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Man dragged 6km by bus after being knocked down
Advice of the day: "if you plan on getting killed in public and having your body identified later on, this is not the way to do it."
A driver whose car accidentally hit a man on Friday night at 11pm has said he pulled over and found only a shirt and jacket where the body should have been. Police are now trying to identify the victim, who was in fact dragged for six kilometers under a bus along two highways in British Colombia. It is not clear whether he died from the initial impact or while he was trapped in the bus's undercarriage.
Neither the bus driver nor his passengers had any idea what had happened until he stopped to check the brakes on the vehicle and noticed the human remains.
The victim is described as South Asian and in his late 30s, and was wearing a hooded jacket with grey and black checkers made by Grenade, and black loafers. Police are asking that if anyone knows who the man is they should call Deas Island RCMP at 604-946-2184. Identification has been hampered as the man was not carrying a wallet, and fingerprinting has been unsuccessful so far. Advice of the day: "if you plan on getting killed in public and having your body identified later on, this is not the way to do i... more -
Police express "disgust" at crowd encouraging Shaun Dykes to jump
Trained police negotiators were trying to talk 17-year-old Shaun Dykes into coming down from the side of a multi storey car park in Kilburn, the scene soon attracted a crowd who began to watch and even film the event.
Mike Creedon, Derbyshire's Police Constable, expressed his anger at members of the crowd who encouraged Shaun to jump.
"It disgusts me to think of their motivation and their lack of compassion towards a fellow human being obviously in distress"
The police spent three hours negotiating with Shaun before it ended in tragedy as he fell to his death. The people who encouraged Shaun to jump were not arrested. Trained police negotiators were trying to talk 17-year-old Shaun Dykes into coming down from the side of a multi storey car park in Ki... more -
They Gave Your Mortgage to a Less Qualified Minority
On MSNBC this week, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter tried to connect John McCain to the current financial disaster, saying: "If you remember the Keating Five scandal that (McCain) was a part of. ... He's really getting a free ride on the fact that he was in the middle of the last great financial scandal in our country."
McCain was "in the middle of" the Keating Five case in the sense that he was "exonerated." The lawyer for the Senate Ethics Committee wanted McCain removed from the investigation altogether, but, as The New York Times reported: "Sen. McCain was the only Republican embroiled in the affair, and Democrats on the panel would not release him."
So John McCain has been held hostage by both the Viet Cong and the Democrats.
Alter couldn't be expected to know that: As usual, he was lifting material directly from Kausfiles. What is unusual was that he was stealing a random thought sent in by Kausfiles' mother, who, the day before, had e-mailed: "It's time to bring up the Keating Five. Let McCain explain that scandal away."
The Senate Ethics Committee lawyer who investigated McCain already had explained that scandal away -- repeatedly. It was celebrated lawyer Robert Bennett, most famous for defending a certain horny hick president a few years ago.
In February this year, on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes," Bennett said, for the eight billionth time:
"First, I should tell your listeners I'm a registered Democrat, so I'm not on (McCain's) side of a lot of issues. But I investigated John McCain for a year and a half, at least, when I was special counsel to the Senate Ethics Committee in the Keating Five. ... And if there is one thing I am absolutely confident of, it is John McCain is an honest man. I recommended to the Senate Ethics Committee that he be cut out of the case, that there was no evidence against him."
It's bad enough for Alter to be constantly ripping off Kausfiles. Now he's so devoid of his own ideas, he's ripping off the idle musings of Kausfiles' mother.
Even if McCain had been implicated in the Keating Five scandal -- and he wasn't -- that would still have absolutely nothing to do with the subprime mortgage crisis currently roiling the financial markets. This crisis was caused by political correctness being forced on the mortgage lending industry in the Clinton era.
Read more at: http://www.shakabarack.com On MSNBC this week, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter tried to connect John McCain to the current financial disaster, saying: "If yo... more -
At least 160 dead in India temple crush
At least 160 worshippers are feared dead after a stampede at a Hindu temple in the northern India state of Rajasthan.
Local officials said at least 100 more were thought to be injured after the incident at the Chamunda Devi temple in the historic city of Jodhpur.
It is thought that a wall near the temple collapsed, causing panic among thousands of gathered devotees.
India's temples have suffered several deadly stampedes recently - including one last month where 140 were killed. At least 160 worshippers are feared dead after a stampede at a Hindu temple in the northern India state of Rajasthan. ... more -
Syrian bombing: A jihadi attack?
This article brings us back to the age old question: How do you best go about fighting terrorism? And if you can find an answer to that one, the next question is to you go after the terrorist organizations when they attack others, or wait till they come to you?
The weekend bombing that killed at least 17 people was the worst of its kind since Syria's battle with the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1970s and 80s.
