Awsome scam lands lawyer in clink

Wow, it’s sort of a dumb criminal story. Not the garden variety ones you see on Countdown mind you. This one is strange simply due to how incredibly sloppy the crime was carried out, almost as though there was no planning involved prior to the act. You would think someone in real estate, in Manhattan of all places, would have the ability to carry out this scheme successfully. Oh well, must have been some small timers thinking they could play with the big dogs.

DA: Manhattan Attorney Stole $500,000

MANHATTAN--A Manhattan attorney has been indicted on charges of stealing $500,000 from individuals involved in real estate transactions.

Gwenerva Cherry, 50, or Morningside Ave. in New York City, had a firm in the name of Cherry and Marshburn at 305 Broadway, Suite 303. The investigation leading to the indictment revealed that Cherry was well-known in the Harlem area as an expert in removing buildings from Single Room Occupancy (SRO) status and representing clients who wanted to purchase townhouses in need of renovation. The defendant also represented a number of corporations in bankruptcy.

One of these corporations, Rapsil Construction Corp., was in bankruptcy proceedings and attempted to sell off some of its Harlem properties. In the fall of 2005, Rapsil, represented by Cherry, entered into contracts with several prospective buyers, who gave the defendant down payments totaling over $300,000. Cherry deposited those funds into her firm's IOLA account (Interest on Lawyer Account) and allegedly proceeded to steal those funds. Prosecutors said Cherry used the funds to pay office expenses and make payments to other clients.

Among the victims in this scam is a woman who gave the defendant $95,000 as a down payment on a Manhattan Avenue townhouse and a man who gave Cherry $80,000 for a West 140th Street townhouse. Both of these victims lost their money. Many of the victims had known the defendant for many years, either as clients or through other business transactions.

The investigation also revealed that in April 2006, Cherry allegedly received $200,000 from two clients for an alleged real estate investment that never existed. Prosecutors said Cherry told investors that they would be able to invest money in the purchase of a block of apartments in a Brooklyn building. Cheryy had the clients wire money to an account she held in the name of a business she ran independently from the law firm. The defendant claimed that the real estate deal was closing within days and that she needed the money immediately, or the clients would lose the opportunity to invest. The day after the money hit defendant's account, she transferred it to another account and used it to make payments to other clients and to herself.

Cherry has been charged with second and third degree grand larceny and first degree scheme to defraud. 2-27-07

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed by anyone without the express written permission of the publisher. This article is copyright protected.

© 2007 North Country Gazette

TELL CONGRESS NO TO WEAPONS BAN!!!!

This can't be allowed to happen!

THE MOST SWEEPING GUN BAN EVER INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS;
McCarthy Bill Bans Millions More Guns Than The Clinton Gun Ban

On Feb. 14, 2007, Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 1022, a bill with the stated purpose, "to reauthorize the assault weapons ban, and for other purposes."

McCarthy's verbiage warrants explanation. Presumably, what she means by "assault weapons ban" is the Clinton Gun Ban of 1994. Congress allowed the ban to expire in 2004 for multiple reasons, including the fact that federal, state and local law enforcement agency studies showed that guns affected by the ban had been used in only a small percentage of crime, before and after the ban was imposed.

With the nation's murder rate 43% lower than in 1991, and the re-legalized guns still used in only a small percentage of crime, reauthorizing the Clinton Gun Ban would be objectionable enough. But McCarthy's "other purposes" would make matters even worse. H.R. 1022 would ban every gun banned by the Clinton ban, plus millions more guns, including:

. Every gun made to comply with the Clinton ban. (The Clinton ban dictated the kinds of grips, stocks and attachments new guns could have. Manufacturers modified new guns to the Clinton requirements. H.R. 1022 would ban the modified guns too.)

. Guns exempted by the Clinton ban. (Ruger Mini-14s and -30s and Ranch Rifles; .30 cal. carbines; and fixed-magazine, semi-automatic, center-fire rifles that hold more than 10 rounds.)

. All semi-automatic shotguns. (E.g., Remington, Winchester, Beretta and Benelli, used for hunting, sport shooting, and self-defense. H.R. 1022 would ban them because they have "any characteristic that can function as a grip," and would also ban their main component, called the "receiver.")

. All detachable-magazine semi-automatic rifles-including, for example, the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22 .22 rimfire-because they have "any characteristic that can function as a grip."

