Italian police want to set up a special unit to tackle the growth of new religious sects, particularly a violent new breed of home-grown Satanists.
The new police squad would include psychologists, as well as a priest who is an expert on the occult.
It would co-ordinate - nationwide - investigations into potentially dangerous religious movements.
The move follows a spate of high profile, gruesome murders blamed on a new generation of Satanists.
They indulge in a lethal blend of black magic, hard drugs, sex and heavy metal.
In the most recent case a gang known as the "Beasts of Satan" bludgeoned, then buried alive, two of their own members - a young woman and her boyfriend - in woods outside Milan.
Experts say the number of Satanists in Italy is tiny - and the product as much of youthful alienation as of any more traditional religious conviction.
But more than a million Italians belong to other minority religions, and some experts are worried that the new police squad could target members of them as well - even though, despite their perhaps strange beliefs, they are entirely harmless.
The police need to concentrate on tackling Satanic criminality, says one of the country's leading experts on new religions, or they will end up threatening religious freedom as well as wasting scarce resources.
#1
Meanwhile, they ignore the thousands of Muslims who have imported some of their more, um, colorful beliefs, because of a couple of dozen Goths who got carried away.....
(AHN) - A conservationist said Wednesday that a Chinese freshwater dolphin that lived in the Yangtze River is effectively extinct. An international team spent 39 days looking for the dolphin and did not find a single one, according to conservationist August Pfluger.
"There is of course a chance that we missed one or two animals, but we didn't see any and we had the best people on board our boat and the best possible technology. The baiji is functionally extinct," Pfluger said, according to AP.
"I am terribly sad. I think it is a tragedy that we weren't fast enough to save the species," he said. "We did not know the baiji was that close to extinction."
The baiji dates back about 20 million years. It's believed that this is the first time in 50 years that a mammal has become extinct.
Pfluger, the Swiss co-leader of the joint Chinese-foreign expedition, said there may still be a few baiji, but not enough to breed and prevent extinction.
The dolphin's declining numbers are probably due to overfishing and shipping traffic because the engines interfere with the sonar the it uses to navigate and feed, he said.
#4
Maybe premature - all higher animals, mammalian or non-mammalian, have instincts for survival which includes recognizing when their normal environments are no longer safe. Let the search continue, but widen its area.
#6
I hope so Joe. I know this ain't as important as the war on terror and all, but it is still depressing to think that one of the more highly intelligent life forms on our God given Earth may be lost. I hope they did find a way out.
"This is so fast-moving, we need to take stock and maximise opportunities to recover forensic evidence from the scene before establishing whether they are linked or not. We need to catch this person or persons as quickly as possible." - DET CHIEF SUPT GULL
THE Suffolk serial killer is murdering women at a rate "unprecedented" in British criminal history, a senior police officer said yesterday.
Speaking just hours after the bodies of two more women were found in the Ipswich area, Chief Constable Alastair McWhirter said the fact the five killings have taken place within six weeks meant they were dealing with a murderer like no other witnessed in the country.
"This is an unprecedented set of circumstances. One thinks back to the Yorkshire Ripper. That was over several months. This is unprecedented in terms of speed," he said.
He added the force was bringing in assistance from other forces to help in the inquiry. Investigators said the "natural assumption" was that the two bodies discovered yesterday were those of missing prostitutes Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls.
The first body was found near Levington, a village to the south of Ipswich and just a few miles from Suffolk police headquarters. Minutes later a police helicopter spotted a second corpse nearby.
Only hours before the discoveries, Paula's father, Brian Clennell, had pleaded for his daughter to "just say you're alive". He said: "We all love you and you have nothing to hide. There are no repercussions coming out of it."
But hope for her safety was failing fast last night.
The naked body of Gemma Adams, 25, was found on 2 December in woodland at Hintlesham, on the outskirts of Ipswich. She had last been seen on 15 November.
On 8 December the body of Tania Nicol, 19, was found in nearby Copdock. She was the first to go missing and had last been seen on 30 October.
The naked body of the third prostitute, Anneli Alderton, 24, from Colchester in Essex, was discovered at the weekend in Nacton, a few miles further east of the others.
All the bodies were found close to the A14, which runs to the port of Felixstowe.
The officer leading the murder inquiry, Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, confirmed yesterday's discoveries.
"Just after 3:05pm we were contacted by a member of the public who reported seeing what he thought was a female naked body on the old Felixstowe road near to Suffolk police headquarters.
"As a result of that we deployed a helicopter and shortly after, a second body was reported."
Det Chief Supt Gull added: "These two bodies have been found not far from where Anneli was found and I fear the worst - they may well be Paula and Annette."
He said officers had formally linked on Saturday the murders of Tania and Gemma because of "significant similarities", and inquiries involving Anneli, Paula and Annette were continuing.
"This is so fast-moving, we need to take stock and maximise opportunities to recover forensic evidence from the scene before establishing whether they are linked or not. We need to catch this person or persons as quickly as possible."
Last night a police helicopter was hovering above the scene of the latest discoveries in case further bodies were lying in the area.
Det Chief Supt Gull said no further prostitutes had been reported missing in Ipswich.
"I would say to the offender, I think it is unlikely he will make himself known to us, but clearly this man is a danger. He has got significant problems. If he is minded to make himself known to us, then I would encourage him to do so."
He again urged prostitutes to stay off the streets.
Earlier yesterday, Det Chief Supt Gull said it appeared from a post-mortem examination that Miss Alderton had been strangled.
