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Family Sues After Dad's Head Found in Shed
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Dec. 28) - The children of a cancer patient who donated his body for research filed a lawsuit after learning their father's embalmed head was kept in a tool shed for nearly 11 years.
The head of Osie K. Whitten, who died Dec. 24, 1990, of colon cancer, was among 150 pounds of human cadaver parts allegedly removed from the medical center at the University of California, Davis, by a former autopsy assistant.
David Lawrence Beale, who worked for Pathology Support Services Inc., which managed the medical center's morgue and autopsy service, was arrested last summer after the remains were found among his belongings.
He pleaded not guilty to charges of receiving stolen property and possession of methamphetamines. Police say Beale told them he used the remains to hone his dissection skills.
The medical center, Beale and Pathology Support Services were named in the lawsuit filed by Whitten's children.
The medical center said it could not comment; it previously said it had changed the way human remains are handled. Pathology Support Services said Beale's activities were not part of his job.
12/28/03 07:53 EST
After Lifetime Apart, Father and Son Reunite
A First Christmas Together for Family Separated 58 Years Ago
LEADWOOD, Mo. (Dec. 25) - The father kept the photos of his son tucked in a drawer, fading reminders of the smiling baby he last held in his arms nearly 60 years ago.
Bill Iahn had few memories of his only child besides the pictures: one showed him as a young soldier with a dimple-chinned baby in a high chair, another was a portrait of his son on a rocking horse with the inscription, 'To My Daddy, Dec. 25, 1945.'
The little boy had been spirited away by his mother when the couple divorced soon after that and she had pledged he'd never see his son again.
Iahn (pronounced YAHN) tried to prove her wrong. Many times.
Over the decades, his family made calls, pored over phone books and scoured the Internet for clues that would lead him to his son. Nothing panned out.
At age 87, Iahn had given up on seeing his son's face again.
Then one day this fall, Iahn's great-nephew, Denny Huff, was chatting with a friend in this tiny town where secrets are as rare as strangers. He mentioned his Uncle Bill's long-lost son.
The friend happened to be a genealogy buff and with some surprisingly quick research on the Internet, she produced a name and phone number in Arizona, where Iahn's son had been born.
Huff looked at the name and it wasn't familiar, but all the details seemed to fit. Amazed and excited, he rushed over to Iahn's house.
'Uncle Bill, guess what?' he said, clutching the papers.
'I think we found Billy.'
---
The father couldn't believe it.
'When you wait that long - 58 years - you just don't think it's going to happen,' Iahn says, his raspy voice still filled with wonder.
A lifetime had passed since he was the young soldier in the Army's horse cavalry when he met his first wife, Thelma, in Phoenix, Ariz. Iahn was dispatched to Europe during World War II and ended up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.
He and his wife divorced around war's end. Iahn says he doesn't remember precisely what stirred her angry, unforgettable pronouncement:
'Take a good look,' he remembers her saying about their son. 'It'll be the last time you ever see him.'
Iahn remarried and worked construction in the St. Louis area most of his life. After he retired, he and his second wife, Dot, moved 60 miles south to Leadwood, an old mining town (population 1,160) where he had grown up.
He never forgot his son and wistfully mentioned him to relatives.
'He'd have this sad look on his face,' says Betty Iahn, his niece. 'He'd say, 'I wish I knew where Billy was.' He wanted to see his Billy ... before he died.'
Betty Iahn tried to help, checking out phone books and trolling the Internet for anyone named Bloom - Thelma's surname from a first marriage.
'I hunted. I called. I e-mailed people,' she says. 'I didn't get anywhere.'
Other relatives pitched in as well as an Arizona state trooper who was Iahn's friend long ago.
But the search went nowhere until the day Huff was chatting with Sharon Hackworth, Leadwood's water clerk, about Dot Iahn, who was hospitalized at the time with heart problems.
'It's a shame they never had kids. They're so good with him,' Hackworth said.
'He had a son,' Huff said, and told her about the family's futile efforts to find him - including searching the Internet as late as 1999.
