Canadian stun gun death on video
The video shows Mr Dziekanski being pinned down by police. Credit: CBC Amateur video Video footage has been released in Canada showing the last moments of an immigrant who died after being stunned with a Taser by police.
Robert Dziekanski, 40, of Pieszyce, Poland, was restrained by police after becoming agitated at Vancouver International Airport on 14 October.
Mr Dziekanski, who spoke no English, was declared dead at the scene by an emergency medical team.
The incident is being investigated by police, the airport and the coroner.
Police spokesman Cpl Dale Carr said the video was just one piece of evidence, and urged people to wait for the results of the inquest.
Mr Dziekanski, a construction worker, was emigrating to Canada to join his mother, who lived in the western province of British Columbia.
The incident has prompted a debate about the use of Taser stun guns by police in Canada.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation says up to 18 people have died after being stunned by a Taser in Canada since 2003.
Screams
The video was shot by Canadian traveller Paul Pritchard and handed over to police, and has only just been returned to him.
It starts before the police arrive, with Mr Dziekanski seen through a glass wall in a customs area. He appears agitated, sweating and breathing heavily. Airport security officials and passengers watch from the other side.
Having landed 10 hours earlier, he is seen pacing back and forth through an automatic door, standing briefly in the doorway with a small folding table, and then later with a chair.
At one point, he takes what looks like a laptop computer off a counter and throws it to the ground, and then throws the small table against the glass wall.
Four policemen then walk into view. They walk through the glass doors towards Mr Dziekanski, who turns his back on them. Witnesses say he appeared to pick up a stapler.
Seconds later, Mr Dziekanski is stunned by a Taser and falls down screaming and convulsing.
He is stunned a second time, and then the police officers restrain him on the floor. Mr Dziekanski's screams die down, and he is seen lying still.
A voice is heard saying "code red", which is code for a medical emergency.
An autopsy found no sign of drugs or alcohol in Mr Dziekanski's system, and failed to pinpoint the cause of death.
Airport mix-up
Walter Kosteckyj, the victim's family lawyer, said Mr Dziekanski's mother had seen portions of the video and had approved its release to the public.
"She had a son in distress, he was looking for help, he was frightened, and he didn't get that help," Mr Kosteckyj said.
He said he was disturbed by the video because Mr Dziekanski was not violent.
"I was expecting to see a confrontation, a discussion and things go sideways, then the tasering... That's not what you see," he said.
Mr Dziekanski, who had not flown before, had boarded a plane a day earlier in Germany, and arranged to meet his mother at the baggage carousel in the international terminal.
Neither of them knew the baggage carousel was inside a secure area, with no view of the public arrivals hall area, except for a short distance through sliding glass doors, Mr Kosteckyj said.
No airport, customs or security employees at the airport apparently tried to help either of them, he added.
Eventually Mr Dziekanski emerged into the public area, but his mother had left after six hours and Mr Dziekanski apparently panicked, the lawyer said.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7095875.stm
ALSO:
Terror police 'shot' man in coma A man who had gone into a diabetic coma on a bus in Leeds was shot twice with a Taser gun by police who feared he may have been a security threat.
Nicholas Gaubert has described how the incident happened in July 2005, just a week before the fatal shooting of Brazilian man Jean Charles de Menezes.
Mr Gaubert, 34, said he was suffering severe post-traumatic stress as a result of the shooting.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating.
Mr Gaubert, who lives in Leeds, said he had now decided to speak out after the Crown Prosecution Service ruled no officers involved should be charged with any criminal offences.
The IPCC is still considering whether any disciplinary matters will be brought against the officers.
Armed police deployed
Mr Gaubert said he was on his way to meet friends when he suffered a hypoglycaemic fit on the bus which left him slumped on his seat clutching his rucksack.
Armed police were called to the bus depot in Headingley and when he failed to respond to their challenges he was shot with the Taser.
He said as this was happening, another officer was pointing a real gun at his head.
He was restrained and eventually came round in the police van.
He said it was only then that the officers realised it was a medical emergency, despite him wearing a medical tag round his neck to warn of his condition, and took him to hospital.
Mr Gaubert said he was told the police believed he looked "Egyptian".
He is completely traumatised by this - he is living with it every day Solicitor Ifti Manzoor
Mr Gaubert's solicitor Ifti Manzoor said the incident had clear parallels with the shooting of Mr Menezes at Stockwell tube station and showed there was evidence of a breakdown in communication between the police on the ground and their commanders.
Mr Gaubert said: "When I heard about that Brazilian man in London I just thought, 'oh no, that could have been me'."
Mr Manzoor added: "The evidence is there was an order that officers be deployed and contain the scene. This direct order seems to have been ignored.
"I really appreciate that under the circumstances and at that time the police had an enormously difficult job.
"But Mr Gaubert was alone in a bus depot.
"He is completely traumatised by this. He is living with it every day."
'Potential security threat'
A statement from the IPCC said: "The IPCC managed an investigation into an incident on 13 July 2005 in which West Yorkshire Police discharged a Taser at a man while he sat on a bus in Leeds.
"The man was mistakenly treated as a potential security threat when he was, in fact, in a hypoglycaemic state. The investigation report was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in November 2006.
"The CPS returned its initial decision in February 2007 stating that no officers should be charged with any criminal offences.
"Consideration was then given by the CPS as to whether any offences had been committed under health and safety law.
"A decision was received recently to advise that no charges would be brought under this legislation.
"The IPCC must determine whether any disciplinary matters need to be considered against the officers involved.
"Initial recommendations regarding discipline put forward by the police forces involved have not been agreed by the IPCC and discussions are ongoing. "
West Yorkshire Police said the matter was in the hands of the IPCC.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/7096456.stm
ALSO:
Chief constable zapped by Taser North Wales Police chief constable Richard Brunstrom has been zapped with a Taser electronic stun gun.
Mr Brunstrom, 53, offered himself as a target to feel the effects of being shot with 50,000 volts, and was hit for less than two seconds.
Footage on the force's website shows him swearing as he is floored. He warns people who disobey Taser-armed officers they will "not enjoy the consequences".
North Wales Police is expanding the use of Tasers to rural areas.
'Strangulated yell'
Under a heading marked "An interesting experience!", Mr Brunstrom's blog described the force's use of the stun gun since 2003 as "a great success".
"We're prepared to use this on members of the public when we have to. It's right and proper that the head of the organisation tries it out for himself," he says.
Video footage shows him being supported by two officers as he is zapped with a Taser by a third officer.
He makes what he described as a "strangulated yell" as he is zapped for 1.5 seconds, and tells his officers: "That was long enough, thanks".
Speaking to camera afterwards, Mr Brunstrom - who recently passed his force's fitness test - said: "What was it like? Not pleasant, is the answer."
He added: "I was completely incapable of movement. I would have fallen if I hadn't been supported by my colleagues.
"I very strongly advise you, if faced by an officer and a Taser, that you follow the instructions of the nice police officer, because you will not enjoy the consequences of disobedience."
Mr Brunstrom's blog said the trial involving the 28 officers in rural areas began last Saturday and the effects of the deployment would be measured "over the next year or so".
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_east/6980867.stm
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Jail term cut for 'feral' killers
Two Cheshire teenagers who terrorized a vulnerable man before beating him to death and throwing his body in a river, have had their life sentences cut.
Craig Dodd, aged 17, will now serve a minimum of three-and-a-half years in prison and Ryan Palin, 15, three years.
The pair were dubbed as "feral" when they were jailed for life for the manslaughter of Raymond Atherton, 40, in Warrington.
They beat and urinated on Mr Atherton before dumping him in the River Mersey.
These are two very dangerous young men whose future progress will have to be very carefully considered Judge Justice Rix sitting at the Court of Appeal
Despite the severity of their crime, Lord Justice Rix overturned the life terms and replaced them with sentences of detention for public protection, giving each a minimum tariff to serve before parole can be considered.
Lord Justice Rix decided the sentencing judge at Warrington Crown Court had not been right to impose life sentences for the killing.
He said: "We think it was an error of principle to say that a discretionary sentence of detention for life should be imposed."
"These are two very dangerous young men whose future progress will have to be very carefully considered."
The court heard Palin, of Grasmere Avenue, Orford, and Dodd, of Lisguard Close, Runcorn spent months systematically abusing the victim, who had severe learning difficulties, in a process they nicknamed 'terroring'.
They regularly broke into his council flat on St Katherine's Way, Howley, where they wrote graffiti on the walls, burnt his hair and daubed his face with paint.
On the night of his death in May 2006, the boys were seen by neighbours beating him with planks of wood until he bled.
Days later his body was discovered floating in the River Mersey in Westy, Warrington.
The judge in the original trial described the killers as "feral, wild and untamed".
After Mr Atherton's killing it was revealed that he had been rehoused in a different part of the town by Warrington Borough Council when Palin and Dodd started their "terror campaign" against him.
They were arrested by police after boasting of what they had done to friends.
Judge Rix added: "Mr Atherton's life had been made a misery by the loutish behaviour of those who attacked him.
"They had not sought to kill, but this was a savage, cruel, brutal and vicious attack."
Craig Dodd, aged 17, will now serve a minimum of three-and-a-half years in prison and Ryan Palin, 15, three years.
The pair were dubbed as "feral" when they were jailed for life for the manslaughter of Raymond Atherton, 40, in Warrington.
They beat and urinated on Mr Atherton before dumping him in the River Mersey.
These are two very dangerous young men whose future progress will have to be very carefully considered Judge Justice Rix sitting at the Court of Appeal
Despite the severity of their crime, Lord Justice Rix overturned the life terms and replaced them with sentences of detention for public protection, giving each a minimum tariff to serve before parole can be considered.
Lord Justice Rix decided the sentencing judge at Warrington Crown Court had not been right to impose life sentences for the killing.
He said: "We think it was an error of principle to say that a discretionary sentence of detention for life should be imposed."
"These are two very dangerous young men whose future progress will have to be very carefully considered."
The court heard Palin, of Grasmere Avenue, Orford, and Dodd, of Lisguard Close, Runcorn spent months systematically abusing the victim, who had severe learning difficulties, in a process they nicknamed 'terroring'.
They regularly broke into his council flat on St Katherine's Way, Howley, where they wrote graffiti on the walls, burnt his hair and daubed his face with paint.
On the night of his death in May 2006, the boys were seen by neighbours beating him with planks of wood until he bled.
Days later his body was discovered floating in the River Mersey in Westy, Warrington.
The judge in the original trial described the killers as "feral, wild and untamed".
After Mr Atherton's killing it was revealed that he had been rehoused in a different part of the town by Warrington Borough Council when Palin and Dodd started their "terror campaign" against him.
They were arrested by police after boasting of what they had done to friends.
Judge Rix added: "Mr Atherton's life had been made a misery by the loutish behaviour of those who attacked him.
"They had not sought to kill, but this was a savage, cruel, brutal and vicious attack."
Friday, October 26, 2007
Ex-army Urinates on Dying Woman in Doorway
Man jailed for urinating on woman
A man who urinated on a woman as she lay dying and shouted "this is YouTube material" has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Anthony Anderson also covered Christine Lakinski with shaving foam after she collapsed in a Hartlepool street.
The 50-year-old, who suffered from a number of medical conditions, was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Anderson, 27, and from Raby Road in the Teesside town, had earlier admitted outraging public decency.
The court heard how, on 27 July, Miss Lakinski was making her way home with a box of laminate flooring when she fell ill and stumbled into a doorway.
Totally shocked
Anderson, a former soldier, had smoked a cannabis joint and been drinking when he and two friends spotted her.
He tried to rouse her by throwing a bucket of water over her, before urinating on her and covering her with shaving foam.
A crowd had gathered around, watching and laughing, and the incident was filmed on a mobile phone.
She was later declared dead at the scene, the cause of death being given as pancreatic failure.
Magistrates in Hartlepool had referred the case to Teesside Crown Court so a longer jail term could be handed out.
Judge Peter Fox, the recorder of Middlesbrough sitting at Teesside Crown Court, said: "You violated this woman in an incredible way, and the shocking nature of your acts over a prolonged period of time must mean that a prison sentence of greater length is appropriate in this case."
'Sick and inhumane'
Outside court, Miss Lakinski's family said in a statement: "We remain totally shocked that anyone could behave in such an appalling way.
"The fact that Christine was dying makes this man's actions even more sick and inhumane.
"However, those who stood by and did nothing to stop Anderson are also guilty in our eyes.
"It beggars belief that these people chose not only to condone his cruelty, but also to walk away from a neighbour who was clearly in distress and needed help."
The family statement added that Christine had "faced immense challenges throughout her life", yet still had managed to "forge an independent life for herself".
A man who urinated on a woman as she lay dying and shouted "this is YouTube material" has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Anthony Anderson also covered Christine Lakinski with shaving foam after she collapsed in a Hartlepool street.
The 50-year-old, who suffered from a number of medical conditions, was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Anderson, 27, and from Raby Road in the Teesside town, had earlier admitted outraging public decency.
The court heard how, on 27 July, Miss Lakinski was making her way home with a box of laminate flooring when she fell ill and stumbled into a doorway.
Totally shocked
Anderson, a former soldier, had smoked a cannabis joint and been drinking when he and two friends spotted her.
He tried to rouse her by throwing a bucket of water over her, before urinating on her and covering her with shaving foam.
A crowd had gathered around, watching and laughing, and the incident was filmed on a mobile phone.
She was later declared dead at the scene, the cause of death being given as pancreatic failure.
Magistrates in Hartlepool had referred the case to Teesside Crown Court so a longer jail term could be handed out.
Judge Peter Fox, the recorder of Middlesbrough sitting at Teesside Crown Court, said: "You violated this woman in an incredible way, and the shocking nature of your acts over a prolonged period of time must mean that a prison sentence of greater length is appropriate in this case."
'Sick and inhumane'
Outside court, Miss Lakinski's family said in a statement: "We remain totally shocked that anyone could behave in such an appalling way.
"The fact that Christine was dying makes this man's actions even more sick and inhumane.
"However, those who stood by and did nothing to stop Anderson are also guilty in our eyes.
"It beggars belief that these people chose not only to condone his cruelty, but also to walk away from a neighbour who was clearly in distress and needed help."
The family statement added that Christine had "faced immense challenges throughout her life", yet still had managed to "forge an independent life for herself".
