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Shocking Photos: Spain's First Daughters Appear to be ... Teenagers -- Politics Daily
Shocking Photos: Spain's First Daughters Appear to be ... Teenagers

Quote Well Said!!!

YouTube - Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: Right Wing Fear Merchants
  

Quote Traveling to Fairbanks to sign a gun-rights bill a week after she announced her resignation, Palin didn't bother contacting local officials, "but she did contact a conservative talk-radio host," says Ramras. Surrounded by photographers, Palin defended her resignation on the radio show, "Firearms Friday."

Ready for Her Close-Up
There's no doubt that Alaska's state government has been paralyzed since Palin's return, with anger and frustration emanating from both the governor's office and the state legislature. All of Palin's major bills failed to pass this year's first 90-day session. But conversations with both Republican and Democratic legislators reveal that Palin's inability to get anything done has little to do with the media attacks the Alaska governor claims drove her from office. The lawmakers say it has more to do with how national exposure changed her, moving her much further to the right than she had been and making her nearly impossible to work with. And state Republicans seem just as incensed about it as the Democrats.

Quote The New York Daily News reported on May 9 that little Jasmina Anema's cancer is back. A biopsy revealed that her cancer cells have multiplied. However, plans for the bone marrow transplant are moving forward.

Little Jasmina Anema's mom will have a very happy Mother's Day on Sunday. You see, 6-year-old, Jasmina, from New York, is fighting a rare and very deadly form of leukemia.

The good news is that widespread public appeal for African Americans to register as bone marrow donors worked. Thousands were tested, and the results have turned up not one but two likely bone marrow-matched donors who may give Jasmina what she needs to knock out the disease once and for all.

"I am just thrilled," Theodora Anema, Jasmina's mother, said Tuesday. "I've never lost hope. I always expected a miracle, and this is like finding a miracle."

Jasmina, who has been hospitalized since January with a rare and especially deadly form of leukemia, [underwent] another bone marrow test [Wednesday].

If her cancer cells are once again undetectable and either of the donors pass a medical screening, prepping for her transplant will likely begin in a few weeks.

"I'm still a bit nervous, but it's never looked this good," Theodora Anema said.

Source: Two bone marrow matches found

Jasmina Anema Finds Life-Saving Bone Marrow Donors - Black Voices Blogs#cont#cont

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Frank Melton, the mayor of Mississippi's largest city, died early Thursday, two days after losing a primary re-election bid and days before he was set to stand trial on federal civil rights charges. He was 60.

Melton died at a Jackson hospital with his wife by his side, city spokeswoman Goldia Revies told The Associated Press.

Melton had a history of serious heart problems, but officials have declined to say if that's what sent him to the hospital Tuesday, shortly after polls closed. Melton's attorney John Reeves said it was up to the family to disclose the cause of death.

Controversial mayor dies two days after loss - More politics- msnbc.com

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The disgraced Olympian is back on the public speaking circuit. But what she’s asking forgiveness for now has nothing to do with her prison stint.

The silences in Marion Jones first public speech since she was released from prison last fall were as percussive as the words she actually spoke. Since serving six months for perjury after being convicted of fraud and the use of performance enhancing drugs, the disgraced Olympian has been interviewed by Oprah and Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts. But she has shied away from her once adoring public. Until now. At an annual “Race and Sports” lecture series at the University of Pennsylvania late last month, Jones spoke to an audience of roughly 200, to commemorate the 37th anniversary of Title IX.  

Never in the 90-minute moderated discussion did Jones mention steroids or in any way reference the doping cover-up or check forgery that led her to prison. Yet the issues Jones did speak about—gender, race, sports—seemed to resonate with her mostly African-American audience of runners, students and parents.  

Five months pregnant and standing brilliantly tall in a brown flower-print dress, she deftly impressed her audience by focusing not on her personal drama but rather on what she called another “crisis” within sports—the still limited opportunities for female athletes, particularly black female athletes, at both the collegiate and professional levels.  

Intervening into the standard dialogues which almost always define “race” and “sports” through the male-dominated lens of the civil rights movement, Jones recognized her equal debt to Title IX, the 1972 measure that banned sex-based discrimination in education, and by extension, collegiate sports.  

Marion Jones, Role Model?

Marion Jones, Role Model?

Quote  The headquarters of Murtech, in a low-slung, bland building in a Glen Burnie business park, has its blinds drawn tight and few signs of life. On several days of visits, a handful of cars sit in the parking lot, and no trucks arrive at the 10 loading bays at the back of the building.

