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Topic: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home... (Read 39139 times)
Bad Movie Lover
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....a heady mix of ignorance and enthusiasm.
Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #60 on:
June 28, 2007, 07:00:39 PM »
Quote from: tombofanubisdotcom on June 28, 2007, 05:21:01 PM
I don't think I've ever heard a rational person use the terms "love" and "Fox News" in the same post before. Hahaha.
I'm not sure anyone in any forum has ever called ME "rational" before.
And now I'm probably about to lose some of my karma points, but here goes:
Wrestling is a seedy business. And WWE is run by someone who would, if his own grandmother were being beaten and raped by thugs, probably try to get a film crew there so he could use it as his next angle. But it isn't just the business to blame for the rampant steroid abuse, the fault has to lie also with the fans, those of us who have ever watched and been amazed at the comic book superhero physiques pf these guys. (I include myself, as I've been to the shows and before it got so soap-opera like I really enjoyed them.) We bought into the image, and the promoters started telling the younger guys that they had to bulk up to be marketable. Just like with baseball, if the fans weren't so thrilled every time someone like Sosa hits a ball into next week, the game might not have the problems it's had with steroids.
WWE is making me a bit sick with the way they're trying to distance themselves and pretend the business has no fault. If Benoit had already been prone to violence or depression, then the combination of steroids and painkillers would have made that cycle worse. And if he didn't want people to know the son was retarded due to a genetic condition (and jeez that makes me angry, it wasn't the boy's fault and he shouldn't have been a source of shame), then he never would have consulted someone for help with his own problems.
Oh, BTW, I only visit Fox News' site if someone posts a link, I realize all news outlets have their biases, but they really wear theirs on their sleeves.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #61 on:
June 28, 2007, 09:42:29 PM »
Quote from: Snivelly on June 28, 2007, 07:00:39 PM
But it isn't just the business to blame for the rampant steroid abuse, the fault has to lie also with the fans
For my part, I still "blame" the individual. Each of us has free-will. Each makes a conscious decision to take steroids or not. We all know it's wrong and dangerous for various reasons. But money, or fame, or glamour of being famous, or any number of other reasons makes it too easy to put what is right and wrong on the back burner.
Sorry, but if you play with fire, you will more than likely someday get burned. In this case, that burning cost three lives.
Maybe the fans help create the market for sports stars to "bulk up" or whatever, but in the end, each individual makes the decision "hey, I want to be a star more than I want to do what is right and healthy." I know my perspective is probably not the most popular, but I sure would like to see some good old fashioned personal accountability back in play.
Grown-ups have to make hard decisions like that every day. Someday, hopefully, folks like this wil realize that fame and fortune are not worth the cost they ultimately pay. Rather than give my money to this type of guy (by being a fan), I'd rather celebrate the guy in a gym somewhere helping little old ladies with their 30 minute workout - you know, the ones who decided fame was NOT worth selling their soul. We don't know their names, but they have 1000% more honor and respectability than some loser who took drugs to get ahead and stood on the shame of his only son while up there - THEN commited two murders and suicide while his legacy hides under the skirts of "I'm really a victim" in its posthumous pleading for sympathy.
That's all from me on this subject.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #62 on:
June 28, 2007, 10:48:03 PM »
Wow. I never been a fan of wrestling. Always thought it a waste of time(coming from someone who's favorite movie of all time is the BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE,yet!) and space. It's really sad,though,that lotsa kids idolize these meatheads,not realizing it's all just phoney bullsh!t. And when one of their idols does something like this...I dunno...
I'm not condeming TV wrestling...you like what you like...I just think this is all very...sad. I'm not gonna even try to guess why he did what he did,because,when it's all said and done,only he knows...and he ain't talking.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #63 on:
June 29, 2007, 08:49:11 AM »
No loss of karma points for anyone today Snivelly, but I don't blame you for saying the McMahon is a ruthless money whore who would do anything to gross a few extra dollars. That's exactly the image that's been portrayed of him forever and that's the image he likes to maintain. If Mick Foley's books are to be believed (and since he's been given pretty much free reign to write what he wanted to, I'm apt to do so), McMahon likes to pretend he's the bad guy most of the time, he can be a genuine bastard some of the time, but much of the time he's genuinely concerned for his wrestlers. Whether you can chalk that up to him being a decent human being, looking out for his investments, or just trying to avoid the collateral damage that comes with these people getting hurted, crippled or killed while still using them to make his company flourish and his bank account swell, I don't think McMahon can really be blamed for the steroid abuse in the industry. I think it really can be centralized on the performers themselves who either want to be as big and rediculous as possible for their own ego, or because they're paranoid that they'll lose their jobs if they're not the biggest meathead out there... which, as we've learned, paranoia is linked to steroid abuse, so it isn't a far fetched idea.
Because of the big push against professional sports by the government to crack down on juicers, WWE had been very strict on their drug testing. Benoit was listed as being clean just two months ago. I also know that like any test there are ways that people can cheat and avoid detection, so though I'd like to think that Chris Benoit wasn't on steroids and that the ones found in his home were instead being used in some perverse way to try and fix Daniel's growth disorder, everything is still speculation until the all important toxicology reports come out, no matter how many times the news media try to say "WERE STEROIDS TO BLAME?!" in it's scariest voice possible. The worst part is that if the report comes back positive, I'll be able to admit my theory was wrong, while a negative report will most definitely NOT result in a retraction by
news outlet, because technically they never "said" it was steroid abuse, they just implied (strongly) that it could've been the cause... ignoring the possibility of basic human mental problems and an abuse of painkillers or alcohol because those aren't sensational enough reasons to make it onto the 11 o'clock news.
As far as blaming the fans, the fans are just consumers buying a product. If you look at someone buying a beer and you can go up to them and blame them for every violent act brought about by drunks, then you're more than welcome to blame wrestling fans for steroid use. Though I've been a regular viewer since I was watching the Pay-Per-Views with my grandpa twenty years ago, I've never purchased a single piece of wrestling memorobilia. Any events I've seen, either in an arena or on television was either free or paid for by someone else, so if you can blame the fans for the tragedy that's fine, because my conscience is clear. Again though, the logic's going to vary from person to person based on who you choose to blame: the manufacturers of a product of the buyers of the product. If you don't endorse drunk drivers running over children, stop drinking beer. If you don't endorse people dying of cancer, stop buying tobacco products. If you don't endorse people shooting each other, stop buying guns. If you don't endorse people running each other down, stop driving cars. It's a sticky situation, hence why I agree that individuals should be blamed for their actions.
If it was steroids that drove Benoit to kill his family, he chose to take them. Even if you want to blame the fans or the company for wrestlers taking enhancing drugs, that excuse can't be used on someone like Benoit who has/had an established fan following to whom he could do no wrong before this week. He wasn't a power guy, he wasn't a beefy superhero, his popularity came from his hard work and his ability to put on a technically impressive show. If anything, you could gear the blame for this instead to the painkillers that a guy would probably need to put on such a physical showing 300 days a year.
If it was the stress of his job that drove Benoit to kill his family, he chose to keep such a rigorous schedule. When you're as established in the company like Benoit was, you didn't have to bust your ass because you've already proven your dedication to the company. Look at a guy like the Undertaker who, even when he's not injured, is only required to wrestle two or three times a month if that. It's because the man's an established money generator and WWE will do what it takes to keep him from jumping ship to a rival company like TNA. The same was true for Benoit: he didn't need to bust his ass like he did and he didn't need to put up with all the stress he might've been given, but because wrestling was his life and because he wanted to help mold the next generation of superstars (like he did with MVP and was looking to do with CM Punk), he probably burned himself out doing so.
If it was the problems of raising a handicapped child that drove Benoit to kill his family, he chose to keep Daniel in his life. Some people aren't ready to raise children period, let alone a special needs child. I'm not blaming the child, because that's just stupid and anyone who would turn that around on me is just trying to start some sh!t. Daniel didn't ask to be born with his disease. If the disease was something that the doctors could catch while still in the womb, it was Chris and Nancy's choice not to abort. Even if they couldn't do so for moral or religious reasons, they could have put Daniel up for adoption. In a relationship where the husband's job requires him to be away for 80% of the year, that's no ideal situation for your average child to grow up in, let alone a special needs child. If you're not willing to put your all into raising your kids, you shouldn't be allowed to have them, end of story. Personally I think there needs to be a licensing program to make sure people are worthy to even have children, much like the adoption screening process. Granted, that wouldn't solve all of the world's problems and thinking as such would be ignorant, but I think it would definitely address some very serious ones. Anyway, the point is, if Chris couldn't handle the care needed for Daniel, they could have put the child up for adoption. If Nancy refused, then Chris should've just left. Which brings me to my final point...
If it was pride and fear of social judgment that made Chris Benoit kill his family, well, this is where I have a problem. I think pride and fear of judgment by others is a stupid thing. I wear what I want in public, I shave my beard when I feel like it, I belch, fart and curse when I feel it needs to be done no matter where I am. It's true. Unfortunately, too many people are concerned with what other people think. Celebrities are the worst when it comes to this. Unfortunately, because of the position they're in, where who they are and how people perceive them is their entire livelihood and the slightest normal mistake is guaranteed to be plastered all over tabloid papers and news shows for weeks on end, nobody wants to look like an idiot, a lunatic or a loser in the public eye. Earlier generations of people were told that their business is their own and nobody should know about their shame. This is why so many people look down on psychiatrists and being open with their emotions: because people will judge you and you'll be a freak ripe for ridicule and accusations. Again, the fact that Benoit was a public figure only made this moreso. Personally, I have no problem with seeking psychiatric help, especially if I think life is driving me mad. If I think there's a problem with me, I'll talk anybody's ear off about it, as I've got nothing to hide. Some of the things I think or say make people do a double take and wish such things could be unheard, but it's better than bottling it up and letting it do serious damage later on. Benoit obviously wasn't nearly as free or open about his problem. His son had a crippling disease and he didn't want anyone to know. He likely had personal problems and possibly a severe depressional disorder, but everyone knew him as "mild mannered". It's easy to look upon that and say that he could've easily went out and got his issues fixed, but again, the biggest part of having a problem is admitting it. I have a friend who's an alcoholic, but because he refuses to acknowledge that he has a problem, he'll never seek treatment. With something like that, it's easy to do an intervention, but if it was a problem that was easily kept secret, it's entirely possible that people wouldn't know and therefore nobody could know that the man needed help. I think that's a personality thing and isn't as easily overcome. Anybody can refute that and say it's bullsh!t, but just because you can do something so easily in no way means that everybody else can do it that way too.
Oh, and as far as WWE being too over-the-top and sensationalistic, they've actually toned down things the last few years with the exception of the infamous limo explosion angle. I tried watching "simple, basic wrestling" and realized that I don't like TNA... who currently employ Scott Steiner, the biggest most blatant case of steroid abuse in the world. Sensationalism is what people want. It's a testosterone driven soap opera. Watching people wrestle is obviously the core, but watching grown men in tights doing the same moves over and over week after week doesn't make for good television. Just ask TNA, whose ratings haven't been able to claw their way out of the toilet despite all the big name talent they've wooed the last few years. If all you're looking for is the basic wrestling minus the drama though, go with TNA. Or, if you just want to see your old favorites doing that they did best, MSG broadcasts a show called "Madison Square Garden Classics" every Wednesday night that shows nothing but old matched from the famed venue with all the drama cut out. It's a good show, I record it every week.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #64 on:
June 29, 2007, 12:31:10 PM »
Apparently that Wikipedia thing was a hoax. Now I have to go back to the conspiracy board.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #65 on:
June 29, 2007, 10:39:55 PM »
I agree that todays "fans" will never except old time wrestling unless they start with a whole new fan base and skip the whole "money" idea...............then they could go back to the old ways.
Maybe this is the end of pro wrestling. The natural decline and end. Much like the gladiator games of Rome the spectators just get bored and they need to invent new ways to kill people.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #66 on:
June 30, 2007, 12:39:50 AM »
Quote from: Scott on June 29, 2007, 10:39:55 PM
I agree that todays "fans" will never except old time wrestling unless they start with a whole new fan base and skip the whole "money" idea...............then they could go back to the old ways.
Maybe this is the end of pro wrestling. The natural decline and end. Much like the gladiator games of Rome the spectators just get bored and they need to invent new ways to kill people.
They still haven't introduced wild animals yet spring up from the floor ....
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #67 on:
June 30, 2007, 08:43:45 AM »
Quote from: CheezeFlixz on June 30, 2007, 12:39:50 AM
Quote from: Scott on June 29, 2007, 10:39:55 PM
I agree that todays "fans" will never except old time wrestling unless they start with a whole new fan base and skip the whole "money" idea...............then they could go back to the old ways.
Maybe this is the end of pro wrestling. The natural decline and end. Much like the gladiator games of Rome the spectators just get bored and they need to invent new ways to kill people.
They still haven't introduced wild animals yet spring up from the floor ....
No, but there was that god awful "Hell in the
Kennel" match between Al Snow and Riot Gear Variant Big Boss Man several years ago... which brings up "the Legend of the Penis Suplex"... hahaha
Anyway, I don't see this as being the event that kills professional wrestling. Any actually wrestling fan detractors I'm hearing from in the last week have all been condemning Benoit, not wrestling itself. I'm not sure what event would actually kill wrestling at this point. If there ever comes a time when the fans finally give up on wrestling, it won't be until the entire roster is filled with people who have absolutely no charisma and no wrestling abilities. Basically, a locker room full of Mark Henrys and Great Khalis...
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #68 on:
June 30, 2007, 11:26:11 AM »
Wrestling should go back to the old ways. In the old days, wrestlers didn't need to be bulging with muscles. Many had pot bellies but could wrestle and compete with the best. Guys like Adrian Adonis, Mad Dog Vachon and Dick Murdoch could wrestle circles around most of today's stars. Get rid of steroids. Get rid of addictions to painkillers. No more ridiculous unbelievable hardcore/garbage wrestling and stupid stunts. Just get back to basics. Creating believable matches between two guys or pairs of guys in a wrestling ring. It worked for Verne Gagne vs. Nick Bockwinkel, it worked for Dory Funk Jr. vs. Jack Brisco, it worked for Bruno Sammartino vs. Ivan Koloff. Lou Thesz lived into his 90s. The Crusher was well up there in years too. Bruno, Mad Dog and Ox Baker are among just some those names still with us today. I'd really love to see both the fans and the media rally against McMahon's "sports entertainment" and demand a return to classic pro wrestling the way it was always meant to be. Not saying there wasn't always a certain element of showmanship but it didn't always dominate things like it does now.
Here's a message from the widow of the late Ray "Hercules" Hernandez who once competed in the WWF as the Mighty Hercules. It speaks volumes IMO:
"My name is Debbie Fernandez, wife of the late Ray Hercules Fernandez and I am writing to you because I am sickened by the recent tragic event to strike the Wrestling World. I am also appalled at the fact that Vince McMahon is trying to play off the idea that there is not a Steroid Use problem in the WWE. After Ray died, I was too devastated to open up a discussion regarding the deadly roll that Steroid use plays in the lives of these wrestlers, but now, after seeing yet another tragedy, I must speak up. Vince McMahon acquires these young men, who are eager to join the world of wrestling, and who do not know any better and think that they are going to be rich and famous, but at what price?
He all but preaches that his Wrestlers do not take Steroids, and they are periodically tested, now does anyone really believe that? There is a reason why so many Wrestlers have died at such a young age, partly due to the Steroid use, and most importantly because most of them end their wrestling career with NOTHING! They have no health benefits, they have no retirement, and they are just tossed out like yesterdays trash. The only one who benefits from their blood, sweat and tears is Vince McMahon. They wrestle when their sick or hurt because they are so scared to lose their jobs, and they will, so the only way that they can stay in the game is to take steroids. Does Vince McMahon really expect us to believe that he knows nothing about the wrestlers using steroids?
