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Does Anyone Actually Want Roman Polanski to Go Free?
We don't have much to say about the arrest of Roman Polanski in Switzerland, except this: rapists who drug 13-year-old girls should be punished. And also, Polanski's attorney is going to prove most entertaining: "I'm very shocked by the demand of extradition because, you know, this case has been a very long time — 32 years — and during this time, Mr. Polanski traveled a lot. He couldn't imagine that he would be arrested in Switzerland." See, you guys are being totally unfair!
i cannot believe some people say that because he's talented it give him some kinda sympathy card…it makes one think if a certain person(rich and famous)does something to you they would get a pass,scary…. one law for the common man another for the rich and famous
..wall street-free pass,celebrities-free pass….
It wasnt rape. it was consensual sex. Albeit with an underager, but we're not talking priest pedophilia here. AND it was like 30 or so years ago. This is why our country has no money. we spend thousand running after this guy for what reason???
"consensual sex " yeah thats why he ran away…and dont give me bs about the system was unfair,this was the same system that gave him justice with the manson clan
@stevenelliot: You said "It wasnt rape. it was consensual sex."
Is that a joke? The girl was 13 years old and was given drugs. Seriously, are you kidding?
there are real people who need support not some big ego freak like this guy…like the french president supporting him,where was that tool when the war refugees were being round up by his forces last week??
@Cam: ya know!and i could so imagine that girl seeing people with this blind support for this guy,poor girl(woman) must be intimidated..well let some sanity reign,you cant run from the law
…victims stay quiet especially when the perpetrators are influential folks like PRIESTS(@stevenelliot:) and well loved respected folks
@stevenelliot: so steven it IS like the priest cases
The question the post asks is, "Does anyone actually want Roman Polanski to go free?" That person would be Samantha Geimer, the victim, who wants the changes against Polanski to be dropped and filed a formal request to the Los Angeles prosecutor's office to that effect in January of this year. See the following article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/12/polanski.case/index.html
@Red Squirrel: yes and if you see she says she is a VICTIM!!!and in her reasoning it still has the power to affect her,let this man rot in a prison for doing this to her and her family and let anyother guy who thinks of doing this not have an example of where the law gives a pat on the back for such things
Dear Sal, All I am doing is answering the question posed. The post would have been more meaningful if Mrs Geimer's comments had been included and then the readers of Queerty could comment on the post more fully. No need for exclamation points or all caps.
I've always wondered why the mother was never charged (much as the pimps, uh, parents of the kids Michael Jackson supposedly abused).
You drop your 13-year-old daughter off at Jack Nicholson's place so Polanski can photograph her? You had a pretty good idea what might happen.
Of course she wants the case dropped.. she got her settlement $$$, there's nothing left for her now. It doesn't matter if she's forgiven the man or not …. statutory rape doesn't disappear with a 'take back' option.
equal protection under the law: if gay people are put in jail, given records, and forced to register as a sex-offender for the rest of their lives, even if it was consensual, then it must be the same for straight people.
A 13-year-old can't give consent to a 44-year-old. The relationship there is just too unequal. Plus, if what I read elsewhere was right, she said "no" several times, which would make it rape even if she was over the age of consent. Now all the woman probably wants is for this to go away so she can be left in peace.
Well of COURSE she is asking now that the charges be dropped. What has she seen over the years? This guy remaining free, getting acolades from hollywood. Her name dragged through the mud by all his celeb friends. If you read her statements, she wants the charges dropped because every time it's brought up it causes pain to her and her family…..you know, the typical thing that happens to rape victims, they are first raped by the perpetrator, then again in court. Well this girl has a constant stream of articles by famous people that basically say "The little whore was there, it was consensual". No wonder she wants to put this behind her. But that doesn't change the facts of the case. She was 13, he was decades older, gave her drugs, alcohol, etc…
@stevenelliot: a 13yr old, drugs, and consensual sex? so im assuming ill be seeing you at the laugh factory or comedy store soon correct? The improv? the Funny Bone? you are a comedian right?
@sal(the original): she repeatedly said 'no, don't, stop.' It was rape.
I hope that rapist piece of shit gets his ass ripped open in prison. Have a taste of your own medicine, you sick motherfucker.
@Cam: amen!!!@HiredGoons: damn right brother/sister it was rape
Is he a homosexual?
I always feel sort of weird about Polanski since he's both a sympathetic and horrible figure. It's tragic about his parents being exterminated in concentration camps while they sent their child to flee the nazis and about his pregnant wife being slaughtered by the Manson clan. The prosecution and defense from the rape case also agree the judge was guilty of misconduct and went back on a plea arrangement for political motivations after Polanski already pled guilty as the arrangement required which is why Polanski fled. On the other hand, the crime was awful and a light sentence would hardly seem like justice even though it sounds like it would have been the norm at the time.
Regarding Queerty's question, "Does Anyone Actually Want Roman Polanski to Go Free?" the answer is obviously "yes" – just ask
Roman Polanski! People who write headlines need a better editor!
But quaaludes aren't legal anymore…
It doesn't matter if the woman wants the charges dropped. She was 13 when he fucked her, and that means that "We"/ the public, etc. have a stake here too. It is in our best interest (most of us believe) to punish people who fuck children. That he has gotten a pass on it because of his money and status is vile.
Is there a statute of limitations for this crime? If so, how long is it? If it has passed why bringing these charges anyways? And if he has already been tried and plead guilty for these charges before, but the case was dropped by a sympathetic Judge for when his wife was murdered, wouldn't this then fall under the Double Jeopardy rule?
@KyleR: No- there is no statue of limitations for fleeing a case, which is what he did.
There's an excellent recent documentary on the trial. Polanski accepted a plea bargain at the judge's recommendation. The judge had his own agenda and Polanski had reason to believe that the judge was going to ignore the plea bargain and throw him in jail anyway and that's the reason he fled the country.
That he has gotten a pass on it because of his money and status is vile.
Is there any reason to believe a french citizen who fled a case like this in the 70s would have been treated differently if he had less money and status? I find it highly unlikely he would be facing extradition now if it weren't for his fame that has made the case high profile and produces extra outrage from the idea of a celebrity getting away with something.
He was tricked! He was a offered a plea bargain for a lighter sentence then the judge pulled a switcheroo after Roman plead guilty and tried to give him a full sentence.
That was a dirty trick and I don't care what Roman may or may not have done, you don't trick someone with a plea bargain like that.
@SuperCat: You said…"That was a dirty trick and I don't care what Roman may or may not have done…..
Really? you don't care what he did? Well just to refreash your memory here is what he did…
According to grand jury testimony…..you know, the testimony that he agreed to plead guilty to having done…..
Roman Polanski gave the victim alcohol and drugs, ordered her to get into a jacuzzi naked took pictures of her, refused to take her home when she begged to go, began kissing her even though she said no and asked him to stop; performed cunnilingus on her as she said no and asked him to stop; put his penis in her vagina as she said no and asked him to stop; asked if he could penetrate her anally, to which she replied, "No," then went ahead and did it anyway, until he had an orgasm.
I'm just curious, how many times does the victim have to say "No" before you WOULD care?
@rrr: I see your point. But I don't think someone with less money/power and fewer connections could have fled in the 70's and not have been returned within the year.


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While I'll be at the Mie Thai six-course wine tasting dinner in North Brunswick tonight, the Star-Ledger Food Calendar in the Savor section has a few more wine events listed for May.
Friday, May 4th, 7pm
Wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres in Long Branch at Architectural Accents to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. $10 732-222-2844
Friday, May 4th, 7-9pm
Wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres in Montclair to benefit the Montclair Cooperative School. $60
Sunday, May 6th, 5-7pm
Wine tasting at Bar Majestic in Jersey City hosted by the Lesbian and Gay Outreach $25 551-208-1068
Saturday, May 12th, 2:45-3:45pm
Chris Cree, Master Sommelier of 56 Degree Wine will be conducting a seminar prior to a walk-around wine tasting, with light fare and auction from 4-6pm at the Hunterdon Museum of Art in Clinton. $60 for the tasting and $40 for the seminar. Register by May 7th at 908-735-5415
Tuesday, May 15th, 6:30-9pm
Benefit wine tasting and auction at Quay's Restaurant in Hoboken in support of Hudson School's Scholarship Fund. $60. 201-659-8335
Wednesday, May 16th 6-9pm
Wine tasting with antipasto and pasta stations in West Orange at Rock Spring Club to benefit the First Occupational Center of NJ. $50. 973-672-5800
Thursday, May 17th, 6-9pm
Wine tasting dinner with the wine and food from Spain at Theatre Square Grill in Newark. $80 888-466-5722
Click here to vote Wine Goddess you favorite blog. Vote once per day.

subset: commoncrawl


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PennLive.com is looking for your Hershey Bears hockey fan photos in our new photo contest! We have a family four-pack of tickets to give away to the winning entry! The tickets may be used at any regular season game.
We are looking for your photos of the players, your family and friends (and pets!) decked out in Bears gear, your pre-(and post-)game parties and more! Get creative!
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• Gallery: Choose the "Hershey Bears" gallery from the dropdown menu.
Winner will be chosen randomly from the entries received starting Nov. 17, 2009, and will be contacted using the email address associated with their PennLive.com community account - sign up here if you don't already have one.
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You can upload as many photos as you want, so don't be shy! We look forward to seeing your photos on PennLive.com. Check out the photos uploaded so far!
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Give Now
The Bloomington City Council has amended a previous ordinance aimed at limiting the number of chain restaurants in the city's downtown.
Eli Lilly is combining Novartis Animal Health with its existing animal health company Elanco.
Indiana ranks 16th on Forbes Magazine's 2013 list of the best states for business
Business leaders say the flight is key to attracting business from California to Indiana.
Governor Mike Pence is traveling to Japan in September to talk to business leaders about investment in Indiana.
The Obama administration is delaying the requirement that employers offer health care to their workers until 2015.
AES plans to hire 100 new workers at its new headquarters.
Children are setting up lemonade stands Saturday in in Indianapolis, Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Lafayette and Bloomington.
A number of restaurant owners in downtown Columbus say communication from the Kristen Brown administration is a major reason they could not succeed.
One trustee says shrinking state funding for renovating and rehabilitating university buildings is partly to blame.


