Ancient Egyptian city unearthed in Sinai

28 May 2008

By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed 3,000-year-old remains from an ancient fortified city, the largest yet found in Egypt, antiquities authorities announced Wednesday.

Among the discoveries at the site was a relief of King Thutmose II (1516-1504 B.C.), thought to be the first such royal monument discovered in Sinai, said Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. It indicates that Thutmose II may have built a fort near the ancient city, located about two miles northeast of present day Qantara and known historically as Tharu.

A 550-by-275-yard mud brick fort with several 13-foot-high towers dating to King Ramses II (1304-1237 B.C.) was unearthed in the same area, he said.

Hawass said early studies suggested the fort had been Egypt's military headquarters from the New Kingdom (1569-1081 B.C.) until the Ptolemaic era, a period of about 1500 years.

The ancient military road, known as "Way of Horus," once connected Egypt to Palestine and is close to present-day Rafah, which borders the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Archaeologist Mohammed Abdel-Maqsoud, chief of the excavation team, said the discovery was part of a joint project with the Culture Ministry that started in 1986 to find fortresses along that military road.

Abdel-Maqsoud said the mission also located the first ever New Kingdom temple to be found in northern Sinai, which earlier studies indicated was built on top of an 18th Dynasty fort (1569-1315 B.C.).

A collection of reliefs belonging to King Ramses II and King Seti I (1314-1304 B.C.) were also unearthed with rows of warehouses used by the ancient Egyptian army during the New Kingdom era to store wheat and weapons, he said.

Abdel-Maqsoud said the new discoveries corresponded to the inscriptions of the Way of Horus found on the walls of the Karnak Temple in Luxor which illustrated the features of 11 military fortresses that protected Egypt's eastern borders. Only five of them have been discovered to date.

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May 26, 2008

BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. (AP) -- One young shopper at a Wal-Mart in West Virginia had to watch out for more than falling prices.

A 12-year-old girl picking up a seedless watermelon from a bin was stung Sunday by a tan, inch-long scorpion that had apparently stowed away in a shipment from Mexico.

Megan Templeton, of Barboursville, was taken to the hospital as a precaution but later released. Her father, William Templeton, said the pain was a little worse than a bee sting.

He initially didn't believe his daughter when she said she had been stung by a scorpion, but then he saw the critter scurry underneath a box. It was captured by Wal-Mart employees.

Most of the nearly 2,000 kinds of scorpions are not dangerous to humans.

Richard Coyle, senior director of international affairs for Wal-Mart, said store employees believe the problem was with a single shipment of watermelons.

"We are very concerned," he said. "This is a very rare incident. When I spoke with the store manager, she said in her 17 years she had never heard of something like this."

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May 26, 2008

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) -- A police officer investigating an apparent break-in at a Kalamazoo business instead nabbed a dead 10-pound turkey, police said.

Officer Paula Hensell was conducting checks on local businesses Sunday morning when she noticed that a business's front window had been shattered, the police department said in a statement.

Hensell entered the store assuming a burglar was still inside, but instead found a wild turkey lying dead on a table.

Police said the turkey apparently died after flying through the window.

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By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
Associated Press Writer
May 23, 2008

McALLEN, Texas (AP) -- During three years in the low minors, John Odom never really made a name for himself until he got traded for a bunch of bats.

"I don't really care," he said Friday. "It'll make a better story if I make it to the big leagues."

For now, Odom is headed to the Laredo Broncos of the United League. They got him Tuesday from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League for a most unlikely price: 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, double-dipped black, 34-inch, C243 style.

"They just wanted some bats, good bats - maple bats," Broncos general manager Jose Melendez said.

According to the Prairie Sticks Web site, their maple bats retail for $69 each, discounted to $65.50 for purchases of six to 11 bats.

The Canadian team signed Odom about a month ago, but couldn't get the 26-year-old righty into the country. It seems Odom had a "minor" but unspecified criminal record that wasn't revealed to immigration officials before they scanned his passport, Vipers president Peter Young said.