He said the cause of death in the cases of Miss Adams and Miss Nicol had not yet been established, although their bodies showed no signs of asphyxiation. Det Chief Supt Gull described this apparent anomaly as "potentially unusual" and raised the possibility that more than one killer could be at work.
He said his message to the killer was simple - "Give yourself up" - adding: "Clearly you have a significant problem. Give me a call. We can deal with this."
Mr McWhirter, said the force had been taken by surprise by the speed with which the killings have occurred.
He said: "This number of murders in such a short period of time is very demanding but we're putting resources in place to deal with it."
Publicity-hungry killer with a grudge 'taunting the police'
POLICE investigating the prostitute murders are being "taunted" by a serial killer, a forensic psychologist said last night.
Dr Keith Ashcroft, an expert in sex crimes, said the person responsible probably had "a grudge" against Suffolk Police.
He said the fact that bodies were being left in relatively open surroundings in an area swarming with officers indicated the killer's attitude.
Mr Ashcroft said: "I think this guy is really, really taunting the police and he probably has some massive grudge against a police force, probably even Suffolk.
"He wants to make the police look inadequate."
He added that the killer also had his "eye on the media" and the 24-hour news coverage of the case was feeding his ego and making him "more likely than not" to kill again.
Mr Ashcroft, who has advised police on other cases, said the murders bore some resemblance to those committed by an American serial killer in the United States in the 1980s.
Gary Ridgway murdered at least 48 women, many of whom were prostitutes, in the Seattle area.
He was known as the Green River Killer because he dumped bodies in a waterway, just as in the case of some of the Suffolk bodies.
Mr Ashcroft said the Suffolk killer, like Ridgway, was likely to have a history of failed relationships. Mr Ashcroft, who was trained by FBI profilers, said: "Ridgway had a lot of problems with women and lots of failed relationships with people that were too much of a match for him and it was like he was getting his own back on the women in his life by murdering prostitutes."
The expert added that the way in which the bodies had been dumped in Suffolk suggested the killer had good local knowledge and was well aware of forensic science.
He said: "The fact that clothes have been removed, and bodies left in the water, shows some attempt to minimise DNA evidence."
Asked if another person may be involved, he said: "With five bodies there may be somebody aware of it, but not necessarily part of the murders."
Mr Ashcroft, who is based at a private practice in Manchester, said psychologists were likely to be telling the police to try to keep a "lid" on the media coverage.
"He (the killer) has an eye on the media and is enjoying it at the moment so we have to look at the coverage," he said.
But police also need publicity to catch the killer.
A jealous husband is in trouble after branding his initials on his young bride's buttocks on their wedding night.
Police want to question the 54-year-old after he forcibly used a cattle brander on his 22-year-old new wife. He reportedly tried to justify the assault by saying he wanted to make sure other men knew she was 'his'. By the time the other men see the brand it's gonna be a little, um, late ...
Police called him in for questioning after his wife contacted a local women's rights organisation. A police spokesman said: "We want him for questioning. He has some explaining to do."
"Well I should say so... He branded her with BFD, when his name is Freakin' Pathetic Loser."
"That's not his name, Ralph. Sheesh."
"Well that's what she called 'im."
A heart-warming story!
KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian armed robber who tried to make off with a housewifes valuables was beaten to death by passers-by who heard the victims shouts for help, a news report said on Wednesday. The 33-year-old man, who was believed to have been responsible for a spate of other crimes including including drug abuse and motorcycle theft, died from serious injuries to the head and body. Jolly good beating that was ....
A 44-year-old housewife was in the lift of her flat late Tuesday in the central Cheras district when the suspect got entered and proceeded to threaten her with a 20-centimetre-long dagger. "Hah! You call that a knife!? I'll show you ...
The suspect allegedly held the knife to the womans neck and demanded her valuables, said Cheras head of criminal investigations V Samugam. Forgot one of the rules of mugging: don't let the vic call for help ...
She shouted for help, and when her son and neighbours heard her, they rushed out of their flats to see what was happening. When (the robber) saw the residents, he tried to run away. However, he was overpowered and beaten, Samugam was quoted as saying by the Star daily. Forgot one of the other rules: don't mug someone when the family is around; they just won't understand ...
The man was believed to be an ex-convict, based on a prison letter found in his pocket, the report said. Letter from the parole board?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/13/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The man was believed to be an ex-convict, based on a prison letter found in his pocket
Probably a Ramadan commutation of his death sentence.
Entrapment!
BADDECK, Canada Hes big, hes lifelike and hes convinced more than a few hunters to take a shot at him.
Bullwinkle, a two-metre-tall, two-metre-long life-size replica of a Cape Breton Highlands moose, is one of two decoys recently used by the Natural Resources Department during a sting that saw over 20 charges laid against hunters.
Operation Top Bull took place during a 12-day period in September in the Cape Breton Highlands, traditional stomping grounds for the hefty herbivore. "One hundred per cent of hunters that saw the decoy shot at it," conservation officer Blowers Stubbert told The Chronicle Herald on Monday.
The moose is so real that one hunter even took aim and fired at two different decoys in different locations on the same day, he said.
#1
Entrapment. Well, yes. Because the fools are hunting out of season with no licenses. The alternative is to let the Mikmaq hunters have open season on the poachers after they've illegally killed all the moose. Actually, this same kind of ruse ought to be done here where a lot of bears are being illegally killed in National Parks by Asians who have a fetish for certain body parts from bears, believing in enhanced virility and/or curative powers from disease. I like to hunt deer myself, but I observe all the rules. If I see anyone hunting illegally, I do my best to get them apprehended, even though there is an over supply of deer in most areas.
