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Yoda

French Ship Sets Sail to Join Flotilla 2 to Gaza


Press TV
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 09:08 UTC
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© Getty ImagesA ship, Dignité, flying the French flag with six people onboard sails off the coast of the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on June 25, 2011 to join the new pro-Palestinian aid flotilla.
A French ship carrying humanitarian aid and six people on board has set sail from the port city of Corsica to join a Gaza-bound flotilla.

The ship flying the French flag named Dignité (Dignity) headed for the coastal waters of Greece on Saturday to join up with the rest of the participants in the flotilla.

The entire fleet will sail for Gaza next week from various Mediterranean ports, French coordinator Julien Rivoire told AFP.

Ships, including two freighters carrying medical supplies "should reach the port of Gaza at the end of next week," he added.

Activists from more than 30 countries plan to sail aboard the ships to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian assistance to the besieged people of Gaza in the near future.

The Israeli Navy has already declared that it will not allow the new flotilla to break the blockade on the impoverished Gaza Strip.
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Heart - Black

US: Outrage as Pregnant Women Who Lose Babies are Facing Murder Charges


The Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:59 UTC
An influx of expectant mothers facing murder charges for the deaths of their unborn children in the U.S. has sparked outrage among women's rights activists.

Thirty eight states have introduced foetal homicide laws to protect pregnant women and their unborn children from violent attacks by third parties.

But they are increasingly being used to threaten and prosecute women over the outcome of their pregnancies, says the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW).

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© FacebookBei Bei Shuai was charged in March with murder in the January 2 death of her three-day-old daughter, Angel Shuai
Campaigners say Rennie Gibbs is one such case. Gibbs was just 15 when she became pregnant, but her child was stillborn at 36 weeks in December, 2006.

After prosecutors discovered she had a cocaine habit, she was charged with the 'depraved-heart murder' of the baby, which carries a mandatory life sentence.
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Handcuffs

US: Man Arrested in Logan Bomb Scare

John M. Guilfoil
The Boston Globe
Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:47 UTC
A Chicago man was arrested at Logan International Airport today after he allegedly claimed to have guns and explosives in his checked baggage.

About 5:35 p.m., State Police were called to Terminal E for a Southwest Airlines checkpoint with a report of a man making threats to Transportation Security Administration staff. The man, identified as Joseph Haynes, 22, allegedly told TSA personnel that he had "guns and bombs" in his checked bags, including an AK-47 assault rifle and hand grenades.

The incident triggered a large police response, including a State Police canine and Emergency Ordinance Disposal unit. The checked baggage was removed from Southwest Airlines Flight 3627 bound for Chicago. No firearms or explosives were found.

Haynes was charged with making a false bomb threat and disorderly conduct. A woman traveling with Haynes was not charged. Her name was not released. The checkpoint was closed for about 20 minutes during the investigation.
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Bomb

US: Probe After Bombs Explode at Colorado Bookstore


Agence France-Presse
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 16:23 UTC
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© Agence France-Presse / Jewel SamadBomb squad officers were dispatched after the two "crude" bombs were located inside a Borders store
Two small bombs partially detonated in a bookstore in Denver, Colorado early Saturday causing minor damage but no injuries, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

Bomb squad officers were dispatched along with police and FBI agents after the two "crude" bombs were located inside the Borders store, which had been broken into in the Colorado Mills Mall in Lakewood, Colorado.

"The two small crude devices partially functioned in a nominal manner causing no damage to the Mall and only minimal damage to a small area of the interior of the Borders Bookstore," said an FBI statement.
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Cloud Lightning

US - South Carolina - Gator stuck in Hilton Head storm drain free at last

Allison Stice
Islandpacket.com
Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:17 UTC
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© Unknown
After a five-hour rescue effort Friday, a 9-foot-long alligator stuck in a Hilton Head Plantation storm drain was swimming in a nearby lagoon, away from the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle that involved fishing lines, ropes, PVC pipes and snares.

Critter Management and plantation security pulled the gator from underground at 3 p.m. amid cheers from onlookers and a snort from the reptile.

"He was just a little bruised and battered -- especially his pride," plantation general manager Peter Kristian said of the freed gator.

