Anti-evolution group sues to block Kansas school science standards

 September 27

By JOHN HANNA

Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. — An anti-evolution group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday to block Kansas from using new, multistate science standards in its public schools, arguing the guidelines promote atheism and violate students' and parents' religious freedom.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/26/4510659/lawsuit-filed-in-kan-to-block.html#storylink=cpy

The group, Citizens for Objective Public Education, had criticized the standards developed by Kansas, 25 other states and the National Research Council for treating both evolution and climate change as key scientific concepts to be taught from kindergarten through 12th grade. The Kansas State Board of Education adopted them in June to replace evolution-friendly standards that had been in place since 2007.

The new standards, like the ones they replaced, reflect the mainstream scientific view that evolution is well-established. Most board members believed the guidelines will improve science education by shifting the emphasis in science classes to doing hands-on projects and experiments.

The nonprofit organization based in the small community of Peck, south of Wichita, was joined in its lawsuit
by 15 parents from across the state with a total of 18 children — most of them in public schools — and two taxpayers from the Kansas City-area community of Lake Quivira. The parents say they're Christians who want to instill a belief in their children that "life is a creation made for a purpose."

"The state's job is simply to say to students, 'How life arises continues to be a scientific mystery and there are competing ideas about it,'" said John Calvert, a Lake Quivira attorney involved in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is against the state board, its 10 members, Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker and the state Department of Education. Neither DeBacker nor board Chairwoman Jana Shaver immediately returned telephone messages seeking comment.

Calvert was a key figure in past Kansas evolution debates as a founder of the Intelligent Design Network, contending that life is too complex to have developed through unguided evolution. Joshua Rosenau, programs and policy director for the Oakland, Calif.-based National Center for Science Education, said Calvert has been making such an argument for years and "no one in the legal community has put much stock in it."

"They're trying to say anything that's not promoting their religion is promoting some other religion," Rosenau said, dismissing the argument as "silly."

The case is the latest chapter in a long-running debate in Kansas over what to teach students about 19th century naturalist Charles Darwin's theories on evolution and scientific developments since. Kansas has had six different sets of science standards in the past 15 years, as conservative Republicans skeptical of evolution gained and lost board majorities.

The lawsuit argues that the new standards will cause Kansas public schools to promote a "non-theistic religious worldview" by allowing only "materialistic" or "atheistic" explanations to scientific questions, particularly about the origins of life and the universe. The suit further argues that state would be "indoctrinating" impressionable students in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution's protections for religious freedom.

Calvert said the new standards are particularly troubling because students would start learning evolutionary concepts in kindergarten.

"By the time you get into the third grade, you learn all the essential elements of Darwinian evolution," Calvert said. "By the time you're in middle school, you're a Darwinist."

Kansas uses its standards to develop statewide tests given to students each year to judge how well schools are teaching, which in turn influence what happens in classrooms. New tests could take up to four years to develop.

The lawsuit suggests that if the federal court won't block the standards completely, it could bar the state from implementing standards dealing with the origins of life and the universe until high school and require schools to incorporate "adequate and reasonably complete information" about those topics afterward.
The information included in the lawsuit is reminiscent of material skeptical of evolution inserted at the urging of Calvert and other intelligent design proponents in science guidelines adopted by a conservative-led State Board of Education in 2005.

Steven Case, director of the University of Kansas' science education center, said previous court rulings suggest that the new lawsuit "won't hold up."

"This is about as frivolous as lawsuits get," Case said.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/26/4510659/lawsuit-filed-in-kan-to-block.html#storylink=cpy

Ariel Castro: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know

Ariel Castro, 52, is the man accused of kidnapping Amanda Berry , Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight and keeping them hostage in a dungeon in Cleveland, Ohio. He has been arrested along two of his brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, for numerous offenses.

Castro claims that he became a grandfather for the fifth time on April 11 via his Facebook page. He says that his grandchildren are four boys and one girl. It's also confirmed he has at least one other son and daughter and is divorced.

