Soxy

Yep, and you would NEVER find the same thing in a conservative paper. Please, papers use whatever photos will sell the most. I'm sorry, but one photo from ONE paper does not mean that every single paper has a liberal bias--or that THIS one paper always has a "left wing" bias.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Oct 3, 2005 -> 08:38 AM) Rehnquist had NO judicial experience either. Just food for thought. Not really helping her case, to be honest. . .

Link his Illiterate Brazilian's Home Speaks Volumes By Henry Chu Times Staff Writer Sun Oct 2, 7:55 AM ET SAO GONCALO, Brazil — Carlos Leite can barely read a word, but books revolutionized his life. Two years ago, he was doing construction work for a man who was about to toss out six thick, red encyclopedias. Leite asked whether he could have them instead. Thus a dream was born. Within days, he hit the pavement, knocking on doors, begging people for more unwanted books. No contribution was too small, too big or too arcane. Skeptical members of Leite's cycling club were dragooned into helping him collect donations. His collection quickly multiplied. The original six volumes turned into 100, then 1,000. Soon, his humble home was bursting with 5,000 books of all types — worn classics, chemistry textbooks, dog-eared thrillers. To Leite, though, nearly all the books are mysteries. Born into a poor family, he dropped out of school after third grade and, at 51, is practically illiterate. But books, he knows, are the gateway to a life of greater possibility and more promise than his own. It might be too late for me, a working man, he reasoned, but not for others. So bloomed the passion that has consumed Leite's free time over the last two years: transforming his home into a public library, free and open to all in this poverty-stricken neighborhood outside Rio de Janeiro. The streets here are unpaved and unweeded, daily life is a struggle and even a single book is an enormous luxury that can cost up to half a week's wages. To visit Leite's abode now is to see kids doing homework in what used to be his bedroom. Adults browse titles in what was once the foyer. Rainbows of donated paperbacks and hardcovers on almost every imaginable subject, some in crisp condition, others falling apart, cover every available bit of wall space, jammed together so tightly that a knife would have trouble passing between them. Leite's collection now stands at an astonishing 10,000 volumes, many still packed in boxes or piled in corners waiting to be sorted and shelved. Space is at such a premium that Leite and his companion, Maria da Penha, have had to move into a back alcove with all their belongings, which aren't much. "This is the only space we have to sleep. Please don't mind that it looks so poor," he told a visitor apologetically as he gingerly picked his way past a precariously leaning wardrobe and a low-slung bed. "The books kicked us out. If we're not careful, the books will kick us out of the back room too." The house has been christened, as the big, hand-painted sign on the roof proudly announces, the Community Library, 18th Street. On busy afternoons, it's standing room only. Patrons vie for one of the mismatched chairs, which scrape along a floor lined with discarded tiles that Leite and his friends scrounged. Da Penha, 54, is the den mother, shushing noisy patrons with the severe expression mastered by all good librarians. Like Leite, she is basically illiterate — but aware of the riches crowding her walls, which sometimes invade her sleep. "I dream that I'm reading them," she said. What she and Leite have managed to do is all the more remarkable given the daunting hurdles to fostering reading skills and habits in Latin America's largest country. Illiteracy, poverty and the seduction of modern entertainment have made Brazil a country with one of the lowest levels of book-reading in the world. The average American reads five books a year, as does the average Briton. In literary-minded France, that number rises to seven. In Brazil, it's fewer than two. Brazilians are handicapped by lack of access. Government officials say that nearly 1,000 of the country's 5,500 municipalities have no public library. Buying a book is even less of an option. As with so many problems here, the lack of access to books reflects and reinforces the vast disparity of wealth that has made Brazil one of the most