Tag: death
Getting The Final, Nasty Word - Putting The Bitch In Obituary
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Fri Aug 22, 2008 at 06:50:53 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
When someone passes on, it's left to those who knew them well to compose an obituary. This piece generally will be the last words ever written about that person. For most of us, it's usually just the facts of our transit through this life: where and when we were born; education; where we worked; any special hobbies or achievements in life; culminating in who we're survived by. For the most part, it's pretty bland stuff ... unless. Unless, you've lived the life that Delores Aguilar did and the person who writes your obit doesn't have a single, nice thing to say about her.
(7 comments, 394 words in story) Full Story
Say Hello To My Little Death Ray!
MayorBob.
Posted to SciTech on Sat Aug 16, 2008 at 06:16:23 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
All of us who grew up believing it was possible for the Lone Ranger to shoot the pistol out of the hands of the bad guy, our day has finally come. It has if the news from Boeing is to be believed. Seems they've developed the ultimate non-nuclear weapon. It is extremely accurate from very long distance. It can be used to obliterate everything in its path. Or it can be targeted on simply destroying things without injuring any humans. It does all this with extreme stealth, meaning that the target of such a weapon will likely not be able to know who or what hit them.
(50 comments, 400 words in story) Full Story
This One Really Pisses Me Off (Part II)
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Thu Aug 14, 2008 at 01:39:40 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
I originally wasn't going to write this up as my bile rises everytime I see or hear the name Danieal Kelly. Not that Kelly was a bad person; she was a 14-year-old kid who had the bad luck to be born with cerebral palsy and a pair of bottom feeders for parents. Danieal is beyond anyone's help now and, apparently, was beneath the concern of anyone who should have given a shit about her while she was alive. She died two years ago, starved to death in a home where her mother oversaw her "care." She died as a city agency, which is charged with protecting people like Danieal, looked the other way and falsified records that she was receiving sufficient family care. Danieal Kelly didn't have to die, but she did, and it should worry everyone who reads about her.
(38 comments, 520 words in story) Full Story
Jesse Helms: Dead at 86
thefadd.
Posted to Politics on Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 11:48:35 AM EST (promoted by 1fastdog). RSS.
Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican who became an icon to conservatives, died Friday at age 86, the Jesse Helms Center said.
(8 comments, 40 words in story) Full Story
Private Contractors In Afghanistan Seek Justice ... Shari'a Justice
MayorBob.
Posted to Legal on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 09:58:19 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
The last thing an outfit like Blackwater would want is to see any of its employees fall under Shari'a law. It's a good thing Paul Bremer established "hands off" as the appropriate way to deal with Blackwater back when he was big cheese in Iraq.
(1 comment, 399 words in story) Full Story
Does Flipper Need To Go On A Suicide Watch?
MayorBob.
Posted to SciTech on Sat Jun 14, 2008 at 10:42:47 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Dolphins, underwater mammals closely related to whales and porpoises, have been acting strangely recently. Actually, they've been acting suicidal, from the looks of a number of incidents. Last year, there was a case of two separate groups of dolphins (totaling 152) which beached themselves in Iran. Now, with the recent beaching of 26 dolphins in Cornwall, England people are beginning to ask why dolphins would want to commit suicide?
(7 comments, 424 words in story) Full Story
A Shocking Decision For Taser.
MayorBob.
Posted to Legal on Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 05:21:39 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Law enforcement experts refer to the Taser as a non-lethal weapon. According to the company which manufactures it, the Taser is "a safer alternative to other uses of force." The device "protects life" and "dramatically reduces injury rates for law enforcement officers and suspects." Since its founding in 1993, Taser International's Electronic Control Devices have been used by law enforcement agencies without the company's words coming back to haunt them. Until now, that is, as a federal jury returned a verdict holding Taser responsible for the death of a person their devices were used to subdue.
(40 comments, 479 words in story) Full Story
It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got Death's Sting
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Wed May 07, 2008 at 05:44:36 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
From bungee jumping to all sorts of extreme sports -- people do crazy things because the thrill achieved by risking one's life makes the experience worth it. Would the experience still be worth it if the risk were removed? Is it even the same experience? These questions are being raised in Japan by a group of merchants involved in the fugu trade. Put quite plainly, if you eat a dish of fugu or puffer fish which hasn't been prepared properly, you can die. But now they're selling non-poisonous fugu. The merchants involved in selling the toxic versions are upset at the potential loss of business. They also pose the question of whether living a risk-free life is a life at all.
(8 comments, 485 words in story) Full Story
Dead Because You Follow Your Doctor's Orders
MayorBob.
Posted to SciTech on Tue May 06, 2008 at 03:07:28 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
For Timothy Garon, the marijuana use was absolutely necessary. Ever since he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and his liver began failing, his daily usage enabled him to battle nausea and abdominal pain and stimulate his appetite. Beyond that, it was entirely legal as Washington is one of those states with a law saying a doctor can prescribe its use for exactly the purposes that Garon put it to. Perversely, the thing that made life bearable for the 56-year-old Seattle musician during his wait for a transplant also sealed his fate. Tim Garon is dead today because a medical committee at the hospital, which could have performed the liver transplant, kept his name off the transplant list. Their reason - Tim Garon was a drug user.
(18 comments, 508 words in story) Full Story
The Smiley Face Of Death. Serial Killers Among Us Or False Theory?
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 12:09:54 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
The body count for serial killers is impressive. Ted Bundy is believed responsible for 35 victims. John Wayne Gacy ran up a total of 33 victims. Gary Ridgway eventually pleaded guilty to 48 murders. A couple of things connect these prolific killers: an outward appearance of normality and they managed to accomplish much of their work before anyone suspected there was a serial murderer at work. Now, there's the possibility of another monster quietly and efficiently killing as many as 40 victims thus far.
(16 comments, 491 words in story) Full Story
Animal Cruelty Or Art?
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 02:48:03 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Artists like to press the artistic envelope to see if they can emerge with a new definition of art. In doing so, artists will provoke and occasionally outrage us. But, if they're doing their job right, they are always asking us to question our preconceived notions of what art is. A pitfall for artists out on the envelope's edge is that they will emerge into areas which shock and outrage a public which believes isn't art. Such is the case of artist Guillermo Vargas and what he calls art and what others call animal cruelty.
(39 comments, 481 words in story) Full Story
To What Standard Of Responsibility Should Parents Be Held?
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 08:22:13 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
The law says a person should be held responsible for his or her own actions. But, in cases where the actor is a juvenile, some states have passed parental responsibility laws. Most of these laws involve fining or charging parents the cost of adjudicating their children's cases. Recently, we discussed new laws visiting criminal penalties on parents who fail to control their wayward children. But, do you charge a parent with a crime commensurate with what you charge their child with? Such a question is being answered in the affirmative in Florida as authorities have charged a parent with second degree manslaughter for a car crash her son caused.
(8 comments, 586 words in story) Full Story
