“Jumpin Jack Flash”
Leon Russell

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BOSTON (Reuters) - A fistfight in the balcony stopped the music on opening night at the Boston Pops, drawing gasps from hundreds of well-heeled guests at one of the country’s oldest and best-known city orchestras.

Famous for light classical music and family pop tunes from decades past, the orchestra briefly halted its performance on Wednesday evening as two men wrestled in the side balcony of the 107-year-old Symphony Hall.

Concert-goers looked up after a woman’s scream interrupted a rendition of the Hollywood musical “Gigi” about 20 minutes into the performance.

Shortly afterward, conductor Keith Lockhart stopped the orchestra with a motion of his hand as the murmuring crowd turned to watch the scuffle, apparently caused after one man told another guest to be quiet.

One of the men could be seen with his button-down shirt ripped open as a security guard pulled the two apart, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. A man had his arm wrapped around another’s neck, pulling him backward.

“House security and Boston police stopped the fight, and the audience members were escorted out of the hall,” the Boston Symphony Orchestra said in a statement on Thursday. “The concert resumed and ended with cheers and a standing ovation.”

No charges were filed against the men.

The Pops, comprised of the Boston Symphony minus its principal players, is perhaps best known for July 4th concerts along Boston’s Charles River that began in 1974 and include fireworks accompanying Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.”

Its concert hall is considered among the best in the world.

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How convenient…….

From UPI:

WASHINGTON, May. 11 (UPI) — The U.S. Defense Department’s new guidelines would bar most enlisted personnel and officers from testifying before Congress.
The guidelines were written by Robert Wilkie, an assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs, and sent in an April 19 memo to the House Armed Services Committee, The Boston Globe said Friday. A Democratic aide gave a copy to the Globe.

Under the guidelines, the Pentagon would have the right to keep anyone below the rank of full colonel from testifying. Junior officers and enlisted service members could only participate in briefings for members of Congress with Defense Department clearance and their words could not be transcribed.

At least one hearing has already been affected. Three officers were testifying at a closed-door hearing on training Iraqi security forces when a representative of the Pentagon General Counsel’s office demanded that their testimony not be described. When two congressmen refused, the Pentagon lawyer and the three officers left the hearing abruptly.

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WASHINGTON, May 11 - The Pentagon is looking into complaints that Defense Department officials charged with building public support for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan might have engaged in improper fund-raising and unauthorized spending, officials said Friday.

The inspector general is examining whether officials who run “America Supports You,” a three-year-old Pentagon program lauded by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, helped arrange a fund-raiser for a private foundation set up last December by former Bush administration appointees. The foundation raises money to help troops and their families.

The inquiry is also looking into whether money used for “America Supports You” and other public outreach programs has been shifted improperly from Pentagon accounts intended for other purposes.

Internal memorandums and e-mail messages provided to investigators, copies of which were shared with The Times, suggest that Pentagon officials encouraged Mark Vahradian, a Hollywood film producer, to make the private foundation, called the “America Supports You Fund,” the beneficiary of a Los Angeles fund-raiser he is planning for later this year.

Pentagon employees are prohibited from soliciting on behalf of private organizations, said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman. But Mr. Whitman said the Defense Department routinely referred members of the public to outside organizations, some of which are listed on a Pentagon Web site.

More at the New York Times

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from ABC NEWS
by Brian Ross, Richard Esposito & R. Schwartz

Rudolph Giuliani and his consulting company, Giuliani Partners, have served as key advisors for the last five years to the pharmaceutical company that pled guilty today to charges it misled doctors and patients about the addiction risks of the powerful narcotic painkiller OxyContin.

Federal officials say the company, Purdue Frederick, helped to trigger a nationwide epidemic of addiction to the time-release painkiller by failing to give early warnings that it could be abused.

Prosecutors say “in the process scores died.”

Drug Enforcement Administration officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com Giuliani personally met with the head of the DEA when the DEA’s drug diversion office began a criminal investigation into the company.

