GARFIELD COUNTY, Utah With all of the recent marijuana grow seizures in Utah, a large bear in Garfield County decided to help "attack" the problem.
On Tuesday, Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins, sheriff deputies and U.S. Forest Service personnel discovered a marijuana grow on the east side of Durfey Creek on Boulder Mountain. But what makes this grow different is that it had been initially raided by a giant bear.
Deputies found pipes chewed in half, food containers ripped apart and strewn everywhere, cans with bear teeth marks all over them, claw marks and bear prints across the camp, including giant bear claw scratches where people typically carve their name into a tree.
"This bear is definitely law-enforcement minded," Perkins said. "If I can find this bear, I'm going to deputize him."
Egyptian billionaire and key politician Hisham Talaat Mustafa was charged on Tuesday with paying two million dollars for the brutal killing of Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim, reportedly his ex-lover.
Mustafa was arrested last week and charged yesterday with ordering the murder of Tamim at her luxury apartment in Dubai on July 28, Egyptian prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmud said in a statement carried by the official MENA news agency.
Tamim, 30, who rose to fame after winning a Lebanese talent show in 1996 but recently had disappeared from the public eye, was stabbed several times and her throat cut, allegedly by a retired policemen paid by Mustafa.
Mustafa, a key member of the ruling National Democratic Party and member of the Shura Council ( senate) , Egypt's upper house of parliament, chairs the multibillion dollar Talaat Mustafa Group real estate conglomerate. He is also said to be close to President Hosni Mubarak's son and heir apparent Gamal Mubarak.
A judicial source said Mustafa, who was born in 1959 in Alexandria , was actually arrested middle of last week after the prosecution ordered the Shura Council Speaker Safwat Al-Sherif lift his parliamentary immunity. Retired Egyptian intelligence officer Mohsen al-Sukari has also been arrested and charged with carrying out the murder, the prosecutor said. Local media said Sukari worked as a security contractor for various Egyptian companies.
Mustafa allegedly paid Sukari two million dollars in cash in advance to go to Dubai and murder her at her apartment in Dubai. He bought a knife, went to her flat saying he worked for the building owner and stabbed the singer to death when she opened the door, the prosecutor said.
Tamim's life had been marred by domestic disputes, including a rocky marriage with her second husband and agent who had accused her in 2004 of being behind an attempt on his life. Tamim was buried in Beirut Lebanon in early August 2008.
Egyptian media said Tamim had a relationship with Mustafa about a three-year period which ended several months ago. The singer then left Egypt for London before moving to Dubai.
In August, an edition of Egyptian daily Al-Dustur was seized after it said an unidentified "important Egyptian figure" was involved in the murder. The article alleged that a former Egyptian police officer as well as two hotel security officials had confessed to killing the singer for an Egyptian client.
Al-Dustur's managing editor Ibrahim Eissa was referred to public prosecutors for breaking a ban on publishing articles about the case, a judicial source said. The source said that the public prosecutor had banned the media from reporting on the investigation into the singer's death as it was still in progress.
Mustafa is the youngest son of the founder of the group of 30 companies, Talaat Mustafa, according to the company website. The company is involved in construction, property and luxury tourist developments as well as land reclamation and agriculture. The younger Mustafa is described as an accountant by training with "an excellent mix between practical and academic experience."
Shares in Talaat Mustafa Group, which were initially offered at 11 Egyptian pounds (around two dollars) in November, were trading down sharply at 4,99 pounds on the Egyptian Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
This article starring:
Suzanne Tamim
Hisham Talaat Mustafa
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Tonight on "Intervention"...
BEIJING - An Asian elephant that became addicted to heroin at the hands of illegal traders will return home after a three-year rehab program, Chinese state media said Thursday. Which puts him one up on Amy Winehouse...
Xiguang, a 4-year-old male Asian elephant, became addicted after he was captured by smugglers along the Chinese-Myanmar border in March 2005. The traders fed the elephant bananas laced with heroin as bait and to pacify the creature, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Yeah, wouldn't wanna see him cranky I suppose...
When Xiguang was found two months later along with six other captured elephants in China's southwest, he was suffering from withdrawal and was sent to a protection center in China's tropical Hainan island. I need it, man!!!
Xiguang received daily methadone injections in doses five times larger than those given to a human and has now fully recovered, Xinhua said. They should open up a branch in Malibu. They'd make millions...