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Dodi Fayed bought £11,000 engagement ring for Diana
Stephen BatesFriday October 19, 2007The Guardian
Dodi Fayed, the son of the Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, did buy Princess Diana an £11,600 engagement ring a few hours before the couple's death in the Paris crash in 1997, though he had no chance to give it to her, the inquest jury heard yesterday.
The jury, sitting in the high court, was shown grainy CCTV footage from the Repossi jeweller's shop, across the square from the Ritz hotel in Paris, taken the afternoon before the crash. It showed Dodi Fayed, who was not accompanied by the princess, surrounded by staff as he inspected rings before leaving with a brochure.
Later footage showed Claude Roulet, assistant to the president of the Ritz hotel, visiting the shop and taking an item in a bag to the couple's room in the hotel's Imperial suite. The bag was deposited in the hotel strongroom before the couple went to Dodi's flat elsewhere in the city.
A ring bearing the inscription "Dis-moi Oui" ("Tell me Yes") was recovered from the flat after the couple's death. A receipt dated August 30 1997, the day before the crash, listing a "bague de fiançaille" (engagement ring), was also recovered.
It has been a key part of Mohamed Fayed's case that the couple were about to get engaged, that the princess was pregnant and that they were murdered by British secret service agents on the instructions of the Duke of Edinburgh to prevent their marriage.
Mr Fayed says that the couple had met the jeweller Alberto Repossi at his Monte Carlo store to choose the ring during their holiday on the Fayed yacht in the Mediterranean. He claims that the ring was then sized in Italy and sent to Paris. There was no indication yesterday that Dodi Fayed had got round to giving Diana the ring but the jury was told that his father believes he was planning to present her with it on the night they died.
The inquest was told earlier this week that paparazzi photographers crowded around the Ritz hotel on hearing rumours that there was to be an announcement of the princess's engagement, or pregnancy.
Friends of the princess have denied that the couple were engaged or that Princess Diana was thinking of marriage to Dodi Fayed.
The inquest has also heard that the princess was taking the pill at the time of her death and doctors treating her following the crash detected no sign that she was pregnant.
The inquest into the couple's deaths has completed the third week of what is expected to be a hearing which will last up to six months.
Dodi Fayed, the son of the Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, did buy Princess Diana an £11,600 engagement ring a few hours before the couple's death in the Paris crash in 1997, though he had no chance to give it to her, the inquest jury heard yesterday.
The jury, sitting in the high court, was shown grainy CCTV footage from the Repossi jeweller's shop, across the square from the Ritz hotel in Paris, taken the afternoon before the crash. It showed Dodi Fayed, who was not accompanied by the princess, surrounded by staff as he inspected rings before leaving with a brochure.
Later footage showed Claude Roulet, assistant to the president of the Ritz hotel, visiting the shop and taking an item in a bag to the couple's room in the hotel's Imperial suite. The bag was deposited in the hotel strongroom before the couple went to Dodi's flat elsewhere in the city.
A ring bearing the inscription "Dis-moi Oui" ("Tell me Yes") was recovered from the flat after the couple's death. A receipt dated August 30 1997, the day before the crash, listing a "bague de fiançaille" (engagement ring), was also recovered.
It has been a key part of Mohamed Fayed's case that the couple were about to get engaged, that the princess was pregnant and that they were murdered by British secret service agents on the instructions of the Duke of Edinburgh to prevent their marriage.
Mr Fayed says that the couple had met the jeweller Alberto Repossi at his Monte Carlo store to choose the ring during their holiday on the Fayed yacht in the Mediterranean. He claims that the ring was then sized in Italy and sent to Paris. There was no indication yesterday that Dodi Fayed had got round to giving Diana the ring but the jury was told that his father believes he was planning to present her with it on the night they died.
The inquest was told earlier this week that paparazzi photographers crowded around the Ritz hotel on hearing rumours that there was to be an announcement of the princess's engagement, or pregnancy.
Friends of the princess have denied that the couple were engaged or that Princess Diana was thinking of marriage to Dodi Fayed.
The inquest has also heard that the princess was taking the pill at the time of her death and doctors treating her following the crash detected no sign that she was pregnant.
The inquest into the couple's deaths has completed the third week of what is expected to be a hearing which will last up to six months.
Suspect says he killed, not ate, his girlfriend
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican writer suspected of frying and eating pieces of his ex-girlfriend after strangling her has confessed to murdering the woman but denies being a cannibal, a government prosecutor said on Tuesday.
Police burst into Jose Luis Calva's Mexico City apartment last week and found fried human flesh on a dining table set with cutlery. They found more flesh in the refrigerator and an unfinished book by Calvo called "Cannibal Instincts."
The mutilated body of Alejandra Galeana, 32, was in the bedroom closet.
Calva told prosecutors he killed Galeana after an argument, then cut an arm and a leg off of her body so that he could dispense of it in parts.
"He denies having tasted her flesh," Mexico City's chief homicide prosecutor Gustavo Salas told reporters. "According to him, he thought it was better to cook the meat so he could feed it to the dogs."
Prosecutors also suspect Calva of strangling and dismembering two other women in the last two years. One victim, Veronica Martinez, had lived with Calva before her death.
Calva denied any involvement in those crimes.
Galeana's mother had reported her missing for two weeks and said she suspected her daughter's former lover was involved.
Calva kept books on black magic and apparently made a living selling his writings on the street. He was injured falling from his balcony when he tried to escape police as they forced their way into his apartment.
Police found copies of the Hannibal Lecter films, which tell the tale of a genius serial killer who eats his victims.
A former girlfriend told police Calva was a jealous, possessive lover who believed in witchcraft and practiced rituals, including hammering a cow's tongue to a board.
Police burst into Jose Luis Calva's Mexico City apartment last week and found fried human flesh on a dining table set with cutlery. They found more flesh in the refrigerator and an unfinished book by Calvo called "Cannibal Instincts."
The mutilated body of Alejandra Galeana, 32, was in the bedroom closet.
Calva told prosecutors he killed Galeana after an argument, then cut an arm and a leg off of her body so that he could dispense of it in parts.
"He denies having tasted her flesh," Mexico City's chief homicide prosecutor Gustavo Salas told reporters. "According to him, he thought it was better to cook the meat so he could feed it to the dogs."
Prosecutors also suspect Calva of strangling and dismembering two other women in the last two years. One victim, Veronica Martinez, had lived with Calva before her death.
Calva denied any involvement in those crimes.
Galeana's mother had reported her missing for two weeks and said she suspected her daughter's former lover was involved.
Calva kept books on black magic and apparently made a living selling his writings on the street. He was injured falling from his balcony when he tried to escape police as they forced their way into his apartment.
Police found copies of the Hannibal Lecter films, which tell the tale of a genius serial killer who eats his victims.
A former girlfriend told police Calva was a jealous, possessive lover who believed in witchcraft and practiced rituals, including hammering a cow's tongue to a board.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
DVDStation & Blockbuster Articles
Author: ERIK GRUENWEDEL egruenwedel@questex.com Posted: November 25, 2005
How should Blockbuster Inc. retool itself? Observers say the No. 1 video rental chain can emerge from its dire state by slashing dated business practices. Overstaffing and the chain’s reluctance to ditch the “superstore” concept, among other missteps, have resulted in bloated stores with significantly higher-than-needed operating expenses. Blockbuster may enjoy a healthy 60 percent gross margin (70 percent rental, 20 percent merchandise), which puts it in the same league as Starbucks. But Blockbuster’s overhead — officially known as sales, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses — tops 51 percent of revenue (59 percent for Movie Gallery) compared to 43 percent and 35 percent for Starbucks and McDonald’s, respectively, analysts and observers note. That’s not good. The idea is to get maximum revenue from retail space. If store-operating expenses (rent, personnel, utility costs, etc.) are relatively fixed, the more sales generated with those costs result in a lower SG&A as a percentage of sales. Analysts and observers contend that if Blockbuster gets its SG&A expenses below 40 percent, even with the current contraction in the industry, its market capitalization could increase dramatically. “You have to visit Tiffany’s to get store operating expenses anywhere close to those of video stores,” said Bill Fischer, VP of corporate development for DVD Station, a San Francisco-based operator of proprietary kiosks. “And Blockbuster has neither Carrera marble nor chandeliers.” Blockbuster spokesperson Randy Hargrove reiterated the company intends to lower its cost structure through a combination of reduced marketing spending, overhead reductions (above the store level) and the elimination of operational costs associated with non-Blockbuster-branded assets. “Our plan is to lower SG&A by more than $100 million in 2006 and by an incremental $50 million in 2007,” Hargrove said, adding this is in addition to cost reductions announced earlier this year. Analysts and observers say the average Blockbuster store occupies about 6,000 square feet and is staffed by 11 full-time employees during a 12-hour business day. The central retail space of Blockbuster stores (about 60 percent) is not particularly productive. Only about 11 percent of rentals come from this area, compared to 89 percent from primarily new releases on the back wall. “You have 5,000 square feet of real estate that is dedicated to 11 percent of the business,” Fischer said. “It just doesn’t make sense.” Analysts and observers say Blockbuster should adjust staffing to reflect key peak periods. Big Blue also should eliminate large-format stores and raise the a la carte rental price 25 cents. “I don’t know why they don’t do that,” said Michael Pachter, media analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. “People who rent do so out of habit and wouldn’t say anything about a price increase.” Fischer said DVD Station contacted Blockbuster and Gallery about implementing automated cash transactions and kiosk-style library shelf storage. He said the switch could reduce Blockbuster’s staffing 50 percent. Pachter likes DVD Station’s 500-to-700-square-foot kiosk business model and believes Blockbuster could begin implementing kiosks as present stores come off lease. “I think that concept only makes sense in high-traffic, expensive real estate like in New York,” Pachter said. He said Blockbuster could enter traditionally cost-prohibitive areas such as office buildings by emulating Starbucks’ business model and strength of brand by establishing rental and sellthrough kiosks in major downtown lobbies and walkways for impulse consumption. Pachter also said Blockbuster could sublet unproductive retail space to third-party businesses, including cell phone providers, coffee shops and fast food eateries. “Those are the kind of things they should be talking about,” he said.
How should Blockbuster Inc. retool itself? Observers say the No. 1 video rental chain can emerge from its dire state by slashing dated business practices. Overstaffing and the chain’s reluctance to ditch the “superstore” concept, among other missteps, have resulted in bloated stores with significantly higher-than-needed operating expenses. Blockbuster may enjoy a healthy 60 percent gross margin (70 percent rental, 20 percent merchandise), which puts it in the same league as Starbucks. But Blockbuster’s overhead — officially known as sales, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses — tops 51 percent of revenue (59 percent for Movie Gallery) compared to 43 percent and 35 percent for Starbucks and McDonald’s, respectively, analysts and observers note. That’s not good. The idea is to get maximum revenue from retail space. If store-operating expenses (rent, personnel, utility costs, etc.) are relatively fixed, the more sales generated with those costs result in a lower SG&A as a percentage of sales. Analysts and observers contend that if Blockbuster gets its SG&A expenses below 40 percent, even with the current contraction in the industry, its market capitalization could increase dramatically. “You have to visit Tiffany’s to get store operating expenses anywhere close to those of video stores,” said Bill Fischer, VP of corporate development for DVD Station, a San Francisco-based operator of proprietary kiosks. “And Blockbuster has neither Carrera marble nor chandeliers.” Blockbuster spokesperson Randy Hargrove reiterated the company intends to lower its cost structure through a combination of reduced marketing spending, overhead reductions (above the store level) and the elimination of operational costs associated with non-Blockbuster-branded assets. “Our plan is to lower SG&A by more than $100 million in 2006 and by an incremental $50 million in 2007,” Hargrove said, adding this is in addition to cost reductions announced earlier this year. Analysts and observers say the average Blockbuster store occupies about 6,000 square feet and is staffed by 11 full-time employees during a 12-hour business day. The central retail space of Blockbuster stores (about 60 percent) is not particularly productive. Only about 11 percent of rentals come from this area, compared to 89 percent from primarily new releases on the back wall. “You have 5,000 square feet of real estate that is dedicated to 11 percent of the business,” Fischer said. “It just doesn’t make sense.” Analysts and observers say Blockbuster should adjust staffing to reflect key peak periods. Big Blue also should eliminate large-format stores and raise the a la carte rental price 25 cents. “I don’t know why they don’t do that,” said Michael Pachter, media analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. “People who rent do so out of habit and wouldn’t say anything about a price increase.” Fischer said DVD Station contacted Blockbuster and Gallery about implementing automated cash transactions and kiosk-style library shelf storage. He said the switch could reduce Blockbuster’s staffing 50 percent. Pachter likes DVD Station’s 500-to-700-square-foot kiosk business model and believes Blockbuster could begin implementing kiosks as present stores come off lease. “I think that concept only makes sense in high-traffic, expensive real estate like in New York,” Pachter said. He said Blockbuster could enter traditionally cost-prohibitive areas such as office buildings by emulating Starbucks’ business model and strength of brand by establishing rental and sellthrough kiosks in major downtown lobbies and walkways for impulse consumption. Pachter also said Blockbuster could sublet unproductive retail space to third-party businesses, including cell phone providers, coffee shops and fast food eateries. “Those are the kind of things they should be talking about,” he said.
Spurned husband testifies for polygamist 'prophet'
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Stranded airline passengers push for federal legislation
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Passengers are at the mercy of the jetliner pilot when the plane is stuck on the tarmac, and activists say Congress should pass a mandatory "Bill of Rights" to limit waiting in such situations to three hours.
At a demonstration Tuesday on the National Mall, organizers hoped to show what it is like to be trapped in a closed jetliner cabin with overflowing toilets, screaming babies, and little food or water.
Using a portable vinyl carport painted to resemble the outside of a jetliner, volunteers sat in closely packed folding chairs as a recording of crying children played in the cramped quarters.
A pilot for one of the major airlines told reporters that airport gates are often filled with other planes, leaving no place to return, park and let people off. The pilot, Bruce Hedlund, also noted that today's jetliners typically do not have their own stairs that passengers could use away from a gate.
"Airlines have not provided an infrastructure that would include stairs and buses to provide me, as the captain, with additional options to get you safely off of my aircraft," Hedlund said.
He also said that a plane loses its place in line if returns to the gate instead of waiting through a backed-up departure.
Rep. John Hall, D-New York, co-sponsor of an amendment to a federal funding bill, said that airlines have failed to make good on a promise to voluntarily "create their own standards for behavior" and that "there will be no effective protections for passengers until the government steps in and forces the issue."
