What a bizarre story! Detectives think that a “Smiley Face Gang” might be connected with the drownings of 40 young men from across the nation.

Detectives: 40 Drowning Victims May Have Been Murdered by ‘Smiley Face Gang’
At least 40 young men who drowned may have died by far more sinister means — serial killings at the hands of a national gang that revels in murdering young men and leaving smiley-face markings at the scene, a team of retired New York City police detectives and criminal justice investigators said Monday.

They believe the victims, including University of Minnesota student Chris Jenkins and Fordham University student Patrick McNeill, didn’t accidentally drown but were actually killed by members of the so-called “Smiley Face Gang,” KSTP in St. Paul reported.

A smiley-face symbol was found painted at some of the drowning locations — in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa, they told the station.

“They’re telling you here that they’re into evil, they’re very happy as most serial killers are,” retired NYPD Det. Kevin Gannon said to KSTP. “They’re content with their work and what they’re doing and the fact that they’re thwarting the police.”

Chilling, isn’t it? It is supremely sad that there are people with so much hate in their hearts that they would get pleasure from murdering another human being.

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Incredible! It seems that Barack Obama is afraid that his campaign couldn’t withstand another debate with Hillary Clinton. Debates, after all, are the quickest way to expost an “empty shirt.” Thus, he has refused to debate Clinton before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Sunday brushed aside a challenge from Hillary Rodham Clinton to debate before the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

Only his most blindly loyal disciples will see his refusal to debate Clintonas anything over than classic (but misguided) CYA. His performance at the last debate was weak, and why should he subject himself to another situation where he would come off as less than the Obamessiah himself?

A debate is the quickest way to expose an empty shirt. Both Hillary and Barack know that, and that’s why Barack is running away.

The average candidate - and certainly a strong candidate - would say, “Bring it on. I’m happy to debate you anywhere, anytime.” For a strong candidate, a debate is a quick way to win votes. For a weak candidate, it’s a quick way to lose votes. And so Barack Obama responded, “No, I’ve debated enough.” What a wimp.

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If you decide to trespass into mining property, you should probably be a little extra careful. It seems that Nathan Bowman was prowling around a coal company property on Friday. Luck was definitely NOT with him.

Man Survives 500-Foot Fall Into Mine
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM,AP
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - A man survived a 500-foot fall into a strip mine Friday, astounding rescuers who spent hours on a risky descent into the abyss to bring him back out.
Police said Nathan Bowman was trespassing on coal company property around 1 a.m. Friday when he slipped and fell into the Springdale Pit, an inactive mine about 700 feet deep, 3,000 feet long and 1,500 feet wide.

Bowman tumbled down a jagged slope and then free-fell several hundred feet, his descent broken by a rock ledge not far from the bottom of the pit, said Coaldale Police Chief Timothy Delaney, who helped direct the rescue effort.

“If you look at that drop, there was no way somebody could survive that,” Delaney said.

Bowman, 23, of Tamaqua, was in serious condition Friday night at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem. The extent and nature of his injuries was not clear, although rescuer John Fowler said it appeared he suffered a number of fractures.

Bowman and a friend were walking around the pit when he went over the side. The friend called 911, and Coaldale police and firefighters began a frantic search, according to Delaney.
State police got into the act several hours later, using a helicopter, floodlights and thermal imaging to try to pinpoint Bowman’s location in the pit, about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

“It got really, really dangerous,” Delaney said. “My guys were fantastic; they were heroes, risking their lives in total darkness.”

The search was called off at daybreak. Shortly thereafter, Delaney went to the offices of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co., which owns the Springdale Pit, to notify officials of the situation.

“I said, ‘Let’s take a ride over there and show me where it occurred,’” said Fowler, 40, a project manager at the company.

Their luck was better this time.

“Within about three minutes, we found him,” Fowler said. “I thought I could hear a muffled call for help. We yelled to him and asked him where he was, and he said he thought he was on a ledge.”

Fowler, who moonlights as a state firefighter instructor, and a Coaldale police sergeant scouted a relatively safe route to Bowman and stayed with him until more help arrived.

Two firefighters rappelled down to the ledge, loaded Bowman onto a basket and tied themselves to it. Then all three were painstakingly hoisted up.

Bowman was lucid when he arrived at the top of the pit late Friday morning, wanting his harness loosened, asking that someone call his brother and expressing fear about riding in a medical helicopter, said Sarah Curran Smith, a vice president at Lehigh Coal.

Bowman’s survival is “pretty unbelievable,” she said. “I think the universe has bigger plans for Nathan. I hope he realizes that.”

Bowman faces charges including defiant trespass, according to Delaney.

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A deadly snake - the yellow-bellied sea snake (don’t you LOVE that name?)- landed on a beach in Northland. The yellow-bellied sea snake is in the cobra family of snakes. That’s a family I’d just as soon not get to know.

