Cell Phones From Hell!

The lastest drama that has come to my home is the drama of the cell phone. I have a cell phone that I have just for emergencies. I rarely use it. It goes in my purse on long trips or if something important is going on with family. Well, my brother and SIL have given up their land lines for just cell phones, consequently my nephew has a cell. He was here for spring break visiting and his having a cell phone has sent dirty Fila into cell phone fits. Her little shoes are running this place and that place looking at cell phones. Her little fingers are constantly writing down model numbers of phones she sees in the paper or advertisements. Her little eyes are just bulging with trying to scope out cell phone that celebrities are using. Apparently Snoop is using some sort of Blackberry. dirty Fila gives me lists of model numbers of cell phone she wants. Can we say cell phone CRAZY!!!!

To the extent that she is cell phone crazed, I give you the following scenarios. I was wading through her school papers and homework last week and I found a letter. A letter mind you! A letter to the mother of one of her friends. Apparently one of her school friends family is also leaving the land of land lines behind. The letter went something like this:

Dear Mommie of_______,
I know that _____ will be getting a cell phone and your plan has free extra lines and phones with it. Can you add me to the plan for the free phone? I will take care of the bills each month. Just give my bill to ______ and I will pay it.

dirty Fila is 11 so I wonder what sort of job she had to pay the bill? I asked her about the letter and she stood there like a deer in headlights. I told her that it was inappropriate to write any sort of letter like this to anyone. I told her not to do it again and NO! she was not getting a cell phone. You would think that would be the end but nooooo...the plot thickens.

The lists to me with cell phone models written down on them continued to be sent to me, place in front of me when I was blogging, slipped under the bathroom door when I was using it and pointed out to me whenever we were in the mall. All this mania in the last 3 weeks. I know that she must be dreaming of cell phones at night. Visions of cell phones dancing around her head.

I reiterated that she was not getting a cell phone. She did not need one just because her friends had one. I told her she was not responsible enough yet to have a phone. The mania raged on.

Last week I left my cell at my parents house by mistake. Mine is a pre pay because I never use it. It is just for emergencies only. dirty Fila spent the night with my nephew. I had no clue what would have happened to my phone. I had 100 minutes on it when I left it. When I went back the next day I had 8 minutes. dirty Fila never told me she used it. I happened to check it once I got home. I wanted to see if the battery needed to be recharged.

8 @#!%^&$$# Minutes!

Man was I livid! I asked her who she had called. Silence. I asked her why she used my phone. Silence. I asked her if she had permisson to use it. Silence. I sent those shoe scurring to her room with not tv and no computer and no radio!

I checked out the cell phone. She had made multiple calls to her school friends and the craziest thing of all was the she called my nephew long distance and spoke to him multiple times when he was right there in the same house with her. She wasted all of my minutes just playing on my cell. Once I got the skinny of who all she called, I called her from her room and we spoke about it again. I went through each of the numbers and found out who she called. In addition, I told her that calling my nephew who was in the same room with her was just plain old ridiculous. I went over how irrresponsible she was and that this was proof that she was not ready for a cell phone.

You would think that it would end there. Well I thought it had. Until I found a noted to her deadbeat dad typed on photo paper because she did not realize I had been printnig photos in the trash. It had a list of cell phone models on it and a note saying she needed to have someone pay her monthly bills. We had a very long talk again about her not getting a cell and that she had definitely gone the wrong way with that last letter. Her deadbeat dad has not paid one dime for her in 11 years. Why did she think that he would pay her monthly cell phone bill? I forbid her to write any more letters to anyone regarding cell phones. She was not ever going to have one any time soon.

I hope this is the end because I sure am tired of this cell phone mania! I must go now. I need to buy more minutes for my phone. Plus I guess I will have to use the phone code and lock it from now on!

Cell phone for dirty Fila? Not over my diamond buckled shoe!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Terri Schiavo Dead at the age of 41

The time now is 9:57 am my time and there has just been a break in by ABC news that Terri Schiavo has just died minutes ago. Charlie Gibson also said that they would be investigating who was with her when she passed away as the husband had been keeping the parents out of the hospice. The parents were not allowed in and that the parents were just entering the hospice now. More news to come on ABC later today.

In my inbox is an email from ABC breaking news that she has died:
ABC News: story here
Terri Schiavo has died, 13 days after a feeding tube was removed, a spiritual adviser to her parents said. A lengthy legal battle over life-sustaining procedures for the brain-damaged woman pitted her parents against her husband.

From Chicago Tribune
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. -- Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo died today, ending an agonizing 15-year odyssey that divided a family and a nation over her right to die. She was 41.

Schiavo took her last breath 13 days after her life-sustaining tube was removed by a court order.

The announcement was made by George Felos, attorney for Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo.

Experts said her story was a lesson for countless Americans who never discussed, much less wrote down, what they would want if they were suddenly thrust into her tragic situation.

"Thanks to Terri, people who have never had that conversation are having it right now," said Kenneth Goodman, a medical ethicist at the University of Miami. "That is her legacy."

Born in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 1963, Theresa Marie was the first child of Bob and Mary Schindler, devout Catholics who named her for Saint Theresa of Avila, the Carmelite mystic who, in an ironic parallel, reawakened religious fervor in her native Spain.

Shy and grossly overweight, Terri, as everybody called her, grew up in suburban Philadelphia, attending Catholic schools and Mass every week. She took notice of boys, but they didn't notice her, leaving her to rearrange the stuffed animals on her bed and dream of becoming a veterinarian.

By the time she graduated high school and entered Bucks County Community College in 1982, Terri had shed more than 100 of the 250 pounds on her 5-foot, 4-inch frame. Sitting in psychology class one day, she caught the eye -- or ear -- of a big, blond guy who was a year older and a foot taller. His name was Michael Schiavo.

"He heard her laughing and he looked over," recalled Brian Schiavo, one of Michael Schiavo's four brothers. "He was enthralled. It was kind of a love-at-first-sight thing. My brother got up the guts and invited her to a family function."

In the beginning, the Schiavos and Schindlers were close and friendly, so close the newlyweds lived in the basement of her parents' four-bedroom colonial for two years. When the couple packed up and moved to Florida in 1986, they lived in the Schindlers' Gulf coast condo, paying rent when they could.

An average student, Terri dropped college and her aspiration of being a vet, and took a job as a clerk with Prudential Life Insurance Co. Her husband worked as the food and beverage manager at a local restaurant.

About three years later, the couple was desperate to have a child and sought the services of a fertility expert. By this time, Terri's weight had dropped to 110 pounds. She was stunning and proud of it. She wore bikinis and gloried in her Florida tan, never divulging what might have been her secret: She may have been bulimic.

Then, in the early morning hours of Feb. 25, 1990, Terri suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed in the hallway of her St. Petersburg apartment. Doctors would later suspect a potassium imbalance brought on by an eating disorder. Her husband frantically called her father, then 911, but by the time paramedics resuscitated her, it was too late.

Without oxygen for too long, her brain was severely damaged.

For three years, Michael Schiavo kept vigil at her side, seeking aggressive rehabilitative therapy. He took her to California for experimental surgery, admitted her to a brain injury center in Bradenton and hired an aide to take her to parks, to museums, to the beauty shop -- anything to stimulate her. Later, he even became a critical care nurse so he could tend to her many needs.

But nothing drew Terri out of her cocoon and, by 1994, her husband accepted her doctors' prognosis. Her cerebral cortex was all but gone. She could not think, feel, reason or communicate and never would again. He decided it was time to let her go,

In 1998, he asked Pinellas County Circuit Judge George W. Greer to end his wife's artificial feedings and, over the objections of her parents, Greer agreed in 2000 that her husband had presented "clear and convincing evidence" she would not choose to subsist in a void, unaware of her environment, always dependent on others for her most basic needs.

She never said so in the unequivocal terms of a written living will, but her husband, his brother and his sister-in-law recalled casual conversations in which they said she made those wishes clear.

But her parents continued to fight those rulings for years, culiminating in the extraordinary actions of the Congress and president approving a law that would move her case to federal courts.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Joan Kennedy hospitalized after being found on street

You would think that someone would be looking out for her. Someone in her family. This is sad. Where were her people?!
----------
USA Today

BOSTON (AP) — Joan Kennedy, the former wife of Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, is in the hospital recuperating from a concussion and a broken shoulder after a passer-by found her lying in a street, according to her son.

Kennedy, 68, was taken to Tufts New England Medical Center about 3 a.m. Tuesday, said Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I.

"We're indebted to some anonymous pedestrian who found her and picked her up and got her help," Patrick Kennedy told the Boston Herald for its Wednesday editions.

Details of exactly what happened and how she ended up in the street were unclear. There was no police report on the incident. Joan Kennedy, who divides her time between Cape Cod and a Boston condominium, has struggled with alcoholism. She spent time in a number of rehabilitation programs following arrests for drunken driving.

The senator said Wednesday that he's proud of his children for their loyalty to his ex-wife.

"This has been a sad time," he said. "We're hoping for the best."

The couple had three children together — Kara Kennedy Allen, 45, Edward Kennedy, Jr., 44, and Patrick Kennedy, 37 — before divorcing in 1982.

The children recently took temporary guardianship of their mother to ensure she receives treatment for her alcoholism. Patrick Kennedy is seeking to become her permanent legal guardian.

Joan Kennedy worked as an advocate for the mentally retarded and for cancer research and was a supporter of the Pine Street Inn, a Boston-based homeless shelter, and Children's Hospital.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Spike-A-Delic-Gala

