“Rare opportunity: Exhibition brings together Spanish sacred art - Carroll County Times” plus 4 more

Rather than clarifying the saga of what prosecutors said was a sex game gone fatally awry, the conviction of Amanda Knox, 22, a Seattle college student, for killing her roommate, Meredith Kercher, 21, seemed only to heighten the conflicting public opinions.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison.

As the yearlong trial unfolded in the media as much as in the courts, Knox was often depicted in the United States as an innocent abroad, a fresh-faced young woman caught in the vagaries of the Italian justice system.

Yet in the Italian press, she was a blithe, dope-smoking party girl whose only innocence might have been in her belief that she could get away with murder. She had changed her story and at one point accused a former boss, Patrick Lumumba, of the crime. On Saturday, she was also found guilty of defaming Lumumba, whose defense lawyer called her a "little she-devil" in closing arguments last week.

The Knox family insisted Saturday that the concern with this larger cultural clash and the gossipy details of Amanda's personal life obscured the focus on what really happened Nov. 2, 2007.

"It appears clear to us that the attacks on Amanda's character in much of the media and by the prosecution had a significant impact on the judges and jurors and apparently overshadowed the lack of evidence in the prosecution's case against her," the family said in a statement.

The family vowed to continue its campaign to free Knox.

Kercher's family saw it differently: Relatives held a rare and sober news conference here Saturday, where they expressed "satisfaction" but "not triumph" with the verdicts.

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Michelle Malkin: Police-hating chickens come home to roost - Delmarva Now

Posted: 07 Dec 2009 03:04 AM PST

The left's police-hating chickens are coming home to roost. While partisan liberals have gone out of their way to blame conservative media and the Tea Party movement for creating a "climate of hate," they are silent on the cultural and literal war on cops that has raged for decades -- and escalated tragically this year.

The total number of law enforcement officers shot and killed this year is up 19 percent over last year, according to the Christian Science Monitor. More officers have died in ambush incidents this year than in any other since 2000.

The Lakewood, Wash., massacre on Thanksgiving weekend claimed the lives of four dedicated officers getting ready for work at a coffee shop Sunday morning. Maurice Clemmons -- the violent career thug who received clemency from former Arkansas GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee and benefited from fatal systemic lapses in the criminal justice system -- had many other enablers.

Clemmons had told numerous friends and family members to "watch the TV" before the massacre because he was going to "kill a bunch of cops." The witnesses did worse than nothing. Several have been arrested for actively aiding and abetting Clemmons -- with shelter, food, money and medical aid -- before he was discovered in Seattle early Tuesday morning and shot after threatening a patrol officer investigating Clemmons' stolen vehicle.

A militant online group called the National Black Foot Soldier Network celebrated Clemmons as a "Crowned BOW (Black on White) Martyr" and dubbed the Lakewood ambush a "preemptive strike on terrorists." It wasn't the only chilling propaganda cheering black-on-white police murders in the Pacific Northwest this year.

Just three weeks before the Lakewood massacre, the region endured another police attack. Suspect Christopher Monfort was arrested last month in the targeted shooting death of Seattle Police Department Officer Timothy Brenton and the wounding of his partner Britt Sweeney. Monfort had written diatribes against law enforcement, harping against white policemen.

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ASMSU chairperson reports on accomplishments of semester - State News

Posted: 07 Dec 2009 07:03 PM PST

(Last updated: 1 hour ago)

The 46th session of Student Assembly, and ASMSU as a whole, have had very productive and successful summer and fall semesters. It is important that the student body is informed of what students have collectively accomplished and what students will continue to work toward during spring semester. The assembly has been busier than in recent years, much as a result of having set collectively established goals and priorities from the beginning, and the new environment of cooperation and communication that has been created between representatives and staff. Below is an update on key student initiatives and where each will be going next semester.

1) Early in the fall, the assembly passed a bill to establish a health and safety initiative for students, as well as provide continued support for the 45th session's Medical Amnesty project. Our Department of Governmental Affairs has been working hard over in Lansing to get amnesty language added to the state liquor law that would allow for minors in emergency situations to have amnesty from minor in possession citations. The department was successful in its advocacy efforts and a proposal was introduced in House subcommittee. The proposal passed with overwhelming support in both the subcommittee and on the House floor. Throughout the spring semester we will work hard to get the Senate to consider and pass House Bill 4876. We also will continue to work to gain more support from the university and determine how we can best accomplish this necessary change as a university community.

