Women With Troubles - July 2010

Reported in news stories during July 2010, 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. Links to month-by-month compilations are displayed on the navigation bar at left.

(AK) Cheyserr V. Miller, 22
neighbor - Gets 10 years prison for sex with girl, 12,

(AL) Amanda Lynn Cook, 23,
neighbor - Accused of sex with boy, 15,

(AL) December Ann Green, 23,
neighbor - Accused of endangering baby with marijuana,

(AL) Amber Marie Knight,
neighbor - Arrested for meth manufacturing,

(AL) Jennifer Lawson, 24,
neighbor - Arrested for possession of meth,

(AR) Christina Nixon,
teacher - Accused of sex with student,

(AR) Joy Leann Trotter, 40,
neighbor - Gets year in prison for pimping teen girls,

(AR) Beth Ann Winchester, 33,
teacher's aide - Accused of sex with boys, 15 to 17 years old,

(AZ) Andrea Martinez, 26,
teacher - Arrested for molesting boy, 14,

(CA) Teresa Salcedo, 28,
school clerk - Accused of sex with male student, 17,

(FL) Heather Bergeron, 27,
teacher - Arrested for possession of controlled substance,

(FL) Sheyla Diaz, 44,
teacher - Gets 16 months prison, six months house arrest for identity theft,

(FL) Rosemary Mowls, 41,
convicted child molester - Arrested for failing to register as sex offender,

(FL) Laura Elyse Negron, 24,
teacher - Accused of felony abuse of toddlers,

(GA) Amy Mykkanen, 25,
neighbor - Accused of sex with boy, 13,

(GA) Kimberly Louise Watson, 29,
neighbor - Accused of liquoring up and having sex with boy, 14,

(ID) Summer Kelli Ashle Hughes (formerly Nelson), 29,
babysitter - Gets probation for injury to boy, 14,

(IL) Haven A. Kirkpatrick, 29,
gym teacher - Accused of sex with student,

(IN) Jennifer P. Just, 34,
neighbor - Accused of driving impaired in vehicular homicide case,

(KS) Stacy Main, 30,
teacher - Accused of sex with student, 17,

(KY) Jaclyn Vanwinkle,
neighbor - Gets year in prison for sex with boy, 15,

(MD) Carleigh Renee Kufchak, 19,
babysitter - Accused of abusing disabled 8-year-old,

(MI) Tammy Marie Mulder, 40,
neighbor - Arrested for operating a meth lab,

(MI) Aimee Louise Sword, 36,
neighbor - Gets nine years prison for sex with own son, 14,

(MO) Nigaila Gibbs, 20,
prostitute - Arrested for infecting men with HIV,

(NH) Melinda Dennehy, 41,
teacher - Gets no jail in naked pics case,

(NJ) Joy R. Black, 32,
prison teacher's aide - Accused of sex with inmates,

(NV) Charlene Marie Benitez, 22,
neighbor - Arrested after her baby tests positive for meth,

(NY) Krista Kiblin, 20,
neighbor - Accused of murdering boyfriend,

(NY) Tammy L. Sprague, 31,
neighbor - Gets probation for sex with boy, 16,

(NY) Lynne Stewart, 70,
lawyer - Gets 10 years prison for aiding terrorists,

(OR) Wendy Cannin, 30,
teacher - Gets three years prison for sex with two boys,

(SC) Jessica L. Bradley, 20,
neighbor - Gets four years prison for sex with boy, 15, resulting in child,

(SC) Diana Hook, 50,
neighbor - Accused of criminal sex with boys,

(TX) Amber Teshae Bowie, 20,
babysitter - Accused of sex assault of boy, 3,

(TX) Lucinda Rodriguez Caldwell, 38,
teacher - Accused of sex assault of boy, 12,

(VA) Valarie H. Casto, 39,
teacher - Accused of sexual exploitation of child,

(VA) Sabrina Pado, 50,
teacher - Gets eight days jail for being drunk at school,

(VA) Danette Rogers,
teacher - Accused of felony shoplifting.

Thanks to the tipsters.

Hamas Bans Female Dainties from Shop Windows

(Gaza Strip) Incrementally, the radical Hamas-controlled Gaza government has been imposing new restrictions on the Palestinian people under the guise of protecting public morality.

New prohibitions have included a ban on women smoking hookah pipes in public, a ban on women riding behind men on motor scooters, and now there is a ban on retail shops showing women's underwear and scantily-clad mannequins in display windows.

Hamas contends that displays of women's underwear are immoral. Meanwhile, the issue also remains controversial in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, the sight of female unmentionables tends to affect the behavior of Muslim males.

Reportedly, the pictures illustrate the result of Saudi men looking at women's underwear.

Obama's ideology is very American -- sadly

In addition to the points below see my extensive summary of the evidence that American "Progressives" were the first Fascists of the 20th century

Reading the scholarly work of Woodrow Wilson is an educational experience. It is shocking to read the expressions of his disaffection for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. As R.J. Pestritto has demonstrated, the intellectual roots of modern liberalism lie in an assault on the ideas of natural rights and limited government. They eventuate in an administrative state and rule by supposed experts. Obamacare represents something like the full flowering of modern liberalism.

Wilson's expressions of disapproval are the precursor to Barack Obama's disdain for the Constitution and the Warren Court. Obama perfectly reflected Wilson's views in his 2001 comments on the civil rights movement and the Supreme Court. In the course of the famous radio interview Obama gave to WBEZ in Chicago, Obama observed that the Warren Court had not broken "free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it's been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties." To achieve "redistributive change," the limitations of the Constitution would have to be overcome by the Court or by Congress.

Franklin Roosevelt touted welfare state liberalism in the "second Bill of Rights" that he set forth to Congress in his 1944 State of the Union Address. "Necessitous men are not free men," Roosevelt asserted, and enumerated a new set of rights, among which were the right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation, the right of every family to a decent home, and the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health.

Implicitly arguing that the teaching of the Declaration had become obsolete, Roosevelt asserted: "In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all regardless of station, race, or creed."

The economic "rights" asserted by Roosevelt in his second Bill of Rights differ and conflict with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They are claims on the liberty of others. If I have a right to medical care, you must have a corresponding duty to supply it. If I have a right to a decent home, you must have a duty to provide it.

The argument for the welfare state belongs in the same family as "the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world. You will find that all the arguments in favor of king-craft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden."

Lincoln memorably derided the underlying principle as "the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it."

William Voegeli's Never Enough: America's Limitless Welfare State is one of the books of the year. George Will drew attention to Voegeli's book in his excellent column "The danger of a government with unlimited power." Michael Lind attacks Will and comes to the defense of liberalism. William Voegeli strikes back in "Why liberalism is dangerous." Voegeli has reignited a profoundly important argument that ultimately requires us to recover a basic understanding of limited constitutional government.

More HERE

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Stereotyping Oriental Tenderonies



Girls Compared (Korean - Chinese - Japanese)
It's not known how accurate the profiles are. Not my artwork nor my assertions, but it's curious.

Iowa Teacher NOT GUILTY in Sex Case - Updated

(Mason City, Iowa) Jodi Lynn Barrus, 33, was found not guilty by a Wright County jury speeding through deliberations in less than an hour. It seems that her accuser, an 18-year-old male, couldn't get his story straight. "Inconsistencies" in the victim's testimony led to the verdict.

The teen's history of making up stories was the lynchpin of the defense's case.

In closing arguments, defense attorney Derek Johnson pointed out 50 inconsistencies in the teen's statements to police, friends and testimony in court.

Barrus said the ordeal will change the way she deals with students in the future.

"For me, I felt like I was a very friendly teacher. But now, I think you completely have to draw yourself away from kids, knowing that this type of incident can happen at any time. Yeah, I think it changes you completely as a person and as a teacher."

