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POPSThe Revolver notebook
More: With the two still shots of the RevolveR Bound Journals above, one might think that they were two different journals at a quick glance, but amazingly enough, they are the same journal. It is very easy to “revolve” from one journal to the next, and the flexibility of having a journal with lined and unlined paper all at once is quite nice. Regardless of which side of this 5 1/2″ by 7 1/2″ journal you are using, it has a magnetic closure on the front side that does a nice job of keeping it securely closed. Some of the other nice features about this notebook are things that you would expect to find with any other high end journal. The very first and very last pages of the journals are writable, and on the lined version, although it is thicker stock, they are both is still lined. Another nice feature is that regardless of which journal you are using, they both lay perfectly flat when open, and I know that many people enjoy having their journals stay flat and open like thi
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POPSThe Opinuary Column: Freedom isn't Free (or Alive)
It fought its addiction to Crystal Meth (Cheaper Than Coke But Still Not Free) and Tobacco (the first carton for soldiers was Free, but after that, not so much) with grit and determination, which it had in buckets (buckets that were Free but had to be returned when it was done with them). In the weeks before its death, the Opinion was often observed meditating on a litany of uncomfortable realizations: it had discovered that its apartment wasn't Free, its bar tab wasn't Free, its groceries weren't Free and, having failed to appear in court on misdemeanor charges, it suffered the additonal ignominy of facing the fact that indeed, not even its DUI was Free ($250.00 just to post bail!). Its only words to the judge were these: "In the bastardized yet immortal phrasings of Kris Kristofferson: Freedom's just another word for something that isn't free..." Family of the deceased Opinion are asking that, in lieu of flowers (which aren't free) that each and every one of us do our part to d
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POPSItaly Convicts 23 Americans In CIA Terrorist Kidnapping Case 
One of those convicted, former Milan consular official Sabrina De Sousa, accused Congress of turning a blind eye to the entire matter. "No one has investigated the fact that the U.S. government allegedly conducted a rendition of an individual who now walks free and the operation of which was so bungled," she said, speaking through her lawyer Mark Zaid. Despite the convictions capping the nearly three-year Italian trial, several Italian and American defendants – including the two alleged masterminds of the abduction – were acquitted due to either diplomatic immunity or because classified information was stricken by Italy's highest court. The case has been politically charged from the beginning, with attempts to mislead investigators looking into the cleric's disappearance and derail the judicial proceedings once the trial was under way. But the Italian-American relationship, conditioned on such issues as participation in the Afghan campaign, is unlikely to be hurt by the convic
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POPSItalian court convicts 23 CIA agents over rendition Italian prosecutors had charged the Americans and seven members of the Italian military intelligence agency in the abduction of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, known as //Abu Omar, on Feb. 17, 2003. Prosecutors said he was snatched in broad daylight, flown from an American air base in Italy to a base in Germany and then on to Egypt, where he asserts that he was tortured.//
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POPS23 Americans Convicted in Italy for CIA Kidnapping The Americans were accused of kidnapping Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, on Feb. 17, 2003, in Milan, then transferring him to U.S. bases in Italy and Germany. He was then moved to Egypt, where he says he was tortured. He was released after four years in prison without being charged. The trial is the first by any government over the CIA's extraordinary rendition program, which transferred suspects overseas for interrogation. Human rights advocates charge that renditions were the CIA's way to outsource the torture of prisoners to countries where it is permitted. Italy's government has denied involvement. Among the Americans acquitted was Jeffrey Castelli, a former Rome CIA station chief, who prosecutors had alleged coordinated the abduction. The two other acquitted Americans were also assigned to the U.S. Embassy in the Italian capital and thus were covered by broad diplomatic immunity.
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POPSCIA agents guilty of Italy kidnap Interesting. Of course I don't think we're going to extradite them. And the agents will have to delete Italy from their travel sites. The USA currently wants Sweden to extradite that perverted movie director....but thinks of itself as being above the law.
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POPSMontana Jury Awards $850,000 in Aluminum Bat Lawsuit This is Bulls***! When I pitched baseball, I got hit by a return ball 2 times in my younger days. When a batter gets hit by a pitcher, do we sue a pitcher who happens to be throwing a curve ball, because the pitcher was trying to be sneaky? Or, maybe the batter couldn't move fast enough? Judge should overrule this -- why did the idiot judge allow it to go to trial????
