Four Oklahomans accused of kidnapping a man and tattooing “RAPEST” on his forehead and “I like little boys” on his chest before beating him unconscious and leaving him for dead have pleaded guilty and been sent to prison. The two male defendants were sentenced to 10 years each and the…
Continue reading …Would The Media Prefer Mr. Bachmann’s Clinic Turn Away Poor Medicaid Patients?
June 29, 2011 No Comment
NBC News's Michael Isikoff believes it's hypocritical of presidential candidate Michele Bachmann to criticize Medicaid because her husband's clinic receives money from this government healthcare program for the poor. As he wrote at MSNBC.com Tuesday evening: While Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn., has forcefully denounced the Medicaid program for swelling the “welfare rolls,” the mental health clinic run by her husband has been collecting annual Medicaid payments totaling over $137,000 for the treatment of patients since 2005, according to new figures obtained by NBC News. The issue of her receipt of government aid has gotten attention because Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite, has been a fierce critic of federal spending programs and has called for drastic cutbacks. This has especially been the case on health care, including the expansions of Medicaid called for under the new health care law. When Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed an executive order earlier this year expanding the state's Medicaid program for more than 95,000 state residents, Bachmann was joined [sic] state Republican lawmakers in denouncing the move. “Right now, Governor Dayton is wanting to commit Minnesota taxpayers to add even more welfare recipients on the welfare rolls at a very great cost,” Bachmann said at a news conference in St. Paul in January. “She's giving hypocrisy a bad name,” said Ron Pollock, executive director of Families USA, a consumer health care advocacy group, when asked about the Medicaid payments to Bachmann & Associates. “It's clear when it feathers her nest she's happy for Medicaid expenditures. But people that really need it — folks with disabilities and seniors — she's turning their backs on them.” Optometrist Jason Whitman noted Wednesday, “Perhaps the author of this article,
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iRiver has spent the past couple of years testing the e-reader waters , but the company may now be ready to plunge into the deeper end of the pool, with its first Android tablet. A blogger in Korea recently spotted the slate, believed to be the seven-inch MX100, during an iRiver event in China. According to the source, it’s powered by a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird core, runs on Android 2.2 Froyo and is equipped with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi — not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but at least it’s not Bubble Yum-flavored . There’s been no official confirmation from iRiver yet, nor do we have any details on pricing or availability, but you can head past the break to see a semi-recent commercial from LG U+, in which the MX100 makes a brief cameo around the 0:15 mark. Continue reading iRiver’s MX100 Android tablet spotted in China? (video) iRiver’s MX100 Android tablet spotted in China? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Here’s the first trailer for Mission: Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol , which proves that not since Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman has a sessy femme fatale worked the soles off of a pair of fuck you heels by running after their rivals. Seriously, if you told a ho this was really a trailer for next year’s Running with Heels marathon , they wouldn’t say you were lying. They also wouldn’t accuse you of… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Dlisted Discovery Date : 29/06/2011 05:32 Number of articles : 6
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• Hit F5 to refresh or turn on the automatic widget below • Email thoughts and chat to evanfanning@gmail.com • Follow all today’s game and more in our daily live blog • Follow Evan on Twitter, if that’s your thing First set: Murray* 5-2 Lopez Murray holds serve comfortably which allows us to put on our casting agent hats once more. “Less Deliciano, more Christopher Lambert in Greystoke mode surely?” writes Yvonne Fletcher. Now we’re getting somewhere. “I’m happy with Ewan MacGregor as Andy, and surely it’s Maggie Smith as Judy Murray?” writes Integra. “I’m wondering about Javier Bardem as Deliciano, mainly because I just watched Biutiful last night and can’t get him out of my head. He’s probably a bit too ugly and a bit too hairy though. Maybe if Wilkinson Sword sponsored him as well…..” I think this man needs to play one of the Murray brothers. First set: Murray 4-2 Lopez* Murray breaks Lopez and pumps his fist in celebration after a game that felt like it was going to go on forever. Murray three times had break point and sensed blood for the opening point when Lopez tried a very deft drop shot which turns out to be a very foolish drop shot as it hits the net. Lopez challenges a call mid-point and it was the right decision as the ball is seen to be well inside the baseline (although it’s later confirmed that Lopez’s serve on that point was out but was missed by both Murray and the umpire). Murray then challenges a call after a fantastic rally where Lopez was at the net but on the back foot, but somehow found return after return and