#2
There have never been so many deer, SpecOp35. Before the Europeans arrive, most of Eastern North America was wooded, with grassy openings for the deer to browse. Now it's mostly grassy lawns with patches of woods where the deer sleep -- inside out habitat as far as the deer are concerned. Some of the State wildlife departments are trying to get the hunters to take does instead of bucks, on the grounds that each doe will give birth, but most bucks will never get to breed -- thus not contributing to increased herd numbers -- but from what I hear the hunters mostly refuse. For the sake of my hosta and the woodland understory growth because the excess deer clear-eat everything less than 6' tall, I would be grateful if all Rantburg hunters would check their state's laws, and take as many does as is permitted. Seriously -- you can probably donate the unneeded meat to a nearby emergency food pantry for the poor. Thank you!
#3
Sounds like you need mountain lions in your neck of the woods TW. Where I live, we have plenty of them and not too many nuisance deer.
Keeps you on your toes when you walk the dog at night, too.
Posted by: SLO Jim ||
12/13/2006 15:54 Comments ||
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Methinks twas FREEREPUBLIC or LUCIANNE? > Some hunter claims to had killed an antlered deer WID SEVEN LEGS + ANDROGYNOUS GENITALIA. Normal deer in every respect save for the seven legs + you-know-whats. Of course you just know its Governor Dubya's fault.
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The state comptroller has agreed to pay more than $200,000 to settle an investigation into his use of a state employee to drive for his ailing wife, the attorney general's office said Tuesday. Alan Hevesi paid the state $82,688.82 after doing his own calculation and was subsequently ordered by the attorney general's office to hand over another $90,000. Under an agreement with the same office, Hevesi will pay another $33,604.97 within 10 days.
In October, the state Ethics Commission said Hevesi, a Democrat, broke the law when he used a staffer to chauffeur his wife from 2003 to mid-2006. Hevesi claimed the driver was needed to provide security for his wife, but the bipartisan commission said state police found no threat that justified the arrangement.
Hevesi apologized for what he called the serious error of providing a "belated" reimbursement, but insists he did not break the law. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the governor-elect, recused himself from the case but ordered a top deputy to investigate how much Hevesi still owed the state.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2006 00:00 ||
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Street Value Totals More Than $1M Combined
FLORIDANA BEACH, Fla. -- About $600,000 worth of cocaine washed up on a Central Florida beach Tuesday hours after nearly $500,000 worth of cocaine washed up in South Florida. Florida. Cocaine magnet.
Tuesday, Lena McAneney and her friend found a box stuffed with 20 packages of cocaine on Floridana Beach. "Oh, look, a box! Lessee wot Gaia has given us today!"
"It's Florida, Lena, it's bound to be sumthin' bad."
McAneney said she immediately called the police. Yah Shure.
"It's scary -- there's people looking for it," she said. "People die for stuff like this." Um, yeah... okay, so you called the cops. And the reporter gave your full name. Prolly has yer address laying on the desk. The one on the left as you enter the newsroom on the 2nd floor. By the water cooler.
Brevard County Sheriff's Office spokesman Andrew Walters confirmed the discovery. Authorities estimated the drug's weight at 27 kilos and its street value at $600,000, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported. "Yep. Them ladies looked a little winded, not that I think they tried hauling it off before decidin' to call us or nuthin'."
Earlier Tuesday on a Hollywood beach, 37 kilos of cocaine were wrapped tightly in cellophane and had likely been at sea for a month before washing ashore, said Capt. Tony Rode, a Hollywood police spokesman. Figured the currents and tides wrong, mebbe? They should hire Pappy, lol.
Rode said drugs are usually dumped into the ocean when people are being chased by the Coast Guard. Really? Heh.
Police are investigating both incidents. Most of it will end up at the Big Burn.
#1
Reminds me of the time we wheeled a patient from the labor room into the delivery room (before we had birthing rooms) and a package of white powder fell on the floor, no one would identify the "package" as their own.
Someone lost alot of money/drugs that day.
Posted by: Jan ||
12/13/2006 2:52 Comments ||
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So how come the yanks measure their coke in kilos
when every thing else uses imperial measurements?
We're all familiar with this picture of Arlington National Cemetary at Christmas.
2006 will mark the 15th anniversary of holiday wreaths being sent from the State of Maine to Arlington National Cemetery.
Each year the folks at Worcester Wreath Company make and decorate wreaths that will adorn over 5000 headstones of our Nations fallen heroes - in what has become an annual event coordinated with the Cemetery Administration and the Maine State Society.
The Patriot Guard Riders are escorting the wreaths from Maine to Arlington.
You Are Invited... to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony and activities at Arlington National Cemetery, or at any of the locations across the Country on Thursday, December 14th, 2006
A Moment of Silence will be held at ALL locations at Noon EST (sharp).
How can you get involved?
We hope you will be able to join us at Arlington National Cemetery or one of the other participating locations across the Country.
For those not able to attend, please pass the word that there will be a Moment of Silence at Noon EST, where people all across the Nation will stop and share a silent thank you, to all those who serve, to all we've lost, and to their families who will be without loved ones this holidays.
Please Share - Help spread the word!
I've been reading from the Patriot Guard forum, reports of the actual ride -- it's incredible the response.
Here's a sample:The first leg of the mission is done, well done people. I absolutely echo the sentiments of Great Dane.