Joe Maffo, owner of Critter Management, called it one of his toughest rescues ever.
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People

Half of World's Refugees are Running From US Wars

Sarah Bufkin
Truthout
Sat, 25 Jun 2011 16:57 UTC
refugees
© isafmedia / Flickr

America's wars are forcing Afghans and Iraqis to flee their homes in greater numbers. According to a recent U.N. High Commission for Refugees study, nearly one half of the world's refugees are from Afghanistan and Iraq, 3.05 million and 1.68 million, respectively. But neither the United States nor much of the developed world bears the burden of the 10.55 million refugees under the UNHCR's purview globally. Instead, Pakistan, Iran, and Syria serve as the top host countries. The Economist has charted the numbers:
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Eye 2

David Flory, New Jersey Physics Professor, Arrested For Running New Mexico Prostitution Website 'Southwest Companions'

David Porter
The Huffington Post
Sat, 25 Jun 2011 17:59 UTC
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© AP Photo/Albuquerque Police DepartmentN.J., N.M., police arrested the New York City resident in Albuquerque, In this undated photo release by Albuquerque Police Department showing New Jersey college professor David Flory who has been arrested in New Mexico and is accused of operating a prostitution website. On Sunday, on 40 counts of promoting prostitution. Police say Flory has long owned a vacation home in Santa Fe. Flory teaches physics at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison
Physics Professor Runs Prostitution Website

A New Jersey physics professor who dabbled in scuba diving and harbored dreams of working in the theater had another hobby, New Mexico police say: operating a sophisticated prostitution website that may have catered to as many as 200 prostitutes and 1,200 clients.

David Flory, 68, was arrested Sunday at a Starbucks in Albuquerque on 40 counts of promoting prostitution. The professor, who has taught at Fairleigh Dickinson University since 1969, has a vacation home in Santa Fe.

A specialist in elementary particle theory, Flory also spent a decade in the school administration where, according to his website, he worked on human resource database systems and measuring academic productivity - skills that were evident from the three-tiered system police say he created for rating the privileges of johns who used the prostitution service.

Flory, a married father of three according to his personal website, was being held on a $100,000 bond Tuesday. He didn't respond to an e-mail message. His wife didn't return a phone message left at the couple's New York apartment.

Albuquerque Police Lt. William Roseman told The Associated Press that Flory's password-protected website, Southwest Companions, had been the subject of a vice investigation for the last six months after police received tips from prostitutes and johns.

Roseman said the site had been in operation about three years and had about 1,400 members - about 200 prostitutes and about 1,200 johns. Most of the members were in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area, though some postings originated in Phoenix and Denver. The prostitutes were paid between $80 and $850 for their services, according to the criminal complaint.
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Alarm Clock

Measles outbreak in Britain, cases across Europe soar by 550%, MMR jab not helping

Sophie Borland
Daily Mail, UK
Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:27 UTC
  • Families holidaying on the continent could be spreading the illness
  • 496 confirmed cases in England and Wales between January and May
  • MMR jab not preventing the increase in the disease
Measles rates in Britain are more than five times higher than last year prompting concerns that an epidemic is spreading across Europe.

There have been nearly 500 cases so far since January - mainly in children and university students - compared to the same period in 2010 when there were just 90 cases. The figure is more an increase of 550 per cent.

Health officials believe the disease is being spread by families holidaying on the continent, particularly France, which is currently in the grip of a major epidemic.

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© AlamyEpidemic: Measles cases have soared over the last year despite an increase in the number of toddlers having the MMR vaccine.
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Hardhat

Bones halt Oak Harbor road work

Justin Burnett
Seattlepi.com
Sat, 25 Jun 2011 16:40 UTC
Oak Harbor's $8.35 million downtown improvement project ground to halt this week following the discovery of more bones under SE Pioneer Way.

Additional human remains were unearthed Tuesday and city officials confirmed Friday morning that the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation had ordered nearly all construction activities on the downtown road project to cease.

The city complied with the order immediately and informed its project contractor, Strider Construction, to shut down all operations. The delay is unfortunate, but Oak Harbor Mayor Jim Slowik said there were no qualms about complying with the directive.

"We just want to do the right thing," Slowik said. "We want to cooperate with the tribes and the state."

The city learned of the shutdown through a letter the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation sent Thursday.
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Bad Guys

RIBA comes under fire for hosting 'bonkers' 9/11 talk

Will Hurst & David Rogers
Bdoline.co.uk
Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:00 UTC
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© AE911Truth.orgAdvert for event.
Institute reviews policy after controversial event booked by Zaha Hadid Architects associate

The RIBA is reviewing its policy on hiring out 66 Portland Place following a storm of criticism over its hosting of a group claiming that New York's Twin Towers were brought down through a controlled explosion.

Leading architects on both sides of the Atlantic hit out at the institute this week after American architect Richard Gage, part of the group Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, delivered a lecture at RIBA HQ on Monday night.

The venue was booked by fellow American and RIBA member Craig Phillip Kiner, an associate at Zaha Hadid Architects.

Gage claims that the fires caused by the impact of the two jets flown into the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, could not have been sufficient to make the steel structure of the towers collapse, and he questions the collapse of World Trade Centre 7, a nearby 47-storey building which was not hit by an aircraft.
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