12 decapitated bodies found in Mexico

ACAPULCO, Mexico - Authorities found the decapitated bodies of 12 men in the southern state of Guerrero on Sunday, and some of the victims have been identified as soldiers.

State Public Safety Secretary Juan Salinas Altes said nine bodies were found on a major boulevard in the state capital, Chilpancingo, just a few hundred yards (meters) from where the state governor participated in a traditional religious procession later in the day amid heavy security.

Mexico has been hit by a rising wave of drug-fueled violence, and officials estimate that more than 5,300 people have died in organized crime-related slayings so far in 2008.

Cartels increasingly chopping off heads
Mexican drug cartels have increasingly taken to chopping the heads off their victims, who include rival traffickers and lawmen. On Aug. 28, a dozen decapitated bodies were found outside Merida, the capital of Yucatan state.

Experts are still trying to identify the bodies found Sunday, but a still-undetermined number of them are soldiers, Salinas Altes said. An army base is located nearby.

The bodies were found spread along the length of the boulevard, and nearby a sign was found that read "for every one of mine that you kill, I will kill 10."

Nine heads, some gagged with tape, were found in a bag nearby.

 

Local prosecutors said three more decapitated bodies were found Sunday in a village on the outskirts of Chilpancingo.

Scores killed since late 2006
Two other severed heads were found on the same boulevard in Chilpancingo on Dec. 7 alongside a sign reading: "Soldiers who are supposedly fighting crime, and they turn out to be kidnappers. This is going to happen to you."

Scores of police and soldiers have been killed since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against the cartels in late 2006. While Mexican criminal gangs once appeared to avoid confrontations with the army, they now often openly attack soldiers.

In May 2007, gunmen linked to a drug gang killed five soldiers in an ambush in the neighboring state of Michoacan.

Also Sunday, federal police reported they had captured three suspected cartel hit men in the border city of Tijuana, across from San Diego, California. The suspects allegedly had six assault rifles and about 3,500 rounds of ammunition at the home where they were caught.

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Merry X-Mas

** Good until 12-26-08 **

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Congratulations to the New York Giants on their victory over my Carolina Panthers 34 - 28. It was a well fought battle and the Giants running game outshined the Panthers running game!!

Holyfield barely loses title fight to Valuev

ZURICH, Switzerland - Nikolai Valuev likely ended Evander Holyfield’s last chance at winning a fifth heavyweight title, narrowly defending his WBA title by majority decision on Saturday night.

The 46-year-old American, attempting to become the oldest heavyweight to win a major belt, started the fight by moving around the ring to neutralize Valuev’s long reach advantage.

The 7-foot Russian, the tallest and heaviest champion ever, struggled to close down Holyfield early but began asserting his jab as Holyfield tired.

One judged scored the bout a draw, while the others had Valuev winning 116-112 and 115-114.

“Of course I am disappointed,” Holyfield said. “I thought I had done enough to get the win. Now I have to go home and think about my future.”

Holyfield (42-10-2) had not fought since losing a one-sided decision to then-WBO champion Sultan Ibragimov over a year ago, and was much criticized for this latest comeback attempt. Some critics suggested he was putting his health at risk by fighting at such an advanced age.

Still, the “Real Deal” appeared in great shape for the fight and was never seriously hurt by Valuev (51-1), who has avoided the top heavyweights and did little to improve his standing in the division. He was vulnerable to Holyfield’s right hooks, many of which landed, even if the Russian also was never stunned.

“He made me work very hard for the win,” said Valuev, the overwhelming favorite and underwhelming winner. “Holyfield was unbelievable with his speed. The fight was fought at a great tempo for the whole 12 rounds.”

Later rounds were largely uneventful, with the Atlanta native dancing and looking for the rare opportunity to attack in combinations. The Russian, who carried a weight advantage of almost 100 pounds, planted himself in the center of the ring and rarely unleashed power punches.

“His hands are not as slow as everyone thinks they are,” Holyfield said.