Hackworth had traced her husband's descendants to the 1700s but she knew family trees could be tricky. She had relatives she had never been able to find.
She typed the name William Iahn in ancestry.com. Under Iahn's file was his marriage to Thelma Theodosia Harold and her death in 1984. Beneath it was an intriguing line:
Child of William IAHN and Thelma Theodosia HAROLD is ... Living TREACY.
Hackworth looked up Thelma's name. Sure enough, it listed her marriage to a man named Bloom. And again, Iahn and their child, with a Treacy surname.
It just had to be his Billy.
Hackworth noticed the Web site had been updated in 2001 - two years after the Iahn family's last Internet search. And she provided one more clue. Knowing Iahn's ex-wife had lived in Phoenix, she found a phone list of 10 Treacys in Arizona.
The last one: William Treacy of Phoenix.
---
The Iahns now had a name and number, but the next step was a giant one.
Iahn is in poor health and depends on oxygen - he also uses a walking cane - and his family didn't want him to call himself. They feared he'd be rebuffed.
'He might not want to talk to you. He might say, 'You're a stranger. I don't know you,' ' Huff gently warned his uncle.
Iahn's reply: 'I'll accept that if that's what happens.'
Another nephew, Jimmy, also worried Iahn's son might have been told his father was dead and wouldn't believe an out-of-the-blue call.
'I was skeptical,' he says. 'It was 58 years. I didn't want to ruin his life.'
Eventually, another relative in Colorado reached out first, dialing the William Treacy in the phone directory.
The man on the other end wasn't Iahn's son but his grandson. At first, he thought the call was a prank, then became convinced it was real.
He provided his father's unlisted number and called him with the thrilling news.
'Dad,' he said, 'I've got a grandpa!'
His father was puzzled.
'Your dad's alive,' the 30-year-old son declared.
William Treacy, the long-lost son, stared at his wife, Lydia, in disbelief.
Not long before, they'd been thumbing through a three-inch thick photo album including his baby pictures. (He'd also kept a baby book listing presents he had been given, including two from his father: $4.50 in pennies and two $2 bills.)
'Wouldn't it be nice,' Lydia had said, 'to know what happened to your dad?'
'Then, two weeks later, boom! God gave us an answer,' she says now.
When Iahn's nephew, Jack, placed the momentous call to Arizona soon afterward, the first words were as simple as they come:
'Hello, son.'
'Hello, Dad.'
---
There was no way to make up for lost time. But there was much to say.
William Treacy revealed he's the father of four and grandfather of seven.
Iahn told him about family he never knew he had.
Treacy, a machinist who had taken the surname of a stepfather, had presumed his biological father was dead: He had once heard Iahn had been killed in a car accident (he was seriously injured in one).
Treacy had been raised by his grandmother and mother - who split from her husband - and even now, he remembers moments as a boy when he longed for his father.
'Growing up ... not knowing that he was on this earth, and not having him around when I used to play ball...,' he says, groping for the right words. 'It's sad to me.'
When he questioned his mother about his father, 'she would say, 'Don't ask me,' ' he said.
So he stopped asking.
The father-son call led to an invitation to Leadwood, but Treacy worried his newly discovered family might wonder why he hadn't done more to find Iahn.
'I don't know how you all will feel,' he confided to his cousin, Betty.
'We all love Bill and we'll love you, too,' she reassured him.
Treacy had already won over Dot Iahn, a spry woman who loves animals (her menagerie includes a dog, turkey and miniature 26-inch-high horse) and dolls (she has 780 lining almost every room of her house.)
'He said, 'Do you mind if I call you Mom?' ' she recalls.
'Eighty-one years old and to be called Mom for the first time in your life?' she says, her face beaming. 'Gosh.'
This fall, when Treacy and his wife, Lydia, arrived at the airport in St. Louis, he held a paper sign with 'Treacy' and 'Iahn' written on it.
He needn't have bothered. Family members recognized him immediately. There were hugs and kisses all around.
