Technology Slice Blog

Westboro Baptist Church - The father of fallen Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, whose funeral was picketed by a radical Kansas church group, has been ordered to pay the protesters' court costs. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling, and ordered Albert Snyder to pay more than $16,000 to the leader of Westboro Baptist Church. Snyder had filed suit against the group for demonstrating at his son's funeral in 2006. The Topeka church frequently pickets military funerals, carrying signs that say "Thank God for dead soldiers," as well as protesting homosexuality. The Supreme Court will hear the case next term to decide whether the right to picket funerals is protected, or is limited by the privacy and religious rights of the mourners. Westboro Baptist Church

Matthew Snyder - "By the court making this decision, they're not only telling me that they're taking their side, but I have to pay them money to do this to more soldiers and their families," said Albert Snyder, whose son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, was killed in action in Iraq in 2006. Members of the fundamentalist church based in Topeka, Kansas, appeared outside Snyder's funeral in 2006 in Westminster, Maryland, carrying signs reading "You're going to hell," "God hates you" and "Thank God for dead soldiers." Among the teachings of the church, which was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps, is the belief that God is punishing the United States for "the sin of homosexuality" through events such as soldiers' deaths. Matthew Snyder

Shroud Of Turin - AMERICAN computer graphic artists using cutting edge technology have recreated the face of Jesus based on the Shroud of Turin. It took a team from Studio MacBeth six months to create the image using the fabric many believe to be Jesus’ burial cloth, as the blueprint, The Christian Post reported. “If you want to recreate the face of Jesus and you want to get the actual face of Jesus, you have only one object and that’s the Shroud,” said computer artist Ray Downing. “It is the only object that can actually purport to be the actual image of Jesus with any kind of credibility whatsoever.” But the Shroud of Turin is not without controversy. Though many believe it is the cloth used to wrap the body of Jesus after his death, others assert that the shroud is from the medieval period and is not the precious relic that some claim. Shroud Of Turin

Sam Nazarian - Ever heard of the name Sam Nazarian? Who wouldn’t Sam Nazarian is Kristin Cavallari’s boyfriend, the said to be a one woman-man, Sam Nazarian has been caught with another girl, and the one who caught him was his very own girlfriend Kristin Cavallari. The Hills star Kristin Cavallari has now broke up with her boyfriend Sam Nazarian after learning that he has been cheating on her. The story on how she found it out was really amusing. Kristin was stopping by to Sam Nazarian’s place to pick up her ring that she had left behind. Sam Nazarian

Lee Najjar - Today on an interview with a Jacksonville TV station WJXX-TV, Kim Zolciak says she’s “in a good place” with Big Papa, her nickname for her boyfriend Lee Najjar. The pair have been on and off the past year. She also said the new sixth housewife on “Real Housewives of Atlanta” season three, which starts shooting this month, is “an attorney” but wouldn’t say the name. Based on the list of women who have been rumored to be trying out for the show, the only attorney is Phaedra Parks, who specializes in entertainment. Phaedra is an actual housewife. She got married last November to Apollo Nida and “Housewives” semi-regular Dwight Eubanks was the wedding planner, according to the Straight From the A blog. Lee Najjar

Jaime Escalante - The California maths teacher who inspired the film Stand And Deliver, Jaime Escalante, has died aged 79. Escalante, a Bolivian immigrant, transformed a tough high school in Los Angeles by motivating struggling students to excel at maths and science. The school had more students studying advanced calculus than all but three other state schools in the US. Escalante died in Reno, Nevada, where he was undergoing treatment for bladder cancer, AP news agency reported. Edward James Olmos played Escalante in the 1988 film Stand And Deliver. Olmos said Escalante had proved that inner city students were able to perform at the highest level, and left an important legacy for American education, AP said. Jaime Escalante

Erik Menendez - How many of us remember Erik Menendez? Probably very less because he had hit the headlines when many of the readers were in their nursery classes! So a quick recap of the incident that made Erik Menendez notorious! Erik Galen Menendez and Joseph Lyle Menendez are two brothers who did the hideous crime of murdering their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, residents of Beverly Hills, California, on 20th August 1989 by shotgun. Both Joseph and Erik were sentenced of lifetime imprisonment and are expected to remain in prison cell till the last day of their life. Erik is reported to be working as a night caretaker and shares a 6-by-9-foot cell with another prisoner! Erik Menendez married his long time pen pal Tammi Saccoman on 16-Jun-1999 via a telephone ceremony at Folsom State Prison. The wedding took place in a prison waiting room. Tammi later self-published a book titled “They Said We’d Never Make It – My Life with Erik Menendez” where she had revealed many wonderful mome