luxury things

many people who come from rich families are expected to have luxury things and maids and house cleaners to do everything. i don't. i have chores and cook at home.

Michael Kors (brand)

Michael Kors Holdings (NASDAQ: KORS) is an American luxury fashion company established in 1981 by designer Michael Kors. The company is known for watches, handbags and other accessories. As of 2015, the MK Holdings has more than 550 stores and over 1500 in-store boutiques in various countries. Though the brand began in 1981, it wasn't until 2006 where they opened their first retail stores. Some main competitors of the brand include Coach, Kate Spade, and Louis Vuitton. Michael Kors has been a popular fashion trend among grown men, according to a 2015 survey. Background: As of March 29, 2014, the company has 288 North American retail stores, including concessions and 117 international retail stores, including concessions, in Europe and Japan. As of 2014, the annual revenue for the company was 3.2 billion dollars, with a net income of 670 million dollars. Trademark protection: There have been multiple counterfeit Michael Kors bags, wallets and other luxury items in Montreal, Canada. In an attempt to end the counterfeit production and to enforce trademark rights, the brand has commenced actions against a major network of counterfeit suppliers and vendors and raided multiple locations throughout the Greater Montre Area.

Handbag

A handbag, also purse or pouch in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, often used by women, to hold personal items. "Purse" or "handbag" or "pouch": The term "purse" originally referred to a small bag for holding coins. In British English, it is still used to refer to a small coin bag. A "handbag" is a larger accessory that holds objects beyond currency, such as personal items. American English typically uses the terms purse and handbag interchangeably. The term handbag began appearing in the early 1900s. Initially, it was most often used to refer to men's hand-luggage. Women's bags grew larger and more complex during this period, and the term was attached to the accessory. Handbags are valued for their stylishness as visual accessories as well as for their function. The verb "to handbag" derives from UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher's habit of pulling scraps of paper out of her handbag in meetings and reading aloud the comments she had written on them. The verb's more general meaning of "treating ruthlessly" came to symbolise Thatcher's whole style of government. Julian Critchley, one of her biggest Tory backbench critics, once said, "Margaret Thatcher and her handbag is the same as Winston Churchill and his cigar."

hi?

i remember once i was grabbing something and the then mission president's wife grabbed my wrist. i looked over to see who grabbed my hand and i said can i have my hand back before jerking it away. later they asked to share the bench. i was like sure and grabbed my stuff and scooted away. they were creepy.

Tote bag

A tote bag is a large and often unfastened bag with parallel handles that emerge from the sides of its pouch. Description: The archetypal tote is made of sturdy cloth, perhaps with thick leather at its handles or bottom; leather versions often have a pebbled surface. Common fabrics include heavy canvas, possibly dyed, or treated to resist moisture and mold. Jute is another traditional material, though less popular. In recent decades, heavy nylon and other easy-care synthetics have become common, although these may degrade with prolonged sun-exposure. Many of today's inexpensive or free totes are often made from recycled matter, from minimally-processed natural fibers, or from byproducts of processes that refine organic materials. History: The term tote or tate, meaning "to carry", can be traced back to the 17th century but was not used to describe bags until 1900. However, the tote bag craze in the United States began in the 1940s with the release of L.L. Bean's Boat Bag in 1944. Because they were easier than carrying luggage, most people opted for using tote bags. During the 1950s, tote bags began to enter into the main culture. Women primarily utilized them as practical handheld bags because they didn't require much care. It wasn't until the 1960s when the tote bag embraced personal style. Bonnie Cashin released her own line of tote bags called Cashin Carry Tote Bags which combined style and functionality. In the 1990s, Kate Spade ultimately transformed how American culture embraced tote bags when she began carrying them as fashion bags. Today, fashion lovers and consumers can find tote bags in a variety of decorations and themes. Environmental concerns: Recently, tote bags have been sold as a more eco-friendly replacement for disposable plastic bags given how they can be reused multiples times over. However, a study by the UK Environment Agency found that cotton canvas bags have to be reused at least 327 times before they can match the carbon expenditure of a single disposable plastic bag. Meanwhile, tote bags made from recycled polypropylene plastic require 26 reuses to match. But as these tote bags have grown in stature and ubiquity, their abundance has encouraged consumers to see them as a disposable item that they don't need to reuse, defeating their very purpose. Not only do many stores offer inexpensive or even free tote bags at the register, they've also become a common marketing tool stamped with logos and used by nonprofits and businesses as promotional gifts. This can be seen by a 2014 study which found that owners of reusable bags forget them on approximately 40% of their grocery trips and use them only about 15 times each before being discarded. Moreover, about half of respondents typically chose to use plastic bags over reusable ones, despite owning reusable bags and recognizing their benefits.

Hobo bag

The hobo bag is a style of handbag or purse that is typically large and characterized by a crescent shape, a slouchy posture and a long strap designed to wear over the shoulder. Hobo bags are made out of soft, flexible materials and tend to slump, or slouch, when set down. There are many different sizes and shapes of this popular woman's fashion accessory. This style of purse is called a hobo bag because it resembles the shape of the bindle on a stick that hobos are portrayed as carrying over their shoulder in drawings and cartoons.

resolution

find a boyfriend.

close

i came close to my new years resolution of last year which was to fin a boyfriend. i'm psyched. hopefully i'll find 1 this year.

pizza

at a Halloween party i was asked i liked pizza. i was like yeah why? i'd forgot i'd mentioned that i'd be house sitting for my mom for a couple days. the person who asked if i liked pizza was going to have dinner with me 1 night.

Carrie

i went to a couple Halloween parties and i dressed as Carrie. i don't know how people knew that i was Carrie.

