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2007-07-26T11:59:00.001-07:00

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Local Youths Enjoying Sport That Has Been Around 60 Years

Spencer Tolson, right, settles under a deep pass and turns it into a touchdown during the Summer Flag Football Camp at Newtown High School last week. Bryce Mather tries to defend the play, but is a step too late. The camp, in four sessions, was run by Newtown High School guidance counselor Jeffrey Tolson and sponsored by the Newtown Parks and Recreation Department. - Bee Photo, Harmon Local Youths Enjoying Sport That Has Been Around 60 Years

By Kim J. Harmon

A couple of dozen kids have been running around and having a lot of fun for the past few weeks on the upper field at Newtown High School, engaged in a sport - flag football - that has roots going back almost 180 years.

The game of football has been around in some fashion since sophomores at Harvard University challenged the freshmen to a game of "ball" back on the first Monday of the academic year in 1829.

That first game was very unorganized as dozens of young men - there were no limitations on how many could be on the field - did little more than kick around an inflated pig's bladder (hence the word, pigskin ) and beat each other up.

The game became an annual tradition, but it was so violent that the day became known as "Bloody Monday" and that Harvard eventually banned the game altogether.

Tackle football remained - and always will remain - a brutal contact sport.

Which makes flag football such an enjoyable offshoot.

Apparently, flag football was developed on military bases back in the 1940s as a form of safe, injury-free recreation for the personnel. Fort Meade in Maryland has been credited as being the site of the first recorded instance of a flag football game.

The game is similar in concept to tackle football except that, instead of tackling players (which is a personal foul), the defensive team has to remove the flag or flag belt from the player holding the football.

Flag football is generally accepted as a non-contact sport, but - of course - those blocking for the quarterback or runner invariably are involved in some contact. While the game is common in middle school and high school gyms across the country, flag football is now a state-sanctioned high school sport in Florida and offers its own state championship.

There is actually a United States Flag Football Association, which offers a basic set of rules and guidelines that govern the side of the field, the size of the goal posts, the number of officials, the equipment (i.e., ball), number of players on the field, substitutions, length of the game, and the various infractions within the game.

But these are just guidelines since there are many different variations of the game chiefly relating to the size of the teams, the size of the field, whether or not everyone is eligible to catch a pass, and whether or not any contact at all is allowed.

There are several national and international competitions every year, according to an entry on Wikipedia, including the World Cup of Flag Football. The United States has won five titles while Canada, Mexico and St. Croix have won one each. Mexico has won six women's championships and the United States has won just one.

The National Football League gets involved, as well, with sponsoring the Youth World Championships for players ages 12 to 13. The championships have been held in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver), Germany, Mexico, Tokyo and China.

A number of different semi-pro and pro leagues have formed over the years, like the United States Flag Touch Football League, the American Flag Touch Football League, the United States Flag Football League and the Professional Flag Football League.

In 1999, the PFFL played the first ever professional flag football travel schedule with teams in Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Indianapolis. While Cleveland had the best overall record, three teams folded before the season ended and Cleveland and Buffalo were unable to get together for the PFFL championship game.

Professionally, it appears flag football will never take off. But it remains a popular sport in middle school and high school gyms across the nation - not to mention a small upper field at a school in Newtown, Connecticut.

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Spectrus

2007-07-26T09:28:00.001-07:00

Spectrus Real Estate Group -- Property Alert

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July 26, 2007

Spectrus Real Estate Group -- Property Alert

Spectrus Real Estate Group (Related) is pleased to offer another quality investment real estate solution. Lifestyle Center (Related) is an approximately 41,622 square foot retail center located in the heart of Shelby Township, one of Michigan’s fastest growing areas. Built in 2005-2006, the Property enjoys tremendous positioning in the city’s main retail corridor and is situated in the thriving Shelby Township with an average household income of more than $79,500 within a three-mile radius. Nearby, there are a number of new condominiums being constructed, as well as a large live/work development to the west of Lifestyle Center. Also in the near distance are a substantial number of high-income housing subdivisions. The property is 93.85% leased.

