Child Soldiers OK'd by Obama

From a Presidential Memorandum:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, pursuant to section 404(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA), title IV of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110 457), I hereby determine that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application to Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Yemen of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA.

There obviously is some unspecified political consideration at play here. However, nothing can excuse the Obama administration's tacit approval of children in the military.

(More….)

Tip: Kenny Solomon

Florida Mom Guilty of Killing Her Baby

(Jacksonville, Florida) Last January, a 22-year-old local mother, Alexandra V. Tobias, was accused of shaking her 3-month-old baby to death for crying and interrupting her while she was playing a computer game on Facebook called FarmVille.

Police say during the first shaking, the baby's head may have hit the computer.

Tobias then put the baby on the couch and stepped out for a cigarette to regain her composure, the arrest report says.

When she came back in, the family dog knocked the baby off the couch. The crying started again and Tobias shook the baby a second time before calling for an ambulance, the arrest report says.

On Wednesday of last week, Tobias pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of her baby.

Sentencing has been scheduled for December when Tobias faces a possible life term in prison.

Miss World 2010 Crowned

(Hainan Island, China) Last night, Miss USA, 18-year-old Alexandria Mills, was crowned Miss World 2010. Mills resides in Louisville, Kentucky.

Reportedly, having the competition in China allegedly resulted in a bit of Beijing-prompted political drama.

Specifically, a pre-pageant favorite, Miss Norway, failed to finish in the top five due to Chinese anger at the Norwegians for selecting a Chinese dissident for the Nobel Prize. Also, Taiwan wasn't allowed to enter a contestant.

Criticize homosexuality and you will be hounded

Little Rock, Arkansas (Where have I heard of that place before?) had, until just recently, a very naughty school board member named Clint McCance:

"In a Facebook posting, McCance scoffed at a campaign asking supporters to wear purple Oct. 20 to show solidarity after several gay and lesbian youths killed themselves, reportedly because of bullying.

"Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers killed themselves," McCance wrote. "The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide. I cant believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid. We are honoring the fact that they sinned and killed thereselves because of their sin."

In a follow-up response to Facebook users who criticized his comments, McCance wrote that he liked that gay people "can't procreate (and) I also enjoy the fact that they often give each other AIDS and die."

McCance told CNN he and his family had received "thousands of phone calls and hate mail" and that he had sent his family out of the state to protect them.

Source

Leftists sure know how to show tolerance of different views

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

Pennsylvania Woman Accused of Sex with Boy

(East Whiteland, Pennsylvania) A 19-year-old local female, Alexandria Nichole Short-Garmon, has been accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy.

She faces charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors.

Short-Garmon was booked into custody and subsequently released on $15,000 cash bail.

Handgun Safety

Many people could probably benefit from a concealed carry refresher course but not this one.

Mr. Special



Mr. Special
Check this out.

Recently, Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore toured again. Or maybe he does that all the time. This time, he turned up in Gothenburg (Sweden) for the usual alarmist talk.

In advance, all distinguished guests were politely advised to – if possible – use any form of public transportation to go to the event, in order to minimize CO2 emissions.

Intriguingly, the Master of World Climate himself arrived in a rental car (with or without driver is unclear), from the airport, and subsequently left the engine running for the entire lecture. That is to say, about one hour.

Incidentally, local legislation prohibits – for very good environmental reasons, i e pollution – any car engine running on empty for more than 60 seconds. Fines are severe. As far as I know, he was not fined.

Heh. Some people are more equal.

Texas Teacher Gets Probation in Student Sex Case

(Amarillo, Texas) In March 2010, a 23-year-old teacher at Canyon High School, Claudia Rene Cruz, was accused of engaging in sex with a student during alleged encounters in May 2009.

Cruz was charged with two counts of improper relationship between an educator and a student.

This week, Cruz, now 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree felony improper relationship between an educator and a student.

As part of her plea agreement, the former Canyon High School teacher was sentenced to eight years of deferred adjudication probation, ordered to pay a fine of $750 and complete 240 hours of community service.

She must also pay $50 to the Bridge Children's Advocacy Center.

The student involved has been described as at least 17 at the time of the crime.

Jokey beer label in trouble



We read:

"Just in time for Halloween, there's trouble brewing for a California beer distributor that has gotten into hot water with the nation's wiccan community over an ale called Witch's Wit -- whose label depicts a woman being burned at the stake.

Witch's Wit is one of Port Brewing Company's Lost Abbey beers, which the distributor calls "inspired beers for saints and sinners alike." Each beer sports a label that aims to tell a story about the struggle between good and evil.

But Vicki Noble, a famed healer, astrologer and spiritual leader in the pagan community, saw only evil in Witch's Wit after a worker in a liquor store called the bottle to her attention last week.

Incensed at the image of a witch being burned at the stake, Noble sent an e-mail to her followers, asking in the subject line: "Can we stop this brewer from their hate imagery?"

Source

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

Bobby Mugabe's Big Bucks



Zimbabwe's 100 trillion dollar notes as wallpaper
As a predictable result of President Robert Mugabe's utopian socialism, Zimbabwe's currency has been inflated to worthlessness.

(More here and here)

Putin Daughter to Marry Korean

It's reported that Russian Prime Minister Putin's 23-year-old daughter is planning to marry a 25-year-old Korean man named Yoon. The couple plans to live in Korea after the wedding.

Putin's daughter, Ekaterina Vladimirovna Putina, is reportedly going to school somewhere in the U.S.

Congrats to the couple.

Genetic defect identified in Leftists

My heading above is tendentious but so are the interpretations offered in the article following these introductory comments.

I have been pointing out for years that genetics largely determines politics -- on the basis of twin study evidence. And James Fowler, co-author of the academic article summarized below, has previously confirmed in 2007 how powerful is the genetic effect on politics revealed in twin studies.

But the mechanism behind the relationship has remained conjectural. The evidence below, however, suggests that there is a gullibility or suggestibility gene -- so people with that gene who also mix a lot with young people tend to adopt the politics of the young. Because they have yet to learn how complex the world really is, young people do tend Left -- the Left being the home of simplistic ideas

The full academic article can be read here or here. The title of the article is "Friendships Moderate an Association between a Dopamine Gene Variant and Political Ideology". Note that this is a study of young adults only so whether the effect lasts into later life remains, again, conjectural. Given the normal movement from Left to Right that most people undergo as they age, the effect of whom you associate with in your youth could well be a transient one

The article also identifies the gene concerned as leading to novelty seeking and my research has shown that Leftists tend to be sensation-seekers. So change for change's sake would seem to be part of what drives Leftism -- JR

Researchers have for the first time identified a gene that they say can influence political outlook.

Past studies had found that political views have a genetic component, but hadn't pointed out actual genes involved. The new research from the University of California and Harvard University indicates that a variant of a gene called DRD4 makes people more likely to be liberal, if they also had many friends as tenenagers.

DRD4 codes for the production of molecular structures in the brain that facilitates transmission of the chemical dopamine among brain cells. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or a brain signaling chemical.

Appearing in the current edition of The Journal of Politics, the research focused on 2,000 subjects from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a federally funded U.S. project that surveyed health in relation to a range of behaviors. By matching genetic information with maps of the subjects' social networks, the researchers found that people with a specific variant of DRD4 were more likely to be liberal as adults, but only if they had an active social life in adolescence.

