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buzwardo:
Public Advocate: 'Kennedy Sobriety Checkpoint' Big Success; Video Posted of Actions; Footage and Photos Available

Mon May 29, 11:00 AM ET

To: National Desk, Political Reporter

Contact: Jesse R. Binnall, 703-582-7924, or Eugene Delgaudio, 703-901-2247; Office 703-845-1808, both of Public Advocate; Web: http://publicadvocateusa.org/

WASHINGTON, May 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today, a non-profit group, Public Advocate, announced their "Kennedy Sobriety Checkpoint" has been a success. Checkpoints on Capitol Hill in Washington to protect citizens against Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy (D-Ma.) or Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) resulted in no impaired drivers named Congressman or Senator Kennedy being stopped this weekend.

"Citizen volunteers have responded to the call and we have erected checkpoints at several intersections to prevent any Kennedy from driving in an impaired manner on Capitol Hill. We selected the long Memorial Day weekend due to the increased potential for a repeat of earlier car accidents," said Eugene Delgaudio who is also President of the group.

Volunteers patrolling in front of the U.S. Capitol and in front of the Supreme Court are attempting to prevent a repeat of Kennedy-related car accidents in Washington. Due to the nature of the problem, the checkpoints are mobile units comprised of two dozen people alternating positions around the Capitol.

Volunteers wear bright orange or yellow vests, yellow construction hats, and carry traffic cones, and traffic directional signs (stop, slow down, go) and posters that identify them as the "Kennedy Sobriety Checkpoint" and with a message that states "If your name is Kennedy, Get out of the Car."

Public Advocate designed the checkpoints to raise public awareness and to discourage impaired driving by Senator Ted Kennedy or Congressman Patrick Kennedy. The ultimate goal is to ensure the roads are safe for all motorists by achieving voluntary compliance of the drinking and driving laws by all Kennedys in Congress. That was accomplished this weekend.

"Our future goal is to continue with random Kennedy Sobriety Checkpoints to continue the success we have had," said Delgaudio.

---

NOTE:

Special free video footage and photographs of the Kennedy Sobriety Checkpoint in action are posted at http://publicadvocateusa.org/

Permission granted in advance to use photographs or video for any news-related or other public service or educational purpose

------

Public Advocate has been fighting for the American family for over 25 years. It is has used political street theater to dramatize or otherwise convey public policy issues over 100 times in Washington. It is exempt from federal taxation under IRC section 501(c)4. Contributions for gifts to Public Advocate are not tax-deductible. For more information contact Jesse R. Binnall at 703-845-1808.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20060529/pl_usnw/public_advocate___kennedy_sobriety_checkpoint__big_success__video_posted_of_actions__footage_and_photos_available107_xml

buzwardo:
Verdict Coming For "Penis Pump" Judge

Closing arguments today in exposure trial of ex-Oklahoma jurist

JUNE 29--Closing arguments are scheduled today in the trial of the former Oklahoma judge charged with indecent exposure for using a penis pump (among other really gross acts) while on the bench. Donald Thompson, 59, is facing felony counts for his alleged lewd behavior while a Creek County District Court jurist (Thompson resigned from the bench in 2004). According to a yucky probable cause affidavit, a copy of which you'll find below, Thompson exposed himself during three separate 2003 cases (two of which were murder trials). For example, on May 13, while he was presiding over State v. Kurt Arnold Vomberg (who was accused of killing his girlfriend's 21-month-old daughter), Thompson loudly pumped himself up. Two court employees told investigators that they saw Thompson (pictured in the mug shot at right) attach the suction device to his penis, while five jurors reported hearing whooshing sounds, which they thought were coming from either a bicycle pump, blood pressure cuff, or an air cushion on the judge's chair. After a search of Thompson's former courtroom and chambers yielded items that tested positive for seminal fluid, investigators secured a search warrant to obtain a DNA sample from the ex-jurist. Thompson's demise was triggered by a complaint filed against him by the Oklahoma Attorney General, who sought to oust the jurist for a variety of illicit behavior. Along with using the penis pump, Thompson also allegedly shaved and oiled his private parts, according to accounts given to state investigators by court employees. If convicted of the indecent exposure counts, Thompson could face a maximum of 10 years in prison on each charge. (7 pages)

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0121051judge1.html

buzwardo:
Too successful: the hospitals forced to introduce minimum waiting times

(Filed: 07/08/2006)

Hospitals across the country are imposing minimum waiting times - delaying the treatment of thousands of patients.

    
Blessing given: Patricia Hewitt
After years of Government targets pushing them to cut waiting lists, staff are now being warned against "over-performing" by treating patients too quickly. The Sunday Telegraph has learned that at least six trusts have imposed the minimum times.

In March, Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, offered her apparent blessing for the minimum waiting times by announcing they would be "appropriate" in some cases. Amid fears about ?1.27 billion of NHS debts, she expressed concern that some hospitals were so productive "they actually got ahead of what the NHS could afford".

