How Not To Fly (about)

List Of Schiavo Donors Will Be Sold By Direct-Marketing Firm

"These compassionate pro-lifers donated toward Bob Schindler's legal battle to keep Terri's estranged husband from removing the feeding tube from Terri," says a description of the list on the Web site of the firm, Response Unlimited, which is asking $150 a month for 6,000 names and $500 a month for 4,000 e-mail addresses of people who responded last month to an e-mail plea from Ms. Schiavo's father.

Stinky The Robot, Four Kids And A Brief Whiff Of Success

Stinky's creators didn't look all that impressive... four teenage guys in baggy pants and sneakers, all of them illegal Mexican immigrants attending Carl Hayden High School in funky West Phoenix.

When Stinky arrived at last year's Marine Advanced Technology Remotely Operated Vehicle Competition -- an underwater robotics contest sponsored by NASA and the Office of Naval Research -- it was greeted with barely suppressed snickers. Nobody expected Stinky to compete with the robot from MIT, a handsome machine created by 12 elite engineering and computer science students and decorated with a sticker from ExxonMobil, the company that donated $5,000 to the MIT team. But the kids from Hayden High beat MIT and the rest of the competition...

Immediately, they had a problem: When Aranda lowered Stinky into the pool, they realized they had a leak. Not only did they have to re-solder every wire in the machine overnight, Vazquez told his teammates, but they also had to find something absorbent to keep moisture away from the circuitry.

"Absorbent?" Santillan asked, recalling countless TV ads. "Like a tampon?" Soon, Santillan was in the nearest supermarket, trying to work up the courage to ask a young woman for advice on which brand of tampons might work best in an underwater robot.

Harvard Students Want Their Snap, Crackle, Pop Back

Angry cereal fans are lashing out after Harvard University cleared its dining halls this school year of brand-name cereals, such as Fruit Loops and Cap'n Crunch, and swapped them for less expensive, apparently healthier options like Tootie Fruities and Colossal Crunch.

• "I was shocked to see they had done this to our cereals," said Harvard senior Cameron Moccari, who last week launched the group "Harvard Students for the Reimplementation of Brand-Named Cereals..."
• For Harvard sophomore Allison Kessler, it's annoying to pay more than $4,000 for a meal plan that scrimps on her favorite breakfast foods.... "I used to eat Lucky Charms for lunch and dinner," she said. "The fake stuff gets real soggy, and I've just stopped eating cereal. This is not fair."
• "I'm really upset about it," Fernandez said on Thursday after shunning the dining hall's Marshmallow Mateys -- the substitute for his Lucky Charms. The Harvard senior, known in the cereal group as Jeff "Likes his Pebbles Really Fruity" Fernandez, said the new cereals get soggy quickly and taste like cardboard. "It's frustrating when we're paying this much, and we can't get a decent cereal."

"We wouldn't do that," said Larry Levitas, Columbia's director of dining services, which spends $65,000 annually on brand-name cereals from General Mills and Kellogg's. "That's what the students expect. And that's what we use."

• Shredded Feet
• Blownta-Bits
• Knee-Cap Crunch
• Trachea Puffs
• Dr Rice Krispies
• Kellogg's Kloset Froot Loops
• Lucky Arms
• Unlucky Arms
• Kafka's Josef K
• Kicks ("Abu-Ghraib-Tested, Rumsfeld-Denied™").

Man Arrested For Making Threats Against Michael Schiavo

The FBI has arrested a North Carolina man for putting a 250-thousand dollar bounty on Michael Schiavo's head. According to federal investigators, Richard Meywes authored a death threat email. In it he writes: "It's my understanding that whoever eliminates Michael Schiavo from the planet while inflicting as much pain and suffering that he can bear stands to be paid this reward in cash...."

Meywes is charged with solicitation of murder and transmitting threats over the internet. If convicted he faces up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $500,000.

Officer Had Nude Photos Of Suspect, Report Says

[Houston, TX] During [her DWI] arrest, [the two officers] discovered that the woman had stored sexually explicit photos of herself in her cell phone, and Green downloaded the images onto his personal digital assistant...

