Current News (Part 4)

[Littledragon]

18 killed in Baghdad car bomb attacks.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three car bombs went off nearly simultaneously Wednesday night in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood of northwestern Baghdad, killing 18 people and wounding 46 others, police said.

The first exploded outside an office operated by Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric whose Mahdi army militia battled coalition forces for months last year.

Al-Sadr has since joined other Shiite and Sunni representatives in seeking an end to sectarian violence.

The other two bombs detonated in front of a garage and the main entrance to the Shu'la neighborhood, a focal point of tensions between Shiites and Sunnis in Baghdad.

All three remote-controlled blasts took place within a 10-minute span around 9 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) and within a half-mile of one another, police said.

Police said the bombs were meant for civilians, because no Iraqi police or security forces, often targets of insurgents, were present.

Elsewhere Wednesday, a suicide car bomb targeted a U.S. military convoy on the main highway to Baghdad International Airport around 8 p.m. (noon ET), police said. No casualties were reported. The U.S. military had no comment.

Another bomb detonated near an Iraqi government convoy of two cars in the eastern Baghdad neighborhood of Al-Jadeeda, wounding three civilians. The convoy fled and no one was wounded in the cars, police said.

Hostage freed
Robert Tarongoy, a Filipino citizen taken hostage in Iraq almost eight months ago, has been freed, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Wednesday.

In a phone interview with a Philippine television station, an emotional Tarongoy thanked Arroyo, The Associated Press reported. "She did not neglect me," he said, also thanking diplomats who helped win his freedom.

Asked how he was treated by his captors, Tarongoy said, his voice cracking: "You know how long I was kept there. It was difficult," the AP reported.

Arroyo issued a statement saying, "Robert is now safe in the hands of the Iraq hostage crisis team led by [Foreign] Undersecretary Rafael Seguis who is making the necessary arrangements to bring him back to the Philippines."

Tarongoy was abducted November 1, 2004, from a villa in Baghdad owned by a Saudi company that employed him as an accountant. (Full story)

The AP reported Seguis as telling television station GMA no ransom was paid and that several Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan -- along with Muslim clerics -- helped secure Tarongoy's release.

Seguis said Tarongoy could be home as early as Thursday, according to the AP.

Tarongoy's wife in the city of Davao told the AP her husband's release coincided with their third wedding anniversary.

"It's a very wonderful gift for both of us," she said. "I'm very happy."

Annan vows support for Iraq
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged nations Wednesday to reassure Iraq that it has the world's support as Iraqis try to rebuild and secure their country.

"You send an important message which I hope is heard loud and clear both in Iraq and elsewhere: The international community supports the government and the people of Iraq, and we are determined that the reconstruction of Iraq ... must succeed," he said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

Annan spoke in Brussels, Belgium, at the opening of a one-day international conference on Iraq at which the country's leaders are meeting senior officials from more than 80 nations and organizations. (Full story)

CIA report on Iraq
A new classified report by the Central Intelligence Agency says Iraq could be an even more effective training ground for Islamic terrorists than Afghanistan was under the Taliban, U.S. officials told CNN Wednesday.

The report says would-be terrorists are flocking to Iraq and gaining practical experience in urban combat techniques they may take back and use in their home countries.

The CIA report has been widely circulated among federal agencies and on Capitol Hill in recent days. It was first mentioned in a Newsweek magazine article.

A U.S. official said the report is "focused mostly on what happens to these people after they leave Iraq."

Islamic extremists in Iraq are learning how to carry out assassinations, kidnappings, and car bombings, the report says, according to officials in the executive branch and on Capitol Hill who have read it.

Other developments

A U.S. soldier was killed Tuesday by small-arms fire during a combat operation near Ramadi, the U.S. military said. The soldier, whose name has not been released, was assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), the military said. The death brought the number of American soldiers killed in the war to 1,724, according to U.S. military reports.


Irate members of the House Armed Services Committee grilled two Marine generals Tuesday over supply problems the service faces in Iraq, including shortages of weapons, communications gear and properly equipped vehicles. One general said the war shows the vulnerable Humvee is being rendered obsolete by insurgent tactics. The Marine Corps inspector general found the vehicles are wearing out sooner than expected because of wear and tear and the weight of additional armor.

CNN's David Ensor contributed to this report.

 

[Littledragon]

Social Security privacy rules eased for FBI after 9/11.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Social Security Administration allowed the FBI to search its files as part of the terrorism investigation after the September 11, 2001, attacks, according to government documents released Wednesday by a privacy group.

The Social Security Administration relaxed its privacy restrictions because of the emergency nature of the investigation, according to the documents.