He told CNN the legislation would see to it that "if you are on the tarmac for three hours, it would let you come back to the gate, get off the plane, and not lose your place in the takeoff line."
As it stands, Hall said, "you're basically a prisoner."
He said he was recently stuck on the tarmac at New York's LaGuardia airport for three hours. "You have no idea how long it will be until you take off."
The plan would assign delayed takeoffs in the order they were originally scheduled.
The proposal, which is an amendment to a budget proposal for the Federal Aviation Administration, is scheduled to come up in the House on Friday.
At a demonstration Tuesday on the National Mall, organizers hoped to show what it is like to be trapped in a closed jetliner cabin with overflowing toilets, screaming babies, and little food or water.
Using a portable vinyl carport painted to resemble the outside of a jetliner, volunteers sat in closely packed folding chairs as a recording of crying children played in the cramped quarters.
A pilot for one of the major airlines told reporters that airport gates are often filled with other planes, leaving no place to return, park and let people off. The pilot, Bruce Hedlund, also noted that today's jetliners typically do not have their own stairs that passengers could use away from a gate.
"Airlines have not provided an infrastructure that would include stairs and buses to provide me, as the captain, with additional options to get you safely off of my aircraft," Hedlund said.
He also said that a plane loses its place in line if returns to the gate instead of waiting through a backed-up departure.
Rep. John Hall, D-New York, co-sponsor of an amendment to a federal funding bill, said that airlines have failed to make good on a promise to voluntarily "create their own standards for behavior" and that "there will be no effective protections for passengers until the government steps in and forces the issue."
He told CNN the legislation would see to it that "if you are on the tarmac for three hours, it would let you come back to the gate, get off the plane, and not lose your place in the takeoff line."
As it stands, Hall said, "you're basically a prisoner."
He said he was recently stuck on the tarmac at New York's LaGuardia airport for three hours. "You have no idea how long it will be until you take off."
The plan would assign delayed takeoffs in the order they were originally scheduled.
The proposal, which is an amendment to a budget proposal for the Federal Aviation Administration, is scheduled to come up in the House on Friday.
Bloodied 70-year-old woman cuffed for having a brown lawn
OREM, Utah (AP) -- A 70-year-old woman arrested in a dispute over her brown lawn pleaded not guilty Tuesday, then stood by as a Los Angeles lawyer waved handcuffs for the cameras outside court.
Betty Perry is charged with resisting arrest and failing to maintain her landscaping, both misdemeanors.
She was arrested July 6 after failing to give her name to a police officer who visited her home.
During a struggle, Perry fell and injured her nose. She spent more than an hour in a holding cell before police released her.
"I ask the citizens of Orem: How many of you would like to have your great-grandmother taken from her home with bruises and blood and placed in handcuffs for failing to water her lawn?" attorney Gloria Allred said.
"Let's bring sanity back to law enforcement," she said.
The mayor and City Council apologized, and the police department said the situation could have been handled differently. But the city attorney still is pressing charges, and Perry is due back in court next month.
A state investigation found that Officer James Flygare acted properly in arresting Perry after trying to get her to cooperate.
Perry's water had been turned off for about nine months, at her request, although she was living at the house at the time of the arrest. Orem has a shutoff policy for people who are away for extended periods.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press
Betty Perry is charged with resisting arrest and failing to maintain her landscaping, both misdemeanors.
She was arrested July 6 after failing to give her name to a police officer who visited her home.
During a struggle, Perry fell and injured her nose. She spent more than an hour in a holding cell before police released her.
"I ask the citizens of Orem: How many of you would like to have your great-grandmother taken from her home with bruises and blood and placed in handcuffs for failing to water her lawn?" attorney Gloria Allred said.
"Let's bring sanity back to law enforcement," she said.
The mayor and City Council apologized, and the police department said the situation could have been handled differently. But the city attorney still is pressing charges, and Perry is due back in court next month.
A state investigation found that Officer James Flygare acted properly in arresting Perry after trying to get her to cooperate.
Perry's water had been turned off for about nine months, at her request, although she was living at the house at the time of the arrest. Orem has a shutoff policy for people who are away for extended periods.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press
Whites vs Blacks in Jena
CNN) -- A Louisiana appeals court ruled it was too early to consider a motion to release an black teenager who allegedly took part in beating up a white classmate in Jena, Louisiana, last year.
The Tuesday ruling is the latest turn in the racially charged saga of a group known as the Jena 6 -- six black teens initially charged with attempted murder after they allegedly knocked out classmate Justin Barker and stomped him during a school fight. Five of the teens were charged as adults.
Civil rights groups and other organizations have marshaled thousands of people to march on Jena on Thursday, a day originally slated for 17-year-old Mychal Bell's sentencing hearing on battery and conspiracy convictions.
However, a district judge earlier this month tossed out Bell's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery, saying the matter should have been handled in the juvenile court. On Friday, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Lake Charles did the same with Bell's battery conviction.
A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday, however, that it would not consider a motion to free Bell from prison.
"The motion for release from custody, filed by the defendant in this court, is premature," the panel ruled without setting a date for considering the motion.
The future of Bell's case is up to the district attorney, who must decide whether to refile the charges in juvenile court, Bell's attorney Bob Noel said last week.
Charges against four of the teens -- Bell, Carwin Jones, Theodore Shaw and Robert Bailey -- have been reduced to battery and conspiracy. Shaw and Jones have not gone to trial. Bailey has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his trial is scheduled for November 26.
Bryant Purvis and an unidentified juvenile remain charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Advocates of the Jena 6 say the story began well before the December 4 beating. They say it began in September when three white students decided to hang nooses from a tree on campus.
In September 2006, a black student asked the vice principal if he and some friends could sit under an oak tree where white students typically congregated.
Told by the vice principal they could sit wherever they pleased, the student and his pals sat under the sprawling branches of the shade tree in the campus courtyard.
The next day, students arrived at school to find three nooses hanging from those branches.
According to The Town Talk in nearby Alexandria, the school's principal recommended expulsion for those behind the nooses. Instead, the newspaper reported, a school district committee suspended three white students for three days for hanging the nooses, a gesture written off as a "prank."
Racial tensions flared. The district attorney was summoned to address the student body. Off-campus fights were reported. On November 30, someone torched the school's main academic building. The arson remains unsolved, but many suspect it was linked to the discord.
Four days after the arson, several students jumped Barker, knocking him unconscious before stomping and kicking him.
Parents of the Jena 6 say they heard Barker was hurling racial epithets. Barker's parents insist he did nothing to provoke the beating.
Barker was taken to a hospital with injuries to both eyes and ears as well as cuts. His right eye had blood clots, said his mother, Kelli Barker. He was treated and released that day.
Bails for the Jena 6 were set at between $70,000 and $138,000. All but Bell posted bond. The judge has refused to lower his $90,000 bail, citing Bell's criminal record, which includes four juvenile offenses -- two simple battery charges among them.
The Tuesday ruling is the latest turn in the racially charged saga of a group known as the Jena 6 -- six black teens initially charged with attempted murder after they allegedly knocked out classmate Justin Barker and stomped him during a school fight. Five of the teens were charged as adults.
Civil rights groups and other organizations have marshaled thousands of people to march on Jena on Thursday, a day originally slated for 17-year-old Mychal Bell's sentencing hearing on battery and conspiracy convictions.
However, a district judge earlier this month tossed out Bell's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery, saying the matter should have been handled in the juvenile court. On Friday, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Lake Charles did the same with Bell's battery conviction.
A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday, however, that it would not consider a motion to free Bell from prison.
"The motion for release from custody, filed by the defendant in this court, is premature," the panel ruled without setting a date for considering the motion.
The future of Bell's case is up to the district attorney, who must decide whether to refile the charges in juvenile court, Bell's attorney Bob Noel said last week.
Charges against four of the teens -- Bell, Carwin Jones, Theodore Shaw and Robert Bailey -- have been reduced to battery and conspiracy. Shaw and Jones have not gone to trial. Bailey has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his trial is scheduled for November 26.
Bryant Purvis and an unidentified juvenile remain charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Advocates of the Jena 6 say the story began well before the December 4 beating. They say it began in September when three white students decided to hang nooses from a tree on campus.
In September 2006, a black student asked the vice principal if he and some friends could sit under an oak tree where white students typically congregated.
Told by the vice principal they could sit wherever they pleased, the student and his pals sat under the sprawling branches of the shade tree in the campus courtyard.
The next day, students arrived at school to find three nooses hanging from those branches.
According to The Town Talk in nearby Alexandria, the school's principal recommended expulsion for those behind the nooses. Instead, the newspaper reported, a school district committee suspended three white students for three days for hanging the nooses, a gesture written off as a "prank."
Racial tensions flared. The district attorney was summoned to address the student body. Off-campus fights were reported. On November 30, someone torched the school's main academic building. The arson remains unsolved, but many suspect it was linked to the discord.
Four days after the arson, several students jumped Barker, knocking him unconscious before stomping and kicking him.
Parents of the Jena 6 say they heard Barker was hurling racial epithets. Barker's parents insist he did nothing to provoke the beating.
Barker was taken to a hospital with injuries to both eyes and ears as well as cuts. His right eye had blood clots, said his mother, Kelli Barker. He was treated and released that day.
Bails for the Jena 6 were set at between $70,000 and $138,000. All but Bell posted bond. The judge has refused to lower his $90,000 bail, citing Bell's criminal record, which includes four juvenile offenses -- two simple battery charges among them.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
The Virginia Tech Killings: When Privacy Laws Do More Harm Than Good
Okay, I've read the 260 pages filed by the review panel that investigated the Virginia Tech shootings, and I understand that the university should have stepped in to help Seung Hui Cho but didn't, that Cho's parents should have alerted the college to his condition but didn't and that the state mental health system should have acted more decisively but didn't.
Here's what I don't get. In the hundreds of interviews the panel conducted, why didn't they ask all those people whose job it is to care for students one question: How would you have handled Cho if you had let your conscience, not privacy laws, guide you?
Maybe they didn't ask because we all know the answer, and it is a most discomfiting one. If the mental health professionals, police and college administrators who saw or knew about Cho's disturbing actions had acted as if their own child were involved, there might not have been any need for an investigation.
Boil down the report, cast aside the pointless second-guessing of police tactics, and you're left with this: Virginia Tech failed to intervene to help Cho because we as a society have trapped ourselves inside rules that stigmatize mental illness and paralyze our natural instinct to reach out and help someone in need.
This is no theoretical exercise in hindsight. This is a direct comparison between what some people did and what others didn't. At Virginia Tech, students who were frightened by their encounters with Cho took action. They told adults in positions of authority. The responsible adults then met and, in the words of the report, "did nothing." Why? "Lack of resources, incorrect interpretation of privacy laws and passivity," the panel concludes in its report.
Now compare what the Fairfax school system did and what Virginia Tech failed to do. In 1999, when Cho was in eighth grade, his teachers noticed, as Tech professors would later, that the youngster was thinking seriously about suicide and homicide. The boy wrote, the report says, that he "wanted to repeat Columbine."
Fairfax acted. The middle school asked Cho's parents to get him counseling. A psychiatric evaluation led to a diagnosis and treatment, which enabled Cho to perform well in school.
Again in high school, Fairfax stepped in and developed a plan for dealing with Cho's silences and other unusual behaviors. With therapy, he improved.
From there on, a lack of openness hid Cho's illness and prevented the care that might have averted disaster. No information about Cho's condition moved with him from Fairfax to Virginia Tech. The university, unlike many colleges that look at essays, recommendations and other subjective material, doesn't require much beyond test scores and grades to assess applicants. The admissions staff, the report says, "did not see the special accommodations that propped up Cho and his grades."
The culprit here is the culture of privacy that we have allowed to pervade certain areas of life, especially health and education. We have done this even as we have relied on openness to lead us into enormous change in other social realms. Does anyone doubt that it was transparency that led to deep and lasting shifts in American attitudes toward disability, race, religion and sexuality? We grew to accept people unlike ourselves because of greatly increased familiarity with and exposure to others. We came to see that we had something in common.
But in the name of protecting the mentally ill, the law stigmatizes their condition. By walling off mental illness, we prevent the power of light from reaching those who are suffering.
Privacy laws leave everyone from health workers to college administrators confused and defensive about what they may do and say. They react by doing less than they would if left to their own empathy and common sense.
"The current state of information privacy law and practice is inadequate," the report concludes. "The privacy laws need amendment and clarification."
Colleges require students to submit immunization records, yet records of emotional problems are sealed. The intent is to protect the mentally ill from discrimination in the admissions process. But that doesn't justify hiding information that can make the difference between success and failure in a student's career. "Perhaps students should be required to submit records of emotional or mental disturbance . . . after they have been admitted but before they enroll," the report says. "Maybe there really should be some form of 'permanent record.' "
"I hate this!" Cho wrote in an English paper the university did not disclose until The Post's Sari Horwitz revealed its existence. "I hate all these frauds! I hate my life. . . . This is it. . . . This is when you damn people die with me."
Lots of kids write provocative, even incendiary fiction. Nothing should discourage that. But as panel member Roger Depue, a longtime FBI profiler, says: "Just writing fantasies isn't the problem. It's the combination of disturbing writing and all the other danger signs."
Ultimate responsibility for the shootings rests squarely on Cho. But that does not absolve others of the need to act when something goes very wrong. Parents, as Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said, cannot "just drop your child off on campus." Rather, they must seek out resident advisers and counselors and say, "Let me tell you about my precious child." And colleges must exhibit the same care toward young adults that parents, friends or good bosses do -- no matter how much the law may seek to separate us from our human obligations.
Here's what I don't get. In the hundreds of interviews the panel conducted, why didn't they ask all those people whose job it is to care for students one question: How would you have handled Cho if you had let your conscience, not privacy laws, guide you?
Maybe they didn't ask because we all know the answer, and it is a most discomfiting one. If the mental health professionals, police and college administrators who saw or knew about Cho's disturbing actions had acted as if their own child were involved, there might not have been any need for an investigation.
Boil down the report, cast aside the pointless second-guessing of police tactics, and you're left with this: Virginia Tech failed to intervene to help Cho because we as a society have trapped ourselves inside rules that stigmatize mental illness and paralyze our natural instinct to reach out and help someone in need.
This is no theoretical exercise in hindsight. This is a direct comparison between what some people did and what others didn't. At Virginia Tech, students who were frightened by their encounters with Cho took action. They told adults in positions of authority. The responsible adults then met and, in the words of the report, "did nothing." Why? "Lack of resources, incorrect interpretation of privacy laws and passivity," the panel concludes in its report.
