Post any funny/interesting/thought-provoking/whatever news stories you come across.
Starting off a new version of an old topic with this article. The quotes are priceless (emphases are mine).
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/02/020707rice.htm
Rice Pressed On Fired Gay Linguists
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: February 7, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Washington) Condoleezza Rice got a grilling Wednesday when she bemoaned "the foreign language deficit that we have" and how much the government needs Farsi and Arabic speakers during an appearance on Capitol Hill.
Rice was appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee justifying the State Department's proposed budget increases.
After she complained several times that the department was facing a problem finding translators an exasperated Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) asked why the department had not hired any of the translators fired by the Pentagon because they are gay and lesbian.
Under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" more than two dozen Arabic translators have been dropped since the war in Iraq began.
"It seems that the Defense Department has a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' when it comes to homosexuals. You don't have such a prohibition in your agency, do you?" Ackerman asked Rice.
"No, we do not," Rice replied.
"Well, it seems that the military has gone around and fired a whole bunch of people who speak foreign languages — Farsi and Arabic, etc.," Ackerman told her.
The Congressman said that they had already been trained at government expense and had passed security tests.
"For some reason, the military seems more afraid of gay people than they are against terrorists, but they're very brave with the terrorists," Ackerman said.."If the terrorists ever got a hold of this information, they'd get a platoon of lesbians to chase us out of Baghdad."
The remark drew some smiles from fellow members of the panel, but Rice was stone faced.
He then asked directly why the State Department had not looked at the fired gay linguists.
"Can we marry up those two — or maybe that's the wrong word — can we have some kind of union of those two issues?" Ackerman asked.
"Congressman Ackerman, I'm not aware of the availability of people, but I certainly will look [at] what we are doing right now," Rice replied, adding that the department had increased staff in many critical areas but needs additional people at higher levels.
"But maybe you might find some of those competent people among those who are recently unemployed."
"We'll look at it," is all Ackerman could get Rice to commit to.
"Secretary Rice would have no trouble finding gay linguists," said Sharon Alexander, deputy director of policy for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
"In fact, our government could go a long way in addressing the shortage of language expertise by doing just as Congressman Ackerman suggests. SLDN would be happy to introduce Secretary Rice to our many clients who speak Arabic but have been dismissed because of the ban," said Alexander.
Since the ban on gays serving openly was implemented a decade ago more than 11,000 men and women have been dismissed under "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" according to the Government Accountability Office.
Last month Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) said that he will reintroduce legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." early in this session of Congress and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has told Defense Secretary Robert Gates he wants an answer on the new secretary's position on DADT by March 16.
Submitted by
on February 7, 2007 - 7:24pm.
Carme Electra and Joan Jett
It seems that they have a relation together. Carmen Electra was seen kissing Joan Jet several times after Joan's concerts. Carmen Electra has been a fan of Joan Jett since she was a child.
Anna Nicole Smith dies after collapsing in hotel
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/08/anna.nicole.collapses/index.html
"Anna Nicole Smith dies after collapsing in hotel"
Its tragic and quite strange
Its tragic and quite strange about Anna Nicole.
First, her elderly husband dies (which wasn't surprising).
Her son dies a few months ago.
Then the son of the elderly ex-husband dies shortly thereafter (who she had a legal battle with for years over the money from said ex-husband)
Now she dies.
Really strange. I have a sinking feeling she committed suicide, but I hope I am wrong.
If that's the case, she had some really bad karma, it seems. Or a family curse.
In the news...
How much do you think Mudd will pay me to wear my watch? :-?
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=2869056&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSF...
Watch Out, Charlize Theron
By Gigi Stone, ABC News
Imagine earning millions of dollars just to strap on a diamond watch. Such is the life of Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron. That is all the South African siren was required to do to rake in some serious extra dough, but apparently she just couldn't stick to this arduous task.
Raymond Weil, a maker of luxury Swiss watches, hit Theron with a lawsuit last Monday, alleging she violated a lucrative endorsement deal by wearing other designers' timepieces. The suit accuses the actress of two-timing the company by wearing a Christian Dior watch in public — a serious faux pas in light of her $20 million deal.
Weil's attorney, David Jaroslawicz, refused to comment, but key players in the celebrity endorsement industry say the company has a point.
"When companies like Weil put eight figures behind a campaign, exclusivity is very important to the brand," explains Ryan Schinman, president of Platinum Rye Entertainment, which negotiates talent buys on behalf of advertisers and corporations. "The minute she's seen wearing a competitor's jewelry it diminishes the entire believability of the campaign."
However, Schinman explains that it's not entirely Theron's fault. "As far as what Charlize did I'm sure it was unintentional but it is her team's responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen." And, he says, the incident will likely have repercussions in the industry. "Agents and clients are likely to be a lot more careful about policing their clients in the future," he predicts.
The 31-year-old star of "Monster" and "North Country" signed on as the face of a multimillion-dollar ad campaign in October 2005, apparently agreeing to wear only Raymond Weil watches in public. Theron promoted the limited edition line of diamond-covered Shine watches, which sell for $7,000.
But Theron angered sponsors when she turned up in a Tourneau catalogue wearing a faux diamond watch over the words, "Charlize Theron wears Dior." Theron had an endorsement deal to promote a Dior perfume. Theron was also photographed wearing a watch from the Christian Dior line at a March news conference at a film festival in Austin, Texas. Representatives for Theron wouldn't comment.