Two weeks after the arrest, [defense attorney Gill] added, the woman received a phone message from Miller, inviting her to join him at a restaurant. Gill said he gave the district attorney's investigator a copy of the tape, dated Dec. 9....

Assistant District Attorney Celeste Carter told the investigator that Green also showed the pictures to her, according to the [search warrant].

Playmate, Santa Arrested In Theft Of Power Tools

[Westlake, OH] Jennifer Jackson, 36, was arrested on a receiving stolen property warrant. She and [boyfriend] 39-year-old Stephan Santa are suspected in a Feb. 10 burglary of a house trailer on Center Ridge Road....

The theft victim told police that he noticed the tools inside a nearby trailer occupied by Jackson. A search warrant recovered all but one of the missing tools....

Jackson was an April 1989 Playmate in Playboy Magazine.

Chicago Poet Led Double Life

In Chicago, Porter is known as J.J. Jameson, a poet and anti-war protester devoted to his local Unitarian church.... Porter's whereabouts have been a mystery to police since he walked away from a prerelease center in Walpole, Mass., in December 1985. Ever since his escape, he has been at the top of the Massachusetts State Police's "Most Wanted" list, ahead of fugitive mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.

...Porter's fingerprints were recently matched with those of a suspect arrested on a theft charge in Chicago in 1993 using the Jameson alias....

Earlier this year, Porter's friends planned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his move to Chicago with a roast and poetry reading..... Chicagopoetry.com... recently named Jameson its Poet of the Month.

Woman Arrested After Attempt To 'Feed Terri'

Lana G. Jacobs told police she was there "to feed Terri" when she walked on hospice property about 1:05 p.m, said Capt. Michael Haworth. Police asked her to leave, and she declined, Haworth said. Jacobs faces a charge of trespass after warning.

Officers arrested two men hiding under a bush on the property early Sunday. Four other men were arrested Saturday on trespassing charges.

Poll: No Role For Government In Schiavo Case

The public, by 63 percent-28 percent, supports the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, and by a 25-point margin opposes a law mandating federal review of her case. Congress passed such legislation and President Bush signed it early today.

That legislative action is distinctly unpopular: Not only do 60 percent oppose it, more -- 70 percent -- call it inappropriate for Congress to get involved in this way. And by a lopsided 67 percent-19 percent, most think the elected officials trying to keep Schiavo alive are doing so more for political advantage than out of concern for her or for the principles involved....

Fifty-four percent of conservatives support removal of Schiavo's feeding tube... And evangelical Protestants divide about evenly -- 46 percent are in favor of removing the tube, 44 percent opposed. Among non-evangelical Protestants, 77 percent are in favor -- a huge division between evangelical and mainline Protestants.

Bid To Restore Schiavo Feeding Tube Stalls

As the severely brain-damaged woman lay in her hospice bed, a knot of protesters and rows of TV satellite trucks outside, her parents and husband made competing pleas to the public and Congress. A compromise bill that would allow [Terri] Schiavo's feeding tube to be restored stalled when House Democrats objected to a vote by a small handful of lawmakers. Republicans hoped to bring a quorum of 218 lawmakers to Washington on Palm Sunday in time for a roll call vote just after midnight, House leaders said.

The Senate was ready to give its quick approval and President Bush was cutting short a stay at his Texas ranch and returning to the White House to sign the bill.

Prison: Two Women Want To Marry Peterson

Prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon said about three dozen women called San Quentin with messages of support for the prison's newest bachelor, convicted and sentenced to die for the murder of his pregnant wife, Laci.

"Two of them actually indicated to our staff that their purpose for calling was marriage," Crittendon told CNN. He added that it is not unusual for inmates to get married while on death row.

Nude Attitude

Leonard Nimoy is publishing another book of kinky nude photographs -- and this time he's focusing on an obese burlesque troupe, "The Fat Bottom Revue...."

