Archive for 'News'

They’re Still “Doing It”

Here’s an except from an article entitled “Study: Abstinence classes don’t stop sex” by Kevin Freking of the Associated Press.

Students who took part in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not, according to a study ordered by Congress.

Also, those who attended one of the four abstinence classes that were reviewed reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes. And they first had sex at about the same age as other students — 14.9 years, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc.

Is anyone at all surprised? I’m not!

Those Cartoon Protests

I was reading BBC News about the violent protests in Beirut and Damascus regarding a cartoon published in a Danish newspaper, depcting Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban, and found this quote in the feedback section.

I find the violence shown by the Muslim protestors to be far more offensive than a cartoon could ever be. A cartoon is a drawing on a piece of paper. Slogans demanding people be beheaded in revenge and setting fire to buildings is outrageous. It seems to me that the Muslim protestors are behaving in a way that was satirised by the cartoon. — Lesley Morgan, Coventry, UK

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Sad Story

I was looking through the news articles on the Indianapolis Star web site the other day and ran across this unfortunate story.

Original Article

“The Flower Lady” who for years sang inspirational tunes and sold roses from a wheelchair on Downtown street corners died Sunday.

Inez Powell, 61, had an apparent heart attack and fell off her wheelchair at Washington and Illinois streets at shortly before 4 p.m. She was pronounced dead at Wishard Memorial Hospital. The death is natural, according to the Marion County coroner’s office.

Cold is not believed to have been a factor in Powell’s death. A deputy coroner’s report noted Powell wore several layers of warm clothing.

An autopsy is pending, but coroners suspect Powell’s long history of health problems contributed to her death. Powell had polio at age 2 and survived a serious car crash in 1991, she told The Star in 1999.

Fearing rowdiness from college basketball fans in 2000, The Indianapolis Police Department asked Powell to bring her sweet singing voice outside the RCA Dome in hopes that she’d provide a calming influence after that year’s NCAA Final Four.

“I used to be at Illinois and Washington,” Powell told The Star. “But the police told me they’d rather have me at Illinois and Maryland (across from the dome), because they say my singing calms crowds down. They don’t riot if I sing.”

I remember hearing her sing several times. She would sit in her wheelchair at the northwest corner of Maryland and Illinois, across from the Steak N’ Shake (which is probably where I was eating dinner). I don’t exactly remember any of the music, to be honest, but I remember her having quite a set of pipes because she could be heard from at least a block away, if not more.

Anyway, It makes me wonder what other interesting stories are out there. The unfortunate thing is that I tend to just avoid the people I see every day on the streets of downtown, but I think it would make for a good oral history project, none-the-less.

Destroyed by Katrina

Title: Pass Christian, MS House Before/After
Pass Christian, MS House Before/After
Uploaded By: CraftJunkie

I think I shall start blogging some of my favorite photos from Flickr.

Foreign Help Ready

I was just reading an article on CNN.com saying that many foreign governments have pledged money, supplies, and support to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina. As of the time that article was written, I don’t think the US government had yet accepted any offers, but was expected to do so. They should.

Can you imagine the French coming back to help save New Orleans?