Did I ever tell the story of RT and the bucket of snakes? I will do that soon. For now, here the story of the yellow-bellied sea snake:

Deadly snake lands on Northland beach

One of the world’s deadliest snakes has turned up on a beach in Northland.

The yellow-bellied sea snake came ashore near Dargaville and is now taking refuge at Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World in Auckland.

Yellow-bellied snakes are only spotted in New Zealand three or four times a year and only come ashore if they are really desperate.

“When they are found ashore…(they are) normally dead or at death’s door,” says Kelly Tarlton’s Curator, Andrew Christie.

Christie reckons the snake is in pretty good condition considering the long journey it has been on, travelling thousands of kilometres across the Pacific Ocean.

“It’s a pretty awesome animal, she’s beautiful so we’ll see how we go,” he says.

She may well be beautiful but her bite is deadly.

The yellow-bellied sea snake its part of the Cobra family. It is said to be 10 times more venomous then any land snake and if you get bitten by one of them there is no anti-venom to save you.

The snake will stay at Kelly Tarlton’s for the next few months and when it is stronger and the water is warmer, it will be returned to the ocean.

I can’t imagine describing a snake as “beautiful” but to each his/her own.

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I’m old enough to remember watching many Shirley Temple movies when I was a child. I think my favorite was “Heidi.” I loved her voice - so distinctive. A little pouty. Since I’ve been grown, I’ve re-watched some of her childhood movies and I’ve marveled that she was able to act so convincingly at such a young age. Even though Shirley Temple Black is more than 20 years older than I am, I feel that I almost watched her grow up on television via her movies.

Shirley Temple Black breaks arm just before 80th birthday

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Shirley Temple Black quietly celebrated her 80th birthday this week after breaking her arm in a fall at her suburban San Francisco home.

Rick Ross, her Los Angeles-based attorney, says the former child star is doing fine. She turned 80 on Wednesday.

Black was the top box-office draw in the U.S. from 1935 to 1938. Her best-known films include “Curly Top” and “Little Miss Marker.”

After retiring from the big screen, she held a number of diplomatic posts, including U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia.

Black lives in the San Francisco suburb of Woodside.

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The Associated Press reports that a man was killed by a shark attack at Solana Beach near San Diego in California this morning.

It was the first fatal shark attack in that area since 1994.

Here’s part of the story. Click HERE for the rest.

Fatal shark attack forces beach closures near San Diego
By ALLISON HOFFMAN

SOLANA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A shark on Friday attacked and killed a 66-year-old swimmer who was training in the ocean with a group of triathletes, authorities said.

Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian from Solana Beach, was attacked by what authorities believe was a great white shark at San Diego County’s Tide Beach around 7 a.m., authorities and family friend Rob Hill said.

The man was taken to a lifeguard station for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a statement on the Solana Beach city Web site.

The man’s injuries crossed both thighs, San Diego County sheriff’s Sgt. Randy Webb said in a statement. Scripps Institution of Oceanography shark expert Richard Rosenblatt says the shark was probably a great white between 12 and 17 feet long.

“It looks like the shark came up, bit him, and swam away,” said Solana Beach Deputy Fire Chief Dismas Abelman.

The attack took place about 150 yards offshore. Several swimmers wearing wetsuits were in a group when the shark attacked, said Solana Beach lifeguard Craig Miller. Two swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the man when they heard him scream for help. They turned around and dragged him back to shore.

Swimmers were ordered out of the water for a 17-mile stretch around the attack site and county authorities sent up helicopters to scan the waters for the shark. The beach was closed for an eight-mile stretch.

“The shark is still in the area. We’re sure of that,” Mayor Joe Kellejian said.

Hill, a member of the Triathlon Club of San Diego, said he was running on the beach while about nine other members were in the water when the attack took place.

“They saw him come up out of the water, scream ’shark,’ flail his arms and go back under,” Hill said. “The flesh was just hanging,” and Martin may have bled to death before he left the water, Hill said.

Hill said club members had been meeting at the beach for at least six years and never had seen a shark.

Solana Beach is 14 miles northwest of San Diego.

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The Jeremiah Wright story gets more and more wild. What a self-involved man. Don’t you know Obama wishes the man would just shut up! Jeremiah Wright is all about Jeremiah Wright. He sure isn’t a friend to Obama. John McCain and Hillary Clinton both likely consider him the gift that keeps on giving.

Quick detour: Roland Martin was on CNN tonight saying that Jeremiah Wright did not MEAN “God damn America.” He was going on and on about listening to the whole transcript. The man is living in the Obama la-la land of denying what is staring him in the face. I’ve rarely seen such a blatantly biased newsperson.