Dopamine is a messenger chemical affecting processes that control movement, emotional response, and ability to experience pleasure and pain. DRD4 codes for the production of a receptor, or molecular gateway, that regulates dopamine transmission.

Previous research has identified a connection between a variant of DRD4 and novelty-seeking behavior. This behavior has previously been associated with personality traits related to political liberalism, the investigators noted.

Lead researcher James H. Fowler of University of California, San Diego and colleagues hypothesized that people with the noveltyseeking gene variant would be more interested in learning about their friends' points of view. Thus, they might be exposed to a wider variety of social norms and lifestyles, which could foster a liberal viewpoint.

It's "the crucial interaction of two factors the genetic predisposition and the environmental condition of having many friends in adolescence that is associated with being more liberal," the investigators wrote, adding that this held true regardless of ethnicity, culture, sex or age.

Fowler said he hopes "more scholars will begin to explore the potential interaction of biology and environment." He added that he would like to see scientists try to replicate the findings "in different populations and age groups."

SOURCE

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

Chavez Hosts Marathon Radio/TV Spewfest

(Caracas, Venezuela) On Monday, President Hugo Chavez hogged the airwaves for five hours to tell the Venezuelan people about the nation's international importance, to outline his recent seven-nation tour, and to blame all Venezuela's current problems on the previous government.

In fact, it's reported that the majority of the marathon five-hour radio and television broadcast was devoted to blaming the government in power before he took office in 1999.

That's right, Chavez has been in power for over 12 years and he's still blaming his predecessors for all of Venezuela's problems.

Sheesh! I suggest there needs to be a statute of limitations on the blame excuse.

Germany Extends Nuke Plant Lifespans

(Berlin, Germany) A decade ago, Germany's Green Party and center-left Social Democrat party (SPD) led a coalition which passed legislation mandating the end of nuclear power plants in the country by 2022. Yesterday, parliament voted to repeal the legislation.

Opponents of nuclear powered suffered a setback in Berlin on Thursday as the federal parliament approved legislation that would effectively repeal Germany's planned withdrawal from atomic power.

Now nuclear plants can stay open an average of 12 years longer than originally planned.

Germany's parliament voted on Thursday to approve the extension of the lifespans on 17 nuclear power plants in the country.

Politicians with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) as well as their coalition partners, the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), voted to allow the plants to remain online for an average of an additional 12 years each.

Under the law, Germany's last nuclear power plant is now slated to be closed in 2035.

Environmental groups and leftists are outraged and indicated they will seek an injunction in federal constitutional court.

Meanwhile, Green Party members of parliament wore black clothing with a small green "X," a symbol of the anti-nuclear opposition movement.

As a result, an official with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) said history wasn't served well when members showed up in parliament wearing the same uniform, an obvious reference to uniformed Nazi members during the Weimar Republic era. His statement angered the Greens.

James MacArthur b.1937 - d.2010





James MacArthur, popular actor on the television series Hawaii Five-0 (1968-1980), died yesterday in Florida of natural causes.

MacArthur played the part of Detective Danny "Danno" Williams who, after capturing a criminal, was told by his boss Steve McGarrett, played by actor Jack Lord, to "Book him, Danno!" It was a signature catchphrase for MacArthur and the show.

MacArthur was 72.

Nigeria Seizes Smuggled Weapons, Hamas Suspected

(Apapa Port, Nigeria) All of Nigeria's police and security forces were put on alert Tuesday after the State Security Service (SSS) discovered an illegal shipment of weapons on the cargo vessel, MV CMA-CGM Everest.



Arms seized in Nigeria
The ship reportedly originated in Iran and made a stop in Mumbai, India.

The weapons which were described as similar to those used against United States forces in Afghanistan were conveyed to the port by MV CMA-CGM Everest registered in Marshall Islands and owned by a shipping company in France by July.

"The containers were discharged from the vessel MV CMA-CGM Everest, which berthed in the port on July 10 and sailed out on July 15, 2010, this year. 754 packages of glass wool and stones were declared on the ship's manifest as contents of the 13 containers," the Nigerian customs said in a statement.

Meanwhile, PTI learnt Israeli embassy officials in Nigeria have started talks with Nigeria's secret police on the suspicion that the weapons may have been destined for the Middle East region and smuggled by Hamas.

The port terminal has been sealed off as Nigerian authorities continue to investigate and search for the owner of the weaponry which included contraband such as rocket launchers, grenades and mortars.

The Nigerians are understandably nervous since they currently don't know whether the weapons were being smuggled to Hamas or destined for use in the country. Bomb blasts early this month in the nation's capital of Abuja claimed at least 13 lives.

Trans Fat Law

(Baltimore, Maryland) The City Health Department has issued its first citation, $100 fine, to a restaurant for violating Baltimore's trans fat law.

The trans fat law went into effect in September 2009 and, since that time, more than 100 restaurants have received high trans fat warnings from the food police.

The cited business, called Healthy Choice, was in violation of the law by having margarine over the 0.5-gram limit of trans fat. The owner says he will comply and buy different margarine, unfortunately, at twice the cost.

Agents said that if restaurants don't make changes after a citation is issue, the establishment could be shut down.

So, when will the food police start entering homes to verify compliance with the trans fat law?

In any event, I suggest this situation is just another milestone on the road to serfdom.

Tip: C&S

Nigerian Presidency

(Lagos, Nigeria) Breaking! Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has announced his candidacy in next January's presidential election.

The announcement appeared on Mr. Jonathan's Facebook page and a formal declaration is scheduled for Saturday.

Mr. Jonathan's bid to lead Africa's most populous country runs counter to political convention. There's an unwritten agreement in Mr. Jonathan's ruling party, the People's Democratic Party, that power will rotate between mostly Muslim northern Nigeria and mostly Christian southern Nigeria every two terms.

Mr. Jonathan, a southerner, formally took over for former president Umaru Yar'Adua, a northerner, when the latter died in May during his first term.

Goodluck Jonathan's announcement may lead to anger among the Northern Nigerian Muslims since he's breaking from tradition. It's reported that powerful Muslim Nigerians oppose his candidacy. The possibility of Muslim vs. Christian violence cannot be ruled out.

As a major global exporter of oil and gas, Nigerian political turmoil would likely have wide impact.

Voting fraud continues

How well will the results of next Tuesday's Congressional elections reflect the will of the people?

Suspicious voting-machine malfunctions and cheating candidates are the stuff of banana republics, not America. With Democrats about to suffer historic losses, is our election's integrity in question?

'It can't happen here," most Americans would say about the chances of voting one way and seeing your votes recorded the opposite. But that's what happened in early voting in North Carolina's unfortunately named Craven County last week.

Voter Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern found that "an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended," the New Bern Sun Journal reported.

Laughinghouse "pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked," the local paper reported. "He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result."

Election personnel eventually straightened it out, but clearly a less observant Republican voter would have inadvertently voted for every Democrat on his ballot. Chuck Tyson, chairman of the Craven County Republican Party, told the Sun Journal he "got two or three calls" from voters experiencing the same problem and is not satisfied with state election officials' efforts to fix it.