It's being reported that five pregnancies took place in the underground layer where Castro kept his victims. It's not known if that number includes Amanda Berry's six year old child or who sired the pregnancies.

Here's what you need to know...

1. His Daughter is in Prison for Trying to Kill a Baby

In 2008, Castro's daughter, Emily, 25, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder of her 11-month-old baby, Janyla, reports Daily News. She had tried to slash the baby's throat, FortWayne.com reported back in 2008:

[A court] sentenced [Emily] Castro to 30 years in prison but suspended the last five years, to be served on probation. She will be required to seek ongoing mental health treatment as a condition of her probation.

Emily Castro lived in Indiana at the time of the incident.

2. He Once Left a Child on a Bus

In 1993, Castro was arrested on a domestic violence charge but was not indicted. Then, in January 2004, Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask told reporters:

... police went to the address after Castro reportedly either intentionally or accidentally left a child on a bus, but were unsuccessful in making contact with anyone in the home. An investigation found no criminal intent by Castro.

It's not clear what relation Castro was to the child in question.

Flask went on to say that in 2000, records show that Castro reported a street fight on going outside his home.

3. His Son Wrote a Story About Gina DeJesus in 2004

While a student at Bowling Green State University, Ariel "Anthony" Castro, 31, son of Ariel Sr., wrote a story detailing how the search for Gina DeJesus had changed their neighborhood forever.

He even interviewed DeJesus' mother, Nancy Ruiz. The story appeared in The Plain Press newspaper. The paper's editor, Chuck Hoven, confirmed to WKYC that Castro Jr. wrote the article for a college project.

The younger Castro spoke to WKYC after his father was revealed to be the main suspect in the kidnapping:

This is beyond comprehension...I'm truly stunned right now.

4. He's a Local Musician

Castro was known in the Cleveland area as a session bass-guitarist, reports USA Today, playing for many different group at different times.

On his Facebook page he lists his job as \"Grupo Fuego.\" That band released a statement via their Facebook page distancing themselves from Castro.

5. He Once Brutally Attacked his Former Wife.

Police once investigated Castro for a serious domestic violence incident where Castro is alleged to have severely beaten his then-wife, Grimilda Figueroa. Cleveland.com states:

Figueroa suffered two broken noses, broken ribs, a knocked-out tooth, a blood clot on the brain and two dislocated shoulders, according to a 2005 filing in Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court. Her attorney requested that a judge \u201ckeep (Castro) from threatening to kill (Figueroa).

Figueroa died in April 2012 aged 48. Her son wrote in the funeral home's guestbook:

Dear Mom,

You are gone too soon, but your suffering is over. Rejoice in God's paradise, and I want the full tour when I get there. Love you always.

Anthony

6. He's Lived at the Home Since 1992

Ariel Castro bought the home at 2207 Seymour Avenue in Cleveland in 1992 from another couple named Castro. It's not known if he was any relation to them.

7. Chains and Bondage Were Found at the Home

Castro's three hostages were kept in the three separate rooms in the house's basement, reports NewsChannel5 in Cleveland. A source told the station that:

Ariel Castro kept Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, at times, tied up with the chains and tape. ... They were possibly untied at different times.

8. He Was a School Bus Driver

Castro was employed a school bus driver for the city of Cleveland. He was let go from the job in November 2012 for making an illegal U-turn with children on his bus, reports the Cleveland Leader.

9. His Neighbors Never Saw it Coming

Charles Ramsey, the heroic neighbor who helped Amanda Berry escape to make the 911 call, claimed he had "eaten ribs" with Castro.

Another neighbor, Victor Pratts, says that Castro was passionate about his motorcycle and that:

We never thought that man would do anything to anybody, he was a bus driver.

Mike Iwais, who lives 200 feet from where Amanda Berry was found, said:

I used to see him walking around all the time, but I never saw nothing crazy. This is unbelievable. It's a miracle they found him, and it's a miracle those girls are alive. It's a blessing from God.

10. He's Being Held with His Three Brothers

Currently Castro is being held with his brothers, Pedro and Onil, at Cleveland City Jail, Central Prison Unit.

