PrimetimeOracle

JOSH KRAJCIK - 1ST AUDITION THE X-FACTOR

2011-12-14T01:56:00.001-05:00

Another inspiring performance I wanted to have here, for posterity.

Just like Susan Boyle shocked everyone in her first audition on Britain's Got Talent, burrito maker Josh Krajcik surprised The X-Factor USA judges and audience during his first audition when he sang Etta James' "At Last."

What a voice. I hope he wins or goes as far as possible. I'd buy his music. Good luck to him tomorrow.

SUSAN BOYLE INSPIRATION

2011-12-14T01:22:00.004-05:00

I've watched this video of Susan Boyle's first audition on Britain's Got Talent dozens of times, and it never fails to move and amaze me like it did the first time I saw it. She sang "I Dreamed A Dreamed" from Les Miserables and shocked the pants out of everyone in that theater. Simon Cowell's face is priceless.

I love moments like this one because they are so rare. How often are we blissfully astonished by something or someone? A memorable moment.

PERFECTING THE ART OF VOTING AGAINST

2011-12-12T01:57:00.007-05:00

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When confused about a decision, we're often asked what it is that we want. Well, if we knew that, we wouldn't be confused now, would we? Sure, sometimes all it takes is tuning into the soft voice within, but if you've ever been undecided about something, you know that rarely works. The world is too loud.

So stop. Stop trying to figure out what you want and start working on what you don't want. You may not get what you want, but at least you'll stand a better chance at not getting what you don't want.

That's my oracular advice to you if you're among the many disenchanted souls wandering in the valley of the politically stumped. If, unlike deliriously optimistic, blissfully deluded individuals who can tell a savior from a demon you cannot imagine voting for any of the candidates vying for the coveted title of President of the U.S. of A. (we'll focus on the primaries until the general election), but you also do not want to forgo your right to vote, then you're left with only one choice: voting against one of them.

Now, chances are your vote against options are more tempting than you vote for alternatives. Wait, don't freak out. This type of confusion is much more easily tackled than the other kind. All you need is a bit of help deciding what you don't want the most so that you know how to cast your against vote next year. For that mighty high purpose I've compiled five easy steps or exercises you can follow to hone you voting against skills. And in case you're wondering, I'm qualified to offer this advice because I have built a life on what I don't want, but that's another story...

1 - Get a large color poster of each of the candidates you're considering voting against, put them on a wall somewhere practical, and stare at each of them several times a day. Notice the thoughts and feelings that arise when you look at each of the candidates. (If you have a heart rate monitor, I recommend you use it for this exercise). Whose face angers you the most? The least? Who makes you swear like a sailor? Who gives you palpitations or raises your blood pressure? Who gives you acid reflux or colitis? Who just gives you mild indigestion or chest pains? Who could inspire you to commit acts of violence that are beyond your character? If you could punch or slap only one of them, who would it be?

Poster of Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry

2 - Use the posters as dartboards. Stand 8 ft to 10 ft away from the wall and throw darts, rotten food, big wads of chewing gum or giant spitballs at the posters, aiming at the face of the candidates, specifically the space between the eyes or bullseye. Children can help with the gum and spitballs, so you could turn this into a family event and spend quality time with your kids. Before throwing the darts, focus on the facial expression of each candidate and anything you've heard him/her say that pisses you off. Use the following point value to keep score: five points for the bullseye, four for the nose, three for the forehead, two for anywhere else on the face or head, one for the neck, and zero if you miss the head or neck.

Political pundits Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert

3 - Keep your eyes and ears open at all times. Pay close attention to what you see and hear in the media, especially to what political pundits and celebrities (actors, comedians, singers, etc.) say about the candidates. They know what they're talking about. That's why they're on TV. So trust them. Listen to the people around you, too--relatives, coworkers, friends, especially those you have never met or seen outside Facebook. I would add neighbors to the preceding list, but with Walmart, Walgreens and other retail chains open 24/7, who needs to borrow a cup of milk or sugar anymore? Neighbors are useless, good only for addictive "-ville" games on Facebook. Anyway, I digress.

"When I'm president...," says Republican
presidential candidate Michele Bachmann

4 - Give extra vote-against points to candidates who continually say "when I'm president" during interviews or debates, and deduct vote-against points from those who never or rarely make this statement. Anyone who thinks that saying "when I'm president" every chance he or she gets will alter the fabric of space and time to manifest that outcome doesn't need votes to win and, therefore, is a perfect candidate for votes against.

5 - Sit or lie down somewhere comfortable, close your eyes, take deep breaths, and picture the U.S. with each of the GOP candidates at the helm. Imagine him or her on the cover of newspapers and magazines, walking in and out of the White House, waving at crowds, speaking at press conferences, the State of the Union, posing for photo-ops with fellow world leaders, shaking hands with U.S. enemies, playing golf, growing gray hair at an alarmingly accelerated rate, making laws, breaking laws, pardoning turkeys, and all things presidential.

Meditation posture for Step 5

Use music if it helps you relax and visualize anything that isn't likely to become true. Again take note of what your body and mind do. Visceral reactions are particularly important and helpful here. You can safely assume that whichever candidate produces more nausea or flatulence in you is likely to be your best choice to vote against, especially if that candidate stood out in the other exercises.

Compile the data from all five steps, and you will discover that one of the candidates makes you angrier, meaner, sicker and crazier than the others, while another one disturbs you the least, relatively speaking. Contemplating the possibility that the first candidate could win the elections leaves you panic-stricken, while speculation of the second candidate winning just makes you anxious and depressed. The first one is the one you will vote against by voting for the second one.

And that's democracy with a twist. May the force be with you.
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LOOKS DON'T LIE: WHY MITT ROMNEY WILL WIN THE GOP NOMINATION

2011-12-07T16:14:00.004-05:00

It’s quite simple, really. Mitt Romney has to win because he’s the better looking of the bunch, and Americans, of all people, have their priorities straight.

The votes he will lose for being the slick, manufactured, flip-flopping, too-liberal-for-hardcore-conservatives politician he will then recover for being…well, pretty.

What about where he stands on issues, you ask? Forget about it. Trying to choose a candidate based on the issues is akin to trying to choose a Medicare Part C plan based on the information provided by the insurance companies offering the so-called advantage plans. It can’t be done. The data we have to compare our options in both cases is convoluted at best; purposely deceiving and manipulating at worst. In both cases, it is too complex for the average American to understand, and it is delivered by people who are desperate to sell us something, so it’s designed to deceive us and trick us into believing or buying what they want us to believe or buy. Whatever serves their purpose, not ours.

Even if we could endure reading the fine print and hearing every speech—which reminds me of Tim Robbins crawling through half a mile of excrement to escape from prison in the “Shawshank Redemption”—and understand what we read or hear, once they’ve got you, politicians and insurance companies will show their true colors and do whatever they want, despite what they promised, simply because they can. So forget the issues.

This is why looks are so important in business and politics as in all areas of life. Looks don’t lie.

Republicans are desperate for a messiah to deliver them from President Obama and save the U.S. from becoming something truly deplorable—just another country and not the greatest country in the world.

The U.S. is going down in flames, and Obama is to blame. Yes, he is that powerful. One man has undone centuries of greatness. He must be a messiah of some kind…. But let’s get back to the savior that will replace him.

Who among the candidates could rescue us from the evil liberals ruining this country? How will voters recognize this supernatural creature with superpowers capable of restoring the U.S. to its former glory? How and who will they choose?

They won’t choose Ron Paul. He cannot and will not win. Why? Because he’s too short and too small and too soft spoken to be president. Period. End of story. The U.S. cannot have a president that does not look presidential. Imagine him standing next to other world leaders for those photo ops that cost millions of dollars and accomplish absolutely nothing. Visualize it. Need I say more? Next!