unequal societies on Earth. Bookstores tend to be clustered in well-off areas like Rio's Zona Sul, or south zone, home to the storied Copacabana and Ipanema beaches; in the city's sprawling northern precincts where millions live, many in slums of unspeakable squalor, bookstores are virtually unknown. A study in 2001 estimated that 16% of the population owns nearly 75% of all the books in Brazil — hardly surprising considering that a standard paperback routinely sells for about $15, or one-eighth of the minimum monthly salary. Moreover, illiteracy remains high; 16 million Brazilians older than 15 cannot read or write. Yet limited access and stubborn illiteracy levels are not the whole story in Brazil, land of sun, samba and soccer. "There's just not the habit of reading," said Cristina Fernandes Warth, vice president of the Brazilian Editors League. "And now there's competition with other things: cellphones, Internet, DVDs. Let's say there's a shop where there's a book and a CD of the same price. It's the CD that will probably be bought." The Brazilian government has launched a series of initiatives to improve the situation, including a reduction in taxes on books, a "Hungry for Books" reading drive and a campaign to establish public libraries in all towns and cities. Leite couldn't wait. "Those of us who grew up here, we know what the needs of the community are," he said. "I stopped and thought, 'Wait a minute. There's not a single library. The schools have libraries, but there's no public library.' So I said, 'Let's make this dream come true.' " When he asked members of his small bicycling group to help him collect used books, "they all thought I was a little crazy," he said. But they humored him, and the nameless cycling club got a moniker: "The Madmen of Sao Goncalo." Or so they seemed at first to the neighbors whose doors they knocked on. "Some people thought, 'You must be joking. Here in this community, people ask for clothes, but to ask for books!' " said Ronaldo Pena, 48, one of the cyclists. They inaugurated the library on March 20, 2004, with 100 volumes, most of them literary and historical treatises donated by someone Pena knew. Since then, the group has been amassing books at a feverish pace. Many come from rich Brazilians in whose homes they work as cleaners, handymen and the like. Because everything is by donation, the collection is eclectic and quixotic, but impressive in scope: from Shakespeare to Agatha Christie, Umberto Eco to political theorist Antonio Gramsci, William Faulkner to James Joyce, not to mention textbooks and reference works. There's no Dewey decimal system, or even strict alphabetical order; books are simply grouped by subject. "All the material you need is here," said Gabriele Sthefanine Silva Azeveda, a seventh-grader who was busy one recent afternoon copying down information about Central America from an encyclopedia. The nearest public library is 20 minutes away by car — not that many residents here own cars — and her school library is often of little use. "It has fewer books than here," she said. Word has spread enough that donations pour in by post, including works by the late Brazilian poet Mario Quintana, whose granddaughter heard about the home library and sent Leite some volumes. A television station gave the library a computer so that it could maintain a proper inventory, but no one has had time to catalog anything yet. It's a challenge just to keep the library open Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and often later when there's special need: a report due, a test the next day. "There's a lot of demand," Leite said. "We have lawyers, doctors, teachers, psychologists coming in to do research." He depends on Da Penha and his friends to staff the library, all of them unpaid. Leite continues to do construction and maintenance work to try to meet the mounting bills. How do you run a library without overhead lights? Or fans to keep patrons cool and books from going moldy on those hot tropical afternoons? Or tape and glue to repair broken spines and torn pages? Not a single penny has come from official sources — "not from the politicians, not from the government," said Da Penha, who is on medical leave from her job as a cleaning lady at a local school. "What's here is what we've done ourselves," she said. "We've sacrificed a lot to help the people here. But it's a sacrifice of love."