In Boulder City, Nev., meanwhile, where voters use computer screens, another disturbing episode was reported by Fox News. When voter Joyce Ferrara and her husband went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, they — and several others, according to Ferrara — found that Democratic incumbent Harry Reid's name was already checked. The county registrar's explanation: The high-tech voting screens are sensitive.

The Nevada case is especially disturbing because the seat of the most powerful Democrat in the Senate is at stake.

SOURCE

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

SC Teacher Gets Prison in Sex Case - Updated

(Lake City, South Carolina) Last month, former physical education teacher Kari Huggins Campbell was sentenced by 12th Circuit Judge Michael Nettles to two and one-half years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

This month, Campbell's teacher credentials were permanently revoked by the South Carolina State Board of Education.

* * * * *
SC Teacher Accused of Sex with Student
[Previous 4/16/10 post]
(Lake City, South Carolina) A 27-year-old physical education teacher formerly at Lake City High School, Kari Huggins Campbell, was arrested for allegedly engaging in a months-long sexual relationship with a student under the age of 16.

According to the Florence County Sheriff's Office, Campbell has been charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and lewd act on a minor. The sex of the victim wasn't reported.

The district notified law enforcement after it said a teacher admitted Wednesday to the relationship, according to a press release. The district also said it will notify the South Carolina Department of Education.

The district began its investigation after school administrators began hearing concerns about text messages between the teacher and the student, a press release states.

The district said the relationship took place outside of school and that nothing indicates any inappropriate behavior happened during school hours.

Campbell was booked into custody at the Florence County Detention Center and later released on $15,000 surety bond.

NYC Tolls Hiked

The price of entering and leaving New York City will increase on December 30.

In general, the cash tolls on the major crossings will increase by $1 on the crossings that collect one-way tolls, and by $2 on the Verrazano, which only collects a roundtrip toll.

For some reason, Staten Islanders pay less.

Teachers Union Gone Wild

Caution: Salty language



More here.

Companion post at EdWatch.

Court Overturns AZ Voter Registration Law

(San Francisco, California) The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the Arizona law requiring individuals to prove citizenship when registering to vote.

Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer and Secretary of State Ken Bennett blasted the court's decision Tuesday in a joint statement.

"The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a simple, common sense protection approved by Arizona voters requiring that all individuals provide evidence of U.S. citizenship prior to registering to vote. This decision is an outrage and a slap in the face to all Arizonans who care about the integrity of their elections," the statement said.

Ninth Circuit, heh.

Must not laugh at politically correct language

What the heck are "special needs" anyway? I sometimes have a special need for a cheeseburger. Does that count?

"The BBC has apologised after Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson described a car as "speciale needs".

Britain's broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom, investigated after the joke, made by Clarkson about a Ferrari owned by co-host James May, provoked complaints.

The F430 Speciale "looked like a simpleton" and should have been called "Speciale Needs", Clarkson said on the BBC2 show.

Comparing it to a newer model, he said the car "was a bit wrong - that smiling front end - it looked like a simpleton - should have been called the 430 Speciale Needs".

Charities criticised the remark, with the National Autistic Society saying it perpetuated "the prejudice and bullying which people with disabilities have to cope with".

The regulator said: "While obviously intended as a joke and not aimed directly at an individual with learning difficulties, the comment could easily be understood as ridiculing people in society with a particular physical disability or learning difficulty."

It concluded that because the BBC had apologised, decided not to repeat the comment, and said it was not intended to make fun of those with special needs, the case was resolved.

Clarkson, 50, who is reported to be paid £2 million ($3 million) a year by the BBC, is used to provoking outrage with his remarks.

He sparked anger when he asked Richard Hammond if he was "mental" when he returned to the show following a near-fatal car crash and in 2008 his joke about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes led to complaints.

A year later, he called then prime minister Gordon Brown a "one-eyed Scottish idiot" during a press conference in Australia and, in comments made to Top Gear magazine, he accused TV bosses of being fixated with having "black Muslim lesbians" on TV to balance out the amount of white, heterosexual males.

Source

Clarkson sure is a straight talker. He repeatedly says whatever comes into his head, regardless of whether it is "correct" or not. But his show is so popular that he gets away with it. His show is basically about cars but lots of people probably tune in for a breath of fresh air amid all the stifling British political correctness.

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

US Nuke Missiles Disabled

(Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming) According to the Pentagon, 50 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were disabled Saturday for about 45 minutes due to a computer glitch.

The glitch in the underground cable system linking launch control centers at F.E. Warren Air Force base to the missile silos affected one-ninth of the U.S. land-based nuclear force, a key part of the nation's nuclear deterrent, officials said.

Officials stressed that there was no possibility of accidental launch or indications that foreign government or terrorists had hacked into the system.

One military official remarked that the incident was not insignificant but not catastrophic.

Hybrid Police Car Explodes

(Jackson County, Georgia) It's not often one hears of an environmentally-friendly exploding automobile.

A Jackson County sheriff's deputy had to jump out of his car while it was moving at 50 miles an hour to escape a fire. The police cruiser was fueled partly by propane, an effort by Jackson County to use a cheaper, environmentally friendly alternative fuel.

The sheriff said Monday that he believes something went wrong with the propane system.

"We've got to determine what went wrong," said Sheriff Evans.

The sheriff said the fire started when veteran Deputy Gary Cox tried to light a cigarette while responding to a robbery call.

The investigation continues.

Michigan Woman Accused of Exploiting Toddler

(Detroit, Michigan) A 21-year-old local woman, Nichole Hollingsworth, has been accused of federal child sex assault charges stemming from the sexual exploitation of her 3-year-old goddaughter.

According the complaint, while the toddler was under the care of Detroit resident Nichole Hollingsworth, she was drugged with Nyquil and photographed.

Investigators also stated in the complaint that there was evidence that Hollingsworth blew marijuana into the toddler's face to get her high.

The complaint said Hollingsworth sent both still pictures and videos to the Missouri man, who is currently incarcerated for violating his probation following a child pornography conviction.

Federal investigators said the images were traced back to Hollingsworth when the Missouri man's Blackberry was confiscated earlier this year at the time of his incarceration.

Communications between Hollingsworth and the Missouri man indicated romance and future plans to kidnap children for sex.

Shep Smith Gets New Contract

Announced today, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith signed a multi-year contract to continue as the channel's lead news anchor.

Smith's most recent pact with Fox News inked in 2007 was for 3 years and nets him $7 million-8 million a year.

Since Smith's newscasts dominate in the ratings, I suspect he was given a raise. Congratulations!

In the announcement by Roger Ailes, CEO at Fox News, Smith reaped high praise. Meanwhile, a comment thread at the link is chock-full of criticism. It's claimed that Smith is too liberal, too smarmy and he makes too many mistakes.

Hugo Chavez Nationalizes Ohio-Based Company

(Caracas, Venezuela) Ominously promising more of the same, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered the expropriation of U.S.-based glass maker Owens-Illinois Inc.

The leftist leader criticized the company's practices in the country, saying it had been "taking away the money of Venezuelans" and exploiting local people.

Chavez did not detail his complaints about the company.

I'd suggest Chavez's primary complaint is that the government wasn't running the company. It's a common complaint among police-state dictators.