They won’t choose Michelle Bachmann. Why? Because she has a single facial expression for all occasions and because she sounds like an entry-level call center rep reading from a script. Bachmann is too fixated on saying whatever she thinks will get her elected—repeating lines of campaign jargon probably lifted from a How To Get Elected 101 college course at debates and interviews regardless of topics or questions asked. The result? Dumb and dull. We’re at risk of becoming just another country and lose our “Envy of all Nations” title, and an entry-level, robotic president won’t save the day. Mrs. Bachmann needs to cut down on the Botox. Next!

From left: Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann and John Huntsman at a CNN debate last month.

So Newt Gingrich is supposed to be the smartest one up there. We don’t know that for sure because we can’t see his smartness. However, what we can see is his freakishly big head. This is one time that Newt’s wits might work against him, if indeed IQ and head size go together. If only he could be as blunt about the size of his head as he is about the mainstream media’s coverage of the campaign. I’m sure you’ll agree that’s highly unlikely. Next!

Like Romney, Rick Santorum is a good-looking man. But unlike Romney, Santorum has a prominent feature that gets in the way, literally. How can we possibly hear anything the man says when his crooked nose commands more attention than his words? Enough said. Next!

John Huntsman. Who? The guy with the three naughty daughters making campaign videos without his consent. Oh, that guy. Yes, that guy. Next!

Let’s face it: Herman Cain looks good for his age. But, apparently, allegedly, reportedly, he looks a bit too good to some of the ladies, especially those not wanting to have anything to do with him. Like John Edwards before him, Cain is yet another reminder that looks can be a double edged sword. He dropped out of the race Dec. 3 amid allegations of sexual harassment and an extramarital affair. Sorry Cain. Next!

Rick Perry is the wild card of the group and not only because he’s a wild cowboy. Perry has a powerful weapon, and I’m not talking about his guns back in Texas. His looks are ordinary, but he has an extraordinary feature that takes him from average to attractive: a charming smile. That smile could persuade voters to like his face, and if they like the face, they like the man, and if they like the man, they’ll vote for him. But Perry would have to get past the “pit bull” image he acquired after barking at Romney during a debate over the hiring of illegal aliens. He would also have to get past the “dunce” sign that appeared on his forehead when he forgot the name of the third government agency he would eliminate if he became president during yet another debate, and later when he reminded a group of students turning 21 (voting age is 18) to vote on the Nov 12 elections (Election Day falls on Nov 6 next year). And let’s not forget the “crazy” label bestowed upon him when a video of Perry giving a speech seemingly drunk or high went viral. But all he has to do is keep smiling, and if Newt neglects to be blunt about his head, Perry will have a shot, no pun intended.

Mitt is taller and louder than Paul. He has more than one facial expression and more than one script, unlike Bachmann. His head is in proportion to his body and not freakish like Newt’s. His nose is relatively straight, so when he speaks, we hear what he says. He’s still in the race and won’t be dropping out because of a sexual scandal. Huntsman? Who? He’s better looking than Perry, although Perry’s smile represents a real threat to the Romney campaign, and as attractive as Obama.

Keep in mind that, although you don’t know this, I predicted Obama would not win unless someone did something about his Michelle’s face. Those thick, black, arched-to-the-moon eyebrows that made her look like an evil witch in every photo were going to cost him the election. Someone in that campaign must have heard my thoughts because soon enough Michelle showed up with thinner, lighter, less pointy eyebrows. The result? Obama won. See?

Ikea's latest design has font nerds fuming

2009-08-30T18:04:00.007-04:00

I'm not among the busiest people in the world, but even I am to busy for this.

"This" is what people with no health issues or financial problems do with their time, if you ask me.

From NPR news:

Ikea, the Swedish furniture chain, said Sunday it never expected such a backlash after switching typeface in its latest catalog.

The company's decision to make its first such font change in 50 years — from the iconic Futura typeface to the Verdana one — has caused a worldwide reaction on the Internet. The catalog, which the company advertises as the world's most printed book, was distributed last month.

"We're surprised," said Ikea spokeswoman Camilla Meiby. "But I think it's mainly experts who have expressed their views, people who are interested in fonts. I don't think the broad public is that interested."

A page from the 2010 IKEA catalog.

Verdana was invented by Microsoft for use on a computer screen, not on paper. Its wide, open letters with space between characters are designed to increase legibility on small computer screens.

Ikea said that in order to reach many people in many different ways, it needed a font that works in both digital and print media.

"Verdana is a simple, cost-effective font which works well in all media and languages," Meiby said.

But some Ikea fans were outraged (outraged?), finding Verdana less elegant than Futura. (Less elegant? It's a freakin furniture catalog, for Xst's sake.)

The online forum Typophile ended its first post with the words, "It's a sad day." (I wonder what these Typophiles will do with themselves when something truly sad happens...geez.)

A week ago, Romanian design consultant Marius Ursache started an online petition called "Ikea, please get rid of Verdana." On Sunday, the campaign had more than 2,700 signatures. (A petition? Are you kidding? That guy needs to step away from his computer long enough to get a life and not care.)

The move to a simple, modern-looking font also fueled Twitter posts such as "Ikea, stop the Verdana madness" and "Words can't describe my disgust." (They're either too happy, so this is akin to cancer for them, or not happy enough, so they're miserable about everything, including a dumb font.)

Swedish art director Christoph Comstedt disagreed.

"I don't think the average consumer will react, maybe people in the advertising business," Comstedt said.

Ikea has 246 stores selling inexpensive but stylish furnishings globally and around 140,000 staff members.

I wish Ikea's font was our worst problem.

Source: NPR

Robin Williams, Inside the Actor's Studio (Part 6)

2009-08-30T12:38:00.004-04:00

Without a doubt the best of all the parts of the two-hour special and Robin at his best.

Host James Lipton asks Robin about his thought process in comedy -- "How do you explain the mental reflexes that you deploy and are deploying tonight with such awesome speed? Are you thinking faster than the rest of us? What the hell is going on?" -- and he to responds by improvising an amazingly funny routine.

Not to be missed!

Jackson's death a homicide, Murray is burnt toast

2009-08-25T13:03:00.013-04:00

Got toast? Yes we do!

No surprises here, though the type and amount of drugs Dr. Toast gave Michael prior to the dose of propofol is shocking. Irresponsible would be an understatement, if you ask me.

(CNN) - The Los Angeles coroner has concluded preliminarily that singer Michael Jackson died of an overdose of propofol, a powerful sedative he was given to help him sleep, according to court documents released Monday.

Los Angeles coroner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran reached that preliminary conclusion after reviewing toxicology results carried out on Jackson's blood, according to a search warrant and affidavit unsealed in Houston, Texas.

The affidavit, used to outline probable cause for search warrants of the offices of doctors who are believed to have treated Jackson, disclosed many details of drugs given to Jackson in the weeks before his death.

Jackson family lawyer Londell McMillan said the report "reaffirms the very sad reality that there was a tragic and gross violation of duty and care for Michael Jackson."

The publicist for Jackson's family said the "family looks forward to the day that justice can be served."

"The Jackson family has full confidence in the legal process, and commends the ongoing efforts of the L.A. County Coroner, the L.A. District Attorney and the L.A. Police Department," the statement said.

While Murray fucked up and he will likely pay for it, I think many people--the family in particular--are forgetting that Michael should be held accountable for his actions. He was an adult. He was addicted. He had choices--difficult, limited, but choices nonetheless. He chose poorly.

The Associated Press is quoting a single law enforcement official, who said the L.A. County Coroner ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office told CNN they had "no comment" on the report. An LAPD spokesman said the story did not come from their department.