'Uncle Bill doesn't show a lot of emotion, but he was smiling,' says his nephew, Jimmy Iahn, who drove them to the airport.
No one saw Iahn shed a tear, and yet he confesses: 'I might have when nobody could see me.'
Iahn has never been one to talk much, but friends say he's clearly a changed man.
'He's just got a twinkle in his eye he didn't have before,' says Hackworth, whose research reunited father and son.
In their time together, the two men watched westerns, toured the St. Louis arch, visited Iahn's sister in a nursing home, looked at old photos and joined nearly 70 other family members for a reunion at a nearby VFW Hall.
'His family grew by tenfold,' Jimmy Iahn says. 'It's pretty wild.'
And father and son got along famously. 'It was like we had known each other a long time,' Treacy says.
Family members noticed similarities between father and son: Both are Army veterans, wear their watches on their left hand over their shirts and walk the same way.
Two of Treacy's grandchildren are redheads - just as Iahn was when he was young.
Iahn teases his son, calling him old man. Treacy sticks with 'Dad' for his father.
Though Treacy - who turned 60 on Dec. 16 - says he still feels 'a gap of not having him around all these years,' he doesn't dwell on that.
'It's like being in a dim room ... and now everything's bright,' he says. 'There's a big ole light in my life.'
---
The baby pictures tucked away all these years now sit on a living room shelf, along with a new photo - son and father, their arms draped around one another, with their wives.
Treacy is spending Christmas in Missouri with his father.
A few years ago, Dot Iahn had lost interest in holiday celebrations, so she gave away her lights and decorations. But with her new son, she's enthused again and started planning Christmas dinner - turkey, roast beef, mashed potatoes - in early November.
She has a Christmas stocking for Treacy and among his gifts: a pillow embroidered with the word 'son.'
In a way, Treacy's life has started over.
'My mom says this is our first Christmas,' he says. 'I guess I'll be a 60-year-old kid.'
And a content one, at that.
'I've got him and he's got me,' he says, 'and that's all there is.'
Merry Christmas. Post card MUST OPEN AND SEE...
Marry Christmas everyone! And I wish you a happy healthy prosperous New Year!
[Suppressed Sound Link]
This is good news, I would like to see more of this.It shows faith and we know who owns the shares.
I OWN SHARES!!!! Hoooooo Hoooooo Hoooooo!!!! To the bank I go!
Hang in there guys 2004 got to be it :)
Time to take a break from all this back and forth and have a giggle :)
http://www.funpic.hu/fun-bin/v-carde.cgi?id=122038&key=wowiezzzcomcastnet
Take a look at this!
I think its time to jump back into the market!
Well, I would figure if it was deleted here It should show up at RB if they wanted to you to see the post.
Feds Sue Over 'Girls Gone Wild' Videos
WASHINGTON (Dec. 17) - The government has filed a complaint against the marketers of "Girls Gone Wild" videos and DVDs, saying the company shipped unordered products and then charged customers.
The videos and DVDs feature young women who bare their breasts and perform sexually suggestive acts. Millions of copies have been sold.
The Justice Department filed a complaint against California-based Mantra Films Inc. on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission. The government alleges Mantra enrolled customers who responded to Internet and TV advertising for a single video or DVD in a "continuity" program that did not give them an effective means to cancel.
"In a case of deceptive marketing gone wild, consumers were enrolled in a program of monthly deliveries without their knowledge," Howard Beales, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.
The case was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The "Girls Gone Wild" series was the target of an unsuccessful lawsuit last year by a 17-year-old girl who flashed her breasts to a cameraman. The girl argued that the film, its creators, producers and distributors had violated her right to privacy and had cast her in a false light by including her in the "Sexy Sorority Sisters" video.
The judge ruled that Mantra Films did not have to compensate the girl, who contended she did not know that her image would be used in a commercial video.
Ot- Im not to sharp on index but my wife wants to buy index.
Anyone know of a good index to buy?
EW you have me blocked from sending you PMs can you remove it please :)
I just have a silly question :p
Hello, just poking my head in to ask a Question :)
What is the cheapest service to use for day trading?
