Cody is a Blog

The British teacher in Sudan who was jailed for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad" has been released and sent back to Britian.

She served eight days of a 15-day sentence before being pardoned.

“I don’t think anyone could have imagined it would snowball like this,� she said.

According to the BBC, there is a calm after the "teddy bear storm" where other English teachers in the area are breathing sighs of relief.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, England, was sentenced to 15 days in jail after allowing her students to name a teddy bear in their classroom "Muhammad." Many people in Sudan felt that was insulting Islam, because Muhammad is the name of the Islamic revered prophet.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ABC News is reporting Sunday that British officials are seeking a pardon for the teacher in Sudan who allowed her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Lord Nazir Ahmed, two Muslim members of the British parliament, said that they were trying to work with the Sudanese government to try and release her.

According to CNN International, GIllian Gibbons would be sent by plane out of the country as soon as she got released if she were to be released.

"We're having lots and lots of meetings, we're working hard," Lord Ahmed said to reporters.

No agreement has been made as of now.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Another oil spill in the Black Sea is causing environmental upheaval after a Russian oil tanker split in two on Sunday after a fierce storm. Twenty sailors are currently missing, according to Russian officials.

This oil spill, according to Forbes, is considered to be the worst disaster since a Liberian oil ship sank off the coast of Spain in 2002.

The New York Times is reporting that three bodies have washed up on shore, and the search has been called off due to severe weather conditions to find the twenty missing soldiers. Along with that, tens of thousands of oil-slicked birds "dotted the coastline" near where the ship sank.

The NY Times also said that the oil has affected marine life, killing many fish.

The Times Online reports that this spill could pollute the Black Sea for 15 years.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Pakistan will lift its state of emergency "within one month" and allowed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto to leave her home after she was on house arrest for one day.

Bhutto insisted that she was going to hold a massive protest against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule, which suspended the Pakistani constitution, before hundreds of Pakistani police blocked off Bhutto's home.

However, Bhutto is not allowed to visit the home of the ousted chief justice, according to the New York Times. The New York Times also reports that Musharraf's attorney general said that the state of emergency might be lifted within two months, but no specific timetable has been set.

Scotsman News also reports that a top government official said that the state of emergency will be lifted within one month.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Roger William Hurd, 61, attempted to bring a pipe bomb into the U.S.'s largest nuclear power plant, but was stopped by security. The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Facility was quickly placed on lockdown.

Hurd told investigators that he had no idea how the bomb was placed in his truck.

As of right now, according to the Arizona Republic, Palo Verde is 'back to normal' after the facility was placed on lockdown on Friday.

The Arizona Republic is also reporting that investigators are still trying to figure out how exactly the bomb was placed into Hurd's truck.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A fire broke out at a beach house in North Carolina, killing an undetermined amount of people and sending several to the hospital. Most inside were college students.

The fire had "totally engulfed" the house in flames by 7 a.m., said a University of North Carolina student. He also said that most students appeared to be from the University of South Carolina.

Six people were sent to Brunswick Community Hospital.

CNN talked with Debbie Smith, the local mayor.

"I understand there were some college kids in the house. Some got out. Some did not," she said. It is unclear as to the number of students who died in the fire.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In lieu of the recent Burmese military junta's suppression of protests, President Bush issued new financial sanctions against the Burmese government in hopes to "stop their vicious persecution."

In the New York Times, they note that this isn't the first time that the U.S. government has tried to put pressure on Myannmar. Last month, Bush issued 14 financial sanctions on top Burmese leaders.

“Burma’s rulers continue to defy the world’s just demands to stop their vicious persecution.� President Bush said. “The people of Burma are showing great courage in the face of immense repression. They are appealing for our help."

"Burmese authorities claim they desire reconciliation. Well, they need to match those words with actions," the president said."

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jammie Thomas, the woman from Brainerd, Minnesota who was forced to pay $222,000 in damages from sharing music files on the Internet, is appealing her fine.

The RIAA successfully threw down a cost of $9,250 per song that was shared over a file-sharing network. According to cnet.com news, the jury never found Thomas guilty of downloading music, just successfully sharing them. If Thomas wins her appeal, the RIAA will have to prove that Thomas intentionally shared music.

A blog on wired.com has spoken with three of the jurors on last week's trial. One of the jurors, a middle-aged man, told the judge that he was "computer illiterate."

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the small town of Crandon, Wisconsin, a police officer allegedly went on a shooting rampage at a house party, killing at least five people, authorities said Sunday.

The shooting happened around 3 a.m. local time.

MyFox Milwaukee has a more in-depth look at the shooting, where it's said that nobody else is being sought for in Crandon, and that the suspect may or may not be dead. More information can be found here.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

President Bush, at a conference at the State Department, claimed that industrious countries need to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Bush also proposed an international fund that would make cleaner emissions available for other nations as well.

"I want to get the job done," he told hundreds of envoys, lobbyists and activists. "We have identified a problem. Let's go solve it together."

Bush wanted to make participation optional for each country as opposed to enforcing international standards. Critics say that this may only help marginally instead of radically, which is what they argue needs to be done.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Star Simpson, a 19-year-old student at MIT, was arrested at gunpoint Friday when airport security thought a computer circuit board she was wearing was a bomb. Simpson was arrested and released on $750 bail.

Salon.com has a picture of the circuit board that was attached to her shirt. Simpson claimed that the circuit board was purely an art form.

In a press conference after the incident, State Police Maj. Scott Pare said that Simpson is "extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used. She's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue."

ABC News is reporting that Simpson was holding a ball of Play-Doh in her hands when she was first restrained, which was determined not to be explosive, police said.

Simpson is pleating not guilty to two charges of disrupting the peace and posession of a hoax device.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

At least 88 people died in a plane crash near the tourist town of Phucket in Thailand. The plane, according to the BBC, was circling the runway and asking to abort the landing. However, even though it was given permission to do so, it fell to the runway and the body of the plane broke.

According to The Press Association, the majority of the passengers were British citizens. The New York Times is reporting that many more bodies are expected to be pulled from the rubbish. About 40 people were able to escape and survive the wreckage.

Posted by Cody Zwiefelhofer at 8:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)