Source

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Shooting death of gay man rocks New York's cradle of gay rights

Greenwich Village, the birthplace of the U.S. gay rights movement, remained in shock on Sunday over the shooting death of a gay man by a gunman who police said uttered anti-gay slurs before targeting the victim.

Mark Carson, 32, was shot dead in Greenwich Village around midnight on Friday in what police are calling a hate crime. Others say it could be a backlash against the recent advance of gay marriage laws across the United States.

The Manhattan neighborhood has long been a haven for bohemians and artists, and its Stonewall Inn has been a landmark for gay rights since a 1969 clash when patrons of the gay bar resisted a police raid.

Sympathizers built a shrine to Carson on Sunday, leaving cards, candles and flowers at the spot where he was killed, on Sixth Avenue at Eighth Street.

"This is supposed to be like the world's capital where it's OK to be gay," said Josh Steinman, 42, who paused for a moment in front of the memorial.

The attack marked the 22nd anti-gay hate crime in New York City this year, compared to 13 incidents at this time last year, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

"It's clear that victim here was killed only because, and just because, he was thought to be gay," Kelly told reporters on Sunday. "There's no question about that. There were derogatory remarks. This victim did nothing to antagonize or instigate the shooter. It was only because the shooter believed him to be gay."

A suspect identified as Elliot Morales, 33, was arrested on a charge of second degree murder as a hate crime shortly after the shooting. He is being held without bail and two of his companions are cooperating with police, Kelly said.

"I can't believe that something like that happened in the Village," said Carmine Tzavis, 40, a bartender at Stonewall Inn.

The police commissioner stopped short of confirming an increase in anti-gay attacks because, he said, hate crimes are typically under-reported, so the data are skewed.

People in the Village said they were alarmed and feared the violence may have been sparked by the rapid passage of gay marriage laws.
\n
On Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill making his state the 12th to allow same-sex couples to marry.

"I seem to think it's an overreaction to the marriage equality stuff," said Brian Kennedy, 56, who came to the crime scene on Sunday to pay his respects.

Kennedy, who is gay, said he moved to New York from Atlanta in 1991 because he believed the city would be more accepting. Now he has his doubts.

"Getting beat up is one thing. Getting shot point-blank in the face is another," Kennedy said.

The Anti-Violence Project has organized a march and vigil at the crime scene on Monday.

A spokesman for the anti-defamation group GLAAD called the killing \"a stark and sobering reminder of the rife homophobia that still exists in our culture.\"

"Until we rid our society of the discrimination that allows us to be seen as inferior and less than human, we will never truly be safe, even in one of the most accepting cities in the world," spokesman Wilson Cruz said in a statement.

(Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Stacey Joyce)

Kenneth Golden 20 Gourmet Sandwiches

From time to time he has hosted parties and events at which time he served various random Gourmet Sandwiches to his guest.

 He has had numerous offers from individuals interested in starting up signature restaurants using his World Class Gourmet Sandwiches as the core menu item.

However, after spending twenty plus years in the food services industry, he was not interested until now.

He just did not want to have something that numerous people appreciated and liked to be kept to myself only. He decided to compile a complete list of his 20 Gourmet Sandwich creations and make it available to the general public.

Before he made them available to the general public, He ran numerous cross sectional studies for appearance, quality, and individual cost. To his surprise they received top marks in all categories.

My name is Kenneth Golden and I have spent over twenty years in the Food Services Industry. During this time I have built a personal menu list of Gourmet Sandwiches that have only been utilized by myself on special occasions. I created the sandwiches and named them based on the regions of the world that they were fashioned after.

You won't find these Gourmet Sandwiches listed or published in any type of publication because they are my own personal creations with my own personal receipts. From time to time I have hosted parties and events at which time I served various random Gourmet Sandwiches to my guest.

I have had numerous offers from individuals interested in starting up signature restaurants using my World Class Gourmet Sandwiches as the core menu item. However, after spending twenty plus years in the food services industry, I was not interested.