The memos obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center through the Freedom of Information Act show the Social Security Administration responded only to requests concerning the terrorist attacks.

"The commissioner of Social Security has exercised the ad hoc authority in disclosure regulations to allow the release of relevant information in response to these requests," a policy document said.

Spokesman Mark Lassiter told The Associated Press his agency could still provide information related to the September 11 attacks to law enforcement officials but that such demands have decreased. He said the 9/11 investigation was not the first time the authority was used.

But Marcia Hofmann, staff counsel at the privacy group known as EPIC, told the AP: "This is a very broad policy that leaves a great deal of discretion in the hand of individual law enforcement agents."

The FBI Wednesday declined to discuss the information it reviewed from the Social Security Administration.

An FBI spokesman said only that its practice was consistent with guidelines that require "investigative activities respect legal rights and minimize intrusions on privacy and protected expression."

In a letter to the chairmen of two powerful House committees, Rep. Carolyn Maloney called for hearings to determine why Congress was not informed of the decision to allow FBI investigators access to the records.

"Why did Congress apparently not find out until now? What are the long-term implications of these 'ad-hoc' rules?" the New York Democrat asked.

Maloney, however, did not charge the action was improper.

"It seems that in the specific and extreme instance of 9/11, SSA may have acted correctly, but the lack of general knowledge about its actions leads to bigger and more troubling questions," she said.

Officials with the two committees, House Ways and Means and House Government Reform, had no immediate response on the call for hearings.

The FBI has said the September 11 hijackers were able to open several U.S. bank accounts using illegitimate Social Security numbers.

Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[Amos Stevens]

5year old raises money for troops

America Supports You: Girl's 'Freedom Rocks' Raise Money for Troops
By Steven Donald Smith
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, June 21, 2005 – Five-year-old Lydia Townsend, of Rockford, Mich., loves the troops and wants them to know it.

Lydia Townsend sells painted rocks at a booth outside of a Grand Rapids, Mich., warehouse store to raise money to purchase phone cards for troops stationed overseas. Courtesy photo

To show her appreciation for their sacrifice, she has transformed ordinary rocks into "Freedom Rocks" by painting them with American flags.

"One day Lydia came in the house with some rocks and said she was going to paint the American flag on them," said Susan Townsend, Lydia's mother. "This project is Lydia's way of saying, 'Thank you for our freedom.'"

Lydia sells the rocks at various events to raise money to purchase phone cards for troops stationed overseas. She even helped set up a booth outside of a local warehouse store to sell her rocks, Susan said.

The 5-year-old also took $250 of the proceeds and paid for the production and installation of a billboard emblazoned with the "America Supports You" logo in the Grand Rapids, Mich., area. Viacom Outdoor in Grand Rapids generously donated the billboard space, Susan said.

America Supports You is a Defense Department program that highlights how Americans across the country are supporting the U.S. armed forces.

When Lydia first began her project, she used regular paintbrushes, but switched to paint pens to avoid the messiness of brushes. The pens are similar to magic markers but with real paint, Susan said.

"She does an outstanding job for a 5-year-old," she added.

Lydia's older sister, Christie, has also been involved in helping the troops. Christie wrote a poem for the troops entitled "America's Voice," and she helped launch a nonprofit organization called "Kid Expressed," which is dedicated to enabling kids to express their appreciation for U.S. military members and their families.

The organization has sent care packages and greeting cards to troops deployed around the globe, and it also put up a separate billboard featuring the America Supports You logo earlier this year.

"I am very happy that Lydia, like the rest of our children, is very thankful to the troops for giving and protecting our freedom. I do not believe that Lydia had any idea that the name she picked for her rocks was so perfect," Susan said.

When the Townsend family recently attended the Detroit air show, Lydia had several servicemembers in tears when she thanked them for their service and handed them Freedom Rocks, Susan said.

"I don't think that the $6,500 that Lydia raised for the phone cards or the billboard has been as meaningful to the troops as her Freedom Rocks," Susan said.


Related Site:
America Supports You

Five-year-old Lydia Townsend sold hand-painted rocks to raise $250 for the production and installation of this billboard emblazoned with the "America Supports You" logo near Grand Rapids, Mich. Advertising company Viacom Outdoor donated the space. Courtesy photo
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Five-year-old Lydia Townsend, of Rockford, Mich., paints American flags on rocks. She then sells them to raise money to purchase phone cards for troops stationed overseas. Courtesy photo
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News Archive

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2005/20050621_1806.html

 

[Lollipop]

What a smart 5 year old!! Thanks Amos!

 

[Amos Stevens]

You're welcome..even a 5 year old knows there is more to life than spending every second on the internet(NOT refering to you Lollipop)more useful ways to spend your time helping people...

