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Same-sex marriage and the new YouTube debate
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2010/01/12 09:36
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pCalifornia's gay-marriage ban is again being tested as a high-profile federal-court case opened in the state Monday and immediately drew a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court./ppThe high court temporarily blocked the Internet broadcast of the trial, the first serious challenge in federal court to a state law against same-sex marriage./ppThe main issue in the case, being heard in U.S. District Court, is whether a 2008 voter initiative dubbed Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution by creating a law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation. Defenders of Proposition 8 say it validly defined marriage in traditional terms by restricting marriage to people who could have children naturally./ppWhatever the outcome in Chief Judge Vaughn Walker's courtroom, the case will likely be appealed, eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. Five states currently permit same-sex marriage, either by statute or under their state constitutions.
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Killer adds electrolysis to sex-change lawsuit
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2009/12/07 11:19
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| A convicted killer seeking a state-funded sex-change operation hasadded a demand for electrolysis treatments to her lawsuit against stateprison officials.pA federal judge has twice rejected Michelle Kosilek’s request forelectrolysis, finding that she had not shown a “serious medical need”for the hair removal treatments./ppKosilek’s lawyers filed an amended lawsuit Friday, asking thatprison officials be required to follow recommendations for electrolysisby several doctors. Kosilek is also asking for an independentevaluation by a specialist in gender-identity disorder./ppKosilek was named Robert when convicted of killing his wife, Cheryl,in 1990. Kosilek has undergone hormone therapy and seven electrolysistreatments, and dresses as a woman in an all-male state prison./ppState prison officials oppose sex-change surgery, saying it would create security problems./pdiv style=border: 0px none ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 126px; left: 519px; line-height: normal; background-color: transparent; z-index: 99999; width: 70px; height: 46px; visibility: hidden id=rank_jit_com_maindiv style=visibility: inherit;table style=border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color rgb(224, 224, 224) rgb(224, 224, 224) -moz-use-text-color; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0px; width: 70px; height: 36px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Lucida Grande,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; z-index: 200000; border-collapse: separate; visibility: inherit cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0tbodytr style=background-color: transparenttd style=border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color rgb(224, 224, 224); border-width: 0px 0px 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; height: 16px; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; visibility: inherit;div style=border: 0pt none ; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; background-color: transparent /div/tdtd style=border-style: solid none solid solid; border-color: rgb(224, 224, 224) -moz-use-text-color rgb(224, 224, 224) rgb(224, 224, 224); border-width: 1px 0px 1px 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 20px; height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; background-color: white; visibility: inherit colspan=2 align=centerimg id=rank_jit_pin style=border: 0px none ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline; cursor: pointer; width: 16px; height: 16px; vertical-align: bottom; visibility: inherit; background-color: transparent; src=http://www.rankjit.com/extension/img/pin.gif/td/trtr style=border-style: solid none none; border-color: rgb(224, 224, 224) -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: white; visibility: inherittd style=border-style: none none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color rgb(224, 224, 224); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Lucida Grande,sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 9px; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; height: 10px; background-color: white; visibility: inherit; align=centerPage rank/tdtd style=border-style: none none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color rgb(224, 224, 224); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Lucida Grande,sans-serif; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; background-color: white; border-spacing: 1px; font-size: 14px; width: 20px; height: 20px; color: white; visibility: inherit rowspan=2 align=center valign=middlediv style=border: 0px none ; margin: 1px; padding: 0px; width: 20px; height: 20px; background-color: rgb(132, 132, 132); visibility: inherit;div id=rank_jit_resultContainer style=border: 0px none ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; width: 20px; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: middle; color: white; visibility: inherit; text-align: center5/div/div/td/trtrtd style=border-style: none none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color rgb(224, 224, 224); border-width: 0px 0px 0px 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; height: 10px; vertical-align: middle; background-color: white; visibility: inherit align=centerdiv style=border: 1px solid rgb(224, 224, 224); margin: 0px 0px 1px 