"We will not comment on the "anonymous" law enforcement source that claims that Michael Jackson's death will be ruled a homicide," Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff said in a statement on his firm's Web site. "Most of the reports by "anonymous" sources have been proven wrong. We will be happy to address the Coroner's report when it is officially released."

The 32-page warrant said Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, told a detective that he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks. Murray said each night he gave Jackson 50 mg of propofol, also known as Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine via an intravenous drip.

Worried that Jackson may have been becoming addicted to the drug, the Houston cardiologist said he attempted to wean him from it, putting together combinations of other drugs that succeeded in helping Jackson sleep during the two nights prior to his death.

On June 22 Murray said he gave Jackson a cocktail of drugs similar to what he gave him on the day he died, June 25 -- propofol, Ativan and Versed, which helped the star fall asleep, according to the documents. On June 23 he gave Jackson only the Ativan and Versed, which helped him sleep.

But on June 25, other drugs failed to do the job, as Murray recounted to detectives in an hour-by-hour account detailed by detective Orlando Martinez of the Los Angeles Police Department:

-- At about 1:30 a.m., Dr. Toast gave Jackson 10 mg of Valium.

-- At about 2 a.m., he injected Jackson with 2 mg of the anti-anxiety drug Ativan.

-- At about 3 a.m., Murray then administered 2 mg of the sedative Versed.

-- At about 5 a.m., he administered another 2 mg of Ativan.

-- At about 7:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson yet another 2 mg of Versed while monitoring him with a device that measured the oxygen saturation of his blood.

-- At about 10:40 a.m., "after repeated demands/requests from Jackson," Murray administered 25 mg of propofol, the document said.

Holy crap!!!

"Jackson finally went to sleep and Murray stated that he remained monitoring him. After approximately 10 minutes, Murray stated he left Jackson's side to go to the restroom and relieve himself. Murray stated he was out of the room for about two minutes maximum. Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing," the affidavit said.

Efforts at CPR proved fruitless, according to Murray.

Shortly after Murray said he found Jackson not breathing, Murray was on the phone with three separate callers starting at 11:18 a.m. and ending at 12:05 p.m., according to the court documents which cite the doctor's phone records.

"Murray didn't tell this to anyone when he was interviewed," the court documents said.

Chernoff denied the timeline referenced in the affidavit.

"Much of what was in the search warrant affidavit is factual. However, unfortunately, much is police theory. Most egregiously, the timeline reported by law enforcement was not obtained through interviews with Dr. Murray, as was implied by the affidavit," the statement said. "Dr. Murray simply never told investigators that he found Michael Jackson at 11:00 a.m. not breathing. He also never said that he waited a mere 10 minutes before leaving to make several phone calls. In fact, Dr. Murray never said that he left Michael Jackson's room to make phone calls at all."

The document also cited reports from staff at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, where Jackson's body was taken, who said Murray "admitted" to having given Jackson flumazenil to counteract the Ativan.

The document lists another five doctors and a nurse practitioner who reportedly treated Jackson.

"Detectives ... believe that the miscellaneous prescriptions, from multiple doctors ... could have contributed to his death," the document said.

"It cannot be determined whether the cause of death is due to the actions of a single night and/or a single doctor, or the grossly negligent treatment of several doctors over an extended period of time."

According to the warrant and affidavit, Murray said he was not the first doctor to give Jackson the powerful anesthetic, which the singer called his "milk." The drug has a milky appearance.

Jackson also told Murray about two unknown doctors in Germany who gave him propofol, according to documents.

Documents show police found eight bottles of propofol inside Jackson's home.

A search of Murray's doctor bag, which he left at the house the day Jackson died, contained multiple bottles/vials of Lidocaine and several bottles/vials of propofol, Ativan, Versed and Anexate, according to the documents.

The affidavit said a search of Jackson's home revealed "numerous bottles of medications" at Jackson's bedside that were prescribed by Murray and two other physicians -- Dr. Allan Metzger and Dr. Arnold Klein.

Many of the drugs "have an indicated or off label use in the treatment of insomnia," the affidavit said.

Metzger's lawyer told CNN last month that Metzger -- who treated Jackson in 2003 -- refused Jackson's request in April for a propofol prescription.

Klein -- a dermatologist who also was Jackson's longtime friend -- has insisted he never gave Jackson dangerous drugs.

Jackson visited Klein's Beverly Hills, California, medical office just days before his June 25 death.

Murray took the job as Jackson's personal physician in May, as the pop star was preparing for a series of comeback concerts set to begin in July at London's O2 arena.

Murray told investigators that Jackson would not tell him what drugs other doctors had given him, but he did tell Murray the medicine given to him by Klein and Metzger was not working, the affidavit said.

The DEA has been unable to find a record of Dr. Murray purchasing, ordering or obtaining any propofol under his medical license or DEA number, according to the documents.

Source: CNN, McHumor, CartoonStock

Why primary care doctors are fed up

2009-08-25T12:45:00.009-04:00

Interesting commentary on healthcare reform from the primary care doctor's point of view posted on CNN. I find myself agreeing with some of his points and disagreeing with others--typical of the reform debate.

(CNN) -- Health policy experts agree that any reform in our health care system must include a well-educated, caring primary care doctor who is able to manage the health of his or her patients with an eye to using resources optimally to keep costs down.

That's a tall order and it seems that few policy makers realize the value of primary care physicians.

People are making a huge assumption in this reform effort that as we extend coverage to millions who don't have health insurance, there will be doctors there to actually provide the health care. Fewer and fewer medical students are choosing primary care and many primary care doctors are leaving the field.

Let me share with you why we are losing so many primary care doctors. What follows are a few examples I experience each week.

How many dozens of chest pain patients have I seen in the last month for whom I didn't order an EKG, get a consult, set up nuclear imaging or send for a catheterization?

Only I have the advantage of knowing how anxious some are and that they have had similar symptoms over the last 20 years. After a history and exam, I am willing to make the call that this is not heart disease. In doing so, I save the system tens of thousands of dollars.

Most of these patients are worked into a busy day, pushing me even deeper into that mire of tardiness for which I will be chastised by at least six patients before the end of the day. My reward for working these people in and making the call is at most $75.

How many times has an anxious patient come in demanding an endoscopy who I examined and then decided to treat less invasively for three to four weeks first? Few of these patients are happy no matter how many times I explain that it is reasonable to treat their reflux symptoms for several weeks before endoscopy.

Dr. Vance Harris (right) says primary care doctors get minuscule payment for saving the system huge sums of money.

This delay in referral has led to many tense moments in the last 20 years. The cost savings to the system is thousands of dollars each and every time I am willing to make the call and go with the treatment. My reward is about $55 from Medicare and private health insurers.

How many low back pain patients have come to the office in agony knowing that there has to be something serious to cause this kind of pain? A good history and exam allows me to reassure the patient that there is nothing we need to operate on and that the risk of missing anything is low.

This takes a lot of time to explain as I teach them why they don't need an MRI. If someone else ordered the MRI, guess who gets to explain the significance of bulging disks to an alarmed patient? Setting realistic expectations on recovery and avoiding needless imaging helps saves the system thousands of dollars. My reward is another $55.

How many diabetics do I struggle with, trying to get them to take better care of themselves? How many hours have I spent with teenage diabetics who will not check their blood sugar and forget half of their insulin doses?

Hundreds of hours seem wasted until one day they open their eyes and want to take care of themselves. My reward for years of struggle is a few hundred dollars at best. The savings to society for my hard work and never-give-up attitude is in the tens of thousands of dollars.