 

[Littledragon]

Cheney: Iraq will be 'enormous success story'.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday defended his recent comment that the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes," insisting that progress being made in setting up a new Iraqi government and establishing democracy there will indeed end the violence -- eventually.

However, in an exclusive interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Cheney said he thinks there still will be "a lot of bloodshed" in the coming months, as the insurgents try to stop the move toward democracy in Iraq.

"If you look at what the dictionary says about throes, it can still be a violent period, the throes of a revolution," he said. "The point would be that the conflict will be intense, but it's intense because the terrorists understand that if we're successful at accomplishing our objective -- standing up a democracy in Iraq -- that that's a huge defeat for them.

"We will succeed in Iraq, just like we did in Afghanistan. We will stand up a new government under an Iraqi-drafted constitution. We will defeat that insurgency, and, in fact, it will be an enormous success story."

A recent surge in fighting has raised fears that an Iraq-style quagmire is developing in Afghanistan just months ahead of key legislative elections.

American fighter planes bombarded a southern Afghanistan rebel hide-out with missiles and bombs Tuesday, killing up to 76 insurgents in one of the deadliest single clashes since the Taliban's ouster in 2001.

At least 12 Afghan police and soldiers also died in the fighting and five U.S. troops were wounded.

Cheney also said Bush administration officials "don't pay a lot of attention" to polls showing declining public support among Americans for the Iraq war.

"The last thing you want to do is to read the latest poll and then base policy on that," he said. "Presidents are generally ineffective if they spend all their time reading the polls and trying to make policy accordingly.

Gitmo detainees 'living in the tropics'
"We are doing what we believe is right. We're convinced it's right. We're convinced that in fact we'll achieve our objectives."

The vice president also told Blitzer that "we've got a pretty good idea of the general area" where al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden is hiding, but he said, "I don't have the street address."

Asked to identify the general area, Cheney demurred, saying he wouldn't talk about intelligence matters. Pressed on when bin Laden might be captured, he said, "What, do you expect me to say: Three weeks from next Tuesday?"

"I'm convinced eventually we'll get him," he said.

Cheney also rejected calls for closing the detention facility for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the inmates there "are serious, deadly threats" who will "go back to trying to kill Americans" if they are released.

He also defended the treatment of prisoners by the U.S. military at Guantanamo, telling Blitzer, "There isn't any other nation in the world that would treat people who were determined to kill Americans the way we're treating these people."

"They're living in the tropics. They're well fed. They've got everything they could possibly want," the vice president said.

Cheney compared the current situation in Iraq to the last months of World War II, when Germans launched a desperate offensive in the Battle of the Bulge and the Japanese offered stiff resistance on Okinawa.

He said the insurgents will "do everything they can to disrupt" the process of building an Iraqi government, "but I think we're strong enough to defeat them."

The vice president declined to put a timeline on when American forces might be able to leave Iraq. But asked about an assessment by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that the United States might begin significantly reducing troop levels in 2006, Cheney said, "I hope he's correct."

"There will probably be a continued U.S. presence there for some considerable period of time, because there are some things we do they can't do -- for example, air support, some of our intelligence, communications and logistics capabilities," he said. "But I think the bulk of the effort will increasingly be taken on by Iraqi forces."

Cheney also said he thought Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a fellow Republican, was "wrong" when he told U.S. News and World Report the White House was "disconnected from reality" about how the situation was deteriorating in Iraq.

"[Washington has] got a lot of people in it who were armchair quarterbacks or who like to comment on the passing scene," he said. "But those who have predicted the demise of our efforts since 9/11 -- as we have fought the war on terror, as we have liberated 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan -- did not know what they were talking about."

Cheney said he had not read the so-called "Downing Street memo," a document written by a British official in the fall of 2002 suggesting that President Bush had already decided to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and that U.S. officials were over hyping intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction to build support for the policy.

However, the vice president said the premise of the memo -- that a decision to go to war had been made months before the March 2003 invasion -- was "wrong."

"Remember what happened after the supposed memo was written. We went to the United Nations. We got a unanimous vote out of the Security Council for a resolution calling on Saddam Hussein to come clean," he said.

"The president of the United States took advantage of every possibility to try to resolve this without having to use military force. It wasn't possible in this case."

 

[Littledragon]

Tariq Aziz's lawyer criticizes proceedings.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The lawyer for former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Thursday his imprisoned client told him he will not testify in court against Saddam Hussein and that he wants a trial on "independent soil."

