An intended rape victim shot and killed her attacker this morning in Cape Girardeau when he broke into her home to rape her a second time, police said.
The 57-year-old woman shot Ronnie W. Preyer, 47, a registered sex offender, in the chest with a shotgun when he broke through her locked basement door.
The woman told police he was the same man who raped her several days earlier. Officials do not intend to seek charges against her.
In the first incident, the woman heard glass breaking in her basement about midnight on Saturday. She went to leave the house, and the man attacked when she opened the front door. He punched her in the face and then forced her into a bedroom, where he raped her, said H. Morley Swingle, prosecuting attorney in Cape Girardeau County.
The victim reported the crime to police, and her landlord repaired the broken window.
She was home alone again Friday about 2:15 a.m. when Preyer broke the same basement window. The victim was awake watching television, when Preyer switched off the electricity to her house.
She tried to call 911, but couldn't because the power was off. She got a shotgun and waited as the man began banging on the basement door. She fired when Preyer came crashing through the door. When Preyer collapsed, the woman escaped and went to a neighbor's home, where she called police. Officers, who arrived within a minute, found a bleeding Preyer stumbling away from the house. He was taken to St. Francis Medical Center, where he died several hours later.
Swingle said the victim identified Preyer as the attacker in both incidents. Preyer, of Jackson, Mo., had wet caulking from the recently repaired basement window on his clothing when he was shot.
"I will not be filing any sort of charge against this 57-year-old woman, who was clearly justified under the law in shooting this intruder in her home," Swingle said.
* With a population of 2.8 Million, Chicago has racked up 392 murders through September. In the same time period with a population of 28 Million, Iraqi insurgents have killed 210 American and coalition troops. An additional 49 military personnel died of non-hostile causes.
Violent crime in Chicago continues unabated this year, with the latest unofficial statistics showing that there were 316 more shootings in the city through August.
Through the end of September, there were 392 murders, 50 more than the same time last year.
Deputy Superintendent of Patrol Beatrice Cuello attributed the increased violence to street gang activity. She noted the arrests of high-ranking gang members has left a vacuum in which young gang members try to fill.
Crime had dropped consistently since about 2003, with murders dipping below 500 in 2004, the lowest since the 1960s. As recently as seven years ago, the murder tally was closer to 700.
David Olson of the Criminal Justice Department at Loyola University said there are likely several causes for the increase, including changes in police staffing and changes in the drug markets that drive shootings.
#2
End the futile and ill-advised occupation of Chicago. No blood for White Sox!
Posted by: Mike ||
10/31/2008 10:59 Comments ||
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We had four murdered in Marrero (population 35,000, suburb of New Orleans) yesterday afternoon. Gang robbed a little neighborhood bar and shot the old man who owned it, his brother and two others in the process.
Arrested were: Mario A. Funez, 26, Jose A. Cornejo, 22; and Rigoberto Funas, 20. Still sought are Pedro A. Duran, 32, and Renil, Reni or Reny Escobar-Rivera.
#4
Be advised, under an Obama administration the posting of (soon to be classified) crime statistics, names and photographs of suspects and perpetrators will be viewed as racist, a violation of civil rights and punishable under "hate crime" statutes.
#5
David Olson of the Criminal Justice Department at Loyola University said there are likely several causes for the increase, including changes in police staffing and changes in the drug markets that drive shootings.
And suppression of 2nd Amendment rights by the City Fathers of Chicago which deny the ability of the population to arm itself in defense. Seems the Petreaus approach of allowing the average Iraqi to keep their own personal arms evolved into a kinder gentler environment in the long run.
A 52-year-old man who leapt to his death from a freeway overpass left a note asking for Barack Obama to help his family.
El Paso police officer Chris Mears said the man, whose name has not been released, jumped from an overpass onto westbound Interstate 10 shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday. In his car, abandoned nearby, the man left a typewritten note on legal size paper on his dashboard and another attached to a rear window. Both were one-line notes asking for the Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate to help his family, Mears said.
Mears said the notes did not include any details about what kind of help the man wanted or what may have prompted him to jump to his death Thursday morning.
I had no idea the Goracle was in Tibet....
Three more people are dead as a result of a record-breaking snowstorm in Tibet, bringing the total death toll to six as of Thursday.
Another 1,700 people and 174,500 heads of livestock remain stranded in Lhunze, Cuona and Comai counties, an official from the Shannan prefecture government told Xinhua.
