six months, attempted attacks on the United States seemed to underscore gaps in the system. Earlier this week, a report by the Senate Intelligence Committee identified 14 "specific points of failure" that allowed Christmas Day bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to travel to the United States.

The report criticized the National Counter Terrorism Center, which is under Blair's control, concluding the agency had the tools for the job but was not organized properly to fulfill its mission. And with the post-Sept. 11 emphasis on sharing intelligence, there was a lack of ownership.

[Cez★]

HOUSTON - The teen who was stabbed at school on Friday is home from the hospital and shares his story Only on FOX.

Trevien Thomas, 15, had his throat slashed by another student as he left North Shore Senior High School Ninth Grade Campus. The attack took place on the school grounds and the boy's mother and two younger siblings witnessed it.

"To see how close it was to his main artery and he missed it by one inch. One inch," said Terra Crooms, mother of the attacked teen.

After classes on Friday, Thomas walked out of the North Shore campus and his mother was there to pick him up.

"My momma was walking toward me. And I just grabbed my neck and I looked in my hand and I had a hand full of blood and I saw him and I said, "Man, you stabbed me!," said Thomas.

Crooms told FOX 26 News anchor Damali Keith that she saw a boy reach from behind her son and slash his throat with a box cutter. She then explained how saw her son in a fight for his life.

"He tried to kill my son. He really tried to take his life right there in front of me," said Crooms.

"I was dizzy, like everything around me was just spinning and my legs started shaking and I just dropped," said Thomas. He also said he was not sure why his classmate stabbed him.

In the cafeteria on Friday, the suspect stared Thomas down before the attack and used a slicing motion across his throat, explained Thomas.

Other than that threatening motion across his neck, Thomas said that nothing else happened before the alleged attack.

Crooms said the boy who stabbed her son is friends with a group of boys who she says bullied her son in 2009. She presented documents to FOX 26 from complaints she made to the school.

"There's a huge elephant in the room out in North Shore that no one wants to address. There's a problem between black and Hispanic youth," said community activist Quanell X.

"We sit on one side of the classroom. They sit on the other side of the classroom. We don't never sit together. We don't do nothing together. We don't play basketball together," said Thomas.

Quanell X said that Houston-area leaders will have to join school officials and parents to end what this family calls an awful racial divide.

"I just want everything to stop because I don't want nobody else to get hurt," said Thomas.

The student accused in the stabbing was taken into custody on the North Shore campus. He has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

A spokesperson for the Galena Park Independent School District said that the district is not aware of any racial problems involving the students.

FOX 26 learned that extra deputies will be at North Shore as a precaution on Monday as the students return for their final weeks of classes.

[BillyJeanKing]

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/good...0100524-gda-sd

[BillyJeanKing]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl....html?ITO=1490

[Cez★]

---------- Post added at 10:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:53 AM ----------

sounds liek calderon needs to worry bout his country before a states law
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05...es-1409098273/

[BillyJeanKing]

http://worldstarhiphop.com/videos/vi...5c5r27370gQ6lk

[stonehenge]

She must be hawt

[BillyJeanKing]

[Cez★]

http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/ent...e=1?test=faces

[BillyJeanKing]

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/05/3...obama%2F%0D%0A

[BillyJeanKing]

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/articl...der%2F19497081

[stonehenge]

our university has a dorm called Osama and one called Adolf

[BillyJeanKing]

LIAR!!!

[stonehenge]

[Cez★]

Civil rights groups have asked the Bureau of Prisons to shutter or at least loosen restrictive federal prison units that they say house a disproportionate number of Muslims.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights say the communications management units, or CMUs, at Terre Haute, Ind., and Marion, Ill., place draconian restrictions on inmates' contact with the outside world and even their own families without offering any reason. They also say inmates can be placed in the CMU without being told why, and have no way to earn their way out.

Prisons bureau spokesman Edmond Ross said the units are intended to house those for whom outside contact poses a heightened security risk but who don't need to be placed in the federal SuperMax prison in Florence, Colo.

But ACLU spokesman Will Matthews said the units should be shut down. "There's no justification for their existence," he said.

While the Center doesn't call for the outright closure of the units, it says major reforms are needed to protect inmates' rights.