Tony Blair's Sister-In-Law Converts to Islam

(London, England) After a holy experience, 43-year-old Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, converted to Islam.

Booth had visited the shrine of Fatima Al-Masumeh and she decided to become a Muslim.

"It was a Tuesday evening and I sat down and felt this shot of spiritual morphine, just absolute bliss and joy."

Booth is reportedly a broadcaster and journalist by trade and she is variously described as being a human rights, anti-war and peace activist by volition. She is employed by Press TV, the English-language news channel of the Islamic Republic of Iran.



Recently, Booth's main focus of protest has been the perceived denial of human rights to the Palestinian population.

Booth stated that she believes the "situation in Gaza is a humanitarian crisis on the scale of Darfur" and called Gaza "the largest concentration camp in the world today."

Booth's dedication to the Palestinian cause appears absolute and it's consistent with her role as a human rights activist. However, it's not clear how Booth reconciles her human rights activism with her conversion to Islam. Women are denied equal rights under Islam.

Furthermore, it seems odd that a human rights activist turned Muslim would also subject her young daughters to the restrictions of Islam. Charting an Eat Pray Love future for herself is Booth's privilege, but I'd suggest that dragging her kids along is questionable parenting.



I foresee significant stress being weaved into Lauren Booth's future.

Political correctness ends 'Vice Squad' name in Britain

We read:

"Scotland Yard's famous Vice Squad, which deals with prostitution and other aspects of London's underworld, has changed its title to the rather less dynamic "Serious Crime Directorate 9: Human Exploitation and Organised Crime Command", or SCD9 for short.

The explanation is one that would draw a robust response from DCI Hunt, the old-school detective from BBC One's Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.

Metropolitan Police sources said the switch had been ordered in part because the word "vice" was thought to have negative "connotations". It reflects a growing trend by law enforcement agencies to treat prostitutes as victims rather than as offenders.

Alan Moss, a police historian and former Met chief superintendent, said: "The jargon of modern policing, with all the numbers and letters, is confusing for the public and probably for people in the police as well. "I think the names of different squads should bear the name of what they do, and the crime they are trying to combat."

Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Martin, head of SCD9, said the name change was necessary was because Clubs and Vice had taken on wider responsibilities for areas such as human trafficking, which meant the old title was no longer appropriate.

Source

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

New Mexican Woman and Boy

(Alamogordo, New Mexico) A 32-year-old local woman, Margaret J. King, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy.

King faces five counts criminal sexual penetration of a minor between the age of 13 and 16 and five counts of felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor between the age of 13 and 16.

Although details are sketchy, it appears that police officers responded to a call and allegedly found evidence that King and the boy were just finishing up a sexual encounter.

Voting Rights to Noncitizens

Several jurisdictions in the U.S. have proposed allowing legal residents who are not U.S. citizens to vote. Included are San Francisco, Chicago and Portland, Maine.

Portland residents will vote Nov. 2 on a proposal to give legal residents who are not U.S. citizens the right to vote in local elections, joining places like San Francisco and Chicago that have already loosened the rules or are considering it.

It's estimated that Portland has several thousand people who fit in the category. One of the largest groups is from Somalia.

Abdirizak Daud, 40, moved to Minneapolis 18 years ago before coming to Portland in 2006. He hasn't been able to find a job. Some of his nine children have attended Portland schools, and he'd like to have a say in who's looking over the school system and the city, he said.

But between his limited English and the financial demands, Daud hasn't been able to become a citizen.

"I like the Democrats. I want to vote for Democrats, but I don't have citizenship," he said.

To become a citizen, immigrants must be a lawful permanent resident for at least five years, pass tests on English and U.S. history and government, and swear allegiance to the United States.

Supporters of Portland's ballot measure say the process is cumbersome, time-consuming and costly. The filing fee and fingerprinting costs alone are $675, and many immigrants spend hundreds of dollars more on English and civics classes and for a lawyer to help them through the process.

Therefore, the effort to allow noncitizens to vote is based on the contention that it's too hard to become a citizen.

Election Day Bowling




Thanks to Debbie Hamilton.

Geert Wilders hate speech trial collapses in Netherlands

It was obvious from remarks made by the judges early on in the trial that at least one of the judges was biased against Wilders. Now there is clear proof of it: A rather spectacular turn of events

"The hate speech trial of the controversial far-right Dutch leader, Geert Wilders, collapsed in disarray at the last minute today when the panel of judges in the case were deemed to be biased. A retrial was ordered.

Wilders, who is enjoying soaring support at home and propping up a new minority anti-immigration government established last week, has been in the dock since earlier this month on five charges of inciting racial and religious hatred for his robust denunciations of Islam as fascist and demanding the Qur'an be banned.

During the trial he has been lionised as a modern-day Galileo as well as branded a "little Hitler". Today was the final scheduled day of the trial, with the verdict from the panel of three judges at Amsterdam district court due next week.

But in the past 48 hours it emerged that one of the appeal court judges who ordered Wilders to stand trial had dinner in May with a potential witness, a Dutch expert on Islam, and that the judge had sought to convince the professor of Arabic studies why Wilders had to be prosecuted.

Last night, Wilders, who has remained silent throughout the trial, tweeted that Dutch justice was like the mafia.

This morning, Bram Moszkowicz, Wilders's lawyer, asked to summon the witness and was refused. He formally protested that the judges were biased against the defendant, a complaint that was upheld by another judges' panel, which ordered a retrial with a new bench.

Source

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

US, South Korea Cancel Joint Military Exercises - Updated

(Seoul, South Korea) Breaking! Plans have changed! The U.S. and South Korean governments have canceled a major joint military exercise in response to objections expressed by China.

A US aircraft carrier was to participate in the exercise, which has been cancelled over fears that it could heighten tensions around the peninsula ahead of the G20 summit in Seoul, Yonhap news agency said.

"There will be no exercise involving a US aircraft carrier this year," an unnamed senior South Korean official was quoted as saying. The South's defence ministry refused to comment.

Seoul will host world leaders including US President Barack Obama for the summit from November 11-12, in what is considered the nation's biggest appearance on the global stage since the 1988 Olympics in the capital.

So, first they move the location of the war games and now they have been canceled. Heh.

* * * * *
US Aircraft Carrier Deploys to South Korea
[Previous 7/20/10 post]


USS George Washington CVN-73
The USS George Washington (CVN-73) and its task force warships will steam into Busan Port, South Korea tomorrow and drop anchor.

The massive nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has been deployed reportedly as a show of force in the aftermath of the sinking of a South Korean warship, Cheonan, last March. North Korea has been blamed for the sinking.

The George Washington may participate in upcoming joint military exercises with South Korea.

Meanwhile, China has protested the South Korean-U.S. exercises, countering by conducting their own military exercises. Ominously, with everyone rattling sabers, it's getting a bit more dicey in the northeast region of Asia.

[Add.] It's being reported that the U.S. essentially caved to Chinese sensitivities by changing the the location of the upcoming naval exercises from the West Sea to the "Sea of Japan," otherwise known as the East Sea.

Get the smelling salts! A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman blurted that the use of "Sea of Japan" was diplomatically disrespectful. The U.S. must be cognizant of the fact that the Koreans have no love for the Japanese and making seemingly any reference to Japan's existence is an insult.