The storm, which started Sunday, dumped close to 64 cm of snow in one county. It continues to fall throughout the region, said the Tibet Autonomous Regional Weather Observatory. The six people killed either froze to death or were crushed by collapsing buildings, said the official.
The prefectural government has sent four working teams to coordinate rescue efforts. More than 1,200 people who were stranded, have been relocated to other villages, sleeping in schools or government buildings. Another 1,700 remain trapped by damaged buildings or blocked roads.
Armed policemen and transportation officials are working to clear snow on the plateau, local officials said. "armed policemen" are clearing snow; what, do they think the snow will resist arrest clearing?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/31/2008 12:26 ||
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SOMEBODY CALL ALGORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: ARMY GUY ||
10/31/2008 13:45 Comments ||
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Boston (MA) - Scientists at MIT have recorded a nearly simultaneous world-wide increase in methane levels. This is the first increase in ten years, and what baffles science is that this data contradicts theories stating man is the primary source of increase for this greenhouse gas. It takes about one full year for gases generated in the highly industrial northern hemisphere to cycle through and reach the southern hemisphere. However, since all worldwide levels rose simultaneously throughout the same year, it is now believed this may be part of a natural cycle in mother nature - and not the direct result of man's contributions.
Methane - powerful greenhouse gas
The two lead authors of a paper published in this week's Geophysical Review Letters, Matthew Rigby and Ronald Prinn, the TEPCO Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, state that as a result of the increase, several million tons of new methane is present in the atmosphere.
Methane accounts for roughly one-fifth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, though its effect is 25x greater than that of carbon dioxide. Its impact on global warming comes from the reflection of the sun's light back to the Earth (like a greenhouse). Methane is typically broken down in the atmosphere by the free radical hydroxyl (OH), a naturally occuring process. This atmospheric cleanser has been shown to adjust itself up and down periodically, and is believed to account for the lack of increases in methane levels in Earth's atmosphere over the past ten years despite notable simultaneous increases by man.
More study
Prinn has said, "The next step will be to study [these changes] using a very high-resolution atmospheric circulation model and additional measurements from other networks. The key thing is to better determine the relative roles of increased methane emission versus [an increase] in the rate of removal. Apparently we have a mix of the two, but we want to know how much of each [is responsible for the overall increase]."
The primary concern now is that 2007 is long over. While the collected data from that time period reflects a simultaneous world-wide increase in emissions, observing atmospheric trends now is like observing the healthy horse running through the paddock a year after it overcame some mystery illness. Where does one even begin? And how relevant are any of the data findings at this late date? Looking back over 2007 data as it was captured may prove as ineffective if the data does not support the high resolution details such a study requires.
One thing does seem very clear, however; science is only beginning to get a handle on the big picture of global warming. Findings like these tell us it's too early to know for sure if man's impact is affecting things at the political cry of "alarming rates." We may simply be going through another natural cycle of warmer and colder times - one that's been observed through a scientific analysis of the Earth to be naturally occuring for hundreds of thousands of years.
Project funding
Rigby and Prinn carried out this study with help from researchers at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Bristol and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Methane gas measurements came from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE), which is supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Australian CSIRO network.
#4
I don't understand. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Methane is way up, worldwide. And it's in the 30's in New Orleans, snowing in Tennessee and Zurich, freezing 144,000 yaks & such to death in Tibet, in October. Just think how it would be WITHOUT all that CO2 and Methane in the atmosphere!
#6
Gummit money, they are using my dollars to talk about the weather and I don't even get a cup of coffee for it.
Saw first flight of ducks heading south this morning - that is at least 2 weeks early for this area. You can look at sunspots and you could look at trees. Even thinking about a generator b/c last couple years were tough out here (helicopter drops to feed cattle) and we are showing signs of a colder one.
#7
"it is now believed this may be part of a natural cycle in mother nature - and not the direct result of man's contributions"
No, really - ya' think?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/31/2008 12:33 Comments ||
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#8
"Just think how it would be WITHOUT all that CO2 and Methane in the atmosphere!"
I don't have time to look for it right now, Glenmore, but Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) has several times referred to a sci-fi book (not recent, I think) whose premise is that the only reason the earth hadn't already entered a natural cooling cycle was because of man's contribution to warming the earth.