Spring Creek raid

The Spring Creek raid, also known as the Tensleep Murders or the Tensleep Raid, occurred in 1909 and was the last serious conflict during the Sheep Wars in Wyoming, as well as the deadliest sheep raid in the state's history. On the night of April 2, the sheepherder Joe Allemand and four of his associates were encamped along Spring Creek, near the town of Ten Sleep, when a group of seven masked cattlemen attacked them. It remains uncertain as to whether or not an exchange of gunfire took place between the two parties, but evidence suggests that Allemand and two of his men were executed while the remaining two escaped unharmed. Two sheep wagons were also destroyed by fire and about two dozen head of sheep were shot to death. Seven men were arrested for the crime, two of whom turned state's evidence and were acquitted. The rest were found guilty and sent to prison for sentences ranging from three years to life in prison. The conviction of the Tensleep murderers effectively put an end to the killings on the open range and exemplified the arrival of law and order in a region that still retained its rugged frontier environment after the end of the 19th century. Although there continued to be sheep raids in Wyoming into the 1910s, there were no more deaths. Background: For decades prior to 1909, sheepmen and cattlemen had been fighting for control of America's vast unsettled grasslands. The conflicts usually began as disputes over grazing rights, but the cattlemen also complained that the sheepmen destroyed the open range and made it unsuitable for cattle. For example, cattlemen claimed that sheepmen let their flocks overgraze, or that the sharp hooves of the sheep were cutting up the grass to a point where it wouldn't grow back. Sheepmen were also said to have polluted the water sources so badly that cattle could not drink from them without becoming sick. Generally, the cattlemen were the stronger of the two factions and they controlled the range by establishing a type of border called "deadlines" and hiring gunmen to prevent sheepherders from crossing them. Around 1908, the sheep and cattlemen's associations of Wyoming agreed to the establishment of a deadline in Big Horn County. Tensleep Creek made up at least part of the border; west of the creek was cattle country while the area to the east was for the sheepmen. However, not long after the agreement was in effect, the herder Joe Allemand and his partner, Joseph Emge, became some of the first to break it when they began moving their flocks across the deadline to a place near Worland for the winter season. Soon after, other sheepherders followed suit "until the division deadline was practically no division, and no range was safe to the cattlemen." Together, Allemand and Emge owned three ranches in the area east of the deadline, all near the mouth of Spring Creek and Tensleep Creek. Emge, a German immigrant, was formerly a cattlemen, but he "abandoned the business, and went over to the enemy" sometime shortly after the turn of the century. According to author George C. Morris, Allemand was well-liked and considered a peaceful man that had been involved in the sheep trade for years, but Emge was more aggressive and probably the one who decided to lead the sheep across cattle country, being that he was the trail master. In this case, Emge was well aware of the consequences of passing through cattle country with a herd of sheep, so, during the first drive, he had a local deputy sheriff accompany him. According to Morris, the deputy prevented the cattlemen from attacking, but when Emge requested assistance for the drive back home he was declined. The sheriff warned Emge to detour around the cattle ranges, but he failed to follow the advice, possibly because taking the detour was a longer journey. Instead of relying on the police, Emge purchased two automatic rifles with 1,000 rounds of ammunition and openly said they were for "running the cattlemen off the range." Raid: The Allemand-Emge party consisted of five men, including Allemand and Emge, two sheep wagons, several sheep dogs, and between 2,500 and 12,000 head of sheep, depending on varying sources. The other three men were hired hands named Jules Lazier, Allemand's nephew, Pierre Cafferal and Charles "Bounce" Helmer. The herd was divided into two groups, one on each side of Spring Creek, with a wagon and at least one dog attached to each one. For the first thirty miles or so the journey was uneventful, but, on April 2, the party met up with a pair of friends, who lived nearby, and stopped to have dinner with them. Allemand also telephoned his wife sometime during the drive, to tell her that he would be home soon. According to one source, some of Emge's enemies were listening in on the phone call and were able to plan an attack based on the information. When dinner was over it was already dark, so the party decided to camp for the night and continue on in the morning. The location of the camp was about a half day's ride from the deadline and safety, but also near the Keyes Ranch, where the raiders had assembled. The raiders, who were later identified as George Saban, Herbert Brink, Albert Keyes, Charles Farris, Ed Eaton, Tommy Dixon, and Milton Alexander, rode out from the ranch sometime that night and found the sheepherders' camp soon after. At least half of the group were wealthy cattlemen. George Saban, the leader of the group, was the owner of the Bay State Cattle Company, one of the largest in Wyoming, and already known to the public for having led the lynch mob that raided the Big Horn County jail in 1903, where two prisoners and a deputy sheriff were killed. There were two other cattlemen in the area as well, Porter Lamb and Fred Greet, who were camping in a tent within 400 yards of the Allemand-Emge camp, on land that was part of the Lamb Ranch. According to Morris: "Lamb and Greet were awakened by staccato cracks of automatic rifles and the glimmering starlight made indistinctly visible moving shadows stepping swiftly about in the haze, punctured with spitting flame flashes when the weapons spoke. Ultimately the firing ceased, then followed the flare of burning sheep wagons. A chorus of galloping hoofs- then silence." Lamb and Greet were the ones who first discovered the remains of the sheepherders on the following morning. Morris wrote: "When dawn came Lamb and Greet stood aghast at the vendetta vengeance that had been taken. In front of the wagon ruins Allemand lay face upward with bullet holes in his neck and side, to show where deadly soft-nosed missiles took his life. In the charred still-smoking embers were two baked bodies, subsequently identified as Emge, the daring, and Jules Lazier, a herder. 'Bounce' Helmer and Pierre Cafferal, two herders in the wagon on the other side of the creek, escaped through the leniency of the raiders and it is believed their lives were spared because Helmer's father is of the cattlemen and a leader among them." Although some accounts vary, it is generally believed that the group of raiders snuck up to the Allemand-Emge camp, split in two, and then began shooting at the flocks or advancing on the wagons. After that they called on the herders to surrender, but when Allemand came out he was shot down in cold blood. The raiders then fired into the wagons and it was during this time that Emge and Lazier were killed while Cafferal and Helmer were captured and tied up with rope. However, the latter two men were either freed by the raiders later on, as Morris claims, or they were able to untangle the ropes and free themselves, as another source says. Cafferal and Helmer went straight from the camp to alert the police, who organized a posse, which arrived at the crime scene on the next day. Overall, Allemand, Emge, and Lazier were killed along with two of their dogs and twenty-five sheep. The rest of the herd was scattered and both wagons were burned. Cafferal and Helmer had suspicions about who had attacked their camp, but all of the raiders wore masks and therefore could not be positively identified by the survivors' testimony alone. Aftermath: The Tensleep Murders shocked the people in the surrounding communities, particularly the sheepmen, so the Wyoming Wool Growers' Association offered a large reward for the capture of the murderers or information that led to it. The Wyoming Wool Growers' put up a bounty $5,000, which was supplemented by $2,000 from the National Wool Growers' Association, $1,000 from Big Horn County, and another $500 from the state of Wyoming. In Morris' words; "the sheepmen played upon the cupidity of men and balanced golden gains in rewards against silence and fear of punishment." Sheep raiders had never been convicted in a Wyoming court before so all of the raiders assumed they had nothing to fear. In the days that followed, Brink and Dixon bragged about committing the murders until one of their friends, William "Billy" Goodrich, informed Sheriff Felix Alston in Basin. Goodrich told the sheriff the identities of all the men involved and he then told either Brink or Dixon that if they wanted to help the rest of the raiders then they had better surrender before the grand jury met later that month. At that point, Keyes and Farris took the advice and surrendered to Sheriff Alston. Then, Alston, Goodrich, Keyes, and Farris had a meeting in Sheridan with Governor Bryant B. Brooks and a few Wyoming attorneys. There, Keyes and Farris made a full confession with the promise that they'd be pardoned and safely escorted out of the state after the trial. None were eligible for the reward. Warrants were issued for the arrest of the other five raiders, Saban, Brink, Eaton, Dixon and Alexander, and they were hastily detained without any trouble on May 3. Around this time, a man name "Billy" Garrison committed suicide because of his involvement in the case. Like Goodrich, Garrison was one of the men Dixon and Brink bragged too so, instead of testifying against his friends, he rode to a place five miles from his home, the Goodrich Ranch, and shot himself. Garrison's death was officially determined to have been caused by suicide, but there is a possibility that the cattlemen wanted to silence him before a trial could begin. Morris wrote the following: "It was a season of suppressed seething that threatened to boil over at any moment. Feeling was intense when it was known that Farris and Keyes had confessed, for that is one of the unpardonable offenses of the range. In the history of Big Horn County only three grand juries have ever been assembled because of the reluctance or refusal of witnesses summoned to give testimony that would be inadmissible in courts of law. That it went hard against the grain is eloquently verified by the suicide of 'Billy' Garrison. He lived at the Goodrich place and had been told things by Brink and Dixon. He perjured himself loyally before the grand jury, then drove to a ranch some five miles distant from the Goodrich home, put his horse up in the barn and shot himself to death. It was his conception of loyalty. Rather than send his friends to death he went to his own bravely." The trial was held in Basin. The remaining five raiders quickly gave in and confessed like Keyes and Farris or pleaded guilty. Brink was the first to be tried. The testimony of Keyes, Farris, and Goodrich convinced the jury that he was almost solely responsible for the deaths. Farris' testimony was actually a direct accusation that Brink shot Allemand. Morris quoted the following from the state's records: "I heard Brink shout: 'Show a light and come out,'... A man appeared at the front of the wagon. 'Hands up!' cried Brink. The man's hands were in the air as he came towards us. Then Brink said: 'This is a hell of time o' night to come up with your hands in the air!' There was a shot. Who fired it? Herbert Brink." Brink was sentenced to hang for first degree murder, but it was later reduced to life in prison at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins. Saban and Alexander both admitted to second degree murder and were sentenced to twenty-five years in prison while Dixon and Eaton each received three years imprisonment for arson. Morris says that the majority of the people of Wyoming were aligned with the cattlemen so, on November 20, 1909, when the raiders were to begin their sentences, Basin citizens crowded the train station to say goodbye to the raiders and give them gifts, such as blankets. Morris notes that nobody was waiting to greet Farris, Keyes, and Goodrich when they left. All three sold their belongings and headed west with a deputy sheriff, who escorted them to the state border. As for the five prisoners, Eaton died in state custody, Dixon was paroled in 1912, Saban escaped in 1913 and was never recaptured, and Brink and Alexander were paroled in 1914. The conviction of the Tensleep Murderers brought some peace to Wyoming's open range. Because the state's government was finally making convictions, cowboys became reluctant to shoot people over grazing rights, knowing that now they could be held accountable for it. One of the prosecutors in the case, Will Metz, summarized the meaning of the verdicts by saying that "it is significant of the beginning of a new era, of a period where lawlessness in any form will be no more tolerated in Wyoming than in the more densely settled communities of the east." A monument now marks the site of the raid. In 1911, the area where the murders occurred became part of Washakie County.

ragtime

i loved the musical. i went when i was a freshman in high school. it was nice

midnight snack

i just had a midnight snack of a whopper. man am i full.

going to china

when i was a sophomore in high school i got to visit china. unfortunately, it was a huge hassle. i had to get a passport, a flu shot, a ton of homework for the classes i was missing and a waiver that allowed me to miss all those days. it was amazing. i loved it.

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is a satirical book written by Bobby Henderson that embodies the main beliefs of the parody religion of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism. The Flying Spaghetti Monster was created by Bobby Henderson in an open letter to the Kansas State Board of Education in which he parodied the concept of intelligent design. After Henderson posted the letter on his website, it became an internet phenomenon and was featured in many large newspapers, which caught the attention of book publishers. Released in March 2006 by Villard Books, The Gospel elaborates on Pastafarian beliefs established in the open letter. The Gospel includes a creation myth, set of eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts", and guide to evangelizing, and discusses history and lifestyle from a Pastafarian perspective. Henderson uses satire to show flaws with creationism and prove the Flying Spaghetti Monster, offering an alternative to the intelligent design movement in the process. The book, which has sold more than 100,000 copies, was generally well received. Background: In 2005, Bobby Henderson, then a 24-year-old Oregon State University physics graduate, parodied the concept of intelligent design by professing belief in a Flying Spaghetti Monster in an open letter to the Kansas State Board of Education. He sent the letter prior to the Kansas evolution hearings as a satirical protest against the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes. In his letter, he noted I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence. — Bobby Henderson; In May, having received no reply from the Kansas State Board of Education, Henderson posted the letter on his website. Shortly thereafter, Pastafarianism became an internet phenomenon. As public awareness grew, the mainstream media picked up on the phenomenon. The Flying Spaghetti Monster became a symbol for the case against intelligent design in public education. The open letter was printed in many large newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Sun Times, and received "worldwide press attention" according to one journalist. According to Henderson, newspaper articles attracted the attention of book publishers; at one point, six publishers were interested in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. In November 2005, Henderson received an $80,000 advance from Villard to write The Gospel of The Flying Spaghetti Monster. Henderson said that he planned to use the proceeds to build a pirate ship, with which he would spread the Pastafarian religion. The book was released on March 28, 2006. Summary: The Gospel presents the tenets of Pastafarianism—often satires of creationism—elaborating on the "beliefs" established in the open letter. It includes a creation-myth, a "propaganda" guide for evangelizing, some pseudo-scientific "proofs", and several pasta puns. Along with crude drawings and altered stock photography, Henderson employs irony to present perceived flaws with evolution and discusses history and lifestyle from a Pastafarian perspective. The book also provides a Pastafarian "Guide to the Holidays." Furthermore, Henderson discusses the original Pastafarian "belief" that the decline in the number of pirates, who are revered by Pastafarians, has directly led to a rise in global temperature. He provides further "evidence" of this relationship with the observation "that many people dress up as pirates for Halloween, and the months following October 31 are generally cooler than those that precede it." This and other scientific claims made by Henderson are intended to be disputed. The claim that declining numbers of pirates have resulted in rising temperatures is meant to demonstrate that correlation does not imply causation. The book urges readers to try Pastafarianism for 30 days, saying, "If you don't like us, your old religion will most likely take you back." Henderson states on his website that more than 100,000 copies of the book have been sold. “The book is necessary so that people see how much hard evidence supports the existence of the FSM. You can make a pretty strong argument for His existence. Especially if you use the same sort of reasoning the ID people do: specious reasoning and circular logic.” — Bobby Henderson, explaining why he wrote The Gospel Pastafarian creation myth: The Gospel begins with the creation of the universe by an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster. On the first day, the Flying Spaghetti Monster separated the water from the heavens; on the second, because He could not tread water for long and had grown tired of flying, He created the land—complemented by a beer volcano. Satisfied, the Flying Spaghetti Monster overindulged in beer from the beer volcano and woke up hungover. Between drunken nights and clumsy afternoons, the Flying Spaghetti Monster produced seas and land (for a second time, accidentally, because he forgot that he created it the day before) along with Heaven and a "midgit", which he named Man. Man and an equally short woman lived happily in the Olive Garden of Eden for some time until the Flying Spaghetti Monster caused a global flood in a cooking accident. This creation, "claimed" by Pastafarians to be only 5,000 years ago, would be considered laughable by many scientists. To this, Henderson satirically retorts that the Flying Spaghetti Monster presented all evidence to the contrary in order to test Pastafarians' faith. In addition to parodying certain biblical literalists, Henderson uses this unorthodox method to lampoon intelligent design proponents, whom he believes first "define their conclusion and then gather evidence to support it". Captain Mosey and the Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts": The book contains the Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts", adherence to which enables Pastafarians to ascend to heaven, which includes a stripper factory and beer volcano. According to The Gospel, Mosey the Pirate captain received ten stone tablets as advice from the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Of these original ten "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts", two were dropped on the way down from Mount Salsa. This event "partly accounts for Pastafarians' flimsy moral standards." The "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts" address a broad array of behavior, from sexual conduct to nutrition. One reviewer commented that this parody of the Ten Commandments "reads like a bitter shopping list of the same criticisms" given to organized religions. One commandment is "I'd really rather you didn't build multimillion-dollar synagogues / churches / temples / mosques / shrines to His Noodly Goodness when the money could be better spent ending poverty, curing diseases, living in peace, loving with passion and lowering the cost of cable." Translations: In 2015 the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was translated into Russian language by Mikhail Samin. In 2016 it was printed. Critical reception: Scientific American described The Gospel as "an elaborate spoof on Intelligent Design" and "very funny". In 2006, it was nominated for the Quill Award in Humor but did not win. Wayne Alan Brenner of The Austin Chronicle characterized the book as "a necessary bit of comic relief in the overly serious battle between science and superstition." Simon Singh of the Daily Telegraph wrote that the Gospel "might be slightly repetitive... but overall it is a brilliant, provocative, witty and important gem of a book." Reviewers at both the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State were generally positive about the book. In his book The God Delusion, biologist Richard Dawkins commented: "I am happy to see that the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has been published as a book, to great acclaim." Meanwhile, Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute, the hub of the Intelligent Design movement, labeled the Gospel "a mockery of the Christian New Testament".