I am in my 22nd year in practice, now caring for 3,600 patients. Having me in the system has resulted in savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars each and every year. My financial incentive to hang in there and work harder is that I now make less than half what I did 20 years ago. This year I will make even less.

These are the reasons so many physicians have left medicine entirely and most of us who are left wonder how long can we continue to work like this? I have always served my fellow man out of a sense of love and compassion. That's why I went into medicine.

I have been richly rewarded by my patients over the decades as they have appreciated my judgment and skills. Isn't it a shame that after all this time and with skills honed by decades of experience, many of us can no longer afford to work as a physician?

No one is talking about this on the national level. If they don't address these issues, then good luck having physician assistants provide the safety net with two years of training. Good luck getting newly trained physicians once they see our salaries. Good luck finding internists in your community with only 1% of medical students going into internal medicine.

Good luck recruiting primary care specialists when we are projected to be short 39,000 by 2020, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. And nearly half of all doctors surveyed by the Physicians' Foundation have said that over the next three years they plan to reduce the number of patients they see or stop practicing entirely.

I know this is true because I am struggling to find a primary care doctor to take care of my wife and myself. Now that is ironic. Anyone know who is taking new patients in California?

Editor's note: Dr. Vance Harris is a primary care physician in Redding, California.

Source: CNN

Heidi Montag wrecks at Miss Universe pageant

2009-08-23T23:08:00.006-04:00

All I can say is, OMFG! OMFG! OMFG!!!

How could they put her on air, and during a live broadcast? Didn't anyone--from her manager (is that her dumb fuck husband Spencer?), agent, the pageant people, NBC, Trump...someone for Xst sake!--notice that she can't dance at all? Not to mention the efforts at lipsynching an already shitty song sang with a shitty voice. Oh, dear...

It was painful to watch. She looked...watchamacallit...retarded. And the pants...WTF was that?!

That was no Ricky Martin. That was a monumental train wreck, if you ask me.

Source: YouTube

Jenkins travels light to Canada after killing ex-wife

2009-08-21T16:18:00.015-04:00

Ryan Jenkins and his wife, model Jasmine Fiore, whose naked body was found stuffed in a suitcase. The reality TV contestant has fled to Canada as police sought him for questioning. (AP/Neitzel/WireImage)

I haven't posted anything about this case because I thought it was yet another body-in-a-suitcase story, but I've decided that there's enough here to make it blog-worthy and nominate the killer for this week's Sick Fuck of the Week award. So here go--

This story is about a reality TV contestant and model--the ideal American couple--who thought they would get married and live happily ever after. Two months later, the marriage was annulled because he allegedly turned out to be a psycho, and three months after that, she was found naked in a suitcase.

A reality show contestant--that is, a fake--and a model with an obvious-to-the-naked-eye-mostly-fake body--a match seemingly made in heaven that ended up in hell.

Jasmine Fiore's nude body was found strangled and stuffed inside a suitcase in a dumpster outside Los Angeles Saturday by a bum looking for recyclables after her ex-husband, Ryan Jenkins, reported her missing. Her teeth had been pulled and fingers cut off to hinder the identification of the body.

By the time she was identified on Tuesday, Jenkins was long gone.

His SUV and an empty boat trailer were found late Wednesday at a marina in Washington, and someone claims he arrived by boat some 10 miles away at Point Roberts near Canada. It is believed he crossed the border on foot.

Law enforcement officials are saying they will leave "no stone unturned" to find him.

Fiore, 26, and Jenkins, 32, married in a quickie Las Vegas wedding in March. The 26-year-old swimsuit model ended the marriage in May, claiming Jenkins was a control freak and "insanely jealous."

Today it was reported that Jenkins, originally from Calgary, beat up a former girlfriend several years ago and was ordered to see a shrink for sex addiction.

He was initially charged with assault causing bodily harm when he was busted in July 2005 but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, for which he was sentenced to 15 months probation in January 2007 and ordered to undergo psychological counseling for domestic violence and outpatient treatment for sex addiction.

This prince charming reportedly was also facing trial in Nevada for punching Fiore on the arm with enough force to throw her into a pool in June. Jenkins was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and had a court date in December.

Jenkins was a contestant on the VH1 reality shows Megan Wants a Millionaire and I Love Money 3, which wrapped up production in July. The last show--on which he was dubbed "Smooth Operator" by a castmate--might never air because of Ryan possibly having murdered and mutilated Fiore. Now deleted, Jenkins' profile on VH1's website described him as an investment banker. How "real" is that?

"I never had a good vibe with him," Fiore's mother, Lisa Lepore, told celebrity gossip website TMZ, describing Jenkins as "really cheap and just weird."

"I want to hold him down and pull his teeth out," Lepore told the Daily News.

"We want to ask everybody in Canada not to hide him," she added. "He can't get away with this."

Jenkins has been charged with first-degree murder.

So, will they find him, or will he get away with it?

If this were a Law & Order episode, he would foolishly ship himself to who knows where in a suitcase only to be found in a baggage claim carousel by ultra-smart detectives as the ominous keyboard music crescendoes...

Sources: HLN, Daily News, TMZ, MSNBC
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Lockerbie terrorist bomber freed to return to Lybia

2009-08-20T12:33:00.020-04:00

A man holds a placard as the convoy carrying Libyan bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi leaves Greenock prison near Glasgow on Aug 20. (REUTERS/Nigel Roddis)

Scotland today released a former Libyan agent jailed for life eight years agon for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people, 189 of them Americans, because he is dying of prostate cancer.

Are you f-ing kidding me?

As a result, he ended up serving two weeks for each person he killed.

Am I missing something here? A terrorist gets released from prison because of cancer--how is that fair or right or whatever you want to call it from a judicial standpoint?

Getting cancer does not erase the devastation this man caused to hundreds of families, to an entire nation, when he blew up a plane killing almost 300 people.

And while he's rewarded for getting sick, the average person dying of cancer gets to suffer and die in utter agony--many alone and away from home--even though they haven't killed anyone or blown up any planes.

W-TF?!

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, who has less than three months to live (boo, hoo), is being returned to Libya on compassionate grounds, a decision strongly criticized by the U.S., which campaigned to keep him in prison, Reuters reported.

"He is a dying man, he is terminally ill," Scottish justice minister Kenny MacAskill told a news conference. "My decision is that he returns home to die."

He's sick and dying. So what? At least he's not being blown up to pieces, plus he has free healthcare in jail.

A Libyan government spokesman said Megrahi was being flown home with a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, according to news reports.

Television pictures showed him being driven out of the gates of Greenock Prison in western Scotland, with a small crowd of locals booing as his convoy departed for the airport.

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi walks up the stairs to a waiting jet at Glasgow airport. (REUTERS/David Moir)

The U.S. government, which opposed Megrahi's early release, said it "deeply regrets" the decision, Reuters reported.

"As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland," the White House said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the following statement on the matter:

"The U.S. is deeply disappointed by the decision of the Scottish Executive to release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which took the lives of 270 persons, including 189 Americans. We have continued to communicate our long-standing position to UK government officials and Scottish authorities that Megrahi should serve out the entirety of his sentence in Scotland. Today, we remember those whose lives were lost on December 21, 1988 and we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live each day with the loss of their loved ones due to this heinous crime."

Megrahi, 57, is the only person convicted for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in mid-air above the Scottish town of Lockerbie.

He lost an appeal against his conviction in 2002, but a Scottish review of his case ruled in 2007 that there might have been a miscarriage of justice. "Might have been"? What does that mean? Is he innocent? If so, then why was he still in prison?

