LONDON (AFP) - Missing British girl Madeleine McCann was reported seen in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh by two unrelated witnesses days after she disappeared in Portugal, newspapers reported Sunday. A British man has told police he is certain that a little girl he saw in the lobby of the Ibis hotel in Marrakesh was McCann, who vanished days earlier from the family's hotel apartment in the Algarve on May 3, The Sunday Express said. He contacted police after he flew home to Britain and saw news reports of her abduction, it said.
The Moroccan secret police took his report seriously because witness Marie Pollard, a Norwegian woman who returned to Spain, reported seeing her a few hundred yards away at the Afriquia petrol station, the newspaper said. Pollard, according to the newspaper, said the girl, who was with a man, looked sad and said to him in good English: "Can I see mummy soon?"
It said both witnesses were guests at the hotel but there is no connection between Pollard and the man who was described only as from Yorkshire.
The sightings prompted a massive police operation in Morocco that is continuing on a smaller scale. It said Pollard's report had been made public, but not the man's.
The four-year-old girl's parents Gerry and Kate McCann were shown a video of one of the interviews by the Moroccans, the paper said. "She seems very credible," Gerry was quoted as saying.
The McCanns visited Morocco in June.
The News of The World newspaper gave a similar account, specifying that both witnesses reported seeing Madeleine on May 9 in the same area of Marrakesh at around the same time of day. "The significance of this (second) sighting is that it was reported at the same time as the one by the Norwegian woman," a source close to the family was quoted as saying. "This shows the person did not come forward as a result of publicity about the Norwegian witness, but is entirely independent."
Sightings of the girl have also been reported in European countries, including Belgium, the Greek island of Crete and Malta.
Initially the case appeared to focus on an alleged abduction but Gerry and Kate McCann were named earlier this month as formal suspects by Portuguese police. According to the family, Portuguese police suspect Kate McCann was involved in the accidental death of her daughter and both parents then tried to cover it up. The McCanns strongly deny any role in Madeleine's disappearance.
#1
With perhaps the only unique physical attribute of a "Cat Eye", right eye, you would think alot of those uncertain sightings would be nailed down a bit!
CONCORD, N.H. | A federal judge was driven to rhyme after receiving a hard-boiled egg in the mail from a prison inmate protesting his diet. U.S. District Court Judge James Muirhead reached for Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham for inspiration after getting the egg from inmate Charles Jay Wolff.
I do not like eggs in the file, Muirhead wrote. I do not like them in any style. I will not take them fried or boiled. I will not take them poached or broiled. I will not take them soft or scrambled/Despite an argument well-rambled.
He then ordered the egg destroyed: No fan I am/Of the egg at hand. Destroy that egg! Today! Today! Today I say! Without delay!
Wolff sent the egg in a manila envelope as part of his complaint against state officials. Wolff, 61, says that he is an Orthodox Jew and has accused prison officials of refusing to feed him a kosher diet. Wolff also says he cannot tolerate hard-boiled eggs. He is suing the state Department of Corrections for $10 million.
Should have told the prison officials he was Muslim and demanded a halal diet. They would have fallen over themselves to comply.
Wolff asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction that would force prison officials to serve him meals that meet both his spiritual and medical needs.
Wolff is serving 10 to 20 years for sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl. His lawsuit was filed in August 2006 and is scheduled for trial in June 2008.
Oh, a pedophile no less. Bet he's in segregation.
Weve told him, if you dont like the eggs, dont eat them, said Assistant Attorney General Andrew Livernois, who also received an egg in the mail. Thats not good enough for him. Daily news of the absurd. And doubly absurd, a pedophile suing a jail over his food???? WTF
Posted by: NOLA ||
09/23/2007 05:25 ||
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#1
Mr. Wolff gave up his right to special consideration when he assaulted a child.
#2
If Frank G was King, his "spiritual and medical needs" would involve daily beatings and a Papillon millipede diet. Yeesh, what a POS.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/23/2007 8:38 Comments ||
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#3
I would assume that Orthodox Judaism also has rules against sexually assaulting 7-year old girls?
Enjoy your eggs, asshole. And the bacon that come with them. You don't want them, then fuckin starve.
Britney Spears is facing the prospect of six months in jail after being charged with hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence.
And other five to ten for child rearing without a license.
The troubled singer is accused of damaging a parked car and driving away from a Los Angeles car park on 6 August, a spokesman for the city's attorney's office revealed yesterday. The 25-year-old could face the prison sentence and a $1,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanour charges. Her representatives were not available for comment.