According to the book “Painkiller,” by New York Times reporter Barry Meier, both Giuliani and his then-partner Bernard Kerik “were in direct contact with Asa Hutchinson, the administrator of DEA.”

Hutchinson told the Blotter on ABCNews.com today that Giuliani asked for a meeting, “and we gave him a meeting.” Hutchinson says he was aware the company was under investigation at the time, and “any time a company is under investigation I like to give them a chance to make their case.”

Kerik told New York Magazine at the time that Giuliani had raised $15,000 in donations for a “traveling museum operated by the DEA.”

Some officials told ABC News there were questions inside the agency of whether the donations were an attempt to influence the DEA.

Meier wrote that “with Giuliani now in the mix, the pace of DEA’s investigation into Purdue’s OxyContin plant in New Jersey slowed as Hutchinson repeatedly summoned division officials to his office to explain themselves and their reasons for continuing the inquiry.”

Giuliani publicly praised the company, Purdue Frederick, when it hired him in May 2002 for an undisclosed amount. “Purdue has demonstrated its commitment to fighting this problem,” he said, referring to the issue of drug addiction.

According to Giuliani Partners, Kerik, a New York City police commissioner under Giuliani, was in charge of helping Purdue improve security at the New Jersey plant.

Kerik left Giuliani Partners after disclosures he was under criminal investigation.

In hiring Giuliani, Purdue said, “Giuliani Partners is uniquely qualified” to address the issue of preventing drug abuse.

The Web site for Giuliani Partners lists Purdue Pharma as one of its current clients.

A spokeswoman for Giuliani Partners told ABC News today, “The proceeding speaks for itself, and beyond that we’re not going to comment.”

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ccross posted at CROOKS & LIARS

The good folks at Faith in Public Life catch Lou Dobbs in action vs. the Rev. Derrick Harkins, pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, and a member of the Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform coalition put together through Jim Wallis’ Sojourners.

[..]t’s amazing to see Dobbs jabbing again and again at Harkins, searching for something to pounce on. Dobbs just can’t get his head around the idea that immigrants deserve compassion, and he thinks Harkins is clearly arrogant to disagree with him.[..]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm5bkLcPICc

That’s odd. Dobbs didn’t exactly breathe fire when those noted Christians Gary Bauer and Deal Hudson came out in opposition to immigration reform.

He’s practically dripping with condescension and hostility. He cannot understand that someone like Harkins would have an agenda that extended beyond the boundaries of the individual soul, and it really pisses him off to find that he won’t back away from it. He clearly has no concept that “saving one’s soul” might have something to do with the search for social justice, or that Christian ethics might involve something more than reading public opinion polls. Harkins tries to show him that doing the right thing is in this case doing the popular thing, but he’s having none of it.

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cross posted at CROOKS & LIARS

Lou Dobbs Stands By His Immigrants-With-Leprosy “Facts”

After being called out by Lesley Stahl last week on “60 Minutes” about his bogus report on immigrants carrying leprosy into this country, Lou Dobbs and CNN Correspondent Christine Romans still stand by their original claim. See a montage from the “60 Minutes” interview and his defense on CNN the other day right here

Where did Dobbs get his numbers? Unsurprisingly, from a far-right nutcase named Madeleine Cosman:

In addition to writing about the prevalence of leprosy, Cosman, who died in March 2006, told an anti-immigrant conference in 2005 that “most” Latino immigrant men “molest girls under 12, although some specialize in boys, and some in nuns,” a variation on a speech she has given elsewhere. […]

… Madeleine Cosman’s false claim that there were 7,000 cases of leprosy diagnosed in the United States from 2001 to 2004 was included in her article, “Illegal Aliens and American Medicine.” More than once, “Lou Dobbs Tonight” reporter Romans repeated Cosman’s statistic, saying, “Suddenly, in the past three years, America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy.”

Who are you gonna believe: A “right-wing nutcase” or the Department of Health and Human Services? An “advocacy journalist” with an anti-illegal immigration agenda or “60 Minutes”? The choice is yours (and obvious).