Property Information

Property Name: Lifestyle Center

Rentable SqFt: ± 41,622.00

Purchase Price: $10,550,000.00

Price per SqFt: $253.47 /sqft

Equity: $4,477,500.00

Loan Amount: $6,072,500.00

Loan-to-Value: 57.56%

Percent Occupied: 93.85%

Type: Single story retail center

To view the rest of our investment real estate solutions, please visit our Property (Related) page. Call 1-866-587-7328 or email (Related) us for more information.

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Paxil

2007-07-20T10:25:00.001-07:00

Paxil Treats 'Compulsive Hoarding'

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Las

2007-07-20T08:31:00.001-07:00

Las Cruces Sun-News - New fitness center offers 24/7 access

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New fitness center offers 24/7 access

By S. Derrickson Moore/Sun-News reporter

Article Launched: 07/18/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

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Theresa Burr, 35, of Las Cruces, works her abdominal muscles Friday on the new equipment at Anytime Fitness, 115 Roadrunner Parkway, Suite 4. Burr is currently a client of the gym, but is training to become a certified personal trainer for the facility.

«1 2 »

This is the 19th in a continuing series profiling area fitness series and programs.

LAS CRUCES Are you in the mood to pump some iron after your 2 a.m. shift? Maybe you wish you could hit the treadmill after that holiday meal, but your gym is closed.

Now Las Crucens can work out 24/7 any day of the year, including holidays, if they are members of the new Anytime Fitness center.

"I love it here. Now I can come work out anytime. I also like the air conditioning. I just moved here from Florida so I'm more used to that than swamp coolers," said Theresa Burr of Las Cruces.

Those who dropped into the center said they were attracted by the bright new space, modern equipment and "anytime" access.

Manager and owner Lane Correa just opened Anytime Fitness, after doing some extensive research on the Las Cruces area.

"I paid a lot of attention to the details. I wanted to offer a place that was clean and had the best equipment," he said, showing off a group of lockers surfaced with a marble patina, and leading a tour of restrooms, showers and changing areas.

"I have family here, and I knew this was a good area for what I wanted to do. I wanted a place with a nice atmosphere and state-of-the-art machines. People say they

like that, and the fact that it's not too crowded. I plan to set a limit on the number of members," he said.

He reports that he has already signed up more than 170 members, who range in age from a few 16-year-olds (the minimum age with parental permission), to 20-somethings and seniors up to age 70.

"We're getting a lot of professional people, physicians, medical people and we just got six or seven Border Patrol people who like to come here after late shifts," he said.

The center seems to appeal to Baby Boomers who live in the East Mesa area, he said, adding that many new members have told them their homes are within walking distance.

But the national franchise also offers perks for those who travel a lot, with membership privileges in more than 500 centers throughout the United States.

The nearly 5,000-square-foot center has two large workout rooms. Circuit training machines stand ready, along with state-of-the art free weights and a cardio theater with treadmills, elliptical, steppers and both upright and recumbent bikes, all facing a bank of six televisions. Machines also have connections for headsets for those who want to listen to music or other programming

The center even has a lovable mascot, young Labrador-German Shepherd mix, Carley. After Correa asks visitor if they are comfortable with dogs, Carley is ready with a friendly greeting before retreating to the center office.

Correa, who holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Las Vegas and is working on a master's degree in education from New Mexico State University, is also a certified fitness trainer. Eventually, four to five certified fitness trainers may be associated with the center on a contract basis, he said.,

In the meantime, he will offer orientations for new members to show them how to get the most out of the user-friendly equipment.

"Each machine has information posted that shows what area it works, how it works, and step-by-step instructions," he said.

Each new member gets a key card devise that offers 24-hour access to the facilities. The center is also monitored by security cameras around the clock, he said.

