Women With Troubles - February 2007

Once again we have over 50 entries in the compilation of women with troubles reported in the news during February 2007. Each name is linked to an Interested-Participant blog entry displaying details.

(AL) Amber LeAnn White, 25,
kindergarten teacher - Arrested for drug trafficking methamphetamine and marijuana with husband, John Kristofor White, 28,

(AZ) Amy Lynn Scott, 39,
former babysitter - On trial for murder of 3 infants in 1989,

(AZ) Jeri Deanne Perez, 38,
teacher - Arrested for sexual misconduct with boy, 14,

(CA) Donna Jean Hubbard, 46,
teacher - Found guilty in guns and hate crime case,

(CO) Charalene Bera, 28,
child care counselor - Convicted of sex assault of three boys in her care. Sentencing April 27th,

(CT) Tricia Coccomo, 33,
teacher - Convicted of DWI manslaughter in deaths of three people. Sentencing is March 30th,

(FL) Amanda Diane Bronson, 25,
neighbor mother - Arrested for child neglect for taking kids on drug run,

(FL) Cheryl Foster-Lawrentz, 32,
teacher - Arrested for stealing about $10,000 from student fund,

(FL) Holly Louise Gee, 31,
neighbor - Arrested for unlawful sex with runaway boy, 16,

(FL) Jodi Lynn Sykes, 25,
neighbor - Arrested for sex with boy, 14,

(FL) Susan R. Machado, 31,
neighbor mother - Arrested for child neglect for taking kids on drug run,

(GA) Eleanor Jean Lakin, 61,
teacher - Arrested for slamming a 5-year-old girl's head into a computer keyboard,

(HI) Bronwyn Kugle, 38,
teacher - Faces federal drug trafficking charges,

(IL) Sarah Elizabeth Dickerson, 26,
teacher - Sentenced to 6 months in jail for aggravated sex assault of male student, 17,

(IL) Amanda Hamm, 30,
neighbor - Sentenced to 10 years prison for drowning her three kids,

(IL) Kourtney Mullen, 23,
teacher's aide - Sentenced to probation in nudity case,

(IN) Lisa Fish, 33,
married, mother of three - Sentenced to year in prison for sex with boy, 15,

(IN) Cynthia Marie Rynard, 32,
teacher - Jailed for oral sex with male student, 17,

(KS) DeAnna M. Abasolo-Farley, 34,
teacher - Arrested for unlawful sex with student,

(KY) Sherry Herzner, 31,
neighbor - Gets 3 months jail for liquoring up teen girls,

(LA) Tammy Jane Meredith, 43,
body piercing neighbor - Gets year in jail for piercing genitals of girl, 13,

(MA) Donna Giguere aka Donna Kunz, 38,
teacher - Charged with repeated sex assault of male foster child,

(MA) Emma Miles, 34,
teen counselor - Arrested for rape of boy, 15,

(MD) Erin Marks, 26,
teacher - Arrested for allegedly distributing cocaine,

(MD) Koreene Avery, 38,
counselor - Arrested for sex abuse of boy, 16,

(MD) Robin Lawrence, 24,
counselor - Arrested for sex abuse of boy, 16,

(MD) Joy Morrow-Hargrove, 32,
teacher - Arrested for sex abuse of boy, 16,

(MD) Kirsten Ann Kinley, 27,
special ed. teacher - Arrested for engaging in sex with boy, 15,

(ME) Heidi Emmerton, 26,
neighbor, mother of three - Arrested for engaging in sex with boy, 13,

(MO) Susan Sharp, 49,
teacher - Gets probation for rape/sodomy of teen boys,

(NC) Jacquelyn Faith Garrison, 20,
teacher - Given delayed-adjudication ruling for inappropriate relations with student. If she stays out of trouble for one year, felony charge will be dismissed,

(NC) Janet Klatt, 44,
teacher - Gets probation for sex with boy, 16. Had similar sentence from conviction last month in different county with different boy,

(NE) Leah T. Pleskac, 25,
group home counselor - Gets 6 months jail for sex with juvenile sex offender undergoing counseling,

(NH) Jennifer Malone, 32,
married, mother of two - Gets year in jail in kidnapping/stalking case involving boy, 16,

(NM) Ashley E. Serna, 21,
neighbor - Arrested for sexual assault of boy, 15,

(NY) Carol Howell Clarke, 45,
nanny - Arrested for sexual assault of boy, 2,

(NY) Joan M. Donatelli, 59,
teacher - Arrested for drugs. Admitted snorting cocaine in class,

(NY) Gale Dragone, 52,
teacher - Arrested for smacking girl, 12, with book,

(NY) Jessie B. Tompkins, 23,
neighbor - Sentenced to 6 months in jail for rape of boy, 14,

(NY) Lina Sinha, 40,
teacher - On trial for rape, sodomy, tampering,

(OR) Georgie Audean Buoy, 84,
foster mom - Sentenced to 3 years prison for sex with boy, 11,

(PA) Angela Nicole Rudy, 23,
neighbor - Arrested for engaging in sex with boy, 14,

(PA) Marcie Lynn Burroughs, 38,
neighbor - Gets 11 1/2 to 23 1/2 months jail for sex with 4 boys, aged 13 through 15,

(PA) Nancy Smith, 46,
neighbor - Guilty of sex crimes against boy, 14. Sentencing is March 30th,

(PA) Denise Windsor, 29,
neighbor - Faces sex/drug charges resulting from relationship with boy, 17,

(PA) Suzanne Wagner, 44,
mother of two - Sentenced to 9 to 23 months prison for sex with boy, 16,

(TX) Deborah Joyce Lux, 32,
neighbor - Gets 16 years prison for sex with boy, 13,

(TX) Kimberly Dawn Hollis, 30,
teacher, coach - Arrested for sex with female student, 15,

(UT) Melinda Deluca, 30,
former teacher - Convicted sex abuser pleads to get out of jail,

(UT) Wendy and James Currie,
neighbors - Accused of 11 sex crimes against children under 12,

(WI) Andrea M. Yurowski, 27,
neighbor - Sentenced to 2 years prison for sex with boy, 12,

(WV) Kristin Leichliter, 21,
neighbor - Sentenced to home confinement for sex with boy, 13.

Thanks to the tipsters.

Another Border Assassination

Along the U.S.-Mexico border, more than a dozen cities have had their police chiefs assassinated in the past year. The latest is in the Sonoran town of Agua Prieta.

On Monday, assassins gunned down Police Chief Ramon Tacho Verdugo, spraying more than 40 bullets at him in an ambush outside police headquarters in this town near Douglas. The motive is murky, but it almost certainly involved control of the smuggling routes into Arizona, Mexican and U.S. officials said Tuesday.

Understandably, Mexican police officers are hesitant about taking the police chief position.

The saddest part of the story is that it is largely neglected by the mainstream media, resulting in little or no outrage. Imagine what would happen if a dozen police chiefs were murdered in a year on the American side of the border. The public would be demanding for heads to roll.

Not to be, though. Extreme violence and assassinations, right next door to the U.S., have become oh-by-the-way news items. Meanwhile, the MSM trumpets the imaginary mistreatment of terrorists at Gitmo and, along with the leftists in society, are more worried about Darfur and global warming. It just doesn't make sense.

Babysitter on Trial for Infant Deaths

(Phoenix, Arizona) A 39-year-old former babysitter, Amy Lynn Scott, is on trial for the first-degree murder of three infants nearly 20 years ago.

Scott was babysitting Shauna Cunnington, 2 months, Zachary Mann, 8 months, and 4-month-old Jordan Whitmer at different times during 1989 and they all died. Officials blamed Sudden Infant Death Syndrome at the time.

Authorities have revisited the cases and now believe the babies were murdered.


[Update 03/08/07]

Amy Lynn Scott was convicted yesterday by a jury on three counts of first-degree murder. Sentencing by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Brian Ishikawa is scheduled for May 4.


[Update 05/05/07]

Scott sentenced.

Three French Slain in Brazil

(Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) Three French nationals were killed yesterday in Rio De Janeiro at a non-government education group's offices about a block from Copacabana Beach. The dead are identified as Delphine Douyere, 36, Christian Doupes, 42, and Jerome Faure, 38. They worked for Terr'Ativa, meaning Active Earth.