I have Schwab and Merrill but they are full service and charge $$$ so I cant use them.
Any ideas?
Thank you,
Al
I would have dropped a grenade down the hole and sat on it like Bugs Bunny, after the muffled explosion I would say " And that's That!"
Looks like Saddam will not be playing santa this year
Osama, you are next!
Let the markets roar!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Osama, you are next!
A great day for the Sooners
Oklahoma Quarterback White Nabs Heisman Trophy
Sophomore Receiver Fitzgerald Finishes Second in Voting
By JOSH DUBOW, AP SPORTS
NEW YORK (Dec. 13) -- Jason White capped a remarkable comeback with college football's most prestigious award, winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night a year after an injury nearly ended his career.
The Oklahoma quarterback, who almost quit football following his second major knee injury in September 2002, beat out Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald for the award.
"Last year about this time, I was sitting at home watching the Heisman and thought how neat it would be to be there, to be one of the finalists," White said. "I never thought, after two surgeries, that I'd be here."
White threw 40 touchdown passes and led the third-ranked Sooners to 12 straight wins to open the season and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game against No. 2 LSU.
Even a subpar performance in a loss in the Big 12 title game last week against Kansas State couldn't stop White from winning the award. His three months of brilliance before that were more than enough to persuade voters to pick him.
White, the Associated Press Player of the Year, led the nation in passing efficiency, completing 64 percent of his passes for 3,744 yards and only eight interceptions.
White beat Fitzgerald 1,481-1,353. Eli Manning was third with 710 points and Chris Perry was next with 341.
Voters list three choices on their ballots, and players are awarded three points for first place, two for second and one for third.
White, the first Oklahoma player since Billy Sims in 1978 to win the Heisman, had 319 first-place votes, 204 seconds and 116 thirds.
Fitzgerald, who set an NCAA record with touchdown catches in 18 straight games, had 253 firsts, 233 seconds and 128 thirds. He was trying to become the first sophomore to win the award.
Manning became the third member of his family to come close but fall short for the Heisman. His father, Archie, finished fourth in 1969 and third the following year, while older brother, Peyton, came in second in 1997.
Manning, who passed for 3,341 yards with 27 touchdowns this season, had 95 firsts, 132 seconds and 161 thirds.
Perry, who was fifth in the nation with 132.4 yards rushing per game and also scored 19 touchdowns, came in fourth with 27 firsts, 66 seconds and 128 thirds.
Three of the four finalists struggled with their conference titles on the line, with only Perry delivering in a 204-yard, two-TD game in a 35-21 victory against Ohio State.
Just as one bad game didn't stop Oklahoma from making it to the Sugar Bowl, it also didn't stop White, who was helped by the 50 percent of voters who cast their ballots before that game. Fitzgerald got the most points from people who voted in the final week, but it wasn't enough to catch White.
White became the fourth Sooner to win the Heisman, joining Sims, Steve Owens (1969) and Billy Vessels (1952). Sims was sitting with his former coach, Barry Switzer, in the audience and yelled encouragement to White as he walked up to accept the award.
Heisman Trophy Voting Results
Player, School 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Jason White, Oklahoma 319 204 116 1,481
Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt 253 233 128 1,353
Eli Manning, Ole Miss 95 132 161 710
Chris Perry, Michigan 27 66 128 341
Darren Sproles, K-State 15 27 58 127
Matt Leinart, USC 5 27 58 127
Philip Rivers, NC State 18 20 24 118
Mike Williams, USC 12 12 18 78
B. Roethlisberger, Miami (OH) 5 9 14 47
B.J. Symons, Texas Tech 1 7 21 38
White is hoping to become the third quarterback to win the Heisman and the national title in the same season, joining Florida State's Charlie Ward (1993) and Florida's Danny Wuerffel (1996).
Recent Heisman-winning quarterbacks haven't fared so well, with Florida State's Chris Weinke (2000) and Nebraska's Eric Crouch (2001) both following up their Heisman wins with subpar title-game performances.