Sadly, teachers are automatically in the lurch when accusations of sexual impropriety emerge. They must be vigilant in protecting themselves from false charges.

Barrus is understandably angered and has threatened lawsuits against school employees.

* * * * *
Iowa Teacher Accused of Sexually Exploiting Boy
[Previous 3/26/10 post]
(Belmond, Iowa) A teacher at Belmond-Klemme High School, Jodi Lynn Barrus, has been accused of inappropriate relations with a male student. She has been charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee.

According to Wright County Sheriff Paul Schultz, Barrus formerly taught at a school in Pocatello, Idaho.

Schultz says Barrus turned herself into the sheriff's office with her attorney on Wednesday. Schultz says the school had already put her on administrative leave.

Barrus was booked into custody at the Wright County Jail and later released on $10,000 bond.

Don't laugh!

The long-anticipated Chevrolet Volt, General Motors' electric car, will cost $41,000, the company announced Tuesday, leaving consumers to decide whether its environmental appeal is worth a price far above that of similarly sized conventional autos.

Electric-car technology has been around for years, but the high cost to make the vehicles has prevented automakers from producing them for the mass market. The price announcements for the Volt and its electric rival, the Nissan Leaf, have been highly anticipated as a result. Nissan, the only other major manufacturer expected to bring such a vehicle to market this year, said the Leaf will cost $32,780.

Although the prices are high, enthusiasts say that electric cars can reach a large, untapped market for vehicles with little or no tailpipe emissions.

The Volt can travel 40 miles on its battery charge and an additional 340 miles on a gasoline-powered generator. The all-electric Leaf has a range of 100 miles.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama pledged to put 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015.

In developing the Volt, GM is seeking to fulfill its promise to Congress during the government bailout to move beyond gas-guzzlers. The company had been planning the Volt long before it neared bankruptcy last year, however, as an attempt to leapfrog Toyota in the quest for fuel-efficient vehicles.

The president has expressed optimism that automakers will be able to lower the price tag of electric-vehicle technology. Earlier this month, he suggested that major reductions in battery costs, one of the primary reasons electric cars are more expensive, are on the horizon.

Price is only one potential barrier to mass adoption, however. Consumers must also get accustomed to plugging the cars in at home. It takes hours to recharge the vehicles, and in the absence of a network of public recharging stations, drivers that run out of juice may need a tow truck.

More HERE

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Ciudad Juarez - U.S. Consulate Closed

From the Consulate General of the United States:

Warden Message

The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez is closed on July 30, 2010 to review its security posture. American citizens are advised avoid the area around the Consulate General until it reopens. Authorities are investigating the situation.


Press Release

The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juárez has closed to review its security posture. The facility will be closed all day on Friday, July 30, and remain closed until the security review is completed.

It's not exactly clear what situation is being investigated but it is clear that Americans are being scared away from border areas by rampant violence.

"Targeted By Aliens!"

(Gornji Lajici, Bosnia) A 50-year-old Bosnian man, Radivoje Lajic, says he has had six meteorites hit the roof of his house in the past three years.

Experts at Belgrade University have confirmed that all the falling rocks he has handed over were meteorites.

They are now trying to work out what exactly it is about his house that particularly attracts them. The strikes always happen when it is raining heavily, he says, never when there are clear skies.

Radivoje Lajic and meteorite

Lajic has his own explanation, of course.

After the fifth rock struck his house, he said: 'I am obviously being targeted by extraterrestrials. I don't know what I have done to annoy them but there is no other explanation that makes sense. The chance of being hit by a meteorite is so small that getting hit six times has to be deliberate.'

I too think the meteorite strikes are deliberate and Mr. Lajic is behind them. I'd suggest that the first strike caused the meteorite to break into several pieces and every time it rains, Mr. Lajic pulls a piece out and tosses it on his roof -- all for the publicity which translates into money when he sells the rock.

I suggest that Mr. Lajic suffers from something of a P.T. Barnum-influenced, modified Munchhausen-by-proxy syndrome.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Carolina Woman Accused of Sex with Boys

(Florence, South Carolina) Earlier this month, a 50-year-old Florence woman, Diana Hook, was arrested in Coward, a community south of Florence, after being caught engaging in alleged criminal sexual conduct with a child younger than 16.

Hook was charged with committing a lewd act, contributing to delinquency and public drunkenness.

Earlier this week, Hook was arrested again, this time by Florence County Sheriff's deputies, and charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor age 11 to 14. Details regarding the second arrest are unavailable.

Oregon Teacher Gets Prison for Sex with Boys - Updated

(Heppner, Oregon) Former track coach and math teacher at Heppner High School, Wendy Cannin, pleaded guilty earlier today to felony charges of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct stemming from engaging in sex with two boys, ages 15 and 17.

As a result of the guilty plea, Cannin was sentenced to three years in prison.

Upon completion of her prison term, Cannin must register as a sex offender. She resigned her teaching position shortly after her arrest last year.

* * * * *
Oregon Teacher Accused of Sex with Two Boys
[Previous 9/1/09 post]
(Heppner, Oregon) A 30-year-old track coach and math teacher at Heppner Junior/High School, Wendy Cannin, was arrested yesterday for allegedly engaging in sex with two teen boys, ages 15 and 17.

The sexual episodes reportedly occurred on and off school grounds over a period encompassing the whole summer after beginning sometime before the end of the last school year.

Cannin faces charges of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct. She was booked into custody at the Umatilla County Jail with bail set at $40,500.

Woman Gets Prison in Sex Case

(Charleston, South Carolina) A 20-year-old local woman, Jessica L. Bradley, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography related to a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy which resulted in a child being born.

Circuit Judge Roger Young sentenced Bradley to 10 years in prison, suspended to four years of time behind bars, followed by five years of probation.

The judge said he was troubled by her extensive involvement in pornography and apparent lack of remorse. He did note that she had been sexually abused as a youth.

Bradley, now 20, appeared in court wearing striped jail scrubs and said little, other than to acknowledge the judge's questions. She has been in the Charleston County Detention Center for more than a year.

Jail time is warranted in the case, Young said during her guilty plea in the Charleston County Judicial Center, "to help you recognize the wrong of what you were doing."

When released from prison, Bradley must register as a sex offender.

Open White House

(Washington) Last November, Michaele and Tareq Salahi crashed White House state dinner, passing through several layers of security, despite not being on the guest list.

Last week, an unemployed Virginia woman, Leslie Macko, who had a prior conviction for drug fraud, was able to join President Obama in the Rose Garden for an announcement regarding unemployment benefits.

Macko joined two other unemployed people and President Obama at the podium for a speech designed to encourage lawmakers to extend jobless benefits.

"We need to extend unemployment compensation benefits for women like Leslie Macko, who lost her job at a fitness center last year, and has been looking for work ever since. Because she's eligible for only a few more weeks of unemployment, she's doing what she never thought she'd have to do. Not at this point, anyway. She's turning to her father for financial support," Obama said in his speech.

Heh. It seems the Obama administration couldn't find three people without criminal records among millions of people unemployed? Embarrassing, eh?

Tip: slwlion

Repeating History

This cartoon reportedly appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1934. It's applicability to the current political situation in the U.S. is undeniable.



Tip: Rita and Eugene

School Clerk Accused of Sex with Student

(Stockton, California) A 28-year-old administrative clerk at Stagg High School, Teresa Salcedo, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly engaging in sex with a 17-year-old male student.

According to Stockton Unified Police Chief Jim West, Salcedo faces charges of felony unlawful sex with a minor, misdemeanor unlawful sex and child molestation.

Salcedo was arrested at her job at Stagg High School without incident, West said.

