World News: Sad News

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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

J. Paul "Aileen" Getty Balthazar III Dies

J. Paul "Aileen" Getty Balthazar III Dies - J. Paul Getty III Dies at 54 and born into one of the world's richest oil families, was a kidnap victim at 16. J. Paul Getty III grandson of American oil magnate J. Paul Getty, died Saturday in Buckinghamshire, England, at the age of 54. In 1973, Getty was abducted by the mafia, from a piazza in Rome. When his grandfather refused to send the requested ransom, Getty's kidnappers severed his right ear. He was released after four months in captivity. Perhaps the most disturbing part of the story: Getty's grandfather eventually ponied up a portion of the ransom and charged his son — J. Paul Getty II — interest for the remainder of the ransom.

A decade after the kidnapping, Getty fell into drugs and alcohol addiction, and suffered an incapacitating drug-induced stroke. His died Saturday after a long illness, and is survived by his two children, one of whom is actor Balthazar Getty.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Two police killed in Miami

Two police killed in Miami - Two officers were shot to death Thursday in Miami as they served a warrant on a homicide suspect, authorities said.

One officer died at the scene, and the other officer, a female who was shot multiple times, died in surgery, according to Lt. Rosanna Cordero-Stutz of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

She told reporters outside the hospital that a third officer involved in the incident has a minor knee injury.

The officers were "serving a warrant, searching for a violent fugitive," Barry Golden of the U.S. Marshals Service told reporters.

The suspect, who was wanted on a homicide warrant from the city of Miami, was killed in a shootout with the officers, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, a former director of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Golden said no one else was being sought in connection with the incident.

Alvarez told reporters the officers worked in a unit that focused on finding career criminals.

"It's a horrible, tragic incident we've seen too often in Miami and everywhere else," he said.

"When there's a violent criminal out there that is willing to give up his life, he will always have the upper hand. ... He chose to shoot it out with police."

The mayor described the officers as "very well-armed and very well-trained ... seasoned police veterans who know their jobs."

Mitchell Garabedian Involved Cases

Mitchell Garabedian Involved Cases - A prominent advocate for victims of clergy SEX- abuse Boston area on Wednesday released a new list of accused abusers, saying it was time to “put an end to secrecy.”

The list includes the names of previously undisclosed 19 Catholic priests, brothers and a deacon Mitchell Advocate”Garabedian said were among those charged in many cases his company settled with the church ” tens of millions “of dollars.

“Mitchell Garabedian”a a list of 117″ religious workers “involved in cases of clergy SEXual abuse. Include the names of 12 priests of the Archdiocese of Boston says death before being accused of abuse.
A partial list of accused Catholic clergy and staff yesterday released 19 names includes never publicly linked the clergy abuse scandal, said its author, including four who served in parishes MetroWest.

Daniel Peal Murder Investigation

Daniel Peal Murder Investigation - A three-year investigation into the 2002 kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl has identified 27 Pakistanis that played a role - most of whom have escaped justice.

The Center for Public Integrity:

The investigation found that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the architects of the 9/11 attacks, was the man who killed the Wall Street Journal Reporter. It states that Pakistani authorities, in their haste to close the case, knowingly used perjured testimony to pin blame for the act of murder on Omar Sheikh and his three co-conspirators.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

200 Dead Cows Found In Wisconsin

200 Dead Cows Found In Wisconsin - 200 cows were found dead Friday on a farm in Portage County, Wisconsin. The dead cows had to be removed with semi-trucks. Early speculation is indicating pneumonia as a cause, but tests are still underway.

There's also no explanation yet as to why thousands of blackbirds fell dead out of the sky in Arkansas on New Year's Day, or why millions of fish carcasses fetched up on Maryland's coastline (You'd think 2012 was approaching or something).

The Portage County dairy farmer, whose name hasn't been made public yet, reported the field full of dead cows on Friday. Samples from the animals were sent to a Madison lab for tests.