spoiled

apparently I'm a spoiled little princess, as I'm the only girl out of all the kids in my family. when you get to know me i'm not that spoiled. out of everything i've got 5 "luxe" pieces. 2 Michael Kors bags, 1 pair of juicy couture sweats, 1 pair of real ugg boots and 1 Marc Jacob bag.

what the f**k?

who the f**k says, "i'd date my own kid if they weren't my kid" with the exception of Donald Trump? no offense but that's almost as weird as being blindsided and having someone giving your number out behind your back

2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers

On July 17, 2016, Gavin Eugene Long shot six police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the wake of the shooting of Alton Sterling. Three died and three were hospitalized, one critically; of the officers who died, two were members of the Baton Rouge Police Department, while the third worked for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. Long, who associated himself with organizations linked to black separatism and the sovereign citizen movement, was shot and killed by a SWAT officer during a shootout with police at the scene. Police arrested and questioned two other suspects, but Long was confirmed to be the only person involved in the shooting. Background: The shooting occurred during a period of unrest in Baton Rouge, though it is unclear if the events are related. Baton Rouge was experiencing ongoing protests following the officer-involved killing of Alton Sterling less than two weeks before on July 5. On July 7, the FBI's New Orleans field office issued a warning about "threats to law enforcement and potential threats to the safety of the general public" stemming from the death of Sterling. Within the previous week, four suspects were arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill Baton Rouge police officers, which was described as a credible threat by law enforcement officials. Ten days earlier, five police officers were killed in a mass shooting in Dallas.

Maryvale serial shooter

The Maryvale serial shooter is an unidentified serial killer who has been linked to nine separate shootings resulting in seven deaths and two injuries across Phoenix, Arizona in 2016, mainly in the Maryvale neighborhood. The shootings: The first shooting occurred on March 17 near 1100 E. Moreland St. A 16-year-old boy was shot and wounded while walking down the street at about 11:30 p.m. On March 18 at 11:30 p.m., a 21-year-old man was shot and wounded while standing outside his vehicle at 4300 N. 73rd Ave. On April 1, 21-year-old Diego Verdugo-Sanchez was shot and killed at around 9:00 p.m. while visiting his pregnant fiancée and her family. On the early morning of April 19, 55-year-old Krystal Annette White was found shot to death at 500 N. 32nd St. On June 1 at 9:50 p.m., 32-year-old Horacio Pena was shot to death outside his house at 6700 W. Flower St. after returning home from work. On June 10 at 9:30 p.m., 19-year-old Manuel Castro Garcia was killed outside his house. A police officer nearby heard the gunshots and rushed to the scene, but the killer had already fled. On June 12 at 2:35 a.m., the shooter opened fire on an unoccupied vehicle at 6200 W. Mariposa Drive. Approximately half an hour later, the shooter killed 33-year-old Stefanie Ellis and her 12-year-old daughter Maleah outside their home. Their 31-year-old friend Angela Linner was also shot; she initially survived, but died from her wounds three weeks later. On July 11, the shooter opened fire on a car occupied by a 21-year-old man and a four-year-old boy, but neither was injured. Investigation: The murders of Verdugo-Sanchez, Pena, Garcia, and the triple homicide were linked together due to the fact that they all occurred in Maryvale and due to similarity in modus operandi. The other shootings were later connected based on M.O. and location as well, though the murder of White and the first shooting occurred outside of Maryvale. A suspect was described by witnesses as a lanky dark-haired man in his early 20s. He was also described as being under 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) tall and Latino. However, police have not been able to rule out the possibility of multiple people being involved in the killings, as a car possibly containing more than one person was seen leaving the scene of two of the shootings, and three gunmen were reported by witnesses to have carried out the killings of the Ellises and Linner. However, police have stated that it is "unlikely" multiple people are involved the killings. The suspect is believed to be using multiple vehicles, including a black BMW 5 Series and a white Cadillac or Lincoln. A composite sketch of the shooter was released by authorities on August 3. Police released recordings of 9-1-1 calls related to the case on October 19 in an attempt to stir up more leads for the case. Police have stated that they have no "active" leads in regards to the investigation as of December 2016. Psychological profile: FBI criminal profiler Brad Garrett believes that the shooter is a "thrill killer" and is seeking "intimacy" in the attacks as he shoots the victim from close range. Garrett also believes the shooter is likely inserting himself in the investigation or attending police-community meetings about the killings.

L. Ron Hubbard

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, better known as L. Ron Hubbard and often referred to by his initials, LRH, was an American author and the founder of the Church of Scientology. In 2014, Hubbard was cited by the Smithsonian magazine as one of the 100 most significant Americans of all time, as one of the eleven religious figures on that list. After establishing a career as a writer, becoming best known for his science fiction and fantasy stories, he developed a system called Dianetics which was first expounded in book form in May 1950. He subsequently developed his ideas into a wide-ranging set of doctrines and practices as part of a new religious movement that he called Scientology. His writings became the guiding texts for the Church of Scientology and a number of affiliated organizations that address such diverse topics as business administration, literacy and drug rehabilitation. The Church's dissemination of these materials led to Hubbard being listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most translated and published author in the world. The Guinness World Record for the most audio books published for one author is also held by Hubbard. Although many aspects of Hubbard's life story are disputed, there is general agreement about its basic outline. Born in Tilden, Nebraska, he spent much of his childhood in Helena, Montana. He traveled in Asia and the South Pacific in the late 1920s after his father, an officer in the United States Navy, was posted to the U.S. naval base on Guam. He attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. at the start of the 1930s, before dropping out and beginning his career as a prolific writer of pulp fiction stories. He served briefly in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and was an officer in the United States Navy during World War II, briefly commanding two ships, the USS YP-422 and USS PC-815. He was removed both times when his superiors found him incapable of command. The last few months of his active service were spent in a hospital, being treated for a duodenal ulcer. After the war, Hubbard developed Dianetics, which he called "the modern science of mental health". He founded Scientology in 1952 and oversaw the growth of the Church of Scientology into a worldwide organization. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he spent much of his time at sea on his personal fleet of ships as "Commodore" of the Sea Organization, an elite inner group of Scientologists. His expedition came to an end when Britain, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Venezuela all closed their ports to his fleet. At one point, a court in Australia revoked the Church's status as a religion, though it was later reinstated. Hubbard returned to the United States in 1975 and went into seclusion in the California desert. In 1978, a trial court in France convicted Hubbard of fraud in absentia. Others convictions from the same trial were reversed on appeal, but Hubbard died before the court considered his case. In 1983 L. Ron Hubbard was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an international information infiltration and theft project called "Operation Snow White". He spent the remaining years of his life on his ranch, the "Whispering Wind," near Creston, California, where he died in 1986. A small group of Scientology officials and physician Dr. Eugene Denk attended to him before his death, for a number of ailments including chronic pancreatitis. In 1986, he died in a 1982 Blue Bird motor home, which was situated on his property, at age 74. The Church of Scientology describes Hubbard in hagiographic terms, and he portrayed himself as a pioneering explorer, world traveler, and nuclear physicist with expertise in a wide range of disciplines, including photography, art, poetry, and philosophy. His critics, including his own son Ronald DeWolf, have characterized him as a liar, a charlatan, and mentally unstable, though DeWolf later repudiated those statements. Though many of Hubbard's autobiographical statements have been found to be fictitious, the Church rejects any suggestion that its account of Hubbard's life is not historical fact.

Flying Spaghetti Monster

The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism (a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarian), a social movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools. According to adherents, Pastafarianism is a "real, legitimate religion, as much as any other". Pastafarianism is legally recognized as a religion in the Netherlands and New Zealand – where Pastafarian representatives have been authorized to celebrate weddings and where the first legally recognized Pastafarian wedding was performed in April 2016. In the United States the same month, a federal judge ruled that the "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster" is not a real religion. The "Flying Spaghetti Monster" was first described in a satirical open letter written by Bobby Henderson in 2005 to protest the Kansas State Board of Education decision to permit teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public school science classes. After Henderson published the letter on his website, the Flying Spaghetti Monster rapidly became an Internet phenomenon and a symbol of opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. Because of its popularity and exposure, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is often used as a contemporary version of Russell's teapot—an argument that the philosophic burden of proof lies upon those who make unfalsifiable claims, not on those who reject them. Pastafarianism has received praise from the scientific community and criticism from proponents of intelligent design. Pastafarians have engaged in disputes with creationists, including in Polk County, Florida, where they played a role in dissuading the local school board from adopting new rules on teaching evolution. Pastafarian tenets (generally satires of creationism) are presented both on Henderson's Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster website, where he is described as "prophet", and in The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, written by Henderson in 2006. The central belief is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. Pirates are revered as the original Pastafarians. Henderson asserts that a decline in the number of pirates over the years is the cause of global warming. The FSM community congregates at Henderson's website to share ideas about the Flying Spaghetti Monster and crafts representing images of it. So-called "sightings" of the Flying Spaghetti Monster are also discussed. Critics attribute such sightings to pareidolia, a tendency to perceive patterns in nature where no such patterns exist.

true

if i hadn't seen it with my own eyes i would've never believed that boys grow when they find true love.

Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is the oldest senior class landed society at Yale. The society's alumni organization, the Russell Trust Association, owns the society's real estate and oversees the organization. The society is known informally as "Bones", and members are known as "Bonesmen". History: Skull and Bones was founded in 1832 after a dispute among Yale debating societies Linonia, Brothers in Unity, and the Calliopean Society over that season's Phi Beta Kappa awards. William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft co-founded "the Order of the Scull and Bones". The society's assets are managed by the society's alumni organization, the Russell Trust Association, incorporated in 1856 and named after the Bones co-founder. The association was founded by Russell and Daniel Coit Gilman, a Skull and Bones member. The first extended description of Skull and Bones, published in 1871 by Lyman Bagg in his book Four Years at Yale, noted that "the mystery now attending its existence forms the one great enigma which college gossip never tires of discussing." Brooks Mather Kelley attributed the interest in Yale senior societies to the fact that underclassmen members of then freshman, sophomore, and junior class societies returned to campus the following years and could share information about society rituals, while graduating seniors were, with their knowledge of such, at least a step removed from campus life. Skull and Bones selects new members among students every spring as part of Yale University's "Tap Day", and has done so since 1879. Since the society's inclusion of women in the early 1990s, Skull and Bones selects fifteen men and women of the junior class to join the society. Skull and Bones "taps" those that it views as campus leaders and other notable figures for its membership.