West said investigators determined at least one sexual encounter happened at a private residence, but it was unclear whether there were other meetings between Salcedo and the student.

"None of the alleged activity took place on school district property," West said. West said there were not believed to be any other victims in case.

Slacedo was booked into custody with bail set at $18,000.

Tip: Richard

A loss for freedom of religion


Amazing that the Constitution can be so blatantly ignored. What part of: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" don't they understand? The "establishment" clause has been perversely treated but I don't see how any court can reasonably misinterpret "free exercise".

"A federal judge has ruled in favor of a public university that removed a Christian student from its graduate program in school counseling over her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. Monday's ruling, according to Julea Ward's attorneys, could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views.

“It’s a very dangerous precedent,” Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told FOX News Radio. “The ruling doesn’t say that explicitly, but that’s what is going to happen.”

“Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF senior counsel David French. “To reach its decision, the court had to do something that’s never been done in federal court: uphold an extremely broad and vague university speech code.”

Ward’s attorneys claim the university told her she would only be allowed to remain in the program if she went through a “remediation” program so that she could “see the error of her ways” and change her belief system about homosexuality.

The case is similar to a lawsuit the ADF filed against Augusta State University in Georgia. Counseling student Jennifer Keeton was allegedly told to stop sharing her Christian beliefs in order to graduate.

Tedesco said both cases should be a warning to Christians attending public colleges and universities. “Public universities are imposing the ideological stances of private groups on their students,” he said. “If you don’t comply, you will be kicked out. It’s scary stuff and it’s not a difficult thing to see what’s coming down the pike.”

The Alliance Defense Fund told FOX News it will appeal the ruling.

Source

Muslims are REALLY anti-homosexual so we would just have to have one of those to enrol for a BIG backpedalling to occur

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Calcium Supplements Linked to Higher Heart Attack Risk

New research findings:

Ordinary calcium supplements taken by the elderly to strengthen bones may boost the risk of heart attacks, according to a study released Friday.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, suggest that the role of calcium in the treatment of osteoporosis should be reconsidered, the researchers said.

Calcium tablets are commonly prescribed to boost skeletal health, but a recent clinical trial suggested they might increase the number of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems in healthy older women.

To investigate further, an international team of researchers led by Ian Reid of the University of Auckland in New Zealand reviewed 11 separate clinical trials involving 12,000 patients.

They found that calcium supplements were associated with about a 30 percent jump in heart attack risk.

The chances of stroke and mortality also increased to a lesser extent.

The link was consistent across trials and was independent of age, sex, and type of supplement.

Heh.

Mahmoud and Paul

(Tehran, Iran) Paul the Octopus, heralded for accuracy in predicting the outcome of of World Cup games, has been accused by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of spreading Western propaganda and superstition.



Mahmoud and Paul
Ahmadinejad said that Paul is a "symbol of decadence and decay among his enemies."

"Those who believe in this type of thing cannot be the leaders of the global nations that aspire, like Iran, to human perfection, basing themselves in the love of all sacred values," he said.

So, it's official. Ahmadinejad is leading Iran to human perfection by blaming an octopus for spreading propaganda.

Brit Proposal: Say "Fat" not "Obese"

(London, England) Closely following the announcement that the British National Health Service (NHS) will be decentralizing in order to cut costs, the Minister of Public Health, Ms. Anne Milton, has suggested that obese people now officially be called "fat people."

Anne Milton told the BBC the term fat was more likely to motivate them into losing weight.

She said it was important people should take "personal responsibility" for their lifestyles.

But health experts said the word could stigmatise those who are overweight.

In any event, it's a token shot at politically correct terminology which rightfully should be attacked full force.

Vegetarianism Campaign in Africa

(Nairobi, Kenya) A British activist with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stopped traffic in Nairobi by walking around in public dressed only in spinach.

Michelle Odhiambo's goal is the promotion of vegetarianism in Africa.



Michelle Odhiambo dressed in spinach leaves
Through PETA, Michelle acquired a religious devotion to radical animal rights and vegetarianism.

“I switched to vegetarianism in 2002 because of the information on the subject that I acquired from friends and through my own research. Then three years ago I decided to become vegan when I joined the PETA activist network,” she adds.

Through such campaigns, Michelle hopes to sell the idea of vegetarianism to as many people as possible.

I'd suggest that it is quite arrogant for PETA to be dictating to African people what they should and should not eat. Food aid is frequently needed on the continent because people have nothing to eat.

In my opinion, one has to be a complete elitist jerk with a jellied cultist brain to tell starving people what not to eat.

WIKILEAKS

The recent Wikileaks activity is obviously a big free speech issue so I present below two more or less opposing views of what is involved. Rather amusingly, both come from Left-leaning sources

The WikiLeaks war logs change everything

“Whatever our keepers of intelligence secrets do know, and whatever abuses they’ve done to our civil liberties to learn them, they must feel less sure today about keeping it all contained. When that many people have access to information, however compartmentalized their bosses may think they’ve made the system, some of it will get out, which leads to something else we should worry about. …

The WikiLeaks war diary will absolutely spur our powerful institutions to look for increasingly draconian ways to clamp down on how we share information. What WikiLeaks represents is what governments and corporations fear: a threat to their cultures of secrecy and dominance in their domains.”

Source





Not the Pentagon Papers

“Just because some documents are classified doesn’t mean that they’re news or even necessarily interesting. A case in point is the cache of 92,000 secret documents about the Afghanistan war that someone leaked to WikiLeaks, which passed them on to the New York Times, Britain’s Guardian, and Der Spiegel in Germany. All three published several of these documents — presumably the highlights — in today’s editions.

Some of the conclusions to be drawn from these files: Afghan civilians are sometimes killed. Many Afghan officials and police chiefs are corrupt and incompetent. Certain portions of Pakistan’s military and intelligence service have nefarious ties to the Taliban. If any of this startles you, then welcome to the world of reading newspapers. Today’s must be the first one you’ve read.”

Source

I am inclined to share the concerns of the first article: That a crackdown designed to prevent further leaks may imperil free speech generally. Whether any such legislation would get past SCOTUS is another matter, however. Their decisions are pretty unpredictable but they have lately leant towards protecting free speech.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Barney Frank Demands Senior Ferry Discount

(Suffolk County, Long Island, New York) It seems that Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) caused a scene last Friday when he loudly demanded the $1 senior discount for the ferry ride to Fire Island's popular gay destination called The Pines.

Frank was turned down by ticket clerks at the dock in Sayville because he didn't have the required Suffolk County Senior Citizens ID.

A witness reports, "Frank made such a drama over the senior rate that I contemplated offering him the dollar to cool down the situation."

I suggest that this snapshot into the character and personality of Rep. Frank indicates a level of pettiness customarily not seen in mature adults nor political leaders. Frankly, creating a scene over a lousy dollar is silly, even more so considering the congressman pockets wads from his position in the government.

Of course, there's the alternative possibility that the disputed discount wasn't the real motivation for Rep. Frank to create a scene. Maybe he wanted to cause a loud ruckus just to let everyone on Fire Island know that Mr. Bigshot is coming.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Alaskan Woman Gets Prison for Child Sex Abuse

(Kodiak, Alaska) A 22-year-old local woman, Cheyserr V. Miller, was sentenced earlier this month after she pleaded guilty to second-degree sex abuse of a 12-year-old girl.

Miller was sentenced to 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended.

Miller had a history of sexual contact with the victim, according to police reports.

The victim’s father obtained a sexual assault protective order barring contact between Miller and his daughter.

Last February, Kodiak police detectives were enforcing the order investigating complaints when they discovered the two kissing in a parked car in front of the cemetery on Chichenoff Street.

Miller was ordered to register as a sex offender and is barred from contact with any females under 18 when released. She also won't be able to use the Internet or cell phones without permission.