The wreaths and escort left on schedule this AM, after Highsalute rode her new bike up to the starting point. They came down Rt 1 with a couple of stops along the way. I believe they stopped in Ellsworth and again at Moody's diner in Waldoboro.
I rode up to Wiscasset to meet up with them, we left around 5:00, the sun had already set, around 4:15 I believe. The ride was fairly uneventful, until the police brought the entourage to a complete stop out on the 4-lane portion of Rt 1, the vehicles at the rear had some good practice drill on panic stops.
Then there was a swichback just after Brunswick where the pavement looked very....black...Nobody slipped.
We rolled into Freeport around 6:00 to be greeted by hundreds of folks lining Main Street holding lit candles. As the riders would wave, we could hear the people cheering and yelling over the sound of the bikes. It was great seeing that much support for the cause on a fairly chilly evening, and after dark.
We pulled into the LL Bean Store main entrance to be greeted by a large crowd with more candles. There was a huge outdoor reception with several veteran's groups expressing thanks to Mr Worcester for his wonderful gift, and a few brief comments by Congressman Michaud.
We all then migrated down to a huge tent for a good old Maine "bean suppah" put on by, well....Beans.
Thanks to all the folks who helped today, we have been invited to escort the wreaths again next year.
Tomorrow morning at 6:30...we ride to NH.
State Troopers are guiding and handing off to State Troopers of the next state they are traveling through. You can track their progress here (if you can get it to work! Explorer is the answer)
http://wreaths-across-america.org/peoplenet_directions.html
A Christian newly-wed has filed a £3.5 million compensation claim against his employers, saying that his marriage was ruined because his sex drive spiralled out of control after he injured his head at work. Pic of the little woman at the link. I advise against looking.
Stephen Tame, 29, from East Bergholt, Suffolk, fell from a gantry while working in a bicycle warehouse in January 2002. Got that? He wuz dropped on his head four years ago.
Although he made a full physical recovery after two years of specialist treatment, The flat spot is mostly all gone now...
he claims that the accident led to severe sexual disinhibition, which is destroying his marriage. The formerly mild-mannered bicycle warehouse worker now emerges as... Doinker Man!
His wife, Sarah, 30, has had to spend nights away from him to get some respite, "C'mere, baby!"
"I can't take it no more! I'm outta here! This is what my back looks like!"
and he has resorted to using pornography and visiting a prostitute. "'Allo, sailor!... Mmmmph!... Mmmmph!... Hey! Get offa me!"
Mrs Tame, who got married to her husband eight months before the accident, was also shocked to find that he had been unfaithful to her, with a 57-year-old woman who attended the same church. "I mean, I didn't even know she wuz a woman, what with the whiskers and all..."
Mr Tames lawyers say that his behaviour has become rude and physically aggressive. "I don't care if he was dropped on his head, counsellor. He can't do that in my courtoom!"
He is suing his former employers, Professional Cycling Marketing, for damages, through his wife. "Yeah. It's their fault. It's all their fault!... Hey! Nice cat! Is that a female?"
In September last year judgment was entered in favour of Mr Tame on the basis of 100 per cent liability. Judge Michael Harris must now decide how much compensation to award. "Eeeeew!"
"What's it worth to yez to make him stop doing that where you can see it?"
Mrs Tame, who is now living with her parents, wept as she told the court of her reaction to her husbands infidelity. I was in total shock. "He didn't even try to be subtle about it! Just jumped her, right there at the prayer meetin'!"
"It was horrible. I was in turmoil. We love each other, but the love is slowly going. When I left we were not living apart as such; I was just having a respite. "You know, just takin' a week or two off until the blisters healed up..."
"My head was in turmoil. "It spun around 360 degrees! I projectile vomited! And that was just to warm up!"
We both try to pray every day and we try to pray together. "Lord, please make him leave me alone!"
"Lord, please make her pants fall down again!"
"The church has been supporting us and they are trying to keep us together. They tell us not to make any harsh decisions. She added that her husbands carers had advised her to sleep in a separate bed to avoid encouraging his high sex drive. "Yeah. Don't egg him on. You might want to gain some more weight, too. And stop washing your hair."
Asked by the defence whether she had separated from Mr Tame to increase the value of the compensation claim, she said: That was never my intention in leaving. I was becoming mentally ill because of the whole issue of the accident. She is seeing a counsellor and taking antidepressants.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2006 13:55 ||
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Yeeeesh...
Heed Fred's warning. I'm surprised he didn't ask for more. I would.
#2
If this isn't a Biography of Frank J I swear .com will post a graphic suitable for framing...
Posted by: Mark Z ||
12/13/2006 14:23 Comments ||
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Sarah Tame, who has been advised to sleep apart from her husband to avoid encouraging him (Steve Maisey)
Pay this man what is due to him. I have no doubt his affliction is all too real. Just look at the pic, and do the math. Mr. Tame, courage! We're all behind you, where it's safest.
RICHMOND, Va. - To hear the students tell it, Stephen Murmer is a fun, popular art teacher who is always quick to crack a joke. But there is another side to Murmer. A side that has agitated school officials and resulted in his suspension. A side that focuses, almost entirely, on the crack in his backside.
Outside of class and under an alter ego, the self-proclaimed "butt-printing artist" creates floral and abstract art by plastering his posterior and genitals with paint and pressing them against canvas. His cheeky creations are eagerly snapped up by suckers sell for hundreds of dollars.