Discredited HIV/AIDS origins theories

Various fringe theories have arisen to speculate about purported alternative origins for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with claims ranging from it being due to accidental exposure to supposedly purposeful acts. Several inquiries and investigations have been carried out as a result and each of these theories consequently determined to be based on unfounded and/or false information. HIV has been shown to have evolved from or is closely related to the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in West Central Africa sometime in the early 20th century. HIV was not discovered until the 1980s by French scientist Luc Montagnier. Before the 1980s, HIV was an unknown deadly disease.

vegetarian and vegan diet

i'm trying this type of diet where i'm not eating as much meat. my diabetes is more under control now that i'm eating things that i like and are low in things i don't. my weight, muscle spasms and diabetes will all benefit with the vegetarian and vegan options i eat. i've gotta be careful not to over do it. i suffer worse when i do.

getting used to

i've been getting used to having boys like me. my 1st ex-boyfriend was abusive. he was jealous and possessive and didn't want me to have friends outside mutual friends. i'm now much better after the abusive ex-boyfriend. also my brother was pretty superficial so i believed him when he called me ugly and basically said i wasn't pretty.

night off

tomorrow i'm getting a night off. it'll be nice as i've needed a night off from my brothers. i'll of course need to sleep and bild a fire and make myself vegetarian things. i think we could all use a break from each other.

sad news

news for all you star wars fans: Carrie Fisher who played princess Leia is dead. i'm not into star wars but it's sad

freezing

it's gotta be freezing outside as i'm pretty cold. i don't get cold that often so it's significant.

name brand bag

bringing a michael kors bag to the vacation as it's smaller and still high end.

flirt

i'm going to ocean city with my dad and 2 of my brothers. my dad might want me to have a boyfriend possibly so i might have to flirt with a few boys. i don't mind but still.

The Rahway Murder of 1887

The Rahway Murder of 1887 regards the murder of an unidentified young woman whose body was found in Rahway, New Jersey on March 25, 1887. She is also known as The Unknown Woman or the Rahway Jane Doe. Four brothers traveling to work at the felt mills by Bloodgood's Pond in Clark, New Jersey early one morning found the young woman lying off Central Avenue near Jefferson Avenue several hundred feet from the Central Avenue Bridge over the Rahway River. Her body lay at the side of the road in a pool of blood that had frozen in the cold. Her throat had been cut from ear to ear, her hands were wounded, and the full right side of her face was bruised from a terrible beating. Description: The woman appeared to be in her early 20s, and was described as attractive, with brown hair and blue eyes. She was found clad in a dark green cashmere dress that had been trimmed with green feathers and a fur cape to protect from the cold. She also wore yellow kid gloves, what were described by the papers as "foreign good shoes," a black hat made of straw with red-colored velvet trimmings adorning it, a black dotted veil, and a bonnet. She had carried a basket of eggs. Other belongings were found in the Rahway River. Aftermath: Her murder was the subject of national headlines and hundreds came to view the body. Investigators had her embalmed body photographed dressed in the clothes she was found in and these images were circulated widely, but neither she nor her killer were ever identified. She was buried in May 1887 next to the Merchants' and Drovers' Tavern in Rahway Cemetery. At the time of the murder, Francis Tumblety, one of the many controversial purported suspects according to Ripperologists in the Jack the Ripper slayings, was living in New York City twenty miles from the site and one could travel in roughly 35 minutes from Rahway to New York City; one historian has speculated as to the theoretical possibility of significance.

blow dry

i taught myself how to use several types of blow dryers. i like them as my hair is pretty thick.

bun

i like my hair in a bun. it's 1 of the only things i did in music class my 1st semester

catcher uniform

this is a funny thing to wear. I said, "Can someone unstrap me from this thing?" as well as being unable to move my head when someone does something crazy.

artist

I'm pretty artistic. my mom put me in charge of the decorations so I did them and outdid the normal decorations. my mom also gave me the task of frosting cupcakes so I did them and added sprinkles. my art skills are great

milestones

birthdays, graduations, sweet sixteen's, baptisms, bar/ bat mitzvahs. all rite of passages. what about when your family rejects yours milestone? some parents aren't so keen on their kids being baptized into the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints (Mormons). I was 1 of the lucky ones. I was accepted. my parents congratulated me.