Attorney Badi Aref Izzat said Aziz describes himself as being "in good health," but said he misses his family, whom he has not seen since his surrender after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Aziz surrendered April 25 that year after the fall of Baghdad. He was No. 25 on the U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis and the eight of spades in the card deck that had the names and faces wanted regime officials.

"My client told me that he is in good health and spirits, and the medical treatment offered to him is improving, despite his more than two-year detention," Izzat said in a telephone interview with CNNArabic.com.

Aziz was perhaps the Iraqi official most recognized by Westerners, with his white hair, glasses and articulate statements in fluent English.

The interview came two days after Izzat said he witnessed the first official interrogation of Aziz at a U.S. base near the Baghdad airport.

The lawyer said it was not clear whether four people present during the two-hour interrogation were court members.

An Iraqi special tribunal was set up last year to hear the cases against Aziz, Saddam Hussein and other officials from his regime.

The detainees face preliminary charges of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said last July.

The tribunal in June released video of magistrates questioning Saddam. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in May said that a trial for Saddam would begin within two months. (Full story)

Izzat said no date was set for the next legal move.

"Aziz told me that he will not take the witness stand against Saddam," the lawyer said.

He called on President Bush and the international community to apply pressure to get his client released.

The lawyer repeated that "any interrogation or future trial, if there is any evidence against Mr. Aziz, should be conducted on an independent soil, such as Holland or Sweden."

"This [is] the first time I attend so-called official interrogation for my client, Tariq Aziz, since his surrender, although I am not sure if the room I was taken to in the U.S. base in Baghdad was a real court, or even those who were attending are really members of any court," Izzat said.

He took issue with the fact that the office of the Iraqi prime minister will oversee the trials, calling the situation "political and illegal."

"Such a trial should be handled by the Justice Ministry or the Judicial Council," he said.

The attorney said that during the two-hour interrogation he was asked to sign a letter preventing him from leaking any information about the interrogation process or discussions.

Aziz and the other senior aides are in the legal custody of Iraq but are under U.S. guard, Izzat said.

Asked about Aziz's condition, the lawyer said, "He looked psychologically and health-wise better, and even the clothes that he was wearing this time were much better.

"But Tariq is always asking about his family, and keeps asking when he can see them."

Izzat said Aziz and other senior aides to Saddam are housed in separate cells but are allowed to see one another three hours a day.

Saddam is held in another area, and none of his officials had seen him since a few days before the U.S.-led attack, the lawyer said.

He said prisoners had no access to newspapers or television, and he complained about his client's isolation.

Izzat also said Aziz is concerned about the health of Dr. Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, accused of overseeing Saddam's suspected biowarfare research programs -- a claim she denied.

Pentagon officials nicknamed her "Mrs. Anthrax" for the alleged key role she played in rebuilding Iraq's surreptitious biological weapons program in the mid-1990s.

A former senior Baath party official, she was No. 53 of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis and was taken into custody in May 2003 in Baghdad.

"She's got cancer, and all medical reports done by the U.S. confirms that she is sick," Izzat said, quoting Aziz.

In late May, U.S. and Iraqi authorities revealed that in letters Aziz reportedly wrote in jail he pleaded for international intervention and said he has been unjustly accused and denied access to personal mail. (Full story)

 

[Littledragon]

Judge arrested in Aruba case.

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- An Aruban judge, the father of a 17-year-old suspect in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager, also has been arrested in the case, a prosecution spokeswoman said Thursday.

The prosecutor's office is deciding whether to ask a judge if Paul Van Der Sloot, 53, can be held beyond 8 p.m. Thursday, said spokeswoman Mariaine Croes.

A judge's order is required to hold him for 48 hours after that, she said. The legal system in Aruba, an autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is based partly on Dutch civil law.

The father was arrested at about 2 p.m. on suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old from suburban Birmingham, Alabama, she said.

"At this point he's a suspect," Croes said. "There's a reasonable suspicion that he knows something and is involved in the disappearance of Ms. Holloway."

Police questioned him over the weekend in connection with the case. A law enforcement source close to the investigation said at the time that the judge was interviewed as a witness.

He spent about five hours in the police station Saturday for questioning and was brought in again on Sunday while his wife, Anita, visited their 17-year-old son Joran.

Last week, an Aruban judge ruled that Paul Van Der Sloot could not visit his son in jail. Earlier, authorities had searched Van Der Sloot's home, seizing two cars and removing bagfuls of evidence.

Anita Van Der Sloot said Thursday her husband's arrest is "ridiculous."

"It hurts because my husband gave 15 years of his integrity to this island, and that this could happen is so bizarre."

"I don't understand, and I know a lot of people don't understand, what's going on," she said. "I'm very angry, but I will hold up."