eventually pushed Murray to the backline and his return was between the tramlines, as Hawkeye confirms. It doesn’t put Murray off and he eventually takes the game after yet another attempt at a drop shot from Lopez hits the net. First set: Murray* 3-2 Lopez A less impressive service game this time round from Murray, but he still manages to hold serve (losing a challenge on the way). “Were the genders different,” writes Paul Szabo. “We might have a Mrs. Robinson/’Graduate’ situation, eh? I can see Dustin Hoffman playing the Lopez part quite easily, long hair and all.” Assuming the situation is at is is, who today would play the three protagonists in the picture above. Ewan McGregor as Andy Murray? First set: Murray 2-2 Lopez* It’s going with serve so far. Lopez is looking to get to the net at every opportunity and he shows how dangerous he is if his serve and volley game goes according to plan winning two successive points. He’s less impressive from the backline, hitting the net when he really should have done better but is rescued by his serve as an ace wins the game. Tom Gardiner has an idea: “Don’t you think if tennis was the kind of game where sledging went on, Lopez has an open goal two yards out? Imagine what Shane Warne would have made of the opportunity Judy Murray has presented ‘Deliciano’.” First set: Murray* 2-1 Lopez Murray holds serve comfortably, losing just one point and winning the game with a lovely cross-court forehand which Lopez didn’t even bother chasing. “Re the shaved legs,” writes Gary Naylor, “cyclists do it not to minimise wind resistance, but to ensure that scrapes, burns and road rash wounds do not become infected and so heal more quickly. It probably helps the soigneurs in their massaging at the end of the day too. And it does improve looks, though Snr Lopez doesn’t look like he needs much help in that department – unlike his opponent.” Whatever the reason it gets Judy Murray going. First set: Murray 1-1 Lopez* Lopez holds serve after a scrappy game. The Spaniard produced his first double-fault – his 18th of the tournament so far, which is relatively low. Lopez also has his first (unsuccessful) challenge of the game. Both make unforced errors, Lopez coming at game point, but a a poor Murray drop shot allows Lopez to take the advantage once again and this time Murray can’t clear the net as he returned a booming serve. First set: Murray* 1-0 Lopez Murray wins the game to love and that will settle whatever nerves he has. A lovely, gentle opening point that was so laid-back they could have had a conversation while playing it. Murray then steps it hitting two aces – the second his 50th of the tournament, half of what Lopez has hit – to take the game. Lopez, incidentally, has newly-shaved legs. Why does he do that? We’re about to start but there are very few people in Centre Court. They’ve all gone for refreshment following the epic Tsonga-Federer match. Andy Murray to serve … “The Americans are not even broadcasting his match,” says Daniel John McGrath. “On their Telly. Which is a pretty ugly snub.” That’s the kind of stirring statement that needs to be stuck on Andy Murray’s dressing room door. And Feliciano Lopez’s door come to think of it. Game-by-game exclusive (from the Johann Hari school of exclusives – i.e. they just said it on BBC) Feliciano Lopez expects Judy Murray to support her son in today’s game. He didn’t mention anything about dinner tonight. Kenny MacLeod has a dance for Andy. “The Sword Dance – and with sponsorship: The Wilkinson Sword Dance.” You, sir, should be an agent. Reasons for Andy Murray to be worried … Feliciano López has already hit 100 aces in this year’s tournament, more than any of the remaining players. Murray’s biggest area of weakness so far has been his serve return. Just in case you haven’t heard the gasps of disbelief I should tell you that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came from two sets down to beat Roger Federer and reach the last four . He then produced a truly spectacular version of his trademark dance. Andy Murray needs a trademark dance, but what should it be? Answers to the usual address. Preamble There are some interesting betting markets on this game. Not so much on whether Andy Murray will defeat Feliciano López and reach a third straight Wimbledon semi-final (that’s a ridiculously short 1-10), but instead the focus is on Judy Murray, who has expressed her admiration for her son’s opponent, the man she calls ‘Deliciano’ López. You can get 20-1 on Judy wolf-whistling at López at some stage (the bet of the day as far as I’m concerned), and you can get the same price on the Spaniard blowing Judy a kiss from the court. It’s 30-1 that they’ll be spotted having a romantic dinner somewhere in SW19 later tonight so if you work in a nearby restaurant and have just taken a booking for a table for two under the name J Murray I would pop round to your nearest bookies as soon as you can. Given that we know that Judy ♥ Feliciano, has anyone bothered finding out if Feliciano ♥ Judy? If he does, we could pack the two of them off behind the Wimbledon bike shed and give Andy a bye into the next round. Would this be a satisfactory outcome for Andy? To exchange seeing his mother disappear into the sunset with a rival in exchange for a place in the semi? That’s the big question of the day. That, and why is there no love for Mardy Fish? Wimbledon 2011 Andy Murray Tennis Wimbledon Evan Fanning guardian.co.uk