Death of Leelah Alcorn

Leelah Alcorn was an American transgender girl whose suicide attracted international attention. Alcorn had posted a suicide note to her Tumblr blog, writing about societal standards affecting transgender people and expressing the hope that her death would create a dialogue about discrimination, abuse and lack of support for transgender people. Assigned male at birth and given the name Joshua Ryan Alcorn, she was raised in a conservative Christian household in Ohio. At age 14, she came out as transgender to her parents, Carla and Doug Alcorn, who refused to accept her female gender identity. When she was 16, they denied her request to undergo transition treatment, instead sending her to Christian-based conversion therapy with the intention of convincing her to reject her gender identity and accept her gender as assigned at birth. After she revealed her attraction toward males to her classmates, her parents removed her from school and revoked her access to social media. In her suicide note, Alcorn cited loneliness and alienation as key reasons for her decision to end her life and blamed her parents for causing these feelings. She committed suicide by walking out in front of oncoming traffic on the Interstate 71 highway. Alcorn arranged for her suicide note to be posted online several hours after her death, and it soon attracted international attention across mainstream and social media. LGBT rights activists called attention to the incident as evidence of the problems faced by transgender youth, while vigils were held in her memory in the United States and United Kingdom. Petitions were formed calling for the establishment of "Leelah's Law", a ban on conversion therapy in the U.S., which received a supportive response from U.S. President Barack Obama. Within a year, the city of Cincinnati had criminalised conversion therapy. Alcorn's parents were criticized for misgendering Leelah in comments that they made to the media, while LGBT rights activist Dan Savage blamed them for their child's death and social media users subjected them to online harassment. They defended their refusal to accept their child's identity and their use of conversion therapy by reference to their Christian beliefs. Life: Assigned male at birth, Alcorn was given the name Joshua Ryan Alcorn. She eventually rejected this forename, and in her suicide note signed herself "(Leelah) Josh Alcorn". She was one of several children. Describing herself as being raised in a conservative Christian environment, she and her family attended the Northeast Church of Christ in Cincinnati, and had been featured in a profile of that church published in a 2011 article in The Christian Chronicle. According to her suicide note, Alcorn had felt "like a girl trapped in a boy's body" since she was four, and came to identify as a transgender girl from the age of fourteen, when she became aware of the term. According to her note, she immediately informed her mother, who reacted "extremely negatively" by claiming that it was only a phase and that God had made her a male, so she could never be a woman. She stated that this made her hate herself, and that she developed a form of depression. Her mother sent her to Christian conversion therapists, but there "only got more Christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help." Aged sixteen, she requested that she be allowed to undergo transition treatment, but was denied permission: "I felt hopeless, that I was just going to look like a man in drag for the rest of my life. On my 16th birthday, when I didn't receive consent from my parents to start transitioning, I cried myself to sleep." Alcorn publicly revealed her attraction to males when she was sixteen, as she believed that identifying as a gay male at that point would be a stepping stone to coming out as transgender at a later date. According to a childhood friend, Alcorn received a positive reception from many at school, although her parents were appalled. In Alcorn's words, "They felt like I was attacking their image, and that I was an embarrassment to them. They wanted me to be their perfect little straight Christian boy, and that's obviously not what I wanted." They removed her from Kings High School, and enrolled her as an eleventh grader at an online school, Ohio Virtual Academy. According to Alcorn, her parents cut her off from the outside world for five months as they denied her access to social media and many forms of communication. She described this as a significant contributing factor towards her suicide. At the end of the school year, they returned her phone to her and allowed her to regain contact with her friends, although by this time – according to Alcorn – her relationship with many of them had become strained and she continued to feel isolated. Two months prior to her death, Alcorn sought out help on the social media website Reddit, asking users whether the treatment perpetrated by her parents was considered child abuse. There, she revealed that while her parents had never physically assaulted her, "they always talked to me in a very derogatory tone" and "would say things like 'You'll never be a real girl' or 'What're you going to do, fuck boys?' or 'God's going to send you straight to hell'. These all made me feel awful about myself, I was Christian at the time so I thought that God hated me and that I didn't deserve to be alive." Further, she explained, "I tried my absolute hardest to live up to their standards and be a straight male, but eventually I realized that I hated religion and my parents." On Reddit, Alcorn also disclosed that she was prescribed increasing dosages of the anti-depressant Prozac. In concluding her post, she wrote, "Please help me, I don't know what I should do and I can't take much more of this." Alcorn's computer was recovered near the site of her suicide. It contained conversations showing that she had planned to jump off the bridge that overlooks Interstate 71 days before the incident, but then contacted a crisis hotline and, as told to a friend, "basically cried my eyes out for a couple of hours talking to a lady there". "When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn't make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don't tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don't ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won't do anything but make them hate them self. That's exactly what it did to me." — Leelah Alcorn, 2014 Death: Prior to her death on December 28, 2014, Alcorn had scheduled for her suicide note to be automatically posted on her Tumblr account at 5.30pm. In the note, she stated her intention to end her life, commenting: I have decided I've had enough. I'm never going to transition successfully, even when I move out. I'm never going to be happy with the way I look or sound. I'm never going to have enough friends to satisfy me. I'm never going to have enough love to satisfy me. I'm never going to find a man who loves me. I'm never going to be happy. Either I live the rest of my life as a lonely man who wishes he were a woman or I live my life as a lonelier woman who hates herself. There's no winning. There's no way out. I'm sad enough already, I don't need my life to get any worse. People say "it gets better" but that isn't true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse. That's the gist of it, that's why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that's not a good enough reason for you, it's good enough for me.She expressed her wish that all of her possessions and money be donated to a transgender advocacy charity, and called for issues surrounding gender identity to be taught in schools. The note ended with the statement: "My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say "that's fucked up" and fix it. Fix society. Please." A second post appeared shortly after; titled "Sorry", it featured an apology to her close friends and siblings for the trauma that her suicide would put them through, but also contained a message to her parents: "Fuck you. You can't just control other people like that. That's messed up." An additional, handwritten suicide note reading "I've had enough" was found on her bed, but then thrown away by Alcorn's mother after police made a copy. In the early morning of December 28, police informed news sources that she had been walking southbound on Interstate 71 near Union Township when she was struck by a semi-trailer just before 2:30 am near the South Lebanon exit. She died at the scene. It is believed that Alcorn walked three to four miles from her parents' house in nearby Kings Mills, Ohio, before being struck. The highway was closed for more than an hour after the incident. An investigation was launched by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, while Alcorn's body was transported to the Montgomery County coroner, where an autopsy was scheduled. The truck driver was uninjured in the incident and was not charged with any criminal offence by police. Within 48 hours of the posting of her suicide note, it had attracted 82,272 views, and by the morning of December 31 it had been reposted on Tumblr 200,000 times. The Boston Globe described it as a "passionate post". The suicide note was later deleted after Alcorn's parents asked for it to be removed,[ and the blog was made inaccessible to the public. According to the family minister, the Alcorn family decided to hold the funeral privately after receiving threats. Alcorn's body was reportedly cremated. The Ohio State Patrol completed their investigation into Alcorn's death on April 30, 2015, officially ruling it a suicide. Reaction- Criticism of Alcorn's parents: On December 28 at 2:56 p.m., Alcorn's mother, Carla Wood Alcorn, posted a public message on the social media website Facebook, stating: "My sweet 16-year-old son, Joshua Ryan Alcorn, went home to Heaven this morning. He was out for an early morning walk and was hit by a truck. Thank you for the messages and kindness and concern you have sent our way. Please continue to keep us in your prayers." Carla Alcorn's post was subsequently deleted, and her Facebook account was made private. The Alcorn family publicly requested that they be given privacy to grieve in a statement issued by the Kings Local School District. In that statement, staff from Alcorn's former school, Kings High School, declared that "Joshua Alcorn was a sweet, talented, tender-hearted 17-year-old", adding that counselors would be made available to students affected by the incident. A moment of silence was held in Alcorn's memory before a Kings High basketball game on December 30. Some of Alcorn's sympathizers publicly criticized the teen's mother, Carla Alcorn, for misgendering her daughter in the Facebook post announcing Leelah's death. Some individuals — termed the Internet's self-appointed vigilantes" in The Washington Post — subsequently doxed and harassed Carla via her Facebook account "in revenge" for Leelah's death. On Twitter, American gay rights activist Dan Savage argued that Alcorn's parents should be prosecuted for their role in bringing about their daughter's death, commenting that through their actions they "threw her in front of that truck". He cited the successful prosecution of Dharun Ravi following the suicide of Tyler Clementi as a legal precedent for such an action. He added that legal action should also be brought against the conversion therapists who had counselled Leelah, and suggested that the Alcorns should lose custody of their other children. Carla Alcorn responded to such criticism in an interview with CNN, stating "we loved him unconditionally. We loved him no matter what. I loved my son. People need to know that I loved him. He was a good kid, a good boy." Although acknowledging that Leelah had requested transition surgery, Carla stated that she had never heard her child use the name "Leelah", before reiterating her refusal to accept her child's transgender status, adding "We don't support that, religiously." She expressed concern that users of social media thought her to be a "horrible person", but defended her actions in dealing with her child, stating that she had banned Leelah's internet access to prevent her accessing "inappropriate" things. In an email to Cincinnati-based channel WCPO-TV, Leelah's father Doug Alcorn wrote, "We love our son, Joshua, very much and are devastated by his death. We have no desire to enter into a political storm or debate with people who did not know him. We wish to grieve in private. We harbor no ill will towards anyone... I simply do not wish our words to be used against us." Writing for Salon, Mary Elizabeth Williams commented that "it would be cruel and inaccurate to suggest that Carla Alcorn did not love her child", but added that Carla's statement that she "loved him unconditionally" revealed "a tragic lack of understanding of the word 'unconditionally,' even in death." People magazine quoted Johanna Olson, Medical Director for the Center of Trans Youth Health and Development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, as stating that "Did Leelah's parents love her? Yes, I'm sure they did. Did they support her? No, they didn't. And that's a tragedy." Mara Keisling, the Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, was quoted in The Independent as stating that the blaming of Alcorn's parents was unhelpful, adding, "Despite the great cultural and policy advances transgender people have made, there is still a lot of disrespect, discrimination and violence aimed at us. And being a child or a teenager of any kind today is very difficult." Tributes, vigils, and activism: The day after Alcorn's suicide note was published online, Chris Seelbach, the first openly gay councilman on Cincinnati City Council, shared it as part of a Facebook message in which he stated that her death showed how hard it was to be transgender in the U.S. His post was shared over 4,700 times and raised increased public awareness of the incident. By December 30, Alcorn's death had attracted worldwide attention. News outlets across the world had picked up the story, and the hashtag #LeelahAlcorn had topped Twitter. According to British newspaper The Independent, the incident "triggered widespread anguish and raised a debate about the rights of transgender people", while the U.S.-based Boston Globe stated that it "served as a flashpoint for transgender progress in 2014". On January 1, 2015, the Cincinnati-based LGBT rights group Support Marriage Equality Ohio hosted a vigil for Alcorn outside Kings High School. A candlelight vigil in Goodale Park, Columbus was held on January 2 by a group called Stand Up 4 Leelah. A further vigil was organized by both The Diverse City Youth Chorus in partnership with the Cincinnati chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center for January 10. The vigil location at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center was moved to the Woodward Theater, to make way for a larger setting. The venue was attended by nearly 600 supporters. A January 3 vigil was scheduled for Trafalgar Square in London; an organizer was quoted as saying that "Alcorn's death was a political death. When a member of our community is brutalised at the hands of oppression we must all fight back". Those who spoke at the event included politician Sarah Brown and novelist and poet Roz Kaveney. Marches were carried out in honor of Alcorn in both Northwest, Washington, D.C. and Queen Street, Auckland on January 10. The same day, a candlelight vigil was held in New York City's Columbus Circle. A memorial protest against conversion therapy and in memory of Alcorn took place in Lynchburg, Virginia on January 24, 2015. Among the transgender celebrities who publicly responded to the incident were Janet Mock, Andreja Pejić, and Laverne Cox, while the musician Ray Toro released a song, "For The Lost And Brave", in dedication to Alcorn. Jill Soloway, the writer of television show Transparent, dedicated her Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series to Alcorn. During Diane Sawyer's interview with Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce), which confirmed Jenner's transgender identity, Alcorn was mentioned by name and the message "Fix society. Please" was broadcast. The Ohio Department of Transportation put up signs on the interchange of Interstate 71 South and Ohio State Route 48 in Warren County, where Alcorn died, to show that a group adopted that part of the road in memory of Alcorn. Carolyn Washburn, editor of the Ohio newspaper The Cincinnati Enquirer, stated that the incident "raises important issues we hope will prompt conversations in families throughout our region." Washburn had also received letters that derided the newspaper's use of Alcorn's chosen name in covering her death. When contacted by The Cincinnati Enquirer, Shane Morgan, the founder and chair of transgender advocate group TransOhio, stated that while 2014 witnessed gains for the trans rights movement, Alcorn's death illustrated how "trans people are still being victimized and still being disrespected", highlighting the high rate of transgender people who had been murdered that year. Since the incident, TransOhio received letters from parents of transgender children describing how Leelah's death had affected them. Morgan stated that while he understood the anger directed toward Leelah's parents, "there's no excuse for threats to the family." Allison Woolbert, executive director of the Transgender Human Rights Institute, informed The Independent that Leelah's case was "not unique"; the newspaper highlighted research from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicating that LGBT youth are about twice as likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual, cisgender teenagers. Newsweek similarly placed Alcorn's suicide within its wider context of transphobic discrimination, highlighting that the Youth Suicide Prevention Program reports that over 50% of transgender youths attempt suicide before the age of 20, and that the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs recently published a report indicating that 72% of LGBT homicide victims in 2013 were transgender women. Leelah's Law: A Facebook group called "Justice for Leelah Alcorn" was established, while a petition calling for "Leelah's Law", a ban on conversion therapy in the United States, was created by the Transgender Human Rights Institute to raise awareness of the psychologically harmful effects of such practices; by January 24 it had 330,009 signatures, and was named the fastest growing change.org petition of 2014. A second appeal demanding the enactment of "Leelah's Law" was posted to the We the People section of WhiteHouse.gov on January 3, 2015 which garnered more than 100,000 signatures as of January 30. In response to the petition President Barack Obama called for the banning of conversion therapy for minors. Under the Twitter hashtag #RealLiveTransAdult, many transgender people posted encouraging tweets for their younger counterparts, while other hashtags, such as #ProtectTransKids, and the term "Rest in Power", also circulated on Twitter. A change.org petition was set up calling for Leelah's chosen name to be included on her gravestone, which gained over 80,000 signatures. On January 6, Adam Hoover of Marriage Equality Ohio remarked that, since the request of having Alcorn's chosen name on her gravestone seemed "like a slim possibility", they would be raising money for a permanent memorial arranged as a bench, tree and commemorative plaque. In April 2015, President Obama responded to the petition seeking to ban conversion therapy inspired by Alcorn's death with a pledge to advocate for such a ban. In December 2015, Cincinnati became the second U.S. city after Washington D.C. to ban the practice of conversion therapy outright; council member Chris Seelbach cited Alcorn's suicide as an influence in the decision, stating that "She challenged us to make her death matter, and we're doing just that."

nice

those cookies are awesome. I love macadamia nut cookies

unbelievable

I was playing on the computer and someone from my church gave my family a shock and gave me a present

Louis B. Allyn

Lewis B. Allyn (Louis) (Westfield, Massachusetts) was an American chemistry professor and influential figure in the pure food movement at the time of his murder. He was teaching at Westfield Teachers College and contributing as a pure foods expert for McClure's magazines at the time of his shooting. His is the only unsolved murder in the history of Westfield, Massachusetts.

Holocaust denial

Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews and other groups in the Holocaust during World War II. Holocaust denial often includes the following claims: that Nazi Germany's Final Solution was aimed only at deporting Jews from the Reich, but that it did not include the extermination of Jews; that Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas chambers to mass murder Jews; and/or that the actual number of Jews killed was significantly (typically an order of magnitude) lower than the historically accepted figure of 5 to 6 million. Scholars use the term "denial" to describe the views and methodology of Holocaust deniers in order to distinguish them from legitimate historical revisionists, who challenge orthodox interpretations of history using established historical methodologies. Holocaust deniers generally do not accept the term denial as an appropriate description of their activities, and use the term revisionism instead. The methodologies of Holocaust deniers are often based on a predetermined conclusion that ignores overwhelming historical evidence to the contrary. Most Holocaust denial claims imply, or openly state, that the Holocaust is an exaggeration and/or a hoax arising out of a deliberate Jewish conspiracy to advance the interest of Jews at the expense of other peoples. For this reason, Holocaust denial is generally considered to be an antisemitic conspiracy theory, and is illegal in several countries. Terminology and etymology: Holocaust deniers prefer to refer to their work as historical revisionism, and object to being referred to as "deniers". Scholars consider this misleading, since the methods of Holocaust denial differ from those of legitimate historical revision. Legitimate historical revisionism is explained in a resolution adopted by the Duke University History Department, November 8, 1991, and reprinted in Duke Chronicle, November 13, 1991 in response to an advertisement produced by Bradley R Smith's Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust: That historians are constantly engaged in historical revision is certainly correct; however, what historians do is very different from this advertisement. Historical revision of major events ... is not concerned with the actuality of these events; rather, it concerns their historical interpretation – their causes and consequences generally. In 1992 Donald L. Niewyk gave some examples of how legitimate historical revisionism—the re-examination of accepted history and its updating with newly discovered, more accurate, or less-biased information—may be applied to the study of the Holocaust as new facts emerge to change the historical understanding of it: With the main features of the Holocaust clearly visible to all but the willfully blind, historians have turned their attention to aspects of the story for which the evidence is incomplete or ambiguous. These are not minor matters by any means, but turn on such issues as Hitler's role in the event, Jewish responses to persecution, and reactions by onlookers both inside and outside Nazi-controlled Europe. In contrast, the Holocaust denial movement bases its approach on the predetermined idea that the Holocaust, as understood by mainstream historiography, did not occur. Sometimes referred to as "negationism", from the French term négationnisme introduced by Henry Rousso, Holocaust deniers attempt to rewrite history by minimizing, denying or simply ignoring essential facts. Koenraad Elst writes: Negationism means the denial of historical crimes against humanity. It is not a reinterpretation of known facts, but the denial of known facts. The term negationism has gained currency as the name of a movement to deny a specific crime against humanity, the Nazi genocide on the Jews in 1941–45, also known as the holocaust (Greek: complete burning) or the Shoah (Hebrew: disaster). Negationism is mostly identified with the effort at re-writing history in such a way that the fact of the Holocaust is omitted.

thank the chef

once while on vacation with my dad the family asked to give their compliments to the chef as the meal was delicious

funniest thing i heard in church

telling me to tell my dad the bishop he (the bishop) said hi despite not knowing my dad personally

talking about me

people from church were talking about me and my dad's and how sad it was i'd moved.... until i'd shown up last week. they were surprised but happy about it.

