11th Hour IC News August 31st, 2007

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LOCAL NEWS

MAISON DU DOULEUR TO REOPEN

DULLES, VA -- Lorelei Del'Armigo, the "Madame of DC", has returned to the area to reopen her notorious venue, Maison du Douleur (House of Pain). The Maison was originally run by Jean Claude de Perdue and Ms. Del'Armigo some years ago. It was an entertainment venue that caterers to "Fetishes," but no sexual activity is permitted on premises.

In 2001, Jean Claude fell sick, and Lorelei and he went to Paris, closing The Maison. Del'Armigo returns to Washington without Mr. de Perdue.

The Maison itself is a large house on several acres of land in Loudoun County, that privately caterers to Fetishists by appointment. The house is modeled after a plantation style home, and has cabins and a barn. Private parties are available.

National Museum of the American Indian Pow Wow

Dance competitions and musical performances by thousands of Native performers at the Verizon Center. August 10-12.
http://www.americanindian.si.edu/

POLICE NEWS

ALTERCATION AT TERRATECH BALTIMORE

BALTIMORE, MD -- Inner Harbor Police were dispatched to a "domestic" disturbance call at the TerraTech Bolton Street Office. This office houses TerraTech's main Political office providing offices for Consultants and Lobbyists. The office was closed, as it was Friday night after work hours.

Police were called when people outside the offices say a tall woman was having a fight with a man inside the lobby while the building was supposedly closed. When police arrived, they found the woman covered in blood, but with no wounds on her person.

The man, who was unharmed, said that she was fine, and this was just a lover's spat. The blood was said to be due to an unspecified accident related to the woman menstruating. This was not verified by police.

Police identified the man as Vander Soulridge, CEO of the company, and the woman was Hera Wyre, an employee.

Neither party wanted to press charges, and since the incident fell under the criteria for Disturbing the Peace rather than Domestic Violence, both parties were permitted to go their separate ways after the report was taken. Police still consider the matter under investigation, but do not have enough evidence to detain or charge either party involved at this time.
 

CAR THIEVES TERRORIZE POLICE IMPOUND LOT

ARLINGTON, VA -- Two unidentified young males were seen trying to remove a 1985 Buick Regal, custom remodeled to resemble sister muscle car the Grand National, from the Arlington County police impound lot. The car was inoperable, as it was being held as evidence in a car jacking suspected to have been done by a local gang.

The owner of the vehicle, Francesca Torquemada, has been missing since the night the car was reported stolen almost a month ago.

It is possible that the guilty parties were trying to remove the car before some form of incriminating evidence was recovered. They did not make it out of the lot with the car.

Video footage of the pair was too grainy to make a positive ID.

Also, when the pair broke into the lot, they may have let in a stray dog of some kind, apparently a husky or other large, wolf-like breed. The dog was not caught and appears to have left the impound lot.

CLASSIFIED ADS

Surgeon Liable After Leaving Needle In Patient

NEW YORK CITY (AP) -- A New York City surgeon has been found liable in a lawsuit that accused him of losing a needle inside a patient and leaving it inside after not being able to find it.
In a rare successful motion for summary judgment by a plaintiff in a medical malpractice action, a Manhattan judge held a surgeon liable for leaving behind a needle, which remains lodged between the plaintiff's liver and right kidney. The judge ruled there is ample proof that Dr. A. Douglas Heymann departed from accepted medical practices when he left the needle inside Christopher Faas after hernia surgery in 2001. Heymann and another surgeon were unable to find the needle after several hours of looking, including X-rays. The needle has since migrated to the patient's liver and is still there.
The judge added that Faas could not have been contributorily negligent, given that he was under anesthesia at the time the needle was lost. Faas's lawyer said it's jeopardizing Faas' health. The needle lodged behind Faas' liver, where it remains. Doctors have determined that removing it presents more risks than letting it remain. "In order to remove it, they'd have to perform a laparotomy and remove his intestine and search every inch of [it] for this needle," said DiPietro. "Every time he feels a pinch in his belly, he's wondering whether this needle is perforating one of his organs," DiPietro added.
There have been only six reported decisions in New York of cases involving surgical needles left behind in patients, according to a New York Law Journal search.
Another trial will determine damages. And the lawsuit against the other doctor goes to trial next month.
From 1970-1973, Dr. Heymann was the Chief of General Surgery for NATO. He was listed as a Top Doctor, Surgery by Castle Connolly Guide 2003, and America's Top Surgeons in 2007, as well as one of New York Magazine's Best Doctors for 2006 and 2007.

Parepin - America's First Line of Defense

ORLANDO, FL -- This weekend, Parepin will be added to Orlando's drinking supply in what is both a symbolic and very practical move in the battle against biological terrorism. Parepin strengthens the immune system, boosting immunity against a wide range of biological weapons.