"We're saying that the CMUs as they currently operate are unconstitutional," said attorney Rachel Meeropol.

The groups filed their latest comments criticizing the prisons bureau's proposed rule governing the CMUs Wednesday, during a public comment period for the rule that ends June 7. The prisons bureau published the rule in April, 10 months after the ACLU sued the agency for operating the Terre Haute unit since 2006 without following federal rulemaking procedures.

The groups saw little improvement under the new rule — and said in some ways it would be even more restrictive. CMU inmates would be allowed only one 15-minute phone call and one hourlong visit per month, only with immediate family members. Inmates would be forbidden to touch visitors, including their own children.

The ACLU contends the units were designed to house terrorists, but also hold inmates convicted of other offenses. Among the inmates at the CMU in Terre Haute is American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh.

Both groups contend a disproportionate number of CMU inmates — perhaps as many as 60 to 70 percent — are Muslim. The Center also contends that others are assigned to the CMU because of their political beliefs. In one case, it says, an inmate was transferred out of the CMU after he agreed to drop a lawsuit against the prisons bureau.

Meeropol said she believes a large percentage of inmates are placed in CMU because of a vague suspicion of Muslims. Since prison officials aren't required to provide reasons for the transfers, such policies go unchecked, she said.

"The lack of due process allows for transfers based on nothing other than suspicion of a religious group," she said.

It also allows the prisons bureau to take steps to silence prisoners it deems "troublemakers," she said.

Ross declined to respond due to the pending litigation and said he didn't have access to how many inmates might be Muslim.

Both groups, along with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, say the proposed rule doesn't address concerns over the lack of due process. Inmates can be transferred to the CMU without a hearing like those required in other transfers, and procedures for challenging placement are inadequate, the groups say.

"The thin procedures contemplated by the proposed rule will land inmates in CMUs whose presence there is unjustified, and leave them with no meaningful way to challenge their designation," said the comment submitted by the Brennan Center.

The Brennan Center comment also said the criteria for CMU inmate placement were "overbroad" and recommended officials allow contact visits with family members unless evidence shows the inmate will abuse the visits.

The prisons bureau has filed a motion to dismiss the ACLU's pending lawsuit, arguing it is moot since the agency has started the rulemaking procedure. But Matthews contends the procedure isn't complete, so the lawsuit isn't moot.

The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a separate lawsuit in March, alleging the units violate inmates' constitutional rights. The prisons bureau hasn't filed a legal response.


wtf? pretty stupid imo

[stonehenge]

you know what i say to that post

[Cez★]

[stonehenge]

[Biggs]

Epic Fail: Mom charged in Xbox theft

[stonehenge]

my mom never stole game consoles for me

[Biggs]

Mine either. I was deprived...

[Cez★]

A Connecticut School District's showdown with the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State has come to end -- at least for a year.

With the clock ticking, the Enfield School Board voted 5-4 Thursday night not to appeal a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Janet Hall, who ruled Monday that it was unconstitutional for the district's two high schools to hold their commencement ceremonies at a church.

The vote means the schools will hold their 2010 graduation ceremonies on school grounds.

"We're quite pleased about the vote," said Alex Luchenitser, senior litigation counsel for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "The board did the right thing to help the students in the community put this behind them. It allows the schools and the principals to finalize graduation instead having plans up in the air. We want to assure every student can enjoy the graduation without it becoming very divisive.”

But his opponent in the case was far from pleased with the school board's vote.

"I was shocked. I was stunned," said Vincent McCarthy, the attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice. "I thought the decision was pro forma. We had a good chance."

School Board Chairman Greg Stokes was also surprised. Up until the start of Thursday night's meeting, he'd gotten assurances from five board members that they would vote for the appeal.

"The plan was to vote to appeal then work on the backup plan just in case," Stokes said. "I don't know what happened."

Jordan Sekulow, an attorney with the Center for Law and Justice, had felt all along that the case was winnable and that Judge Hall did not consider two similar cases that ruled in favor of the school districts. "This kind of case can go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where it impacts every school district, and that's why it's important," Sekulow said.

Enfield was one of five school districts in Connecticut that planned to hold commencement ceremonies for its high schools at First Cathedral, a megachurch in Bloomfield with state-of-the-art facilities, plenty of legroom and ample parking.