Now compare what the Fairfax school system did and what Virginia Tech failed to do. In 1999, when Cho was in eighth grade, his teachers noticed, as Tech professors would later, that the youngster was thinking seriously about suicide and homicide. The boy wrote, the report says, that he "wanted to repeat Columbine."
Fairfax acted. The middle school asked Cho's parents to get him counseling. A psychiatric evaluation led to a diagnosis and treatment, which enabled Cho to perform well in school.
Again in high school, Fairfax stepped in and developed a plan for dealing with Cho's silences and other unusual behaviors. With therapy, he improved.
From there on, a lack of openness hid Cho's illness and prevented the care that might have averted disaster. No information about Cho's condition moved with him from Fairfax to Virginia Tech. The university, unlike many colleges that look at essays, recommendations and other subjective material, doesn't require much beyond test scores and grades to assess applicants. The admissions staff, the report says, "did not see the special accommodations that propped up Cho and his grades."
The culprit here is the culture of privacy that we have allowed to pervade certain areas of life, especially health and education. We have done this even as we have relied on openness to lead us into enormous change in other social realms. Does anyone doubt that it was transparency that led to deep and lasting shifts in American attitudes toward disability, race, religion and sexuality? We grew to accept people unlike ourselves because of greatly increased familiarity with and exposure to others. We came to see that we had something in common.
But in the name of protecting the mentally ill, the law stigmatizes their condition. By walling off mental illness, we prevent the power of light from reaching those who are suffering.
Privacy laws leave everyone from health workers to college administrators confused and defensive about what they may do and say. They react by doing less than they would if left to their own empathy and common sense.
"The current state of information privacy law and practice is inadequate," the report concludes. "The privacy laws need amendment and clarification."
Colleges require students to submit immunization records, yet records of emotional problems are sealed. The intent is to protect the mentally ill from discrimination in the admissions process. But that doesn't justify hiding information that can make the difference between success and failure in a student's career. "Perhaps students should be required to submit records of emotional or mental disturbance . . . after they have been admitted but before they enroll," the report says. "Maybe there really should be some form of 'permanent record.' "
"I hate this!" Cho wrote in an English paper the university did not disclose until The Post's Sari Horwitz revealed its existence. "I hate all these frauds! I hate my life. . . . This is it. . . . This is when you damn people die with me."
Lots of kids write provocative, even incendiary fiction. Nothing should discourage that. But as panel member Roger Depue, a longtime FBI profiler, says: "Just writing fantasies isn't the problem. It's the combination of disturbing writing and all the other danger signs."
Ultimate responsibility for the shootings rests squarely on Cho. But that does not absolve others of the need to act when something goes very wrong. Parents, as Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said, cannot "just drop your child off on campus." Rather, they must seek out resident advisers and counselors and say, "Let me tell you about my precious child." And colleges must exhibit the same care toward young adults that parents, friends or good bosses do -- no matter how much the law may seek to separate us from our human obligations.
Russia Announces Plans for Space Program
Russia will send a cosmonaut to the moon by 2025 with the intention of opening a lunar base by 2032, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
That may only be the beginning for the former communist nation, whose officials indicate they will send a manned flight to Mars after 2035. By the end of this year, its total number of satellites in orbit around earth will jump from 95 to 103, RIA Novosti reported.
Click here to read the RIA Novosti report.
The bold new initiatives by the Russian space program are funded mainly by tourist flights to the international space station, which are going for about $30 million a pop. Five wealthy tourists have been shipped to space since 2001, according to RIA Novosti.
That may only be the beginning for the former communist nation, whose officials indicate they will send a manned flight to Mars after 2035. By the end of this year, its total number of satellites in orbit around earth will jump from 95 to 103, RIA Novosti reported.
Click here to read the RIA Novosti report.
The bold new initiatives by the Russian space program are funded mainly by tourist flights to the international space station, which are going for about $30 million a pop. Five wealthy tourists have been shipped to space since 2001, according to RIA Novosti.
Texas signs new self-defense by gun law
By Ed Stoddard
DALLAS (Reuters) - Criminals in Texas beware: if you threaten someone in their car or office, the citizens of this state where guns are ubiquitous have the right to shoot you dead.
Governor Rick Perry's office said on Tuesday that he had signed a new law that expands Texans' existing right to use deadly force to defend themselves "without retreat" in their homes, cars and workplaces.
"The right to defend oneself from an imminent act of harm should not only be clearly defined in Texas law, but is intuitive to human nature," Perry said on his Web site.
The new law, which takes affect on September 1, extends an exception to a statute that required a person to retreat in the face of a criminal attack. The exception was in the case of an intruder unlawfully entering a person's home.
The law extends a person's right to stand their ground beyond the home to vehicles and workplaces, allowing the reasonable use of deadly force, the governor's office said.
The reasonable use of lethal force will be allowed if an intruder is:
- Committing certain violent crimes, such as murder or sexual assault, or is attempting to commit such crimes
- Unlawfully trying to enter a protected place
- Unlawfully trying to remove a person from a protected place.
The law also provides civil immunity for a person who lawfully slays an intruder or attacker in such situations.
Texas joins several other states including Florida that have or are considering similar laws.
Sympathy for violent offenders and criminals in general runs low in Texas, underscored by its busy death row. The state leads the United States in executions with 388 since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A conservative political outlook and widespread fondness for hunting also means Texans are a well-armed people capable of defending themselves with deadly force.
It is easy to acquire guns over the counter in Texas and lawful to carry a concealed handgun with a permit.
DALLAS (Reuters) - Criminals in Texas beware: if you threaten someone in their car or office, the citizens of this state where guns are ubiquitous have the right to shoot you dead.
Governor Rick Perry's office said on Tuesday that he had signed a new law that expands Texans' existing right to use deadly force to defend themselves "without retreat" in their homes, cars and workplaces.
"The right to defend oneself from an imminent act of harm should not only be clearly defined in Texas law, but is intuitive to human nature," Perry said on his Web site.
The new law, which takes affect on September 1, extends an exception to a statute that required a person to retreat in the face of a criminal attack. The exception was in the case of an intruder unlawfully entering a person's home.
The law extends a person's right to stand their ground beyond the home to vehicles and workplaces, allowing the reasonable use of deadly force, the governor's office said.
The reasonable use of lethal force will be allowed if an intruder is:
- Committing certain violent crimes, such as murder or sexual assault, or is attempting to commit such crimes
- Unlawfully trying to enter a protected place
- Unlawfully trying to remove a person from a protected place.
The law also provides civil immunity for a person who lawfully slays an intruder or attacker in such situations.
Texas joins several other states including Florida that have or are considering similar laws.
Sympathy for violent offenders and criminals in general runs low in Texas, underscored by its busy death row. The state leads the United States in executions with 388 since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A conservative political outlook and widespread fondness for hunting also means Texans are a well-armed people capable of defending themselves with deadly force.
It is easy to acquire guns over the counter in Texas and lawful to carry a concealed handgun with a permit.
Judge Strikes Down Iowa Gay Marriage Ban
Friday August 31, 2007 1:31 PM
By DAVID PITT
Associated Press Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Less than two hours after a judge struck down Iowa's decade-old gay marriage ban, two Des Moines men applied for a marriage license as bride and groom, and county officials said they expected to see more same-sex couples doing the same on Friday.
``I started to cry because we so badly want to be able to be protected if something happens to one of us,'' said David Curtis Rethmeier, 29, who was listed as the bride on that first marriage form, with Gary Allen Seronko, 51, as his groom.
Polk County Judge Robert Hanson cleared the way for the two men on Thursday when he ruled that a state law allowing marriage only between a man and woman violated the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.
The judge ordered local officials to process marriage licenses for the six gay couples who sued. With the ruling, gay couples across the state can now apply for a marriage license in the central-Iowa county.
County attorney John Sarcone said the county would appeal to the state Supreme Court, and he immediately sought a stay from Hanson that would prevent gay couples from seeking a marriage license until the appeal is resolved.
A hearing on the stay motion is likely next week, said Camilla Taylor, an attorney with Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights organization.
In the meantime, Deputy County Recorder Trish Umthun is taking calls from gay couples, five of them in the first hours after the judge filed his ruling Thursday afternoon.
The office's web site explaining how to apply for a marriage license still began with the words, ``Marriages in Iowa are between a male and a female ...,'' on Friday morning, but Umthun expected a rush of applications through the day. The marriage license approval process takes three business days.
Republican House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, said the ruling illustrates the need for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
``I can't believe this is happening in Iowa,'' Rants said. ``I guarantee you there will be a vote on this issue come January,'' when the Legislature convenes.
Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, and nine other states have approved spousal rights in some form for same-sex couples. Nearly all states have defined marriage as being solely between a man and a woman, and 27 states have such wording in their constitutions, according the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Dennis Johnson, the lawyer for the six gay couples who sued in 2005 after they were denied marriage licenses, had argued that Iowa has a long history of aggressively protecting civil rights in cases of race and gender.
The Defense of Marriage Act, which the Legislature passed in 1998 declaring marriage to be between one man and one woman, contradicts previous rulings regarding civil rights and is simply ``mean spirited,'' he said.
Roger J. Kuhle, an assistant Polk County attorney, argued that the issue is not for a judge to decide.
---
Associated Press writer Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.
By DAVID PITT
Associated Press Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Less than two hours after a judge struck down Iowa's decade-old gay marriage ban, two Des Moines men applied for a marriage license as bride and groom, and county officials said they expected to see more same-sex couples doing the same on Friday.
``I started to cry because we so badly want to be able to be protected if something happens to one of us,'' said David Curtis Rethmeier, 29, who was listed as the bride on that first marriage form, with Gary Allen Seronko, 51, as his groom.
Polk County Judge Robert Hanson cleared the way for the two men on Thursday when he ruled that a state law allowing marriage only between a man and woman violated the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.
The judge ordered local officials to process marriage licenses for the six gay couples who sued. With the ruling, gay couples across the state can now apply for a marriage license in the central-Iowa county.
County attorney John Sarcone said the county would appeal to the state Supreme Court, and he immediately sought a stay from Hanson that would prevent gay couples from seeking a marriage license until the appeal is resolved.
A hearing on the stay motion is likely next week, said Camilla Taylor, an attorney with Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights organization.
In the meantime, Deputy County Recorder Trish Umthun is taking calls from gay couples, five of them in the first hours after the judge filed his ruling Thursday afternoon.
The office's web site explaining how to apply for a marriage license still began with the words, ``Marriages in Iowa are between a male and a female ...,'' on Friday morning, but Umthun expected a rush of applications through the day. The marriage license approval process takes three business days.
Republican House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, said the ruling illustrates the need for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
``I can't believe this is happening in Iowa,'' Rants said. ``I guarantee you there will be a vote on this issue come January,'' when the Legislature convenes.
Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, and nine other states have approved spousal rights in some form for same-sex couples. Nearly all states have defined marriage as being solely between a man and a woman, and 27 states have such wording in their constitutions, according the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Dennis Johnson, the lawyer for the six gay couples who sued in 2005 after they were denied marriage licenses, had argued that Iowa has a long history of aggressively protecting civil rights in cases of race and gender.
The Defense of Marriage Act, which the Legislature passed in 1998 declaring marriage to be between one man and one woman, contradicts previous rulings regarding civil rights and is simply ``mean spirited,'' he said.
Roger J. Kuhle, an assistant Polk County attorney, argued that the issue is not for a judge to decide.
---
Associated Press writer Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.
10 Years After Princess Diana's Death/Murder
MOHAMED AL-FAYED has angrily rejected a plea by the Bishop of London for the memorial service for Diana, Princess of Wales, to mark the end of skirmishing over her.
The Harrods owner dismissed Richard Chartres as a “stuffed shirt” after he urged the congregation, including the Queen, Prince Charles and members of Diana’s family: “Let it end here.”
In a clear sign that next month’s inquest into her death in a 1997 Paris car crash will be a bitter affair, Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana, accused Chartres of “hijacking” Friday’s memorial service.
“Prince Harry had the grace to acknowledge the suffering of other families who lost someone that night . . . This stuffed shirt of a clergyman should take lessons from the 22-year-old prince in how to behave. He certainly shouldn’t have hijacked a memorial service dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, to let us know various of his personal opinions - for that’s all they were.
“He preached at us to let her memory rest, but how can that happen when the truth is still being covered up? As a religious man the bishop has no right to interfere in the court process which will establish what happened that night.”
Fayed’s legal team will allege at the inquest that Diana, Dodi and their driver Henri Paul were murdered in an MI6 plot orchestrated by the Duke of Edinburgh.
The duke and Diana’s closest friends firmly reject the claim. Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan police commissioner, concluded in a report last year that they died in a tragic accident caused by Paul driving while he was over the drink limit.
In a statement yesterday Fayed said he could not understand why Chartres, an executor of Diana’s will, appeared to want to dismiss his search for the truth.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Anyone who loses a child in such a horrific way should be allowed to know what really happened and I am not resting until I uncover the murderers who took the life of two beautiful people.
“A poll today says 89% of people think their deaths were not an accident. I get hundreds of letters of support each week. We need justice, for my family’s sake, and for the sake of the princes.”
Meanwhile, a surgeon who operated on Diana after the car crash has claimed that medical treatment that could have saved her life was delayed because her fame caused doctors and paramedics to be overcautious.
Dr Leonardo Esteves Lima, a Brazilian cardiologist who treated Diana at the Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, said: “They spent 30 to 40 minutes at the place of the accident when she could have been brought directly to the hospital. It was a tragic occurrence and perhaps she paid a price in part for her celebrity.”
The Harrods owner dismissed Richard Chartres as a “stuffed shirt” after he urged the congregation, including the Queen, Prince Charles and members of Diana’s family: “Let it end here.”
In a clear sign that next month’s inquest into her death in a 1997 Paris car crash will be a bitter affair, Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana, accused Chartres of “hijacking” Friday’s memorial service.
“Prince Harry had the grace to acknowledge the suffering of other families who lost someone that night . . . This stuffed shirt of a clergyman should take lessons from the 22-year-old prince in how to behave. He certainly shouldn’t have hijacked a memorial service dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, to let us know various of his personal opinions - for that’s all they were.
“He preached at us to let her memory rest, but how can that happen when the truth is still being covered up? As a religious man the bishop has no right to interfere in the court process which will establish what happened that night.”