Death of Azaria Chamberlain

Azaria Chamberlain was an Australian baby girl who was killed by a dingo on the night of 17 August 1980 on a family camping trip to Uluru (aka Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo. Lindy Chamberlain was, however, tried for murder and spent more than three years in prison. She was released when a piece of Azaria's clothing was found near a dingo lair, and new inquests were opened. In 2012, some 32 years after Azaria's death, the Chamberlains' version of events was officially confirmed by a coroner. An initial inquest held in Alice Springs supported the parents' claim and was highly critical of the police investigation. The findings of the inquest were broadcast live on television—a first in Australia. Subsequently, after a further investigation and a second inquest held in Darwin, Lindy Chamberlain was tried for murder, convicted on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Azaria's father, Michael Chamberlain, was convicted as an accessory after the fact and given a suspended sentence. The media focus for the trial was unusually intense and aroused accusations of sensationalism, while the trial itself was criticised for being unprofessional and biased. The Chamberlains made several unsuccessful appeals, including the final High Court appeal. After all legal options had been exhausted, the chance discovery in 1986 of a piece of Azaria's clothing in an area full of dingo lairs led to Lindy Chamberlain's release from prison. On 15 September 1988, the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned all convictions against Lindy and Michael Chamberlain. A third inquest was conducted in 1995, which resulted in an "open" finding. At a fourth inquest held on 12 June 2012, Coroner Elizabeth Morris delivered her findings that Azaria Chamberlain had been taken and killed by a dingo. After being released, Lindy Chamberlain was paid $1.5 million for false imprisonment and an amended death certificate was issued immediately. Numerous books have been written about the case. The story has been made into a TV movie, the feature film Evil Angels (released outside of Australia and New Zealand as A Cry in the Dark), a TV miniseries, a play by Brooke Pierce, a concept album by Australian band The Paradise Motel and an opera, Lindy, by Moya Henderson. Coroner's inquests: The initial coronial inquest into the disappearance was opened in Alice Springs on 15 December 1980 before magistrate Denis Barritt. On 20 February 1981, in the first live telecast of Australian court proceedings, Barritt ruled that the likely cause was a dingo attack. In addition to this finding, Barritt also concluded that, subsequent to the attack, "the body of Azaria was taken from the possession of the dingo, and disposed of by an unknown method, by a person or persons, name unknown". The Northern Territory Police and prosecutors were dissatisfied with this finding. Investigations continued, leading to a second inquest in Darwin in September 1981. Based on ultraviolet photographs of Azaria's jumpsuit, James Cameron of the London Hospital Medical College alleged that "there was an incised wound around the neck of the jumpsuit—in other words, a cut throat" and that there was an imprint of the hand of a small adult on the jumpsuit, visible in the photographs. Following this and other findings, the Chamberlains were charged with Azaria's murder. In 1995, a third inquest was conducted which failed to determine a cause of death, resulting in an "open" finding. In December 2011 the Northern Territory coroner, Elizabeth Morris, announced that a fourth inquest would be held in February 2012. On 12 June 2012 at a fourth coronial inquest into the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, Morris ruled that a dingo was responsible for her death in 1980. Morris made the finding in the light of subsequent reports of dingo attacks on humans causing injury and death. She stated, "Azaria Chamberlain died at Uluru, then known as Ayers Rock, on 17 August 1980. The cause of her death was as a result of being attacked and taken by a dingo." Morris offered her condolences to the parents and brothers of Azaria Chamberlain "on the death of their special and dearly loved daughter and sister" and stated that a death certificate with the cause of death had been registered. Case against Lindy Chamberlain: The Crown alleged that Lindy Chamberlain had cut Azaria's throat in the front seat of the family car, hiding the baby's body in a large camera case. She then, according to the proposed reconstruction of the crime, rejoined the group of campers around a campfire and fed one of her sons a can of baked beans, before going to the tent and raising the cry that a dingo had taken the baby. It was alleged that at a later time, while other people from the campsite were searching, she disposed of the body. The key evidence supporting this allegation was the jumpsuit, as well as a highly contentious forensic report claiming to have found evidence of foetal haemoglobin in stains on the front seat of the Chamberlains' 1977 Torana hatchback. Foetal haemoglobin is present in infants six months and younger; Azaria was nine weeks old at the time of her disappearance. Lindy Chamberlain was questioned about the garments that Azaria was wearing. She claimed that Azaria was wearing a matinee jacket over the jumpsuit, but the jacket was not present when the garments were found. She was questioned about the fact that Azaria's singlet, which was inside the jumpsuit, was inside out. She insisted that she never put a singlet on her babies inside out and that she was most particular about this. The statement conflicted with the state of the garments when they were collected as evidence. The garments had been arranged by the investigating officer for a photograph. In her defence, eyewitness evidence was presented of dingoes having been seen in the area on the evening of 17 August 1980. All witnesses claimed to believe the Chamberlains' story. One witness, a nurse, also reported having heard a baby's cry after the time when the prosecution alleged Azaria had been murdered. Evidence was also presented that adult blood also passed the test used for foetal haemoglobin, and that other organic compounds can produce similar results on that particular test, including mucus from the nose and chocolate milkshakes, both of which had been present in the vehicle where Azaria was allegedly murdered. Engineer Les Harris, who had conducted dingo research for over a decade, said that, contrary to Cameron's findings, a dingo's carnassial teeth can shear through material as tough as motor vehicle seat belts. He also cited an example of a captive female dingo removing a bundle of meat from its wrapping paper and leaving the paper intact. Evidence was also presented to the effect that a dingo was strong enough to carry a kangaroo and a report of the removal of a three-year-old girl by a dingo from the back seat of a tourist's motor vehicle at the camping area just weeks before, an event witnessed by the parents. The defence's case was rejected by the jury. Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murder on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Michael Chamberlain was found guilty as an accessory after the fact and was given an 18-month suspended sentence. Appeals: An appeal was made to the High Court in November 1983. Asked to quash the convictions on the ground that the verdicts were unsafe and unsatisfactory, in February 1984 the court refused the appeal by majority. Release and acquittal: The final resolution of the case was triggered by a chance discovery. In early 1986, English tourist David Brett fell to his death from Uluru during an evening climb. Because of the vast size of the rock and the scrubby nature of the surrounding terrain, it was eight days before Brett's remains were discovered, lying below the bluff where he had lost his footing and in an area full of dingo lairs. As police searched the area, looking for missing bones that might have been carried off by dingoes, they discovered a small item of clothing. It was quickly identified as the crucial missing piece of evidence from the Chamberlain case, Azaria's missing matinee jacket. The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory ordered Lindy Chamberlain's immediate release and the case was reopened. On 15 September 1988, the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned all convictions against Lindy and Michael Chamberlain. The exoneration was based on a rejection of two key points of the prosecution's case and of biased and invalid assumptions made during the initial trial. The questionable nature of the forensic evidence in the Chamberlain trial, and the weight given to it, raised concerns about such procedures and about expert testimony in criminal cases. The prosecution had successfully argued that the pivotal haemoglobin tests indicated the presence of foetal haemoglobin in the Chamberlains' car and it was a significant factor in the original conviction. But it was later shown that these tests were highly unreliable and that similar tests, conducted on a "sound deadener" sprayed on during the manufacture of the car, had yielded virtually identical results. Two years after they were exonerated, the Chamberlains were awarded A$1.3 million in compensation for wrongful imprisonment, a sum that covered less than one third of their legal expenses. The findings of the third coroner's inquest were released on 13 December 1995; and the coroner found "the cause and manner of death as unknown." The findings of the fourth coroner's inquest were released on 12 June 2012; and the coroner found that: ii) Azaria Chamberlain died at Uluru, then known as Ayers Rock, on 17 August 1980. iii) The cause of her death was as the result of being attacked and taken by a dingo. — Ms Elizabeth Morris SM, Coroner. Inquest into the death of Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain 2012 NTMC 020. 12 June 2012. Media involvement and bias: The Chamberlain trial was the most publicised in Australian history. Given that most of the evidence presented in the case against Lindy Chamberlain was later rejected, the case is now used as an example of how media and bias can adversely affect a trial. Public and media opinion during the trial was polarised, with "fanciful rumours and sickening jokes" and many cartoons. In particular, antagonism was directed towards Lindy Chamberlain for reportedly not behaving like a "stereotypical" grieving mother. Much was made of the Chamberlains' Seventh-day Adventist religion, including false allegations that the church was actually a cult that killed infants as part of bizarre religious ceremonies, that the family took a newborn baby to a remote desert location, and that Lindy Chamberlain showed little emotion during the proceedings. One anonymous tip was received from a man, falsely claiming to be Azaria's doctor in Mount Isa, that the name "Azaria" meant "sacrifice in the wilderness" (it actually means "God helped"). Others claimed that Lindy Chamberlain was a witch. The press appeared to seize upon any point that could be sensationalised. For example, it was reported that Lindy Chamberlain dressed her baby in a black dress. This provoked negative opinion, despite the trends of the early 1980s, during which black and navy cotton girls' dresses were in fashion, often trimmed with brightly coloured ribbon, or printed with brightly coloured sprigs of flowers. Subsequent events: Since the Chamberlain case, proven cases of attacks on humans by dingoes have been discussed in the public domain, in particular dingo attacks on Fraser Island (off the Queensland coast), the last refuge in Australia for isolated pure-bred wild dingoes. In the wake of these attacks, it emerged that there had been at least 400 documented dingo attacks on Fraser Island. Most were against children, but at least two were on adults. For example, in April 1998, a 13-month-old girl was attacked by a dingo and dragged for about one metre (3 ft) from a picnic blanket at the Waddy Point camping area. The child was dropped when her father intervened. In July 2004, Frank Cole, a Melbourne pensioner, claimed that he had shot a dingo in 1980 and found a baby in its mouth. After interviewing Cole on the matter, police decided not to reopen the case. He claimed to have the ribbons from the jacket which Azaria had been wearing when she disappeared as proof of his involvement. However, Lindy Chamberlain claimed that the jacket had no ribbons on it. Cole's credibility was further damaged when it was revealed he had made unsubstantiated claims about another case. In August 2005, a 25-year-old woman named Erin Horsburgh claimed that she was Azaria Chamberlain, but her claims were rejected by the authorities and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Media Watch programme, which stated that none of the reports linking Horsburgh to the Chamberlain case had any substance. In 2008, the Holden Torana car that was tested for Azaria's blood in the original court case was used in the wedding of Aidan Chamberlain, Azaria's brother, who was six when his sister disappeared. His bride arrived at the ceremony in the car and his father, Michael Chamberlain, said that he was proud the couple had chosen to use the car which was the centrepiece of the case. Current status: The cause of Azaria Chamberlain's disappearance was determined and announced on 12 June 2012. The Northern Territory coroner officially amended her death certificate to show that the cause of death "was as the result of being attacked and taken by a dingo". The Chamberlains divorced in 1991 and have both remarried. Lindy and her second husband lived for a time in the United States and New Zealand but have since returned to Australia. The National Museum of Australia has in its collection more than 250 items related to the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, which Lindy Chamberlain has helped document. Items include courtroom sketches by artists Jo Darbyshire and Veronica O'Leary, camping equipment, a piece of the dashboard from the Chamberlain family's car, outfits worn by Lindy Chamberlain, the number from her prison door, and the black dress worn by Azaria. The National Library of Australia has a small collection of items relating to Azaria, such as her birth detail records and her hospital identification bracelet, as well as a manuscript collection which includes around 20,000 documents including some of the Chamberlain family's correspondence and a large number of letters from the general public. Media and cultural impact: The story has been the subject of several books, films and television shows, and other publications and accounts. John Bryson's book Evil Angels was published in 1985, and in 1988, Australian film director Fred Schepisi adapted the book into a feature film of the same name (released as A Cry in the Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand). It starred Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain and Sam Neill as Michael Chamberlain. The film gave Streep her eighth Academy Award nomination and her first AFI award. In 2002, Lindy, an opera by Moya Henderson, was produced by Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House. The story was dramatised as a TV miniseries, Through My Eyes (2004), with Miranda Otto and Craig McLachlan as the Chamberlains. This miniseries was based on Lindy Chamberlain's book of the same name. The incident was transmuted from tragedy to morbid comedy material for American shows such as Seinfeld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Simpsons, and "became deeply embedded in American pop culture" with phrases such as "A dingo's got my baby!" serving as "a punchline you probably remember hearing before you knew exactly what a dingo was." Australian rock band The Paradise Motel released an album commemorating the events of Azaria Chamberlain's life entitled Australian Ghost Story on the 30th anniversary of her death.

