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If you were desperate and hopeless enough to log on to a suicide chat room in recent years, there was a good chance a mysterious woman named Li Dao would find you, befriend you, and gently urge you to take your own life. And, she'd promise, she would join you in that final journey. But then the bodies started adding up, and the promises didn't. Turned out, Li Dao was something even more sinister than anyone thought
Update, March 20, 2014
_ Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision, ruling that the language in the state's assisted-suicide law is unconstitutional. _
Update, March 16, 2011:
Back in October, GQ correspondent Nadya Labi took us into the shadowy cyber-world of "Li Dao," a seemingly sweet nurse doling out advice in suicide chat rooms on how to best end one's life. With the investigative sleuthing of a few people from all over the world, that nurse—who turned out to be a middle-aged man named William Melchert-Dinkel—was charged with assisting in two suicides. Yesterday, a Minnesota judge found Melchert-Dinkel guilty on two counts of assisting the suicides of 18-year-old Nadia Kajouji and 32-year-old Mark Drybrough.
"Check Your E-mail"
The three innocuous words seemed to offer Mark Drybrough the relief he sought. At 32, Mark was beyond tired. Life had long ceased to be the fun it once was. He had been a mischievous kid, an outgoing teenager who would make classmates laugh, leaping the school fence to freedom. At college in Coventry, England, he started out in high spirits, studying computer engineering and finding a girlfriend.
But after a year, the girl came down with a viral infection and then Mark did, and he never really recovered. Though he wasn't formally diagnosed, he felt certain that he'd developed chronic fatigue syndrome. Whatever he had—whether it was in his body or his mind—he couldn't summon the energy to get out of bed. Eventually he got dumped, stopped attending classes, and dropped out altogether.
For the next decade, Mark struggled to find the laughs. He lived in a small house in Coventry that his great-uncle had left him, but he couldn't maintain a job. He battled depression, going through dark periods when he refused to take medication, and he suffered psychotic fits. His mother, Elaine, paid his bills. He had no money, no car, no social life. He knew he was a disappointment—most of all to himself.
In July 2005, under the handle "spooky," Mark posted a request on the Web site alt.suicide.methods: "Does anyone have details of hanging methods where there isn't access to anything high up to tie the rope to. I've read that people have taken their own lives in jail, anybody know of inventive methods, the ones you don't get to read in the paper."
Li Dao knew. She directed Mark to check his e-mail. When he opened her message, he found guidance. She wrote, "Depending on how tall you are, preferable under 6 ft. tal [sic], you can easily from a door using the knob on [the other] side to tie the rope to, sling it over the top of the door, attach the noose or loop to yourself then step off and hang successfully..."
A few weeks later, Mark's older sister, Carol, drove down from Leeds to visit the family. At dinner Carol arranged to meet her brother at a nearby park the next day. They confirmed the plan the following morning, but by four that afternoon he had still not turned up.
Carol drove to her brother's home and knocked on the door. No answer. She let herself in and found a note on the inside door in block letters: Please call the police. Do not go upstairs, go home, hand this note to the police.
Carol rushed upstairs anyway, but the bedroom door was blocked. She forced her way in and found her brother hanging from a white nylon rope attached to a ladder propped by the door. She tried to hold him up, hoping to save him, and immediately called for help. She stood there supporting his weight while she waited for the paramedics, but they would soon pronounce him dead.
Shortly after, Carol returned to her brother's room and logged on to his computer. She learned that he'd spent a significant amount of time in suicide chat rooms, researching an effective way to kill himself. She also discovered that he'd entered into a suicide pact with a nurse named Li Dao. In fact, the nurse had sent her brother a note the day he died.
Her e-mail was brief: "Are you alright, Mark? Li"
Suicide chat rooms can save lives. The very act of logging on to a site like alt.suicide.methods (ASM) or alt.suicide.holiday (ASH) offers a potentially suicidal person the chance of finding support, redemption, or relief from the loneliness that led him there in the first place. Or logging on could be the first step a suicidal person takes to find the expertise, the courage, even the companionship, to go through with it. These chat rooms can provide a lifeline, or they can amount to a death sentence. It all depends on who's online and what they're doing there.
ASH began as a Google discussion group about why suicide rates increase over the holidays, then grew to become a regular destination; ASM bills itself, unapologetically, as "discussions about how to do yourself in." Members consider themselves pro-choice (choice being the right to suicide), and the forums host a range of people—not just those intent on committing suicide. Many do go there specifically to gather information on surefire ways to "catch the bus," or CTB, as suicide is known. But others may be recovering from a previous attempt or feeling down and looking for support among the like-minded. Still others may be there to offer a connection to those in need. Suicide is, for the most part, a solitary act; the majority of the 35,000 or so individuals who kill themselves in the United States every year are isolated and withdrawn from society. Simply accessing a world outside their own heads, as they do on ASH or ASM, might improve their chances of survival.
Mostly, members are supportive of one another, querying those who declare their intention to CTB to make sure they've explored other alternatives. But chat rooms are also places where a person can forge a connection that makes it easier to take that final ride. Some even form suicide pacts, promising to kill themselves at an appointed time, either virtually or in person. Who knows just how many follow through? But it does happen.
In Japan, where suicide has traditionally been considered an honorable act, the pacts have proven contagious. Teenage girls hook up online with like-minded partners whom they then meet in person, taking their lives together. In 2003, according to Japan's National Police Agency, online suicide pacts resulted in at least thirty-four deaths there; the number jumped to fifty-five in 2004 and ninety-one in 2005, but many experts say even those figures are underestimates. As hard as it is to fathom, not everyone who makes a pact is sincere. Disturbingly, some get off on witnessing, even encouraging, the despair of others.
Celia Blay stumbled upon ASH through chance and persistent curiosity. Blay is a 65-year-old grandmother from southern England who takes a kind of childish delight in exclaiming that she "makes whips and thongs for a living." (The implements, she clarifies, are for carriage horses.) In 2006, Blay was on a site devoted to medieval research—looking for charters to prove that some roads in her village should remain open to carriage horses—when she began poking around a member's profile, which somehow led her to ASH. "I thought, My goodness, a news group for suicide," she says. "It never crossed my mind that there would have been such a thing."
And Blay being Blay—which is to say, something of a compassionate busybody—once she logged on to ASH, she quickly made friends. One of them was a 17-year-old Central American girl who'd been sexually abused and was considering suicide. Blay conversed with the teen online for a few weeks and thought the girl was improving.
One day the teen told Blay that she'd entered a suicide pact with a nurse she'd met online. The nurse had been helpful and knowledgeable, telling her exactly how to position a knot for a partial-suspension hanging. "I said, 'Surely this nurse is not going to travel to Central America to hang herself alongside you,' " Blay recalled. "And she said, 'Oh no, we're going to watch each other by Webcam.' "
Blay managed to persuade the teen not to go through with it, but as chat logs show, soon she and others on ASH began to wonder about this nurse the girl had befriended. Her name, they discovered, was Li Dao, and she seemed to go to great lengths to maintain a low profile on the sites, only rarely commenting in the main forum, where all the members could read her posts. And when she did comment publicly, she emphasized her background as a twentysomething nurse from Minnesota. She seemed to be drawn to posters who spoke English as a second language or who seemed particularly naive, and she was fond of endearments like "hun" and the sign-off "hugs."
Li Dao was unfailingly sympathetic and unusually well-informed but maintained a conservative worldview that bordered on the self-righteous. She reprimanded one member for suggesting that the suicidal should try cocaine as an alternative to death. And on a site where members often express hostility toward religion, she was unapologetic about insisting that "the hope of eternal life…is promised to those who believe." She seemed most comfortable, however, dispensing advice, and she was an ardent proponent of hanging. Unlike other methods, hanging offered "very fast and certain death."