Grilled Venison




As a recipe, it's extremely difficult to prepare properly and if one misses, it could be fatal. Not recommended.

Walmart Not Casual

There's a belief that Walmart expects customers to get all dressed up.




Heh. Who knew?

An overused tactic?

I would like to think the comment below was correct but I do think that it is only partly so. The accusation still has some power to embarrass less cynical people

"It has come to the point where the term ‘racist’ has become so completely overused that it is losing its impact. There was a time when a person so accused would take great offense and spend much time demonstrating a lack of racist tendencies.

The typical response now is to sigh and accuse the other person of making the accusation due to having run out of actual arguments. The reason it was overused is because the person making the accusation typically did resort to it due to having run out of actual arguments.

Now an outside observer, hearing a progressive refer to someone else as a racist, hears ‘he’s saying that guy isn’t a progressive.’”

Source

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

NY Woman Sentenced for Raping Boy - Updated

(Watertown, New York) In May, 31-year-old Tammy L. Sprague pleaded guilty to third-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child stemming from engaging in sex with a 16-year-old boy while another boy, 12, was in the same room.

As a result, Sprague was sentenced yesterday in Jefferson County Court to 10 years of probation. It's also reported that Sprague will serve an unspecified amount of time in the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building.

Sprague was also ordered to register as a Level 2 sexual offender.

* * * * *
NY Woman Accused of Raping Boy
[Previous 3/13/10 post]
(Watertown, New York) A 31-year-old local divorced mother-of-two, Tammy L. Sprague, was arrested Thursday for allegedly engaging in sex with a 16-year-old boy right next to where a 12-year-old boy was sleeping.

Sprague has been charged with third-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child.

According to Sergeant Joseph Donoghue, Sprague had sex with the boy on March 3 and March 5 at a residence on the city's east side.

He declined to comment on whose residence it was.

Donoghue said the boy's 12 year old half-brother had been sleeping on the floor in the room and was awakened by the noise.

Sprague was booked and released on her own recognizance.

Kansas Teacher Accused of Unlawful Sex

(Caney, Kansas) A 30-year-old English teacher at Caney Valley High School, Stacy Main, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a 17-year -old student. She faces a charge of unlawful sexual relations.

According to school district superintendent Danny Fulton, Main resigned on July 15. Besides being an English teacher, Main also was the director of the school band color guard.

Main was booked into custody Friday and later released $10,000 bond.

Drug Theft Protection?

Check this report:

One pharmacist, tired of previous break-ins, replaced hydrocodone pills with M&M candy in four bottles that were stolen in a burglary earlier this month.

Heh.

Disconnect Between Islam and Civilization



A chuckle in 16 seconds.

Tip: TJR

More Political Correctness for "Illegal Alien"

The official terminology for foreign citizens illegally in the United States has been amended once again. It appears that "undocumented immigrant" is no longer sufficient, now the illegal alien trespassers can be called "displaced foreign travelers."

How nice! The U.S. government is referring to illegal aliens as if they were tourists on the wrong bus.

Credit for the addition to the government lexicon can be attributed to Assistant Public Affairs Officer Rita Vollmer of the U.S. Forest Service.

Teacher Gets No Jail in Naked Pics Case - Updated

(Derry, New Hampshire) Former English teacher at Londonderry High School, Melinda Dennehy, 41, pleaded guilty earlier today to misdemeanor indecent exposure in accordance with a plea agreement.

Dennehy faced a possible seven years in prison if she were to go to trial on the original count of felony indecent exposure.

As part of her plea agreement, Dennehy’s one-year jail sentence was suspended for two years on condition she remain on good behavior and have no contact with the teen or his family, or go to the school. She resigned three weeks after she was charged in March.

Neither the teen nor his family were in court. Prosecutor Kevin Coyle told Derry District Court Judge John Coughlin that family supported the plea agreement "and want to put this incident behind them."

Dennehy told the court that she is truly sorry for her actions. She will surrender her teaching certificate as part of the plea agreement.

* * * * *
Teacher Sends Naked Pics to Student
[Previous 3/5/10 post]
(Londonderry, New Hampshire) A 41-year-old English teacher at Londonderry High School, Melinda Dennehy, has been arrested for allegedly emailing naked photos of herself to a 15-year-old student. Dennehy has been charged with indecent exposure.

Police say she sent four nude pictures of herself to one of her 15-year-old students at Londonderry High School, where she teaches English.

He then allegedly forwarded them to his friends.

According to police documents, the pictures were sent two months ago.

Authorities learned this week that the photos were being passed around school. Police obtained a copy of one of the pictures and co-workers identified Dennehy in it.

The teen told authorities that Dennehy had "continuously sent him text messages," some of which were sexually explicit.

He also claimed that she "kissed him twice on two separate occasions" in a classroom at school.

Dennehy was booked into custody and released on $10,000 bond. Arraignment is scheduled for April 30.

Even paintings of pigs frighten the cowardly Dutch

Memo to self: Must eat more bacon

"Three paintings depicting pigs have been pre-emptively removed from a hospital in Leerdam because they might offend Muslims.

One patient, not actually himself a Muslim, made a complaint about the paintings because he wanted to avoid Muslims having confrontations with the pigs. The leadership of the healthcare institution, the Linge Polyclinic, thereupon decided to remove the paintings immediately, Algemeen Dagblad newspaper reports.

The artist, Sylvia Bosch, is astounded. "One week earlier, I had an e-mail from the clinic saying that they were getting nice reactions. After a single complaint, they had to be taken away immediately."

The Linge Polyclinic has stated that the pictures were removed because "all visitors must feel comfortable in the institution".

Source

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Pigeons Bombard Excrement on Rock Band

(St. Louis, Missouri) To members of the rock band Kings of Leon, music critics seem to come right out of the woodwork. Friday night, critical pigeons fouled their stage.

An infestation of the birds in the rafters of the Verizon Amphitheatre bombarded the musicians as soon as they took the stage, according to Andy Mendelsohn of Vector Management.

"Jared (Followill) was hit several times during the first two songs," Mendelsohn said of the band's bassist.

"It's not only disgusting -- it's a toxic health hazard. They really tried to hang in there," Mendelsohn added.

Followill, who describes himself as a "germophobe," said there was already poop on his pedal and carpet when he walked out on stage.

The aerial attack began during the opening song -- "Closer" -- when he was bombed in the face. His bass tech wiped most of it off with a sanitary wipe, he said.

Excrement struck each of his arms over the next two numbers, he said.

"I was hit by pigeons on each of the first three songs," he said. "We had 20 songs on the set list. By the end of the show, I would have been covered from head to toe."

Heh.

Tip: Charley Nestor

"Girls Gone Wild" Lawsuit

(St. Louis, Missouri) In 2004, a 20-year-old local woman went to a bar that was hosting a "Girls Gone Wild" party crew and ultimately she had her topless image captured on video.

Although the woman never gave consent for the use of her image, her exposed breasts can be seen on the "Girls Gone Wild Sorority Orgy" video distributed nationally.


Presently, the woman is 26, married with two children, and suffering embarrassment after her husband received a call from a friend reporting he saw his topless wife on a video. Stunned, the woman filed suit against the producers of "Girls Gone Wild" asking for $5 million in compensation for damage to her reputation.

On Thursday, the civil trial concluded in a St. Louis Circuit Court after 90 minutes of deliberation by the jury. The ruling was against the woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe.

Lawyers on both sides argued the key issue was consent, with her side saying she absolutely refused to give it and the defense claiming she silently approved by taking part in the party.[…]

"I am stunned that this company can get away with this," Doe said after the verdict. "Justice has not been served. I just don't understand. I gave no consent."