Hanbury Street

Hanbury Street is a street in Spitalfields, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs east from Spitalfields Junction at Commercial Street to the junction of Old Montague Street and Vallance Road at the east end. The eastern section is restricted to pedal cycles and pedestrians only. History: The street was laid out in the seventeenth century, and was originally known as Browne's Lane after the original developer. Its present name is derived from that of a local family who owned land here in the seventeenth century. In 1884, Florence Eleanor Soper, the daughter-in-law of General William Booth of The Salvation Army, inaugurated The Women's Social Work, which was run from a small house in Hanbury Street. This home for women was set up in the hopes that they would not have to turn to prostitution and provided a safe haven for those who were already suffering from the trade. On 8 September 1888, the body of Annie Chapman was found in the backyard of No.29 Hanbury Street. Chapman is generally held to have been the second victim of Jack the Ripper. Today, buildings with shops below and flats above can still be found on the south side of Hanbury Street, across from the murder site. But No.29, which was on the north side of the street, no longer exists, having been demolished. The Old Truman Brewery was extended to cover the entire block north of Hanbury Street; and since 2004 this has been the site of Sunday (Up)Market. British entertainer Bud Flanagan was born at No.12 Hanbury Street in 1896. Neo-Nazi militant David Copeland attempted to detonate a nail-bomb on the street on Saturday 24 April 1999. Copeland intended to place the bomb on adjoining Brick Lane during its weekly market held on Sundays, but mistakenly planted the bomb on a Saturday when the road was less busy. After realising his mistake and unwilling to change the timer on the bomb, he left it on Hanbury Street instead. At 5.45pm a member of the public found the bag and took it to Brick Lane police station which was closed, and then put it into his car boot, driving along Brick Lane. On realising it could have been a bomb he left the car at the junction with Fashion Street and called police, at which time the device exploded injuring six people and destroying two vehicles.

Umbrella man (assassination of John F. Kennedy)

The "umbrella man", identified by the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978 as Louie Steven Witt, is a name given to a figure who appears in the Zapruder film, and several other films and photographs, near the Stemmons Freeway sign within Dealey Plaza during the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Witt is the subject of a 2011 documentary short, The Umbrella Man, by Errol Morris for The New York Times. Conspiracy: A person popularly dubbed the "umbrella man" has been the object of much speculation, as he was the only person seen carrying, and opening, an umbrella on that sunny day. He was also one of the closest bystanders to President John F. Kennedy when Kennedy was first struck by a bullet. As Kennedy's limousine approached, the man opened up and lifted the umbrella high above his head, then spun or panned the umbrella from east to west (clockwise) as the president passed by him. In the aftermath of the assassination, the "umbrella man" sat down on the sidewalk next to another man before getting up and walking towards the Texas School Book Depository. Early speculation came from assassination researchers Josiah Thompson and Richard Sprague who noticed the open umbrella in a series of photographs. Thompson and Sprague suggested that the "umbrella man" may have been acting as a signaler of some kind, opening his umbrella to signal "go ahead" and then raising it to communicate "fire a second round". The "umbrella man" is depicted as performing such a role in Oliver Stone's film JFK. Another theory proposed by Robert Cutler and endorsed by Colonel L. Fletcher Prouty is that the umbrella may have been used to fire a dart with a paralyzing agent at Kennedy to immobilize his muscles and make him a "sitting duck" for an assassination. Identification: After an appeal to the public by the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations, Louie Steven Witt came forward in 1978 and claimed to be the "umbrella man". He claimed to still have the umbrella and did not know he had been the subject of controversy. He said that he brought the umbrella to simply heckle Kennedy whose father Joseph had been a supporter of the Nazi-appeasing British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. By waving a black umbrella, Chamberlain's trademark fashion accessory, Witt said he was protesting the Kennedy family appeasing Adolf Hitler before World War II. An umbrella had been used in cartoons in the 1930s to symbolize such appeasement, and Chamberlain often carried an umbrella. Kennedy, who wrote a thesis on appeasement while at Harvard, Why England Slept, might have recognized the symbolism of the umbrella. Black umbrellas had been used in connection with protests against the President before; at the time of the construction of the Berlin Wall, a group of schoolchildren from Bonn sent the White House an umbrella labeled Chamberlain. Testifying before the HSCA, Witt said "I think if the Guinness Book of World Records had a category for people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing, I would be No. 1 in that position, without even a close runner-up." Witt died on November 17, 2014.

1 sided relationship

i've said it once and i'll say it again. i hate sided relationships. what makes it worse is if it's a parent doing nothing to have a relationship with their kid. seriously. your kid is making an effort or doing a ton for you can't you make a TINY effort to for them? i'm in that scenario now. i've made friends but i can't bring them to my dad's place as he can't keep the house clean. i ask him to do 1 thing and he tries to get out of it.

