Indonesia quake toll rises to nearly 4,000

Exhausted and grieving survivors dug through their crumpled homes
Sunday searching for clothes, food and valuables after a powerful
earthquake hit central Indonesia, killing nearly 4,000 people.

The magnitude-6.3 quake struck early Saturday and injured thousands
more in the heart of densely populated Java island, in the country's
worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami. It also triggered fears that
a nearby rumbling volcano would erupt and caused serious damage to
the world-famous 9th century Prambanan temple.

The disaster zone stretched across hundreds of square miles of
mostly farming communities in Yogyakarta province. The worst
devastation was in the town of Bantul, where more than 2,700 people
were killed and 80 percent of the homes were flattened.

"I have to start my life from zero again," said Poniran, whose 5
year-old daughter Ellie was killed in the quake.

Poniran dug up his still-breathing daughter from the rubble of her
bedroom, but she died in a hospital awaiting treatment along with
hundreds of others.

"Her last words were 'Daddy, Daddy,'" he said.

At least 3,875 people were killed in the quake, command post
officials from the affected districts told The Associated Press. The
social ministry said around 4,200 died, but later revised its
figures downward.

Another 200,000 people were left homeless, according to the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Tens of thousands spent the night Saturday sleeping in any open
space available — on streets, in cassava fields, even on the narrow
paths between rice fields. Power and telephone service was out
across much of the region, adding to the terror of some 450
aftershocks, the strongest measuring 5.2.

Survivors searched the ruins of their homes on Sunday for anything
still usable and complained that they hadn't received any aid.
"We're short of everything — clothes, food, water, all are gone. We
are poor people, but our lives still matter," said Budi Wiyana, 63,
whose house was destroyed.

Doctors struggled to care for the injured, hundreds of whom were
lying on plastic sheets, straw mats and even newspapers outside
overcrowded hospitals, some hooked to intravenous drips dangling
from trees.

Bloodstains littered the floor at Yogyakarta's Dr. Sardjito
Hospital, along with piles of soiled bandages and used medical
supplies.

Relatives fanned victims in the heat in temporary shelters set up in
the parking lot and corridors.

"We have too many patients and they're still arriving," said Aru, a
doctor, adding that the hospital had received more than 2,000
patients.

Though some corpses were pulled from the rubble early Sunday,
residents in villages visited by reporters said there were few
people or bodies trapped beneath collapsed houses, mostly simple
brick and wood structures.

But in Peni, a small village on Bantul's southern outskirts, 20
residents were not ready to give up. They found the bodies of a
woman and her three children Saturday, and were still trying to find
the family's father, Purwoko.

Most of the dead were buried in village graveyards within hours of
the disaster, in line with Islamic tradition.

In Peni, villagers set up simple clinics to treat injuries, but were
hampered by shortages of medicine and equipment. A group of women
cooked catfish caught in a nearby pond for dozens of people huddled
under a large tent.

The earthquake hit at 5:54 a.m., caving in tile roofs and sending
walls crashing down. Survivors screamed as they ran from their
homes, some clutching bloodied children and the elderly.

The quake was the latest in a series of disasters to hit Indonesia —
including the 2004 tsunami that killed 131,000 people in Aceh
province, terrorist attacks, a widening bird flu outbreak and the
threat of eruption from nearby Mount Merapi.

The quake's epicenter was 50 miles south of Merapi, and activity
increased soon after the temblor. A large burst spewed hot clouds
and sent debris cascading some two miles down its western flank. No
one was injured because nearby residents had already been evacuated.
Bambang Dwiyanto of the Energy and Mineral Ministry could not say
whether the quake caused the volcanic activity but warned that it
could trigger a larger eruption.

International agencies and other nations pledged millions of dollars
of aid.

Officials said the famed 7th century Borobudur Buddhist temple, one
of Indonesia's most popular tourist attractions, was not affected by
the quake. But Prambanan, a spectacular Hindu temple to the
southeast, suffered serious damage, with hundreds of stone carvings
and blocks scattered around the ancient site.

It will be closed to the public until archeologists are able to
determine whether the foundation was damaged, said Agus Waluyo, head
of the Yogyakarta Archaeological Conservation Agency.
Close to 1 million tourists visit the Borobudur and Prambanan
temples every year.

By CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press Writer
news.yahoo.com

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A Search for the Truth (part 5)

This has been a very interesting week for me when it comes to
investigating the facts on this case. I can only hope our reader’s
find it just as interesting.

After countless hours on the phone speaking with family and loved
ones of the 3 boys that were murdered on March 26, 2004 I found some
minor discrepancies in the different views. This is normal due to
the fact that emotions will play a big role in how a person views
things.

The interesting fact is that there seams to be no discrepancies what
so ever in the details of the investigation, the flaws in the
procedures or the facts that we are looking to have re-investigated.
Though the wording may have been different from person to person the
facts remained the same.