This wonderful email was in my mail box today sent to me from the Andy Warhol Museum. If anyone is in the area, please go. Looks like a fun time with lots of shoes! I checked out the shop and there are some neat t-shirts there as well as a very nice stamp sheet for about $49.00.
~~~~
Leading Designers Sketch Shoes in Honor of Andy Warhol
Exclusive shoe drawings from Manolo Blahnik, Martha Stewart, Ferragamo, Paloma Picasso, Roberto Cavalli, Kenneth Cole, Isaac Mizrahi and others to be auctioned online as part of The Andy Warhol Museum’s Tenth Anniversary Gala

(Pittsburgh, PA)…March 28, 2005…The Andy Warhol Museum today announced that it has secured commitments from leading designers to sketch shoes in honor of its tenth anniversary. Inspired by the works of Andy Warhol and created solely for the Museum’s April 9, 2005 Spike-a-delic gala fundraiser, the exclusive, signed drawings will be auctioned online via Ebay.com beginning April 1, 2005.

(seller name: theandywarholmuseum) All proceeds will benefit The Warhol’s educational exhibitions and programs fund.

Participating designers, artists and celebrities include:
Polly Apfelbaum, Jeffrey Banks, John Bankston, Manolo Blahnik, Sully Bonnelly, Edmundo Castillo, Roberto Cavalli, Kenneth Cole, Ashley Dearborn, Sam Edelman, Ferragamo, Nathan Gluck, Cole Haan, Hollywould, Heidi Klum, Christian Louboutin, Steve Madden, Carlos Miele, Nicole Miller, Isaac Mizrahi, Burton Morris, Paloma Picasso, Narciso Rodriguez, Sonia Rykiel, Patti Smith, Martha Stewart, Vivienne Tam, Marcel Wanders and John Waters.

“Andy Warhol had a lifelong fascination with shoes and a remarkable career as an illustrator and artist,” said The Warhol’s Director, Thomas Sokolowski. “So it’s fitting that in celebrating The Warhol’s tenth anniversary, we’ll not only pay tribute to the life and works of Warhol, but also to today’s world-class designers who enable us to express and differentiate ourselves through their fashions.”

About The Andy Warhol Museum
The Andy Warhol Museum is committed to a distinctly youthful perspective - to being a vital forum in which diverse audiences of artists, scholars and the general public are galvanized through creative interaction with the art and life of Andy Warhol. The Warhol is ever-changing and constantly re-defining itself in relation to contemporary life, using its unique collections and dynamic, interactive programming as tools to meet its mission in the city, region and world.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Gardening

Last weekend I redid the garden. There were fall leaves about 3 inches thick on the lawn and it took a whiel to rake those up. I cut back the old stalks from plants that had lived and died last summer. After cutting back the old stalks of bulbs, I could see the new shoots of the bulbs that will be coming in this year. And I could also see just how many bulds had multiplied and had just taken over one part of the flower garden. They are some sort of canna bulbs that have beautiful orange flowers. The plants themselves are over 6 feet in the summer. I had to thin them out. They are taking over. The same thing happened last year.

My peony is starting to sprout again as well. Last year for the first time I got 2 large beautiful blooms. This year I hope to get more. I planted some new plants as well. Catnip for my kitty and some of the standard petunias and other flowering plants. Looks like spring out there. I just love flowers.

I refilled the bird feeder. The blue jays come every morning. So do all the finches and the doves. Now I have just discovered that squirrels have been coming and eating all the bird seed. I have a feeder but I also sprinkle some bird seed on patio. Some small birds will eat from there and so will the doves who are too big to fit on the feeder. Well, big old fat squirrels are eating the seed.

My mother has 2 chestnut trees in her yard and each winter they yield what seems like a tractor trailer full of chestnuts. We eat some and freeze some. Well I decided that maybe if I give some of those to the squirrels they would leave the bird seed alone. Can we say greedy? They are eating both. They will eat about 2 on the spot and then transport the rest during the course of the day to the big tree...an oak about 20 feet away. Now I try to scare them when I see them eating the birdseed. Why they can't get it in their heads that they are only to eat the chestnuts, I do not know.

Now on yesterday I just happened to be looking out the back door and here comes a monster dog, the size of a small pick uptruck. An alaskan husky with those eveil grey eyes. and what does he do? Take a big gigantic poop right next....and I mean right next to the patio. I was furious. Where was his owner and where was the leash he was to be on?? I had not seen him before so I do not know who he belongs to. I tried to shoo him away. He just looked at me. He was so big I was not about to go outside. He did his business and left and I was so furious I went out the the petstore and bought some dog repellent.

I will make my yard a very unhappy place for him to come to. I also bought the moth balls as that is supposed to drive them away as well. I noticed that he sniffed around the patio before he did his business so I also sprinkled lots of black pepper all over as well. Come sniffing around here and leave with a sneezing fit!

When I was litte I remember stray dogs coming around my parents house. Times were different then. I remember my parents also putting out moth balls. They did not buy dog repellent. They made there own. I might just have to resort to this as well. This is what they used to do. My father would buy small whole jalopenia (sp) peppers and encapsulate them in raw ground beef. A beef pepper ball. Then, he would saute then just a little..very little to bring out the juices. Then they were placed all around the back yard.

Yep. Dogs would eat and get a very hot mouth. Those dogs did not come back for long. When I saw the monster dog on yesterday, that was the first thing that popped into my head. Make up those pepper balls and make them tonight. Well, we will see if the more humane approach works first. It is the most expensive. $13.00 for dog repellent. Ground beef and a jar of peppers cost a lot less than that. If I have to buy peppers, you will be sure they will be the hottest of the hot the habaneros! One ball should do it!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Johnny Cochran Dies From Brain Tumour

Johnny Cochran had a secret life:

Flamboyant in public, he kept his private life shrouded in secrecy, and when some of those secrets became public following a 1978 divorce, they were startling.

His first marriage, to his college sweetheart, Barbara Berry, produced two daughters, Melodie and Tiffany. During their divorce, it came to light that for 10 years Cochran had secretly maintained a "second family," which included a son.

When that relationship soured, his mistress, Patricia Sikora, sued him for palimony and the case was settled privately in 2004.

***Update as of 04/06/05***

Johnny Cochran's Funeral

Legendary Lawyer Laid to Rest

LOS ANGELES — The call came several times from the stage: Will all the celebrity clients Johnnie Cochran Jr. represented please rise. O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and others in the star-studded audience stood up and were applauded by a packed house Wednesday at the cavernous West Angeles Cathedral.

But speaker after speaker at the funeral said the lawyer's real A-list of clients was included what Cochran once called the "No Js" - ordinary black Americans profiled by police or fired because of their race.

"You would've had to be someone stopped by a cop only because of your skin color to know why we love Johnnie Cochran," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "For decades our brothers, our cousins, our uncles had to stand in the well with no one to stand up for them. And finally a black man came and said, 'If it don't fit - you must acquit."' The famous line drew a roar from audience members who showed up to pay their respects to Cochran, who died March 29 of an inoperable brain tumor at his home in Los Angeles. He was 67.

Colorful and eloquent, Cochran became a legal superstar after helping clear Simpson during a sensational murder trial in which he uttered the famous "if it doesn't fit" quote - a reference to a glove found at the murder scene. The line was on the back of T-shirts being sold for $10 outside the church, where 5,000 people were expected to attend the funeral. The shirts had a picture of Cochran on the front with the words: "Freedom and justice."

"Johnnie fought for his clients," Simpson told reporters outside the cathedral. "He was just a good friend, a good Christian man and a great lawyer."

The range of mourners reflected Cochran's work in high-profile civil rights cases and high-glamour trials. Also paying respects were such celebrities as Stevie Wonder and Earvin "Magic" Johnson and civil rights leaders Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

"Johnnie was to this era what Thurgood Marshall was to the era before him," Sharpton said, referring to the first black U.S. Supreme Court justice. "The press does not understand why thousands are here."

Also among mourners were other members of Simpson's legal "dream team" including Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, as well as actress Angela Bassett, and Rep. Maxine Waters.
Former Cochran client Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant who was tortured by New York police, arrived with Sharpton. Cochran's other high-profile clients included football great Jim Brown, actor Todd Bridges and rappers Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.

Combs recounted begging Cochran for help after his arrest in 1999 in a Manhattan criminal case. He was later acquitted of the charges, which stemmed from a nightclub shooting.

"He came and he saved my life. Because of him I get to see my kids, I get to see my mother and I get to make music and be here with you all today," Combs said.

In 1997, Cochran won freedom for Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a former Black Panther who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. The attorney called the moment "the happiest day of my life practicing law."

"We've known him for representing O.J. and Michael, but he was bigger and better than that," Magic Johnson said outside. "He represented people you've never heard of."

Before entering the cathedral, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said Cochran was among "the great warriors who really used the legal system to gain a measure of freedom and justice for people. Johnnie was a symbol of that for all of us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***Update as of 04/03/05****
Funeral Arrangements for Johnny Cochran

Los Angeles,CA- Funeral arrangements are complete for famed defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Cochran died Tuesday from a brain tumor. He was 67-years old.

Services for Cochran will be held in Los Angeles next week, with two viewings on Monday and Tuesday, followed by the funeral itself on Wednesday at West Angeles Cathedral.

Cochran will be buried in Inglewood, California.

~~~~~~

Johnnie L Cochran Jr, the charismatic attorney who became famous in the successful defence of football star OJ Simpson on murder charges, has died in Los Angeles of a brain tumour.

Cochran began his career as a crusader against police abuses, often in cases involving black clients.

But Cochran is best known for the trial that won a controversial acquittal for Simpson in 1995.

Simpson was accused of murder in the June 12, 1994 stabbing deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

He was acquitted despite what prosecutors described as a "mountain of evidence" against him.

In one of the defining moments of the trial, Simpson appeared unable to put on a pair of gloves connected to the double murder.

Cochran famously admonished the jury: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."

Cochran became so well known during the trial that he subsequently played himself in a series of films and television series.

A statement from Cochran's family and law firm confirmed he had died.

It said funeral arrangements would be announced at a later date.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

New Guinea Prime Minister Protesting Shoe Incident

(Don't look now but it may be an international incident!)
News.com.Australia

PAPUA New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare is to make a formal complaint to the Australian Government after being asked to remove his shoes during a Brisbane Airport security check.

The incident occurred while the Prime Minister was in transit through Brisbane to Port Moresby after attending a meeting of regional leaders in New Zealand on Thursday.

Mr Somare told PNG's EM TV News last night he considered his treatment by airport security in Brisbane an insult and such action had never been afforded to Australian leaders visiting PNG.

During a security check at the airport, Mr Somare was asked to remove his shoes as he and his delegation passed through.

"I said there was nothing in the shoes," Mr Somare told EM TV.

He said he returned to the lounge and the issue was later resolved and he boarded his flight.

"I thought it was an insult to the leadership in our region."

Mr Somare said he had never received such treatment from other countries in the region.

PNG gave preference to leaders when they visited his country and though their baggage might be searched, the leaders themselves were not checked, he said.

Mr Somare said if Australia did not change its policy, the same treatment should be given to them.

"I'm going to take it up with the Foreign Minister (Rabbie Namaliu) and when they come here they'll be subject to the same kind of treatment that I have been subjected to."

The Prime Minister said a protest letter would be going to the Australian Government over his treatment at Brisbane.

Brisbane Airport Corporation spokesman Jim Carden said last night he did not know the details of the incident but no complaint had been received from Mr Somare's office.

Airport security procedures were applied to everybody equally regardless of their status, he said.

"There are no exceptions for those security procedures. Ministers of the Crown still have to go through the processes."

People could be screened less publicly in cases such as passengers with prosthetic knees or in diplomatic cases, Mr Carden said.

Brisbane Airport handled more than a million passengers a month but only had one or two complaints a month about screening procedures, he said.

"On the whole, people understand they have to go through those processes."

Occasionally celebrities or other high-profile people objected when they thought some sort of waiver should apply, Mr Carden said.

"Those situations are unfortunate, but we have to do it even-handedly."

Mr Somare attended a meeting of regional leaders in Auckland on Thursday hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark to discuss the Pacific plan for strengthening regional cooperation and integration.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Evil Shoe Art Project

I was searching the web for intersesting shoe "stuff" and came across Evil Shoes. This was part of a school art project. Here are some of the interesting ones!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

The Powers of Garlic

My grandmother belived that garlic cured all things. She would put garlic in just about every dish she made. She would even sprinkle granulated garlic in her coffee every morning. I grew up with the taste of garlic on everything. My mom would push 6-8 whole garlic cloves into a roast beef before cooking. Now I am not as fanatical as they are when it comes to garlic. I usually have some all the time in at least 2 forms. Chopped in oil, whole cloves or granulated.

Well I came down with a cold last winter and I was talking to a client at work, hacking and with a stopped up nose and she told me that I needed garlic and lemon water. Garlic? She said I needed to eat fresh whole cloves of garlic..about 3 at time and drink lemon water ( a glass of water with the juice of 1 fresh lemon) and I would feel better. She said to do this several times a day.

Well, someone else on the phone told me I needed to drink pine needle tea. He told me to go gather young pine needles and boil them for about 30 minutes. Sweeten the liquid and drink like tea. I thought he was crazy. I looked for that on line...I googled it up and sure enough there are lots of sites that recommend pine needle tea for a cough. I did not try that.

I did try the garlic and lemon water. It made me feel better. The nasal congestion lessened within hours. Maybe it was because the garlic was so hot! I do not know if you have ever tried just chomping down on fresh garlic cloves but they are hot! Kind of like hot peppers. My tongue was on fire.

Well, a cold has just jumped on me on Friday and I have been miserable. It has turned into bronchitis now and I will have to go to the doctor on tomorrow. It has been a misearable weekend. I have taken all the typical things: tylenol, robitussin, delsym. I still have been miserable. I decided to try the garlic and lemon water about 2am last night since I was up and could only breathe through my mouth. Within 2 hours I felt better.

In addition to everything else I have eaten today, I have eaten about 6 cloves of whole garlic with lemon water. Tonight will be a slightly better night. It has been a better day today. I can breathe. So, I am recommending when you have a cold, go start chewing fresh garlic and follow it up with lemon water chasers.


Now this is a lot of garlic!!

