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(EDITOR'S WARNING: This reader-submitted video includes profanity and other derogatory language that may be offensive to some viewers.) In the days following a two-night melee at the annual Drew Expo carnival last weekend, an event promoter and police are left to consider how to avoid a repeat next year. Erect a $5,000 fence around the festivities? Increase the police presence? Event promoter Jan Wilkins said he’s noticed a steady increase in violence at the carnival over the years, fighting that reached a crescendo Friday and Saturday nights. Wilkins said the yearly problem eats into the carnival’s reputation and financial take-away....

With bodies still trapped inside Costa Concordia’s underwater tomb, Carnival (CCL: 30.48, 0.00, 0.00%) now finds itself at the heart of scrutiny only likely to rise along with the death toll. Carnival’s worst-ever wreck and one of the most high-profile incidents since the Titanic sank 100 years ago, it’s hard to imagine such a massive company blaming the disaster on a single person -- even if he did abandon ship early and steer a little too close to shore. Even worse, while Carnival has vehemently denied earlier reports that it would offer survivors a 30% discount off future cruises, instead...

SAN DIEGO - Carnival Cruise Lines said Thursday although Spam was among the food items delivered to the stranded Splendor, the canned meat was not served to guests. "Despite media reports to the contrary, Carnival Splendor guests were never served Spam!" Carnival said on Twitter. The U.S. Navy Tuesday delivered food items to Splendor that Carnival ordered in the wake of the ship's four-day shutdown after an engine fire. Photos of Navy helicopters dropping crates of Spam sparked the term "Spam-cation." "We gave our food order to a supplier, not the Navy. The Navy kindly delivered the goods, (and) Spam...

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Coast Guard official says one of two tugboats tasked with pulling a disabled cruise ship to San Diego didn't have enough power and was forced to turn back. Coast Guard Petty Officer Jetta Disco says a Mexican company has sent a third tugboat to the scene but authorities are trying to determine whether it would be better to leave the one tugboat alone while it slowly makes headway.--snip--Instead of lavish buffets, passengers on the Carnival Splendor were subsisting on Spam, Pop Tarts and canned crabmeat flown in by Navy helicopters. People were trying to keep...

Carnival Splendor, crippled by an engine-room fire on Monday and set adrift west of Baja California, has been met by one of the commercial ocean-going tugs sent to rendezvous with the ship, Cruise Critic has learned. Although the tug was originally intended to tow the ship -- with 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crewmembers onboard -- to Ensenada, Mexico, Carnival has announced in its latest statement that, given the ship's current speed and location, it will head to San Diego, where it's expected to arrive on Thursday. The cruise line is making arrangements for hotel accommodations and flights home for all...

SAN DIEGO -- A cruise ship stranded offshore with 4,500 passengers and crew must be towed slowly into a Mexican port and will not arrive until at least Wednesday night, the Coast Guard said Tuesday.

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S Virgin Islands — A 14-year-old Puerto Rican tourist was killed in front of her horrified family when she was caught in the crossfire of a gunfight attributed to warring gangs on the U.S. Virgin Islands. Gov. John deJongh identified the slain tourist as Lizmarie Perez Chapparro from Puerto Rico, who was struck by a bullet as she rode with her relatives on a packed "safari bus" that ferries tourists across the three-island territory. The girl and her family arrived in St. Thomas aboard the Carnival Victory, a Carnival Cruise Line ship that departed Puerto Rico's capital of...

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- A cruise ship operator says dozens of people were hurt when one of its vessels listed during a maneuver to avoid a partially submerged buoy that was adrift near Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Carnival Cruise Lines says the ship, Carnival Ecstasy, had to make a sharp turn to avoid the buoy Wednesday afternoon.

MIAMI (Reuters) – A Carnival cruise ship was held off the Florida coast for several hours on Sunday while authorities searched the vessel and arrested a drunk passenger on bomb hoax charges, the Coast Guard said. No explosives or hazardous materials were found and the ship, the Carnival Sensation, was allowed to dock at Port Canaveral on Florida's Atlantic coast Sunday morning, Coast Guard petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Evanson said. The ship carried 3,470 passengers and crew and was headed back to Port Canaveral after a three-day cruise to the Bahamas when a passenger reported hearing another passenger make...

