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Sophie Bond and her mother Diane Girl has report from wrong school The mother of a 12-year-old girl from West Sussex has said she was shocked to receive a progress report from a school her daughter had never attended. The Patcham High School report, sent to Diane Bond in Hurstpierpoint, praised Sophie's performance in English but said she was misbehaving in maths. "The school doesn't know whether Sophie is there or not but has quite clearly given her results," said Ms Bond. The school said it regretted any distress its mistake had caused. Sophie attended an induction day at the school in July 2006 and was due to join Year 7 in September. But she took up a place at Oakmeeds Community College in Burgess Hill instead. Patcham's report gave Sophie grades in five subjects but marked her absent in all the others.

Jonathan Player for The New York Times Patricia Bingley with pictures of her son, Kevin Dennis, and her twin grandchildren, Elliott, left, and Ryan. Parents of 9/11 Victims Torn From Grandchildren By PAUL VITELLO Published: January 19, 2007 OYSTER BAY, N.Y. — Five years after their father was killed at the World Trade Center, two little girls, ages 7 and 5, sat crying in a car parked at the curb of their grandparents’ home here one December day, refusing to go inside for a court-ordered visit. It was a painful family tableau rooted in a hundred tangled details, but one overriding and uncontested reality: 9/11. Sometime after the death of Peter V. Genco, a Cantor Fitzgerald bond trader, in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the relationship between the girls’ mother and their late father’s parents went sour. The grandparents, Barbara and Victor Genco, obtained a court order in 2003 allowing them to see the children — under supervision, and for exactly four hours, once each month. In legal ...

You sure told them nigras Va. Lawmaker Denounced for Slave Comment Virginia lawmaker draws criticism for comment that blacks should 'get over' slavery RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 16, 2007 By BOB LEWIS Associated Press Writer (AP) A state legislator said black people "should get over" slavery and questioned whether Jews should apologize "for killing Christ," drawing denunciations Tuesday from stunned colleagues. Del. Frank D. Hargrove, 79, made his remarks in opposition to a measure that would apologize on the state's behalf to the descendants of slaves. In an interview published Tuesday in The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Hargrove said slavery ended nearly 140 years ago with the Civil War and added that "our black citizens should get over it." The newspaper also quoted him as saying, "are we going to force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ?" Without slavery, a low rent moron like you would have been lucky to leave the farm to fi...

Alexander Hamilton President Schwarzenegger -- a potential blockbuster POSTED: 5:27 p.m. EST, January 18, 2007 By Bill Schneider CNN Senior Political Analyst WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Schwarzenegger -- how does that sound? Some people think it sounds pretty good. But don't we have enough people running for president next year? According to CNN's tabulation, four Democrats are already running. One is exploring. Seven others are thinking about it. The Republican list is even longer. Eight Republicans are exploring. Six are thinking. That makes 26 potential candidates. The editors of The Los Angeles Times think there's room for one more. "Why should Californians have their governor sidelined from the race?'' the Los Angeles Times asked in a January 14 editorial. "And why can't voters across the country be entrusted to decide for themselves whether the governor of California is sufficiently 'American' to earn their vote? It's insulting re...

(Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) This was sent to warmonger Peter Beinhart. I think he deserves a flood of these letters myself from Operation Yellow Elephant to pbeinart@cfr.org subject Have you considered volunteering for military service yourself? Dear Mr. Beinart: Thank you for your strong support of continued U.S. military intervention in Iraq. We have a few questions for you. We would like to publish your answers on our blog. Are you a veteran? [If so, thank you for your service.] Although it's highly unlikely that you are in ROTC/OCS/something similar, if you are, we thank you for your commitment. Have you applied for military service, but were not accepted? [If so, thank you for stepping forward.] Do you know that you are not eligible to serve? [If so, please let us know that one fact, and we won't contact you again.] Otherwise, it would appear that you are eligible to serve in our military. Have you considered it? What resulted from those deliberations...

GWU College Republicans at Walter Reed: Real Americans Push Back From the student newspaper GW Hatchet ( letters 2 and 3 ): Stand up for your beliefs (money quote para 4) As a former Air Force intelligence officer who has deployed in support of both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, I applaud Gary Livacari (at podium) and Peter Glessing for taking the time to see our wounded personnel at Walter Reed Hospital (" The children of the 60s ," Jan. 17, p. 4). However, I am concerned that they are missing something. Since Sept. 11, military personnel have enjoyed enthusiastic support from those at home. I personally have received standing ovations at airports, unexpected free meals at restaurants, and many warm handshakes. All of these gestures are much appreciated, especially when we compare this with what returning Vietnam veterans endured. However, if we are to win this war, we will need something more than thes...

In Libby Trial, Big Names Make Jury Picks a Tall Order Shallow Pool Teems With Ties to Players By Carol D. Leonnig and Amy Goldstein Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, January 18, 2007; Page A01 To see how small a town Washington really is, drop in on jury selection at the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, where so far nearly every juror candidate seems to have a connection to the players or events surrounding the leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity. There is the software database manager whose wife works as a prosecutor for the Justice Department, and who counts the local U.S. attorney and a top official in Justice's criminal division as neighbors and friends. A housecleaner who works at the Watergate and knows Condoleezza Rice, not by her title of secretary of state, but as the "lady who lives up on the fifth floor." And a former Washington Post reporter whose editor was now-Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward; he went to barbecues at th...