This has not gone over well with Chesterfield County school officials, who placed Murmer on administrative leave from his job at Monacan High School. Murmer contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia after he was suspended on Friday, ACLU legal director Rebecca Glenberg said. He told Glenberg that administrators had suspended him with pay for five days because of his work as a butt-print painter and that he also could face unpaid suspension pending an investigation.
Murmer has been instructed by the school administration not to speak with the media, Glenberg said. He did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday. Chesterfield County schools spokeswoman Debra Marlow confirmed that a Monacan art teacher had been placed on administrative leave but declined to provide additional details because it is a personnel issue. "In the school system, personnel regulations state that teachers are expected to set an example for students through their personal conduct," Marlow said. "Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that schools must teach by example and that teachers, like parents, are role models."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2006 13:30 ||
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You have to admit, he's pretty cheeky.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
12/13/2006 15:55 Comments ||
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Nice scam. Free money, no effort needed whatsoever, no creativity involved, no trouble with the law, and PC-legit, too. Smart guy.
Workers at Turkish Airlines celebrated a job well done by sacrificing a camel at Istanbul airport and their boss has now been suspended. The national flag-carrier said on Wednesday maintenance staff killed the camel at Turkey's busiest airport after sending a batch of aircraft back to the supplier ahead of schedule. Turkish Airlines has suspended the head of plane maintenance pending an investigation, the company said in a statement.
Turkish newspapers carried pictures of the camel, two rugs thrown over his hump, ahead of Tuesday's sacrifice. They also showed pictures of the beast chopped up into chunks of meat. Top-selling daily Hurriyet said 700 kilos of camel meat were distributed among the workers. Turkish Airlines was accepted last week into the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance. Many Turks slaughter animals, usually sheep or cattle, in an annual Muslim festival called the Festival of the Sacrifice, which falls in early January.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2006 13:26 ||
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JHC, the poor camel. He was safe as backup transportation as long as the Turks were self dependent. Now they don't need the poor beast, so he's just one big sheesh kabob.
If Conan isn't first remembered as a literary figure, it's because the culture has embraced him so completely on film, in comic books, and as an icon of thick-muscled, sword-wielding manhood. Yet he got his start on the printed page as the invention of Robert E. Howard, a rural Texas pulp writer who lived from 1906 to 1936.
Enthusiasts have celebrated Howard's centenary all year long with pilgrimages to the tiny town of Cross Plains, where a family home has been turned into a shrine-like museum, plus the release of several anthologies of stories and a new biography, "Blood & Thunder," by Mark Finn. These festivities culminated at the World Fantasy Convention in Austin, Texas, last month when a group of devotees announced the establishment of the Robert E. Howard Foundation, which hopes to arrange for the publication of everything its namesake ever wrote--an estimated 3.5 million words of prose and poetry.
The Conan stories make up only a small fraction of this huge output: There are 21 of them, including a novel, and they were written at breakneck speed between 1932 and 1935. As with everything by Howard, their quality varies dramatically: A fantasy classic such as "Beyond the Black River" remains a riveting tale that undermines popular notions of frontier progress and manifest destiny; "The Vale of Lost Women," however, is a clunky piece of hackwork that would be instantly forgotten were it not for the fame of its star character.
Yet the stories share a fundamental power because Howard was a skilled action-adventure storyteller. So were a lot of other pulp writers, of course. What ultimately set Howard apart was a dazzling imagination that dreamed up the sword-and-sorcery subgenre of fantasy literature before anybody had heard about J.R.R. Tolkien and his hobbits. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
12/13/2006 07:20 ||
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Conan, yes, but Howard wrote dark fantasy too (he was a friend of HPL and had his part in the making of the Cthulhu mythos, notably the Serpent people.
#2
Wrote also many other stuff in addition to Conan, he was very prolific, western, boxing tales, pulps mystery novels,... he created other great heroic fantasy characters (Kull notably, Solomon Kane, Red Sonja...),... I'm by no means knowledgeable about his writing bar the novels I own and enjoy, but he sure was a man whose work I really liked as a kid. Large cover by Nicollet.
#4
Hum, I can't seem to find the next best pic of Conan I know of, that is him brooding with his chin rested on the pommel of his sword, as drawn by John Buscema, at least in a correct version.
#5
Conan, yes, but Howard wrote dark fantasy too (he was a friend of HPL and had his part in the making of the Cthulhu mythos, notably the Serpent people.
I believe Conan is TECHNICALLY part of the Cthulhu mythos, with a number of Mythos creatures mentioned in the Conan stories and at least one Conan reference in Lovecraft's works. The critter in "The Tower of the Elephant" was definitely cut from the Mythos mold, if not as malevolent as the rest.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
12/13/2006 11:58 Comments ||
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Except for nobody having heard about Ctlhu in the many Conan novels I have read, except fotr the fact it takes place milleniums before the Ctulhu tales and except for the fact their spirit is completely different: in teh Ctulhu mythos humans are hunted by the minions of Ctulhu minions while Conan spends his time hacking them to pieces and even in a couple of occasions evil Gods or demigods.
#7
The "Chtulhu mythos" was made a posteriori, and the writings of Robert Howard and Clark Asthon Smith, both friends of Lovecraft who would play "private jokes" in each other's books, by dropping names or mentioning places, are indeed canon.
But, it's right there's no mention of Cthulhu or whatever in Howard, and the feeling is quite different (as the writers themselves).