It's believed that the motive for the murders was to cover up theft of funds from Terr'Ativa. Three suspects, Tarsio Wilson Ramires, 25, Luis Gonzaga Goncalves de Oliveira, 27, and Jose Michel Goncalves Cardoso, 25, were arrested.

Interestingly, just yesterday it was reported that four Frenchman were murdered in Saudi Arabia. Must be some bad mojo afflicting expatriate Frenchmen.

Woman Sentenced for Corrupting Boy

(Northhampton, Pennsylvania) A 44-year-old mother of two, Suzanne Wagner, pleaded guilty to corruption of minors for engaging in a consensual sexual affair with a 16-year-old boy. Wagner avoided the more serious charge of statutory sexual assault because the boy was 16.

Earlier today, Wagner was sentenced by Judge Paula A. Roscioli to nine to 23 months in Northampton County Prison and fined $5,000. She was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, attend sex offender treatment and have no unsupervised contact with minors other than her own children, aged 6 and 11.

Tip: Don Morgenstern

Lina Sinha Trial Underway

(New York City) Remember Lina Sinha? She is the 40-ish Montessori School teacher who is charged with 80 total counts of rape, sodomy and tampering with witnesses and evidence in a teacher-student sex case which began back in October 2005.

Last year, Sinha rejected a plea bargain which would have sent her to prison for six years, opting for a trial instead.

Yesterday, the trial of Lina Sinha got underway in State Supreme Court in Manhattan with jury selection.

Interestingly, in the pool of prospective jurors was Steven Soderbergh, author of the 1989 film "Sex, Lies and Videotape" and, presumably, a perfect juror for a teacher-student sex case. Unfortunately and over objections of the defense lawyer, Gerald L. Shargel, Justice Carol Berkman dismissed Soderbergh. This was probably a good move since having Soderbergh on the jury would have guaranteed a media circus which might disrupt the smooth functioning of the justice system.

Justice Berkman seems to be keeping the courtroom proceedings under strict control which, hopefully, will lead to a swift outcome.

Justice Carol Berkman kept the prosecutor, Rachel L. Hochhauser, and Mr. Shargel on a tight leash, giving them only 20 minutes to question each panel of prospective jurors. When Mr. Shargel expressed a mild hope that the judge would be flexible, she replied: "Mr. Shargel, I take yoga and Pilates. I'm quite flexible."

She also told the jurors not to believe everything they see on television, adding, "I'm nothing like that judge in Miami." A few of the jurors, at least, seemed to get the reference to Larry Seidlin, the former Bronx cabby who ruled last week in a dispute over custody of the body of Anna Nicole Smith.

Whaddaya know? Bronx hack driver makes good -- becomes judge in Florida. Not only that, but I heard that CBS has hired Judge Seidlin for something. Maybe he'll do another judge show because, apparently, there can never be enough.

There will be more as the Lina Sinha trial progresses. Stay tuned.

Previous:

10/20/06 - 'Nasty in Manhattan' Going to Trial
09/06/06 - Teacher Lina Sinha Offered Plea Deal
05/31/06 - Teacher Lina Sinha - Nasty in Manhattan
10/30/05 - Female Teacher Charged with Rape of Student

[Update 03/30/07]

Lina Sinha convicted. Sentencing scheduled for April 19th.


[Update 04/19/07]

Sinha sentenced to prison.

SCOTUS Rejects Child Porn Case

(Phoenix, Arizona) Former Cortez High School teacher Morton Berger claimed that his prison sentence of 200 years for possessing child pornography is cruel and unusual and contrary to the Eighth Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed by refusing to consider the case.

Child porn addicts should take note. Apparently, no punishment is too severe for scum.

Frankly, I think Berger's fate is sealed despite the Supreme's ruling. People who hurt children typically don't last long in prison. After all, many in the inmate population are fathers with children of their own.

Four Frenchmen Slain in Saudi Arabia

(Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) In the first major attack against foreigners since 2004, four French nationals have died. They were shot in their car by unknown gunmen while driving in northwest Saudi Arabia near the holy Muslim city of Medina. Three died at the scene and the fourth succumbed to his wounds in the hospital.

At the time of the attack, nine total French nationals, some Muslim, were reportedly (1) going to Mecca for a pilgrimage or (2) returning from a tour of historical sites. There has been no confirmation either way.

Meanwhile, killers swearing allegiance to al-Qaeda vowed last month to renew their campaign to rid Westerners from the kingdom. They made the announcement on a website that had been dormant for about two years. As a consequence, I suppose we should be expecting more attacks on Westerners in Saudi Arabia.

French President Jacques Chirac expressed shock, calling the attack "hateful." Since it happens regularly, it's not clear why he would be shocked that radical Islamists murder innocent people. Rather than shocked, he should be pissed.

Cheney Targeted by Suicide Bomb

(Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan) From an undisclosed location, Taliban spokesman Mullah Hayat Khan said, "We wanted to target ... Cheney." Fortunately, the Taliban was unsuccessful.

From The Age:

A suicide bomber killed up to 10 people outside the main US military base in Afghanistan in an attack aimed at visiting Vice-President Dick Cheney, but Cheney was not hurt in the blast.

An American soldier and a South Korean who was part of the US-led coalition were killed, as was a US government contractor whose nationality was unknown, officials said. NATO put the toll at four, including the bomber, and 27 wounded.

Local police said 10 people died.

The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the bomber knew Cheney was visiting the sprawling Bagram Airbase, about 60 km from Kabul.

I'd like to know how the Taliban was so sure they knew Cheney's itinerary.

Convicts Released Due to Overcrowding

(Seattle, Washington) It appears that law enforcers have exceeded the limit for incarceration. A mass release of convicted felons from King County jails was ordered last Friday because the number of criminals was greater than the allotted jail beds. A total of 83 convicts, including high-risk sexual predators and violent felons, were merely told to check in with their probation officers after release.

All of the felons were freed from the jails before an administrative-hearing officer could rule on how they should be punished for violating terms of their earlier release. The DOC ordered the releases without its usual consultation with the community corrections officers who supervise the felons and know their criminal patterns and backgrounds the best, said a representative of the union that represents the officers.

The releases came as Gov. Christine Gregoire awaits a report from the DOC about why two Seattle police officers and a King County sheriff's deputy were killed last year during encounters with felons who were being sought for violating terms of their release.

So, without consultation, scores of dangerous people were put out on the street.

"We've had officers killed, we've had officers injured, and all of them at the hands of somebody who should have been in prison," Seattle Police Officers' Guild President Rich O'Neill said Monday. "You make a judgment call; you better be right. If one of these sex offenders gets out and re-offends, who is responsible for it?"

I'll guess that none of the game-playing officials will accept responsibility when the released convicts resume committing crimes.

Honor Roll School

(Wilton, Connecticut) This is noteworthy. More than 700 students made the honor roll.

Nearly 61% of students at Wilton High School made it to the honor roll, according to a list released by officials Thursday. As of the beginning of the year, there were 1,263 students in the school.

It was a while ago but my recollections of high school are that usually less than 10 percent of the students were in the honor roll.


[Update]

Apparently, the Wilton High School experience is an aberration. According to today's New York Times, American 12th-graders are getting dumber. And everybody knows that you can't be dumb and on the honor roll at the same time. Right?

Teacher Sex Charges Dismissed

(Provo, Utah) In September 2006, elementary school teacher Roselyn Luke was accused by a former student of molestation 15 years in the past. Notably, the veracity of the accuser was questioned. Nonetheless, Luke was charged with rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse of a child.

Today, the accuser failed to appear to testify at a preliminary hearing and the judge dismissed all charges against Roselyn Luke.

According to court officials, the 27-year-old accuser has outstanding warrants for his arrest in other cases. Suspicions regarding his credibility appear to be justified.

Call That Bet and Raise a Daughter

True. A Pakistani man bet and lost his daughter in a poker game. The legal authorities are considering the case.

The girl is 17 and, according to Pat at BelchSpeak, she could be hot with some tweezing and a little makeup.

Unfortunately, this case is indicative of the much larger problem of women being considered second-class humans in Muslim countries. Imagine the outrage if Bill had bet and lost Hillary in a poker game.