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Egyptian police clashed with hundreds of youths for a second day in Cairo over demands that the country’s military rulers speed up the prosecution of police officers accused of brutality during protests that forced Hosni Mubarak to resign. (June 29)
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The penguin dubbed “Happy Feet,” who took a massive detour to NZ from its native Antarctica, is continuing to improve, days after an operation removed sand from its guts. An advisory group suggests it be released into the Southern Ocean. (June 29)
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Click here to view this media Looks like some more bad news for the Bachmann presidential campaign — Bachmann’s husband got $137,000 in Medicaid funds : While Rep. Michele Bachmann has forcefully denounced the Medicaid program for swelling the “welfare rolls,” the mental health clinic run by her husband has been collecting annual Medicaid payments totaling over $137,000 for the treatment of patients since 2005, according to new figures obtained by NBC News. The previously unreported payments are on top of the $24,000 in federal and state funds that Bachmann & Associates, the clinic founded by Marcus Bachmann, a clinical therapist, received in recent years under a state grant to train its employees, state records show. The figures were provided to NBC News in response to a Freedom of Information request. The clinic, based in Lake Elmo, Minn., describes itself on its website as offering “quality Christian counseling” for a large number of mental health problems ranging from “anger management” to addictions and eating disorders. The $161,000 in payments from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to her husband’s clinic appear to contradict some of Michelle Bachmann’s public accounts this week when she was first asked about the extent to which her family has benefited from government aid. Contacted this afternoon, Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Bachmann, said the congresswoman was doing campaign events and was not immediately available for comment. Questions about the Bachmann family’s receipt of government funds arose this week after a Los Angeles Times story reported that a family farm in which Michelle Bachmann is a partner had received nearly $260,000 in federal farm subsidies. When asked by anchor Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” about the story’s assertion that her husband’s counseling clinic had also gotten federal and state funds, Bachmann replied that it was “one-time training money that came from the federal government. And it certainly didn’t help our clinic.” At another point, she said, “My husband and I did not get the money,” adding that it was “mental health training money that went to the employees.” But state records show that Bachmann & Associates has been collecting payments under the Minnesota’s Medicaid program every year for the past six years. Karen Smigielski, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said the state’s Medicaid program is funded “about 50-50″ with federal and state monies. The funds to Bachmann & Associates are for the treatment of low-income mentally ill patients and are based on a “fee for service” basis, meaning the clinic was reimbursed by Medicaid for the services it provided. Read on… And keep in mind that this clinic of his is reportedly one where they “pray away the gay” as TPM wrote about back in ’06 — MN-06: Does GOPer Bachmann’s Husband “Ungay” Homosexuals? : Does GOP House candidate Michelle Bachman’s husband “ungay” homosexuals as part of his therapy practice? That’s the charge made in a new profile of Bachmann published Wednesday in the Minneapolis City Pages . “Some observers claim that the mission of the practice includes counseling homosexuals in an effort to “ungay” them,” the paper says. Marcus Bachmann denies it. But the paper also describes a conference where Marcus Bachmann gave a presentation called “The Truth About the Homosexual Agenda,” in which he presented three “ungayed” individuals whom he held up as proof that homosexuality can be “cured.” More after the jump. In the piece, a local gay man named Curt Prins describes the conference and the scene where Bachmann gave his presentation: The climax of the presentation was when, according to Prins, Bachmann brought up “three ex-gays, like part of a PowerPoint presentation.” The trio, two white men and a black woman, all testified that they had renounced their homosexuality. “One of them said, ‘If I was born gay, then I’ll have to be born again,’” Prins recalls. “The crowd went crazy.” Fact Check has more on Bachmann’s recent “slew of off-base claims” which is a polite term for lies — Bachmann’s Waterloo : The GOP lawmaker’s presidential campaign starts with a slew of off-base claims. Summary Rep. Michele Bachmann officially joined the presidential campaign trail, but made a flurry of false and misleading claims along the way. The Minnesota Republican appeared on two Sunday talk shows the day before giving her formal announcement speech in Waterloo, Iowa. On the shows, she made false statements about income from her family farm and government subsidies to her husband’s business. She also made misstatements regarding earmarks, federal pay, government-owned “limousines” and health care: Bachmann falsely claimed that she and her husband “have never gotten a penny” from a family farm that received federal subsidies. But she reported income from the farm in 2006, 2008 