Odom said the charge stemmed from a fight when he was 17. Although he thought it had been expunged from his record, it popped up during immigration.

Originally from Atlanta, Odom was drafted late by the San Francisco Giants in 2003. He pitched 38 games in Class A from 2004-06 and was released by the organization this spring.

The bat trade wasn't the first time Calgary came up with some creative dealmaking. The Vipers once tried to acquire a pitcher for 1,500 blue seats when they were renovating their stadium, Young said.

Classy joint, th' Calgary vipers.

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By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press Writer
May 26, 2008

TOKYO (AP) -- A money-losing Japanese train company has found the purr-fect pet mascot to draw crowds and bring back business - [calico] Tama.


All the 9-year-old female cat does is sit by the entrance of Kishi Station in western Japan, wearing a black uniform cap and posing for photos for the tourists who are now flocking in droves from across the nation.

Tama has been doing such a good job of raising revenue for the troubled Kishikawa train line that she was recently promoted to "super-station-master."

"She never complains, even though passengers touch her all over the place. She is an amazing cat. She has patience and charisma," Wakayama Electric Railway Co. spokeswoman Yoshiko Yamaki told The Associated Press Monday. "She is the perfect station master."

Appointing a cat to turn around fortunes makes cultural sense in Japan, where cats are considered good luck and are believed to bring in business.

People are snatching up novelty goods - postcards, erasers, notebooks and pins - decorated with Tama's photos. There's even a special 1,365 yen ($13) book of photos of Tama called, "Diary of Tama, the Station Master."

Tama had been on the brink of losing her place to live, with the nearby store where she was raised being torn down. Now, the station is home.

Kishi Station started running without any workers in April 2006 as part of cost cuts.

The Kishikawa line had been losing 500 million yen ($4.9 million) a year as passenger numbers fell steadily to as low as about 5,000 a day, or some 1.9 million a year.

After Tama's appointment last year passengers have been gradually returning, recently rising 10 percent to about 2.1 million a year.

In December Tama was rewarded with bonus pay - all in cat food.

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May 26, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) -- A man who was carrying a rusted pirate-style sword through Macy's flagship store in Manhattan is facing charges of criminal possession of a weapon.

Police say 29-year-old Lawrence Jackson was brandishing the curved sword while visiting Macy's Herald Square store Sunday with his girlfriend.

He told police he was carrying the sword because he is a member of a kickball team whose players often wear pirate-themed costumes. He maintains he was on his way to a game when he was arrested.

Shiver me timbers, mateys! What an ARRRRRsehole!

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May 26, 2008

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Australian fishermen have hauled up a 20-foot-long giant squid off the country's southeastern coast.

Skipper Rangi Pene said Monday that the 500-pound squid was already dead when it was caught in a trawler's nets Sunday night in waters more than 1,640 feet deep.

Paul McCoy, a fisheries research biologist, said it took 10 men to lift the squid onto a stretcher and place it in a storage freezer in the city of Portland. A museum will collect it this week.

McCoy said an analysis by the museum would determine the type of squid, its age and possibly how it died.

Iä! Iä! etc.

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22 May 2008

BERLIN (AP) -- A herd of wild boars has thwarted a suspected car thief's getaway in northern Germany.

Police in Schwerin say the 18-year-old abandoned a stolen SUV he was driving Thursday after failing to shake off a chasing patrol car by driving into a field.

Police nabbed his passenger immediately. But they say the driver initially got away by running into nearby woods.

Officers then heard the fugitive shouting for help - he had run into a herd of angry wild boars that were keen to protect their young.

Police freed the man from the boars and took him into custody.  

Wild boars are a common sight in forested areas of northern Germany. They often make themselves at home in residential neighborhoods, too, uprooting gardens and annoying homeowners.

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By Zachary Gorchow and Ben Schmitt
Free Press Staff Writers
May 21, 2008

Gov. Jennifer Granholm responded quickly today to the Detroit City Council’s request that she remove Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office, by sending a letter to Kilpatrick and the council asking them to name their legal representatives.