On the sites, she usually lurked in the background, initiating a private correspondence if a post in the forum caught her attention. The more desperate the post and resolute the poster's intention to CTB, the more likely Li would respond. In March 2006, "halfjacket" pleaded, "please someone help me die some way that is quick and/or painless directly. I'll do anything please I just need help."
"Check your e-mail," Li wrote back.
And in July, "Jim" wrote, "Think I'm going to be left with no option but to hang myself. I'm a big guy (420 pound) so making sure the rope don't break is vital to me, so I have been looking at climbing rope.… Can anyone shed any technical info on this to make sure I get the right stuff?"
"Check your e-mail," came the reply.
Within two hours of posting suicidal thoughts on ASH, Nikola Trifunovic, a 22-year-old researcher in Zagreb, was directed to his e-mail. Li told him that she understood how he felt and wanted to help him feel better. She said she lived with her parents and had struggled with bipolar disorder and depression for eleven years. Nothing worked—not therapy, drugs, or prayer. Li wrote, "Im really tired of living a false life of pretending everything is ok when it is not and I can't do it anymore." After exchanging e-mails for six months, Trifunovic says he began to care deeply for her. He recalled, via e-mail, "She made me feel I was not alone and that there were many others who feel the same way."
Li said she planned to CTB by hanging from a beam in her basement, once she found the time to be alone. She said she'd practiced hanging herself.
Li coached Trifunovic to hang himself, and the two made weekly suicide pacts, but he couldn't quite bring himself to end it. Strangulation wasn't the pain-free method he'd hoped it would be—"I kept doing it wrong, and it hurt like hell," Trifunovic reported to the ASH forum—but he feared more than the pain. "I was scared that after, there is nothing," he said. "Infinite nothingness." When he shared this fear with Li, she tried to get Trifunovic to believe in God. It was an odd position for a Christian, as Li seemed to be, since the religion discourages suicide.
Then, in September 2006, Li suddenly disappeared. "Li where are you? Get in touch if you're still living this thing," one member posted on ASH.
"Oh fuck…that must explain why I haven't heard from her, either," responded another.
Trifunovic assured the forum that Li had to be alive, because he'd corresponded with her only two days earlier. Besides, Trifunovic added, "we kind of promised to each other to do it the same day, she is ready to die she is just waiting for me to be ready."
"She told you that, too?" another poster responded. "Oy."
The next day, however, Trifunovic received an e-mail from a woman claiming to be Li's mother, Xao Pi Zeng, from Li's e-mail account. She reported that her daughter was "found hung in outbasement [sic] at approximately 6:40 this morning.… Of course we be so sad but am Gratefull to God that her pain is now over."
When he learned of Li's death, Trifunovic became determined to try to end his life. Then, to his surprise, two months later, a miracle occurred—Li was resurrected. Someone on ASH reported that he'd heard from her.
It was then that the forum began to realize that Li was not what she seemed. "It's not Li, not Li we know, she doesn't exist, it's some perve fucking with us," Trifunovic posted. "Mawkish" agreed, revealing that he'd IM'd with Li and that she kept trying to persuade him to hang himself. Mawkish tried to talk to Li on the phone, but she would come up with excuses about why she couldn't. He told the forum, "I believe Li Dao got some kind of 'high' or 'rush' from trying to convince people to die."
By now Celia Blay had reached the same conclusion—that Li had encouraged more than a dozen individuals on ASH to commit suicide. (She'd noticed that members often disappeared from the site after exchanges with the nurse.) Then she received a tip that Li was using a new handle, "falcongirl." She immediately searched online and found traces of Li's familiar m.o. When "retardstoner" announced on ASH, "I need to die. Tonight. Period," falcongirl responded: "Check your e-mail box."
Blay had seen enough. She took the evidence she'd gathered to the police in nearby Maidenhead. "Look," she told them, "this person is trying to get people to kill themselves." But the man in charge of investigating online crimes wasn't impressed. "His attitude was that this was somebody who was trying to wind up middle-aged women and shock them," Blay recalled, indignant. As Blay left the station, she says an officer gave her a piece of advice: "If it bothers you, look the other way."
But Blay wouldn't look away. She tried to alert the FBI via e-mail about the online nurse but received no reply. She began posting warnings about Li Dao on ASH's general forum and sending e-mails to anyone she thought might fall victim to the nurse's charms. The ASH community rallied behind her, and Blay became the point person for the growing list of complaints about Li.
In many ways, Blay was the perfect Miss Marple—assertive and curious while appearing wholly unthreatening—but she had little cred on the site. Though she'd made herself known on the forum, she wasn't convincingly depressed or suicidal. She'd never experimented with drugs or had a run-in with the law. She was, in a word, respectable, and respectability didn't interest Li Dao or falcongirl.
But at the end of 2007, Blay got help in the form of Kat Lowe, a luckless 35-year-old in Wolverhampton, England, who frequented ASH and e-mailed Blay to offer her assistance. Lowe got straight to the point: "I know you are aware that li dao grooms youngsters to let her watch them hang on webcam." A friend of Lowe's had nearly committed suicide after entering a pact with Li. Separately, Li had contacted Lowe on ASM, promoting the benefits of hanging. In fact, it seemed that every time Lowe logged on to her ASM chat list, falcongirl would turn up to instant-message her. Lowe offered to go undercover to gather information on the nurse.
Lowe emitted the kind of despair that Li couldn't resist. She shared custody of her two children and saw her kids only on school holidays. She had long been depressed, and though heroin offered solace in the short term, she'd begun considering checking out for good. As she sat in a pub in Wolverhampton this spring, enjoying a rare full meal, Lowe resembled an overgrown teen. Wearing a hooded green sweatshirt and black sneakers with thick platforms, she had dyed reddish pigtails and two silver nose rings. On her neck hung a gold crucifix that she says Blay gave her when they met in person the first time; as long as she wore the crucifix, Lowe promised Blay, she wouldn't put a rope around her neck.
Though falcongirl seemed eager to assist in Lowe's suicide, Lowe emphasized that most of the members are supportive and recognize the finality of the act that has brought them together. "Most people say, 'Have you spoken to anyone? Seen anyone? Tried medication?' " Lowe explained. "They're trying to do damage limitation—to help you do it in a way that you're not going to end up messed up—and supporting you if that's the decision you've come to after trying everything else," Lowe said. "There's a difference between what they do and what falcongirl did. With her, there was never any alternative."
In January 2008, in her new role as amateur detective, Lowe turned the tables, taking the initiative and sending an e-mail to falcongirl. She told falcongirl that she'd lost her job and was looking for a "good place to swing" but that she needed advice. Someone named Cami D was ready to provide it. Cami D (using the falcongirl account) told Lowe she'd had good results placing the knot behind her left ear, with the rope under her chin and across the carotid. "I think u said you have a web cam that would help a lot too," Cami added.
Ever attentive, Cami e-mailed back a few days later offering help. Lowe told her that she was hearing voices and trying to find a mental-health worker to help her. "If they don't offer me the help i need," she wrote, "i can't see any other option than to end it." Cami D responded, "i CARE and always will.… i wish we could chat?" She signed off hugs—the same signature Li Dao had used with Mark.
That's when Lowe began documenting their chats.
Cami had told Lowe earlier that she'd helped people hang themselves, so Lowe asked, "the 4 people who you think hang themselves…did they do it while you were online? Are you worried about any comeback from that?"