. Target shooting rifles. (E.g., the three centerfire rifles most popular for marksmanship competitions: the Colt AR-15, the Springfield M1A and the M1 "Garand.")

. Any semi-automatic shotgun or rifle an Attorney General one day claims isn't "sporting," even though the constitutions of the U.S. and 44 states, and the laws of all 50 states, recognize the right to use guns for defense.

. 65 named guns (the Clinton law banned 19 by name); semi-auto fixed-magazine pistols of over 10 rounds capacity; and frames, receivers and parts used to repair or refurbish guns.

H.R. 1022 would also ban the importation of magazines exempted by the Clinton ban, ban the sale of a legally-owned "assault weapon" with a magazine of over 10 rounds capacity, and begin backdoor registration of guns, by requiring private sales of banned guns, frames, receivers and parts to be conducted through licensed dealers. Finally, whereas the Clinton Gun Ban was imposed for a 10-year trial period, H.R. 1022 would be a permanent ban.

Please be sure to contact your U.S. Representative and urge him or her to oppose
H.R. 1022!

You can call your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121.

Marx Cafe tonight!

Another Tuesday; another opportunity to get wild without the weekend! I'll be spinning from 10-2, you know where.

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Complacent Nation event this weekend

I'll be down for hitting this up. Sounds like an adventure!

It's been a beautiful bitter winter and in this time of hibernation we've been building a dream that is long overdue. As you may have noticed, the venues relied upon in the past have all been woefully inadequate for our events, so we've been searching for a space to call our own. Our goal is to create a venue for intimate events, massive art and moments of intrigue that keep this city alive, livid and just a little dangerous.

On the dark edge of Williamsburg, we've found our new home.

This weekend you are invited to our opening, featuring a touch of bliss and a dose of bedlam within an ever-evolving landscape of art and media that will grow and deepen over the coming months. Saturday we rise from our cold long slumber to bring you a night of Simple Pleasures.

--------------------------------------------

Saturday, February Twenty Fourth
TheDanger presents:

Simple Pleasures
11pm to 11am
Twelve hours of intimate moments and wild spectacle.

We've built our space into seven Bedouin lounges and two areas of sound offering discreet experiences of bliss and infamy. Featuring music by:

Small Change : A musical addict, he's been collecting and DJing for over 15 years and has tens of thousands of records in every conceivable genre and time period. On this night of simple pleasures he will be digging deep in the crates for the most intoxicating funk infused hip-hop to soul to breaks.

Haj & Spiro [Freek Factory ] : In the late night Haj will be erupting the floor with thick layers of break-beats and deep progressions of glitch-hop to middle eastern ethnic dub while Spiro floats through the beat with his virtuoso guitar and bouzouki playing into bass-heavy real-time electronic jams. The result is an exquisite mix of dj lust and live music love.

Gadi Mizrahi [ Wolf + Lamb ] : The Lamb of Wolf + Lamb has been commuting between his Brooklyn lab and the beaches of Argentina creating new mixes and compositions in a constant search for the perfect dark techno sound. Expect an extended sunrise set of the tightest intelligent techno this side of Detroit.

Spinoza [Bunker/Beyond ] : The world renowned dj Spinoza is one of the driving forces for the New York City techno community. His subtly complex mixes inspire the after-hours crowd to abandon all hope of surrender as the dance floor continues to move through the next afternoon.

In the Plush Dome:
Autophage [ Imagenode ] : Brings melodic ambient techno to new delights with a sound developed on the alkali flats of Black Rock City and perfected in the dark and cozy spaces of underground Brooklyn.

Zemi17 & Dok [ Amoeba Technology ] : Expect timeless space sounds that defy weather conditions. Zemi17: live sampling of gongs, trash, appropriated nik-naks, bamboo things and the like with manipulations of insects and birds. Dok: analog synths, archival electronica, and unidentified objects that make places in your solar plexis smile.

In the Elixir Lounge:
Miss Elixir and Debonair offer libidinous tonics from a forgotten time. Tricks and treats will be traded for warm vanilla cognac voodoo love potion and tastes of the exotic and mysterious Agent Orange - a fruitful concoction built on liquors of ancient Eastern Europe.

In the Burlesque Lounge:
Big Apple Burlesque reminds us of a lost era when beauty was high on decadence and the stage was alive with equal parts sultry dream and performance perfection. Expect a little skin and a lot of attitude from Creme Brulee, Ruby Valentine, Honey Birdette, Snuffy Patterson and Broadway Brassy.