Yet last year, Murtech received $4 million in Pentagon work, all of it without competition, for a variety of warehousing and engineering services. With its long corridor of sparsely occupied offices and an unmanned reception area, Murtech's most striking feature is its owner -- Robert C. Murtha Jr., 49. He is the nephew of Rep. John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has significant sway over the Defense Department's spending as chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

Robert Murtha said he is not at liberty to discuss in detail what his company does, but for four years it has subsisted on defense contracts, according to records and interviews. He said Murtech's 17 employees "provide necessary logistical support" to Pentagon testing programs that focus on detecting chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, "and that's about as far as I feel comfortable going." Giving more details could provide important clues to terrorist plotters, he said.

Murtha’s nephew got millions in contracts - Americas- msnbc.com

Murtha’s nephew received millions in contracts

Quote The 10 techniques described below, as detailed in that memo, were "to be used in some sort of escalating fashion."

1. ATTENTION GRASP
"Consists of grasping the individual with both hands, one hand on each side of the collar opening, in a controlled and quick motion. In the same motion as the grasp, the individual is drawn towards the interrogator."

2. WALLING
The individual is placed with heels next to a specially built fake wall. The interrogator then slams the person's shoulder blades to the wall. "In part, the idea is to create a sound that will make the impact seem far worse than it is, and that will be far worse than any injury that might result from the action."

3. FACIAL HOLD
The goal is to immobilize the head, with one open palm "placed on either side of the individual's face."

4. FACIAL, OR INSULT SLAP
The point of this slap is to "invade" personal space. "The goal of the facial slap is not to inflict physical pain that is severe or lasting. Instead, the purpose of the facial slap is to induce shock, surprise and/or humiliation."

5. CRAMPED CONFINEMENT
A cramped space-usually dark. The larger version is big enough to stand or sit up to 18 hours; the smaller box allows only sitting for no more than two hours.

6. WALL STANDING
Standing a few feet from a wall, with feet spread and fingers resting on a wall. "Used to induce muscle fatigue."

7. STRESS POSITIONS
Used "to produce the physical discomfort associated with muscle fatigue." There are several variations, including for Zubaydah, sitting on the floor "with his arms raised above his head."

8. SLEEP DEPRIVATION
The goal is to "motivate" cooperation. In the case of Zubaydah, sleep deprivation would be for no more "than eleven days at a time."

9. INSECTS
Used in combination with a cramped confinement box. Informed that Zubaydah "appears to have a fear of insects," he would be told that a stinging insect would be placed in the box with him. "You would, however, place a harmless insect in the box."

10. WATERBOARDING
The most severe and controversial method, waterboarding simulates drowning. A person is bound to an inclined bench and gagged while water is poured over the face for 20 to 40 seconds. The gag is lifted for "three or four" full breaths then the process is repeated. For Zubaydah, each session was to last no longer than 20 minutes.

"This procedure triggers an automatic physiological sensation of drowning that the individual cannot control even though he may be aware that he is, in fact, not drowning."

10 Ways the CIA Tried to Get One Terror Suspect to Talk -- Politics Daily
10 Ways the CIA Tried to Get One Terror Suspect to Talk

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Bybee’s memo was aimed at one particular detainee, Abu Zubaydah, who had been captured some four months earlier, in late March 2002. Zubaydah is portrayed in the memo (as he was publicly by Bush after his capture) as one of the top men in Al Qaeda. But by August this had been proven false. As Ron Suskind reported in his book “The One Percent Doctrine,” Zubaydah was identified soon after his capture as a logistics guy, who, in the words of the F.B.I.’s top-ranking Qaeda analyst at the time, Dan Coleman, served as the terrorist group’s flight booker and “greeter,” like “Joe Louis in the lobby of Caesar’s Palace.” Zubaydah “knew very little about real operations, or strategy.” He showed clinical symptoms of schizophrenia.

By the time Bybee wrote his memo, Zubaydah had been questioned by the F.B.I. and C.I.A. for months and had given what limited information he had. His most valuable contribution was to finger Khalid Shaikh Mohammed as the 9/11 mastermind. But, as Jane Mayer wrote in her book “The Dark Side,” even that contribution may have been old news: according to the 9/11 commission, the C.I.A. had already learned about Mohammed during the summer of 2001. In any event, as one of Zubaydah’s own F.B.I. questioners, Ali Soufan, wrote in a Times Op-Ed article last Thursday, traditional interrogation methods had worked. Yet Bybee’s memo purported that an “increased pressure phase” was required to force Zubaydah to talk.

Talking about Op-Ed Columnist - The Banality of Bush White House Evil - NYTimes.com

The Banality of Bush White House Evil

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"I went to Five Guys and nobody knew it," she said, naming a popular chain of hamburger restaurants. "It was good."

Mrs. Obama didn't mean that she sneaks out of the White House without the Secret Service agents who protect her, but that she sometimes goes out without reporters following her, an aide said.

Mrs. Obama answered questions from children attending a program marking Take Your Child to Work Day.