Heh.

SoCal Teen Killed by Shark

(Santa Barbara, California) Last Friday, 19-year-old Lucas McKaine Ransom was fatally bitten by a shark while bodyboarding in the surf northwest of Santa Barbara.

The shark, described as 14 to 20 feet long, bit Ransom's left leg, inflicting what deputies said was "a massive wound."

Paramedics pronounced him dead on the beach.

The below photo from the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department tells much of the story.


Lucas Ransom's board with a foot-wide bite wedge and one flipper are displayed. Presumably, the other flipper is still attached to the leg bitten by the shark.

Mom Accused of Strangling Daughter, 8

(South Kingston, Rhode Island) Earlier this month, 37-year-old Kimberly Fry was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder stemming from the alleged strangling death of her 8-year-old daughter.

Fry is accused in the August 2009 death of her daughter Camden, whose father found the girl unresponsive in bed.

A hospital employee who tended to Fry said in a police affidavit that Fry confessed to killing her daughter because the child refused to take a bath.

Arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.

Illegal to post an ad seeking a Christian roommate?

We read:

"The 31-year-old nursing student was looking to keep her expenses down when she decided to invite someone to share her home.

But when she posted an advertisement for a Christian roommate on her local church's bulletin board, the Grand Rapids woman landed in the middle of a civil rights debate that has her facing a complaint of alleged illegal housing discrimination.

The advertisement contained the sentence, "I am looking for a Christian roommate," said Joel Oster, senior litigation counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents the woman.

Someone saw the ad over the summer and anonymously filed a civil rights complaint with the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan. The complaint was then filed with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, and the woman was notified at the end of September.

"I think it's a clear violation on its face," said Nancy L. Haynes, executive director of the local Fair Housing Center. "It's an advertisement that clearly violates the Fair Housing Act."

Although the woman might choose a roommate based on religion, say, after interviewing the person over coffee, she cannot publish an ad with that intent, Haynes said.

The Alliance Defense Fund is a Christian legal group. In a statement released Thursday, Oster added, "Christians shouldn't live in fear of being punished by the government for being Christians. It is completely absurd to try to penalize a single Christian woman for privately seeking a Christian roommate at church -- an obviously legal and constitutionally protected activity.

Source

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

Minnesota Mom Accused of Killing Toddler Son

(Stearns County, Minnesota) A 31-year-old local woman, Nyachual Lungdicok Poch, has been accused of killing her toddler son, 22 months old.

Poch faces a charge of second-degree murder.

A court complaint charging Poch accuses her of beating the boy with a shoe because he was crying, causing lacerations to the boy’s liver.

An autopsy also revealed past injuries to the child, according to court records.

Poch was booked in to custody with bail set at $1 million.

Stearns County District Court Judge Kris Davick-Halfen ordered a mental competency exam of Poch.

California Mom Accused of Killing Daughter, 8

(Venture, California) A 25-year-old local woman, Blair Stockdill, has been accused of murdering her eight-year-old daughter.

Stockdill faces charges of murder and child abuse.

On Sept. 20, Alaina Stockdill was found dead lying on her side in an empty bathtub, her head resting on a small pillow.[…]

Authorities said Alaina likely had been dead for several days before she was found on the morning of Sept. 20. She last attended Elmhurst School on Sept. 15. Her mother called the school the next day to say her daughter was ill and would not be in, authorities have said.

Blair Stockdill, who had a history of mental illness, lost custody of Alaina about five years ago. They had lived together in the Ventura apartment for several years, and Blair regained legal custody in December, according to county records.

Both Ventura police and county social workers went to Blair and Alaina’s home to investigate an abuse allegation in the weeks before the girl’s death but said they found no evidence that would have warranted removal of the child from the home.

Stockdill was booked into custody with bail set at $530,000.

Woman Accused of Sex with Girl, 12

(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) A 23-year-old local woman, Renia D. Chester, has been accused of the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl.

Chester faces charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault of a child under 13 and illegal contact with a minor.

Police said the girl's mother reported allegations to police involving her daughter and Renia D. Chester of Harrisburg.

Police said Chester arranged to meet the girl in a hotel room in Fairview Township, York County, in April, and engaged the child in sex acts. The girl told police "sexual things" happened before the motel visit in Chester's home.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Chester. Anyone with information on her whereabouts should call Harrisburg Police.

Saving the Rats

(Ottawa, Ontario) On Thursday, the Animal Defence League held a protest in Confederation Park to oppose the laying of rat traps containing poison.

Their news release says "rats are playful, love to be tickled and make chirping noises that sound like laughter".

I don't understand the love of rats. And I wonder whether it makes a difference that rats are playful and make chirping noises when eating a baby.

Beyond Nasty

(Long Beach, New York) A local man, Mitchell Marsicano, has been arrested on burglary and sexual misconduct charges.

Nassau County prosecutors say Marsicano illegally entered an apartment in the house he owned and sexually assaulted the dog, a 23-pound Japanese breed named Snowball.

They said the tenants called authorities after witnessing the latest assault on Thursday.

The dog was examined at a nearby animal hospital and showed signs of trauma.

Marsicano was booked into custody with bail set at $10,000.

Tip: slwlion

Oklahoma Mom Guilty in Teen Sex Case - Updated

(Creek County, Oklahoma) This week, 33-year-old local mom, Jayme Jo Nelson, was convicted by a jury on three felony counts including two counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16.

Police say she was involved with some of her teenage daughter's friends.

The jury recommended 3 years and a $3,000 fine.

Therefore, it appears that Nelson will serve one year for each felony conviction. Meanwhile, information on probation and sex offender status has not been reported.

Notably, Nelson faces prosecution on additional felony counts next spring.

Tip: flower power

* * * * *
Oklahoma Woman and Teen Boys
[Previous 8/20/09 post]
(Creek County, Oklahoma) In April 2008, a 32-year-old Mannford woman, Jayme Jo Nelson, was charged with five counts of sex crimes against teen boys. One of the boys reportedly had dated Nelson's daughter.

Court records show Nelson is accused of asking a boy to have sex with her and looking, touching and feeling a 14-year-old boy and 15-year-old’s private parts.

Nelson is currently free on bond. A plea hearing is scheduled for September 9 to discuss terms of an agreement.

Nelson's attorney hinted that Nelson may not have to register as a sex offender.

Why Obama Doesn’t Seem to Relate emotionally

Unlike most people, he exhibits little or no moral sense

By Tibor R. Machan

Most of the time when I hear about how President Obama lacks the emotional disposition that most Americans would like to see him demonstrate, I am disinclined to make much of the point. What I want from someone in the role of the presidency is good thinking and not sensitivity.

Nonetheless I have been paying a bit more attention to this criticism of the President because as I have been following his efforts to bolster the chances of Democrats to remain in power in Washington, DC, I have noticed that there is something amiss with how he comes over emotionally.

As a start, Mr. Obama is always glib, as if nothing on earth could phase him, as if it is all old hat to him, he is way ahead of everyone. This comes through, for instance, in his repeated dismissal of anything that members of the Tea Party complain about.

And that’s just the beginning. One related steady emotional theme in the president’s talks is the effort to be accommodating toward critics and enemies of America. Indeed, the very idea that Mr. Obama would identify anyone as an enemy of the United States of America seems off base. This is because it looks like he is mostly interested in building bridges between us and them, however barbaric they may be.