Cami: no just one he asked me to watch as he was all alone i didn't want to thinking it was some perverted ploy of his but after many hours of talking i agreed and watched him die so he would not die alone.… no not worried as ill be dead soon
Lowe: personal question…did he get a stiffy when he died?
Cami: probably but he had pants on and i really didn't notice. He hung from a door
Lowe: was he young?
At first Cami seemed to miss the question, telling Lowe that she had the next day off and that she hoped to be dead before having to return to work. As an afterthought, she added, "he was 32"—the same age that Mark was when he committed suicide.
Lowe told Cami that she was also ready to hang but that she needed to buy a rope. She was pressing Cami to get an audio cam so that the two could hear and see each other just before death, when Lowe saw Cami move in front of her Webcam.
"You're a bloke," Lowe wrote. And hardly twentysomething. Li Dao, a.k.a. falcongirl, a.k.a. Cami D, was a middle-aged white man.
By now, Blay believed Li Dao had encouraged at least fifty people to commit suicide, including some minors, like the 17-year-old Central American girl whose suicide pact first drew her in. "She wasn't just going for those who were terminally ill or suicidal adults," Blay said. "She was preying on depressed teenagers who were suffering from normal teenage angst and giving them a shove in the wrong direction." Desperate to stop her, Blay got into her two-decade-old Rover and headed north to Wolverhampton, where Kat Lowe lives. Blay used Lowe's apartment as a base as she paid a visit to police headquarters in the West Midlands, whose jurisdiction included the area where Cami recalled watching a suicide online, as well as nearby Coventry, where Mark Drybrough had lived. When Blay reported what she'd learned about the online nurse to the West Midlands police, she says an officer called her husband to check whether he knew where she was. "I thought, For goodness sake, what century do we live in?" Blay says, her laugh lines crinkling at the memory. "I suppose they were checking to see whether I was sane." The police wanted the evidence on floppy discs, but Blay didn't have one. She enlisted her son's help in burning the e-mails on a disc, but the police told her that the disc she'd sent was blank. Sensing their apathy, Blay gave up, frustrated: "I was stymied."
Around the time of Blay's visit to the West Midlands police, an 18-year-old in Ottawa was finding support and guidance from a new friend she'd met online.
Nadia Kajouji, a freshman at Carleton University in Ottawa and a relative newbie on ASH, complained that she was depressed and sleepless. She'd stopped attending classes and had holed up in her dorm room, staring at the snowfall outside her window. It was one of the most severe winters on record in Ottawa. In early March, Nadia instant-messaged her new confidant:
Nadia: When are you going to catch the bus? I would like to soon. I am planning to attempt this Sunday.
Cami: Wow. You want to use hanging too?
Nadia: I'm going to jump.
Cami: Well that's okay, but most people puss out before doing that. Plus, they don't wanna leave a terribly messy mess for others to clean up.
Nadia: I want it to look like an accident. There's a bridge over the river where there's a break in the ice. The water is really rough right now, and it should carry me back under the ice so I can't really come up for air. And if drowning doesn't get me, hopefully the hypothermia will.
When Nadia set off to Carleton that fall, she was on the cusp of the great adventure that many a teenager senses her life could be. She'd studied hard, gotten good grades, and been accepted to Carleton, McGill, and Queens, among Canada's best colleges. It was an easy call for Nadia. Each year, only one hundred students were accepted into Carleton's public-affairs and policy-management program, and ever since seventh grade, when she shadowed a member of parliament, she'd been interested in politics.
But when you're 18, the great adventure can spiral into something darker and do so with whiplash speed. Nadia met a guy and fell into an intoxicating, all-consuming kind of love. She was ecstatic—until the condom broke, the morning-after pill didn't take, and suddenly she was pregnant. Worse, just when she'd begun to wrap her brain around that reality, she had a miscarriage. All the choices she might have made were gone. Poof.
As if on cue, the guy disappeared, too.
For the first time, she was isolated from her friends and family as she went through the toughest period of her life. She'd always been a star student, and now she feared that she would lose the semester because she couldn't drag herself to class.
Feeling suicidal isn't a permanent state. Some lifelong depressives take that final step after years of struggle, but there are many others who flirt with the idea when they're suffering from what turns out to be a temporary case of despair. Many suicidal people emerge from their hopelessness by tapping into newfound resilience, enough to sustain them until their situations improve. But at that moment of intense vulnerability, most people don't meet someone wholly understanding and compassionate, a stranger whom they come to trust as a friend, someone to encourage their most self-destructive impulses. Most of them never meet someone like Cami.
By the time Nadia came home for a spell that February, her parents knew something was wrong, but they didn't know that she'd stopped sleeping, that she was seeing a psychiatrist at Carleton or logging on to chat rooms to talk with strangers about how to end her life.
Kat Lowe was rapidly homing in on Cami's identity. Even after Lowe revealed Cami to be a man, he didn't log off. So Lowe pressed him to explain why he'd posed as a woman, asking if his motivation was sexual. Cami's answer surprised her. He wrote back, "Mostly cause IF and only IF there were any legal consequences for my helping anyone they would come looking for a 'girl.' " Whatever revelations Lowe uncovered were turned over to Blay. Blay knew the lives at risk and understood that the more time Li Dao lurked in the chat rooms, the more people would be in danger. Their posse of volunteer investigators grew: To work the technological angle, Blay turned to Robert Griffin, a retired Australian businessman in his midforties who'd turned to ASH during a dark period. Toward the end of 2007, Blay posted a note on the ASH forum, asking if anyone in the United States could help her reach the authorities there. Griffin, who was now living in the Midwest, responded. "A lot of people on ASH came in under the guise of being do-gooders but were really quite predatory," Griffin said. "Li Dao was one of them, except she operated particularly under the radar."
Griffin had worked in telecommunications and, in a matter of days, was able to trace Li Dao's and falcongirl's e-mails to a server in Faribault, Minnesota. And then Cami made a basic mistake. In the header of an e-mail sent to Lowe was a name: Bill Melchert-Dinkel. Blay forwarded the e-mail to Griffin, who discovered that there was a William Melchert-Dinkel who lived in Faribault. They seemed to have found falcongirl, Cami, and Li Dao at last.
Growing up, Nadia had shown few signs of depression. Her mother, Deborah Chevalier, and friends describe her as cheerful and playful. In a video diary that she made at Carleton that fall, she modeled outfits for the camera, saying, "I thought I'd make a blog that was upbeat and not mopey and weepy."
But by March, Nadia was struggling. "I can barely string together a cohesive sentence or two," she told the camera, looking haggard. "I can't function. The doctor said we should focus on getting me to function."
As the snow beat against her window, she sat at her computer, spending hours online with Cami, Cami trying to persuade her to hang herself instead of jumping, so that they could die together.
Nadia: It's a big relief to be able to talk to someone.
Cami: Cool. I'm no [sic] trying to tell you how to do it. Just my experiences and opinions, that's all.
Nadia: I understand. We want what's best for each other.
Cami: Yes, very much so. I don't want you to fail ever! And end up messed up.
Nadia: That would be the worst.
Cami: Oh, my God, yes, I see that happen a lot.
Nadia: What sort of stuff have you seen?
Cami: I'm not trying to scare you. Don't get me wrong. I've seen tons of failed overdoses and bad wrist cuttings and some failed jumpers. In seven years, I've never seen a failed hanging. That's why I chose it.
Blay knew nothing about Nadia; she only knew that she was racing to prevent the man behind Li Dao and the other alter egos from adding another suicide to his count, another pact made good. She sent the information she'd gathered to Papyrus, a charity dedicated to preventing suicides in Britain, but they could do little in the States. Finally, Blay got lucky. She was chatting with one of her customers, an accomplished carriage driver and lawyer in Minnesota, and inevitably she steered the conversation to her favorite topic—the threat Melchert-Dinkel posed and the unwillingness on the part of the authorities to do anything about it. The customer lived just twenty miles from Faribault and promised to contact a friend of hers who was a deputy sheriff in an outlying Minneapolis county.