IIRc, the big thing is the Serpent people and Yig, created by Howard for Kull, "appropriated" by HPL as obscure references, and later incorporated into the Mythos. I'm not really in top Mythos form (last time I took an online test, I got a 70+% only, tsk, tsk), but I think Mr. Crawford is right (Conan's per-recorded History, post-sinking of Atlantis times are Mythos canonical).
#9
The "Chtulhu mythos" was made a posteriori, and the writings of Robert Howard and Clark Asthon Smith, both friends of Lovecraft who would play "private jokes" in each other's books, by dropping names or mentioning places, are indeed canon.
Lovecraft got involved in that, too. I've got a lot of the collections of stories that try to identify the influences on Lovecraft, and he dropped lots of references to other authors, including his correspondents, into his stories.
But, it's right there's no mention of Cthulhu or whatever in Howard, and the feeling is quite different (as the writers themselves).
No mention of Cthulhu himself, from what I recall, but mention of other Mythos figures. Been a while since I read them, so I can't remember exactly who.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
12/13/2006 20:26 Comments ||
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A man who was locked out of his house in this Denver suburb tried to get in by sliding down the chimney early Friday, but he got stuck and had to be rescued, authorities said. The man, whose name wasn't released, fell about 12 feet down the shaft. Authorities said he was hurt but did not elaborate on the nature and extent of his injuries.
He convinced authorities it was his home, and there was no evidence he was breaking in, city spokeswoman Jennifer Galli said. Police were present but made no arrests.
Firefighters rescued the man by lowering a ladder into the chimney and lifting him to safety, Galli said.
#1
What are the odds of that , I mean Santa comes down 5 billion chimneys , once a year , and never gets stuck ! I knew there was something magical about him but couldnt quite put my finger on it till now :)
#2
I've a better (group) candidate. War or not
The Supreme Court yesterday, in a highly controversial decision, overturned part of an existing law in order to expand the circumstances under which Palestinians in Judea, Samaria and Gaza can sue Israel for damages incurred during IDF actions.
#3
What is really interesting is that ( according to the radio) there was a teenager at home when our hero decided to do the Santa thing.... why did he just not knock on the door for entrance????? the kid is the one that called the FD.
SEATAC, Wash. - Port of Seattle officials said they decided Monday night to put the Christmas trees back up after Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky and his Central Organization for Jewish Education Lubavitch said they would not file a threatened lawsuit. The Port of Seattle ordered them down after a Jewish group threatened to sue. Now the port's commissioner admits the move may have been a bit hasty. All nine of the Christmas trees were removed last week instead of adding a giant Jewish menorah to the holiday display as a rabbi had requested. Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky, who made his request weeks ago, said he was appalled by the decision.
"Everyone should have their spirit of the holiday. For many people the trees are the spirit of the holidays, and adding a menorah adds light to the season," said Bogomilsky with Chabad Lubavitch, a Jewish education foundation headquartered in Seattle's University District. "People should have their Christmas trees back up and we should have a menorah standing in the airport," said Bogomilsky.
After taking the trees down last week, Sea-Tac officials reconsidered. Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: " In hindsight, we probably should have handled this in a more deliberate and thoughtful manner...I can think of at least three out of five commissioners who would like to see the trees back up."
Bogomilsky had hired a lawyer and threatened to sue if the Port of Seattle didn't add the menorah next to the Christmas trees, which had been festooned with red ribbons and bows. Hanukkah begins this Friday at sundown. Craig Watson, the port's chief lawyer, said Bogomilsky had threatened to file the lawsuit if the port didn't make a decision by the end of last week.
After consulting with lawyers, port staff believed adding the menorah would have required adding symbols for other religions and cultures in the Northwest. Since the holidays are the busiest season at the airport, said a spokesperson, the staff wouldn't have time to play cultural anthropologists. "We decided to take the trees down because we didn't want to be exclusive," said airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt. "We're trying to be thoughtful and respectful, and will review policies after the first of the year."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2006 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
This is the first year that a Christmas tree isn't displayed in 29 years at my work place that I can vouch for.
Every year in the main lobby was a beautiful tree, and every unit had it's own tree that we would decorate with our specific area's expertise.
This PC crap is just that, crap.
Posted by: Jan ||
12/13/2006 2:44 Comments ||
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#2
"We decided to take the trees down because we didn't want to be exclusive," HUH? If you exclude everyone does that makes it inclusive?
#3
Good on ya SEATAC but not to worry - some other bonehead will pick up the 'No Christ in Christmas' theme.
Ah, here comes one now - the New Albany School District in Central Ohio pulled the song 'Silent Night' out of it's grade school program due to the fact that one of the Jewish parents objected to the lyrics "Christ the Saviour is born".
(Can't find an online reference yet, but it was in the dead tree version of the Columbus Disgrace this morning.)
#6
It's the Lubavicher Chassids who got a Channukah menorah added to the Christmas display on Cincinnati's Fountain Square downtown. They never demanded that the Xmas trees come down many years ago, just that we be included. It sounds like that was the situation in Seatac as well, but some idiot had a snit and overreacted. It was the the Cincinnati city council that subsequently decided not to include the cross the KKK wanted to add to the festivities, as the Christmas trees sufficed.
Slaising Spoger4813 dear, you will have noticed that the winey rabbi didn't actually file a law suit, and was appalled at that the trees were removed. mcsegeek1, to whose actions are you really objecting?
#7
Same deal in TLH Trailing Wife, the Lubavitchers wanted to put on a big abstract menorah, but they enjoyed the trees too. The trees, downtown decorations and Menorah were all powered up at the same time. No sweat.