It's never been a bigger time for celebrity endorsements. Catherine Zeta-Jones for T-Mobile cell phones. Gwyneth Paltrow for Estée Lauder fragrances. Nicole Kidman for Chanel perfumes. Gwyneth Paltrow for Damiani jewels. Courteney Cox for Kinerase skin care, Cindy Crawford for Omega watches. The Hollywood A-list are hawking products like never before, both in America and abroad.
Wouldn't you? Ad campaigns pay them as much as $3 million for as little as a day's work.
"Celebrity endorsements are more powerful then ever," explains Noah Tepperberg, co-founder of celebrity marketing company Strategic Group. "One photo of a product on the right star at the right time can generate millions of impressions which are often much farther reaching and cost efficient than traditional advertising methods. "
But does seeing Charlize Theron wearing a diamond watch actually influence someone to go out and buy one? Brand consultant Sabine Heller thinks so.
"In our media-saturated world, the power of celebrity worship, which absurdly and tragically resembles idolatry, seems to be magnifying at an exponential rate … [It] means quite literally that Jane Doe sees a celebrity in an advertisement and, as a result, goes out to buy the product being endorsed," Heller says.
And this will likely continue to grow even more rapidly. "If the advertisers and corporations weren't getting results they would stop using [celebrities]," explains Shinman. "When the Robert De Niros and Sharon Stones of the world continue to do ads, this breaks down the walls for it to become acceptable for other celebrities."
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
Empty boxes and politeness dent generosity
Interesting...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070221/od_nm/charity_study_dc_1
Empty boxes and politeness dent generosity
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - People will not give money if they are thanked in advance or presented with an empty donation box, but will dig deep if they see banknotes, according to a study by New Zealand academics released on Wednesday.
The research by Victoria University of Wellington's economics department showed that how much is already in a donation box, the mix of coins and notes, and what sorts of signs are present will influence how generous the public will be.
The behavior of people faced with a clear donation box at the entrance to the city's art gallery was filmed by a hidden camera.
"The most important thing is to never leave the box empty," said senior lecturer John Randal.
"But it is also important to ensure there is a balance of notes and coins so that whether people want to make a large or small donation, that they feel it is appropriate to do so."
The researchers used various combination of banknotes and coins, various amounts of money, and signs thanking people as well as telling them they were being filmed.
More banknotes than coins led to larger individual donations, but a fall in the number of donations, while more coins saw more donations but of a lower value.
"It appears that people will make bigger donations when they perceive that others have made large donations," Randal said.
"But when the box was always empty, the total amount donated was significantly less, which suggested that people saw the lack of donations as indicating that the norm was not to donate."
Thank you signs led to fewer donations, especially if the donation box already had a large amount in it, which was apparently reinforcing a natural instinct not to give.
The results of the study are to be published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
"Alameda Artist's Display Alarms Secret Service"
You'll have to click on the link and view the photo(s) and video to get the full effect...
Alameda Artist's Display Alarms Secret Service
UPDATED: 5:46 am PST March 2, 2007
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- An Alameda artist got a surprise visit from the U.S. Secret Service last week for displaying artwork some people thought was threatening to the president, NBC11's Jodi Hernandez reported.
Artist Michael McDonald, 55, routinely displays art in his front yard. One of his latest pieces is a cardboard representation of President George W. Bush being impaled by a knife.
The cutout shows painted blood running over the president's eyes and down the bridge of his nose.
McDonald said the piece intended to spark discussion about controversial topics.
"The knife is used as a hook, basically to bring you into the piece," McDonald said.
McDonald said the Secret Service grilled him for 90 minutes about his art and his beliefs, Hernandez reported. They also asked him to allow access to his medical records, he said.
McDonald said the federal agents asked if he interpreted his work as a threat against the country's chief executive. He said he didn't.
"They said, 'You've got a knife sitting in the head of the president of the United States,'" McDonald said. "I said, 'No, I got a knife in a piece of cardboard.'"
The display prompted at least three people to complain, Hernandez reported.
Jeff Segurson said he was so disturbed, he called the police.
"I don't think he's a threat to the president, but I don't think it's the best thing for this to be out here with the knife and the F-word and the blood all over the president. I don't think it's that respectful," Segurson said.
McDonald said the art is in no way meant to threaten the president, but to get people thinking about Bush's policies and the war in Iraq.
"We're not outraged about that, but we're outraged about a simple knife stuck in a cardboard figure and saying, 'Oh no he's the president, he's the president.' No, he's not. He's just a cardboard figure that I used as a representation of something," McDonald said.
McDonald said he has been placing art in his front yard for 13 years. He rotates the pieces monthly.
McDonald has altered the artwork since the Secret Service visit. He said not because he had to, but because he wanted to send a new message.
"I changed it to yellow, which is the color for coward, put a swastika for fascism. I put anonymous, because whoever did this to me is anonymous. They don't have the guts to come forward," McDonald said.
McDonald said he's got a right to express his views through art. He's already working on a new art installation that he said may raise a few more eyebrows next week.
"Art's art," McDonald said. "Sometimes it's offensive. That's too bad."
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
I just don't even have the words
Let's take a moment to celebrate the birth of a beautiful baby boy! Okay, well, it was in 2003, but...
Welcome Urhines Kendall Icy Eight Special K to the world!
http://www.newbabynews.net/hospitals/stf33/public/stf33birthannouncement.pl?babyID=h33-440
why for the love of god
Do they not realize they
Oh. My. God.
This is so messed up. I can't imagine what this girl has gone through because of this. Losing a pet, or having a pet go missing, is traumatic enough -- This is just... I don't understand people. And this is just a 17-year old girl. I don't understand how someone could do something like this. [sighs]
----
Girl finds missing dog's head in box on doorstep
ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) -- A 17-year-old girl who spent weeks looking for her missing dog unwrapped a box left on her doorstep and found the pet's severed head inside, authorities said.
