Update: Shoe-Thrower Monument

The BBC reports that the sculpture has been removed and destroyed at the order of the local government, which said that children should not be exposed to political issues.

Loss for RHAM Girls Basketball Team

The RHAM girls basketball team lost at home to Berlin on Thursday night. The final score of the game was 54-33. The lady sachems are now 2-10.

Iraqi Orphans Help Build Monument to Bush Shoe-Thrower

Image: CNN.com

Iraqi orphans in a small city north of Tikrit raised money to help artist Laith al-Amiri build a sculpture commemorating an incident in which an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhir al-Zaidi, threw his shoes at President Bush at a press conference. The children, according to the director of their orphanage, "were the victims of Bush's war", according to CNN. al-Zaidi is facing criminal charges, but he is widely considered a hero in Iraq. The sculpture now resides in Tikrit's orphanage.

Blagojevich Impeached

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office by a 59-0 vote in the Illinois State Senate today, on charges of corruption, the most notable of which being his attempt to sell President Obama's former U.S. Senate seat. Blagojevich has also been banned from holding office in Illinois. He is now awaiting a criminal trial for bribery. He is the first governor to be impeached since Evan Mecham, Governor of Arizona, in 1988.

Blagojevich has maintained his innocence and questioned the evidence against him presented by the Federal Bereau of Investigation. After recieving the verdict, he stated that he was not surprised but also "saddened and disappointed".

Sources: BBC, MSNBC

The Purse Snatchers: Liberty and Union Music Review

The Purse Snatchers, a band made up of RHAM Alumni released their newest CD, Liberty and Union. While a band not known by many, The Purse Snatchers cannot be overlooked with awesome tracks such as The Message (The sample on this page), it proves that if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish amazing things. I would rate the album with a 9/10, simply because I wish there were more tracks on the CD than six.

UConn Men Defeat DePaul

The UConn Huskies basketball players are like any other players, they have good nights, maybe even great nights, and sometimes they have tough nights where nothing seems to go for them. This is how the UConn huskies looked after the first half. They had allowed 22 points in the paint and had only one block in the first twenty minutes.

One big difference between the good teams and the great teams is depth of the lineups you have available. UConn brought out many of their bench onto the court throughout the game and took it away in the second half.

They started with a three-guard lineup and went on a quick 10-2 run, and from there, it was easy to see who had fallen victim to fatigue. According to Courant.com, "We are tired and worn out," coach Jerry Wainwright said. "They are a very physical team. We got beat up pretty good in the second half." The Huskies played a very physical game on both sides of the ball, and that payed off for them in the end. The final score of the game was UConn 71, DePaul 49.



Second ranked UConn will play Providence next on Saturday January 31st

Two Car Crash in Marlborough

At 1:50 pm there was an accident between two mini vans at the bottom of the Twin Hills on Rt. 66 in Marlborough. The crash appeared to have been caused when one mini van could not stop coming onto 66 from a side street. The other mini van collided at a 90 degree angle, both cars receiving large damage to the front drivers side. Both drivers seamed to be o.k. just shaken up after the crash. Both vehicles were certainly totaled as one van no longer had the front drivers side wheel attached and the other car sustained large damage to the front. Police and ambulances were called to the scene. Wet weather and slippery conditions was probably the main cause.