Membership fees range from $30 to $50 per month, plus a one time $60 key card fee, with special rates available for families, seniors and corporations. Monthly and longer term contracts are offered.

For information, drop into the center during regular office hours, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, phone 521-1001, e-mail las cruces@anytimefitness.com (Related) or visit online at www.anytimefitness.com

S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com (Related)

If you go

What: Anytime Fitness

Where: 115 Roadrunner Parkway, Suite 4

When: Always open to key card members, office hours 7 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 to noon Saturday

Number of staff members: Manager Lane Correa plus contract trainers

Number of members: 170

How much: $30 to $40 per month plus one-time $60 key card fee

Facilities: Cardio theater, circuit training machines, free weights, showers, lockers, chaining rooms, tanning area, vending machine with juices

Classes: No

Info: 521-1001, www.anytimefitness.com, e-mail lascruces@anytimefitness.com (Related)

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2007-07-20T06:50:00.001-07:00

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20 July 2007

The Brazilian D&B master DJ
Marky (Related) rocks The End. 10pm-6am. West Central St, WC1 (Related) . £13. 08700 600 100 or here (Related) .

The Windmill's Truck Festival continues with riffs from the
electric
guitars of The
Early Years (Related) . 8pm. 22 Blenheim Gardens, SW2 (Related) . £5 online (Related) .

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Night (Related) . 6pm. 3 Marlborough Court, W1, W1 (Related) . Free.

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2007-07-20T05:10:00.001-07:00

Beacon Journal | 07/20/2007 | Travolta not the first man to put on makeup, dress

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Travolta not the first man to put on makeup, dress By Rich Heldenfels

While Hairspray is a delightful movie by any measure, it generated considerably more buzz by putting John Travolta in a dress.

And it wasn't just a costume issue. Travolta plays a woman, Edna Turnblad, following in the gender-bending steps of actors like Divine (in the original, non-musical Hairspray ) and Linda Hunt, who won an Oscar in 1983 for playing a man in The Year of Living Dangerously.

Travolta also fits girdle-tight into a tradition of cross-dressing actors. Some other notable examples:

Dustin Hoffman, Tootsie.

Tom Hanks (and Peter Scolari), Bosom Buddies .

Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, Some Like It Hot.

Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.

Eddie Murphy, Norbit.

Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Ving Rhames, Holiday Heart.

Robin Williams, Mrs. Doubtfire.

Martin Lawrence, Big Momma's House.

By the way, according to www.boxofficemojo.com (Related) , Mrs. Doubtfire is the most successful cross-dressing movie of the last 25 years, taking in more than $219 million in theaters.

-- Rich Heldenfels

Beautyholics

2007-07-20T01:45:00.001-07:00

Beautyholics Anonymous: Fake Makeup on Ebay

Jul 20, 2007

Fake Makeup on Ebay

Fake Makeup on Ebay

Have you ever bought makeup on Ebay?

I haven't. And I'm not about to either. There are so many fakes out there, selling the pieces for a fraction of the real price. An example would be MAC.

MAC's a popular auction item in the makeup section. MAC pigments (Related) are quite a popular selling item too, but more of than not, the tubs of pigments aren't being sold, just a teaspoon (or less) of it, for perhaps RM15. But how do you vouch for their authenticity? Who knows, the seller might just be selling you a low-grade makeup product, claiming it to be genuine. I certainly wouldn't pay RM15 for a quarter of a teaspoon of powder, no matter how fancy the brand is. It's worse if you can't even be 100% certain you're not being played for a patsy.

I came across this article (Related) which shows you the differences between real and fake MAC eyeshadows. It's pretty interesting; the differences are all in the packaging, but they're pretty subtle, so unless you're a huge MAC fan and have purchased every single one of their eyeshadows, you probably wouldn't even notice the difference.