"They are interested in fat liberation," the former Mr. Spock says. "Their self-esteem is strong. They will tell you that too many people suffer because the body they live in is not the body you find in the fashion magazines."

ASU Spokesman Reassigned After Statements Made About Police Taser Use

[Arizona State University campus] police shocked up to 24 fans who tried to rush the field after the Utah-Pittsburgh game. Jennings was quoted as saying police used Tasers because the school has a contract with the [AZ] Cardinals to protect the field and so that fans would not be hurt in a mob scene.

The general counsel for ASU says police used Tasers at their own discretion per school policy when the "sole issue" became the safety of patrons and personnel in the field.

Jennings now works with audio and video equipment and no longer speaks for the university.

Church Fights Da Vinci Code Novel

The archbishop [Carlo Arcolao] told Il Giornale: "The book is everywhere. There is a very real risk that many people who read it will believe that the fables it contains are true...."

[The book's] central claim is that the Holy Grail is really the bloodline descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene -- which the Church is supposed to have covered up, along with the female role in Christianity.

Italy 'To Pull Troops From Iraq'

Italy is to begin withdrawing its troops from Iraq in September 2005, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said.... Italy has 3,000 troops in Iraq -- the fourth largest foreign contingent. [South Korea has 3,600 troops.]

Domestic opposition to Italy's involvement in Iraq intensified after the killing of an Italian agent by US troops in Baghdad earlier this month. The surprise announcement came as Italy's lower house of parliament backed a recent Senate vote to extend the country's military presence in Iraq beyond June.

In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan played down the announcement. "We certainly appreciate the contributions of the Italians. They have served and sacrificed alongside Iraqis and alongside other coalition forces..."

The Peak Of Mt Kilimanjaro As It Has Not Been Seen For 11,000 Years

...Kilimanjaro's trademark snowy cap, at 5,895 metres (1,934ft), is now all but gone -- 15 years before scientists predicted it would melt through global warming...

In Swahili Kilima Njaro means shining mountain, but the glaciers and snow cap that kept the summit white, probably for 11,000 years -- despite the location, in Tanzania, 200 miles south of the equator -- have almost disappeared.

Just Don't Call It Tequila... Or Even Temequila

[Temecula, CA] Temequila, [Tequila Regulatory Council director Ramon Gonzalez] said, is "phonetically similar" enough to fool tequila buyers into thinking it's the genuine, Mexican-made article. The Mexican government, which contends that the name tequila is specifically protected by the North American Free Trade Agreement, is also weighing in.

...Wagoner at first considered selling his agave plants to Mexican tequila producers. Then he decided it would be more lucrative to make his own. After a few years of studying distilling texts, numerous visits to distilleries in the United States and Mexico, lots of Googling and dozens of test runs, Wagoner had his agave spirit.

Court Says Wiccans Must Pay Taxes, Too

The Wiccan Religious Cooperative of Florida, based in Orlando, sued the Florida Department of Revenue on Halloween 2000, saying the state had wrongly denied it a tax exemption.... The cooperative sought an exemption to sell religious items and publications without having to charge sales tax, like other churches.

The Department of Revenue denied its application for an exemption because it does not have an "established physical place of worship, which is a statutory prerequisite... to qualify for the tax exemption," records show.

Al-Qaeda Plot To Kidnap Actor

Crowe has revealed he was approached by the FBI in the months leading up to his Academy Award win for Gladiator in 2001 and warned, vaguely, of the threat: "That was the first [time] I'd ever heard the phrase al-Qaeda. It was about -- and here's another little touch of irony -- taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural destabilisation plan."

Detectives guarded the actor at the London premiere of Proof Of Life and FBI agents shadowed him at the Golden Globe. The FBI continued their protection through filming of A Beautiful Mind and Master and Commander. He also hired his own private security detail.

White House: U.S. Didn't Target Journalist

The White House on Monday said it was "absurd" for a former hostage in Iraq to charge that U.S. military forces may have deliberately targeted her car as she was being rushed to freedom.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the car carrying Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was traveling on one of the most dangerous roads in Iraq, to the Baghdad airport, when it was fired upon. An Italian intelligence officer in the car was shot and killed.