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From CNN:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Guard isn’t as strong as it should be because of the war in Iraq and American communities will suffer as a result, retired Air Force Gen. Melvyn Montano said Saturday.

Delivering the Democrats’ weekly radio address, Montano said the strain means it will take longer for Greensburg, Kansas, to recover from a devastating tornado that leveled the town a week ago.

“Crucial equipment used by the Guard for disaster relief is now in Iraq instead of standing ready to respond to crises here at home,” said Montano, who was once adjutant general of the New Mexico National Guard.

“When the tornado struck Kansas last week, the Guard had half the number of humvees and large trucks they usually would have at their disposal,” Montano said. “The recovery process now will take longer.”

Montano echoed Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, who clashed with the Bush administration this week. “I don’t think there is any question if you are missing trucks, Humvees and helicopters that the response [to the tornado] is going to be slower,” she said Monday. “The real victims here will be the residents of Greensburg, because the recovery will be at a slower pace.”

Sebelius later said the Guard was adequately equipped to handle the disaster, though possible flooding in another part of the state would have forced her to make hard choices about where to send aid.

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Please use the “Live Blogging” link at the top to leave comments.

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Allegations of vote fraud against republican professional hatemonger Ann Coulter have apparently been cleared… but with a twist:

From the blog Greatscat!:

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter has been cleared of allegations that she falsified her Palm Beach County voter’s registration and voted illegally - this, after a high-level FBI agent made unsolicited phone calls to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to vouch for Coulter.

The caller wasn’t just any G-man. According to PBSO documents, he was Supervisory Special Agent Jim Fitzgerald, of the FBI Academy’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Va. - the closest reality gets to the serial-killer catchers on CBS’ Criminal Minds.

So why would an FBI profiler who went after the Unabomber take time from his busy day to even think about a municipal election snafu?

Fitzgerald is mum. But when the bureau heard about this from Page Two, it immediately launched an internal review of the agent’s involvement.

“We’re looking into it,” bureau spokeswoman Ann Todd said.

She declined to say whether Fitzgerald acted on his personal behalf or as an FBI agent or on someone else’s orders.

Special request: Any pro-Bush, pro-Limbaugh, pro-Coulter, (…etc) republican that may happen onto this site and read this story, would you please leave a comment, telling our other readers that this really is the America you want?

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I received an early Mother’s Day present last night from the man I love, and I’m not even his Mother! ha! Orchids. I’ve always admired them and never had any. This should be interesting. So lovely, they are!

Post away Bur$atil!!! I’ll read away and try not to get too depressed on Mother’s Day weekend.

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From Yahoo News:

BAGHDAD - An attack on a unit of U.S.-led forces patrolling outside the Iraqi capital before dawn left five soldiers dead and three missing, the military said.

The attack on the patrol of seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter soldier occurred near Mahmoudiya, in a Sunni insurgent stronghold about 20 miles south of Baghdad, the military said.

Troops were searching for the three missing soldiers, the military said.