This is not to promote MAC, but just for you to be aware of different fakes out there. I wouldn't recommend buying makeup off Ebay, no matter how cheap it is. It's your skin, your face, and you deserve better. You don't need to have to be big brands on your skin for it to be good. High street products work wonders too, as long as you buy 'em at reputable stores.

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Antidepressants

2007-07-20T00:07:00.001-07:00

Antidepressants outweigh suicide risk for kids: US study AFP - Find Articles

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Antidepressants outweigh suicide risk for kids: US study

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CHICAGO (AFP) — The risk of suicidal behavior in children and teenagers using some of the most popular antidepressants is negligible and US authorities should consider removing mandatory health warnings from the drug packaging, according to a study released Tuesday.

The use of many newer antidepressants in the treatment of children and adolescents has been dogged by controversy for years now, with critics and several studies contending that the drugs actually triggered suicidal impulses and attempts in some vulnerable patients.

In 2004, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated tough "black box" warnings alerting consumers to the potential deadly side effects of the drugs in younger patients.

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And in 2006, the FDA published a review of 24 studies involving 4,400 children and adolescents that showed the drugs carried a twofold increased risk of suicidal behavior, although no suicides were reported.

The furor caused some doctors to shy away ...

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California

2007-07-19T22:27:00.001-07:00

California Mesothelioma Lawyer Johnson Staffing Up to Handle Increase in Cases in State Market Wire - Find Articles

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California Mesothelioma Lawyer Johnson Staffing Up to Handle Increase in Cases in State

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California Mesothelioma lawyer Nick Johnson
of Johnson Law Group, with principal offices in Houston, Texas, announced
today that they have signed more than a dozen new mesothelioma cases
already in 2007. Unlike other law firms practicing mesothelioma cases that
are downsizing, Johnson Law Group is staffing up for a heavier caseload
this year.

"We do not do medical malpractice cases," says Johnson. "We have found a
common ground with doctors and lawyers in the area of mesothelioma. Most
doctors do not realize until after we've met with them how blatantly
negligent the manufacturers of asbestos have been throughout history. This
type of case is so tragic and the blame is so easy to prove. At the same
time, the cost of treatment is obviously astronomical. We believe we're
helping patients not only recover a bit of justice but we're helping to
provide the funds required for treatment through legal recourse."

Asbestos cases are recorded as far back as 1899, according to an abstract
entitled "Curious Bodies" by Dr. H. Montague Murray, a London physician,
who did a post mortem exam on an asbestos factory worker. It is believed
that the asbestos industry has long concealed the research results from
asbestos tests. Those tests proved conclusively the direct link between
asbestos fibers and mesothelioma.

Johnson Law Group is headquartered in Houston, Texas and practices in all
areas of personal injury law and focuses on rollover/car accidents
mesothelioma lung cancer, PPH/Fen Phen, Paxil pharmaceutical cases, and
nursing home abuse in more than 20 U.S. states and Mexico. More information
can be found at www.johnsonlawgroup.com

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Susan Neuhalfen
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Bellaire, TX 77401

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Suicide

2007-07-19T21:01:00.001-07:00

Suicide Attempts Fall After Depression Treatment Begins HealthDay - Find Articles

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Suicide Attempts Fall After Depression Treatment Begins

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Suicide attempts dropped among people with depression soon after they started treatment, either with antidepressant drugs or psychotherapy, a study of more than 109,000 patients shows.

The study results come after a controversial 2004 recommendation on antidepressant labeling from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That move slapped a strong "black box" warning on the labeling of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which include Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft.

The warning outlined the potential for an increase in suicidal thoughts among teenagers and young adults prescribed the medications. The warning also urged closer clinical monitoring of these patients.

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However, "the FDA warning was based on placebo-controlled trials," noted lead researcher Dr. Greg Simon, a psychiatrist and researcher at Group Health, a Seattle-based nonprofit health care system. "They did not look at suicide attempts, because they were too rare. In the whole group of studies the ...