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HOUGHTON - Minutes after the Michigan Tech men's basketball team fought off Northwood for a 90-80 overtime victory in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday, the Huskies sat tensed in their locker room, hunched over an assortment of iPhones and Droids, waiting to hear on the results of the Lake Superior State at Wayne State game.
If Wayne won, Tech would travel to Detroit for the GLIAC semifinals.
But if the Warriors lost - at home, for the second straight time to No. 8 seed Lake State - the Huskies would host the semis and finals at the Student Development Complex for the first time since 2003.
Article Photos
Michigan Tech's Ben Stelzer takes a charge from Northwood's Darvin Ham as the Huskies' Troy Hecht comes over during Wednesday's GLIAC?Tournament quarterfinal at the SDC?Gym. (DMG photo by David Archambeau)
Wayne got up two shot attempts on its final possession, one for the win and another to tie.
Neither went down. And the Lakers escaped with a 70-68 upset of the top-seeded GLIAC team.
"Like four of our guys had it on their phones," Tech point guard Alex Culy said. "You just started hearing, 'We did it, we did it! Yeah!' It was awesome. Then we all went out to the (women's game) to listen to the P.A. guy announce it to the fans."
Thus South Division champ Findlay will make the double-digit hour bus trek to Houghton to try and defend its tournament championship Saturday at 1 p.m. Lake Superior State and Grand Valley will decide the other finalist at 3 p.m. Saturday before the finals take place Sunday at 2.
"I had to sit here two years ago and watch the girls host the (NCAA) Regionals and I was so jealous, I wanted it so bad," Culy said. "To be able to finally get one of those is very special."
The home court has been more than special for Tech this season, with the Huskies boasting a 12-1 record in Houghton while they are just 8-6 away from the SDC.
The advantage has proven significant offensively as the Huskies shoot four percent better in their own gym - including a seven percent bump from three-point range - and score over five points more per game.
Michigan Tech coach Kevin Luke believes playing in Houghton likely made the difference in Wednesday's back-and-forth, overtime thriller.
"It is that overall comfort level," Culy said. "You are at home, you are sleeping in your own bed, you get the recovery that you need the night before, you can choose what you eat, you can stick to your own schedule. And then obviously you get the extra help from the fans. We have the best fans in the country."
Tech scored its first signature win of the season 66-49 over Findlay - where else, at the SDC - back in early December, making it their second victory in a row over the Oilers.
While two straight wins may not seem like much, Luke considers it a beneficial boon considering the Huskies had previously lost 13 straight games to Findlay.
"They have been one of the top programs in this conference for some time and have won a national championship," Luke said. "We will take any advantage we can get."
What Ali Haidar is to the Huskies, so is forward Greg Kahlig (17.2 points per game, 49/45/84 shooting) to the Oilers.
Tech shut down Kahlig in December, utilizing a four-guard lineup with T.J. Brown as a starter to hold Kahlig to a season-low four points. The junior forward has registered 16-straight double-digit point games since then.
The performance on Kahlig was all the more impressive as the 6-foot-6 shooter fits the stretch-forward mold that has plagued Tech all season (e.g. Wes Wilcox Wednesday).
Although Luke would not divulge any specifics, he said a four-guard lineup was likely to occur once again.
"(Kahlig) is going to be an all-conference performer," Luke said. "And we have to have the same type of effort whether it is T.J. or Troy (Hecht). You can't beat them without good effort anyways, so it starts there. you have to have vision and know where the ball is and be there on the catch."


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American Government takes a historical approach to American government, analyzing its levels and branches and explaining its scriptural foundation. The course provides students with an overview of the changes and developments of our government along with discussions about current issues. Students also examine the Constitution, political parties, elections, interest groups, mass media, and political behavior.
Teacher Information: Mrs. Goins teaches this course. Read more about her by clicking on the Instructor tab.
What's Included: This kit does not include textbooks. Click on the Contents tab to learn more about what is included with this product.
Scheduling Information: 84 days (1 semester); lessons are 30 minutes in length.
|Item #
|Distance Learning Grade 12 American Government Parent Guide 2014
|Distance Learning Grade 12 American Government Student Worksheets 2014
Miss Goins completed a masters degree in history education. Her interest in history began in high school. "I realized that there was more to history than just what the textbook included. My favorite part of a history class was the research project, where we could choose our own topics and do as much research as we wanted." In college, she studied a variety of phases in history, but her favorite courses were in World History, especially Western Europe.
Her goal for her students is to see that history is much like a good story. It tells of God's working in peoples' lives, using even the most unlikely of people as His instruments. Historical events are not just things of the past to be pushed aside; they are actual incidents from which students of today can learn. Isaiah 46:9 gives us the main reason for studying history: "Remember the former things of old for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me."


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With more animals than in year's past the Randall County Junior Livestock Show and Sale received tremendous community support when Saturday's annual auction totaled $90,000, Virgil Bartlett said.
Entries were up considerably this year, with about 300 entries and 180 head of animals were auctioned during the sale, Bartlett said.
The largest bid was made on Desperado 4-H'er Kyle Haymes' Grand Champion steer, which received a $3,000 bid from a group of buyers consisting of Ed Wright Cattle Co., Tulia Livestock Auction, Hal Smith and Cookie Coleman.
Sundown 4-H'er Ashley Vance saw the next highest on her Grand Champion lamb. Buyers BJM Sales & Service, Keeling Cattle Feeders and KCI Trucking, all of Hereford, raised their bid to $1,500.
Champion Steer: Desperado 4-H'er Kyle Haymes, right, holds his Grand Champion steer after it received a $3,000 bid from Terry Wright, standing in the center. Wright represented the buyers Ed Wright Cattle Co., Tulia Livestock Auction, Hal Smith and Cookie Coleman.
Kay firstname.lastname@example.com
Standing next in line at the auction was Desperado 4-H'er Bryan Jackson, who's Grand Champion pig garnered a $1,400 bid from buyers Bill McCarly and Jody Magness, representing State Farm Insurance, and Kyle and Reese Haymes of Canyon.
The final Grand Champion through the sale ring was the rabbit owned by Lakeview 4-H'er Tymon Tucek. Gene Parker and the Randall County Commissioners Court gave the winning bid of $450.
Reserve Grand Champions and their buyers were:
n Cowboy 4-H'er Ashley Dougherty, steer, $1,500 bid, by Greenwall Livestock of Fort Collins, Colo. and Foster Parker Cattle Co. of Canyon.
Champion Rabbit: Lakeview 4-H'er Tymon Tucek, left, stands with Gene Parker, representing the Randall County Commissioners Court, who gave the winning bid of $450 on the Grand Champion rabbit.
Kay email@example.com
n Happy FFA'er Layne Mercer, lamb, $800 bid, by Hereford Bi-Products of Hereford.
n Palo Duro 4-H'er Calli Hinders, hog, $750 bid, by Indian Ink Leasing of Amarillo and Muleshoe Veterinary Supply in Muleshoe.
n T-Anchor 4-H'er Amy Northcutt, rabbit, $200 bid, by Cranmer Cattle Co. and Farm Bureau, both of Canyon.
Before any of the bids were made, a number of scholarships and awards were presented.
Champion Lamb: Sundown 4-H'er Ashley Vance, holds her Grand Champion lamb after Todd Firkins of Canyon gave the winning bid of $1,500. Firkins represented buyers BJM Sales & Service, Keeling Cattle Feeders and KCI Trucking, all of Hereford.
Kay email@example.com
The George Tirey Memorial Scholarship was presented to Desperado 4-H'er Reed Zimmer. The Farm Bureau Scholarship was presented to Lone Star 4-H'er D'Ann Artho. The West Texas A&M Ag Development Scholarship went to Cowboy 4-H'er Tyler Hargrave and the Jay Jackson Memorial Scholarship went to T-Anchor 4-H'er McKenzie Brazile.
Additionally, Jo Baker was recognized for her time and effort donated to the organization with the Farmer Schaffer Volunteer Award.
Showmanship belt buckles were presented to Junior Steer Showman Brock Moudy, a Cowboy 4-H'er; Senior Steer Showman Patrick Anthony, Desperado 4-H; Junior Lamb Showman Nikki Ford, Palo Duro 4-H; Senior Lamb Showman Reed Zimmer; Junior Swine Showman Zane Pluhar, T-Anchor; and Senior Swine Showman McKenzie Brazile.
© 2016. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


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SUMMIT — In a unanimous vote Monday night, the planning board approved a motion to recommend the City Council apply to the New Jersey Department of Transit for Transit Village designation.
Calling Summit "almost a poster for what a Transit Village is," planning and development consultant Edward Snieckus recommended the city seek the designation.
The Transit Village is an outgrowth of the state's Smart Growth plan and seeks to foster mixed development of retail, residential and parking, within about a 10-minute walking distance of the train station, which functions as the hub of the village. The designation places a type of overlay around the station about one-half mile in each direction.
Planning Board Chairperson Jeffrey Wagenbach said, Designation doesn't require us to change the zoning in any way."
What the designation does do is help Summit "maintain and support the existing character of the downtown," Snieckus.