Fayed’s legal team will allege at the inquest that Diana, Dodi and their driver Henri Paul were murdered in an MI6 plot orchestrated by the Duke of Edinburgh.
The duke and Diana’s closest friends firmly reject the claim. Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan police commissioner, concluded in a report last year that they died in a tragic accident caused by Paul driving while he was over the drink limit.
In a statement yesterday Fayed said he could not understand why Chartres, an executor of Diana’s will, appeared to want to dismiss his search for the truth.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Anyone who loses a child in such a horrific way should be allowed to know what really happened and I am not resting until I uncover the murderers who took the life of two beautiful people.
“A poll today says 89% of people think their deaths were not an accident. I get hundreds of letters of support each week. We need justice, for my family’s sake, and for the sake of the princes.”
Meanwhile, a surgeon who operated on Diana after the car crash has claimed that medical treatment that could have saved her life was delayed because her fame caused doctors and paramedics to be overcautious.
Dr Leonardo Esteves Lima, a Brazilian cardiologist who treated Diana at the Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, said: “They spent 30 to 40 minutes at the place of the accident when she could have been brought directly to the hospital. It was a tragic occurrence and perhaps she paid a price in part for her celebrity.”
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Balloon fire kills mother, daughter
(CNN) -- The bodies of a mother and her daughter were retrieved Saturday after a hot-air balloon fire Friday evening in South Surrey, British Columbia, authorities said.
Stephen Pennock, who owns Fantasy Balloon Charters, said 12 passengers were in the balloon's gondola when the fire began. It was still tethered to the ground at a recreational vehicle park.
The pilot and crew helped all but three passengers out before the tether burned through and the balloon started to rise, said John Kageorge, a crew member who was not at the scene.
"The thing went up about 400 feet in the air, at which point it melted enough of the balloon -- it collapsed," said Don Randall, a resident of the RV park, according to The Associated Press.
"The basket was basically a fireball. It just dropped like a stone. I'm just thinking, 'Oh geez, I hope there's nobody in that thing. It's basically a burning death up there,' " Randall told the AP.
One passenger jumped out as the balloon drifted about 100 yards, Kageorge said, and the bodies of the other two were found about midday Saturday, said Yves Portelance, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Watch a report on the fiery crash »
Witnesses said there was a struggle on board as the flames engulfed the basket of the balloon.
"In my mind, I was thinking somebody's dying right now, right this minute, you know, right near me, which is a rather scary thought," Nigel Vonas told CNN.
"It was horrifying," witness Perry Kendall told the AP. "Just looking at people screaming and jumping out of there. Some of them, I think, had fire on their clothes. It was just awful."
Eleven people were injured, but most were treated at a British Columbia hospital and released, Portelance said. The conditions of the others -- including the passenger who jumped -- were not known.
Kageorge said he didn't know how high the balloon drifted. Video taken by someone nearby seemed to show the balloon above treetops.
"The terrain can be deceiving, depending on your vantage point. It's rolling horse country," he said.
Witnesses told the AP that propane tanks fell from the balloon and set fire to three trailers and an unknown number of vehicles. Those fires caused no injuries, AP reported.
Pennock, who suffered a first-degree burn on his arm, called it a "freak fire." He said it would be investigated.
Fantasy Balloon Charters deeply regrets the injuries and damage that occurred in the accident, Pennock said in a written statement. The company's "immediate concern and efforts is to help everyone affected by the very unusual, tragic event," he said.
Stephen Pennock, who owns Fantasy Balloon Charters, said 12 passengers were in the balloon's gondola when the fire began. It was still tethered to the ground at a recreational vehicle park.
The pilot and crew helped all but three passengers out before the tether burned through and the balloon started to rise, said John Kageorge, a crew member who was not at the scene.
"The thing went up about 400 feet in the air, at which point it melted enough of the balloon -- it collapsed," said Don Randall, a resident of the RV park, according to The Associated Press.
"The basket was basically a fireball. It just dropped like a stone. I'm just thinking, 'Oh geez, I hope there's nobody in that thing. It's basically a burning death up there,' " Randall told the AP.
One passenger jumped out as the balloon drifted about 100 yards, Kageorge said, and the bodies of the other two were found about midday Saturday, said Yves Portelance, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Watch a report on the fiery crash »
Witnesses said there was a struggle on board as the flames engulfed the basket of the balloon.
"In my mind, I was thinking somebody's dying right now, right this minute, you know, right near me, which is a rather scary thought," Nigel Vonas told CNN.
"It was horrifying," witness Perry Kendall told the AP. "Just looking at people screaming and jumping out of there. Some of them, I think, had fire on their clothes. It was just awful."
Eleven people were injured, but most were treated at a British Columbia hospital and released, Portelance said. The conditions of the others -- including the passenger who jumped -- were not known.
Kageorge said he didn't know how high the balloon drifted. Video taken by someone nearby seemed to show the balloon above treetops.
"The terrain can be deceiving, depending on your vantage point. It's rolling horse country," he said.
Witnesses told the AP that propane tanks fell from the balloon and set fire to three trailers and an unknown number of vehicles. Those fires caused no injuries, AP reported.
Pennock, who suffered a first-degree burn on his arm, called it a "freak fire." He said it would be investigated.
Fantasy Balloon Charters deeply regrets the injuries and damage that occurred in the accident, Pennock said in a written statement. The company's "immediate concern and efforts is to help everyone affected by the very unusual, tragic event," he said.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Rare Tornado Strikes New York
Subway tracks were swamped, buses were overwhelmed and commuter trains were held up for hours because of flooding Wednesday. Some roads became waterways, and one woman was killed in a car accident during the storm. The weather also created problems for the region's airports, where delays of up to an hour were reported, and thousands of people throughout the region lost electricity for part of the day. The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down several times in Staten Island and in Brooklyn, where winds downed trees, tore off roofs and wrapped signs around posts. At least 40 homes were damaged. Tornadoes have hit New York City before, but not often. Much of the mess had been mopped up by early Thursday, but the region faced the possibility of more storms within a day. Wednesday's storm hit just before dawn. By rush hour, pumping stations became overwhelmed, and the subway system was virtually paralyzed. Bedlam resulted from too much rain, too fast; some suburban commuters spent half the day just getting to work. Crews worked feverishly to pump out the subways, but it took until the evening rush hour to get most of the system up to speed
The washout marked the third time in seven months that the subways were disrupted by rain. Metropolitan Transportation Authority engineers were asked to report back to Gov. Eliot Spitzer within 30 days with suggestions about how to deal with the flooding. "One big rain, and it all falls apart," Ruby Russell, 64, said as she sat waiting on a train in Brooklyn around 9 a.m. Wednesday. She had been trying to get to Manhattan for three hours. The National Weather Service said a tropical air mass dumped an extraordinary amount of rain in a short period of time. The most was recorded between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., with 2.5 inches falling on Central Park and almost 3.5 on Kennedy International Airport. Public officials called for improvements in the drainage system after a similar rain-related shutdown in 1999, and the MTA made some changes after another round of paralyzing tunnel floods in 2004, when the remnants of Hurricane Frances washed out the subways for hours.
The washout marked the third time in seven months that the subways were disrupted by rain. Metropolitan Transportation Authority engineers were asked to report back to Gov. Eliot Spitzer within 30 days with suggestions about how to deal with the flooding. "One big rain, and it all falls apart," Ruby Russell, 64, said as she sat waiting on a train in Brooklyn around 9 a.m. Wednesday. She had been trying to get to Manhattan for three hours. The National Weather Service said a tropical air mass dumped an extraordinary amount of rain in a short period of time. The most was recorded between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., with 2.5 inches falling on Central Park and almost 3.5 on Kennedy International Airport. Public officials called for improvements in the drainage system after a similar rain-related shutdown in 1999, and the MTA made some changes after another round of paralyzing tunnel floods in 2004, when the remnants of Hurricane Frances washed out the subways for hours.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Alexithymia
is a term coined by Peter Sifneos in 1973 to describe people who appeared to have deficiencies in understanding, processing, or describing their emotions.
Alexithymia desribes "people who have difficulties recognizing, processing, and regulating emotions". It is a personality trait that places individuals at risk for other medical and psychiatric disorders while reducing the likelihood that these individuals will respond to conventional treatments for the other conditions.[3] Alexithymia is not classified as a mental disorder in the DSM IV. It is a personality trait that varies in severity from person to person. A person's alexithymia score can be measured with questionnaires such as the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ)[4] or the Observer Alexithymia Scale (OAS).[3]
Alexithymia is is defined by:[5]
(i) difficulty identifying feelings and distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal
(ii) difficulty describing feelings to other people
(iii) constricted imaginal processes, as evidenced by a paucity of fantasies
(iv) a stimulus-bound, externally oriented cognitive style.
In studies of the general population the degree of alexithymia was found to be influenced by age, but not by gender; the rates of alexithymia in healthy controls have been found at 8.3% (2 of 24 persons) 4.7% (2 of 43), 8.9% (16 of 179), and 7% (4 of 56). Thus, several studies have reported that the prevalence rate of alexithymia is less than 10% in healthy controls.[6] In another study, alexithymia was found to be approximately 13% of the population, with men (17%) almost twice as likely to be affected as women (10%).[7] The alexithymia construct is strongly inversely related to the concepts of psychological mindedness[8] and emotional intelligence[9][10] and M. Bagby and G. Taylor state that there is there is "strong empirical support for alexithymia being a stable personality trait rather than just a consequence of psychological distress".[11] Other opinions differ and can show evidence that it may be state-dependent.[12]
Objections have been raised to the methodology used, in particular that studies have been applied to clinical populations without correcting for the prevalence of depression in those populations.[citation needed]
Bagby, Parker and Taylor also suggest that there may be two kinds of alexithymia, 'primary alexithymia' which is an enduring psychological trait which does not alter over time, and 'secondary alexithymia' which is state dependent and disappears after the evoking stressful situation has changed. These two manifestations of alexithymia are otherwise called 'trait' or 'state' alexithymia.[13]
Typical deficiencies may include problems identifying, describing, and working with one's own feelings, often marked by a lack of understanding of the feelings of others; difficulty distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal;[1] confusion of physical sensations often associated with emotions; few dreams or fantasies due to restricted imagination; and concrete, realistic, logical thinking, often to the exclusion of emotional responses to problems. Those who have alexithymia also report very logical and realistic dreams, such as going to the store or eating a meal.[citation needed]
Some alexithymic individuals may appear to contradict the above mentioned characteristics because they can experience chronic dysphoria or manifest outbursts of crying or rage.[14][15][16] However, questioning usually reveals that they are quite incapable of describing their feelings or appear confused by questions inquiring about specifics of feelings.[5] Clinical experience suggests it is the structural features of dreams more than the ability to recall them that best characterizes alexithymia.[1]
According to Henry Krystal, individuals suffering from alexithymia think in an operative way and may appear to be superadjusted to reality. In psychotherapy, however, a cognitive disturbance becomes apparent as the patients tends to recount trivial, chronologically ordered actions, reactions, and events of daily life with monotonous detail.[17][page # needed] In general, these individuals lack imagination, intuition, empathy, and drive-fulfillment fantasy, especially in relation to objects. Instead, they seem oriented toward things and even treat themselves as robots. These problems seriously limit their responsiveness to psychoanalytic psychotherapy; psychosomatic illness or substance abuse is frequently exacerbated should these individuals enter psychotherapy.[18][page # needed]
A common misconception about alexithymia is that victims of this construct are totally unable to express emotions verbally and that they may even fail to acknowledge that they experience emotions. Even before coining the term, Sifneos (1967) noted patients often mentioned things like anxiety or depression. The distinguishing factor was their inability to elaborate beyond a few limited adjectives used to describe these feelings. The core issue is that alexithymics have poorly differentiated emotions limiting their ability to distinguish and describe them to others.[1] This contributes to the sense of emotional detachment from themselves and difficulty connecting with others that is typical of the alexithymic's experience.[citation needed]
[edit] Relational issues
According to Vanheule, Desmet and Meganck (2006) alexithymia creates interpersonal problems because these individuals avoid emotionally close relationships, or that if they do form relationships with others they tend to position themselves as either dependent or impersonal, "such that the relationship remains superficial."[19] Inadequate differentiation between self and other by alexithymic individuals has been observed by Blaustein & Tuber (1998) and Taylor et al (1997).[20][page # needed]
In a study, a large group of alexithymic individuals completed the 64-item Inventory of Interpersonal problems (IIP-64 which screens for:[19]
(a) Domineering/Controlling, indicating difficulties relinquishing control over others;
(b) Vindictive/Self-Centered behaviour, which describes problems of hostile dominance and the tendency to fight with others;
(c) Cold/Distant behaviour, which refers to low degrees of affection for and connection with others;
(d) Socially Inhibited, which assesses the tendency to feel anxious and avoidant in the presence of others;
(e) Non-Assertiveness, which measures problems in taking initiative in relation to others and coping with social challenges;
(f) Overly Accommodating, which indicates an excess of friendly submissiveness;
(g) Self-Sacrificing, which indicates a tendency to affiliate excessively; and
(h) Intrusive/Needy, which describes problems with friendly dominance.
The study found that alexithymic individuals "had significantly higher scores on all IIP-64 subscales than did the nonclinical sample."[19]
Chaotic interpersonal relations have also been observed by Sifneos.[21] Due to the inherent difficulties identifying and describing emotional states in self and others, alexithymia also negatively effects relationship satisfaction between couples.[22]
[edit] In medical and psychiatric illness
Alexithymia frequently co-occurs with other disorders, with a representative prevalence of 85% in autistic spectrum disorders,[23] 40% in posttraumatic stress disorder,[24] 63% in anorexia nervosa and 56% in bulimia,[25] 45% in major depressive disorder,[12] 34% in panic disorder,[26] and 50% in substance abusers.[27]
Research indicates that alexithymia overlaps with Asperger syndrome. In a 2004 study, Uta Frith reports that not only does this overlap exist, but that at least half of the Asperger syndrome group obtained such extreme scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) that "they would have been classified as severely impaired."[28] Fitzgerald & Bellgrove pointed out that, "Like Alexithymia, Asperger’s syndrome is also characterised by core disturbances in speech and language and social relationships".[29] Hill & Berthoz agreed with Fitzgerald & Bellgrove (2006) and in response stated that "there is some form of overlap between alexithymia and ASDs".[30] They also pointed to studies that revealed impaired Theory of Mind skill in alexithymia, neuroanatomical evidence pointing to a shared aetiology and similar social skills deficits etc.