The Australian
$30,000 in garlic stolen

March 26, 2005 A THIEF has stolen nearly $30,000 worth of garlic from a northern New South Wales property.

About 110 bags of garlic were stolen from a shed at the property on Rigney Street, Brierfield, between Wednesday evening and Friday morning, police said today.

The 20kg bags were coloured orange, similar to onion bags, and were estimated to be worth $28,600.

Anyone with information should contact Coffs Harbour police.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Condoleeza Rice Accused of Identity Theft

Click here for: Condoleeza Rice and Ferragamo Shoes!

Lucy Van Pelt, the unforgettable character from the Peanuts gang has charged White House appointee Condoleeza Rice with identity theft. Lucy demands that the White House allow her to share Secretary of State responsibilities with Rice since "the hussy stole my whole persona," said Van Pelt.

Comparison between Condi rice and Lucy Van Pelt

Both Lucy Van Pelt and Condoleeza Rice work hard at being bossy, crabby and selfish. Their smiles and motives are rarely pure. They're both know-it-alls who dispenses advice whether you want it or not--and for Charlie Brown for Lucy and Colin Powell for Condi, there's a charge.

Both women are fussbudgets, in the true sense of the word. Both are a real grouch, with only one or two soft spots, and both of them may be Schroeder for Lucy and George W. Bush for Condi.

When it comes to compliments, Lucy and Condi only like receiving them. If they're paying one--or even smiling-both are probably up to something devious.

The only differences

The only two things that separates Lucy from Condi is that Lucy is loud and yells a lot while Condi speaks her veiled threats softly and carries nuke potential. And Lucy does smile a bit more often than her three dimensional double.

I must also add that I do not think Condi took her shoes!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Dead Man Walking

I am definitely glad that Scott Peterson got the death penalty. It is just a shame that he will be in jail for so many years and is likely to die in prison than get the chair or the needle in the arm. He might go out like the guy who used to eat people....man I cannot remembers his name right now. He was accidently mixed in with the general population and he was killed by another inmate. What is his name? He would lure men back to his room and eat them. They found body parts in his refrigerator. His name escapes me right now. If anyone knows, please let me know.

Modbee.com: Full Story

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Scott Peterson has become the 644th prisoner awaiting death in the execution chamber of San Quentin State Prison, the lockup that overlooks the same bay where the body of his pregnant wife, Laci, was discarded.

Peterson, who was sentenced to death Wednesday, left the San Mateo County jail to San Quentin at 3:10 a.m. today. Secured with leg irons and shackles around his wrists and waist, Peterson was led away in a white, unmarked van for drive from Redwood City, south of San Francisco, to the prison, about 20 miles north of the city.

The 32-year-old former fertilizer salesman entered San Quentin, shortly after 4 a.m. Prison officials had Peterson remove his clothing and a bulletproof vest supplied by the sheriff for his safety, San Quentin spokesman Lt. Vernell Crittendon said on NBC’s “Today” show. A body search, medical exam and DNA test were conducted, and a photo was taken for identification.

“During the process, there were moments where he would give that nervous smile,” Crittendon said, adding that Peterson was.

“extremely polite.” He told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that a staffer suggested to Peterson that he would take a nap and Peterson replied, “No, I’m just too jazzed.”

Jazzed about what I wonder? He did this to himself. Why be nervous now? He has been cool as a cucumber until now.

In one of the makeshift death rows — a building known as East Block, where Peterson will most likely live — inmates stay locked in their 5-by-9-foot cells, except when they are outside. There are no common areas; the cells are stacked in tiers fronted by narrow walkways.

There also is no shower room, so two regular cells on each tier have been converted into showers. Plastic sheeting taped to the bars keeps most of the water from spraying onto the tiers below, but a steady stream of water slides down nonetheless.

He will most likely be there forever without getting the lethal injecton. I think that is still too good for him. Living his days out doing nothing, but still living.

Still, there is no telling whether Peterson will ever receive a lethal injection. Of the 38 states with the death penalty, California moves the slowest toward executions. As a result, condemned inmates here are more likely to die in prison.

Peterson likely will sit for more than five years before he is appointed an attorney for his first, mandatory appeal to the California Supreme Court.

A big reason for the delays is that there are too many inmates with too few lawyers willing to volunteer for the relatively low-paying job.

Peterson joins about 120 others who do not yet have lawyers. And even when an attorney is appointed, there are no deadlines for California’s high court to act.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Goth Shoe of the Week

Witch Shoes
$32.00: Spooky Boutique

The goth girl in my office has a pair of these. She wears them quite often with her "over- the-knee" knee highs striped socks!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Key Lime Cake: Carnival of the Recipes

This is an excellent cake! Whenever I make it people just ooooh and aaah! Makes me feel like Emeril! Yep that's my cake! I made it! BAM! I kicked it up a notch!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 small box lemon instant pudding (approx. 3 oz)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp. key lime juice
• .
• Key Lime Glaze
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup key lime juice

PREPARATION:

Beat eggs; add water, oil, lime juice, instant pudding and cake mix. Beat with electric mixer until well blended. Pour into well greased and lightly floured 9"x12" pan. Bake approximately 50 to 55 minutes at 325 degrees. Prick top surface with fork while still warm, about 5 to 10 minutes out of the oven. Pour glaze over cake. Leave cake in pan.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Shoes Only Huggy Bear Could Wear!

I wonder if the fish could really take all the motion of walking? I bet they died the same day. You would have to get a new gold fish eveyday for these shoes. Yep these are definitely for Huggy Bear! He might be the only one to pull these shoes off!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Whitney Houston goes Back to Rehab!

When is she going to get rid of Bobby?! Maybe if she got rid of him she would stay off the drugs!


ABC NEWS
NEW YORK Mar 23, 2005 — A year after her first reported stay in rehab, Whitney Houston has again checked into a rehabilitation facility. "Whitney Houston has re-entered a rehabilitation facility today," her publicist, Nancy Seltzer, told The Associated Press Wednesday. She declined to provide details.

The news was first reported by syndicated entertainment TV show "Access Hollywood."

In March 2004, Houston checked herself into an undisclosed rehabilitation center.

After years of denying drug use, the pop diva said she had used cocaine, marijuana and pills in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "Primetime" in 2002.

She has said she was using the power of prayer to help her get over drugs.

In January 2000, Houston left behind a bag at an airport in Hawaii that allegedly held less than half an ounce of marijuana and three partially smoked marijuana cigarettes; a petty misdemeanor drug charge was dismissed when a counselor said Houston didn't need treatment for substance abuse.

Houston, 41, has been working with producer Clive Davis on a comeback album.

The Grammy-winning singer is known for her rendition of "I Will Always Love You" and her role in the 1992 film "The Bodyguard." Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown have been married since 1992 and have an 12-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

Brown has a history of drug and alcohol arrests.

The couple live near Alpharetta, a suburb north of Atlanta.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Real Fur

Now I know that there is a big movement away from real fur and real skins being used for handbags and clothing, but I must say I like real fur. I wear real fur. The one thing I do that makes me feel just a little bit better about it, is that I normally will not buy new fur from a store. I buy used fur. I know. Fur is fur but if it has had a previous owner, then I am just recycling fur.

I have several mink stoles, a muskrat and fox fur full length coat that is beautiful. Fox hats and I have bought some new fur. A silver fox fur cape with 4 beautiful saga silver fox tails. Matching hat of course. The vintage pieces I have bought on Ebay from canadian furriers. I have had good luck as they have all been pieces just as described....in excellent condition. The best new fur I have found has been in Chicago! Everywhere you look you will find real fur and even better than that almost everyone in the winter time is wearing it on a daily basis.

Now in addition to having lots of shoes, I am also in love with purses. Nice ones....coach, dooney and my favorite of all, Oroton. The bad thing about Oroton is that you now have to order them directly from Australia. I have about 6 Oroton bags. Most I was able to buy before they pulled all the business from North America and Canada and took it all back to Australia.

I have been wanting an alligator bag and went looking on ebay for one about a year ago. I wanted a Crocodile Kelly bag. I found then but did not buy one. I ended up buy a baby alligator bag like the one below. Vintage...from the 1940's. It is beautiful. Kind of delicate as it is so old. the bag itself is like new. The straps are worn and that is the only achilles heel on the bag. I have only used it once and got lots of comments...a lot of people complimented and just a few asked if that bag was legal? I told them yes. It was a vintage bag that I have recycled and was now using.

I guess I will always like real fur, alligator bags, leather skirts and snake skin shoes. Real fur and real skin is something I have always worn and will continue to wear. For me "REAL" is always in style.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

The Neighbor's Shoes Once Again!

It has been awhile since the neighbors shoes have come up but now they once again. To fill you in on the past news check out these posts!

Neighbors feeding my birds that visit my feeders! The nerve of them! Get your own feeders!

Flip flops screaming at all hours of the night!

Flip flops, slippers, mary janes and sneakers

I think that the mom has given up on her daughter. I saw that because now I know for sure she has dropped out of school. One day at lunch I saw at the McDonalds working. I also have been going home for lunch some days and she has been dropped off home by some of her friends. By the same token when she has off, she has all sorts of people going in and out of the house. I know that if her mother were at home, she would not BEGIN to tolerate that. Flip flop shoes all her friends out of the house before her mother gets home. I have also seen her smoking. She just throws her empty cigarette cartons and butts everywhere. I do not believe her mother knows she smokes either. Maybe mom simply does not know what the daughter is doing in her house when she is not there.

She still looks the same... pretty much. Blonde stringy hair, many times put up in a crazy rat's nest bun. Still overweight and getting bigger. From the number of males I see knocking at the door over there, she might be in a "That's my baby daddy" situation very soon! That would be not so good for her.

Well the last saga happened this past weekend. I was at home blogging away minding my own business when I hear a knock at the door. I was not expecting anyone so I thought maybe someone had the wrong house. I did not get up. I heard more persistent knocking and the faint sound of a car engine. I got up and peeked out the window and saw a black teen girl who I did not know. There was a cab outside as well. Seemed strange! I cracked the door with the chain on and asked if I could help her. She said that she was looking for flip flop who lived next door. She said that flip flop was not home and she thought that she would be. They had plans and she was supposed to be at home. Well she had ridden in a cab to see her and had no money to pay the cab driver and no phone to try to locate flip flop and could I let her use my phone? I just looked at her. I looked at the cab driver. He was most annoyed! So was I. Why did I answer that door?!?!?

I told her to hold I would be right back. I locked the door and went to my purse and got my cell phone out. I gave it to her. How else was I now going to get her away from my doorstep? She called Shenequa. She called Shenana. She called Quanda. She called Antwan. She called Marquela. She called some of everybody and no one had seen flip flop. With each call, she begged for the money to pay the cab. The fee was $6.50 but noone would give her the money. I looked at the cab driver. He was getting evenmoer annoyed. I had decided that my good samaritan was extending only to the use of my cell. I was not going to give her the money for the cab.

Next she called Barbara. Then she called Teefa and she finally hit paydirt. Teefa agreed to give her the money for the cab and she would pay her back. She gave me back the phone and asked the cab to take her to Teefa's house and off they went. I went back to my computer. All was well for about 1.5 hours.

Flip flop must have come home because next thing you know, when I went out to get the mail, it looked like a house party was going on at the neighbor's house. It was all teens out in front of their house, in cars and on the lawn and porch. Flipflop was in the middle of it all. Standing next to her was the young girl with no cab money, laughing.

I swear when I was a teen I was not wayward. Maybe it was all those catholic schools I went to. Fear of committing a sin kept me and my friends all in line all the time. And let's not forget those evil nuns. They were mean and you did not want to get tangled up with them. Trust me!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

The Golden Years of Hip Hop

I found this interesting article on aging hiphoppers. Makes you think! What will those again rappers be doing 20 years from now?

