Following Entry Posted 10/31/2008 11:38:00 PM

Women With Troubles - October 2008

Reported in news stories during October 2008, here is a compilation of women with troubles. Each name is linked to an Interested-Participant blog entry displaying details.

For a more comprehensive listing, check the Women With Troubles category link.

(AR) Lorri Rye, 35,
neighbor - Gets 10 years prison for raping son, 3,

(AZ) Tawni Wimberley, 30,
teacher - Gets probation for sex with several teens,

(CA) Connie Lynn Barrett, 40,
daycare owner - Accused of abuse,

(CA) Christina Fuentes, 35,
teacher - Accused of embezzling $8,000 from PTA,

(CA) Josie Navarro, 23,
neighbor - Arrested for allegedly drowning her son, 5, in bathtub,

(CO) Tanya Martin, 38,
neighbor - Arrested for arson and setting her dog on fire,

(FL) Lori A. Borick, 28,
teacher - Accused of inappropriate relationship with male student,

(FL) Margot Cioffi, 59,
rehab director - Sentenced to rehab for 0.336 DUI,

(FL) Cynthia Horvath, 45,
teacher - Arrested for sex with male student, 17,

(FL) Sheila Broome Langman, 38,
cheerleading org. boss - Arrested for sex with boy, 15,

(FL) Laura Pace, 38,
teacher - Accused of engaging in sex and smoking marijuana with two male students, both 16,

(FL) Natalie Rodriques, 23,
neighbor - Gets 15 years in prison for DUI manslaughter,

(FL) Jennifer Tarkenton (aka Jennifer Nero), 34,
teacher - Gets probation after sex charges dismissed,

(GA) Nicole Drane, 33,
police officer - Accused of assisting serial bank robber,

(IA) Diane Kathleen Oliver, 32,
addiction counselor - Arrested for sexual exploitation of boy, 16,

(ID) Isabel Chasarez, 27,
neighbor - Gets one to ten years prison for not protecting daughter, 9, from boyfriend,

(IL) Rebecca Daniels, 37,
teacher - Arrested for sex with several high school boys,

(IL) Noelle Howlett, 41,
behavioral counselor - Accused of sex with boy, 16, she was counseling,

(IL) Crystal Pietrowski, 36,
neighbor - Guilty of sex with boy, 15. Sentencing TBD,

(IN) Brooke Biggs, 27,
teacher - Arrested for inappropriate contact with female student,

(IN) Stephanie M. Rogers, 36,
church lady - Guilty of sex with runaway girl, 15. Sentencing TBD,

(IN) Sheila Vasquez, 36,
teacher - Gets probation for sex with male student, 15,

(LA) Lindsey Evans, 18,
beauty queen - Arrested for theft and drug possession,

(MI) Jennifer Rae Merriman, 31,
neighbor - Faces trial for sex with teen boy,

(MN) Olga Marina Franco Del Cid (aka Alianiss Nunez Morales), 23,
Guatemalan national - Gets 12 and one-half years in prison for fatal school bus crash,

(NJ) Josette Taylor, 53,
neighbor - Indicted for multiple sex crimes with boy, 15,

(NY) Jennifer Hastings, 33,
teen psychologist - Pleaded guilty to rape of boy, 14, she was counseling. Sentencing in Dec.,

(OH) Kena Ross, 29,
neighbor - Convicted of child endangerment. Sentencing in Nov.,

(OH) Rachel White, 29,
neighbor - Gets 18 months prison for prostituting daughter, 17,

(OK) Charlene Banks, 48,
teacher - Arrested for being drunk in class,

(OK) Ashley Renee Flores, 26,
teacher - Accused of raping boy, 14, at least six times,

(OR) Connie Gay Cole, 48,
neighbor - Accused of grandparent abuse,

(OR) Dana Allison Schaad, 37,
neighbor - Accused of multiple sex crimes with boy, 16,

(PA) Erica L. Baker, 25,
teacher - Sentenced to three months to one year in jail for sex with female student, 16,

(PA) Keri Ann Brekne, 28,
teacher - Sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison for sex with girl,

(PA) Carrie L. Dana, 28,
neighbor - Gets 15 to 30 years in prison for rape of boy, 11,

(PA) Cindy Lee Hubbard, 31,
neighbor - Accused of pimping runaway teen girls, ages 15 and 17,

(PA) Brenda Lua Manzo, 26,
neighbor - Gets probation for sex with boy, 15,

(RI) Alison Sposato, 34,
teacher - Arrested for possession of crack,

(SC) Kanesa Hopkins, 32,
teacher - Gets probation for lewd acts with female student, 13,

(TN) Amy Elder, 32,
teacher/coach - Convicted of sex with girl, 15. Sentencing in Dec.,

(TX) Elena Aranda Ducoing, 40,
teacher - Accused of drug trafficking & money laundering,

(TX) Brandy Lynn Gonzalez, 30,
teacher - Sentenced to 40 years in prison for sex with boys, ages 11 to 13,

(TX) Nicole Gray, 32,
neighbor - Arrested for sex with neighbor boy, 15,

(TX) Jennifer Hudspeth,
teacher - Arrested for online solicitation of boys, ages 15 and 16,

(TX) Susan Michael, 51,
teacher - Arrested for possession of drugs at school,

(TX) Emiley Weaks, 28,
teacher - Arrested for possession of meth,

(WI) Teresa M. Cantrall, 42,
neighbor - Sentenced to eight years in prison for sex with boy, 13,

(WI) Kristina N. Schwoerer, 20,
neighbor - Gets deferred prosecution for sex with boy, 15.

Thanks, as always, to the tipsters.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 10/31/2008 05:42:00 PM

Cindy Sheehan Campaign HQ Attacked

(San Francisco, California) The headquarters for the Cindy Sheehan campaign was attacked about 3 AM on October 30th. All the front windows were shattered and a computer was stolen. The offices were unoccupied at the time of the incident.

On October 13th, the Cindy for Congress campaign issued a statement chronicling a series of unusual events, including threats of violence. Staffers contend that anytime Sheehan confronts Nancy Pelosi, her opponent for California's 8th Congressional District, "something horrible happens."

It's not known who the specific perpetrators were but I'm guessing they weren't Christian Republicans.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/31/2008 05:01:00 PM

Child Nuptials Busted in Pakistan

(Karachi, Pakistan) Believed to be the first time an in-progress wedding ceremony has been broken up, police arrested two people attempting to marry a girl, 4, to a boy, 7.


Bride, father of groom, Groom
The father of the groom and the presiding cleric were taken into custody. The father of the bride escaped.

Child marriages are illegal in Pakistan.

Video footage of the marriage, shot by some television teams that accompanied the police, show the two children in bride and groom ceremonial outfits.

They started crying when the police raided the scene.

Mohammad Ismail, the father of the groom, told the media that he worked in Saudi Arabia and was not aware that Pakistani laws prohibited child marriages.

He said that he had agreed to the wedding following advice from family elders that it would put an end to an old feud his family had with the family of the bride.

The cleric who was called to supervise and record the exchange of wedding vows by the couple and to record the witnesses, told the media he did not know that he was being invited to a child marriage.

However, police say they have recovered the marriage certificate from the scene which had been duly filled in by the cleric - except for the age columns for the bride and the groom.

It's reported that the father of the bride received 500,000 rupees (about $6,100) to marry off his daughter.

Reportedly, the maximum possible punishment for the parents is one month in jail and a $10 fine.

Tip: Kevin S.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/31/2008 09:07:00 AM

A German Lady Remembers and Speaks

In Germany, when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing. In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene's Shiloh books.

In those days, in my homeland, Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising "Change." He blamed the "Zionists" around the world for all our problems. He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had. He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth. So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 the popular vote. A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader.

Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him. Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would. The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler. This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement.

It began with praise of the Fuhrer's programs on the lips of innocent children. Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the playyard. Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school. My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school. The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust.

I will never forget my father's face. Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children. That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5.

'Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to The nations."

Soon the children's songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. "With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!"

Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had come to bring comfort of God's Word, were "no longer there." Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret. The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals feet first as "mercy killing" became the policy. Children with disabilities and those who had Down syndrome were euthanized.

People whispered, "Maybe it is better for them now. Put them out of misery. They are no longer suffering.And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden." And so murder was called mercy.

The government took over private business. Industry and health care were "nationalized." (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party) The businesses of all Jews were seized. (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Kristalnacht in the book Munich Signature)

The world and God's word were turned upside down. Hitler promised the people economic Change? Not change. It was, rather, Lucifer's very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction. What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children.

The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it. Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel.

When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them. Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, "who could bear to read our suffering?" Yet with my last breaths I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord, Unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now, returning to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come.

I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who claims he is the American Messiah. Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the "mercy killing" of tiny babies who are not wanted.

There are so few of us left to warn you. I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians. Where are your voices? Where is your outrage? Where is passion and your vote? Do you vote based on an abortionist's empty promises and economics? Or do you vote according to the Bible? Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you."

I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth. I see them again now. Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion. In America priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates. They cannot legally instruct you of which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture! American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their "tax exempt" status.

And yet I have heard the words of Obama's pastor Damning America! I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you "Cling to your religion." But I am a woman whose name is unknown. My life is recorded as a work of fiction. I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book.

I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for your children, I tremble. I tremble at the hymns to a political leaders which your children will sing at school.. (Though even now a hymn or a prayer to God and our Lord Jesus is against the law in public school!)

Your vote must put a stop to what will come upon America if Barack Obama is elected. I pray you will personally heed this warning for the sake of your children and your grandchildren. Do not be deceived. The Lord in Jeremiah 1:7-8 commands every believer to speak up!

"Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you, declares the Lord!"

Source


Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/31/2008 04:45:00 AM

Pennsylvania Woman Gets Prison for Raping Boy

(Erie, Pennsylvania) In October 2007, a 28-year-old local woman, Carrie L. Dana, was accused of repeatedly engaging in sex with an 11-year-old boy between March and August 2007.

During arraignment before Erie 5th Ward District Judge Joseph Lefaiver, Dana was charged with multiple sex crimes including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors.

In July 2008, Carrie Dana was convicted by an Erie County jury on felony counts of rape, indecent assault of a child younger than age 13, and a misdemeanor count of corruption of minors.

Yesterday, Erie County Judge John A. Bozza sentenced Dana to 15 to 30 years in the state prison.

Bozza gave her a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 to 20 years for one count of rape of a child, a first-degree felony. Bozza sentenced Dana to another five to 10 years for both indecent assault, a third-degree felony, and corruption of minors, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Bozza could have sentenced Dana to additional time for her conviction of a second count of child rape. But he granted a defense request that he allow Dana to serve that sentence at the same time she serves the sentence for the first count of child rape.

"I'm very sorry for what I have done," Dana told Bozza. "I never meant to do any of this."

During the proceeding, Dana's past and mental health problems were discussed but overridden in importance by the nature of her crimes and the fact that she knew she was doing wrong.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/31/2008 12:55:00 AM

HOPE ON PROJECT - continued

Part 10 - Income Taxes (from Boring Made Dull)

No, you won't get to keep the change.

Well, what happens when we elect a President and Congress pledged to raise taxes?

Recession. And if they raise them enough, toss in some protectionist legislation, and near compulsory unionization for good measure, depression.

And what exactly does “share the wealth” mean? It means that some bureaucrat whispers to some politician in Washington how much of the income of your work you’ll be allowed to keep. Disagree? Well, sharing under the Obama plan means that the IRS and courts will have you tossed in chokey. Question The One? At minimum, some minor state official will be trolling through your records looking for dirt.

On the specifics of The One’s tax plan, Steven Malanga in Real Clear Markets notes that the primary question is where does wealth originate? With the State, or with the People? It’s the people. Free citizens and free markets produce wealth. Governments take a portion of that wealth in taxes, for some legitimate purposes (police, firefighters, national defense, courts), and some illegitimate (bridges to nowhere, Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac, ACORN, etc.), but they don’t create wealth. Wealth must be created in order to be taxed.

* * * * *
Part 11 - The Anti-Reagan (from Darke Blog)

The record is clear that Reagan cuts taxes across the board, reduced the size of government, and ushered in an extended period of economic propsperity. But those on the other end of the political spectrum can't (or won't) accept these lessons of history. Mention "Reagan" to a liberal and you will start an argument. Mention "trickle down" and you might have a fight on your hands.

Barack Obama ignores history by promising higher taxes to those who have annual income over $250,000. Or mabye $200,000? Or $150,000? And at the same time he is promising these higher taxes, he is also proposing massive new spending, including the biggest entitlement of them all - national health care (if you don't believe me, catch the rerun of Obama's 30-minute informercial). These policies are poor in good economic times - right now, they are a recipe for disaster.

Barack Obama going forward will be the same Barack Obama we've seen in the past. Higher taxes. New programs. Big spending. Liberal policies. He truly is the Anti-Reagan.

________________________________________________

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist
Part 5 - Earmarks
Part 6 - Chicken Button
Part 7 - Trust
Part 8 - Middle Class
Part 9 - Not This Time

I contend that the arguments are unassailable and, unless one has consumed the Kool-Aid of hope and change, enough reasons to vote against Barack Obama.

Visit the links and see for yourself.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/31/2008 12:50:00 AM

Teacher Tawni Wimberley Gets No Jail for Student Sex

(Flagstaff, Arizona) In February 2008, a computer and technology teacher at Flagstaff High School, Tawni Wimberley, was accused of engaging in sex with several teens.

In September 2008, 30-year-old Wimberley pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual conduct with a minor in accordance with a plea agreement.

Yesterday, Judge Dan Slayton sentenced Wimberley to a suspended six-month jail term and three years probation.

"I am suspending that sentence based upon your continued attendance and completion of counseling," said Slayton.

Although she is not facing jail time, Wimberley will have to perform 100 hours of community service and be on supervised probation for the next three years. Judge Slayton also said she cannot have any contact with the victims. She is also not allowed to have unsupervised contact with non-immediate family children under the age of 18.

Wimberley was also ordered to spend the rest of her life as a registered sex offender.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 11:49:00 PM

Man, 82, Charged in Pills-for-Sex Case

(Richmond, Kentucky) Local 82-year-old Casanova, Archie Anglin, has been charged with trafficking in a controlled substance for allegedly trading Oxycontin pills for sex with 20-ish years old women.

No mug shot has been disseminated. It's speculated that the police couldn't get the smile on the old codger's face to fit in a normal sized mug photo during booking.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 09:57:00 PM

OH SecState Brunner Linked to ACORN

It seems that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is closely tied to the leadership of ACORN.

So our Secretary of State shares a campaign advisor with ACORN, takes direction from ACORN's voter registration arm, and refuses to verify over 200,000 mismatched registrations while claiming there is no voter fraud going on in Ohio...and that attention to such frivolous issues distracts her from doing her job.

Typically, one would expect the SecState to investigate allegations of voter fraud and take corrective action. Strangely, it seems that Brunner spends all her time saying that (1) there is no voter fraud or (2) voter fraud is too hard to correct.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 09:16:00 PM

Obama Aunt in Public Housing in Boston

When you've got plans to spread the wealth around as Senator Obama has, it is somewhat incongruent that the plans apparently don't include his own relatives.

First we heard about the plight of Obama's brother George who lives in a Nairobi, Kenya, slum. And now, living in run-down trappings in South Boston is beloved 'Aunt Zeituni' Onyango. She supports Obama but won't answer questions until after the November 4th election.

Although Obama professes to advocate spreading the wealth around, evidence indicates he doesn't mean his wealth and around doesn't mean to his family.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 08:32:00 PM

Brit Doctor Catches Hell for Homosexual Comments

(Manchester, England) Imagine Dr. Muhammad Siddiq, a respected member of the medical profession, saying:

"There is punishment and fine if you throw rubbish or filth on the streets, the gays are worse than the ordinary careless citizen, they are causing the spread of illness and they are the root cause of many sexually-transmitted diseases.

"They need neither sympathy nor help, what they need is the stick of law to put them on the right path and mend their ways and behaviour.

"We need to protect society from their ravages."

Now imagine what Dr. Siddiq faces. Right, he has caught hell and is now doing a juggling act before the General Medical Council.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 06:43:00 PM

Texas Teacher Busted for Drugs

(Houston, Texas) A 51-year-old teacher at Whittier Elementary School, Susan Michael, was arrested after police officers allegedly found marijuana and hydrocodone in her car.

Michael has been charged with possession of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone.

Police were alerted by a report that a teacher was smoking marijuana behind the school. A canine unit was subsequently dispatched and hit on Michael's car. After obtaining consent to search, police found the drugs.

Michael was booked into custody with bail set at $2,000.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 06:22:00 PM

Hostage Ronald Schulz - Remains Recovered in Iraq

(Bismarck, North Dakota) It has been announced that the remains of Ronald Schulz, a civilian contractor in Iraq, have been found and are being returned to his home state of North Dakota.

Ronald Schulz's family plans a burial Saturday in Jamestown, a day after his remains are expected to arrive in his hometown.

Schulz's remains and those of the Kurdish woman to whom he was engaged were found by the U.S. military in a grave in September and were turned over to the government, FBI agent E.K. Wilson said Wednesday. He would not say what led the military to the remains.

The Islamic Army in Iraq claimed in December 2005 that it had killed the 40-year-old Schulz, of Eagle River, Alaska. He was working as an electrician when he was kidnapped.

Cowardly bastards shot Schulz in the back if the head while he was kneeling and blindfolded.

Condolences to the family and friends of Ronald Schulz.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 02:18:00 PM

Pennsylvania Woman Gets Probation for Sex with Boy

(Adams County, Pennsylvania) In April 2008, a 26-year-old local New Oxford woman, Brenda Lua Manzo, was charged with engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy. Sexual episodes allegedly occurred on several occasions in the summer of 2007.

Last month, Brenda L. Manzo pleaded guilty to statutory sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy in accordance with a plea agreement.

Manzo was charged in April after the parents of a 15-year-old boy contacted Pennsylvania State Police at Gettysburg because they were concerned about their son's relationship with Manzo, police said.

Police said the boy's parents told them their son stayed out late in the evenings, and they suspected he and Manzo had a sexual relationship after he returned with hickeys on his neck.

The boy told police he met with Manzo in summer 2007 at South Mountain Fairgrounds and had sex with her at his house, in an orchard and at an Aspers home, according to court documents. Police said the boy told them he knew Manzo was 25 at the time and that she knew he was 15.

Last week, Brenda Manzo was sentenced by Senior Judge Oscar F. Spicer to four years of probation encompassing six months of house arrest. Manzo was also ordered to pay $300 in fines.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 09:03:00 AM

A small reflection about the relationship between England and Australia


Most Americans feel proud, pleased and blessed to be born in America. And rightly so. Australians and the English feel similarly and for similar reasons. But from the large and constant stream of English immigrants arriving in Australia, one gathers that a lot of the English like some sunshine with their English heritage. And there is more than sunshine to it. I remember a recent arrival in Australia who hailed from Yorkshire saying to me that Australia is "Yorkshire with brass", where "brass" is Northern slang for money. He was oversimplifying but there was a lot of truth in what he said nonetheless. The ties between England and Australia are a lot closer than either side will normally admit. Australians speak derisively of the English (calling them "Poms") and the English speak derisively of Australians (calling them "colonials").

But it remains true that both nationalities feel very much at home in the others' country. And I am probably a rather extreme example of that. When I was growing up in Australia in the 1950s, I grew up into a society that was very Anglophilic. Many Australian-born people still copied their parents' usage and referred to England as "home". And we had a Prime Minister (Sir Robert Menzies) who described himself as "British to his bootstraps". And I remember crying -- aged about 9 -- when it was announced that the King had died. An even stronger influence than all that, however, stemmed from the fact that I was a great book reader from an early age. And most if not all boys' books available were written and published in England for the English. So I grew up in a mental world that was half-English: Which was a very good start on understanding English thinking.

So when I first arrived in England in 1977 I found a few peculiarities but in general had no social difficulties -- which is saying something if you know the intricacies of English social rules. I imagine that I did transgress in various ways from time to time -- but never enough to be a bother. In fact my high level of social acceptance would have been the envy of many Englishmen. I was materially assisted in that by the fact that an educated Australian accent is quite close to RP ("Oxford" English) and accent is enormously important in England. Any Australian accent is in fact closer to RP than are many regional English accents. So I was often told in England that I had a "soft" accent -- meaning that although detectably Australian it was not beyond the pale in in the Home Counties. My conservative politics tend to go down well in the Home Counties too.

An amusing effect of this close but usually denied affinity is the way that some Australian women have constructed for themselves a version of English "society". In England there really is such a thing as "society" -- basically the English aristocracy. The Australian version is of course self-selected rather than genetically selected but they do a moderately good job of imitating the English original. And part of that is that they do a rather good job of imitating the speech of the English original. I remember one example vividly. When I was talking on the phone to Laurie, she sounded to me just like Margaret, who is an English lady I know who really is a born member of the English aristocracy.

So who was Laurie? She was the daughter of my father's accountant. In other words we both grew up in a small Australian country town -- going to school in bare feet in a tropical environment -- an environment beset by such perils as taipan snakes, funnelweb spiders, box jellyfish, finger cherries and crocodiles, rather than the more pleasant English phenomena of crocuses, daffodils, cuckoos and skylarks. From that humble beginning, however, Laurie had acquired all the language, mannerisms and values of the English aristocracy. And I imagine that she did so without ever visiting England.

It reminds me of something that someone wrote (probably Andrew Ian Dodge -- an Anglophilic American) when I first started putting up my "Eye on Britain" blog. He said that this is a blog about England from an outsider's point of view -- but the author really isn't an outsider because he is an Australian. Very insightful.



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 05:07:00 AM

California Mom Allegedly Drowns Son

(Pomona, California) Last week, a 23-year-old local woman, Josie Navarro, was arrested for allegedly drowning her 5-year-old son in a motel bathtub.

Emergency personnel were called to the motel and tried to resuscitate Edgar Manuel Sanchez Jr. but failed.

According to Pomona Police Sgt. Rick Baker:

"Officers arrived to find a woman being restrained by another person on the floor of the room and a 5-year-old boy underwater and unresponsive in the bathtub in the room," Baker said in a statement.

According to the preliminary investigation, Navarro, who had checked into the motel earlier Monday, drowned her son and tried to kill herself with over-the-counter sleeping medication, Baker said.

"The suspect made statements indicating that she wanted to die because of problems in her life, and didn't want to leave her son behind," Baker said.

Navarro faces a murder charge.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/30/2008 12:23:00 AM

NY Teacher's Dead Body Found, Husband Arrested

(Long Island, New York) The nude body of a 29-year-old teacher, Leah Walsh, was found Wednesday near the Long Island Expressway. Her car was previously found on Monday, locked and with a flat tire, several miles from where her body was found.

The body was found in a wooded area off a service road of the Long Island Expressway around 8 a.m., about 13 miles from where Leah Walsh's 2005 Ford Focus was found Monday.

A country club worker spotted the body and called police. They believe it had been there more than 24 hours.

Leah Walsh disappeared after a blowup with her husband over the weekend.

Close friend Lucas Bean told the Daily News she text-messaged him on Saturday evening, telling him that Bill Walsh "went berserk" and that their marriage was over.

She was supposed to call him with details of the argument - she was in the car with her husband when she sent the text messages - but never did, Bean said.

Leah's husband, Bill Walsh, has been arrested and is in custody. Nassau County police are not releasing details.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 06:44:00 PM

PETA Name Changer

Reported a couple weeks ago, a 19-year-old animal rights idealist has changed her name to Cutout Dissection.com to protest animal dissections in schools.

Jennifer Thornburg, whose driver's license now reads Dissection.com, now wants to be called Cutout for short.

Her new legal name is the URL for an anti-dissection website created by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

"I normally do have to repeat my name several times when I am introducing myself to someone new," Cutout told her local paper, the Asheville Citizen Times.

"Once they find out what my name is, they want to know more about what the Web site is about."

She said family members still call her Jennifer.

Cutout is an intern for PETA.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 06:09:00 PM

Fatwa for Yoga

(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) A leading Islamic cleric is calling for a fatwa against the practice of yoga by Muslims.

Mr Harussani Zakaria, a controversial cleric from the northern Perak state, said the government-backed National Fatwa Council would soon release a decree, or 'fatwa', which would decide if Muslims were allowed to practise yoga.

'If it involves any faith or religious elements it is definitely not permissible but if it is just a form of exercise that is all right,' Mr Harussani said.

'Muslims cannot practice yoga in its original form because it involves another religion,' he said in response to a call to ban Muslims from engaging in yoga.

Presumably, sweating with the oldies is still permitted.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 05:32:00 PM

Most Reliable Pole




Story here.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 05:10:00 PM

Obama-Biden Tax Calculator

Somebody has finally taken the guesswork out of the numbers and created the real Obama-Biden tax calculator. Use the calculator and rid yourself of all worry.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 04:27:00 PM

Pagan Samhain Holiday This Weekend

(San Francisco, California) Bay Area pagans are preparing for their biggest holiday, called Samhain, this weekend. Reportedly, it's a festival of harvest, renewal and communing with the dead.