After the devastating dirty bomb and biological attacks against Los Angeles and Anaheim, Orlando was selected for protection against biological attack. Washington, D.C., New York City, Atlanta and Boston will all be adding Parepin to their water supply before the end of the month, and national rollout should be completed by the end of summer.

Parepin is the brand name for a man-made drug that is also sometimes referred to by its generic name, Zeridine.

Developed in a ground-breaking partnership between a major pharmaceutical company and NIH, Parepin is a complex drug that bootstraps the immune system.

Parepin ( http://www.parepin.org/ ) is a revolutionary drug made possible by the advances in medical technology from the study of AIDS and other immune diseases. While antibiotics target bacteria and antiviral drugs target viruses, Parepin is not designed to combat a specific disease or set of diseases. Instead, it makes the body better able to combat all disease.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

London man finds world's largest species of centipede in his apartment

LONDON (AP) - Aaron Balick expected to find a tiny mouse stirring around behind the TV in his apartment. Instead, he found a venomous giant centipede that somehow made its way from South America to Britain.
He trapped the 9-inch-long creature between a stack of books and put it in a plastic container. "Thinking it was a mouse, I went to investigate the sound," Balick said Wednesday. "The sound was coming from under some papers which I lifted, expecting to see the mouse scamper away. "Instead, when I lifted the papers, I saw this prehistoric-looking animal skitter away behind a stack of books."
The next day Balick, 32, took it to Britain's Natural History Museum, which identified the insect as a Scolopendra gigantea - the world's biggest species of centipede.
Stuart Hine, an entomologist at the museum, said it was likely the centipede hitched a ride aboard a freighter, likely with a shipment of fruit. "Dealing with over 4,000 public and commercial inquiries every year, we have come to expect the unexpected. However, when Aaron produced this beast from his bag I was staggered," Hine said. "Not even I expected to be presented with this."
The centipede has front claws that are adapted to deliver venom when it stings, which can lead to a blistering rash, nausea and fever. The sting is rarely life-threatening, though.
 

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

Entertainment and Gossip

From regular columnist

Kitty Whittier 

Ahhh... the end of summer approaches. The end of white shoes and Virginia Beach, the beginning of the Renaissance Festival and school traffic. But, hope springs eternal, as does drama in our torrid little hamlet. On with the show!

I realize my column is often the "Loki Show", simply because he can be relied upon to do interesting and snark-worthy things. This month is no disappointment.

The Trickster has added yet another mystery woman to his entourage of sycophants, this time an exotic little Asian number he was seen chatting up for quite some time, sans his other toys and sans the law student.

Said young lady was also seen at the same time in the company of an unidentified young white male, ruggedly blue-collar good-looking, sporting an interesting tattoo.

Later on, another Asian girl, who may be a sister to the first, strolled up in a red kimono top and joined in. Sources later corrected me to say this may in fact be her BROTHER! Someone, please get that boy a map to Dupont Circle, stat!

On a rougher note, Heidi Fleiss, look out! You're about to get dethroned, when the House of Pain reopens out in the 'burbs. Madame Del'Armigo has come to whip things back into shape. I will have to be extra good from now on, non?

Until next time, pets...

ADVICE COLUMN:

Monica Garrett

Morality can't be imposed from the outside

Dear Monica:

There seems to be a definite pattern in the letters that appear in your column regarding folks who are not married but are living together or are in "serious" relationships and having sex.
Could you tell me when this behavior ceased being considered immoral? When I was a young man, we all knew that these things happened, but everyone also knew that they were immoral acts.
It cannot be that, just because these activities are no longer illegal, they are now considered to be acceptable.
Imagine, as an example, an elderly widow who adds her only son as a co-owner of her considerable bank account, and the no-good son promptly cleans out the account at the first opportunity and absconds with the widow's money.
No one would consider this a moral act, even though it is quite legal. And if this widow wrote to you, I'm sure you would agree that what the son did was highly immoral.
So, if you would be so inclined, could you help me to understand why sex outside of marriage is now considered to be a morally neutral act if it is between consenting adults?

-- Richard


Dear Richard:

Comparing sex between consenting, committed and rational adults to ripping off an old lady is a new twist to an old story.
I presume the popular cultural opinion about this matter has shifted because when people stopped to ponder the moral question, they couldn't figure out why it would be necessary for society to pass judgment on an activity that simply doesn't enter the public sphere. Even if you view this behavior as some sort of moral crime, surely it is "victimless."
Individuals (yourself included, of course) should be able to set their own moral compass and live by the moral, ethical, cultural or religious dictates they choose -- within the reasonable standard of lawfulness. No one individual can rightfully impose his moral standards on the rest of us, though you are welcome to express your views. I'm sure other readers will be eager to weigh in.