- Who’s ready for the pope’s visit next week, Jerusalem? Ahead
of the pontiff’s arrival in the Holy Land in a few weeks, some cowardly vandals
s
scrawled hate graffiti on a Catholic monastery in central Israel and slashed
the tires of nearby cars, Israeli police said Tuesday. The vandals scrawled slogans
against Mideast peace talks with the Palestinians and graffiti disparaging
Jesus and Mary on the outer walls of the Deir Rafat monastery close to
Jerusalem. Israeli police are investigating, but so far have not publicly
identified any suspects. The most likely targets are a tiny fringe group of
radical Israeli settlers, mostly teenagers and young men, who have spent the
past few years carrying out assorted acts of vandalism o protest what they
perceive as the Israeli government's pro-Palestinian policies and in
retaliation for Palestinian attacks. The hit list for these secretive vandals
includes churches, mosques, dovish Israeli groups and even Israeli military
bases. Their so-called "price tag" assaults have been condemned by Israeli
leaders across the political spectrum and haven't generated any significant
support among the vast majority of Israelis. Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, the
top Catholic clergyman in the region, visited the monastery to survey the damage
and meet with the nuns who reside there. "This is bad for the state of
Israel, it is bad for us, it is bad for everybody. In this Holy Land we do not
need these actions. Especially these actions against a monastery where we have
sisters just praying for peace. They are not involved in any politics so this
really is a bad sign and we regret it very much," Twal said. Pope Francis,
an Argentine Jesuit, will be the fourth pope to visit the Holy Land when he
swings by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan in May. Relations
between the Vatican and Israel have improved in recent years and despite a few
isolated kooks, that trend seems poised to continue………
- Monday night is not exactly a kick-ass night for
television. It was a surefire guarantee that the final episode of a
ninth-season sitcom with a loyal following would not only lap the field, but
turn in record-breaking numbers to conclude its run. CBS’ celebrated comedy “How I Met Your Mother” aired its one-hour
series finale and it went down as the show's top-rated episode. A whopping 13.1
million fans tuned in Monday night, according to final Nielsen figures, besting
the previous record of 12.3 million set for "The Pineapple Incident,"
an episode that aired in November 2005, early in the show's first season. The
number was still smaller than the D-list dancing magic that is “Dancing With
the Stars,” but the viewers in the coveted young adult demographic more than doubled
ABC's dancing show and was easily higher than any other show for the night. The
finale didn’t exactly end on a happy note and fans weren't thrilled by the
final hour, as social media users tore into the wrap-up and put “Mother” on the
growing list of successful shows that left a sour taste in fans’ mouths:
“Lost,” “The Sopranos,” “Dexter” and “Seinfeld,” to name a few. CBS undoubtedly
loved the big numbers, but has to be concerned that those numbers didn’t have
more of a carryover effect to its new show “Friends With Better Lives,” which
it aired immediately following the “Mother” finale. “FWBL” managed just 7.6
million viewers in the 9 p.m. time slot before moving to 8:30 p.m. next week.
Those figures prove why the network kept “Mother” going for as long as possible
and is swearing profusely behind the scenes with it gone………
- How is Verizon planning to take more of your money? After
debuting its Verizon Media Server at the Consumer
Electronics Show this past January in Las Vegas, the plan is in motion as the IPTV
DVR hub, which carries six tuners and a 1TB hard drive, is now shipping in
select markets. For now, the server is part of the Quantum TV package in a
phased rollout, but its gadgets and features will eventually reach all Verizon
subscribers. Cable companies have already taken notice, as the VMS1100,
replaces a standard cable box and feeds broadcasts to smaller satellite boxes
in other rooms over cable wiring. What sets the VMS1100 apart from other
systems is that users can record six live shows at once or pair two DVRs
together to simultaneously record up to 12 shows at any given time. They will
also be able to pause and rewind live TV on all satellite boxes and even pause
a show in one room and pick it up in another. Pricing is actually not obscene
for a product like this, as subscribers will pay $22 per month for a single DVR
or $32 for two units. Each satellite box will ding the wallet for an additional
$10. For now, the system is available only in select parts of New York, New
Jersey, California and Pennsylvania. Tech experts who have tried out the
VMS1100 claim there are a few bugs to work out, but most concur that the box
itself runs at a high speed and is equally responsive when used over satellite
boxes. Even those who don’t yet have access to the service in their area of the
country can check availability on Verizon’s website to see when they will have
the opportunity to throw away even more of their disposable cash…….
- Beheading a person is a grisly crime under any
circumstances. Keeping said severed head with you for a conversation
partner….that’s just creepy and psychopathic. Meet James Paul Harris, a Kansas man accused of
beheading a Topeka resident with a guitar string three years ago and keeping
his head as part of a Voodoo ritual. According to police, Harris lopped off the
dome of 49-year-old James Gerety and kept the detached cabeza to talk to it
after Gerety was killed sometime in March or April of 2011. For that reason,
Harris has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder. He pleaded
not guilty Monday and his trial was set for June 23. As with many accused
killers, Harris does not appear to have inspired a great deal of loyalty. His former
girlfriend, Bobbie Williams, testified that he told her he shot Gerety in the
stomach, then tortured him for two days and then cut off his head. Topeka
police Detective Brian Hill then piled on, testifying that Williams told him
during questioning that Harris kept the head in a canvas bag so he could talk
to it as part of a Voodoo ritual. Those must have been some priceless conversations
and yet, that is only one of many bizarre elements to a case that began when
Gerety was reported missing in 2011. His attorney, Thomas Henderson, reported
Gerety missing because he handled his client’s Social Security payments and was
concerned when Gerety didn’t show up for his money. Connecting Harris to Gerety’s
murder – aside from the head without a body he kept around – wasn’t difficult
because Henderson said the two men planned to live together……..
- It was only a matter of time before this one dinged the
NFL police blotter. Halfback Orson Charles has the double stench of football
feloniousness hanging over his head, having played his college ball at the
haven for criminal activity that is the University of Georgia and picking up
his paychecks these days as a member of George’s NFL equivalent, the Cincinnati Bengals. Wearing the colors
from either of those teams is a virtual guarantee that a man will see the
inside of a jail cell at some point; playing for both of them means you may as
well carry your own orange jumpsuit with you at all times. Charles fulfilled
his off-field destiny when he was arrested and charged with wanton endangerment
in Richmond, Ky., on Monday night, according to officials at the Madison County
(Ky.) Detention Center. Details are sketchy at this point, but the arrest was
the result of what police believe was a road rage incident involving a handgun.
However, the incident report didn't indicate if any shots were fired. As the
report tells the story, Charles was stopped by Richmond police on Interstate 75
after a complaint was called in by another driver. That other driver reportedly
told officers hat Charles brandished a firearm in his direction several times
while driving down the highway sometime just before 8 p.m. Monday. Because
pulling out his piece didn’t send enough of a message, Charles then allegedly
cut off the other driver. Police responded quickly to the scene, did a search
of Charles car and whaddya know, he had a Smith & Wesson semiautomatic
handgun concealed inside a purse. An uncooperative Charles refused to give a
statement to police. That’s the sort of activity that would get a fourth-round
draft pick whose on-field production consists of nine receptions for just 109
yards in 29 games released…..by most teams. With the Bengals, not so much……….
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