A carnival float featuring upside down US President Barack Obama makes its way through the crowd during the "Rose Monday" parade in the western German city of Duesseldorf. Huge effigies of US President Barack Obama and bankers made up as zombies from Michael Jackson's famous "Thriller" video starred in Germany's biggest carnival procession I guess the International honeymoon is over for the D.I.C. (Dunce In Chief)

COLOGNE, Germany (AFP) – Huge effigies of US President Barack Obama and bankers made up as zombies from Michael Jackson's famous "Thriller" video starred in Germany's biggest carnival procession here on Monday. More than a million people braved the snow to line the route of the seven-kilometre (four-mile) parade, where revellers traditionally poke fun at current events and enjoy tonnes of sweets hurled from the travelling floats. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's alleged night with a call girl was rewarded with a huge figure showing a beaming premier surrounded by breasts. Obama's controversial Nobel Prize was also the butt of...

A seven-year-old has broken down crying as she took the controversial lead of a Rio de Janeiro carnival parade. Julia Lira became the youngest drum corps queen in memory, but her role has sparked much debate in Brazil. A judge had earlier over-ruled objections from a child rights agency that said it was inappropriate given the carnival's sexual focus.

A float called ‘Yes we can be ecologist’ depicting U.S. President Barack Obama, parades during the 126th edition of the Nice Carnival, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, in Nice, southern France. The carnival’s theme this year is ‘King of the Blue Planet.’ Makes him look like a Disney superhero. And there is this What The Hell shot:

(SNIP) Mayor Jose Neto of Sao Lourenco in southeastern Minas Gerais state told Globo television he was banning songs that incite violence and disrespect authority and wanted to protect more traditional Carnival music, such as samba. Anyone caught listening to funk -- a pounding beat often with sexual lyrics popular in Rio de Janeiro's slums -- or rap during the Carnival period would have to turn it off or face arrest and up to six months in prison, he reportedly said. (SNIP)

At the delicate core of Julia's case is the queen's traditional role in Rio's Carnival: that of sexy muse. Unlike other participants, she is usually not bare-chested and wears more than just glitter. But queen costumes would be considered revealing by any estimation. Brazil has long had a problem with sexual exploitation of children, especially in the lawless Amazon region. Allowing Julia to be a drum corps queen "would increase the treatment of children as sexual objects in Brazilian society," said Carlos Nicodemos, director of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for the Defense of Children and Adolescents.

Cruise ships are increasingly catering to holidaymakers' particular interests - whether it's art and culture or a particular hobby. And sexual attraction is no exception as what is thought to be the world's first 'Cougar Cruise' has proven a sell-out in the U.S. Aimed at older women who prefer to date younger men, the fully-booked International Cougar Cruise set sail from San Diego in California on December 4.

SAO PAULO – A Brazilian carnival queen famous for her skimpy attire is grabbing headlines again for painting President Barack Obama's face on her body. Viviane Castro paraded nearly nude early Saturday with the U.S. leader's visage on her right thigh. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's face was on her left thigh. Castro's stomach read "for sale" — a message she said represented the sale of Brazil's Amazon to the U.S. Many here fear the U.S. wants to control the resource-rich region. Castro appeared in last year's Rio Carnival parade wearing nothing but a strategically placed piece of...

SAO PAULO (AP) - The Carnival beauty famed for proving it's possible to get too naked for Brazil's samba parades is looking for the spotlight again—by painting her body with an image of President Barack Obama. Viviane Castro last year made headlines by appearing as a samba school drum queen while wearing nothing but a tape 3 centimeters (1.6 inches) wide—managing to violate a little-enforced nudity rule and drawing a penalty for her group. Castro, 26, said she will wear slightly more on Friday—but will still have plenty of room to have Obama's image placed somewhere on her body for...

ANGELS CAMP, Calif. -- A carnival ride collapsed Friday evening at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds, injuring 18 people. A swing ride called the Yo-Yo collapsed just after 6 p.m., Cal Fire's Lisa Williams said. According to witnesses, 25 people were on the ride at the time. The Yo-Yo has arms that fling out as they spin around an axis, said Dennis Townsend, a chief in the Calaveras County unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention.