But Patrick O'Brien, the jury foreman, told a reporter later that an 11-member majority decided that Doe had in effect consented by being in the bar and dancing for the photographer. In a trial such as this one, agreement by nine of 12 jurors is enough for a verdict.

"Through her actions, she gave implied consent," O'Brien said. "She was really playing to the camera. She knew what she was doing."

Told of that reasoning, the tearful woman said, "I was having fun until my top was pulled off. And now this thing is out there for the world to see forever."

One interesting take on the verdict is that the jury essentially ruled that "she had it coming."

Implied consent, eh? Young ladies should be cautioned. There is no such thing as hanging with girls who go wild and not being one. And remember, licentious videos, like tattoos, never disappear. They'll be around for your grandchildren to see.

Student Must Alter Christian Beliefs to Graduate

(Augusta, Georgia) This has been a bad week for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. On the heels of a ruling by the European Union, which criminalized dissent on man-made climate change, Augusta State University has ruled that a student must change her religious beliefs if she wants to graduate.

Seeking a master's degree in the school counselor program, 24-year-old Jennifer Keeton has been informed that she will be prohibited from graduating unless she changes her Christian beliefs regarding gender and sexuality. A plan to alter Keeton's biblical beliefs was prepared by the university.

The Remediation Plan required that Keeton attend workshops on diversity sensitivity training toward working with GLBTQ populations, work to increase exposure and interaction with gay populations by attending such events as the Gay Pride Parade in Augusta, and read more on the topic to improve counseling effectiveness with GLBTQ populations.

Failure to complete all elements of the remediation plan will result in dismissal from the Counselor Education Program, according to the plan.

Mary Jane Anderson-Wiley, an associate professor, told Keeton that "she had a choice of standing by the Bible or by the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics."

A lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Augusta claiming that Keeton's First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion have been violated.

Understandably, there's a lot of interest in this controversy. More later....

Tip: GBK

Rep. Kucinich Wants Reconciliation with Nature

(Alexandria, Virginia) Excuse the poor cell phone vidcap. It shows former presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) earlier this week at the 2010 Animal Rights National Conference.

Kucinich said reconciling with nature is the central challenge of our time.

Kucinich, who is vegan, called for an economic transformation away from exploitation of the earth and animals.

“The schism between mankind and the natural world has become so pronounced in the 20th and 21st centuries,” he said, citing endless mining, the destruction of natural habitats, broad-based animal experimentation and other pernicious activities that emerged in conjunction with the industrial age.

“All of these are indications of how far we have gone to separate ourselves from the natural world,” he said.

“We also have to look at transformation of our economic system because you and I know that we have a kind of economic system which is predatory, which is extractive, which is about using the earth and taking anything and everything out of it. It’s really anti-social … and it’s against the higher principle of community.”

Frankly, it appears that Kucinich wants to de-industrialize. He promised to launch an initiative next month.

With all due respect, Congressman, it's hard to get charged up about reconciling with nature and animal rights when you don't have a job. Contrary to your assertion, I suggest that the lack of jobs is the central challenge of our time.

[Add.] It dawned on me that Kucinich's desire to transform the economy away from exploiting the Earth and animals leaves nothing. Everything humans use for sustenance and comfort comes from animals and the Earth.

Of course, I've heard frequent reference to pie in the sky. Maybe that's what Rep. Kucinich is referring to.

Saturday Song - Run, Devil, Run



I noticed they're singing a song.

Obama Tracking Pay, Walmart Tracking Thongs

See if this is how you would do things.

Drug Cartel Gunmen Invade Texas, Ranches Seized

(Laredo, Texas) This report should be the headline story put out by the American media. The idea that drug cartel raiding parties are attacking and seizing territory inside the United States is major.

There is currently a standoff between the unknown size Zeta forces and U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement on two ranches on our side of the Rio Grande. The source tells us he considers this an "act of war" and that the military is needed on the border now!

It's unforgivable that this story isn't being reported by the elite media. More at the link.

More trouble for bloggers

And this time it is not censorship from the government or Google that is the problem. The problem is a profit-hungry "legal gentleman". You can read about him here. He is buying up off newspapers the copyright to their back issues and looking for anybody who has reprinted any of the content concerned. He then threatens them with legal action for breach of copyright.

Needless to say, many bloggers are "offenders". Most of what bloggers put up would appear to be covered by the "Fair use" provisions of copyright law, however. Fair use is a legal doctrine that recognises that the monopoly rights protected by copyright laws are not absolute. The doctrine holds that, when someone uses a creative work in way that does not hurt the market for the original work and advances a public purpose - such as education or scholarship - it might be considered "fair" and not infringing.

Even if a blogger is in the right and is covered by "fair use", the prospect of a court case is of course intimidating and it appears that many have opted to pay the "legal gentleman" settlement money rather than go to court.

One of the blogs targeted is Clayton Cramer's Armed Citizen blog. So Clayton has just suspended the blog until the matter is finalized. He has also temporarily taken his main blog private so that only invited users (I am one) can see it. It has always been a good libertarian/conservative blog so it is a pity to see it no longer fully accessible.

Clayton is all fired up and even seems to think that he can get the lawyers in this scheme disbarred. He is certainly not surrendering. So wish him every success.

As I have the means to defend lawsuits, I myself would not be intimidated by a lawsuit so all my blogs will continue. The fact that I live in Australia would also probably cause the guy to go after easier prey.

A matter of concern, however, is that the bloghoster for my blogs may be buffaloed into shutting me down. So right now take a note of where the mirror sites of of my blogs are hosted. See here. If the main blog is shut down, the mirror sites will continue.

Actually, TONGUE-TIED and my GUN WATCH blog are probably not in any great peril as on both I usually publish only short excerpts that are clearly permitted under copyright law. On some of my other blogs, however, I do often reproduce full articles. So we shall see what we shall see.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Texas Chupacabra Sightings?

(Hood County, Texas) Local people are speculating that a nest, family or den of chupacabras, the legendary "goat-suckers," are living in the area. There have been two incidents of the strange animals being killed within the last week.



Animal Control Officer Frank Hackett killed one growling creature a couple of weeks ago in a barn.

“It was ugly, real ugly, I’m not going to tell no lie on that one,“ he said. A few days later, a rancher killed a similar creature.

Jack Farr, who owns the property where the first coyote-canine-cross was spotted said he thinks more of the strange animals are out there.

“I have heard of a chupacabras before, but I thought it was some sort of mythological thing,“ he said. After seeing firsthand the creature killed on his property, he doesn’t know what it was.

“I’ve seen deer and coyotes,“ he said. “This had deer ears, big teeth and pinkish skin like nothing I’ve ever seen before.“

Someone needs to snare one of the creatures and keep it alive.

Teacher Gets House Arrest for Identity Theft - Updated

(Broward County, Florida) In May 2010, 44-year-old former teacher at Monarch High School, Sheyla Diaz, pleaded guilty in federal court to identity theft.

Diaz admitted to stealing students' personal information from forms documenting their community service hours.

Within a five-week span in the summer of 2008, Diaz attempted to open 17 credit card accounts, many under the names of former students at Monarch High School or Plantation High School. Only three of those credit card applications were approved and she never made any purchases using the cards, according to federal prosecutors.

"Her conscience caused her to cease the activities," said her attorney Richard Della Ferra.

Diaz was remorseful in court before U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn, saying,

"My crime was egregious and I lost everything near and dear to me."

Although federal sentencing guidelines for identity theft specify up to 16 months in prison, six months of house arrest was given to Diaz. After completion of the house arrest, Diaz will serve two and one-half years of probation.

* * * * *
Teacher Guilty of Identity Theft
[Previous 5/12/10 Post]
(Broward County, Florida) A 44-year-old social studies teacher formerly at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Sheyla Diaz, pleaded guilty last Friday in federal court to identity theft.