He is expected to return to the Yunnan Wild Animal Park in the capital of Yunnan province, Kunming, on Saturday. Don't succumb to peer pressure, Xiguang. We're all proud of you. Thanks man. Say, you got any bananas?
The Asian elephant is threatened with extinction, according to the World Wildlife Fund conservation group, with only 25,600 to 32,750 left in the wild of Asia's tropical forests -- fewer than a tenth of the number of wild African elephants. I wonder how many of them are addicted to p0rn?
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/04/2008 16:00 Comments ||
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#2
You don't be messin' around with an elephant that is jonesing. It's long been known that once elephants get a taste for the beer brewed in some African villages that they will do anything for more, and often in groups, destroying the village.
Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Egypt's illustrious former president, is the subject of a new television series, but Egyptians will not be able to see it this Ramadan following a ban that local press attribute to government fears of public incitement.
Press reports accused the Egyptian Information Ministry of banning the television series 'Nasser' about the late president from official channels for political reasons and out of fear of inciting public anger at a time of hardship for average Egyptians. Last year a Ramadan series on King Farouk also stirred controversy but was not banned.
Minister of Information Anas al-Fiqi denied allegations that the government is worried about inciting public anger and labeled them "naïve" given that the Radio and Television Union, an official body, had produced a movie about the late president.
Fiqi told the semi-official Al-Gomhuria newspaper that the series is not fit for Ramadan since most of the series aired at that time are basically for entertainment.
"This is a series that requires careful and analytical watching and it is not proper to put a leader as important as Nasser amongst a group of entertainment series," Fiqi was quoted as saying.
The 'Nasser' series tells the story of his life from 1926 until his death in 1970.
Writer Youssri al-Gindi refused to attribute the ban to government fears that it would mobilize people and incite rebellion against the current political and economic situation in Egypt: "It doesn't make any sense that a T.V. series would incite rebellion even if people sympathize with it," he said.
Producer of the series Mohamed Fawzi expressed his surprise about that ban, noting that a large selection of television series air during Ramadan, including historical, social and dramatic programs.
Syrian-Palestinian director of the series Bassel al-Khateeb, responding to rumors that the series was banned because he is not Egyptian, said that such allegations hinder a true understanding of the character's depth.
"Nasser is not an Egyptian figure," said Khateeb. "He is an Arab leader who left his mark on the entire Arab world and not only on contemporary Egyptian history."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The Prophet did not watch TV at all during Ramadan. Why do modern Muslims watch TV during Ramadan?
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
09/04/2008 15:14 Comments ||
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Adios, Kwame...
DETROIT - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has agreed to plead guilty to obstruction charges and will step down after more than six years leading the nation's 11th-largest city.
The plea deal was announced during a court hearing Thursday and brings to an end a seven-months-long sex scandal that led to felony charges against Kilpatrick and plunged the city, region and state into political chaos.
As part of the plea deal, the 38-year-old Democrat is expected to serve jail time. Third paragraph. Not bad for AP...
The married mayor and former top aide Christine Beatty were charged in March with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice. They're accused of lying under oath about an affair and their roles in the firing of a deputy police chief. Beatty did not plead guilty and next will appear in court on Sept. 11. And another Democratic bright light is snuffed out...
#1
the 38-year-old Democrat is expected to serve jail time.
It's ABOUT time. If all the Dems who fully merited being in jail were actually IN jail, there wouldn't have been enough of them walking the streets to HAVE a convention. They'd have had to have it at the Graybar Hotel.
Kwame, I'm glad to see you got some of what you so royally deserve. Pity you can't be joined by Marion "Crack Pipe" Barry, Jesse "Love Child" Jackson, William "Cold Cash" Jefferson and Tawana Sharpton. They deserve the clink just as much as you do.
Take a case of KY when you go. You'll be needing it.
funny thing, in the Detroit Pree Press on-line article, party affiliation is never mentioned. but then i guess criminal deeds and party affiliation go together like Briggs and Stratton....
#6
Hey, this is just another case of the Man bringing down an up and coming brother. (Well, actually, the governor is a woman (and a Democrat).) But you know what I mean.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
09/04/2008 15:08 Comments ||
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#7
Hey USN Ret, the DFP is the local rag. They no more have to spell out the party of a corrupt pol then they would have to spell out the race of a KKK leader.
#8
Alan, I know, but there are some outside of the Motor City that still read it (at least for the Tiger box scores; sure miss George Kell and Ernie Harwell,BTW.)