Heh.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/31/2008 12:36 Comments ||
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#9
Gaia ripped one.
Posted by: ed ||
10/31/2008 12:40 Comments ||
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#10
What they need to counteract this is a giant frat boy with a giant Zippo.
Just trying to help out the "baffled scientists".
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/31/2008 14:16 Comments ||
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#15
This could mean one of two things. Either methane is generated in a lag to a warm season, or hydroxyl production is slashed with cooler weather or reacts with something other than methane.
The four part hit piece on Lomborg was truly bottom-of-the-barrel disgusting for an ALLEGED science publication. THWT
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
10/31/2008 19:56 Comments ||
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#22
Fallen Angels is part of the Baen Free Library: link where you can read it on-line or download it and read it in your spare time. A good read...especially at this price.
QUANTICO, Virginia (CNN) -- Motorcycle accidents have killed more Marines in the past 12 months than enemy fire in Iraq, a rate that's so alarming it has prompted top brass to call a meeting to address the issue, officials say.
Twenty-five Marines have died in motorcycle crashes since last November -- all but one of them involving sport bikes that can reach speeds of well over 100 mph, according to Marine officials. In that same period, 20 Marines have been killed in action in Iraq.
The 25 deaths are the highest motorcycle death toll ever for the Marine Corps.
Gen. James Amos, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told CNN that commanders are trying to drill down on what "we need to do to help our Marines survive on these sport bikes."
"The Marines are very serious about it," he said.
Marine Gunnery Sgt. Art Tucker knows all too well about the dangers of sport bikes. An owner of a Kawasaki Ninja, Tucker has had two crashes, and the second one nearly killed him. "I sustained a broken collar bone, I tore the shoulder out of the socket, I tore three ligaments in the shoulder, the rotator cuff, I broke three vertebrae," said Tucker, a drill instructor for new officers. "The worst was a head injury I received: a bruised brain. And it caused hemorrhaging, and from that I had partial paralysis of the left leg, full paralysis of the left foot and toes, and that was for approximately six months."
Amos said he and other top Marine officials will spend half the day Monday "focusing on nothing but motorcycle issues." The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Conway, and other senior leadership will attend the meeting at the Quantico, Virginia, Marine base, he said.
About 18,000 of the nearly 200,000 Marines are believed to own motorcycles, Amos said.
The Marines have taken some measures. The Marine Corps has had a long-standing policy for all Marines who ride motorcycles to take a mandatory basic riding course. More recently, it added a second training course specifically designed to train Marines who ride sport bikes. Any Marine caught riding, even on leave, without going through the training courses faces Marine Corps punishment, officials say.
On a recent day at the Quantico training track, Marines whizzed by on their bikes.
"I think the basic rider course has been great," said Cpl. Austin Oakley. "Here, they put you in situations you want to be weary of out in that open road."
Oakley said he recently returned to the United States from Japan, and he immediately jumped at the chance to buy a sport bike. He said it's not uncommon for Marines to have motorcycle clubs within their units. "We'll go out on rides together. Fridays for lunchtime, we'll all meet up and go to lunch," Oakley said. "When I get on my motorcycle, it's me and the motorcycle. I don't need to go fast. I don't need to do anything like that. It's just being free."
The rise in motorcycle deaths isn't confined to Marines. The Navy says it's had 33 deaths on motorcycles over the past 12 months -- a 65 percent jump from the previous time period. And authorities say motorcycle deaths have been a problem in the civilian world, too.
Military officials say they're not sure why the deaths are on the rise. They initially believed the accidents might involve mostly young Marines and sailors around 18 or 19 years old. But Navy statistics show that five of the victims were 25, the most prevalent of any age involved in the crashes. And two 40-year-old sailors were killed in motorcycle crashes.
Gen. Amos said the Marines have seen a similar trend. But he says the new training seems to be working: Of the 300 young men and women who have gone through the sport-bike course, only three have had accidents.
The safety course instructors said some Marines who go through the training decide the sport bike is not for them. But even some Marines who've survived past crashes still want to ride again, even after they get the new training.
"I enjoy it," said Tucker. "I can actually get on my motorcycle and ride, and it's just like if I were to do bowling or rock climbing or scuba diving. It's something for me. It relaxes me."
#1
If they are dangerous, Obama will surely make them illegal, right after he makes being a Marine illegal, cause that 's dangerous too.