As the Syrian authorities begin investigating a bomb attack that killed 17 people in Damascus Saturday, initial suspicion points to Islamist militants, either home-grown or foreign.
A car bomb, packed with an estimated 440 pounds of explosives, blew up close to a building reportedly housing the Palestine Branch of Syrian military intelligence. It was the worst of its kind since the violent confrontation between the Syrian regime and Islamist militants of the Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1970s and early 80s.
There was no claim of responsibility, and in Syria, one of the most opaque countries in the Middle East, there are plenty of potential perpetrators.
"As usual in the Middle East, there are three or four credible culprits and this is what is so frustrating. The region is chronically and increasingly violent," says Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Center for Lebanon, a think tank. "Who knows who did it, but in a way it's surprising that no one has tried to do this stuff before because so many people are angry with Syria."
The London-based Ash-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper claimed Sunday that a brigadier general who was a senior Syrian intelligence officer was among the 17 people killed in the explosion. While the Syrian authorities have said only civilians were killed in the attack, the general's death, if true, could indicate that the bombing was a targeted assassination rather than a random mass-casualty attack.
Still, initial speculation suggests that those responsible for the bomb attack were Sunni jihadists reacting to a possible crackdown by the Syrian authorities. This article brings us back to the age old question: How do you best go about fighting terrorism? And if you can find an answer to tha... more -
Medical helicopter crashes in Md. park, killing 4
DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. (AP) -- A medical helicopter carrying victims of a traffic accident crashed in a suburban Washington park early Sunday after reporting bad weather, killing four of the five people aboard, authorities said.
It was the deadliest medevac helicopter accident in Maryland since the State Police began flying those missions nearly 40 years ago.
A veteran pilot, a flight paramedic, a county emergency medical technician and one of the traffic accident victims died in the crash, authorities said.
An 18-year-old woman also injured in the traffic accident survived. She was in critical condition at a hospital.
"This is a devastating tragedy for the families of all the victims," State Police Superintendent Terrence Sheridan said.
Killed in the crash were pilot Stephen Bunker, 59; flight paramedic Mickey Lippy, 34; emergency medical technician Tanya Mallard, 39; and 18-year-old Ashley Youngler. DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. (AP) -- A medical helicopter carrying victims of a traffic accident crashed in a suburban Washington park early ... more -
Mother, 26, given months to live after misdiagnosis
A young mother has been given months to live after a hospital failed to diagnose that she had skin cancer.
Tara Jones, 26, from Wales, was given the all-clear by the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant after having a mole removed in 2005. But new tests showed it was malignant and the cancer had spread. She said it was now too late for treatment.
Ms Jones said she was hoping to live long enough to see her two children - Tyler, six, and Lowis, three - open their Christmas presents this year. "I will never see them grow up, their first day at comprehensive school, their first boyfriends and girlfriends," she said. "I am going to miss it all. It's just too unbearable to think about. Well it's heartbreaking really isn't it? I don't know how long I have got left to live through somebody else's mistake - I hope for years - but when I ask they just tell me to take my life each month as it comes."
Ms Jones said the mole had been sent away for tests and a week later she was told it was harmless. But a friend whose mother died of cancer recognised some of her symptoms and insisted she had a second opinion.
"There was a lady from the NHS and a doctor and a Macmillan nurse (who) came to the house and said the mole they had removed after the 12th of May was actually a melanoma in the first place," she said. "He (the doctor) told me there had been a terrible mistake. The mole I'd had removed in 2005 had been cancerous all along."
A spokesperson for the Welsh Assembly Government said: "We deeply regret hearing of cases like this and the minister would expect the trust to undertake an urgent inquiry into the matter." A young mother has been given months to live after a hospital failed to diagnose that she had skin cancer. ... more -
Two dead women discovered in Birmingham flat
A 28-year-old man has been arrested after the bodies of two women in their early 20s were found in a flat in Birmingham.
While police have not said how the women were killed, it was stated that they were subjected to a "sustained and violent attack".
Police said the male suspect who was arrested when trying to board a ferry in Dover may have been known to the women, who had lived together in the flat, but was not related to them.
Det Ch Supt Dave Mirfield said he believed "at least" one weapon had been used in the attack and they have now launched a murder inquiry. He added that officers were in contact with the women's next of kin. Supt Matt Ward said they believed it had been an "isolated incident. Although this is a tragic and horrendous crime, at this stage we believe it to be an isolated incident."
Forensic officers are at the scene and post-mortem examinations are expected to be held later. A 28-year-old man has been arrested after the bodies of two women in their early 20s were found in a flat in Birmingham. ... more -
David Foster Wallace, writer, is dead at 46
CLAREMONT, Calif. (AP) -- A police spokeswoman says writer David Foster Wallace has been found dead in his Southern California home. He was 46.