The problem is that like my husband, many of the wrestlers from that era were too loyal to the profession to say anything, because if you rocked the boat, you knew you were on your way out. They just had to suck it up and do whatever it took to keep their jobs. They control everything you do professionally and personally, right down to picking your accountant, so that he can steal you blind. With all the money that the WWE brings in, you would think that they would take care of their investments and offer them the proper benefits that they and their families deserve. Now, I do not believe that Chris Benoits actions were caused by Steroid use, but, I do feel that Vince McMahon should be held accountable for the fact that he IS aware of everything that is going on, and that the majority of Wrestlers do take Steroids. When is it going to be enough? When are these guys going to join together and realize that unless they stand up to McMahon and fight for the benefits that they deserve, and that the WWE can afford to give them, they are headed for an early grave.
Debbie Fernandez"
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #69 on:
June 30, 2007, 01:33:56 PM »
Thanks for adding that JaseSF.
Ultimately the individual is responsible, but the times can also be out of control. We see this at different levels of "corprate culture" it's just that the WWE has become a really abhorant entity.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #70 on:
July 01, 2007, 09:36:23 AM »
As you said though Scott, it is still a matter of personal responsibility. These wrestlers ultimately still make the wrong choice themselves if they take steroids, get themselves addicted to painkillers whathaveyou. That said, I think pro wrestling would be in better shape today if there were more options out there for wrestlers to pursue other than Vince's WWE which is really the only place they'll make the big money.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #71 on:
July 01, 2007, 04:10:21 PM »
I just read this article about Lex Lugar and what's he's up to these days:
Wrestling can leave lives on the ropes
Lex Luger tumbles from fame and fortune, but still counts his blessings
By BILL TORPY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/01/07
Lex Luger doesn't mince words when asked about pro wrestling's appeal.
"People like to see freaks," said the former Lawrence Pfohl. "It's like live cartoon characters."
Not long ago, Luger was 270 pounds of romping manly aggression and animalistic sex appeal. It's what his public wanted and he gave it to them in steroid-fueled, larger-than-life doses as "The Total Package," a man who borrowed his name sort of from Superman's arch-enemy.
But the freak show that became Luger's life nearly killed him. The man who made millions, flew in private jets and lived in mansions is now dead broke, sleeps on a used bed and keeps his clothes in neat piles on the floor.
Luger is a pro wrestling casualty, although he considers himself lucky. He recently turned 49, an age many of his friends in the business will never see.
The latest in that growing toll was Chris Benoit, the "Canadian Crippler." The 40-year-old Fayette County resident apparently strangled his wife, choked his 7-year-old son to death and placed Bibles by their bodies before hanging himself by hitching a weight machine's cable to his neck and letting drop 240 pounds.
The Benoit family's tragic end once again exposed the sordid underbelly of professional wrestling.
Luger hadn't seen Benoit in several years but believes his old friend was in a "dark place" due, in part, to the frenetic pressures of the life and many years of drugs he took to build himself up and to keep the pain at bay. Authorities found steroids in Benoit's home and are investigating whether "roid rage," an explosive fit of aggression traced to steroid abuse, had anything to do with the deaths.
Benoit is one of many who have died early.
Keith Pinckard, a medical examiner in Dallas, started logging the deaths of pro wrestlers and ex-wrestlers after his office performed an autopsy on one killed in an accident.
"It seemed bizarre," said Pinckard, "there seemed to be a lot of deaths."
There were. He found nearly 70 who died early going back nearly 20 years. It was a rate at least seven times the rate of the general population, he calculated. The causes of deaths fell in common themes: drug overdoses and heart attacks were most common, followed by suicide and "natural causes."
Vince McMahon, owner of the World Wrestling Entertainment, the federation for which Benoit and Luger wrestled, has said the organization has instituted drug testing in response to such allegations of abuse.
"The last test that Chris Benoit took of a random nature was in April which he was totally negative," McMahon said on NBC's "Today" morning program. "That doesn't mean that he wasn't taking prescription medication and perhaps even steroids when this happened. We don't know."
Wrestling's casualties
"Ravishing Rick Rude" died in 1999 after being found unconscious in his Alpharetta home with empty prescription bottles near his bed. The death of the 40-year-old (his legal name was Rood) was ruled a heart attack. He suffered a neck injury years earlier that virtually ended his career.
In "Rude's" obituary, wrestler Curt Hennig, "Mr. Perfect," memorialized his lifelong friend as a performer who gave fans what they wanted.
Four years later, Hennig, 44, was found dead in a hotel, Authorities ruled it cocaine intoxication.
In an obit for Hennig, Atlanta area wrestler Ray "Big Boss Man" Traylor Jr. noted the mounting loss of his closest friends. "It used to be me, him and Rick Rude together," Traylor said. "And then Rick died."
A year later, "Big Boss Man" died of a heart attack.
The pressures on wrestlers to perform night after night grew as the business got more lucrative as federations such as McMahon's WWE went international.
But as wrestling exploded in reach, smaller regional circuits that gave more wrestlers a living dried up.
Atlanta resident Gary Juster, a former wrestling promoter, said the old circuits needed wrestlers, men who added a shtick to their act, but were athletes first and foremost.
Then, about 25 years ago, the sport changed. "The look of a typical wrestler changed," Juster said. "It changed from wrestler to bodybuilder, that chiseled look. There wasn't as much passion for the craft."
As "The Look" became more important, steroids became more popular. "Guys did whatever they had to do to get ahead," Juster said.
The pressure increased as jobs became fewer and more lucrative, said former wrestler Rick Steiner.
"Now there's pay-per-view every week and TV every night. There's the added pressure to look good and there's 100 guys wanting what you have, so a lot of guys take the easy way out," said Steiner, who is a real estate agent and school board member in Cherokee County. "You got to be ready to go every day and if not, there's a lot of guys ready to step in for you in a heartbeat.
"Some guys sell their souls to be on TV," said Steiner, who came up in the business with Benoit in the mid-1980s.
Steiner said he took "every supplement I could" coming up. "It wasn't a controlled substance then." But Steiner stopped. "The benefits vs. my long-term goals went different ways."
He retired several years ago when his body started aching and he was asked to go back on the road 20 days a month. It was a scary moment. "There's no pension, it's what you save, " he said. "It's over and that's it. Once you are in the limelight and get a taste of the crowd, [some wrestlers] can't let it go. A lot of guys have trouble making that transition."
As is Lex Luger.
Seeking stability
Luger, a Buffalo native, banged around in the Canadian Football League and the United States Football League as an offensive lineman before trying his hand in a Florida wrestling circuit.
Luger still looks good as he sits behind a desk at Western Hills Baptist Church in Kennesaw. His face is tanned and heavily creased, the body lean and his biceps still resemble bowling balls.
But when he gets up to walk, he hobbles like he's 80. He has put in for hip surgery with Social Security.
Luger was as big as they came in the 1990s and rolled through millions of dollars, he said.
Life on the circuit was exciting and exhausting. Some years he was on the road 300 days a year. There were 5 a.m. flights, daytime gym work, shows at night, parties in some hotel or penthouse.
And then repeat again and again.
He needed help to keep up with the pace.
"Steroids were there as a shortcut to get size," he said. And then there's the pain from the never-ending body slams and pile drivers. "You start with a painkiller for bumps and bruises. And then you need more. It's never enough."
Those on the circuit were a family, "a dysfunctional family" he said. Everyone wants a piece of a superstar. "There's a lot of leeches, losers, cruisers and abusers."
"I found no matter how hard you chase it, it's never quite enough," he said. "Money makes you more comfortable being miserable."
Luger's fall was hard and quick. He got divorced and in 2003 he made an early morning call to Cobb County 911 saying his girlfriend, Elizabeth Hulette, known on the wrestling circuit as Miss Elizabeth, had passed out.
She was taken to Kennestone Hospital, where she died. The autopsy showed a mix of alcohol, painkillers and tranquilizers in her system.
He was arrested for possessing three kinds of steroids found in the home. Later, he got a DUI. "My life had fallen apart and I still didn't get it," he said.
A judge sentenced him to probation and revoked it in late 2005 when he went to Canada for a work appearance without court approval. An arrest and two strip searches later, the former Total Package was back in Cobb County Jail.
Luger credits Steve Baskin, the pastor of Western Hills Baptist, with pulling him from a terminal tailspin. The jail chaplain met Luger in early 2006 and sensed the former wrestler was spiritually wounded.
"Here's a guy who would have died or gone to prison," said Baskin. "He didn't have the skills to negotiate through his probation." Baskin said Luger had never learned to think for himself well enough to handle "regular" life experiences.
After Luger was freed, Baskin's friends Doc Frady, pastor of Clarkdale First Baptist, and his wife, Jan invited Luger to their home for a birthday party.
Luger learned the couple had been married 54 years and had lived in the same house for much of that time.
"It brought tears to my eyes," Luger recalls. "I didn't even know people like that existed anymore."
Luger lives in a spare bedroom in Baskin's apartment and is trying to figure out a path in life.
He'd like to help counsel those in trouble. Or maybe be a fitness coach. He even said he'd take clients out to the supermarket and show them what to buy. He's eager. He's uncertain. To him, regular life is a new business.
Maybe I'm getting soft as I get older, but I'd like to see the guy actually get a chance at doing something after this. But I have to wonder, why didn't he have a financial adviser or even just someone with more insight to tell him to put some of that money away? These guys do have to realize it won't last forever, it's rare for these guys to work past 40 or so.
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #72 on:
July 01, 2007, 04:30:41 PM »
Another possibility here (taken from the NY Daily News -
"Benoit took 'date-rape drug'
Sources: Wrestler mixed GHB & steroids
Sunday, July 1st 2007, 4:00 AM
When authorities raided the Georgia home of wrestler Chris Benoit last week, they discovered a stockpile of anabolic steroids and prescription drugs, enough to spark the theory that Benoit descended into a violent "roid rage" and, police say, murdered his wife and 7-year-old son and then killed himself.
But in the wake of the lurid events that played out in suburban Atlanta last weekend, the Daily News has learned that another drug may have been part of a deadly cocktail that could have caused Benoit to snap. According to sources familiar with his drug regimen, Benoit was a known abuser of the drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate - or GHB, also known as the "date-rape drug." Benoit was known to have used GHB with former wrestler "Gentleman" Chris Adams when both men competed for the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the late '90s. They used the drug together until Adams' death in 2001, according to sources who knew both men, and friends say Benoit was still using it as recently as two years ago.
"Benoit was a GHB user and he did it with Chris Adams," the source told The News. "The question is, does GHB use play into what happened (in Fayetteville)?"
Authorities are still waiting for toxicology results on Benoit - whose stage name was "The Canadian Crippler" - but would be unable to detect GHB in his system without a complicated test conducted on his hair sample. Still, Benoit's past use of GHB opens up the seamy side of the wrestling world - one filled with hulking men who pile-drive their opponents while scantily clad women parade nearby. Professional wrestling is a "sport" that has long been saddled with accusations of rampant steroid and drug use.
"Everybody in the wrestling business had a liking for GHB back (in the '90s)," says a Benoit family friend. "The whole business was on it." GHB, which increases sexual prowess and boosts energy among other effects, is a Schedule I controlled substance commonly referred to as the "date-rape drug" and is illegal. The Benoit family friend corresponded with Nancy Benoit just weeks before her death but noticed nothing unusual. "She told me, 'I'm driving Chris crazy, but it's a short trip,'" the friend says with a laugh. "I don't think this is a monster acting out. I really don't buy that."
The same cannot be said for the British-born Adams, who was indicted on manslaughter charges after his girlfriend, Linda Kaphengst, died of a GHB-alcohol overdose in April 2000. But before Adams could stand trial, he was involved in a violent scuffle with friend Brent Parnell, before Parnell shot Adams to death with a .38-caliber gun in late 2001 near Dallas. Mickey Grant, a Texas-based filmmaker who recently completed a documentary on Adams, says that "both Chris's (Adams and Benoit) were friends at WCW" and that another wrestler confided to Grant that Benoit and Adams were "G buddies," a reference to GHB's common street name.
Grant, who knew Adams for over two decades, says he never saw the two wrestlers using the drug, but was devastated by Adams' "life gone to hell" as a result of his GHB addiction. "G, in my opinion, is a far worse drug than even crack (cocaine)," says Grant.
In the Benoit case, authorities found Nancy with her feet and wrists bound, and indications are Benoit used a chord to strangle her while applying his knee to her back. Daniel was suffocated. After the murders, Benoit reportedly placed a Bible next to each body and later hung himself using a weight-machine pulley in his workout room.
If Benoit was indeed still using GHB - or if he was trying to kick a habit and suffering from withdrawal - it is likely he would have become violent.
"You see guys that are on (GHB) who go on rages," says Trinka Porrata, a retired Los Angeles police detective who is president of the non-profit Project GHB and who has counseled and detoxed GHB addicts, including several professional wrestlers. "But another possibility, which is more likely, is GHB withdrawal. If (Benoit) tried to stop using it and went into withdrawal, that would explain the bizarre behavior - the text messages, the Bible and the suicide especially. You can suffer a terrible depression coming off this stuff. It's not a quit cold turkey drug."
Porrata adds that it is not uncommon for GHB users to add methamphetamine into the mix, and that meth abuse often contributes to bizarre acts involving religion.
"The question everybody asks is, 'How in the hell could you kill your son?' Well, in a meth psychosis, your son could be the devil. That can happen quite easily," says Porrata.
Benoit composed a bizarre series of text messages to several colleagues during the weekend of his killing spree, including one where he wrote out his full, formal Georgia address. In another, he stated that "the dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open." In a voice mail to a colleague, Benoit said "I love you," which the colleague said was "out of context."
Porrata says that the more severe state of GHB withdrawal - as opposed to addiction - requires at least a 14-day detox period under the care of a physician or health professional. She says the suffering is more intense and debilitating than coming off a heroin addiction. "There's sweating, your blood pressure rises in days one and two," Porrata says. "Then the psychosis starts. Days four, five and six are the worst. You hallucinate and there can often be violence accompanied with it. By day 11, the head starts to clear, but you are left with an intense depression."
The Georgia medical offices of Benoit's personal physician, Dr. Phil Astin, were raided by Drug Enforcement Agency agents Thursday, but the records remain sealed. Astin has stated that he has prescribed testosterone to Benoit, who had low levels attributed to rampant steroid use. Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard and Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Office did not return calls from The News, and it is unclear if authorities were planning to test Benoit for GHB use. Many law enforcement agencies, Porrata says, still fail to administer the test.
Michael Benoit, the wrestler's father, said last week that he hopes toxicology tests will help explain his son's actions.
Says Porrata: "We try to put things in our own terms, 'Well, I couldn't kill my own child.' Yeah, but if you were on GHB or were psychotic, a mental illness or (something) drug-induced, it's not a rational act. It doesn't excuse it, but you can't explain it on your own moral values."
Last Edit: July 01, 2007, 04:32:36 PM by JaseSF
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Re: Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel found dead in their home...
Reply #73 on:
July 01, 2007, 08:21:02 PM »
Another good post JaseSF. Never heard of GHB. If it's a date drug you'd think it be slipped to a female, but looks like he was taking it.
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A French cheesemaker is recalling two of its offerings from the U.S. market because they could be contaminated with Salmonella.
Ste Fromagere du Livradois is recalling its Haut Livradois brand Raclette and Monboissie cheeses with lot No. 350. They were distributed in supermarkets and gourmet stories nationwide between March 10 and May 6, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Both cheeses come as a 13-pound wheel and are usually cut and wrapped.
The voluntary recall was initiated after a routine sampling program by the FDA found the presence of Salmonella in some products.
Consumers are urged to contact their distributor or retailer for a full refund.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Suspected drunken driver who killed deputy was previously deported
Immigration agents had previously deported a suspected drunken driver who allegedly ran a red light and killed a veteran Harris County sheriff's deputy early Sunday, records show.
Gregory Palmore, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed that Andres Munos-Munos, 22, was deported July 18 after a brief stint in Harris County Jail for unlawfully carrying a weapon and driving under the influence.
Munos-Munos was charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with the death of Sgt. Dwayne Polk, 47, who worked at the sheriff's office for 16 years. Polk was killed around 3 a.m. after Munos-Munos allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of West Little York and North Shepherd and slammed into the driver's side of Polk's Chevrolet Silverado.
Police allege that Munos-Munos was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
Palmore said agents have filed paperwork to ensure that Munos-Munos, who was in the country illegally, is handed over to immigration officials after his criminal case concludes. The suspect is being held at the Harris County Jail.
When asked to comment about Munos- Munos' immigration status, the sheriff's office issued a short statement saying that the county jail screens inmates for a variety of factors, including immigration status, and refers them to ICE when appropriate.