Within a few weeks, through her friend, Blay got word from the deputy sheriff. Faribault was out of his jurisdiction, but he suggested that she contact the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, a new federally funded initiative aimed at combating the sexual exploitation of children. Blay managed to get through to Sergeant William Haider, who was detailed to the task force from the St. Paul police. She told him she feared that someone named Bill Francis Melchert-Dinkel in Faribault was encouraging teens, among others, to commit suicide online.
The very next day, the Faribault police were surprised by a call from the Ottawa police, who asked them to check on, of all places, the Melchert-Dinkel residence. They were investigating the disappearance of Nadia Kajouji, who hadn't been seen at Carleton University for two weeks. The police had found chat logs on the girl's computer between Nadia and Cami D, an online identity whom the Ottawa police say they had traced to Melchert-Dinkel's Faribault address. Their fear was that someone at the residence had entered a suicide pact with the 18-year-old student and would soon act upon it. They wanted to be sure everyone in the house was okay. At the time, Melchert-Dinkel was on vacation with his family, so they left word. When he returned, he called the police. Everyone in his family, he assured them, was just fine.
Melchert-Dinkel lives in a crisp white-shingled house with contrasting black shutters and a perfectly manicured lawn in Faribault, population 22,000. He is 48 years old, married to a nurse, and has two teenage daughters.
In his online conversation with Kat Lowe, after she'd discovered he was Cami and falcongirl and Li Dao, William Melchert-Dinkel sent a family photo of himself and his wife sitting on a piano bench, flanked by their two daughters. In the background, a ray of sunlight glints from a landscape painting.
Li Dao, along with her alter egos, positioned herself as an expert on nursing—an ER nurse whose experience with a range of calamities had persuaded her of the benefits of hanging. Melchert-Dinkel was indeed a nurse, a resident nurse whose career was distinguished only by his incompetence, at best, and possibly something much more sinister.
In 1994, according to the Nursing Board of Minnesota, he administered the wrong medication to a resident while working at a nursing home in Minneapolis. In another instance, he failed to document the deteriorating condition of a resident who later died en route to the hospital. The next year, he moved to the ortho-neuro unit at a St. Paul hospital, but he showed no improvement. According to his supervisor, he "continually demonstrated difficulty retaining information." When reprimanded, he said, "I have problems at home, too. It just spills over into everything." He was later diagnosed with a learning disability and attention-deficit disorder, among other problems, and put on medication. He resigned soon after, reportedly saying that he "got in over his head."
But Melchert-Dinkel kept nursing, and with grim results. At a nursing home where he worked in Faribault, he was fired for the alleged abuse of two residents. Only then did the Minnesota Board of Nursing limit his license, but he was still allowed to practice, with supervision.
Melchert-Dinkel didn't perform much better for his next employer in Faribault. One of his co-workers said that he was often rude to residents, "hollering at them" if they wanted to go to the bathroom. At one point, the co-worker, who didn't want her name published, asked Melchert-Dinkel to wrap the foot of a resident whose toes had been amputated. "He got done wrapping the foot and came out and said, 'She's ready to go.' " After entering the room, the co-worker scratched her head and asked an aide to take a look. The aide "looked and said, 'Oh my God. He's wrapped the good foot.' " In July 2008, Melchert-Dinkel resigned and moved to a third nursing home in Faribault.
A few months later, Sergeant Haider and a colleague caught up with him at his home. After introductions, the police told the nurse that they wanted to talk to him about Internet-related issues. According to the officers, Melchert-Dinkel responded, "I think I know what you mean." When asked to elaborate, he said that he and his wife worked in health care and had had discussions with people online that had gotten inappropriate. Police say Melchert-Dinkel then told them that his wife wasn't involved in the discussions but that using the online monikers Li Dao, falcongirl, and Cami, he'd advised people online about suicide methods.
He admitted that he would instruct them on how to hang themselves by placing the knot behind the left ear, because "that would be the most effective position for compression of the left and right carotid artery, which would cause unconsciousness in ten to fifteen seconds, brain death, and total death in ten to twenty minutes." According to the coroner's report, Mark Drybrough's neck had a deep ligature groove that rose toward the left and back of his neck. Melchert-Dinkel admitted that he claimed online to have watched via Webcam as someone in England hanged himself. Despite his repeated requests to watch victims by Webcam, however, he insisted that he'd never done so. According to the police, they have no evidence that Melchert-Dinkel watched his victims. The investigating officers say Melchert-Dinkel estimated that he'd made about a dozen suicide pacts with people around the world and encouraged dozens more to commit suicide, though he knew of no more than five who'd actually gone through with it. At one point, he characterized his motivation as the "thrill of the chase." But he also said that he told his victims that "it was okay to let go, that they would be better in heaven."
He said he felt terrible about what he'd done and that his daughters had told him that his discussions weren't right. At Christmas, as the police were narrowing in on him, he said that he'd stopped advising people about suicide.
By then, it was too late for Nadia Kajouji.
Six weeks after her disappearance in Ottawa, the sun had warmed the Rideau River, and her body washed up on its banks. She had ignored Cami D's requests that she hang herself with a Webcam rolling. Instead, she stuck to her plan. She told her roommate she was going skating and jumped into the frozen river, with skates on her feet so that it would look like an accident.
On the spot where she was found is a rickety iron bench with flowers painted along the top and the words You will never be forgotten. Though he had a hard time recalling Mark Drybrough, Melchert-Dinkel said he did remember making a suicide pact with "a woman from Ottawa."
The day the police interviewed him, William Melchert-Dinkel walked into a Faribault emergency room, telling nurses there that he was under investigation for assisting suicide. According to a report by the Minnesota Board of Nursing, which had opened an investigation of Melchert-Dinkel, he was later transferred to a different hospital, where his unprompted confession continued. He informed the staff that he was "dealing with an addiction to suicide Internet sites" and "feeling guilty because of past and present advice to those on the Internet of how to end their lives."
Finally, in April 2010, three years after Blay had first alerted the police in England, Melchert-Dinkel was charged with "advising and encouraging" the suicides of Mark Drybrough and Nadia Kajouji, which carries a maximum term of fifteen years or a $30,000 fine. It's a novel use of a law that has been on the books in Minnesota since 1963—long before the Internet existed. It appears to be the first time in the United States that criminal charges have been brought against an individual for assisting suicide over the Internet. The morality of his actions aside, can he be held legally culpable? Had Mark or Nadia never had the misfortune to meet him online, would they have killed themselves anyway? Would they have followed through on their own self-destruction if he hadn't vowed to do the same? Would they be alive if the compassionate and knowledgeable nurse they knew as Li Dao were revealed to them to be a middle-aged Minnesota man?
Melchert-Dinkel, who refused to be interviewed for this story, could be tried as soon as this fall. The prosecutor, Paul Beaumaster, insists the law is clear. "The statute specifically talks about 'advises, encourages, or assists another,' " he said. "It's not specific about what instrumentality you use—telephone, fax, smoke signals." But the instrumentality in this case may make a difference: Melchert-Dinkel is accused of encouraging suicidal individuals to kill themselves on sites that are strenuously pro-choice about suicide. How much encouragement did Mark and Nadia really need? Even if Melchert-Dinkel is convicted or he pleads guilty, he is not likely to serve much time.
