amw.com | Robert Fisher - Fugitive

America's Most Wanted, in addition to its television and radio broadcasts, maintains a webpage. The title link is to the current "Public Enemy Number 1":

WIPING THE SLATE CLEAN

There's a reason this man is on everyone's hit list.

According to Scottsdale, Arizona police detectives Robert Fisher murdered his entire family because he couldn't be bothered to get a divorce.

On the morning of April 10, 2001, police and fire units responded to reports of an explosion at the Fisher residence in Scottsdale.

Hours later when the fire was finally extinguished officials found three bodies inside the rubble, 38-year-old Mary Fisher, 12-year-old Britteny and 10-year-old Bobby Jr.

The tragedy soon turned horrific when authorities quickly determined that all three did not die in the fire, they had been murdered in their beds, the night before...

The explosions that accompanied the fire weren't accidental. The house had been rigged to explode.

The amw.com site has more info, clues, pictures, video.

Andrew C. McCarthy: Is Prosecution the Solution?

This article appears on today's National Review Online. The headline is "Is Prosecution the Solution?" The subhead is "Terri Schiavo is being tortured, torture is a crime, therefore..."

The U.S. Congress and the Florida state legislature are struggling to overcome impasses in their efforts to enact laws that might save Terri Schiavo's life, or at least have her case reviewed by federal courts. But is there a more straightforward solution? Excruciatingly slow starvation and dehydration is clearly a form of torture. Torture is a crime. So why don't the state law-enforcement authorities in Florida prosecute Michael Schiavo and any person who is aiding and abetting him in carrying it out?

After the feeding tube that sustains Terri Schiavo was removed on Friday afternoon, National Review's John Miller asked a question (on NRO's weblog, The Corner) which was penetrating in its trenchant simplicity: "If somebody put a pistol to [Terri] Schiavo's head and pulled the trigger — you know, to give the "dying process" a little nudge — would the shooter be guilty of murder under Florida law?" Well, given that we've had no small amount of propaganda from right-to-die activists about the purported humaneness of letting Terri wither and die, why doesn't someone just shoot her — or at least administer the procedure employed to execute in capital cases. It would, after all, be quicker and thus more humane, right?

It is not being done because its crude blatancy would too obviously spotlight that what's happening here is cold-blooded murder...

Michael Schiavo is reported to have said, when they pulled out a tube that could have been capped (cruelty on top of cruelty, that was), that he 'just wants to put all this behind him'. There's no statute of limitations on murder, Michael, and I'm willing to bet that the loopholes you've so painstakingly utilized will get you only so far. For pity's sake, stop saying 'if I can't have her, no one else can'.

Transatlantic Intelligencer: The European "Constitution" as American Plot

John Rosenthal says that both leftist and rightist players in France are trying to whip up support for their opposition to the proposed EU "constitutional treaty" by claiming it is somehow too American or somehow tied to President Bush.

See the title link for the details.

Selling & 'celling' communism - PittsburghLIVE.com

All right, I'll concede that Dimitri Vassilaros, writing for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, has a bit too much fun at the expense of Democrats and Russian communists in this piece, but overall this is fairly funny, I think.

For the record, I don't see communists as being out for the count. They might be down, but I strongly suspect they have a few punches in them yet, here and abroad.

And also for the record, I wish the moderates among U.S. Democrats would rescue the party from the fringe folks who have hijacked it. To be headed toward more or less the same goals, with the arguments confined primarily to the best ways to get where we want to go, would be a huge step up from the present situation, in my humble opinion.

BlogsForTerri being interviewed on BBC Radio this afternoon

It's nice to see that a major international media player is willing to hear why this matter is so important to so many people.

The Sidewheeler That Saved Texas

The spring of 1836 was a desperate time in Texas. Luckily for Sam Houston and his men, the Yellow Stone was on hand just when they needed her.

The title link is to an article written by Carmen Goldthwaite, originally appearing in the June 2002 issue of Wild West magazine but reprinted online at historynet.com.

James and John Duckett and Government vs. Religion

When the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the United States of America were being written by the Founding Fathers, they undoubtedly had nightmares like the fate of James Duckett in mind. The leaders of the English Reformation made it a hanging offense simply to publish Catholic literature, and Duckett, a Catholic convert, wound up in their crosshairs.

James Duckett spent a lot a time in jail, on and off, after he aligned himself with Catholicism.