Diaz, who lives in Pembroke Pines and taught at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, used her position as a teacher in June and July 2008 to obtain names, social security numbers and other personal information from at least six former students at Monarch or Plantation High School.

The U.S. Attorneys Office says using the stolen information Diaz either opened or tried to open 17 fraudulent credit card accounts.

Diaz faces a possible five years in prison when sentenced on July 23.

Lone Castle Transvestite in Black Dress

(Cornwall, England) This story has multiple elements of alternative human behavior in a castle of King Henry VIII.

A transvestite had sex with a dog in the moat of an English Heritage castle. The cross-dressing man was caught with the animal in the dry moat of King Henry VIII's Pendennis Castle overlooking Falmouth Bay in Cornwall.

Pendennis Castle

The 33-year-old mounted the pet after it chased him out of sight of its woman owner.

The owner had been walking around the ancient castle with a friend when the pair spotted the lone transvestite on the morning of Saturday July 10th at around a quarter to twelve.

He was wearing a black dress and walking around the steep-walled, empty moat.

As the two ladies spotted the cross dresser he ran away. Later one of the dogs chased after the man; by the time the women had caught up, the man was having sex with the pet.

The police were called, the transvestite was detained, and then escorted home where he was cautioned about outraging public decency. A police spokesman said the lone transvestite was handed over to liaison agencies, whatever they are.

[Add.] It's not known whether or not sex with a dog that chases you is against the law in England. However, general everyday sex with a dog appears to be quite legal and widely practiced among the political elite.

After all, when one observes absolute moronic law-making and governance, one must conclude that screwing the pooch is a government job function.

Companion post at TJR.

Texas Babysitter Accused of Sex with Boy, 3

(Houston, Texas) A 20-year-old local babysitter, Amber Teshae Bowie, has been accused of engaging in sex with a three-year-old boy she was caring for. The sexual episode reportedly occurred in June 2009 at the boy's grandmother's house.

An investigator reported that the boy said Bowie took him into the bathroom, took off his clothes, then removed her own and performed a sex act with the boy.

Bowie faces a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

It's worth noting that the statements of a three-year-old, as the sole evidentiary source, are not necessarily convincing. Although a child of three likely doesn't intentionally lie, I suggest that a child of three may not easily distinguish between fantasy and reality.

"NOT the whiteman's b----" Controversy

(Madison, Wisconsin) A local legislative candidate, Ieshuh Griffin, wants to use the phrase "NOT the whiteman's b****" to describe herself on the ballot but she has been told that she can't.

The state's Government Accountability Board on Wednesday barred her from using the language on the ballot and on Thursday she filed a federal writ of habeas corpus seeking an order allowing the wording.

Although state law allows up to five words on the ballot for candidates to describe themselves, the state board classified Griffin's effort as pejorative and unacceptable.

Griffin claims the words are protected by the First Amendment.

Nevertheless, I suggest that Griffin will enjoy a significant bump in name recognition, despite the final ruling on the acceptability of the words.

Tip: Kenny Solomon

Are antisemites mad?

Shrinkwrapped is a very thoughtful blog by a conservative-oriented psychoanalyst in New York. From recollection, the author is Jewish. It is a generally very good blog well worth reading for those of us who are particularly interested in the psychology of politics -- which is my field of academic research.

Recently, Glenn Reynolds linked to an article by Roddy Boyd ("Killing Jews For Fun and For Profit: The Continuing American Adventures of Arab Bank") documenting a court case against an Arab Bank which illustrates how even supposedly rational and reasonable institutions, once in thrall to antisemitism, end up behaving irrationally and self destructively. Shrinkwrapped has responded with an article titled "Anti-Semitism as Thought Disorder".

To be a little crass about it, Shrinkwrapped argues that antisemitism sends you mad. That argument is of course not a new one. There are several versions of it and "The authoritarian personality" version of 1950 is perhaps the best known.

It is however basically an "armchair" theory. As far as I can tell, the people putting it forward have little if any personal knowledge of actual antisemites. For some reason, however, I have always had the compulsion to test theory against reality -- which usually does nothing for my popularity. And much of my research career was devoted to testing inferences derived from "The authoritarian personality" theory.

Readers who know my skeptical stance on global warming and health science will not be surprised to hear that I regularly found inferences from the theory not to be supported by the data.

And one of the things I did was to apply the characteristic methodology of anthropology to an examination of antisemitism. Anthropologists have the view that you can never understand a group "from the outside" -- You have to join the group and become accepted into it before you will ever have any chance of understanding it. I did that with the neo-Nazi group in my city. In other words I got out of my armchair and had a close-up look at what I was talking about. My resultant observations were published in The Jewish Journal of Sociology.

And what I found was actually something extremely common -- perfectly normal sane people who had just got hold of a wrong theory -- not unlike most Global Warmists today and not unlike the hordes of grade school teachers who think that just looking at words without any mention of phonics is a good way for kids to learn to read.

All three theories -- Jewish evil, global warming and "look and learn" have been catastrophic in different ways and illustrate the importance of getting your theories right. They also, sadly, illustrate the reluctance of people to let go of a theory they have accepted when confronted with evidence that the theory concerned is wrong.

Scientists are in fact some of the worst people at that. They cling to the theories of their youth through thick and thin and it is only the arising of a younger generation of scientists with more open minds that allows scientific thinking to advance.

So I disagree with Shrinkwrapped in seeing antisemites as being in some way psychologically abnormal. I think they are all too normal in fact. And it is precisely their normality which makes me despair of changing their views.

So in the end I am more pessimistic about antisemites than Shrinkwrapped is. He seems to think that psychological "help" could change their views whereas I doubt that anything will change their views. Israel can kill the antisemites that surround it but it will not change their minds.

Update

Shrinkwrapped has offered some polite comments on my post above. I am a bit amused by his heading. He uses the rare word "emended" -- which refers to minor textual corrections. But his post is much more extensive than that. In a nutshell, he says that antisemitism can drive a whole society mad even if all the individuals in it are sane.

That seems a stretch to me but I will think about it. I tend to agree with Margaret Thatcher's thoroughly conservative observation that there is no such thing as society, only individual people.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

No "Shariah Beachhead" at Ground Zero



Watch it.

Criminalizing Dissent on Man-Made Climate Change

The European Union Subcommittee on Climate Change has passed a ruling which in effect places "legal sanction against anyone who dared question the origin, cause or effect of climate change.”

Heh. Given this lunacy and with apologies to Hans Christian Andersen, would anyone be surprised if the EU at some time were to order a mandatory revision to "The Emperor's New Clothes" children's story?

Specifically, after the little boy shouts, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" the revised version will have the boy thrown to the ground, shackled and arrested by Europol police officers. Then he will be dragged before the European Court of Justice and told to recant or he will be executed.

The little boy recants and everybody lives happily ever after.

The end.

Community Organizers Assault Bank



The group is identified as remnants from Missouri ACORN, reconstituted as MORE. It's an assault on a Chase Bank branch.

The best I can discern is that the assembled members are calling the bank a "Predatory lender!" and they demand "We want a moratorium and we want it now!"

Other than creating chaos, it's not clear what their intentions are. Nevertheless, it's seems cruel to frighten and confuse the little kids somebody brought along.

Tip: Kenny Solomon

Teacher Gets Jail for Boozing in Class

(Chesterfield, Virginia) A 50-year-old substitute teacher formerly at Jacobs Road Elementary School, Sabrina Pado, has pleaded no contest to possessing alcohol on school property.

Pado reportedly was drunk in the classroom with a blood alcohol level of 0.15 percent.