"I wouldn't know anyone who conducts a seance," said witch Deborah Oak Cooper, a member of the Reclaiming collective. "At the Spiral Dance (expected to draw more than 1,000 celebrants to Kezar Pavilion on Saturday), there's a trance journey, where you go to the Isle of Apples and visit your beloved dead. It's a meditation period: You go and look around and see who wants to visit."

"You might create an altar and make an offering," said Starhawk, a political activist and the Bay Area's best known contemporary witch. "Then you can sit down and talk: 'Hey, Mom, sorry I was such a hard teenager for you to deal with. Now I understand how that must have been for you, and I wish you were here so we could sit and talk about it.' "

I would suggest that Starhawk is not the best-known witch in the Bay Area. Nancy Pelosi and Cindy Sheehan are at least as familiar to people as Starhawk.

I'll confess to being largely uninformed about paganism but I do recall reading somewhere that pagans sacrifice virgins. If so, it would explain how Muslim martyrs can be met by 72 virgins in the afterlife. In effect, pagans are recruiting the virgins for the Muslim martyrs.

Knowing that the two religions are blending their desires is probably comforting to the tolerance-above-all advocates. Well, except for those who are virgins, of course.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 10:48:00 AM

Iran Opens Naval Base on Gulf

(Tehran, Iran) The Iranians must be proud of their new naval base.

Iran has opened new naval facilities east of the Strait of Hormuz, on the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

Navy chief Brigadier-General Habibollah Sayyari said that the base in the town of Jask would enable Iran to block the entry of an "enemy" into the Persian Gulf.

Iran has threatened to close the strait in response to a potential threats.

Heh.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 09:32:00 AM

Yellow-Crested Abbott's Cockatoo

(Jakarta, Indonesia) Feared extinct, the yellow-crested Abbott's cockatoo isn't.

Ten Yellow-crested Abbott's cockatoos were found on the Masalembu archipelago off Java island, the Indonesian Cockatoo Conservation group told AFP.

"We were excited when we found them in residential areas on Masakambing island," researcher Dudi Nandika said.

The group included four breeding pairs and two juveniles.

Despite the discovery the Yellow-crested Abbott's cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea abbotti) remains the rarest species of the bird on earth, he said.

It hasn't been seen since scientists observed a group of five in 1999, researcher Dwi Agustina said.

Found in residential areas, eh? Scientists probably couldn't find any of them since "who looks in the back yard?"
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 09:07:00 AM

Group Pride, insecurity and the Left

Strictly speaking, the generalizability of the research below is limited by the sample they used but the conclusions are very ancient and almost certainly true. In ancient Athens, hubris (arrogant pride) was actually considered a crime while megalopsuchia (proper pride; big spiritedness) was a virtue. I follow the report below with a few notes about the wider implications of the research

From screaming baseball fans to political rally-goers, groups that engage in boastful self-aggrandizing may be trying to mask insecurity and low social status. "Our results suggest that hubristic, pompous displays of group pride might actually be a sign of group insecurity as opposed to a sign of strength," said researcher Cynthia Pickett, associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis.

The new study reveals how two types of pride are related to a person's good feelings about one social group or another to which they belong. These good feelings could come from being a Los Angeles Lakers fan (when they win), a war veteran, a member of a particular ethnic group or a sorority gal or fraternity brother. But while authentic pride is linked with real confidence in your group, hubristic pride is a false arrogance that belies insecurities about one's group. These results build on past research showing similar pride characteristics in individuals.

"It turns out, people who have the hubristic collective pride in their group, underlying it all is an insecurity about whether the group is good enough, really," said researcher Jessica Tracy, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. The research was presented last week at a meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology in Sacramento.

In three studies, Pickett, Tracy and their colleagues surveyed more than 300 undergraduate students, first asking each participant to write about an experience when they felt proud of their group. In one of these studies, students had to recall the UC Davis football win over Stanford. In another, Asian American students were asked to write about a proud experience tied with their ethnic background. Other experiences ranged from sports team wins to achievements by sororities, say raising a big chunk of money for a charity.

Each participant then rated to what extent they would use certain words to describe themselves at the time of the event or achievement. Some of the descriptors indicated hubristic pride, such as "snobbish," "pompous" and "smug," while others were linked with authentic pride, such as "accomplished," "successful" and "confident." Students also answered questions about the status of the group, including whether the group was valued by non-members, whether they themselves thought highly of the group, whether the group was under threat or in competition with another group, and other group-related questions.

The results showed that groups in which individuals boasted and gloated - a sign of hubristic pride - tended to have low social status or they were vulnerable to threats from other groups. So the worse the person felt about their group's status as well as how badly they thought the public viewed the group, the more likely that member would experience that empty, boastful pride. In contrast, those groups that expressed pride by humbly focusing on members' efforts and hard work tended to have high social standing in both the public and personal eyes.

Hubristic pride can rear its ugly head in both small groups like sports teams and larger groups like citizens of a country. "A lot of this has real-world implications," Tracy told LiveScience. "There are some kinds of collective pride where people get really angry and hostile and feel like 'it's not just that my group is great but my group is better.'" She added, "You can think of it as the distinction between nationalism and patriotism, with nationalism being the sense of it's not just that I love my country, it's that my country is best."

When group members show signs of hubristic pride, such as making grandiose statements about their country, that could be a sign of underlying insecurity, the researchers said. "When you hear groups starting to get into that type of rhetoric it may be because they're starting to realize they're in a losing position and that they need to do something to try to drum up respect, to drum up the kind of status that they feel they're lacking," Pickett said.

Source

The first thing that needs to be stressed about the above findings -- something the authors themselves imply -- is that not all group loyalty is dysfunctional. Tribalism or group action is very common in the animal world -- from ants to apes -- and it is part of humanity too. Leftists tend to deny that, however. They see any kind of group loyalty -- such as patriotism -- as primitive. And tribalism certainly is a prominent feature of primitive societies. That something is primitive does not mean that it is weak, however. And in fact tribal loyalties of one sort or another still to this day dominate most human societies. In Muslim lands, for instance, there is virtually no loyalty to the nation. All loyalty is to your tribe, to your clan, to your kinship group or to your religion.

As Emmanuel Todd, a French Leftist historian, correctly pointed out, it is the Anglo-Saxons who are deviant. To Southern Europeans, the English family is incomprehensible. It appears pathologically fractionated. Instead of strong family loyalties, the English simply go their own way once they leave home and have almost no further contact with one-another by normal human standards. I saw this in the late '60s when I was doorknocking with a social survey in an ethnically mixed area of Sydney. One of the questions I asked was: "How often do you see relatives?" The Greeks and Italians would usually say: "Every weekend". By contrast, about half the Anglo-Australians said: "Never!".

So if even family ties are so weak among Anglo-Saxons, one can understand that tribal loyalties are very limited -- usually seen only in attachment to particular sporting teams. Sport is a re-enactment of real combat so it is a very primitive thing and draws out primitive reflexes.

But tribalism DOES have some life among Anglo-Saxons outside sport. In particular, Anglo-Saxons do have some attachment to their own nation and ethnic group. They put up surprisingly well with having other ethnic groups living among them but their preference nonetheless is generally for their own ethnic group. See here, for instance. And this tattered remnant of group loyalty is what Leftist routinely stigmatize as "racism".

Ironically, however, it is Leftists themselves who seem to have the strongest group orientation. Contrast the lukewarm support of conservatives for McCain with the hysterical adulation for Obama on the Left. And, from Hegel through Hitler ("Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer") to Obama, it is Leftists who glorify unity and seem to regard as ideal an anthill type of existence where everybody obeys implicitly direction from the top. So Leftists are clearly the political fanatics. And the research above does therefore identify them as the most insecure.

And there is reason for that insecurity and its compensatory fanaticism. They know that what they really want is the utter destruction of the "system" in which they live and there is always a great risk that the mask will come off that and expose them for the haters and destroyers that they are.

And that Islamic hypersensitivity about "insults" reflects insecurity is a common observation. They certainly have little to be proud of by way of real recent achievements and their sensitivity to slights shows that they know that a low opinion of them and their hamstrung lifestyle has some justification. By contrast, cartoons ridiculing Christians are routine (usually from the Left) but I have yet to hear of any Christian demands to behead cartoon publishers.

Reference: Todd, E. (1985) The explanation of ideology Oxford: Blackwell

Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 08:43:00 AM

Japan Hangs Two

(Tokyo, Japan) Yesterday, it was announced that Michitoshi Kuma, 70, and Masahiro Takashio, 55, were executed by hanging.

They bring the annual total of people executed by the government to 15, the most since 1999 when the government started publishing the number of people executed.

I believe that Kuma and Takashio have been deterred from committing any additional crimes.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 07:59:00 AM

Cartel Operative in Mexican Anti-Drug Agency

(Mexico City, Mexico) This report should come as no surprise.

Narcotraffic has been embedded in the structure of Mexico’s principal anti-drug agency [SIEDO] for 11 years, according to the US government.

Since 1997, one of principal officials in the anti-drug war, Miguel Colorado González, has been in the service of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, according to a diplomatic note delivered by the US to Mexico.

The communication refers to the official, known as “El Viejito del Cielo” [the little old man from heaven], as using his position for aiding the illegal activities of the cartel by supplying information regarding police and military operations and the names of those involved, according to the official document.

Mexican Senator Ricardo Monreal considered that the Senate should demand an in-depth investigation regarding the infiltration of organized crime into SIEDO. He said the situation had been reported several years ago and is only the “tip of the iceberg.” He called for the Senate, as well as the Department of Justice, to conduct investigations. ”It seems important to me, worth emphasizing, the acknowledgement of what everyone has known, but that the government has not admitted: the drug cartels have infiltrated police agencies even to the federal level,” he said.

It's also alleged that the drug cartels have infiltrated the U.S. Border Patrol and ICE.

No thanks to the media for giving U.S.-Mexico border problems adequate coverage. Most Americans don't have a clue about the violence and all-out crime.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 07:47:00 AM

Fast-Food Restaurant Ban Near Schools

(United Kingdom) Every time Ed Balls is in the news, it's because of some new nanny-state idea.

Fast-food outlets should be barred from opening near schools, Ed Balls will say today.

The Schools Secretary also believes pupils should be prevented from leaving the premises at lunchtime to improve their diets.

There is 'no point' banning junk food in schools if teenagers can dodge healthy menus by buying from takeaway outlets which undercut school prices, he will say.

At a conference on healthy eating in schools, Mr Balls will highlight a plan by Waltham Forest Council, East London, to ban takeaways from opening within 400m of schools or youth facilities in the borough.

Town halls must use planning powers to help heads fight obesity and stop fast-food outlets 'proliferating' on the school run.

They need to do more to tackle an 'ingrained culture of unhealthy eating in schools and society'.

I have a hunch that Balls will be trying to cure other health problems. Oddly, since Balls is the Schools Secretary, one might think his job has something to do with education. Surprise!
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 07:16:00 AM

Park Bench, Anytown, U.S.A.

(Columbus, Ohio) A federal judge has lost his mind.

A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that counties must allow homeless voters to list park benches and other locations that aren't buildings as their addresses.

U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus also ruled that provisional ballots can't be invalidated because of poll worker errors.

Monday's ruling resolved the final two pieces of a settlement between the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Jeez, it sure seems like were trending toward having no requirements to vote. No valid verifiable address should automatically disqualify people attempting to vote. What's next? Driver's license without an address? Passport? Birth certificate?
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 07:00:00 AM

Small-Chested Banned From Motorbikes

(Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) Operators of motorbikes must have a chest size of at least 28 inches to be legal in Vietnam.

Anyone with a chest under 28 inches will be banned from driving a motorbike - which make up 90 per cent of the traffic on the country's chaotic roads.


Anyone who is too short, too thin or too sickly will also have to seek alternative transport. Ailments such as enlarged livers or sinusitis will rule out aspirant motorists.

"The new proposals are very funny, but many Vietnamese people could become the victim of this joke," said Le Quang Minh, 31, a Hanoi stockbroker. "Many Vietnamese women have small chests. I have many friends who won't meet these criteria."

The average Vietnamese man is 5 feet, 4 inches (164 centimeters) tall and weighs 121 pounds (55 kilograms). The average Vietnamese woman is 5 feet, 1 inch (155 centimeters) tall and weighs 103 pounds (47 kilograms).

It's believed that police will be issued tape measures to check female drivers and that wonderbras will suddenly become big sellers.

It's not clear why the communist government believes the requirement will make roads safer. It's also not clear how the police will know if someone has an enlarged liver.


[Update]

According to the Vietnam News daily, the plan to ban flat-chesters has been put on hold because of public outrage.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 06:43:00 AM

Terrorist Sentenced to Death in Iraq

(Baghdad, Iraq) An Iraqi court found a terrorist guilty and sentenced him to death for killing Americans.

The Central Criminal Court of Iraq unanimously charged Ibrahim Karim Mohammed Saleh al-Qaraghuli with "acts of terrorism in the murder of three American military personnel in June 2006", the statement said.

It said two other Iraqi accomplices in the crime were found not guilty and charges against them were dismissed.

Specialist David Babineau, Private First Class Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker, from the 101st Airborne Division, were killed in the town of Yusifiya on June 16, 2006.

They died "as a result of a terrorist attack and abduction carried out by insurgents on June 16, 2006," the military said.

The trial of Qaraghuli lasted for 30 days and was held at Baghdad's newly built court in Rusafa district.

Good.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/29/2008 06:14:00 AM

Chicago Teacher Accused of Sex with Boys

(Chicago, Illinois) A 37-year-old teacher at Calumet High School, Rebecca Daniels, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with three male high school students.

Daniels faces charges of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

She allegedly had sex with two students and a former student of the school. One of the boys was 15, and the other two were 16, prosecutors said.

The sexual contact allegedly occurred over the summer and ended Oct. 15, prosecutors said.

Daniels was booked into custody with bail set at $100,000.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/28/2008 11:17:00 PM

Texas Teacher Arrested for Online Solicitation

(Corrigan, Texas) A fourth-grade teacher at Corrigan-Camden Elementary School, Jennifer Hudspeth, has been arrested for allegedly sending naughty text messages to boys aged 15 and 16, attempting to solicit. Hudspeth has been charged with online solicitation of a minor.

Reportedly, authorities began investigating after being alerted by a parent.

Polk County Sheriff’s deputies booked Hudspeth into custody with bond set at $5,000.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/28/2008 09:15:00 AM

Treating Porn Addiction

Here’s some information for those who suffer from porn addiction.

Like many other addictions, porn addiction is not easy to cure. The most widely accepted treatment is telephone counseling, often accompanied by cognitive behavioral therapy.

For example, doctors create an unpleasant atmosphere around the experience, such as making the patients smell garbage or giving them mild electric shocks while watching porn.

Frankly, since the appeal of porn is essentially different strokes for different folks, some people might consider that the garbagey smell and electric shocks actually contribute to the porn experience. It depends on what part of town a person hangs out, of course.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/28/2008 09:14:00 AM

Skeptical scientist has university certification revoked!

The Green/Left never stop trying to stifle dissent. Press release from Dr. David Deming [profdeming@earthlink.net] below. He is a geophysicist and an associate professor of arts and sciences at the University of Oklahoma who has published numerous peer-reviewed research articles. Dr. Deming's Senate December 6, 2006 testimony is available here. University President Boren is a "staunch supporter of Obama". One Fascist supports another, I guess

For ten years or more, professor David Deming has taught a course in environmental geology at the University of Oklahoma. In October 2008, he was informed that the "general education" certification for his course was being revoked. Under the University of Oklahoma system, this means that student enrollment in the course is likely to drop by two-thirds.

This is a course which receives outstanding student evaluations. Professor Deming is well-known to be a global-warming skeptic. In 2006, he testified before the US Senate that media coverage of global warming had descended into "irrational hysteria." See here.

Professor Deming is unaware of any other case in the history of the University of Oklahoma where the "gen ed" certification for a course has been revoked. It would appear possible that professor Deming's position on global warming was a motivating factor. But in this case, the tragedy is that the people being punished are the students, not the professor. Those who wish to express their concern can do so by writing or calling University of Oklahoma President David Boren.

David Boren, President
University of Oklahoma
110 Evans Hall
Norman, OK 73019
telephone: 405-325-3916
email: dboren@ou.edu



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/28/2008 07:22:00 AM

Ask Questions, Get Investigated

Reporters who have been investigating out-of-state campaign workers for allegedly registering to vote in Ohio are now being investigated by Obama supporters and, some might say, intimidated.

This piggybacks in substance with the investigation of Joe the plumber and Joe Biden’s recent outrage after being asked questions by a reporter in Florida. It boils down to, simply, the leftists will mete out retribution for asking the wrong questions.

I can’t imagine that the practice will change with the accumulation of more political power.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/28/2008 06:41:00 AM

Wisconsin Woman Gets Prison for Sex with Boy - Updated

(Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Forty-two-year-old Teresa M. Cantrall was sentenced yesterday in Winnebago County Circuit Court for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy who was reportedly a friend of her children.

Cantrall received eight years in prison followed by eight years of extended supervised probation.

Presumably, either Cantrall or her lawyer expressed remorse or apologies although nothing has been reported. Her status as a convicted sex offender should dictate registration.

* * * * *
Woman Charged in MySpace Boy Sex Case
[Previous 5/27/08 post]
(Oshkosh, Wisconsin) A 41-year-old local woman, Teresa M. Cantrall, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault of a child for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy.

Police were alerted to the alleged offenses after a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by the boy.

The boy told officers that he and Cantrall, who was in the vehicle with him, had sexual intercourse between 10 and 15 times since August 2007 and the majority of contact took place at Cantrall’s residence in the 1500 block of Plummer Street.

Cantrall told officers she met the boy about two years ago and communicated with him at least twice a week and also using MySpace, an online social networking site. She acknowledged the boy’s parents did not like her spending time with their son, as they had tried to get a restraining order against her, but the boy would sneak out to meet her, the complaint states.

Cantrall estimated she had sexual intercourse with the boy eight times and that she knew he was 13 years old. She also told officers “she knew it was wrong to have sex with him but that she loved him very much and cared for him a lot,” the complaint states.

So, Cantrall met the boy via MySpace when he was 11 years old and commenced developing a two-year romantic relationship which led to sex. And now, even though loving him is wrong, she doesn't want to be right.

Cantrall was booked into custody at the Winnebago County Jail with bond set at $5,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 2.

My questions? What the hell is wrong with this woman? And why was she trolling MySpace in the first place?


[Update 9/8/08

(Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Teresa Cantrall, now 42, pleaded no contest today to two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child. Sentencing is scheduled for October 27th.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/28/2008 04:21:00 AM

HOPE ON PROJECT

The following series details the truth about Senator Obama.

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist
Part 5 - Earmarks
Part 6 - Chicken Button
Part 7 - Trust
Part 8 - Middle Class
Part 9 - Not This Time

I contend that the arguments are unassailable and, unless one has consumed the Kool-Aid of hope and change, enough reasons to vote against Barack Obama.

Visit the links and see for yourself.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/27/2008 11:10:00 PM

Oklahoma Teacher Accused of Being Drunk in Class

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) A 48-year-old substitute teacher at Edmond Memorial High School, Charlene Banks, has been arrested for allegedly being drunk in class.

A spokesperson for Edmond Public Schools, who wouldn't appear on camera said the situation would be handled using the districts' drug and alcohol free workplace policy. That policy states being under the influence on school property is prohibited. Violation of that policy would result in disciplinary action, which may include dismissal.

"As soon as they were notified, they had her out of the classroom, into the office and into jail," said Edmond Police spokesperson, Glynda Chu.

The school resource officer says Banks admitted to drinking vodka the night before but says she stopped at 11:00 p.m. But her appearance said otherwise.

"She did have alcohol on her breath, her speech was slurred and she was walking unevenly," said Chu.

Banks was reportedly in the classroom for only a few minutes before action was taken by the administration.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/27/2008 05:29:00 PM

Jerry Lewis Stuns Aussie Audience

During a recent interview in Australia, American entertainer Jerry Lewis remarked that cricket is a “fag game” while miming the swinging of a cricket bat in an effeminate manner.

In response, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Australian Coalition for Equality have called for an apology.

Notably, Jerry Lewis has a history of making offensive statements but a spokesperson said Lewis did not intend to comment on this latest episode.

I think it's curious that the homosexual crowd was offended but apparently not the cricket-loving crowd.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/27/2008 03:18:00 PM

Girls Kill Their Adoptive Mother

(Gwinnett County, Georgia) Two Guatemalan orphan girls, adopted by an American woman, have been convicted and sentenced for her death. Brenda and Catherine O’Connell, both 17, received life in prison for the murder of Muriel O’Connell, 57, their adoptive mother.

Sadly, a good deed has been punished. Muriel O’Connell offered her heart and her home and, in return, lost her life.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/27/2008 12:56:00 PM

Obama’s Political Touchstone: Redistribution of Wealth

In a 2001 interview, Barack Obama came close to actually quoting Karl Marx. Switch a few words around and it becomes easy to imagine them being spoken by Josef Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse-tung or Fidel Castro.

No matter how you package socialism or how it’s framed, socialism is "government redistribution of wealth."
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       Following Entry Posted 10/27/2008 09:02:00 AM

Calling users of prostitutes "Johns" is OK?


I happen to be one John who doesn't give a damn. I have never been with a prostitute and never will. But in this age of sensitivities everywhere, I predict trouble for that usage. Somebody else named John will probably make a lot of money out of it. There is an example of the usage here.

I wonder how such a stupid usage came about? I think I might start calling them "Husseins". That should put the cat among the pigeons!

If any of my readers are named John, it might be fun to send fiery letters to the newspaper demanding an apology and a cessation of the practice. The replies could be amusing.


Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/26/2008 09:38:00 PM

HOPE ON PROJECT: Part 7 - Trust

Today's entry in the HOPE ON PROJECT, discussion and video, is at Weapons of Mass Discussion. It asks the question, "Senator Obama, how can we trust you?"

When youngsters are growing up, their parents are extra cautious about bad influences and go to great lengths to protect them. Career-minded young adults stay away from the wrong people and try to network with the right crowd to benefit their upward ambitions. And everyday citizens avoid driving through dangerous parts of cities to preclude bad things from happening to them.

Recognizing and avoiding the dangerous elements in society are primary concerns of most citizens. Many people have come across deviant and violent criminals in their lives and, typically, they take action to disassociate themselves with those individuals. People usually want nothing to do with the bad crowd and its members.

So, you say you know all this. What's the big deal?

Well, based upon media cheerleading and their reports, American citizens are being asked to elect a man to the Presidency who can easily be classified as a close associate of the bad crowd. Senator Barack Obama has enough ties to people who are anti-American and anti-capitalist to raise legitimate questions about his belief system.

Matt Hurley analyzes the relationships Barack Obama has maintained through the years, in particular, domestic terrorist William Ayers. Read the analysis and maybe you'll ask the same question I have.

"Senator Obama, how can I trust you?"

__________________________________________
HOPE ON PROJECT

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist
Part 5 - Earmarks
Part 6 - Chicken Button

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       Following Entry Posted 10/26/2008 05:39:00 PM

Cannibal Cult Tortured Boys

(Brno, Czech Republic) Six reported members of a religious cult, the Grail Movement, have been convicted of psychologically and physically torturing children. Each received between five and 10 years in prison.

The sick abuse and torture were exposed when a neighbor installed a baby monitor to keep check on a newborn. Fortunately, the monitor also picked up signals from an identical monitor in the torture house next door. The signals indicated abuse and torture.

A cannibal cult mother who tortured her son in a locked cellar while relatives skinned him and forced him to eat his own flesh has been jailed for nine years.

Klara Mauerova, 31 - a member of a sinister religious cult and her sister Katerina led the sickening torture of her eight-year-old son Ondrej and his ten year-old brother Jakub.

A court in Brno in Czech Republic heard how relatives partially skinned Ondrej and forced him to eat his own flesh.

The judge also jailed Katerina, 35, for ten years for her role in the sickening abuse.

The two boys had told judges how their mother and relatives had stubbed cigarettes out on their bare skin, whipped them with belts, and tried to drown them. They were also sexually abused and forced to cut themselves with knives.

The terrified youngsters said they were kept in cages or handcuffed to tables and made to stand in their own urine for days.

The sick sisters - both members of weird religious cult the Grail Movement - refused to reveal why they tortured the brothers.

But state prosecutor Zuzana Zamoravcova said: 'Their aim was to make the boys blindly serve their religious goals.'

Judge Pavel Goth said as he sentenced the women: 'Their aim was to create a person with a completely broken will. Ondrej and Jakub were repeatedly psychologically and physically tyrannised and held in locked rooms.'