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|Kukush, Alexander; Schneeweiß, Hans (2006): Asymptotic optimality of the quasi-score estimator in a class of linear score estimators. Collaborative Research Center 386, Discussion Paper 477
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We prove that the quasi-score estimator in a mean-variance model is optimal in the class of (unbiased) linear score estimators, in the sense that the difference of the asymptotic covariance matrices of the linear score and quasi-score estimator is positive semi-definite. We also give conditions under which this difference is zero or under which it is positive definite. This result can be applied to measurement error models where it implies that the quasi-score estimator is asymptotically more efficient than the corrected score estimator.
|Item Type:
|Paper (Research Paper)
|Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics > Statistics > Collaborative Research Center 386
Special Research Fields > Special Research Field 386
|500 Science > 510 Mathematics
|ID Code:
|Deposited On:
|11. Apr 2007
|Last Modified:
|29. Apr 2016 08:51
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SALEM — A Swedesboro woman has been indicted here on numerous charges relating to the alleged illegal possession of prescription drugs while working at a Pennsville Walgreens.
Amanda George, 24, was indicted on one count of fourth-degree theft by deception and one count of third-degree obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud, according to indictments handed down recently by the Salem County grand Jury.
Originally arrested in Pennsville on Aug. 5 at 2:32 p.m., George, a Walgreens pharmacy employee, was allegedly writing prescriptions to herself in order to obtain narcotics.
Property obtained from the Walgreens totaled $200.
Police reported that George would allegedly enter in a prescription for Hydrocodone under her name and then allegedly forged her family doctor's signature. She then transferred the prescription to another Walgreens for pick-up, according to police.
George was hired at Pennsville Walgreens in April as a pharmacy technician. According to police, she allegedly wrote the false prescriptions approximately three times.
She was arrested after another employee found out what was going on and brought the alleged prescription abuse to the attention of a manager, according to police.
According to the indictment, George knowingly acquired or obtained possession of a controlled dangerous substance, that is Alprazola and Hydrocodone.
For the numerous charges, George was committed to the Salem County Correctional Facility in default of $10,000 bail.


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If data is knowledge, and knowledge is power, then data on a 2 gigabyte, butterfly knife USB drive could be a dangerous gadget in the wrong hands. But even though this is the cutting edge of weaponry-based data transfer systems, a simple USB plug sits where you'd expect to find a razor sharp, carbon steel blade.
Where: benchmade.com


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They were talking about the recent death of a relative and the conversation turned to their own demise and whether they preferred burial or cremation.
Holmes told Parnell that he had some cost, waste-of-space and ecological issues with burials and that he thought he wanted to be cremated. In some fashion, he also wanted his ashes tossed into a river or spread through the woods.
"You know, I've thought about this for some time and I want to be cremated," Parnell said. "Then I want my ashes put into some turkey-load shotgun shells and have someone that knows how to turkey hunt use the shotgun shells with my ashes to shoot a turkey.
"That way I will rest in peace knowing that the last thing that one turkey will see is me, screaming at him at about 900 feet per second."
Holmes pondered Parnell's theoretical last request for a moment, then a light went on. "I told him, 'Clem, we could market this.'"
After initially questioning his co-worker's sanity, Parnell began to see the potential of providing such a service to the legions of hunters who may be of a like mind but didn't have such an option.
Over the next three-plus-years, that conversation prompted hours of off-duty research into the mechanics of loading shells with the ashes, funeral demographics and, of course, the financial implications all new business owners face.
Holmes said the fact that 693,000 cremations were done in 2003 alone and its growing popularity convinced them the concept could eventually support a profitable niche business.
Holy Smoke LLC (www.myholysmoke.com) was formally launched in July.
"We're not in the funeral home business. We're not in the cremation business, nor in any way do we want to be in that business" Parnell said. "Our service provides a celebration of this person's life after they've been prayed over and cried over."
Company featured on 'The Colbert Report'
The unique nature of the business has spurred dozens of media inquiries here and abroad. Political satirist Steven Colbert did a tongue-in-cheek segment on the business last week on his popular cable talk show "The Colbert Report." (View video clip below.)
More importantly, Parnell and Holmes said, the early exposure has prompted calls from dozens of people around the world who are either seriously interested in using their services or just want to see if the company is a legitimate enterprise. One gentleman even inquired about having his retriever's ashes put into some steel-shot duck loads.
Parnell and Holmes are quick to assure everyone that they are serious about providing a quality product with reverence for the handling of remains.
"I can't tell you how many media responses and phone calls from people we've got in such a short time," Parnell said. "The positive responses outweigh the negative 10 to 1.
"This isn't a joke. This is a job."
Holy Smoke has secured the services of four highly experienced "good Christian men," as Parnell described them, who will load the ash-sprinkled shotgun shells and rifle and handgun cartridges to manufacturer's specifications.
The process to load 250 shotgun shells, 100 standard-caliber rifle cartridges or 250 handgun rounds in common calibers requires about one pound of ash. The price for any of these options is $1,250. Additional charges could be incurred for special calibers or to buy the option to have the ammo shipped in a mantle-worthy, finished-wood handcrafted box with labels.
To ensure there is no co-mingling of ashes -- a concern expressed by a few potential customers -- Parnell said only one bag of ash is opened at a time. Once that job is complete, he said all equipment is thoroughly cleaned before the next bag of ash is opened.
Holmes said expected turnaround from the time ashes are received until the finished product is complete is only two days. He added, however, the quick turnaround does not mean the ash will be handled haphazardly.
"This is not a speedy process," he said. "It's a very reverent, meticulous procedure for us to get these people what they want."
The ash will be placed in the shotgun shell's shot cup. Rifle and handgun loads will have hollow-point bullets, which will be drilled after being loaded so ash can be inserted, then resealed. That process could result in a minute amount of ash residue remaining in the meat of an animal shot with it.
"Some people may be worried that they're eating 'Uncle Bob,' Holmes said, "but it's just carbon, and a small amount at that. They have more to worry about from lead poisoning."
While no tests have been done with ashes, Holmes' research has convinced both men that the process would not affect the ammunition's factory ballistics or cause undue fouling.
For those who may still doubt there's a market for Holy Smoke's services, Parnell put it into perspective.
"People dispose of ashes in so many ways," he said. "They get dumped in trash cans, out of airplanes and cars and they've been put in every stream in the country. This is just another method of using ash, only this time it's a celebration of their life and they're not getting unceremoniously dumped out of a window or into a stream."
Comedian Stephen Colbert made light of a Fox News report about Holy Smoke and an animated news service, NMA, included Holy Smoke, in one of its recent webcasts. Watch both videos below.


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No chance of parole for 10 years
© File Photo
Noiles gets life
AMHERST – A man guilty of committing sexual assault on an elderly woman in Springhill in October has been sentenced to life in prison.
Paul Noiles, 45, of Amherst pleaded guilty to breaking into the 84-year-old woman's home and sexually assaulting her on October 7.
Today an Amherst Provincial Court judge sentenced Noiles to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years for break and enter with intent.
He was also sentenced 14 years custody, concurrent to his life sentence, plus a lifetime weapons prohibition, for sexual assault.
The Crown withdrew a charge of confining the victim unlawfully.
On the night of the October 7 incident, a neighbour called police to report suspicious activity at the victim's home.
Police discovered the woman's home had been broken into and that she had been sexually assaulted. With the help of tracking dogs, police were able to locate Noiles at a nearby home.
Noiles, whose address was at Franklin Court in Dartmouth at the time of the sexual assault, has a history of sexual predation.
His most recent conviction was in 2000 when he was convicted of break and entering a home and sexually assaulting 71-year-old woman. He was sentenced to eight years custody for that crime.
He was also convicted of committing sexual assault in 1999 after he was found guilty of committing sexual assault on a 17-year-old girl.
Three years earlier, in 1996, he pleaded guilty to assaulting the same girl when she was 14-years-old.
Noiles was also convicted of several crimes in the 1980s.
In 1985 Noiles was sentenced to 23-months custody after being convicted of break and enter with intent, and committing assault on a 62-year-old woman.
Then in 1988 he was sentenced to three years custody after he was convicted of break and enter with intent and committing assault on an 88-year-old woman.


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Two pileups snarl morning SR-16 commute
Only one person suffered minor injuries in two, multi-car accidents Monday morning on State Route 16 near Port Orchard, according to the Washington State Patrol.
WSP Spokesman Trooper Brian George said 10 cars total were involved in the separate incidents, each which occurred shortly before 8 a.m.
When troopers responded, they found one pileup involving seven vehicles, and another, just yards away, that included three vehicles.
George said that the chain reaction collisions started due to heavy traffic traveling westbound on SR-16 near State Route 166, and the first one began when the a vehicle slowed to a stop, and the six vehicles following her were unable to stop in time.
They just stacked-up on top of each other, he said, adding that five of the seven drivers were cited for speed too fast for the conditions.
The second collision involved three vehicles, and began when the lead vehicle slowed to an abrupt stop to avoid the other pile up, then was struck from behind by following vehicles.
George said that on Friday, troopers also investigated three separate multiple vehicle collisions within one mile of Mondays collisions, at nearly the same time of day and with similar roadway conditions.
He noted that congested roadways and heavy rains is a time when drivers need to increase following distance and slow down in order to drive defensively.
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Deal Alert: LG Intuition For Verizon Only $117
While it may be called a Galaxy Note knockoff, the LG Intuition is still a solid for someone looking for a phablet on Verizon right now. Despite the Galaxy Note II hitting Big Red next month, here's a deal for the currently available LG Intuition. Let's Talk is selling the Intuition for only $117 on two-year contact, about $80 less than what Verizon has it for.
That's almost $200 less than what the Verizon Galaxy Note II will sell for as well, so if you like the Intuition, you may want to check this deal out.