The friends and families of Mark and Nadia and others have nothing but time, to wonder what might have gone differently, to question what might have happened if their son or daughter or friend had never met Li Dao or Cami or falcongirl—if they'd never come in contact with William Melchert-Dinkel. When Elaine Drybrough cleaned out her son's room after his death, she found a blank notebook with a single page of poetry that he'd scrawled:
Face facts, I'd rather live than die.
So what's it worth, why is it worth
There is nothing but this very life
Here and now.
Mark was torn. He wrote, "Please give my life meaning and love each and everything else too…" and circled the passage three times. In the end, though, his cynicism won out. At the bottom of the page, in big capital letters, he wrote: "BULLSHIT COMPLETE FUCKING CRAP." And then he was gone.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Re: Wishlist: Source ex-command and Status Bar Tweaks
I've been aware of ViEmu for some time (and use gVim and Vimperator already) and now that I'm actively using Visual Studio 2010 every day now (and SQL Management Studio nearly every other day) I'm once again contemplating the purchase of a ViEmu license.
Downloaded the trial and have a few obvious wishlist items from the "out of the box" experience:
1) I use a different keyboard layout (Colemak) and custom keybindings in gVim and Vimperator for it. I don't have a problem with working to rewrite my bindings from vim to work with ViEmu, but I noticed right off the bat that there seems to be an obvious missing ex-command that would make the task much easier: :source file, which would allow me to more easily tweak a .viemurc file (without needing to restart Visual Studio every time). (It is also useful for breaking apart large .vi*rc/*.vim files into component parts.)
(I would try keybinding with the VS2010 if I didn't already know that I'd want to be able to easily compare with my other to .vi*rc files and also to make it easier to copy my .viemurc file to other systems/tools.)
2) I'm not quite sure I like the way the ViEmu status bar works with VS2010. Would it be possible to make it a separate panel from the default VS status messages (rather than squashing them)? I think it would be nice to default ViEmu's status font to Consolas.
Vimperator (currently) uses two status bars to give enough room for Firefox status information and its own vim-like information. I could see ViEmu possibly doing the same. Although I'm wondering if the best place to put ViEmu status might be at the bottom of text editor windows themselves rather than at the bottom of the shell. I think that might be something interesting to try if you have the chance to experiment with that.
Anyway, I'm going to keep evaluating and submit any other things that I notice.


text:
1. Wide Push-Up
Targets: Shoulders, chest, and triceps
- Begin in a push-up position, legs extended and palms 6 to 12 inches outside of shoulders, abs engaged and head in line with spine.
- Bend elbows 90 degrees, lowering chest toward floor; press back to start and repeat. (To modify, keep knees down.)
- Do 10 to 12 reps.
2. Quadraped
Targets: Upper, lower, and mid back and abs
- Begin on all fours, knees under hips, palms beneath shoulders, and abs engaged.
- Slowly extend left arm forward parallel to floor and right leg behind you to hip height.
- Hold for 2 or 3 counts, lower, and repeat on opposite side.
- Do 8 to 12 reps per side.
3. Shoulder Press with Rotation
Targets: Shoulders and triceps
- Stand with feet hip-width apart, elbows bent 90 degrees at shoulder height with palms forward, holding dumbbells.
- Exhaling, press hands overhead just slightly in front of body; as you come up, rotate arms so palms face each other (move from your shoulders, not your wrists).
- Lower, then lift again, this time rotating arms from shoulders so palms face outward (not shown).
- Do 8 to 12 reps.
4. Balancing Biceps/Triceps
Targets: Arms, core, and glutes
- Stand with feet together and hold dumbbells, palms forward.
- Lift right foot, balancing on left leg, knee slightly bent.
- Curl weights toward shoulders; lower and repeat.
- Do 10 to 12 reps.
- Switch legs, balancing on right leg.
- Hinge forward, bending elbows with weights near chest.
- Press weights behind body, keeping arms close to sides. Return to center and repeat.
- Do 10 to 12 reps.


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All tachograph data from the digital tachograph connected to a TomTom LINK device is retrieved by PrestaLink. The PrestaLink user can via the user interface verify/update/complete the data. The data can be exported for delivery to your social secretary.
First-Accent integrates TomTom PRO devices and TomTom LINK devices with your IT systems. Easily integrate your ERP, TMS or other own systems with the TomTom LINK and TomTom PRO devices via the WEBFLEET.connect API.


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School Supplies for in Onida, SD.
If you are looking for school supplies in Onida, SD please you have found a great resource for schools. is a and is oriented religously as a school. The area of Onida, SD where is located is considered
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Make your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 uniquely yours.
The Matte finish is a non-glossy, satin-type finish that give Skins an arty look and feel (art pieces, professional photos, canvases are usually matte). It is fingerprint and smudge resistant, and looks gorgeous with most designs.
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This is my second iStyles for my older phone, and i Love them, i was thinking of getting a new phone, mine works just fine, so then i deceided to just get a new iStyle, and now it looks like i have a new phone for about $10.00, you can't beat that, they are easy to remove and put on, Thank You iStyles, you are great.Janet Hecker, United States


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This is an activity about vectors and velocity. It outlines the addition and subtraction of vectors, and introduces the application of trigonometry to describing vectors. The resource is designed to support student analysis of THEMIS (Time History... (View More) of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer line-plot data. Learners will complete worksheets consisting of problem sets that allow them to work with vector data in magnetic fields. This is activity 15 from Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality. (View Less)
This is an activity about auroras and the scientific terminology used to describe them. Learners will read an article that provides an introduction to specific terms and concepts related to auroras and auroral substorms and examine photographs of a... (View More) 2003 aurora and descriptions of an 1859 aurora to identify the various phases of auroral substorms. This is activity 11 from Exploring Magnetism: Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora. (View Less)


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Santas enjoy helping Ann Arbor area children believe in Christmastime magic
If you saw Joe Eadie —a genial, grey-bearded 61-year-old— walking down the street, you might think to yourself: 'That guy looks like Santa.'
If you saw him in his Santa costume —replete with a pocket watch from North Pole, Alaska, a leather belt and boots— you'd probably do a double take.
But once you saw him interacting with children, you'd be convinced.
Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com
"I do things that probably most Santas would not do. If the children were a little bit afraid, I would get down on the floor with the toys and get them to come to me," says Eadie, or Santa Claus, as he is more commonly known throughout Kerrytown during the holidays. Eadie plays Santa for Kerrytown Shops on Saturdays during the holiday season. He's also been Santa in plays and for local community organizations.
"I enjoy the children, of course. I really honestly enjoy the feedback from parents, hearing that I've done a good job making their child feel comfortable.
"Quite often these last few years, I've heard the comment: 'Well, you're the first Santa they would ever go to," he said. "I enjoy the challenge of a child that is a little bit afraid of me initially. I enjoy trying to win their trust."
Santa Eadie, of Ann Arbor, is a sales representative for a local manufacturer. He began playing Santa several years ago after the request of a family member. Now, he plays Santa regularly, charging $100 an hour, and plans to attend the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School in Midland, Mich.
Danny Maier, 49, also of Ann Arbor, is another local Santa Claus, playing Santa for organizations like the YMCA, the Notre Dame club of Ann Arbor and during Conor O'Neills Traditional Irish Pub and Restaurant's annual Santa event. For Santa Maier, playing Santa is a hobby.
"It's intoxicating, it is absolutely enthralling and to see how fervently they believe in you is amazing. You can see it in their eyes," he said.
Aileen Kennison brought her two children, Maggie and Sean, to Conor's. The children asked for Legos and Barbie dolls.
"It's the first time my kids have seen Santa and they're a little nervous," she said. "My son asked how Santa was able to come to Conor's when Christmas is two days away. I told him Santa needed a break."