Her representatives were too busy taking hammers to their heads ...
The embattled singer's latest brush with the law follows the filing of an 'accident report' on 9 August at the North Hollywood Community Police Station by the car's owner. It is unclear whether Spears's car was damaged or the actual extent of damage to the other vehicle. The singer was notified of the charges by letter earlier this week. A hearing, which Spears does not have to attend because the charges are misdemeanours, has been set for 10 October.
The charges come days after a judge ordered Spears to undergo random drug and alcohol tests twice a week in her child custody dispute with former husband Kevin Federline. Los Angeles superior court judge Scott Gordon said Spears showed 'a habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol'.
Spears, whose new album is set for release in November has been dropped by her management firm, Her recent performance at this year's MTV Video Music Awards was widely panned. Despite such tribulations, Spears still earns more than £300,000 a month according to documents presented by Federline to an LA court last week during their increasingly bitter custody fight.
Nobody said life was fair ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/23/2007 00:00 ||
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"Troubled" Britney
That's a super-polite way of putting it....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/23/2007 0:05 Comments ||
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#2
Steve, the “child-rearing without a license” is actually a crime in England. Not that Britney is capable of doing a good job of it herself, of course.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
09/23/2007 2:35 Comments ||
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#3
A dude would have to be drunk and desperate to be attracted to that no talent. Wish that snake would swallow her.
#4
Spears personifies America's fascination with unearned wealth and unmerited fame. For confirmation of this, one need only examine how many people play the lottery or the phenomenon of individuals who are "famous for being famous". In this last category, Regis Philbin and Paris Hilton are the prom king and queen. All of this is part of hollywood's unrelenting quest to see style triumph over substance. If anyone requires evidence of this, merely consider the tremendous decline in reading, especially among adults. I personally know a few adults who DO NOT read at all. J.K. Rowling has my eternal respect for rekindling the love of reading in a new generation of children. Her personal wealth is some of the most well-deserved imaginable.
#5
Decline in reading? I'm not certain about that. In the 1980s, when I was tutoring, I was told that the rate of functional adult illiteracy (reading at less than a sixth grade level) was on the order of 20% of the American population. As for Britney Spears, she worked very hard in her youth as a Mouseketeer and then a singer. It was only when she reached legal majority and was released from adult supervision that she went to pieces -- whether reaching for the free childhood she'd never had or innocent of the behaviours of adulthood. Were it not for the children, is she doing any worse than Drew Barrymore at the same age?
#6
Were it not for the children, is she doing any worse than Drew Barrymore at the same age?
That's not saying much.
As to the decline in reading, and especially adult reading. Are you truly willing to argue thatdespite increasing adult literacy ratesactual reading of books is on the rise in America's non-minor population? Every single indication I have seen points towards a spoon-fed, television addicted, totally non-literate (not illiterate) adult population. Far too often I watch literary references sail over the heads of "mature" people like so many typhoon wind-blown kites.
Permit me to quote Edward R. Murrow:
There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful. Stonewall Jackson, who knew something about the use of weapons, is reported to have said, 'When war comes, you must draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.' The trouble with television is that it is rusting in the scabbard during a battle for survival.
journalist Edward R. Murrow [1908-65]
Murrow said this over four decades ago. How can it not have only gotten worse?
#7
Spears personifies America's fascination with unearned wealth and unmerited fame
I can't believe I'm on RB commenting about this idiot.
Spears actually produced something for a period of time unlike Paris Hilton & Nicole Ritchie who only waste oxygen, albeit over produced pop-crap.
Anyhow, I read she makes around $750k per month, that buys an awful lot of Cheetos and grape soda.
Now I feel dirty, I need to go find a thread and rant about Islamists.
#8
Reading. There's a lot of crap in print too. I also remember the faux horror in the '50 of the degenerating effect of comic books.
Let's remember these little characters are actually an evolution of icons to convey a concept. They originally started out as hieroglyphics. Pictures conveying interpretations of sounds and meanings. The modern version of information transfers now permits the direct form of the data without translation into coded combinations of characters and icons, also known as print. Too many confuse the process with the output. Each has its own uses, advantages, and disadvantages. The old computer adage "garbage in, garbage out" remains in effect regardless of the media employed.
#9
Poor Britney. If it wasn't for the 'career' thing, she would be back home in the double wide, yelling at the kids, getting fat and waiting for Kevin to come home after his shift ended at the plant. But, as they say, sick trainset Gloria Monday.