Jackie Morales, a records clerk with the Claremont Police Department, says Wallace's wife found her husband had hanged himself when she returned home about 9:30 p.m. Friday.
Wallace's first novel, ''The Broom of the System,'' gained national attention, but his best known work was 1996's ''Infinite Jest.''
He received a genius grant from the MacArthur Foundation in 1997 and he taught creative writing and English at nearby Pomona College. CLAREMONT, Calif. (AP) -- A police spokeswoman says writer David Foster Wallace has been found dead in his Southern California home. H... more -
9 people killed by homeade drink at a party in Indonesia.
NINE people died and six were sickened after drinking a homemade alcoholic brew in Indonesia.
The victims were poisoned during a party on Saturday evening in Indramayu district, West Java province, local police detective chief Soritua Harahap said.
"We are still investigating the substance they used to mix with the alcohol," he said.
Local doctor Asep Hendradiana said five people died in his hospital after being admitted on Monday.
Four more died in another hospital and at home, he said.
"The victims have consumed a homemade alcohol drink using unsafe or even lethal substances such as methylated spirit or insecticide," the doctor said.
"It has become a habit for them to mix whatever that can give a maximum effect to get drunk."
Dr Hendradiana said the six people in hospital were still in a weak condition.
At least 15 Thai fishermen and an Indonesian died after drinking a strong brew of alcohol and pig fat in Indonesia's Papua province in July. NINE people died and six were sickened after drinking a homemade alcoholic brew in Indonesia. ... more -
Soldiers: A Haunting Portrait of Loss
"Soldiers" is an acclaimed short, one-minute film directed by Hillman Curtis. The film was an Official Honoree at the 2008 Webby Awards and ealier was named to The Filminute 2007 Shortlist. An unsettling portrait of loss, "Soldiers" is a film that reflects upon the experiences of personal tragedy inflicted upon many persons as a consequence of our involvement in the current “War on Terror.”
“Soldiers” is a touchingly solemn portrayal of death and loss, which is quietly expressed in a manner that is best described as both subtle and dignified.
Photographs and this very moving film are included. "Soldiers" is an acclaimed short, one-minute film directed by Hillman Curtis. The film was an Official Honoree at the 2008 ... more -
Toddler dies after falling from London tower block
A 23-month-old toddler has died after falling from the fourth floor of a tower block in north London.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the child fell from a balcony window in Tottenham and died the next day from massive head injuries.
The spokesman said the toddler fell about 33ft (10m) from a block of flats known as Croydon, on the Broadwater Farm Estate on Gloucester Road.
He was taken to Royal London Hospital with a fractured skull and was later transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital, where he died.
Detectives are currently investigating the case. A 23-month-old toddler has died after falling from the fourth floor of a tower block in north London. ... more -
100-year-old woman shot dead in New York home
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. —
A 100-year-old woman was found shot to death in her Long Island home.
Suffolk County police say Jessie Burke was discovered by her daughter Sunday afternoon when she returned from the grocery store. The woman was found in sitting in a chair in the den. Police say there was no sign of forced entry and apparently nothing was stolen from the home. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Burke was described as a spry woman who loved crossword puzzles. She lived with her daughter, and had three other children. Police have not questioned the daughter in the slaying.
Detectives are asking anyone with information to contact the homicide squad or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — A 100-year-old woman was found shot to death in her Long Island home. ... more -
8 presumed killed in French Alps avalanche
Eight climbers were missing and presumed dead Sunday after an avalanche near Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest peak, was triggered when a chunk of ice as wide as two football fields broke off a mountain face.
The avalanche -- in which the ice fell onto a hiking trail -- appeared poised to become the deadliest one this year in the French, Swiss or Italian Alps, and the worst in the French Alps in more than a decade, French officials said.
Five Austrians and three Swiss were missing. Seven other people were hospitalized with injuries.
The avalanche began at about 3 a.m. after a massive block of ice known as a serac cracked off a side of the Mont Blanc du Tacul, one of the peaks in the Mont Blanc range, at an altitude of about 11,800 feet, the Haute-Savoie regional government office said in a statement. Eight climbers were missing and presumed dead Sunday after an avalanche near Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest peak, was trigg... more -
65 die in Kyrgyz plane crash
Sixty-five people, including members of a teenage basketball team, died on Sunday when a Kyrgyz airliner crashed in a ball of flames shortly after take-off from the Central Asian state's main airport.
"There are 25 survivors," Emergencies Minister Kamchibek Tashiyev told Reuters. He said there had been a total of 90 passengers and crew members aboard the Boeing 737-200.