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POPSJudge orders Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend, two doctors to stand trial A judge ordered Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend and two doctors to stand trial on charges of illegally funneling prescription drugs to the former Playboy model. The ruling Friday followed a three-week preliminary hearing to determine if there was enough evidence to try lawyer Howard K. Stern, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich. The charges included providing drugs to an addict. The defe
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POPSRitchie gets a restraining order against 2 paparazzi Two photographers have been temporarily ordered to stay 100 yards away from Nicole Richie, a Los Angeles judge ruled Friday. The order also protects her two children, Harlow, 2, and Sparrow, 6 weeks. In her filing, Richie states that photographers Eduardo Arrivebene and Ivon Miguel daily "stalk" Richie and her family, and that they "sit outside my house, waiting for me to leave." She alleges that they "scream at me in an attempt to get my reaction, scare me, follow me, chase me in vehicle," causing her "severe emotional distress."
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POPSEmergency! Congress Debates Burying the Goldstone Report! "TELL CONGRESS TO RESPECT US AND INTERNATIONAL LAW!" "What message are we sending to the rest of the world when we grant Israel complete impunity? This legislation has very important implications beyond the war crimes committed in Gaza. Israel has responded to the report by demanding the Western powers rewrite international and US law, warning that acceptance of the Goldstone report will mean that the US’ military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan will be subject to similar scrutiny. (Judge Goldstone has drawn a distinction – stating that his report finds that Israel deliberately targeted civilians). This legislation also ignores serious allegations that Israel has violated the US Arms Export Control Act."
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POPSShould Inmates Pay Rent ? "If the court determines that sheriffs have the authority " as part of their duties and responsibilities " to institute fees, there are millions of dollars in savings to the taxpayers as a result of inmates paying a very small portion of their fees and services," Assad said. Walker said the majority of inmates are indigent, so the money in their canteen accounts is sent to them by family members so they can buy basic items that are not supplied by the jails.To deduct money from those accounts is like placing an unlawful tax on prisoners' families, she said
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POPSBehind Bars the Drama Of Drew Peterson Continues... It should be interesting as Will County prosecutors present facts during the trial while Peterson's defense team of chicken, hot sauce and thighs mixes an enlightening concoction of documents in an attempt to exclude hearsay testimony when the murder trail for Kathleen Savio begins.
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POPSCrazy Sheriff Joe Arpaio facing FBI investigation for abusing his power by arresting his critics We described Arpaio's incredible thuggery late last year in his dealings with the public, especially those who dare criticize him. An anti-Arpaio group called Maricopa Citizens for Safety Accountability, which formed last year in response to investigative reports and studies demonstrating that Arpaio's insane obsession with illegal immigrants was destroying his office's ability to actually deal with real law enforcement work, began showing up at county board meetings and asking to speak. Arpaio actually sent out his deputies in force to patrol these meetings, and they arrested people for merely applauding Arpaio's critics. If that sounds fascist to you, that's about right -- after all, some of the local neo-Nazis are Arpaio's biggest fans -- and he's been known to return the love.
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POPSAnnual credit report Credit reports and credit scores are the two most basic assessment tools used by both lending companies and borrowers in looking at the borrower’s current financial situation. These assessments give an overview of the borrower’s credit history that will be used to judge the credit worthiness of the borrower.
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POPSJudge orders 3 to trial in Anna Nicole drug case A pharmacist said he refused to fill an order for drugs written by Eroshevich and submitted by Kapoor because taking them would be "pharmaceutical suicide." Possibly the most powerful witness against Stern was never seen at the hearing. A nanny who worked for Smith in the Bahamas was interviewed by an investigator who read her comments from the witness stand.
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POPSAmerica a Rude Nation? Debating Public Decency Experts point to a variety of reasons for the apparent fall in civil standards: 1) The recession has placed many under heavy stress 2) The rise of the internet has fostered confrontational and provocative communications in which people get used to saying things they may never once have dared to utter face-to-face. These may be conditions that allow rudeness to rear its ugly head, but they are not excuses for it. Rudeness is rooted in lack of civility. If you don’t respect other people’s ideas, opinions, equality as compared to yourself, or simply their right to exist, it will be easy for you to resort to rudeness towards that person and you will be considered uncivil. We have been losing our civility for a long time now and I believe it is due to a lack of respect for others and ourselves.
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POPSState’s high court dismisses juvenile convictions Is there any segment of the judicial system that can be trusted? I’m willing to bet this is not the only judge who uses the judicial system to line his pockets. We have been taught to trust the police, trust the judges and this is what we learn of real life. This society is going to hell too damned fast.
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POPSSlave Trader The high court yesterday threw out more than five years' worth of juvenile cases heard by disgraced former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella, who is charged with accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks to send youths to private detention centers.