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Works by leading black artists in the contemporary art realm went on view Saturday at Washington's Corcoran Gallery of Art to tackle issues of racial, sexual and historical identity.
Weems' exhibit, "30 Americans," will be on view through Feb. 12. It features 31 artists, including Syracuse based artist Carrie Mae Weems, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hank Willis Thomas, Kehinde Wiley and others. The 76 works come from Miami-based collectors Don and Mera Rubell.
Corcoran Director Fred Bollerer said it marks an effort to undertake more daring exhibitions that examine serious issues and provoke debate. The Corcoran created two companion exhibits featuring 12 new, provocative works by Thomas called "Strange Fruit" that includes images hearkening back to slavery and 25 photographs by Gordon Parks.
"It's a challenging show," Bollerer said. "It's meant to be a challenging show."
The images from Thomas are particularly striking. They include photographs of athletes playing basketball through a noose, instead of a hoop, and familiar logos like the Nike "swoosh" branded on the side of a black man's head.
The Nike image comes from Thomas' extensive "Branded" series of works. Thomas, who is based in New York and Paris, said he wanted to explore the word "branding" as it relates to advertising and focused in part on Nike because its logo is so often promoted by black men, such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
"In what other contexts historically would branding exist?" he said. "So thinking about how slaves were branded as a sign of ownership and how today so many of us live in a state of branded consciousness."
Thomas explained that much of his work is focused on bringing history into the present. A gallery of works involving the noose and other images from slavery was commissioned by the Corcoran.
Thomas said the history of lynching is relatively recent but often is "shoved under the rug." He said he tied the theme to sports with images of a basketball hoop replaced by a noose because someone playing in the NBA now could be a descendant of someone who was lynched.
Weems video to be shown in concert Oct. 23The work of visual artist and photographer Carrie Mae Weems, who lives in Syracuse, also will be featured in "A Story Within a Story."
The Society for New Music commissioned a new work by composer Gregory Wanamaker with video by Weems.
Its world premiere will be 4 p.m. Oct. 23 at Hendricks Chapel at Syracuse University.
The concert, titled "The Geography of the Imagination," is free. The Society for New Music commission was made possible with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
"When we have these conversations about wanting people to be over race ... that's also embedded in a denial of fairly recent history," he said. "Just like with the Holocaust, as a Jewish person, you can't help but to see this is what people are willing to do to me."
Another work targets the National Collegiate Athletic Association with an image of college football players facing slaves picking cotton to address the "absurdity" of not paying college athletes in a multimillion-dollar industry, Thomas said.
Other works are lighter celebrations of bodies and lives in a vast survey that explores what it means to be black in America, said Corcoran Curator Sarah Newman.
The exhibit will travel to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va., in March.
Henry Thaggert, a new member of the Corcoran's board of directors, said the exhibit marks a new chapter in art history still being written by black artists. The museum has planned a series of events to allow the featured artists to discuss and explain their work over the months ahead.
"I'm just going to put it out there," Thaggert said, "I think it's rare that a major institution gives black artists that kind of forum."


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Benvenuti a bordo del Gerolandia Express. Welcome aboard on the Gerolandia Express. Gerolandia Express is a train. Exclusive Podcast - Story created by the italian producer and artist Gerolamo Sacco, it's more similar to a film than a dj set, a film where ambience & music are mixed up with the voices of the passengers of the train. The passengers are Ge's friends and fans all over the world, and they act in many different languages over the music. One man's show revolutionary and crazy, the point for everybody who are looking for something NEW in the international music scene. If you want to join us, write us at [email protected]. And remember, everything that is not G.E. is already seen, already listened to and... very very boring. All aboard!!!!
ну хз
Sono ancora scioccato dall'aver detto per tutta la puntata di essere nel 2011... :D
The question is: why I said track of the week for March 23 2011 instead of 2012? Hahahahah
I simply loooooveee it, just like I loved the first season, it's great music!
^^ 私は、ジェロラモ·サッコを愛して
molto bene il treno, ottima musica
The train is Back, dudes !!! :-********
Fantastic voyage! I love to wake up on saturday and find a new chapter!
this is the most exciting thing I've ever heard!!


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St. Anthony High School basketball Coach Bob Hurley has confirmed that Kyle Anderson and Myles Mack of Paterson Catholic High School have transferred to St. Anthony, as reported by The Jersey Journal's Michael Cohen in today's editions.
The two students have transferred because Paterson Catholic closed down due to rising debt. Anderson and Mack were excellent players at the Paterson school as they were a part of the team that beat St. Anthony in the state tournament two years ago.


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Suburban mayors in Northeast Ohio fear the loss of state money will require them to layoff police and firefighters, putting their citizens at risk.
In early May, the house passed a version of Gov. John Kasich's proposed budget that would slash the state's Local Government Fund by 50 percent, repeal the estate tax and prevent cities from offsetting some of their losses by shifting a portion of their pension burden to employees.
Under that scenario, Parma stands to lose nearly $3.4 million annually, including $1.65 million from the cut to the Local Government Fund, the pot of state money divvied up annually among municipalities to support their budgets.
The city's loss also includes an estimated $1.1 million from a repeal of the estate tax. And if the city can't shift between 8 percent and 14 percent of its public pension burden to employees, Parma would be out another $649,000.
The pain is just as severe in other cities. Solon is looking at a $1.3 million hit, Medina faces a $842,000 shortfall and Bratenhal is facing a $235,000 loss.
Bay Village Mayor Deborah Sutherland told the Senate Finance Committee on May 19 that she would have to eliminate 10 jobs, including directors, police officers and firefighters if she's forced to trim the city's budget by $864,203, the shortfall she would face in 2013 under the house bill.
On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee added language to a substitute bill that would return $100 million to the Local Government Fund, of which about $17 million would make its way to Cuyahoga County. The Senate is expected to vote on its budget bill later this month. '
While the mayors understand the state's budget dilemma, the timing is what is so overwhelming, said Bratenhal Mayor John Licastro. The revenue cuts come at a time when city budgets are already lean, and further cuts can't be made up through local tax increases.
"There's not much left to cut unless we start cutting basic services," said Licastro, who along with Sutherland and four other mayors met with The Plain Dealer editorial board Tuesday to express their concerns about the house-proposed cuts.
Parma Mayor Dean DePiero said he doesn't think the general population will start clambering about the loss until next year or 2013 when the full effect is felt and thousands of police and firefighters are let go across the state.
Strongsville Mayor Tom Perciak said that until there are more optimistic predictions about the economy rebounding, people are going to be unwilling to accept a tax increase.
Ultimately the state and local communities will have to grow their way out of the problem, he said.
"Without the new jobs, we're just not going to be able to dig out," Perciak said.
Several local mayors expressed dismay at the Republican-controlled legislature's inability to understand their situation.
Sutherland, a Republican, said part of the problem in Columbus is that a number of rural lawmakers don't realize what urban areas are up against.
Added Perciak, "This isn't a Democrat-Republican issue," he said. "This is a people issue."
And yet politics may influence the fate of the estate tax, which detractors often refer to as the "death tax." Republican Gov. John Kasich doesn't like it but has pragmatically decided to leave it alone, the mayors said, although Republicans in the legislature philosophically opposed to the tax want it eliminated.
Willoughby Mayor David Anderson, also a Republican, said local mayors can't afford to be philosophical when their job is to patch streets, fix sewers and provide adequate emergency services.