#10
There've been a lot of trash books ever since the printing press came into widespread use. Most of the romances of the 18th century were just as much cotton candy for the brain as the modern ones are. For that matter, most of volumes of sermons read by the pseudo-intellectuals of the time weren't any better than the pop psychology best sellers that spring up like mushrooms after the rain nowadays, although admittedly they did presume a certain familiarity with the Bible.
#11
Oh, yes, TW, there was a lot of "cotton candy" for the brain in the 19th century - I inherited a shelf full of books that came from my grandmothers house, all the sort of popular ladies' novels from around 1900. Every bit as trashy and forgettable as the romance novels today.
And speaking of books, can I put in another plug for mine? The greatest frontier adventure that no one ever heard about - click here or on the ad which Fred so kindly put up for me. I'm not claiming it's great literature... but it is a good read and most of it really happened, too.
#12
I also remember the faux horror in the '50 of the degenerating effect of comic books.
One merely need examine just how many of Hollywood's major motion pictures are based on comic book charactersor low-budget 1960s television showsto know that the "horror" may not be altogether so "faux".
Another point still remains as well. MRI scans of people reading and others watching television reveal that reading literally "lights up" areas of the brain commonly used in sophisticated problem solving, spatial projection and temporal transfomation. When compared with brain activity that arises while watching television, the result is scarily like a flat-liner. Reading even a trashy romance novel provides more "intellectual toning" than viewing some 90% of television programming. Don't even get me started about video games.
#13
Spears actually produced something for a period of time
Do tell. Exactly what did she "produce". Was she not just another heavily engineered entertainment industry construction like so many of the "boy toy" groups like "The Backstreet Boys"? Given revelations of big record labels bribing major broadcast networks to allocate disproportionate airtime to their "artists" of choice, I'd warrant that much of the popularity enjoyed by these musical lightweights is fabricated out of whole cloth, much like their supposed content.
#14
Spears actually produced something for a period of time unlike Paris Hilton & Nicole Ritchie who only waste oxygen, albeit over produced pop-crap.
We're sorta singing from the same sheet Zen.
Regardless of what you think of it, reams of that garbage was sold. My point was Hilton & Ritchie have their money trust funded to them, while Spears if nothing else worked for hers. It doesn't matter who was pulling the strings.
#15
No harm, no foul, JM. My point is that Spears' wealth more likely resulted from market manipulation than from any intrinsic quality of content. If that's the case, then all of her performanceswhere she actually engaged in real workwere the byproduct of corporate subterfuge and not any rightfully earned popularity. Public acclaim that is driven by contrived exposure and artificially enhanced play time does not constitute the earmarks of genuine quality. Ergo, the unmerited fame aspect.
Bluetongue disease, a virus that has killed livestock across Europe, has been found in the UK for the first time - in a cow at a farm in Suffolk. There have been nearly 3,000 cases in Northern Europe since July, which had fuelled fears of its UK arrival.
Cattle, sheep, goats and deer can be infected, but the insect-borne virus is not thought to pose a risk to humans. Bluetongue disease is transmitted by the Culicoides imicola midge. It is passed from animal to midge, and from midge to animal, but is not transmitted from animal to animal.
The virus has long blighted Africa, but in recent years has begun to spread northwards into Europe. Some scientists believe that climate change could be behind its spread, as warmer temperatures have seen the biting insects gradually move north.
Since climate change is responsible for everything.
Officials warned last month that the UK was at risk from bluetongue after outbreaks in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany.
#1
"The virus has long blighted Africa, but in recent years has begun to spread northwards into Europe on the clothes and in the luggage of 'immigrants.'"
There - fixed.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/23/2007 0:11 Comments ||
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Democratic Party will stick with a Jan. 29 presidential primary even if it means losing all its nominating convention delegates, a party source said Saturday.
The clown show continues ...
The Democratic National Committee gave the state party until Sept. 29 to come up with an alternative delegate selection plan to stay within party rules, such as caucuses or a vote-by-mail primary, but party leadership has rejected that idea. The DNC Rules Committee voted last month to strip Florida of its 210 delegates if the state party held a primary before Feb. 5. Major Democratic presidential candidates have signed a pledge to restrict campaigning in Florida if it violates party rules.
State party Chairman Karen Thurman, members of the congressional delegation and state legislative leaders were scheduling a news conference Sunday to announce their position. State party staff has been polling executive committee members and determined at least 75 percent support for the early primary, the source said. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because executive committee members were still be notified.