For Valuev, it was the biggest win on a weak resume. He has so far refused to fight either of the Klitschko brothers, who hold the other major belts and are considered the top two heavyweights in the world.

Holyfield has refused to say if he would retire should he lose or draw against Valuev. Struggling with financial problems, Holyfield may try to use the better-than-expected result to score a big payday against another champion or Riddick Bowe, who has recently made a similarly worrisome comeback.

Holyfield won one of three epic battles against Bowe in the 1990s, when he beat Buster Douglas, George Foreman and Mike Tyson twice to become a dominating figure in the sport.

This fight was put on in front of 12,500 largely pro-Holyfield fans in Zurich’s Hallenstadion. Holyfield entered to a standing ovation, wearing a red robe fit for a king.

Valuev was booed, and there were even scattered whistles while the Russian national anthem played. The fans similarly showed their displeasure when the judges’ scorecards were read.

China blocks access to New York Times site

BEIJING - China has blocked access to the New York Times Web site, the newspaper said Saturday, days after the central government defended its right to censor online content it deems illegal.

Computer users who logged on in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou received a message that the site was not available when they tried to connect on Friday morning, the paper said. Some users were cut of as early as Thursday evening, it said.

The Web site remained inaccessible from Beijing Saturday.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said they do not deal with Web sites. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which regulates the Internet, could not be reached for comment.

Earlier this week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao defended China's right to censor Web sites that have material deemed illegal by the government, saying that other countries regulate their Internet usage too.

During the Summer Games held in August, China allowed access to long-barred Web sites such as the British Broadcasting Corp. and Human Rights Watch after an outcry from foreign reporters who complained that Beijing was failing to live up to its pledges of greater media freedom.

Inaccessible sites
The New York Times said Beijing had blocked the Chinese-language Web site of the BBC, and Web sites of Voice of America, Asiaweek, and Ming Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper, earlier in the week. But apart from Ming Pao the sites were all accessible Friday, it said.

Ming Pao's online site was still inaccessible Saturday in Beijing, but the others were accessible.

China has the most online users in the world with more than 250 million, but it has also put in place a sophisticated system to police Web sites for sensitive material and routinely blocks Web sites that are pro-Tibetan independence or the Dalai Lama.

A spokeswoman for The Times, Catherine J. Mathis, told the paper that there did not appear to be a technical issue. Users in Japan, Hong Kong, and the U.S. were also not experiencing difficulties, the paper said.

Friday, December 19, 2008
Ex-pitcher Ellis dies of liver disease 
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com

Dock Ellis, the former major league pitcher best remembered for his flamboyance and social activism as a member of the great Pittsburgh Pirates teams of the 1970s, died Friday of a liver ailment in California, his former agent, Tom Reich, confirmed. Ellis was 63.

 

Ellis spent 12 years in the majors with Pittsburgh, the New York Yankees, Oakland, Texas and the New York Mets. He retired in 1979 with a record of 138-119, but was best known for several colorful incidents on and off the field.

 

In his autobiography, "Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball,'' Ellis revealed that he threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in June 1970 while under the influence of LSD.

 

In May 1974 -- in an effort to inspire a lifeless Pittsburgh team -- Ellis drilled Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Dan Driessen in the top of the first inning. After walking Tony Perez, Ellis threw a pitch near Johnny Bench's head and was lifted from the game by manager Danny Murtaugh.

 

Ellis also gave up Reggie Jackson's memorable home run off the Tiger Stadium light tower in the 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit.

 

Off the field, Ellis spoke freely about racial issues, once telling reporters that he wouldn't start against Oakland's Vida Blue in the All-Star Game because Major League Baseball would never start "two soul brothers'' against each other.

 

"Dock Ellis was my first client in baseball, and he gave me as much joy as anybody outside of my family," Reich said. "He was so unique. He was viewed by some people as an outlaw, but he was far from that. He was so ahead of his time. He was so intuitive and smart and talented and independent. And he wasn't about to roll over for the incredible prejudices that existed at the time.