Hmm ....

Pennsylvania Woman and Boy, 14

(Newport, Pennsylvania) A 23-year-old New Cumberland woman, Angela Nicole Rudy, waived her right to a preliminary hearing on Friday on a charge that she had sex with a 14-year-old boy. Rudy allegedly visited the boy at a home in Spring Township last July and had sex with him.

Rudy was charged with statutory sexual assault and booked into the Perry County jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Tip: Don Morgenstern


[Update 04/05/07]

From PennLive.com:

Angela N. Rudy, 23, pleaded not guilty in Perry County Court today to a charge of statutory sexual assault.

According to court documents, Rudy is pregnant and due to give birth this month. The father of the child has not been disclosed, however, one cannot dispute the potential for the 14-year-old being the father since the alleged sexual assault occurred just about nine months ago.


[Update 04/06/07]

From another source: the boy is the father of Rudy's unborn baby.


[Update 05/20/07]

Rudy pleads guilty to sexual assault.

Great Tomato Conspiracy

(Tehran, Iran) In order to encourage Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions, the West has launched a conspiracy to drive up the price of tomatoes. That's what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad apparently believes.

"In order to harm us, they (enemies) make plots, for instance they come and push tomato prices up in the market. They think we will give up our ideals with their plots," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in which he said Iran would not reverse its atomic plans.

Interestingly, Ahmadinejad has deflected criticism in the past by telling consumers to be more budget conscious.

"Come and buy them from the fresh fruit and vegetable market next door to us. Why are you buying them from expensive places?"

Frankly, I believe the tomato conspiracy is only a deceptive ploy. The West is really after Mahmoud's brassy figs.

Kidding aside, Iran spends much more than it earns and inflation, by recent official numbers, runs at 16 percent. Of course there are going to be price increases.

Claimed: Burial Cave of Jesus Found

A documentary film which purports to have found the burial cave of Jesus is soon to be screened.

The Israeli-born, Canadian-based filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici is reigniting claims, first made over a decade ago, that a burial cave uncovered 27 years ago in Talpiot, Jerusalem, is the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.

At a press conference in New York on Monday, the two-time Emmy winner Jacobovici and his team - including Hollywood director James Cameron - will detail claims that of 10 ossuaries found in the cave when it was discovered in 1980, six bear inscriptions identifying them as those of Jesus, his mother Mary, a second Mary (possibly Mary Magdalene), and relatives Matthew, Josa and Judah (possibly Jesus's son).

Their documentary will be screened this week in the US, UK, on Channel 8 in Israel and around the world. The producers are said to have worked on the project with world-renowned archeologists, statisticians and DNA specialists.

Critic Bar-Ilan University Professor Amos Kloner said, "It's nonsense." The names and inscriptions found are common and the claim is not based on proof, only an attempt to sell, he added.

On a lighter note, one source hints that James Cameron wasn't satisfied sinking the Titanic, so now he's going to sink Christianity.

Heh.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Somali Pirates Take Ship, U.S. Sends Warship

(Mogadishu, Somalia) Since 1991, 46 ocean vessels have been hijacked in open waters off the coast of Somalia by pirates. Yesterday, there was another. It appears that the UN needs to provide for some form of security for vessels it is sending into harm's way.

From Reuters:

A U.S. warship is approaching the area off the Horn of Africa where Somali pirates have anchored a hijacked ship carrying U.N. food aid, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Monday.

Gunmen boarded the Kenyan-owned MV Rozen on Sunday, taking hostage its six Kenyan and six Sri Lankan crew after intercepting the freighter by speedboat.

It was the third hijacking of a ship hired to carry relief supplies by the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) in two years.

WFP spokeswoman Penny Ferguson said the world body understood the vessel was now anchored off Bargal, a small port in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region.

"We also understand a U.S. warship is heading to that area but that it is still in international waters," Ferguson said. "There has been no contact yet from the pirates and our biggest concern remains for the safety of the crew."

U.N. spokesperson Saed Warsame said the ship, owned by the Motako Shipping Company based in Mombassa, had unloaded its food cargo and was empty when the hijacking occurred.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Hands, 70, Kill Mugger, 20

(San Jose, Costa Rica) Apparently, 20-year-old Warner Segura didn't plan his day properly. Segura unintentionally died.

An American senior citizen killed a mugger with his bare hands, and his traveling companions aboard a tour bus fended off two other assailants in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said.

The American, who is about 70 years old and retired from the military, put the 20-year-old in a headlock and broke his clavicle after the suspect and two other men armed with a knife and a gun held up their tour bus, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 80 miles east of San Jose. The suspect, Warner Segura, was later declared dead, apparently from asphyxiation.

No charges were filed and everybody, including Mr. Strong Hands, returned to being tourists on their Carnival Lines cruise ship, Carnival Liberty. The ship continued on its scheduled itinerary and is expected to dock today in Ft. Lauderdale.

Tip: slwlion

Taxpayers Must Pay for Sex Change

(New York) Some stories, no matter how much rationalizing, just don't make a lick of sense.

From NYPost.com:

A judge has ordered taxpayers to foot the bill - up to $20,000 - for a sex-change operation that will make a 21-year-old man into a woman.

In a ruling to be released Thursday, Manhattan Family Court Judge Sheldon Rand said the city must provide the subsidized snip because the woman wannabe, identified as Mariah Lopez, had been in the care of the Administration for Children's Services as a youngster.

The judge said the agency has a duty to pay for all "necessary" medical care to the kids in its charge.

Now, even though I believe that sex change procedures should never be considered a governmental responsibility, I firmly believe that government disbursements should be awarded through competitive bidding.

Therefore, I recommend that the city of New York make sure a quote is received from Nunzio's Deli & Meats in Little Italy. Nunzio's family has been doing custom cuts for generations and there's only a small surcharge. For a couple sawbucks, Mariah Lopez's problem will be taken care of. And, if a few C-notes are thrown in, Nunzio will guarantee no complaints.

The City of New York should strive for fiscal responsibility.

Mom Gets Prison for Child Sex

(Houston, Texas) In September 2006, a 32-year-old neighborhood mom, Deborah Joyce Lux, was arrested for engaging in sex with two boys, ages 13 and 16. It was alleged that she had sex with her own son's 13-year-old friend. Ultimately, Lux was charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child.

On Monday of this past week, Deborah Joyce Lux pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a child and one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Subsequently, Lux was sentenced to 16 years in a Texas state prison with the stipulation that she will have to serve at least eight years before being eligible for parole.

The mother of Lux's younger victim was disappointed that Lux was not sentenced to life in prison, claiming that her son was emotionally scarred.

ACLU: Terrorist Shills Have Right to be in U.S.

No longer am I surprised by the actions of the American Civil Liberties Union. If there is any possible way to bastardize the laws of the land to benefit America's enemies, the ACLU will find it. Check out this latest ACLU claim about the law of the land.

A civil rights group asked a judge Friday to find it unconstitutional for the federal government to exclude a prominent Muslim scholar or anyone else from the United States on the grounds that they may have endorsed or espoused terrorism.

The ACLU filed the papers in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

So, somewhere in the Constitution are words that protect entry into the U.S. by foreign nationals advocating terrorism. Uh ... excuse me for not seeing that particular interpretation. In fact, in my reading of the Constitution, I haven't been able to find any of the supposed words protecting foreigners.

Presumably, if I became a fancy-shmancy lawyer, my eyesight would improve and I would be able to read invisible words. It's without presumption, however, that some people will contend that my eyesight is not flawed but rather I possess a particularly mean character trait and an impenetrable ignorance regarding the extent to which the ACLU gloriously protects the freedom of all Americans.

More on this issue at Stop The ACLU.

Moms with Kids Caught on Reefer Run

(Plant City, Florida) Two Hillsborough County mothers, 31-year-old Susan R. Machado and 25-year-old Amanda Diane Bronson, were arrested Wednesday and charged with child neglect after taking their kids with them on a reefer run. They were apprehended before the drug buy went down so no possession charges were filed.

Machado faces two counts of child neglect while Bronson faces one. After booking, both were released on bond.