The Star: Canada

Two summers ago, a week before the Rah-Rah-Let's-Forget-About-SARS concert, I was discussing the lineup (AC/DC, The Rolling Stones) with my friend Andy. The essence of our talk came down to one conspicuous and harsh detail. "Andy," I said, "There's nothing sadder than an old rock and roller."He laughed and nodded affirmatively, "Too true."And yet, people went. Almost half a million Torontonians and tourists swarmed Downsview Park to witness a leathery musical allsorts of a bill. In spite of how poorly these icons of rock had aged, how ridiculous these old dads appeared, sporting leather pants and singing songs about hot sex and big balls, the crowd ate 'em up.Will hip hop fare that well?Sure it will.Hip hop, not just the music, but the related spider web of fashion, style, idioms, film and television it continues to produce, is the filament of contemporary pop culture.It's our generation's zeitgeist, the equivalent of rock in the '60s.The idea of it growing old is as comical and horrifying as the thought that one day we'll grow old and tired, trying to explain to our grandchildren how we left factory-placed stickers on the brims of our hats and flipped up the collars of our shirts, because that — like Grandpa Simpson's onion hanging from his belt — was the style at the time.

Hip hop is inextricably linked to the time of our lives when we're most fluent in lingua pop cultura. Read: Most of your friends know things like, "The Neptunes produced Justin's `Like I Love You'," and "Tupac and Biggie are like oil and water, and dead." Its aging progress will likely be a combination of the unnoticable/fan-forgiveable. At least until a new genre becomes a cultural force; nothing made rock and roll sound like dad's music as much as hip hop has.So how to chart this progress? Forget following myriad splinter classifications like conscious, crunk and grime. You chart the aging process of hip hop by observing the genre's icons. Picture Snoop Dogg at 70, smoking weed to stimulate his appetite, not his flow, and driving his Caddy not to the club but to bingo. Actually, wait, bad example. Snoop's going to look pretty good when he gets older because he already has this sort of "stylish old man" thing going on. Alligator spats? Hot with two T's. He's the one rapper who can pull off almost any look.

But try this: Look at yourself in the mirror and picture one of your grandparents in your shoes. No lie; Gramps ain't going to look so fresh in Jordans.In hip hop's future, some old heroes will become clowns, like living cautionary tale Flava Flav. The Public Enemy hype man went from being one of the groundbreakers of the genre to a gooney, cracked-out caricature of his former self, nodding his way through Season 3 of The Surreal Life and its ill-advised spin-off, Strange Love (which chronicles Flav's topsy-turvy love affair with Sly's former wife, Brigitte Nielsen).And there'll be those acts that'll never truly change, like The Beastie Boys, whose lead single "Ch-Check It Out" off 2004's To The 5 Burroughs doesn't sound out of step with any track off of 1992's Check Your Head.Then there'll be artists like Jay-Z: "I don't wear jerseys, I'm thirty-plus / Give me a crisp pair of jeans, n---- button up."

Jay-Z couldn't be clearer on "What More Can I Say?" He's no kid anymore. He's moved on. Fixing himself up to look sharp and live life as a slightly older, wiser man who's chosen to step away from the microphone.His Black Album was (ostensibly, save for a moment of weakness on a Linkin Park mash-up) his farewell to being an MC and a prequel to his part in an ownership bid for the New Jersey Nets. He's also the president of Roc-A-Fella Records, the man in charge of the Roc-A-Wear clothing line, and — the big coup — he's the freshly appointed president and CEO of Universal's Island Def Jam imprint, (home to DMX, Ludacris, Ashante, Ja Rule, etc.) There's a hip-hop progress report to follow. P. Diddy's career path is much the same. Between the Sean John clothing line, the Bad Boy label ownership and the acting, he's set himself up for business ventures beyond just throwing down his own rhymes and beats.The danger for P. Diddy and co. is the chance they'll lose that mainline to credibility that gave them the fan foundation to achieve their success.

But hey, who's got the time to be concerned about street cred when you're hanging with Ashton and telling America to "Listen up and hook into that inner child" while introducing a song from The Polar Express at the Oscars?Of course, not every icon is going to root himself in the spotlight. Look at Dr. Dre. He's single-handedly responsible for popularizing and mythologizing gangsta rap on 1992's The Chronic, but he's since spent most of his time developing the Aftermath record label, ushering in Em, 50, and now The Game. It's a smart move on his part to focus on identifying young talent and step back from centre stage (while staying visible in the wings) and acting as a handler for new sex symbols and trend setters.

There are, however, acts like Beyonce, Missy, Outkast and Eminem who'll transcend the limitations of age and, if they so desire, will be able to tour for the rest of their lives regardless of how they look up on stage (if Mick Jagger can still wear leather pants and sell tickets, who's to say Missy can't rock a tracksuit 'til 2040?).Proof: Some of the highest earning musicians as reported by Forbes at the end of 2004 were Bruce Springsteen ($64 million U.S.), The Rolling Stones ($51 million) and The Eagles ($43 million). Their fan bases, once young, now have the cash flow and nostalgia to fuel high-price reunion tours and merchandise sales.

It'll be silly when this happens in 15-20 years, sure. Horatio Sanz' and Jerry Minor's recurring SNLcharacters, old school rappers from 1972, Kid Shazzam and Grandmaster Rap, are prescient Ghosts of the Future on the issue: "When we rapped, we didn't rap about givin' your man friend fellatios. We rapped about good stuff, like sneakers."Well, okay, it probably won't be quite that silly.But just as rock and roll is at its most visceral and exciting as a young man's pursuit, so is hip hop. And just as our parents and their peers gladly suffer the high kicks of rocking skeletons, we'll welcome the slouched, be-hoodied shoulders and arthritic hands clasped around mics.Because even though we're not going to be cool forever, maybe, just maybe, through our music, our own youth might.That's what we'll tell ourselves, anyway.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Rolando: King of Venice Footwear

If Manolo is all the rage for shoe-shoppers in America, in Venice, there is really only one footwear fenomeno: Rolando.

Working in an age when made-to-measure shoes are a rapidly dwindling commodity, supplanted over the decades by mass-produced ready-made wear, Rolando Segalin is trying to keep tradition alive.

His father Antonio opened a small shop in Venice in 1932 where he handcrafted footwear - a lucrative proposition at the time in a city where feet are by necessity the most common form of transportation.

In 1955, the son moved the shop to Calle dei Fuseri, between St. Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge. At 69, he is still there and working a full day.

His gentle manner and wire-rimmed seriousness bring Pinocchio's papa Geppetto to mind, as he stretches a piece of leather over a life-size wooden foot. For Segalin, designing shoes is a combination of creative passion and craft.

Actually, he thinks he has something on Manolo Blahnik, the eccentric designer whose flimsy if slightly threatening shoes are an out-and-out obsession for the thousands of well-heeled women who can afford them.

"There is really no difference between me and Manolo Blahnik or Andrea Pfister. We all design beautiful models," he said, with more collegial pride than envy towards his more famous colleagues. "But whereas I make everything by hand, their models are beautiful but mass made, and they're not very comfortable."

Blahnik claims that each one of his high-priced shoes is handmade by craftsmen working round the clock in four Italian factories and that he personally carries out spot checks to singe loose threads or glues soles in place. Still, it's hard to believe that one person could exercise quality control over the 100,000 plus pairs of shoes and boots he sells each year.

On the other hand, watching Segalin at work in his cramped workshop behind the store - stuffed with shoe molds, dozens of different leathers and oddly shaped heels and buckles - there's no doubt that each of the 250-odd shoes he produces each year has been meticulously handcrafted from heel to toe.

The models are highly original creations ranging from the staid to the whimsical to the outrageous. There are reproductions of the brocaded 18th century Venetian concoctions that Casanova would have shod, stilt-rivaling platform shoes, red and gold brocade Tudor-style shoes, even a shoe in the shape of a large red foot.

A popular style with men "with an outgoing personality," he said, is the Lord Brummel shoe, which uses a buckle made popular when the British dandy and trendsetter lived in Venice at the beginning of the 19th century. The shoemaker finds shoes to copy from ancient prints and paintings.

Segalin's conversation is peppered with the names of his more famous clients - princes, contessas and celebrities looking for something for a lark or a special occasion - but many of his customers are just plain Venetian folk who grew up during a time when buying custom-made shoes was not unheard of.

A woman in her 60s enters the shop and greets him warmly, using the tu form, the sign of a long-standing relationship. He tells her that her shoes are almost ready and she promises to return. Prices start at =420 and each pair of shoes takes from two to three weeks to make.

"At one time just about all of Venice came to have shoes made," he recalled wistfully. "And in the 1970s I became very popular because of my boots, which were the most beautiful in Europe." Women who bought them then still wear them today, he said, and come by his shop to visit.
His collection includes traditional favorites, pumps or mules, but he finds his thrill in constantly crafting new designs, trying to stay one step ahead of the fashion game. "I try to sense trends three or four years before they happen, because that is the sign of a good craftsman," he said.
But if few shoemakers still make one-off shoes, the Italian footwear industry as a whole prides itself on its handcrafted products nonetheless.

"Even though shoes may not be made to measure anymore, all high-quality Italian shoes are at least partly handmade," said Patrizia Curiale, the secretary of the National Fashion Federation, an organization represented by Confartigianato, the artisans lobby.

Segalin thinks that just isn't enough. Mass production, he said, makes for uncomfortable footwear. "I think of the comfort of my clients," he said.
Comfort, he added, only comes by following the traditional rules of shoemaking. "The key to the process are the wooden molds, which can be added to or modified, you can do anything you like," he said "It may take time but it is worth it."

Today he is the last of the made-to-measure designers left in Venice. When he first opened shop, competition was tough with at least 30 cobblers peddling their wares, one just down the street. He lashed out at the government's shortsighted political vision and lamented the absence of tax breaks or other forms of assistance for shoemakers who train young cobbler-wannabes.

He himself takes in apprentices and said he has never turned anyone down, but he thinks the trade's future looks bleak. "Unfortunately, nowadays parents want their children to work in an office and not to learn a trade," he rued. "Shoemaking requires study, time and creativity."
Currently, he has two young women working with him. One is Venetian and a recent graduate of the city's Fine Arts Academy, the other, Gabriele Gmeiner, is Austrian, and studied at the Cordwainers College at the London College of Fashion before coming to Venice to work in Segalin's workshop where she could get a lot of real hands-on experience.

In the nearby Riviera del Brenta, where 993 small and medium shoe business employ some 14,000 people in making high quality leather shoes, the local shoe factories association runs a school to train designers and hosts an annual design award. But they leave the hands on training to the individual factories who take in apprentices and teach them. "There's no school for the trade, they just learn from watching more experienced workers," said Laura Gerardello, who runs the fashion end of the association. "Artisans are disappearing, because most are elderly and retiring."

Segalin's greatest achievement, by his own admission, has been that he was able to go beyond the craft his father handed down to him. "My father wanted to be a great shoemaker but he died before he could achieve his dream," he said. "I'm here in his place."

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Shoe Fun for the Car

Guess what I found!? A cute plate holder all about shoes. This is just one of many cute gifts for shoe lovers on the site. Check it out here: Shoe Gifts.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Goth Shoe of the Week

You too can enter the dark side of shoes!
$50.74: Pennangalan Dreams

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Treasured Cats: Carnival of Cats

One of my treasuted cats is lost. This was a cat statue I purchased in 1987 when I was visiting North Carolina. Chapel Hill to be exact. On the main street they have lots of quaint little shops, gift shops and local craft galleries. I went into some sort of exotic import furniture store and got this wonderful cat that I fell in love with. She is the color of Aigner shoes (I remember when Aigner was IT!) and she used to he the focal point of my living room. She used to sit on top of the coffee table and was most impressive.

I never knew what she was made of until recently...when the tragedy happened. I just knew that she was very heavy and could be used a a weapon if someone ever broke in. I had a boyfriend many years ago who hated cats and just hated my cat statue. He hated to see it on the coffee table. He said it looked at him. He used to want me to turn it so that it would not look at him whenever he came over. (Love me , love my cats, even if they are plaster!)