Homicide investigators were looking into the case because of the "implied" terroristic threat, St. Paul Police Sgt. Jim Gray said. The Humane Society of the United States said Wednesday it was offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
"This was extraordinarily heinous," said Dale Bartlett, the Humane Society's deputy manager for animal cruelty issues. "I deal with hundreds and hundreds of cruelty cases each year. When I read about this case, it took my breath away. It's horrible."
After Crystal Brown's 4-year-old Australian shepherd mix,Chevy, wandered away last month, she put up "missing" posters in her neighborhood and went door to door looking for him. She called the St. Paul animal shelter and rode the bus there several times.
"I felt empty," Crystal told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. "I couldn't talk to anyone. He was my dog. It was just me and him. ... I told him everything and he never shared any of my secrets."
Two weeks ago, a gift-wrapped box was left at the house Crystal shares with her grandmother. The box had batteries on top, and a note that said "Congratulations Crystal. This side up. Batteries included."
Crystal opened the box and found her dog's head inside. The box also contained Valentine's Day candy.
Crystal screamed when she saw her dog's face.
"She was just hysterical," said Crystal's grandmother, Shirley Brown. "She was screaming. She said, 'Grandma, it's my dog's head!'
"I said, 'no it can't be!"'
Authorities say the case is an isolated incident and the suspect likely knew the family. A motive is unclear.
"This was so cruel," Crystal said. "This is one sick, twisted person."
She now has a new puppy, another Australian shepherd. She's named it Diesel. "Hopefully, he'll be my best friend," Crystal said.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/15/dog.head.ap/index.html
OMG. I'd like to put that
OMG. I'd like to put that sick f*ck's head in a box. *Fuming*
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
Illinois baby obtains gun permit
Best of all, the kid's name is Bubba. *Snickers*
Illinois baby obtains gun permit
Bubba Ludwig may only be 10 months old, but he has already successfully obtained a gun licence in the US state of Illinois.
Bubba's father, Howard Ludwig, applied on his behalf after his grandfather gave him a shotgun as an heirloom.
Mr Ludwig said he had not expected to succeed, but he filled in the online form, paid $5 and the licence was his.
US gun laws are regularly the subject of fierce debate, renewed recently after April's Virginia Tech killings.
Gunman Cho Seung-hui was able to exploit a loophole in Virginia state law and obtain weapons despite having a history of mental illness. The loophole was later closed.
Technical problems
The licence includes a picture of a toothless Bubba and a squiggle that represents his best attempt at a signature.
In an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, Mr Ludwig, 30, said that he expected the application to be turned down.
Two rejections did in fact come, he said, but both related to technical problems - on one application he forgot to tick a box stating his son was a US citizen - rather than Bubba's youth.
His third attempt was rewarded with a state firearm owner's identification card (FOID), complete with details of Bubba's height, weight and date of birth.
'No age restrictions'
Illinois gun laws are said to be among the strictest in the US.
But Illinois State Police, who oversee the application process, said that they had followed the law in this case.
"Does a 10-month-old need a FOID card? No, but there are no restrictions under the act regarding age of applicants," the Associated Press news agency quoted Lt Scott Compton as saying.
Mr Ludwig said Bubba's gun would likely remain at his grandfather's house until he was 14.
"I'm not about to approve any unsupervised hunting or trap shooting for Bubba," he wrote in the Chicago daily.
"Still, I'm glad he was able to get his FOID card. It makes an adorable addition to his baby book."
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
real-life Loving Annabelle
For all those who wondered what happened next in Loving Annabelle, here's the way it would go in the real world version:
Wednesday, 05/16/07
Arrested teacher released from jail after posting bail
By MITCHELL KLINE
Staff Writer
FRANKLIN - Having spent the night in jail, Independence High School teacher Heather Thorsby was released after posting $10,000 bail this morning.
Thorsby, 34, is charged with sexual battery by an authority figure for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a female student. The art teacher appeared before Williamson County Judge Denise Andre who set her bail at $10,000 and added provisions to her release. Thorsby is to remain with her parents, who live in Franklin, and is not to leave the state. Her parents were instructed to notify the court if they suspect she has made an attempt to flee.
Thorsby, who lives in Spring Hill, was arrested on Tuesday. Police said she had been involved with a girl, now 18, since December. She is alleged to have had sexual contact with the girl at the school and at her home.
Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley confirmed that detectives are investigating allegations about another teacher at Independence High and a student but said there is "no evidence at this point" to charge that teacher. He would not go into detail about that case other than to say that allegations came from a "third party." Headley said the student had not yet been interviewed by police.
Williamson County Schools officials would not comment on the ongoing investigation.
Headley said that Thorsby, who is in her third year of teaching, told school officials that she’d been having an inappropriate relationship with a female student.
Her attorney, Joe Baugh, did not return a reporter’s phone call.
Williamson County Schools Director Rebecca Sharber said it’s always a shock when a teacher betrays the trust bestowed upon them.
"We cannot stand for our teachers to do this to our students," Sharber said.