The minimum waiting times, however, dismayed Katherine Murphy, of the Patients' Association, who said last night: "This all stems from bad financial planning and management. No wonder there is a crisis. If staff are available for an operation, they should be utilised."

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, added that the minimum waiting times shed new light on the Government's target that patients should wait no longer than six months. "It is outrageous that the purpose of the Government's targets is not so much to drive down waiting times, as to impose a six-month wait."

The measures also seem certain to add to the anger that erupted last week after Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk admitted it had forfeited ?2.4 million because it treated patients too quickly, having already agreed a 122-day minimum waiting time with East Suffolk Primary Care Trust (PCT), its funding body. The hospital finished the last financial year ?16.7 million in the red.

Douglas Seaton, 60, a consultant physician who worked with the restraints of the minimum waiting times before retiring from Ipswich Hospital in June, said: "In the last year, we have seen disastrous strains. The senior managers are following political instructions. The Government is holding the reins and it is not working."

A spokesman for the hospital and the PCT insisted that no one was denied urgent treatment, adding: "This is a local issue. It doesn't have national significance."

The Sunday Telegraph has learned of five further minimum-waiting-time directives. In May, Staffordshire Moorlands PCT, which funds services at two hospitals and is more than ?5 million in the red, introduced a 19-week minimum wait for in-patients and 10 weeks for out-patients. A spokesman said: "These were the least worst cuts we could make." In March, Eastbourne Downs PCT, expected to overspend by ?7 million this year, ordered a six-month minimum wait for non-urgent operations. Also in March, it was revealed that Medway PCT, with a deficit of ?12.4 million, brought in a nine-week wait for out-patient appointments and 20 weeks for non-urgent operations.

Doctors are also resigning. One gyn?cologist said that he spent more time doing sudoku puzzles than treating patients because of the measures. Since January, West Hertfordshire NHS Trust, with a deficit of ?41 million, has used a 10-week minimum wait for routine GP referrals to hospital. Watford and Three Rivers PCT, ?13.2 million in the red, has introduced "demand management": no in-patient or day case is admitted before five months.

There is no evidence that in any of these cases, emergency treatment or cancer care was delayed.

Elsewhere, serious financial tensions are emerging between hospitals and the PCTs paying them.

In June, the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust claimed it might have to send patients back to their GPs because of insufficient funding from Bournemouth Teaching PCT. The dispute was resolved, but not before the PCT told the Health Service Journal that it was "disappointed that the Foundation Trust refused to slow the pace of its work. Much of this overperformance could have been avoided."

Sue Slipman, the director of the Foundation Trust Network, which represents all 32 existing foundation trusts and 10 trusts preparing for foundation status, warned of nine similar disputes over funding worth a total of ?28 million.

Michael Dixon, the chairman of the NHS Alliance, representing PCTs, blamed the inflexibility of the Government's Payment by Results system. "PCTs are operating with one arm tied behind their back. Whereas hospitals are able to do more operations, PCTs are unable to negotiate the rate they'll pay for the extra work because it's fixed."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=P8&xml=/health/2006/08/07/nhealth06.xml

buzwardo:
No, that's not a penis pump, Mom. Really
Wed Aug 23, 4:12 PM ET

CHICAGO - Cook County prosecutors say a 29-year-old man traveling with his mother desperately didn't want her to know he'd packed a sexual aid for their trip to Turkey. So he told security it was a bomb, officials said.

Madin Azad Amin was stopped by officials on Aug. 16 after guards found an object in his baggage that resembled a grenade, prosecutors said.

When officers asked him to identify it, Amin said it was a bomb, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto.

He later told officials he'd lied about the item because his mother was nearby and he didn't want her to hear that it was part of a penis pump, Scaduto said.

He's been charged with felony disorderly conduct, said Andrew Conklin, a spokesman with the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Amin faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

buzwardo:
The Times   September 20, 2006

Animal activists free 15,000 farmed fish to their deaths
By Valerie Elliott, Countryside Editor

POLICE have warned fish farmers to increase their security after 15,000 halibut were released from their cages in an attack believed to have been carried out by animal rights activists.

Thousands of dead fish are being washed up along the west coast of Scotland after the raid at Kames Marine Fish Farm, near Oban. The perpetrators are thought to have attacked last week. Detectives believe that the attack could be linked to a spate of other farm attacks throughout the country. The letters ALF (Animal Liberation Front) were spray-painted near by.

The loss is estimated to have cost the fish farm at least ?500,000 as boats, cranes and offices were also vandalised. The halibut died from starvation or getting caught in seaweed. They were also being eaten by herring gulls and otters.

The fish farmer, who did not wish to be identified, said: ?They claim they liberated them into the sea but sadly, as we all know, farmed animals, whether they are fish or any animals, don?t survive unless they are looked after.

The fish farmer added: ?We farm them in a sustainable way. The welfare of the fish is at the forefront of our minds. Isn?t it better to have farmed fish than to be pillaging the seas where stocks are declining dramatically??

Fish farms in Scotland, Kent and the South West have been attacked in the past year.

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