Also convicted and sentenced to five years in prison was 34-year-old Barbara Skrlova. Skrlova lived with the Mauerova sisters during the time of the abuse and escaped to Norway when an investigation was launched.

As previously reported, Skrlova posed as a 12-year-old boy and then a 13-year-old girl to escape notice in Norway. Her impersonations weren't effective and she was arrested and returned to the Czech Republic.

Other members sentenced were 28-year-old Hana Basova, 25-year-old Jan Skrla, and a man named Jan Turek. They each received between five and seven years in prison.

To be fair, the website for the Grail Movement has distanced itself from the actions of the Mauerova group, claiming that, instead, the abusers were members of:

"[A] group headed by Joseph Skria who was banned from the Grail Movement in 1996. This fact came out in the trial and is a matter of public record. Thus attempts by the press to connect the Grail Movement with the crimes committed in the Czech Republic are unfortunate and incorrect."

I hate these stories.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/26/2008 02:36:00 PM

Terrorism and Child Porn Linked

This issue is finally starting to gain exposure. Much more needs to be said, written and done about it.

Besides their well-known penchant for anti-Semitism, misogyny and nihilistic violence, Muslim extremists are also gaining a disturbing reputation among British security agencies as collectors of child pornography.

According to a report on The Times website last week, police in Great Britain are discovering that their investigations into Muslim terrorism are leading them into the depraved world of child sexual exploitation. The reverse is also occurring with child protection officers encountering people who are “preparing to carry out terrorist acts.”

At one time, the link between the two deviant behaviours was considered so strong that security officials considered establishing an anti-terrorism project involving child welfare experts, but never followed through because Scotland Yard’s hands were too full with other terrorist investigations.

But demand is growing in Great Britain for the setting up of such a task force that could help security agencies understand the terrorist mindset and prevent future attacks.

“This is an important development,” said Labor MP Andrew Dinsmore. “We have to do more than just police work. It needs child protection, criminological and psychological work. It could become a very important weapon in the fight against terrorism.”

Read the rest at Front Page Magazine.

Protecting the world's children takes a bite out of terrorism.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/26/2008 09:06:00 AM

Obama campaign can't handle tough questions


WFTV-Channel 9's Barbara West conducted a satellite interview with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday. A friend says it's some of the best entertainment he's seen recently. West wondered about Sen. Barack Obama's comment, to Joe the Plumber, about spreading the wealth. She quoted Karl Marx and asked how Obama isn't being a Marxist with the "spreading the wealth" comment.

"Are you joking?" said Biden, who is Obama's running mate. "No," West said. West later asked Biden about his comments that Obama could be tested early on as president. She wondered if the Delaware senator was saying America's days as the world's leading power were over. "I don't know who's writing your questions," Biden shot back.

Biden so disliked West's line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate's wife. "This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election," wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign. McGinnis said the Biden cancellation was "a result of her husband's experience yesterday during the satellite interview with Barbara West."



WFTV news director Bob Jordan said, "When you get a shot to ask these candidates, you want to make the most of it. They usually give you five minutes." Jordan said political campaigns in general pick and choose the stations they like. And stations often pose softball questions during the satellite interviews. "Mr. Biden didn't like the questions," Jordan said. "We choose not to ask softball questions." Jordan added, "I'm crying foul on this one."

Source



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/26/2008 09:02:00 AM

Australia: Climate language must be changed


First "global warming" became "climate change". Now we have ...

"Government experts say the word "drought" is making farmers feel bad and want people to use the word "dryness" instead. Farmers also needed to accept that drier weather was here to stay, said a report by the Government's hand-picked Drought Policy Review Expert Social Panel. "Words like drought ... have negative connotations for farm families," the report said. "There needs to be a new national approach to living with dryness, as we prefer to call it, rather than dealing with drought."

Source

What makes farmers feel bad is lack of rain ... not what you call it.



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/25/2008 10:48:00 PM

Barney Frank: Cut Military by 25%

(New Bedford, Massachusetts) At a meeting on Thursday, Congressman Barney Frank called for a 25% reduction in military spending along with a tax increase to pay for more welfare in food stamps, health care and unemployment.

Frank is presuming a Democrat takeover of Washington in January with the above as primary agenda items.

Let's pray that he presumes incorrectly.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/25/2008 10:19:00 PM

HOPE ON PROJECT: Part 6 - Chicken Button

Today's entry in the HOPE ON PROJECT, discussion and video, is at Thurber's Thoughts. An analysis of Senator Obama's record as a decision-maker is presented with the contention that he often pushes the "chicken" button.

__________________________________________
My thoughts:

Barack Obama claims he is the leader America needs and he is prepared to make the tough decisions.

Contrary to Senator Obama's assertion, however, sources indicate that when he was called upon to make decisions as a member of the Illinois State Senate, he voted "present" 130 times.

"An examination of Illinois records shows at least 36 times when Mr. Obama was either the only state senator to vote present or was part of a group of six or fewer to vote that way."

Inexplicably, he even voted "present" on bills he ostensibly supported and, in one case, he voted "present" on a bill he sponsored.

Therefore, Obama's history shows him to be a frequent avoider, not a tough decision-maker. That's troubling. When the President of the United States is confronted with a crisis demanding swift, assertive action, the last thing needed is a chief executive sitting on his hands.

__________________________________________
HOPE ON PROJECT

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist
Part 5 - Earmarks

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       Following Entry Posted 10/25/2008 02:27:00 PM

Habitual Molester in Canada

(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) In March 2008, a 44-year-old convicted child molester, Danial Todd Gratton, was released from a sex offender residential treatment program after completing a six-year sentence for molesting six children, one of which he assaulted 70 times.

Earlier this month, Gratton appeared in court to face new charges.

Gratton, 44, faces charges of sexual assault, sexual interference, abduction, kidnapping, and uttering death threats after a 10-year-old girl was abducted on Oct. 3.

He also has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, abduction, kidnapping, and administering a noxious substance in connection with the abduction of a seven-year-old girl from a playground two days later, on Oct. 5.

A court-provided lawyer asked for a continuance since Gratton did not have a lawyer. It was granted and scheduled reportedly for yesterday. There's no news on the outcome yet.

This case raises some issues worth pursuing:

Gratton had been released from his six-year incarceration and the public was not alerted that a long-term sex offender was in the community.

When released, Gratton was under a 10-year supervision order which requires local police to conduct a high-risk assessment which leads to notification of neighbors. It wasn't performed and police say that corrections officials failed to forward the proper paperwork.

The Correctional Service of Canada is investigating.

Regarding Gratton's sentence of only six years for multiple child sex assaults, it's laughable. As a convicted predatory child sex pervert, I contend that Gratton's four years in prison and two years in a treatment program were not sufficient to pay for his crimes and protect the public. Gratton should have been locked up much longer. Forever would be my recommendation. He's a demonstrated menace to society.

Another issue arising from Gratton's court appearance is that he arrived with noticeable injuries -- a black eye and a bruised temple. According to Alberta Solicitor General spokesman Andy Weiler, Gratton needed to be "restrained" by Edmonton Remand Center guards after he became "aggressive." Gratton claims he was assaulted. My guess would be that Gratton experienced considerable restraining, possibly several sessions by several guards. I would even suggest that more restraining is in his future.

A father in Canada sent me this story, expressing outrage at the namby-pamby sentences meted out to sex offenders in Canada. Fearing for his children, Eric Milner wants to immigrate to the U.S. where he believes perverts are treated more harshly.

One last thing, Gratton is accused of committing back-to-back offenses on October 3rd and 5th. He was released from the treatment facility in March. I find it hard to believe that Gratton molested no children between March and October. The man has demonstrated that he can't control his urges. He needs to be restrained.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/25/2008 08:59:00 AM

Virginia Officials Illegally Discard Military Votes, Allow Out-of-State Votes


In Virginia's liberal Fairfax County, officials are illegally discarding absentee ballots cast by members of the military based on a technical requirement that is preempted by federal law. Meanwhile, people who live out-of-state are being allowed to vote (some people have boasted of being registered to vote, and voting, both in Virginia and another state) in Virginia elections, contrary to state law, based on instructions from liberal state voting officials and false claims by liberal advocacy groups.

The Washington Examiner reports on October 24 that "Fairfax County elections officials are rejecting about 200 overseas ballots, many of them from members of the military, saying the voters failed to observe a minor technicality in filling out their absentee forms." As retiring Congressman Tom Davis notes, that technicality "violates federal law" through its "disparate treatment of overseas voters."

"The State Board of Elections last week instructed county officials to adhere to the letter of the [state] law," even though it is preempted by contrary federal law. Officials at the State Board of elections are appointed by liberal Governor Tim Kaine.

Meanwhile, that same Board of Elections ordered Norfolk registrar Elisa J. Long to ignore state law by allowing college students not domiciled in Virginia to register and vote in Virginia elections.

The military votes in Fairfax County are being discarded by long-time Democratic operative Rokey Suleman, who became the Fairfax County registrar (a supposedly non-partisan position) after long being "active in Ohio Democratic politics." Suleman earlier sent staffers into the Fairfax County jail to register criminals to vote.

Source (See the original for links)



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/25/2008 05:38:00 AM

Woman Brandishes Biohazard Weapon

(Fort Pierce, Florida) A 27-year-old local woman, Ermith Emonfils, attempted to fend off the police by brandishing a "well-used and bloody female sanitary napkin" when she was arrested for alleged shoplifting.

Emonfils was stopped after walking out of a Walgreens without paying for Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean cologne, a bottle of bright green Sinful Colors nail polish and a package of “extra long” black fake eyelashes.

Emonfils said, “Sex? Sex?” while walking toward an officer before she was handcuffed.

As officers put her in a patrol car, she “grabbed behind her and pointed a well-used and bloody female sanitary napkin” at two officers.

“Both officers told her to drop the well-used and bloody female sanitary napkin, but the suspect refused,” the affidavit states. “I delivered a firm, lawful command to the suspect to drop the object and told her it was gross.”

A female officer eventually put the “offensive and potentially dangerous biohazard item” in a plastic bag.

Emonfils faces misdemeanor charges from the incident.

Obviously, Emonfils hasn't attended charm school.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/25/2008 05:00:00 AM

Cup Noodles Recalled, Tainted with Bug Killer

(Tokyo, Japan) A major manufacturer of instant noodles, Nissin Food Products Co., has issued a nationwide recall after a woman became sick from eating insecticide-tainted Cup Noodles brand noodles.

Nissin president Susumu Nakagawa said the noodles could not have been contaminated at his company's factories.

“We have confirmed that the chemical is not and has not ever been used in this product," he told reporters at a press conference late Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, city officials in Fujisawa, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo, said a woman had grown sick and vomited after eating Nissin Cup Noodles she bought at a local supermarket earlier in the week. The noodles were found to be contaminated with paradichlorobenzene, a chemical used in bug repellent.

On Friday, the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union, which runs a chain of cooperative supermarkets, said it had found the chemical in several varieties of Cup Noodle made by Nissin and was pulling the products from its stores.

With recent sensational reports of food being tainted, the Japanese government is evaluating the necessity for a dedicated food and product safety agency. Nissin, by the way, claims to be the first instant noodle maker (1958). According to Nissin's website:

The noodle isn't just a meal. It's a steaming hot celebration of texture and flavor.

Personally, my experience with "steaming hot celebrations" has usually been associated with Mexican foods.

Nevertheless, regarding the recall I've eaten Nissin products and have always thought they needed a little extra something. Not bug killer but something.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/25/2008 04:11:00 AM

Pole Follows GPS, Drives into Lake

(Warsaw. Poland) A Polish guy drives into a lake and claims that his global positioning system device (GPS) led him there.

"The man took a road that was closed a year ago when the area was flooded to make an artificial lake serving as a water reservoir -- he ignored three road signs warning of a dead-end," Piotr Smolen, police spokesman in Glubczyce, southern Poland, told AFP Friday.

"It was still night time and he didn't notice the road led into the lake. His GPS told him to drive straight ahead and he did," Smolen said, adding the driver had not been under the influence of alcohol.

The road ran straight downhill into the lake. The Mercedes mini-van was nearly entirely submerged and was unable to back out on its own after being inundated with water.

The driver and his two passengers were rescued from the roof of the car.

Obviously, somebody in the car wasn't watching the road. I typically stop when it runs into a lake. Frankly, I think blaming the GPS device is a cop out.

Tip: MassCops
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 10:41:00 PM

Woman Jailed for Compelling Daughter to Prostitution

(Dayton, Ohio) A 39-year-old local woman, Rachel White, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after attempting to compel prostitution by a minor. White and a man, Michael Melvin, were originally arrested for trying to prostitute White's daughter at a hotel last April.

Montgomery County Judge A.J. Wagner called White's actions "disgusting."

Michael Melvin was previously sentenced to a year in prison last July for the same offense.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 06:57:00 PM

Mysterious Death of Ex-CIA Agent

(Manchester, England) American Alan Bel, 60, formerly an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, died at Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) from a heart attack after the function of his heart monitor was mysteriously degraded.

The alarm volume was reduced to a level nobody could hear. The cause is being investigated.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Bernard Clarke told the inquest that ‘on the balance of probabilities’ staff could have saved the 60-year-old if the machine had been working.

And Manchester coroner Nigel Meadows said a ‘serious failure’ of the heart monitor had contributed to the death of Mr Bel who retired from the CIA spy agency 30 years ago.

A Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) investigation was not able to establish who turned the alarm’s volume control off and when.

Mr Meadows has used new powers to write to the hospital and Spacelabs Medical, the company which make the machine, calling for a more thorough investigation of the case.

He has also asked for a review of all monitoring machines at the MRI and for machine maintenance to be properly recorded.

The MRI and company now have 56 days to respond.

Consequently, the machine manufacturer and hospital staff are under suspicion.

Strangely, the media reporting of this story has emphasized that Mr. Bel was a CIA employee even though he "retired" from the agency 30 years ago. It would seem that his employment with the CIA would by now be largely irrelevant to the substance of the story.

On the other hand, it's imaginable that Bel may have continued to secretly work for the CIA after he "retired" and someone wanted to silence him.

In any event, it's a mystery right now.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 05:53:00 PM

Scott McClellan Endorses Obama

I said it before and it's worth repeating.

Scott McClellan is an immature, picayunish worm who doesn't understand the human qualities of loyalty and gratitude. That's a fact, Jack!

Interestingly, I strongly suspect that McClellan doesn't even know that he is a worm. Nevertheless, the Obama folks he's trying to suck up to know it. Count on it. No prudent organization has use for a disloyal, ungrateful worm.

The Obama campaign will probably not herald the endorsement and let McClellan fade into irrelevancy. The last thing leftists want is someone who pretends to drink the Kool-Aid.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 04:14:00 PM

Let’s Never Find Out: Part 5 - Earmarks

Senator Obama has asked for $740 million in earmarks in three years in the Senate, including a big chunk of cash to his wife's employer.

Senator McCain has asked for $0 in earmarks in 26 years in the Senate.

Readers, you make the call. Which candidate is more qualified to oversee the spending of taxpayer dollars?

Get the whole story and video at Porkopolis.

___________________________________________________________________

HOPE ON PROJECT

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 -- The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist

___________________________________________________________________
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 02:10:00 PM

Forcible Campaigning? - Update




An Obama supporter attacked a woman and cut a "B" into her face when he learned that she supported McCain/Palin.

Convince me that this incident isn't reminiscent of the 1930s in Germany.


[Update 10/24/08]

(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) It's now being reported as a hoax.

Police sources tell KDKA that a campaign worker has now confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter "B" in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker.

Ashley Todd, 20, of Texas, initially told police that she was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield and that the suspect became enraged and started beating her after seeing her GOP sticker on her car.

Police investigating the alleged attack, however, began to notice some inconsistencies in her story and administered a polygraph test.

Authorities, however, declined to release the results of that test.

Investigators did say that they received photos from the ATM machine and "the photographs were verified as not being the victim making the transaction."

This afternoon, a Pittsburgh police commander told KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin that Todd confessed to making up the story.

Well, it appears we're seeing a simple everyday case of criminal stupidity. I don't expect the story to die since it's gone international.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 01:55:00 PM

New York Times Suffering

From AdAge:

Ratings agencies expressed new concerns about The New York Times Co. on Oct. 23 after the company issued a dour report for the third quarter, citing a soft advertising market and doubts about the economy.

The Times saw a gluteal-clinching revenue drop of 14.4% in the third quarter. It's blamed on a sour economy and a soft advertising market.

Of course, there's no mention of the effect resulting from the Times being generally recognized as a leftist political house-rag.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 01:45:00 PM

Ohio Mom Guilty of Endangering Her Children

(Cincinnati, Ohio) A 29-year-old local mom, Kena Ross, was convicted yesterday of child endangerment for handcuffing her two children, ages 4 and 5, to keep them away from food.

Ross told investigators she wanted to make welfare groceries last long and she had no choice but to handcuff her kids because the refrigerator lock was not working.

Doctors noticed cuff marks when her 4-year-old son was treated for burns on his hand.

Ross faces up to ten years in prison when she goes before a judge on Nov. 14.

Ross' boyfriend, Christopher Gray, faces similar charges.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 12:37:00 PM

Teacher Erica Baker Gets Prison in Sex Case

(Erie, Pennsylvania) In September 2008, former substitute teacher Erica L. Baker, now 25, pleaded guilty to one count of corruption of minors in accordance with a plea deal.

Yesterday, Baker walked into court for sentencing. She received three months to a year in the Erie County Prison. She had expected probation.

But Erie County Judge John Garhart said incarceration was appropriate because Baker, who was teaching at Strong Vincent High School when she met the victim, was in a position of authority when she had sex with her.

"What she did was with a protected class of person -- a minor," Garhart said.

He also sentenced Baker, of Corry, to four years of probation, and said he would consider placing her on work release.

Baker also surrendered her teaching license as part of the plea deal. There was no mention regarding registration as a sex offender.



* * * * *
Female Teacher & Female Student, boom-chicka-wa-wa
[Previous 11/04/07 post]
(Erie, Pennsylvania) A 24-year-old substitute teacher at Pfieffer-Burleigh Elementary School, Erica L. Baker (aka Erica L. McEldowney), has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sexual relations with a 16-year-old female student. Baker met the student while teaching at Strong Vincent High School.

Baker is accused of developing a relationship with a female student while the student was at Strong Vincent. Police charged her with having the sexual contact with the student in Millcreek Township.

Baker was arraigned yesterday before Millcreek Township District Judge Paul Manzi on three counts of misdemeanor corruption of minors. Baker was released after posting bail.

The Erie School District has suspended the recently-divorced Baker without pay.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 09:26:00 AM

Two polls

IBD/TIPP Tracking Poll: McCain close: "McCain has cut into Obama's lead for a second day and is now just 1.1 points behind. The spread was 3.7 Wednesday and 6.0 Tuesday. The Republican is making headway with middle- and working- class voters, and has surged 10 points in two days among those earning between $30,000 and $75,000. He has also gone from an 11-point de?cit to a 9-point lead among Catholics. An analysis of Final Certified Results for the 2004 election showed IBD's polling partner, TIPP, was the most accurate pollster of the campaign season."


AP presidential poll: All even in the homestretch: "The presidential race tightened after the final debate, with John McCain gaining among whites and people earning less than $50,000, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that shows McCain and Barack Obama essentially running even among likely voters in the election homestretch. The poll, which found Obama at 44 percent and McCain at 43 percent, supports what some Republicans and Democrats privately have said in recent days: that the race narrowed after the third debate as GOP-leaning voters drifted home to their party and McCain's "Joe the plumber" analogy struck a chord.

Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 04:31:00 AM

Texas Teacher Gets 40 Years in Prison for Sex Crimes

(Houston, Texas) Brandy Lynn Gonzalez, 30, was sentenced yesterday by state District Judge Michael McSpadden to 40 years in prison for each conviction of aggravated sexual assault of boys aged 11 to 13 and 20 years in prison for sexual indecency with a child. The sentences will be served concurrently.

The offenses included fondling inside the classroom, oral sex during outings with some of the boys at a mall and movie theater, and intercourse at her residence.

Prosecutor Denise Oncken, chief of the District Attorney's Child Abuse Division, noted that some of the children involved had learning disorders. One of them was sexually assaulted by the husband and wife after he sought help from the teacher because of physical abuse at home. He attempted suicide after the revelations of the sexual encounters, Oncken said.

"This defendant has broken my son into a million pieces," Oncken quoted from the mother's statement. The prosecutor said the teacher's comments, even after her conviction, fit the profile of a classic, unremorseful predator.

Husband Johnny Ray Gonzalez was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting one of his wife's victims.


* * * * *
Sexual Assault of 5th-Grade Boys
[Previous 12/15/06 post]
(Houston, Texas) A 27-year-old former teacher at Piney Point Elementary School, Brandy Lynn Gonzales, is in custody for engaging in sexual conduct with at least five 5th-grade boys, ages 11 to 13.

She allegedly performed oral sex on two boys at the local movie theater, performed oral sex on two boys in her classroom at school, and engaged in sexual intercourse with another boy at her home. Brandy Gonzales faces three counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of indecency with a child. Officials believe there are other victims which may result in additional charges.

Bail for Brandy Gonzales has been set at $320,000.

In a separate, related case, 31-year-old Johnny Gonzales, Brandy's husband, is also in jail on a sexual assault charge pertaining to one of his wife's students. His bail is set at $200,000 and he has a court date scheduled for January 12.

If convicted, Mr. and Mrs. Gonzales should be treated harshly in my estimation. The crimes described are not lapses in judgment, they reflect a pattern of predation.

Tip: Don Morgenstern


[Update 8/4/08]

(Houston, Texas) Narrowly avoiding a trial scheduled for today, teacher Brandy Lynn Gonzales, 28, and her husband, Johnny Ray Gonzales, 33, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting schoolchildren. They decided to let District Judge Michael McSpadden determine their punishment at sentencing.

Brandy Lynn admitted to four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child stemming from luring five boys from her classes to engage in sex at movie theaters, her apartment and the classroom.

Johnny Ray admitted to one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child stemming from engaging in sex with one boy at the Gonzales apartment.

Sentencing is scheduled for October.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 03:47:00 AM

Lesbians Issued Fatwa

(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) The chairman of the National Fatwa Council, Abdul Shukor Husin, said lesbian sex is a violation of human nature.

"It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear," he complained, adding, "(Masculine behaviour) becomes clearer when they start to have sex with someone of the same gender, that is woman and woman."

"In view of this," Dr Abdul explained, "the National Fatwa Council which met today have decided and taken the stand that such acts are forbidden and banned."

Male homosexuality - specifically sodomy - is illegal in Malaysia and punishable with up to twenty years in jail. Accusations of sodomy have twice been levelled against the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in what he says are politically motivated attempts to destroy him.

However, lawyers say there is no provision banning lesbian sex in Malaysia's civil code. The latest fatwa appears to be an attempt to push lesbianism towards illegality.

Now, logically, one would expect that lesbian and gay activists are mobilizing to protest this egregious violation of human rights. I imagine several dozen activists have already started booking reservations for flights to Kuala Lumpur.

Of course, there are times I imagine that I will win the lottery.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 12:58:00 AM

Hostage Rescued by US Special Forces

(Kabul, Afghanistan) I can never read enough stories about the good guys winning.

US Special Forces soldiers carried out a daring night-time raid to free a kidnapped American in Afghanistan - the first known hostage rescue by American forces in the troubled country.

The American, who was abducted in mid-August, had been held in a growing insurgent stronghold 30 miles west of Kabul, American military officials revealed today.

They said several insurgents were killed in last week's mission to free the man, who worked for the Army Corps of Engineers.

Daring night-time raid! I contend that the Special Forces guys don't get paid enough to compensate them for their valor and bravery.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 12:55:00 AM

Britain "Accidentally" Doctors Crime Statistics

As screwy as things are getting in the UK, this report doesn't surprise me.

Public trust in crime statistics has been dealt a devastating blow after ministers admitted the figures have been downplaying serious violence for up to a decade.

The Home Office admitted that as many as one in five of the worst attacks has been wrongly classified in published figures.

As many as 4,000 serious assaults each year were mistakenly recorded as minor incidents - and officials conceded they 'simply do not know how far back it goes'.

Not properly recording serious crimes is blamed for the discrepancies. Yep, typos for a decade. That's the reason.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 12:49:00 AM

Tennessee Teacher Guilty of Sex with Girl

(Ripley, Tennessee) A 28-year-old teacher and softball coach formerly at Ripley High School, Amy Elder, has been convicted of child abuse for engaging in sex with a 15-year-old girl.

She went to trial charged with sexual battery and statutory rape by an authority figure but was convicted Wednesday night in Ripley on lesser charges of child abuse.

Elder testified in her own defense and denied having sexual contact with the teenager.

Sentencing is set for December. Elder was convicted on nine criminal counts, each carrying a maximum punishment of 11 months and 29 days in jail.