Alexithymia involves higher risk of developing certain personality disorders,[31] and is correlated with particular illnesses, such as hypertension,[32] inflammatory bowel disease,[33] functional dyspepsia,[34] sexual disorders,[35] substance use disorders,[36][37] and some anxiety disorders.[38] Alexithymia is further linked with psychosomatic disorders such as migraine headaches, lower back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, nausea, allergy, and fibromyalgia.[39]
An inability to modulate emotions is a possibility in explaining why some alexithymics are prone to discharge tension arising from unpleasant emotional states through impulsive acts or compulsive behaviors such as binge eating,[40] substance abuse,[41] perverse sexual behavior, or the self-starvation of anorexia nervosa.[40] The failure to regulate emotions cognitively might result in prolonged elevations of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and neuroendocrine systems which can lead to somatic diseases.[39] Alexithymics also show a limited ability to experience positive emotions leading Krystal (1988) and Sifneos (1987) to describe many of these individuals as anhedonic.[2]
[edit] Etiology
According to Joyce McDougall all infants are born unable to identify, organize, and speak about their emotional experiences (the word infans is from the Latin "not speaking"), and are "by reason of their immaturity inevitably alexithymic".[42] Based on this fact McDougall writes, "Might it not be supposed that the alexithymic part of an adult personality is an extremely arrested and infantile psychic structure?"[42]
It is unclear what causes alexithymia. Some neuropsychological studies indicate that alexithymia may be due to a disturbance to the right hemisphere of the brain, which is largely responsible for processing emotions.[43] Other studies show evidence that there may be an interhemispheric transfer deficit among alexithymics; that is, the emotional information from the right hemisphere is not being properly transferred to the language regions in the left hemisphere, as can be caused by a decreased corpus callosum, often present in psychiatric patients who have suffered severe childhood abuse.[44] In addition, another neuropsychological model suggests that alexithymia may be related to a dysfunction of the anterior cingulate cortex.[45] These studies have some shortcomings, however, and the empirical evidence about the causes of alexithymia remain inconclusive.[46]
Although physiological effects are important to determine, one must remember the first language of an infant is nonverbal facial expressions. The mother's emotional state is important for determining how any child might develop. Neglect or indifference to varying changes in a child's facial expressions without proper feedback can promote an invalidation of the facial expressions manifested by the child. The parents ability to reflect self-awareness to the child is another important factor. If the adult is incapable of recognizing and distinguishing emotional expressions in the child, it can influence the child's capacity to understand emotional expressions.[1] Moreover, if a parent responds with apathy, indifference, or anger to a child's natural range of emotions, the child will learn not to trust their feelings and over time may become conditioned to numb themselves to the experiences of their emotions.
Alexithymia desribes "people who have difficulties recognizing, processing, and regulating emotions". It is a personality trait that places individuals at risk for other medical and psychiatric disorders while reducing the likelihood that these individuals will respond to conventional treatments for the other conditions.[3] Alexithymia is not classified as a mental disorder in the DSM IV. It is a personality trait that varies in severity from person to person. A person's alexithymia score can be measured with questionnaires such as the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ)[4] or the Observer Alexithymia Scale (OAS).[3]
Alexithymia is is defined by:[5]
(i) difficulty identifying feelings and distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal
(ii) difficulty describing feelings to other people
(iii) constricted imaginal processes, as evidenced by a paucity of fantasies
(iv) a stimulus-bound, externally oriented cognitive style.
In studies of the general population the degree of alexithymia was found to be influenced by age, but not by gender; the rates of alexithymia in healthy controls have been found at 8.3% (2 of 24 persons) 4.7% (2 of 43), 8.9% (16 of 179), and 7% (4 of 56). Thus, several studies have reported that the prevalence rate of alexithymia is less than 10% in healthy controls.[6] In another study, alexithymia was found to be approximately 13% of the population, with men (17%) almost twice as likely to be affected as women (10%).[7] The alexithymia construct is strongly inversely related to the concepts of psychological mindedness[8] and emotional intelligence[9][10] and M. Bagby and G. Taylor state that there is there is "strong empirical support for alexithymia being a stable personality trait rather than just a consequence of psychological distress".[11] Other opinions differ and can show evidence that it may be state-dependent.[12]
Objections have been raised to the methodology used, in particular that studies have been applied to clinical populations without correcting for the prevalence of depression in those populations.[citation needed]
Bagby, Parker and Taylor also suggest that there may be two kinds of alexithymia, 'primary alexithymia' which is an enduring psychological trait which does not alter over time, and 'secondary alexithymia' which is state dependent and disappears after the evoking stressful situation has changed. These two manifestations of alexithymia are otherwise called 'trait' or 'state' alexithymia.[13]
Typical deficiencies may include problems identifying, describing, and working with one's own feelings, often marked by a lack of understanding of the feelings of others; difficulty distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal;[1] confusion of physical sensations often associated with emotions; few dreams or fantasies due to restricted imagination; and concrete, realistic, logical thinking, often to the exclusion of emotional responses to problems. Those who have alexithymia also report very logical and realistic dreams, such as going to the store or eating a meal.[citation needed]
Some alexithymic individuals may appear to contradict the above mentioned characteristics because they can experience chronic dysphoria or manifest outbursts of crying or rage.[14][15][16] However, questioning usually reveals that they are quite incapable of describing their feelings or appear confused by questions inquiring about specifics of feelings.[5] Clinical experience suggests it is the structural features of dreams more than the ability to recall them that best characterizes alexithymia.[1]
According to Henry Krystal, individuals suffering from alexithymia think in an operative way and may appear to be superadjusted to reality. In psychotherapy, however, a cognitive disturbance becomes apparent as the patients tends to recount trivial, chronologically ordered actions, reactions, and events of daily life with monotonous detail.[17][page # needed] In general, these individuals lack imagination, intuition, empathy, and drive-fulfillment fantasy, especially in relation to objects. Instead, they seem oriented toward things and even treat themselves as robots. These problems seriously limit their responsiveness to psychoanalytic psychotherapy; psychosomatic illness or substance abuse is frequently exacerbated should these individuals enter psychotherapy.[18][page # needed]
A common misconception about alexithymia is that victims of this construct are totally unable to express emotions verbally and that they may even fail to acknowledge that they experience emotions. Even before coining the term, Sifneos (1967) noted patients often mentioned things like anxiety or depression. The distinguishing factor was their inability to elaborate beyond a few limited adjectives used to describe these feelings. The core issue is that alexithymics have poorly differentiated emotions limiting their ability to distinguish and describe them to others.[1] This contributes to the sense of emotional detachment from themselves and difficulty connecting with others that is typical of the alexithymic's experience.[citation needed]
[edit] Relational issues
According to Vanheule, Desmet and Meganck (2006) alexithymia creates interpersonal problems because these individuals avoid emotionally close relationships, or that if they do form relationships with others they tend to position themselves as either dependent or impersonal, "such that the relationship remains superficial."[19] Inadequate differentiation between self and other by alexithymic individuals has been observed by Blaustein & Tuber (1998) and Taylor et al (1997).[20][page # needed]
In a study, a large group of alexithymic individuals completed the 64-item Inventory of Interpersonal problems (IIP-64 which screens for:[19]
(a) Domineering/Controlling, indicating difficulties relinquishing control over others;
(b) Vindictive/Self-Centered behaviour, which describes problems of hostile dominance and the tendency to fight with others;
(c) Cold/Distant behaviour, which refers to low degrees of affection for and connection with others;
(d) Socially Inhibited, which assesses the tendency to feel anxious and avoidant in the presence of others;
(e) Non-Assertiveness, which measures problems in taking initiative in relation to others and coping with social challenges;
(f) Overly Accommodating, which indicates an excess of friendly submissiveness;
(g) Self-Sacrificing, which indicates a tendency to affiliate excessively; and
(h) Intrusive/Needy, which describes problems with friendly dominance.
The study found that alexithymic individuals "had significantly higher scores on all IIP-64 subscales than did the nonclinical sample."[19]
Chaotic interpersonal relations have also been observed by Sifneos.[21] Due to the inherent difficulties identifying and describing emotional states in self and others, alexithymia also negatively effects relationship satisfaction between couples.[22]
[edit] In medical and psychiatric illness
Alexithymia frequently co-occurs with other disorders, with a representative prevalence of 85% in autistic spectrum disorders,[23] 40% in posttraumatic stress disorder,[24] 63% in anorexia nervosa and 56% in bulimia,[25] 45% in major depressive disorder,[12] 34% in panic disorder,[26] and 50% in substance abusers.[27]
Research indicates that alexithymia overlaps with Asperger syndrome. In a 2004 study, Uta Frith reports that not only does this overlap exist, but that at least half of the Asperger syndrome group obtained such extreme scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) that "they would have been classified as severely impaired."[28] Fitzgerald & Bellgrove pointed out that, "Like Alexithymia, Asperger’s syndrome is also characterised by core disturbances in speech and language and social relationships".[29] Hill & Berthoz agreed with Fitzgerald & Bellgrove (2006) and in response stated that "there is some form of overlap between alexithymia and ASDs".[30] They also pointed to studies that revealed impaired Theory of Mind skill in alexithymia, neuroanatomical evidence pointing to a shared aetiology and similar social skills deficits etc.
Alexithymia involves higher risk of developing certain personality disorders,[31] and is correlated with particular illnesses, such as hypertension,[32] inflammatory bowel disease,[33] functional dyspepsia,[34] sexual disorders,[35] substance use disorders,[36][37] and some anxiety disorders.[38] Alexithymia is further linked with psychosomatic disorders such as migraine headaches, lower back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, nausea, allergy, and fibromyalgia.[39]
An inability to modulate emotions is a possibility in explaining why some alexithymics are prone to discharge tension arising from unpleasant emotional states through impulsive acts or compulsive behaviors such as binge eating,[40] substance abuse,[41] perverse sexual behavior, or the self-starvation of anorexia nervosa.[40] The failure to regulate emotions cognitively might result in prolonged elevations of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and neuroendocrine systems which can lead to somatic diseases.[39] Alexithymics also show a limited ability to experience positive emotions leading Krystal (1988) and Sifneos (1987) to describe many of these individuals as anhedonic.[2]
[edit] Etiology
According to Joyce McDougall all infants are born unable to identify, organize, and speak about their emotional experiences (the word infans is from the Latin "not speaking"), and are "by reason of their immaturity inevitably alexithymic".[42] Based on this fact McDougall writes, "Might it not be supposed that the alexithymic part of an adult personality is an extremely arrested and infantile psychic structure?"[42]
It is unclear what causes alexithymia. Some neuropsychological studies indicate that alexithymia may be due to a disturbance to the right hemisphere of the brain, which is largely responsible for processing emotions.[43] Other studies show evidence that there may be an interhemispheric transfer deficit among alexithymics; that is, the emotional information from the right hemisphere is not being properly transferred to the language regions in the left hemisphere, as can be caused by a decreased corpus callosum, often present in psychiatric patients who have suffered severe childhood abuse.[44] In addition, another neuropsychological model suggests that alexithymia may be related to a dysfunction of the anterior cingulate cortex.[45] These studies have some shortcomings, however, and the empirical evidence about the causes of alexithymia remain inconclusive.[46]
Although physiological effects are important to determine, one must remember the first language of an infant is nonverbal facial expressions. The mother's emotional state is important for determining how any child might develop. Neglect or indifference to varying changes in a child's facial expressions without proper feedback can promote an invalidation of the facial expressions manifested by the child. The parents ability to reflect self-awareness to the child is another important factor. If the adult is incapable of recognizing and distinguishing emotional expressions in the child, it can influence the child's capacity to understand emotional expressions.[1] Moreover, if a parent responds with apathy, indifference, or anger to a child's natural range of emotions, the child will learn not to trust their feelings and over time may become conditioned to numb themselves to the experiences of their emotions.
Beheaded rattlesnake sends man to hospital
PROSSER, Wash. - Turns out, even beheaded rattlesnakes can be dangerous.
That’s what 53-year-old Danny Anderson learned as he was feeding his horses Monday night, when a 5-foot rattler slithered onto his central Washington property, about 50 miles southeast of Yakima.
Anderson and his 27-year-old son, Benjamin, pinned the snake with an irrigation pipe and cut off its head with a shovel. A few more strikes to the head left it sitting under a pickup truck.
“When I reached down to pick up the head, it raised around and did a backflip almost, and bit my finger,” Anderson said. “I had to shake my hand real hard to get it to let loose.”
Venom was spreadingHis wife insisted they go to the hospital, and by the time they arrived at Prosser Memorial Hospital 10 minutes later, Anderson’s tongue was swollen and the venom was spreading. He then was taken by ambulance 30 miles to a Richland hospital to get the full series of six shots he needed.
The snake head ended up in the bed of his pickup, and Anderson landed in the hospital until Wednesday afternoon.
Mike Livingston, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, said the area where the Anderson’s live is near prime snake habitat. But he said he had never heard of anyone being bit by a decapitated snake before.
“That’s really surprising but that’s an important thing to tell people,” he said. “It may have been just a reflex on the part of the snake.”
If another rattlesnake comes along, Anderson said he’ll likely try to kill it again, but said he’ll grab a shovel and bury it right there.
“It still gives me the creeps to think that son-of-a-gun could do that,” he said.
That’s what 53-year-old Danny Anderson learned as he was feeding his horses Monday night, when a 5-foot rattler slithered onto his central Washington property, about 50 miles southeast of Yakima.
Anderson and his 27-year-old son, Benjamin, pinned the snake with an irrigation pipe and cut off its head with a shovel. A few more strikes to the head left it sitting under a pickup truck.
“When I reached down to pick up the head, it raised around and did a backflip almost, and bit my finger,” Anderson said. “I had to shake my hand real hard to get it to let loose.”
Venom was spreadingHis wife insisted they go to the hospital, and by the time they arrived at Prosser Memorial Hospital 10 minutes later, Anderson’s tongue was swollen and the venom was spreading. He then was taken by ambulance 30 miles to a Richland hospital to get the full series of six shots he needed.
The snake head ended up in the bed of his pickup, and Anderson landed in the hospital until Wednesday afternoon.
Mike Livingston, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, said the area where the Anderson’s live is near prime snake habitat. But he said he had never heard of anyone being bit by a decapitated snake before.
“That’s really surprising but that’s an important thing to tell people,” he said. “It may have been just a reflex on the part of the snake.”