and 2009 — the most recent year available — on her congressional financial disclosure statements. She claimed she had been “faithful” to her pledge not to request federal earmarks. But she requested $40 million in transportation earmarks in the 2009 fiscal year budget after taking the pledge, later claiming such projects should not be subjected to her promise. She withdrew her requests after the House Republicans took a party position in 2010 not to seek earmarks. Bachmann wrongly blamed President Obama for increasing the number of federal transportation workers who earn more than $170,000 from one to 1,690 during the recession. At least two-thirds of those employees were receiving more than $170,000 before Obama took office. She criticized the president for a 73 percent increase in government “limousines.” But one department accounted for the increase, and it had a long-term plan, pre-dating Obama, to add armored vehicles. The term “limousine” includes armored vehicles and sedans, not just actual limos. She claimed government money received by her husband’s counseling clinics did not benefit the business, because the funds paid for employee training. It’s true the clinics received $24,041 for training, but the business received thousands more in government funds, including money for treating crime victims. The three-term congresswoman repeated — on two Sunday shows — the false claim that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the federal health care law will “cost the economy 800,000 jobs.” The CBO never said that. It said there will be a “small” impact on jobs. When she got to Waterloo to deliver her first official campaign speech, Bachmann made her now viral gaffe in saying that tough-guy actor John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. The Duke was born in Winterset, Iowa, and was raised in California. It was John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer, who was from Waterloo. Lots more details there following up on their summary, so go read the rest.
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ROME — Experts dispute much of the forensic evidence collected against Amanda Knox, saying in a report Wednesday that testing of DNA traces used to convict the American student and her co-defendant in the murder of her roommate was below international standards and evidence may have been contaminated. The review by two court-appointed independent experts was requested by the defense and had been eagerly awaited. Its conclusions will undoubtedly boost Knox’s chances of overturning her murder conviction. Knox was convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting and murdering British student Meredith Kercher – with whom she shared an apartment while both were exchange students in Perugia – and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Her co-defendant and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also convicted and sentenced to 25 years. Both have denied wrongdoing and are appealing. Prosecutors maintained in the first trial that Knox’s DNA was found on the handle of a kitchen knife they believe to be the murder weapon, and that Kercher’s DNA was found on the blade. They say Sollecito’s DNA was found on the clasp of Kercher’s bra. Those findings were disputed by the defense, and the appeals court granted an independent review. A similar request had been turned down in the first trial. The experts say in the report filed to the Perugia court on Wednesday that the genetic profile attributed to Kercher is “unreliable” and cannot be attributed with certainty. They said results may have been contaminated on both the blade and bra clasp. Regarding the blade, the experts said: “We believe that the technical tests are not reliable.” The experts also said the original testing did not follow any of the recommendations of the international scientific community for dealing with “low-copy number” DNA testing, which requires fewer human cells than traditional genetic testing methods. They also said that “international procedures for inspection and international protocols for gathering and sampling exhibits have not been followed.” “It cannot be ruled out that the result obtained … may stem from contamination,” said the report’s conclusions, obtained by The Associated Press. The experts reached similar conclusions regarding the bra clasp. The bra was recovered at the crime scene only several weeks after the Nov. 1, 2007 fatal stabbing of the 21-year-old Kercher. However, the review concurred with the original testing in saying that the genetic profile on the knife’s handle could be attributed to Knox. The knife was found at Sollecito’s apartment. The findings are likely to please the defense, which had long maintained DNA traces were inconclusive and that they might have been contaminated when they were collected and analyzed. The two experts – Stefano Conti and Carla Vecchiotti from Rome’s Sapienza University – are to present their review in court on July 25. The experts had been mandated to either conduct a retest or, if not possible, assess the accuracy of the original testing. They found that DNA traces were too small for a retest and so moved on to reviewing the original analyses to assess whether they were reliable and up to standard. They sought an extension of about 40 days. “It was a very complex job,” Conti told the ANSA news agency in Perugia, minutes after submitting the report. “A huge amount of data has been examined and we have reached clear conclusions.”