Well, I had the carpets cleaned about a week ago or so. Part of the trying to LET Go of things.
I moved her to the counter to get her off the floor and out of the way of the cleaners. She was in the hallway living under a table. Still in a very visible place. Well I was picking her up to put her back in place and her leg just separated. Just separated. I was crushed. I thought about super glue but I saw she was plaster and wondered now well that would hold in the end. Well I decided to let her go. I had to but at least now I have two pictures. She will be going to the great kitty heaven that is the garbage can today. She had a long and happy life with me and she will be missed much! She was well loved.

So where does that leave me? Well I am down to just one real cat now and my first cat that has been cremated and is in her cremation urn in the kitchen on top of the microwave. Here is my kitty stretching on the newly cleaned carpet! And yes...she is already shedding all over it. See that ball of black fur near her tail!!
I am constantly vacuuming. If not everyday then every other day.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Dennis Rodman Naked: No Shoes Here!

Dennis Rodman: Obviously No Shoes!

Dennis Rodman is coming to NYC for Fashion Week—not to sit in the front row at a show, but to unveil his provocative new PETA ad in the very tents where designers are pushing fur. In PETA’s ad, Rodman appears nude—except for his tattoos—alongside the caption, “Think Ink, Not Mink,” and urges: “Be comfortable in your own skin and let animals keep theirs.”

Rodman is the first man—and the first sports star—to pose for PETA’s “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” series, which has featured Pamela Anderson, Kim Basinger, and Christy Turlington. When the 6’8” basketball legend, whose own “Dennis Rodman Foundation” helps the homeless, heard about PETA’s program that donates thousands of castoff fur coats to homeless shelters across the country, he instantly agreed to pose for the cause, explaining that furriers have pushed free furs on him over the years and he’s always refused to take them—he only wears fake fur.

Rodman watched Pamela Anderson's three-minute video showing how animals live and die before being made into fur coats. “If you actually look at [the video] firsthand, it gives you a different perspective on animals and how they’re treated. … It’s heart-wrenching to see what they go through,” he said.

Check out the exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Rodman’s PETA photo shoot with fashion photographer Ian Brooks at L.A.’s famed Smashbox Studios. Rodman’s makeup was done by Autumn Moultrie, his hair by Tanya Stine.

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For all of you who simply MUST have this poster..order it here

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Deliver me from Dennis Rodman. He is kind of scary! LOL!

Martha Stewart Ankle Bracelet Shoes

***Update!****

Martha to wear ankle bracelet for 3 more weeks!

Good things come to those who wait -- and those who wait three weeks longer.Lawyers for Martha Stewart Wednesday confirmed that the domestic doyenne has agreed to extend her home confinement until Aug. 31.The move comes after published reports raised the specter that Stewart violated the rules of her sentence with an impromptu visit to an upstate yoga center and unauthorized use of an all-terrain vehicle on the grounds of her Bedford, N.Y., home.Her confinement had been expected to end sometime around Aug. 10, a date roughly five months after her release from prison. On March 4, she ended five months of incarceration in West Virginia.The extension is a blow to the workaholic businesswoman, who turned 64 Wednesday. But the company she founded, as always, tried to put a positive spin on the unhappy news."We will be so happy to have Martha working without restriction at the end of the month," said Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia spokeswoman Elizabeth Estroff.

Meanwhile, the players in Stewart's social life were anticipating her return."We're looking forward to seeing her again," said Manhattan restaurateur Keith McNally, owner of Schiller's Liquor Bar and Balthazar, both favorite haunts of Stewart.It's a safe bet that Stewart also was making plans for nights out at DB Bistro, or a private fitting with favored designer Ralph Rucci.

But all that, and plans for her annual late summer trip to the Maine coast, will have to wait until September, according to the statement from Walter Dellinger, the attorney working on Stewart's appeal of her obstruction of justice conviction.Chris Stanton, chief federal probation officer for the Southern District of New York, said Wednesday that an extension of home confinement could be implemented by federal authorities if there were minor violations of agreed upon conditions that "are not serious enough to warrant a full revocation of the supervised release."The terms of Stewart's home confinement only make allowances for work, church, medical visits and grocery shopping.Robert R. Rigg, a criminal law professor at Drake University in Iowa, said it was "rare" to see someone adhere to the terms of a home confinement "absolutely 100 percent.""The question is are they doing things that lead the supervising officer to believe this person is bending the rules for their use?" he said.

Stewart's fall social calendar should remain unaffected."The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," one of more than half a dozen upcoming business projects, debuts on NBC Sept. 21.An associate who recently visited with the detained diva said Stewart, in keeping with her new image as a changed woman, also would probably throw her social powers behind the issue of mandatory minimum sentences for first-time drug offenders.One place Martha won't be going is to visit "old" friends in West Virginia, where she was incarcerated at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp.Federal Bureau of Prisons policy requires that visitors to the facility have a prior relationship with incarcerated offenders.The fact Stewart made friends, like poncho-making pal Xiomaro Hernandez, doesn't count, prison spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said.

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Here are the pictures of the line of shoes inspired by Martha Stewart. The line is called Just Out and it was created by Love My Shoes. Some are cute but those with the crochet leave something to be desired.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Martha Stewart Inspires Shoe Designer

***Update!****

Martha Stewart Garbage Bag Witch

Garbage Bag Witch Costume How-To

Use 10 black garbage bags with drawstrings for witch (left). For bodice, trim bottom off 1 bag; turn inside out. 1. To reinforce armhole: Directly below each drawstring, tape a 7-inch strip of clear packing tape; perpendicular to that piece, just touching it, tape a 3-inch piece of tape, to make an upside-down T. To make armholes, cut down center of long tape just to edge of short tape. For sleeves, trim bottom off 1 bag; slit sides and drawstrings. Staple cut drawstrings to half-bags at each end. Tape each half-bag along edges to make a tube. With bags still inside out, match bodice to sleeves at drawstrings. Overlapping sleeve and bodice 1/4 inch, tape top 8 inches of armhole, leaving drawstrings free and armpit open for ventilation. Turn right side out. Cinch drawstrings; tie to fit. 2. For skirt, cut off bottoms of 6 bags. Lay bags on floor; refold so drawstrings are at sides. To tie bags together: Snip 1 drawstring of first bag, and cinch bag; snip both drawstrings on second bag, cinch, and tie tightly on one side to first bag. Repeat with remaining bags, creating a length of bags, but don’t snip last drawstring; use it and first drawstring to tie skirt at waist. Clip off excess drawstrings. 3. Rip and shred bottoms of skirt panels--we ripped more from top layer to make skirt fuller. Shred sleeve bottoms. For bodice details: From strips of bag, make 2 braids, each long enough to crisscross and wrap around arm twice; tie, and puff sleeves. Make a third braid long enough to crisscross around waist (for long strips, tape short ones end to end), and tie in back. Wear tights or slip beneath skirt. We used a long black skirt with white yarn and a long white skirt with black yarn--both look great. Wear a matching top. You may want to add a crinoline petticoat under the skirt for extra puff. The knotting and pinning of the yarn is easier if done when the skirt is on a dress form or a person. Cut 8 pieces of yarn, each the length of the skirt plus 4 inches; these will become the vertical spokes of the web. Tie a small loop at both ends of each length of yarn. With small safety pins, attach loops of yarn to the inside of the waistband and the underside of the hem, sliding pins through loops to secure, and evenly spacing yarn around skirt. For the horizontal lines of the web, cut 5 or more pieces of yarn, each of them measured to be at least twice as long as the circumference of the skirt at the point where you will place it; the yarn you fasten at the waist will be shorter than the yarn at the hem. Starting from the waistband, tie each yarn to the spokes, letting it sag slightly between them. Dab white craft glue on the knots so they won’t slip down the spokes. Space the horizontal yarns farther apart toward the bottom of the skirt, and add more sag.

Martha to wear ankle bracelet for 3 more weeks!

Good things come to those who wait -- and those who wait three weeks longer.Lawyers for Martha Stewart Wednesday confirmed that the domestic doyenne has agreed to extend her home confinement until Aug. 31.The move comes after published reports raised the specter that Stewart violated the rules of her sentence with an impromptu visit to an upstate yoga center and unauthorized use of an all-terrain vehicle on the grounds of her Bedford, N.Y., home.Her confinement had been expected to end sometime around Aug. 10, a date roughly five months after her release from prison.

On March 4, she ended five months of incarceration in West Virginia.The extension is a blow to the workaholic businesswoman, who turned 64 Wednesday. But the company she founded, as always, tried to put a positive spin on the unhappy news."We will be so happy to have Martha working without restriction at the end of the month," said Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia spokeswoman Elizabeth Estroff. Meanwhile, the players in Stewart's social life were anticipating her return."We're looking forward to seeing her again," said Manhattan restaurateur Keith McNally, owner of Schiller's Liquor Bar and Balthazar, both favorite haunts of Stewart.It's a safe bet that Stewart also was making plans for nights out at DB Bistro, or a private fitting with favored designer Ralph Rucci. But all that, and plans for her annual late summer trip to the Maine coast, will have to wait until September, according to the statement from Walter Dellinger, the attorney working on Stewart's appeal of her obstruction of justice conviction.

Chris Stanton, chief federal probation officer for the Southern District of New York, said Wednesday that an extension of home confinement could be implemented by federal authorities if there were minor violations of agreed upon conditions that "are not serious enough to warrant a full revocation of the supervised release."The terms of Stewart's home confinement only make allowances for work, church, medical visits and grocery shopping.Robert R. Rigg, a criminal law professor at Drake University in Iowa, said it was "rare" to see someone adhere to the terms of a home confinement "absolutely 100 percent.""The question is are they doing things that lead the supervising officer to believe this person is bending the rules for their use?" he said. Stewart's fall social calendar should remain unaffected.

"The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," one of more than half a dozen upcoming business projects, debuts on NBC Sept. 21.An associate who recently visited with the detained diva said Stewart, in keeping with her new image as a changed woman, also would probably throw her social powers behind the issue of mandatory minimum sentences for first-time drug offenders.One place Martha won't be going is to visit "old" friends in West Virginia, where she was incarcerated at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp.Federal Bureau of Prisons policy requires that visitors to the facility have a prior relationship with incarcerated offenders.The fact Stewart made friends, like poncho-making pal Xiomaro Hernandez, doesn't count, prison spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said.

*********************

New York Businessman Designs Special 'Ankle Bracelet' Shoes for Martha Stewart Homecoming
Monday March 14, 5:00 am ET

NEW YORK, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Martha Stewart is getting a special pair of custom made shoes specifically designed to wear with her electronic ankle bracelet while she is under house arrest. The local businessman, Robert Yeganeh, owner of the retail chain Love My Shoes will unveil the shoes at a press conference at Monday, March 14th at 11:00 AM, 12 W.57th St., Suite 701.

After following all of the news reports that said Stewart's court-ordered ankle bracelet was the latest fashion rage, Mr. Yeganeh decided to create an outrageous, one-of-a-kind pair of shoes made to accommodate the famed "black box." Yeganeh owns stores throughout the NY metropolitan area and, as an avid follower of celebrity fashion, frequently designs shoes that fulfill a high- profile person's needs. He even gave Paris Hilton a pair of 14K, diamond- studded, custom-made size 11 shoes for Christmas last year.