Tip: slwlion

Booze Mom Gets Jail

(Campbell County, Kentucky) A 31-year-old local woman, Sherry Herzner, was charged last month with multiple counts of unlawful transaction with a minor for providing alcohol to teen girls at a slumber party. Officers were alerted to the situation by the mother one of the girls at the party.

Yesterday in Campbell County District Court, Herzner pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful transaction with a minor.

Judge Karen Thomas then sentenced Herzner to three months in jail, three months home confinement, and six months probation. She was also ordered to complete an alcohol treatment program and have no unsupervised contact with juveniles until the state gives its approval.

UK Muslims Demand School Reform

In a report titled Towards Greater Understanding -- Meeting The Needs of Muslim Pupils In State Schools, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has issued a lengthy list of demands regarding "un-Islamic" activities in British schools. Below is a smattering of the demands which I think are unreasonable, putting it mildly.

- Schools should immediately ban all "un-Islamic activities" such as dance classes.

- During Ramadan, schools should ban science lessons dealing with sex, parents' evenings, exams and immunization program.

- Schools must ban swimming lessons during Ramadan to preclude students from accidentally swallowing water during daylight hours, which is forbidden.

- During single-sex swimming lessons, boys must be covered "from navel to the neck."

- During single-sex swimming lessons, girls must be completely covered at all times except for the face and hands.

- Schools must assure that all contact sports are single-gender.

- School trips must be single-gender.

- Muslim students should be taught the Arabic language.

- The Koran should be recited in music classes.

- All schools should have prayer rooms with attached washing facilities.

- All British children should be required to learn about Islam.

- Muslim children will not be in classes about Christianity and other faiths.

The Muslim Council of Britain speaks for 1.5 million British Muslims and its former leader, Secretary-General Iqbal Sacranie, was knighted in 2005. Other Muslim groups have expressed criticism, but not opposition, to the MCB's demands. The British Department of Education has not yet voiced an opinion regarding the demands.

If recent history can be used as a guide, the British education establishment will bend over compliantly to the Muslims. The only question is who caves first.

And get ready for more because it would be pure fantasy to think that this is the last list of demands Western countries will receive from the followers of the religion of peace. Tolerance will continue to be shoved down people's throats until there is a global caliphate.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Teacher Deluca Tells Court New Story

(West Jordan, Utah) As reported previously, of three recent sex crime cases of female teachers in Utah, Melinda Deluca is the only one to get any jail time. In January 2007, she received a paltry 90 days for forcible sex abuse. Deluca was originally charged with two counts of forcible sex abuse of a 16-year-old boy, one of her students, in February 2006.

Readers may also recall that Deluca fabricated a story about being beaten by two unknown assailants which required her to be hospitalized. Hundreds of investigative hours were expended before she admitted the story was created to garner sympathy.

In a new development, half way through her 90 day sentence, 30-year-old Deluca returned to court yesterday to request an early jail release. She claimed that the jail is unable to provide proper medical treatment for seizures and body tremors. The court was asked to allow her to serve her remaining time on home confinement.

[As an aside, it was the defense's argument that Deluca's self-medication of anti-seizure drugs caused her to molest the 16-year-old in the first place. Ironically, she's asking the court for a chance to place herself in the same circumstances.]

Nevertheless, the judge denied her request without proof that the jail cannot adequately provide for her. As a parting shot, the judge also said her original sentence was too lenient.

Dignified Sex Change

(Largo, Florida) Forty-eight-year-old Steve Stanton, Largo city manager, announced yesterday that he will undergo a sex change operation and is currently being counseled and taking hormones to prepare. He originally intended to make the announcement in June so his teenage son could be out of town but changed his plans after being questioned by a reporter.

Now, this is all well and good even if I don't understand what his son's geographical location has to do with his sex change. However, I'm most intrigued by one quote from Stanton.

"I want to do this with a sense of dignity and worth."

Frankly, I haven't the foggiest idea what the hell that means. Since the sex change involves going into an operating room and having the genitalia removed by slicing with a razor-sharp scalpel followed by cauterizing, suturing, sponging up blood and the fabrication of pretend female parts, at what point is it possible to introduce dignity and worth?

According to my dictionary, dignity is defined as "the quality or state of being worthy, honored or esteemed" which means that it is bestowed. Therefore, Stanton desires to be honored and esteemed by the people around him before, during and after the operation. My thoughts are that it can be attempted.

As a suggestion, Stanton's relatives, friends and acquaintances could schedule pre-lop and post-lop ceremonies to establish a continuous sense of decorum about his transition. During the operation, an honor guard could stand at attention immediately outside. The operating room staff could be dressed in formal attire underneath their hospital gowns.

While the operation is in progress, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Ave Maria could be piped into the OR audio system. Afterward, a formation of marching band members playing softly, along with the honor guard, could escort Stanton on his gurney through the hospital halls to the intensive care unit.

Later, local, county and state officials could schedule audiences with Stanton during his recovery to present gifts of honor. Meanwhile, a formal ceremony could precede the farewell, be it burial or incineration, of Stanton's cleaved pubic parts. And, lastly, in-depth reports of the ceremonies and pomp of Stanton's anatomical restructuring could be published in hoity-toity journals and periodicals.

Okay, so some are questioning why so much attention is being paid to Stanton and his desires. Simple answer is, his words, to me, are nonsensical and, as a public figure, Stanton deserves to have his pronouncements widely disseminated. Is it possible to find dignity in bloody elective surgery which severs a man's penis and testicles from the body? Stanton thinks so. I don't. As described above, even trying to dignify castration is ridiculous.


[Update 03/01/07]

City Commission fires Stanton. They were heard to comment that they could no longer trust his judgment nor his integrity.

Tolerance Flagging?

(San Jose, California) Apparently, the flock has congregational limiters.

From Mercury News:

The rainbow flag attached to Almaden Hills United Methodist Church is supposed to be a bright beacon, signaling that members of the gay community are welcome at the church.

However, the flag itself might be unwelcome: It's been stolen three times.

Behind all those smiling faces, some individuals must be hiding the urge to gag.

Janjaweed Prepares

(Khartoum, Sudan) With years-long strife and starvation in Darfur, it's troubling to learn that Janjaweed belligerents have been gathering forces to the north of el-Geneina, the regional capital. According to an African Union (AU) military source, the Janjaweed is drawing recruits mainly from the nomadic Arab tribes in the area.

The AU source, who asked not to be named, said: "They are massing (north of el-Geneina) ... They have vehicles with machine-guns on top and they're Janjaweed. We can't say what their intentions are."

The source declined to give numbers, but described the forces gathered as a "huge amount of personnel," with pick-up trucks, camels and horses.

So, what's cooking? The Janjaweed, with Khartoum-backed Islamists, appear to be preparing for a focused initiative somewhere in Darfur. On the other hand, a Sudanese military spokesman said the Janjaweed are planning to migrate from the area because of attacks by non-Arab tribes. Frankly, that's hard to believe because it has been the government and the Janjaweed who have been the attackers in the brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign against non-Arab Muslims.

The region continues to be bloody while all the African Union seems to be able to do is monitor by helicopter surveillance. In my estimation, the only certainty about Darfur is that it is a good place to avoid.

From a geographical standpoint, for those who don't know, it's not unimportant that Sudan is closer to the seat of Islam in Mecca than any other foreign country, a mere ferry ride across the Red Sea.

Doctors Lengthen Wrong Leg

(Changsha, China) Five-year-old Miao Mingming underwent surgery at Xiangya Second Hospital to lengthen his withered right leg. Exiting the operating room, the boy's family was shocked to find his left leg in a cast.

Chief doctor Zhao said: "I am very sorry about what happened. Before the surgery, the patient was lying on his back and received full anaesthesia, and then the surgery was done with the patient lying on his stomach."

I don't buy it. Whether the boy was on his stomach, his back or doing a handstand, competent health professionals should be able to see which leg was shorter.

Woman Accused of Sex with Boy, 14

(Lake Mary, Florida) A 25-year-old local woman, Jodi Lynn Sykes, was arrested yesterday for allegedly engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy.

According to police, Sykes had sex with the boy at least eight times and gave him alcohol at least three times. The boy's sister is reported to have witnessed her brother and Sykes together and informed her mother. The mother alerted police.