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WebKnowHow Press : Pegasus Technologies And CRYPTOCard Help Healthcare Organizations Achieve HIPAA Compliance

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WHDH-TV

2007-07-19T08:46:00.001-07:00

WHDH-TV - World News - Suicide attacks in north and south of Pakistan kill 36 people

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Suicide attacks in north and south of Pakistan kill 36 people

KARACHI, Pakistan -- Suicide bombers hit a convoy of Chinese workers in southern Pakistan and a police academy in the north, killing 36 people and wounding 54 in the latest violence in the week since the army stormed a mosque held by Islamic extremists.

The convoy was passing though the main bazaar in Hub, a town in Baluchistan province near the port city of Karachi, when a moving car blew up next to a police vehicle, officials said.

Hub Police Chief Ghulam Mohammed Thaib said 29 people were killed, including seven police. About 30 other people were wounded, some critically.

"It was laden with very heavy explosives but due to our spacing and our security measures, Allah has been very kind," said Maj. Gen. Saleem Nawaz, a commander of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Constabulary.

The police "sacrificed their lives and the Chinese friends were absolutely safe," Nawaz said on Dawn News television.

The Chinese citizens worked at a lead extraction plant in Dudhar in Baluchistan and were temporarily leaving the area for Karachi due to security concerns, police said.

Some officials suggested the bomb was remote-controlled. But Thaib and Nawaz, whose men also were guarding the minibus carrying some 10 Chinese technicians and engineers, said it was a suicide attack.

Television reports showed how the blast ripped off the front of several roadside shops. Several damaged cars and buses lay rammed into one another among a tangle of bricks and clothing.

In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to telephone and fax requests for comment.

In the northwest, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives when guards prevented him from entering the parade ground of the police academy in Hangu, 45 miles southwest of Peshawar.

The bomber killed six bystanders and one policeman, and another 24 people were wounded, academy chief Attaullah Wazir said.

Suicide attacks, bombings and shootings blamed on Islamic extremists and a bloody army siege of radicals in Islamabad's Red Mosque have killed about 270 people in Pakistan so far this month, stirring doubts about the country's stability.

Much of the recent violence has been in North West Frontier Province, especially the region of North Waziristan, where pro-Taliban militants last weekend declared the end of a 10-month-old peace deal. The government has since been trying to revive it.

On Thursday, 30 elders from several tribal regions in the northwest traveled to North Waziristan in the latest government-backed effort to persuade militants to reverse their decision.

"Our urgent demand is that there should be a cease-fire so that we can find a peaceful solution to this problem in a peaceful atmosphere according to tribal traditions," said the group's leader, Malik Waris Khan Afridi.

On Wednesday, militants bombed and strafed an army convoy near Miran Shah, North Waziristan's main town, killing 17 troops. At least eight militants died in clashes with security forces in the area.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf insists the accord -- under which the military scaled back its operations in the U.S.-led war on terror in return for pledges from tribal leaders to contain militancy -- offers the best long-term hope of pacifying the region.

Intelligence analysts in Washington say the pact has given al-Qaida new opportunities to strengthen their operations in Pakistan, Afghanistan and beyond.

Pakistan said this assessment lacks substance.

"It does not help simply to make assertions about the presence or regeneration of al-Qaida in bordering areas of Pakistan. What is needed is concrete and actionable information and intelligence sharing," the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Musharraf on Wednesday urged moderate Pakistanis -- many of whom are pressing him to resign and restore civilian rule -- to help him take on extremists.

Adding to the tension, a suicide bomber on Tuesday killed 16 people at a rally for Pakistan's suspended chief justice, whose legal battle with Musharraf has galvanized opposition to military rule. A verdict in the case is expected as early as Friday.

Critics accuse Musharraf of leading Pakistan toward civil war and using the crisis to shore up U.S. support for his eight-year-old military regime. There is growing concern that year-end elections will be postponed. However, Musharraf insisted Wednesday the ballot would go ahead.