Our main focus through these discussions was from the point that the
families found out about the homicides up to and including the first
steps of the investigation. Most of these facts and comments were
kept out of the media by local the officials that is until now.

With phone calls being made telling family members that they need to
come home immediately and no reason being given. Family members
raced home fearing the worst. One farther arrived to a flood of
ambulances and emergency units (all of which were directly related
to the local Sheriff’s Dept.). Not knowing what horrors this man was
to walk into, he knew that it was more then a small incident. The
phone calls came from many sources such as friends, family members
and the local authorities. Not one of these people ever imagined
what awaited them when they got home.

After finding out just what took place, or should I say what limited
information they were given. These people in their suffering and at
a moment of morning received a visit by the local Sheriff (Mr.
Jones) and a detective named Jordan. I would have to agree that
their visiting the homes is normal procedure, but not in the manner
in which they did.

These two men that were supposed to be well-trained law officials
only added to the horrors and made manners worse. Arriving at one
parent’s home with a M-16 in hand, while ransacking the home of
another. Draws were gone through, interrogation techniques were used
during questioning and these law officers’ added additional scars to
the lives of these people.

It would seam that after researching these officers some additional
information may prove to be of interest. Not to mention some
additional information found out about one that we already know, Mr.
Ralph Hall.

Sheriff Jones was a church going man and taught Forensics at the
local University. With this mans education and law enforcement
training as well as his knowledge of Forensics, I cant put any
reason and or rhyme to how he was able to instruct any additional
help that they were not needed. By additional help I am referring to
the fact that the District Attorney said he would send his best
Detective’s to assist, upon arriving these men were told that they
were not needed and to go home.

Detective Jordan with all the work and education that he put in to
his career to make the rank of detective, didn’t have the common
sense to listen to what an eye whiteness had to say (I will get
further into this as the article continues).

Mr. Hall. Well this guy seams to get more interesting with every
conversation that I have about him. This man who was not able to
work at his job and was receiving benefits due to a chronic migraine
condition had no problem traveling through the town at high speeds
with lights and sirens screaming to be the first on the scene of
anything he heard over his scanner. Also with no medical training,
attempted to instruct paramedics responding to a heart failure call
to not give the patient oxygen because it cost too much. I received
my training through the NYPD Police Academy and cannot say that I am
aware of the training procedures of the Sheriff’s Department in
Alabama. But in my training we are taught all emergency procedures,
we are also taught that as civilians our primary task is to secure
the scene, take note of anything that may be of use to the
investigating team and not interfere with any official emergency response teams under any circumstances. Boy am I glad that I did not
get trained by the same people that trained this man. I wouldn’t
know how to live with myself after being part of the scars implanted
into these family’s minds.

I would like to take a step back to Detective Jordan. It seams that
Russell (the only eye whiteness) tried to show Mr. Jordan where the
bodies were laying, where the man that shot the boys was approaching
from, he even tried to explain how the murder walked up to one of
the boys and kick him with his foot to make sure the boy was dead.
But for some reason Mr. Jordan’s training and experience must have
escaped him for the moment. I say this because he did not want to
hear this or anything else from Russell.

As much as I would like to get a little more into Mr. Hall, I could
spend three weeks updates on this man and he is not worth our time.
The fact is he was a volunteer and not a commissioned law officer,
therefore had no business being involved in any investigations, no
authority to be on any crime scenes and had no business making
public statements involving any investigations nerveless an ongoing
one. The statement I am referring to is of Mr. Hall stating to the
local papers and TV that “If the boys were on his property, he would
have killed them too”. Though Sheriff Jones had this statement
quickly retracted, it was said and local papers will have records to
reflect this.

Additional facts are coming to surface. Like the fact that one
parent was originally told that all the boys were shot 3 times, and
later told that 2 of the boys were shot twice and the other was shot
once. I will have to review the autopsy reports. I seam to recall
them showing that the reports and/or drawing of the wounds showed
two shots to all boys.

Also with an ongoing investigation I can understand to not release
all the information to the families. They would have to protect
their investigation from going astray. However, to not share any
information with the families, even after the case was closed? If it
were my son, I would want to know the facts and how they were
brought to surface.

______________________________
I would like to make a note that the first letter to request this
case be re-opened has been prepared and will be going out in a day
or two. I will be posting a copy of the letter along with next weeks
update. I will also be making the replies that we get available.
Although we have not determined as of yet if the replies will be
posted for all or just made available to members of the mailing list.

In an effort to help get this case re-opened, we ask that you post
about this article to any message boards that you may be a part of
and invite others to join us. Please provide them with the main
address (http://LocalNews.YourDesign2.com).

I would like to make a special call out to those who were involved
in the investigation of this case. If you are reading along with
this article (and our site stats show that you may be), please e
mail me direct at LocalNews@WorldBreak.com, I would like to include
your comments and/or thoughts as well.
_____________________________________

As always, I am going to ask everyone to post their comments below
or send them in to TheTruth@Akpcsales.net

Written and Researched by A. Wallace

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A Search for the Truth (part 5)

This article is in the final stages of editing and will be uploaded shortly.