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Welcome to Colonial Williamsburg Online Collections
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's many treasures include its outstanding collections. They encompass nearly 70,000 examples of American and British fine, decorative and mechanical art; 5,000 pieces of American folk art; more than 20 million archaeological artifacts; and 15,000 architectural elements. These materials help us understand life in Virginia, the American colonies and the greater North Atlantic from the 17th century through the Early National Period.
Many of the collections furnish more than 200 rooms in Williamsburg's historic buildings. A leader in authentic recreation of historic spaces, the Foundation aims to research and present the most authentic settings possible, from the parlors of the wealthy to the working and living spaces of the enslaved. We believe it is easier to teach important stories of the past when they are delivered in a convincing setting.
The collections are also displayed in the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg: the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. There, both long-term and changing exhibitions are designed to tell stories. Once-common objects such as furniture, clothing, ceramics, metals, maps and firearms become interpretive tools for talking about the people, events and ideas of the past.
Finally, the collections are an unparalleled research repository. The Foundation's archaeological holdings in 18th-century British and American materials are among the world's most complete, while its archaeological environmental collections offer a window into plant and animal populations. The folk art collection is the nation's largest and oldest; the fine and decorative arts include nationally important assemblages of Southern furniture, maps, British pewter, numismatics, British ceramics and a host of other materials. All are regularly used by researchers on staff and from around the world.
Use this database to explore a cross section of the collections. Several thousand objects are presented here and more items are added on a regular basis. Find histories, images, descriptions, and more.
Browse by category, or make a targeted search:
- Use "Quick search" to locate an item by accession number or type.
- Use "Advanced object search" to use multiple search criteria.