So what's with the mass cow exit from Earth? Mass sickness? Biblical prophecy? Insidious government conspiracy? Maybe this is a job for Alex Jones. Or Jesse Ventura.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Pakistan Earthquake News

Pakistan Earthquake News 2011 - The quake struck 6.2 miles underground and took place 25 miles west of Dalbandin, Pakistan. No injuries were immediately reported.
A 7.4 earthquake hit the southwestern region of Pakistan, likely causing severe damage. The last major earthquake in Pakistan killed 80000.
This morning I interviewed Roger Bilham, an earthquake expert here at the University of Colorado, for KGNU radio’s How on Earth Science Show. Toward the end we got into the fact that fairly sizable earthquakes are overdue along the Himalayan front in Pakistan, India, Bhutan and other countries.

According to the AP:
The earthquake struck at 1:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday in Baluchistan province near the border with Afghanistan.

Don Kirshner Dies at 76

Don Kirshner, Rock Producer and Promoter, Dies at 76 - Don Kirshner the businessman and songwriter who helped create The Monkees and launch the careers of several iconic performers, died Monday in Florida. According to a press release, the 76-year-old passed away from heart failure. Don Kirshner who guided the course of Brill Building and bubblegum pop in the 1950s and ’60s as a music publisher and promoter, and later served as an Ed Sullivan for 1970s artists like Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Kiss and the Ramones with his weekly program “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” on television, died on Monday in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 76. The cause was heart failure.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Warning Virus Stuxnet Attacking

Warning Virus Stuxnet Attacking - The Stuxnet cyberweapon damaged about one-tenth of the centrifuges at the Iran nuclear facility near Natanz, says a report by a watchdog group. A critical security flaw in supervisory-control-and-data-acquisition (SCADA) systems used in China raises the possibility of another Stuxnet-like attack.

The New York Times reported rather conclusively on Saturday that the super-advanced computer virus that has at least partially crippled Iran’s nuclear program was developed and tested by Israel, with American involvement.

Known as Stuxnet, the virus was first identified “in the wild” about two years ago. About one year ago, it infected the computers that control the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz in central Iran. By all accounts, Stuxnet has to date managed to knock out 984 centrifuges and has, according to Israeli officials, set back Iran’s nuclear program by a good three-to-four years.

According to the report, the idea for the virus was birthed after Israel requested bombs and a green light from the US to launch a military assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Told that such an assault would not end Iran’s nuclear program, but merely set it back by several years, former US President George W. Bush said no.

Iran is apparently using centrifuges modeled on the now-archaic designs of Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan. America had gotten its hands on a large stockpile of these centrifuges when Libya dismantled its nuclear program in 2003, but US and British engineers failed to get the things to operate in a stable manner.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

John Dye touched by an angel

John Dye touched by an angel - Touched by an Angel star John Dye has died at 47, RadarOnline.com has learned. Dye, who played the angel of death on the popular CBS series, had been found dead in his San Francisco home Monday. John Dye, who played angel Andrew on 'Touched By An Angel' for nine seasons, has died. The actor passed away from heart failure in California on. Beloved TV star John Dye has died at the age of 47. The actor, best known for playing angel Andrew in the drama "Touched by an Angel," passed away at his San Francisco, California, home on Monday after suffering heart failure.

Dye racked up a number of TV credits during his career with appearances on shows including "Murder, She Wrote," "Promised Land" and "The Young and the Restless."

His "Touched By An Angel" co-star Valerie Bertinelli has since taken to Twitter to pay tribute to Dye, writing, "Dear, sweet John Dye, rest in peace."

Trish Keenan Dies From Pneumonia

Trish Keenan Dies From Pneumonia - It is with great sadness we announce that Trish Keenan from Broadcast passed away at 9am this morning in hospital. She died from complications with pnuemonia after battling the illness for two weeks in intensive care.

Friday, January 14, 2011

1 million affected by Sri Lanka floods

1 million affected by Sri Lanka floods - Aid workers scrambled to help more than a million people in Sri Lanka suffering from massive flooding described by the government as the worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
At least 27 people have died and 12 more are listed as missing, Lankapuvath, Sri Lanka's national news agency, reported Friday

The Sri Lankan government and United Nations agencies were beefing up efforts to address increasingly dire humanitarian needs.
Many of the people in flood-affected areas are still recovering from the 25-year bloody conflict between the government and the rebel Tamil Tigers.