For Santa Maier, breaking through a child's nervousness is part of the fun.
When five-year-old Noah Bailey told Santa he wanted walkie talkies for Christmas, Maier's enthusiasm was clear: Santa, too, loves walkie talkies.
"He really likes what I want," Bailey said afterward.
For Santas like Maier and Eadie, career satisfaction comes from getting children to believe in one of Christmas' most famous and magical characters.
"Even though your beard might not be perfect, or you shoes not exactly right, they don't notice any of that. They're just in the zone," said Santa Maier. "The innocence of the child just believes the moment."
Added Eadie:
"For me it's not just playing Santa, it's becoming Santa. For that period of time that the suit is on, it's nice to see smiles."
Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. As the North Pole correspondent, she occasionally reports on Santa sightings. Reach her at email@example.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.
Steven Murphy
Tue, Dec 25, 2012 : 6 p.m.
"charging $100 an hour" That's a joke, right?
Dog Guy
Tue, Dec 25, 2012 : 2:09 p.m.
At Briarwood decades ago, a three-year-old explained how to tell the real Santa Claus: "The real Santa Claus says, 'Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas.'" That works for me.
Tue, Dec 25, 2012 : 1:53 p.m.
b-b-but Eadie isn't the REAL Santa?! Thanks a lot for popping my balloon on Christmas Day, ann arbor dot com!


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Blue Grass, Iowa is a quaint town location on Highway 61 about ten miles from Davenport. Blue Grass has all of the country charm, with all of the city benefits. Located on the edge of Scott and Muscatine counties, this small faming community has lots to offer. According to the 2010 census, Blue Grass has a population of 1,541.
History Blue Grass was originally on an Indian trail between the Mississippi River and the Cedar River. Grass in the area had a bluish tint and it became known as Blue Grass Point. The township originated, as did the town, being given the name " Blue Grass" when the post office was established in 1840.
Blue Grass Community Blue Grass is known for great education and a quiet town, just outside the Quad Cities, where additional shopping and restaurants are easily accessible. Blue Grass real estate ranges from existing homes to new construction. Homes for sale in Blue Grass are available from $75,000 on up to $500,000. Click here to see all homes currently for sale in Blue Grass or be connected with a Blue Grass Realtor.
Attractions and Entertainment The city celebrates Blue Grass Homecoming Days, formerly known as Blue Grass Days, a fun-filled weekend fundraiser for the community, which features carnival rides, royalty contests, live music and entertainment, parade, crafts, area fire department water fights, and an evening firework display. Other events in Blue Grass include a Bags (Corn Hole) Tournament, City-Wide Garage Sale, Euchre Tournament, Golf Outing and Trivia Night.
Nearest Ruhl&Ruhl Office 4545 Welcome Way Davenport, IA 52806 Phone Number: (563) 441-5100 Website
Blue Grass Helpful Links City of Blue Grass Quad Cities Chamber Blue Grass Homecoming Days
Below is a selection of properties in the area. If you would like to view all properties in this area. click here
Ruhl & Ruhl Realtors is powered by IDC Global and Datafloat
Real Estate website solutions | Big data and market report products for the real estate industry


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About Grover
It's getting harder and harder to accept living on this planet - especially in light of recent revelations of the audacity of our federal government. I'm 60 years old now, so I've seen some chit, but I can remember when we, the American people, felt pride in being American - but not any more. We've elected some of the most vile, corrupt people to positions of authority in the past few decades that I dare say there are no - not a one - morally honest politicians left; they've been assimilated into a vast network of good 'ol boy cliques. Truly disgusting.
I, personally, believe that it is coming to a point where we are in dire need of a total, political enema - an American Spring, if you will, that reestablishes the American people's rightful ownership of our country. Get rid of these asshats who think they have the right to do whatever they want - bring back the lynch mobs and throw them in prison, tarred and feathered; bring back the days where we held high standards and ran these turds out of town.
Ok, rant over - I need aspirin now.
So, basically, anyone can 'create' a religion. Were there Rules for Religions when Hubbard opened shop, or maybe a Religion for Dummies-style of guide? Shouldn't there be a litmus test for religious credibility? I mean, wouldn't someone have to have x-amount of followers to qualify...or a special, currently-not-in-use extraterrestial entity to adulate...or maybe a golden calf? Hold up, that one's been done. Seriously, how can reasonably intelligent, first-world people fall for such snake oil? Alien spirits? And this qualifies as a religion? Seriously?
Oh, GOD, the irony! I'm too old now to give a damn about what anyone thinks of what I believe; but, I have to say, I had a bad feeling about this guy when he was stumping for the presidency - something just felt wrong, almost malevolent in a way - a feeling I've never before felt emanating from any previous, presidential candidate. Anyway, personally, I haven't seen one thing this wank has done so far that was in the best interest of the American public - it's all been narrowly focused on how best to benefit big business and government and, ultimately, himself. I've never really been a joiner of causes; I've always preferred to stand afar and judge silently that everyone is F@#*ing idiot. However, of late, I've decided that I don't have a lot of time left on this mudball to remain aloof and separate from that which is going on around me, hidden from scrutiny - inasmuch as a cockroach scurries in the dark, hoping not to be seen going about its disgusting livelihood. We're in such a serious need of a political enema that it transcends any life-threatening bout of diarrhea.
Not when you have an NSA supermagnet! By the way, Mike, well-written article!
This is the real root of the problem, politicians constantly stumping for more "...'donations' to remain in politics..." The fact that Follyhood, MPAA, RIAA, and every major corporation out there who shuttle their little money bots off to Washington on a daily basis isn't so much the problem - they're just so many ticks in the woods that should be treated with pesticides - it's the politicians who spurt their phermorones out into the wind to lure them into their offices that are the real issue.
If it were illegal to "make donations," politicians would be forced to yield to the will of their constituents, those people who voted to give these morally-corrupt politicians the opportunity to serve their voters. . . and not themselves.
I've always thought, maybe naievly, that to minimize, if not altogether eliminate the influence of the deep-pocketed corporations on our politicians, we need term limits. Let no person serve in a political position for more than two years, and mandate that no person accept graft, or donations, if you will. Too many people get into a position of power where greed eventually comes knocking on their door - and they can't say no, because everyone else is doing it. Repeal this enormous farce that a corporation can be treated as a person - seriously, this is just too stupid to be even considered, let alone made into law. OK, rant over; my brain is too full of wtf.
This...this is beautifully written. I've had a mental orgasm, one that I shall never forget. I can only hope that these slimey aholeios bite the big one! Karma, thy name will always be upon our lips!
I'm just in awe of our government. They take a novel and turn it into a game plan - and it's working for them. The hardest part of it all is realizing that citizens from all walks of life are involved, either directly or indirectly, in this, our own subjugation; and for what? Money.
It's always about the money; whether it appears in the form of a well-paying job with a government agency - and the benefits that come with it, or huge contract with said government that makes a business owner suddenly stupid-rich. And then, we have the political route to wealth, and the power it can command; which, in turn, creates more money. Even though they creep everywhere, the twisted roots of greed go way deep in the political garden.
Voltaire's quote, "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." seems especially poignant in view of the increasing demands by various government officials wanting to quash - viciously, in many cases, any challenge to their actions.
I must be masochistic, because checking out Techdirt always ends up with me talking to the monitor and wondering if there are any honest, morally-incorruptable souls left on Earth.
I agree with this statement. However, in practice, I've found it quite difficult to accomplish when faced with a highly motivated, fanatical mindset (think of our esteemed Westboro Baptist Church). While it is more-than-likely true, hate-speech mongers feed on being recognized and at the center of attention, which is why they're called attention-whores.