Elder faces similar charges involving a different student in a trial scheduled for February.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/24/2008 12:13:00 AM

California Student Arrested in Iran

If you're a Westerner, it seems that getting arrested in Tehran is quite easy.

The American Islamic Congress (AIC) today launched a letter-writing campaign calling for the immediate release of a California State University student arrested in Tehran after interviewing women’s rights advocates.

Esha Momeni is a native of Los Angeles who was visiting Tehran last week to conduct academic research on Iran's women's rights movement, filming video interviews with local activists.

Security officers arrested her during a traffic stop, seized her video tapes, and have held her in solitary confinement ever since in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. When her family tried to visit her they were sent home.

To participate in the campaign go to www.free-esha.com.

I haven't heard any outrage expressed by the National Organization for Women (NOW) or other women's rights organizations. I wonder why.


[Update 11/18/08]

Momeni bailed out of prison. She awaits trial.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/23/2008 09:49:00 PM

Let’s Never Find Out: Part 4 -- The One


Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama

Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill

Part 3 - Punished

___________________________________________________________________

Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist




Rough Transcript: - (See original for links)

Senator Obama, you are Number One.

Your 2007 voting record makes you the most liberal member of the US Senate. Left of Hilary Clinton, Left of Ted Kennedy, and even Left of your running mate, Joe Biden -- Barely. He was Number Three. You, Senator Obama, are Number One.

What happens when we elect America's most liberal Senator to the White House? Please America, let's never find out.

Paid for by Let Freedom Ring, which is responsible for the content of this ad.

It is actually worse than the ad makes it sound. Obama isn't just a liberal, he's to the left of the only declared socialist in the US Senate!

Last week, Ohio Senator George Voinovich was quoted saying that Barack Obama was to the left of Ted Kennedy and that Obama was, in fact, a socialist. Governor Mitt Romney, an actual McCain-Palin surrogate, might have a problem with that (see clip) but I think that the evidence exists to make a pretty strong case that Obama is a socialist.

What shall we use as a measuring stick? How about a politician who is a declared socialist? There is one in the United States Senate and his name is Bernie Sanders. The National Journal has Sanders ranked #4 in 2007. Barack Obama was top of the class. But it might interest you to know who else was "to the left" of the socialist. Barack Obama chose him to be his running mate: Joe Biden finished third. Even George Voinovich gets this one:

"There's a guy in the senate, Bernie Sanders" said Voinovich, "who brags about being a socialist. And if you compare Barack Obama's record with Bernie Sanders' record, they're not too far apart."

Obama's response to Joe the Plumber's question about why Obama wanted to punish him if he were to achieve the American Dream and achieve success was that he wanted to "spread the wealth around." If that isn't a restatement of the socialist doctrine of redistribution of wealth, I don't know what is.

Let's not find out, America....

From Matt Hurley at Weapons of Mass Discussion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/23/2008 09:21:00 PM

Counselor Arrested for Sexual Exploitation of Boy

(Ottumwa, Iowa) A 32-year-old addiction counselor, Diane Kathleen Oliver, was arrested for the alleged sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old boy.

Oliver was employed by Woodlands Residential Facility in Burlington Iowa in Oct. of 2007 when the juvenile was admitted to the in-patient drug and alcohol facility.

Authorities allege that over the course of the boy’s treatment and after his release, Oliver engaged in a sexual relationship with the teen.

Included in the court records were love notes written by Oliver to the boy. One of the notes ended “But when we’re together talking is so not what I want to do.”

Records also indicated that Oliver conspired to continue the relationship even after it was discovered by the boy’s parents.

Oliver was booked into custody and later released on $5,000 bond.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/23/2008 09:08:00 PM

Texas Woman and 15-Year-Old Boy

(Fort Worth, Texas) A 32-year-old local woman, Nicole Gray, was arrested yesterday for allegedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old neighbor boy. Gray has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Ms. Gray and the teen struck up a friendship in July, police said. Platonic text messages later turned sexual.

In September, Ms. Gray asked the boy to sneak out of his house and meet her for sex, police said. [...]

When the mom confronted the teen, she learned that he had been skipping school, drinking at Ms. Gray’s house, and had sex at least four times with Ms. Gray, police said.

Gray was booked into custody and later released on $25,000 bond.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/23/2008 08:23:00 PM

Florida Woman Gets 15 Years For DUI Manslaughter

(Tampa, Florida) A 23-year-old local woman, Natalie Rodriques, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter.

Authorities say Rodriques was driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.13 percent in March 2007 when she hit 16-year-old Irvin Eppy Soto Jr. Rodriques drove nearly a mile before crashing her pickup into a ditch. Records show she also had traces of cocaine, marijuana and Xanax in her system.

Records show Rodriques had already been arrested for driving under the influence two months earlier.

After her release from prison, Rodriques will serve 10 years probation. She was also prohibited from ever driving in Florida again.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/23/2008 04:44:00 PM

Homeless Update: About the Numbers

With federal, state and local governments allocating billions of dollars to the problems of homelessness, I contend that there is adequate incentive for some people to portray the extent of homelessness to be larger than it actually is.

Only a few decades ago, the homeless were called bums in violation of anti-vagrancy laws and run out of town. A few good-hearted groups tried to help the vagrants, funded by the kindness of strangers.

Then liberal politicians, aided by liberal media-types, saw that by calling the bums homeless people instead of bums, the vagrancy problem could be used as a political issue. Imagine a stump speech:

"Neighbors, there's a lot of good in this city but a stinking stain remains because the sitting mayor has done nothing to help our most vulnerable citizens -- the homeless."

Like quarter-a-gallon gas, homelessness was sold as a winning political issue for the liberals and it took off. With the help of a compliant media, the homeless issue was raised in prominence and soon state legislatures and Congress got wind and were encouraged to fork over billions of dollars.

Following the decision to dump taxpayer funds to the squeaky wheel of homelessness, the subject of accounting became important. Officials wanted the homeless counted to determine where to send money to provide the help needed. Unfortunately, that task is easier said than done. Advocates screamed that they could count but it wouldn't be representative. Instead, the homeless population would be estimated based on best guesses.

The estimates were considered valid for a short while but then it became obvious, through simple observation by officials and the public, that the best guesses could not possibly be near the truth. A notorious example occurred in Chicago in 2004 where 80,000 homeless were estimated and a census found less than 1,000.

With estimates of homelessness losing credibility, localities were forced to count people to justify receiving funds from the pot of gold. Now, virtually every community with more than a dozen or so homeless people conducts a yearly census. The number derived, however, isn't considered accurate until it has been massaged.

Homeless advocates rightly claim that it is impossible to get an exact count by taking a census. That's a fact and it's because homeless populations are dynamic with people arriving, people leaving, people finding homes and people losing homes continuously. And since an exact count doesn't adequately quantify the homeless problem, advocates throw in a correction factor which is apparently pulled out of the sky. Frequently, a multiplier is used. Four is common. So, if 150 homeless are identified in the census, typically, a corrected count of 600 is reported.

Furthermore, there's another problem with censuses of homeless people. There exists no one universal understanding of "homeless." Last I heard, Congress is working on an interpretation. Right now it seems that each locale relies upon its own criteria. Here's an example of the definition of homelessness from Dougherty County, Georgia:

[It] applies to an individual who lacks an adequate nighttime residence. This could mean those living on the street, which is referred to as unsheltered homelessness. It also includes the sheltered homeless, which is defined as those living in alternative housing such as shelters or hotels. Both are contained within the homeless count.

Frankly, I wouldn't consider people living in hotels as homeless. After all, Howard Hughes lived in a hotel for several years before he died and he was filthy rich and definitely not in need of a taxpayer-funded handout.

And, here's more to the same definition:

The count also includes those who are classified as precariously housed, or those living with someone else. It can also include those facing housing loss within a week and those in nonpermanent housing such as prisons or hospitals.

Maybe a reader can explain that blurb because it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It does, however, reflect an administrative expansion of the scope of the homeless problem. More people have been pencil-whipped into the realm of homelessness.

In any event, using the above criteria, the Dougherty County population of homeless is 75.

Based on the Dougherty County homeless count conducted for 2008, 71 percent of those homeless were sheltered while 20 percent were unsheltered. Of the individuals for whom data on race was available, 78 were African African and 18 were white. Of those identified as homeless (sheltered or unsheltered), 25 of the 75 respondents indicated they had been homeless more than a year.

Therefore, of the 75 people identified as homeless, 78 were African-American and 18 were white. Inexplicably, nine percent were in some undefined state -- neither sheltered nor unsheltered. Okay, readers, make sense of that.

One last point, the federal budget for homelessness is around $2 billion a year. That's a lot of cabbage being made available and distributed largely based on homeless (as corrected) census numbers. Remember the following because it's important.

The people who generally provide the homeless numbers, which determine the amount of cabbage to be distributed, are the same people who receive the cabbage.

Consider a politician, who garners votes based upon his record, as having a natural inclination to exaggerate. Exaggeration by a politician means more votes. Exaggeration by homeless advocates garners more cabbage.

I'm not alleging fraud by homeless advocates but I am alleging fudge, an enormous amount of fudge.

In conclusion, fifty years ago some bums were on America's city streets. That problem has been solved. The bums were renamed as homeless, the definition of homeless was expanded to include hundreds of thousands of people who never were bums, and a massive government giveaway program was created.

To be boldly honest, the bum population of fifty years ago still exists, with new bums, probably equal in number or more, on the same city streets. The liberal solution solved nothing but led to an expansion of government and a two billion taxpayer-dollar per year welfare giveaway.

Liberalism: Making more people dependent on government day by day -- following the road to serfdom.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/23/2008 12:37:00 PM

Feds Bust Bay Area MS-13, Mayor Newsom Claims Credit

(San Francisco, California) Raids at a dozen Bay Area locations yesterday by federal agents resulted in the arrests several suspected Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) members. According to U.S. Attorney Joe Russoniello, it was a "major takedown."

It's always good news when criminal illegals are busted. Check the link for the whole story.

Curiously, though, the statement from Mayor Gavin Newsom's office which, of course, had to weigh in on a major takedown in the San Francisco area, borders on ludicrous.

Nate Ballard, spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, said the city's police department has worked with federal authorities on the case for years "and we are proud of the investigative work that our Police Department has been involved with."

What a bunch of hooey. They're trying to take credit for something they aggressively work against. It's fairly common knowledge that San Francisco is kissy-faced impunity for illegals, criminal or otherwise.

I hope San Franciscans don't buy this pungent bull manure. Per direction of Newsom and the city council, illegal alien criminals have had free reign in the sanctuary city of San Francisco so now we are to believe that there has been cooperation with the federal agencies? Hah!

The mayor and his buddies are obviously playing to the useful idiots.

For comparison, it's reported that Richmond Police officers actually assisted federal agents in conducting the raids. You can bet your plums that if any San Francisco Police officers had assisted the feds, they would likely be assigned to a warehouse paper-pushing job.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/23/2008 08:54:00 AM

Some practical socialism


Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign the read "Vote Obama, I need the money." I laughed. Once in the restaurant my server had on a "Obama 08" tie, again I laughed--just imagine the coincidence.

When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need-- the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.

Source


Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 10:36:00 PM

Stem Cells from Testicles

(Hamburg, Germany) German researchers have made a breakthrough in stem cell research which bypasses the ethical and legal restrictions of using human embryonic stem cells. Nutty as it sounds, the scientists get stem cells from men's testicles.

The researchers from the Universities of Tuebingen and Cologne in Germany, and King's College London, say that routine biopsies of men's testicles could provide a new source of stem cells, which could be as good as embryonic stem cells for researching and developing treatments for a range of serious diseases, but without the ethical and legal problems of embryonic stem cells.

Now there is new hope for personalized treatment of men with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and various forms of cancer. Their own testicles can be tapped for cells to create stem cells for repair or replacement of damaged tissue.

According to lead researcher Thomas Skutella, "We made them into skin, structures of the gut, cartilage, bone, muscle and neurons."

If further research shows that the resulting cells are normal, it could allow men to grow their own tissue for transplant.

Cells could be taken from a Parkinson's disease patient's testicles, nurtured in a laboratory and turned into brain cells. The resulting cells could be further implanted into his brain to replace those lost to the disease.

Moreover, the same method could be used to create heart, pancreatic or liver cells.

One big advantage of the proposed treatment is that a man receiving stem cells derived from his own swinging jewel case will not experience any immune system rejection. Of course, on the negative side, the treatment would only work for men.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 09:36:00 PM

Dutch Abortion Boat

(Valencia, Spain) Since abortion is strictly regulated in Spain, the Dutch abortion boat run by the non-profit group, Women on Waves, pulled into port for four days to perform pregnancy terminations. The number of abortions performed was not reported.

It's not known whether the Dutch are planning to operate a euthanasia boat.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 04:54:00 PM

Louisiana Beauty Queen Arrested

The producer of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Teen Louisiana USA beauty pageants, RPM Productions, has announced that 18-year-old Lindsey Evans has been stripped of her title.

The crown was taken after Evans was arrested last Saturday in Bossier City, Louisiana, for allegedly skipping out on a restaurant bill.

"Lindsey Evans has been part of an organization that believes in opportunities when earned and consequences when warranted.

Due to recent circumstances, Lindsey has been relieved of her duties as Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2008 effective immediately," the group's executive director Paula Miles said in a prepared statement.

"RPM Productions, Inc. wishes Lindsey success in her future endeavors."

According to this source, Lindsey Evans is apparently not a rocket scientist.

She was out with a group of friends eating at a restaurant and racked up a bill worth $46.07.

Instead of paying the bill though, Evans decided to just leave with the group of friends.

Unfortunately for her, she left her purse there, and went back to get it, only to be met by the police waiting for her.

On top of the restaurant bill issue, marijuana was found in the purse of Evans.

So, genius Evans skips and leaves her identification and illegal marijuana behind. Evans faces charges of theft and possession of marijuana. Yes, readers, we're in dumb criminal territory.

By the way, she had three accomplices, all young women. Time for some spankings, I think.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 04:22:00 PM

eBay and Ivory

The sale of ivory products will be banned on eBay starting in January in order to protect African and Asian elephants.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 03:04:00 PM

Military Dog Hospital Opens

(Lackland Air Force Base, Texas) Called the "Walter Reed of the veterinary world," a $15 million hospital for military dogs opened yesterday. No question, military dogs are valuable assets and they deserve the best in medical care.

Dogs working for all branches of the military and the Transportation Safety Administration, are trained at Lackland Air Force Base to find explosive devices, drugs and land mines. Some 2,500 are currently working with military units.

Like soldiers and Marines on the battlefront, military dogs suffer war wounds and routine health issues that need to be treated to ensure they can continue working.

Dogs injured in Iraq or Afghanistan get emergency medical treatment on the battlefield and are flown for care to Germany. If necessary, they’ll fly on to San Antonio for more advanced treatment -- much like wounded human personnel.

Woof! Woof!

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 01:42:00 PM

Let’s Never Find Out: Part 3 -- Punished


Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama

Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill

Here's Part 3 from Pro Ecclesia:

__________________________________________________________

NOTE: The videos are from NeverFindOut.org, a project of Let Freedom Ring.

Post is part of the HOPE ON Project (Help Ohio Prevent Electing Obama Now).

__________________________________________________________


Video — “Punished with a Baby” (direct YouTube link is here):





Transcript:

WOMAN: Senator Obama, I’m afraid. In March, you told America:

OBAMA: “I’ve got two daughters. If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”

WOMAN: Punished. I’m afraid because I’m a mother and I can’t imagine what this country would become if its President could look upon a baby as a punishment. And I’m afraid, because those children that you spoke of as a punishment would be your very own grandchildren.

ANNOUNCER: What happens when we elect a President who has disregard for human life? Please, America, let’s never find out.

__________________________________________________________

At Pro Ecclesia, a thoughtful and, I believe, convincing discussion of the topic is provided with a focus on Obama's documented statements, decisions and attitudes regarding children as punishment. Go visit.

My take? It is hard to dispute the contention that leftists consider human life as tolerable only when convenient. Bothersome lives are expendable.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 11:24:00 AM

Vacate or Else

(Guangzhou, China) It appears that real estate developers use innovative methods to encourage homeowners to sell their property. Here's a case where the developer gave a lone holdout some added incentive to move. A moat was dug around the property.

According to Ms. Li, the family was awaken on early morning of October 13 by loud machine noises. They came out and saw that seven or eight workers operating a bulldozer. The neighbors tried to stop the work. "The workers said that they were digging out the steel beams underneath the earth. But this was just several meters from our house. What if they collapse the building?" Although Ms. Li and her neighbors protested, the digging continued. In one week's time, a crescent-shaped moat appeared.

"This is cutting off our connection to the outside world!" Ms. Li said the moat caused a number of senior citizens with poor health to stay trapped inside their own homes. It also caused great inconvenience to them." In July this year, someone let loose some snakes into their home. They suspected that it was a way to get them to leave.

A moat? Snakes? I wonder what else the developer will try.

(more)
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 10:13:00 AM

Advertising for Atheism

(London, England) The British Humanist Association (BHA) has raised money to place atheist ads on and inside London's buses. Prominent leader in the atheist faith, Professor Richard Dawkin, is contributing a matching £5,500 donation and BHA has now raised more than £20,300 of its own accord.


Bus with atheist slogan
BHA plans to purchase advertising on dozens of bendy-buses for four weeks.

The BHA is also considering extending the campaign to cities including Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

The complete slogan reads: 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.'

Professor Dawkins said: 'Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride - automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children.

'Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side.

'This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion.'

Faith is faith whether one believes in a God or not. Therefore, missionary work by the followers of atheism should be expected. And don't believe the part about religious people not thinking. Believe instead that intentionally insulting most of humankind is arrogant and disrespectful.

It's one thing to disagree with your neighbor and make your points. It's an entirely different thing to call your neighbor a moron.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 09:12:00 AM

Afghan Reporter Sentenced for "Insulting Islam"

(Kabul, Afghanistan) A 24-year-old Afghan reporter, Perwiz Kambaksh, was sentenced by an appeals court yesterday to 20 years in jail for blasphemy. Kambaksh had originally been sentenced to death and has spent a year in jail waiting for the appeal.

The appeal court "has eliminated the possibility of his being executed, but it has also exposed the degree to which some Afghan judges are susceptible to pressure from fundamentalists," it said in a statement.

"Kambakhsh was able this time to be represented by a lawyer, but the appeal proceedings were marred by ideological distortion, a glaring lack of evidence and incomprehensible delays that ended up undermining the court's serenity."

The reporter was not given a lawyer at his first trial in the northern province of Balkh in January at which he was sentenced to death after a hearing that lasted minutes.

Last month, a different reporter was sentenced to 20 years in jail for publishing a translation of the Koran which contained errors.

Obviously, freedom of speech and press are unknown concepts in Afghanistan.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/22/2008 08:48:00 AM

Teacher Caught with Crack Cocaine

(Westerly, Rhode Island) Last Friday, a 34-year-old sixth-grade teacher at the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, Alison Sposato, was arrested by Westerly Police for possession of crack cocaine.

Sposato taught ESL - English as a Second Language - classes at the New London, CT, school.

She was booked into custody and later released on $10,000 bond.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 11:43:00 PM

Smelly Politics

Review and discuss:

Obama For America general counsel Bob Bauer has sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking for a Special Prosecutor to investigate John McCain, Sarah Palin and other Republicans for "fomenting specious vote fraud allegations." Bauer claims that Republicans nationwide are colluding to make fraud allegations against ACORN.

Apparently, Bauer considers widespread reports of voter fraud allegedly perpetrated by ACORN to be baseless and anyone calling for an investigation deserves to be investigated.

This tactic is similar to what was done to Joe the Plumber. Joe asked Obama a question and Obama accidentally told the truth, indicating his socialist leanings. To sidetrack any emphasis being placed on Obama's answer to Joe's question, Democrat operatives immediately started investigating Joe. Within 24 hours, Joe the Plumber had his life's history picked over. All that for asking a question.

Now, an Obama functionary is going after key Republicans merely because they asked for an investigation of ACORN after the organization was linked to alleged voting irregularities in several states.

Extra credit: Imagine the Department of Justice under President Obama.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 10:31:00 PM

Toledo Teachers Send Schoolchildren Campaigning?

Frankly, I suspect that teachers directing schoolchildren to campaign during an election cycle happens much more often than is reported.

It shouldn't happen at all.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 08:49:00 PM

Toronto's Greenie Food Program Scaled Down

(Toronto, Ontario) The city of Toronto has scaled back on plans to provide locally-grown, green-friendly food to city-run daycares, shelters and long-term care facilities. Problems with the plans have been encountered and the scope of the program will now be limited to only 37 child care centers.

Buying more local food is a major part of the city's climate-change policy, adopted unanimously in 2007, on the grounds that greenhouse-gas emissions are reduced if food is shipped shorter distances.

But Councillor Gord Perks said the city has learned it's not easy for institutional purchasers to determine where food is grown.

"We want to create a system where you actually know how the food got there," he said, arguing now for a phased-in program. [...]

Staff will be asked to report back on the pilot project and how the idea can be expanded before the 2010 budget process.

"I think the principle is a good one," said Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, who chairs the government management committee. "I think we should encourage our farmers to keep farming."

She had concerns about the earlier report, which called for "local" and "sustainable" food, terms that are hard to define.

In summary, the greenie food program is plagued because nobody can easily identify where food is grown and nobody has defined "local" nor "sustainable." However, despite not competently analyzing the fundamentals of the proposed program, the Toronto City Council decided to allocate at least $100,000 of the city's food budget to the greenie food program. Hurrying to fall behind. Helluva way to run a city.

To be fair, though, the council appears to want "farmers to keep farming."
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 07:59:00 PM

Let’s Never Find Out: Part 2 -- Drill, Baby, Drill


Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama

Here's Part 2 from the NixGuy:

__________________________________________________________




Transcript:

WOMAN: Senator Obama, you say that punitive taxes on oil companies will solve our energy problems. But economists say windfall taxes will only raise the price of gasoline. You say you’re against offshore drilling. But experts say we need to maximize oil supply while we develop alternative energy. Senator, you are running for President, not us. Why do we need to explain this to you?

ANNOUNCER: What happens when we elect a Senator who doesn't understand supply and demand?  Please, America, let’s never find out.


On energy the choice couldn't be more clear. Here's Barack Obama:



On one side we have a liberal who is beholden to the environmentalist lobby.  He would rather we keep sending our cash to the Middle East rather than keep it here. 

And on the other side we have an bonafide energy expert, Sarah Palin, who has successfully managed Alaska's natural resources (at least in the areas where the Federal government so graciously allows Alaskans to use their own land).

Kudlow: How long would it take? How long would it take? I hear so many, Senator Obama says this, and a lot of Democrats say this, some Republicans, how long will it take Governor? What’s your estimate on this? To start lifting out of ANWR?

Palin: It’s going to take at least five years.

You know, and there are other areas in Alaska too, that have the reserves that need to be tapped, certainly offshore. There’s trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, and billions of barrels of oil there too that need to be tapped.

We also have a natural gas pipeline that is underway now, a process to get that constructed, where we can build infrastructure and allow known reserves of natural gas up on our North Slope - it’s already there, it’s already proven -- to be tapped and flow through a natural gas pipeline.

Our legislature is dealing with that issue right now, getting ready to license a company to build that gas line. Again, to feed these hungry markets

And more of Sarah Palin doing her thing here:



If you are at all concerned that energy costs might skyrocket out of control again, or about the fact that we are trading billions of dollars to the Middle East where it distorts the influence of those countries on us and our foreign policy, then you vote McCain/Palin.

Obama's energy policy:  solar, electric cars and miracle fuels (Same Stuff Jimmy Carter did to no avail), campaign conversions on coal and a very late campaign "conversion" on offshore drilling.

McCain/Palin:  solar energy, electric cars, efficiency, nuclear energy, clean coal, offshore drilling + Energy expert Governor Palin.

Not even a close choice.  Jobs and cheap energy: McCain/Palin
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 06:52:00 PM

Some Offs Are Up

Suicide rates among Americans are trending upward.

The suicide rate in the U.S. rose from 1999 to 2005, the first increase after a decline of more than a decade, fueled by a 17 percent rise among middle-aged whites, researchers reported today.

Middle-aged men continued to kill themselves at a much higher rate than middle-aged women, while the rate rose faster in women than men. Rates of suicide declined slightly among blacks and Asians of all ages, as well as among white teenagers and adults younger than 40. They fell even more in people 65 and older.

Yet the number of white people ages 40 to 64 who took their own lives increased, to 17.5 for every 100,000 people in 2005 from 14.9 per 100,000 in 1999. The numbers surprised Susan Baker, a professor at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, who said yesterday in a telephone interview she was worried "the trend may continue or get worse.''