In the Fondue Den:
Master Chef Grrl Lola presents a fondue feast of intimate proportions with decadent fondue tastings of melted exotic cheese, chocolate and other delicacies served in a close setting by the beautiful chef herself. Here you taste the essence of simple pleasure.

Also, Night of Fire visuals from Jeannie Angel, Electronic Sheep from Spot, Fire Ritual by SamIam and the 2am Whip Cream Fiasco.

11pm to 11am
$15 if you bring your own can of whip-cream.
$20 otherwise.
*entrance includes free elixirs, fondue, whip cream and cherries.

21+ and you must mention : "The Fiasco" for entry.

All this is and more at the new : Danger Space.
341 Scholes St.
L train to Morgan Ave.
Details at map: http://www.thedanger.com

Please Note: In order to keep this space alive and unscathed by the authorities we ask you to do these three simple things: 1) don't pee/drink/make noise on the street, 2) bring only the people you love and trust and
3) Use the password for entry, this prevents the uninvited from wandering in off the street. No password, no entry.

Please respect our new home. With your brilliance and cooperation we will be building this space into the dream venue that we all deserve. If you have any interested in participating in the development of the space, hit reply.


____________________________________

TheDanger List
http://www.thedanger.com

To remove yourself write to:
complacent-unsubscribe@lists.complacent.org

Marx Cafe tonight!

Hey all, I'm back in action tonight! Bringing the two-step goodness with that funky twist for the groove time wonder!

Music starts at 10pm. Seeya there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Gambian president can cure AIDS; It's Magic!!

Ok, the witch doctor will see you now. NEXT!

Gambia's Aids 'Miracle'
Updated: 09:15, Tuesday February 20, 2007

The United Nations has warned of dangerous consequences after the leader of a tiny West African country declared he can cure Aids.

The President of The Gambia says his herbal remedy can kill HIV in his patients' blood.

Sky's Africa correspondent Emma Hurd went to meet him and has this exclusive report:

Dressed from head to toe in sparkling white robes, President Yahya Jammeh, leans over his latest patient and massages a herbal ointment into his chest.

The man is HIV positive, but after a few sessions of this treatment: a rub down with the cream, a splash on the face with another potion and a drink of a murky looking liquid, the President claims he'll be cured.

He's already treated dozens of his people with his traditional medicine, succeeding, he says, where modern medical science has failed.

Sceptics are not welcome.

"Who do I have to convince?" he demanded, jabbing his finger towards me.

"The World?" I suggested.

"I do not have to convince anybody. I can cure Aids and I will not explain it to those who don't want to understand."

The only proof we were shown were photocopied laboratory results which appear to show that some of his patients now have "undetectable" levels of HIV in their blood.

No evidence was provided to show they were HIV positive before the treatment.

We asked for independent tests, which were refused along with a request to take samples of the secret herbal medicines.

"Not in a million years," the President told me.

We were at least permitted to speak to one of his patients, Ousman Sowe, a university lecturer.

"I believe I am cured," he said. "I believe that I am now HIV negative." He could offer no proof.

This 'cure' is sponsored by The Gambia's Department of Health.

The President's patients are kept on special wards in the nation's hospitals and the Health Minister selects suitable candidates for treatment.

Fatou Sanyang arrived with her two-year-old son.

The child, like her, is HIV positive, she told me, and she wants the President to heal them both.

The Minister, Dr Tamsir Mbowe, did not think that would be a problem.

"One hundred per cent the President can cure everyone. It is absolutely medically proven," he said.

Despite the lack of evidence, there are few in the Gambia who dare doubt this 'miracle'.

The President controls the media and the only message his people are hearing is that the treatment works, and patients are now queuing up outside his door.

President Jammeh cures Aids on Thursdays and Asthma on Saturdays, the rest of the time he runs the country he's ruled for 12 years.

It's a place which attracts 80,000 British tourists every year, and was until recently considered progressive in its approach to Aids.

Organisations which run orthodox programmes to combat the spread of the virus now fear all of their work is being undone.

Fadzai Gwarazimba, the co-ordinator for the UN in The Gambia, told me: "If people start to believe there is a cure then they will start to engage in risky behaviour and that could mean even more of a problem with Aids in this continent."

Africa is crying out for leaders who will take Aids seriously, but President Jammeh seems to have joined those who believe it's a conspiracy cooked up by the drugs companies of the West.

We watched as he finished treating a young woman, who lay passively on a bed while she was covered in ointment until her black skin shone.