Ignoring them and hoping they will go away hasn't seemed to work as well as hoped for - they just get more vocal and creative in pushing their agenda. In some cases, laws have curbed the brazen, in-your-face, confrontational excesses - but they've not extinguished the underlying motivation(s).
We all know the old adage that "money is the root of all evil" - or something to that effect. Figuring out how to squeeze every last drop of blood (money) as possible, without considering the benefits of humanitarianism ("...which is an ethic of kindness, benevolence, and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings...") simply has to have it roots in greed; and greed, in its simplest form, has no room for anyone else other than those it directly benefits. I tend to view such people, and/or corporations, as evil and greedy beyond belief. It is one thing to yearn to make a decent living, by offering to sell your services or wares; it is entirely another to devise methodologies, such as outlined here, to squeeze more money out of something that has already been sold.
It was back in 2009 that I put together a photo montage of my brother's Boss Hoss that I'd done a lot of metalwork/fabrication on. The two songs I chose to incorporate into that video were perfect for the feel and tempo of it. Unfortunately, as soon as I uploaded it to Youtube, I was met with the message that the music would be muted because of copyright issues. Well, crap. So, I DID NOT UPLOAD IT to Youtube because of that - I just couldn't find any other music that was close to the original two from Youtube's free collection.
Anyway, almost two years later, while perusing Youtube for Boss Hoss videos, I CAME ACROSS MY OWN VIDEO, WITH THE ORIGINAL TWO SONGS ON IT!!! The information on the video said there was a standard Youtube license applied. While I am happier-n-chit over seeing the video out there, what interests me is how did that happen, and who put it out there? I never uploaded the video!
Non-commercial use of a song for home-made videos, regardless of whether they're put out there on the web or used for home viewing (as in weddings, funerals,or immortalizing a child's accomplishments), shouldn't be subject to greedy monetizing. Greedy monetizing efforts should be contained within the context of commercialization, period. My two cents.
This should really be a red flag to anyone with even half a brain. No individual word, letter, or symbol should be ever be allowed to be monopolized, by anyone. I can't believe this is even being considered valid or right by this douche company. @eggs?!
To be civil, it's pronounced 'coont'.
What if the fence around a field was a 10-foot-tall, privacy fence? Obviously, such a fence would create the expectation of privacy. I'm not seeing where the 'field' in question was really a field, by definition. A field, by its very nature is an open area, generally surrounded by trees, brush, or fencing. How does one enter an open field and set up multiple cameras? Tripods? Duck blinds?
I would think the next step for these fellows would be to put up a high voltage containment fence and their own surveillence cameras.
This kind of crap from 'civil servants', aka politicians, is what happens when they are allowed to hold onto a position for more than two years, especially those that have their hand in making laws. Don't they realize that they, themselves, will be subject to the very laws they're making - at the behest of special-interest groups, and corporations, who's only interest is in their bottom line?
Greed. . .it all boils down to greed and money. Evil is alive and well in the world.
This has everything to do with grandstanding and simply having nothing better to do but kowtow to industry. These people do not care about anything, or anybody - especially children; they're here to satisfy their own political agenda. Those who are pushing this from behind the veneer of political discourse are simply trying to gain more credibility in their industry. Think about it: if you, as an industry shill or insider, can pass this, then it would give you immense credibility as being someone to reckon with, and at the same time allow you to be 'compensated' generously.
These are people who are trying to justify their existence, period.
M1 Garands, Lee-Enfields, SAWs, RPGs. . .the list is endless. What we really need is a jihad against the entertainment/news media. I'm doing my part by never going to the theater any more, never buying another music album/cd, or movie, and I've cancelled my newspaper. These power-hungry control freaks need to understand that WE are the ones in control of THEIR money; and we can collectively hurt their asses a lot by doing that alone. Really, though, these power-hungry control freaks just simply need to be taken out. Here and now, I am going out on a limb and advocating assassinations. I, among millions of others, are sick and tired of these greedy, corrupt, dickbreath a-holes buying our already corrupt officials through 'contributions' to pass laws that only benefit themselves. No law should ever be passed without a majority constituant approval - and that means to me, in particular, no bill be brought up for consideration that wasn't supported by a majority of the voting public from the affected state of the bill's proponent.
I've sent this same message to a number of my representatives, with the added note that should their name ever appear on a bill that supports this level of insanity, their name goes to the top of the list for recall, impeachment, or whatever it takes to remove their sorry ass from a job that they promised to uphold with integrity.
Seriously, if it wasn't for the masochist in me, I probably wouldn't be visiting Techdirt any longer because it just totally flames me out seeing all this crap being done in secret, behind our collective backs, with damn-near impunity. God, I wish I had the power to strike all these idiots dead in their tracks.
Ok, rant over. . .for now, the migraine is becoming unbearable - until the next time.
In light of Dodd's recent insanity, I would proffer that the old adage of '. . .kill all the politicians' should include lobbyists as well.
Typically, when there is an apparent symbiotic relationship, removing one will cause the demise of either. With the advent of declaring corporations 'individual entities', our government effectively declared its willingness to be bought by these deep-pocketed 'citizens'.
Personally, I really, really hate politicians - first, and foremost, because of their inherent self-serving greed and corruptness; and coming in a fast second, they quickly forget who put them in office in the first place - we, the voters. We, who trusted them to go forth and help run our country in a sane and honest manner, are invariably left with a bad taste in our mouths as we discover that we were simply pawns in a game of deceit, a game of power and money. I will never trust a politician, at any level, to be honest and stand up for the benefit of their constituents.
What is truly needed here is a law that would make it illegal for a politician to accept 'donations' - of any kind, from anyone. Let them stump about on their own dime if they want to reach the voters with their chosen platform of lies and deceptions. It would be my desire to see every politician's time at bat limited to four years - and no more, ever. Once you've completed your 'public service' in office, you're out and someone else gets their turn. Never should we have people in an elected position for any longer - it begs to be corrupted. Never should we have politicians sponsoring laws that would only benefit a group, a class, or an industry to the detriment of the whole. Laws should only be made to prevent evil, at whatever level, and to promote the greater good for all.
I just watched a YouTube video that I thought I'd share: Stop SOPA by Michael Mozart. It is worth the watch.
We have voted into office some of the most technologically-ignorant, self-serving, corrupt people imaginable � who are easily influenced by bogus, spin-doctored numbers and large wads of campaign money � and we�re now getting a whiff of the awful stench they�ve been brewing with the big media/content industries.
I, for one, will be doing my best to never knowingly give �them� another dime of my money by NOT buying newspapers, going to the theaters, or anything else I find connected to �them�.


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New Talent: Euphoria
Euphoria (2 Points): When you critically hit with Wrath or Starfire, you instantly gain an additional 2/4 Lunar or 4/8 Solar Energy. When you reach a Solar or Lunar eclipse, you instantly are restored 6/12% of your total mana.I am not surprised by this talent, given Blizzard's goals for Eclipse and some of the other changes in the Balance Tree.
Blizzard has said many times that they don't want an entirely predictable rotation of SFx5 then Wrathx10, and the Energy on Crit mechanic helps with that. The real question is how big of an impact it will have. Will it mean that you will only cast 4 Starfires on average instead of 5, or could you possibly get an Eclipse in just 2 or 3 casts if you get very lucky with crits?
I am very happy to see the second aspect of the talent. Blizzard has said many times that they want Mana to be a bigger issue for healers. As a result they are changing the way everyone regens mana quite a bit by removing the 5 second rule and nerfing Replenishment. For Moonkin, they are also removing Intensity and the leaked talent tree no longer included the mana on crit mechanic in Moonkin Form. All these combined I was very worried about where Moonkin would get mana from with just Dreamstate and the weak new talent Lunar Justice.