 

"He was a very special person and he had an absolute army of fans and friends. He was at the cutting edge of so many issues, and he never backed down. I was proud to be his friend and stand with him."

 

Ellis suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and was placed on a list to receive a liver transplant in May. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Ellis had no health insurance, but received help paying his medical bills from friends in baseball.

 

Bill Scaringe, an agent who represented Ellis after he retired, said Ellis worked for years in the California department of corrections helping inmates transition from prison back to the community. He also ran a drug counseling center in Los Angeles.

 

"It's very disheartening," Scaringe said. "Dock was such a likeable person -- very gregarious, very outgoing. I would set up personal appearances for him, and after like 30 seconds, people were like relatives or neighbors. Dock was very easy to talk to. He was just a pleasure to be around."

Friday, December 19, 2008
Grant said looking forward to moving ahead
Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The former official who filed a $225 million racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against NASCAR is very pleased with her settlement and looking forward to moving on, her attorney said Friday.

 

Mauricia Grant reached a confidential settlement with NASCAR following 12 hours of mediation earlier this month in New York. The session was suggested by U.S. District Court Judge Deborah A. Batts after the first court appearance in what was expected to be a yearslong battle between the two sides.

 

"She'd been out of work a long time. We thought it was in the best interest of our client not to drag this out two to three years," Benedict P. Morelli, of New York-based Morelli Ratner PC, said. "She needed closure. She's a young woman, and when you make the sort of allegations she did, it's difficult to move forward and get on with your life."

 

Settlement terms were confidential, and neither side admitted liability or wrongdoing.

 

"She's very, very happy with the resolution," Morelli said. "And I don't think NASCAR wanted to leave it out there. They wanted to put this behind them, as well."

 

Grant, who is black, worked as a technical inspector responsible for certifying cars in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series from January 2005 until her October 2007 termination.

 

In the lawsuit filed in June in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Grant named 23 specific incidents of alleged sexual harassment and 34 specific incidents of alleged racial and gender discrimination during her employment.

 

Among Grant's claims, she said she was referred to as "Nappy Headed Mo" and "Queen Sheba" by co-workers; was often told she worked on "colored people time;" and was frightened by one official who routinely made Ku Klux Klan references.

 

Grant also said she was subjected to sexual advances from male co-workers -- two of whom allegedly exposed themselves to her -- and graphic and lewd jokes.

 

NASCAR chairman Brian France denied Grant ever complained to her supervisors about anything listed in her lawsuit. But an internal investigation into her claims ultimately resulted in the firing of two of the 17 officials named in her suit.

 

NASCAR has not disclosed why the two officials, who Grant said exposed themselves to her, were fired.

 

A third official was fired in April of this year, but NASCAR said it was unrelated to the suit.

 

NASCAR also has refused to say why Grant was fired. In its response to her suit, though, it claimed Grant was reprimanded with a warning of termination for an altercation with a track security guard at Michigan International Speedway, who had asked to see Grant's credentials as she passed through a gate.

 

The response also claimed a pattern of tardiness for which she was routinely reprimanded.

 

Morelli said his team was prepared to go to trial if a settlement could not be reached, but it would take several years to even get to a courtroom. He added the mediation session, which Grant attended, went about five hours longer than average negotiations.

 

Although several NASCAR representatives were present, Morelli said France was not at the mediation. "But the key principals were reachable by telephone," he said.

Indonesia's "tree man" faces new operations

TANJUNG JAYA, Indonesia (Reuters) - An Indonesian man dubbed the "tree man" because of the gnarled warts all over his body said on Friday his condition had worsened again although he still hoped to recover and find a job.

Dede, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, returned home from hospital in August after six kilograms (13 pounds) of warts were surgically removed from his body and has been treated as an out-patient since.

"Those (warts) that were removed are growing again and started to reappear after I returned home," Dede told Reuters, adding that for a time he could go fishing and use a cell phone but now needed assistance again for such activity.

An American doctor has previously said the warts were the result of severe human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, but the disease is not life-threatening. Doctors say his case is thought to be the worst of its type in the world.