Kansas State running back Darren Sproles was fifth, followed by Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart, North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers, USC receiver Mike Williams, Miami of Ohio quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Texas Tech quarterback B.J. Symons.
A regional voting breakdown had White winning the Far West, Southwest and South regions. Fitzgerald won the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
The award completes an amazing transformation that began on Sept. 7, 2002, when White crumpled to the turf against Alabama with a torn right knee ligament. He had injured the same ligament on the other knee a year earlier and contemplated quitting the sport he loves.
His father persuaded him not to give up and White soon began the hard road back.
"I wanted to be back on the field with my teammates," White said. "For a while, it didn't seem like it would happen.
Hours of rehab finally paid off when coach Bob Stoops told White he won a four-way competition for the job before the start of fall practice.
In a season where remaining healthy and keeping the starting job would have been a great accomplishment, White did so much more.
The small-town kid from Tuttle, Okla., quickly answered all those questions. Performing in stadiums with nearly 20 times as many fans as live in his home town, displayed the poise and touch necessary to turn Oklahoma into a record-setting offense.
He threw at least two touchdowns in his first 12 games, including 13 in the three games before the Big 12 championship. His pinpoint accuracy helped his receivers break big runs after the catch and helped the team score at least 50 points seven times this season.
"His emergence as a great, great football player is the story of college football," Stoops said. "The biggest difference in our team is that Jason White is the quarterback. It ought to be pretty obvious."
It turned out it was to the Heisman voters.
12/13/03 23:17 EST
Hello, just poking my head in to ask a Question :)
What is the cheapest service to use for day trading?
I have Schwab and Merrill but they are full service and charge $$$ so I cant use them.
Any ideas?
Thank you,
Al
That is good to hear Trex but it should come from NV.
Its really getting hot in here !
Did you ask how other things are going? ;)
Anyway we can get ahold of that guy?
This is a 10K from one of his companies
http://www.alcco.com/Investor/2000/2000_10K.pdf
"New Visual is fortunate to have attracted a top-level talent like Jim," said Brad Ketch. "Our task is not just to create a semiconductor company, but to create a profitable one. Jim is key to this effort, and I am proud to have him on board."
Now that is what I want to hear!
Freddie Mac Pays $125 Million Penalty to Settle Charges
By MARCY GORDON, AP
WASHINGTON (Dec. 10) - Mortgage giant Freddie Mac has agreed to pay a $125 million civil fine to settle federal regulators' allegations of management misconduct and directors' complacency, blamed for the company's $5 billion understatement of earnings that led to the ouster of four top executives.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which supervises government-sponsored Freddie Mac and its larger rival Fannie Mae, also released Wednesday a critical report citing 'a pattern of inappropriate conduct and improper management of earnings' at the company and even 'a disdain for appropriate disclosure standards' among former executives.
The second-largest U.S. buyer of home mortgages 'disregarded accounting rules, internal controls, disclosure standards, and ultimately, the public trust in pursuit of steady earnings growth,' the agency's report found.
Helping fuel the accounting breaches was the compensation of top executives, which was partly based on annual targets for earnings per share, the report said. A series of recommendations made in the report includes a requirement that Freddie Mac reward its executives on the basis of long-term goals rather than short-term earnings.
And, it said, management was able to push the accounting envelope unchecked because the company's board of directors 'was complacent and failed to exercise adequate oversight.'
Freddie Mac, a publicly traded corporation with $40 billion revenue a year, has acknowledged understating its earnings by $5 billion for 2000-2002 to smooth out volatility in profits and uphold its image on Wall Street as a steady performer. In addition, the company last month admitted inflating 2001 earnings by nearly $1 billion and said it may not be able to complete its accounting for 2003 until next June.
The company on Sunday named Richard Syron, a Wall Street veteran and former Federal Reserve official, as its new chairman and chief executive. The board of directors in June forced out Freddie Mac's then-chairman and CEO, Leland Brendsel, along with the company's president and chief financial officer. In August, the federal regulators ordered the ouster of Brendsel's replacement, Gregory Parseghian, who they said had played a role in some of the company's questionable financial transactions.