Sykes faces eight counts of sex offense against a child, lewd and lascivious battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Sykes was booked into custody with bond set at $16,500.

Tip: Don Morgenstern

Teacher Pleads in Guns and Hate Case

(Madera, California) In June 2006, a health teacher at Duncan Polytechnical High School, Donna Jean Hubbard, was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal weapons and alleged assault and hate crime charges.

The weapons charges resulted after officers conducted a search of the home of Donna Jean and Bobby Dean Hubbard following a Memorial Day weekend white supremacist rally called Aryan Unity Fest '06. Police found an assault rifle, a shotgun and a .22-caliber rifle along with ammunition, articles showing Ku Klux Klan affiliations and KKK clothing.

The assault and hate crime charges resulted from a physical and verbal confrontation in an Oakhurst parking lot in April 2005 when Hubbard allegedly told a Jewish woman: "You should have burned in the oven with the rest of the Jews." Initially, the hate crime complaint lacked corroboration and was not pursued. However, after Hubbard's affiliation with white supremacist groups became known, charges were filed.

In Madera County Court yesterday, 46-year-old Donna Hubbard pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and illegal weapons charges. Judge Edward Moffat will allow Hubbard to avoid conviction on the battery charge if she completes anger management counseling in the next year.

Sentencing for the illegal weapons charge is scheduled for March 20th. Donna Jean Hubbard stated she decided to plead to the charges with the understanding that she could retain her teaching credentials.

Her husband, 47-year-old Bobby Dean Hubbard, is currently in jail for violating probation on charges of making terrorist threats and spousal abuse. A settlement regarding illegal weapons charges against him is being negotiated.

Homeless Camps - Criminal Havens

(Corona, California) According to this report, a large local homeless population results in a high local crime rate. As a result, if the homeless are scooted out, the crime rate drops. Imagine that.

Corona city officials have finished clearing a number of elaborate homeless camps and now patrol regularly to ensure they remain empty, said Corona officials and staff.

Corona Police Chief Richard Gonzales said the cleanups, which happened between August and December, had been primarily a crime-fighting measure.

"If the illegal camps are removed, then there's no safe haven for people who are committing thefts and burglaries," Gonzales said.

He said a 27 percent drop in the city's commercial burglary rate last year is related to the demolition of these "havens."

Police made nine felony arrests, 62 misdemeanor arrests and recovered 59 shopping carts through contact with the camps' residents, police spokesman Jesse Jurado said.

The city paid more than $100K just to remove over 140 tons of garbage accumulated in the camps. It's not known where the vagrants went after their camps were demolished. Chief Gonzales guessed many just moved on to another town since there has been no influx into local shelters.

Evidently, when the homeless lifestyle in a location is made less comfortable, the transients leave to find a more accommodating location. Imagine that.

Home Intruder Shot and Killed

(Clayton County, Georgia) Authorities say that the intruder may be linked to a local gang.

From AJC.com:

Clayton County police said a 16-year-old boy was "in fear for his life" Tuesday morning when he shot and killed a masked, unarmed intruder who broke into his Riverdale home.

Interim Chief Jeff Turner said the alleged shooter, identified by neighbors as Wes Stephens, has not been charged in the shooting on Camp Road, off Flat Shoals Road near the Fulton County line.

Stephens told police he heard a window break about 11:30 a.m. in the garage of the house he shares with his parents.

"He got his father's pistol, a semiautomatic, and fired multiple times," Turner said. "The intruder went to some lengths to disguise himself, wearing black clothes and a black bandanna across his face."

After shooting the intruder in the garage, Stephens recognized the man as Marques Karun McGhee, 19, of Riverdale, a former North Clayton High School acquaintance, Turner said.

Since Stephens is white and McGhee is black and graffiti was recently painted on the street in front of the Stephens home, there is some suspicion of racial animosity.

Unfortunately, the intruder won't be able to confirm or deny any suspected racial element. Additionally, the intruder won't be able to debate the wisdom of a noontime break-in of a home with an armed owner.

McDonald's Blast Not Terrorism

(St. Petersburg, Russia) Last Sunday, an explosive device detonated at the McDonald's restaurant on St. Petersburg's main thoroughfare. Six people were injured with burns, shrapnel wounds and concussions.

Although many people easily recall terror attacks by Muslim extremists supporting Chechnya's independence not long ago, police have ruled out terrorism. According to a spokesman, "... the main priority version is hooliganism."

I imagine that the people who live and work in the neighborhood are experiencing frayed nerves, despite what the explosion is called. It also seems that the Russian authorities are reluctant to name acts of explosive violence as terrorism. I believe American authorities have adopted a similar reluctance although they haven't used the term hooliganism yet.

300 Illegals Lose Jobs

(Tar Heel, North Carolina) An estimated 300 workers scattered due to pesky identification problems.

From NewsObserver.com:

Hundreds of workers at a Smithfield Packing plant in Tar Heel have left their jobs or stopped showing up for work after a crackdown on illegal immigrants at the world's largest hog slaughterhouse.

Many have submitted resignation letters and collected pay for unused vacation, while others identified by the company in November as having unverifiable employment documents quit without notice, company spokesman Dennis Pittman said.

In all, Pittman said, about 300 employees had left the huge plant in Bladen County on their own as of Monday.

Interestingly, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union has, again, accused Smithfield of cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to "quell immigrant employees." According to Leila McDowell, a spokeswoman for the Smithfield Justice Campaign, a union organizing effort, "... Smithfield is manipulating immigration laws to intimidate workers."

I don't think so. It seems that Smithfield and ICE are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. Unfortunately, this type of immigration enforcement action seldom has staying power. Usually right after media interest wanes, illegals return and everybody looks the other way.

Companion post at Diggers Realm.

Teacher Arrested for Drugs

(Montgomery County, Maryland) A 26-year-old teacher at Robert Frost Middle School in Rockville, Erin Marks, was arrested last Thursday for allegedly distributing cocaine and other drugs. Police report that Marks and an accomplice, 28-year-old Ronald Dwyer, sold cocaine to undercover detectives last November.

Marks was booked and released on bond. She has been placed on administrative leave from her teaching position.


[Update 10/03/07]

Marks sentenced to jail.

Teacher Upsets Muslims

(Clovis, California) Reported last week, a sixth-grade teacher at Riverview Elementary School, Randy Ingram, made comments in class about Muslims and Iranians which have produced a firesquall of controversy.

The situation is quite troubling since I've seen statements made by Iranian President Ahmadinejad that were similar to, and more strident than, Ingram's remarks. If anything, Ingram was merely being candid in his discussion.

From Fresno Bee:

Kamal Abu-Shamsieh, director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno, said that the teacher, during a lesson about the ancient Israelites, said Iranians are America's enemy because they want to destroy Israel. He also said that extreme Muslims and Iranians want to take over the United States, kill the teachers and hire their own teachers, Abu-Shamsieh said.

Students from Ingram's class were questioned by school officials with one recalling, "He said you don't have to be afraid of Muslims. It's the super-extreme Muslims who would want to hurt the United States."

However, one sixth-grade student's parents, Mashalah Boroujerdi and Rezvan Jamshidy, both Muslims from Iran, were upset by Ingram's comments, saying that their child was treated differently and distracted by the anti-Islamic remarks.

As a result, Boroujerdi called for the teacher to be disciplined, "... so this won't happen again." Also, Seyed Ali Ghazvini, a leader at the Islamic Cultural Center, weighed in and called for the installation of a discrimination hotline to allow families and students to report bigotry.

Ingram faces possible reprimand as the investigation continues.

Companion post at In The Bullpen.

Aussies Make Incandescents Illegal

(Sydney, Australia) Australia is banning incandescent light bulbs because they are, apparently, significant contributors to global warming.

Australia announced plans on Tuesday to ban traditional light bulbs in a move Prime Minister John Howard called a practical step toward slowing climate change.

Claiming a world first for a national government, Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said incandescent lightbulbs would be phased out by 2010 in favour of the more fuel-efficent compact fluorescent bulbs.

He said replacing the traditional coiled filament bulbs invented by Thomas Edison in the 19th century would cut Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by four million tonnes a year by 2015.

I predict that this action will create some nagging, unintended consequences. Typically, when a product is banned and still in demand, which I suspect will happen, a black market will emerge.