No hero's welcome

Right: A military helicopter flies overhead as a Scottish policeman stands near the cockpit of Pan Am flight 103 in a farmer's field east of Lockerbie, in December 1988. (REUTERS/Greg Bos)

Relatives of many of the 189 American victims thought Megrahi should have served his full life sentence in prison after being convicted of Britain's deadliest terrorist attack, Reuters reported

Frank Duggan, president of the Victims of Pan Am 103, a group that represents the families of U.S. victims, said he understood the Libyan government had promised that Megrahi would not "go back to a hero's welcome."

"There is going to be no dancing in the end-zone, as the expression goes," he told Reuters.

So what if he doesn't get a parade? He's still being released from a life sentence because of cancer and not because he turned out to be innocent.

The families of many of the Britons killed in the bombing were never convinced by the strength of the evidence against him and thought he should be allowed to go home to die.

Megrahi is likely to be warmly welcomed by Gaddafi, who has moved closer to the Western mainstream since dropping his nuclear weapons program in 2003.

I'm sorry, folks, but I'm as shocked by Scotland's decision as the U.S. government.

I think compassion is a noble, wonderful thing. However, while my compassion for the sick is unmeasurable, how can I empathize with terrorists who destroy people's lives and turn nations into victims? Call me unChrist-like, but I can't.

Maybe I'm just a bad person.

Sources: Reuters, CNN, BNO
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Ailing Kennedy seeks quicker Senate succession

2009-08-20T12:13:00.008-04:00

Sen. Ted Kennedy speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in a file photo. (REUTERS/Jim Young)

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, terminally ill with brain cancer, has asked state legislative leaders to change the law and let Gov. Deval Patrick appoint a temporary replacement upon his death.

Under current law, the seat would be empty until a special election could be held 145 to 160 days later, but the 77-year-old Democrat senator sent a letter to Patrick, State Senate President Therese Murray and State House Speaker Robert DeLeo asking the governor be allowed to appoint an interim U.S. senator, should one be needed, rather than wait up to five months for a special election.

A spokesman for Kennedy said on Thursday the letter was not related to any deterioration in his health.

Senator Kennedy has been a lifelong supporter of revamping the nation’s healthcare system, but his absence from the debate and public life in recent months has raised speculation that he will not be well enough to cast a vote when the time comes, according to New York Times, Reuters and Boston Globe reports.

Democrats need Massachusetts' two senators to muster 60 votes in the U.S. Senate, which is crucial to blocking any Republican maneuvers to stall the legislation, Reuters pointed out.

Democratic votes will be crucial to passing the healthcare legislation that is the subject of intense Congressional (and national) debate, and if Kennedy were to die before the vote, his seat would likely be vacant as per the current law.

Patrick and legislative leaders have yet to comment on the senator’s request to appoint an interim senator rather than wait for a special election.

“It’s typical of Ted Kennedy to be thinking ahead and about the people of Massachusetts, when the rest of us are thinking about him,” Patrick said in a statement.

In a joint statement, DeLeo and Murray said: "We have great respect for the Senator and what he continues to do for our Commonwealth and our nation. It is our hope that he will continue to be a voice for the people of Massachusetts as long as he is able."

Massachusetts state law allowed the governor to appoint a temporary replacement for a Senate seat until 2004, when Democrat Sen. John Kerry was running for president and the Democratic-controlled Legislature wanted to prevent then-Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, from naming a replacement if Kerry won the presidency, the NYTs reported.

In his letter, Kennedy, who has held his seat for 47 years, wrote that he supported the new law but added, “I also believe it is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.”

Kennedy also asked that Mr. Patrick “obtain, as a condition of appointment of the interim Senator, an explicit personal commitment not to become a candidate in the special election."

Kennedy "wanted to ensure that whomever received that appointment did not have any head start or advantage in the special election," his spokesman said.

Although the letter was delivered Tuesday, it was dated July 9.

Kennedy was diagnosed with a virulent brain tumor in May 2008 and for most of this year has stayed away from Washington and the public eye. He has spent the summer at his home on Cape Cod and occasionally has been spotted sailing with family members, according to news reports.

He did not attend the public funeral last week of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and didn't travel to Washington to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama.

Sources: New York Times, Reuters, Boston Globe
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Musicpost: 'Blow Away' by George Harrison

2009-08-19T23:57:00.008-04:00

All I've got to say is I love this song.

And love is all around it because George Harrison--lead guitarist, singer and songwriter in the No. 1 band of all time, The Beatles--released this song on Valentine's Day in 1979. I could've sworn it was an 80s song...well, it almost is.

Harrison was incredibly talented. In addition to the guitar, he played classical Indian stringed instruments such as the sitar, sarod, tambura and swarmandal, as well as the mandolin, ukulele, keyboards, and bass.

He died of lung cancer in 2001 at 58-years-old--a huge loss for Rock n' Roll.

Enjoy.

Source: YouTube

Mom, boyfriend torture and murder 8-year-old boy

2009-08-19T21:04:00.011-04:00

Melissa Jenkins, 30, top right, and her boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick Jr., 36, lower right, both of Boise, Idaho, have been indicted for first-degree murder in the death of Jenkins' 8-year-old son, Robert Manwill. (AP Photo)

* Sick Fuck Alert *

A couple in Boise, Idaho, tortured, killed and dumped an 8-year-old boy in a canal, then sat and watched while thousands of volunteers helped search for the boy. The kicker is that Child Non-Protective Services knew these two were a couple of sick fucks and did nothing to protect this child.

The mother and her live-in boyfriend have been charged with murder in the child's death, news services reported Wednesday. Robert Manwill disappeared July 24 and his body was found in the canal Aug 3.

Daniel Ehrlick Jr., 36, allegedly tortured the boy, repeatedly beating him on his head and body with his hands, knees and fists, and subjected him to other forms of physical and emotional abuse until the boy died, according to the indictment against him unsealed today in an Ada County court.

Ehrlick tortured the boy "with the intent to cause suffering, to execute vengeance or to satisfy some sadistic inclination by inflicting on Robert G. Manwill extreme or prolonged acts of brutality with the intent to cause suffering," the indictment said, noting the boy died as a result of Ehrlick's actions.

Melissa Jenkins, 30, allegedly knew about the beatings but never got her son medical attention. Instead, according to the indictment, she allegedly aided in the abuse and "actively and repeatedly" hid her son from anyone who might have stopped it or helped the boy. Mother of the Year.

Robert was visiting her when he disappeared. His father, Charles Manwill, of New Plymouth, Idaho, is divorced from Jenkins and had custody of the boy, ABC News reported.

Jenkins has a history of violence against her children, and is on probation for fracturing the skull of Robert's infant half brother. That boy was taken from her by the state in 2008. But the state left Robert with the sick fuck mother.

According to court records, Jenkins "did willfully inflict" injury to the infant "by striking the child's head on a surface, causing a fracture to the child's skull," on Oct. 19, 2008. She received a sentence of 29 days of work release and was put on probation for two years. And a judge thought this was punishment enough from slamming a baby's head against a table. WTF?!

Jenkins reportedly also has a third child, a 2 1/2-year-old daughter whose father has custody, but as in Robert's case, she has visitation rights. Ehrlick is banned from being alone with the girl, but court documents don't say why.

Um...warning signs...anyone?

Ehrlick has a criminal record including convictions for burglary, grand theft, battery and possession of drug paraphernalia. A prince charming.

Jenkins and Ehrlick have been charged with first degree murder, which could carry the death penalty, and with failing to report the boy's death to law enforcement, ABC News reported. Neither entered a plea at their court appearance today when the indictment was unsealed.

Ehrlick is being held on the murder charge without bond, while bond was set at $2 million for Jenkins, Boise Police Department Deputy Chief Jim Kerns said according to the report.