My first reaction is that I like the Mana on Eclipse concept. Moonkin will never be Oom on the highest DPS section of your rotation and should be procing Eclipse regularly by default to regen mana. I still question if the current implementation is enough to support the needs of moonkin, but it should be fairly easy to balance by changing the rate at which Eclipse Procs or the rate at which mana is returned.
Modified Talents:
Starfall - You summon a flurry of stars from the sky on all targets within 30 yards of the caster, each dealing 303 to 348 Arcane damage. Maximum 20 stars. Lasts 10 seconds.
It's hard to say if this is a buff, nerf or neutral change. The splash component of the spell has been removed, but the base damage of the spell has been more then doubled from the 145 to 167 damage of the current version. The question is if the Spell Coefficient has been increased as well. Either way, it seems as they are abandoning this spell as an AoE spell entirely.
Moonkin Form - While in this form the armor contribution from items is increased by 120%, and increases the spell critical strike chance of all nearby friendly and raid targets within 100 yards by 5%. The moonkin cannot cast healing or resurrection spells while shapeshifted. The act of shapeshifting frees the caster of Polymorph and movement impairing effects.
Obviously it is a nerf, but not as big of one as was leaked last month. The 5% crit buff is still with the main talent, but mana on Crit is still gone and the armor contribution is nerfed from 370% to just 120%.
As primarily a PvE player the loss of armor isn't that big of a deal for me. Armor rarely matters in PvE and I will be wearing more Leather, it's not like I'm loosing 70% of my armor. It's probably more like 60%. This could be big for PvP players, but most seemed to think the 370% armor increase was overrated. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Improved Moonkin Form - You also grant 2/3/5% spell haste to all nearby friendly party and raid targets within 100 yards while in Moonkin Form.
This change was hinted at last week, and I commented on it here. As I said before, it is likely that this won't stack with Wrath of Air or the Improved Shadowform buff from Shadow Priests. However, I like that this buff is getting spread around.
Old Concerns:
These talents aren't all that different then what was leaked in early may, but they are still on the tree and I have issues with them.
Lunar Justice - When you kill a target that yields experience or honor, a ray of moonlight will shine underneath the fallen enemy instantly restoring 2/4/6% of your base mana to you or the first ally who stands underneath it. Lunar Justice lasts for 15 seconds.
This would be great for leveling or grinding, but I don't think it would be useful in any kind of Raiding or PvP build. I assume that the moonkin has to get the kill shot for the LJ to proc and that is just not going to happen often even in an add heavy PvE fight. In PvP there just aren't enough targets to make it all that useful when it would be necessary and not all that necessary when there are enough targets.
Fungal Growth - When your Treants die or your Wild Mushrooms are triggered, you spawn a Fungal Growth at its wake covering the area within 8 yards, slowing all enemy targets by 35/70%. Lasts 10 seconds.
Fungal Growth could be very handy. Saurfang is a great example of a fight where slowing abilities are very useful. My problem is that it combines a slow with two DPS abilities. Most of the time I want to damage my targets without slowing them. If I slow them unnecessarily that hurts the tank trying to position adds or even the boss. Therefore, it's likely that this talent will never be a part of my standard build, but I may spec into it if I know I need it for a specific fight.
Optional Talents Revisited:
Clearly the talent trees are not done, but I have made a stab at what would be my spec if Cataclysm was released tomorrow. I would advise people to use this as their base spec and spend the last 6 points as they like.
In the base spec, I have 8 options to spend 6 talent points. On the surface this sounds like a success for Blizzard given their new goals for the talent trees. I disagree though. I consider Gale Winds and Fungal Growth to be situational and the other 6 to be practically useless. I spec into Gale Winds by default, and would change specs when needed for Fungal Growth. The other 4 points I don't really care how they are spent.
As I said before, Situational and Useless talents aren't good talent options. Situational talents will be picked up by default like I would pick up Gale Winds. If you don't pick them up by default then there is something wrong with them, and not really optional. The useless talents I could care less about. It doesn't matter to me if I pick up Brambles or Genesis, because neither are very good. In the end I go with the lesser of two evils.
In my opinion the talent trees are not good enough yet and don't provide real options. Yes I could spend the points in more PvP friendly talents but that is not an option when there are no real alternatives.


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Detroit Bankruptcy Case Kicks Off
A state appeals court on Tuesday put on hold a legal challenge to Detroit's bankruptcy, clearing the way for a federal judge to begin reviewing the city's filing. Stephen Eide, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discusses the implications for the city, residents and workers. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... Michigan State appeals for halting a challenge to Detroit's ... bankruptcy filing that's allowing ... the first hearing on the case to proceed is ongoing ... right now to show Joinus right now to parse through all this means for the city ... and forced pension holders is Steve and I he is a senior fellow ... at the Manhattan Institute Center for state and local leadership High Steven think semester being with us appreciate that that ... is a critical day with ... unseeded biggest municipal bankruptcy sign in the U S going on ... how successful do you think they're going to be in today's hearing ... I think today's hearing which are going to stick with it too is basically try and use clear with some of the legal underbrush on there some lawsuits pending in cities ... using a retiree's and other groups have ... petitioned saying that this that that which cannot be allowed to access federal thinks bankruptcy court ... aam and so they basically keep all Detroit's legal issues on the state level to that which and which to which Brown using irons have more leverage against the city ... if the kids and a federal court to force leverage is going to increase center Sicily is trying to to to to targeted are going to the federal bankruptcy court is the only game you with this matter should be debate is that like to try for the race was won or lost is the correct ... right when you go into municipal bankruptcy with the main appeals from the perspective is when he gets a place on all other litigation against you can eat deals than anybody ever have had the chance to ... sew backing then when you go into federal bankruptcy all the things that interest has been a holistic way ... aam and you can focus on the main issue which is the debt keeps Detroit ... so it was afraid of of any of these other losses going for it they would essentially slowed the case down they could make it more expensive ... for Detroit is that ... the whole of these these folks find this the small seeded how successful the think their Adobe ... we went again to municipal bankruptcy court you have two sets but couple requirements to prevent you're insolvent ... if the proof that the steak and kidney authorization to do so ... in Detroit aam NE and an even bigger she didn't think they are ready with your creditors ... something that that theory itself was going to be in another month mess before you even get to hear this I think your pet everything is going to be experiencing so ... aam yet mean the creditors to stand to lose big in bankruptcy don't want it or to go into bankruptcy at all ... and the oneness of the process towns much as possible ... what's in Detroit has proven its credit has proven to be helpful for bankruptcy of handling a reorganization of this is now being incredibly confusing face what will we see ... well emergency manager last month party and other week old has asked of creditors how much he wants to cut everyone's claim ... on the silky if he gets declared eligible for bankruptcy you'll then have to put out was called the debt reorganization plan ... aam and then we will see if he wants to be as severe in discusses the settings on the last month ... and um you can expect the input the bondholders and a retiree's the pensioners ... onto professor claimed theory aggressively said becuz right in my my final question for you I mean you know a lot of talk about the retiree's detention holders ... but who really is Guinea get to the front of the line ... when it comes in if it with him when it comes to Detroit having to pay out here ... well the phrase consumers to use uses shared sacrifice there's going to be sacrificing all fronts he can look at what Wall Street been saying about women with retirees has been saying that in a lot of enemies around Detroit sales from this perspective to me that means he's been succeeding ... tight Steven I thanks renounces appreciate you being with this pink comeback us to