If another rattlesnake comes along, Anderson said he’ll likely try to kill it again, but said he’ll grab a shovel and bury it right there.
“It still gives me the creeps to think that son-of-a-gun could do that,” he said.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
AIDS Drugs May Fully Restore Immune System
WASHINGTON, DC -- Researchers report that AIDS drug cocktails may be able to fully restore the immune systems of some people infected with HIV.Immune cells known as CD4 T-cells returned to normal levels in an ideal group of patients, picked because they responded optimally to a combination of at least three AIDS drugs, Reuters reports.
The human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, ravages the immune system and leaves people vulnerable to infections that can be fatal.The study involved 1,835 HIV-infected people drawn from a larger study involving more than 14,000 patients from across Europe, Israel and Argentina."I think it's very encouraging that if people can respond to treatment well enough and can suppress the virus for long enough, we have sufficient evidence to say their CD4 counts can return to normal," Dr. Amanda Mocroft of Royal Free and University College Medical School in London, one of the researchers, said in a telephone interview."Our previous understanding was that there was a plateau in CD4 counts so that CD4 counts would stop increasing after a sufficiently long time taking combination therapy," she added.Mocroft said not all HIV patients respond as well to these drugs."This is sort of the best-case scenario, if you like, that we can identify a group of patients who we would expect to have a normal CD4 count with sufficient treatment," Mocroft said.CD4 cells protect the body from infection but HIV targets the cells and use them to create more copies of the virus, thus undermining the immune system.Even though the body replaces the damaged cells, it is unable to make enough and the body's immune system becomes increasingly weakened.Existing drugs does not eradicate the virus but they are able to keep it at extremely low levels in some people when given in the right combination.More than 40 million people have been infected by the virus globally, and more than 25 million have died.
The human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, ravages the immune system and leaves people vulnerable to infections that can be fatal.The study involved 1,835 HIV-infected people drawn from a larger study involving more than 14,000 patients from across Europe, Israel and Argentina."I think it's very encouraging that if people can respond to treatment well enough and can suppress the virus for long enough, we have sufficient evidence to say their CD4 counts can return to normal," Dr. Amanda Mocroft of Royal Free and University College Medical School in London, one of the researchers, said in a telephone interview."Our previous understanding was that there was a plateau in CD4 counts so that CD4 counts would stop increasing after a sufficiently long time taking combination therapy," she added.Mocroft said not all HIV patients respond as well to these drugs."This is sort of the best-case scenario, if you like, that we can identify a group of patients who we would expect to have a normal CD4 count with sufficient treatment," Mocroft said.CD4 cells protect the body from infection but HIV targets the cells and use them to create more copies of the virus, thus undermining the immune system.Even though the body replaces the damaged cells, it is unable to make enough and the body's immune system becomes increasingly weakened.Existing drugs does not eradicate the virus but they are able to keep it at extremely low levels in some people when given in the right combination.More than 40 million people have been infected by the virus globally, and more than 25 million have died.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Don't drop case because translator unavailable
I just read an article in the Sunday Pantagraph about a case against an alleged child molester that was dropped because they could not find a translator for the defendant (``Case dropped with lack of translator,'' Page A6). His native language was Vai.The prosecutors had witnesses, DNA and the 7-year-old girl said that she had been raped and repeatedly molested for over a year. But, without a translator fluent in Vai, the judge dismissed the case and it can't be retried.Is there no common sense in the world any more?The man was granted asylum in the United States. So if he doesn't speak English and has no one to translate, how did he get asylum? Surely, we have some criteria to use to decide who gets asylum.Obviously someone spoke Vai, or he was able to speak English well enough to pose his case for asylum. So, he gets a free pass to go out and molest other 7-year-old girls, or maybe he has a free ticket to go out and kill people? Where do you draw the line?How does he support himself? Does he have a job, where he doesn't have to speak English, or are we also supporting him with out tax dollars?How does he get food and shelter? Either he speaks English, or someone is translating for him.This is the stupidest miscarriage of justice that I have heard of in a long time. The judge should be removed from the bench, and the defendant should be sent back to where he came from and language will not be an issue.Donna Thacker
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Man allegedly kills zebra in drive-by shooting
A BIT LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF PICKET FENCES:
RED OAK, Texas - An 18-year-old man was arrested Friday and accused of killing a zebra named Zambi in a drive-by shooting.
Zambi was shot dead July 5 as he grazed in a pasture at HiView Farms outside of Waxahachie, about 30 miles from Dallas, said Lt. Kevin Ketchum of the Ellis County Sheriff's Office. The farm is also home to camels, llamas and ring-tailed lemurs.
The owner of the farm was outside working at the time of the shooting, Ketchum told The Dallas Morning News.
Joshua Romano and four friends were swimming in a creek but had to leave because of rain. They spotted the zebra as they were driving down a road near the farm. That's when Romano pulled out a deer rifle and shot Zambi dead, Ketchum said. The animal was worth about $10,000.
Romano's friends tried to prevent him from shooting the zebra, and the driver sped up to make the shooting more difficult, Ketchum said.
No phone listing for Romano could be found.
RED OAK, Texas - An 18-year-old man was arrested Friday and accused of killing a zebra named Zambi in a drive-by shooting.
Zambi was shot dead July 5 as he grazed in a pasture at HiView Farms outside of Waxahachie, about 30 miles from Dallas, said Lt. Kevin Ketchum of the Ellis County Sheriff's Office. The farm is also home to camels, llamas and ring-tailed lemurs.
The owner of the farm was outside working at the time of the shooting, Ketchum told The Dallas Morning News.
Joshua Romano and four friends were swimming in a creek but had to leave because of rain. They spotted the zebra as they were driving down a road near the farm. That's when Romano pulled out a deer rifle and shot Zambi dead, Ketchum said. The animal was worth about $10,000.
Romano's friends tried to prevent him from shooting the zebra, and the driver sped up to make the shooting more difficult, Ketchum said.
No phone listing for Romano could be found.
Soldier shoots himself to avoid Iraq
Straight out of a story-line from THE JOURNEY:
NEW YORK - A soldier who recently returned from Iraq has admitted he paid someone $500 to shoot him in the leg so he could avoid returning for another tour.
Jonathan Aponte, 20, claimed he had been robbed and shot but changed his story when police questioned him, authorities said. Aponte, who was facing another eight-month tour, had been scheduled to leave last Monday.
"As far as being shot at every day, I think it's better," Aponte told WCBS-TV in an interview that aired Friday. "Mentally I can't do it anymore. I can't handle it anymore."
Aponte was charged with conspiracy and falsely reporting an incident, according to the criminal complaint.
Joke became realityApone had joked with his wife about getting shot in the leg so he could avoid another tour, according to the complaint. His wife took the remark seriously, and said she knew a man named who could do the job.
Early Monday morning, the pair met with the man, who agreed to do the job for $500. Aponte told an investigator that he smoked a cigarette and closed his eyes before he was shot.
His lawyer has said Aponte suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and the military will evaluate him and decide whether he is fit for duty, provide counseling if needed and then send him back overseas, or discharge him.
Aponte's wife, Alexandra Gonzalez, 22, was charged with assault, conspiracy and harassment.
The couple was arraigned Thursday and released on their own recognizance. The suspected shooter was also arraigned and charged with assault, weapon possession, conspiracy and harassment.
NEW YORK - A soldier who recently returned from Iraq has admitted he paid someone $500 to shoot him in the leg so he could avoid returning for another tour.
Jonathan Aponte, 20, claimed he had been robbed and shot but changed his story when police questioned him, authorities said. Aponte, who was facing another eight-month tour, had been scheduled to leave last Monday.
"As far as being shot at every day, I think it's better," Aponte told WCBS-TV in an interview that aired Friday. "Mentally I can't do it anymore. I can't handle it anymore."
Aponte was charged with conspiracy and falsely reporting an incident, according to the criminal complaint.
Joke became realityApone had joked with his wife about getting shot in the leg so he could avoid another tour, according to the complaint. His wife took the remark seriously, and said she knew a man named who could do the job.
Early Monday morning, the pair met with the man, who agreed to do the job for $500. Aponte told an investigator that he smoked a cigarette and closed his eyes before he was shot.
His lawyer has said Aponte suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and the military will evaluate him and decide whether he is fit for duty, provide counseling if needed and then send him back overseas, or discharge him.
Aponte's wife, Alexandra Gonzalez, 22, was charged with assault, conspiracy and harassment.
The couple was arraigned Thursday and released on their own recognizance. The suspected shooter was also arraigned and charged with assault, weapon possession, conspiracy and harassment.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Not Exactly News, But Cute: How/Where to Pick Up Women
It's a tough move to get wrong, and one we women wish we saw more frequently. The pleasure is in the practice — like making a perfect cast, though in this case it isn't the line that will get you anywhere. It's the lure.
Have the bartender — always the bartender — deliver another of whatever it is she's already drinking. If it's the bottom-of-the-barrel kind, upgrade. Nod your head as she takes it. Smile a little. Do not grin. Let her get used to the idea of being appreciated by a stranger before you come any closer. You are, in effect, taking your hat off to whatever it is about her you find so captivating — something you wouldn't be afraid to share with her. The way she lets one shoe dangle from a toe as she crosses her legs on the bar stool or the deftness with which she twirls the little red straw.
No matter what kind of girl she is, she'll find your gift flattering for the simple reason that she likes the door opened for her — though she'd like to have some choice in whether or not she's approached any further. Now that she sees you at the other end of the bar, she can't help liking the first impression.
You? You wait. You fish the big river with only the smallest glimmer of expectation. You step into the current with a kind of caution. Maybe you catch the fish and let it go. Not because you've had your way with it, but because you respect the grace and dignity with which it cuts a path through the stream.
My week of picking up womenBy Matt Schneiderman For one week, I was on a mission to determine where the best venues to meet women are, so I hit up my usual destinations — and a few timely events — with a bit more forwardness than usual. I learned that context is everything: Approaching a woman at the bookstore, for instance, is vastly different from approaching a woman at your best friend’s wedding. Each destination has its charms, caveats, and strategies for meeting... but which places are most likely to yield dating success? After seven straight days of this, I know the answer and am ready to share it. Monday: Hitting the gymFor all the time I spend working out (three to four times a week), meeting a woman at the gym should come easily—where else can I show off my muscles? And yet, despite all my flexing and smiling, it had never happened. I blame iPods and the de facto segregation of the sexes, whereby men lift weights and women take exercise classes. For the sake of improving my chances of finding unplugged-in women, I decided to attend my first-ever Nia class (a combination of stretching, dance, and yoga). I spotted a cute young lady outside one of the classrooms and asked her whether she was taking the class. She responded that she was waiting for her mother to finish exercising. I contend that the girl was at least 18, but “waiting for my mom” is not an invitation to continue flirting. Instead, I found another woman who was, in fact, waiting for the class. We chatted for ten minutes about Nia as well as the other gyms in the area. The class itself was exactly what I was hoping for: 20 women and me. As the newcomer, I was introduced by the instructor and greeted by all the other students. An hour of mind, body and soul work can really bring you closer to a room of strangers; afterwards three women separately came up to me to chat. No numbers exchanged, but the opportunity was definitely there. The soreness I felt two days later somewhat dampened my memory of the experience, but if that’s the cost of meeting fit women, so be it.What I learned: Forget bugging a woman about her form on the machines or talking through her headphones—the female-dominated classes are where you can easily make your moves.Tuesday: Trying out a volunteer activityI’m a huge proponent of having fun while doing good for others, so I contacted a volunteer organization about helping out at a basketball clinic being held at a youth center. Even better, I realized, I’d be meeting women who share two of my interests, volunteering and playing ball. Such was obviously the case with the activity leader who emailed me back with the details for the clinic. I arrived in shorts and jersey, as she had suggested, and found myself one of six volunteers — three men, three women — working with 12 teenage boys. Once the drills began, opportunities to talk to the team leader or the other two females — all approximately my age — were limited, though I did chat with one during a water break who, like me, was attending this particular event for the first time. Competitive scrimmages helped build rapport between the volunteers and the kids—as well as with me and the women volunteers. Sweating profusely (the tiny gym was without air conditioning), we volunteers chatted at the end of the session about coming back in the future. I walked the team leader towards the exit, hoping to make plans to hang out prior to the next event two months away, but she stopped in front of the ladies’ room, obviously ready to clean up and get home. Luckily I still have her email address!What I learned: While opportunities to make quick connections or to get a first date lined up are limited, it’s likely that volunteers will see one at future outings if they return, which makes for good long-term relationship-building potential.Wednesday: Heading to Happy HourI hit up a bar and grill at 5 p.m.