"It was the kids that brought it to the principal's attention," said prosecutor Ken Nickels. "The kids knew that there was something abnormal about their teacher's behavior."

Pado had concealed beer in a sports bottle she brought into the classroom, Nickels said.

The May 7 incident began less than 30 minutes after school started. A police officer testified that Pado had glassy eyes and "either mistakenly or intentionally" gave her last name as Jones, Nickels said.

"At one point out in the parking lot, she kind of hit her fist on the ground and said basically that she had done something stupid," Nickels said.

Pado was sentenced to eight days in jail and fined $125.

The Stagliano victory party

Judge tosses out pornography prosecution

"At the victory party Friday night after having had all charges against him dropped in federal court, pornographer John Stagliano, his lawyers, his family, and colleagues from the adult industry raised a toast to his freedom.

But because his wife is pregnant and his daughter is underage, and because one of the films under indictment was called Milk Nymphos, the champagne flutes were filled with an unusual fluid: milk.”

Source

I get the impression that this was simply a vindictive prosecution based on the fact that the Federal goverenment didn't like Stagliano's libertarian politics or his donations to libertarian thinktanks.

Larry Flynt, publisher of "Hustler" walked away (or wheeled himself away) from an obscenity prosecution in 1999 so the Stagliano prosecution never had much hope. It was prosecution as punishment.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Kim Jong-il Rumored Near Death, Gets Statue

(North Korea) The North Korean People's Army newspaper has published photos of a bronze statue of Dear Leader Kim Jong-il on the top of Mount Baekdu.

The statue is significant since Dear Leader has previously refused to allow his likeness to be erected as it would symbolize the end of his regime. As such, it's speculated that he must be close to death.

"This statue means that Kim Jong-Il is passing into history and legend in North Korea and I'm more convinced than ever that his successor will be announced soon," said Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an expert on North Korean politics at Tokyo's Waseda University.

"A strong trait of Confucianism still runs through Korean society and it would run counter to that to erect a statue in one's own likeness while you were still leader," he said.

At 69, Dear Leader suffers from a host of medical problems so he may not last much longer. A meeting of ruling party leaders scheduled for September is expected to officially name Dear Leader's third son, Kim Jong-Un, as North Korea's new Dear Leader.

Homegrown Jihadi Couple Pleads Guilty in Terrorism Case

(Anchorage, Alaska) In accordance with an agreement with the prosecution, a married couple, Paul Rockwood Jr., 35, and wife Nadia Rockwood, 36, have pleaded guilty to domestic terrorism, including the creation of an assassination "hit list."


 
Paul (artist's image) and Nadia
If Judge Ralph Beistline accepts the plea agreement, Paul Rockwood will spend eight years in prison and his wife, now pregnant, will return to her UK home and serve five years of probation.

Prosecutors alleged that Paul Rockwood, also known as "Bilal," converted to Islam about a decade ago and began studying the teachings of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who has professed hatred for the United States and supports acts of terrorism.

According to court documents, Paul Rockwood converted to Islam in late 2001 or 2002, when the couple lived in Virginia.

"After his conversion, and while residing in Virginia, Rockwood became a strict adherent to the violent Jihad-promoting ideology of cleric Anwar al-Awlaki," documents said. "This included a personal conviction that it was his religious responsibility to exact revenge by death on anyone who desecrated Islam."

The hit list reportedly contained 15 names of people who all live outside Alaska. A Department of Justice release indicates Rockwood considered using various explosives, mail bombs and gunshots to assassinate people on the list. It would be enlightening to see that list and learn who the jihadis hate the most.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 23.

Tip: Jane Novak

Companion at TJR.

Atheists or Satanists?

I mentioned the following report on POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH recently and identified it just a bit of attention-seeking silliness. But a reader has pointed out that the "ritual" concerned is very reminiscent of Satanism, which, from what I hear, consists largely of mocking or "reversing" Christian ceremonies -- reciting the Lord's prayer backwards, for instance.

"American atheists lined up to be "de-baptized" in a ritual using a hair dryer, according to a report Friday on U.S. late-night news program "Nightline."

Kagin donned a monk's robe and said a few mock-Latin phrases before inviting those wishing to be de-baptized to "come forward now and receive the spirit of hot air that taketh away the stigma and taketh away the remnants of the stain of baptismal water."

SOURCE

Even the hot air could be seen as an allusion to the heat of hell. Being an atheist myself, I certainly don't believe that atheism generally leads to Satanism but there are possibly some weak minds who could be tipped in that direction by militant atheism.

Kagin and his "followers" could bear watching by those in a position to do so. "Cultbusters" occasionally do some good for badly misled people.

Kagin or Kagan is however usually a Jewish name so perhaps it is all just another example of Jewish contempt for Christianity (much seen in the ADL and to an extent in the ACLU. The ACLU is about a quarter Jewish and Jews are prominent in it). Most Jews are not religious in general and many are probably atheists.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Blogging Website and 73,000 Blogs Shut by FBI

Reportedly, the blogging website, Blogetery.com, and its 73,000 blogs were shut down on a request from the FBI because they contained links to terrorist materials, including al-Qaeda bomb-making instructions and an al-Qaeda "hit list."

Stories and pictures posted by the individual bloggers are in deep storage, with no word on when they'll see their content -- a reality that disturbs civil-liberties advocates.

"That's the real tragedy here -- thousands and thousands of sites appear to be collateral damage," Kurt Opsahl, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF), told FoxNews.com.[…]

In a statement posted to its site Monday, BurstNET acknowledged the shutdown, stating that it had received a "Voluntary Emergency Disclosure of Information" request from the FBI.

"In the evening of July 9, 2010, BurstNET received a notice of a critical nature from law enforcement officials, and was asked to provide information regarding ownership of the server hosting Blogetry.com," the statement said.

"Upon review, BurstNET determined that the posted material, in addition to potentially inciting dangerous activities, specifically violated the BurstNET Acceptable Use Policy," which prohibits the posting of “terrorist propaganda, racist material, or bomb/weapon instructions."

The EFF's Opsahl said the request sounded similar to an exigent circumstance letter, a request for the voluntary disclosure of information based on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Concern has been expressed by insiders regarding the history of abuse in the use of exigent circumstance letters. I'd suggest the process seems too informal.

Meth Lab in Backpack

(Pisgah, Alabama) A 24-year-old Georgia woman, Jennifer Lawson, has been arrested by Jackson County deputies for allegedly possessing and carrying a methamphetamine lab in her backpack.

Lawson has been charged with manufacture of methamphetamine and probation violation.

Authorities said when they tried to stop her on a road in Pisgah, she dropped her backpack and attempted to flee.

After she was caught, authorities then discovered the meth lab she was carrying in the backpack.

She was booked into custody. A bail amount wasn't reported.

Georgia Woman Accused of Rape, Child Molestation

(Kingsland, Georgia) A 25-year-old local woman, Amy Mykkanen, has been accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy. Mykkanen faces charges of statutory rape and child molestation.

Police investigated after the youth's parents and grandparents filed a complaint.

When police executed arrest and search warrants at the woman's home at the 200 block of Chestnut Court, they seized laptop computers with cameras and digital video cameras.

Mykkanen was booked into custody at the Camden County Jail. She awaits a bail hearing.

Virginia Teacher Arrested for Felony Shoplifting

(Staunton, Virginia) A pre-kindergarten teacher at Stuart Hall School, Danette Rogers, was arrested Sunday afternoon and charged with felony shoplifting.

Officers say an employee noticed Rogers placing toys into two large crates inside the store.

After paying for a small item in the electronics department, Rogers allegedly tried leaving the store without paying for the crates or the more than $700 worth of toys inside them.

Cpt. Leslie Miller says, "We see shoplifting regularly. We deal with it often. An event with this amount is a little unusual."