Unless moved to coastal areas within the next week, 50,000 reindeer risk starving to death.
"We have no choice and we can't afford to wait any longer," said Baer Omma, chairman of a Sami community responsible for watching over the reindeer herd.
Unseasonably mild weather has caused the animals major problems. As the wet snow has frozen it has formed a hard crust of ice, making it almost impossible for the reindeer to get through to their pasture.
Sami communities in the Västerbotten region of northern Sweden have already begun moving their reindeer to snow-free areas by the coast, according to reports in local media.
There are estimated to be a total of 56,000 reindeer in the Sami communities of Västerbotten, 50,000 of which are currently in danger of starvation.
#2
there's way too many animals in these herds for that. compared to the small elk herds scattered around the rockies this is a massive group of animals.
Beyonce Knowles clearly wanted make a big impression at the LA premiere of her new film Dreamgirls. But things started off badly when the 25-year-old singer stepped on to the red carpet - and then rapidly got worse.
Her seemingly see-through blue dress - all frills and lace, and tied up with a big bow - looked like it had been ripped down from someones sitting room window.
Lol. So the story was ginned up by another femalian. Only one of them wymyns could pen a line that that, lol.
Then, without warning, the outfit slipped south and revealed a little bit more of the singers bootilicious curves than she would have liked.
Perhaps the slip had something to do with the fact that Beyoncé has lost more than a stone on her strict diet of cayenne pepper, maple syrup and water to play soul diva Deena Jones - based on Diana Ross during her days in The Supremes -in the Oscar-tipped movie.
#2
I hear ya. Seen 20 or 30 million and you've seen 'em all, celebrity and novelty notwithstanding. I have theories about texture and resilience that require further study, however. I'm just a slave to my intellectual curosity, I guess.
#7
.com,
I believe the current arguments are about surface area and elasticity. Also there are some that debate the firmness versus volume. I just say: "Silly guy tits are for kids."
#10
Maybe it's because I don't live in LaLaLand ... but why aren't there Celebrity wardrobe malfunctions in my view when I walk down the street!
Should I sue?
#11
"Cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and water" - good recipe for Stomach-Intestinal Ulcers, Colitis, Cancers, + Acid Reflux, to name a few. Must be a Declaration of War? agz JANET JACKSON's new Vids on VH1 + CNET/BEC - D *** ng it, WTH is CHAKIRA??? SEND IN THE MARINES - By Order of NUREMBURG, WINDOW BLINDS MUST ACCEPT UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.
A league table will be published tomorrow for the first time by the Information Commissioner revealing which British newspapers have paid private detectives to help them to obtain information on people in public life.
It follows a police raid, Operation Motorman, on a private detectives home which showed that in three years he had been hired by 305 journalists to carry out 13,343 separate inquiries at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, in his report for Parliament, has concluded that the means used by the detective were illicit or probably illicit in more than 11,000 of the assignments. Some of the details of the "Motorman," investigation by the Commissioner are on the web site of Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative Party treasurer, who obtained them through a series of requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
#2
Jail the journalists for breaching the Data Protection Act, since it covers the situation. But jail the detective too, since after all he's the one who did the illegal work. At least make sure he pays the full tax load for his fees -- not subtracting out his costs, as they were for illegal work and therefor not deductible.
#3
Okay, I'll bite, iff the French Socialist Model = French can't afford to bury French dead, then the British Socialist Model = forms of Law enforcement [Public?] needs to hire journalists to investigate = solve crimes???
Two British animal rights campaigners, wearing only bikinis made of lettuce, have urged Kazakhs to stop eating horses and go vegetarian.
Kazakhstan's national cuisine is almost entirely meat-based, and horse sausage and boiled sheep's head are considered delicacies. Lamb and offal are part of the staple diet and the activists braced freezing temperatures in the country's largest city, Almaty, to push home their message.
Kazakhstan has recently been made famous by Sacha Baron Cohen's spoof TV reporter Borat.
It has led campaigners from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to urge the public to go veggie. One of the activists, Yvonne Taylor, 35, said: "Whereas Borat is ridiculing the country, we're trying to come here with a positive message. "We're saying that going vegetarian is the best thing people can do for their health and to stop animals suffering."
Wearing sequined green bikinis made of plastic lettuce leaves, Taylor and colleague Lucy Groom, 27, waved placards and posed for photographs.
Passers-by gave them a mixed reaction. One teacher said: "I guess they are trying to encourage kids to eat their greens, which is okay." But a pensioner was less impressed, saying the only problem with meat in Kazakhstan was it was now too expensive.
#1
Reminds me of Muck 4 Doo's Lettuce Ladies.. Those bikinis certyainly don't look substantial... more pics?
Posted by: Howard UK ||
12/13/2006 4:51 Comments ||
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#2
I guess 'People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' knew that sending 2 blondes over would show the Kazakhs that they are serious and mean business !
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#24
One time at a reenactment a Lady asked what my horse's name was. I told her he didn't have a name, I didn't want to name something I might have to eat. It was in jest. We don't need to eat horses but in some parts of the world it's a matter of eating or not eating.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/13/2006 20:17 Comments ||
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#25
BPiB - Some suggestions for your erudite consideration...
"Lettuce... Cool, let's make salad! I've got the Miracle Whip!"
or
"I'm thinking tacos al carboned..."
or
"Lettuce leads to bunnies, and bunnies to humping... Why is every story about sex? Sheesh."
or
"Looks like cabbage to me. Okay, I got the carrot. Let's make slaw."
or
"Lettuce? Well, I've got the meat - if those were grape leaves we could make dolmas, baby..."
or
"They should be careful, they're inviting a taco heist!"
or
"Wow. I'll bet the Khazaks haven't seen that much white meat in years..."