The company did not admit to or deny wrongdoing in the settlement, involving the first such fine in the agency's 10-year history. McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac also said it did not consent to any part of the agency's report.
The agreement with the regulators still leaves to be resolved a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and a civil inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The $125 million fine will be paid out of the company's revenues, thereby potentially affecting its bottom line. The restatement by company auditors of Freddie Mac's 2000-2002 earnings, a massive project first announced in January and completed last month, cost the company $100 million. A company spokesman said Wednesday it was not known whether Freddie Mac would try to recoup such costs through changes in its operations.
Under the settlement, Freddie Mac also agreed to strengthen its internal controls and accounting practices and to improve its disclosure of information to the investing public - steps the company already had undertaken after its accounting and management turmoil came to light in early June.
'This settlement and the resulting reforms represent an important step toward the goal of restoring the full confidence of our investors and the public,' said Freddie Mac chairman Shaun O'Malley said in a statement. 'The reforms to be implemented as part of today's settlement build upon and enhance the company's ongoing remediation program to address its accounting and disclosure weaknesses.'
Armando Falcon, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, said a government-sponsored company such as Freddie Mac - created by Congress to pump money into the home-mortgage market - 'lives on a public trust that should never be violated.'
Falcon said his agency 'will take strong action against an enterprise and responsible individuals if that trust is ever broken.'
The agency also has been examining accounting at Fannie Mae, which disclosed in October a $1.2 billion accounting error for the third quarter. The error was due to a change in accounting rules and does not affect net income, the company said. Some critics say that Fannie Mae does not adequately hedge against swings in interest rates.
12-10-03 11:24 EST
"Without providing any other information, you might just as well have said you would be looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."
Wait, I got to tell you what to do now? Figure it out your self.
If it gets to a time Ill tell you.
Just sit back and relax.
"If it don't work ill be looking to get my money back with interest."
"How do you propose to do that?"
I do not want to comment on that right now
"In the case of NVEI the equity dilution we have experienced has only resulted in making Ray and Brad rich. Oh, and paying off Propp's debt."
Its ok for people to get rich as long as they put something out and bring in a profit.
Do you have a problem with them getting rich if the share price skyrockets?
They said its going to work lets just give them the time.
If it don't work ill be looking to get my money back with interest.
"We gave up 75% of our equity with the R/S. Additionally, that remaining 25% of the original equity now has the potential to be diluted by 80% because of the massive increase in authorized shares. So, we potentially end up with 5% of our original equity, losing 95% of our equity, while NVEI management pisses it all away claiming they are looking for financing that is non-equity."
I don't know about Ikanos, are they public? If they are did their share holders give up that much?
I know we lost a lot what NV did with our shares, I was posting that they were doing that 3 years ago when every one was blaming the MMs, they thought I was nuts.
Would Ikanos share holders get more bang for the buck when he share price goes up?
I know we will if it goes up.
Iv seen some great deals with MIT grad student start ups to bad ones. If you can get funding with your self holding the most chips you should be golden.
Slime Ole buddy, where have you been?????
I don't know if you missed it but the stock was to an all time low of 19¢ But now I understand why you haven't called me in a while, you can't pay for the call at these prices.
"Here is an almost identical situation. Ikanos claimed to have a "last mile" solution over copper about the same time that NVEI first made their claim. Rather than languishing year after year like NVEI, they have managed to raise over $115 million, and have successfully brought a very competitive product to market"
The question is...
How much did Ikanos give up to get that funding?
Thank God that's not a family photo! LOL
Does anyone have the capacity to research if any company in the past that had breakthrough technology had a similar situation with funding?
Like Bill Gates when he first moved out of his garage?
1) $1.5 to $2 mil in funding.
2) Hiring of employees.
3) DVD sales of $20 mil.
4) $6 or more mil in funding.
5) Release of the FPGA's.
6) Independent 3rd party verification of the tech.
7) A joint venture with another company, or a company investing money in NV.