He was ultimately brought down by a bookbinder, Peter Bullock, who found himself facing the gallows for something else. Bullock thought he might save his own neck by handing the government someone the authorities might want more than himself, so he testified in court that he had bound some Catholic books at Duckett's request.

Duckett admitted to publishing and circulating Catholic literature. Still, the jury dragged its heels, not wanting to send someone to his death on the basis of what they had to go on. But the judge saw it as a grave offense, and insisted that they change their verdict to "guilty".

As it happened, Duckett and Bullock went to the gallows together: same day, same oxcart en route to Tyburn on April 19, 1602. Bullock didn't save his own skin, but merely added another victim to the pile of people destroyed by a government that brooked no dissent in matters of religion. Either you publicly supported the Church of England, or you were targeted for destruction.

The title link is to the St. James Duckett page in the Saints Alive series by Father Robert F. McNamara, on the website for St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church of Rochester, New York.

John Duckett, probably a relative (accounts vary, with most concluding that he was a grandson of James), was killed September 7, 1644, by the English government on the charge of being a Catholic. A Celtic cross marks the alleged location of his arrest. See: http://www.go-britain.com/html/john_duckett_s_cross.htm.

As the brief write-up points out, it might not have been entirely a religious matter in the case of John Duckett, at least. Attempts on the life of Elizabeth I and the Gunpowder Plot had changed the political landscape.

For what it's worth, the BBC has a Gunpowder Plot game on its website, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/games/gunpowder/index.shtml, where "You must find those kegs before the fizzing fuse causes disaster!" Also: Find out more about the Gunpowder Plot, discover what might have happened if it had been successful, and assess its place in history.

An Easter Message from General John Larsson

General John Larsson of the Salvation Army talks about why he sees the Cross as the most precious of symbols, and what Christians see in it.

Captain's Quarters: Bush Coming Back to DC For Terri

Captain Ed reports over at Captain's Quarters that President Bush is leaving his ranch at Crawford so he can be on hand in Washington to sign a Terri Schiavo-related bill as soon as it can be put on his desk.

...That indicates that Bush expects to have a bill to sign tomorrow, probably in the late afternoon. It also demonstrates Bush's commitment to seeing this case resolved by a federal court rather than the Florida state courts, at least for a fresh look at the evidence.

It's possible that an emergency injunction request could be filed by the Schindlers in federal court on Sunday night, if a judge can be found. If so, the doctors could restore food and water to Terri as soon as tomorrow evening, if the timing and the courts cooperate.

Row Erupts Over Hitler Book in Poland | Germany | Deutsche Welle |

Oh, dear. We seem to be having a "Mein Kampf" outbreak of sorts. (See the post just prior to this one, about how the title currently enjoys bestseller status in Turkey.) This article originally appeared February 25, 2005, on dw-world.de/dw/.

...The Polish publication of the book has already raised hackles in Germany. Earlier this week, the German state of Bavaria said the German embassy in Warsaw was looking into what legal action could be taken to block the publication.

Bavarian Finance Minister Kurt Faltlhauser issued a statement saying that the German state, which the victorious World War II allies designated as the guardian of Hitler's estate, holds the rights to the book and will apply "those rights very restrictively to prevent the spread of Nazi ideology."

Polish publisher XXL said it wants to make a historical record available. A first edition was published in Polish in 1992 but was withdrawn after claims that it incited racial hatred. The book is banned from public display or sale in Germany although it is available for historical research in libraries...

At this point, all this can still probably be classified kerfuffle instead of something worse, but time will tell.

WorldNetDaily: 'Mein Kampf' becomes bestseller in Turkey

Eighty years after Adolf Hitler published his autobiographical manifesto, 'Mein Kampf,' the book that launched European Nazism, is climbing the best-seller charts in Muslim Turkey.

Since publication in January, the book has risen to number four on the best-seller list of the D&R bookstore chain, selling over 50,000 copies...

I have a suggestion. Let's hope most of this is historical curiosity, but let's not assume it is.

Cornell News: vampire bats run

Sarah Davidson, writing for Cornell News Service, outlines a project that put vampire bats on a treadmill - and came up with some surprising results.

The article provides pictures, and the option of a Quicktime movie.

...Not only are vampire bats unusual because they run, but also in the way that they power their gait. "Unlike most animals which use their hind legs as a source of power, these exceptional creatures power their run with their forelimbs," Hermanson explains. Getting most of the push from their long forelimbs -- actually their wings and therefore very strong -- the bats run more like a small gorilla than a comparable four-legged creature like a mouse. They run up to about 2.5 miles per hour. Although many of the 1,100 species of bats are known to walk, the common vampire is the only one so far to pass Riskin and Hermanson's treadmill test and break into a running gait...