No decision has been made about whether to seek the death penalty. Prosecutors have 60 days to make a decision.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but shouldn't these sick fucks experience what that kid experienced? How is jail a fitting punishment? Ugh.

Sources: ABC News, CNN, HLN, AP
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Robin Williams on Inside the Actor's Studio (Part 5)

2009-08-19T18:40:00.002-04:00

Comic maniac Robin Williams answers questions about drug addiction, films "Popeye" and "Moscow in the Hudson" and GPS systems.

Source: YouTube

10 least competitive job markets in the U.S.

2009-08-19T17:31:00.008-04:00

(photo source unknown)

Courtesy of U.S. News & World Report

By Liz Wolgemuth Liz Wolgemuth
Tue Aug 18, 1:58 pm ET

It's not always useful to talk about the condition of the job market nationally, because job markets can be quite different between cities. There are plenty of reasons for this, including differences in how local industries have fared, and how volatile home values have been through the recession. Also, some cities entered the downturn with higher unemployment rates.

For a look at how competitiveness for jobs varies between metros, a new report from job search engine Indeed.com ranks the nation's 50 most populous cities by the ratio of job postings to the number of unemployed workers in June. Indeed does a broad comb of company and association websites, job boards, newspapers, and blogs for its postings.

Washington is, no surprise, the city that had the most job postings for the number of unemployed in June, with a ratio of 6 to 1. Of course, the nation's capital tends to draw job seekers from throughout the country, as opposed to just the local pool of workers, which certainly cranks up the competitiveness.

Jacksonville is a surprising no. 2 spot, given its June unemployment rate of 10.5 percent. If employers are ramping up hiring, the Labor Department data should improve in the coming months. Both Baltimore and New York moved up four spots from past rankings, according to Indeed, suggesting that either those job markets are improving, or there were seasonal conditions that boosted postings for the month in those cities.

The top 10 cities are ranked below, along with their ratios. (Note that the ratios are rounded, and the rankings reflect the unrounded data.)

1. Washington, D.C. 6:1

2. Jacksonville, Fla. 3:1

3. Baltimore, Md. 1:1

4. Salt Lake City, Utah 1:2

5. New York, NY 1:2

6. San Jose, Calif. 1:2

7. Hartford, Conn. 1:2

8. Oklahoma City, Okla. 1:3

9. Austin, Texas 1:3

10. Boston, Mass. 1:3

Next, the bad news: the last-ranked and most competitive job market--by far--was Detroit, which had 18 unemployed job seekers for every job posting in June.

Miami was second to last, with 10 unemployed workers for every posting. Southern California's metro area ratios also depicted a challenging environment for job seekers--Riverside and Los Angeles were ranked in the bottom four.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Model wins court battle with cyberbully blogger

2009-08-19T14:36:00.017-04:00

Wikipedia defines cyberbullying as "the use of information or communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others."

I'm sorry to say that I learned about online bullying when I became the target of cyberbullies--cowards who hide behind computer screens because were they to behave that way in person, they would get beat up.

These bullies are the most mean-spirited people I've ever met. Call me naive, but besides rapists, child abusers, killers and thieves, I didn't know people this spiteful existed among us.

I think most cyberbullies are unhappy, childish, bitter people prone to emotional and mental disorders who are so chronically bored with their lives that they make up new ones online assuming they can do anything there without consequence.

Encouraged by this perceived anonymity, they freely unleash their catty nature against anyone who disagrees with or confronts them. And once they identify a target, they don't stop until they eliminate it. Obsessive is an understatement.

It seems to me that cyberbullying serves as a new age coping mechanism for individuals facing self-hatred and insecurities. In their cyber world, they get to be powerful...or so they think.

Cyberbullies push, shove and attack expecting to win because in a battle of online posts, those lacking integrity and honesty--that is, scumbags--are willing to go low enough to defame anyone they don't like or find intimidating.

I have no doubt that we're dealing with emotionally disturbed or mentally ill people who rather than seeking help from therapists or psychiatrist spend their days stalking and harassing their targets to the point of breaking the law by committing libel.

Luckily, this country is full of lawyers and other resources to fight back. Unlike Cohen (story below), I knew the identity of each one of my cyberbullies, yet I stopped short of filing a suit because in the end I decided these miserable characters were already being punished enough by their miserable selves.

Following is model Liskula Cohen's experience with a cyberbully.

By Rich McHugh and Noel Hartman
ABC News

She had graced the cover of Vogue and found success as a model. But Liskula Cohen's latest achievement came in the courtroom.

Horrified by the hateful words of an anonymous blogger, Cohen (left) took Google to court in hopes of forcing the company to reveal the writer's identity -- and won.

"Why should anybody let it go? If somebody attacks somebody on the street, you're not going to let it go … why should I just ignore it?" Cohen told "Good Morning America" exclusively today. "I couldn't find one reason to ignore it."

That's a very good point.

Google initially refused to unmask the unidentified writer, who Cohen, 36, claimed defamed her by posting words like "skanky," "ho", and "whoring" below her photographs. The IP address turned over by Google revealed that the blogger was an acquaintance of Cohen's.

Cohen said it was a woman she hadn't seen in about a year, but who was a regular fixture at dinners and parties, but she was not, as Cohen had feared, someone who was close to her.

"Thank God it was her… she's an irrelevant person in my life," Cohen said. "She's just somebody that, whenever I would go out to a restaurant, to a party in New York City … she was just that girl that was always there."

In August 2008, the unnamed blogger wrote five different posts entitled "Skanks of NYC" on the Google-owned website Blogger.com.

There were two photographs posted on the blog that show Cohen and an unidentified man in sexually suggestive positions. The captions below described her as the "Skankiest in NYC" and a "psychotic, lying, whoring ... skank."

One post read "desperation seeps from her soul, if she even has one."

The blog was eventually taken down even though Google continued to refuse Cohen the IP address until the court ruled in her favor.

Cohen, who described herself as a "serial monogamist" and has a "zero tolerance drug policy," said the words were defamatory and harmful to her career. Prospective clients would question her about the blog and what she was doing in the photos, she says.

"Finding new clients this year has not been a walk in the park," she said. "I've worked very long in this industry."

Cohen and her lawyer, Steven Wagner, said they are now planning a defamation suit against the blogger.

"We're not in it to make money," Wagner told "Good Morning America." "We're in it because something was done that was wrong."

In siding with Cohen, Justice Joan Madden of the New York State Supreme Court rejected the blogger's argument that "blogs serve as a modern day forum for conveying personal opinions, including invective and ranting, and that the statements in this action when considered in that context, cannot be reasonably understood as factual assertions."

Cohen found out the identity of the blogger, whose name has not been made public, on Tuesday and immediately called her.

Cohen says she started out by apologizing to the woman for anything she may have done to earn her ire.

But she says the blogger told her that she didn't know what she was talking about and said the two women should not speak to each other except in the presence of their attorneys.

Cohen said she has chosen to forgive the woman who wrote the nasty words even though she says the blogger has yet to apologize.

"I have pretty solid friendships, and I trust my friends," she said. "I don't know what I would have done if it had been somebody that I valued as a friend."

Wagner said he hoped his client's triumph in court will show others that anonymity on the Internet isn't what it used to be.

"I don't know if it will change the Internet," he said. "It will change the way some people will act on the Internet."

Barney gets Frank at healthcare town hall meeting

2009-08-19T13:31:00.016-04:00

Rep. Barney Frank argues with a man after a town hall meeting Tuesday night in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. (Getty Images)

It's about freaking time a legislator with balls showed up at one of this town hall melees and confronted the monomaniacs who evidently lack the knowledge, manners and intellect to engage in constructive debates.