Thorsby planned to resign at the end of the school year, according to Sharber.
kiddo76 wrote: although time
although time is better spent on positive things..honestly, this pisses me off so badly. i urge you all to look for yourselves at what mainstream media STILL (still) thinks of being gay (or at least is trying to persuade as being 'how it is). srsly this is from like, 1900. 60 minutes prides itself on sterling journalism. this falls oh so far from that mark.
http://www.yahoo.com/s/584158
i thought ppl were down with sexuality as being fluid. gender as being fluid. everything as being at LEAST not so black and white. but gotdamn..ppl still think its that black and white apparently. so sad ;//
http://www.yahoo.com/s/584158
http://www.yahoo.com/s/584158
I watched the twins, Nature versus Nurture video. That presenter woman is such an obnoxious bitch. Why can't she just leave the girly kid be? He's not harming anyone. There are going to be enough people in his life treating him like he's weird and he needs to explain and justify himself... she doesn't need to start by doing it on national television, especially when he's so young.
It would crack me up (and serve the Presenter Beeyotch right) if the GI Joe twin grew up to be gay and the girly twin grew up to be straight. I certainly knew at least a couple of eyeliner-wearing boys from my teens who were straight.
The first sign that that report can't be taken seriously should be when they list the possibility that being gay is "a personal choice".
Kerstyne brought this to our attn...
honor killing...
read the wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%E2%80%99a_Khalil_Aswad
see the vid http://www.aina.org/news/20070425181603.htm%3C/P%3E
read he rblog http://blogs.mylesbiology.com/
"didn't i throw you out of a window? " - jessica/nikki, heroes
graciek wrote: I know this
I know this isn't a gay issue - but I stumbled upon this girl's page today:
http://flickr.com/photos/larajade/513641346/
she's a 17 year old British photographer - and a copyrighted self-portrait she took at 14 has been lifted from her, and is being used as the cover of a pornographic film. I hope you get a chance to click the link, I know it's not something that's really AE related - but I figured power of the media and all that. I just imagine it must be incredibly frustrating for her to not be able to do anything, and if I was in her position I don't know how I'd deal with it. Check it out.nope, still gay
Chemistry.com is running a new series of ads, directed squarely at eHarmony.com, which doesn't feature same-sex matching. The one I saw tonight: Nope, Still Gay.
http://www.chemistry.com/Ads/ComeAsYouAre
Subsequently, a California woman has filed a discrimination lawsuit again eHarmony.com for that very reason.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=eharmony-sued-in-calif-fo&chanId=sa003&modsrc=reuters_box
Wendy’s manager shot over
Wendy’s manager shot over limit on chili sauce
Drive-through customer gets angry about denial of extra condiments
MIAMI - A Wendy's manager was shot several times in the arm early Tuesday trying to protect the restaurant's chili sauce, authorities said.
A man in the drive-through argued with an employee because he wanted more of the condiment, police said. The worker told the customer that restaurant policy prohibited a customer from getting more than three packets.
The man insisted on 10, reports said. The employee complied, but police said the customer wanted more.
The shooter fled with a female passenger.
"I did not know I got shot," store manager Renal Frage told WTVJ-TV in Miami. "When I went back to the office, I saw blood pumping out of my arm, and I was shocked. I was checking myself out and couldn't believe I got shot over some chili sauce."
Frage added: "I got shot over chili sauce. I was trying to figure while in the hospital why someone would shoot me over some chili sauce."
I couldnt stop laughing lol
Soupie
secret is in the sauce
Hey, I love their hot chili sauce.
I so obviously wouldn't shoot someone for the stuff, but since they've started doling it out with an eyedropper, I've bribed workers for mass quantities. If I could figure out who could make it happen, I'd pay for a case to fall off the back of the delivery truck.
They have repeatedly been asked to market this liquid fire gold and declined to do so.
Also, how do you not know you've been shot "several" times? Once maybe, but several times?
Liquid gold lol
I might be able to make that happen. I am the boss afterall.
Australian gay bar allowed
Australian gay bar allowed to ban heterosexuals
Locale can even turn away lesbians to preserve atmosphere, court rules
MELBOURNE, Australia - A gay bar has won the right to turn away heterosexuals and even lesbians to provide a non-threatening atmosphere for the men partying inside.
A tribunal in Australia's southern Victoria state granted Melbourne's Peel Hotel an exemption to equal rights laws, saying it was needed to prevent "sexually based insults and violence" aimed at the pub's patrons.
In her findings, the tribunal's deputy president, Cate McKenzie, said Monday that to allow large numbers of straight men and women and lesbians into the bar could "undermine or destroy" the convivial atmosphere that the Peel Hotel sought to create for gay men.
McKenzie said there was evidence some straight patrons were going to the bar to use the predominantly gay customers as a form of entertainment.
"To regard the gay male patrons of the venue as providing an entertainment or spectacle to be stared at, as one would at an animal at a zoo, devalues and dehumanizes them," she was quoted by News Ltd. newspapers as saying.
Not your average cover charge
The pub will now be able to advertise that it will turn away straight people, and its door staff will be able to ask people whether they are gay before allowing them inside.
Australia's Equal Opportunities Act bars discrimination for race, religion or sexuality, but exemptions are allowed.
The head of Victoria's Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission applauded the decision.
"These exemptions exist to protect groups in the community who are subject to being treated less favorably, or treated unfairly compared with other groups," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Tuesday.
"In this case, what we know is that there are many options for heterosexuals males to enjoy a safe, social environment."
From Amnesty International
Moscow Pride: A Clampdown on Gay Rights Activists
"Brains grow love."--H. H. the Dalai Lama
http://www.myspace.com/ysubassoon
From HRC's MySpace blog
President Bush nominates anti-gay doctor to Surgeon General post
"Brains grow love."--H. H. the Dalai Lama
http://www.myspace.com/ysubassoon
surgeon gen'l
Sad to say, but not surprising. Hopefully he can’t do too much damage in the next 18 months.
