Interesting News

[jamesglewisf]

If you read about an interesting news story somewhere but don't think it deserves its own thread, post a synopsis of it here.

[jamesglewisf]

Did you hear about the armed thieves who held museum guards at gunpoint with machine guns, then stole three paintings worth $30m, and escaped in a motor boat?

It happened at Sweden's National Museum in Stockholm. They stole two Renoir's and a Rembrandt.

That sounds like it is straight out of a movie.

Read more at BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1083000/1083831.stm).

[jamesglewisf]

http://www.msnbc.com reportsPresident Bill Clinton granted clemency Friday to 62 people, including Dan Rostenkowski, a powerhouse in the U.S. Congress before he was sent to prison for mail fraud in 1996. Rostenkowski’s pardon was a surprise; his name was not among those floating about town in recent weeks as Clinton’s presidency draws to an end.I looked all over the news services, but couldn't find whether or not this is normal. It seems like I read somewhere that many Presidents grant pardons on their way out.

Anyhow, I just thought this was interesting.

[jamesglewisf]

http://foxnews.com/science/junkscience/index.sml reportsThe public health establishment just released two studies reporting no association between cell phone use and brain cancer.

The studies should squelch Angelos' hopes of a billion-dollar payday via a lawsuit against the cell phone industry.

A Journal of the American Medical Association study (Dec. 20) compared cell phone use among 469 subjects with brain cancer (cases) and 422 matched controls without brain cancer. Median monthly cell phone use was 2.5 hours among the cases and 2.2 hours among the controls.

Cell phone use wasn't statistically associated with brain cancer risk regardless of amount of cell phone use, location of brain tumor or type of brain tumor. The study was funded by the cell phone industry and the U.S. Public Health Service.

A New England Journal of Medicine study (to be published Jan. 11) compared cell phone use among 782 brain tumor cases and 799 controls. There was no evidence of increased risk of brain tumors among those who used cell phones for one or more hours per day or regularly for five years, or whose cumulative use exceeded 100 hours. The study was conducted by the National Cancer Institute.

"In all of the available scientific literature, there is nothing that indicates any adverse health effects from using cell phones," added Russell Owen, chief of the Food and Drug Administration's radiation biology branch.

[blinc]

This story just enrages me. {flame}

These kids were old enough to know that dropping 18 lb rocks on cars from an overpass, could kill someone. The lawyer making excuses... Arrgh! I'm glad to see the 15 year old didn't get away with a slap on the wrist, like he probably would have got here in the U.S.

Teens convicted of stoning murders

Prosecutors demanded 10-year sentences
December 22, 2000

DARMSTADT, Germany -- Three American teenagers have been convicted of murdering two women by dropping stones onto their cars from a road bridge.

A Hesse state court sentenced the eldest defendant, 18, to eight-and-a-half years, the next oldest, now 18, to eight years and the youngest, now 15, to seven years.

The trio, all sons of U.S. soldiers stationed in Germany, were also convicted of endangering traffic. Prosecutors had demanded the maximum 10 years.

The trial was closed to the public because the defendants -- aged 14, 17 and 18 at the time of the attacks -- were tried as juveniles.

They did not deny dropping heavy stones on passing cars from a road bridge last February 27. Six cars were hit, injuring four people and killing Sandra Ottmann, 20, and Karin Rothermel, 41.

Their lawyers argued it was an ill-conceived contest to see who could hit moving vehicles without consideration of the danger they posed.

Prosecutors said they started dropping small stones then chose rocks as heavy as 8kg (18 pounds).

Defence lawyer Ulrich Endres told reporters after closing arguments: "They didn't want to kill anyone. They wanted to hit vehicles.

"They're visibly suffering from the consequences of what they have done."

Prosecutor Manfred Vogel had demanded the maximum 10 years in prison because of the grave consequences of their actions and because they persisted in throwing gradually larger objects onto the highway.

Under German law, minors convicted of crimes are held in a juvenile facility until their 24th birthday, when a court may decide to transfer them to an adult prison.

[jamesglewisf]

They definitely should be punished big time. I don't like the "Gee, I didn't know it would kill anybody" argument. Who cares what they thought. They intentionally dropped the rocks on cars, and it killed two people.

[jamesglewisf]

http://www.foxnews.com reportingThree cops convicted in the worst corruption scandal in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department are today all free men.