8) An announcement of the names of the companies who will do the asic design, production of the asic, and the packaging of the asic.
9) An investor relations firm being hired and working to promote the stock.
oops, I put them in order the way I think it may get a high share price
I don't know Ex,it may show you son off color humor, violence and he might try some of the stunts that coyote does. But other than that, I think its worth the price just for the deleted scenes lol
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIER WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR,
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan.
No,I think it is just painted shut from the picture that JH painted for us of NV's future.
I guess Im going to have to rename the Master cylinder on my brake system in my car.
Master-Slave Computer Terms Called Offensive
L.A. County Official Suggests Change
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 26) - A county official has asked computer and video equipment vendors to consider eliminating the terms "master" and "slave" from equipment because they may be considered offensive.
AP file
Computer drives that work in tandem are often called "master" and "slave."
"Based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County, this is not an acceptable identification label," according to an e-mail sent to vendors on Nov. 18. The memo asks manufacturers, suppliers and contractors to change or remove any labels on components "that could be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive in nature."
The county's 39 departments also were told to identify equipment with offensive labels.
"We got a note back from IBM saying thank you for bringing this to our attention and we'll take a look at this," said Joe Sandoval, who wrote the memo. Sandoval is division manager of purchasing and contract services for the county's Internal Services Department.
The term "master" and "slave" - when applied to electronic equipment - describes one device controlling another.
In May, a black employee of the Probation Department filed a discrimination complaint with the county Office of Affirmative Action Compliance after noticing the words on a videotape machine.
"This individual felt that it was offensive and inappropriate ... given the experiences that this country has gone through in respect to slavery," office director Dennis A. Tafoya said.
The issue was solved by putting tape over the labels and replacing "master" and "slave" with "primary" and "secondary," Tafoya said.
Although Tafoya said his office did not find discrimination in the case, he added, "I think we constantly need to be conscious of these issues."
Sandoval said the county is making a suggestion, not trying to dictate political correctness.
"Knowing that it's an industry standard, there's no way that I'm going to stop buying that equipment," he said.
11/26/03 22:32 EST
Senators Clinton, Reed to Visit Troops Abroad
By DEVLIN BARRETT, AP
WASHINGTON (Nov 25) - Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jack Reed say they will spend Thanksgiving in Afghanistan and then travel to Iraq to meet with soldiers.
The former first lady and Reed, who is a former Army paratrooper, have been critical of the Bush administration's handling of post-combat problems in the war on terrorism.
Clinton, D-N.Y., and Reed, D-R.I., said Tuesday they were concerned about current efforts to win the "hearts and minds" of Iraqis.
"This administration is run by people who have been obsessed with Saddam Hussein for more than a decade," Clinton said. "And the fact that they could have been so poorly informed and prepared raises a lot of serious questions about the decisions they are making now."
Reed said he was worried "the administration seems to be rushing toward an exit strategy."
While in Afghanistan, Clinton plans to spend time with members of the 10th Mountain Division, which is based in Fort Drum, N.Y.
"I'm still very worried about Afghanistan," Clinton said. "The Taliban and al-Qaida are clearly making a comeback."
Reed has visited Afghanistan and Iraq within the past year and said the United States is at "a very critical moment" in its international military efforts.
Clinton voted for the authorization to use force in Iraq and the $87 billion package to help rebuild that country and Afghanistan. But even as she voted for the spending measure, she called it "a bill for failed leadership."
Reed, a West Point graduate who was once a company commander with the 82nd Airborne Division, voted against the force authorization and for the spending measure.
11/25/03 20:14 EST
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Just having some fun :) EOM
A, you got a problem wit dat post being theer tuff guy????
I got senurity here pal
Oh, Mr, Nov 17th wants to know what this post has to do with NVEI.
Iv bought this stock in the mid 12s back in 2000 and avraged down since.
That post is a little Fary tale story about a start up in tough time makin som dough. Nutten rong wit dat.
Gust given NV alittle insperation, a push, a kick in the pants.
But never the less, not bad from a kid out of Newark.