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Oblique forces Young out of Tigers lineup
The original lineup the Tigers had released had Delmon Young in left field, batting third. Like Monday, however, that was tentative, depending on how Young felt. Shortly after that came word that Young won't be able to play.
"It stiffened up," Jim Leyland said of Young's oblique. "It's really sore today. I'm not going to go into further detail. That's all I have for you. I'm not a doctor. He's hurting. I respect that. If Delmon Young is not in the lineup, believe me, he's hurting, because he loves to play. I'll leave it at that."
Young's absence means Andy Dirks will get his first start of the postseason. He's batting ninth in the new lineup. Don Kelly moves to fifth, Ramon Santiago shifts to second, everyone else moves up.
- Austin Jackson, CF
- Ramon Santiago, 2B
- Miguel Cabrera, 1B
- Victor Martinez, DH
- Don Kelly, 3B
- Jhonny Peralta, SS
- Alex Avila, C
- Ryan Raburn, LF
- Andy Dirks, RF
P: Doug Fister
69 Comments
We got this anyhow
This reminds me of how over confident I was when we played the Cards in the world series, and we couldn't hit a thing. Polanco who was on fire, couldn't get a hit. Cards were a team we had dominated. Texas is a team we have had a ton of success against this year and the past several years. Martinez among others have gone crazy cold. I don't know it just feels bad. The superstitious me was worried in September when we were on fire, I was worried we were peaking to early. Was I right? Maybe maybe not. I wouldn't be shocked to find out later there were a few more injuries or something.
I can never understand letting injured guys decide if they are good to go. Management then typically praises the guy for being a trooper whilst not dealing with the resulting drop in performance.
Putting the player thru stretching exercises with a physio would quickly determine how well he would be able to swing, move or throw in the field.
After the season is finished, we know doubt will find Victor has been severely hampered as well as Avila besides being run into the ground.
Rather than going all out for the home field advantage, we may have been better off getting our mainstays in shape for the post season.
UPutting other relievers in pressure late innings roles until they broke the ice may also have helped.
The Tigs are not done yet, just hope they are up for another season turnaround.
Geez I hate bad grammar you no….
I think there are injuries to be sure. But I'm sure there as many the Rangers are dealing with too.
VMart may have a bad toe and knee but he does not depend on those body parts to have a good at bat and approach at the plate. He's simply has not been hitting worth a lick. I am hoping the friendly confines will turn him and his countryman around for the better. Cab is not getting good at bats either. VMart can lead by example and by emotion. Cab can lead with his lumber. Both need to find a way to lead.
I have confidence in Fister but I also realize he will eventually have a game where he can't strike guys out and the ground balls find a hole. I hope it's next year.
He may have been the most valuable Tiger in September.
If AJ does not try to lay one down tonight in the 1st then I have no respect for the coaching staff. He needs help and that is at least one way to help him contribute.
My fingers are crossed for a good day for Alex Avila. He is due and he is starting to get better wood on the ball. He just about came through big in the 10th last night.
When Cabrera isn't getting walked he is having so so at bats he had a double and almost hit one out in the 10 think it was. But Dan while I havent played baseball since I was a kid I always have been told that the bottom half of your body has everything to do with the quality of the swing. If V-Mart is in fact in a lot of pain I think it would affect his swings?
Lots of people need to step up, with all that said!
Teams that hit their way into the postseason often fare poorly once there. Opposing pitching is better overall, plus staffs are contracted down to their best pitchers, who are used longer and more often than in the regular season. Scouting is more detailed. The games will be close and hard fought, and it comes down to execution.
When a ball is catchable, it must be caught.
When you get a fat pitch in a clutch situation, you must connect and not foul it back.
When you need to make a pitch, you must make that pitch.
When you have a chance to score the winning run, you must take that chance.
If your lineup isn't working, you must change it.
It takes execution from top to bottom, in all facets of the game.
Waiting for guys to hit like they did in the regular season won't get it done.
Even MLB Network is talking about how tired Avila must be.
Still.he is there again with Santos on the bench (It wont make any difference if Santos can not bat )
In september , there was a lot of room to rest Avila and he was not.
As stated before by GK, he is making good swing.Last night he hit well the ball but was foul by 1 foot , thats happen while a batter is slumping. One broken bat will hit the ball and will go into no man´s land and the spell will be broken.Hopefully it will be tonight
GK, Yes, especially for a power hitter. But some guys have such elegant hand-eye and bat speed they can hit without relying on the lower body as much. Victor is one of those guys.
I don't think his knee is so debilitating that it is affecting his production. I think Victor is simply struggling.
Well, if you had any doubt whether Ramon should have come home, there was your answer.
Here in Canada we have a national sports network called SportsNet. Greg Zaun (former MLB catcher) is very prominent in the pre-game, during-game and post-game comments.
He was aghast with Lamont's decision to not send Santiago. Particularly with Feliz coming in. Saying that there was likely not going to be any runs gien up by Feliz. He also commented that one of the most difficult plays to make in the game is the relay home. That it takes 2 perfect throws.
Zahn is an excellent baseball analyst. A very keen understanding of the the game. He could not understand why "Gino wasn't waving his arms wildly", that "Santiago runs really good", and you have "to be aggressive"
We all said as much here. It was another Lamont brain freeze. And Jim Leyland might love him as a brother but he really needs to relegate him to being his bench coach and not directing traffic any more.
They were talking about the play on MLB today and Larry Boa and the other guys were shocked he wasn't sent. I had no opinion on it last night because I saw it on a very small screen on my phone. Today I saw it big and I agree he should of been sent. I know Cruz has a great great arm, but when Santi reached 3rd it wasn't even to the cut off man yet!! Mistake I think!
So many mistakes. If anyone doesn't have their head in the game it's Lamont. Fox showed an overhead view of the whole play. You could see everything. Ramon had the momentum going but Lamont had his hands up to stop. I'm glad it was shown on national TV.
Sing it Aretha! So sorry we are not there tonight! Crap!
Not the start we wanted two seeing eye ground balls! Son of a bi……ch
And a bloop single yeh!
We haven't got a cheap hit this whole series!
That's the kind of outcomes I worry about with Fister, or Porcello for that matter.
I don't why Dougie has so many problem with making a quality 0-2 pitch. He seems to serve that pitch up a lot. Did it Against Gardner a couple of times and twice in the 1st. You gotta almost spike that ball sometimes in that count. Very bad pitches.
Not many people that bother me more than Tim McCaver! Well maybe Joe Buck. Cy Lewis is on the mound!
In answer to my own question. I think Fister is fixated on throwing strikes at all times. When he gets to 0-2 he doesn't have the midnset of trying to make the batter make a mistake on a wicked pitch out of the strike zone. The benefit of throwing a really wicked breaking ball and missing the strike zone is not only getting the batter to swing at it but having to think about it on the next pitches.
Feels bad already. Cab is doing nothing to pick his team up. And make no mistake, there has been a lot of emphasis on making this "his" team.
Without his bat there is no hope.
Another bleeder!
They are finding some holes for sure! Everything we hit is right at someone this series!
Not a fan of this ump he has had some poor calls both ways!
Wasted opportunity #1.
Fister has given up 5 hits in 3 innings. 1 ball hit well 4 really lucky!
With the Detroit Mariners behind him , his pitching is not the issue. He is doing what gave him 8-1,making batters hit grounders.
It won't matter what Fister does.
I swear if this were 1919 people would thinking the worst of MCab. It hardly seems plausible he can be this bad.
N.B I am NOT saying that I am just PO'd at what I am seeing and he is doing.
I will say he's bloody awful, I have never seen him this bad, he is letting his team down, it could not happen at a worse time and it is epitomizing the word choke.
Taking pitches down the middle, swinging at stuff 2 feet away in the dirt, unable to get any kind of decent swing.
I agree, he is getting walked an awful lot, but even when he isn't gettingvwalked he isn't the same guy at the plate!
This is the inning of the game, the best hitter so far with the revovering Peralta after him
Ya Victor! Oh no Victor I think he's hurt even more!
Limping, grimacing and threw his helmet down the dugout steps to disappear inside.
Another bad break. Great tos see VICTOR MARTINEZ come through with a hit like that but bad break on the injury. At least VMart has an excuse. Cabby has no excuse.
Avila is lost,
Beltre cannot move around at 3rd. Tell me why JL is not dropping a bunt or two down that line?
You should do it next inning with Raburn and with Dirks.
They get what they wanted.They pitched him in the middle, challenging him
Time to wait for a strike
Good for us that Washington forgot the Book. The visitor does not bunt to tie.
Yes, he is back
3 for 4 . AJax, the base cleaner
Still no run scored against Texas bullpen. First inherited runner to score?
I hear some bats!!!
They are using the wrong scouting report on Miguel….
And we are glad they are
Oh Miggy! Dan he heard ya! Victor looked ok on that fly with his swing I mean!
Now, but for the injured VMart and the worn out Avila , the lineup looks as it has to
I was hoping he would hear. My wife has "heard enough".
What I really liked was seeing him pull the ball after finding the line in RF the previous At Bat. I have found that when Miggy is struggling that he often punctuates the end of the slump with HRs to left.
Key tonight was Austin doing somehting but lots of credit to Dirks.
Full bullpen tonight. Beck.
But i guess JLwill wait before taking in Benoit.
100 pitches . Time to call someone anyway
My mistake.
Nice job by Fister! Too bad Ramon had that ball knocked out of his hand. Raburn made an awesome throw!
Now, it is safe to call Valverde
Great work for Fister, Benoit and Hitchverde
Yippie! Still a whole, but better! Going to bed have to be up at 5:00
As noted, we have an SP advantage in Games 4 and 5. I'm concerned that we are running out of healthy bodies. AJax having good plate appearances will be critical.
Cabrera has to be Pujols-like for the Tigers to win this series. He sure did the job on both offense and defense tonight!
Maybe the Sleeping Tiger has awoken.
Raburn't throw was incredible. Right on the bag on the fly. Tough break on the tag but good to know that the Rangers will have to respect that arm.
Let's hope VMart is OK—you are right he did have a pretty god swing afterwards.
Really glad to see Valverde throwing that splitter again.
One overlooked virtue of Detroit´s outfielders:they were second in AL in asistances.Delmon Young is the MLB leader since 2007. They all have cannons for arms. Even AJax, he could be lacking in streng but he showed accuracy when needed.
Okay, we got some things straightened out with Cabrera, Martinez, and Jackson. I think Cabby and Victor will keep it up. Jackson, as always, who knows. My main concern is how Victor is feeling tomorrow. One advantage is he doesn't need to do anything but hit, no throwing or anything, so maybe he can tough this one out. At 60%, he's better than a lot of hitters.
While Verlander remains the ace, Fister is our best pitcher right now. Good to know that if it goes to a game 7, he's the man even if it is in Texas. The constant questions about Verlander starting game 4 were tiresome. It wasn't going to happen, nor should it have. After all, that doesn't guarantee a win, as we've seen. I also think Porcello is going to do just fine pitching to this lineup. Then we've got Verlander, Scherzer, and Fister. I'll take it.
The business with Lamont is cut and dried. He messed it up and probably cost us the game. That's just what happened no matter how anyone spins it.
Anyone know if Ordonez was greeted any differently than the other guys?
Loved every minute of that game til Victor hurt himself. "Put on a pitching clinic," says Leland. The defense wasn't too shabby either. Loved it.
Unfortunately guys rain is going to be an issue this afternoon folks. Watching the weather this early morning and weather guy is concerned!
50% of rain. This is a link to probably the best forecast to use:
We are up off the mat.
Doug Fister can pitch any game, any time for me. He was great!
Go Tigers.
— Bob
GK, think they should call the game now and save time? I am amazed they called that Sunday game and it NEVER rained. Not sure whose idea that was…
what a tremendous game last night, could not ask for anything better except of course for VMart getting hurt. His flyout to left appeared to be a good swing, but he will need to hit doubles to make it to first base, so if he just sticks to homeruns where he can walk around the bags that should work out just fine. Lots of good hitting last night, notably AJax came through and showed what he is capable of. He has to remember we don't need doubles and triples out of him, singles are just fine when the guys behind him are hitting. Cabby had a terrific game at the plate and in the field, his 9th inning stop was great. Everyone is mentioning the wear and tear on Avila, Cabby must have some too. He is getting pitched around a lot and maybe not seeing as many good pitches as we think. They finally pitch to challenge him last night and he made them pay.
Dirks stealing 2nd was huge last night, wish we had a few more of those to move guys around. I could almost see Raburn thinking "at least it wasn't me getting the ball knocked out of my glove at 2nd, the whole place would have booed me". Nice play on his part, bad luck by Ramon I guess on where he went to tag, regarless in my mind he should have had an error on that play, he had the ball and needs to hold onto it.
Mister Fister is simply amazing, even in the first inning I had no doubt he would be fine last night and boy was he ever!
Let's get them today!!!
oh, and for those who thought it was a good idea to boo Cabrera early in the game – get some class. One of my biggest pet peeves is booing a player, especially a player that does what he does. Pathetic to hear and an embarrassment as a Tiger fan to hear that on national tv. As a tremendous asset to our team he doesn't deserve anything close to that.
My guess, the HR by VMart solved Cabrera´s problem. Last year, after the string of injuries, he tried to take the team on his shoulders.He was pitched around and went down. With Magglio´s and Young¨s injuries, plus the slumping 5th to 7th. He tried again to carry the team by himself.Now, with other players doing their job , he can relax and hit again.
BTW: Young and Hamilton have not been taking out the cover of the ball either
FYI the rain today (57% chance, now) is going to be light so yeah bring your rain coat and you ok. 62F today
Tiger Girl, good point about Raburn would have been booed on that play. Santiago for some reason lunged at the runner instead of letting him slide into the tag. A mistake on Ramon's part. So see, Ramon does receive blame at times. He just doesn't make many mistakes.
I hope we see Leyland being smart enough to bunt on Beltre today. He didn't yesterday but I suspect he felt the situation wasn't necessary.
I'd be grinning if AJ starts this game off with a well-placed and disciplined bunt down the 3rd base line today. I think Raburn, Santiago and Kelly are all capable of the same.
I'm looking forward to hearing Alto Reed (Tommy Cartmell), saxophonist for the Silver Bullet Band, play the anthem tonight. Back in the 70s, Alto would hook himself up to a suspended cable and leap from the top speaker in the arena, then do airborne flips out over the audience while playing his sax. This before he was talked out of it doing it further. 🙂
Good to see a slimmed down Aretha last night. Her version was good but somewhat long. I'm one of those veterans you see that salute during the anthem and I would have been hard pressed, at my age, holding one for 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Still doesn't beat the girl in Dudenin this past spring who sang both Canadien and US anthems at a snail's pace. I swear she was singing for ten minutes.
My preference is having it sung straight note for note, but in a soft voice. It's actually a pretty song.