Personally, while I believe the healthcare system must be reformed somehow, I've yet to decide how I feel about the House and Senate proposals because I've yet to process and understand the data. How can I have an educated opinion without the information? Yet, that's exactly what these radical freaks are doing at town halls across America--shouting and yelling and protesting and opposing without having the slightest idea what they're opposing.

Following is the story posted by CNN with my lovely comments.

Most Congress members conducting town hall meetings this month have chosen a noncombative posture to deal with angry participants who disrupt the proceedings. Not Rep. Barney Frank.

At a lively two-hour meeting Tuesday night in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Frank gave as good as he got in confronting opponents of overhauling the nation's health care system.

The crowded hall had both supporters and detractors, but the opposing side was much louder and more raucous (and more irrational and immature), booing the Massachusetts Democrat from the moment he was introduced and shouting questions and challenges at him throughout.(These bigots--sorry, but the ones throwing temper tantrums and interrupting what could be a productive exchange of ideas and information are bigots--claim to be the brains of the country while behaving like genitals.)

"You want me to talk about it or do you want to yell?" he asked over and over when interrupted while trying to answer. Continued shouting brought a sterner rebuke. (Yet another example that these fanatical buffoons are more interested in making a scene and "Waterlooing" Obama than in understanding what the bills propose and obtaining answers to legitimate questions.)

"Disruption never helps your cause," he said more than once. "It just looks like you're afraid to have rational discussion." (Exactly.)

While Frank attempted to respond to all questions, he gave up when one woman compared health care proposals favored by Frank and President Obama to policies of Nazi Germany. (Good for him--she's obviously a dunce.)

"When you ask me that question, I'm going to revert to my ethnic heritage and ask you a question: On what planet do you spend most of your time?" Frank asked. (LOL!)

"You stand there with a picture of the president defaced to look like Hitler and compare the effort to increase health care to the Nazis," he said, adding such behavior demonstrated the strength of First Amendment guarantees of what he called "contemptible" free speech. (What do you think are the chances that this extremist nutcase would be holding an Obama-as-Hitler sign if she didn't have health insurance?)

"Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table," Frank said to the woman. (ROFLMAO!) "I have no interest in doing it."

Despite the disruptions, the meeting covered many of the issues of the healthcare debate, with Frank shooting down rumors that a House health care bill would mandate free insurance coverage for illegal immigrants.

He read from the section of the bill that excludes payments for that purpose, and when another questioner referred to a different section guaranteeing nondiscrimination, Frank pointed out that the first section he read superseded that language.

Some in the crowd applauded, but others booed and shouted (ugh...just like little children--such as display is embarrassing whether you favor or oppose reform). Frank asked why the detractors shouted for him to answer, and when he did, they shouted more.

"What's the matter with you all?" he said. "I don't know if you get angrier when I answer the questions, or when you don't think I do."

It's called "monomania dementia" Frank, and there's no cure...if you ask me.

Sources: CNN, YouTube
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Jackson's Murray & Klein to be arrested next week

2009-08-19T12:12:00.014-04:00

As predicted by Primetime Oracle, Murray and Kline are about to be toasted.

* Toast Update *

Houston cardiologist (hard to believe) Dr. Conrad Murray, aka Dr. Toast, and Los Angeles dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein will be arrested next week in connection to the death of pop icon Michael Jackson, news services reported today citing a law enforcement source.

Dr. Murray will be charged with manslaughter, and if convicted, he would go to prison for being a gargantuan dunce.

Left: Michael Jackson, Murray and propofol--a deadly combination (ABC News composite photo).

You don't have to be a doctor (or a rocket scientist, to be true to the phrase) to know that injecting a powerful anesthetic like propofol into someone all night, every night to so he can "sleep" (which isn't even the case, as Michael would've been in a mini coma and not asleep) is a such a bad idea that it shouldn't even be considered.

But Murray made a choice to sell his soul, and his integrity as a doctor (if he ever had any), to the devil for $150,000, as he had just started to work for Michael at that rate per month when within a month the artist died.

Meanwhile, Dr. Slime--ahem--Klein, had been catering to Michael needs for two decades, which can't be a good thing given how strange and extreme the entertainer's needs were and how he allegedly pushed, persuaded and insisted until he got what he wanted regardless of how dangerous or absurd.

Right: Michael Jackson and Dr. Klein in 2002 (Access Hollywood composite photo).

Klein and procedures on his skin (which may be legit), but that's probably not the problem. The problem is that after 20 years, there's just no way Klein would've not turned into a major pharmaceutical enabler for someone allegedly addicted to pain killers and other psychotropic drugs.

Complicating matters a bit is the possible fact that Slime could be the biological father of Michael's first two kids--Prince and Paris.

Once the arrests are made--if indeed what this source is saying is true--we can expect to see the results of Michael's toxicology report, which is expected to read like a drug Atlas.

Michel Jackson, considered the greatest entertainer in the world, died June 25 after going into cardiac arrest. Murray was in the house with him.

Sources: BNO, TMZ
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Dr. Toast (Murray) speaks out, says he's "afraid"

2009-08-18T20:08:00.009-04:00

...to return calls or use his email.

How can someone be scared of returning an email but not be afraid--very afraid--of putting a man under general anesthesia outside a hospital's operating room night after night and, evidently, sometimes without supervision?

And why, oh, why do people opt to read what they have to say--even a message as short as this one--if what they're saying is the honest truth? This kind of over-rehearsed, artificially recited message sounds insincere. A useless move, if you ask me.

The video was shot last Wednesday in Houston and arranged by the publicist for Dr. Murray's lawyer, TMZ reported. A lawyer with a publicist? Interesting.

Murray is being investigated for the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson, who died June 25 after going into cardiac arrest following a dose of propofol allegedly administered by the doctor.

Sources: TMZ, YouTube
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Town hall meetings are today's civil war

2009-08-18T14:33:00.012-04:00

Left: A video from CNN affiliate KNXV shows a man carrying an assault rifle at a protest against President Obama on Monday in Phoenix, Arizona. (KNXV)

Two days ago I told a friend of mine that the heated town hall meetings on healthcare reform could be this era's version of a civil war, and that had this "battle" taken place in the 60s or 100 years ago, people would be shooting each other.

Little did I know that weapons had already made an appearance in a couple of demonstrations last week.

One Rambo-wanna-be man, for example, showed up at a protest in Phoenix--where Obama was addressing veterans--carrying an assault rifle and a handgun.

He mindfully took it with him to what he knew would be a dangerously heated encounter with "the enemy." Like a dozen others carrying weapons that day, he paraded his rifle allegedly to exercise his right to bear arms. Fine, but that was not his only motive, if you ask me.

He relied on his weapon to intimidate those on the other side of the argument, to shut them up lest they get shot. He chose to draw power from a fire arm instead of the strength of his position on the debate. How convenient, how lazy, and how lame.

He also took the rifle to the rally because he thought he might need it, because he thought he might use it.

Police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said the group carrying weapons was "interested in exercising the right to bear arms."

"I'm exercising my rights as an American in Arizona," Rambo, who refused to give his name, told KNXV.

Um...he shows up with fire arms at a protest against the president of the U.S., claiming it's his right, walking around like a tough guy, but he hides his name? Coward. No wonder he needs guns.

I'm not questioning his right to carry arms; I believe in that right. I'm questioning his judgment.

If exercising this right was his only purpose, why not carry the guns while walking his dogs, why take them to protests bursting with people on the edge of violence?

"I come from another state where 'open carry' is legal, but no one does it, so the police don't really know about it and they harass people, arrest people falsely," Rambo said. "I think that people need to get out and do it more so that they get kind of conditioned to it."

I don't buy it.

The man added that he was unhappy with some health care reform proposals. Exactly. Here we go...