The Hub attack follows the July 8 slaying of three Chinese men in a rickshaw workshop in Peshawar, which drew a protests from Beijing, a key ally of Pakistan, and a pledge from Islamabad to protect some 2,000 to 3,000 Chinese nationals here.

Officials have suggested the Peshawar attack was linked to the then-ongoing army operation against Islamabad's Red Mosque. Troops moved in after Islamic radicals from the mosque kidnapped several Chinese women they accused of being prostitutes.

However, ethnic Baluch insurgents have been blamed for at least two past attacks on Chinese nationals.

"These anti-state elements were also involved in the previous attacks against Chinese citizens," Baluchistan Interior Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani said.

China is helping build a deepwater port in Gwadar near the Iranian border that Baluch nationalists view as a symbol of the resource-rich but impoverished province's exploitation.

contributed to this report.

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2007-07-18T23:08:00.001-07:00

Max Re slashes hedge fund allocation after $31 mln loss

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Max Re Capital slashed the amount of money it's willing to invest in hedge funds after the Bermuda-based reinsurer's alternative investment portfolio lost $31 million during the third quarter.

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Alleged

2007-07-18T21:04:00.001-07:00

Alleged American rapist challenges U.S. extradition request - MSN-Mainichi Daily News

July 19, 2007

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Alleged American rapist challenges U.S. extradition request

HONG KONG -- An American man accused of raping his daughter and posting videos of the abuse online has challenged a U.S. request to extradite him from Hong Kong, his lawyer said Thursday.

Kenneth John Freeman, who fled to China and was arrested while traveling to Hong Kong, will fight extradition to his home country, lawyer Giles Surman said.

Freeman attended a brief court proceeding in Hong Kong Thursday that scheduled the hearing for his challenge for Sept. 10. Wearing a white dress shirt and black pants, Freeman was handcuffed and chained around his waist. He did not speak.

Surman said the hearing on Sept. 10 will take a day but that the judge may not issue a decision on the extradition the same day.

"The judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to order his surrender to the U.S.," Hong Kong government lawyer Wayne Walsh said.

Freeman has been charged in Benton County Superior Court in Washington state with three counts of child rape and jumping bail. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted.

He also faces federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography.

The 44-year-old bodybuilder, who used to be a volunteer reserve sheriff's deputy, had been on the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's most-wanted list.

Freeman fled his home in Seattle last year after his 17-year-old daughter told her mother that he had assaulted her four years earlier.

The teenager also went on national television to tell her story, which helped identify her as the victim in a series of child pornography videos on the Internet, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Freeman flew from Vancouver, Canada, to Hong Kong in March 2006, then to China, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Chinese authorities helped track down Freeman in the eastern city of Suzhou near Shanghai, where he is believed to have been working as a computer adviser for a U.S.-based company.

Hong Kong authorities arrested Freeman in May at the border with mainland China.

Authorities waited to arrest Freeman in Hong Kong because mainland China does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

Hong Kong is part of China, but is governed separately and has its own legal system. (AP)

July 19, 2007

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SANCHEZ:

2007-07-18T19:17:00.001-07:00

SANCHEZ: IMMIGRATION QUANDARY CAN'T BE REDUCED TO 'RULE OF LAW' Kansas City Star, The - Find Articles

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In the war of words the immigration reform debate has degenerated into lately, a few terms have taken on lightning-bolt authority -- a kind of "we know which side you are on" usage.

Do you say "illegal alien" or "undocumented worker"? "Path to earned citizenship" or "amnesty"? A favorite phrase, increasingly heard in dialogues both heated and mild, is "rule of law." Now, this principle has an important place historically in legal and political theory, but you wouldn't know it listening to the patriots fulminating against illegal immigrants. To them, "rule of law" is a way simply to call out anyone who sees shades of gray in the immigration issue. Those who invoke the term are beholden to a hard and fast view that one group is entirely good -- legal immigrants -- and another is entirely bad -- illegal immigrants.