Sorry for the brief detour to Roland Martin. It’s just amazing to see people continue to defend Wright. There simply is no defense of such racist statements in ANY context. And why does Roland Martin feel such a strong need to defend such a low-life?

Here are a couple of exerpts from the news story about Wright’s statement:

Wright Calls Sermon Controvery “Unfair”

“. . . . I felt it was unfair. I felt it was unjust. I felt it was untrue. I felt — for those who were doing that — were doing it for some very devious reasons,” he said.

Oh. I get it. To accurately quote Jeremiah Wright and to show clips of his preaching is unfair and unjust and untrue and done for devious reasons. However, preaching that the U.S. government gave AIDS to blacks, caused 9/11 and deliberately got blacks addicted to drugs. Now THAT is fair and just and true and done for altruistic reasons?

Asked his response to the senator’s speech, Wright said, “He’s a politician, I’m a pastor.”
“I do what I do. He does what politicians do,” Wright said. “What happened in Philadelphia, where he had to respond to the sound bites, he responded as a politician.”

Now he’s throwing his supposedly good friend, Barack Obama, under the bus. Wright tells us that Barack was just doing what a politician has to do when he said he didn’t agree with Wright. See what I mean by thinking that Obama wishes Wright would just shut up? Wright just couldn’t stand to stay on the sidelines any longer. He’s basking in all this media attention.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air provides ABC’s context for Wright’s diatribes - just to show that Wright’s comments definitely were NOT taken out of context. Click the link and read it.

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Jeremiah Wright is the gift that keeps on giving. At least in terms of helping the cause of the Republican candidate, John McCain.
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Wright is scheduled to be on Bill Moyers’ tomorrow, and then Monday he will speak to the National Press Club. I doubt the man will be able to do anything to help Obama’s cause in those two appearances. Almost certainly, he will further demonstrate exactly why Obama’s association with him is a major negative in this campaign. Here’s the story:

Wright offering fresh fodder to Obama critics
By Lynn Sweet
WASHINGTON–The controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright — Sen. Barack Obama’s pastor — is speaking Monday at the National Press Club as part of a divinity conference of black church leaders. Wright’s decision to headline an event at the Press Club — open to all media — risks giving Obama’s critics more fodder, as if they don’t have enough already.

Meanwhile, PBS is touting an interview with Wright to be broadcast Friday on “Bill Moyers’ Journal.” Fresh material from Wright — no matter how well-intended — is not what Obama needs.

Wright’s Press Club talk is supposed to be about offering perspective on black churches — theology, history and politics, and the torrent of coverage stemming from Obama’s presidential bid.

Wright’s relationship with Obama triggered an uproar when video of Wright’s inflammatory sermons surfaced. Faced with a crisis, Obama delivered a highly regarded speech in March about race and why he would not “disown” Wright, the senior pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s South Side.

But the speech, good as it was, did not push Wright out of the picture.

Wright looms as a serious problem for Obama in his fight to be the Democratic presidential nominee over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and, if he wins, as a general election candidate against Sen. John McCain. Look no further than an ad the North Carolina Republican Party released Wednesday featuring a clip from Wright’s “God Damn America” sermon and calling Obama an “extremist.”

Fox News has been all over Wright — helicopter shots of his Tinley Park mansion under construction — and host Bill O’Reilly has been pounding Obama over Wright regularly on his show.

The backfire potential of Wright having any sort of a public profile at this point seems obvious.

I asked the church about the prospects of Wright further wounding Obama’s candidacy, and I was e-mailed material about the divinity conference.

When the uproar over Wright started, Obama chief strategist David Axelrod asked his friends at Jasculca Terman — a public affairs firm — to advise Trinity on how to handle the crush of media coverage, and they did, pro bono. Jim Terman, the president of the firm, said, “We were not asked to provide our advice about the reported speech of Rev. Wright in Washington” and did not know about it until it was scheduled.

McCain denounced the North Carolina GOP party ad. “It’s not the message of my campaign,” he said. He wrote a letter to the state party chairman imploring them to pull the spot. The ad “degrades our civics,” McCain said. The Republican National Committee also told the North Carolina party the ad was not “appropriate or helpful.”

Obama, in Indiana, said he assumes if McCain “thinks that it’s an inappropriate ad, that he can get them to pull it down since he’s their nominee and standard bearer.” The spot as I write this has not been pulled.

O’Reilly, chatting with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. on his show Wednesday night, said he was “flabbergasted” that Wright just does not “take a vacation.” When O’Reilly is right, he’s right.

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CNN is reporting about Paul Verhoeven and his “Jesus Seminar.”

Director’s book disputes birth of Jesus
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Film director Paul Verhoeven has written a book that contradicts the Bible by suggesting that Jesus might have been fathered by a Roman soldier who raped Mary.

