Legal Shite

^{Marion Jones}

A roundup of cases both good and odd:

Case #1: A young woman in Kentucky was awarded $6.1M by a jury for being strip searched in the office of a McDonalds because of a hoax caller. In 2004, a spate of hoax calls were occuring at various McDonalds restaurants. It is unclear if these were local events or spread among the company's national chain. A Florida man was acguited and the calls have since then ceased.

The young woman in question, Louise Ogborn, 21, was forced to perform sexual acts in addition to the strip at the behest of the caller. The supposed grounds for the strip was because Ogborn had allegedly stolen from a customer. It is likely the caller would call describing a young woman with the chances there would be one that met or had some traits of his description. McDonalds was found liable for not notifying employees of the previous incidents therefore, raising awareness of possible recurrences.

Ogborn has stated that she may use some of the money to attend law school. McDonalds is looking at their Appeal Options.

Case #2: Marion Jones, the track star, racked up 3 Gold Medals at Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. Now, it appears her performance was enhanced by steroid use. Jones admits after years of denial that she used steroids from September 2000 to July 2001. She also says she realized she was being given "the clear" in November 2003 by her coach Trevor Graham. Jones plead guilty yesterday.

"The Clear" is a drug that constantly pops up. BALCO, a San Francisco area lab has been at the center of a steroid scandal in sports since 2003. Baseball Superstar and All-time Home Run record holder Barry Bonds has been implicated in using steroids for years. He is also believed to have taken "the clear" though he says his trainer gave it to him and called it flaxseed oil. Jones also claimed the same thing.

It seems that everyone will lay the trainer/coach out to dry. Athletes claim ignorance and act as though they just took whatever these people give them. So, they scapegoat their trainers. I don't believe that these people are that gullible. I feel sorry for the trainers who may or may not be involved in just slipping them some "flaxseed oil". Also, how stupid do they think we all are? Did Balco tell everyone to call it that if anyone asked?

The fallout from Jones may be massive. The Olympics will likely strip of her medals. This will likely result in the women's relay team losing their medals, too. So, this hurts not just Marion Jones but three (or more) other women! In addition, Ekaterini Thanou, a Greek Sprinter who won silver behind Marion Jones in the 100m at the Sydney Games, is also under investigation. If things keep going badly, the winner if the 100m in Sydney would be Tanya Lawrence of Jamaica.

More to come...

New Oil? Praise the Lord!!!

Chevron found new oil reserves off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. This may, in fact, dwarf the reserves in Alaska. The oil reserves may be the biggest find in 38 years. However, the deposits are years away from production. Furthermore, finding more oil does not mean we should stop looking for alternative fuels sources and types. This only heightens the need to develop different methods since finding new desposits is a rare event. It will only become rare as peak oil runs its course.

Japan can breathe easier. Princess Kiko has given birth to a son. He weighed in at only 5.6 lbs. and had to be delivered by caesarean section but the hospital claims he is healthy. Up till now, there had been discussion of changing succession laws in Japan to enable Princess Aiko, the neice of the Princess and her husband, Prince Akishino. Her husband is second in line to the throne behind his elder brother, Crown Prince Naruhito. The new Prince is third in line.

Samir Shehadeh's car was blasted by a bomb controlled by remote near the Southern Lebanese city of Sidon. He is an intelligence official who was investigating the death of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri early last year. Four of his aides and bodyguards were killed.

An Indian official announced that Billoo Gujjar of the Islamic separatist group Hizbul Mujahedeen was killed in KIasmir, specifically, the Udhampur district. He was killed in the Indian controlled section of Kashmir and there was an estimated $12,000 reward on his head.

A man by the name of Christian Nielsen was arrested after a killing spree that left four dead over the weekend in Maine. The cook killed an Arkansas man and then, two days later, killed a bed-and-breakfast owner, her daughter and her daughter's friend. He later dismembered the man and burnt his remains in the woods.

Felipe Calderon has finally been declared the winner of Mexico's hotly contested July 2nd election. Lopez Obrador, his opponent, objects to the ruling. Obrador's supporters lit fireworks and wept as the decision was announced. Many claim there is corruption.

On this day in 1666, London caught fire. Despite 10,000 buildings being burned, only 16 people perished.

On this day back in 1972, the terrorist group "Black September" took Israeli athletes hostages during the Munich Olympic Games. They later were killed 9 during a rescue attempt. Two of the total 11 died at the beginning of the massacre. Of the eight terrorists themselves, five were killed while the remaining three were captured. A German police officer was also killed during the massacre.