Sen. Joe Lieberman's speech before the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night could cost him the chairmanship of a key Senate committee, a top Senate Democratic aide told CNN. "But we're not babies!"
During the speech, the Connecticut senator praised GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and criticized Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
"The Democratic Caucus will reassess the situation with Sen. Lieberman after the election," Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said Wednesday. Which should give them ample time to try to get Lieberman to recant.
Lieberman, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000, now calls himself an "independent Democrat," but he remains a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus, which allows him to head the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Democrats have grumbled for months about Lieberman's outspoken support of McCain, and both Reid and Obama have warned Lieberman to curb his public criticism of Obama. "What we saw last night was a culmination of provocative efforts in recent months," said a Democratic leadership aide.
Democrats, who with Lieberman's support control the chamber by a narrow 51-49 margin, are unlikely to go a step further and boot Lieberman from their caucus, although the Democratic leadership aide didn't rule out that punitive step if Democrats pick up several seats in November. Ah, c'mon. Perhaps you could take up a collection on your side of the aisle and put together something that passes for a backbone for a change. Pi$$ him off already. See how far it'll take you babies. Unless you're scared, that is.
During his address to Republicans, Lieberman said, "Sen. Barack Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who I think can do great things for our country in the years ahead, but, my friends, eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times for America."
That comment, and Lieberman's suggestion that Obama had not reached across the aisle to work with Republicans in the Senate, drew the ire of Democrats, who accused their 2000 vice presidential nominee of lying about their nominee. Gee. I guess we'll have to haul out the records and have a look for ourselves.
"Joe Lieberman ought to be ashamed of himself for some of the things he said tonight, not as a Democrat but as an American," Obama adviser Robert Gibbs said. ???
"I think [Lieberman] owes it to the American people to look into the camera and tell them the truth," he added. You mean the "truth", don't you?
After Lieberman completed his speech, Reid let it be known Tuesday night that he thought Lieberman had gone over the line. Whatcha gonna do about it, oh Whiny One?
"As the American people have made very clear, the last thing this country needs is another four years of the same old failed Bush-McCain policies of the past," Manley said. Gee, well then why don't you just STFU and let them say it themselves if it's so obvious? Or can't they figure it out without your "help"?
Reacting to Lieberman's comments, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former Democratic presidential candidate, called the independent senator's comments "sad." "I've known Joe Lieberman for a long time," Richardson said. "I'm just frankly so surprised at the almost violent transformation he's taken. Nothing has changed. You have simply become aware of it. I wouldn't be too surprised to see him sitting on the proper side of the aisle pretty soon.
"You know, it's a little bit sad, because Joe Lieberman has been a distinguished public servant." He still is.
#1
The last principled Democrat. And if McCain wins and then the Republicans regain control of the Senate we could see them giving him back a chairmanship (of an appropriate committee).
#2
Methinks they shouldn't be quite so vocal on the revenge moves they will make. Biden says they will prosecute Bush and his staff. Not a goood move to announce your scorched earth plans this early.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/04/2008 9:27 Comments ||
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Crew on an Air India passenger jet discovered a snake coiled up under a seat and were unable to catch it as it slithered around the plane, the airline said on Thursday. The snake was disturbed during a routine check on the Air India A319 aircraft, which had landed at Delhi airport after a domestic flight from Srinagar.
It evaded capture by slipping into an air vent and could not be found even when staff unscrewed panels inside the fuselage, opened all the doors and fumigated the plane.
"There was commotion which scared the snake and it went further inside," an airport official quoted.
Reports that the snake was a venomous cobra were denied by an Air India spokesman. "The aircraft was parked at Delhi airport for maintenance purposes. There was a snake but not a cobra," he told. "We have no details of what kind of a snake it was, or where it is now. We have taken up this matter with Delhi airport authorities."
He denied reports that the snake had caused the plane to be grounded or that its next flight, to Mumbai, had been delayed.
The incident, which occurred on Monday, echoed the plot of 2006 hit film "Snakes on a Plane" starring Samuel L Jackson and Julianna Margulies
Posted by: john frum ||
09/04/2008 07:38 ||
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#1
Okay, someone has to do this:
"I'm tired of all these m************ snakes on this m************ plane!"
Posted by: Mike ||
09/04/2008 9:22 Comments ||
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#2
Coach or first class?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/04/2008 9:40 Comments ||
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#3
"Coach or first class?"
Wonder if this snake was counted as the free carry on or was an extra charge?