School Board president Greg Stokes says, "When they (the school board) narrowed it down, we came to conclusion as a board that First Cathedral was the right place for the right price.... one-stop shopping."

Stokes said the Enfield football field was off limits because the newly installed Astroturf required a protective covering. (Failure to protect the turf would nullify its warranty.) The small gym would allow only two tickets per students, and there's no air conditioning -- a cause for concern in late June. But now that the board has decided not to appeal, the gym will be the likely site.

Enfield wasn't the only school district singing the praises of First Cathedral.

"We had a great ceremony there," said Mary Alice Dwyer Hughes, chairwoman of the East Hartford School Board. She said the parents loved it and "the kids got a great ceremony."

Last fall the ACLU sent out letters to each of the five districts telling them that if they continued with plans to hold graduations at the church, they would be in violation of the Constitution's establishment clause and that the ACLU would take legal action.

Four of the schools heeded the warning and dropped their plans. Enfield, which has two high schools, stayed the course -- but only after being assured by the Center for Law and Justice that it would handle the legal costs.

On Thursday, the Enfield board voted not to appeal because it wanted to give the students certainty about the location of their commencement. The decision was met by loud boos and jeers from parents and students who packed the meeting.

But for at least the three of the other four districts, the issue came down to money. With limited budgets, the school districts felt it was safer to back down rather than spend tens of thousands of dollars in a legal battle.

"We've got to a worry about keeping teachers and keeping our expenses down," said Dwyer Hughes. "Money is tight."

"The bottom line," said Dr. Elizabeth Feser, superintendent of Windsor Schools, "the board felt that if it remained with the Cathedral and faced the ACLU, the cost to the taxpayers would be significant and the board could not justify that cost."

Windsor School District has held commencement ceremonies at First Cathedral since 2001. Only in 2008 did it change venues, because of a scheduling conflict. In the past all nine school board members voted in favor of the megachurch venue. Dr. Feser said the board also contacted a local rabbi to ensure that he did not have a problem with it.

Now East Hartford is paying double for an alternative location, and Windsor is paying double and a half. But both school districts, as well as South Windsor, say it is cheaper than waging a protracted legal battle.

"We received similar legal advice from our council, that the litigation cost would be substantial," said Rob Kozaczka, superintendent of schools in South Windsor. "We had to give closure to our kids so they would know where their commencement ceremony would be held."

Sekulow said he had hoped the Enfield case would set an example for other school districts nationwide. "They get a lot of scary letters from the ACLU which has no precedent whatsoever from the Supreme Court, to say this is unconstitutional," he said. "In fact, the precedent from other circuit courts and districts is on the side of the school districts."

But Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which fought with the ACLU to have the venue changed, said the judge made the right call. “The court’s ruling will ensure that no student or parent has to choose between missing their own graduation and being subjected to a religious environment of a faith to which they do not subscribe,” Luchenitser said after the ruling. “It is unconstitutional and wrong for a school district to subject students and families to religious messages as the price of attending graduation.”

Andrew Schneider, Executive Director of the ACLU in Connecticut, said in a statement after Monday's ruling: "We are pleased that the court has found that holding a public high school graduation ceremony in an overtly religious setting is inappropriate when comparable secular facilities are available. The Enfield Schools' plans to hold the ceremonies in a church created an unnecessary divisive atmosphere for what should be a positive and inclusive event for all students."

But Sekulow said the only divisiveness was caused by the ACLU. "The ACLU may be able to scare off some towns," he said, "but there are always towns and cities that are willing to take a stand. And when they do they can set a precedent for the entire nation."

McCarthy and the Center for Law and Justice have filed a motion to recuse, arguing that the judge's husband, David Schaefer, is a board member and officer with the Anti Defamation League, which sent a letter to the school last November demanding the school not use First Cathedral for graduation ceremonies. McCarthy says the judge was aware of that letter on May 24, before the hearings even began.

"Any reasonable person would see that as an appearance of impropriety," he said. "She should vacate the decision."

[BillyJeanKing]

Originally Posted by Juan!

my mom never stole game consoles for me

then yo momma ain't love yo ass