GILFORD, N.H. (AP) - Much of this week's winter carnival in Gilford has been canceled, due to too much winter. Parks and Recreation Director Herb Greene notes that the cancellation of 2 events was due to poor road conditions and snow-filled parking lots. Of the three events originally scheduled for Wednesday, the Cardboard Box Sled Derby has been rescheduled to Friday morning.

A Covington woman was attacked Monday morning by a New Orleans man dressed in Carnival garb that she met through the Internet, Covington police said Tuesday. Lawrence Goldstein, 40, 1020 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans, was booked Monday with attempted rape, false imprisonment and possession of nitrous oxide, which is classified a dangerous substance, police said. Sometimes known as laughing gas, the chemical was used by Goldstein in an attempt to lower the victims defenses, authorities said. Goldstein called the 24-year-old Covington resident early Monday morning and told her that he had too many guests at his residence and asked...

Lisa Mount right, and M.K. Wegmann second from right, wear costumes about Super Tuesday on Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008. Carnival revelers were greeted with warm weather for Fat Tuesday Straight from the Mardi Gras parade, 'Glo' Gloria Cunningham signs into the Democratic Caucus at the Town Hall in Crested Butte, Colo. with her costume on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008. Two revelers wear costumes like senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008 R.M. Elfer left, and Judy Weaver wear...

Brasilia - A Brazilian judge has banned a float portraying the Holocaust from taking part in this year's carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The judge also banned the use of Adolf Hitler costumes and swastikas in Sunday's parade. Jewish interest groups in Brazil had demanded that the float, which used mannequins to portray victims of the Holocaust, be banned from the carnival. The float's designer, who believes that the carnival should also broach social themes, said he wanted the off-putting tableau to offer a warning and so help prevent an event such as the Holocaust ever happening again. The judge...

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A Carnival float with a pile of model dead bodies commemorating the Holocaust is causing unease before the lavish parades in Rio de Janeiro this weekend. The Viradouro samba organization, or school, plans to feature the grim display when it marches in the Sambadrome parade strip on Sunday, despite objections from a local Jewish group. "Really, it makes no sense addressing this theme with drums and dancing girls," said Sergio Niskier, president of the Israelite Federation in Rio de Janeiro state, referring to the slaughter of Jews by Nazi Germany in World War Two.

BALTIMORE — The Rev. Ann Gordon stood in front of her United Methodist congregation last fall and announced that she was now he. Surgery and testosterone had transformed Ann into the Rev. Drew Phoenix -- still as liberal and laid-back as always, but now legally male. Most in the small congregation accepted their pastor's transition; they even threw him a renaming party, complete with birthday cake. But when Phoenix, 48, was reappointed to another year of ministry this spring by his bishop, it sparked a protest in the United Methodist Church. The denomination's highest authority, the Judicial Council, will take...

According to news reports, "The Rev. Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, has accepted a nomination to become the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago because she wants to follow God's call. Lind, a lesbian priest who lives in Cleveland Heights with her partner, Emily Ingalls, is one of five candidates for the bishop's seat. If elected, she will become the second openly gay bishop consecrated in the denomination." Tracy is gay but states, "I believe that accepting this nomination is what God is asking of me, and I, in turn, ask your prayers for me...

A dispute over an "insulting" carnival procession entry has developed into a row over political correctness. Locals dressed as Muslims took part in the carnival in the Cornish market town of St Columb Major in protest over plans for a mosque. A group of students visiting the area thought the act was offensive to Muslims, and called in police. The group, calling themselves the Page Three Beauties from the Ramalamadingdong Times, carried placards with names including Miss Poppadomistan" and "Miss Reallyamanistan". A home-made banner read "Join the Kernow Mosk drekly and become a Musli" over a picture of a Cornish...

OSHKOSH, Wisconsin (AP) -- Police and federal investigators tried Sunday to determine why a teen fell from a festival ride and died. Lifefest attendees gather near the site of the woman's death to write messages and leave condolences. Elizabeth K. Mohl, 16, of Neenah, was killed Saturday after falling 40 to 50 feet from a ride called Air Glory.

