DETROIT (AP) -- A 16-year-old girl who tricked her parents into getting her a passport and then flew to the Mideast to be with a man she met on MySpace.com has returned to Michigan. Because we all know you can't meet an nice Arab boy in that state....
U.S. officials in Jordan persuaded Katherine R. Lester to turn around and go home before she reached the West Bank. Lester arrived at Bishop International Airport in Flint late Friday and was taken to a private area to be reunited with her family. She disappeared Monday after talking her parents into getting her a passport by saying she was going to Canada with friends, sheriff's officials said. "'Cause, like, all that stuff you hear about going to Canada with just a drivers' license is crap, Mom! Really! By the way, can I borrow your American Express or Mastercard number? I need it for bus fare to Jericho. It's in Ontario, right."
She apparently planned to visit a man whose MySpace account describes him as a 25-year-old from Jericho, Undersheriff James Jashinske said. Lester apparently contacted the man from Jericho about three months ago, Jashinske said. Jericho, a city of 17,000, is a relatively calm area of the volatile West Bank. "Why, we only have somethin' go boom around here maybe once a week...."
The FBI traced the teenager to a Wednesday flight from New York's Kennedy Airport to Tel Aviv, Israel. At a scheduled stop in Amman, Jordan, U.S. officials persuaded her to return home, FBI agent Robert Beeckman said. "Thank God she was returned safely," Lester's father said Friday afternoon while awaiting her arrival.
Terry Lester said his daughter is a straight-A student and student council member. "She's a good girl. Never had a problem with her," he said.
MySpace forbids youngsters 13 and under from joining and provides special protections for those 14 and 15 - only people on their list of friends can view their profiles. Older users also have the option of restricting certain personal data so it can be seen only by people they have identified as friends.
Shawn Lester told The Saginaw News that her daughter has "never given me a day's trouble. ... I just don't understand with all these new laws protecting America how a 16-year-old kid could get out of the country." Hmm, Honey....maybe *you* could be partly to blame....getting her the passport and not paying attention to where she got the money for airfare? Ya think?
She said her daughter never had a boyfriend and seemed to be content with that. Considering how aware she is of the rest of her daughter's life, I wouldn't be so sure about that....
Katherine and her mother live in Gilford, a village about 80 miles north of Detroit in Michigan's agricultural Thumb region. Her father lives in Grand Blanc Township.
#3
That shows how low some of the Brits have gone--400,000 pounds for a statue of a murdering racist with strong communist leanings. I suspect the folks in Bladon have long since gotten used to a loud 50 Hz hum emanating from Winston Churchill's grave.
Posted by: mac ||
06/11/2006 2:25 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Just outside the main entrance to the Voortrekker monument?
#5
Sorry folks, disagree. Mandela was a great man and helped solve a problem that could have exploded into millions of deaths. He's not a murderer, nor is he a racist. I salute the man and I hope they find an appropriate place for the statue -- but not near Nelson.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2006 10:06 Comments ||
Top||
#6
"Mandela was a great man..."
*snort*
Barkeep, I'll take one of whatever he's drinking. 190 proof Old Hyperbole? Sure, okay.
#7
Despite the PC media's never ending campaign to make Mandela out as a great man, any unbiased examination of his life would conclude he's an enemy of democracy and a marxist. It's a favorite tactic of the left to say that if you critize Mandela you are a racist and pro-apartheid. Wrong. You can criticize Mandela and expose his lies while at the same time be opposed to racism and apartheid.
#8
SW - he's SA's McCain - mayb he should be he should be honored for past deeds, but not later actions: his later praise and courtship of the worst thugs and dictators in Africa and the ME have squandered any good feelings I may have. He and Winnie? F*ck em both, and Tutu as well.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2006 13:36 Comments ||
Top||
#9
I disagree, Steve. While ending apartheid was important, Mr. Mandela is an antisemitic, black racist and an unreconstructed Soviet-style Communist, with absolutely appalling taste in wives, and a revealing taste in friends.
#10
Well, thats a bitch-slap for my most fave Moderator after Sea. And, no, I have no hidden agenda, I'm sure you know what I think from my silly name.