42 U.S. deaths this month and 618 Iraqi deaths.

28 U.S. Deaths this week in Iraq
12-May-2007 5 | US: 5 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Mahmudiyah - Babil Hostile - hostile fire
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Mahmudiyah - Babil Hostile - hostile fire
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Mahmudiyah - Babil Hostile - hostile fire
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Mahmudiyah - Babil Hostile - hostile fire
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Mahmudiyah - Babil Hostile - hostile fire
10-May-2007 5 | US: 5 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Major Douglas Zembiec Al Anbar Province Not reported yet
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Baghdad (eastern part) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Sergeant Jason W. Vaughn Baqubah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Baghdad (southern part) Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
US Private 1st Class Roy L. Jones III Diwaniyah - Qadisiyah Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
09-May-2007 2 | US: 2 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Sergeant Major Bradly D. Conner Al Hillah - Babil Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Lance Corporal Walter K. O-Haire Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
08-May-2007 3 | US: 3 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Specialist Dan H. Nguyen Tahrir - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
US Sergeant Blake C. Stephens Salman Pak - Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Specialist Kyle A. Little Salman Pak - Babil Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
06-May-2007 11 | US: 10 | UK: 1 | Other: 0
US Staff Sergeant Christopher S. Kiernan Baghdad (western part) Hostile - hostile fire - sniper fire
US Staff Sergeant Vincenzo Romeo Ba’qubah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Corporal Matthew L. Alexander Ba’qubah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Corporal Michael A. Pursel Ba’qubah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Sergeant Jason R. Harkins Ba’qubah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Sergeant Joel W. Lewis Ba’qubah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Corporal Anthony M. Bradshaw Ba’qubah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
UK Private Kevin Thompson Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham UK - Basrah Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Specialist Robert J. Dixon Baghdad (southern part) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Staff Sergeant Virgil C. Martinez Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Sergeant Sameer A. M. Rateb Bayji - Salah ad Din Non-hostile
05-May-2007 3 | US: 3 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Master Sergeant Kenneth N. Mack Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US Corporal Charles O. Palmer II Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US Private 1st Class Larry I. Guyton Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack

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Woot Woot Woot! Now this is the direction our congress needs to continue going!

From UPI

WASHINGTON, May. 11 (UPI) — The American Civil Liberties Union Friday welcomed a congressional vote to prevent what it considers illegal wiretapping by the U.S. government.
The U.S. House of Representatives late Thursday approved the proposed amendment to the House Intelligence Reauthorization Bill to prevent illegal domestic wiretapping. The amendment, by Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., would reaffirm the

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as the only legal means of collecting electronic intelligence surveillance

. It was approved 245 to 178.

“Congress has signaled that it will not allow the president to continue the National Security Agency’s illegal eavesdropping,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. “Passage of the Schiff/Flake amendment is Congress drawing a line in the sand. This amendment reaffirms that FISA is the law and it needs to be followed.

“While the administration claims that its proposed FISA changes would ‘modernize’ the law, in truth they would gut the judicial oversight mechanisms carefully crafted to prevent abuse, while expanding the scope of communications that can be intercepted under FISA,” the ACLU said.

“Despite many recent hearings about ‘modernization’ and ‘technology neutrality,’ the administration has not publicly provided Congress with a single example of how current FISA standards have either prevented the intelligence community from using new technologies, or proven unworkable for the agents tasked with following them,” the group said.

“We applaud Congressmen Schiff and Flake for their work to uphold the rule of law,” said Michelle Richardson, ACLU legislative consultant. “Today is the first move towards Congress growing a backbone. We hope that the Senate will follow their lead and not be swayed by the administration and Department of Justice’s unconstitutional attempts to eviscerate FISA.”

Thursday’s vote was notable for the refusal of many House Republicans to rally to the administration’s support and go on the record in opposing it.

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Download MP3

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Here’s a short list of what’s happening in baseball, basketball and hockey, for those who don’t have the time to see what their team is doing.

Major League Baseball (who’s IN first place)

American League

Eastern Division - Boston Red Sox (6 game lead over second place Baltimore)

Central Division - Detroit Tigers (1.5 game lead over second place Cleveland)

Western Division - Los Angeles Angels (1 game lead over second place Oakland)

National League

Eastern Division - Atlanta Braves (.5 game lead over second place New York Mets)

Central Division - Milwaukee Brewers (7 game lead over second place Chicago Cubs)

Western Division - Los Angeles Dodgers (1.5 game lead over second place Arizona)

National Basketball Association Playoffs

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference

Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons - Detroit leads series 3-0

New Jersey Nets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers - Cleveland leads series 2-0

Western Conference

San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns - Series tied 1-1

Golden State Warriors vs. Utah Jazz - Utah leads series 2-1

National Hockey League Playoffs

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

Ottawa Senators vs. Buffalo Sabres - Ottawa leads series 1-0

Western Conference

Anaheim Ducks vs. Detroit Red Wings - Detroit leads series 1-0

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