"I have to because I believe in my husband, I believe in my son," she said. "It will all will be fine."

She said she met with Joran for about 40 minutes Thursday before receiving word that police were at her home to arrest her husband.

Her son is "doing fine," she said. "I know he's innocent, and he knows he's innocent."

Family 'relieved'
Natalee Holloway's aunt, Marcia Twitty, said her family was "very relieved" by the judge's arrest.

"Maybe we can get somewhere and finally get these answers that they so desperately, desperately want," she told CNN from Alabama.

The missing girl's father, David Holloway, said the arrest "just adds that additional piece to the puzzle.

"How big is the puzzle? I don't know, but the pieces are falling into place and falling into place very quickly," he told CNN affiliate WBRC.

Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, said Wednesday she's sure the four young men in custody -- but not formally charged in the case -- have more information to divulge.

"I have no doubt that they know what and who and where and when and why and how. I have no doubt," Twitty said on NBC's "Today Show."

"There are some other individuals, though, that need to be pursued," she added.

Twitty told CNN she met Tuesday with the parents of Joran Van Der Sloot. He's one of the last people reported to have seen Holloway.

She said the Van Der Sloots invited her into their home when she was handing out prayer cards in their neighborhood. Twitty refused to give details about their 90-minute discussion.

"I think I walked away with the confirmation that we still have some individuals that we need to pursue," she said.

Holloway, an honors student from the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, disappeared May 30 after she left a nightclub with Joran Van Der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, ages 21 and 18 respectively, authorities said.

She was in Aruba, a small Caribbean island of 72,000 residents just north of Venezuela, with about 100 classmates to celebrate their recent graduation.

The three men and a fourth suspect, 26-year-old disc jockey Steve Croes, face accusations of murder and kidnapping leading to murder.

Twitty says she has seen "no evidence whatsoever" that her daughter is dead.

Defense attorneys for Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoes have said their clients maintain their innocence.

Marcia Twitty said that after meeting with the Van Der Sloots, the missing girl's mother told her: "'I still feel like that dad knows something about where Natalee is.'"

"She's in very close contact with officials, both Aruban and FBI," she said. "They talk daily."

Satish Kalpoe to mom: 'We didn't do anything'
The mother of the Kalpoes said Thursday that one son had admitted he and his brother made up a cover story to protect Joran Van Der Sloot.

Nadira Ramirez told CNN she was permitted to visit son Satish Kalpoe at Aruba's prison within the past week. She stressed that the teen told her their story was not planned ahead of Holloway's disappearance, and she had no advance knowledge of it.

Initially, Ramirez said, her sons had told her and police they dropped Holloway off at the Holiday Inn, where she was staying. But Satish Kalpoe told his mother later that was a lie aimed at protecting Van Der Sloot.

In fact, he told his mother, he and his brother had dropped Holloway and Van Der Sloot off at the beach by the Marriott hotel, about a mile from the Holiday Inn.

Ramirez's account echoes comments made by one of two security guards who were arrested June 5 in connection with the case and released June 13. The guards, Abraham Jones, 28, and Mickey John, 30, were never charged.

After his release, John said Deepak Kalpoe confided to him while they were in jail together that he had lied to police. (CNN Access)

Ramirez tearfully said her son insisted he and his brother were innocent.

"'We didn't do anything. We will be out from here. Don't cry,'" she said he told her.

"I asked him, 'Satish, are you sure you guys didn't do anything?'" she said.

She said he responded: "'No, mama. We gave that girl and Joran a lift.'

"They don't even know Natalee. They said she didn't even introduce herself to them," she said. "They don't know anything else about that."

Although she has been suffering and unable to eat since her sons' arrest, Ramirez said she remains confident they will be cleared.

She described her family as a close and traditional Hindu group and said both sons are "good boys." Satish does not drink, she said, and while Deepak drinks occasionally, neither youth takes drugs.

 

[katw_03]

Thanks Ld

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- An Aruban judge, the father of a 17-year-old suspect in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager, also has been arrested in the case, a prosecution spokeswoman said Thursday.

The prosecutor's office is deciding whether to ask a judge if Paul Van Der Sloot, 53, can be held beyond 8 p.m. Thursday, said spokeswoman Mariaine Croes.

A judge's order is required to hold him for 48 hours after that, she said. The legal system in Aruba, an autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is based partly on Dutch civil law.

The father was arrested at about 2 p.m. on suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old from suburban Birmingham, Alabama, she said.

"At this point he's a suspect," Croes said. "There's a reasonable suspicion that he knows something and is involved in the disappearance of Ms. Holloway."

Police questioned him over the weekend in connection with the case. A law enforcement source close to the investigation said at the time that the judge was interviewed as a witness.

