| Soldier's diary details wider abuse at prison
The Iraq journal of Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II, penned in careful handwriting and mailed home as he feared becoming a scapegoat for egregious military misdeeds, paints a nightmarish picture of overworked, undertrained guards coping with hostile Iraqi prisoners and using tactics that flagrantly violated international rules for treatment of detainees.
If true, the 37-year-old reservist's statements are a devastating indictment of a U.S. military that toppled a brutal dictator only to be accused of torturing Iraqis in a prison, Abu Ghraib, notorious for similar and worse horrors during Saddam Hussein's rule.
Frederick wrote his 10 pages of dated, diary-style entries and sent them to four relatives as the Army prepared to charge him with assault and other crimes.
Judge closes hearing in Manos case
Before he entered the court, Tompkins County Judge John Sherman apparently told his clerk to clear the courtroom of everyone except Manos, her attorney William Sellers IV, Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson and court officials. Several witnesses and a law-enforcement officer were politely ordered from the courtroom, and the proceeding ended about half an hour later. Wilkinson could not be reached for comment, and Sellers declined to comment. Court officials said there are court orders in place sealing both the file and Monday's proceeding. In addition, the officials said they couldn't provide copies of the court orders — because of the order sealing the file. Originally arrested and charged with first-degree assault the night of May 15, Manos is accused of holding Grace under water in a bathtub while she was babysitting the girl at her apartment on Ringwood Road in Dryden.
Hardware High-Def Sales Tip Towards Blu-ray Disc Following Warner ...
Warner's announcement at CES 2008 regarding its high-definition allegiance appears to have an immediate effect on the buying tendencies of the consumer market. Throughout 2007, Blu-ray Disc sales have consistently outsold HD DVD by a factor of around double; but starting the week coinciding with CES 2008 up to January 13, those numbers shifted noticeably further in Blu-ray Disc's favor. According to numbers from Nielsen, reported by Home Media Magazine, Blu-ray Disc sales were 85 percent of the high-definition split. The 85/15 split between the two rival formats represented the largest gulf yet, according historical data charted in the High-Def Digest forums. Of the top ten best-selling high-definition movies for the week, all were Blu-ray Disc. For the major new releases on each format, 3:10 To Yuma on Blu-ray Disc and The Kingdom on HD DVD, the former outsold the later by ten-fold.
Troubled West Lake Worth teen turns around her life with program's ...
Spare Shiris Roque the lecture about idle hands and trouble. She has no time for it. Her work days begin every morning at 5 at a Dunkin' Donuts not far from the west Lake Worth home where she lives with her aunt and uncle. She arrives in darkness, bleary-eyed but determined to make the most of this job. It's her first. And it might be saving her life.
Roque is 17. But it's not 17 the way many children get there. Roque has seen and done things that make her very much an adult. Two years ago, her mother died of AIDS after a long and slow decline. Roque helped care for her the best she could, but she was young and a hidden anger simmered just below the surface.
The death brought relief in some ways, but it also cut Roque loose. Still in high school, she began cutting class and hanging out with friends in dark places.
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