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'Da Vinci Code' Hauls in $224M Worldwide

Moviegoers gave their blessing to the "The Da Vinci Code" over the
weekend, spending an estimated $77 million to see the Tom Hanks
religious thriller.

While the film didn't set a domestic box office record, it was the
largest weekend opening of the year so far and became the second
largest worldwide release after "Star Wars: Episode III." It
garnered some $224 million worldwide, according to Sony Pictures.

The film also was the best domestic opening for both Hanks and
director Ron Howard.

The movie's performance, combined with the family film "Over the
Hedge" debuting in second place with $37.2 million, was a welcome
contrast to the last two weekends that saw disappointing results
from "Poseidon" and "Mission: Impossible III."

The total box office was down about 2.8 percent from the same
weekend last year, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

But that's a tough comparison given that last year's numbers
included the record-setting debut of "Star Wars: Episode III."

"'Da Vinci' opening this big just tells you that people do want togo to the movies, they just need the right movie to go," said Paul
Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Sony Pictures took a risk in the marketing of "The Da Vinci Code,"
keeping the adaptation of the Dan Brown best-seller under wraps
until a few days before its opening.

The film received mixed reviews and protesters picketed outside a
number of theaters, upset over the story's suggestion that Jesus
Christ was married and had a child. But the controversy did little
to deter moviegoers, who packed theaters in almost every country the
film debuted.

"You had a built-in audience from the book and the awareness levels
were so high from this film," Dergarabedian said. "You would have to
live under a rock not to know this movie was opening."

The movie also set opening-weekend records in Italy and Spain, Sony
Pictures said.

"This is a fantastically great surprise for us this morning," said
Jeff Blake, vice chairman of Sony Pictures.

It was good news for the studio, which had been struggling of late
and had been counting on "The Da Vinci Code" to boost its fortunes.

"This is starting out to be a very good year," studio chief Amy
Pascal said.

The animated film "Over the Hedge" had a strong showing with its
$37.2 million as part of a counter-programming strategy from
distributor Paramount Pictures. While the opening was slightly low
for a computer-animated family movie, the studio believes the film
will hold its own next weekend as children have the Memorial Day
holiday off.

"We thought we could very easily coexist with `The Da Vinci Code'
and I think the numbers bear that out," said Dan Harris, executive
vice president at Paramount.

The Tom Cruise action film "Mission: Impossible III" crossed the
$100 million mark in its third weekend with a total domestic box
office take of $103 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and
Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations. Final figures
will be released Monday.

1. "The Da Vinci Code," $77 million.

2. "Over the Hedge," $37.2 million

3. "Mission: Impossible III," $11 million.

4. "Poseidon," $9.2 million.

5. "RV," $5.1 million

6. "See No Evil," $4.4 million

7. "Just My Luck," $3.4 million.

8. "An American Haunting," $1.7 million.

9. "United 93," $1.4 million.

10. "Akeelah and the Bee," $1 million.
___
Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a
joint venture of General Electric Co. and Vivendi Universal;
DreamWorks is a unit of DreamWorks SKG Inc.; Sony Pictures, Sony
Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp
(NYSE:SNE - news).; Paramount and Paramount Classics are divisions
of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a
division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox and Fox
Searchlight Pictures are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line
and Warner Independent are units of Time Warner Inc.; Lionsgate is
owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by
Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.

By GARY GENTILE

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Bruce Merrifield, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, dies at 84

Bruce Merrifield, whose greatly accelerated process for making
proteins helped develop an array of medications and earned him the
1984 Nobel Prize in chemistry, has died. He was 84.

Merrifield died at his Bergen County, New Jersey, home on May 14
after a long illness, family members said Friday.

In the early 1960s, Merrifield developed a rapid, automated system
for making peptides, the building blocks of proteins. Proteins are
key components of all living organisms, and Merrifield's innovation
allowed researchers to make peptides and proteins in a matter of
days, rather than years, according to The Rockefeller University in
Manhattan, where he worked.

His work helped in the development of such treatments as blood
pressure medicines, insulin and other hormone medications, and is
used in genetic research.

"Merrifield's methodology has brought about a revolution in peptide
and protein chemistry," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said
in awarding him his Nobel Prize. "Without his research, some
experiments and processes today done in days would have taken years,
even decades."

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1921, Merrifield and his family moved
to Southern California the following year. He earned a bachelor's
degree in chemistry in 1943 and a PhD in biochemistry in 1949, both
from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Merrifield joined the then-Rockefeller Institute for Medical
Research in 1949 and entered semiretirement as an emeritus professor
in 1992.

One of his six children, Nancy Waugh, of Great Falls, Virginia, said
on Friday that Merrifield remained active both at the research bench
and in his community until a few years ago.

Merrifield is survived by his wife, five daughters, one son and 16
grandchildren.

By Canadian Press

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