#13
Methinks TW and SW are both correct. He was what TW said, then he did what SW said. It coulda been a blodbath of epic proportions, but Mandela didn't need a bloody revolution.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2006 17:11 Comments ||
Top||
#17
I was corresponding with two or three people in South Africa for several years, until both couples and their families left for fear of their life. One was white, fifth-generation South African, and a college professor. The other was a fourth-generation descendant of the Boers. Both left because things got so bad under Mandela they feared for their lives, and certainly knew they wouldn't be allowed to maintain their current lifestyles. I don't hold Nelson Mandela in any high regards, and his ANC party was certainly bloodthirsty enough, or has everyone forgotten the Soweto riots? A proper place for Mandela's statue is in front of Canterbury Cathedral, but only if his head is bowed in shame.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/11/2006 17:21 Comments ||
Top||
#18
It has gotten much worse in the last few years Patriot. Serious crime is at epic proportions and farmland siezure is taking place in some areas. Farm families are being murdered and gangs of young heathen rob petrol stations and kill attendants and customers with AK assault rifles in broad daylight. Due to the governments BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) policy, jobs for young while people are rare indeed. The most sought after document in all of South Africa is an American Green card. The South African government openly supports Robert Mugabe and his regime. They're cut from the same ANC cloth, purely communist through and through. Those who speak of a "bloodbath" under apartheid are delusional liberals, and historical revisionists. "Bloodbaths" are happening now in Zim and throughout Africa. Do not blame the colonizers, they brought civilization. When they are gone, civilization will be gone as well.
IN Spain they say "Say me who you join and I will tell you who you are. Mandela married Winnie.
Still unconvinced that Mandela is not what TW says? Mandela has told things like "Al Quaida guys should be judged by Muslims", routijnely criticizes Israel but NEVER, EVER has told anything about genocide in Soudan. I find this funny athat the supposed Black militant attaches so little importance to Black lives.
#21
Mandela was not a racist he was consistant with his belief in a multicultural rainbow state. Africa however is such a cesspool of violence, poverty, misery, incompetence, despair and such a black hole for money that all its peoples hope's and aspirations will wither and die unless we have the political will to enforce order with western soldiers & arms and that's unlikely to happen in our lifetime.
NICOSIA - Cyprus said on Saturday it was keeping its options open on whether it would agree or not to allow European Union membership negotiations with Turkey to proceed.
On Friday, EU ambassadors failed to reach agreement on starting detailed entry talks with Turkey next week because of discord centred on Cyprus. EU foreign ministers will now tackle the thorny issue on Monday, hours before the planned start of negotiations in Luxembourg.
However, Nicosia is keeping its cards close it chest over the possible use of its veto option. Official Cypriot government policy is that it wants Turkey to join the 25-member bloc but only if Ankara meets all EU criteria, including an obligation to normalise relations with Cyprus.
The ambassadors had hoped to clear the way for the talks to start eight months after a landmark EU accord to launch Ankara on the path to eventual EU membership, despite public skepticism. But, apparently, Cyprus refused to agree as long as Turkey refused formally to recognize it and fully implement the so-called Ankara protocol.
Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iacovou said Europe would be sending the wrong message if Turkey were allowed to close a chapter when it had not honoured a customs protocol, signed last year, to allow Cyprus ships and aircraft to enter Turkey.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11123 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted verbatim from the Post website.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said here Saturday that he will seek greater transparency from the Bush administration about possible threats posed by Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. He said he wants to prevent possible misuse of intelligence as the administration deals with the crisis.
Speaking before a partisan audience of Internet bloggers and Democratic activists, Reid said he plans to introduce legislation next week that would require a new national intelligence estimate for Iran, along with an unclassified summary that could form the basis for a public debate about possible action if Tehran continues to seek nuclear weapons.
He also said he will require Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte to demonstrate that he has in place a process to review public statements by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other officials with regard to Iran. Many Democrats allege that Bush and Cheney manipulated intelligence in making the public case for war with Iraq.
"We face many threats -- threats that have grown worse -- because this administration took its eye off the ball," he said in remarks prepared for delivery. "We must address these threats, but we must not be manipulated into acting for ideological or political gain."
He urged the Senate intelligence committee to complete its investigation into the use of prewar intelligence, a probe that led to a brief but bitter shutdown of the Senate by Reid and other Democrats last November. "What we need to know -- and still don't know today -- is whether the White House intentionally cherry-picked and politicized intelligence to sell the war," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2006 10:07 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Select:
Fake, But Accurate
Wisful Thinking
Freudian Slip
Or simply that famous WaPo fact-checking we've all come to know and love...