I just did not want to have something that numerous people appreciated and liked to be kept to myself only. I decided to compile my complete list of my 20 Gourmet Sandwich creations and make it available to the general public.

Before I made them available to the general public, I ran numerous cross sectional studies for appearance, quality, and individual cost to make them. To my surprise they received top marks in all categories.

I have noticed the following situations develop once people have come into contact with my Gourmet Sandwiches. Your family, friends, students, co-workers, party guest, team members, dinner party guest, sports party guest, impromptu meeting guest, surprise party guest, kids lunch groups, holiday party guest, and for sure anybody that taste and view them will think that you are a creative genius.

This list of sandwiches has been compiled from my personal menus located around the world in different cities and countries. These Gourmet Sandwiches have swept the people that have tasted them off their feet. They have always asked me for my Special Secrets which I have kept close to my vest until now.

I have decided to compile (A 20 Gourmet Sandwich Menu List) for you to utilize at your events or as you see fit. You actually can obtain my 20 Gourmet Sandwich Menu List right now and start creating your own sandwich masterpieces today. You will sweep your guest, family, and friends off their feet, while receiving complements galore.

In order to receive my actual menu list with instructions, just proceed to my corporate website. Here below is the actual list that you will be receiving.

(Please Note) The sandwiches listed below are the names of the ones that will be on the menu.


(1. LA Smoked Swiss Turkey Sandwich)

(2. Paris Smoked Ham Pumpernickel Sandwich)

(3. NY Roasted Turkey Triple Stack Sandwich)

(4. TX Roast Beef Texas Style Sandwich)

(5. Louisiana Cajun Grill Cheese Sandwich)

(6. Danish Ruben Sour Dough Sandwich)

(7. Barbados Hot Spice Chicken Sandwich)

(8. New Orleans Cajun Turkey Wheat Club Sandwich)

(9. New Brunswick Chicken Swiss Rye Sandwich)

(10. Cape Verde Sliced Roast Beef Sandwich)

(11. Nevis White Fish Provolone Cheese Basil Sourdough Sandwich)

(12. Grenada Parmesan Pumpernickel Sandwich)

(13. Jamaica Bacon and Cheese Wheat Sandwich)

(14. Venezuela Sliced Fried Chicken Sandwich)

(15. Bermuda Luncheon Meat Sonic Sandwich)

(16. Antigua Chicken Supreme Sandwich)

(17. Romania Turkey Salad Rye Sandwich)

(18. Australia Meat Sandwich Spread Sandwich)

(19. Jersey Mixed Turkey Club Sandwich)

(20. Richmond Virginia Cut Sub Club Sandwich)

The actual menu instructions for each individual Gourmet Sandwich will be offered to you as stated before at the link listed at the corporate website. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to address you.

Sincerely,
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Hotel With Corpse In Water Tank Has Notorious Past

The Cecil Hotel's dark past earned it a spot on Los Angeles tours long before a woman's body was found inside its rooftop water tank.

"It's the place where serial killers stay," said tour guide Richard Schave.

Schave and his wife, Kim Cooper, conduct a "true crime and oddities" tour they call "Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice."

The new mystery surrounding Elisa Lam's death will be added to Cooper's spiel during the tour stops at the Cecil Hotel, she said.

Cooper and Schave have made it their job to compile details on those who have killed or been killed while staying at the Cecil.

The Killers

The most famous on their list are serial killers Richard Ramirez and Jack Unterweger.

Ramirez, known as the "Nightstalker," now resides on California's death row, but in 1985 he was living on the Cecil's top floor in a $14 a night room, Cooper said.

The Cecil, filled then with hundreds of transients living in the cheap rooms, was a good place for Ramirez to go unnoticed as he killed 13 women, Schave said. He was "just dumping his bloody clothes in the Dumpster at the end of his evening and going in the back entrance."

Jack Unterweger worked as a journalist covering Los Angeles crime for an Austrian magazine in 1991 when he moved into the Cecil. "We believe he was living at the Cecil in homage to Ramirez," Schave said.

He is blamed with killing three prostitutes in Los Angeles while a guest at the Cecil.