In a few weeks she, along with the latest batch of 29 patients, will finish her treatment.

What is chilling is that they will all, most likely, still be HIV positive - but they will be convinced they can live life as if they are cured.

Skipped marx last nite

Yeah, didn't go last nite, it was too cold and snowing to justify the trip, it was proably dead anyways. Last week i went out and there was nobody there, didn't even bother playing at all. Hopefully next week we can get back on track.

cheers,

Matt

Price of AK ammo doubles

Lord of war anyone?

The AK-47 Ammo Crises
February 6, 2007: Gun runners worldwide were shocked late last year when the found the price of the favorite ammunition, the 7.62x39 (diameter and length, in millimeters) round used in the AK-47, doubled in price. For decades, this 7.62x39 was the cheapest rifle ammo available, selling for as low as ten cents per round. Even the highest quality ones rarely sold for more than twenty cents a round. But suddenly, hardly anything was under twenty cents, and the reason was massive orders from the United States. The Americans were laying in supplies for their Iraq and Afghan allies. Both of these nations had been working down supplies left over from Cold War era stockpiles, but all that stuff was pretty much gone, and there was still lots of fighting going on. Moreover, those crazy Americans were insisting that Afghan and Iraqi security personnel learn to shoot their AK-47s accurately. That took a lot of ammo.

read the rest.

Marx Cafe tonight!

I'll be making my triumphant return to the decks at marx tonite after a two week absence. Music starts at 10pm. Seeya there!

Marx Cafe
3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Copper theives strike again

This sounds like an easy scam, how easy is it to flip the wire, how much ya get per pound? per ton? That Jack Wyscarver guy sure has his work cut out for him.

""""""""""'

Copper thefts plague city
Culprits steal valuable utility wiring, leaving darkened streets
By Ralph Monta?o - Bee Staff Writer

Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, January 25, 2007
Story appeared in CITY section, Page H1

Friday morning brought more bad news for Jack Wyscarver, Sacramento's
supervisor of traffic signals and street lighting.

The street lights were out in another section of Natomas, and the
culprit wasn't bad weather or a broken conductor. It was wire thieves,
again.

"I just got a call that they hit Benefit Way and East Commerce Way,"
Wyscarver said. "On Thursday, it was Orchard Drive and Barandas Drive.
Just about every night we get a call."

For almost two months, the city has been plagued by thieves who tear up
the city's streetlights to get the copper wire. Neighborhoods are being
left in the dark, sometimes for days as repair are being made.

Linda Tucker, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of
Transportation, said repairs have cost the city $25,000, counting
employee time and materials.

The problem is one that has popped up all across the Sacramento area,
thanks largely to the rising prices being paid by recyclers for the
metals. The Bee reported in August 2006 that authorities in Yolo and El
Dorado counties were seeing an increase in thefts of aluminum and
copper. Aluminum irrigation pipes were being pulled out of the ground
and copper wire was being torn out of the walls at construction sites,
investigators told The Bee.

Last year, hundreds of thousands of people in Placerville lost
telephone service after thieves knocked down more than 1,000 feet of
AT&T cable seeking copper wiring. In Lodi, hundreds of copper vases
disappeared from graves in Cherokee Memorial Park. Almost 800 of the
vases turned up in scrap yards across San Joaquin County.

Officials with the scrap recycling industry said copper prices are at
an all-time high, up to $3 a pound because of several factors,
including increased demand and strikes at mines throughout the world.

City officials say they are contacting scrap metal recyclers to warn
them about accepting the stolen goods.

"If we can cut off where they are cashing it in, then hopefully they
will move on," Wyscarver said. A similar strategy appears to have been
successful in Stockton, Wyscarver added. "Their problem apparently
stopped the day before ours began."

The theory that the thieves are coming from Stockton has no real
evidence, according to Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Matt Young. He
said investigators have yet to find a single eyewitness to 15 different
thefts.

"We are asking the public's help in being our eyes and ears," Young
said. Anyone seen working on utility wires not wearing a city worker
uniform or driving a city truck should raise suspicion.

The thieves are getting access to the wire by lifting the concrete
covers located on sidewalks. Wyscarver said once the thieves get to the
wire, they cut the connection and pull out hundreds of feet of
underground wire. The Orchard Way theft, for example, resulted in the
theft of about 2,000 feet of wire, Wyscarver said. A 10-foot section of
wire weighs about a pound, he estimated.