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NEW YORK -- Wall Street extended a huge rally today as investors stormed back into the
Business updates throughout the day
A blog at BusinessJournalism.org examines how the media is covering the Wall Street crisis
Readers of the New York Times pose questions to experts
Talk about the news: Business forum
A new ban on short selling, or placing bets that a stock will fall, was likely adding to the market's gains. And today was a quarterly "quadruple witching" day, which marks the simultaneous expiration of options contracts, an event that often adds to volatility.
"A big chunk of this is scaring all the shorts to cover their bets," said Joe Battipaglia, market strategist at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, speaking about the rescue plan said a bold approach is needed to remove troubled assets from the books of financial firms. He offered few details, but said he would work on it through the weekend with congressional leaders.
A plan to help the banking industry could help alleviate the uncertainty that has been sending the markets into tumult over the past week. Lending has grinded to a virtual standstill in the wake of this week's bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the bailout of teetering insurer American International Group Inc.
The government took other steps today to restore stability to the financial system. The Federal Reserve said it will expand its emergency lending and let commercial banks finance purchases of asset-backed paper from money market funds. The Fed will also buy short-term debt obligations issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.
And to help calm investors' anxieties, the Treasury Department has decided to use a Depression-era fund to provide guarantees for U.S. money market mutual funds. Money market mutual funds are typically considered safe, but many investors have been fleeing them due to worries about the funds' exposure to souring corporate debt.
To help limit the freefall in financial stocks, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday enacted a temporary ban on the short-selling of nearly 800 financial stocks. Short-selling is the common practice of betting against a stock by borrowing shares and then selling them in the open market. A short-seller's hope is the stock will fall; if it does, the stock can be bought back at the lower price. Those cheaper shares can be returned to the lender, allowing the investor to pocket the profits.
In other news
McCain says Fed should stop government bailouts
GREEN BAY, Wisc. -- John McCain says the Federal Reserve needs to stop bailing out failed financial institutions.
Addressing a business group in Wisconsin, the Republican presidential hopeful said the Fed should get back to what he called "its core business of responsibly managing our money supply and inflation."
The Fed engineered an $85 billion takeover of insurance giant AIG this week, one of a series of failures of major financial companies that have rocked Wall Street. The government seized control of housing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae earlier this month.
The Arizona senator reiterated his call to fire SEC chairman Chris Cox, saying there needed to be greater accountability in Washington.


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FEMA has spent more than $74 million -- and counting -- to repair Hurricane Katrina-related damage to New Orleans' water pipes. But the problem has only gotten worse.
Despite fixing more than 86,000 leaks since the flood, the number of new fissures per year remains more than 30 percent higher than before Katrina. And though the Sewerage & Water Board has ramped up the pace of repairs -- even reducing a backlog in 2010 -- the pipes keep cracking.
"We're winning the battles, but we're losing the war," S&WB General Superintendent Joe Becker said.
The agency may soon get a shot in the arm, though it's not the remedy local officials would prefer. Under newly approved guidelines, FEMA will pay to replace block-long lengths of pipe that have ruptured repeatedly since Katrina, rather than authorize more patches to the same line.
While S&WB officials call that a positive step, they favor a far more comprehensive fix: the complete replacement of the east bank water system, including the 1,400-mile pipe network, plus manholes, valves, meters, mains and booster pumps that blast purified water to customers.
Pointing to the increased rate of leaks since the flood, agency officials say it's clear that the pipe network was more than 50 percent damaged by Katrina, a threshold that would require FEMA to replace the damaged system with a brand-new one.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu recently threw his muscle behind the argument, which if endorsed by federal authorities also would require the feds to rebuild any streets dug up during pipe reconstruction, officials said.
"It almost strains believability to think that the storm did not completely wipe out the system," Landrieu said last week. "In my mind, the only way the federal government can really get there is if they don't want to. ... You got to work hard to say, 'Katrina didn't cause it.'
"I'm pretty clear about what caused the failures," said the mayor, who pressed the matter during meetings last week in Washington, including a sit-down with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.
Local officials are keenly aware that such a judgment would be a huge boon for an aging city that struggled to maintain its public infrastructure long before the 2005 hurricane.
Getting FEMA to buy the argument, however, will be an uphill battle.
Calling the new pipe-replacement protocol "a major step in the right direction," John Connolly, a top FEMA official in Louisiana, quickly cautioned that "clearly, it will be measured in city blocks," as opposed to systemwide.
Already 'pretty marginal'
He added that the east bank pipe system was "pretty marginal" before Katrina and that local capital investments long have lagged routine maintenance needs.
Indeed, a pre-Katrina analysis said rehabilitating the water-distribution system would cost $3.2 billion and take 20 years. Given flood-related subsidence and corrosion, plus the pressure of 30 billion gallons of water that sat on city streets for weeks after the levee breaks, local officials believe the cost of rehabilitation may now be far greater, though they don't have a firm estimate.
To date, the S&WB has not submitted paperwork to support its contention that Katrina ruined more than half the water-distribution system, though officials have floated the concept and asked FEMA to "keep an open mind and look for the range of options that are there," Connolly said. He added that his staff is doing just that.
"We're not shutting any doors at this point," he said. "We're still looking at all the options."
Sewage problems too
Along with the water pipes, the new protocols will also apply to the east bank's sewage-collection system, which remains under a federal consent decree aimed at reducing the flow of sewage from crumbling pipes into Lake Pontchartrain.
Identifying leaks may prove more challenging since sewage leaks don't bubble to the surface as readily as water flowing out of pressurized water pipes, Becker said.
And depending on FEMA's timing, the matter may be moot. Under the court order, the S&WB must comply with a stringent repair schedule or face fines of as much as $10,000 a day. That means the agency can't wait for federal money to fix the system.
Fix one leak, make another
Until now, the vast majority of water leaks bubbling up through pavement cracks or spilling out of hydrants have been handled as "point repairs." After identifying a leak, a S&WB crew digs 4 to 6 feet under the street surface and locates the source, usually at a joint where two short pipes connect, Becker said.
If FEMA agrees Katrina caused the leak, the agency will pay to repair it.
The problem is this: As water flows through the newly patched joint, it puts additional pressure on adjacent parts of the system, particularly other joints, which occur about every 6 feet along a line segment capped at both ends by valves, Becker said.
As a result, myriad new leaks have sprung since the flood in close proximity to recent repairs, he said.
"So to the passer-by, it looks like the water board made a repair and it's leaking again, when the reality is ... it's the next joint that's leaking," Becker said.
"And so then we have to go back in and expand that repair a little bit and go to the next joint," he said. "We're just slowly working our way down the block, and it's a very inefficient method for replacing a line segment."
S&WB officials long have argued that replacing the entire length of pipe between valves -- usually 1,000 feet or more -- would be a more permanent fix, not to mention a wiser investment.
Connolly, however, said the point-repair method has allowed FEMA to ensure that each repair indeed resulted from Katrina. It also was the best way to restore water service quickly to every corner of the city, he said.
In addition, the process exposed systemic weaknesses, convincing FEMA that replacing longer segments may be appropriate, Connolly said.
"I don't think that it's been a waste of money. It's something that was necessary to do," he said. "The current protocols will allow us to go from a triage approach to really starting to look at the bigger capital exposures that you have out there."
Under the new policy, the S&WB will merge existing information on the condition of pipes, including age, diameter and type, with the location of post-Katrina repairs, Becker said.
The line-replacement policy could go a long way toward rebuilding the system, Becker said, particularly if FEMA agrees that ancillary items such as valves, manholes, mains, meters and property connections that tie into line segments also should be replaced.
17,000 repairs per year
In the four years before Katrina, the S&WB averaged about 13,000 water repair projects annually. That number shot up to nearly 20,000 in 2006. Still, repairs hover at 17,000 per year, proving Katrina has played a major role, Becker said.
"We were pretty busy before the storm," he said, "and now we've got another 30 percent on top of that."
During a public meeting this month, Becker cited 0.23 leaks per mile per year as "good," while "adequate" systems sustain 0.56 leaks per mile annually.
The rate in New Orleans stands at 14 leaks per mile per year, Becker said -- 25 times the "adequate" standard. He added that the number of leaks per mile has tripled since 2004.
Meanwhile, the S&WB has to distribute 14 percent more water through its pipes than it did before Katrina despite an 18 percent drop in customers, Becker said -- all because of leaks.
"In general, we're at about 50 percent leaking out of the system, which is way too high," Becker said.
That leakage comes even as the agency has reduced water pressure, Becker said. "Lower pressure is going to put less strain on the existing pipes, so it should produce fewer leaks. If we were to increase the pressure, we would likely see more leaks," he said.
The rate of leakage is about 40 percent higher than it was before Katrina.
Damage to electrical plant
Local officials say producing so much excess water since Katrina has caused "collateral damage" to the S&WB's in-house electrical plant, which has had to work overtime to power key water equipment.
In light of two recent failures at the plant, including one in November that led to a two-day boil-water advisory, FEMA has agreed to pay to repair some critical machinery, as well as to add two booster pumps, Connolly said.
Local officials see the allowances as an acknowledgement by FEMA that Katrina-related problems to the drinking water system aren't limited to individual pipe breaks and that perhaps the scope of damage ought to be expanded.
"We have successfully over the years gotten FEMA to be more open, more wide-eyed, more systemic in how they view things," Landrieu said. "We didn't tell everybody this was a perfect city before the storm. But that didn't mean it wasn't beat down by the storm."
Michelle Krupa can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or 504.826.3312.