—just in time for drink specials. The place was empty save for the wait staff and, typically, the male loner sipping beer in the corner. After a fruitless hour of two-for-one melon martinis, I left and found a venue with more of an after-work crowd, albeit one with five-dollar beers. I approached two women and asked them if they worked in the area; they offered up minimalist answers. After a few minutes of polite conversation, I left them to resume their chat. We exchanged smiles — but no numbers — when they walked out. A bored-looking woman seemed to be inviting a distraction from the seven businessmen she was standing with, but again I was rebuffed by clipped responses and interruptions by her co-worker—who obviously didn’t appreciate my infringing on his group. Finally, though, three women sharing a bar table engaged with me when I asked for a female opinion on whether my friend should confront a mutual acquaintance about a potentially unhealthy relationship. They readily offered their advice and conversation smoothly transitioned to other subjects. By this point — about 7:30 p.m. — the bar was full; I’d had about four beers and was finding it easier to approach women, but harder to concentrate on the conversations. I spoke with one other group of women with whom I exchanged contact info and left. Two days later, I emailed to make plans with one of the women I met; we decided — you guessed it — to meet at a bar after work.What I learned: The bar scene is a “meet” market requiring direct approaches and quick judgment. Certainly, after-work bars offer up a variety of women—women out with their co-workers looking to unwind, women out with their boyfriends or on dates, and women looking to meet guys. Within 30 seconds of initiating conversation with a smile and a comment about the bar, I could tell which was which; within another three minutes I could tell whether there was any interest. And by 10 minutes I either had a phone number, email address, or an excuse to move on.Thursday: Hanging out at the dog runHow I envy dog-owners! Not only do they have constant canine companionship, but their pets make for excellent girl-bait. Better still, dog-people connect on sidewalks, in parks and at dog runs with other dog-people, people I definitely wanted to meet. Feeling like only a minor faker, I borrowed a friend’s speckled Dachshund and spent an afternoon walking/pulling him to a nearby park and letting him tear around a popular dog run. Milo, the Dachshund, elicited lots of attention: He’s adorable, and nearly every woman who came near us stopped to coo and pet him. Brief conversations on the street followed easily, though they were too short for me to segue into a proposition for meeting up without the pooch. The dog run presented better opportunities, as dog-owners could release their charges and talk to each other—about their dogs, of course. I had a pleasant exchange with a gorgeous woman after scolding Milo for mounting her Maltese; my embarrassment notwithstanding, Milo's amorous behavior was a perfect excuse to initiate conversation. Unfortunately, she told me she had a boyfriend when I asked for her number. Still, I had a walk back to my friend’s apartment with a surefire babe-magnet at the end of a leash to look forward to, so the rejection didn’t faze me much. It was more of the same for the remainder of my time with Milo — lots of smiles and aww’s — and despite not getting any numbers, I felt great about my prospects for next time… after I’ve adopted my own dog!What I learned: This was a departure from my other experiences meeting women in that they approached me; the hardest part, initiating a conversation, was done for me, allowing me to naturally segue into other topics—like whether she lived nearby and how often she came to the park. With a regular schedule of dog-walking and running into the same women, it would only get easier to chat these girls up.Friday: Stopping by a pal’s partyMy close friend Michael — we’ve been roommates five of the last ten years — went all out to celebrate his 30th birthday, renting out a space, and hiring a DJ and a caterer. We know a lot of the same people, though I hadn’t seen many of our common friends who were at the party in years; others I had never spent much time with. I took his birthday as an opportunity to get to know his female friends better. Introductions were breezily easy; I could always count on a mutual acquaintance to get us talking together. I discovered I had a lot in common with these women—they are Michael’s friends, after all, and share some of the same traits I like about him. Often, I had to make an effort to extricate myself from each conversation in order to speak with the other girls there. Getting friendly definitely paid off, as I left knowing I’d be in touch with at least three women I very much wanted to see again. I got in touch with one the next day; we recently went out for a second (great) date. As you might guess, I think parties are a perfect way to meet someone.What I learned: A close friend’s party is as excellent an opportunity to meet potential mates as I was likely to find. With all the advantages of a setup but without the awkwardness, built-up expectations or drawn-out conversations — plus the possibility of multiple connections — there’s no excuse for not meeting my friend’s gal pals.Saturday: Celebrating at a weddingThose Wedding Crashers are onto something: Weddings really are terrific places to meet women. I drove four hours to attend the nuptials of my best friend from college, excited by the prospect of a fun time and single women. I looked my best, dressed in a suit. I entered to find a roomful of well-put-together attendees of all ages, all smiling—and at least six approachable women. At the reception, conversations started easily thanks to the common link of the happy couple—just being there vouched for my decentness. I may have gone a bit overboard by kick-starting the dance party when I took my friend’s mom out for a spin, but not only did I elicit smiles from all the women I wanted to talk to, but I was introduced to the cute cousins immediately after the song ended. Approaches were simple from then on, as single women clumped together and were eager to meet dance partners. I could chat up a few standing off to the side or offer to take the picture of a group in between songs. Alas, the reception ended at midnight and local guests — including the two women I was most interested in — went home; I returned to my hotel, where I was sharing a room with a friend. Brunch the next day gave me another opportunity with one of the girls, though—an attractive, intelligent co-worker of the bride. We definitely hit it off, and when she was in my town visiting friends, we met up.What I learned: There were a few drawbacks to meeting women at a wedding — out-of-town guests meant limited opportunities for me to expect second meetings, and lots of the female guests brought dates — but overall, it’s no wonder so many successful couples say they met at a wedding.Sunday: Browsing at a bookstoreA rainy afternoon, I hoped, meant that many single women would have the same idea I did: Time to curl up with a book. The bookstore was indeed bustling when I walked in—dozens of men and women of all ages perusing the aisles for something to read, or camped out poring over a potential purchase. I made a beeline for my favorite section, figuring I'd be most attracted to fellow fiction-readers. Oddly, the literature section was nearly empty; evidently few people linger over books that aren’t in the “New Arrivals” piles near the door. I tried the magazine racks, hoping some woman would grab the same copy of my favorite title just as I was reaching for it, but after 15 minutes of flipping through US Weekly, I knew such serendipity wasn’t forthcoming. Unable to bring myself to interrupt anyone seemingly focused on reading, I found a pair of grad students studying in the bookstore’s café and asked them if the wireless was free. (It wasn’t.) We chatted and realized we knew a couple of people in common before exchanging contact info. Still, if it hadn’t been for the café, I would’ve come up empty.What I learned: Bookstores are pickup places for guys with big cajones—or at least a good line. What you can learn from my week: My success during my week of outings became much less about how many women were present than about how comfortable I felt approaching any one woman or group of women in a given situation. Singling out someone in the middle of a workout or while browsing books could be the way to go for some guys, but I much preferred approaching women at my friends’ wedding and party, where guests expected to meet new people. Ultimately, I had the most success with women I had some connection with—whether we shared acquaintances or a love of volunteering, exercise or dogs. No matter what the context, that kind of connection is what makes for a great pickup opportunity.Matt Schneiderman has written for Stuff and Giant.
Bartenders’ best pickup adviceBy Maggie Kim Few people have such a front-row seat to the dating and mating game as a bartender. Every night, these drink slingers watch would-be studs crash and burn, unlikely couples happily hook up, and more. Thanks to this experience, they’ve compiled a wealth of knowledge on the moves that work—not to mention those that bomb. Here, their best advice. Try this easy opener“I think the easiest way for a guy to start talking to a girl is to get next to her while she’s ordering her own drink and say, “That one’s on me.” Every girl will at least say thank you and if she’s interested, she’ll stick around and start a conversation.”—Gia Favia, Rino, ChicagoStand out with a signature drink“For both guys and girls, the meeting and hooking-up game is all about making an impression. I think finding a signature drink helps you stand out from the pack of gin and tonics and vodka sodas. Women who are sipping a bourbon definitely have a lot more mystique than one with a standard pink drink, just like a guy with a Manhattan seems more interesting than one with a beer. Find the drink that suits your style and personality and have a fun, cute story to go with it. Like ‘I drink Manhattans because my grandfather did.’ Anything that helps you stand out from the pack and start a conversation is a plus.”—Josh Wojcik, Chocolat Michel Cluizel, New YorkStick to the three-minute rule“From what I’ve seen, a woman’s usually made up her mind about a guy in the first three minutes—and I’ve never seen anyone’s mind change after that. So guys should go in for the pickup, but if three minutes go by and she’s not warming up, they should cut their losses and move on.”—David Cerequas, Craftbar, New YorkBe sincere“From what I’ve seen, it’s the Year of the Geeks and Good Guys: It’s not about being suave or sexy, but about being genuine and attentive. Women are tired of being hit on by jerks whose heads swivel every time another pretty girl walks by. Give a woman your undivided attention, and you’ll stand out from the crowd.”—Terril Johnson, Shortstop, Los AngelesLook out for the Lemon Drop“You can definitely spot the girls who are looking for a good time and want to flirt: They usually come in groups and line up at the bar versus at a table to make it easier for guys to talk to them. And if you see them drinking Lemon Drops — a yellowish liquid in a shot glass garnished with a lemon that’s been dipped in sugar — it’s a sure sign that these girls just wanna have fun! It’s replaced the Cosmo as the drink of choice for the Sex and the City-type girls.”—Erica Jobe, Moda, New YorkTry talking about your troubles“There was one guy who got a call on his cell phone about his dog being injured by a car—it felt like every woman in the bar was trying to help him and comfort him. Now, I’m not recommending guys lie and say their pet was hurt, but the lesson here is don’t be afraid to tell a girl about a dilemma or problem you’re struggling with. Women like to help.”—Chris Lower, Gator’s, MinnesotaBe a big spender“Splurge on a nice glass of champagne (think Cristal) and send it over to the woman you’re interested in. This works better than anything I’ve ever seen. It shows a guy’s not cheap and that he’s interested enough in the girl to spend some money on her. It’s smooth, impressive—and works almost every time!”—Joseph Barbour, Body English at the Hard Rock, Las VegasTHINGS EVERY MAN SHOULD KNOW About Drinking
There is no such thing as a chocolate martini.
There is no shame in club soda and cranberry juice.
There is a reason for the scarcity of piano bars.
Visiting the pub will be cheaper in the long run if you tip the bartender regularly and more generously than is necessary.
Never eat the pickled eggs.
Never order a frozen drink in a place that serves pickled eggs.
Actually, never order a frozen drink.
It's also not a bad idea to eschew the pickled pigs' feet,although their presence is fairly strong evidence that you've accidentally stumbled upon a real tavern.
For the sake of the children, leave the pistol at home.
Champagne is a place. Bordeaux is a place. Champaleis not a place.
Grappa is to lighter fluid as ouzo is to lighter fluid.
Garnish matters.
Despite a high ratio of female clientele, an insouciant way with fried mozzarella, and their prevalence in resort towns, establishments where a waitress pours shots into your mouth from a bottle she holsters in a bandolier are fraught with peril.
When throwing a party, break the seals on all liquor bottles, lest guests should hesitate to open them and come to doubt your hospitality.
Better yet: Hire a bartender.
The perfect manhattan: two parts bourbon, one part sweet vermouth, bitters, and a splash of cherry juice. Over rocks or not.
At the holiday office party, consume one drink less than your boss.
Adopt a new favorite cocktail on a seasonal basis.
That sangrÃa means "bloodletting" is more a cautionary note than a simple fact.
Dry martinis, being nothing but gin, aren't all they're cracked up to be.
If you still want a martini, know that you cannot actually bruise gin, so go ahead and shake.
On the other hand, shaking introduces air bubbles that make the martini look cloudy for a time, so stir, already, if you're so particular.
Drinks that give you bad breath: beer, anything sweet, anything with milk.
Drinks that give you good breath: gin and tonic, gimlet, vodka and cranberry, anything with citrus.
Instead of ordering that shot of After Shock to cap off the evening, one could just walk calmly into the street, lie down, and wait.
Alternatively, you could pinch the bouncer's ass.
Hungarian proverb: If three men tell you that you are drunk, lie down.
Every man should know how to make at least one drink from a foreign country, preferably one taught to him by a local female with whom he has had a complicated, unresolved, and quite possibly dangerous dalliance.
The perfect negroni: four parts gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part Cam-pari shaken with ice and strained. Orange peel.
Citrus cocktails benefit greatly from rubbing lemon peel around the rim of the glass.
Jack Daniel's. Rocks.
There is nothing sadder than a guy who orders beer by the pitcher when he's drinking alone.
Fresh orange juice. Fresh lemon juice. Fresh lime juice.
The perfect margarita: one part fresh lime juice, one part Cointreau, and one and a half parts tequila over ice.
On those chrome, hourglass-shaped bar measuring cups, the big side is the jigger. The little side is the pony. Never use the pony.
If you must: single-malt Scotch in a brandy snifter with a splash of water.
Avoid bars that use plastic cups, bars whose bathrooms consist solely of a trough-style urinal, bars with chicken wire protecting the band, bars where Patrick Swayze is the bouncer.
There is rarely any genuine need to shout "Skål!" "Na zdorovye!" "Sláinte!" "Bottoms up!" or "Down the hatch!"
No one but the bouncer cares how tough you are, and he already knows you're not that tough.
Drinking is not a competitive sport.
A thought for the holidays: Gift wine should not be recognizable as having come from a grocery store.
Gift wine, being a gift,is not for tonight's party. Unless the host opens it.
Decent wine costs fifteen dollars. Good wine costs thirty-five dollars. Nobody can tell the difference.
Never drink in a place that calls itself an eatery.
The cosmopolitan is over.
Rye isn't as popular as it used to be.
The perfect highball: one part rye to three parts ginger ale over ice.
There is no upside to karaoke.
There is an ever-so-slight upside to a wet-T-shirt contest, as long as you're not in it.
It is not necessary to request premium liquor for a mixed drink in which you cannot taste it, such as a gimlet or sour.
On the other hand, ascertain exactly how nonpremium the "well" liquor is before you opt against the good stuff.
Sitting at the bar works only for two people. Three or more requires a table.
Always check your fly before leaving the john.
If you were sitting in the john, make sure your wallet did not fall onto the floor.
Try to take care of the sitting thing at home.
Never utter the words I and love and you if you've had more than three drinks.
If you're a lightweight, make that one drink.
The perfect Shirley Temple: ginger ale over ice to fill a wineglass, splash grenadine, orange slice, lemon twist, cherry.
If a bartender makes you flail your arms or beg for service, well, obviously, leave.
Don't call the bartender Barkeep, Chief, Buddy, or Ace, unless his actual name, in fact, is Barkeep, Chief, Buddy, or Ace.
Even if you have ascertained your bartender's name, behaving overly familiar with him will be seen as a pathetic gambit for free drinks or, worse, proof that you have nobody to go to for affection other than a random service-industry professional who does not, in fact, know you and just wants your money.
The one foolproof hangover cure: Don't get drunk.
Once you've fallen off a stool, there is little you can say to the bartender that will change his mind about asking you to leave.
Also know that there is nothing cheeky and clever you can say to a female bartender that she hasn't already heard from some other schmuck before you.
Don't eat the worm.
If you don't smoke and you're in a bar, don't complain about other people who happen to be smoking, because, virtuous friend, you are in a bar.
Instead of trying to remember whether it's "beer before liquor" or the other way around, just be an adult and stick to one or the other.
Acceptable drinks for men: beer, wine, whiskey, cocktails that are neither sweet nor made with dairy or fruit other than lime or lemon or orange.
Acceptable drinks for women: whatever they want, except a certain few.
A certain few: the grasshopper, the Long Island iced tea, the pink lady, and any variety of spritzer.
Also unacceptable: drinks whose names mimic critical medical conditions or copulative acts and their secretions.
And while we're on the subject, drinks that are named after supposedly cute body parts, like navels, which are actually disgusting repositories for sebaceous grime: No.
All of that said, never question a woman's drink choice.
If you're the first in the group to arrive and you start a tab on your card, you deserve exactly what's coming to you.
Campari shaken with ice and strained into a martini glass.
Unless you are lounging on the Promenade Deck, do not drink from a fruit.
The perfect martini: There is no such thing as the perfect martini. Make it the way it tastes best to you.
Provided that you remember that there is no such thing as a chocolate martini.
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