The thefts have left behind open utility covers and live wires that are
a danger to the public. Anyone finding a street light wiring box left
open is advised not to reach inside.

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call the
Sacramento Police Department at (916) 264-5471.
"""""""""'

Fed employees who owe back taxes

You would think the federal govt would be able to automatically garnish their wages to recover the shortfall. I wonder if they have considered doing this at all, seems it would be a simple solution. Link to the article for the spreadsheets mentioned, it breaks down each govt agency into different categories.

Federal Workers Owe Billions in Unpaid Taxes
Jan 17th - 10:26am

Mark Segraves, WTOP Radio

WASHINGTON - As the 2006 tax season approaches, the federal government is still trying to recover nearly $3 billion from its own employees who failed to file income tax returns for 2005.

More than 450,000 active and retired federal employees did not voluntarily comply with federal income tax requirements for the 2005 tax year, according to documents obtained by WTOP through the Freedom of Information Act. (See Excel spreadsheets in the Related Links below.)

The total balance owed is $2,799,950,165.

The documents show that every federal agency has employees who failed to comply with federal tax laws.

Seventy-one employees in the Executive Office of the President, which includes the White House, owe $664,527 in taxes for 2005. About 20 of those employees have entered into an IRS payment plan, bringing the EOP balance down to $455,881owed by 50 employees.

The White House did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

In fact, about one third of the delinquent employees, or 149,500, entered into a payment plan, but the total owed is still more than $2 billion.

At the IRS, employees can be fired for failure to pay federal income taxes. But an IRS spokesperson tells WTOP it's no easier to collect from federal employees than it is to collect from the general public.

In the past, IRS officials have been quick to compare the federal workers' rate of compliance with the general public's. But this year, the IRS is not able to track the compliance rate for the general public. The percentage of federal employees who still owe back taxes for the 2005 year is 3.3 percent of the workforce including retirees.

The federal agency with the highest number of delinquent taxpayers is the United States Postal Service, where 56,652 employees owe more than $320 million. So far, about 22,000 of those employees have agreed to a payment plan.

A spokesperson for the Postal Service says the agency hopes all of its employees follow the law, but will leave enforcement to the IRS.

The agency with the best compliance rate is the Department of Treasury, which includes the IRS. Fewer than 2 percent of Treasury employees failed to pay their taxes. About 3,000 Treasury employees owed $13,489,683 -- 1,437 of those feds also have made payment plans.

The IRS tracks the compliance rate of federal employees each year in an effort to increase compliance. Agency directors are made aware of their department's compliance rate and then memos are sent to staff encouraging them to file their taxes.

(Copyright 2007 by WTOP Radio. All Rights Reserved.)

Chinese shoot down satellite

Now we'll have to develop counter-anti-satellite capabilities to protect our imaging platforms. Like we didn't have enough going on right now without the Chinese going and raising the stakes. Thanks a lot, jerks.

Chinese Test Anti-Satellite Weapon
By Craig Covault/Aviation Week & Space Technology
01/17/2007 07:45:59 PM

U. S. intelligence agencies believe China performed a successful anti-satellite (asat) weapons test at more than 500 mi. altitude Jan. 11 destroying an aging Chinese weather satellite target with a kinetic kill vehicle launched on board a ballistic missile.

The Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, NASA and other government organizations have a full court press underway to obtain data on the alleged test, Aviation Week & Space Technology will report in its Jan. 22 issue.

If the test is verified it will signify a major new Chinese military capability.

Neither the Office of the U. S. Secretary of Defense nor Air Force Space Command would comment on the attack, which followed by several months the alleged illumination of a U. S. military spacecraft by a Chinese ground based laser.

China's growing military space capability is one major reason the Bush Administration last year formed the nation's first new National Space Policy in ten years, Aviation Week will report.

"The policy is designed to ensure that our space capabilities are protected in a time of increasing challenges and threats," says Robert G. Joseph, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U. S. State Dept. " This is imperative because space capabilities are vital to our national security and to our economic well being," Joseph said in an address on the new space policy at the National Press Club in Washington D. C.

Details emerging from space sources indicate that the Chinese Feng Yun 1C (FY-1C) polar orbit weather satellite launched in 1999 was attacked by an asat system launched from or near the Xichang Space Center.

The attack is believe to have occurred as the weather satellite flew at 530 mi. altitude 4 deg. west of Xichang located in Sichuan province. Xichang is a major Chinese space launch center.