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Anxious

2007-07-18T16:57:00.001-07:00

Anxious wait for families of nurses still jailed in Libya - Independent Online Edition > Europe

Anxious wait for families of nurses still jailed in Libya

By Claire Soares

Published: 19 July 2007

The families of five Bulgarian nurses convicted of infecting hundreds of children at a Libyan hospital with HIV are waiting anxiously to discover whether the women are given permission to return home, ending their eight-year ordeal.

On Tuesday, the nurses, and a Palestinian doctor, had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment after a marathon diplomatic effort secured a deal in Tripoli.

Family members - who range from a seven-year-old girl who has yet to meet her grandmother to an ailing father who suffered a stroke during the trial and doesn't know if he will live long enough to see his daughter free - all are waiting for news.

Zdravko Georgiev is married to Kristiana Valcheva, the nurse who was claimed by Libyan prosecutors to have played a lead role in the HIV epidemic, after they allegedly uncovered bags of infected blood at her house. His relief at the commuting of the sentences was tempered by anxiety that his wife remains in prison. "Thank God the death sentences were dropped," he said in a radio interview from Tripoli. "But I cannot make any forecast how long the upcoming procedures will last."

Libya's highest legal body may have spared the medics from a firing squad, but the behind-the-scenes diplomacy continued frantically in an effort to get them home. "I am calling for calmness and a little bit more patience," Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Sergei Stanishev, told reporters. "We are taking all steps to bring this case to an end as soon as possible and see our compatriots very soon on Bulgarian soil."

The family of each infected child received a $1m (£500,000) compensation payment last week to persuade them to drop their demands for the death penalty. Bulgaria also said it was considering contributing to an international fund for humanitarian aid to Libya

Another factor that may help the medics is that Muammar Gaddafi's efforts to end his country's isolation, begun in 2003 when he scrapped a nuclear weapons programme, would be damaged if they stay in jail.

The US State Department urged the Libyan government to "now find a way to allow the medics to return home", and the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has offered to visit Colonel Gaddafi, if it would help speed the medics' release.

One of the nurses, Valentina Siropoulo, went to work in Libya to earn the money to pay for her child to study at university. In 1998 she started work at the Al-Fateh Paediatric Hospital in Benghazi. She has spent eight years in a prison in Tripoli where she was beaten and tortured with electric shocks that paralysed part of her face and left her unable to talk for months.

She and the other medics are accused of infecting 460 children with HIV, 56 of whom have died. All six accused say they are innocent and that their confessions were extracted under torture - ranging from having cigarettes stubbed out on their bodies to being sodomised with a broom handle. Experts and scientific reports have said that the children were contaminated as a result of unhygienic conditions at the hospital, and that the infections started before most of the foreign hospital staff arrived.

"My soul is incurably ill," Ms Siropoulo told her family. "[But] the belief in good and truth, in the fact that you exist, that there is someone thinking about me, that I want very much to see you, gives me strength to fight the evil and to continue to live."

The case

February 1999

Nineteen Bulgarian medical workers arrested at children's hospital in Benghazi after an outbreak of HIV/Aids. Thirteen are later freed.

February 2000

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor go on trial on charges of deliberately infecting hundreds of children at the hospital with HIV-contaminated blood.

Summer 2000

They complain of being tortured into signing confessions which they could not read. All plead not guilty.

September 2003

French doctor testifies epidemic probably caused by poor hygiene before the accused began work.

May 2004

Libya sentences the six to death.

May 2005

The Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov visits Libya.

December 2005

Fund set up for children's families.

11 July 2007

Death sentence is upheld.

17 July 2007

Death penalties commuted.