Discovery Channel recently made a documentary about Dede's affliction and his life.

Dede, 37, first noticed the warts on his body after cutting his knee as a teenager.

Over time, Dede was sacked from his job, deserted by his wife and shunned by neighbors as the horn-like extensions covered much of his body and stopped him working. He has two children.

"I'm not desperate but I want to recover," he added, speaking from his home in the remote West Java village of Tanjung Jaya.

An Indonesian doctor said he would have further operations at the end of December or early next year to remove and reduce warts.

"We have told him that his disease could not be 100 percent cured. In the previous operation, we only tried to increase his quality of life," said Rachmat Dinata, one of a team of doctors treating him at the Hasan Sadikin hospital in Bandung, a city near his village.

Dinata said he would need at least two operations every year.

For a while, Dede was forced to take part in a circus act in Bandung in order to make ends meet.

But after his case received widespread publicity, donations from the public and government help allowed him to get treatment.

He has also been able to buy some land to grow rice and a second-hand car so his relatives can bring him to hospital.

Nuns sue NYC tenants over 'vomit-like' food smells
Dec 19 06:06 PM US/Eastern
NEW YORK (AP) - Nuns who own a New York City apartment house have filed a lawsuit saying a tenant couple is stinking up the building with "horrible" food smells "similar to that of vomit or rotten meat." The lawsuit by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart Inc. says Gloria and Michael Lim are causing "foul and harmful odors" to come from their 16th floor apartment by cooking and smoking large quantities of fish. Court papers said one tenant thought a dead body was decomposing in the East 19th Street apartment and called the Fire Department. The lawsuit asks that the Lims be required to stop causing the "noxious" odors and pay legal fees and damages of at least $50,000. Andrew Bittens, a lawyer for the nuns, declined to comment, and a call to the Lims wasn't immediately returned.

  "We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves."

                                              -  Eric Hoffer -

Friday, December 19, 2008
Details of Hatton-Pacquiao fight close to finalization
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com

It's just a matter of time until a Ricky Hatton-Manny Pacquiao megafight is finalized.

 

"I think we're there. We're just mopping up little details," Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, told ESPN.com by phone Friday. "My guy is on board. I think everybody is on board. I am very upbeat."

 

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, the promoter of Hatton, echoed Arum's sentiments, saying, "The conversations are coming along nicely. I talked to Ray Hatton [Ricky's father] and my hope is that we can finalize everything before the end of the year. I feel pretty good about it."

 

If the bout is finalized, it will take place May 2 on pay-per-view, Schaefer and Arum said. They said the bout likely would take place in Las Vegas, neutral territory roughly halfway between Hatton's home country of England and Pacquiao's native Philippines.

 

"But there are competing interests in Vegas," Arum said. "We can make a deal with different entities to have it at the Thomas & Mack Center or the MGM Grand. We will explore what the best deal is."

 

Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs), the junior welterweight world champion, would defend his 140-pound title against Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king who on Dec. 6 dominated Oscar De La Hoya en route to an eighth-round TKO in a welterweight fight at the MGM Grand.

 

Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs), who holds a lightweight belt, jumped up two weight divisions to meet De La Hoya, but will drop down one division to challenge Hatton, who defended his title with an 11th-round TKO of Paulie Malignaggi on Nov. 22, also at the MGM.

 

The fight would be just the latest collaboration between Golden Boy and Top Rank after settling a variety of lawsuits against each other, including one over Pacquiao's promotional rights.

 

Schaefer said the goal of both companies is just to make the biggest and best fights possible.

 

"Bob and I had a very nice meeting before the press conference [two weeks ago] to announce the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley fight and we laid out some plans for next year," Schaefer said. "Bob wants to put together the biggest fights and I want to do the same. We both want to do events, big events, which really capture the imagination of sports fans. Hatton-Pacquiao would certainly do that. They are two of the most popular fighters in the world and also two of the very best."

Friday 12-19-08

088, 275, 758, 646, 062, 550, 376, 854

078, 164, 127, 147, 966, 580, 639, 775

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