"I don't know what's going on with this age group,'' said Baker, who led the analysis, which was published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

I recall reading that middle-aged homosexual men are prone to severe depression and commit suicide at a relatively high rate. I suggest it is part of the reason for the bump in middle-aged male suicides.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 06:16:00 PM

Filed in Folded Fat

(Jacksonville, Florida) A 25-year-old inmate at the Montgomery Correctional Center, Cedric Webb, faces new charges after officers found he was hiding contraband in folds of his stomach fat.

Webb is described as heavy at 6 feet 2 inches and 290 pounds.

According to the police report, when Webb raised his shirt, the officer saw two bags of marijuana and tobacco tucked into his stomach fat.

Investigators said the drugs then fell to the ground.

The report said Webb would not explain how he got the banned substances into the facility.

In addition to new charges of introduction of contraband and possession of marijuana, Webb faces counts of cocaine possession and forgery from last May.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 03:05:00 PM

Pro-Illegal Mayor Resigns

Digger sends this breaking story from last night:

Word is coming in from the head of Save Shenandoah, Joe Miller, that the Mayor of Shenandoah, PA, Tom O'Neill, resigned at the City Council meeting tonight after demands were made from those in the community that he should do so. The Mayor stated that his resignation is due to his wife's illness, and that it will be effective January 1, 2009.

However, there was no talk of his resigning before the demands from the community and the recent rallies put on by Voice of the People USA and Save Shenandoah in the community. Residents were fed up with his inaction on issues in the community including crime, illegal immigration and the decline throughout the community due to those two issues.

Score one for the good guys. Mayor O'Neill apparently failed to adequately respond to citizens' complaints regarding illegal aliens and, with the help of Digger and others, it seems the townspeople convinced the mayor that it would be better for him to step down.

More at Diggers Realm.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 12:27:00 PM

"Muslims of the Americas" Cop Killer Sentenced

(Fresno, California) Yesterday, a member of the radical Muslims of the Americas group, Ramadan Abdullah, was sentenced to life in prison for the 2001 killing of a Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Erik Telen.

Last Friday, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Ralph Nunez found Abdullah, 27, guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances for fatally shooting Telen.

Judge Nunez sentenced Abdullah to life in prison without parole. Defense lawyers argued that Abdullah should be instead treated for mental illness and have the possibility of parole. The judge denied any consideration of parole but did recommend treatment while incarcerated.

Abdullah's lawyers said he was remorseful. Abdullah said nothing during yesterday's proceedings.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 09:20:00 AM

So you think you can trust snopes.com?

I rarely put up emails I receive but the one below coincides with my own experience and I think the facts of the matter need to be known. Amusingly, I looked for the email on snopes and it was not mentioned!


We have all become accustomed to going to snopes.com to verify hoax emails and other facts but did you know that, regarding political issues, snopes is not the source to go to?

I became suspicious after going to snopes.com and typing in the search word 'Obama' which brought up almost every known accusation against Obama. Surprisingly, virtually each and every one of them was labeled 'false' or had some other explanation rendering it not true. Then I did a search using the search word 'McCain' and lo and behold.... there was virtually nothing that came up regarding accusations made against McCain but again brought up some of the same things that McCain supporters have made against Obama and again....claiming them 'false'.

I then did a web search on 'snopes.com' and found many articles and websites stating that snopes.com is a known liberal biased website. Here's a quote off of one website: 'Snopes is reluctant to admit that most of the conservative political and religious emails are 'true' as far as snopes can determine. There is always a disclaimer, footnote or lengthy oratory explaining why everything from crime statistics to reports from Iraq must be viewed and understood through the 'snopes lens.'

Need more proof? Do your own web search on snopes and find many more things there talking about the political bias of snopes. So any of you who have misguided liberal friends or family that keep throwing 'check snopes.com' in your face, please understand what you are looking at and inform those that use it as a crutch that it is a biased website that may be good to check email hoaxes, but not one to go to for political facts!!



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 08:59:00 AM

Violence in Mexico

From Excelsior (Mexico City):

A total of 12 men, two of them city police and another a city official, were assassinated in a 12-hour period in the cities of Tijuana and Rosarito Beach, Baja California, reported the state’s Attorney General.

The other homicides included three bodies dissolved in acid, one decapitation, one asphyxiation and the rest riddled by gunfire.

This brings the total of such gang-style murders in the area to 140 in three weeks, or more than six per day.

Note that this is only an example of the wanton violence in Mexico. I could flood this blog with nothing but reports of killings and reports of finding bodies. It's arguably a nation of lawlessness with murder an everyday fact of life.

More here.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 08:43:00 AM

Multiculturalism

From Borderfire Report:

Multiculturalists use mass immigration as a beachhead for undermining America’s sovereignty and usurp the assimilation process by breaking down traditional cultural barriers.

In plain words, they expect to destroy America’s culture by degrading it into a menagerie of competing cultures.

We’re watching a complete displacement of a successful culture by a plethora of failed cultures invading America’s heartland.

Well said! Multiculturalism presumes that all cultures are equally successful. History proves otherwise.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 08:29:00 AM

Lion Put to Sleep

(Tucson, Arizona) Even the king of the beasts cannot deny Father Time.

Reid Park Zoo's 21-year-old African lioness was euthanized Monday morning after zoo officials deemed her progressive arthritis and old age too much for her to bear.

A-Tatu's health had been watched carefully by zoo officials over the past few years, said Reid Park Zoo administrator Susan Basford.

After careful medical consideration between supervisors and the zoo veterinarian, the decision was made to put her to sleep, she said.

Lions customarily live to about 20 years old in captivity as compared to only 15 years in the wild. This fact likely chafes animal rights activists who believe zoos are inhumane.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/21/2008 08:11:00 AM

Terrorists Attack Turkish Embassy in Finland

(Helsinki, Finland) Four members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, were arrested for an attack on the Turkish Embassy early this morning. One person was injured.

The attack occurred only a few hours after Kurds demonstrated outside the embassy in support of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the PKK.

The door of the embassy building was set ablaze around 3:00 am (0000 GMT), though the fire was quickly detected by a police patrol and extinguished, police said.

"We have four young men detained and we are questioning them to determine if they were involved," chief inspector Markku Stenberg told AFP.

Finnish media reported some of the detained were of Kurdish origin, but Stenberg would not comment on those reports.

While police said no one was injured in the attack, the embassy said in a statement that the blaze had "caused material damage in the entrance of the embassy and one functionary was hospitalised."

"We strongly condemn this act which carries all the signs of a politically motivated terroristic (sic) attack carried out by the PKK/KONGRA-GEL terrorist organisation," it said.

This incident is notable since it's a reminder that terrorists respect no borders. Any location on the globe is a potential target.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 11:00:00 PM

Colorado Woman Accused of Burning Dog

(Lakewood, Colorado) A 38-year-old Lakewood woman, Tanya Martin, was arrested for allegedly burning her dog Bobo by placing it on a burning telephone book on a lit burner on her stove.

A neighbor alerted the authorities when the dog was heard yelping.

"My initial thought was that the dog was gonna die. The burns looked pretty bad", said West Metro Firefighter Mark Warriner.

When Warriner arrived to a structure fire call at this Lakewood apartment he and his crew, put out a phone book burning on a stove.

"It just wasn't a good thing", said Warriner.

Soon after, police on scene telling him that the dog's owner Tanya Martin, lit the fire, bound Bobo's legs and put the dog on the burning book on the stove.

Bobo sustained burns over half his body and is now recovering at an animal hospital.

Tanya Martin was booked into custody. She faces charges of arson and animal abuse.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 03:24:00 PM

Let's Never Find Out: Part 1 -- Part of the Problem

Note: This is the first of what will be 13 posts on why Barack Obama is a dangerous, objectionable, and objectively unfit candidate to be president of the United States (while many of the other candidates are not).

The daily videos involved will be from NeverFindOut.org, a project of Let Freedom Ring (donation link is here).

This post is part of the fledgling HOPE ON Project (Help Ohio Prevent Electing Obama Now). Other SOB participants today include these (will update as time allows) Maggie Thurber, Buckeye RINO, NixGuy, Freedom's Right.

________________________________________________

Video -- "Part of the Problem":

Transcript:

Part of the Problem

WOMAN: Senator Obama, the papers say that you are benefiting politically from the financial crisis.

MAN: But if America knew the facts, I don’t know how they could vote for you.

WOMAN: John McCain tried to blow the whistle on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over two years ago. In 2006, he told the Senate, “For years, I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…. The GSEs (government-sponsored enterprises) need to be reformed without delay.”

MAN: No wonder he didn’t get their political contributions. And who opposed the reforms John McCain was calling for? Barack Obama, Christopher Dodd, and John Kerry.

WOMAN: Wait, it gets better. Guess who received campaign contributions from the people who drove Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae into the ground? Barack Obama, Christopher Dodd and John Kerry.

MAN: John McCain saw this coming. You, Senator Obama, have been part of the problem.

ANNOUNCER: What happens when we elect a Senator who’s part of the biggest financial crisis in U.S. history? Please, America, let’s never find out.

Additional Commentary by Tom Blumer:

This could be a book (and should be), but here is a chronology of what happened:

The Jimmy Carter- "inspired," Bill Clinton- "enhanced" Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) intimidated banks and the GSE into lending money to people who were unreasonable credit risks.

The GSEs facilitated the extension of risky credit by buying risky mortgage loans the banks originated. They did so by reducing the credit-score approval thresholds built into their credit analysis software programs (Desktop Underwriter at Fannie Mae, Loan Prospector at Freddie Mac) for both conventional and subprime (i.e., very risky) loans.

GSE executive management was heavily populated by Democrats who had been in government service (e.g., Franklin Raines, who is, incredibly, a current Obama adviser). Managements at both companies cooked the books and let accounting chaos reign. Both companies paid out wildly excessive bonuses based on fictitious earnings.

Attempts like McCain's to reform the two GSEs were met with cries of "racism" by Democrats in Congress who thought lending money to people who had a high likelihood of not paying it back, thereby ruining their credit, was a good idea.

The high default rates on loans purchased by the two GSEs led both companies into receivership, and shook the mortgage lending industry to its foundations, and lead to the most serious declines in real estate values in generations.

The collapses at the two GSEs created contributed to problems that were so far-reaching that the government felt compelled to formulate a "bailout" plan that could very cost future generations hundreds of billions of dollars.

The financial-sector problems that can be laid at the feet of the GSEs are negatively affecting the rest of the economy. After 6 years of virtually uninterrupted growth, a recession could occur.

Barack Obama's role in all of this was one of contributing to the problem as a young lawyer/"activist" (suing a banking giant to intimidate it into making irresponsible loans), and failure to act to prevent the GSE train wreck while a US senator.

This is not "Judgment to Lead." Electing someone so beholden to so many who are so corrupt is more like a recipe for calamity.

Source
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 02:16:00 PM

More Russian Arms Going to Chavez

(Caracas, Venezuela) Here's the latest on the expanding Venezuelan military.

Russia's state corporation Rosoboronexport, an exporter of arms, said on Wednesday that Russia and Venezuela are ready to sign within one month a contract to deliver third generation BMP-3 armored personnel carriers.

"The direction of the military-technical cooperation with Venezuela is going vertically up," Igor Sevastyanov, deputy general director of Rosoboronexport arms exporter, was quoted as saying by Interfax.

He added that both countries are holding discussions on sales of multiple rocket launching systems and artillery, EFE reported.

Sevastyanov stressed that such agreements would result in Russian-Venezuelan military cooperation increasing considerably.

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, promised Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, during their meeting last September 25 in Moscow, that he would deliver new weapons to the South American country.

Weapons purchases here, weapons purchases there and soon someone will get the idea that Chavez is planning for war. If political troubles bother him too much, I'd speculate that he's not above invading one of his neighbors in a wag the dog move. Guyana might be a target.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 01:07:00 PM

Michigan Woman Accused of Sex with Boy

(Lenawee County, Michigan) A 31-year-old married woman, Jennifer Rae Merriman, faces trial this week for allegedly engaging in sex with an underage teen boy.

Merriman has been charged with five counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for having sex or oral sex with a boy who is 13, 14, or 15 years old.

The alleged crimes happened from January to May 2007 in Woodstock Township in the northwest corner of Lenawee County, police and prosecutors allege.

She was arrested in March and the case was to go to trial Wednesday.

It is unclear what relationship Merriman has or had to the boy or under what circumstances the alleged assaults occurred. A friend of the victim's family said she was the boy's baby sitter.

If convicted, Merriman faces a possible 15 years in prison.

[11/14/08]

Merriman gets jail.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 10:58:00 AM

Greenies Want Cars Scrapped

(United Kingdom) Forget about the odometer reading and the condition of your car, the green-minded Einsteins at the Royal Auto Club Foundation wants it scrapped when it reaches a certain age -- currently recommended at 18 years old.

Naturally, the call to scrap cars will progress toward legislation with dictates to confiscate your private property.

It's a bad idea. Let's hope it's scrapped.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 09:24:00 AM

Study: Snoring Linked to Erectile Dysfunction

According to a scientific study by the German Sleep Society, snoring and flaccid penises are directly related.

“Seventy percent of sleep apnea patients have erectile dysfunction,” project leader Martin Konermann said while presenting the group's findings over the weekend in Kassel.

With both snoring and erectile dysfunction, the same regulatory functions are at work in the veins, Konermann said. The same blood flow mechanism that creates an erection also ensures that the airway remains clear during sleep. “When that doesn’t function, people snore and the blood flow to the penis or labia doesn’t occur.”

Every healthy man has erections in his sleep, which sometimes last up to an hour. It is simply the body’s way of regularly testing circulation “the way cars need a regular brake test,” Konermann said.

"Glad to see you? No Ma'am, just testing the brakes."

On the serious side, one has to assume that solving the snoring problem would also promote successful brake tests.

Fortunately, the British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been made aware of the adverse health effects of snoring and has taken the issue under advisement with one proposed solution having received some media attention in the recent past.

Continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) devices (example pictured), costing from $800 to $1,200, have been presented as remedies for sufferers of sleep apnea and snoring. Of course, correcting the snoring problem would also presumably help men with erectile dysfunction.

Frankly, though, if a man attempted to wear one of the remarkably unromantic devices while making use of an erection, he would probably be flying solo.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 09:03:00 AM

Eminent and much acclaimed German scientist has near-psychotic delusion




And this article both documents the imbecility and shows it for what it is. Unfortunately it is in German so I will just present and translate an excerpt. The key point is in one of those huge long-winded German sentences so I guess that I had better translate it all:

<

Als im Oktober weltweit die Boersen eine noch nie dagewesene Talfahrt begannen und am 9. Oktober ein regelrechter Crash zu beobachten war, der binnen Stunden reale Werte in der Hoehe von hunderten von Milliarden Euro vernichtete, als die Regierungen weltweit fieberhaft daran arbeiteten riesige uns alle belastende Rettungspakete fuer das angeschlagene internationale Finanzwesen zu schnueren, trat der Kanzlerinberater Prof. Dr. Schellnhuber seines Zeichens Chef des Potsdam Instituts fuer Klimafolgenforschung (PIK) und bekanntester Klimakatastrophenforscher der Republik zusammen mit seinem Mentor und Zahlmeister Sigmar Gabriel ungeruehrt vor die verdutzten Berliner Medien und erklaerte professoral, da  die Finanzkrise (1) ja nur virtuelle Werte vernichtete, das Abschmelzen des Groendlandeises sei aber real und unumkehrbar.

While in October worldwide the stock-exchanges began a never-before-seen fall and on the 9th of October a real crash could be observed which within hours wiped out real assets as high as hundreds of millions of Euros, while governments worldwide feverishly made giant efforts to put together a rescue-package for the stricken international financial system, Chancellor-adviser and chief of the Potsdam Institute for climate research (PIK) and the best known climate catastrophist of the republic, Prof. Dr. Schellnhuber, came calmly before the bewildered Berlin media with his mentor and paymaster Sigmar Gabriel and declared professorially that the finance-crisis (1) only wiped out virtual wealth but the melting of the Greenland ice is real and irreversible.

Phew! Sorry if that is a bit rough but German does that to you.

But do you see the idiocy? The melting of the Greenland ice is "irreversible". Not only has the Greenland icecap waxed and waned in geologic time but it has even waxed and waned in the 20th century! The man is a utter nut. Yet he must be one of the world's most eminent Germans. Read about him here and weep.

The rest of the article gives lots of the facts that refute the eminent man but just translating the sentence above exhausted me so maybe someone else will translate the rest. It is an excellent article. One hopes it will be widely read in Germany.

One of the points made in the article is from Prof. Hans von Storch -- who points out that there has been no correlation between sea-level and CO2 level over the last 1000 years. The article ends with the graph below, which also shows the irrelevance of CO2 levels.




Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 07:54:00 AM

Muslim-Owned Convenience Stores

Can you say, "Stolen goods and contraband cigarettes with profits going to support terrorism?" A federal indictment displays those words.

Just think, it might be your neighborhood Muslim-owned store.

To be fair, though, I'm certain that the postulated moderate Muslim population would not be doing anything nefarious.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 07:18:00 AM

Hindu Activist on Trial in Muslim Malaysia

(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) Classify this story as typical of the religion of peace and tolerance.

A PROMINENT ethnic Indian activist went on trial for sedition on Monday for claiming that the Malay Muslim-dominated government practiced 'ethnic cleansing' policies to persecute Malaysia's Indian minority.

P. Uthayakumar, a top official in the Hindu Rights Action Force activist group, was in court for his first public appearance since December 2007, when he and four other ethnic Indians were arrested and imprisoned without trial for allegedly inciting racial hatred.

Uthayakumar's group has returned to the spotlight after the government banned it last week and declared it an 'extremist group' that was 'detrimental to public order and security'.

The group shot to prominence last November when it led tens of thousands of ethnic Indians in a rare street protest calling for an end to pro-Malay policies and better opportunities for Indians, who are near the bottom of Malaysia's social ladder.

Uthayakumar, a key organiser of the rally, was charged with sedition in December for publishing material on a website that accused the government of 'ethnic cleansing' policies that included attacking and killing ethnic Indians.

Malaysia is only one of many Muslim countries which show little patience with infidels. Some nations pretend to be democracies but only as long as Muslims are superior. Any challenge to Muslim dominance is viewed as a threat to national security.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 06:52:00 AM

Scouts Sex Training

(Manchester, England) Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting 101 years ago, told youngsters with sexual urges to "'wash your parts in cold water and cool them down." Now, the guidance is being revised.

A new factsheet for leaders covers issues such as when to supply contraception and pregnancy tests and what a leader should do if they suspect a young person is being exploited or coerced into a sexual relationship. [...]

Leaders will be given a web-based directory of organisations where professional advice on sexual health can be obtained, including contact details for Brook Advisory Centres, Childline and NHS Direct.

Leaders will be given a `Yellow Card' detailing their Code of Behaviour and under what circumstances to offer advice. It includes stringent regulations about leaders having sexual relations with members who are over the age of consent.

I'd like to see this so-called "Yellow Card."
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 06:31:00 AM

Madonna Like "Piece of Gristle" in the Sack

Madonna and Guy Ritchie are divorcing, partly because her obsession with physical fitness. Ritchie said that making love to Madonna is like "cuddling a piece of gristle."

In other news, Madonna said she wants a natural child with baseball star Alex Rodriguez because he's a "great specimen."

Of all the accolades A-Rod has ever hoped to achieve, I suspect "great specimen" wasn't on the list.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/20/2008 06:14:00 AM

Iran Claims Western Cooperation on Nuke Plant

(Tehran, Iran) Presumably, sanctions are being ignored.

An Iranian nuclear official claimed Sunday that Western countries had declared their readiness to cooperate with Iran in the construction of its first home-made nuclear reactor in south- western Iran, Mehr news agency reported.

The 360-megawatt light-water nuclear reactor in Darkhowayn is under the supervision of the country's Atomic Energy Organization and is due to be finished by 2012

"The main part of the project is being done by local experts, but we will of course also try to use international experience, and several Western countries have already declared their readiness to cooperate with us in this project," Mehr quoted Hamid Soltani, the project's general manager, as saying.

He did not disclose the names of the Western countries, but pointed out that Russia would not be involved as the plant was being built to Western standards.

It's curious that the names of the cooperating Western countries were not disclosed. If true, it won't be an enduring secret.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/19/2008 09:17:00 PM

Idaho Mom Gets Prison for Endangering Daughter, 9

(St. Anthony, Idaho) A 27-year-old local illegal alien mother, Isabel Chasarez, was sentenced this week to one to ten years in prison for not protecting her nine-year-old daughter from her boyfriend.

The boy friend, 38-year-old Guadalupe Gutierrez-Juarez, pleaded guilty to raping the nine-year-old and impregnating her.

The now 10-year-old gave birth in April.

In September, Chasarez admitted to one felony count of injury to a child as part of a plea agreement. Knowing she would be deported immediately, the agreement stated that Chasarez would serve probation but Judge Brent Moss believes her sentence shouldn't be so light.

"I don't think that just turning you loose to the INS is the best solution for you and your children," said Moss.

Prosecutor Penny Shaul argued that Chasarez knew her daughter was pregnant but failed to do anything about it.

"She gave this child a pregnancy test in January of 2008...about four months before the child was actually born," Shaul said.

As Shaul told the court the state has no problem allowing Chasarez to see her children, the defendant sobbed...then told Moss her family shouldn't be punished for her boyfriend's actions.

"She did not tell her daughter to say nothing about being pregnant. Her daughter never seemed to want to admit to being pregnant," said Brent Eames, Chasarez's attorney.

In the end, Moss ordered Chasarez to go to prison for one to ten years.

The Department of Corrections will determine when she will be deported after serving at least a year in prison.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/19/2008 07:01:00 PM

Child Day Care Owner Accused of Abuse

(Norco, California) A 40-year-old day care owner, Connie Lynn Barrett, surrendered to police on Thursday after a warrant was issued for her arrest. Barrett has been accused of multiple charges of inflicting injury to a child.

The arrest warrant stemmed from an investigation into Barrett Family Child Care that began when an 8-month-old girl being cared for there stopped breathing.

The infant had been going to Barrett's business for less than a month on Aug. 12 when she went into full cardiac arrest, according to court records, which cited family friends as saying the girl remains in a vegetative state.

A doctor said the girl, who was living with her aunt while her mother served with the U.S. Army in Iraq, showed symptoms of shaken-baby syndrome and severe brain injuries, the court records showed.

Doctors also diagnosed two healing rib fractures in an 11-month-old boy using Barrett's business a week before the 8-month-old was hospitalized, court documents showed.

Barrett was booked into custody and later released on $50,000 bail. Arraignment is scheduled for December 2.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/19/2008 06:11:00 PM

Car Wash Vacuum Sex Case

(Thomas Township, Michigan) A 29-year-old man (name withheld) was arrested on Thursday morning for allegedly receiving sexual favors from a car wash vacuum cleaner.

A local resident alerted police that suspicious activity was happening at the car wash.

According to Police Sgt. Gary Breidinger, an officer was dispatched. He parked some distance away, approached on foot and caught the man in the act of having sex with the vacuum.

The man was booked into custody at the Saginaw County Jail.

It's not known whether the suspect owns a car. It's also not known what criminal charge in the law books he will face. My guess would be misdemeanor public indecency or disturbing the peace as opposed to a sex charge.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/19/2008 09:14:00 AM

Moroccan Court Sends 45 Terrorists to Prison

(Rabat, Morocco) A Moroccan court convicted and sentenced 45 Islamist terrorists on Friday for last year's suicide bombing of an Internet cafe in Casablanca. The defendants were found guilty of forming a terrorist gang, making explosives, committing theft and forgery and failing to denounce terrorism.

According to defense lawyer Khalil Idrissi, the longest jail term was imposed upon Abdelkrim Ougard who was sentenced to 30 years.

All those convicted were accused of links to the March 2007 suicide bombing at in Casablanca. The bomber, Abdelfettah Raydi, 23, detonated his charge after the cafe's owner caught him surfing an Islamist website. After the blast, a police investigation found an alleged plot to attack Casablanca's port and police stations and tourist sites around Morocco.

Youssef Khouidri, who dropped his bombs and fled the scene of Raydi's blast, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Twelve others were given six to 15 years, and four people were acquitted, Idrissi said.

Unnamed rights groups have complained that many Islamists were given harsh sentences based on flimsy evidence. Nonetheless, it's understandable that the Moroccans would take a harsh view of terrorists since the nation has suffered serious attacks in the past. Notably, in 2003, 45 people were killed in a series of bomb attacks in Casablanca.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/19/2008 09:09:00 AM

EVEN HEAVILY PROPAGANDIZED COLLEGE STUDENTS PREFER THEIR OWN RACE


What do you think of the above heading? Do you think that 99% of Leftists would scream "racist" at it? I do. But the heading is in fact a fair summary of what was found in a perfectly respectable piece of academic research. It appeared in fact in a very prestigious psychology journal. And as a much published psychologist myself, I can get away with discussing it. See here, for instance.