"When I learned that Martha Stewart had to wear this special ankle box, I figured she'd need shoes that could fit around the anklet and be comfortable and fashionable," remarked Yeganeh. "If she wears them out before her five months of confinement are up, I'll make another pair."

~~~~~

These are his prototypes especially made for the woman burdened by the unsightly house arrest ankle bracelet. Cowl can be used with pearl pump as well.

Pump with pearl waterfall

Flat with Crochet Ankle Cowl

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Bandolino Shoes

I love Bandolino shoes. I have been wearing them since college when I found the perfect pair that would let me dance all night in 3 inch heels with no problems what so ever! With spring soon upon us, here are some that I would love to have in my closet...and yes they would make me break my new years reso-shoe-tions of only 10 pairs this year! But so affordable!

I love this one! It would go with so many things and would be a classic shoe.
Exhibit: $69.00


This would really be a dress work shoe for me. I would take it in bone and black.
Emmet: $65.00


Very versatile. Would go from dress to casual. These would almost be everyday shoes
Eleanor: $59.00


Sexy and strappy for summer!
Knocking: $59.00


Love anything that is real skin. Perfect snakeskin
Extreme: $65.00


Another great summer shoe with a diamond buckle!
Keel: $59.00


The perfect black dress shoe
elaine: $65.00

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Odd Shoe News

Shoe Used to Rob Casino
Daily Telegraph

A BATTERED shoe worn by a Hungarian tourist in Sydney has sparked an investigation into a syndicate cheating top casinos across Europe.

Two Belgian police officers will fly to Sydney later this month to study the shoe design which they suspect could be behind the multi-million dollar European fraud.

Four years ago, Sydney detectives arrested Hungarian tourist Laszlo Sendor Kovacs after he won large bets at a Star City casino roulette wheel.

Casino security personnel became suspicious of the then 59-year-old gambler constantly tapping his right foot under a roulette table.

Police found a Maxwell Smart-style microcomputer hidden in the heel and sole of his scuffed elevated dress shoe.

With a tap of a toe, a microcomputer in the shoe transmitted a voice-synthesised message to a wireless micro-earpiece telling the user of roulette wheel's speed. This could help calculate the next number that would appear.

Police found $74,184 in cash and chips on Kovacs' body including $10,000 in his underpants.

The Daily Telegraph has learned Belgian and Sydney police are assisting a royal commission-style inquiry, known as the European Union Court of First Instance, into large scale casino frauds which they suspect involves shoes allegedly designed by Kovacs.

The Sydney shoe is the only one of its kind found so far.

Kovacs, a professional gambler, was deported from Australia in 2001 before he could be sentenced over "using a device" to defraud the Star City Casino. A warrant for his arrest is now in place should he return to Australia.

European police believe he is the gadgets man and may have assisted a well-known European criminal gang perfect the microprocessor shoe technology. He has been questioned by police in Europe, including in London.

A Star City spokesman yesterday confirmed Belgian police will visit the casino.

Kovacs, who visited every casino along the east coast, had won more than $120,000 at Star City before his arrest, although police suspect he won twice that amount. Evidence show he used the Pyrmont Post Office to wire a large amount of money in $10,000 lots, to an overseas account.

NSW Police yesterday declined to comment on the case "on advice from Belgian authorities".

Mystery Shoe Saga
BBC News

Pairs of shoes are being left in mysterious circumstances outside a remote farmhouse in Lincolnshire.

Jason and Claire Foster, who live near Market Rasen, do not know who is doing it or why they have left as many as four pairs of shoes at one time.

The family have video footage, which shows an elderly couple driving by in a green vehicle depositing the shoes.

Mrs Foster said that although it was scary at first, she was rather hoping some of the pairs might fit.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Brian Nichols: Two Sides

Brian Nichols is now in custody. Details about his life are seeping out slowly. Apparently he had two distinct sides, kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Kind of hard to believe but it seems to be true. I watched the media blitz that was the end of his free life and thought that the ride to the FBI headquarters was much like the infamous white bronco ride by O.J. Simpson.

Now about those 2 sides.

The good:

• Family members say he came from a good community and did not get into trouble in the street.
• His parents sent him to private schools and college
  
• He had a stable job as a computer technician with a division of UPS
  
• He lived a good life financially and lived in a gated community
  

The bad:

• Past coaches and some class mates say he was physically intimidating with his expertise in martial arts.
• He did get into trouble at least 3 times while in college for assault, harrassment, terrorist threats, disorderly conductand criminal tresspassing
• He did eventually drop out of school
• Some of the above charges were dropped while he was in school
  

With all that good stuff, what went wrong? Makes me think of those kids in Columbine. The red flags were there with them also but noone did anything.
I was talking with my parents about Nichols and we all wondered as we watched the live capture how the female hostage got out unscathed. My mother said that he must have given up. He knew there was no way out. Apparently she turned out to be a hostage negotiator. Not in reality of course as a profession, but in her ability to save her own life and the life of her child. According to all the things I have heard about her, she talked him to death. Talked to him so much they had a connection and he had to let her go. Good for her.

According to articles these clips came out about the 13 hours she was held hostage:

The hostage who helped end the 26-hour manhunt for a man accused of killing a judge and three others had long talks with her captor during the 13 hours she was held in her own apartment, police said today.

"She acted very cool and levelheaded. We don't normally see that in our profession," said Gwinnett County Police Officer Darren Moloney. "It was an absolutely best-case scenario that happened, a complete opposite of what you expected to happen. We were prepared for the worst and got the best."

The two had some "pretty in-depth conversations" before the woman was able to leave and make a 911 call from the complex's leasing office. Authorities are not sure whether Nichols let the woman go or if she escaped on her own, Moloney said.

While she was held hostage, she talked to Nichols about her young daughter, her late husband and God, authorities told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington said he thought the woman appealed to Nichols on a spiritual level.

I used to live in Gwinnette county many many years ago in Lawrenceville. It was like living in the 1950's when it came to race relations. The klan still marched when I was there. It was also at the same time when Oprah went there to the county next to Gwinette--Forsythe and did that show about the horrible racism in that county. The two counties are the same in that respect. To be honest I was surprised that he was not shot dead at the scene. It is a black man, in Georgia in Gwinnette county. A very bad combination.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Brownies Anyone?

This has to be one of the worst cases of kids gone bad! What is wrong with kids today? Makes me sick!
~~~~~~~~~~~
Student receives semen-frosted brownies

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- A teenager has agreed to admit to three counts of disturbing the peace after anonymously sending semen-frosted brownies to a fellow student. The recipient shared the treat with two other teens, police said.

They said the 17-year-old Coeur d'Alene High School student was upset after a prank in which the other student put peanut butter in his cheese sandwich days before. He told a school resource officer that "he hated peanut butter and it made him more mad than he could explain," according to the police report.

The teen later told School Resource Officer Jeff Walther that he got the idea of putting his semen on the brownies from the movie "National Lampoon's Van Wilder," in which characters send pastries filled with dog semen to a fraternity house.

The student was arrested and booked into a juvenile detention center. He has since been released on a judge's order that he has no contact with the students who ate the brownies.

The youth is to be sentenced on April 4 on the three misdemeanor counts, which are each punishable by up to 90 days in detention, prosecutors said.

The victims' parents were notified and the children were tested for anything that could have been transmitted through the body fluid, although Panhandle Health spokeswoman Susan Cuff said the chance of the students' health being affected would be "extremely remote."

School Superintendent Harry Amend declined comment on any school discipline against the teenager.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Odd Shoes on the Road

Have you every really noticed all the shoes on the roadways?? Just one shoe. Not a pair of shoes. This has had me perplexed for the past 3-6 weeks. There seem to be odd shoes on the road everywhere I look. How can people just loose the one shoe? Why don't they stop the car and get the shoe they drop? How is it one shoe gets dropped on the road? Did they have their feet hanging out the window? If so, if they were shoes with laces, how did the laces get loose enought for the shoe to fall off.

The shoes I have seen in the past 4 weeks-- and there are at least 3 pairs per week that catch my eye--have all been thrown over the overhead electrical wires. How does that one shoe stay up there. It is a real shoe mystery. There must be a conspiracy going on. People are purposely planting these one shoes just in my locations and roads that I travel. There just is no way it can be all that random. There are just too many shoes.

I wonder if I were to start collecting them , if maybe I would not end up with a pair?!

Really. The next time you are in your car, just pay attention to the wire overhead and the shoulder of the roads. I bet you will see a lot of shoes!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

New Shoes In Town

Jump aside Jimmy Choo, budge up Blahnik there is a new red hot show designer that is on all the must have lists.

Spanish shoe designer Maloles has wowed the fashion set with her feminine and pretty shoes ranging from pumps, to high heels.

Fans of the new shoe designer include Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and her first collection was a sell out in Paris.

She also has received the ultimate fashion accolade by having her distinctive designs featured in US Vogue in December.

The shoes are described by the designer being for busy working women who love shoes. She also describes the shoes as very feminine and they have a sense of humour.

Catherine Zeta Jones and 8Julia Roberts have also been given her shoes as part of the Ocean 12 goodie bags.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Shoe News : MBT Shoes

SEATTLE - Supermodels Heidi Klum and Gisele reportedly have a pair of MBT shoes. But you won't see them sporting the shoes on the runway, or a Hollywood celebrity wearing them on the red carpet.

It's called the MBT shoe, which stands for Masai Barefoot Technology. The design of the shoe and the sole are based around the way members or the Masai Tribe in Africa walk tall and barefoot on the desert sand.

The shoes aren't about fashion, but function.

The secret of the shoe is in the sole. It's curved like a mini canoe. Bellevue Chiropractor Carl Jelstrup says that design helps your posture and stride.

"The construction of the shoe helps your posture so you gradually start to straighten your posture," he says. "Your shoulders come in, and the gait itself changes into a more primitive gait."

Jelstrup also adds that change in your posture helps cure back, hip and foot pain. Add he says the shoe helps build up muscle and can help get rid of dimple fat close to your skin known as cellulite.

"When you increase muscular strength, you will invariably increase circulation and thereby decrease cellulite," he said. "Cellulite is simply an inflammatory condition of the circulation system."

A Big Buzz

As the owner of the Seattle store "MJ Feet," Melanie Grimes knows about shoes. She founded the store 30 years ago, and was the first shoe store in the state to sell Birkenstocks.

When she heard about MBT's and what they do for your overall health, she picked up the line and started selling them.

"It does what no other shoe or exercise routine does," Grimes said. "When you are walking in the course of your day, you are able to be improving your posture and increasing your circulation, and they are rumored to help fight cellulite, that's some of the big buzz."

In fact, a British test showed a 50 percent reduction in cellulite in women who wore the shoe for just one month.

And that's not all. Grimes says, "It reduces varicose veins, and tends to tone the muscle and increases the circulation and the posture and the main way it does that is by allowing your foot to move completely."

Classes For Shoes?

But when you buy the shoe, you simply can't just take them out of the box and lace them up. The sole of the shoe changes your center of gravity. So, the shoe comes with an instructional DVD, or you can take a free class to learn how they work.

"Not everyone has time, to buy a shoe and take a class and learn how to walk again," Grimes said.

Also, the price might be steep for everyone who doesn't want to pay around $250 for a pair. But, Jelstrup says he's never come across patient in pain who has said "no way."

"If I have a solution to solve pain, $250 is chicken feed," he said, adding: "In the medical community today, trust me, that's just for shaking the doctors hand and letting him use his stethoscope."

More about the Masai Barefoot Technology

Swiss Masai introduces a revolutionary new fitness aid that will change the way most of us use our muscles as well as reduce shock forces to the entire skeletal system. MBT® or Masai Barefoot Technology® is not just a shoe, but an amazing training tool for everyone.

Through its multi layered sole MBT® transforms flat, hard, artificial surfaces into natural, uneven ground. Wearing MBT® is like walking in sand. Unlike most conventional training shoes that only support and cushion your feet, the unique uplifting lever spring action of the MBT® sole challenges the core strengthening muscles to be more active. This reactive, more supportive muscle action creates good posture and increases shock absorption for all the joints, significantly reducing musculo-skeletal compression.

Walking more upright not only looks good, it makes us healthier and stronger, and we feel younger. The back and joints are strengthened, circulation is increased and breathing is more efficient. MBT® lengthens and strengthens the whole body while standing, walking and in gentle running.