Mr. Obama is one of those American intellectuals who appears to be stopped from criticizing anyone abroad because, well, this country has had slavery and segregation and poverty so how could it justify being critical of anyone? It shows a spirit of perpetual self-criticism and mea culpa, attitudes that appear to dominate the president’s conscience (and we are here talking about appearances).

There is no black and white for the man –no one, not even a vicious terrorist and a leader of a country in which women are systematically and barbarically oppressed, justifies for him any sort of firm moral condemnation. Like those ever-permissive parents who always have an excuse for what their offspring are doing, no matter how mischievous or outright evil it manages to be, for Mr. Obama those who attack America, actually attack innocents everywhere, just could not be all bad, unworthy of understanding.

This mentality of turning the other cheek, no matter what, appears to underlie the widespread distrust people have of Mr. Obama’s emotional makeup. Emotions, although they are ultimately unreliable guidelines to action, are pretty good clues to what system of values someone has internalized. If one has to force oneself disapprove of or condemn vicious conduct and people and it doesn’t arise naturally, people who do have a sense of just how bad some others can be will become suspicious.

President Obama and his cheerleaders must realize that eloquence is no substitute for emotional balance, for being in tune emotionally with what those deserve who comport themselves villainously. Being well spoken is not enough. One must also have a sense of what needs to be said, have substance to communicate, a sense of justice, if you will.

Or perhaps Mr. Obama just despises being disliked by people, even by vicious rulers abroad. But that, too, reveals his emotional priorities. Mr. Obama needs to open himself up to the possibility that some people should really be hated, that they are evil and not merely misguided, sick, or deranged.

Human life is distinctive in the world precisely because human beings have a moral nature and they can act irresponsibly, morally deplorably, contemptibly, as well as admirably, demonstrating moral excellence.

And while that idea has always had its detractors, the moral skeptics, they simply cannot sustain their denial that people are moral agents and capable of doing vile things for which they ought to be condemned. They do not deserve sympathy but contempt.

And this is evident from the fact that the one exception to the skeptics’ ambivalence about morality is their own utter contempt for those who do take morality seriously. They tend to be dismissed, even derided, as fundamentalists or moralizers, which is clearly and paradoxically something (morally?) contemptible to the skeptics!

Moral skeptics usually are hoisted on their own petard. Their amoral stance isn’t philosophically sustainable because human beings are indeed moral beings, unlike the rest the members of the living world. And one result of having a moral nature and admitting to it is that one will openly cope with moral evil as well as moral excellence. If one denies this, as it seems President Obama does when it comes to America’s enemies, it will eventually stand in the way of reaching out to ordinary people.

SOURCE

NOTE: In extreme forms, lack of a moral sense is psychopathy. Obama's glacial calm is also normal in psychopaths. See here and here -- JR

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

Female Coach Gets Prison for Sex with Girl - Updated

(Waco, Texas) On Thursday, 25-year-old Leslie Klemansky was found guilty by a jury on all counts stemming from a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.

Klemansky was convicted on one count of sexual assault of a child and two counts of sexual performance by a child.

Yesterday, Klemansky was taken into custody after being sentenced to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine on the sexual assault of a child charge. She also received six years in prison and a $2,500 fine on each of the two sexual performance charges. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

Defense attorney John Floyd said there would be an appeal. (h/t Lame)

* * * * *
Female Coach, 24, Accused of Sex with Girl, 15
[Previous 7/8/10 post]
(Waco, Texas) In March 2010, a 24-year-old softball coach formerly at McLennan Community College, Leslie Klemansky, was indicted in federal court on charges of coercion and enticement to have sex with a 15-year-old girl from Kansas.

According to a search warrant affidavit filed in McLennan County court, Klemansky met the alleged victim last June during a hitting camp at the University of Oklahoma and gave the girl her business card.

The girl texted Klemansky, who then told the girl she was a lesbian and was interested in her, the affidavit states.

At Klemansky’s request, the girl sent her a nude photo of herself, the affidavit states.

The girl, who lives out of state, told police that Klemansky told her she loved her and wanted to take her to Hawaii and marry her, and the two engaged in phone sex, the affidavit states.

Klemansky bonded out of jail after her arrest last December.

Yesterday (7/7/10), Klemansky was indicted by a McLennan County grand jury on one count of sexual assault of a child and two counts of sexual performance of a child, all stemming from the relationship with the girl from Kansas.

Connecticut Teacher's Aide Gets Prison in Sex Case - Updated

(New London, Connecticut) Thirty-three-year-old Shonna Couture pleaded guilty in New London Superior Court to second-degree sexual assault and delivery of alcohol to a minor.

According to police, she had consensual sex with the male student at a local motel and at her house, and provided vodka to the student and a 15-year-old girl.

As a result, she was sentenced Friday to one year in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender. When released, Couture will serve 10 years of strict probation.

* * * * *
Connecticut Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Student
[Previous 1/13/09 post]
(New London, Connecticut) A 31-year-old teacher's aide formerly at Robert E. Fitch High School, Shonna Couture, has been charged with engaging in sex with a 16-year-old male student.

Couture faces counts of second-degree sexual assault, providing alcohol to a minor and risk of injury to a child.

On the weekend of Dec. 5, she said she rented a room at the Econo Lodge and had consensual sex with the student.

On Dec. 7, the boy asked Couture to pick up a 15-year-old female at her house. Around 7 p.m., Couture brought the girl back to the motel, where all three of them drank from Couture's bottle of Smirnoff vodka. Couture told police the girl appeared intoxicated.

Couture also told police she had sex with the boy at her house sometime between Dec. 7 and Dec. 13.

A court appearance is scheduled for February 3.

Headless Animals in the Street

(Miami, Florida) This is not your typical neighborhood news event.

A gruesome Halloween mystery came to a Miami neighborhood Thursday morning when residents awoke to find dozens of dead, headless animals dumped down their street.

About a dozen goats, cats and different types of birds were laid out on nearly two blocks between 16th Terrace and 15th Terrace on 34th Avenue in Miami, leaving residents scared at what might be next as Halloween approaches.

"Nothing had a head," said Marioly Perez, who was awakened by screeching tires as a car peeled out down the street. "I have never seen anything like this. It's scary."

Miami Police believe the dead animals might have been part of a religious ritual like a Santeria, but those don't usually involve cats. There was also a "very large" animal that no one could identify, residents said.

Pretty sick, eh?

Tip: slwlion

Florida Teacher Accused of Vehicular Homicide

(Golden Gate Estates, Florida) A 28-year-old teacher at Oakridge Middle School, Andrea Kidder, has been accused of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and two counts of personal injury/property damage.

It's alleged that Kidder drove while drunk and crashed, killing 22-year-old Bree Kelly in the November 13, 2009, accident.

The crash occurred at 7:39 p.m. when Kidder, driving east on Interstate 75 at around the 102-mile marker (near the Collier Boulevard interchange), rear-ended the pickup truck in which Kelly was a passenger. The truck, driven by friend Nicholas Mason, swerved into the median and flipped several times, sending the unrestrained Kelly into the median.