"I'm absolutely, totally against health care, health care in this way, in this manner," he said. "Stealing it from people, I don't think that's appropriate."

And that's why he's carrying the rifle.

Plus, what about the angry person likely to lose control while standing inches away from an armed person during one of these crowded meetings or protests? What if someone there feels like exercising his finger with a trigger?

Arizona law has nothing in the books regulating assault rifles, and only requires permits for carrying concealed weapons, so despite the man's proximity to the president, there were no charges or arrests to be made, CNN reported.

Last week, a man protesting outside Obama's town hall meeting in New Hampshire had a gun strapped to his thigh. That state also doesn't require a license for open carry.

Asked whether the individuals carrying weapons jeopardized the safety of the president, U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said, "Of course not."

Of course not?

The individuals would never have gotten close to the president, regardless of any state laws on openly carrying weapons, Donovan said, explaining that a venue is considered a federal site when the Secret Service is protecting the president and that weapons are not allowed on a federal site. The men carrying weapons were outside the venues where Obama was speaking, Donovan said.

"We pay attention to this obviously...to someone with a firearm when they open carry even when they are within state law," he told CNN.

He's downplaying the issue because that's what he's supposed to do. We don't need to trigger yet another national debate on Second Amendment rights--not now at least.

But here's the thing: given that many opposers of healthcare reform are gun-proud Republicans, chances are more goons who evidently can't rely on their intellectual abilities to debate this issue will show up armed at town hall meetings and protests.

Someone is going to get shot.

Michael Jackson to be buried Aug 29

2009-08-18T14:17:00.004-04:00

Michael Jackson's famous glove (photo source unknown).

...when he would've turned 51 if he were alive.

The private ceremony will take place at Holly Terrace in The Great Mausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, and "will be limited to family and close friends," publicist Ken Sunshine said in a statement according to a CNN report.

Jackson died June 25 of cardiac arrest. An investigation focusing on Michael's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, and the anesthetic propofol, is underway and manslaughter charges are expected to be filed.

Other Jackson plans have moved sluggishly. Monday, a judge delayed his approval of the exhibition agreement between concert promoter AEG Live and the Jackson estate until Friday, when he will hear testimony about why Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, thinks it should be renegotiated.

The three-city exhibition of Jackson memorabilia could be derailed, as relations between Jackson's mother, the men Jackson named as executors of his will and the promoter of his planned comeback concerts have been challenging, CNN reported.

Questions surrounding Michael Jackson's death and AEG Live's role in his last days are an "obvious source of tension" as Katherine Jackson objects to the agreement, Jackson attorney Burt Levitch said.

Michael Jackson's family has "floated" the possibility of filing a wrongful-death lawsuit against AEG Live because of its "very, very active role in Michael's life during the last six months," Levitch said Monday.

Levitch said AEG Live "apparently paid for the services of Dr. Conrad Murray, who we're told is under criminal investigation in connection with the decedent's death."

Warrants used to search Murray's home and clinics indicated police were investigating his role in Jackson's death. A source with knowledge of the investigation said Murray administered propofol to Michael in the 24 hours before he died.

"There's an obvious link between AEG and concerns that we have about the decedent's demise," Levitch said. "So, that's one obvious source of tension right now."

Source: CNN

Corruption keeps innocent man in jail for 23 years

2009-08-17T13:36:00.009-04:00

Ernest Sonnier (right) was sentenced to life but was released from prison after 23 years because DNA testing proved he was wrongfully convicted. (Getty Images)

Sigh.

This man's story pisses me off. It's a perfect example of the shortcomings of this country's judicial system in which injustice often prevails.

There's no justice in telling this man: "Oops, we're sorry you were in jail 23 years for a crime you didn't commit and that having the evidence that could've exonerated you, we dropped the ball and didn't look into it," and leave it at that. How do you make amends for something like this?

By Gary Tuchman
AC360 correspondent

Ernest Sonnier was 23 when he was arrested and charged with rape and kidnapping. He was convicted and sent to prison He was taken in handcuffs from his Houston home and didn’t leave prison for another 23 years.

A week and a half ago, at the age of 46, Sonnier was freed after essentially being told by prosecutors, sorry – but we now inform you that DNA evidence we’ve just gotten around to checking indicates you did not commit this crime.

And get this – when the DNA that was examined was compared with other specimens in police possession, it came up positive for two other men already in the system. Men who are felons, but are no longer in prison.

As you wonder whether or not authorities will arrest those other men, we can tell you the answer is no. It won’t happen because the statute of limitations has expired. That’s just some of the discouraging news about this case.

Also discouraging, is this: Ernest Sonnier is now the sixth person to be freed from prison after allegations of shoddy work from the same crime laboratory, which is run by the Houston police. Over the years, the lab has been accused of ineptitude, corruption, and has even suffered flooding and water leakage which led to the corruption of genetic materials.

Now, the District Attorney, who is relatively new, has pledged that all cases that involved DNA in Houston will be reviewed. That means hundreds of cases will be re-examined. This all raises two serious questions: how many innocent people are behind bars because of poor lab work, and how many guilty people are not behind bars where they deserve to be?

Ernest Sonnier was identified by his victim in court in 1986. Prosecutors said lab tests showed hair found in the victim’s vehicle was consistent with his. Shortly after Sonnier’s trial, DNA testing became routine.

The DNA from the hair and bodily fluids found in the car and on the victim has been available for years. But the lab’s backlog was endless, and there was no mechanism for verification. A national group that tries to help the wrongly convicted, the Innocence Project, got involved in Sonnier’s case, and the testing was completed.

Sonnier, who has no idea how to operate a cell phone and marvels over satellite TV, is now a free man.

He says he will forgive, but he can’t forget.

Sonnier is staying at home with his grateful mother and father. He hugs great nieces and nephews he has never been allowed to touch.

He has not officially been exonerated. He had a criminal record before his arrest (which likely diminished any credibility he might have had with police and prosecutors.) He is now on supervised release.

So the district attorney and her investigators say they will spend weeks or months investigating his past. But unless they find out something new, Ernest Sonnier will officially be cleared. And the real criminals will continue to count their lucky stars that Sonnier took the rap for them.

Not surprisingly, many people are crying "Racism!" when this is primarily a judicial issue.

I'm no judge or lawyer, but it seems to me that in order to be as objective as possible--or to at least give that impression...--laws are set up to minimize interpretation, and while that's a sensible cause meant to set uniform procedures and avoid bias, along with subjectivity common sense goes down the drain.

Case in point: the criminals whose DNA implicates them in this crime will not be charged because of laws that set statute of limitations establishing a maximum period of time after a crime to prosecute suspects. Now, how is that pursuant to justice? The damage inflicted by criminals on victims does not expire, so why should the ability (willingness...) to prosecute and convict criminals should?

We are plagued by a general lack of common sense; otherwise, those who dropped the ball at the corrupted crime lab and police department would be serving time.

Sick Fuck of the Week

2009-08-16T18:48:00.005-04:00

Click on the arrow...

Choosing the winner of this week's Sick Fuck of the Week award was easy.

Who else but Katherine Nadal--the 28-year-old "mother" from Houston who sliced off her 5-week-old son's penis and testicles after an argument with her husband in which she favored circumcision and he opposed it.

Nadal apparently figured she might as well take matters into her own hands, literally, and castrated her son in cold blood, blaming a 6- to 7-pound mini dachshund for the attack.

Her trial began Monday and ended Friday with a guilty verdict for causing serious bodily injury to a child, a first-degree felony that might land her in prison for life. The sentencing hearing is pending.

Congratulations to Katherine Nadal of Houston
Sick Fuck of the Week

According to a nationwide study...

2009-08-15T19:17:00.003-04:00

Source: unknown