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Oct 3, 2005 -> 08:11 AM) Harriet Miers is her name, and (are you ready for this?) she has zero judicial experience, having served as a private practice attorney for 29 years. That doesn't seem like a good idea.

Congratulations! That's one hell of an achievement!!!!!!!

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 30, 2005 -> 01:27 PM) Then don't go in. It's your choice as a consumer. Why should we be MADE BY OUR GOVERNMENT to do this? Because they end up footing part of the bills for health care costs of smokers? Why have to foot the bill for nonsmokers too?

Hell yes! That makes me so happy. I live in NY, and I loooooooove the smoking ban. I honestly go to bars and bowling alleys much more now, because I know I won't have to breathe that crap. So, it will be very nice to have that also when I go home.

Link 4 found dead in Aurora Police seek suspect who took flight from Midway By Angela Rozas and James Kimberly, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporters Art Barnum, Crystal Yednak, Virginia Groark, David Heinzmann, Brett McNeil, Joseph Sjostrom and correspondent Rita Published September 30, 2005 Four adults were found dead Thursday in the Aurora home of a Plainfield computer exporter after a relative became concerned at not reaching the residents at their home and called police, authorities said. Police had not identified the bodies as of late Thursday. Jimmy Tsao, 34, and his wife, Kate, 31, owned the home in the upscale subdivision surrounding the White Eagle Golf Club. A law enforcement source confirmed that police were seeking a suspect who left Midway Airport on a domestic flight. Lt. Rusty Sullivan said police have spoken to relatives of the Tsaos but not the homeowners themselves. Late Thursday, Sullivan said, "based on our ongoing investigation, this has now changed from a death investigation to a murder investigation," and that police want to talk "to other parties outside of Illinois." There were no signs of forced entry to the two-story, red brick home at Jeremy Ranch Court and Monarch Circle, and it did not appear that anything had been stolen, Sullivan said. "We're not saying it [a burglary] didn't occur, but it wasn't readily apparent," Sullivan said. One or more of the people suffered blunt force trauma, Sullivan said. Police did not find a weapon at the scene, he said. Autopsies are expected to be performed Friday. If the deaths are ruled homicides, it would be the first quadruple homicide in DuPage County. Sullivan said detectives were interviewing numerous people in DuPage and Aurora. The crime occurred in a neighborhood described by residents as quiet and secure, patrolled frequently by a private security firm and Aurora police. Families with children live alongside older couples. Neighbors were stunned by the deaths. Homeowner Jim Lieb said violent crime is unheard-of in the neighborhood. "It's Pleasantville. There's nothing going on here," said Lieb, 53. "If we see a firetruck, [it's because] someone overcooked the bacon." "This just shocks me," said Tom Purpura, who moved to the neighborhood about the same time as the Tsaos. "This is a very quiet couple." According to neighbors and public records, the Tsaos moved to the neighborhood in 2001. Neighbors said the couple has no children. Neighbors described the couple as friendly. Jimmy Tsao worked at a Plainfield business that refurbished computers and exported them, neighbors said. Kate Tsao also worked outside the home, they said. "They're a nice couple. She took up gardening. Jimmy liked to golf," neighbor Thomas Kosanda said. Police were summoned to the house shortly after 2 p.m. by a relative checking on them because Kate Tsao had not gone to work. Sullivan said police and firefighters entered the home and discovered a body on the first floor. Police searched the house and discovered the other three bodies, he said. Sullivan would not say where in the house the bodies were found. DuPage has had three triple homicides in the last decade. On Sept. 14, 2004, Federico Torres, 36; Guillermo Armendariz, 36; and Hilario Ochos, 25; all of Texas, were shot to death in the parking lot of a Willowbrook restaurant. Hector Moya, 30, of Cicero is charged with all three slayings. Drug trafficking is suspected in the deaths. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if Moya is convicted. His trial is pending. In March 1999, Marilyn Lemak drugged and suffocated her three children, Nicholas, 7, Emily, 6, and Thomas 4, in her Naperville home. A jury rejected her claim of insanity, and she is serving a life sentence in prison. And on Nov. 16 and 17, 1995, Debra Evans, 28, was killed in her Addison apartment as a live unborn child was cut from her womb. Samantha, her 10-year-old daughter, also was slain in the apartment, and her son Joshua, 7, was kidnapped and found murdered the next day in a Maywood alley. Lavern Ward, Fedell Caffey and Jacqueline Williams were all convicted and are serving life sentences. Caffey and Williams originally were sentenced to death, but they were taken off Death Row when former Gov. George Ryan commuted all death sentences to life in prison in 2003.

QUOTE(Mercy! @ Sep 30, 2005 -> 12:46 AM) Wait a minute! Did that name have something to do with knocking Darrin Jackson? Until now, I had assumed it was about alcohol and spinning tunes. Mercy! There's such uncertainty online. Nah, Rex used to be a dj.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Sep 30, 2005 -> 12:01 AM) I am a conservative and a catholic. However your assesment of this issue is not on point. The arrest is a reaction to the outcry of a crime. But the crime was committed. In Illinois a crime is commited when either "Actus Reus"(guilty act) or "Mens Rea"(guilty mind) happens. If a person is murdered and their isnt enough evidence to convict a person has a crime not happened? No of course not. Plus as a person who had worked in law enforcement for 7 years I can tell you that sexual assault especially molestation is one of the fewest reported crimes. People feel guilt, self hate, anger, embarassment and fear of coming forward. A lot of victims of sexual assault dont come forward. Male victims of sexual assault rarely come forward because of shame. There is a stigma to male sexual assault victims, especially in same sex assaults. My brother is a detective, and has worked on one of these cases. He was disgusted when trying to get evidence and cooperation from the church. The majority of priests are role models, they are men of god who wouldnt harm a fly and are champions of peace. But there are a few bad apples, and the church must stop ignoring this, root it out and eraticate it. Hopefully these priests who harm children realize that they will get away with it here because of resistance, but eventually they will stand in judgement. And there is no hiding from that. God, I love it when I hear men say that. . . You do survivors of sexual assault a HUGE service for speaking up on that.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Sep 29, 2005 -> 11:52 PM) I'm going hiking in Vermont this weekend. You should join me. I would love to--I actually almost made B & B reservations for this weekend (Thank you High Holy Days of Judaism), but I've got some friends coming in from out of town. Let me knwo next time you go though, okay?