Equally outrageous was Bush’s appointment of faux-doctor Eric Keroack to head up family planning programs in HHS. Not only did he lie about his experience and credentials, he was the medical director for a chain of Christian pregnancy centers. Now he’s under investigation for Medicaid fraud.
But before that, he lectured far and wide with a Looney Tunes powerpoint presentation that (I shit you not) claimed that “premarital sex damages the female brain, making non-abstinent women incapable of forming emotional bonds.”
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Heckuva_job_Bush_Administration_vaunted_bogus_0515.html
Let’s not forget the "AIDS czar," Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias who recently resigned after it was discovered he’d been patronizing escort services. Yes, this is the same dude who screamed faithfulness/abstinence over condoms and cut birth control funding:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/04/senior_official.html
Jan. 2009 cannot come soon enough...
Poor Bitch
LOS ANGELES - The judge said she'd get no breaks. The sheriff said she'd do her time. Even Paris Hilton said she was ready to face her sentance...
But on Thursday, three days into a 23-day jail stint, Hilton was fitted with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and released to the comforts of her 2,700-square-foot Hollywood Hills home due to a mysterious and unspecified medical condition.
Did fame afford her special treatment? Neither Hilton's representatives nor Sheriff Lee Baca, who made the decision to spring the celebrity inmate, responded to requests for comment Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070607/ap_on_en_tv/paris_hilton
If you really must, read the rest of the article. All I know is that I'm kicking myself for not placing a bet in the pool, or starting a pool because I knew she'd go to jail, but I knew it wouldn't last. Mystery illness? What, break a nail? Pft.
Fundie Love...
is driving me mad, it’s making me crazy, crazy...
On the June 4 Focus on the Family’s radio show, Chief Douchebag James Dobson broadcast a sermon by some other bible-thumping nutjob:
“We haven’t had a massive calamity such as the destruction of an entire city. We certainly don’t want that to happen — pray that does not happen — but it could happen. And God would be just in any calamity that he brought upon us.
You know a society has been abandoned by God when it celebrates lesbian sex.”
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/06/07/dobson-hypes-a-pastor-that-says-lesbian-sex-has-caused-god-to-abandon-us-and-calamity-shall-follow/
In the immortal words of the Rude Pundit, these fundies don’t hate us – they just wanna “melt our eyes with the fiery pokers of God’s love.”
Shuttle and Space Station Put on Show
The sight should easily be visible to anyone, even from brightly-lit cities.
The appearance of either the Space Shuttle or the Space Station moving across the sky is not in itself unusual. On any clear evening within a couple of hours of local sunset and with no optical aid, you can usually spot several orbiting Earth satellites creeping across the sky like moving stars. Satellites become visible only when they are in sunlight and the observer is in deep twilight or darkness. This usually means shortly after dusk or before dawn.
Shuttle Atlantis is expected to undock from the ISS on Tuesday. Atlantis will fly around the ISS before finally pulling away from the Station, although it should remain at a relatively close distance to it until its scheduled return to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, June 21.
Both vehicles will be traveling across North America on northwest-to-southeast trajectories.
Appearing as a pair of very "bright 'stars," the ISS should appear as the somewhat brighter object and will appear to be trailing Shuttle Atlantis as they move across the sky. A large telescope would be needed to make out details of the sprawling station. Traveling in their respective orbits at approximately 18,000 mph, both should be visible from about one to four minutes as they glide with a steady speed across the sky.
Because of its size and configuration of highly reflective solar panels, the Space Station is now, by far, the brightest man-made object currently in orbit around the Earth. On favorable passes, it approaches magnitude -3 in brightness, which would rival the planet Jupiter and is four times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.
On future missions, additional solar arrays will be deployed, making the ISS appear even brighter. When completed in 2010, it might even rival Venus, the brightest planet. And as a bonus, sunlight glinting directly off the solar panels can sometimes make the ISS appear to briefly flare in brilliance.
Generally speaking, the Shuttle-ISS tandem will be visible across southern Canada and most of the 48 contiguous United States (Hawaii and Alaska will not have favorable viewing passes during this upcoming week).
Again, keep in mind again that once undocked, Atlantis should appear to lead the Space Station by some distance as they track across the sky.
Bus driver puts brakes on young lesbian love
WWE star Chris Benoit found dead with family
Just heard this, wanted to share for those WWE fans out there.
Benoit's death part of a double murder-suicide
According to lead investigator Lt. Tommy Pope, of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, in Fayetteville, Ga., the deaths of WWE Superstar Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel were the result of a double murder-suicide, WWE.com has learned.
Benoit failed to appear both at Saturday’s live event in Beaumont, Tx., and WWE’s Vengeance: Night of Champions in Houston Sunday night, after informing WWE of a family emergency. Several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning prompted concerned friends to alert Richard Hering, VP of Government Relations for WWE, Inc. Hering, in turn, spoke with Fayette County sheriffs Monday, and requested that they respond to the Benoit residence to check on him and his family.
Authorities representing the Sheriff’s Department initially had a difficult time entering Benoit’s new Fayetteville home Monday afternoon, which had been guarded by two large German Shepherds roaming freely around the property. Once authorities entered the residence, they quickly located the bodies of Benoit, Nancy and Daniel. WWE was notified of the discovery at approximately 4 p.m.
At 10 p.m. Monday night, Lt. Pope held a press conference in conjunction with Scott Ballard, the district attorney for Fayette County. The press conference officially ruled authorities’ findings as a double murder-suicide from within the home.
WAGA, a FOX-owned and operated television station in Atlanta, reported that investigators believe Benoit killed his wife and 7-year-old son over the weekend, then himself on Monday.