Anything that is not good for you will be under fire if we have donks in the White House, Senate , and Congress as a majority. Expect alcohol to be the next big witch hunt.
#3
One of my all time favorite youtube videos is the 2004 Yamaha R6 Top Speed Run Hawaii. It sure is fun to watch but, PLEASE, NOBODY GO OUT AND DO THIS! From what I heard the marine involved in this video spent some time in the brig for this little stunt.
#5
The training is good but the environment the folks are riding in makes a big difference also. There is more traffic, much of it is speeding, following too close and just not paying attention. I find that I am having to ride much more "heads up" than I used to. Taking your eyes off the traffic and road for just a moment to check your speed can sometimes be too long.
OK, I'm getting old and my eyes and reflexes aren't as good as they used to be.
#6
Once again there is a failure to look at the environment these folks work in. I would bet that the majority have been working long hours of probably 10-12 hour shifts with little time off. So, take a young kid working long hours in a demanding job, give them some time off and add alcohol. When you work as hard as these kids do and go to blow off some steam it is inevitable that there will be accidents.
BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MaineMeteorologists are baffled by rapid tidal changes along the Maine coast, which damaged some boats and piers.
Witnesses say low tide turned and became high within a matter of minutes on Tuesday afternoon. The changes occurred six or seven times. The National Weather Service says reports from several locations indicated that water levels fell and rose from 4 feet to as much as 12 feet during the event.
In a public information statement, the weather service says the cause "remains a mystery and may never be known."
It said significant rapid rises and falls in tide levels were observed around 3 p.m. in Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Bristol. The statement said rapid surges can be caused by the underwater movement of land, most often due to an earthquake, or due to slumping of sediments along a steep canyon or shelf, but no earthquakes were reported in the area Tuesday.
A similar event occurred on Jan. 9, 1926, in Bass Harbor, the statement said. On a totally unrelated note, just check the choice of pics for the "campaign fashion" in the sidebar links...
Posted by: Mike ||
10/31/2008 9:30 Comments ||
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#2
The statement said rapid surges can be caused by the underwater movement of land, most often due to an earthquake, or due to slumping of sediments along a steep canyon or shelf, but no earthquakes were reported in the area Tuesday.
Godzilla and Gamera could not be reached for comment?
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
10/31/2008 12:06 Comments ||
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The wheels of justice grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine ...
MIAMI -- A federal jury on Thursday convicted the son of the former president of Liberia of torturing suspected opponents of his father's government. It was the first case brought under a 1994 law that makes it a crime for United States citizens to commit torture overseas.
During the trial, witnesses said the defendant, Charles McArthur Emmanuel, 31, stood by and laughed as soldiers forced prisoners to play "stone football," kicking large stones until their bare feet were bruised and bleeding. One witness described having flaming plastic melted onto his skin, and another said soldiers had cut his genitals.
Mr. Emmanuel, who was known in Liberia as Chuckie and commanded a military unit known as the Demon Forces, was convicted of conspiracy and torture after two days of jury deliberations. He faces a possible life sentence. The case coincides with the trial of Mr. Emmanuel's father, Charles Taylor, in a war crimes tribunal in The Hague for atrocities in West Africa during his presidency.
Elise Keppler, senior counsel for the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, said that the verdict was a milestone in the fight against human rights abuses around the world and that she hoped to see more prosecutions like it. "That's going to be the key here," Ms. Keppler said. "This can't be an anomaly in U.S. practice, but should be the beginning of a trend where the United States actively prosecutes human rights violations committed abroad."
When committed by U.S. citizens, which is the key point here.
When the case began a month ago, defense lawyers said the witnesses had fabricated their stories for financial gain and to win political asylum. In opening statements, an assistant federal public defender said that if this case were a newspaper headline, it would read, "Desperate and disgruntled Africans accuse American to escape war-torn Liberia."
In court, as the guilty verdict was read aloud, Mr. Emmanuel sat quietly with his hands in his lap. When all 12 jurors agreed he was guilty, he looked over at his lawyer, who gently patted him on the back. He refused to stand when the jury was dismissed and seemed impatient to leave.
In a news conference afterward, United States Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said of Mr. Emmanuel, "The acts of which he was convicted were horrific."