Although intelligence agencies must complete confirmation of the test, the attack is believed to have occurred at about 5:28 p.m. EST Jan. 11. U. S. intelligence agencies had been expecting some sort of test that day, sources said.

U. S. Air Force Defense Support Program missile warning satellites in geosynchronous orbit would have detected the Xichang launch of the asat kill vehicle and U. S. Air Force Space Command monitored the FY-1C orbit both before and after the exercise.

The test, if it occurred as envisioned by intelligence source, could also have left considerable space debris in an orbit used by many different satellites.

USAF radar reports on the Chinese FY-1C spacecraft have been posted once or twice daily for years, but those reports jumped to about 4 times per day just before the alleged test.

The USAF radar reports then ceased Jan. 11, but then appeared for a day showing "signs of orbital distress". The reports were then halted again. The Air Force radars may well be busy cataloging many pieces of debris, sources said.

Although more of a "policy weapon" at this time, the test shows that the Chinese military can threaten the imaging reconnaissance satellites operated by the U. S., Japan, Russia, Israel and Europe.

The Republic of China also operates a small imaging spacecraft that can photograph objects as small as about 10 ft. in size, a capability good enough to count cruise missiles pointed at Taiwan from the Chinese mainland. The Taiwanese in the past have also leased capability on an Israeli reconnaissance satellite.

Tonight @ the Marx Cafe

I'll be at the Marx tonight, playing 2step and classic old school garage. Music starts at 10pm.

holla!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Global warming, now also real in Europe.

WOW, global warming hits home. Here too on the east coast there's no snow to be found, all the slopes within 2 hours of here are closed. WTF!?

Snowboarders stage protest over lack of snow

Romanian snowboarders blocked traffic by staging a protest in front of the national weather institute to complain about the lack of snow.

The sit down protest in the capital Bucharest only ended when weathermen told them their complaint "would be passed on to a higher authority".

Romania's ski resorts, like much of the rest of Europe, have been hit by a chronic lack of snow and high temperatures - as much as 19 Celsius in some areas.

The appeal may have had some effect, as snow is predicted to fall some time later this week.

Pandas; can't seem to make it happen

Maybe they need some viagra, or perhaps livitra(sp?) cause you know it works for 36 hours, cause sometimes life gets in the way. this reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Homer bulks up to 400lbs so he can go on disibility and work from home. Not entierly certain why though.

Male panda said too fat to have sex

By SUTIN WANNABOVORN, Associated Press Writer 35 minutes ago

BANGKOK, Thailand - Chuang Chuang the Panda is just too heavy to have sex. Thai authorities have put him on a strict diet as part of a long-running campaign to get him to mate with female partner Lin Hui at the Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand.

"Chuang Chuang is gaining weight too fast and we found Lin Hui is no longer comfortable with having sex with him," said the zoo's chief veterinarian, Kanika Limtrakul, adding that Chuang Chuang weighed 331 pounds while Lin Hui is only 253 pounds.

As a result, zoo authorities are cutting out bamboo shoots in the daily meal for Chuang Chuang and giving the obese bear only bamboo leaves, Kanika said.

The diet plan is the latest in an unsuccessful and often strange campaign by zoo officials to get the two bears to mate.

They have held a mock wedding, announced plans to separate the two to spark a little romance and even talked of introducing panda porn — videos of other pandas mating — to get the pair in the mood.

Thailand rented Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui from China for $250,000 in October 2003 for 10 years. They are expected to generate millions of dollars in revenues from Thai and foreign tourists.

There are as few as 1,600 giant pandas in the mountain forests of central China, according to the zoo. An additional 120 are in Chinese breeding facilities and zoos, and about 20 live in zoos outside China.

Pandas are threatened by loss of habitat, poaching and a low reproduction rate. Females in the wild normally have a cub once every two to three years.

Marx Cafe tonight!

Awhhhhh yeah!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

10pm

you know.

Beautiful Alfa GTV on Ebay!

Oh man, this machine is gorgeous! I want it.

Peru, king of the world.

Wow, the peruvian stock market earned 182% during 2006, that's amazing.

The Sunday Times December 24, 2006

Peru races to top of world stock market league
Paul Durman

THE populous and fast-growing Bric economies — Brazil, Russia, India and China — produced the four best performances among major stock markets last year, according to an annual review by Thomson Financial.

The analysis by the financial-information firm underlines the growing importance of these emerging economic powerhouses to investors as well as to trading partners.