Additionally, many applications using incandescent bulbs will have to be addressed in legislation separately. Examples include unique purpose lighting in refrigerators, stoves and other appliances, and ornamental lighting such as holiday lights and chandeliers.

Furthermore, since compact fluorescent bulbs cost considerably more than incandescent bulbs, last considerably longer, and burn cool, theft is virtually guaranteed. Watch Australia give birth to a new class of criminal, light bulb thieves, with all the associated headaches of law enforcement and legal proceedings.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Wal-Mart Targets Depressed Neighborhoods

(Little Rock, Arkansas) Even people who are not fond of Wal-Mart should admit that this latest initiative appears to be a good idea.

From WaPo:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Monday its plans for nine stores in areas in need of economic revitalization and said it will use those stores to help other businesses in the area develop.

Wal-Mart Vice Chairman John Menzer, who heads the company's U.S. operation, was traveling to Indianapolis and Pittsburgh to announce that the company is moving into neighborhoods in each of those cities where commerce has faltered.

Menzer said Wal-Mart is working with local chambers of commerce, business groups and minority-owned businesses with the goal of guiding new suppliers and helping new or existing shops thrive.

"We're looking at working families that need us the most," Menzer said. "That's where we want to go."

As jobs are created around the new Wal-Mart stores, tax revenue will rise and the neighborhood economy will improve, Menzer said. Two of the stores are already open _ in Chicago and Portsmouth, Va.

Other locations mentioned yesterday were Richmond and Sanger, CA; El Mirage, AZ; Cleveland, OH; Decatur, GA; Landover Hills, MD; and Portsmouth, VA. The plan is for a Wal-Mart store to provide a business anchor at the depressed location and provide assistance to small enterprises through advertising and consultation. If successful, the local Wal-Mart enterprise centers will produce a boost in jobs, tax revenue and consumer vitality.

Presumably, the ever-present opponents of Wal-Mart will not be able to voice the usual complaint that the retail giant forces small businesses to close. The announced targeted locations will have been boarded up well before Wal-Mart's arrival.

EU Poverty and Joblessness

This is disturbing. Obviously, the European socialists have much work ahead in their march to utopia.

From Breitbart.com:

One in six Europeans is living below national poverty thresholds, with children particularly vulnerable, according to the results of an official study.

The European Commission's annual report on "social protection and social inclusion" also found 10 percent of people living in households without anybody working as well as wide discrepancies between life expectancies between EU member states.

Now, it seems reasonably achievable to reduce the poverty level if more is taken from those who have. A draconian combination of taxes, fees and tariffs, once collected and properly targeted, could reduce the poverty level to the minimum.

On the other hand, increasing the number of jobless households to a utopian level will not occur. The Europeans may be able to increase the number to 20 percent but they will never realize the goal of everybody jobless, living in trees, eating grasses and riding bicycles. After all, somebody has to make the bicycles.

Tip: slwlion

Cuisine by Carlos Santana

An enduring favorite of mine, tunesmith Carlos Santana is branching out into the restaurant business. From a Grammy-winning single, "Maria Maria" has been chosen as the name for his chain of Mexican restaurants in development.

Bully for Carlos but, frankly, I think Santana's would be a better choice for a name.

Stallone Detained for Suspected Contraband

(Sydney, Australia) Say it isn't so. Sylvester Stallone is in trouble with the authorities. Some believe that Stallone may have been in possession of prohibited body-building steroids.

From Herald Sun:

AUTHORITIES raided superstar Sylvester Stallone's private jet and hotel yesterday after he was seen allegedly trying to dump illegal substances from the balcony of his luxury suite.

Customs officers grounded the actor's private jet to stop him leaving Australia and executed search warrants on his five-star Sydney hotel room, his executive jet and airport limousine.

Stallone, 60, was preparing to return to Los Angeles after promoting his latest Rocky movie when authorities arrived at the Park Hyatt.

Customs officers were serving a summons on the actor after an investigation into prohibited substances found in his luggage when he arrived last Friday.

After completion of the searches, Stallone was allowed to leave. The investigation continues and, if he is found to have been in possession of banned substances, he may be prohibited entry into Australia in the future.

Fleecing the Public 101

(Cleveland, Ohio) Workshops are scheduled for tomorrow, March 8th and April 12th. Mark your calendars and plan on participating. Learn about tactics of raking in tax and charity dollars and achieving success in the exciting world of social do-gooderism.

"Amazing" Airplane Sex

British actor Ralph Fiennes was on a Qantas flight from Darwin, Australia, to Mumbai, India, where he intended to promote AIDS awareness and safe sex, when he engaged in unsafe fuselage sex with a flight attendant, Lisa Robertson. The episode became known when reported by Ms. Robertson's fellow flight attendants. Qantas fired her today.

Fiennes claimed that the 38-year-old flight attendant was the "sexual aggressor" and Robertson admitted as much. She "felt like a teenager after gushing at the 44-year-old actor" and "melted" as they began to kiss. She then dragged him into the toilet, locked the door and engaged in ten minutes of "amazing" sex.

Apparently, Ms. Robertson told Qantas officials a different story, claiming that Fiennes forced himself on her. Fiennes' spokeswoman Sara Keene responded by stating that Ms. Robertson did the forcing and actually seduced him. Ms. Robertson contacted Fiennes afterward for help in saving her job. He refused.

"He made me feel like a low-life, like I was asking him for money or something," she said.

Regarding Robertson's co-workers reporting the incident, Graham Robertson, Lisa's father, stated the fellow attendants were "probably ugly as a hatful of arseholes and were just jealous" and, thereby, adopting a shoot-the-messenger defense for his daughter's actions.

Ms. Robertson has retained celebrity lawyer Harry M. Miller to sell her story. Woman's Day magazine announced that it has purchased Australian print rights and will publish an interview with Robertson today.

In another result from the incident, Ralph Fiennes is now being called an "AIDS hypocrite" for having unprotected sex prior to visiting AIDS-ravaged villages in India. It's also worth noting that Ms. Robertson's recollection of the incident may not be easily understood by the average commercial airline traveler. Most, in my opinion, would consider any sex on an airplane to be "amazing."

Companion post at Conservative Thinking.


[Update 04/09/07]

Robertson does photo spread and admits history as prostitute.

Taenia Solium and Neurocysticercosis

The pork tapeworm Taenia solium infects pigs and humans primarily in underdeveloped regions worldwide. The mouth with its two rows of hooks is pictured at right.

Humans act as hosts after eating infected meat with adult tapeworms developing in the intestines and excreting eggs through the feces.

Human-to-human transmission occurs by ingesting T. solium eggs shed in the feces of a human T. solium tapeworm carrier. Therefore, parasite infections can occur in groups that neither eat pork nor share environments with pigs.

T. solium in the larval form also migrates to the central nervous system producing the common parasitic infection known as neurocysticercosis. Neurocysticercosis produces major psychological problems with symptoms such as seizures, short-attention span, confusion, loss of balance and brain swelling. Giant cysts in the brain can develop. Neurocysticercosis causes epilepsy and may result in death.

Be aware that neurocysticercosis has been identified as a growing health problem in the U.S. due to the flood of travelers into the states bordering Mexico.

A separate report in this month's issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases found that nearly 60 percent of the 221 U.S. deaths from cysticercosis between 1990 and 2002 involved California residents.

"Most patients [187, or 85 percent] were foreign-born, and 137 [62 percent] had emigrated from Mexico. The 33 U.S.-born persons who died of cysticercosis represented 15 percent of all cysticercosis-related deaths" during the study period, said University of California researchers who wrote the latest report.

Although neurocysticercosis is "especially" a problem in the Southwest, it has also surfaced in other places, such as New York, Philadelphia and Charlotte, N.C., data from other studies show.

In summary, nasty parasites are being mainlined into the U.S. across the imaginary southern border with the flood of illegal aliens coming to do the jobs Americans won't do, one of which is to indiscriminately infect other people.

Treatment with drugs helps and infections can be prevented by thoroughly cooking pork and assuring food workers always wash their hands.