Born in Boston, Mr. Emmanuel spent most of his life in Orlando, Fla., with his mother, stepfather and older sister. He joined his father in Liberia as a teenager, a few years before Mr. Taylor won the 1997 presidential election. He was arrested on charges of carrying a false passport when he arrived in Miami from Trinidad in March 2006.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
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So from the first paragraph NoBaMa can rest easy when he puts some poor schmuck on the rack.....
A JAPANESE man has enlisted hundreds of people in a campaign to allow marriages between humans and cartoon characters, saying he feels more at ease in the "two-dimensional world".
Comic books are immensely popular in Japan, with some fictional characters becoming celebrities or even sex symbols.
Marriage is meanwhile on the decline as many young Japanese find it difficult to find life partners.
Taichi Takashita launched an online petition aiming for one million signatures to present to the government to establish a law on marriages with cartoon characters.
Within a week he has gathered more than 1000 signatures through.
"I am no longer interested in three dimensions. I would even like to become a resident of the two-dimensional world," he wrote.
"However, that seems impossible with present-day technology. Therefore, at the very least, would it be possible to legally authorise marriage with a two-dimensional character?"
'Befitting his desire to be two-dimensional, he listed no contact details, making it impossible to reach him for comment to explain if his campaign is serious or tongue-in-cheek.
But some people signing the petition are true believers.
"For a long time I have only been able to fall in love with two-dimensional people and currently I have someone I really love," one person wrote.
"Even if she is fictional, it is still loving someone. I would like to have legal approval for this system at any cost," the person wrote.
Japan only permits marriage between human men and women and gives no legal recognition to same-sex relationships.
Japan's fans of comic books, or "manga," sometimes go to extremes.
Earlier this month, a woman addicted to manga put out an online message seeking to kill her parents for asking her to throw away comic books that filled up three rooms.
A coalition of 33 American organizations has formally complained to the German government about what they see as the interference of German diplomats in a domestic American electoral fight.
They charge that German foreign ministry and justice officials are working to promote same sex marriage in the United States and are working to defeat a California voter initiative to defend traditional marriage. The initiative, Proposition 8, is a response to the California Supreme Court 4-3 decision in May to strike down a similar measure passed by majority vote of Californians in 2000 that defined marriage as exclusive to a man and woman.
German Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries campaigned recently in California to urge voters to follow the lead of Germany and the rest of Europe in promoting same sex marriage by defeating Proposition 8.
According to the German Consulate in San Francisco, the justice ministers lecture entitled, Gay Marriage in Germany and California at the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) Community Center, was accompanied by meetings with human rights organizations, a visit to city hall to gather information regarding the California Supreme Courts decision, and a meeting with one California legislator who awarded her a certificate for her work promoting the cause.
The visit was arranged by Germanys Consul General in San Francisco, Rolf Schuette, who has been working with local homosexual rights activists in California to undermine Proposition 8 by linking those who defend traditional marriage to the Nazis. From the persecution of homosexuals under Nazis to today full equality for gay and lesbian couples has not been achieved there are forces which even would like to roll back what has been achieved, Schuette said.
According to the consul generals office, Schuette has dedicated about a third of his speeches this year to promoting same sex marriage. In campaigning against Proposition 8 and promoting No on Prop 8 the German officials join many Hollywood celebrities, corporate backers such as Google and Apple, and the California Teachers Association which donated one million dollars to defeat it.
The coalition American pro-family organizations sent a letter of protest to German Minister of Foreign Relations, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Calling the aggressive interference by the Germans scandalous, the group complained that a member of the German Foreign Service is interfering in a domestic matter of the United States that will be decided by American citizens.
The letter said Schuettes actions violate the role of a diplomat and abuse the courtesies extended to members of a foreign government, bringing disrepute to [Germany] by his insensitive misuse of his role as a guest and representative of the German government in our country.
Californians will vote on Proposition 8 as part of the California General Election ballot next week. The measure was initiated by ProtectMarriage.com and was originally entitled California Marriage Protection Act, before Attorney General Jerry Brown changed it to Eliminates the Right of Same Sex Couples to Marry.
To pass the measure, a majority of Californians must vote yes on the measure. If they do, the California constitution will be amended to read only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.
Actor Sean Penn escorted activist and San Francisco congressional candidate Cindy Sheehan to the San Francisco premiere of his new film "Milk."
Penn, a San Francisco resident, plays the title character in the film about the life and assassination of San Francisco Supervisor and gay-rights leader Harvey Milk.