Kidder is on leave from her teaching position.

NJ Teacher's Aide Gets Prison in Sex Case - Updated

(Morristown, New Jersey) Former teacher's aide Danielle Hart, 36, was sentenced today to five years in prison. She also must register as a sex offender and serve supervised parole for life.

Defense attorney Marc Futterweit had asked for leniency, claiming that Hart committed the crimes because she was vulnerable and depressed from her boyfriend abusing her and beating her dog to death.

Hart must serve one year and five days before being eligible for parole.

* * * * *
NJ Teacher Guilty of Sex with Male Student - Updated
[Previous 6/17/10 post]
(Morristown, New Jersey) Former teacher's aide at the Shepard School, Danielle M. Hart, pleaded guilty today to sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a minor. Hart admitted that she committed an act of sexual penetration with a 17-year-old male student.

Hart met the victim, now 20, when she was an aide for the Shepard School on Columba Street in Morristown. The private school is for students with behavioral problems and learning disabilities and she first met him in the 2005-06 school year when he was a sophomore.

Hart did not need any certifications to serve as a teacher's aide and after sentencing would be barred from teaching anyway because of her conviction for a sexual offense.

Prosecutor LaJuan Tucker recommends that Hart be sentenced to five years in state prison and ordered to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law. First, however, Hart must be evaluated by the New Jersey Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center at Avenel.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 13.

* * * * *
New Jersey Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Student
[Previous 2/18/09 post]
(Morristown, New Jersey) A 35-year-old teacher's aide formerly at the Shepard School, Danielle M. Hart, has been charged with multiple sex crimes for allegedly engaging in sex with a 17-year-old special needs student. The alleged sex reportedly occurred between June and November 2007.

Hart faces charges of sexual assault, child endangerment, and aggravated criminal sexual contact. Upon her arrest last Friday, Hart reportedly admitted she had intercourse with the male student.

Hart was booked into custody at the Morris County Jail and later released on $100,000 bail.

Websites Disappear in China

The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal disappeared in China last week.

It's not clear exactly why the sites went dark, but the suspected reason is because the WSJ and FT covered in depth an open letter written by a group of retired Communist Party members that called for greater openness in media and less censorship. The letter was published briefly on various Chinese sites before being censored.

The Journal's Chinese-language site still isn't back up; the paper declined to comment. An FT spokeswoman in New York said the site was down "due to technical issues which have been resolved now."

As the economy has gotten stronger, you might think China's media censorship would relax more, but it hasn't.

For communism to endure, it's necessary for the public to be kept in the dark.

MA: Groups challenge obscenity law scope

Another attempt by the power freaks to get their hands on the internet

"A coalition of Internet content providers and free-speech advocates told a federal judge yesterday that a new Massachusetts law aimed at protecting children from online sexual predators effectively bans anything that may be considered ‘harmful to minors,’ including material that adults have the right to view.

Supporters say the new law closes a loophole that led the state’s highest court to overturn the conviction of a man accused of sending sexually explicit instant messages to someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl. The Supreme Judicial Court found that the old state law that imposes criminal penalties for disseminating material harmful to minors did not cover electronic communications.”

Source

"It's for the children": An old excuse for all kinds of Fascism -- but, as usual, it has the effect of controlling what adults can do, see and hear too

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

VA Woman Accused of Sex Assault of Boy

(Clearfield, Virginia) A 26-year-old local woman, Destiney Dawn Bloom, has been accused of statutory sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy stemming from an incident last January.

A warrant has been issued for Bloom's arrest to face charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and indecent assault.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on March 16 the victim told the police that he was staying at a cousin's home in Grassflat and the accused was there as well.

He said they were all sleeping on the living room floor and when everyone else was asleep he asked Bloom to have sex with him. At first she said no but eventually consented.

Judge James Hawkins issued the bench warrant after Bloom failed to appear for a scheduled preliminary hearing.

Washington Woman Lures New Jersey Boy for Sex

(Centralia, Washington) A 33-year-old local woman, Jessica Pearce, is in federal custody after being charged with engaging in videotaped sex with a 16-year-old boy she met while playing "World of Warcraft" on the Internet.

Pearce faces charges of sex with a minor and child pornography.

According to charging documents, the boy's parents contacted New Jersey law enforcement on Sept. 13, 2009, after the boy disappeared. The youth's parents said he had been communicating with Pearce, whom the boy claimed was in high school.

The boy's father grew concerned in July 2009 after he discovered text messages of a sexual nature sent to his son. He told the boy to end the relationship.

According to charging papers, Pearce gave the boy a forged school identification card and flew with him from New Jersey on Sept. 11, 2009. They were stopped by police three days later at a highway rest stop.

Speaking with police, the boy said he met Pearce the year before while playing the online game "World of Warcraft," FBI Special Agent John Mesisca told the court. The boy, who was 15 at the time, said he initially told Pearce he was 24 but came clean about his age months later.

On three occasions, Pearce flew to meet with the boy in New Jersey, Mesisca continued. On one occasion she brought her 6-year-old child with her.

Pearce remains in custody at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.

Woman Gets 30 Years for Skydiving Murder - Updated

(Tongeren, Belgium) Schoolteacher Els Clotteman, 26, has been convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder.

The verdict against Els Clottemans, 26, ended a month-long trial which revealed no hard evidence that she had sabotaged Els Van Doren's parachute during a jump over eastern Belgium on 18 November 2006.

Mrs Van Doren, then 38, jumped that day – with 11 other parachutists, including Clottemans – from a small plane flying at 30,000 feet.

The 12 jurors agreed with the prosecution that the evidence was circumstantial, but overwhelming.

Clottemans maintained her innocence throughout the trial.

* * * * *
Love Triangle at 13,000 Feet
[Previous 1/25/07 post]
(The Sky Above Belgium) As had occurred for several years, Miss Els Clottemans, 22, and her boyfriend, a Dutchman named Marcel, went skydiving with her girlfriend, Els Van Doren, 37. Unfortunately, Mrs. Van Doren's parachutes (main and reserve) failed to open, causing her death after plunging 13,000 feet and colliding unimpeded with the Earth.

Investigators found that Mrs.Van Doren's parachutes had been sabotaged and have accused Miss Clottemans of the deed and charged her with murder. It appears that Clottemans' boyfriend Marcel was doing some intimate free-falling with Mrs. Van Doren and Clottemans wanted to eliminate her as a competitor.

Although Clottemans denies the charge, she previously tried to kill an American boyfriend by running over him with her vehicle. The boyfriend survived and charges were dropped. Nonetheless, Clottemans appears to have a history of relationship problems and attempted murder doesn't seem to be out of the question.

Clottemans is in custody in Hasselt Prison awaiting trial.

Tip: slwlion

Terrorist Quits Al-Qaeda Due to Poor Health Plan

(New York City) A 46-year-old reported Moroccan ex-terrorist, L’Houssaine Kherchtou, testified during the trial of accused U.S. embassy bomber Ahmed Ghailani and explained that he quit al-Qaeda because of inadequate health care benefits.

Assistant Manhattan U.S. Attorney Harry Chernoff asked Kherchtou whether he had a dispute with al-Qaeda leaders at the time about medical treatment for his wife.