Walking, Jogging and Power Rocking in MBT® are popular and fun techniques to develop good posture while getting in shape through aerobic exercise. This is why many call MBT® "the smallest gym in the world".

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

The Dreaded Call

It has been a harrowing 3 days. Around 12:15 on Monday I was at my desk ingrossed in work when the phone rang. It was the school nurse at dirty Filas's school After this post, I was expecting her to say "dirty Fila has a fever, please come get her. "

Instead the nurse said that I needed to come get dirty Fila immediately. She needs to go to the emergency room and have xrays. Her wrist is broken. I was flabbergasted. I left immediately and flew like a bat out of hell down the road to pick her up. i work about 8 minutes away from the school and the er is still about 10 minutes away.

I got to the school and she was crying and in a sling with ice. Her wrist was slanting down at an angle. I asked her what had happened. She said that her friend Jen and a group of others paired up and were swinging each other round and round by the arms. When they got to the deisred velocity they would let go and all would go spinning off. this last time instead of swinign off, dirty Fila was pushed and she fell onher wrist and it broke.

I drove her to the er and we got there about 1:15. We had to wait and wait and wait some more. finally at 3:30 we were checked in and taken to x ray. Well we then had to wait some more. Finally at 6pm we were taken in the patient area to be seen by the doctor. The place was packed. According to a nurse, there were a lot of car wrecks that morning and that accounted for the wait time.

We were not placed in a room. We were placed in the hall in a bed along with 8 others also waiting to be seen. On the wall above the bed was a yellow piece of paper that said" number 19." We waited in the hallway and swapped wait storied with the wives of the 2 beds closest to us. Finally we were seen by the doctor and was allowed toleave at 7:30 pm complete with a cast. The hard one goes on in 3 days.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Happy International Woman's Day

Today is International Womans' Day

Tuesday March 8th 2005

Having begun as a recognition of Women's struggle to make their workplaces better, International Women's Day celebrates Woman, all that they do, and their achievements.It honours those who began the struggle and those who continue to work for change and recognition of all the efforts to improve the lives of Women, both locally and globally.

The History

International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.

The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies. Following is a brief chronology of the most important events:

1909

In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate it on the last Sunday of that month through 1913.

1910

The Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Women's Day, international in character, to honour the movement for women's rights and to assist in achieving universal suffrage for women. The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, which included the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament. No fixed date was selected for the observance.

1911

As a result of the decision taken at Copenhagen the previous year, International Women's Day was marked for the first time (19 March) in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where more than one million women and men attended rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded the right to work, to vocational training and to an end to discrimination on the job.

Less than a week later, on 25 March, the tragic Triangle Fire in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working girls, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This event had a significant impact on labour legislation in the United States, and the working conditions leading up to the disaster were invoked during subsequent observances of International Women's Day.

1913-1914

As part of the peace movement brewing on the eve of World War I, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with their sisters.

1917

With 2 million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women again chose the last Sunday in February to strike for "bread and peace". Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went on anyway. The rest is history: Four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. That historic Sunday fell on 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia, but on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere.

Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women's movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women's conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point for coordinated efforts to demand women's rights and participation in the political and economic process. Increasingly, International Women's Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women's rights.

The Role of the United Nations

Few causes promoted by the United Nations have generated more intense and widespread support than the campaign to promote and protect the equal rights of women. The Charter of the United Nations, signed in San Francisco in 1945, was the first international agreement to proclaim gender equality as a fundamental human right. Since then, the Organization has helped create a historic legacy of internationally agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.

Over the years, United Nations action for the advancement of women has taken four clear directions: promotion of legal measures; mobilization of public opinion and international action; training and research, including the compilation of gender desegregated statistics; and direct assistance to disadvantaged groups. Today a central organizing principle of the work of the United Nations is that no enduring solution to society's most threatening social, economic and political problems can be found without the full participation, and the full empowerment, of the world's women.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Letting Go...Not!

Have you ever just felt the need to just hold onto something. Maybe I am just a pack rat at heart but I do have trouble letting go of "stuff". For example I cleaned out the closet in the hallway. That closet is labeled "Closet for stuff I can't thrown away." Well I decided that I needed more room for shoes..yes shoes. I have to have more room to get more shoes in the bedroom closet so other nonshoe stuff needs to come out.

Well I finally did pull some stuff to give away to Good Will. I have finally decided to part with the following items. They are all over 10 years old.

• The left foot of a Nike shoe. I somehow lost the right one and was hoping it would turn up so I would have a pair. They are perfectly good shoes after all.
  
• My maternity clothes. dirty Fila is 11 years old now. I think I can give them away now without anxiety........I think!
• A pair of black Aerosole flats. They have absolutely no support left, but I had been wearing then as gardening shoes in the spring and summer. This year I will finaly replace then with some of those LL BEAN gardening clogs. These shoes I have the most stress about. They are black and in a pinch I could even run to the grocery store in them.
  
• A set of white Johnson Brothers bone china. I used to be heavily into oriental motiffs and had oriental dishes. I loved that set of china to death and just put them in the closet about a month ago. Made in England it was my good china for many years. Now I have retired the set and have no good china now. I plan to start a new pattern. What I did recently buy was a new set of everyday china at the World Market. Another set to go with my other 5..yes 5 sets of everyday china. I simply cannot look at the same plates for each meal everyday! This set is pistachio and oversized. I love them.
  
• At one time I was going to make a fortune on EBAY selling all of dirty Filas clothes. Kids clothes never wear out and she has some beautiful things that are like brand new...beautiful Easter dressed that she has worn one time and ARE brand new. I have rubbermade bins full of her clothes, ironed and on hangers ready to go up for auction on EBAY. So far I have not had the time to do it in 11 years, so I am letting a few...maybe 2 bins of clothes go to GoodWill. This is a venture I still plan to do. When I am on vacation this year, I plan to put those things on EBAY. I will be an EBAY millioniare. I WILL. I WILL. I WILLLLL!
  

I have tried to do spring cleaning each year and nothing seems to go away. It all gets rearranged and put into new closets. This year I am actually getting rid of stuff! A few years ago, I even called myself getting into Feng Shui . I fully embraced Feng Shui. I bought 4 books and read them cover to cover and walked around my house with the Bagua and found all the poison arrows and worked the cures to the best of my ability. I put up crystals and windchimes and mirrors to declutter my home of things and bad chi. I even bought feng shui candles to burn of all the elements.

Letting go is soooo very hard. I opened the scarf drawer and it is jammed to the gills. Now some of my scarfs I have had since college. I have a beautiful, brown paisley Liz Claiborne scarf that is now moth eaten in some places. When I bought it, I fell in love with the color because it went with so many things, I just can't get rid of it. I do wear it still from time to time and wear it so that the holes do not show. I do plan to clean that drawer out as well and actually throw that scarf in the trash. It served me very well for at least 10 years.

Other odds and ends that I know I can get rid of but just can't seem to let go are a straw hat from the bahamas, 2 dresses I used to wear out to the DISCO when disco was in, (I am saving them because Disco is coming back and I will wear them again), a cashmere dress hat with ostrich feathers that has never ever been worn in 11 years, my black leather mini skirts that I used to wear during my Punk Rock days(Long live DEVO and Billy Idol) and black spiked collars. I also have a Madonna swimsuit that looks like underwear. It looks like a black corset with laces. The only thing missing are the cones. (Do you even think I can begin to fit my little pinky into that thing now?) I also have 3 prom dresses that I wore to my junior and senior proms. Maybe these can be saved for dirty Fila.

Needless to say the list goes ON and ON! I just can't let go. I am trying but it sure is hard! As soon as I give it away or sell it on EBAY, I just know I will need that item that I have had for over 11 years stacked in a closet or folded in a drawer. That next day will be the very day I will need it!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Striking Shoes

Today I am on strike. I have been calling dirty Fila since 9 to get up to begin her laundry and to eat. She has answered me once. OKAY! Today is not the day. She is headed for the big mama beat down and does not know it.

She did call down once from upstairs and asked what was for breakfast. I then again told her to bring down a load of laundry to start and eat. She never came. It is now 11:22 my time and she has just come down the stairs with a load of laundry. I have already eaten and did not make her anything to eat. I had eggs and hash. She will have to make her own breakfast. There is plenty of instant oatmeal to eat. She can also cook herself an egg and have some salmon and fruit if she wants.

Saturday mornings with her seem to be not so good. She just wants to waste the day. I am up at the same time I get up during the week. It is almost impossible for me to sleep in and it just bugs me to stay in bed till 10 am or so. The morning is gone.

Let's just hope the day gets better. I have been after her to clean her room for 2 weekends and it has not been done yet. Partially but not all the way. There is no tv, computer or phone on the weekends until her room is clean. We will not go out or play any board game either until her room is clean.

She also seems now to have the sniffles. I hope she is not coming down with anything. If her room is not cleaned or some headway made that I can see being made, I will not make lunch for her either. There is plenty of her to find to eat on her own.

The joys(hell) of motherhood. I am in for a very frustrating day.

It is now 11:40. She is opening packages of instant oatmeal to eat! I can hear it pouring into the bowl.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Canadian Mounties Shot

Very Sad Indeed!

TORONTO -- Canadians were stunned yesterday over the slayings of four Mounties during a raid on a marijuana farm in a rural western hamlet, the deadliest attack on Canadian police officers in 120 years.

Flags were flying at half-staff in a nation that prides itself on far fewer acts of gun violence than the United States.

''Canadians are shocked by this brutality and join me in condemning the violent acts that brought about these deaths," Prime Minister Paul Martin said. He called for a moment of silence before opening his Liberal Party's annual conference yesterday.

The four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers had been investigating a farm in Mayerthorpe, a hamlet of some 1,300 people in western Alberta province.

Corporal Wayne Oakes said the bodies of the Mounties and the suspected gunman were found in a Quonset hut on the farm late Thursday. A government source told The Canadian Press the suspect killed himself after shooting the officers.

''The loss of four police officers is unprecedented in recent history," said Bill Sweeney, commanding officer of the Mounties in Alberta. ''I'm told you have to go back to about 1885 . . . during the Northwest Rebellion to have a loss of this magnitude."

The Northwest Rebellion was an unsuccessful attempt by indigenous rebels to establish an independent nation in the northwestern frontier.

The suspect was identified by police as 46-year-old James Roszko. Authorities said he had a long criminal record, including the use of illegal firearms and sexual assault.

Oakes said the Mounties were investigating reports of stolen property and marijuana on Roszko's property, and authorities said they did find a marijuana-growing operation in progress. They were armed only with handguns, officials said.

Some have asked why the officers did not have better backup and how all four could have been killed by a single gunman.

The officers were identified as Peter Schiemann, Anthony Gordon, Lionide Johnston, and Brock Myrol.

Sergeant Rick Oncescu said two SWAT teams were called into the area and Mounties from surrounding jurisdictions also responded when the four officers did not respond to radio calls Thursday afternoon.

A woman played ''Amazing Grace" on bagpipes as children laid flowers yesterday at the flagpole in front of the RCMP headquarters in Mayerthorpe.

''This is something that happens in Hollywood, but it never happens here," Albert Schalm, the town's mayor, told CBC-TV. ''I think it will change the community. It will just make everybody more aware that there are drug problems, even out here in rural Canada."

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Chimps attack Couple

I was watching the morning news and heard about this terrible story. The wife and husband were having a birthday party for their pet chimp who now lives at a sanctuary. 2 other chimps broke out and attacked. The wife lost a finger and her husband got the worst of it. The chimps pulled out one of his eyes, tore off...yes off..his testicals and ripped open his jaw and intestines.

When I think of a chimp, I think of this cute, little animal...not some wild animal that can take off body parts. After hearing and seeing the wife on the morning news, I even had to look at my cat a little differently today. Even thought we live with them for years, I guess a cat can go a little crazy too and we would never know why.

USA TODAY

HAVILAH, Calif. (AP) — Investigators said Friday they are trying to figure out how two chimpanzees that viciously attacked a visitor at an animal sanctuary escaped from their cages.