#4
One sure way to get rid of the snake (if not its body): fly the airplane up to altitude without passengers. Have the flight crew put on oxygen masks. Depressurize the cabin. End of living snake problem.
Of course, after a few days you have the problem of a rotting snake corpse somewhere in the ventilation system, but at least you don't have to worry about anybody getting bitten.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
09/04/2008 15:11 Comments ||
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#5
Forget that, Rambler. Just get Samuel L Jackson to get medieval on the snake's ass.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/04/2008 16:01 Comments ||
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A medical team, headed by a senior female police surgeon on Wednesday issued the initial autopsy report of two girls killed for honour, saying that the cause of their death was wounds from blunt weapons. Stone axes, no doubt.
Talking to reporters, Dr Shameem Mishwani said that both the bodies were buried in a two-feet deep ditch far from their home and their broken skulls and ribs showed that they were badly tortured and hit in the heads with a rod or a stone, which probably caused their deaths, APP reported.
Blood and hair samples and pieces of clothes of the victims have been obtained and would be sent to Lahore for a DNA test tomorrow (Thursday), she said.
However, the police are completely clueless about the grave of the third girl who was also killed in the same incident. Although Islamabad-based media and human rights organisations issued a report of the killing of five girls, the actual number of girls killed, a local journalist said, was three.
Investigations: A committee of the federal government, headed by National Police Bureau (NPB) Director General Tariq Masood Khosa, has still not reached the area and local police was quoted as saying that the team was unlikely to arrive in Naseerabad for investigations.
"The federal government team would come only if it does not have faith in the report issued by the provincial police," said Sibi-Naseerabad Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Ghulam Shabbir Sheikh, who has been in the area for the past many days. Sheikh said that until now, the federal government had raised no objections to their report and he did not have the schedule of Khosa's visit to Balochistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Stone axes, no doubt.
That would require intelligence. Probably just a rock.
KARACHI -Two unidentified robbers were caught, badly thrashed and then torched to death by angry residents late on Tuesday night in the low income area of Buffer Zone. Crime Does Not Pay - in THE ZONE!
According to eyewitnesses, two armed men on a motorbike mugged one Mohammed Riaz and were fleeing when they were caught by dozens of residents of the locality.
"Spoked wheels don't feel us now ... oh rats ...."
First the enraged people beat up the two robbers severely and later set them on fire.
"Hey! What's with the gasoline?!!"
"Beating ain't good enough for yass!"
A police party was rushed to the scene who shifted the two men to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced dead due to multiple injuries and burns to their bodies.
Police took some of the men involved in the incident into custody and booked them for taking part in the death of two the men.
This is not the first time that angry residents have torched alleged robbers to death in the city where everyday hundreds of people are mugged and at times are killed at the hands of armed robbers.
And if you punish enough robbers you can get a job at the RAB ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Certainly reduces the recidivism rate and keeps the incarceration expenses down.
#2
But still is barbaric - what's up with people from the third world and setting men on fire or splashing women with acid? We've had "incidents" like those in France, notably one where a (white) security guard at a mall was doused with gazoline and horribly disfigured by a mob of (black) youths, because they saw him as a "racist".
Anyway, back on this one, trouble is, the mentality behind it is exactly the same that allows mobs to go on rampage in minorities neighbourhood, or to put bombs in "heretical" places of worship.
"Cool" as it might be from a macho pov, this still is barbaric and primitive, and the symptom of a dysfunctional society. I have no prob with law or paralegal elements being empowered to deal with criminals in the harshest way (but beware whom the "law" terms as criminal, revolutions tend to produce weird and abusive definitions of that, just think of France or russia), but mob lynching is not an healthy response IMHO.
#8
This is what happens when law enforcement is unable or unwilling to protect the citizens. The robbers will be served vigilante justice, which may or may not be fair and orderly.
Some are shot, some are beaten to death, some are flambeau. That is vigilantism.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/04/2008 19:22 Comments ||
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#9
Kingsford sez: this is wrong.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/04/2008 21:25 Comments ||
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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.
GARFIELD COUNTY, Utah With all of the recent marijuana grow seizures in Utah, a large bear in Garfield County decided to help "attack" the problem.
Egyptian billionaire and key politician 
Sen. Joe Lieberman's speech before the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night could cost him the chairmanship of a key Senate committee, a top Senate Democratic aide told CNN.
A medical team, headed by a senior female police surgeon on Wednesday issued the initial autopsy report of two girls killed for honour, saying that the cause of their death was wounds from blunt weapons.