*
China was the best-performing major market, the Shenzhen A-share index delivering total returns of 101.7% last year for a dollar investor. The Russian market rose by 65.8%, the Brazilian market by 40.9% and the Indian market by 36.6%.

All these figures are calculated to include dividends and were calculated in dollars — thus neutralising currency changes.

The much larger British and American stock markets also performed well last year, but trailed far behind the Bric markets. In dollar terms, the FTSE 100 delivered a total return of 26.3%, making it the 56th best- performing market among the 93 tracked by Thomson. The 14% gain in the S&P 500, the broader American index, ranked 84th.

Some smaller stock markets did even better than China. Peru was the best performer, producing a 182% gain on the back of its metals industry. Cyprus was next with returns of 157%.

The worst performers included several Middle East stock markets, hurt by the bursting of the oil bubble. Investors in Jordan were the worst hit, suffering losses of 34%. Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and Bangladesh also produced negative returns.

In the UK, the best-performing company in the FTSE All-Share was Manganese Bronze, the black-cab maker that gave investors a total return of 290%. There were also stellar performances from UK Coal (returns of 201%), software group Aveva (158%) and Nord Anglia Education (141%).

The worst performers are a group of companies that generated a great many column inches. Isoft, the software company that nearly went bust after failing to meet its commitment to the NHS IT programme, was the worst performer, showing a loss of 85.9%.

Party Gaming, the online gaming giant damaged by new American restrictions, ended the year down 76.9%. Acambis, the biotech company that recently lost its contract to make smallpox vaccine for the US government, and Skye Pharma, the subject of a shareholder revolt, also halved in value.

Among the larger companies, the mining groups Xstrata and Lonmin headed the list of FTSE 100 gainers, producing returns of 107.9% and 92.6% respectively. Then came Corus, the steel maker that is the subject of a takeover battle.

Carnival, the cruise operator, was by far the worst performer in the FTSE 100, costing its investors losses of 23.5%. Drugs giant Glaxo Smith Kline was next worst, down 6.3%.

Many of the winning companies reflected the strength of the utilities and construction and materials sectors. The laggards were technology, healthcare and automobiles.

This has also been a boom year for flotations on AIM, although many debutantes performed poorly for their investors. According to Thomson, the worst were Atelis, Microfuze International, Arthro Kinetics, Netservices and Chariot (UK), which all lost at least 70% of their value.

By contrast, Worthington Nicholls, Tasty, Lipoxen Technologies and iX Europe all at least doubled in value.

To put these returns on equities in context, Thomson looked at data from asset classes. Government bonds, as measured by the JP Morgan index, produced returns of 8%. Corporate bonds, a substantially riskier class of assets, did not fare much better, returning 9.7%. The returns on cash were 4.5%. Property was the star performer, the global real-estate market showing gains of 40%.

Iraq may be lost

Maybe we will see a return to conservative values now, meaning no more military adventurism for the foreseeable future.

White House Postponing Loss of Iraq, Biden Says

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 5, 2007; A06

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said yesterday that he believes top officials in the Bush administration have privately concluded they have lost Iraq and are simply trying to postpone disaster so the next president will "be the guy landing helicopters inside the Green Zone, taking people off the roof," in a chaotic withdrawal reminiscent of Vietnam.

"I have reached the tentative conclusion that a significant portion of this administration, maybe even including the vice president, believes Iraq is lost," Biden said. "They have no answer to deal with how badly they have screwed it up. I am not being facetious now. Therefore, the best thing to do is keep it from totally collapsing on your watch and hand it off to the next guy -- literally, not figuratively."

Biden gave the comments in an interview as he outlined an ambitious agenda for the committee, including holding four weeks of hearings focused on every aspect of U.S. policy in Iraq. The hearings will call top political, economic and intelligence experts; foreign diplomats; and former and current senior U.S. officials to examine the situation in Iraq and possible plans for dealing with it. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will probably testify next Thursday to defend the president's new plan, but at least eight other plans will be examined over several sessions of the committee.

Other witnesses invited for at least 10 days of hearings include former national security advisers and secretaries of state, including Brent Scowcroft, Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Henry A. Kissinger, Madeleine K. Albright and George P. Shultz.

Biden expressed opposition to the president's plan for a "surge" of additional U.S. troops and said he has grave doubts about whether the Iraqi government has the will or the capacity to help implement a new approach. He said he hopes to use the hearings to "illuminate the alternatives available to this president" and to provide a platform for influencing Americans, especially Republican lawmakers.