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Shia LaBeouf has seen things, and he’s not afraid to talk about them. Sometimes, the truth hurts like a fight on moonshine or three flip car accident, but that doesn’t worry the young “Transformers” star. He’s been through a lot worse than a few Hollywood rivalries. Featured on the cover of the new issue of Details magazine, LaBeouf opens up about many things, including his rough childhood, which involved living in a poor neighborhood with an ice shavings-selling clown mom and heroin-addicted dad who accosted executives on the set of his Disney Channel breakout show, “Even Stevens.” It wasn’t the typical crazy Hollywood parent relationship, though; LaBeouf went out of his way to make his own breaks, hitting open mics from an early age and calling agents and casting directors in hopes of breaking out of his troubled home. He immediately stuck out at his audition for his Disney Channel show; LaBeouf performed an old Lenny Bruce comedy monologue. Finding his way from child star to number one choice for major franchise films, old and new, LaBeouf admits that he bristles at fame — and also enjoys its benefits. On the set of “Transformers,” he reveals in the interview, he had a fling with his now former co-star Megan Fox. “Look, you’re on the set for six months, with someone who’s rooting to be attracted to you, and you’re rooting to be attracted to them,” he tells the magazine. “I never understood the separation of work and life in that situation. But the time I spent with Megan was our own thing, and I think you can see the chemistry onscreen.” But what of her marriage to Brian Austin Green? “I don’t know, man. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know…” he repeats, “It was what it was.” LaBeouf details the bar fights and car crashes that have marked a sometimes troubled personal life, but he’s also made waves when it comes to his own rough assessment of his films. Beyond insulting his second “Transformers” effort, LaBeouf dissed the fourth Indiana Jones movie, for which he was specially recruited by Steven Spielberg (also the producer of the “Transformers” films). Shia bristles at the criticism he got for telling the truth. He also rips on another long-gestating sequel in which he starred, Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.” “He’s trying to play nice. But for a movie like Wall Street that had so much bite the first time around to come out without fangs and preach a message of hope wasn’t what people were looking for,” LaBeouf said, while praising (curiously) the storyline and performances. Though jarring to read, his film criticism is nothing new, and adds up to a bit of a career shift he has planned, away from all the big budget films in which he’s starred for Spielberg. “That’s a gift and a curse,” LaBeouf told the Los Angeles Times recently. “Steven introduced me to the world in a way. The man has been incredible to me. But the work that I’ve done with him, the character variation is not heavy. It’s sort of all in the same vein. … I’ve gotta anchor these movies that are in these outrageous worlds, and I have to be as tangible as possible. … I have no problem with that, but I don’t want to be there forever.” That leads to his role in the moon shine drama “The Wettest County In The World,” an indie film that caused great commotion upon its distribution rights coming up for sale. “When you’re a racehorse and you’ve got 20 trainers, all the trainers want the racehorse to run a certain way,” he told the LA Times of the difference between his major films and “Wettest,” which co-stars Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska. “What does the racehorse want to do? ‘Wettest’ is the first time they’ve ever asked the racehorse. I’ve been running for a team of people for a long time and I don’t take any of it back. I’ve learned a great deal about a certain type of filmmaking. But I have ambitions toward another type of filmmaking that I haven’t been allowed to engage in yet.” After a childhood and adolescence caged in by troubled parents and the anger buried deep inside, LaBeouf, it seems, is finally ready to go in his own direction. And if he hits a few bumps on the track? He knows how to handle a little rockiness. For more, click over to Details. Shia Goes Big For Transformers
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