He spent about five hours in the police station Saturday for questioning and was brought in again on Sunday while his wife, Anita, visited their 17-year-old son Joran.

Last week, an Aruban judge ruled that Paul Van Der Sloot could not visit his son in jail. Earlier, authorities had searched Van Der Sloot's home, seizing two cars and removing bagfuls of evidence.

Anita Van Der Sloot said Thursday her husband's arrest is "ridiculous."

"It hurts because my husband gave 15 years of his integrity to this island, and that this could happen is so bizarre."

"I don't understand, and I know a lot of people don't understand, what's going on," she said. "I'm very angry, but I will hold up."

"I have to because I believe in my husband, I believe in my son," she said. "It will all will be fine."

She said she met with Joran for about 40 minutes Thursday before receiving word that police were at her home to arrest her husband.

Her son is "doing fine," she said. "I know he's innocent, and he knows he's innocent."

Family 'relieved'
Natalee Holloway's aunt, Marcia Twitty, said her family was "very relieved" by the judge's arrest.

"Maybe we can get somewhere and finally get these answers that they so desperately, desperately want," she told CNN from Alabama.

The missing girl's father, David Holloway, said the arrest "just adds that additional piece to the puzzle.

"How big is the puzzle? I don't know, but the pieces are falling into place and falling into place very quickly," he told CNN affiliate WBRC.

Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, said Wednesday she's sure the four young men in custody -- but not formally charged in the case -- have more information to divulge.

"I have no doubt that they know what and who and where and when and why and how. I have no doubt," Twitty said on NBC's "Today Show."

"There are some other individuals, though, that need to be pursued," she added.

Twitty told CNN she met Tuesday with the parents of Joran Van Der Sloot. He's one of the last people reported to have seen Holloway.

She said the Van Der Sloots invited her into their home when she was handing out prayer cards in their neighborhood. Twitty refused to give details about their 90-minute discussion.

"I think I walked away with the confirmation that we still have some individuals that we need to pursue," she said.

Holloway, an honors student from the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, disappeared May 30 after she left a nightclub with Joran Van Der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, ages 21 and 18 respectively, authorities said.

She was in Aruba, a small Caribbean island of 72,000 residents just north of Venezuela, with about 100 classmates to celebrate their recent graduation.

The three men and a fourth suspect, 26-year-old disc jockey Steve Croes, face accusations of murder and kidnapping leading to murder.

Twitty says she has seen "no evidence whatsoever" that her daughter is dead.

Defense attorneys for Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoes have said their clients maintain their innocence.

Marcia Twitty said that after meeting with the Van Der Sloots, the missing girl's mother told her: "'I still feel like that dad knows something about where Natalee is.'"

"She's in very close contact with officials, both Aruban and FBI," she said. "They talk daily."

Satish Kalpoe to mom: 'We didn't do anything'
The mother of the Kalpoes said Thursday that one son had admitted he and his brother made up a cover story to protect Joran Van Der Sloot.

Nadira Ramirez told CNN she was permitted to visit son Satish Kalpoe at Aruba's prison within the past week. She stressed that the teen told her their story was not planned ahead of Holloway's disappearance, and she had no advance knowledge of it.

Initially, Ramirez said, her sons had told her and police they dropped Holloway off at the Holiday Inn, where she was staying. But Satish Kalpoe told his mother later that was a lie aimed at protecting Van Der Sloot.

In fact, he told his mother, he and his brother had dropped Holloway and Van Der Sloot off at the beach by the Marriott hotel, about a mile from the Holiday Inn.

Ramirez's account echoes comments made by one of two security guards who were arrested June 5 in connection with the case and released June 13. The guards, Abraham Jones, 28, and Mickey John, 30, were never charged.

After his release, John said Deepak Kalpoe confided to him while they were in jail together that he had lied to police. (CNN Access)

Ramirez tearfully said her son insisted he and his brother were innocent.

"'We didn't do anything. We will be out from here. Don't cry,'" she said he told her.

"I asked him, 'Satish, are you sure you guys didn't do anything?'" she said.

She said he responded: "'No, mama. We gave that girl and Joran a lift.'

"They don't even know Natalee. They said she didn't even introduce herself to them," she said. "They don't know anything else about that."

Although she has been suffering and unable to eat since her sons' arrest, Ramirez said she remains confident they will be cleared.

She described her family as a close and traditional Hindu group and said both sons are "good boys." Satish does not drink, she said, and while Deepak drinks occasionally, neither youth takes drugs.

Besides spending time here, I spend alot of time websleuthing I hadn't heard about this, I have been so busy today!