An Amsterdam publishing house said Wednesday it would publish the Dutch filmmaker’s biography of Jesus, “Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait” in September.

I find the word “realistic” an interesting one to use.

Verhoeven is best known as the director of blockbuster films including “Basic Instinct” and “RoboCop,” but he is also a member of “Jesus Seminar,” a group of scholars and authors that seeks to establish historical facts about Jesus.

Marianna Sterk of the publishing house J.M. Meulenhoff said the book included several ideas that ran contrary to Christian faith, including the suggestion that Jesus could be the son of a Roman soldier who raped Mary during a Jewish uprising against Roman rule in 4 B.C.

The book also claims that Judas Iscariot was not responsible for Jesus’ betrayal, she said.

The movie director’s claims were greeted with some skepticism among those who have dedicated their careers to studying the life of Jesus.

One issue is that there is very little information about the life of Jesus outside of the Gospels. The Gospels as understood by Christians for nearly 2,000 years do not support Verhoeven’s ideas.

William Portier, a professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, in Ohio, said the Jesus Seminar was known for making provocative claims, but “they are real scholars — you have to deal with them.”

However, he said Verhoeven’s ideas sounded “pretty out there.”

So even people who have spent their lives studying the life of Jesus consider Verhoeven’s ideas “pretty out there.” Doesn’t bode well for him, does it?

John Dominic Crossan, a Jesus Seminar founder, agreed. He said that while Verhoeven was a member in good standing, there was little evidence for the view that Jesus was illegitimate.

Crossan said the claim was first reported in a polemic written in the second century against the Book of Matthew, intended for a Jewish audience.

“It’s an obvious first retort to claims that Mary was a virgin,” Crossan said. “If you wanted to do a hatchet job on Jesus’ reputation, this would be the way.”

The most likely scenario for people who don’t accept that Jesus was literally the son of God and had no human father is simply that he was the son of Joseph, Crossan said.

Sterk said the book would be translated into English in 2009. Verhoeven hopes it will be a springboard for him to raise interest in making a film along the same lines, she said.

Verhoeven, 69, has dreamed of making a movie about Jesus’ life for decades, she said.

Asked whether it would be difficult to follow Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” and Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ,” she said Verhoeven knew he might be somewhat late to market.

“He is painfully aware of that,” she said. “However, he has quite a different angle.”

What we have here is a guy who is desperately trying to make money by creating controversy. His claims are so outrageous and self-serving that they get attention. He’s 69 years old - a turning point age - and he’s dreamed of making a movie about the life of Jesus for many years. He’s desperate, and this is the only way he can get the attention he seeks and make his dream of a movie about Jesus a possibility. And he admits that he hopes his book will be “a springboard” to raising enough money to make the movie.

There’s no surprise then. It all comes down to money - and attention (i.e. fame).

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The National Day of Silence is this Friday - to show support for safe schools for students. And who could possibly not support safe schools? No child should EVER have to endure being bullied for any reason at school.

Unfortunately T.R. Knight was chosen as the spokesperson for this observance. T.R. Knight is one of my least favorite actors, and he plays one of my least favorite characters on TV. He’s not believable in his role. He simply is not a good actor. Apparently he was the best they could come up with as a spokesperson for this year’s National Day of Silence, which is too bad. I guess he got the spot because he’s gay. That’s his only claim to fame.

E! Online writes about the observance:

Silence will be golden tomorrow for T.R. Knight.

The openly gay Grey’s Anatomy star has just signed on to participate in the National Day of Silence ceremony at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in Los Angeles.

Sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to help combat bullying and harassment of gays in schools, the day is marked by students across the country taking vows of silence during the day.

This year’s 12th annual programming - most of which takes place on Friday - is dedicated to Lawrence “Larry” King, a 15-year-old California boy who was shot to death in February by a fellow student, allegedly because King was gay.

I can also exclusively tell you that talk-show host Larry King is getting involved, too.

Just last night, he took a break from his live coverage of the Pennsylvania primary to film a public service announcement for GLSEN and the Day of Silence.

“Larry King and I share more in common than just our names,” King says in the spot, which debuts on YouTube today. “We both believe that all students should be free to be themselves without the fear of name calling, bullying or harassment.”

GLSEN president Kevin Jennings tells me that King immediately agreed to participate when they contacted him. “Larry King helps us reach the kind of mainstream audience he speaks to every night,” Jennings said. I don’t necessarily see this as a YouTube phenomenon, but I see this reaching a much more traditional audience.”

King’s PSA shoot comes just days after Lance Bass filmed one. “Whoever they are, whatever their backgrounds or beliefs, these students will take action because they believe that the bullying and harassment must end,” Bass says in his spot. “What are you going to do to end the silence?”

I hope it works. Growing up is a difficult process, and children who go through bullying, name-calling or harrassment have an even more difficult time of it.

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