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To be eligible for a free device through the DDHH Equipment Distribution Program, New Jersey residents with hearing loss must be from a household with a combined income of less than $45,000 and must have the application signed by a licensed audiologist or physician, verifying applicant's hearing loss. The form must be clearly printed and signed by the applicant.
Review the catalogue of available devices. Obtain an application for a specific device, print it and fill it out clearly with the required signatures. Mail or fax the application to the DDHH offices at
Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Box 074
Trenton, NJ 08625-0074
609-984-0391, Fax
If you are not able to print the application, you can click "E-mail Us" and request the application in "Your Comments" box. Be sure and provide all other necessary information. Or you can call DDHH at
800-792-8339 V/TTY toll free in New Jersey;866-642-3314 VP (Video Phone).


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Lansing Community College
Where Success Begins
If you're new to the LCC community, this is a great place to learn what LCC is all about. Here's where you'll learn about our history, our vision for the future, plus information for prospective students, alumni, and our business and community partners.
History & Vision
LCC is strategically positioned to provide not only what students determined that they will need, but also what our society will need in the future.
Public Transparency Information
transparency data required to be posted by Michigan community colleges by: Public Act 265 of 2018
Strategic Initiatives
LCC's mission, motto, goals, guiding principles, facts about LCC, and long-term strategic plan are included here.
Guiding Principles
Statements of Purpose consist of the College's Vision, Mission, Motto, and Guiding Principles:
Lansing Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
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Information about LCC's elected Board of Trustees.
President's Office
Information about LCC's Executive Leadership
Public Relations
Information including media support, community involvement, LCC events planning, press releases, and customer service.
Through the generosity of individuals, businesses, and organizations, the LCC Foundation awards hundreds of scholarships each year.
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Here's where you'll find how to get to LCC's main campus and off-campus learning centers, locate services and transportation alternatives as well as view LCC's campus activities and facilities.
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Moderators: Minimalist, MichelleH
An investigation carried out by Pierre Stromberg and Paul Heinrich, with the help of members of the Spark Plug Collectors of America, suggested that the artifact is a 1920s Champion spark plug. Chad Windham, President of the Spark Plug Collectors of America, identified the Coso Artifact as a 1920s-era Champion spark plug, which was widely used in the Ford Model T and Model A engines. Other spark plug collectors concurred with his assessment.[1]
It shows a weak magnetic attraction, and ohm meter readings reveal that it has a strength approaching that of an open circuit.
The 0.3-inch diameter piece . . .
uniface wrote:This is what always happens. The very people who are most intransigently insistent on "proof" disappear when presented with something that rubbishes their conception of the past they can't dismiss out of hand or explain away.
uniface wrote:Au contraire, mon ami.
Explain, if you can, how a magnetic looks-like-a-sparkplug encased in solid rock came to be.
Take your time.
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June 12, 2007 -- Having a high or low red blood cell count before major surgery may affect postsurgery deaths in adults aged 65 and older.
That's according to a new study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study is based on the medical records of more than 310,000 U.S. veterans aged 65 and older.
Between 1997 and 2004, the veterans got major surgery that didn't involve their hearts. They had their red blood cell counts measured up to three months before their operations.
The researchers included Wen-Chih Wu, MD, of Brown University's medical school and Rhode Island's Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
They found that veterans with abnormally high or low red blood cell counts before surgery were more likely to die or have a heart attack in the month after surgery.
The findings even applied to patients with mildly high or low red blood cell counts before surgery. Those with extremely high or low red blood cell counts were at greater risk.
Risk in Perspective
Before surgery, nearly 57% of the patients had normal red blood cell counts, almost 43% had low red blood cell counts (anemia), and less than 1% had high red blood cell counts (polycythemia).
The study shows that for every percentage point above or below the normal red blood cell count range before surgery, patients were 1.6% more likely to die in the 30 days after surgery.
But the study doesn't prove that abnormal red blood cell counts directly influenced patients' postsurgery deaths or heart attacks.
The researchers noticed that anemic patients tended to be older, to have do-not-resuscitate orders, and to have health problems including diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease.
Patients with polycythemia were more likely to be smokers and to have conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the researchers note.
Wu's team considered such factors in analyzing the data. Their findings held.
However, Wu's team notes that abnormal red blood cell counts may be a marker -- but not a cause -- of postsurgery risk.
Since the veterans were mainly white men, the findings may not apply to other groups of people aged 65 and older.
Fixing the Problem?
It remains to be seen whether correcting low or high red blood cell counts would be beneficial to patients. The study didn't explore that issue.
However, an editorial published with the study suggests caution in correcting older adults' abnormal red blood cell counts before major surgery.
Until further studies are done, "the community of clinicians caring for patients preoperatively should learn from these experiences and resist the urge to 'not just stand there -- but do something,'" write editorialists Farhood Farjah, MD, and David Flum, MD, MPH.
Farjah and Flum work in Seattle at the University of Washington's surgery department. Flum is also a contributing editor for The Journal of American Medical Association.


text:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Republican lawmakers are split on whether billions of dollars in disaster aid for Northeast U.S. Hurricane Sandy victims should be offset with spending cuts.
And House Republicans said they wanted to sharply cut the amount of aid offered to communities devastated by the late-October storm that killed at least 131 people in the United States and caused more than $63 billion in damage.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, a member of the Tea Party caucus, was among conservative House lawmakers saying they wanted offsets for at least part of the spending.
He told The Hill newspaper a great deal of disaster-relief money after 2005's Hurricane Katrina disaster was wasted.
"We saw a lot of money that was spent down in Louisiana that should not have been," he said. "We saw a lot of blank checks that should not have been written.
"I am going to look for offsets as well, but I can see some circumstances where they won't be needed if the proper restraints are in place," King said.
But some GOP senators said disaster aid shouldn't have to be met with dollar-for-dollar offsets.
"Offset where you can, but this is truly an emergency," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the second-most senior member of the disaster-recovery subcommittee, told Politico.
Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., the top Republican on the panel overseeing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, separately told Politico, "If you're looking for emergency help that has to get out there right now, in the context of this budget debate going on, I think we have to understand that we might not be able to get viable offsets."
The White House asked Congress a week ago to pass a $60.4 billion bill to pay for damage resulting from Sandy.
The administration designated about $55 billion as immediate emergency disaster aid and almost $13 billion for long-term efforts to mitigate future natural disasters.
Leadership aides in the Democratic-controlled Senate said the upper chamber could take up the funding as early as Friday.
The Senate bill, based on the White House request, includes $200 million to restore and protect coastal ecosystems, $3 million to replace damaged law-enforcement vehicles and $398 million to repair national parks, including the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., told Politico the GOP-controlled House would likely have no debate on the lower chamber's version of an aid bill until after Christmas.
New York and New Jersey officials have said they don't want to wait for the House debate until next year.
A senior GOP House aide told The Wall Street Journal the emergency-funding bill House lawmakers intend to introduce, in any case, would be "far smaller" than the amount the administration asked for.
That amount is itself $22 billion less than the request from the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Two senior GOP House aides told the Journal the Obama administration didn't provide enough information to justify spending anywhere near $60.4 billion.
The first aide told the Journal it was too early to say how much money the committee would recommend.
Between $5 billion and $6 billion would be immediately available to FEMA under the Budget Control Act signed into law last year, the aide said.
Republican Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday New Jersey's 21 counties could now apply to FEMA for reimbursement of 75 percent of the cost of municipal debris removal from private property.
Counties, cities and towns will have to cover the remaining 25 percent of the cost, Christie said in a statement. The ratio is standard for cost sharing for qualified public-assistance expenses, he said.