1px; padding: 0px; width: 38px; height: 4px; visibility: inherit;div id=rank_jit_gradientContainer style=border: 0px none ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 19px; height: 4px; float: left; background-color: rgb(0, 153, 51); visibility: inherit/div/div/td/tr/tbody/table/divdiv style=border: 0pt none ; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; overflow: hidden; z-index: 9999; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; font-family: trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; float: none; position: absolute; left: auto; top: 39.5px; line-height: normal; background-color: transparent; visibility: inherit; width: 10px; height: 10px; right: 50pximg style=border: 0pt none ; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; font-family: trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; float: none; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; line-height: normal; background-color: transparent; visibility: inherit; z-index: 99999; src=http://www.rankjit.com/extension/img/pointer.gif/div/div |
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Madoff's yacht, 2 smaller boats on auction block
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2009/11/16 01:46
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| pA vintage 55-foot yacht named Bull and two smaller boats that once belonged to imprisoned financier Bernard Madoff are headed for the auction block, along with an even bigger yacht once owned by Madoff's right-hand man./ppMadoff's 1969 Rybovitch sportfisher, a wooden boat meticulously restored, is the prize offering at Tuesday's private auction. As of Monday, 29 people had put up a $100,000 deposit for the opportunity to bid and more were expected to register, according to the U.S. Marshals Service./ppPeople have heard of it. It's a piece of history, said Bob Toney, president and CEO of National Liquidators, which is handling the auction for the government./ppAlso for sale are Madoff's 38-foot Shelter Island runabout, named Sitting Bull, and a 24-foot Maverick center console named Little Bull. Then there's Madoff's black 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 convertible, which has just 12,800 miles on the odometer, and a 61-foot Viking fishing yacht formerly owned by Madoff's ex-chief financial officer, Frank DiPascali./ppTogether, the vessels and car could fetch several million dollars, but officials don't want to put a price tag on any particular item before the auction. Madoff's notoriety could also boost the final sales prices, said Jennifer Crane of the Marshals' asset forfeiture division./p |
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Lawsuit Alleges KFC Causes Cancer, Customers Shrug
Topics |
2009/10/26 09:37
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A national doctors group filed suit against KFC last month in San Francisco, alleging that the fast food chain’s new grilled chicken product contains carcinogens and should be required to come with a warning.
“This is an issue of alerting the public to the danger,” said Dan Kinburn, general counsel for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “We’re not suing for damages. We’re suing for warning labels. We want people to know about this risk.”
An advertisement for KFC's grilled chicken inside the Mission restaurant.
An advertisement for KFC's grilled chicken inside the Mission restaurant.
The group collected 12 samples of chicken from six KFC locations in the Bay Area. Analysis from an independent testing lab found all the samples contained PhIP, a chemical classified as a carcinogen by the federal government and the state of California.
KFC advertises its grilled chicken as a “better-for-you option for health-conscious customers,” according to its web site.
Unaware of the lawsuit, customers streamed into KFC/Taco Bell last week at the corner of Duboce Avenue and Guerrero Street in the Mission District. Behind the counter, employees grilled sizzling chicken and sprayed condiments into burritos from what looked like industrial caulking guns.
“I think anyone that eats here already understands that they are eating such unhealthy food that one more carcinogen is sort of a drop in the bucket,” said 24-year-old Nick Namoto, who comes to the restaurant because it’s quick and cheap.
“Is it fair that you poison people with food? Not really. But people are eating here willingly,” he said, “and people that don’t know that they’re eating poison here are idiots.”
While it might be common knowledge that fast food is far from wholesome, the physicians group said they are targeting KFC because the company has been marketing its grilled chicken products as a healthy alternative to its fried foods.
He said the suit hopes to set a precedent by requiring warning labels that will be applied to other products containing PhIP beyond the poultry empire built by Colonel Sanders.
Numerous studies conducted over decades have shown eating PhIP significantly increases the risk of developing various forms of cancer, Kinburn said.
According to California’s Proposition 65, passed in 1986, businesses must warn customers if they are exposing them to chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects.
While the lawsuit targets KFC, Kinburn said PhIP isn’t limited to chicken prepared by the fast food chain. He said the chemical is produced anytime chicken is cooked above 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Whether you do it in a fast food restaurant, in sit-down restaurant, in your own oven or on a barbeque grill, you’re going to get PhIP,” he said. “Actually, all animal flesh cooked hot enough and long enough will create PhIP. That includes shrimp and fish.” |
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