#3
11:20 am CDT: still the Majority Leader. I sent an e-mail to the writer; let's see how long it takes.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2006 12:17 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Harry, you really are a donkey (or ass) through and through. And, thanks to your mindless utterings, you will never be Senate majority leader. And, your wacko compatriot Pelosi, is completely out of her mind if she thinks any rational Americans wanting her heading up the House. She can't even reign in a law breaker like Rep. Jefferson. She has to bargain. What a ntural born leader.
#7
However, he didn't respond yet to my kind e-mail. Don't know whether it was me or whether it was one of a (I suspect) thousand others.
And no stated correction on the article. You'd think they could do that in the e-version. Wonder if they'll have a print correction in the next day or so?
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2006 15:42 Comments ||
Top||
#8
don't count on it...WaPo will let Howard Kurtz write about it, but they rarely admit misteaks mistakes
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2006 15:47 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Reid is an idiot and not likely to get any better.
#10
I wouldn't have expected the august Washington Post to actually respond to your note, Steve. That they made the change, even unacknowledged, is all we could ever expect. Possibly the error will be mentioned in tomorrow's dead tree paper, but I would be surprised to see mention of what I'm sure they think of as a typo.
#11
Re: Message via washingtonpost.com
From: "Dan Balz" Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: "notbob dobbs"
Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2006 19:59:07 -0400
Dumb mistake by me that got by everybody except readers like you. Thanks for pointing it out.
-----notbob dobbs wrote: -----
To: balzd@washpost.com
From: notbob dobbs
Date: 06/11/2006 12:37PM
Subject: Message via washingtonpost.com
notbob dobbs sent the following message:
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid
Not likely!
Minority...
You can't promote him just because you agree with him.
The Democratic National Committee plans to return $5,000 in campaign contributions from two Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP partners who were indicted last month, a party spokeswoman said on Friday.
Tell us more about that "culture of corruption."
The Milberg Weiss firm, known for its class-action securities lawsuits against major corporations, and attorneys David Bershad and Steven Schulman were indicted last month by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles for orchestrating a kickback scheme in which it paid clients for acting as plaintiffs in its lawsuits. All have denied the allegations. "The DNC will return checks from partners David Bershad and Steven Schulman because they were indicted and because the indictment happened in the cycle that we received their checks," said DNC spokeswoman Stacie Paxton.
Since 1999, the firm and individuals there have given $2.78 million in campaign donations to Democrats, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics. In contrast, Republicans received about $22,000, according to the center.
From 1999 to 2006, the Democratic National Committee was one of the primary beneficiaries, receiving almost half the money, $1.28 million. Most of that was from the firm itself and included $500,000 for the DNC's new headquarters. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic candidate to become the state's governor, planned to return $124,455 in contributions, his office said last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
So...of the $2.78 milion lavished on the Democrat party, they will only be returning $129,455?
#2
"The DNC will return checks from partners David Bershad and Steven Schulman because they were indicted and because the indictment happened in the cycle that we received their checks"
For them to re-issue dated earlier than their indictments, of course.
#3
These scumsuckers with their partner Lerach damaged or destroyed many a hi-tech company in the '90's. Hope they find the bastards guilty and they go to jail for a LOONNGG time.
NEW DELHI - The Indian government has ordered six music channels to broadcast an apology for showing indecent videos and pull them from their playlists, an official said on Saturday. The US-based MTV and Channel [V] of the Hong Kong-based Star Group are among six channels subject to the order issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting.
Toldya the Madonna thing with the cross went too far ...
The ministry has asked six channels to run a scroll for three days to apologise for videos which violated the programming code, a ministry spokesman told AFP. The stations have been told to start running the message from Monday.
The ministry said it was forced to take action after getting complaints from activists and viewers about objectionable videos containing sexually suggestive images and promoting smoking and drinking, the official said. He did not give specific examples of videos that had offended viewers.
I want to see the video.
If the networks failed to run the public apology, cable operators would be told to refuse to carry them, the ministry spokesman said, noting that videos had to be cleared by government censors.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
He did not give specific examples of videos that had offended viewers.
Sounds like he's still researching them thoroughly.
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.
The Democratic National Committee plans to return $5,000 in campaign contributions from two Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP partners who were indicted last month, a party spokeswoman said on Friday.
NEW DELHI - The Indian government has ordered six music channels to broadcast an apology for showing indecent videos and pull them from their playlists, an official said on Saturday. The US-based MTV and Channel [V] of the Hong Kong-based Star Group are among six channels subject to the order issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting.