2) This has been a challenging year for the university, and the assembly has and will continue to review the many proposed changes. One of these changes concerns the evolving discussion about Olin Health Center and student health services. The assembly took a stance against moving Olin Health Center to the Clinical Center because of many concerns with the location and quality of care that would result from such a move. We will continue to work with the administration on evaluating the more recent decision to incorporate health services into the new neighborhood concept, and carry the student voice to administrators on proposed changes to all student support services that will be affected by economic circumstances and the implementation of the neighborhood concept.

3) The Department of Event Planning organized the annual student tailgate at the tennis courts for every home football game. This was another successful tailgating year, which included a DJ, free wings and energy drinks, free T-shirts and other items, as well as inflatable games for students. The department now is focusing its efforts on a spring concert that is expected to take place in February. Stay tuned for the artist announcement at the beginning of next semester.

4) The assembly is considering ideas to increase economic help to students including establishment of a new set of scholarships that would be in addition to the $30,000 annually that currently is given back through the Respect scholarship. The finance committee approved a bill, which will be considered by the whole assembly this week, allocating $66,000 to both the university's Spartan Challenge and a need-based leadership scholarship. There also will be an established alumni campaign that challenges ASMSU alumni to match the organization's contributions and establish a leadership scholarship endowment that will be self-sustaining. If the proposed bill passes, the assembly will continue to work through the specifics during spring semester.

5) Progress is being made regarding the establishment of a student health insurance plan for the association's members and alumni. The goal is to provide another competitive plan for students and their families to choose from both now and after graduation. This initiative still is in the early stages, but will continue throughout the spring semester and ideally be in place by the end of next semester.

The 46th session has worked and will continue working to represent students at MSU. It is important for members to know there is "A New Culture of Leadership" established and demonstrated in conjunction with student goals and priorities. It is truly an honor to be a leader and small voice among the many that collectively will make progress toward addressing student issues.

Kyle Dysarz

Political theory and constitutional democracy senior and Student Assembly chairperson

Originally Published: 1 hour ago

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Focus to film 'Fela' feature - Variety

Posted: 07 Dec 2009 08:00 PM PST

McQueen to direct film on African musician

Focus Features has set Steve McQueen to direct "Fela," a feature film based on the life of African musician and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti -- the subject of the recently opened Broadway musical "Fela!"

McQueen, the British artist who made his feature directing debut last year on the Irish hunger strike drama "Hunger," will write the script with Biyi Bandele, based on the Michael Veal book "Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon." Cine Mosaic's Lydia Pilcher and Leigh Blake are producing. The musical has spurred a resurgence of interest in Fela, who died in 1997, and his Afrobeat musical style, which is a fusion of American jazz, funk and West African drums.

The musical is not connected to the film project: Focus is basing its pic on a rights package consisting of screen rights to Fela's music and his life story, plus Veal's book.

Fela lived large -- with some 27 wives -- and paid a high price for speaking out against oppression in Nigeria. In one attack on his home, Fela's 78-year-old mother was killed after being thrown from a second-story window. Fela responded by placing her coffin on the steps of the Nigerian leader's residence.

"Fela might be the most globally influential pop artist outside the Beatles in the last 50 years," said Focus topper James Schamus. "The Broadway show is pure joy, but Steve and Biyi's vision is very cinematic and distinctive. Fela was a revolutionary figure in world culture, and Steve is an artist who had a strong vision of politics and the world even before he made his first film. They are kindred spirits."

Schamus said the movie deal was not a reaction to the musical's opening. Pilcher spent five years tying down the rights for Focus.

Schamus, who made the "Fela" deal last week just as the Comcast pact to take over NBC Universal was being finalized, said Focus plans to stay the course in making ambitious and artsy pics on a cost-conscious basis. He cited the company's track record with its recent releases as examples of how it manages the margins.

"We all feel pressure to hit homers, but 'A Serious Man,' a film that has no definable genre or business plan, is the solid double we hoped it would be, and 'Coraline' got more Annie nominations than 'Up,' " Schamus said. "Of course, I got my ass kicked on 'Woodstock.' That is going to happen, but you've got to keep making movies you believe in, at reasonable costs."

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Cultural

Monday, December 7, 2009