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I was invited to contribute to a feature on Radio 4's Click On show about Sponsored Conversations (aka paid blogging). It can be heard here for the next six days at the time of writing (about 10 mins 20 seconds in).
The conversation was interesting as far as it went but, let's be honest, the detailed mechanics of paid-for blogging aren't a specific area of expertise for me. There were other questions on the topic guide that we discussed before the recording that I wish I had been asked. Particularly the issue of why paid-for blogging is so emotive and controversial. This is something that is close to my heart because it relates to some of the reasons why I find working in digital so rewarding.
So, Phil, why do you think this area of sponsored conversation is so controversial?
Two reasons. One broadly relating to the general idea of what the internet is for. The second relating more specifically to the "fragile ecology" of social media.
A cynical view of advertisers (and the majority of people that advise them) is that they cynically view any medium or communication channel as having been created with the sole purpose of delivering an audience that can be bought. That simply isn't true of the internet. It's a fabulous interactive communal resource that allows human beings to achieve a variety of goals - few of which have anything to do with the world of marketing.
I've met a lot of people in digital agencies who, having been involved with the internet since its inception, are very much in the "helping people to achieve their goals" camp rather than the "marketing" camp. It is entirely unsurprising therefore that the idea of advertisers buying a blogger's audience raises the hackles for a large proportion of the digital community.
Looking more specifically at social media, perhaps the biggest implication of the growth of dialogue and peer to peer communication has been the devolution of influence away from the organisation to the individual. And, what's more, this devolution has not led to anarchy. In fact quite the opposite. These networks and communities are driven by a generosity of spirit, and are self-regulated by good manners. Social media exponents can be rightly proud of what has been achieved.
Again, in this context, it is only natural that some (many) should resist the notion of the advertisers wading back in to "pure" spaces where their influence has thus far been diminished.
The worry, clearly, is that advertisers will view social media in much the same way that palm oil producers view the rainforest; a resource to be harvested with not much concern for the sustainability of the whole operation.
At Blonde we talk a lot about "elegant reconciliation". How can we elegantly reconcile the goals of human beings with the objectives of our clients. By and large this entails a new definition of what "advertising" means in digital spaces to avoid some of the pifalls described above. Thanks to crustmania from whom I "borrowed" the image. They kindly made it available under the terms of a creative commons licence.


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And I got an education in the uniquely French disgestif called absinthe at that outpost for all things New Orleanian called Acadia on NE Fremont. New Orleans has taken absinthe to its ample bosom, and Acadia has followed suit with no fewer than twelve to sample, from the very light, ethereal Kübler from Switzerland to the intensely botanical Delaware Phoenix Walton Waters from New York.
Read the rest at GoodStuffNW.com
Oregonian News Network
The Oregonian News Network links to stories on partner blogs and independent news sites.


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Added by sarah cullen on July 11, 2012 at 11:34pm — 2 Comments
Entertainment Weekly will be hosting a panel for Powerful Women in Pop Culture and Nikki Reed will be there :-
According to the…Continue
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This is a unofficial guide from TwiFans.com, to help you from start to finish with the 2011 Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 panel in Hall H of the San Diego Convention center from July 20th to the 24th.
Hall H is…Continue
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"Breaking Dawn' will be the premiere panel in Hall H on Thursday, July 21st! AGAIN, 'Breaking Dawn - Part 1' will be the very first panel at Comic-Con in Hall…Continue
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With anticipated hopes of Breaking Dawn making an appearance at 2011 Comic-Con, Twilighters were trying to get ticket this morning. And the Twilight hate began...but is our small little group to blame??
See 765 pictures from the New Moon Comic-Con panel…Continue
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Hi Twifans! I have uploaded 765 high quality photos from the "New Moon" panel. I had an amazing seat 7 rows back and right in the middle of the hall. Hall H in the San Deigo Convention Center seats 6500 and it was over full when it came to the "New Moon" panel. I loved every second and I am very happy to share all the photos with all twifans. Here are some of my favorites.....but see all 765 in order below by album.…
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Just in from Summit:
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ICPH is pleased to announce the launch today of "Policy & Research INSIGHTS," a research-driven blog on child and family homelessness. The blog will be a forum where our researchers and staff can offer context around the research we produce, as well as current events related to poverty and homelessness.
In the first post, Policy Analyst Hannah Curtis and Senior External Affairs Associate Diana Scholl mark World AIDS Day by noting the additional obstacles facing homeless persons living with HIV/AIDS, and the need for the City to do more to fulfill its legal requirement to provide shelter to all infected persons.
Read the post, and tell us what you think.
44 Cooper SquareNew York, NY 10003(212) 358-8086
E-mail ICPH |


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PISCATAWAY — Potential jurors in the trial of a former Rutgers University student charged with using a webcam to remotely spy on his roommate and another man having an intimate encounter will be told the roommate committed suicide.
In addition, Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman told Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure today to include on her list of witnesses for the trial the full name and address of the other man who was seen on the webcam with Tyler Clementi in September 2010. That man has so far been identified in court papers only by his initials.
During a hearing in New Brunswick, Berman rejected an effort by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office to keep the jurors from learning that Clementi, 18, killed himself in three days after the webcam incident by jumping from the George Washington Bridge.
Berman said he will tell potential jurors when jury selection begins next month that Clementi committed suicide, but that his former roommate, Dharun Ravi, is not charged with causing Clementi's death.
"I think it is best to tell the jury up front that Mr. Clementi will not be testifying because he is dead but the defendant is not charged with causing his death," the judge said. "I will tell them the fact of his suicide or death is immaterial to the charges before you."
Ravi is charged with invading Clementi's privacy on Sept. 19, 2010, by turning on a remote webcam in the dorm room they shared. Clementi was in an intimate embrace with a man at the time the camera was turned on.
He is also charged with attempting to invade Clementi's privacy a second time two days later. The state has charged Ravi with several counts of bias intimidation, alleging he spied on Clementi because he was prejudiced against homosexuals.
Clementi killed himself Sept. 22, 2010, and his death launched a nationwide dialogue about cyberbullying and gay teen suicide.
McClure fought vigorously to keep the identity of the other man private from Ravi and his defense team. So far, he has been identified only by his initials, M.B.
Berman rejected McClure's arguments and ordered her to turn over M.B.'s name to Ravi and his attorney, Steven Altman. However, the judge said, they could not reveal the name publicly.
Today's hearing was held to handle any pre-trial issues, including what should be included on questionnaires given to jurors on Feb. 17, when jury selection begins, and how to deal with potential evidence.
The trial is set to begin Feb. 21 and is expected to last more than three weeks.
Authorities allege Ravi viewed Clementi and M.B. from another student's dorm room. That student, Molly Wei, was also charged with invasion of privacy, but was placed in a probationary program knows as pretrial intervention. All charges will be dropped if she successfully completes the program.
Ravi and Wei withdrew from Rutgers after they were charged.
Related coverage:
• Potential jurors in Dharun Ravi trial will learn name of man seen on webcam with Tyler Clementi, judge rules
• Dharun Ravi turns down plea deal in Tyler Clementi webcam spy case
• Tyler Clementi's family gives first interview since his suicide
• Parents of Tyler Clementi to attend Rutgers social media event