The chimps chewed off St. James Davis' nose and severely mauled his genitals and limbs Thursday before the son-in-law of the sanctuary's owner shot the animals to death, authorities said. (Related video:Man critically injured in attack)

Davis, 62, and his wife had gone to there to visit another chimpanzee that had lived with them for decades before they were forced to give the animal up. LaDonna Davis, 64, was bit on the hand.

"A big part of the investigation will be figuring out whether the (sanctuary) owners were in compliance with regulations," sheriff's Cmdr. Hal Chealander said. "There's a reason why those chimpanzees got out. It will be crucial to our investigation how they got out."

Health authorities were testing the dead chimps for rabies and other diseases.

The Davises were at Animal Haven Ranch, in a canyon 30 miles east of Bakersfield, to celebrate the birthday of Moe, a 39-year-old chimpanzee who was taken from their suburban Los Angeles home in 1999 after biting off part of a woman's finger.

The couple had brought Moe a cake and were standing outside his cage when Buddy and Ollie, two of the four chimpanzees in the adjoining cage, attacked St. James Davis, said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game. Moe was not involved in the attack.

Dr. Maureen Martin of Kern Medical Center told KGET-TV of Bakersfield that the monkeys chewed most of Davis' face off and that he would require extensive surgery in an attempt to reattach his nose. Chealander told The Bakersfield Californian that the chimps also tore off Davis' testicles and foot.

Davis was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. The hospital would not release any information on his condition.

Primate experts said that chimpanzees, which typically weigh between 120 and 150 pounds and are much stronger than humans, are known to kill chimps from neighboring groups, hunt other primates and even attack humans in the wild.

"This episode highlights some of the dangers of privately owning primates," said Steve Schapiro, who studies chimpanzee behavior at the University of Texas. "When you maintain large, strong animals in captivity, you think you know what they're going to do, but in the end they're unpredictable."

Animal Haven Ranch has held state permits to shelter animals since 1985 and serves as a sanctuary for animals that have been confiscated or lost, Martarano said.

The sanctuary's owners, Virginia and Ralph Brauer, would not speak to reporters, but a family friend provided a statement that read, "All of us here at Animal Haven Ranch are praying for the recovery of St. James Davis and LaDonna Davis."

"This is the only incident in 20 years of operation," the statement said.

The Davises had waged an unsuccessful legal fight to bring Moe back to their West Covina home and visited him regularly at the sanctuary, where he had been living since October.

In 2000, after city prosecutors decided to drop charges against the Davises in Moe's 1999 attack, St. James Davis said Moe was not a threat to the public and attacked only when provoked.

"Animals bite, people bite, Mike Tyson bites. So what?" he said.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Bad, Bad Shoes!

I remember many years ago I was going on an all expense paid trip to the Bahamas that my best friend had won. We both worked at a major retailer in the cosmetic department. Me for Estee Lauder and her for Elizabeth Arden. Elizabeth Arden at that time had an incentive program for sales. If you met your sales consistently for a specified period of time, you won an all expenses paid trip to the Bahamas. Paradise Island to be exact. For a week! She won and invited me so off we went.

A little background. Before I worked for Lauder, I worked for Arden and was well on my way to winning my own trip. I was promoted and moved to Lauder before I could win. I felt cheated. They said that I was too good of a sales person to be on a smaller line like Arden. They felt my sales ability would benefit Lauder more. I was sad at not winning the trip but in the end I got to go anyway.

My friend and I spent weeks getting ready. I am the type that when I go on a trip, I have outfits put together ahead of time and all is coordinated from hats to shoes, from my head to my toes. The day for travel I had decided to wear a pair of white pumps. I wore a white skirt, a white tube top and a pink cardigan over it. It was a matching outfit I got at the mall….the Limited, I think. I was looking good. My pumps were a pair of high heeled white Nine West pumps. In lies the rub.

I looked marvelous! (imagine Billy Crystal saying that) I felt transformed and ready for an adventure. We flew straight to the Florida. In Florida, I notice that everything was pink and tropical and made me imagine flamingos everywhere. I was in the Miami Vice mode! (That used to be my favorite show and I still am in love with Crockett!) We made it thru customs and we did have to do a lot of walking in the airport. My shoes began to rub my heel...both heels. We had to go to another airline and we caught a prop plane. That was a harrowing trip. I knew that we were going to just drop into the ocean and die. It only held 6 people and was very noisy and bumpy! Thank god we finally got out of that plane.

We landed in the ocean(I was hoping for a runway) and we were let off at a dock right at Paradise Island. My shoes were starting to hurt. They fit just fine before and I had worn them before...about 3 times to church. We walked around for about an hour and my feet...heels began to really hurt. For some reason , we did not have our luggage yet or I would have changed shoes. Well finally about 3 hours later and with me trying not to show the pain from my heels we finally got our luggage and went to our rooms. Those cursed shoes!

My heels were torn open…both of them. The skin had been rubbed off the back of my heels and I could barely walk. I was able to get some Band-Aids and put them on. I was not about to let those shoes ruin my trip. I wore tennis shoes the next day and made it through. Each night was misery as I could not really put any weight on my heels to sleep on my back. Each day , I had various pairs of sandals with straps that touched my raw heels all day long. Each night it was a lot of pain. I had made it through the day and just looked forward to not moving my feet at all at night. You do not realize how much the back of your heel moves in walking until there is a cut there.

I did everything I had planned, water sports and all. Even diving. I was concerned about sharks at the coral reef we dove down to. Can’t sharks smell a drop of blood miles away?

Well I had a blast each day and each night I just looked at those shoes. They were beautiful, white, a pearl white, but they were so very bad. I had paid a lot of money for them!

I never wore them again. I never saw them again either. The day we were leaving I decided that those shoes just could not go back home with me. They had been the source of my foot misery for my entire trip and that would be the last time they would cause me misery. I decided to leave those shoes in the hotel. I hid them in the closet or rather just left them there. Maybe they had decided that life in the Bahamas would be better for them.

Well I hope they are happy. They have been in the Bahamas to this very day. I often think about those shoes and how they betrayed me. Why? I do not know. They fit when I bought them and I had no problems the 3 times I had worn them to church. I have never even had a pair of white pumps since then. Crème has been the closest. So be warned. Easter is coming and people tend to buy white shoes. What ever you do, don’t buy white nine west pumps or you are taking your life in your hands!

White pumps bedamned!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Scary Oscar Hair

Laura Linney

Does anyone REALLY think that this hair style was oscar quality?

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

The Big Wigs Cometh!

The Bigwigs came today and they will be in the office for 3 days. It is amazing the things the head guys in our office will do to get ready. For example last Friday we all got the EVIL email that we had to have every file removed from our desk and put away. I got that and laughed to myself. The rest of the email said that all desks had to be spotless...so that it looked like noone worked there.

Why? Why oh why do we have to do this. How are we to work? Do the big wigs know that we have to have a file open on the desk in order to work it? I have just seen them passing by. They have not even stopped to look at our desks. We got the same email again on yesterday around 3:00pm in the afternoon. PUT EVERY FILE AWAY BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR THE DAY!

Well I did but I did not put them away..not in ABC order because they were not really ready to be placed in the drawer in ABC order..so they went in the back of a file cabinet stacked. As I got calls or needed that file , I pulled in out. I tried to work it to death so that I COUlD get it back in the drawer in ABC order. I got 2 finished. Well, only one more day and then I can again create my stacks of folders and papers. You may not know what to find where, but I know. There is a method to the madness and I can find any piece of paper needed in 2.5 seconds.

Tomorrow morning is a corporate meeting..state of the company. Let's hope I can stay awake. Right now I am sleep deprived.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Miss HIV Crowned

Okay! Now I have heard it all!
Yahoo
GABORONE (Reuters) - There is a catwalk banquet, hordes of journalists, traditional dancing and time-consuming hair styling -- but at Botswana's beauty pageant every competitor must be HIV (news - web sites) positive.

At a palm tree-studded resort and conference center in the capital Gaborone, 12 girls are competing this weekend for the title "Miss HIV Stigma Free."

"We are saying here we are, we are HIV positive and it doesn't mean it's the end of the line," 33 year old reigning Miss HIV Kgalalelo Ntsepe told Reuters in her cluttered one room cottage, where she displays trophies of her win in 2003.

Largest global diamond producer Botswana has one of the highest HIV rates in the world with an estimated third of the population infected.

The government is using its mineral wealth to provide life prolonging anti-retroviral drugs -- but many do not know their HIV status or are unwilling to come forward for treatment. Organizers say the pageant aims to tackle that stigma.

"After I started the medicine, I became stronger and stronger," said Ntsepe, who was diagnosed in 2001.

"We are trying to say there is life with this medication. Some don't believe I'm HIV positive because I'm so healthy," she said.

AIDS (news - web sites) groups welcome the pageant, which is sponsored by British bank Barclays. "It may just be a pageant, but it is important because it brings together people with HIV who are open about their status," said Brad Ryder, spokesman for the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Programme.

"They need support, they need to come out and get acceptance for their condition."

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Judge orders U.S. to charge, or free, suspected terrorist

The Seattle Times

Why does this article scare me? If he is let go, out into the streets just to disappear into the population, well who knows what will happen next? Isn't Osama calling for attacks inside the US? He might just be the man, free and ready to jump on the bandwagon.

A federal judge in South Carolina ruled yesterday that the Bush administration lacks statutory and constitutional authority to indefinitely imprison without criminal charges a U.S. citizen who was designated an "enemy combatant."

Rejecting a series of arguments put forward by the government, District Court Judge Henry Floyd said that the indefinite detention of Jose Padilla — who the administration has said is a terrorist supporter of the al-Qaida terrorist network — is illegal and that Padilla must be released from a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., within 45 days or be charged with a crime.

In a strongly worded ruling, Floyd said, "To do otherwise would not only offend the rule of law and violate this country's constitutional tradition, but it would also be a betrayal of this nation's commitment to the separation of powers that safeguards our democratic values and our individual liberties."

Floyd said he was not persuaded by arguments put forward by the administration to justify its assertion that Americans designated "enemy combatants" by the president can be detained without trial.

Using a phrase often used by conservatives to denigrate liberal judges, Floyd — who was appointed by President Bush in 2003 — accused the administration of engaging in "judicial activism" by asserting it has blanket authority under the Constitution to detain Americans on U.S. soil who are suspected of taking or planning actions against the country.

Floyd said that the government presented no law supporting this contention and that just because the administration says Padilla's detention was consistent with U.S. laws and the president's war powers, that did not make it so.

"Moreover, such a statement is deeply troubling," Floyd's ruling said. "If such a position were ever adopted by the courts, it would totally eviscerate the limits placed on presidential authority to protect the citizenry's individual liberties."

This is the second time the government's handling of Padilla has been repudiated in federal court. In December 2003, a federal appeals court in New York also held that Bush lacked authority to hold Padilla in a military brig and ordered him released. But the Justice Department appealed the decision, and the Supreme Court ruled in June 2004 that Padilla's petition for release should have been processed in federal court in South Carolina, not New York.

The government has vowed to appeal. One of Padilla's attorneys, Donna Newman, said the "court ruled that the president does not have the power to seize an American citizen on American soil and hold him indefinitely without a charge. That shouldn't be big news, but it is. ... It confirms our belief that the Constitution is alive and well and kicking. The system works."

Padilla, 34, was monitored by the FBI on a flight from Pakistan to Chicago's O'Hare airport in May 2002 and initially arrested on a warrant describing him as a material witness to an ongoing terrorism investigation. After being questioned by investigators in New York and demanding a lawyer, he was officially designated by Bush as an enemy combatant and taken to the brig, where he has been for the past 32 months.

U.S. officials contended that Padilla was scouting sites to detonate a radioactive "dirty" bomb. They also said he had met with senior al-Qaida officials and would pose a grave threat to the country if released.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~