 

[Lollipop]

I was looking for the thread about the race horse trying to be name after Jefferson former slave and mistress!!

I talked with my neighbor lady who is a lady of color, finally, she said she would not think this was offensive and the press and other's try to create controversy! She said she was proud of her heritage and would not mind a race horse named after her!

She also had good news her son is finally out of Iraq and is in Germany and is going to a Fort somewhere in Colorado and hopefully would be home by July 19th!! This was really special for her and I was excited for both of them!!

 

[TDWoj]

I was looking for the thread about the race horse trying to be name after Jefferson former slave and mistress!!

I talked with my neighbor lady who is a lady of color, finally, she said she would not think this was offensive and the press and other's try to create controversy! She said she was proud of her heritage and would not mind a race horse named after her!

She also had good news her son is finally out of Iraq and is in Germany and is going to a Fort somewhere in Colorado and hopefully would be home by July 19th!! This was really special for her and I was excited for both of them!!

That's great news, Lollipop! Is this the lady who was worried when she hadn't heard from her son for a while?

As for the other - well, political correctness has REALLY gotten out of hand, I'd say.

 

[Lollipop]

That's great news, Lollipop! Is this the lady who was worried when she hadn't heard from her son for a while?

As for the other - well, political correctness has REALLY gotten out of hand, I'd say.

Yes, TD, he joined straight out of high school with a promise they would not send him! Next thing you know he is there! He was injured in a street bombing!
When I go into the pity mode, I will call her, she lost her husband a few years back at the age of 38! She helps me put my life back on track, she has been through alot! But is always very good to talk with! So we try to keep tabs on each other!

 

[TDWoj]

Yes, TD, he joined straight out of high school with a promise they would not send him! Next thing you know he is there! He was injured in a street bombing!
When I go into the pity mode, I will call her, she lost her husband a few years back at the age of 38! She helps me put my life back on track, she has been through alot! But is always very good to talk with! So we try to keep tabs on each other!

I'm glad you've got a neighbour like that. And it is good news about her son, at least she knows he's safe.

 

[Lollipop]

I'm glad you've got a neighbour like that. And it is good news about her son, at least she knows he's safe.

I showed her the website, she said they watch some Steven, older ones I gave her Into the Sun!! She might come and and cruise for awhile and maybe join in!

 

[Littledragon]

Rader pleads guilty to BTK murders.

WICHITA, Kansas (CNN) -- BTK killings suspect Dennis Rader pleaded guilty on Monday to 10 counts of first-degree murder, and matter-of-factly described how he committed the crimes that terrorized the Wichita, Kansas, area for decades.

Rader, 60, entered the plea on what was supposed to be the first day of his jury trial.

After the plea, Sedgwick County District Judge Greg Waller read each charge and asked Rader if he understood them.

At Waller's direction, Rader went down the list of charges, explaining in a calm, dispassionate voice how he carried out each of the killings.

Rader said he broke into the home of Joseph and Julie Otero and tied them up along with two of their children. He said he told them that he was wanted in California and put a pillow under Joseph Otero's head to make him more comfortable.

"I realized that, you know, I was already -- I didn't have a mask on or anything -- they already could I.D. me," Rader said. "I made a decision to go ahead and put 'em down, I guess, or strangle them."

Rader described how he killed each member of the Otero family, but said they did not die right away.

"I had never strangled anyone before, so I really didn't know how much pressure you had to put on a person or how long it would take," he said.

Rader explained how, in most of his cases, he chose and then stalked several people at a time -- referring to them as "projects" or "potential hits."

"If one didn't work out, I just moved to another one," Rader said.

Rader told the court he selected his victims as he played out fantasies. Asked what kinds of fantasies he was having, Rader said, "sexual fantasies."

Rader said he chose Shirley Vian, 26, at random and forced his way into her apartment with a .357 Magnum handgun on March 17, 1977. Her children "got real upset," so Rader had her lock them in a bathroom before covering her head with a bag and strangling her.

Rader told the judge he went through phases, stalking potential victims, then preparing a "hit kit," equipment he used in the killings, as well as "hit clothes" that he wore and later got rid of.

In more than one case, Rader said he took Polaroid photos of his victims. After killing Marine Hedge in April 1985, Rader said, he stripped his victim, tied her up, took her to another location, then took photos depicting "different forms of bondage" before hiding her body in a ditch.

After hearing descriptions of each of the 10 killings, Waller found Rader guilty of all charges. Rader also waived his right to a jury trial on the sentencing.

Under Kansas law, Raider can be sentenced to life in prison for each charge, but could become eligible for parole.