The three bodies have been received by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab, in Decatur, Ga., where autopsies will be performed Tuesday morning. Toxicology reports will not become available for at least two weeks.
WWE.com has further information relating to both the investigation and the cause of death, but the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department has requested that WWE.com not release any additional details at this time.
Gay by Nature... Proud by choice
If you happen to eat some
If you happen to eat some bad seafood in Fort Lauderdale and get caught short... watch out! If you don't hurry up, you may be pooping in public. ;)
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Seeks Robotic Toilets To Curb Gays
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: July 4, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Fort Lauderdale's Mayor wants the city to fork out a quarter-million dollars for a toilet he claims will put an end to gay sex that he says is rampant in public washrooms on the beach, even though the police department denies there is a problem.
Mayor Jim Naugle has spent the better part of a decade fighting what he has claimed to be an attempt by gays to take over Fort Lauderdale. He has consistently fought all LGBT rights ordinances that have come before city commissioners.
Now he's turning his attention on the beach - long a favorite of gay tourists who bring millions of dollars into the city each year.
Naugle says that "homosexual activity" is plaguing public restrooms at the beach.
The conservative Christian mayor tells the Sun-Sentinel that the washrooms are pickup places for gays. "They're engaging in sex, anonymous sex, illegal sex," he said.
"We're trying to provide a family environment where people can take their children who need to use the bathroom," he told the paper "without having to worry about a couple of men in there engaged in a sex act."
The police department, however, tells the paper that sex in bathrooms isn't a major problem.
Sgt. Frank Sousa. tells the Sun-Sentinel that while there may once have been a problem it isn't today.
"There's no evidence, no reports or arrests made for any men having sex in any restrooms," Sousa told the paper.
Nevertheless, Naugle wants the city to buy a portable bathroom called a "robo-john" and have it placed on the beach at Sebastian Street an area popular with gay sunbathers.
The "robo-john" allows occupants to stay inside for only a short time before the door opens.
According to Naugle it isn't enough time for "illegal sex".
Cost of the device: $250,000.
The mayor says the restroom is already in use, although not as an intended deterrent to sexual activity, in Atlanta, Seattle and New York.
In addition to having a door that stays closed only a few minutes it plays music and cleans the seat automatically.
The City Commission still has to vote on whether to buy it.
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
Michael Vick Indicted
Vick and three others are charged with competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting the enterprise across state lines.
The dogfighting operation was named "Bad Newz Kennels," according to the indictment, and the dogs were housed, trained and fought at a Surry County, Va., property owned by Vick.
The indictment alleges that the 27-year-old Vick and his co-defendants began a grisly dogfighting operation in early 2001 in which dogs fought to the death -- or close. Losing dogs were sometimes killed by electrocution, drowning, hanging or gunshots.
If convicted, Vick and the others -- Purnell A. Peace, Quanis L. Phillips and Tony Taylor -- could face up to six years in prison, $350,000 in fines and restitution.
Telephone messages left at the offices and home of Vick's attorney, Larry Woodward, were not immediately returned. A woman who answered the phone at the home of Vick's mother said the family knew nothing about the charges.
"We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
"The activities alleged are cruel, degrading and illegal. Michael Vick's guilt has not yet been proven, and we believe that all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts."
After an initial raid in April, Vick said he was rarely at the house, had no idea it may have been used in a criminal enterprise and blamed family members for taking advantage of his generosity.
On Vick's Web site, he lists his birthplace as Newport News, "a.k.a. BadNews."
The four men were accused of "knowingly sponsoring and exhibiting an animal fighting venture" and conducting a business enterprise involving gambling, as well as buying, transporting and receiving dogs for the purposes of an animal fighting venture.
Purses for the fights ranged from hundreds of dollars to the thousands, and participants and spectators placed side bets, the document said.
About eight young dogs were put to death after they were found not ready to fight in April 2007. They were killed "by hanging, drowning and/or slamming at least one dog's body to the ground," according to the indictment.
The FBI and local authorities have been investigating the allegations since an April 25 drug raid at the property Vick owned.
Authorities seized 66 dogs, including 55 pit bulls, and equipment commonly used in dogfighting. About half the dogs were tethered to car axles with heavy chains that allowed the dogs to get close to each other, but not to have contact -- an arrangement typical for fighting dogs, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The indictment said dogfights were held at the Virginia property and dog owners brought animals from six states, including New York and Texas.
In a search warrant executed July 7, the government said the fights usually occurred late at night or in the early morning and would last several hours.
Before fights, participating dogs of the same sex would be weighed and bathed, according to the filings. Opposing dogs would be washed to remove any poison or narcotic placed on the dog's coat that could affect the other dog's performance.
Sometimes, dogs weren't fed to "make it more hungry for the other dog," it said.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/07/17/vick.indicted.ap/index.html?cnn=yes
I don't believe for a moment he played no part in this horrible practice.
Out of all the articles I've
Out of all the articles I've recently read on this thread, this one upsets me the most. You have got to be a world class FREAK to take pleasure in the pain of an innocent being. I think these charges are disgusting. I will never go to a Atlanta Falcons game nor will I watch a Falcons game on TV if that asswipe is at the healm of the team. Nor will he be on my Fantasy Football roster, not that he was going to be before this happened. Him and his brother are over-rated and don't know what an opportunity they've been given. A bunch of punk-asses if you ask me.
India registers all pregnancies to save baby girls...