Syrian Troops Begin Pullback To Lebanon

"We entered Lebanon to end a bloody civil war," [Syrian ambassador] Moustapha said. "Now we are withdrawing in compliance with international law."

Copied Kissing Photo Ignites Furor / Company Uses Image For Anti-AARP Ad Without Tribune's OK

USA Next, The American Spectator and Mark Montini International, the company that produced the ad, did not have authorization from the Portland Tribune to use the copyrighted photo in any capacity...

Montini first said he believed someone on his staff had properly obtained rights to the photo. But in an e-mail Tuesday to the paper's photo department, Montini said: "It looks more and more like we did make a mistake and ran with the ad prior to getting your approval."

...after Montini had been told by [the Tribune's] Meyers by phone and via e-mail that the paper would not sell him the photo for use in an ad, he tried another tack. He sent $600 -- the typical fee for such commercial use of a photo -- through PayPal, the electronic money transfer system, in payment for using the photo. The money was quickly refunded in full...

Raymen, also known on his Web site as Ricky Monet Prince XVII, and Hansen objected to having their image used to promote the USA Next agenda for Social Security.... "How [the AARP] relates to the image of our nuptials and an American soldier is beyond me..."

Byrd Spokesman Defends Senator's Hitler Remarks

The storm was the latest twist in the battle over Senate GOP efforts to free 10 nominated judges that the chamber's minority Democrats have blocked during Bush's first term. The Senate confirmed 204 others.... In his comments Tuesday, Byrd had defended the right senators have to use filibusters -- procedural delays that can kill an item unless 60 of the 100 senators vote to move ahead....

"We, unlike Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy, have never stopped being a nation of laws, not of men," Byrd said. "But witness how men with motives and a majority can manipulate law to cruel and unjust ends."

President Bush would like to address the hideous notion that -- despite dominating the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government -- Republicans do not somehow remain oppressed underdogs of one form or another:

Court Halts 'Baby Looter' Trial

[Chittagong, Bangladesh] Four police officers have been suspended for negligence in the case and an inquiry has been ordered.... The suspended police officers and the man who made the original complaint have been summoned to appear before the court and could be prosecuted....

The infants, whose ages range from three months to two years, are all members of an extended family. They were among 10 people named in the case filed with police. Relatives said the allegations stemmed from a land dispute with a neighbour.... The infants were bailed at $50 per child.

Microsoft's Gates Being Knighted

[Mr and Mrs Gates] set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 to improve global health and education. It has since invested millions in research for an Aids vaccine. The foundation has also established a scholarship scheme to enable the brightest students to go to Cambridge University.

But Microsoft has been convicted of anti-competitive behaviour in the USA and is being investigated in Europe.

Man Tasered By Police In Salad Bar Dispute

[Aurora, CO] ...the Chuck E. Cheese manager [told police officers] that a customer had refused to show proof that he had paid for food. The manager said the man was seen "loading" his plate at the salad bar....

[A police spokesman] said that Gale became argumentative and shoved one of the officers, a fact disputed by another patron. "One of the officers kept poking the gentleman in the chest," [said] Felicia Mayo... She said Gale never put his hands on the officer...

The argument escalated until Gale was shoved into the lap of Mayo's sister, who was sitting two booths away, holding a 10-month-old baby. That's when police pulled out a Taser stun gun to subdue him.

High Court: Juvenile Death Penalty Unconstitutional

The executions, the court said, violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.... Juvenile offenders have been put to death in recent years in only a few other countries, including Iran, Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia....

In a dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia disputed that there is a trend and chastised his colleagues for taking power from the states.... "The court thus proclaims itself sole arbiter of our nation's moral standards," Scalia wrote....

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justice Clarence Thomas joined Scalia in seeking to uphold the executions. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor filed a separate dissent, arguing that a blanket rule against juvenile executions was misguided.