She said would pick being first lady if she had to choose from any job in the White House.

"I think I have the best job in the White House. I don't have to deal with the hard problems every day," Mrs. Obama said. "I have some problems that I have to deal with, but I get to do the fun stuff."

"Because I don't get paid, I get to do whatever I want to do," she said.

Talking about First lady says she sneaks out for burgers - White House
First lady says she sneaks out for burgers

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Talking about YouTube - PROSECUTE! MR PRESIDENT! Olbermann Special Comment
PROSECUTE! MR PRESIDENT! Olbermann Special Comment

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Big Oil knocks Wal-Mart out of first place.

Exxon Mobil shoved aside Wal-Mart Stores to retake the top place on the Fortune 500, proving that Big Oil was king of the economy last year.

Exxon Mobil was the top selling-company in 2008, with nearly $443 billion in revenue, a jump of almost 19% from the prior year. The Irving, Texas-based oil giant was also the most profitable, with earnings of $45.2 billion.

More from CNNMoney.com: • Fortune 500 Companies Still Hiring -- Even Now! • Fortune 500: The Biggest Losers • Fortune 500: The Biggest Winners See the Full 2009 Fortune 500 List Here

Wal-Mart, which reigned as No. 1 on the Fortune 500 the past two years, slipped to second place. The recession was a boon for Wal-Mart: As cash-strapped customers crowded its discount stores, the retailer's sales grew 7% to more than $406 billion. But that wasn't enough to keep up with oil-rich Exxon.

The Fortune 500 ranks America's largest corporations by their annual revenue. The list was announced by Fortune magazine Sunday.

Talking about Fortune-500: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance
Fortune 500

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Talking about Blagojevich, his brother, top aides indicted - Chicago Breaking News
Blagojevich, his brother, top aides indicted

Quote David "Pop" Winans, Sr., the patriarch of the Grammy Award-winning gospel group The Winans, died Wednesday at a hospice center in Nashville, Tenn. He was 76.

Talking about David 'Pop' Winans Dies at 76 || WXYZ.com | WXYZ-TV / Detroit | Detroit News, Weather, Sports and Mo

David 'Pop' Winans Dies at 76

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NAIROBI, Kenya - Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked a cargo ship with 21 American crew members aboard, a diplomat and U.S. Navy officials said.

The Kenya-based diplomat identified the vessel as the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet confirmed that a Danish-owned, U.S.-operated container ship carrying 21 Americans "came under attack" about 240 nautical miles southeast of Eyl, a town in the northern Puntland region of Somalia.

Talking about Pirates seize cargo ship, 21 U.S. sailors - Somalia- msnbc.com

Somali pirates seize cargo ship, 21 U.S. sailors

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"This album provides answers to where to find relief, shelter and confirmation that everything will be all right when you trust God. As Christians, we shouldn't be worried by the economic situation if we live by the seedtime and harvest principle: God is our provider," she said.

"

Ann Nesby: New Look, New CD & New Great-Granddaughter

Quote Detained American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee may have become significant players in an international standoff between North Korea and the U.S. over the Asian power's planned launch of a long-range rocket.

Ling, the sister of former The View co-host Lisa Ling, and Lee were captured by a military patrol after allegedly crossing into North Korea from China while shooting a documentary for the Al Gore media venture Current TV.

Lisa and Laura Ling Photo by: Steve Grayson / WireImage

Talking about Fate of Lisa Ling's Sister Linked to Missile Launch Diplomacy - Al Gore, Lisa Ling : People.com
Fate of Lisa Ling's Sister Linked to Missile Launch Diplomacy

Quote Traces of a chemical used in rocket fuel were found in samples of powdered baby formula, and could exceed what's considered a safe dose for adults if mixed with water also contaminated with the ingredient, a government study has found.

The study by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked for the chemical, perchlorate, in different brands of powdered baby formula. It was published last month, but the Environmental Working Group issued a press release Thursday drawing attention to it.

The chemical has turned up in several cities' drinking water supplies. It can occur naturally, but most perchlorate contamination has been tied to defense and aerospace sites.

Talking about CDC: Rocket fuel chemical found in baby formula
CDC: Rocket fuel chemical found in baby formula

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A sweeping 19-count federal indictment alleges that Blagojevich discussed with aides the possibility of getting a Cabinet post in the new president's administration, substantial fundraising assistance or a high-paying job in exchange for the Senate seat.

Talking about Blagojevich indicted on federal corruption charges
Blagojevich indicted on federal corruption charges

Quote Serena Williams chose a body-hugging leopard-print dress to wear to the Sony Ericsson VIP Party in Miami last night. She looks pleased with her outfit. Are you?

Talking about Hot or Not: Serena Williams - Black Voices Blogs

Hot or Not: Serena Williams