...regardless of your position on abortion, using it for sex selection is horrific and very detrimental to girls due to traditions and patriarchal laws governing inheretance of property, etc. ,especially in countries like India and China. According to the article:
About 10 million girls have been killed by their parents in India in the past 20 years, the government says.
This figure combines abortions and infanticide, I think. They weren't clear about that. Surely, not that many have been killed at "the hands" of their parents, I hope.
Here's just one of the links I found:
Link to article
Papua mulls microchipping AIDS patients
Papua mulls microchipping AIDS patients
published Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Parliamentarians in Indonesia's remote province of Papua say they are considering a controversial bylaw to "tag" people infected with AIDS with microchips so they can better monitor their behavior and sexual activities.
"We need to make a major breakthrough to speed up the fight against AIDS in Papua," lawmaker John Manansang said Monday, adding that such a measure would also make it easier to keep track of the real number of infections.
Indonesia has one of Asia's fastest-growing HIV rates, with up to 290,000 infections out of 235 million people, fueled mainly by injecting drug users and prostitution.
Health authorities have warned that a failure to take prompt action in areas like Papua, where infections are 15 times the national average, could result in 1 million people infected with HIV within a few years.
Parliamentarians are likely to consider public opinion before discussing the draft bylaw with the local government and seeking to enact it. The proposal has already drawn protests from AIDS activists and health workers.
"They are not sharks that need to be tagged with microchips so their behavior and whereabouts can be observed," said Constant Karma, head of a state-sponsored Papua AIDS Commission. "This will violate human rights." (AP)
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2007/07/24/4
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
Uh, instead of microchipping
When death comes calling...
When death comes calling, so does Oscar the cat
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours.
His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means the patient has less than four hours to live.
"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," Dr. David Dosa said in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.
The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.
After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.
Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.
Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill
She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near.
Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room, though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.
Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advance warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.
No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause. Teno wonders if the cat notices telltale scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him.
Nicholas Dodman, who directs an animal behavioral clinic at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and has read Dosa's article, said the only way to know is to carefully document how Oscar divides his time between the living and dying.
If Oscar really is a furry grim reaper, it's also possible his behavior could be driven by self-centered pleasures like a heated blanket placed on a dying person, Dodman said.
Nursing home staffers aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/25/death.cat.ap/index.html
A Day in the Life
In the distance, a resident approaches. It is Mr. P., who has been living on the dementia unit's third floor for 3 years now. She has long forgotten her family, even though they visit her almost daily. Moderately disheveled after eating her lunch, half of which she now wears on her shirt, Mrs. P. is taking one of many aimless strolls to nowhere. She glides toward Oscar, pushing her walker and muttering to herself with complete disregard for her surroundings. Perturbed, Oscar watches her carefully and, as she walks by, lets out a gentle hiss, a rattlesnake-like warning that say, " leave me alone." She passes him without a glance and continues down the hallway. Oscar is relieved. It is not yet Mrs. P's time and he wants nothing to do with her.
Making his way back up the hallway, Oscar arrives at Room 313. The door is open, and he proceeds inside. Mrs. K. is resting peacefully in her bed, her breathing steady but shallow. She is surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren and one from her wedding day. Despite these keepsakes, she is alone. Oscar jumps onto her bed and again sniffs the air. He pauses to consider the situation, and then turns around twice before curling up besides Mrs. K.
Note: Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar the Cat had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents's on the third floor of Steer House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. His mere presence at the beside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff member to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone. For his work, he is highly regarded by the physicians and staff at the Steere House and by families of the residents whom he serves
...and in Part 2 of animal
...and in Part 2 of animal stories that'll make you cry:
Sept. 11 rescue dog dies of cancer
By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 9 minutes ago
NEW YORK - A black Labrador that burrowed through smoking debris after Sept. 11 and flooded rubble after Hurricane Katrina in search of survivors has died of cancer.
Owner Mary Flood had 12-year-old Jake put to sleep Wednesday after a last stroll through the fields and a dip in the creek near their home in Oakley, Utah. Flood said Jake had been in pain, shaking with a 105-degree fever as he lay on the lawn.
No one can say whether the dog would have gotten sick if he hadn't been exposed to the toxic air at the World Trade Center, but cancer in dogs Jake's age is common.
Some owners of rescue dogs who worked at ground zero claim their animals have died because of their work there. But scientists who have spent years studying the health of Sept. 11 search-and-rescue dogs have found no sign of major illness in the animals.
Many human ground zero workers have complained of health problems they attribute to their time at the site: the largest study conducted of about 20,000 ground zero workers reported last year that 70 percent of patients suffer respiratory disease years after the cleanup.
The city earlier this year added to its Sept. 11 death toll a woman who died in 2002 of lung disease, five months after she was caught in the dust cloud of the collapsing twin towers.
The results of an autopsy on Jake's body will be part of a medical study on the Sept. 11 dogs that was started by the University of Pennsylvania more than 5 years ago.
Flood adopted Jake as a 10-month-old puppy. He had been abandoned on a street with a broken leg and a dislocated hip.
"But against all odds he became a world-class rescue dog," said Flood, a member of Utah Task Force 1, a federal search-and-rescue team that looked for human remains at ground zero.
On the evening of the team's arrival in New York, Jake walked into a fancy Manhattan restaurant wearing his search-and-rescue vest and was treated to a free steak dinner under a table.
Flood eventually trained Jake to become one of fewer than 200 U.S. government-certified rescue dogs — an animal on 24-hour call to tackle disasters such as building collapses, earthquakes, hurricanes and avalanches.
After Katrina, Flood and Jake drove from Utah to Mississippi, where they searched for survivors in flooded homes.