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Get In Mah Belly!!
My my my. This was certainly a labor of love, wouldn't you say?
When this baby sits around the cake stand, she really sits around the cake stand!
Forgive me if this seems disjointed (since I'm just shooting from the hip here), but methinks the baby shower cake has now officially gone belly up. Next time maybe we should avoid telling the baker to break a leg - eh, Geri B.?
- Related Wreckage: "Baby" Showers


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Yao Ming — who was born in China and today plays center for the Houston Rockets — is using his celebrity on billboards in China and buses in San Francisco to join the chorus of voices including Jack Ma, one of China's most influential business leaders, and groups like the Asian Americans for Community Involvement in recognizing thatCalifornia can take a leading role in banning the practice of "shark finning" and the catastrophic losses of sharks around the world.
And when Mr. Yao — the tallest player in the NBA — stands up for something, you can't help but notice.
Mr. Fong told his colleagues in the Legislature that when he was a child his family would celebrate special occasions with shark fin soup. Mr. Fong then pointed to the global depletion of sharks as a cautionary tale: All of us must recognize that global population growth and growing prosperity in China and East Asia have now led to an almost insatiable appetite for shark fins to meet an ever-growing demand for shark fins.
For many, this loss may not be visible—or some may raise the issue of whether demand for shark fins interferes with cultural practices and represents an assault on Asian cuisine. We have recently seen this response in the Bay Area and at San Francisco City Hall.
Let me offer another perspective: I was recently traveling in Indonesia, and while diving I was struck that for the first time I did not see any sharks in the oceans there. Now, those who get nightmares from watching Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" may take this decline as a sign of success, but taking sharks out of the natural environment is the equivalent of eradicating the grizzly from California.
In erasing unique predators we erase a part of our own humanity.
My experience in Indonesia was far from unique. Although our oceans contain hundreds of millions of sharks, a report released to the United Nations last year estimated that 73 million sharks are killed every year—largely to meet the rising demand for shark fin soup.
As a result, some species populations are only a tenth of what they once were. Even Fox News has reported on how the dramatic decline of sharks has caused a dangerous domino effect throughout the ocean ecosystem. We are at a tipping point and must act now before the balance is permanently thrown off.
The growing shark fin trade is driving increased shark fishing and putting these already vulnerable animals at risk of extinction. Shark finning is nothing short of barbaric. It involves cutting off a shark's fins and then discarding the animal at sea. The shark is almost always still alive when it is tossed back into the water. Without fins the paralyzed shark slowly sinks in the water, where it either drowns or is eaten alive by other fish.
Although both California and federal laws ban shark finning, these laws are simply insufficient to stem these catastrophic shark declines. Here is the problem: It is illegal to fin sharks in the United States and California, but it is perfectly legal to sell shark fins here.
Ironically, when I got back to California, I had no problem finding sharks. They were not swimming in the ocean or at the aquarium, but within a 15-minute walk from my house in San Francisco I found a store stocked with jars of shark fins—hundreds of dead sharks awaiting consumers. Those fins could have very well come from sharks off the Indonesia shore, as Indonesia is the biggest exporter of shark fins. The act is illegal, but the byproduct is perfectly legal. As Sean Kingston would sing, "That ain't right."
History has taught us that trade bans work to protect vulnerable species as well as related ecosystems.Policymakers united to ban the ivory trade in order to stop the depletion of elephants so they could remain on our planet for years to come. Although not perfect, since the ivory trade ban began, many elephant populations in Africa have been able to thrive. This type of legislation is not an attack on any group of people; it is about preventing the permanent elimination of an endangered species.
I commend Assembly members Paul Fong and Jared Huffman for authoring AB 376, which seeks to end California's contribution to the shark fin trade, and the members of the Legislature from both sides of the aisle who have put aside their partisan blinders to work to pass this bill into law. This issue has brought together individuals like Yao Ming and businesses like Body Glove International along with dozens of environmental organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium and The Nature Conservancy.
We all recognize the importance that sharks play in our ecosystem and that we have a responsibility to our children to leave the planet better than we found it. Increasingly, conservationists are looking for sustainable environmental solutions. Unfortunately, there are some things that a planet of 7 billion people just can't do sustainably. Finning sharks is one of those things, and we just have to stop it.
—Text by Mike Sweeney, Cool Green Science Blog


text:
Back to album
A look at how Robert & Ann are engaging the nations as global ambassadors of reconciliation.
Back to album
two families coming together
From the Ben and Danielle's Wedding album Share on Facebook Tweet
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Conditions Froggy
I know a lot of people like frogs. Heck, even I think the bright green fella who hangs out on my front door is adorable. (Until he starts jumping in my direction, of course. Then he turns into a slimy hell beast who leaves me no choice but to climb shrieking onto John's shoulders to escape the "hop zone.")
Still, I don't really get the whole frog cake thing. Other than my front door buddy, the only other close encounter I've had with a frog was in 7th grade biology, and that one smelled anything but appetizing.
You could argue, and rightly so, that cakes in the shapes of animals are nothing new, so why am I picking on frog cakes?
Well, geez, man, just look at this thing:
(In his defense, those are some serious toe issues. Ouch.)
How's this for a scrumptious specimen?
Wow. PETA could use this guy in an anti-frog legs campaign. How could you possibly cut into that poor, terrified visage? Leave him and his splatted fly tongue alone, you heartless cake murderer!
At least this guy looks happy:
And maybe some Visine, since her eyeballs appear to be on fire.
Also for Valentine's, here's a princely gem:that cutter for frogs is, frankly, quite a leap.
Alden M., Casie G., Sharon P., Lauren M., Vanessa H., & Lynelle R., you think it's cold in that display case? Just wondering.
- Related Wreckage: So What Happens If You EAT the Frog?


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Added by: JRH
| Find A Grave photo
Travis L. Ware, 69, of Dover died Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, at Hospice Home Care in Little Rock. He was born Nov. 14, 1943, in East End to Ernest Lee and Madge Lindsey Ware. He was a Southern Baptist, a member of the Booze Fighter Motorcycle Club Chapter 55, and a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War. He was a very loving husband, father, grandfather and son. He was preceded in death by his father; a daughter, Kelly Lee Ware; and a sister, Ernestine Haddock. Survivors include his mother, Madge Ware Evans of Sheridan; his wife, Mary D. Ware of Dover; his son and daughter-in-law, Lance and Cheryl Ware of Sheridan; his daughter and son-in-law, Angie and Carey Autrey of Sheridan; his sister, Polly Pruitt of Grapevine; his brother and sister-in-law, Tommy and Lynne Ware of Illinois; his sister and brother-in-law, Janette and Myer Martin of Louisiana; his brother Lynn Ware of Mississippi; and his three grandchildren, Quinn, Alyssa and Cara Autrey. A family conducted graveside memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, at the National Cemetery in North Little Rock. Arrangements are under the direction of Shinn Funeral Service. The obituary and guestbook are available online at www.shinnfuneral.com.
Source: Courier, The (Russellville, AR) – Thursday, October 10, 2013