Murder of Zachary Turner

Zachary Andrew Turner was a boy from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador who was killed by his mother, Shirley Jane Turner, in a murder-suicide on 18 August 2003. Turner drugged the infant and jumped into the Atlantic Ocean. At the time, Turner had been released on bail and awarded custody of the infant even though she was in the process of being extradited to the United States to stand trial for the murder of Zachary's father, Andrew David Bagby. The case led to a critical overview of Newfoundland's legal and child welfare systems as well as Canada's bail laws. A 2006 inquiry found serious shortcomings in how the province's social services system handled the case, suggesting that the judges, prosecutors, and child welfare agencies involved were more concerned with presuming Shirley Turner's innocence than with protecting Zachary Turner. The inquiry reached the conclusion that Zachary Turner's death was preventable. The case led to the passage of Bill C-464, or Zachary's Bill, which strengthened the conditions for bail in Canadian courts in cases involving the wellbeing of children. The deaths of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner later became the basis for the 2008 documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, directed by Kurt Kuenne. Perpetrator: Shirley Jane Turner was the Canadian-American daughter of a US serviceman and a local woman from St. Anthony, Newfoundland. Turner was raised with three siblings in Wichita, Kansas, United States, but moved to Newfoundland with her mother after her parents separated and, eventually, divorced. In 1980, Turner enrolled at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, seeking to embark on a medical career. Marriages and children: Upon becoming pregnant, Turner married a long-time boyfriend during Memorial University's 1981 winter recess. The child, a boy, was born on 9 July 1982. Turner's husband raised the child as a stay-at-home dad while Turner continued her studies. In 1983, Turner moved to Labrador City and worked as a science teacher. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter. During this period, she resumed a previous relationship with a fisherman from Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Her first marriage ended on 29 January 1988, leading her to marry her boyfriend from Corner Brook the following July. Turner gave birth to another daughter on 8 March 1990, one year before she and her second husband separated. Turner completed her undergraduate education while raising her children with help from her second husband. In October 1993, a man boarding with Turner confided to his therapist that he had witnessed her physically and emotionally abusing two of her children. Newfoundland social workers interviewed the children, who stated that their "disciplinarian" mother punished them with spankings and beltings. Turner's second husband, in his own interview, claimed that Turner only used the belt as a threat. The case was closed on 11 January 1994 without Turner herself ever being interviewed. Three years later, Turner divorced from her second husband and was granted custody of their daughter. Within days of the ruling, however, Turner sent her daughter back to live with her father in Portland Creek while her other two children were sent to Parson's Pond to live with their paternal grandmother. Since 1982, Turner had taken out "baby bonuses" for her children from a scholarship fund with the expectation of sending them to university. However, in the summer of 2000, Turner confessed to a relative that she had spent the baby bonuses on her own living expenses as well as her doctoral education. Turner insisted, however, that she would earn "big money" after completing her post-residency training and would pay for her children's post-secondary education. Medical residencies: Turner received her undergraduate degree from Memorial University in May 1994; four years later, she earned her MD degree. Between 1998 and 2000, she served as a medical intern or resident physician at teaching hospitals across Newfoundland. Her performance during a 1999 residency period at a family practice in St. John's drew harsh assessments by her supervising physician, who stated she would become "quite hostile, yelling, crying, and accusing me of treating her unfairly." During her remedial second residency period in early 2000, Turner missed nine days of her three-month rotation and falsified clinical reports. One patient refused to return to the practice after an encounter with her. The staff became "so concerned about Shirley Turner's approach to confrontation and the truth that we would never give her feedback or hold any major discussion with her alone." These incidents left the supervising physician with the impression that: I felt I was being manipulated whenever I spoke with Shirley Turner. When negative items would come up she would change the topic to one of my failings. She could be charming, friendly and lively but when caught in an untruth she would become angry, accusatory and loud. I always felt Shirley Turner was putting on a show, as if she were playing the role but had no feeling for her work. I cannot recall a trainee like Shirley Turner in that her approach lacked personal commitment and her relationships with people seemed, at least to me, to be superficial when compared to the over 400 residents I have supervised during the past 21 years. In a later interview with an assessment officer of the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, the supervising physician described Turner in hindsight as "a manipulative, guiltless psychopath." The experience with Turner led the St. John's practice to make "constructive changes" in its residency evaluation process. By the summer of 2000, Turner completed the requirements of her residency training and became qualified to practice medicine. Stalking case: In March 1996, Turner began a relationship with a St. John's resident who was nine years her junior. After the man broke up with Turner and moved elsewhere in Newfoundland, she inundated him with phone calls. In November 1997, Turner confronted him in Halifax, Nova Scotia and struck him in the jaw with her high-heeled shoe. After consulting with his parents, the ex-boyfriend moved to Westtown Township, Pennsylvania, United States in 1998. However, Turner followed him and left threatening voicemails over the following year. Turner began traveling to Pennsylvania to make unannounced visits to the ex-boyfriend's apartment. On several occasions, he summoned state troopers to convince her to leave. He expressed fear to police of "what Dr. Turner would do next." On 7 April 1999, the ex-boyfriend found Turner lying semi-conscious outside of his apartment. She had ingested a combined 65 milligrams of over-the-counter drugs in what may not have been a sincere suicide attempt. Turner was wearing a black dress, and carried a bouquet of red roses and two suicide notes on her person. One was addressed to the man and the other to her psychiatrist; the letter read, "I am not evil, just sick." Turner was rushed to a hospital, where her stomach was pumped. The following day, the man found a voicemail by a female caller – likely Turner disguising her voice – who said, "Dr. Turner died last night." Andrew Bagby murder- Background: Beginning in early 1999, Turner began dating Andrew David Bagby (b. 25 September 1973 – d. 5 November 2001), an American medical student studying at Memorial University for his third year. Bagby came from Sunnyvale, California and was the son of Kathleen Daphne Bagby (née Barnard) a registered nurse and midwife from Chatham, England, UK; and David Franklin Bagby, a former US Navy serviceman and computer engineer. In August 2000, Turner moved to Sac City, Iowa to begin work for the Trimark Physicians Corporation. Meanwhile, after graduating from Memorial University in May 2000, Bagby landed a surgical residency at the State University of New York at Syracuse. Despite the distance between states, Turner and Bagby initially tried to maintain a long distance relationship. By Turner's account, she visited Bagby's residence in Syracuse seven times while he visited her once in Sac City. During one of these visits, Turner is believed to have burglarised Bagby's apartment. In the fall of 2001, Bagby moved to Latrobe, Pennsylvania and began his residency at a family practice under the supervision of Dr. T. Clark Simpson. On 10 July 2001, less than a year into her ten-year contract with Trimark, Turner left their Sac City clinic and moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where she was hired by Alegent Health System of Omaha, Nebraska. In October 2001, Turner obtained a permit to buy a firearm and purchased a Phoenix Arms HP22 handgun and .22 ammunition, which she used during firearms lessons. Meanwhile, Turner exhibited possessive behaviour towards Bagby and harassed him over the phone. When Turner visited him in Latrobe in late October 2001 – immediately after the last of her firearms lessons in Omaha – the two frequently argued over his relationship with a new girlfriend. On 3 November 2001, Bagby drove Turner to the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and broke up with her over lunch, sending her on a plane back to Iowa. Bagby murder and investigation: On 4 November 2001, Turner made a total of three phone calls to Bagby's residence in Latrobe. At approximately 1:00 p.m. local time, Turner embarked on a sixteen-hour, 1,523 kilometre (946 mile) drive to Latrobe with her gun and ammunition inside a gun box in her Toyota Rav4. In the early morning of 5 November 2001, she confronted Bagby at his residence, located across the street from his practice. Bagby arrived at work in an "agitated" state and told Simpson about her appearance, but dismissed his advice to not meet with her in private; Bagby subsequently promised to visit Simpson's house after talking to Turner that evening, but he never showed up. Turner later drove home and left a message on Bagby's answering machine. The following morning, Bagby's body was found in a day-use parking lot at Keystone State Park in Derry Township, Pennsylvania. He had been shot five times in the face, the chest, the buttocks, and the back of the head with CCI .22 bullets. Acting on statements by Simpson and others, the Pennsylvania State Police contacted Turner. Despite her claim to have been in bed sick on 5 November, cell phone and Internet records showed that she had made cross-country calls both to and from Latrobe, accessed eBay and Hotmail from Bagby's home computer, and used his home phone to call in sick. When confronted with this evidence, Turner claimed that she met with Bagby at Keystone State Park, but that he put the gun in his trunk. Turner alternately told her shooting instructor that her gun had been stolen. Investigators interviewed Turner's shooting instructor, who explained that her handgun ejected live rounds during lessons; this was consistent with an unspent round recovered near Bagby's body. Later, a Derry resident traveling through the park reported seeing Bagby's Toyota Corolla parked next to Turner's Rav4 ten minutes after Bagby made his last phone call to Simpson; the resident later saw the Corolla parked alone the following morning. The lot number on a box of condoms found in Turner's Council Bluffs apartment matched a box purchased by Bagby in Latrobe on the night of the break-up. Also in Turner's apartment were Mapquest printouts for road directions to Latrobe. Despite the evidence gathered, Turner fled the country by the time authorities obtained a warrant for her arrest. Legal saga: On 12 November 2001, Turner abandoned her residence in Council Bluffs and flew to Toronto, eventually resettling in St. John's with her oldest son. Acting in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Police, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary's Intelligence Unit conducted surveillance on her movements. On 2 December, the Unit seized her trash and discovered printouts for an ultrasound taken on 29 November, showing a fetus that was conceived with Bagby the previous month. The RNC arrested Turner on 12 December, the same day extradition proceedings commenced against her. However, Crown Prosecutor Michael Madden (recently appointed as Associate Chief Judge with the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador) allowed Turner to be released on bail hours later, surmising that she was not a flight risk despite her previous actions, which were outlined in the warrant submitted by the Westmoreland County district attorney's office. In exchange for her freedom, Turner was required to post CAD$75,000 bail, turn in her passports, pay weekly visits to the RNC, promise not to leave the area, and make no attempt to contact Bagby's family. Turner posted bail with help from her psychiatrist, Dr. John Doucet, a former co-worker from Memorial University. The news that Turner was pregnant with Bagby's child turned the extradition case into one involving child custody, and subsequently led to a complicated legal saga. David and Kathleen Bagby moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, in order to fight for custody of their son's child, while Turner eventually moved into her own apartment on Pleasant Street, St. John's. Custody case: After Zachary's birth on 18 July 2002, Turner persistently refused to allow David and Kathleen Bagby to see their grandson, fearing they would kidnap him. She went so far as to discharge her family law lawyer because of his positive attitude towards the Bagbys. On several occasions, it was noted that Zachary was unusually detached from his mother and preferred the company of other adults, especially the Bagbys. This preference was made especially clear during Zachary's first birthday party at a St. John's McDonald's, after which Turner said to them, "He obviously loves you more than me, so why don't you take him." Murder-suicide: g to frame the boyfriend for the impending murder-suicide. After spiking Zachary's baby formula with Ativan and ingesting it herself, Turner strapped the infant to her chest and jumped off a fishing wharf into the Atlantic Ocean. Both drowned. It was determined that Zachary Turner was rendered unconscious by the Ativan and did not suffer. Subsequent events- Investigations and findings: On May 3, 2006, a disciplinary board convened by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador found Dr. John Doucet guilty of professional misconduct for his involvement in helping post Turner's $75,000 bail. Doucet was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 – covering one third of the $30,000 incurred by the College for the inquiry – and was ordered to undergo psychiatric counselling. Doucet said he was "disappointed" by the verdict, while David Bagby stated that he was happy with the precedent his case would be setting. According to filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, Doucet later left Newfoundland and relocated elsewhere in Canada. In October 2006, Winnipeg-based coroner Peter Markesteyn released the Turner Review and Investigation, which concluded that Zachary Turner's death was preventable and criticised Newfoundland and Labrador's social services system for failing to protect the child from his mother, stating, "Nowhere did I find any ongoing assessment of the safety needs of the children." Markesteyn specifically cited poor communication between social services officials, who worked on the presumption of Shirley Turner's innocence throughout the case and became more concerned for her welfare than for Zachary's. Markesteyn ultimately concluded that internal disagreements between case workers and managers weren't openly discussed, and that an intervention by an outside office should have been made. The provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador accepted the report's conclusions and its twenty-nine recommendations. Activism by David and Kathleen Bagby: On 23 October 2009, Scott Andrews, then a Liberal MP from Newfoundland and Labrador, introduced Bill C-464, or "Zachary's Bill", which would change the Criminal Code of Canada to allow the courts to justify their refusing bail to those accused of serious crimes in the name of protecting their children. The bill received unanimous bipartisan support in the Canadian House of Commons, and received support from Liberal Senator Tommy Banks. It was finally signed into law by Governor-General David Johnston on 16 December 2010. Andrews later said that the law "gives [the Bagbys] some sense that someone has heard their cries so this will not happen again, to change the law to make sure something this tragic will never happen again." Dear Zachary film: Written and directed by Kurt Kuenne, MSNBC Films and Oscilloscope Laboratories released Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father on October 31, 2008. The film is partly composed of home movies Kuenne and Bagby shot together as teenagers in California, and features interviews with Bagby's parents, extended family, friends, classmates, and colleagues both before and after Zachary's murder. A portion of the film also shows Kuenne meeting Zachary in Newfoundland in July 2003 to celebrate his first birthday, one month before his death; Shirley Turner is present during the visit, but Kuenne avoids her. The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival, and was broadcast by MSNBC on 7 December 2008. The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named the film one of the five top documentaries of the year for 2008. Among those who named it one of the best films of 2008 were Time Out Chicago, The Oregonian, the Times Herald-Record, Slant Magazine, and WGN Radio Chicago. The website Film School Rejects place the film in third place in their "30 Best Films of the Decade" list. The Film Vault included the film on their "Top 5 Good Movies You Never Want to See Again." The Chicago Film Critics Association nominated Dear Zachary for Best Documentary. The Society of Professional Journalists presented the film with its Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Documentary, it received the Special Jury and Audience Awards at the Cinequest Film Festival, it was named an Audience Favorite at Hot Docs, it received the Audience Awards at the St. Louis International Film Festival and the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, and it was named Best Documentary at the Orlando Film Festival.