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2007-07-18T09:58:00.001-07:00

Bulgaria to Request Medics' Transfer
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Bulgaria to Request Medics' Transfer

By VESELIN TOSHKOV

Associated Press Writer

SOFIA, Bulgaria

Last Updated:July 18. 2007 10:46AM

Published: July 18. 2007 10:46AM

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Bulgaria pressed Wednesday for the repatriation of five of its nurses and a Palestinian doctor jailed in Libya after their death sentences were commuted to life in prison.

"For us, the case will be closed only after the medics return to Bulgarian soil, and we are working for it to happen as soon as possible," Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev told reporters.

Prosecutor General Boris Velchev said an official transfer request would be sent to Tripoli later in the day.

Libya accused the six of deliberately infecting more than 400 Libyan children with HIV. The medics, jailed since 1999, deny infecting the children and say their confessions were extracted under torture. Their death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment late Tuesday.

Experts and outside scientific reports said the children were contaminated by unhygienic conditions at a hospital in the northeastern coastal city of Benghazi. Fifty of the infected children died.

Velchev said the request to Tripoli was based on a 1984 agreement between the two countries that would allow the medical workers to serve their sentences in Bulgaria. Last month, Bulgaria granted citizenship to the Palestinian doctor.

"It is possible that Libya will reject a transfer, but this agreement allows us to make a second request," Velchev said. He did not give a timeframe of when the medics might return home.

The medics' main Libyan defense lawyer, Osman al-Bizant, told broadcaster Al-Jazeera that their deportation depended on whether their punishment would be enforced in Bulgaria.

Another defense lawyer, Harry Haralampiev, said that under Bulgarian law, it was possible for the six to receive a presidential pardon. But President Georgi Parvanov refused to say if the issue was being considered, telling reporters that such discussions were "not helpful."

Tuesday's ruling came after the children's families each received $1 million, according to a victims' advocate, and agreed to drop their demand for executions.

Libya remains under intense international pressure to free the six, and Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam said Tripoli would consider their deportation to Bulgaria. He said negotiations would take place within "the legal framework and political context" between the two countries.

"In return (for a transfer), improving the conditions of the infected children and their families should be taken into account," Shalqam told The Associated Press.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin called the Supreme Judiciary Council's ruling "a huge step in the right direction."

Asked whether it was possible the medics would be pardoned after returning home, Kalfin said: "All judicial options are real."

The United States and European Union welcomed the commutation, which could remove an obstacle toward rebuilding ties with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

Portugal, which holds the EU's presidency, said it hoped the medics would return to Bulgaria soon.

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner was slated to visit Paris on Thursday to discuss the issue with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, said EU spokeswoman Christiane Hohmann.

In another sign that Libya was working to rebuild its international standing, Gadhafi invited French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit, Elysee Palace spokesman David Martinon said. Sarkozy, who made freeing the medical workers a campaign promise before his May election, has been keen to help them. In a surprise visit last week, French first lady Cecilia Sarkozy met with Gadhafi, the nurses and young HIV-positive Libyans.

In a separate court case in Tripoli, the six medics were found not guilty Wednesday of defaming a police officer whom they had accused of torture when they gave testimony in their trial.

Libya's South Tripoli Court of First Instance did not explain the ruling. The nurses and the Palestinian doctor did not appear in court.

In May, the same court dropped similar charges that had been filed by two Libyans, police officer Jumaa al-Mishri and a doctor, Abdul-Majid al-Shoul, who demanded about $4 million in compensation.

Wednesday's case had been filed by police officer Saleem Ahmed Saleem, who claimed a similar amount in compensation. The medics had denied that they defamed anyone.

During their retrial last year in the HIV case, they said their confessions had been extracted under torture, and named al-Mishri, al-Shoul and Saleem as the culprits.

Bulgaria also seeks the return of Zdravko Georgiev, a husband of a jailed nurse and a co-defendant. He was released two years ago after serving his sentence, but was not allowed to leave Libya.

"Thank God the death sentences were dropped," Georgiev said in a radio interview from Tripoli.

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