The Killed

During the 1950s and 1960s, the Cecil had a reputation as a place where people would kill themselves by jumping out upper-floor windows, Cooper said. "It's just what people do when they are at the end of their rope," she said.

Helen Gurnee, in her 50s, leaped from a seventh floor window, landing on the Cecil Hotel marquee on October 22, 1954, Cooper said. Julia Moore jumped from her eighth floor room window on February 11, 1962, she said. Moore left behind a bus ticket from St Louis, 59 cents and an Illinois bank account book showing a balance of $1,800.

Pauline Otton, 27, jumped from a ninth floor window after an argument with her estranged husband on October 12, 1962, Cooper said. Otton landed on George Gianinni, 65, who was walking on the sidewalk 90 feet below. Both were killed instantly.

Not everyone on Cooper's list committed suicide.

"Pigeon Goldie" Osgood, a retired telephone operator, was found dead in her ransacked room on June 4, 1964, Cooper said. Osgood, known for protecting and feeding the pigeons at nearby Pershing Square, was stabbed, strangled and raped. The crime has not been solved.

Not an ordinary hotel

Schave and Cooper have theories about why the Cecil's past has been so sordid.

It was built in the 1920s as a hotel "for businessmen to come into town and spend a night or two," Cooper said.

But it was soon upstaged by nicer hotels in a better part of town, she said. When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, it became more of a transient hotel. Eventually, it transitioned into a single room occupancy business, known as an SRO. Long-term tenants rented individual rooms and shared bathrooms with neighboring residents.

"This was just a place where people who were really down on their luck were going," Schave said. "These hotels are filled with people who are at the edge of being integrated in society."

During the 1970s, '80s and '90s, hundreds of people who were "down on their luck" called the Cecil home, he said. "They were all hustling to make ends meet."

"It's not like that any more, of course," Cooper said.

New owners converted three of the floors back to hotel rooms around 2007, but most of the building remains SRO, Schave said.

Another section serves as a hostel that is marketed toward European tourists, he said

It was not clear if Lam was staying in one of the hotel rooms, which offer more privacy, or the hostel.

Repeated calls by CNN to the Cecil Hotel management were not returned Wednesday and Thursday.

Source

Facebook Adopts The Hashtag Feature of Its Rival Twitter

By Alexei Oreskovic

SAN FRANCISCO | Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:49pm EDT

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc, the world's No. 1 social network, is adopting the "hashtag," one of the most recognizable features of its younger rival Twitter, in a move to position its Web service as an important complement to television, sporting events and breaking news.

Facebook said on Wednesday that it will begin to roll out the feature on its social network, making it easier for users and advertisers to find hot spots of user activity around specific events or topics.

The hashtag, which appears as the # symbol and was first popularized on Twitter, enables users to follow specific topics of conversation within a social network's ever-changing stream of user comments.

Facebook users will now be able to group comments on the same topic by typing the hashtag alongside a keyword - such as #election - at the end of a post.

The hashtag has proven to be a handy system for social networking users to join online conversations as events unfold in real-time, such as political debates, television shows and sports. And it provides an easy way for advertisers to reach a particular audience.

"Between 88 and 100 million Americans log in to Facebook every night during prime time TV hours, which represents a significant opportunity for broadcasters, advertisers and our other partners," Justin Osofsky, director, platform partnerships and operations at Facebook, said in a blog post on Wednesday. A recent episode of the Game of Thrones series on HBO generated 1.5 million mentions on Facebook, he said.

Until now, however, Facebook said in a separate blog post on Wednesday, its service lacked a "simple way to see the larger view of what's happening or what people are talking about."

Whether conversations about events on Facebook will have the same level of activity and comments as on Twitter is not clear. Unlike tweets, which are public and viewable to all users, most comments posted on Facebook are only viewable to a user's circle of friends.

The company said that hashtags were the first of several new features that will be introduced to highlight discussions about events on Facebook.

The company is rolling out hashtags to roughly 20 percent of its users on Wednesday, with a full global launch expected in the coming weeks.

(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)