"There is nothing a United States Senate can do to stop a president from conducting his war," Biden said. "The only thing that is going to change the president's mind, if he continues on a course that is counterproductive, is having his party walk away from his position."

Biden said that Vice President Cheney and former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld "are really smart guys who made a very, very, very, very bad bet, and it blew up in their faces. Now, what do they do with it? I think they have concluded they can't fix it, so how do you keep it stitched together without it completely unraveling?"

Hackers fool chump

Awwhh.. that's awsome, I couldn't make this stuff up if I had too.

Congressional aide tries to hire hackers to change college grades - but the joke's on him

Dan Kaplan Dec 28 2006 19:53

A Texas Christian University (TCU) graduate who solicited two hackers to infiltrate the college's database to improve his grade point average - but was instead strung along by the pair in an often humorous exchange of emails - has been fired after it emerged he was the top aide to a Montana congressman.

In August, Todd Shriber, 28, former communications director for Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., began email correspondence with two hackers - using the online aliases "Jericho" and "Lyger" - who run attrition.org, a site featuring computer security resources.

"I need to urgently make contact with a hacker that would be interested in doing a one-time job for me," Shriber said in his first email to Jericho. "The pay would be good."

Jericho and Lyger, who consider themselves "security enthusiasts," never attempted to breach TCU's database, instead choosing to engage in a series of emails with Shriber, who had no idea he was being duped by the hackers. They have since posted the 22-email exchange on their website.

"This was seemingly all a joke played on Mr. Shriber," Tracy Syler-Jones, a spokeswoman for TCU, told SCMagazine.com today. "We would certainly want Mr. Shriber to learn from this experience and move on and do well with the remainder of his career."

But, she said, the university "does take proactive steps….to continuously monitor and update our systems in an effort to prevent security breaches."

Shriber - a 2000 graduate from TCU with a broadcast journalism degree - was unaware that the joke was on him, even after Jericho asked Shriber to shoot a picture of a pigeon to prove that he was legitimate in his request, and not a federal agent.

"Forgive what I assume is (a) dumb question, but what are pigeons?" Shriber asked. "I know you're not talking about the bird."

"Actually I am," Jericho responded.

Using his friend's camera, Shriber shot two photos of a squirrel in a front yard and then emailed them to Jericho. He received permission to photograph a squirrel because he could not locate any pigeons.

Jericho and Lyger said their site - which has dedicated a section called "Going Postal" to chronicle bizarre requests they receive - entertain about two emails per day seeking hacker assistance.

"Some people mail us and seem like they will to any length to get what they want," Jericho told SCMagazine.com today. "We often test that."

The emails with Shriber were not all joking in manner. Jericho and Lyger mixed in some actual computer security jargon to make it appear to Shriber like they were attempting to access the college's network to make changes to Shriber's grades. (He told them he wanted his GPA modified because he was considering a run at graduate school).

"Have had a chance to set up a couple of IDS/IPS evasion bots, perimeter scanning came up clean," Lyger said in one email to Shriber. "Small SQL injection issue merged with XSS shows that the backend database may be either 768-bit encrypted or a simple 3DES matter, but a little more time should take care of that issue."

In addition, Jericho warned Shriber that what he was requesting was illegal.

"First, let's be clear," Jericho said. "You are soliciting me to break the law and hack into a computer across state lines. That is a federal offense and (punishable by) multiple felonies."

The correspondence ended when Lyger told Shriber in a profanity-ridden rant that TCU had discovered the attempted hack.

"I'm going deep underground," he said. "If they (authorities) ask about me or attrition, we don't know each other. You're just as guilty and liable so when they come knocking, don't say anything without a lawyer and when you ask them to put the gun down, say it nice because that (expletive) isn't fun."

Shriber was fired from his role as communications director to Rehberg after a blogger revealed his identity about a week ago and Shriber acknowledged the emails were his. The congressman's office refused to comment today to SCMagazine.com.

"It's a real head-scratcher," Erik Iverson, Rehberg's chief of staff, told the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. "This whole thing was really out of character for Todd, and I believe this was a one-time incident. At the end of the day, the position entails a lot of trust. This was a violation of that trust, and I just felt like we really didn't have any choice at that point (but to fire him)."

Jericho said he was "amused" when learning his victim was a congressman's aide and fired as a result of the stunt.

Click here to email reporter Dan Kaplan.

Related Links
attrition.org