The Terri Schiavo Case: Related Ethical Dilemmas

Daniel Eisenberg, M.D., looks at Jewish considerations regarding living wills and the provision of nutrition and hydration to terminally ill people. This is a companion article to the one he wrote explaining why Jewish law condemns the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, called "Should Terri Schiavo Live or Die?"

Largest grassroots Orthodox Jewish group to Michael Schiavo: Spare your wife's life

This came out March 16 on jewishworldreview.com. Agudath Israel of America is in the fight for Terri Schiavo, and others like her:

...A spokesman for the national Orthodox Jewish organization appealed to Mr. Schiavo to "recognize that what a court may consider legal can still constitute a grave violation of a higher law," and asked him to "please allow your wife to continue to live."

"None of us can claim to know what constitutes a meaningful existence," Rabbi Avi Shafran, the organization's director of public affairs explained, "and all of us have a responsibility to preserve even severely compromised human life."

Earthquake Map for Asia

Various news agencies are reporting a 7.0 quake for southern Japan, with tsunamis predicted. But a quick check here (title link) shows that the quake in question was downgraded to a 6.4 - still very big, but not as likely to swamp surrounding areas at least.

This map on the USGS site updates constantly, 24/7. For areas other than Asia, go to the menu at the left of the screen.

UPDATE: Sunday, March 20, 2005. Here's a news story on the earthquake.http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050321a1.htm, titled "Powerful earthquake slams Kyushu".

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, by Barry Schwartz

In "Why Making Choices Is So Hard", author Orson Scott Card reviews and discusses The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, by Barry Schwartz.

The review appeared February 20, 2005, on The Ornery American, in Card's regular World Watch column.

The Paradox of Choice was released in trade paperback earlier this year, 304 pp, HarperCollins, ISBN 0060005696, list price $13.95. The hardcover, from the same publisher, came out in 2003, 288 pp, ISBN 0060005688, list price $23.95, and is still available new.

Rice presses Japan to end beef boycott

Admittedly, the headline is half the fun on this story from chinadaily.com. But it also has info on the beef market, North Korean talks (or lack thereof), and the United States' endorsement of a permanent seat for Japan on the United Nations Security Council.

The American Anglican Council : Scam Alert

As if Anglicans worldwide don't have enough headaches at the moment, persons unknown are misusing the names of some of the most decent of them, either for financial gain or to damage reputations. Be careful. Some of these scams are coming out of Africa, which, of course, is rather infamous these days for fraudulent appeals for cash.

If something claiming to come from an Anglican or Episcopalian leader strikes you funny and you'd like to verify it, you might try http://www.anglicancommunion.org/tour/index.cfm as a starting point. It features links to member churches and leaders at various levels within the communion.

The Currency Lad: It Doesn't Even Look Like Winston Churchill

The Currency Lad, an Australian blogger, gives us a good look at a modern art sculpture supposedly meant to celebrate Winston Churchill. It's actually not a bad looking sculpture, in my humble opinion, but I quake at the price tag, and C.L.'s right - it doesn't look the least little bit like Churchill.

...The inspiration for the work came to de Monchaux when he saw transcripts of Sir Winston's speeches in the archive of the Imperial War Museum. Churchill's staffers were told to write his wartime messages in "psalm style" - typed blocks of indented text stepped diagonally down the page. De Monchaux was struck by his subject's "awareness of the way in which the shape of the spaces around words can amplify their meaning...

Tom Donnelly: China's Strategy

Another entry in the "Suitable For Mixed Company" ongoing China watch. From the March 16, 2005, www.weeklystandard.com, Tom Donnelly, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, writes:

PERHAPS THE WISEST WORDS ever uttered--or attributed--to Ronald Reagan were: Don't just do something, sit there.

Would that the Gipper were still around to guide U.S. strategy toward North Korea and the "Six Party Talks" meant to deal with Pyongyang's nuclear program. Every time an American starts wringing his hands over the failure of the talks, someone in Beijing smiles contentedly. While we're whipping ourselves over the fact that the North Koreans won't come back to the table--which, actually, is supposed to be China's responsibility--Beijing is advancing its other interests, particularly in putting pressure on Taiwan. The more frustrated and fixated we get, the better the Chinese like it...