Tip: John Ray

Fresh Hooey - Hijacker Not Terrorist

Last Thursday, a flight carrying 79 total passengers and crew took off from Mauritania bound for Spain's Grand Canary Island. In air, a 32-year-old Muslim, Mohamed Abderraman, brandished two firearms and ordered the pilot, Ahmedou Mohamed Lemine, to fly to France.

Along the way, speaking to the hijacker, the pilot realized the man did not speak French. So he used the plane's public address system to warn the passengers in French of the ploy he was going to try: brake hard upon landing, then speed up abruptly. The idea was to catch the hijacker off balance, and have crew members and men sitting in the front rows of the plane jump him, the Spanish official said.

The pilot also warned women and children to move to the back of the plane in preparation for the subterfuge, the official said.

It worked. The man was standing in the middle aisle when the pilot carried out his maneuver, and he fell to the floor, dropping one of his two 7 mm pistols. Flight attendants then threw boiling water from a coffee machine in his face and at his chest, and some 10 people jumped on the man and beat him, the Spanish official said.

The hijacking alarmed Spanish officials because a trial of 29 people accused in the Madrid terrorist bombings of 2004 had begun the same day in Madrid. (NYT)

Inexplicably, Mauritanian police official Mohamed Ould Mohamed Cheikh stated that Abderraman wasn't a terrorist. He was merely hijacking the plane to seek political asylum.

I would disagree. Seventy-nine people were terrorized by Abderraman and that alone makes him a terrorist, despite his motives. Remember, terrorism is a tactic. Whether he hijacked the plane for ideological, political, medical or personal reasons makes no difference. And, to be successful in battling terrorism, people need to stop denying its existence.

More at Right Truth.

Leadership in Hunger Awareness

(Toledo, Ohio) University of Toledo students collected canned goods yesterday as part of their studies in hunger awareness leadership. The Levis Leadership class hosted the can collection event. Food collected will go to feed some people.

In all candor, the collection of cans is quite a simple task that doesn't appear to have anything to do with leadership. After all, in states with mandatory deposits on cans, vagrants push around carts and collect cans all day long for pocket change. The only difference between collecting cans for hunger awareness and collecting cans for pocket change is that some are full and some are empty.

And, once again, the act of collecting cans doesn't seem to be even remotely related to acquiring and maintaining leadership skills. If it were so, vagrancy would be a prerequisite step toward becoming an industry or government titan.

Nevertheless, it's likely that once the glow of can collection do-gooderism wanes, the leadership students will be anxious to recharge with an obesity awareness event.

Female Counselor Accused of Raping Boy

(Beverly, Massachusetts) A 34-year-old former teen counselor at the Anchorage group home for adolescent boys, Emma Miles, has been accused of repeatedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy living at the home. The sexual episodes allegedly occurred from November 2005 until June 2006. Arraignment in Salem Superior Court awaits scheduling.

The boy's mother alerted police after intercepting cell phone messages from Miles to the teen. According to the cell phone messages, Miles apparently became concerned that the boy's mother knew of the relationship.

"Does she know who I am?" she allegedly asks in one message. In another: "U need to tell me exactly what U told her." The messages continued throughout the month of July. "When did she find out?" "Did you admit to anything?" "Is she going to call the police?"

She allegedly told the boy in one message: "You didn't do anything wrong, I did."

She also directed the boy to delete all of the messages she had sent him, as well as her phone number. "I need to know if U are gonna delete everything," she wrote. In another message: "Please tell me what's happening. I'm scared, please call me back."

It seems Miles was quite aware of her wrongdoing.

An Essex County grand jury indicted Miles on three counts of child rape, each of which carries a possible penalty of life in prison upon conviction.

In other legal proceedings for the same alleged sexual relationship, Miles previously appeared in Salem District Court and pleaded not guilty before Judge Richard Mori. She was released on her own recognizance with the condition that she not contact the boy.

Mom Accused of Sex with Boy, 13

(Belfast, Maine) A 26-year-old mother of three, Heidi Emmerton, was arrested this week for allegedly engaging in sex with a 13-year-old boy. Emmerton was arraigned in Belfast District Court and pleaded not guilty to one count of gross sexual assault.

According to Assistant District Attorney Eric Walker, Emmerton met the boy when he was working at her home and later called him to return "for sexual relations." The sex allegedly occurred on November 6th, 2006.

Bail was set at $10,000 surety or $800 cash with conditions that Emmerton not have any contact with the victim, witnesses or children under 16 except her own. Emmerton's three children are all under age 10.

Sad.

Monterrey - Safest City in Mexico

That's the contention of Nuevo Leon Gov. Natividad Gonzalez Paras. And the governor would like the word to be spread. After all, some of the country's wealthiest citizens are tied to Monterrey, living in the upscale suburb of Garza Garcia. It's important to Gov. Gonzalez that the residents believe they live in Mexico's safest city, despite nagging problems.

About two hours by car from the Texas border, San Pedro Garza Garcia, population 120,000, is one of Latin America's wealthiest suburbs -- and one with strong ties to Texas. It is home to about 1,500 Dallas Cowboys season-ticket holders, and it is a sister city to Plano.

But the same opulence that attracts Mexico's elite families is also a magnet for warring drug lords, authorities say. According to two U.S. officials, at least five small cells working for the Gulf Cartel now exert substantial control in and around Monterrey. The assassins number about 15 per cell, said a U.S. law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

They are some of the same hired guns who for years have terrorized Nuevo Laredo and other border communities, the officials said. The mastermind is the Gulf Cartel's alleged regional "gatekeeper," Miguel Trevino Morales, the U.S. officials said. Last month, Laredo issued an arrest warrant for Trevino in connection with a 2006 double homicide in Texas.

The Gulf and Sinaloa cartels have been battling over control of routes into Texas, particularly Interstate 35, authorities say.

Law enforcement officials in the Monterrey area are resigning in waves, including more than 40 in recent days. Last week, Monterrey Mayor Adalberto Madero fired 52 police officers suspected of corruption and collusion with drug traffickers.

So, Mexico's safest city is saturated with police corruption and assassins and is the battleground of a major war between violent drug cartels. Logically, one might wonder what needs to be added to make a city unsafe.

Companion post at Diggers Realm.

Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Student

(Columbia, Maryland) A 27-year-old former special education teacher at Hammond Middle School, Kirsten Ann Kinley, has been arrested for engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy.

Kinley allegedly emailed explicit photos of herself to the boy and had sex with him on two occasions in December 2004 and January 2005. After the victim exposed the relationship to a therapist, police were alerted.

Kinley turned herself in Thursday evening, police said. She was charged with two counts of third-degree sex offense, two counts of fourth-degree sex offense and two counts of solicitation of a minor, and was released on $75,000 bond. Third-degree sex offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, while fourth-degree sex offense is a misdemeanor, with a maximum one-year sentence.

Kinley was placed on administrative leave, with pay, on Tuesday after school officials became aware of the allegations against her, said Patti Caplan, a school system spokeswoman.

Kinley was transferred from Hammond Middle School to Marriotts Ridge High School in 2005.

Notably, two other Howard County teachers, both male, were recently implicated in unrelated sexual abuse scandals. In response, Howard County school officials have decided to upgrade their teacher orientation program to include explicit warnings about inappropriate teacher-student relationships.


[Update 06/03/07]

Kinley indicted on new sex charges.


[Update 08/28/07]

Kinely pleads guilty. Sentencing in November.


[Update 11/15/07]

Kinley sentenced to prison.

Coach Accused of Sex with Girl

(Missouri City, Texas) A 30-year-old former teacher and coach at Hightower High School, Kimberly Dawn Hollis, was arrested this week for allegedly engaging in a months-long sexual affair with a 15-year-old female student.

The alleged victim came forward to alert police on January 9th and Hollis resigned her position with the Fort Bend Independent School District on January 12th. No sexual misbehavior reportedly occurred on school grounds.

Hollis was booked on a charge of improper relationship between an educator and a student, a second-degree felony. Bond was set at $20,000.

Smoker Owes $8,000 in Taxes

(Olympia, Washington) For several years, smoker Scott Adams purchased his cigarettes online tax-free and now the state of Washington has sent him an $8,000 bill for unpaid taxes and penalties.

It's reported that the state is garnishing Adams' wages and he's now rolling his own cigarettes.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Defunding Iraq

The Dread Pundit Bluto weighs in appropriately. Astute buccaneers are always keen to a white flag when it's hoisted.