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Xerox Corp. on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of 24 cents per share, which is up 8 percent from the previous quarter. Still, CEO Anne Mulcahy says a lagging economy continues to affect the bottom line.
Xerox Corp. on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of 24 cents per share, which is up 8 percent from the previous quarter.
Although the earnings are up compared to the previous quarter, overall earnings are down 19 percent compared to the same three-month period in 2007. This is due in part to a restructuring charge of 5 cents per share. (The restructuring included cutting 1,000 employees in North America. Xerox was unclear on how many of those jobs were in Rochester.)
"While the U.S. economy creates challenges for our business with large enterprises, we're seeing consistent positive performance in the small and mid-size business market," said Anne M. Mulcahy, Xerox chairwoman and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.
Total revenue for the Connecticut-based company grew to $4.5 billion despite a rise in expenses. Compared to the same three-month period in 2007, expenses were up 10 percent.
It was also announced that its board of directors has authorized an additional $1 billion in stock repurchases to go along with the $377 million in Xerox shares it has already repurchased.
The company is expecting third-quarter earnings in the range of 28 to 30 cents per share, which is in line with full-year earning expectations.
"We have the flexibility to be aggressive in the marketplace while delivering on our earnings expectations," added Mulcahy.
Contact Webster Post writer Kevin Fuller at (585) 394-0770, ext. 245 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Products, Services, Training
By By Chris Baur | August 1, 2009
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What good is a technology if it only has one name? Ground based augmentation systems (GBAS) is one such technology that is part of the FAA's NextGen roadmap. It resides within a category known as LAAS (local area augmentation system). Its purpose is to supply a differential correction or augmentation to the basic GPS or GNSS, while providing a significant improvement in accuracy. Instrument approaches flown with GBAS are called GLS approaches, otherwise known as global navigation satellite landing system. You may have also heard of WAAS (wide area augmentation system) and want to know what the distinction between them is. Are you wondering why we even need augmentation for GPS/GNSS?
A previous article discussed FAA's Next-Gen roadmap relating to performance-based navigation (June 2009, page 60). We looked at required navigation performance (RNP) as a "game changer," as it provides greater access, increased safety, and reductions in both environmental impact and fuel consumption. RNP has certain accuracy limitations that are based on "raw" GPS/GNSS data from an aging constellation of satellites. Unlike a monitored ILS navigation aid, GPS approaches have no means of providing a real-time alarm, flag or alert for signal loss, interference, or satellite clock drift. This is where LAAS and WAAS come in to provide the alerting and correction for these potential sources of error, and providing lower instrument minimums than raw GPS alone.
Each sector of our industry incubates and shares different technologies, techniques and procedures. While RNP began with the airlines, it has quickly spread to corporate aviation and the military. Like RNP, GBAS also has its origins in the airlines, and now this technology is spreading. The military version of GBAS is called joint precision approach landing system (JPALS), which will allow the military to use GPS/GNSS augmentation to perform precision landings anywhere and at any time. The U.S. military requires the capability at airfields, aboard ships or temporary ad-hoc locations. Many former Army pilots can probably recall the "TAC NDB" approaches. Imagine possessing the all weather capability to operate Category I instrument approaches day or night, even when surrounded by terrain.
While both LAAS and WAAS provide signal augmentation, each system uses a different method to accomplish this task, and ultimately performs a different service for the user. WAAS utilizes a network of ground-based reference stations to detect minute variations in the GPS/GNSS signal. This information is routed to master stations and ultimately geostationary WAAS satellites where the correction is broadcast to WAAS-enabled receivers.
In contrast, LAAS is focused on providing signal augmentation at a single location. GBAS provides the correction with a sole VHF signal, broadcast on or near the local airport site. In comparison to WAAS, GBAS can provide an accuracy of one meter or better and provides auto-land capability for Category I/II/III. Combined with RNP, GBAS can support curved path multi mode approaches. These curved path approaches can be flown in a fusion of RNP and GBAS, with RNP supporting the curved path portion of the approach while GBAS provides the necessary accuracy to support Category I/II/III minimums.
Pilots flying a GBAS approach will require minimal training, since GLS approaches appear the same as legacy ILS approaches. Unlike a costly ILS system, one GBAS station can support 26 runway independent approaches, supplied in a digital broadcast on a single VHF frequency. Without RNP, GBAS can also provide curved path approaches and missed approaches as another feature called terminal area path, or TAPs. Since this technology is runway independent, it can be installed above ground, even on the roof of a building. GBAS stations are installed and operational in Sydney, Australia, Malaga, Spain, Frankfurt and Bremen, Germany, Guam, and later this year, Newark, N.J. In Australia, GBAS-equipped operators such as Capt. Alex Passerini are enthusiastic about the results in their Boeing 737 and Airbus A380 fleets, and see much potential for GBAS helicopter operations as well. A single GBAS station can provide a multitude of approaches to heliports, offshore oil platforms, and independent precision helicopter approaches at larger airports. This will provide unprecedented all-weather access in congested urban airspace, hospitals, conventional heliports and challenging locations with terrain or obstacle constraints. While the GBAS technology began with airlines, the potential for helicopters is huge.


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- Flywheel Power - Tractor/Scraper
- 447 kw (600 hp) / 337 kW (451 hp) 447 kw (600 hp) / 337 kW (451 hp)
- Scraper Capacity - Heaped
- 73.0 yd³ 56.0 m³
- Top Speed - Loaded
- 33.0 mile/h 53.0 km/h
Coal Bowl Scrapers use a high volume bowl designed to help the power generation industry move low density loose coal within the power generation facility.
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I'm a Vintage Photographer from Gresham, Ore and I visited Coolidge, Montana this summer for photos. There are still a few standing buildings but most have collapsed. I heard that the State ordered that the mine be torn down for safety issues, so most of it is gone. However,some of the old overhead mining tracks are still there. I would also like to add that the building (maybe barn) is still in the river with rushing water surrounding it. (see Montana page ie: Coolidge on this website.
Happy Ghost town hunting..


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Bill Ryder-Jones | 17/11/11
The Guardian are today running a competition for one lucky person to have their own personal soundtrack composed by Bill Ryder-Jones himself.
Guardian Extract:
With his new orchestral album If… former Coral guitarist Bill Ryder Jones has produced a soundtrack to Italo Calvino's novel If on a Winter's Night a Traveller. And now he'd like to write a soundtrack for a piece of film created by a Guardian reader.
We're looking for short clips (around a minute). They can be videos or animations, use text or still images – all we ask is they tell us something about who you are.
Bill will pick one of them, and use it as inspiration to create your own personal theme tune.
Bill says:
Can people have 'time signatures' and their own 'key'? I'd like to think so but probably not. Still, that's at the centre of this for me. Is there a way to use music theory to summarise someone you don't know and don't really have an emotional attachment to? Would you have to 'feel' something for the person to write something people can agree is worthy of being their 'theme'? Am I thinking about this too much?
We're all so used to having music soundtrack our lives on some level that we develop this tool to almost think in music. I certainly do and I have friends who would describe an event and relate it to a piece of music. It's fun to think how I can match a person's character to music. Sometimes just a feature on their face or the way they walk, something unusual or a little interesting. Oddly I've found before that it's easier writing for the elderly and babies, they seem to have more going on than everyone else.
I hope this will be a bit of fun and if you are planning on entering then just give a bit of info about yourself, anything that defines you, the music and art you love, the things you hate or whatever, just ramble. Alternatively if you just want something that sounds like an old Sega game then say that too … it'll make my life easier.
Videos can be submitted to The Guardian on this page. Entries will close at 9am on Wednesday 23 November.


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4 piece: Increases the damage done by your Starfire and Wrath spells by 4%.
At first glance I am happy. Its a new set bonus that is not an inferior copy of a previous set bonus. Plus, this set bonus is a buff when compared to the 3% increase to crit chance. However, there are a few important things to remember.
While the change above is nice, the best news from this PTR build is that 2T8 hasn't been nerfed yet. As Hamlet, and several other posters have pointed out, the 4T9 set bonus really doesn't matter while 2T8 remains in its current form. The 2T8 set bonus is so good with the New Eclipse, that Blizzard would have a very hard time creating a 4T9 set bonus would compare without escalating our expectations for future set bonuses. So, Blizzard has to break the cycle. Hopefully they will do that by not considering 2T8 when they create future set bonuses, but leave it as is, but the other option is to nerf it. I think I speak for almost all moonkin when I say I hope that doesn't happen.
Another important thing to remember is that currently we don't know if this is an additive buff or a Multiplicative buff. If it fits the normal pattern then this is an additive buff because it affects specific spells. Therefore a 4% buff is not really a 4% buff. In reality it will be a little less for a couple of reasons. The obvious reason is that we cast more spells than Wrath and Starfire, and those other spells are unaffected by the buff. Also, since we already have other additive buffs like Moonfury and Solar Eclipse then the impact of 4T9 will be reduced when they are combined.
The Math:
As you might have guessed, I ran these changes through my model a couple of different ways to compare 2T8 and 4T9. I ran my model without either buff first to come up with a good baseline. Then I ran it once with 2T8, once with 4T9, and then once with 4T9 and some added stats from the gear up grade. Here are the results.
Adding the 2T8 set bonus increased my model DPS by 6.1%. That is huge if you didn't know and it is obvious right off the bat that 4T9 cannot compete with it buy itself. Adding the 4T9 set bonuses into the model showed that increased my model DPS by 2.5%. However, 4T9 does not come by itself.
Moving to 4T9 will upgrade your stats as well as change you set bonus. Since the difference between 2T8 and 4T9 is so great, I jumped right to T9.258 when adding the additional stats to the model. I also assumed that the two pieces of T8 we would keep are the Legs and the Shoulders. I chose these two items because the T9 Helm and Chest seem to be the best, and I wanted to limit the amount of Hit rating I got from the T8 set pieces. When I compared the legs and shoulders between the two sets I saw that T9.258 had the equivalent of 132 additional Spell Power, the equivalent of 29 additional Crit Rating, and 43 additional Hit rating. To be conservative I increased the Spell Power amount on my model 153 assuming that half of the additional hit rating would be converted into SP some where, and increased my crit chance by 0.64%. The additional stats combined with the 4T9 set bonus this increased my model DPS by 6.9%
Some of you may be surprised by this result. A lot of the rhetoric I've seen passed around on the internet seemed to assume that 2T8 was unbeatable. Well, it is not, and we all new that some level of gear would make it irrelevant. I just don't think anyone expected that T9 would be that gear level.
However, lets try and look at the bright side. This is a great argument for Blizzard to not nerf 2T8.
So let me try and summarize these results.
The new 4T9 is an improvement over the previous versions, but 2T8 is so good that Blizzard would have a hard time come up with a reasonable set bonus to compete with it. When you compare 2T8 to 4T9 directly, the 2T8 set bonus is clearly better by a wide margin.
However, if you upgrade to 4T9 your picking up more then a new set bonus. The additional stats you will pick up along with 4T9 will close the gap, and according to my model eliminate the gap if your using the highest iLevel of T9.
It is important to note how close the two numbers are. This shows that there is very little difference between using 2T8.226 and 4T9.258. It also indicates that you probably shouldn't upgrade to 4T9 until you have a full set of the 258 iLevel tier set.
Side Note on the New Eclipse: PTR testers on the EJ forums are reporting that the new Eclipse has been fixed on the PTR and is working as described in the patch notes.