I would however be looked at with great disapproval for mentioning the the findings to the "cattle" -- which is how most Leftist psychologists would in their own minds see the readers of this blog. And almost all academic psychologists are Leftist to some degree. I reproduce below the actual journal abstract:

Interracial Roommate Relationships: An Experimental Field Test of the Contact Hypothesis

By Natalie J. Shook and Russell H. Fazio

This study investigated how automatically activated racial attitudes are affected by relatively long-term interracial relationships. A natural field experiment was conducted in a college dormitory system. Participants were White freshmen who had been randomly assigned to either a White or an African American roommate. Students participated in two sessions during the first 2 and last 2 weeks of their first quarter on campus. During these sessions, they answered questions about their satisfaction and involvement with their roommates and completed an inventory of intergroup anxiety and an implicit measure of racial attitudes. Participants in interracial rooms reported less satisfaction and less involvement with their roommates than did participants in same-race rooms. However, automatically activated racial attitudes and intergroup anxiety improved over time among students in interracial rooms, but not among students in same-race rooms. Thus, the results suggest that interracial roommate relationships, although generally less satisfying and involving than same-race roommate relationships, do produce benefits.

Psychological Science, Volume 19 Issue 7, Pages 717 - 723, 2008

So you see that the privileged people can talk freely about some things that the general public may not.



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/19/2008 12:18:00 AM

Unclaimed Toddler Found in Illegal Alien Bust

(Phoenix, Arizona) Here's a sad story and a mystery.

A 2-year-old unclaimed child was found early Saturday in a van containing 12 illegal immigrants, Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies said.

A Maricopa County sheriff's deputy noticed a white Chevy passenger van make an abrupt u-turn at 43rd and Broadway avenues and when they pulled the van over, they found inside 12 illegal immigrants inside.

When they probed a little deeper, they also discovered a 2-year-old girl wedged in between some adults.

"I'm gravely concerned at the possibility that this child could have been kidnapped in Mexico and is being transported for sale here in the United States," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.

A kidnapping sounds somewhat logical because it's difficult to imagine that parents would abandon a two-year-old. However, the little girl might be an orphan, treated as property for sale to the highest bidder.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/18/2008 11:11:00 PM

Study: Alcohol Shrinks Brains

According to a study published in the Archives of Neurology, people who drink alcohol have a smaller brain volume than people who don't drink alcohol.

"Decline in brain volume -- estimated at 2 percent per decade -- is a natural part of aging," says Carol Ann Paul, who conducted the study when she was at the Boston University School of Public Health. She had hoped to find that alcohol might protect against such brain shrinkage.

"However, we did not find the protective effect," says Paul ... "In fact, any level of alcohol consumption resulted in a decline in brain volume."

There you go, more confusion. We now have a study to counter previous studies which found that a drink or two every day is beneficial to a person's health.

Couple the alcohol study with yesterday's report that coffee shrinks women's breasts and it's hard to dispute the contention that the constant flow of sketchy research reports does more to frighten and confound people than it helps.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/18/2008 09:37:00 PM

McCain Film Blocked by Hollywood

Until after the November election, Warner Brothers has blocked the release of a film about the Hanoi Hilton, featuring an interview with John McCain discussing his imprisonment. The film is a favorable portrayal.

Warner Brothers spokesman Ronnee Sass said, "It's just us trying to be cautious and not affect the election one way or the other."

Of course, the desire to not affect the election doesn't impact the release of any anti-Republican or anti-American Hollywood productions.

Hollywood producers obviously sense no shame nor hypocrisy as Machiavellian operatives for the leftists. Like the mainstream media, Hollywood is merely another group of useful idiots, united to make America into a socialist utopia.

Hanoi Hilton Director Lionel Chetwynd is pissed. "Finding someone in Hollywood who says they don't want to affect the election is like finding a virgin in a brothel," he complained.

Tip: The Bitch Girls

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/18/2008 07:59:00 PM

Woman Attacked, Man Beheaded

(Makkapurva, India) Here's a lesson on saving one's dignity.

Crowds in a busy market fled in terror as a woman walked among them holding aloft the severed head of a man who had attacked her.

Covered in blood, she held the head high like a trophy, said police - her way of showing that she had delivered her own kind of justice to her attacker.

The gruesome scene was played out in Makkapurva village, 170 miles south east of the Indian city of Lucknow, where, last night, the woman was being held behind bars.

According to police officer Ram Bharose, the unnamed 35-year-old woman had sliced off the man's head with a sickle she had been using to cut grass near her village.

'She was getting grass for her cattle when the man came up from behind her and tried to sexually assault her,' said Mr Bharose.

'In a bid to save her dignity, she turned on him and during a struggle managed to chop off his head with the sickle.'

It's being called a murder. I believe self-defense could be claimed.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/18/2008 02:09:00 PM

Japan Crushes Iran for UN Security Council Seat

(New York) Japan has been elected to a two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council, defeating Iran. The UN General Assembly cast 158 votes for Japan and 32 for Iran.

Some Security Council members portrayed the lopsided vote against Iran as an international referendum critical of the country's confrontational stance over its nuclear program.

Britain's UN ambassador, John Sawers, said: "Its comprehensive defeat -- a thrashing of Iran -- is a very important signal of the whole membership's concern about Iran's actions."

Even though the victory was lopsided, 32 countries indicated their willingness to follow the belligerent theocrats of Iran. That is disturbing.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/18/2008 12:19:00 PM

Headline: Black Guy Shoots White Big Shot

This vid is worth watching twice. Frankly, I was surprised and -- uh -- tickled.

Sneak Peek #1 of Boston Legal: Dances with Wolves

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       Following Entry Posted 10/18/2008 11:35:00 AM

Fake But Accurate

Received this pic in an email.




It's photoshopped.

Here's the original. Thanks to Fred who shot the waterspout/lightning pic (without the oil rig) in 1993 in Florida.

In any event, it's interesting.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/18/2008 09:31:00 AM

Obama Supporter Sues McCain for 'Hate Speech'

We read:

"Missouri voter Mary Kay Green has had enough. The supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama filed a lawsuit this week over what she claims is dangerous "hate speech" coming from the rival campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

Green, a 66-year-old grandmother and "semi-retired" civil rights attorney, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Kansas City this week accusing McCain, his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and their campaign manager Rick Davis of "intentionally, recklessly and irresponsibly" portraying Obama "as un-American, a terrorist by association, and `not like us,' a non-white individual."

Palin, Green alleges in her lawsuit, has at her rallies used false statements to work supporters "into a frenzy causing them to make death threats" against Obama.

The lawsuit claims that Green "suffers terror of the heart, anxiety and grave fear for the life of Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Barack Obama" because of the McCain campaign's efforts to invoke hatred against Obama.

Source

All investigations have found that NO-ONE said "kill him" about Obama at a GOP rally. It is just a report that sprang from the fevered imagination of one reporter.


Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/17/2008 04:18:00 PM

McCain Endorsement Riles Newspaper's Readers

(Napa, California) More than 100 demonstrators gathered outside the offices of the Napa Valley Register this week to protest rally an editorial in last Sunday's newspaper which endorsed John McCain for President.

Led by Democrat Party organizers who made it clear it was a rally and not a protest, the demonstrators shouted that the Register doesn't represent the voters of Napa County, that the newspaper's editorial page is biased and that it is out of touch. Yeah, it was a rally. But as soon as they were fired up, they started to protest.

It's not clear whether the demonstrators wanted the Register's editorial board to do something different, like coming up with a new opinion, or if they were just letting off steam. The demonstrators did, however, attack the publisher, Brenda Speth, for making the final decision on the editorial.

This all seems silly to me. If they don't like what the newspaper contains, they shouldn't read it.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/17/2008 03:15:00 PM

Glenn Beck Jumps to Fox News Channel

Announced yesterday, Glenn Beck has been hired to host a 5 to 6 PM weeknight show on Fox News Channel, starting in the spring. Beck's contract with CNN ends in February.

Apparently, Beck and CNN could not agree on contract terms, leaving an opening for Roger Ailes, chairman of Fox News, to make an offer.

Since Beck presented conservatism to viewers of his talk show, there was an irritating mismatch with the customary CNN programming mix of liberal opinion veiled with ersatz objectivity. Beck was figuratively driving on the wrong side of the road. Consequently, it's logical that the Beck-CNN contract negotiations would have a few sticking points.

Officially and unofficially, I'm convinced that CNN management and staff would express a desire to have Glenn Beck stay with the network. However, I suspect that, deep down, most CNN-types won't miss him in the least. In fact, rather than any hint of sadness, CNN players may well experience joy by having a fresh target at Fox News.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/17/2008 10:17:00 AM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Raids Mesa City Hall

(Mesa, Arizona) After a Maricopa County Sheriff's undercover detective infiltrated a cleaning business and was instructed how to obtain fraudulent identification, Sheriff Joe Arpaio ordered a predawn raid.

Early Thursday, about 30 deputies and 30 volunteer posse members stormed the Mesa City Hall and the library carrying semi-automatic weapons and wearing bullet-proof vests.

Deputies fanned out and arrested three people; 13 others, including a manager at Management Cleaning Controls, were arrested at residences later that morning, Arpaio said. Ten were arrested on suspicion of identity theft and six for potentially being in the country illegally.

The 16 arrested included six people who were not named in the warrants. Arpaio said they are still looking for 15 more company employees. [...]

Joining Arpaio in an afternoon press conference, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the cleaning company had been under investigation for months. When asked why Mesa police could not handle the case, Arpaio said, "It's my jurisdiction, too. You seem to forget."

Then he suggested that there was something in the Mesa police "culture" that "they do not want to enforce the immigration laws."

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith was distraught as he spoke to reporters. He said that Mesa City Hall was violated by another government agency and the workers were terrified.

Heh. It appears that there is less than general agreement within Maricopa County on how to enforce immigration laws.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/17/2008 09:48:00 AM

Family Accused of Cremating Mom on BBQ

(Corning, California) Relatives of 84-year-old Ramona Allmond are accused of cremating her dead body on the backyard barbecue while continuing to collect her retirement checks. It's believed Ramona Allmond died last December of natural causes.

The dead woman's daughter, Kathleen Allmond, 50, and grandson, Tony Ray, 30, were arrested and charged with elder abuse, disposing of a body without a permit and suspicion of embezzlement. It's estimated that the daughter and grandson collected more than $25,000 from Allmond's retirement funds.

The two were booked into custody without bail.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/17/2008 09:42:00 AM

Study: Coffee Shrinks Women's Breasts

(Stockholm, Sweden) Research conducted by a lecturer in experimental oncology at Lund University, Helena Jernström, has found that drinking coffee has a major effect on women's breast size. Reportedly, half of all women possess a gene which links coffee consumption to breast size.

Studies carried out on almost 270 women showed that there was indeed a clear connection between coffee and smaller breasts.

The results of Jernström's findings have been published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Notably, coffee consumption (at least three cups a day) has also been reported to decrease the risk of breast cancer. Of course, that's only logical. With smaller breasts, there is less mass that can potentially become cancerous.


[Update 10/20/08]

And, alcohol shrinks brains.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/17/2008 09:01:00 AM

That evil watermelon and fried chicken again




I like both myself -- and my color is pink!

"A local Republican group has distributed a newsletter picturing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on a fake $10 bill adorned with a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken.

The drawing harked back to racist images from decades ago in America that featured caricatures of blacks eating watermelon and other Southern foods, often suggesting they were lazy or unclean. Linking Obama, who is the first black presidential nominee of a major US political party, to such stereotypes drew denunciations from various Republican officials.

The illustration appeared in the October newsletter of the Chaffey Community Republican Women, Federated, the Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper reported today.

Source

Are we not allowed to notice that the Obamamessiah is black? It's pretty obvious that he is. Does anybody think that seeing him associated with "black" food will cause someone to say: "Wow! He's black. I hadn't noticed that before".


Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/17/2008 01:16:00 AM

Sarah Palin Adult Movie

Readers can judge for themselves. I think it's simply sick.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/17/2008 12:31:00 AM

Al-Qaeda Leader Killed in Mosul

(Baghdad, Iraq) Confirmed by the Iraqi Defense Minister, General Mohammed al-Askari, al-Qaeda's number two man in Iraq, Abu Qaswarah, was killed earlier this month by U.S. forces. Qaswarah commanded all al-Qaeda forces in northern Iraq.

Abu Qaswarah (aka Abu Sara, Abu Qaswara), a Swedish citizen of Moroccan origin, died October 5 when he detonated an explosive vest after being shot by U.S. forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

According to Sweden's security police, Säpo, the man died in a fire fight with American forces when they tried to capture him.

“We’ve known about the man since the 1990s. He’s suspected of having led an Islamist network which has supported terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Africa,” said Säpo spokesperson Tina Israelsson.

Abu Qaswarah has also been linked to a mosque in a Stockholm suburb which Swedish security has been watching.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 11:52:00 PM

Google Thumbnails Ruled in Violation of Copyright

(Hamburg, Germany) Two Hamburg district courts ruled last month that Google has violated exclusive usage rights of image owners by displaying thumbnails of copyrighted images. According to Google spokesperson Kay Oberbeck, the decisions are being appealed.

The decision could force Google to shut down their image search in Germany -- at least for images that are carried without permission. But Oberbeck said it will not go into effect while the company awaits what they hope will be a successful appeal.

“The image search only shows thumbnails that are about 25 kilobytes -- which is really miniature,” Oberbeck told The Local. “Court cases across Europe have shown that these searches are legal, and Google does not profit from them.”

The lawsuits are unnecessary, he argued, because of an internet standard used worldwide called the “Robots Exclusion Protocol” or “robots.txt,” which anyone can use to prevent web spider and robots from accessing part of a website that owners don’t want to be public.

So, we wait on the outcome of the appeal.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 11:12:00 PM

FDA Opens Foreign Offices

(Washington, D.C.) According to Secretary Mike Leavitt of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Food and Drug Administration will, for the first time, open overseas offices in China, India, Europe and Latin America.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 10:49:00 PM

EU Nations Balk at Climate Plan

(Brussels, Belgium) It's expensive to try to control the climate.

EU plans to fight climate change were in danger of collapse today in a row over the cost.

Tensions flared at a dinner for European leaders in Brussels when Italy and Poland threatened to veto the policy for being too costly during an economic recession.

Summit chairman Nicolas Sarkozy angrily accused the two nations of using the credit crunch as an excuse to avoid the expense.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is bend-over, patty-cake with Sarkozy on trying to shove the climate change targets into law. However, nations with a close eye on their balance sheets realize that efforts to control climate changes should be applied cautiously.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 10:23:00 PM

Opinion: Brits Are All Drunks

(United Kingdom) An American writer and New York Times correspondent, Sarah Lyall, wrote a piece for the Daily Mail which asserts that Brits are all drunks.

Across Europe, per capita drinking has fallen over the past 40 years. In Britain, it's gone up. People start younger, drink more and are increasingly likely to binge drink. Last year, the Government released figures showing that British adults drink, on average, the equivalent of 11.4 bottles of pure alcohol a year - that's more than 180 bottles of wine or 1,137 pints of beer.

Those are surprising figures, but on an average Saturday night in just about any British town centre, they look like an underestimate. Here, drunken violence and out-of-control behaviour have become the norm.

Newspaper photographs of unconscious women sprawled on the pavements, their mini-skirts hitched up round their waists, suggest that females now seem to be drinking every bit as much as men - and behaving just as badly.

Heh, Cheers!

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 10:05:00 PM

Elder Abuse by Granddaughter

(Clackamas, Oregon) A 48-year-old woman, Connie Gay Cole, has been convicted of abusing her grandparents, Anne and James Morgan, 91 and 95 years old, by stealing nearly one-half million dollars of their money.

The theft occurred in a period of less than two years after Cole convinced her grandparents to let her control their finances. Now, the Morgans are living in a care facility, their life savings gone. State aid supports them.

Cole was sentenced to 75 months in prison

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 09:02:00 PM

Teacher Investigated for Alleged Contact with Student

(New Port Richey, Florida) A 28-year-old special education teacher at River Ridge High School, Lori A. Borick, has resigned her position for "personal reasons" after she was confronted with allegations that she had inappropriate contact with a male student.

Local authorities have commenced a criminal investigation.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 01:00:00 PM

Virgin Zulu Dancers Told to Cover

(Ulundi, South Africa) The centuries-old Zulu Royal Reed Dance is held annually for the benefit of the king. Thousands of young virgin Zulu girls wear only short skirts and dance around to display their intimate purity.

The Reed Dance is a solemn occasion for the teenage girls but it is also an opportunity to show off their singing, dancing and beadwork - the fruits of many months of excitement and preparation.

Beadwork abounds and it is often the only clothing the maidens wear. The girls are for the most part bare breasted and they wear the traditional beaded belt and frontal apron worn by virgins - the isigege. The beadwork is in a range of intricate patterns and vivid colours, differing from region to region.

The Reed Dance gets its name from reeds carried by the teenage maidens in a procession several kilometers long and presented to the king in the Royal Enclosure.




Virgin Zulu Reed Dancers

Unfortunately, the teen girls have historically been so exposed that European tourists, using high-tech photography equipment, have lasciviously been taking pictures of the bare bottoms and denigrating the ceremony.

Therefore, King Goodwill Zwelithini has told the thousands of girls to put on some underwear.

Photography at the traditional dances, performed by thousands of virgin girls in Nongoma, northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is strictly regulated. All camera-men are supposed to be bona fide members of the press.

But checks in recent years have shown some photographers were just ordinary tourists taking pictures without approval. The tradition is carried out to pay homage to the King, who chooses his wives from among the dancers.

The dancers usually do not wear underwear because the routine is designed to be a proud display of their innocence.

Zulu girls are said to be angry at being told to cover up because they are losing the chance to show off their virginity in the customary way.

Therefore, teen virgins are being denied the right to show their precious flowers to the king because of lascivious European picture-takers.

On a different note, it seems fairly remarkable that it's possible to congregate 10,000 virgins at one place at one time anywhere on the planet Earth. Also, one has to wonder how anyone can tell if a girl is virginal by simply viewing the crotch from some distance.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 10:58:00 AM

Charges Against Guidance Counselor Withdrawn - Updated

(Hughesville, Pennsylvania) Lycoming County District Attorney Eric R. Linhardt has decided not to pursue prosecution of 37-year-old Jennifer Villacrusis because of lack of evidence.

Linhardt explained his rationale for not prosecuting the case, which centered on insufficient evidence.

He concluded there was reasonable doubt, adding he did not believe a jury would yield a verdict finding her guilty based on the existing evidence.

“When this office states that there is a ‘reasonable doubt,’ we are not stating that we have concluded that Villacrusis is, in fact, innocent,” Linhardt said. “We are stating that the evidence compels us to conclude that her innocence is a reasonable possibility.

“As prosecutors, we have an ethical responsibility to not pursue cases where there is a reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilt,” Linhardt said. “This office has not, and will not, prosecute defendants who might reasonably be innocent.

“The decision not to prosecute is no comment on the quality of the investigation done by state police,” Linhardt added. “To the contrary, the troopers assigned to the matter have worked tirelessly and have produced an investigation of the highest quality, which produced both incriminating and exculpatory evidence.”

Villacrusis now lives in another state and reportedly will be seeking to continue her career as a guidance counselor.


* * * * *
School Counselor Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 12/29/06 entry]
(Hughesville, Pennsylvania) A 35-year-old guidance counselor with the East Lycoming School District, Jennifer Marie Villacrusis, has been accused of engaging in a sex with a 16-year-old boy.

Villacrusis, a married mother of two, is charged with corruption of minors and interference with the custody of a child.

Villacrusis allegedly had sex with the boy at her office in school and at her home near Hughesville. Her attorney, George Lepley, has stated that Villacrusis is the actual victim in the case.

School officials will decide on her employment status next month. Villacrusis is scheduled for a court date in February.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 09:20:00 AM

"Joe the Plumber" Steals the Show at Presidential Debate

The Drudge Report is already calling it the "Joe the Plumber" election. Truly, Joe the plumber did a great service for John McCain for pointing out the obvious in Ohio this week.



Again, here's Joe the Plumber blasting Obama on his socialist policies: (1 minute 18 seconds)



Joe later added this about John McCain: "He's got it right as far as I go."



Source

Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 07:31:00 AM

Counselor Arrested for Sex with Boy

(Grayslake, Illinois) A 41-year-old counselor at Alternative Behavior Treatment Center, Noelle Howlett, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 16-year-old boy she was counseling. This week, Howlett was charged with five counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.

According to state’s attorney spokesman Stephen Scheller:

Howlett made plans to meet the teen, who lived in Chicago, at the train station in Libertyville on Saturday. From there, the two allegedly had sex in Howlett's car and then back at her home, he said.

When the teen returned home Sunday, the teen's father demanded to know where he had been, Scheller said. Scheller said the teen first made up a story, but then said he had been having sex with Howlett.

The father called authorities, and Scheller said Howlett admitted the sex acts when confronted by law enforcement. She was arrested at her home without incident, he said.

Howlett was booked into custody at the Lake County Jail with bond set at $50,000. A court appearance is scheduled for November 10.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 06:13:00 AM

Illinois Woman Convicted But No Sentence for Sex with Boy

(Vienna, Illinois) A 36-year-old Johnson County woman, Crystal Pietrowski, was convicted of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse for having sex with her son’s 15-year-old friend. Yesterday, Pietrowski was scheduled to be sentenced.

As a convicted sex offender, Crystal Pietrowski was required to undergo an evaluation before her sentencing, and it was supposed to include a test assessing the likelihood that she will offend again.

But there was one problem-- her gender.

"There are no such tools for females" says Johnson County State's Attorney Tricia Shelton. "As a matter of fact, each of those tools that are required to be used specifically exclude being applied to females."

The assessment test was not done, but Pietrowski's lawyer says that too is against the law.

"It discriminates against her" says Johnson County Public Defender Alan McIntrye. "If we had continued with that hearing, the sentencing could have been illegal because a required part of that assessment was not there."

McIntyre says he's just looking out for his client, but Shelton says Crystal Pietrowski is a danger to the public.

Consequently, the sentencing hearing has been rescheduled to November 10. It’s not clear how they plan to have an assessment performed.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/16/2008 04:07:00 AM

Dutchmen Accused of Intentionally Spreading HIV

(Groningen, Holland) Three Dutchmen, ages 39,49 and 50, are on trial in Groningen District Court for allegedly spreading HIV at sex parties they promoted over the Internet.

The three accused, all HIV-positive, are charged with drugging gay men at sex orgies, raping them, and injecting them with blood contaminated with HIV. They are aged 39, 49 and 50.

The three, including a nurse, are accused of intentionally spreading the deadly virus at sex parties they promoted on the Internet.

They face charges of aggravated assault, rape, and illegal possession of drugs and face up to 21 years in jail. […]

The trio were arrested in May last year after 14 alleged victims -- 12 of whom are HIV-positive or sick with AIDS -- lay charges. It is not known whether they had contracted the virus before the orgies.

The prosecution alleges the victims were sedated with a combination of ecstasy and the date rape drug GHB (gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid), before being raped or injected with a cocktail of their assailants' blood.

The combination of drugs leaves a victim helpless and often with no memory of what happened.

At the time of their arrest, police said two of the men had confessed to the crime and claimed to have been motivated by a pursuit of excitement.

The words "cruel and HIV-positive" were probably not included in the party invitations.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/15/2008 11:04:00 AM

Michelle Obama Nasty to African Media

Closely related to last week’s story on Jerome Corsi, author of Obama Nation, being stopped from holding a press conference in Nairobi, Michelle Obama contacted the African Press International (API) to lodge complaints about the reporting.

Accusing API of colluding with American internet bloggers in an effort to bring down her husband, Mrs Obama said she decided to call API because of what she termed, API’s help to spread rumours created by American bloggers and other racist media outlets in their efforts to damage a black man’s name, saying she hopes African Media was mature enough to be in the front to give unwavering support to her husband, a man Africans should identify themselves with.

When API told her that our online news media was only relaying what the American Bloggers and other media outlets had discovered through their investigations, Mrs Obama was angered and she came out loud with the following:

“African press International is supposed to support Africans and African-American view,” and she went to state that, “it is strange that API has chosen to support the racists against my husband. There is no shame in being adopted by a step father. All dirt has been thrown onto my husband’s face and yet he loves this country. My husband and I know that there is no law that will stop him from becoming the president, just because some American white racists are bringing up the issue of my husband’s adoption by His step father. The important thing here is where my husband’s heart is at the moment. I can tell the American people that My husband loves this country and his adoption never changed his love for this country. He was born in Hawaii, yes, and that gives him all the right to be an American citizen even though he was adopted by a foreigner; says Michelle Obama on telefon to API.”

When API asked Mrs Obama to comment on why Dr Corsi was arrested by the Kenyan government and whether she thought Kenya’s Prime Minister Mr Raila Odinga was involved in Dr Corsi’s arrest, she got irritated and and simply told API not to dig that which will support evil people who are out to stop her husband from getting the presidency.