In a one-page letter faxed and mailed to Kilpatrick and Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. — one day after the council submitted its request to her office — Granholm made the request that they name “counsel or a representative to speak for you in this matter.

“I ask that this designation be made quickly, as soon as today, if possible,” she said.

Granholm press secretary Liz Boyd said the governor’s office is simply beginning review of the council’s request.

“We are asking the respective parties to identify representatives we can work with so we can begin our review of that request,” she said.

In the letter, first reported at freep.com this afternoon, Granholm said she wanted each side to name legal representatives because the process is like a trial and she would be “functioning in a manner similar to that of a judicial officer.”  

The first step in the process is for Granholm and the Department of Attorney General to determine whether the council’s request meets proper protocols and asserts charges that on their face constitute official misconduct.

Granholm’s letter does not address whether those thresholds have been met. Rusty Hills, spokesman for Attorney General Mike Cox, declined to comment.

If the thresholds are met, the next step would be to schedule a hearing where Kilpatrick would have the opportunity to defend himself. The hearing would function like a trial with each side having the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses.

If the governor decides sufficient evidence was submitted showing Kilpatrick is guilty of official misconduct, she must remove him from office.

The statute governing the process provides no timetable for each step.

The council voted 5-4 last week to ask Granholm to remove Kilpatrick from office for his handling of an $8.4-million whistle-blower settlement with three former cops.

Kilpatrick did not tell the council about a secret deal he struck with the cops to settle the case in exchange for having their attorney, Mike Stefani, turn over text messages Stefani obtained showing that Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty lied under oath at the trial.

Kilpatrick and Beatty have been charged with perjury, obstruction of justice, misconduct in office and conspiracy. Beatty resigned Jan. 28.

The council has charged Kilpatrick with violating the city charter’s prohibition on the use of public office for private gain, failure to disclose the entire settlement agreement to it and the spending of public money while violating the charter.

Detroit attorney James Thomas, a member of Kilpatrick’s legal team, said this evening that he will disclose which attorneys will be handling the matter Thursday.

The council’s independent attorney, Bill Goodman, served Thomas with notice of the charges filed against Kilpatrick.

As for the governor’s demand for immediacy, Thomas said: “I think she’s going to consider what her options are and she’s going to make a decision. She can act or let the legal process work its way through. I’ve known her for years, and I’ve supported her and I think that she’ll do the right thing.”

Jim Parkman, another Kilpatrick lawyer, said Thomas would most likely handle the matter.

Parkman said he’s not concerned that Granholm asked for the information immediately.

“The only thing I know is that she just got out of surgery,” he said. “I guess she’s feeling better, and she wants to get going on it. I wouldn’t think it would be anything strange for her to ask for it right away.”

Granholm underwent surgery last month to repair a blocked intestine.

Goodman, who delivered the removal request to Granholm’s office, said Cockrel sent a letter to Granholm on today notifying her that Goodman would be his representative. Messages left with Cockrel this evening were not immediately returned.

Goodman said he was heartened by Granholm’s quick response.

“It certainly appears as though she’s serious about it,” he said.

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May 20, 2008
by James Mackenzie

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona said on Tuesday he would be prepared to cut off the hand that scored one of his most famous goals for a sight of film star Julia Roberts.

Maradona, in Cannes to promote a new documentary about his life by Serbian film director Emir Kusturica, appeared bewitched by the star of "Pretty Woman".

"I would do anything to see her coming along here, along the Croisette," he said, through a translator.

"I'd like to be able to walk along behind her and I'd be able to cut off my hand for that, even the hand with which I scored against England."

"I'd be able to cut off my hand if I could see Julia Roberts," he said.

Maradona, acclaimed as one of the best players the game has ever seen, beat England goalkeeper Peter Shilton by knocking in the ball with his hand during the quarter final of the 1986 World Cup that Argentina eventually won.

After the match, Maradona famously refused to admit that he had scored with his hand, saying that the goal was scored with "the Hand of God."

Remember, girls and boys - thinking with your crotch instead of your brain can make you do and say really stupid things.

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