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The Readers Have Spoken
And apparently you all want "cakes" with more sole.
Honestly, I've been e-mailed this so often I'm getting a haddock, and I'm starting to think there's something fishy going on here. Did the cake's non-baker shellfishly do this on porpoise? I'm not hard of herring, you know; I just couldn't fathom why you all would want a sushi "cake" on Wrecks. But then I figured, hey, I'm just being crabby - why not post the photo?
You know, for the halibut.
Thanks to the roughly half-zillion of you out there who sent me this link. And before you ask, why yes, I am a Dr.Demento fan.


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- Image 1 of 2
- Image 2 of 2
By ,
Published November 23, 2015
A gunman shot six people at an Arkansas home Saturday, killing a man and a teenager and critically wounding two boys, before fatally shooting a worker at a nearby business, police said.
The suspected gunman was later found dead of a gunshot wound in the driver's seat of a stopped car, Jonesboro police Sgt. Doug Formon said at an evening news conference. It was not immediately clear if the gunshot was self-inflicted.
Formon said a man and a 13-year-old girl were killed Saturday afternoon inside the home in east Jonesboro, Arkansas, where it appeared a family was having a party or gathering.
Four other people were injured and were taken to hospitals in Memphis, Tennessee. Formon said the children, ages 8 and 10, were transported in critical condition.
Police received a 911 call about the shooting at the home around 1:00 p.m. Police responded at 1:22 p.m. to a report of a second shooting at a business near a U.S. highway. Forman said the worker was found shot to death at the second site, where construction and lawn work had been ongoing.
Around 3:30 p.m., Formon said, a farmer or passing motorist called 911 to report a car parked in the middle of a county road. A deputy responded and found the stopped car with the suspected gunman inside.
Forman said that police did not know of a motive as of Saturday evening and that the investigation is ongoing.
He declined to identify the victims or the suspect, saying officials wanted to be sure all family members had been notified. He said it was not known if the suspect and victims were related.


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(Big Leaf Hydrangea) Edgy® Orbits is a remarkable plant with double lace-cap blooms. The attractive sepals are hot pink blending to a glowing white edge. The flower color may vary depending upon soil pH and the availability of aluminum ions.  Edgy®Â Orbits  grows best in well-drained soil that has been amended with peat moss, leaf mold or compost. Fertilize in early spring by applying a slow release fertilizer specialized for trees & shrubs. Follow the label for recommended rate of application. Flower color is affected by pH. For blue flowers, the soil must be more acidic and for pink flowers, the soil must be more alkaline. Edgy as in pushing the envelope to be way out there, we are excited to bring you the most extensive line of Hydrangea with artistic bi-colored flowers. These beauties will stand out in the garden. Each selection is strong growing and holds its large blooms in elegant fashion. As a young plant it is best to prune or pinch your plant in order to build a full-bodied, well-branched plant. If the plant is leggy when you purchased it, shear the plant back hard by 1/3 to 1/2 its original size. Once it puts on an inch or two of growth, pinch the branch tips to remove just the growing tips, these tips control branching. Once growing tips are removed the buds below it will turn into stems. Once these new branches grow an inch or two, pinch the tips out again. You can repeat this throughout the first growing season as you are tending your garden. Although you will sacrifice blooms, this technique results in a well-branched, full-bodied plant that will have more flowers in subsequent years. During the second and subsequence seasons, prune or pinch as necessary after flowering and before buds set in mid-August. Do not be afraid to prune or shear your plant harder if you wish to maintain a shorter size
Characteristics & Attributes
Plant Type
- Shrub
Sun Exposure
- Full Sun (+6 hrs.)
- Part Shade (4-6 hrs.)
Soil Moisture Needs
- Moderate
- Moist
- Cut Flower or Foliage
- Deciduous
- Dried Flower
Season of Interest (Flowering)
- Late Summer
- Summer
Season of Interest (Foliage)
- Fall
Design Use
- Border
- Combination Containers
- Container
- Massing
- Specimen
Container Design
- Thriller
Growth Habit
- Mounding


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WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and House Republicans raised doubts Sunday about President Obama's plan to restrict the federal government's ability to collect data on domestic telephone calls, saying that private phone companies do not want the responsibility and would not be subject to oversight.
"The whole purpose of this program is to provide instantaneous information to be able to disrupt any plot that may be taking place," Feinstein said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the head of the House Homeland Security Committee, also raised doubts about eliminating the National Security Agency's role in collecting so-called metadata, information that shows when calls took place and which numbers were dialed.
"Who has the capability other than NSA to handle that kind of data other than the private phone carriers, and they don't want it," McCaul said in an appearance on ABCs "This Week. "
Obama, in a speech Friday, stopped short of calling for turning the job over to private companies. Acknowledging concerns about either the government or private companies holding such data for use in investigations, he called for a public-private panel to review the issue and make recommendations in 70 days.
On CBS' "Face the Nation," Rogers warned about the possibility of privacy abuses if Congress, the courts and other government agencies are not involved in overseeing the data collection.
"If you move way from the government sector you lose all that review," said Rogers, adding that phone companies are "there to provide services to their customers, not to the government."
The comments suggest that Republicans may seek to stand in the way of Obama's proposal and even block it when the program comes up for reauthorization in Congress next year, despite polls showing widespread public concern about the data collection.
But Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), backed the Obama plan, saying "there have already been abuses" in use of the data by the government. He noted that phone companies already collect the information and would not be likely to use it to invade customer's privacy.
"They're not going to use this data in ways that breaks faith with their customers," he said.
Obama gave the Justice Department and the Director of National Intelligence until March 28 to decide who would hold the telephone data. He left unanswered the question of whether the government would continue to collect the data if no solution is found. Officials said that issue had not yet been decided.
[For the record, 5:10 p.m. Jan. 19: An earlier version of this post said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers was from Mississippi. He is from Michigan.]
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Click any of the links below to view more information on the flavor.
Flavor that won't go to Waist.
Waist Watcher was launched 22 years ago as a full flavor line of calorie free soft drinks that were not just a diet version of another regular brand. Waist Watcher was designed and formulated to deliver great taste and value that other diets could not match. No compromises. The concept has not changed.
Beginning in 2000, Waist Watcher was one of the first diet soft drinks reformulated to take advantage of a combination of the new artificial sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium (ace-K).
Sucralose and ace-K, both approved by the FDA in 1998 also offer greatly improved shelf life. Unlike aspartame, these artificial sweeteners will not break down and are not heat sensitive. Already the sweetener choice of millions, sucralose is now recognized by Atkins and other low carb diet plans.
Waist Watcher offers you:
• a wide array of flavor choices
• aspartame free, calorie free, caffeine free, sodium free
• 2 liter value, 12 oz. convenience, 1 liter, 8 oz. can


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After the tremendous success of Saucony's ViZi-PRO orange selection, Saucony has broadened its offering to include an absolutely unavoidable, bright and fabulous, neon pink.
Recognizing that visibility is always a concern for runners, and that women have an obvious lure to pink, Saucony is providing a great new fray of high visibility pieces for female runners. Just like the original ViZi orange, Saucony's ViZi-PRO Pink line branches out beyond jackets and vests, adding hints of fun and brilliant color to everything from tights to hand mitts. The new Pink collection will include favorites such as the Drylete Sportop and the Ethereal Jacket, in addition to cool accessories like arm sleeves and beanies. ViZi-Pink is going to be a big hit this fall.
The Saucony ViZi-PRO Pink Collection is expected to be available at Running Warehouse in late August 2011.


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On the prowl in "The Itchy Brain Simulation" Episode 8 of Season 7
Leonard tries to keep Sheldon from overreacting when a past mistake comes to light, but Sheldon punishes Leonard by making him walk a mile in his shoes. Meanwhile, Penny confronts Raj's ex-girlfriend, Lucy, on THE BIG BANG THEORY, Thursday, Nov. 14 (8:00 – 8:31 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured left to right: Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik Photo: Michael Yarish/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. © 2013 WBEI. All rights reserved.