In recent years, Jake helped train younger dogs across the country. He showed them how to track scents, even in the snow, and how to look up if the scent was in a tree.
He also did therapy work with children at a Utah camp for burn victims and at senior homes and hospitals.
"He was a great morale booster wherever he went," Flood said. "He was always ready to work, eager to play — and a master at helping himself to any unattended food items."
She said Jake's ashes would be scattered "in places that were important to him," such as his Utah training grounds and the rivers and hills near his home where he swam and roamed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070726/ap_on_re_us/attacks_rescue_dog
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
The U.S. and Iran finally agree on something.
Going, Going, Gone-zo?
Waiting, waiting, waiting on impeachment news re: Gonzo. WH was supposed to submit docs to Congress by noon on why he didn’t really lie last week (fucking Arlen Specter – never knows when to shut up and sit down).
And the House is supposed to submit a resolution for his impeachment. I’m sad to say, I’ll believe it only when I see it.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/specter-administration-has-18-hours-to-clarify-gonzales-testimony-on-wiretapping-2007-07-30.html
Rare river dolphin 'now extinct'
This is sad. :( There's a photo too, if you click the link.
"If confirmed, it would be the first extinction of a large vertebrate for over 50 years."
A freshwater dolphin found only in China is now "likely to be extinct", a team of scientists has concluded.
The researchers failed to spot any Yangtze river dolphins, also known as baijis, during an extensive six-week survey of the mammals' habitat.
The team, writing in Biology Letters journal, blamed unregulated fishing as the main reason behind their demise.
If confirmed, it would be the first extinction of a large vertebrate for over 50 years.
The World Conservation Union's Red List of Threaten Species currently classifies the creature as "critically endangered".
Sam Turvey of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), one of the paper's co-authors, described the findings as a "shocking tragedy".
"The Yangtze river dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20 million years ago," Dr Turvey explained.
"This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life and emphasises that we have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet."
'Incidental impact'
The species (Lipotes vexillifer) was the only remaining member of the Lipotidae, an ancient mammal family that is understood to have separated from other marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, about 40-20 million years ago.
The white, freshwater dolphin had a long, narrow beak and low dorsal fin; lived in groups of three or four and fed on fish.
The team carried out six-week visual and acoustic survey, using two research vessels, in November and December 2006.
"While it is conceivable that a couple of surviving individuals were missed by the survey teams," the team wrote, "our inability to detect any baiji despite this intensive search effort indicates that the prospect of finding and translocating them to a [reserve] has all but vanished."
The scientists added that there were a number of human activities that caused baiji numbers to decline, including construction of dams and boat collisions.
"However, the primary factor was probably unsustainable by-catch in local fisheries, which used rolling hooks, nets and electrofishing," they suggested.
"Unlike most historical-era extinctions of large bodied animals, the baiji was the victim not of active persecution but incidental mortality resulting from massive-scale human environmental impacts - primarily uncontrolled and unselective fishing," the researchers concluded.
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
deleted
deleted
*Scratches head* True
*Scratches head*
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
That could be lice, babe! :)
Now for a little good news - rare dolphin seen, not yet extinct!:
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=112260
“Efforts are needed, now more than ever, to provide a living space for this beautiful animal, which is a flagship species for the Yangtze River.”
Here's wishin' for the best for this remarkable freshwater dolphin! Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Koma. Sorry, for the earlier confusion - I was posting about an entirely different species of dolphin so I deleted it!
"Great minds think alike. They just don't always reach the same conclusion" - stolen from the Little Dutch Girl
Bye-bye turdblossom
Bye-bye turdblossom - may a thousand Texas vultures pick the rotted flesh from your bloated, scabrous, fetid corpse.
But not before you’re tried, convicted, and extraordinarily renditioned to some third world nation. Where you’re waterboarded in public like Shamu at Seaworld.
Front row seats for 2 dinar/rial/fils/rupees.
*Scratches head some
*Scratches head some more*
Zzzzzz...
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
that could be
lice, ya know. all that head scratching.... :-p
what happened to Lucy and Ethel??
I don't know. I tried to
I don't know. I tried to change it last night and seem to be stuck with the default avatar. :(
True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James
Oooooo!
ROME (Reuters) - Archaelogists have discovered a more than 2,000-year-old Etruscan tomb perfectly preserved in the hills of Tuscany with a treasure trove of artifacts inside, including urns that hold the remains of about 30 people.
The tomb, in the Tuscan town of Civitella Paganico, probably dates from between the 1st and 3rd centuries B.C., when Etruscan power was in decline, Andrea Marcocci, who led digging at the site, told Reuters.
"It's quite rare to find a tomb intact like this," said Marcocci, who had suspected one might exist in the area after work on a nearby road scattered pieces of artifacts.
"When we found fragments outside, we thought we would find that the tomb had been violated. But the main burial room was completely intact."
Inside the tomb, a narrow corridor led to a small burial chamber, about 2 meters long and 1.79 meters wide, he said. It housed about 80 objects including vases and mirrors in bronze and ceramic. Urns holding human remains were also found.
"It's quite exceptional to find so many objects in a tomb so small," Marcocci said. "Some of the vases (urns) were fairly small, so we think they were probably for children."
One of Italy's first and most mysterious civilizations, the Etruscans lived north of Rome in present day regions of Tuscany and Umbria. Their civilization lasted for about 1,000 years, reaching its height roughly from the 7th to the 6th century B.C., before its cities were replaced by Roman settlements.
Much of what is known about the Etruscans derives from other lavish burial sites, decorated with paintings and filled with vases and other objects.