QUOTE(Mercy! @ Sep 29, 2005 -> 11:47 PM) Nah, this is my first time and my only name. And I can only be an honorary dude, I believe. I'm of the female persuasion. Well, that explains your awesomeness. . .

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Sep 29, 2005 -> 11:49 PM) Hey, can you guys say something that I can turn funny? Cause your turning the focus of this thread away from my awesomeness. Oooooh, snap. . . Although, Juggs always gives me a good chuckle (hmmmm, I do I mean throws me into a blinding rage). . .

As long as there's cuddling I'll call you whatever you want. . . (Although, I personally prefer Rex Kickass)

The point is, you and I, we are the only ones left. The lights are out and it is cold in here and I am so very, very hungry. Every once in awhile I think someone is coming to save me—I see a man with a blanket and some vegetarian Dome Dogs and he is smiling at me and he says, "Shh, shhh, it's going to be all right now, I am here to help you," but then I blink and he is gone. I do not care. I do not want to be saved—not yet. For these are my Twins and if they are going to spend the last games of the season getting hit in the nads with volleyballs, Batgirl will be there to watch every last bounce. For she is Batgirl, she is a Twins fan, and she needs serious and immediate psychological help. Batgirl, I feel your pain I really do. And although I loathe the Twins, I think it's a very admirable sentiment.

QUOTE(smalls2598 @ Sep 29, 2005 -> 05:09 PM) Although it is a good day to be a Sox fan, I'm also a bit depressed. My dad passed away earlier this year; he was a huge Sox fan. Of course, he is the one who made my brother, sister and myself into a Sox fan, and also converted my mom from Cubs to Sox. He was the one that first brought me to Sox games at Old Comiskey Park and taught me all the rules, how to keep score and all the stories of Sox History. He was there with me at a 93 playoff game vs the Jays, and we watched the Sox win the 2000 Central Division. And after turning 21, we shared quite a few beers while watching the Cubs collapse in the 2003 playoffs. As stupid or odd as it may have seemed, I dedicated this season to him. And when the Sox had everything going their way in the first half, it seemed that maybe he had something to do with it! So now that the Sox have wrapped up a playoff spot, it feels great, but it would be so much better if he was with me to celebrate. There is nothing more I'd love tonight than to share a celebratory beer with you. So to you Dad; the Sox did this for you! Brought a tear to my eye. . .

Please, if the shoe was on the other foot what option would you choose for the Cubs making the playoff and not the Sox. . .

QUOTE(Queen Prawn @ Sep 29, 2005 -> 01:44 PM) It does - I do this occasionally when they start getting unbearable. If the stupid nausea would go away, I could deal with the slight throbbing (it is starting to go away - thankfully this one is only a 24 hr one). I take Indural for my migraines--it's a very low dose of a blood pressure medication and it really worked wonders. It doesn't have all the side effects like Topomax and stuff, so I would definitely encourage you to ask about it. Mine have gotten about a million times better since I started taking that.

QUOTE(Queen Prawn @ Sep 29, 2005 -> 12:53 PM) Migraines suck. I know this sounds kooky, but this sometimes makes mine slightly better. Go to the bathroom and soak your hands in hot water. It helps for a bit.

So, I figured I would start a thread where you could post some back handed compliments you've gotten. I kind of think they're kind of funny, first you're all warm and fuzzy then you think, wait you bastard that was mean! Here's one I got yesterday: I always thought you were pretty smart but I never really respected you as a scientist and researcher before. At first I was like, Thanks, but then I was like, you biotech--that was horrible! Anyone else?

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 11:37 PM) You never did email me the paper . . . Do I have your e-mail?

QUOTE(ChiSoxyGirl @ Sep 27, 2005 -> 10:18 PM) So, what say all of you: Kristian boys' name or girls' name? Oh and the correct answer I have learned: Boy

Had to present my research, thus, far to the department today (grad students and faculty). Nerve wracking, but overall a lot of fun. I love talking about my data, and I love it when people have good questions and methodological (sp) suggests. Mmmmmm, scientific process. . .

Somedays I love my job. And, even though I've already been here an hour, I think today might be one of those days when I love it.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 03:32 AM) Is there anything about giant squid mentioned in the bible? If not, they don't exist. Leviathon, they're the *real* Leviathon.