In a dramatic turnaround, a judge threw out the convictions, saying the jury had improperly focused on an issue which was never raised in the trial.

Justice Jacqueline Connor freed Los Angeles Police Department Sgts. Edward Ortiz, Brian Liddy and Officer Michael Buchanan, who were convicted last month of conspiracy and other charges involving framing gang members. Boy, this kind of thing really annoys me. I wonder if we'll get rioting in the streets over this one. Those dirty cops need to rot in jail.

[Karenluvs6]

It amazes me, what ppl can get away with, just because of one jury member....makes you wonder about other cases, doesn't it?
how many rapists, murderers and child molestors are out there running around like normal ppl....just because someone didn't focus on a certain point...or something stupid like that!

[jamesglewisf]

Originally posted by jamesglewisf
http://www.msnbc.com reportsPresident Bill Clinton granted clemency Friday to 62 people, including Dan Rostenkowski, a powerhouse in the U.S. Congress before he was sent to prison for mail fraud in 1996. Rostenkowski’s pardon was a surprise; his name was not among those floating about town in recent weeks as Clinton’s presidency draws to an end.I looked all over the news services, but couldn't find whether or not this is normal. It seems like I read somewhere that many Presidents grant pardons on their way out.

Anyhow, I just thought this was interesting. Before he left office, Clinton granted pardons to 140 more people. Some of the names include: Roger Clinton (his brother)
Henry Cisneros
Susan McDougal
John Deutch
Patty Hearst
Peter MacDonaldRead all about it at CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/stories/01/20/clinton.pardon/index.html).

[jamesglewisf]

Here is the complete list of commutations and pardons:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/012001/clinton_pardon_list.sml

[jamesglewisf]

This one is really weird:

http://www.foxnews.com/national/011901/mcveigh.smlOKLAHOMA[/url] CIY — The government is sending out letters to 1,100 people asking if they want to attend the May 16 execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Did anybody get an invitation? What would you do if you got one?

[keithster]

A few years ago, a mass murderer in CA was about to be executed. The news was reporting that pro and con groups would be gathered outside with candlelight vigils.

A talk show host was discussing with callers how it would turn into a circus on both sides. He read an invitation to a hanging from about 140 years ago. The invitation was quite somber and conveyed the gravity of the event and the need for it. It also stated that anyone attending would behave in a civilized, somber manner.

Today, these things turn into media events. How long before there's an execution on Pay-Per-Veiw?

[jamesglewisf]

Pioneering work by Italian scientists on a possible AIDS vaccine is reaching a crucial stage with the treatment ready for human testing, the head of the project said on Friday.This sure is promising news.

Read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/AIDS/01/19/aids.vaccine.reut/index.html

[RoadRunner]

abcnews.com (http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/polzin010119.html) reporting:Dagmar Polzin doesn't care what other people think. What matters most to her is saving the life of the man she loves … even if he is a convicted killer on death row she first saw in a Benetton fashion ad in Germany.

Wearing a black dress and still visibly tense after an appearance on television earlier this week, she brushed her blonde-streaked hair to the side and folded her hands in the dressing room she shared with her attorney as she tried to explain her most unusual love affair. So what if she gave up her life in Germany and moved to North Carolina to be near a man she barely knows? Polzin says she loves condemned prisoner Bobby Lee Harris and will do anything to save him from execution.

"I love this man," Polzin told ABCNEWS.com. "If it's the last thing I do, I want to save his life because there's been an injustice."That's a pretty weird one.

[keithster]

Physicists bring light particles to a stop
By JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA, Associated Press

(1/19/2001, 10:18 a.m. CST) - Physicists say they have managed to bring light particles to a screeching halt before revving them up again so that they could continue their journey at a blistering 186,000 miles per second.

The results are the latest in a growing number of experiments that manipulate light, the fastest and most ephemeral form of energy in the universe.

Eventually, researchers hope to harness its speedy properties in the development of more powerful computers and other technologies that store information in light particles rather than electrons.

Full story at:
http://www.nandotimes.com/cb/st/healthscience/story/0,4630,500301374-500481763-503310195-0,00.html

[Karenluvs6]

Today, these things turn into media events. How long before there's an execution on Pay-Per-Veiw?

What a scary thought...but unfortunately, not so far off from believable!

[keithster]

A televised execution wouldn't be much different from what we see on WWF today, would it? :)