Rogers' attorney explained that she shoplifts because of a history of abuse and psychological problems. Interestingly, this is the first time I've seen those things tied together.

Arab Poses as Jew to Seduce Woman

(Jerusalem) A 30-year-old Arab resident of Jerusalem, Sabbar Kashur, has been convicted of rape by deception stemming from a 2008 incident when he posed as a Jewish bachelor to get a Jewish woman to engage in sex.

The couple then went to a nearby building and had sex, after which Kashur left the building without waiting for the woman to get dressed.

When the woman found Kashur was not a Jew but an Arab, she filed a complaint that resulted in charges of rape and indecent assault.

In the verdict, deputy president of the Jerusalem district court Tzvi Segal, along with fellow judges Moshe Drori and Yoram Noam, wrote that although this wasn't "a classical rape by force," and the sex was consensual, the consent itself was obtained through deception and under false pretenses.

"If she hadn't thought the accused was a Jewish bachelor interested in a serious romantic relationship, she would not have cooperated," the judges wrote.

Kashur accepted a plea bargain to spend 18 months in prison.

Frankly, one has to wonder about this case. I suspect it's somewhat common for a man to tell a woman lies while trying to bed her.

In fact I heard about one case where a woman sued a man for lying because he said he would take her to Florida if she went to bed with him. The case was thrown out after the man explained that he never said he was going to take her to Florida, rather he said he was going to tamper with her.

Heh.

Rabbit Phobia Case - Updated

(Vechta, Germany) The strange case of the teacher afflicted with alleged rabbit phobia has been resolved.

A German teacher has lost a defamation suit Tuesday in which she claims that a 16-year-old student spread vicious rumors saying that she has a rabbit phobia. The court case, which triggered nationwide headlines, was dismissed on the grounds that the student proved the teacher's phobia as fact.

A teacher in the northern German town of Vechta lost her case Tuesday that would have put to bed the rumor that she's afraid of rabbits. Marion V., 60, a German and geography teacher, made headlines earlier this year by accusing a 16-year-old schoolgirl of defamation, alleging that the student maliciously gossiped that V. suffers from rabbit phobia.

The defendant, named as Kim P., caused the stir by drawing a rabbit on the blackboard of V.'s classroom. Upon entering the room and seeing the drawing, V. reportedly fled from her classroom in tears.

The court dismissed V.'s claims, saying through a court spokesperson that V.'s fear of rabbits is a fact, which the defendant proved in court.

In conclusion, it appears that the court has made a psychological assessment that V. has a disabling fear of rabbits. My own observational assessment is that Marion V. is nuts.

* * * * *
Rabbit Phobia
[Previous 6/17/10 post]
(Vechta, Germany) This report is really odd. A German language and geography teacher at a school in the northern German town of Vechta, Marion V., has filed a lawsuit against a 16-year-old girl for drawing rabbits on the blackboard.

The girl also allegedly told other students that the teacher has rabbit phobia.

"The plaintiff, a teacher, teaches the accused pupil at a high school in Vechta and claims the pupil drew rabbits on the blackboard of the classroom and told fellow pupils the teacher was afraid of rabbits and 'flips out' when she sees a rabbit," the court said in a statement.

"The teacher demands that the accused refrains in future from drawing rabbits on the blackboard and claiming that she, the teacher, is afraid of rabbits and flips out at the sight of them."

The court said the lawsuit refers to the "infringement of general personal rights according to §823 Clause 1 of the Civil Code in conjuntion with Article 2 Clause 1 of the Constitution."

The defendant, named only as Kim, came to court with her mother. Media reports said she looked shy and sheepish during the hearing. She said: "I didn't draw the rabbit. I know the teacher from my previous school where she also gave lessons. All I did was tell another pupil that she used to run out of the classroom whenever she saw a drawing of a rabbit."

According to the media, the rabbit fine could be as much as €5,000. A verdict in the case will be announced on July 20.

Tip: Graham K.

Shut Down of 73,000 Blogs a Mystery

Following up on last week's report where the U.S. government shut down 73,000 blogs, the reasons why and who specifically is responsible remain a mystery.

BurstNet, the Web-hosting company, informed Blogetery's operator that service was terminated at the request of some law enforcement agency but wouldn't say which one. As for the reason, BurstNet hasn't made that clear either. In an e-mail to Blogetery's operator, BurstNet managers did say that they had little choice but to terminate service.

"Please note that this was not a typical case in which suspension and notification would be the norm," BurstNet wrote to Blogetery's operator. "This was a critical matter brought to our attention by law enforcement officials. We had to immediately remove the server."[…]

A spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America said Sunday that the trade group for the four top record labels had nothing to do with Blogetery's shut down. A spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America said he had never heard of Blogetery.

That the MPAA and RIAA may not be involved makes sense. Typically, they give warnings before they move like this. They also try to make big news out of any enforcement efforts; they want them to act as deterrents.

So, the massive shut down apparently had nothing to do with copyright issues. Meanwhile, everyone involved keeps quiet about who ordered it. Interesting.

Ghazawat Washington Conference

Be advised that the Ghazawat Washington Conference is scheduled for July 31 beginning at 10 AM EDT. Note that "Ghazawat" is defined as 'battles to expand Muslim territory.'

Ghazawat Washington is a global conference which will seek answers to "how much longer can the kuffar be able to fight against the deen [religion or 'way of life'] of Islam and the necessary steps needed for victory."

Agenda
Topic 1 – The American Crusade by Younus Abdullah (Revolution Muslim)

Topic 2 – The Failure of the plots of Kufar by Anjem Choudary

Topic 3 – Steps towards victory by Abu Waleed

Topic 4 – History repeats itself by Sheikh Abdullah Faisal

Topic 5 – Conquest of Washington by Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad

Obviously, the conference is not going to address peace, diversity and tolerance. The conference will discuss victory over non-believers and taking control. The names of the participants are likely familiar.

The event will be broadcast globally on Paltalk room "Authentic Tawheed" and also live streamed on:

www.authentictawheed.com,
www.salafimedia.com, and
www.revolutionmuslim.com.

Heh.

Tip: Square Mile Wife

Lies are protected free speech???

We read:

"A federal judge in Denver has ruled the Stolen Valor Act is "facially unconstitutional" because it violates free speech and dismissed the criminal case against Rick Strandlof, a man who lied about being an Iraq war veteran.

U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn issued his decision this morning. "The Stolen Valor Act is declared to be facially unconstitutional as a content-based restriction on speech that does not serve a compelling government interest, and consequently that the Act is invalid as violative of the First Amendment," Blackburn wrote in his opinion.

Where do we start? Dressing up in a uniform you did not earn and wearing medals you did not earn is not speech. It is theft.

This judge is a Bush 43 so there isn't a "Democrat judges" angle on this. Also, the legal team for these a55hats comes from The Rutherford Institute.

They won with logic like this: John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, said the law is poorly written and should not be used to prosecute people for simply telling lies.

Source

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Swine Flu Peters Out?

When news of the H1N1 swine flu broke about 18 months ago, alarmists trumpeted loud, long and wide about impending sickness and possible death.

Although a world-wide pandemic was predicted, up to the present it hasn't materialized.

The World Health Organization's emergency committee intends to convene as early as Tuesday to review data and declare an end to the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, Bloomberg News reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

WHO Director General Margaret Chan must determine whether the swine flu still calls for extra vigilance in the absence of any indication it has become more lethal or developed a resistance to drugs that fight it.

WHO spokesman Gregry Hartl told Bloomberg the decision would be based on the virus' pattern and that no date for an announcement has been set.

Even though it's usually better to be safe than sorry, I suggest that the swine flu pandemic was overly hyped at the start.

Tip: Kenny Solomon