Crikey!

Convert now or forever hold your sins. A man calling himself Assam the American called on the US and many non-muslims to convert. As long as Americans are ignorant to Islam, they will accept and even applaud wars and conflicts in Palestine and Lebanon by Israel, according to Assam. He also stated "To Americans and the rest of Christendom we say, either repent [your] misguided ways and enter into the light of truth or keep your poison to yourself", according to the BBC. Assam the Americans' real name is believed to be Adam Gadahn and he is wanted by the FBI for questioning.

Not only does Sudan reject the UN resolution to put Peacekeeping troops on the ground, it also told the African Union, which does have troops there, to leave. Since 2003, fighting between the pro-government military and rebel factions has caused thousands to die, millions to go homeless and suffer hellish conditions. This may indicate that Sudan plans to handle the rebels with military strikes. The AU has reported that rebel held villages in Darfur are already being attacked by troops. Sudan has given the 7,000 strong AU troops till the end of September to leave.

Qatar is sending up to 300 troops to help in Lebanon.

Fresh fighting in the Philippines between Abu Sayyaf rebels and Filipino troops, has claimed five Filipino soldiers and several rebels. The Abu Sayyaf are a militant Muslim terrorists with alleged links to al-Qaeda. According to the BBC, "Troops have been fighting Abu Sayyaf rebels on the remote southern island of Jolo since late July in a bid to flush out leader Khadaffy Janjalani."

India is dealing with floods in two of the strangest places: Rajasthan and Kashmir. Neither know floods intimately. Rajasthan is the Thar Desert, in fact, and usually knows drought. But it was recently flooded by immense monsoon rains and 135 people lost their lives. In Kashmir, 1 person has died after being swept away while 200,000 are effected by the flooding. As many as 200 villages have been "marooned". Villagers are reluctant to leave their homes despite the water. Southern Kashmir and Jammu are the worst effected.

A fire at a chemical plant in the Galicia region in Spain last week, resulted in a highly toxic petroleum spill that is slowy creeping down the Umia river to the Atlantic ocean. Water supplies to residents have been cut off form the river and shell fishing industries have been closed for the interim. In the meantime, the government is trying to prevent the pollution of the Ocean by rigging dams to stop the spill.

Sri Lankan troops have taken control of an area near Trincomalee, a town held by Tamil Tiger rebels. A cease-fire had been declared in 2002 but conflict was sparked earlier this year and continues to excalate.

Two hostages have been taken by inmates in a Russian prison in Moscow. The prison is a pre-trial center. The head of the center is believed to be one of the hostages. The inmates have not made any demands yet

A bomb has gone off at a bar in Bujumbura, Burundi, on the eve of talks reconvening. The National Liberation Forces (FNL) has not signed the peace deal and is the last group. Four people were killed and twelve injured in the explosion.

In Somalia, the provisional government took control of the Baidoa from clan militias. The clans were exacting taxes of $20 on every passenger and $100 on every plane using the airport. After some policement were trying to leave for Kenya for training, conflict broke out. Six died while seven more were left wounded.

In Hyderabad, India, a 60-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her daughter-in-law. Laxmi, the daughter-in-law, supposedly smashed H. Ramabai, the mother-in-law, in the head with a boulder while she slapt. The woman admitted to the Saroornagar police that she had done the deed over criticism on trivial matters. There may have been another motive. Laxmi apparently was having an affair and the older woman discovered it. Desperate Housewives: India?

Gene Therpay has cured two men of skin cancer and may be a highly feasible method of conquering cancer. The method uses T-cells from patients, modifies them and retransfuses them. The cells attack tumor cells rather than ignore them.

Today, Steve Irwin, better known as the Crocodile Hunter, died after being stung by a Sting ray in the shallow waters off Port Douglas, Australia. Reportedly, a barb from the sting ray punctured his heart. Paramedics rushed to the scene but were unable to do anything for the wildlife enthusiast. He is survived by his wife Terri and their two children, Bindi Sue and Robert "Bob" Clarence. He was 44.

On this day back in 1781, Los Angeles was founded by the Spanish.

On this day in 1888, George Eastman registered his Kodak camera that used rolls. It would be 100 years and then some before the next big innovation in cameras: Digital.

34 years ago, Mark Spitz won his seventh gold medal in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. He set a record that still stands today. Many a male swimmer contends to break this record. In 2008, will it be Phelps or Thorpe?