The plane, owned by local private carrier Itek-Air, was chartered by an Iranian company and bound for Tehran. Sixty-five people, including members of a teenage basketball team, died on Sunday when a Kyrgyz airliner crashed in a ball of flames s... more -
Madrid plane crash: new mobile phone footage
The BBC has published new footage of the aftermath of the Madrid plane crash, shot on a mobile phone.
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Good Samaritan Finds Out Dying Accident Victim Is His Wife
An unthinkable tragedy has hit a British man, after he decided to stop and help an accident victim who had been run over by a car. James Peters was on his way to pick up his wife from a bus stop in Surrey, England Friday, because he didn't want her to walk home.
But when he came upon an accident scene where someone was hit and badly injured, he felt compelled to stop and offer what help he could. He'd been there for almost 10 minutes before another Good Samaritan asked him to hang on to the victim's handbag.
And that's when the world he knew ended in a shocking realization: Peters recognized the purse as the one belonging to his wife and came to the agonizing discovery that she was the accident victim lying critically wounded in the road.
Susan Peters had decided to walk from the stop where her spouse was going to pick her up, and was hit by a car as she made her way home. By sheer coincidence, her husband passed by the scene moments later and stopped to help.
But there was nothing anyone could do. His wife was airlifted to a local hospital but succumbed to her injuries.
Peters admits he's devastated by the loss of what he calls the perfect wife and notes she was only five minutes from home when the accident took place. She leaves behind three sons and a 90-year-old mother.
To add to this incredible tragedy, Peters and his lifemate had spent some of their final days together celebrating a personal milestone. Last Wednesday, they marked their 40th anniversary.
A 25-year-old has been charged in the accident. An unthinkable tragedy has hit a British man, after he decided to stop and help an accident victim who had been run over by a car. Jam... more -
Promising New York boxer gunned down in Bronx
A promising professional boxer and three-time Daily News Golden Gloves champion was shot to death early Saturday after getting into a fight at a Bronx bodega, police said.
Ronney (Venezuela) Vargas, 20, a junior middleweight who turned professional last year, was pistol-whipped and then shot in the chest in his car in East Tremont. Vargas' death comes just as the Bronx native's undefeated professional career was taking off, making him one of the city's hottest boxing prospects. "He had a future," said his distraught father, German Vargas, 52. "They didn't just kill a boxer, they killed a champ."
Police said Vargas and five friends got into a beef with two couples at the 2001 Delicatessen on Clinton Ave. about 3:30 a.m. A police source said the men became enraged after they noticed Vargas chatting with their girlfriends. "It was a dispute over some females," the police source said. "He talked to the wrong girls, and the boyfriend didn't like it. It was senseless. Stupid."
The dispute so enraged the men that when Vargas and his buddies drove off in a Honda Accord, they followed close behind in a white car. Several blocks away, on Hughes Ave., the suspects pulled up and blocked Vargas' car. Then a man came to Vargas' driver-side window and pistol-whipped him before shooting him in the chest. Cops said Vargas tried to drive off backward, sideswiping several cars before he got out of the vehicle and collapsed in the street. A promising professional boxer and three-time Daily News Golden Gloves champion was shot to death early Saturday after getting into a ... more -
Breaking News: Bernie Mac Dies at 50
Comedian Bernie Mac died at Northwestern Memorial hospital early Saturday morning, according to his publicist, Danica Smith. He was 50.
"Actor/ comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," Smith said in a statement. "No other details are available at this time. We ask that his family's privacy continues to be respected."
Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster said that she received calls early Saturday morning from a close friend of the Mac family, confirming the reports of Mac's death.
-Chicago Sun-Times Staff
This is a great loss to comedic and black communities. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Bernie, you will be missed. Comedian Bernie Mac died at Northwestern Memorial hospital early Saturday morning, according to his publicist, Danica Smith. He was 50... more -
Baby accidentally ‘stoned’ to death
An eight-month-old baby died instantly when hit by a stone on one of France's most popular tourist beaches on the island of Corsica.
The male infant died in front of his parents’ eyes after the stone thrown by two teenagers had hit him.
An eyewitness said, “the stone came flying down from a cliff face and hit the baby full on. It had been thrown by two local boys who then ran away.” A local police spokesman stated: “Emergency services attended extremely quickly but the baby was dead on arrival. The child did not stand a chance
The two teenagers, 13 and 14, were arrested soon after the incident and immediately claimed that the tragedy was a complete accident. According to a police official, they stated that they were just “playing” and it was “pure chance” that the baby was hit.
The parents were described as “inconsolable”. An eight-month-old baby died instantly when hit by a stone on one of France's most popular tourist beaches on the island of Corsi... more
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Tragedy