Even though Florida won't have delegates at the nominating convention, party leaders felt that the Jan. 29 date will let the rest of the country know who the state supports one week before an expected 25 states go to the polls, including big prizes like California and New York. Also, Florida will vote on a constitutional amendment during its primary election that could significantly cut property taxes. Democratic party leaders felt pushing their delegate selection plan past Feb. 5 would have affected turnout in the ballot question.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Popcorn! Gitcher popcorn rat cheer! :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/23/2007 0:13 Comments ||
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I don't know anyone who cares about the primary, but they do care about the property tax amendment. Without it, I doubt anyone would show up for the primary.
#4
Not true Swamps. I'm changing party to vote in this one. The Demo's have arranged their traditional firing squad here. The boycott of Florida by the top Demos is really going to hurt them (gawd willing) in November. No campaign in Florida, no cash from Florida.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
09/23/2007 3:06 Comments ||
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#5
The DNC disenfranchises Florida.
YJCMTSU!
Posted by: Mike ||
09/23/2007 8:11 Comments ||
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#6
Of course, the Democratic Party of Florida does choose the electoral college representatives. The national really has short attention span, wasn't there something about Florida, electors, and 2000?
#7
As a Floridian, I am sitting here with the biggest smile on my face since Bob Graham lost his notebook. All this means is that Florida will not forget (as a state not a single party) come November. Hard to believe that a Hillary/Barack ticket can win nationwide without Florida. In fact, they can't win any state in the south so why alienate the one state (due to migration from the north and midwest) that gives them a fighting chance. Yep, Howard Dean is as dumb as he sounds.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/23/2007 13:54 Comments ||
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#8
Florida saves the Union again!
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
09/23/2007 23:39 Comments ||
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A 10-year-old hunting ban and the ongoing insurgency have brought about a boom in the populations of animals including leopards and bears in Indian Kashmir, wildlife officials say. A crack down on gun ownership at the start of the rebellion and the risk of being caught in the cross-fire between militants and troops have largely kept poachers out of the forests in the revolt-hit region. As a result, "there has been (an) increase in Kashmir's wildlife, leopards and black bears in particular," said wildlife warden Rashid Naqash.
Naqash said the numbers of rare bird species were also increasing and a scientific survey would be launched to provide figures. "The reason being a strict ban on hunting, besides (which), poachers no longer dare to go into the forests for fear of getting caught in the cross-fire between militants and security forces," he said.
The latest assessment provides some rare good news for the Himalayan region, where demand for items such as bear skins and shawls made from the hair of antelopes had left a number of mountain species seriously endangered.
At the start of the rebellion, locals were ordered to hand in their guns or run the risk of being caught with them and treated as insurgents. "It meant there were few weapons left to shoot animals and birds," says Naqash.
In 1997, the government banned hunting and the trading of endangered animal furs. In May this year fur traders were ordered to hand over rare hides to be destroyed. "This step will further protect the wildlife as poachers know even if they kill an animal they will not be able to sell its hide," said Naqash.
Other wildlife officials said there had also been a marked rise in the numbers of rare musk deer and markhor goats. They said that although it was difficult to count birds, "rare and indigenous species like the black partridge and the pheasant have increased by a minimum of 50 percent since 1990." Last year a record high of more than 600,000 migratory birds visited Kashmir.
But the population increase some animals have enjoyed has meant others, such as the rare Kashmir stag or hangul, face more predators. "Leopards are praying on hangul as their (leopard) population has increased. We will not be able to stop these attacks unless some measures are taken," said A.K. Srivastava, the region's wildlife chief.
He said his department had asked the federal government for approval to fence protected areas after the hangul population dropped to just 150 from 200 in the past decade.
A rise in attacks on humans is another negative effect of Kashmir's increasing wildlife population. Srivastava said animals had killed some 36 people over the past two years and wounded 217, resulting in eight orders to kill leopards and bears. "My men could kill only one leopard. They have failed to kill others as leopards are very fast runners," he said.
#1
In areas of Southern India where the "dreaded dacoit" Verappan held sway, wildlife flourished because the common poachers were afraid of being kidnapped by him or being shot by the Police hunting him.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/23/2007 10:42 Comments ||
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#2
#sigh# Yes, he was probably the most dangerous criminal in the world but he had one hell of a mustache! Like Confederate Civil War general quality!
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Britney Spears is facing the prospect of six months in jail after being charged with hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence. 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Democratic Party will stick with a Jan. 29 presidential primary even if it means losing all its nominating convention delegates, a party source said Saturday. 