LaTourette Is French, Isn't It?

Surrendering to the leftists, Rep. Steven LaTourette announced he will not support troop reinforcement and the U.S. needs a new approach. And today he voted for the Democrats' resolution which I'll realistically call the "Road to Defunding the U.S. Military in Iraq."

I'm convinced that this is the only formal or semi-formal notification I will receive from my congressman that he no longer desires my support.

Fine.

Woman Guilty of Sex with Girl

(Waynesburg, Pennsylvania) A 38-year-old parolee, Marcie Lynn Burroughs, pleaded guilty Wednesday to sex crimes against a 15-year-old girl last July. Burroughs was on parole after being convicted in 2005 of engaging in sex with four boys, 13 through 15.

Burroughs was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 1/2 months in jail for the sex charges with the boys. She faces another two to four years in prison on the latest charge, a Greene County prosecutor said.

Apparently, Burroughs cannot resist temptation.


[Update 12/21/07]

After Burroughs' guilty plea, an assessment of her sex offender risk was ordered and performed. Results were reported at a hearing in October and, on December 14th, Greene County Judge H. Terry Grimes officially ruled that Burroughs will be classified as a sexually violent predator under Megan's Law.

She will be required to register and report to authorities for the rest of her life.

Sentencing has been scheduled for January 8th. Burroughs remains in jail, unable to post bail.

Meteorologists Skeptical of Global Warming Scare

According to five Northeast Ohio weather experts, global warming is nothing to get jazzed about. Mark Johnson, Dick Goddard, Mark Nolan, Jon Laufman and former Cleveland weatherman Don Webster indicated as much in a panel discussion this week. Here are some nuggets.

"We have maybe 100 years of data on a rock that's 6 billion years old," said Johnson, a WEWS Channel 5 weatherman. "Mother Nature tends to even herself out, and the fact is, the Earth is cyclical."

Goddard, WJW Channel 8 meteorologist, said scientists have flip-flopped on the matter: "I have a file an inch thick from 30 years ago that says the planet was cooling," he told the crowd of several hundred.

They cautioned listeners not to put too much stock in what they said was an insufficient history of warming.

"The term global warming' strikes fear in the heart of people every time you say it, but it's simply a rise in temperature over time, and it's happened before," said Nolan, meteorologist at WKYC Channel 3. "I'm not sure which is more arrogant for humans: to say we caused it or to say we're going to fix it."

Heh.

Woman, 84, Gets Prison for Sex with Boy

(The Dalles, Oregon) It doesn't get much stranger than this sad story.

From The Dalles Chronicle:

An 84-year-old woman accused of raping an adolescent has pleaded guilty this morning in the circuit court at the Wasco County Courthouse to attempted sex abuse in the first degree.

Georgie Audean Buoy, 1117 Pentland St., will serve 36 months in prison with no eligibility for temporary leave, reduced sentencing or alternative programs other than earned good time, said Leslie Wolf, Wasco County chief deputy district attorney, who led the prosecution.

Buoy faced a maximum of eight years, if convicted of the crimes she was indicted for, which included first-degree attempted rape, as well as sex abuse in the second degree.

In her plea, Buoy admitted to having illegal sexual contact with an 11-year-old male in 2004.

The victim was a foster child of Buoy and her husband and authorities were notified of the abuse after the boy told a counselor.

It's not known whether Buoy will be able to tolerate the rigor of Coffee Creek Women's Prison in Wilsonville since she hasn't undergone mental evaluation. However, if she survives the incarceration, she'll be subjected to post-prison supervision and registration as a sex offender. Buoy also owes $5,000 compensation to the victim and $7,500 in restitution for counseling.

Tip: Don Morgenstern

Feds Nail Teacher for Drugs

(Kailua, Hawaii) A 38-year-old math and reading teacher at Kaelepule Elementary School, Bronwyn Kugle, has been jailed on federal drug charges and for possessing of a loaded weapon not registered to her.

Kugle allegedly conspired to distribute cocaine and Ecstasy along with co-defendant, Jesse Bardillo, 28.

"Badillo told police that Kugle had given him three loans totaling approximately $70,000 to allow him to acquire the drugs," [U.S. Attorney] Kubo said. "Badillo was paying Kugle back with these profits that he made from his drug sales."

Whoa! Seventy-thousand dollars is quite a chunk of cash for the average elementary school teacher to have on hand.

A court hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday for both Kugle and Bardillo.


[Update 06/15/07]

Kugle pleads guilty.


[Update 10/10/07]

Kugle sentenced.

Teacher Jailed for Oral Sex

(Martinsville, Indiana) A 32-year-old English teacher at Martinsville High School, Cynthia Marie Rynard, has been charged with child seduction for allegedly performing oral sex on a 17-year-old student. Rynard is in custody after surrendering at the Morgan County Jail last night.

According to the student's statement to police, on November 15th of last year, Rynard drove him to a remote site in the country, pulled his pants down and performed oral sex. Following the student's statement, Rynard admitted to performing oral sex as described and stated she made "a big mistake."

Woman Gets 2 Years for Sex with Boy, 12

(Portage, Wisconsin) In January 2006, Andrea M. Yurowski was charged with three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for engaging in sex on multiple occasions with a 12-year-old neighbor boy. Court records indicate that Yurowski professed her love for the child.

In accordance with an agreement which avoided a trial, Yurowski pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree sexual assault of a child.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police he had sexual intercourse with Yurowski, who lived in the upper level of a duplex in Randolph, approximately three times. The victim and his family lived in the lower level of the duplex.

The first incident occurred shortly after the victim received an underage drinking ticket at Yurowski's residence. While watching television, according to the complaint, Yurowski kissed him and began rubbing his genitals outside of his pants, and later engaged in sexual intercourse.

After the incident, Yurowski said she loved the victim, and did so on several other subsequent occasions.

Yesterday in Columbia County Circuit Court, 27-year-old Yurowski was sentenced to two years in prison and eight years of extended supervision. The victim's mother expressed disappointment that Yurowski did not receive more prison time, stating, "You not only sexually assaulted him, you changed him. He's a different boy."

Judge Alan J. White said it was a "tough case" but did "not feel the protection of the community warrants you being put away for an extensive period of time." As a result, the prosecution's recommendation of five years prison time was not followed. No information was disclosed as to whether Yurowski will be required to register as a sex offender.

Nanny Jailed for Sex Assault of Boy, 2

(Queens, New York) A 45-year-old nanny, Carol Howell Clarke, was arrested Tuesday by Nassau Police for sexually assaulting a 2-year-old boy.

The parents of the boy allegedly caught Clarke abusing the toddler on a hidden nanny-cam. According to Det. Lt. John Allen, commander of Nassau's Special Services Squad, the camera showed abuse during diaper changes and it wasn't "normal child care."

"It wasn't cleaning the child, it was definitely sexual abuse." The first three taped incidents of suspected abuse were brief, but the fourth lasted for up to two minutes, Allen added.

Yesterday, Clarke pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree sexual abuse. She is in custody in lieu of $160,000 bond or $40,000 cash. A court date of February 22nd is scheduled.

Homeowner Shoots, Kills Intruder

(Pontiac, Michigan) In an obvious case of self-defense, a 33-year-old homeowner and licensed gun owner shot and killed one of three men attempting a home invasion. The 21-year-old intruder died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

From DetNews.com:

Herbert McDaniels died in Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. Police said McDaniels was named in a criminal warrant as one of three men who forced their way into a house on Cloverlawn Street at about 4 a.m. on Jan. 29.

The 33-year-old homeowner told police he armed himself after hearing a loud noise when the men kicked in a door. The man shouted for the three to leave and when they ignored him and continued advancing into the house, he fired off two shots.

"He saw one of them holding a gun and heard someone screaming as they fled but wasn't sure if he hit someone or not," said Oakland County assistant prosecutor John Skrzynski. "He was in fear for his life and as it turned out, probably with good reason."

Police found a gun in the snow alongside footprints left by the intruders.

McDaniels was taken to the hospital by his accomplices, Myron Robinson, 17, and Christopher W. McCloud, Jr., 20, who were identified on video and later apprehended.