"Like Sheehan, Penn is a longtime critic of the Bush administration and its handling of the Iraq war. His political activism has included a tour of Iraq and travel to post-Katrina New Orleans," Sheehan's campaign said in a news release.
Contacted by phone Wednesday, Sheehan's representative said the candidate described the experience of attending the premiere the previous night and seeing the film as inspiring.
On Oct. 4, Penn presided over a fundraiser for Sheehan at his San Francisco home that raised more than $5,000 for her campaign, her campaign said.
Actors and activists Martin Sheen and Roseanne Barr have also each recently endorsed Sheehan, who is running as an Independent candidate in California's 8th Congressional District race against incumbent Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"These immensely talented individuals have used their success and celebrity to draw attention to issues that are important to this state and to this country," Sheehan said in a statement. "I am deeply honored by their support and their confidence in my candidacy."
#1
Cindy Sheehan versus Nancy Pelosi? After very little pondering, I would move out of the area if I lived there and go somewhere more civilized. There is the South, the Mountain Region, and some parts of the West.
#9
Penn doesn't live in SF. He lives in Tiburon. My wife said that he's moved in next to a friend of hers. She had to call the cops because of a late night party. Apparently reconciling with Robin Wright too. Hell, I would. She is hot. Saw the whole family at a sushi place a couple of years ago. Yes, she is hot.
Mount Penn not picking candidate with sign on truck
Mount Penn, PA - In the midst of a hotly contested presidential campaign that has had its share of controversies, Mount Penn officials said they narrowly avoided finding themselves smack in the middle of one.
Mayor Joshua Nowotarski announced at a borough council meeting Tuesday night that a resident had recently complained to state Sen. Michael A. O'Pake's office about a "McCain" bumper sticker she spotted on a borough dump truck.
Representatives from the Reading Democrat's office called Nowotarski to make sure that he knew municipalities weren't allowed to show support for political candidates.
Nowotarski said he was shocked by the news and immediately got in touch with the borough road crew. After a brief chat, he headed out to take a look at the truck. Sure enough, he saw the sticker just above the truck's cab. It was a small sign that read, "McClain Galion."
"She apparently misread it," Nowotarski said. "It was the name of the company that made the truck body."
There is also a "McClain Galion" sign on the tailgate.
PAKISTANI police raided a child marriage ceremony in the city of Karachi and arrested a cleric who was presiding over the wedding of a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, police and residents said.
Pakistani law says people must be 18 to marry but some Islamic laws allow girls to marry after puberty. Despite the laws, young girls are often given away in marriage to settle disputes or pay off debts.
Police said they raided a house on Thursday evening following complaints from residents, including a former district government official, Nazakat Hussain, who said the girl was being married off by her father for about 500,000 rupees ($6138).
"We had noticed some gatherings at this house for a couple of days. Last night I went there and saw that the little girl was actually getting married. So we called the police," Mr Hassan told Reuters.
Some other residents said the marriage was taking place to resolve a long-standing family dispute. Police said they had arrested the boy's father but the girl's father had run away.
Vietnam is considering new regulation that would ban anyone with a chest smaller than 28 inches from operating a motorbike.
The new proposals are very funny, but many Vietnamese people could become the victim of this joke, said Le Quang Minh, 31, a Hanoi stockbroker. Many Vietnamese women have small chests. I have many friends who wont meet these criteria.
Many people see the regulation as silly and have joked that from now on, padded bras will be best-sellers.
It in unclear how this new ban is expected to help some of the most dangerous streets in the world.
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.
Boston (MA) - Scientists at MIT have recorded a nearly simultaneous world-wide increase in methane levels. This is the first increase in ten years, and what baffles science is that this data contradicts theories stating man is the primary source of increase for this greenhouse gas. It takes about one full year for gases generated in the highly industrial northern hemisphere to cycle through and reach the southern hemisphere. However, since all worldwide levels rose simultaneously throughout the same year, it is now believed this may be part of a natural cycle in mother nature - and not the direct result of man's contributions.
QUANTICO, Virginia (CNN) -- Motorcycle accidents have killed more Marines in the past 12 months than enemy fire in Iraq, a rate that's so alarming it has prompted top brass to call a meeting to address the issue, officials say.
BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MaineMeteorologists are baffled by rapid tidal changes along the Maine coast, which damaged some boats and piers.
Mount Penn not picking candidate with sign on truck