#27
I am actually fairly certain I ate a meal of horsemeat stew and potatoes, at a Paris Youth Hostel in the summer of 1970, although one of my friends who also partook of this meal (it was the budget dinner supplied by the Youth Hostel) speculated that it might have been mule.
It for damn sure wasn't beef, mutton or pork... it was very stringy, and tasted rather oddly sweet.
Ok, not Norway (though it might be aborded in the archives), but last year Fjordman has this in his blog.
Nearly 300 women have sought help so far this year from Oslo's emergency clinic handling rape victims. That's a higher per capita rate than New York City's, and the clinic is having trouble meeting demand.
The clinic (voldtektsmottak) at the emergency hospital known as Legevakt has never had so many rape victims to treat. Its ability to care for them all is being severely tested.
The number of reported rapes has skyrocketed this year, from 235 last year.
"Our resources have been the same for the past 10 years, while the number of our patients has doubled, and continues to increase this year," said Endre Sandvik, leader of Oslo Legevakt.
Demand for evidence that can be used by prosecutors has also increased, "and we're using more time to secure evidence," Sandvik said.
City officials are asking the state to help fund improvements, to better assist victims and their chances of prosecuting their assailants.
"The growth in the number of rapes is dramatic," said Sylvi Listhaug, the politician in charge of health issues on the Oslo City Council. "It makes me angry, and worried about the young women of our city."
#1
I've been keeping my eye on this story, but so far, Aftenposten won't/cannot make the demographic connection. Oslo, apparently, is well on its way to becoming Malmo II.
Romanian police are looking for two burglars who broke into an woman's apartment - and left her some money.
Filofteia Stefan, 86, from Constanta, told police two young men, wearing masks, trashed her apartment. She said they rummaged for money or valuables but found only her wallet with the equivalent of 50p inside. The burglars then gave the woman all of their loose change - and left without taking anything.
The victim handed the money - more than £1 - to the police for fingerprint analysis. One bloody bleedin' pound? After trashing her place? Cheepskates.
And they wonder why NY cops who're about to be run-over decide to fire at the driver.
NEW YORK New York City college students who share a community room named for an escaped cop killer called the fugitive their hero Tuesday as the school's officials demanded the removal of the honor.
A handful of campus groups at the City College of New York commended the school for allowing them to work in the name of domestic "terrorist" Assata Shakur, ... (Link to her blog. Honest. Where she associates herself with Mumia, of course.)
... now believed to be hiding in Cuba. Love the "scare quotes" Sara... Symp.
"We know that many Black people that fought for better conditions in the 70's were framed," the groups said in a statement released to FOXNews.com. "We consider Assata Shakur to be one of the people who were wrongfully and purposefully framed for her activities. Activites. Like murder, perhaps? Oh yeah, she's a fucking hero.
"And we consider her a hero and role model for standing up for our people and putting her life on the line." Sane people realize you've just desribed the police... except for that racist "our people" bit, of course.
#1
...Has anyone seen the 'five truths' these idiots are babbling about that 'prove' Shakur's innocence? FoxNews ran the statement but didn't include 'em...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/13/2006 9:15 Comments ||
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#2
One can only hope the students learn critical thinking before they graduate.
#4
maybe I shouldn't ask, but never being one to run from a stupid question: Just what are those pictures in the graphic of??? Looks kind of like a self portrait of the 'butt-painter' in another posting.......
#5
"If you look at it at face value and think about what she did, it might seem wrong, but I think you really have to, like, look beyond the whole thing with the cops to really understand, like, where she's coming from," said Orlando Ayala, a 24-year-old senior.
College: It's, like, worth it.
You want, like, fries with that?
#8
What do you expect when they (and their professors) paint Che Guevara, Castro's executioner who had a special window placed in his office so he can watch executions, as some sort of hero? He was a cold blooded murderer.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
MICHAEL HOWIE - HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT 
A jealous husband is in trouble after branding his initials on his young bride's buttocks on their wedding night.
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The state comptroller has agreed to pay more than $200,000 to settle an investigation into his use of a state employee to drive for his ailing wife, the attorney general's office said Tuesday. Alan Hevesi paid the state $82,688.82 after doing his own calculation and was subsequently ordered by the attorney general's office to hand over another $90,000. Under an agreement with the same office, Hevesi will pay another $33,604.97 within 10 days. 
Street Value Totals More Than $1M Combined
SEATAC, Wash. - Port of Seattle officials said they decided Monday night to put the Christmas trees back up after Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky and his Central Organization for Jewish Education Lubavitch said they would not file a threatened lawsuit. The Port of Seattle ordered them down after a Jewish group threatened to sue. Now the port's commissioner admits the move may have been a bit hasty. All nine of the Christmas trees were removed last week instead of adding a giant Jewish menorah to the holiday display as a rabbi had requested. Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky, who made his request weeks ago, said he was appalled by the decision. 
Unless moved to coastal areas within the next week, 50,000 reindeer risk starving to death. 
Then, without warning, the outfit slipped south and revealed a little bit more of the singers bootilicious curves than she would have liked. 
Two British animal rights campaigners, wearing only bikinis made of lettuce, have urged Kazakhs to stop eating horses and go vegetarian.
Romanian police are looking for two burglars who broke into an woman's apartment - and left her some money.