The last BTK killing occurred in 1991 after Kansas stiffened its murder statutes, which means Rader could be sentenced to a minimum 40 years in prison without a chance of parole on that count.

Waller set August 17 as the sentencing date.

Rader, who had been the president of his Lutheran church council, taunted authorities and the media with letters and packages he sent them over several years, some with before-and-after photos of the victims.

"BTK" was the killer's self-named reference to his preference to "bind, torture and kill" his victims in the string of murders from 1974 to 1991.

Christ Lutheran Church pastor Michael Clark said Rader, also a former Boy Scout leader, had been involved in church leadership for 30 years and was elected church council president just before his arrest.

Rader was arrested in what authorities said was a routine traffic stop. He worked for the Wichita suburb of Park City as a compliance supervisor in charge of animal control, nuisances, inoperable vehicles and general code compliance.

Authorities initially linked him to eight deaths, but added two more after this arrest.

 

[Lollipop]

What about that Shark attack near Fl??

They are back swimming in the water and there has been another attack!!
People are crazy!! :whazzup: :whazzup:

 

[Lollipop]

Walmart Heir Killed in Plane Crash

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Posted: 0227 GMT (1027 HKT)

(CNN) -- Wal-Mart heir John Walton died Monday when his ultralight aircraft crashed after taking off from an airport in Jackson, Wyoming, the company announced.

Walton, 58, was the second son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and served on the board of directors of the world's largest retailer.

He was ranked No. 7 on the Forbes magazine list of the 400 wealthiest Americans in 2004, with a fortune estimated at $20 billion.

He died when his ultralight plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Jackson Hole Airport shortly after 12:15 p.m. (2:15 p.m. ET), said Joan Anzelmo, a spokeswoman for Grand Teton National Park. The airport, which serves the resort town of Jackson and the surrounding area, is located on the park grounds.

The aluminum-frame aircraft went down "almost immediately after takeoff" and in full view of passing motorists on an adjacent highway, Anzelmo said. The cause of the crash was under investigation, she said.

Walton served in Vietnam as a combat medic with the Army's elite Special Forces, winning the Silver Star for saving lives under fire, according to a statement from the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company.

He also sat on the board of the Walton Family Foundation, the family's philanthropic enterprise. The foundation supports the establishment of charter schools, offers scholarships for children to attend private schools and lobbies for education reform in Arkansas schools.

He is survived by his wife, Christy, and son Luke; his mother, Helen; brothers Rob and Jim Walton; and sister, Alice. Helen Walton and all four of her children were ranked among the top 10 on the Forbes list.

 

[Serena]

Thanks for posting the news, Lollipop. I hadn't heard this yet. What a sad, senseless way to die. I wonder how many more will die before they finally outlaw these obviously unsafe aircraft.

 

[Lollipop]

I found only by accident, you know I have got to get off this web thing!!
Not only here but everywhere!!

 

[Lollipop]

Why are these people still getting in the water?

They showed film footage of the beach on the panhandle of FL and sharks were all over the place!!


Updated: 10:36 p.m. ET June 27, 2005

CAPE SAN BLAS, Fla. - A boy fishing in waist-deep water Monday was bitten and critically injured in the second shark attack on a teenager along the Florida Panhandle in three days.

Craig A. Hutto, 16, of Lebanon, Tenn., was taken to Bay Medical Center in Panama City, where his leg was amputated. He was listed in critical condition but was expected to recover, said hospital spokeswoman Christa Hild.

The boy was attacked off Cape San Blas, a popular vacation destination about 80 miles southeast of the Destin area, where Jamie Marie Daigle of Gonzales, La., was killed by a shark Saturday. She was 14.
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The boy was fishing with two friends when the shark bit him in the right thigh, nearly severing his leg, Gulf County Sheriff’s Capt. Bobby Plair said. Witnesses said the boy’s brother saved his life.

The shark “would have dragged him away,” said Karen Eaker, 42, who was vacationing from Horn Lake, Miss. “His brother literally was beating the shark on the snout.”

The teen was pulled ashore by his friends, and a doctor who happened to be nearby began treatment before the boy was taken to the hospital, Plair said.

“It got the main arteries in the right leg,” Plair said, adding that the teen lost a large amount of blood. The shark was about 6 to 8 feet long, Plair said, citing witnesses.

Gulf County has no lifeguards on any of its beaches, he said. Officials closed the county’s beaches until late Tuesday morning.

On Saturday, Daigle had been swimming on a boogie board with a friend about 100 yards from shore when a shark tore away the flesh on one leg from her hip to her knee. At a news conference discussing the girl’s autopsy Monday, shark experts said the size of the bite indicates she was attacked by a bull shark as long as 8 feet.