Dusseldorf - A Muslim leader in Germany criticized a carnival float in a Monday parade that satirically suggested Islam was not peaceful. The float carried two identical cartoon-style papier-mache figures, each wearing a suicide-bomber's belt and carrying a dagger and a pistol. The first was labelled 'the cliche,', the second was labelled 'the reality.' Both scowling figures were labelled 'mullahs,' a term used in Germany as it is in Pakistan to describe both Shiite and Sunni clergy. The float was part of a carnival parade watched by more than half a million people in the western city of Dusseldorf. 'This...

Hitler, Bush and the Mullahs have one thing in common: they're represented as effigies at the Düsseldorf carnival. On Rose Monday, costumed revelers cheered on the parade which pokes fun at everyone and everything. Once a year, the Germans show off their humorous side: dressed up with wigs, masks and costumes, they flock to their local carnival parade to get madly drunk and sing along to carnival chansons à la "I need more beer." Those who want the real deal go to the Rhineland where cities like Cologne or Düsseldorf have become carnival mecca. While Cologne is undoubtedly the number...

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's raucous Carnival celebrations kicked off in Rio de Janeiro on Friday with tens of thousands dancing and singing in the streets, defying a recent surge of gun violence in the city's slums. Carnival's samba-dancing King Momo -- the Lord of Misrule -- and his shimmying Queen and Princess were handed a giant symbolic key to the city in a sun-lit park as a band played Rio's boisterous anthem "the Marvelous City." "The city has its problems but now we're full of hope, and we salute all those who come to visit us for the...

Catholic bishops criticized on Friday Brazil's plan to hand out millions of free condoms in the world's largest Catholic country when its famously bacchanalian Carnival begins next week. The health ministry will roll out a new marketing campaign for safe sex on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro and start giving away 35 million free condoms in the streets for Carnival, a festival celebrated by Catholics the world over before the strict period of Lent. With 150 million Catholics, Brazil has a Carnival that is a five-day street party legendary for liberal amounts of dancing, drinking and sex. "Is this going...

MIAMI – Authorities were investigating the disappearance of an Ohio woman who was reported missing Monday from a Carnival Cruise Lines ship. The 37-year-old woman, whose identity was not released, had been on a four-day cruise to Key West and Mexico. The Miami-based cruise line said relatives last saw the woman Saturday night, but did not report her missing until Monday, when the ship returned to Miami. FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said, however, that she was not aware of any delay in reporting the disappearance. “It doesn't look like foul play,” said Orihuela, whose agency is investigating the case. The...

Hillary's brother barred from bank account By Jim McElhatton THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published July 27, 2006 Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother Anthony D. Rodham has been barred from accessing his bank account while a bankruptcy trustee demands that he repay more than $100,000 in loans from a carnival company whose founder was pardoned by President Clinton, filings in federal bankruptcy court in Alexandria show.     Mr. Rodham, one of Mrs. Clinton's two brothers, received $107,000 in loans from United Shows of America Inc. after its owners obtained the presidential pardon over the objections of the Justice Department.     United Shows went bankrupt...

A bankruptcy trustee for a carnival company whose owners received a pardon from President Clinton is seeking to garnish the bank accounts of Mr. Clinton's brother-in-law to recoup more than $100,000 in loans. Anthony D. Rodham, one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's two brothers, got the loans from United Shows of America Inc. after its owners obtained the presidential pardon in March 2000 over the objections of the Justice Department. Michael E. Collins, trustee for United Shows, filed papers in Alexandria bankruptcy court seeking the return of $107,000 plus $46,034 in interest from Mr. Rodham, 51, for the loans he...

After waiting more than 10 hours to board a celebratory cruise, Nathan and Jennifer Leslie were stunned when the ship's captain kicked them off the ship Sunday and left them stranded in the Bahamas. Their crime? Complaining about the bevy of problems they had experienced with Carnival Cruise Lines' Sensation, which began when they were locked inside a Port Canaveral terminal Thursday, waiting because the ship failed inspections. Cruise officials say they were aggressive. The Winter Haven couple, who were celebrating their recent wedding anniversary and Nathan Leslie's return in October from serving in the Iraq war, arrived in the...

ALARM - Flights of works of Picasso, Monet, Dali and Matisse with the museum of Rio RIO OF JANEIRO - works of El Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Claude Monet were flights Friday in a museum of Rio by a group of men armed which moreover attacked foreign tourists, according to the museum.