When asked who she was referring to as the evil people, she stated that she was not going to elaborate much on that but that many conservative white people and even some African Americans were against her husband, but that this group of blacks were simply doing so because of envy.

On Farakhan and his ministry, Mrs Obama told API that it was unfortunate that Mr Farakhan came out the way he did supporting her husband openly before the elections was over. That was not wholehearted support but one that was calculated to convince the American people that my husband will support the growth of muslim faith if he became the president, adding “even if my husband was able to prove that he is not a Muslim, he will not be believed by those who have come out strongly to destroy his chances of being the next President. Do real people expect someone to deny a religion when 80 percent of his relatives are Muslims?; Mrs Obama asked.

Mrs Obama asked API to write a good story about her husband and that will earn API an invitation to the innoguration ceremony when, as she put it , her husband will be installed as the next President of the United States of America next year.

Wow! It appears that Mrs. Obama has a fiery temper.

Because of huge interest in the story, API has published a telephone number (004793299739) where staffers will field calls regarding this story. Doubters of the veracity of the reporting are encouraged to call to hear the real truth.

From another perspective, Michelle Obama’s explosive attitude kind of makes me wonder what Barack hears when he leaves the toilet seat up.

Source 1

Source 2
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       Following Entry Posted 10/15/2008 09:49:00 AM

Woman Gets No Jail in Child Sex Case

(United Kingdom) Here’s a molestation case that has many people chafed. A judge has ruled that a middle-aged woman was seduced by a 14-year-old, therefore, she was allowed to walk away from court without any jail sentence..

Sharon Edwards, 40, walked away from Teeside Crown Court after the judge ruled that she had been flattered by the boy's attention as a result of feeling trapped in an unhappy marriage and had let herself be seduced by him.

The court heard that Edwards had sex with the boy a total of four times between September 2007 and January 2008. […]

Judge Peter Fox QC told her: "You have been a very unhappy lady for a very considerable period of time when this 14-year-old boy seduced you and not you him both so far as sexual matters and as far as drugs are concerned."

Edwards pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a child and was given a suspended sentence. She will, however, have to register as a sex offender for five years.

Tip: Barry
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       Following Entry Posted 10/15/2008 09:02:00 AM

Even the foulest hate speech is just fine if it comes from the Left



And they shriek horror at any negativity coming from McCain supporters!

Background here. The people pictured are staff of "World of Wonder" TV.


Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/15/2008 06:07:00 AM

Cheerleading Boss Accused of Sex with Boy

(Navarre, Florida) A 38-year-old cheerleading official for the Navarre Youth Sports Association, Sheila Broome Langman, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy. On Monday, Langman was charged with lewd and lascivious battery.

Investigators say the case opened Friday after the state Department of Children and Families received a complaint alleging "inappropriate activity between the child and the woman."

After interviews with Langman and the boy, lawmen say they discovered the pair had been "sexually involved" multiple times between July and September.

Langman was booked into custody at the Santa Rosa County Jail with bond set at $10,000.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/15/2008 05:13:00 AM

Freightliner Truck Plant Closing

(Portland, Oregon) Daimler Trucks North America announced that it will close the Portland Freightliner, Western Star and Sterling trucks assembly plant and a Canadian truck assembly plant by mid-2010.

The company said Western Star production will be assigned to a plant in Santiago, Mexico, while Freightliner-brand military vehicles will be produced at one of its facilities in the Carolinas by mid-2010.

When the company and unions signed contracts last year, the plant had about 1,000 workers, including 670 union machinists.

The company will also cut about 1,200 administrative workers. Freightliner headquarters will remain in Portland.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/14/2008 06:32:00 PM

Church Lady Guilty of Sex with Girl

(Anderson, Indiana) A 36-year-old former church worker, Stephanie M. Rogers, pleaded guilty yesterday in Madison Superior Court to sex with a minor. In accordance with a plea agreement, Rogers admitted to sexual conduct with a 15-year-old runaway girl.

If Judge Dennis Carroll accepts the plea agreement, her prison time would be capped at seven years.

Deputy Prosecutor Rudolph Pyle III said he would seek a 15-year sentence, with seven years served and the remainder suspended. The Class B felony is punishable by a six- to 20-year sentence.

"I just think it's best for all parties," Rogers' attorney, John Reeder of Anderson, said of the agreement.

Rogers is accused of having a sexual relationship over several days in January with the runaway from the Indiana United Methodist Children's Home in Lebanon.

Investigators allege Rogers was working at the children's home when she first met the girl. Officials at the home said she had since been fired.

A sentencing date was not reported.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/14/2008 05:02:00 PM

20,000 Moo-ers Lost

(United Kingdom) The British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has admitted that tracking of more than 20,000 cows has been lost. Tracking is maintained to presumably protect the public from mad cow disease and foot and mouth epidemics.

The cattle should have been logged into DEFRA’s livestock tracing system but apparently were not.

According to Peter Ainsworth, the shadow Environment Secretary, "Laptops, data, and now cows, is there anything this Government cannot misplace?"
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       Following Entry Posted 10/14/2008 04:00:00 PM

Nursing Home Voting Altercation

(Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) Here’s a troubling report on alleged ballot-marking impropriety at a nursing home.

Poll workers from opposing sides in the presidential race apparently clashed in a physical altercation Friday at a Cuyahoga Falls nursing home when one accused the other of improperly marking a ballot.

George Manos, the 75-year-old Republican, told police that Edith Walker, the 73-year-old Democrat, jumped on his back and struck him in the head three to four times with her fists. Manos said two other elections workers had to pull Walker off his back, according to a report filed with Cuyahoga Falls police.

Manos said it happened after he accused Walker of ballot tampering, and he wants to prosecute.

Apparently, an accusatory finger is being pointed at Edith Walker and authorities have issued a swiss-cheese promise to review all the ballots she handled.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/14/2008 12:35:00 PM

Gaza Tunnels Destroyed

(Cairo, Egypt) Ten tunnels from Egypt into the Gaza Strip were destroyed today by Egyptian forces.

Israeli media reported last week that Egypt security, aided by American experts and equipment, had recently detected 42 such tunnels, which smugglers use to traffic food, fuel and arms, Israel says.

A Palestinian smuggler told AFP last week that Hamas takes a percentage of profits made by smugglers, but tells them they are not allowed to traffic drugs and arms.

Yeah, I’ll believe a smuggler.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/14/2008 09:55:00 AM

Sandra Bernhard Booted

The putative comedian, Sandra Bernhard, has been booted from an annual benefit gig after her one-woman show in Washington included the statement that Sarah Palin would be “gang-raped by my big black brothers.” Comedian Carol Liefer will instead be hosting “Funny Women . . . Serious Business” for Rosie's Place, a shelter for poor and homeless women.

Strange. It’s not often that leftists suffer consequences for spewing outrageous manure.

[Add.] Boy, I showed that I'm not a fan of Sandra Bernhard. I screwed up her name. Fixed. Sorry 'bout that.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/14/2008 09:20:00 AM

Execution Today

(Lucasville, Ohio) Richard Cooey, 41, is scheduled to be executed today for the murders of two young women in 1986. Cooey was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing two University of Akron students, Dawn McCreery, 20, and Wendy Offredo, 21.

Prosecutors said Cooey and Clinton Dickens disabled the victims' car with a chunk of concrete thrown from an overpass and then offered to help them. Instead, they took the women to a secluded spot where they sexually assaulted, stabbed and bludgeoned them, and carved the letter "X" into their stomachs.

Since Dickens was 17 years old at the time of the crimes, he was sentenced to life in prison after conviction. Cooey, 19 at the time of the crimes, wasn’t so lucky.

The Cooey case has had some twists and turns during the appeal process. Some may recall that Cooey, 5’7” and 267 lbs., wanted the death penalty considered inhumane for a fat guy since his veins would be hard to find. The courts didn’t buy his complaint.

One other appeal remains to be decided. Cooey claims that the use of a three-drug combination in executions is inhumane and he wants only one drug used in executing him.

So, unless there are new circumstances presented today, Cooey dies on 10/14/08.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/14/2008 09:03:00 AM

Unreal... New 8th Grade English Textbooks Now Contain 15 Page Section on Obama!

This is getting really freaky.




The hard Left is already pumping out massive Obama indoctrination material in 8th grade textbooks. Maybe this was part of the Bill Ayers education plan? 8th grade students in Racine, Wisconsin are now using textbooks that contain a 15 page section on Barack Obama. Note: No Hillary, No McCain, No Palin, No Bush... Just Obama! This is beyond freaky. Real Debate Wisconsin reported:

My 8th grade son is in an advanced English class at a public middle school here in Racine, Wisconsin. I just found out that my son's new (copyright 2008) Wisconsin - McDougal Littell Literature book has 15 pages covering Barack Obama.

I was shocked - No John McCain, no Hillary Clinton, no George Bush - Just Barack Obama. I'm wondering how it is that Obama's story gets put into an 8th grade literature book? It would be one thing, if it was just the tidbit about his boyhood days, but 15 pages, and they talk about his "Life of Service". Honestly, what has Obama really done to be included in this book? Not only that, but on page 847 there is a photo of Obama at the 2004 Democratic Convention with at least 8 Obama signs in the background! Front & center is an www.obama2004.com sign.

Now I understand that many teachers are liberals, but does the school have the right to shove Obama down our kid's throats? All the kids grouped together and read the story. After that, they discussed it... I guess it appears that Obama is planning ahead. If he doesn't get his coveted Presidency, Obama is going to make sure, that the younger generations know all about him, and his "life of service".

If you would like to see the 15 page story on Obama, it appears that you can order this book online. There is a note in the book that says, For more on Barack Obama, visit the Literature Center at www.ClassZone.com The book is: Wisconsin - 8th grade - McDougal Littell Literature - copyright 2008. The Obama story starts on page 830. I hope you will take the time to look at this book. I'm really angry about this - In fact, I would love to rip the pages right out of this book.

More at Real Debate Wisconsin.

Source



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/14/2008 08:01:00 AM

Brit Road to Utopia

(United Kingdom) When the welfare state hands out goodies, look what can happen.

The Afghan family living in a £1.2million home paid for by the taxpayer has managed to stock it with hi-tech gadgets and a plasma screen television.

It was revealed last week that mother of seven Toorpaki Saiedi, 35, receives £170,000 a year in benefits.

A staggering £150,000 of that is paid to a private landlord for the rent of the imposing seven-bedroom house in West London.

Heh.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 10/13/2008 08:41:00 PM

National Feral Cat Day

Mark your calendars, animal lovers. Thursday is the day for people to go and round up stray cats so that they can be examined by a veterinarian, spayed or neutered and immunized. Afterward, somebody pays the vet and the strays are released to their normal haunts.

Curiously, one can easily suspect that the people who help stray cats are the same people who voice complaints about the decline in the number of native songbirds. Logically, when Sylvester runs loose, Tweety is in danger.

Meanwhile, no information is available on the National Pack of Wild Dogs Day.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/13/2008 01:08:00 PM

Mexican Prison Corruption

(Rio Grande Valley) Mexican law enforcers must have the lowest possible morale. Not only are they regularly murdered but even if they succeed in capturing the bad guys, incidents like the following occur.

Seventeen inmates escaped out the front door from the prison at Reynosa, Tamaulipas ( across the Rio Grande from McAllen, TX) before dawn Thursday. They were reportedly assisted by four prison guards including the shift leader at the time. The seventeen and the four are all unaccounted for.

I suspect the Mexican authorities are past the point of being able to clean their own house.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/13/2008 08:58:00 AM

McCain responsible for what people in his audience say?

They could well be Democrat "plants". Planting their supporters in a rival meeting is an old tactic for them. Read here, for instance.

"After inflammatory speech at events for Republican presidential candidate John McCain made headlines this weekend, Democratic lawmaker John Lewis compared McCain to 1960s segregationist George Wallace.

Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday asked Davis if McCain and Palin bear any responsibility for their supporters calls of violence when attack ads and stump speeches call Obama a "liar" and a "terrorist."

This is how Davis responded: "Barack Obama should apologize to John McCain directly for the kinds of comments made by Joe Lewis yesterday and that should be the end of this sordid affair."

Lewis had criticized the "atmosphere of hate" he said McCain is creating in the election, referencing an infamous Alabama church bombing in 1963 that was blamed on Wallace's fiery rhetoric.

Source

Comparing McCain to Wallace is hate speech, if you ask me. Claims that Obama is a liar and an associate of terrorists are true so are not hate speech in my book. Calls to "kill" Obama are, however, a different matter but such calls have only come from audience members and the speakers have never been identified. And McCain himself has bent over backwards to avoid negativity.


Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/12/2008 10:11:00 PM

Fannie/Freddie Bailout Increases Health Care Costs

Thanks, Congress. You pass of a $700 billion bill to bailout the nation from a financial crisis and now we learn that buried inside the legislation is a provision to jack up every American's health care premiums.

The tag-along requirement reportedly eliminates "insurance discrimination" by health insurers. I'm not totally up to speed on the subject but it appears that mental health issues must now be treat comparably to actual physical biological conditions with regard to coverage.

Frankly, while I'm skeptical about the need, I'm really irked about the fact that the requirement was hidden in an "emergency" bailout bill. And, I know that Congress does it all the time but that doesn't make me feel any better. When it comes to Congress, I'm usually pissed at the whole lot.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/12/2008 07:31:00 PM

Gun Silences Alarm Clock

Called the Gun O'Clock, it is priced around $50 and is made by a Japanese toy company. When the alarm sounds, the groggy-eyed have to grab the gun piece and shoot the clock. A clean shot at the bullseye is necessary to stop the annoying alarm.


Gun Alarm Clock
Notably, the psychological effect of waking and grabbing a gun is considered worrisome, except in the U.S. since many believe it's a habit for Americans.

Nonetheless, if you are used to grabbing a weapon on awakening, the Gun O'Clock might cause problems. Get your guns mixed up and chances are that a new alarm clock will be needed.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/12/2008 12:53:00 PM

LSD-Laced Candy

(Bentonville, Arkansas) Bentonville Police conducted an undercover operation which resulted in arrests and the confiscation of LSD-laced candy, marijuana, psychodelic mushrooms and drug paraphernalia.

Three suspects have been apprehended, 18-year-old John Howerton, 19-year-old Donovan Harris and a juvenile female. Martin Holmes, 19, and other suspects are being sought for questioning.

With Halloween approaching, the threat of contaminated candy should be paramount in the minds of parents. Also, the fact that a juvenile was caught up in the Bentonville investigation is cause for worry. I suspect that investigators may find the aforementioned drugs being distributed in and around schools.

There are many wackos in society. Parents cannot be too vigilant.

Tip: MassCops
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       Following Entry Posted 10/12/2008 09:06:00 AM

Another example of making mountains out of pimples

I regularly (in FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC) characterize medical research as making mountains out of pimples so another example of it might help reinforce what I mean by that. I mentioned this study on the 10th so I will not reproduce it again. Instead I want to point out that its conclusions, although correct, were not only trivial but rather misleading.

What was found was that autism was 7 times more common among mathematics students at Cambridge university than it was among students in other fields at that university. But how was that finding arrived at? It was arrived at by taking 378 mathematics students and comparing them with a group of 414 non-mathematics students. And there were 7 autistic people in the mathematics group but only one autistic person in the other group. So the "7 times" conclusion was totally correct. But was it important?

It was in fact totally trivial. What was really found was that the incidence of autism among students at Cambridge was very rare -- even among mathematics students. Putting it another way, it is very rare for mathematics students to be autistic. Only 1.8% of them were autistic in fact. And putting it that way gives roughly the opposite impression to the impression given by the original report. What the original report presented as interesting is in fact of no importance whatsoever.

And that sort of finding is absolutely typical of what is reported in epidemiological research. In fact it is a much stronger finding than is generally reported. Where a 700% difference was reported above, a 50% difference would be about the average in epidemiological research. Most epidemiological research is the modern-day equivalent of the old mediaeval debate about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin: An argument about trivia.



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/12/2008 12:03:00 AM

Iraqi Christians Flee Muslim Death Squads

(Mosul, Iraq) Apparently the moderate Muslim population is not demanding peace and tolerance toward Christians in Mosul. Instead, the Christians are being killed.

Some 3,000 Christians have fled the city over the past week alone in a "major displacement," said Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, the governor of northern Iraq's Ninevah province. He said most have left for churches, monasteries and the homes of relatives in nearby Christian villages and towns.

"The Christians were subjected to abduction attempts and paid ransom, but now they are subjected to a killing campaign," Kashmoula said, adding he believed "al-Qaida" elements were to blame and called for a renewed drive to root them out.

I'm confused. The media and political leaders repeatedly contend that extremists are only a tiny fraction of the Muslim population yet the tiny fraction is allowed to violently force a mass exodus of Christians from a major city.

One might conclude the deadly conditions provide proof that there exists no significant number of moderate, peace-loving Muslims in Mosul. They must reside in other cities.

In any event, the responsibility for cleaning up and rehabilitating the extreme elements in Islam should be with the putative moderate Muslim population. Outside forces shouldn't be asked to come in and clean somebody else's house. And, although those extreme elements have declared war on the West, in the final tally, they kill many more Muslims than they do Westerners.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2008 10:53:00 PM

Russians Shoot Missile Over 7,000 Miles

(Severomorsk, Russia) Today, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test launched from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea, ultimately landing in an area on the equator in the Pacific Ocean, said the Russian Navy Information and Public Relations spokesman, Igor Dygalo.


Russian Missile Submarine

The spokesman said the Sineva missile was launched from the nuclear-powered submarine, Tula, based in the Arctic Barents Sea during military exercises observed by President Dmitry Medvedev.

"For the first time in the history of the Russian Navy the target of the missile was in an equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean rather than the Kura testing ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula," he said.

The spokesman did not specify the area where Russia's newest missile landed. The Sineva missile was introduced into Russia's arsenal last year.

"The area where the dummy warhead landed is legally part of an open sea and the area was closed to navigation and flights at the time of the exercise," he said.

President Medvedev said the missile flew 7,170 miles, its maximum range. Unfortunately, past performance of submarine-based missile systems has been inconsistent with a large number of failed tests.

Earlier this month, Russia announced a dramatic rearmament program with plans for eight new nuclear submarines by 2015 and four new aircraft carriers. Currently, the Russian military, particularly the Navy, is generally considered to have been neglected for the past decade.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2008 09:07:00 PM

Gulf of Aden Smugglers

With prices ranging from $70 to $200, smugglers will take refugees from war-torn Somalia across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen.

Unfortunately, when the despicable human smugglers run into problems on the boat trips, they just toss their cargo overboard. The poor refugees fend for themselves or die.

Smugglers forced more than 130 people overboard on a boat carrying migrants from Somalia to Yemen, the UN refugee agency said Friday, as a search was mounted for the missing passengers.

About 100 of them were still missing in the Gulf of Aden, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said.

“UNHCR and its partners are searching for about 100 people reported missing in the Gulf of Aden after being forced overboard by smugglers off the coast of Yemen,” UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists.

According to survivors, all but 12 of the 150 people who left the Somali port of Marera were forced overboard about five kilometers off Yemen’s coast, said Redmond. The 12 were placed in a smaller boat while the others had to swim to shore.

“Survivors said they counted a total of 47 people reaching shore (including the 12 in the boat), and later saw Yemeni authorities burying five bodies,” said Redmond.

The incident brought the total number of people reported missing in the region this year to 365, while at least 230 are known to have died.

This report is hardly news, just a recent example of the human tragedy that takes place regularly on the Gulf of Aden. Literally, thousands of migrating people have lost their lives during smuggling operations.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2008 07:10:00 PM

PETA Protests Peruvian Cat-Eating

(Canete, Peru) This week, the annual two-day Gastronomical Festival of the Cat was held near Lima and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have expressed outrage.

Reportedly, local people consume hundreds of cats prepared several ways, including fried cat and catburgers, as a cure for bronchial disease and as an aphrodisiac.



Festival of the Cat

A 63-year-old local woman with 17 children and 70 grandchildren told a Spanish TV station that she also credits cat meat for keeping her fertile.

A PETA staffer said, "The last thing we need to do is add yet another poor animal to the list of those being frightened and slaughtered for a taste." I would dispute the assertion since cats are not a new addition to the list of animals eaten by humans.

From Wicked Thoughts (scroll for post)
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       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2008 04:14:00 PM

Woman Sentenced in Fatal School Bus Crash Case

(Marshall, Minnesota) In February 2008, a 23-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala, Olga Marina Franco Del Cid (aka Alianiss Nunez Morales) ran a stop sign in her vehicle and crashed into a school bus, killing four young students and injuring 17.

Olga Franco was charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide, running a stop sign and driving without a license.

Franco, who drew nationwide attention from people focused on the illegal immigration debate, was found behind the steering wheel, her right foot wedged near the accelerator under a crumpled dash board.

She has maintained that her boyfriend was the one driving the van and that he fled because he didn't want to be deported to Mexico. Her attorneys argued at trial that he was thrown from the van on impact and Franco was thrown part-way into the driver's seat. The boyfriend is believed to be in Mexico.

Nevertheless, in August a Kandiyohi County jury found Franco guilty of all charges. This week, Franco was sentenced to 12 and one-half years in prison. She will be eligible for parole after eight years. Deportation will follow.

Although she continues to deny that she was driving, Franco apologized in court to the victims' families and relatives. She asked for forgiveness.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2008 09:45:00 AM

Man Sentenced for Killing Bald Eagle

(Jackson, Mississippi) A Tunica County man, Joshua Lee Garrison, was sentenced yesterday to six months house arrest for shooting and killing a bald eagle. He apparently did it to cut off the eagle's talons.

Garrison also received two years on probation, loss of his hunting and fishing license for two years, and $2,500 in fines.

So Garrison will have to stay at home for six months, but without the wide-screen television he could have bought with the $2,500.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2008 09:38:00 AM

Must not speak ill of Leftist politicians????

Maybe I am missing something because I am not American but I cannot understand Taranto's current column at all. Taranto is much given to subtle humor so maybe I am simply missing the satire but to me he sounds completely serious in saying that GOP voters must not mention Obama's middle name or call him a "socialist", a "terrorist" or a "liar". To do so is "hate" and makes one a member of the "Angry Right" -- according to Taranto -- and damages McCain's chances of being elected.

I am quite dumbfounded. There is practically NO accusation that the Left of American politics do not routinely hurl at conservatives. Why must conservatives be held to an enormously higher standard of behavior? And that Obama's second name is "Hussein", that he is a socialist and a liar are simply the plain truth. Is even the truth banned if it is "negative"?

Not long ago Australia had a Leftist Prime Minister (Keating) who would often describe opponents as a "piece of slime" and the like so maybe Australan politics are simply more robust than American politics but when I think of the encyclopedia of abuse and accusation that has been hurled at the mild and moderate G.W. Bush by just about everyone to the Left of him, I find that hard to believe.

My take is that conservatives have been too polite for too long and that the Left are overdue for a taste of their own medicine. And I don't believe the Leftist claims that they are "shocked" or "scared" by the hostility to Obama. Such claims are just another attempt to suppress criticism.

Trying to muzzle criticism is of course routine for the Left but for someone like Taranto to assist in that is truly deplorable.

Rick Moran has some thoughts similar to mine.


Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2008 08:21:00 AM

Policewoman Accused of Assisting Accused Bank Robber

(East Point, Georgia) A 33-year-old police officer with the East Point Police Department, Nicole Drane, has been arrested for allegedly assisting a suspected serial bank robber.

Officer Drane is charged with 18 felony counts including hindering the apprehension and punishment of a criminal, unauthorized disclosure of criminal history, bribery and violating her oath of office.

Drane is accused of helping Malik Dillard, a suspect in 10 bank robberies in Georgia and 12 other East Coast states, said Det. Cliff Chandler, a spokesman for the East Point Police Department

After recently being apprehended by the FBI, Dillard allegedly told investigators that he would call Drane after some of the robberies to find out if police were looking for him.

FBI officials quickly alerted East Point police, who arrested Drane after conducting their own investigation. Drane’s relationship to Dillard remained unclear Friday afternoon, Chandler said.

Drane was booked into custody at the Fulton County Jail with bond set at $450,000.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy
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       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2008 05:30:00 AM

Teacher Kanesa Hopkins Gets Probation for Sex with Girl

(Charleston, South Carolina) According to this source on a scarcely reported story, 32-year-old Kanesa Hopkins pleaded guilty and was convicted in July 2008 of lewd acts on a child under 16 and was added to the South Carolina sex offender registry in August.

The “lewd acts” guilty plea was a reduction, possibly bargained with the prosecutors, from the initial charge of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Consequently, Hopkins was sentenced to a five-year suspended prison term and two years probation.

Notably, the media have been seemingly asleep at the wheel with regard to reporting the Hopkins case.