Peter Fonda Finds Dead Body

Peter Fonda Finds Dead Body - Peter Fonda got quite a shock today. The 'Easy Rider' star was driving on Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles when.

Fonda is best known for his role in the 1969 film "Easy Rider" as sex-and-drugs loving biker Captain America. Other film credits include "Race With the Devil," "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry," and "3:10 to Yuma."

The actor was driving through Pacific Palisades, California, when he spotted a suspicious parked car by the side of the road and decided to pull up alongside to check the driver was OK.

According to TMZ.com, Fonda got out of his car and realized the man behind the wheel was dead.

The actor immediately called the police.

Brandi Favre

Brandi Favre - There is even more drama in the Brett Favre family. They really have been through the ringer that family. First Brett Favre’s wife battled with cancer. Then Brett Favre was accused by several women of hitting on them in very explicit ways. And now there along with the illness, the sex you can add in a drug scandal, this time it involves Brett’s sister Brandi Favre who was busted this week.

Brandi Favre, the sister of a certain future Hall of Famer/shady pervert, was arrested yesterday in Mississippi when police raided a condominium that contained a meth lab. Cops have now released the mug shot of this 34-year old:

Explained authorities to WLOX: "We discovered the full lab in the bathroom; it was still cooking. I think we collected pretty close to ten grams of finished product... that's a lot of meth."

Brandi was one of five people arrested and charged with manufacturing meth, possession of a controlled substance, transferring a controlled substance and generation of hazardous waste.

Let's just pray her brother doesn't come out of retirement in order to help pay her legal bills.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Brittany Murphy cause of death

Brittany Murphy cause of death - Brittany Murphy's cause of death has been determined: An accidental death caused by "community acquired pneumonia," iron deficiency anemia, and multiple drug intoxication.

The L.A. County Coroner concludes on the subject of "How injury occurred" -- "Drug intake."

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

pon farr time

Pon Farr Time - I Have a Bad Case of the Pon Farr And You're The Cure! Quick! Get this Pon Farr T-shirt from the NeatoShop before the blood fever sets and death is inevitable. Who knows, it may help geeks find their mates.

Tom delay to 3 Years In Prison

Tom delay to 3 Years In Prison -The nation's most powerful and feared lawmakers, was sentenced to three years in prison Monday for a scheme to influence elections that already cost him his job, leadership post and millions of dollars in legal fees. The sentence comes after a jury in November convicted DeLay, a Houston-area Republican, on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering for using a political action committee to illegally send corporate donations to Texas House candidates in 2002.

Prosecutors said DeLay will likely be free for months or even years as his appeal makes it through the Texas court system.

Ashley Turton Dies in Car Fire

Ashley Turton Dies in Car Fire - Our beloved Ashley Turton and Former Hill Staffer dies in car fire. Ashley Turton, former chief of staff to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and wife of White House liaison to the House of Representatives Dan Turton, was found dead in her car Monday morning, according to a source.

Turton worked as a lobbyist for the Raleigh, N.C.-based utility giant Progress Energy.

According to the D.C. Fire and Metropolitan Police departments, Turton’s car was discovered ablaze in a row house garage, presumably the Turton home, in the 800 block of A Street Southeast near Eastern Market.

Metropolitan Police Lt. Nicholas Breul said there is a joint investigation into the cause of the accident. Homicide detectives have been called to the scene.

“This could be just a tragic freak accident,” Breul said. “And that’s why we’re crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s, because it is a little freaky, and we need to figure out why. But there is no indication now that there was any crime.”

Monday, January 10, 2011

Debbie Friedman Dies in Los Angeles

Debbie Friedman Dies in Los Angeles - Lilith magazine's board and staff join with Debbie Friedman's multitude of other friends and fans in grieving her shocking and untimely death today. Debbie Friedman has died as a result of complications from pneumonia.