In 711 Muslim armies crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. They took Spain by force and remained there until they were thrown out during the reconquista in 1492. Every year, in a tradition that goes back to the 16th century, Spanish villages still celebrate the liberation from the Moors (as the Muslims were locally called) during “Moros y Cristianos” festivals in which effigies of the prophet Muhammad – the so-called “la Mahoma” – are mocked, thrown out of windows, and burned.

Pictures and text showing the activities last Saturday of Cardinal Lehmann at Carnival and Cardinal Danneels at an empty vocations conference.

The largest and most famous carnival celebration in Belgium is the one of the Flemish town of Aalst, 35 kms to the west of Brussels. Several groups parade through town in a pageant with floats, bands, and jesters, making fun of recent national and international events. The tradition goes back centuries, to mediaeval times. With carnival [mardi gras, as they say in Louisiana] approaching (28 February), the authorities are afraid that some groups might use the Danish cartoon crisis to dress up – God, or rather Allah, forbid – as the prophet Muhammad.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A group of 86 evangelical Christian leaders are reportedly supporting a major initiative to fight global warming. Warning "millions of people could die in this century because of climate change," the leaders include the presidents of 39 evangelical colleges, aid groups and churches, such as the Salvation Army, and pastors of megachurches, including Rick Warren, author of the best seller "The Purpose-Driven Life," The New York Times reported Wednesday. "For most of us, until recently this has not been treated as a pressing issue or major priority," the Christian leaders said in a statement to...

Queen Mary 2 Passengers Threaten Sit-In Sun Jan 22, 6:43 PM ET LONDON - Some passengers on the Queen Mary 2 are threatening a sit-in when the cruise ship reaches port in Brazil to protest a last-minute change in itinerary, the vessel's operator said Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT The world's largest and most expensive ocean liner left New York on Jan. 15 and was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on Feb. 22. Carrying more than 2,500 passengers, it hit the side of a Florida shipping channel Jan. 18, damaging a motor and reducing its speed. The cruise cut stops in Barbados,...

Now that Cologne has opened Carnival season (on the day that most of Europe was celebrating Armistice Day), we can look forward to some pretty strange Masses over the coming months. Here are some examples from previous years.

Carnival Cruise Sending Three Big Ships for Katrina RefugeesBy Travis Reed Associated Press Writer Published: Sep 3, 2005 Federal officials are chartering three of Carnival Cruise Lines' ships for six months, part of a plan to provide shelter for as many as 7,000 people displaced by devastating Hurricane Katrina. The three ships - the Ecstasy, Sensation and Holiday - will be pulled from regular use starting Monday. Ecstasy, normally ported at Galveston for four-and five-day cruises, and Sensation, normally in New Orleans for similar trips, will both be pulled Monday and are scheduled to dock and house Katrina refugees in...

The Carnival Cruise Ship "Holiday" was delayed from making her scheduled run this afternoon by a Bomb Threat, local TV Station WKRG TV 5 reported on its 10 pm broadcast. After a search, the FBI pronounced the ship now 'safe' and allowed it to leave port. No mention if anyone was arrested.

MEDFORD, Mass. -- Several teenagers were arraigned in a Somerville courtroom Thursday after allegedly attacking a group of police officers at a local carnival Wednesday night. Medford police were called to a teen disturbance at a carnival and soon found themselves fighting for their lives. Even when backup arrived, the officers were outnumbered. The teens allegedly punched, kicked and hit the officers with their own nightsticks.

A 54-year-old passenger vanished as a ship returned from a five-day cruise to the Bahamas, and a daylong ocean search turned up no sign of him. The hunt was called off yesterday. Glen Sherridan was reported missing by his wife a day earlier, after the Carnival Cruise Line ship Celebration docked in Jacksonville. The ship's electronic exit and entry program showed he had not disembarked after arrival, and a crew search of the vessel came up empty, Carnival said. Gloria Sherridan said she had last seen her husband about 1:30 a.m. Thursday. She said he was an early riser and...

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) -- A 54-year-old passenger vanished as a ship returned from a five-day cruise to the Bahamas, and a daylong ocean search turned up no sign of him. The hunt was called off Friday.