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In the days before New Year's, a group of Japanese Americans started the preparations for making traditional mochi (sweet rice cakes). They made a large mortar called an usu. They washed the rice, soaked it and steamed it. Then they began the daylong process of pounding out the rice and fashioning it into cakes. Such a celebration seems impossible, given the time and the place in which it occurred. The year was 1944 and the place was an internment camp called Kooskia in north-central Idaho.
"Imprisoned in Paradise: Japanese Internee Road Workers at the World War II Kooskia Internment Camp" is a solid, scholarly book that puts the internment of those Japanese Americans in historical context and documents the conditions in which they lived and worked.
Author Priscilla Wegars is the volunteer curator of the University of Idaho's Asian American Comparative Collection, a resource center of artifacts, images, and bibliographical materials. She has an extraordinary knack for detail. A list of internees includes not just their dates of birth but their hometowns and occupations. She's tracked down menus from the canteen, photographs from newspapers, mug shots and diaries from men who worked in the camp.
During the anti-Japanese hysteria during World War II, more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forced into internment camps in the U.S. In addition, more than 1,000 "enemy aliens" were arrested by the FBI.
The men at Kooskia were considered "enemy aliens." They volunteered to work building the Lewis-Clark Highway, now Highway 12, between Lewiston, Idaho, and Missoula, Mont. Kooskia was remote (it didn't even need barbed wire), but its operation was covered by the terms of the Geneva Convention. The food and shelter were better than at many of the larger camps and the wages the prisoners earned helped their families.
The U.S. government also colluded with Latin American countries to remove unwanted citizens of Japanese descent. Twenty-seven Japanese Peruvians worked at Kooskia, as did two men from Panama and 11 from Mexico. Unlike Japanese Americans, who eventually received (inadequate) compensation for their losses during internment, the Japanese workers from Latin America were left without passports and legal redress for their wrongs.
As Wegars notes, the food and shelter at Kooskia were better than at many other camps. The men were treated with respect, able to celebrate New Year's and other holidays. But they were still prisoners, victims of racist overreaction during a time of war. "Imprisoned in Paradise" is a significant historical contribution on behalf of those men.
-- Katie Schneider
Priscilla Wegars
Caxton Press
$19.95 paperback, 410 pages


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It's a mantra by which Scott Kelly has spent the majority of his life abiding.
"You have two things in front of you: air and opportunity," Kelly, a 2009 West Windsor-Plainsboro North High School graduate, said. "As long as you have those two things in front of you, no one can take anything away from you."
Adhering to that mantra, coupled with a tireless work ethic and an unquenchable desire to absorb every last nuance the game of baseball offered, has proved to be a successful formula for Kelly.
Kelly left WW-P North as arguably the greatest position player in school history, registering a program-best 118 career hits. He was an instrumental cog in the 2009 team that won a program-best 23 games and won the school's first and only sectional title.
That unrelenting desire to enhance his game continued at The College of New Jersey where Kelly started every game (160) over an accolade-studded career.
He left as the all-time stolen base leader with the most number of at-bats in school history (663) and with the second-most runs in school history. He wrapped up his collegiate career May 2, 2013. At that point, it was potentially the last competitive baseball game that Kelly would play.
"I basically had no baseball for 11 months and a lot of thinking," Kelly said.
That thinking led Kelly to trying out for the Somerset Patriots on Saturday, April 12. The timing could not have worked out better.
In the midst of student-teaching at Pond Road Middle, Kelly was able to try out. It worked well enough to earn a spot to the Patriots' spring training.
"(Former Yankee) Shane Spencer is my hitting coach now, and he told us before the tryout, 'Don't try to jack the ball,'" Kelly said. "'Do what you can do and trust your abilities. It's not how far you can hit it.' That kind of set the tone for me to say, 'Wow, this guy doesn't need me to hit home runs.'
"I honestly just hit line drive after line drive with no thought of putting the ball over the fence. That helped my chances a little more, because I listened to what he said."
Shortly thereafter Kelly was informed he had impressed enough to make the Patriots' opening day roster.
"That feeling, when he told me I made the team, I kind of just closed my eyes and inside of me ... I just couldn't believe it," Kelly said.
"I can't put it into words how great it was to hear those words. The thought of being able to step over the white lines one more time for a great organization and a well-known team and a heavy-talented team ... just to be able to put the uniform on again, I can't tell you what the emotions were like, but my dreams were coming true."
Kelly's first action came on April 25 against the Long Island Ducks. He got his first start May 1 against Camden. On May 11, he got his second start against the Sugar Land Skeeters, with whom former NBA start Tracy McGrady plays.
That day provided Kelly with the best Mother's Day gift he had ever been able to give to his mother, Elaine: an inscribed baseball from her son, the first hit of his professional career, a line-drive single over the shortstop's head.
"I got the hit and didn't expect anything of it, but (my teammates) were like, 'Give us the ball, throw it over here,'" Kelly said with a laugh. "Since it was Mother's Day, I gave it to my mother as my Mother's Day gift."
Kelly completely understands his role with the Patriots. His primary role is to provide speed off of the bench, but his versatility and ability to run the base paths makes him a weapon.
"I'm waiting my turn in line," Kelly said. "You have to be ready for your opportunities. As I always say, the two things you have in front of you are air and opportunity.
"If you go into your opportunity with a positive attitude and a positive approach, good things will happen. Sometimes it doesn't, but you just have to look forward to the next one.
"If I'm not in the lineup, I focus on being a good teammate, watching the game, studying the game, learning, asking questions.
"I'm always picking people's brains. That's what's important. I'm getting all of this knowledge right now, and I'm looking forward to applying it."
While he's applying that knowledge at the professional level, there's a person who's never far from Kelly's heart: his best friend and former teammate, David Bachner who passed away due to a heart condition on Aug. 11, 2009 before he could continue his career at Seton Hall University.
"Every game I ever play in," Kelly said, "I always do something as a tribute to him."
Contact Kevin Maloney at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at
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Editor's note: This is the first of two-part series. Click here to read the second part.
BAY CITY — A new employee has joined the ranks of the Bay County Prosecutor's Office, standing ready to comfort young victims in need.
He's a yellow Labrador retriever named Dodger, and his role is to offer emotional support to abused and victimized children.
Without saying a word, Dodger will console kids enduring the trauma of testifying in a courtroom.
"I think he's going to be a tremendous asset to our office," Prosecutor Kurt C. Asbury said as he fed Dodger a piece of carrot, his favorite treat.
"Obviously, it's important to us to make sure kids feel safe and comfortable when they come to court. Dogs can be soothing to people that are emotionally traumatized. I think dogs react to that and sense that, and I think dogs can bring a sense of calm to people," he said.
Asbury plans to have Dodger — whom he referred to as a court buddy for kids — meet with each child who is scheduled to testify in a preliminary examination. If prosecutors feel it's needed, they'll petition to allow Dodger to accompany the child into the courtroom.
Asbury said Bay County Victim Rights Coordinator Cindy Howell had the idea for a canine advocate about two years ago after attending a conference where she met Dan Cojanu, who started the state's first such program in Oakland County in 2008. Asbury researched the matter and met with Cojanu and his ward, a chocolate Labrador retriever named Amos.
"After (them) spending a couple of hours up here, we decided this was a good thing," Asbury said.
Cojanu operates his nonprofit program from his home in Novi. Dodger, who arrived in Bay County about two weeks ago, will make history as the first such dog based specifically out of a Michigan prosecutor's office, Cojanu said.
Rochester Hills-based Leader Dogs for the Blind donated Dodger to Asbury, who is housing the dog and paying for all associated costs.
Leader Dogs also donated Amos in Oakland County, said Rachelle Kniffen, spokeswoman for the canine training school.
Kniffen said Dodger passed most of the tests required to help blind people, but couldn't go up and down stairs at an even pace. That excluded him from the program and led to his new career.
Three victims advocates working in the Bay County Prosecutor's Office will handle Dodger. They are Howell, Wendy Hoffard and Kristin Monaghan.
"At this point, all of the advocates have to learn his commands," Asbury said. "They have to be comfortable with handling him and he has to be comfortable with them handling him. Part of that is going down to court, walking through the corridor, making sure he's not distracted by people and the sounds. He's been sitting in court on a number of occasions already, and he'll continue doing that through the training process."
Dodger already is highly disciplined, deftly responding to commands to sit, lie down and stay. For the first nine months of his life, Dodger was raised by a Minnesota teacher who frequently took him to school to be around her students.
"He's been around children almost his whole life," Asbury said.
When Dodger is on duty, he will don a bandana identifying him as an advocate dog. Other times, such as at his swearing-in by Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran in December, he'll wear a shirt collar and necktie.
Dodger's attire was donated by Sandra K. McKinney of Wagging Tails, 1809 10th St. in Bay City.
Some judges who will see Dodger in court hope his presence will lead to bringing more truth to light in cases involving minors.
"I think it'll be a very helpful addition," said Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran. "The courtroom atmosphere is very intimidating to young witnesses, especially when they have to talk about embarrassing matters. The presence of a calm dog that they can pet and use to help them relax, I think, will make it just a little bit easier for them to testify about what might have happened to them."
Sheeran said he has seen cases where children who relate events in a one-on-one setting freeze upon entering a courtroom.
Chief Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Schmidt had to approve allowing the dog in the courthouse. There was some precedence in the guide dogs used by retired district judge Craig Alston, who is blind.
Schmidt said the program is worth experimenting with, though some time will have to pass before its effectiveness can be gauged.
"I can think of some cases that maybe it would have been helpful," he said. "Certainly we've had cases where we had difficulty getting a witness to testify. That may be helpful, but I can't predict right now how helpful it would be. We'll have to wait and see how it works."
District Judge Mark E. Janer seconded Schmidt's sentiment.
"A lot of times it's difficult to get (kids) to open up and feel comfortable in a courtroom setting," Janer said. "I assume having a live pet, which kids usually like being around, could add some comfort so that they'd open up. Only after time will they see if it's been effective."
Sheeran said he's hopeful Dodger and the new program will work well.
"It's a very creative and welcomed approach to making things easier on children in court," he said.


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