* * * * *
SC Teacher Jailed for Sex with Girl
[Previous 5/22/07 post]
(Charleston, South Carolina) A 31-year-old teacher at Westview Middle School in Goose Creek, Kanesa Hopkins, faces charges for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl. Hopkins is a former Teacher of the Year for Berkeley County. The girl was a student in Hopkins' 7th-grade class.

According to Detective Jerry Jellico, "The victim came forward approximately two weeks ago, and gave us a statement, alleging this abuse occurred several years ago and that's when we began the investigation."

Charges were filed Monday in Charleston County Court. Investigators claim that Hopkins confessed to the crimes.

Hopkins was booked into custody with her bond set at $300,000.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/10/2008 10:15:00 PM

Gay Porn Dollars for Obama

I find this report interesting.

ONE of the "bundlers" who has raised $50,000 to $100,000 for the Barack Obama presidential campaign is Terrence Bean, who once controlled the biggest producer of gay porn in America.

Bean, the first gay on Sen. Obama's National Finance Committee, is the sole trustee of the Charles M. Holmes Foundation, which owned Falcon Studios, Jock Studios and Mustang Studios, the producers of about $10 million worth of all-male pornography a year.

Frankly, I don't consider gay porn industry support for Obama to be an issue. However, when you consider that both the Muslims and the gay porn industry are looking to Messiah Obama for hope and change, if one of those groups gets what is wanted, the other is going to be royally pissed off.

Hope and change for Muslims is diametrically opposed to hope and change for gay porn movie makers.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/10/2008 02:54:00 PM

Human Found Inside Crocodile

(Queensland, Australia) A 62-year-old man, Arthur Brooker, disappeared last week from the banks of a crocodile-infested river in Cape York. Authorities commenced an investigation.

Today, it's reported that Mr. Brooker's remains were found inside a 13-foot male crocodile during veterinary surgery. The croc apparently lived through the veterinary surgery because Michael Devery, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency, said he was likely going to a farm.

Call me cold but I think that once a crocodile has eaten a human, they should not be given the chance to eat another. Euthanize the beast.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/10/2008 01:22:00 PM

One Voter Registers 72 Times

(Cleveland, Ohio) I personally am not surprised at anything ACORN does. Although this situation happened in Cleveland, any prudent observer of the news would know that ACORN has repeatedly been implicated in voter fraud nationwide.

A man at the center of a voter-registration scandal told The Post yesterday he was given cash and cigarettes by aggressive ACORN activists in exchange for registering an astonishing 72 times, in apparent violation of Ohio laws.

"Sometimes, they come up and bribe me with a cigarette, or they'll give me a dollar to sign up," said Freddie Johnson, 19, who filled out 72 separate voter-registration cards over an 18-month period at the behest of the left-leaning Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

The activities of ACORN should anger every law-abiding American. And somebody or several should be prosecuted.

Tip: Standup Chuck Nestor

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/10/2008 11:04:00 AM

Mexican Cartels Expanding into Guatemala, Costa Rica and Argentina

(Mexico City) Reports from the Meeting of Public Security Ministers of the Americas this week indicate that the Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas, led by el Cachetes (aka Daniel Perez Rojas), and the Sinaloa cartel, led by Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, have been aggressively expanding into Guatemala, Costa Rica and Argentina.

UN Secretary General for Drugs and Crime, Antonio Acosta, said that Latin American countries “are caught in the crossfire of drugs and firearms.”

Guatemalan Secretary of Government Francisco Jimenez said that his country is "hamburger meat" to organized crime and narcotraffickers. The criminals just kill at will since Guatemala lacks the resources to stop them.

Costa Rican Secretary of the Interior Janna del Vecho reported that Mexican drug traffickers, in particular the Sinaloa cartel, have been shipping drugs across the border with Nicaragua and using Costa Rica as a transshipment point. Sinaloa traffickers fly Cessnas packed with cash to trade for drugs stashed in the country by Colombian cartels. Drugs go north, cash goes south.

In Argentina, the Internal Security Secretary, Hector Masquelet, said a recent bust of an illegal ephedrine laboratory with links to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel indicates that his country is now being used for production of narcotics. Previously, only drug transit and consumption were known to occur in Argentina. Masquelet, however, ruled out a "large presence" of drug cartels. Hopefully, Masquelet is not speaking too soon.

According to Sergio Jaramillo, Colombia’s Defense Department Vice-Minister, there is concern that FARC drug suppliers (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) are strengthening ties with the Mexican cartels. "The strengthening between the Mexican cartels and FARC is particularly worrisome. The Mexican cartels are buying a lot of drug from the FARC and are exporting to Mexico, North America and also Europe.”

Reportedly, about 1,000 tons of cocaine are produced yearly in South America, worth about $60 billion. Half is consumed in the U.S.


Drug-Related Murders
Reported in the week ending 10/10/08:

(Choix, Sinaloa, Mexico) The Choix's chief of police was forcibly abducted Monday by unknown gunmen. His body was found Wednesday in a canal, having been shot repeatedly in the head.

(Jerecuaro, Guanajuato, Mexico) Yesterday morning, Jerecuaro's chief of police and his wife were murdered by unknown gunmen in car-to-car gunfire as they left their home.

(Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico) On Wednesday night, five state police officers were killed during an attack by unknown gunmen with assault rifles and grenades. "Apparently the troopers were about to check the occupants of a vehicle at a gas station when hit men believed to be “Zetas” attacked them from other vehicles. Approximately 850 shell casings have been located at the scene. Nine grenades exploded."

(Juarez, Mexico) Last night, a car with unknown gunmen chased two Juarez police officers for several miles until the police unit crashed. The gunmen then murdered the officers in their patrol car.

(Chihuahua, Mexico) Reported Wednesday: “Chihuahua recorded seven dead in the last hours.” Two of them were killed this morning as they left a restaurant; two others showed up “wrapped” in “an exclusive neighborhood”; another died in a confrontation with police and two men who were carried off by an armed group turned up dead on a highway side road, shot in the head and with signs of torture.

(Colombia) "Eight Colombian military on an anti-insurgent patrol in southern Colombia died when they entered a field which had been rigged with antipersonnel land mines."

As a sample of the violence south of the border, I frankly suspect that the examples don't adequately convey the level of lawlessness. Grasp this fact, in 2008 thus far, 3,000 people have been assassinated in Mexico.

Source
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       Following Entry Posted 10/10/2008 10:04:00 AM

Update: Big response to "ugly women" call


There were shrieks from feminists and such fowl when this Australian story first became public. "Ugly" is apparently a VERY bad word. See my previous post of August 24. We now read:

"A plea for "ugly ducklings" to move to Mount Isa to help address a woman shortage has paid dividends, with resumes and letters flowing in. And some of them were "very attractive", mayor John Molony said today.



Cr Molony said he had been contacted by more than 50 women wanting to know more about the outback mining town and its men. "While the media were beating me over the head with a stick, girls were sending me emails from all around world and a surprising number from across Australia," he said.

Cr Molony sparked widespread outrage and grabbed international headlines in mid-August when he suggested "beauty-disadvantaged women" come to the town, where men outnumbered women five to one and "happiness awaits".

Today, Mr Molony said the women who contacted him wanted to know more about Mt Isa, the men and the employment opportunities - though he could not say if any had actually moved into the area. Interested parties included an Italian journalist, professionals from the United States, customer service and administration staff, and others from Spain, South Africa, the Philippines and across Australia. Mr Molony said at the peak of interest, he would receive about five letters a day - some of which included photos. "It's getting a bit embarrassing, because some of these girls are beautiful," he said.

"One girl said she'd lived all her life in Brisbane, she's 26, and she's never smelt sweat on a man. "Well, there's plenty (of sweaty men) up here. "I think she liked the idea of being in Mt Isa and meeting miners, men who actually work."

Source

Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/10/2008 09:08:00 AM

High School Goats Killed

(Brownsville, Texas) Four farm goats owned by Lopez High School were mysteriously killed this week, slaughtered to pieces. The goats were part of the school's 4-H curriculum.

Police are investigating.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/10/2008 08:35:00 AM

Texas Issues Immigrant Driver's Licenses

(Austin, Texas) Non-citizens legally in Texas will be issued driver's licenses. They'll look different.

Foreign nationals living in Texas must now prove they're in the country legally before getting a state driver's license or identification card -- one that will look markedly different from those issued to U.S. citizens.

"While we welcome legally documented individuals to the Lone Star State, we must ensure that this privilege is not abused by those seeking to enter our country illegally," Gov. Rick Perry said. "These new guidelines will provide additional security."

The licenses and identification cards, which will be vertical instead of horizontal, will also be stamped with the words "temporary visitor" and will list the date their legal residency expires. Advocates for immigrant rights say the change could facilitate profiling.

I don't understand. A guy walks into the DMV and is found to be illegally in Texas. That's identifying the guy, not profiling.

Authorities say that those who do not have proper identification will simply be turned away and denied a license. The information will not be sent to ICE or Homeland Security. In other words, the Texas DMV is conspiring to protect illegal aliens. They won't snitch.

Just lovely.

Companion post at Diggers Realm.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/10/2008 07:46:00 AM

Girl Accused of Cell Phone Nudity

(Columbus, Ohio) A 15-year-old female student at Licking Valley High School (name withheld) has been accused of sending nude pictures of herself to her classmates.

She has been charged with a delinquency count of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. She faces possible suspension.

Anecdotally, this story is insignificant but it is an example of circumstances that are presumably quite troubling to educators. Communications devices inappropriately used in classroom is a problem area that will likely grow.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/09/2008 05:13:00 PM

Man Fatally Shoots Intruder

(Crest Hill, Illinois) This story is sketchy. Yesterday evening, a 68-year-old man fatally shoots an intruder for breaking into his apartment.

The man was watching television in the living room of his one-bedroom, ground-level apartment in the 1500 block of Pioneer Road about 6 p.m. when the intruder broke the bedroom window, according to Crest Hill Acting Police Chief Dwayne Wilkerson.

The man got his .38 revolver from the bedroom and shot the intruder, who was taken to Provena Saint Joseph Hospital in Joliet and pronounced dead.

The intruder has been identified as Demetrious Grove, 34, of 1400 block of Pioneer Road in Crest Hill, Wilkerson said. Grove was not armed.

Why would a person try to break into a house in his own neighborhood at 6 PM? Everyone would likely be home and awake and it would still be light outside. Doesn't make sense.

I'll guess the guy was altered by either alcohol or drugs and he thought he was breaking into his own house. On the other hand, maybe he was simply a career criminal who thought nobody was home.

In any event, no charges have been filed against the shooter -- so far. Since it happened in Illinois, though, you never know.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/09/2008 01:05:00 PM

Live You Long Time - No Sex

(Cornwall, England) On Saturday, Miss Clara Meadmore will celebrate her 105th birthday. Her remarkable longevity Miss Meadmore attributes to the fact that she has never had sex.

Yes, Miss Meadmore is a virgin, Britain's oldest and probably the world's oldest virgin.

Miss Meadmore, who remembers the Titanic sinking and the outbreak of the First World War, said she knew she would remain single from the age of 12, and abstained as a young woman in order to concentrate on earning a living.

The retired secretary said that during her youth in the 1920s and 1930s sex entailed marriage - and she just did not buy into it.

Miss Meadmore, of Truro, Cornwall, said she was proud of the fact she remained celibate.

She said: 'People have asked whether I am a homosexual and the answer is no. I have just never been interested in or fancied having sex.

'I imagine there is a lot of hassle involved and I have always been busy doing other things.'

She added: 'I've never had a boyfriend - I've never been bothered about relationships. When I was a girl you only had sex with your husband and I never married.'

Congratulations, Miss Meadmore, and Happy Birthday! It's nice to see a traditional woman in the news.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/09/2008 09:01:00 AM

Judge: Teen can't wear gun T-shirt to school


We read:

"A federal judge sided with a southcentral Pennsylvania school district in a dispute over whether a high school student should have been barred from wearing a T-shirt with images of guns on it. "Students have no constitutional right to promote violence in our public schools," U.S. District Judge James Knoll Gardner in Allentown wrote in an opinion issued Tuesday.

Donald Miller III, now a 15-year-old sophomore at Penn Manor High School in Millersville, was given detention in December after he defied an assistant principal's order to turn the shirt inside-out. Images of two guns were printed on the shirt, along with phrases including, "United States Terrorist Hunting Permit No Bag Limit."

Miller's parents sued the school district earlier this year, arguing that his freedom of speech was violated. The shirt, a gift from an uncle who is stationed in Iraq, was intended to be a patriotic show of support for the troops, they argued.

Source

Just a picture of a gun "promotes violence"? Very shaky reasoning. Could it just possibly promote self-defense and thus DETER violence? I would have thought that stomping Old Glory was more likely to promote violence. And we all know that THAT is protected speech.

Wanna guess that the judge is just a doctrinaire gun-hater? (Though he probably owns one himself, on past precedents. There's one law for "the little people" and another for the Leftist superior beings).



Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/09/2008 08:49:00 AM

Texas Teacher Linked to Mexican Drug Cartel

(Splendora, Texas) A 40-year-old teacher with the Splendora Independent School District, Elena Aranda Ducoing, was arrested yesterday by Montgomery County Sheriff's SIU deputies on alleged drug possession, drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

Evidence obtained by the SIU during the investigation involves suspected money laundering in the millions of dollars, and suspected trafficking of marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

During this investigation, the SIU collected computers, documents, 10 pounds of marijuana, 3 grams of cocaine, $2,300. 00 in U.S. currency, money counter machine, and other trafficking items used to package and transport currency and narcotics from the suspect's residence.

The suspect's husband, Roberto Munoz, was arrested by the SIU last month on the same charges. Munoz has suspected links to the Los Zetas/Gulf Cartel, who is one of the largest most violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. They are responsible for numerous murders, kidnappings and other violent crimes in Mexico and in the United States.

Investigators notified the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for the filing of federal charges.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/09/2008 08:40:00 AM

Woman Gets Deferred Prosecution for Sex Assault - Updated

(Chilton, Wisconsin) Yesterday, Calumet County Judge Donald Poppy accepted a deferred prosecution agreement in the sexual assault case against 20-year-old Kristina N. Schwoerer.

Schwoerer admitted to engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy after a high school dance.

Kristina N. Schwoerer of Brillion is required to complete a sexual perpetrator’s assessment and follow through with treatment recommendations, have no contact with the victim and have no sexual contact with males under 18.

She will also be tested for HIV, hepatitis B and sexually transmitted diseases.

The agreement struck by Dist. Atty. Ken Kratz and defense attorney Ann Larson was approved Wednesday by Calumet County Judge Donald Poppy. The agreement means the case is held open for two years, and will be dismissed if Schwoerer has no further violations in that time.

In my opinion, it would seem more appropriate to have the sexual perpetrator's assessment completed before making a determination of deferred prosecution. And, although it's likely not unusual, I think it's curious that a 20-year-old woman was apparently attending a high school dance. She should be moving on with her life.


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Woman Accused of Sex Assault
[Previous 8/3/08 entry]
(Chilton, Wisconsin) A 20-year-old local woman, Kristina N. Schwoerer, was arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy. Schwoerer faces a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child under 16.

Schwoerer and the boy told police the two had sex in her Brillion apartment after a high school dance Feb. 8.

The two told police the sex was consensual, and she told police she thought he was “mature” and 17 or 18 years old.

Schwoerer was booked into custody and released on $1,500 signature bond. A court appearance is scheduled for September 9.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 06:28:00 PM

Student and "Hot" Teacher Relations

As readers are aware, this blog chronicles teacher-student (primarily female teacher-student) sex stories. I usually limit my reporting to female teachers and, somewhat understandably, have been accused of disliking women. On the contrary, I like women but I strongly dislike child sex offenders. I document female sex offending teachers because the number of female teachers being caught committing sex offenses is manageable.

For a short while, I tried to keep up with all offending teachers but I quickly found the number to be too large and too much a task for one person. Probably 95% of sex offenses committed by teachers are committed by males. I learned early on that I didn't have the capability to keep up with the volume. Therefore, I decided to just track female sex offenders. And I found the number involved is manageable.

In creating my grassroots database, I've learned several salient characteristics about the prosecution and sentencing of female sex offenders. For example, female sex offenders rarely are sentenced to meaningful punishment. It's frequently just probation. Granted, I'm not in the courtroom so my opinion is a long-distance assessment.

And general leniency toward female sex offenders is supported, in a round-about way, by commenters who frequently protest any prosecution or say, "Why wasn't it like that in my school?" Many male commenters can't accept that female teachers are guilty of anything, regularly commenting that sex with male students is a positive.

Unfortunately, the data I've collected indicates that great harm results from female teachers' inappropriate sexual behavior with students, male and female. Right off, I can recall two tragic deaths of students who had relations with a female teacher.

- Sean Powell, 18, was fatally shot by his teacher's husband, Eric McLean. Powell allegedly had a sexual relationship with teacher Erin McLean.

- A 14-year-old female student committed suicide allegedly from the psychological trauma experienced after engaging in sex with a female teacher, Arielle M. Beck, 26.

Other great harm is not easily quantifiable. In most cases, female sex offender teachers are married and/or have children, all of whom end up scarred for the rest of their lives. So it's not only the students that are harmed, it's also the families.

A no less significant, devastating result of female teacher-student sex relations is pregnancy. It occurs quite regularly. Only heaven knows how many under-15-year-old fathers are stumbling around clueless about how parenthood will impact their young lives. Harmed? You bet! Check out this sad story of a male who was sexually exploited by a female teacher.

In summary, teacher-student sexual relationships devastate lives. Clear and simple, there is no good.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 04:44:00 PM

Arrest In Mark "Papa" Guardado Killing

(Bartlesville, Oklahoma) Last month, the 45-year-old head of the Hells Angels in San Francisco, Mark "Papa" Guardado, was fatally shot (pic) in San Francisco's Mission District during a fight with a suspected rival motorcycle gang member. Guardado died at San Francisco General Hospital.

Based on witness reports, San Francisco Police identified 37-year-old Christopher Ablett as a suspect.

Last Sunday, Ablett turned himself in to the Bartlesville Police.

Christopher Ablett buzzed for assistance Sunday afternoon at police headquarters and said he wanted to surrender, Bartlesville Police Chief Tom Holland said.

"He was extremely cooperative; just as polite as could be," Holland said. [...]

Ablett is said to be a member of the Mongols Motor Club, a rival of the Hells Angels. Recent reports in California have linked assaults, shootings and pipe bomb explosions to tension between the groups.

When officials ran Ablett's name and fingerprints through their system, they found nothing tying him to any Oklahoma case.

Ablett then suggested that they expand their search nationally. As the California warrant for his arrest popped onto the screen with a $5 million bond attached, Ablett told the officers, "That would be me," Holland said.

Ablett is in custody awaiting extradition proceedings, scheduled for November 12th.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 03:35:00 PM

UAW Approves Pay Cut for Autoworkers

I am really surprised that the United Auto Workers would ever discuss a pay cut, even more that they would approve it. Not only that, but it's not small, around 15% across the board.

And, the UAW also approved an increase in payments for medical benefits.

This all happened in the Normal, Illinois, Mitsubishi plant. And if you ask me, it ain't normal.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 02:50:00 PM

Boy, 14, Arranges Own Murder

(Manchester, England) You're going to love this story. It's that odd.

A schoolboy posed as a female British secret service spy in an internet chatroom to persuade a friend to try to murder him, a court heard yesterday.

The boy, John, now 15, groomed a 16-year-old boy, Mark (both pseudonyms to protect the children), with an "elaborate matrix of deceit" involving six fictional characters in the MSN chatroom and correspondence totalling 56,000 lines of text.

The fictions created by John, then 14, convinced Mark that he was murdering someone who had a terminal brain tumour. He was told that his reward would be money, a job as a British secret service agent and sex with the spy, whom he believed was a middle-aged woman.

In fact, John was determined to get himself killed, which is why he never used the abort code - 6969 - that he provided.

Manchester Crown Court heard that John, who had fallen in love with Mark, also tricked him into performing sex acts on a webcam before tricking him into stabbing him twice in an alleyway at Altrincham on 29 June last year. Though John's life was in the balance for a time, he did not die and was released from hospital after a week.

Over a nine-month period before the attempted murder, John began presenting himself as a 16-year-old girl in search of a cyber relationship, then "introduced" himself as the girl's step-brother. John and Mark then physically met, as did their parents, but in the chatroom John introduced increasingly far-fetched characters, including another boy who "stalked" John and supposedly killed his girlfriend. Another of the characters was then fictitiously killed off, leaving only Mark, John and the stalker.

Other characters emerged and were killed off, one even came back from the dead. But by the time of a crucial chatroom conversation on 28 June, John was still convinced by the order - from the "spy" - to kill Mark. John asked the "spy": U want me 2 take him 2 trafford centre [shopping centre, near Manchester] and kill him in the middle of the trafford centre?? thats wot ur asking me?

Mark said, "Yes." The following day, Mark stabbed John in the stomach and chest.

Mark called the ambulance and told police officers they had been attacked but after CCTV footage disproved his story, he was charged with attempted murder. Police only became aware of the labyrinthine plot when they examined John's computer. After months of analysis, detectives were able to establish that it was John who sent the final messages from his home computer on the night of 28 June 2003 and had planned his own murder.

John lived and was charged with incitement to murder. Mark was charged with attempted murder. Both were sentenced to probation.

Source
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 02:17:00 PM

DMV Going International

If you live or visit Europe, be prepared for the real possibility that traffic infractions and penalties in countries other than your own will show up on your driving record. An international department of motor vehicles has been proposed.

Thousands of Britons flashed for speeding in France each year may soon be getting points on their licence back home, it has emerged.

Transport authorities in France say they intend to drive through new European rules to stop foreign motorists putting their foot down with impunity.

The worst culprits are the Germans, followed by the British and Italians.

Other measures proposed are a Europe-wide license plate and registration system and cross-border punishment and suspensions.

And so, Europe dances closer and closer to a big brother utopia with no borders and no sovereign nations.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 11:11:00 AM

ACLU Lawsuit Removes Restrictions on Sex Offenders

(St. Louis, Missouri) This past summer, a bill was signed into law which specified that convicted sex offenders must avoid Halloween-related contact with children by confining themselves inside their homes from 5 PM to 10:30 PM on Halloween unless there is just cause to leave. "Just cause" was defined as an emergency or a job.

Furthermore, convicted sex offenders must keep the outside lights off and post a sign stating, "No candy or treats at this residence."

As a consequence, the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, representing four Missouri convicted sex offenders, has filed a lawsuit in federal court asserting that the Halloween law is too vague to enforce and it adds punishment to sentences already served.

According to Sen. John Loudon, the bill's sponsor, "It's kind of silly that people are raising the constitutional right of people to hand out candy on Halloween."

Tony Rothert, ACLU legal director, indicated that defendants in the lawsuit will include Gov. Matt Blunt, Attorney General Jay Nixon, and all police chiefs and prosecutors in the areas where the convicted sex offenders live.

Speaking for Gov. Blunt, spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said that their office is not surprised that the ACLU is "now suing the governor to make it easier to victimize children."

Personally, I can understand the hardship experienced by convicted sex offenders, not only on Halloween but year-round. Nevertheless, I'm unsympathetic.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 09:07:00 AM

Disenfranchised Voters

Call me suspicious. There have been hints lately that the definition of voter disenfranchisement is being redefined by the mainstream media and political spokespeople. No longer does it specifically mean that people have been denied the right to vote, it's now being used to describe people who have the right but don't care or are just too lazy to get up and vote.

Like I mentioned, I suspect the language is being massaged.

I believe that people who simply, for whatever reason, are not inclined to vote are soon to become the "disenfranchised," a word with fiery connotations.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 08:39:00 AM

Filipina sex not funny




As I read it, the skit is actually mocking Northerners. There is prejudice against Northerners in Britain the way there is prejudice against Southerners in the USA.

"One of Britiain's top comedians has got himself involved in a diplomatic incident in Manila today after Filipino officials failed to see the funny side of a sketch that mocked domestic workers living in Britain.

The Philippines' Foreign Secretary summoned the British Ambassador to explain why the BBC had broadcast a comedy skit involving Harry Enfield, in which a Filipina housemaid was cajoled into having sex with a British suburbanite.

Raul Gonzalez, the country's justice minister, also spoke out pledging to sign a petition that demanded an apology from the national broadcaster. "I don't like our fellow Filipinos to be insulted," he said.

The petition has been set up by a group called the Philippine Foundation, which is calling for the re-education of the BBC after the episode of Harry and Paul was broadcast last month. It says: "This particular sketch is completely disgraceful, distasteful and a great example of gutter humour."

Source

Posted by John Ray.
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       Following Entry Posted 10/08/2008 12:13:00 AM

Florida Rehab Director Gets Probation and Rehab

(Palm City, Florida) After pleading no contest to leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and driving under the influence, former alcohol rehab executive director Margot Cioffi was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to rehab.

Ironically, she was ordered to attend Treasure Coast Comprehensive Offender Rehabilitation and Educat