Kherchtou dropped his head, began to cry, nodded and wiped his eyes under his wire-rimmed glasses. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said he didn’t hear Kherchtou’s answer.

Chernoff rephrased the question saying, “Did your wife need treatment for her pregnancy and al-Qaeda refused to pay the bill?”

“Yes,” Kherchtou whispered, and began to weep, taking a tissue and wiping tears from his face and blowing his nose.

Given the nature of al-Qaeda's mission, it would seem more appropriate to have a comprehensive funeral plan as opposed to a health care plan. Nevertheless, it's hard to believe that a terrorist would give up fanatical jihad because of lousy job benefits.

Require Weigh-In for Food Stamps

A number of years ago, I was working a short-term assignment at a job site in Texas when I had the occasion to stop at a one-cashier grocery where I got stuck in the checkout line behind a 20-something woman with a full shopping cart. I patiently waited my turn.

The woman was short, maybe five-foot, and heavy, I'd guess 200+ pounds, and she had difficulty reaching for items in her cart to put on the conveyer. So I helped.

I was immediately struck by the types of items she was buying. Her cart was full of expensive appetizers, beefsteaks, pork chops, soft drinks and a variety of candy. There were no fruits nor vegetables.

I was also struck by the amount of money she was wasting on what I considered to be mostly treats. As examples, she bought at least six 6-oz packages of frozen breaded shrimp, several 8-oz packages of frozen rock lobster tails and a 10-oz two-serving package of swordfish steaks.

The whole experience dragged and it got worse. The woman paid for her cartful of treats with a handful of food stamps, some looking weathered by a number of transactions.

As I recall, the bill was around $70 and the woman counted out the amount while the cashier went item-by-item through the sales slip to identify the purchases not covered by food stamps. Then the cashier calculated how much of the bill had to be paid in cash. The woman then counted out a small pile of bills next to the large pile of food stamps and paid the amount owed. Everything was bagged and the woman waddled out.

I had spent at least 20 minutes waiting for the woman to complete her transactions. Consequently, the episode is tattooed in my memory and it's made me wonder just how much does a person have to weigh before being denied food stamps. The woman in the store was at least 100 pounds overweight, way beyond the point at which taxpayers should be buying her food.

Arguably, the taxpayer shouldn't be subsidizing people with food stamps when it's obvious that the people are getting plenty to eat. I would contend that an overweight person, barring any medical complication, shouldn't be granted food stamps.

Furthermore, it's somewhat irksome that the woman in my anecdotal story purchased expensive products with food stamps that would be considered frivolous and a waste of money by people using their own money. Sure, pricey breaded shrimp puffs can be nice and quite appropriate for a party but hardly the basis for any nutritional diet.

I propose scrapping the whole government food stamp program. It's corrupt in my estimation.

If there must be a public food subsidy, I propose making it a program to keep people alive and as healthy as is reasonably achievable. Food stamps should be authorized for people only after they are weighed and found, within a reasonable margin, to be underweight or at risk of being underweight.

Under no conditions should food stamps buy specialty items for snacking while watching television.

In any event, I suggest that all food subsidy programs should have a goal of eliminating the need for food subsidies. The programs should operate to reduce the number of people on the rolls. After all, the desired condition would be a society where everyone has enough to eat without government help. I suggest making food stamps difficult to obtain and an embarrassment to receive.

Hate speech to say that homosexuality is changeable

Or so a prominent Mormon has found out. Boyd Packer is President of LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He recently said that homosexuality is not inborn -- arousing a storm of protest. So the Mormon church is distancing itself from his words.

"The Mormon Church is trying to perform some sleight of hand, and hoping no one notices. On their online version of Boyd K. Packer’s hate-speech, they’ve changed some of the most critical words -– possibly in response to the national outrage against them.

Last Sunday during Packer’s sermon, he made the preposterous claim that homosexuality was not born of inbred “tendencies.”

But ‘Lo and behold,’ in the Church’s online text version of the same speech, the word “tendencies” was changed to “temptations.”

The initial words spoken by Packer said, “Some suppose that they were pre-set and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn tendencies toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Why would our Heavenly Father do that to anyone? Remember he is our father.”

The new text reads: “Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn temptations toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Remember, God is our Heavenly Father.”

Source

If you say that IQ, laziness, tendency to crime or a whole host of other things is genetically inherited, Leftists will always furiously deny it. Homosexuality is the the lone exception. How convenient! How odd!

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

New Mexican Woman Gets Probation in Sex Case - Updated

(Farmington, New Mexico) Thirty-two-year-old Amanda Polanco pleaded guilty per an agreement to criminal sexual penetration of a minor and was sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation.

She initially faced four counts from incidents that occurred between March 21 and April 18.

State District Judge Thomas Hynes agreed Monday to give Polanco a conditional discharge. She won't have a criminal record after completing probation, including court-ordered therapy.

The boy's mother told Hynes that Polanco, who has three children, was trying to get pregnant by her son.

It's arguable but I suggest the court didn't solve any problems. The perpetrator is not being subjected to any substantive punishment and the victim's mother is still complaining.

* * * * *
New Mexican Woman and Boy
[Previous 7/7/10 post]
(Farmington, New Mexico) A 32-year-old area woman, Amanda Polanco, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy. Polanco has been charged with four counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child.

Polanco was friends with the child's family, and the boy's father notified police after learning of the sexual relationship, according to court records.

Polanco told police all sexual contact between the two was consensual. The boy told police they planned to be together openly when he turned 18, according to court records.

Polanco was arrested in May and released on bond. She awaits arraignment.

Troops Will Vote With Their Feet

The last word regarding the proposed repeal of the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military homosexual exclusion law won’t come from the President, Congress, or the courts. The all-volunteer military will have the last word if the homosexual law is repealed; that is, many will vote with their feet to the nation’s peril.

The confluence of efforts by the three branches of government to lift the homosexual ban is unprecedented but so is their failure to consider unfettered service member voices. Ignoring their views potentially places the nation at risk if our volunteers who are already overstretched by nine years of war decide that lifting the homosexual ban is the last straw and then leave. And lifting the ban could also keep qualified candidates with a proclivity to serve from enlisting but no one knows just how many are in either category.

What we do know is the pool of potential volunteers is shrinking with only 25% of the nation’s 17- to 24-year-olds eligible for military service and a fraction of that group demonstrate a proclivity to volunteer. That shrinking pool is drawn from a small segment of the population mostly opposed to open homosexuality in the military such as conservative and religious families with histories of military service.

This pool of eligible volunteers won’t be easily replaced by “eligible” homosexuals who as a category make up only a few percentage points of the total population and, in general, steer clear of military service. Yet gay activists and liberal apologists with no military service would have the American public believe homosexuals are anxious to fill the military’s ranks.

The President, Congress, and the courts disregard the unfettered opinions of our all-volunteer military at great risk, and if Obama and his allies succeed in lifting the ban they have no back-up pool of eligible recruits. That is why Congress had better listen to our troops and their chiefs or get ready to justify conscription for everyone’s sons and daughters.

More HERE

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

Teacher Accused of Sending Explicit Texts to Boy

(Kankakee, Illinois) A 48-year-old teacher at Kankakee High School, Kenise L. List, is accused of sending sexually explicit text messages to a 15-year-old boy.

List has been charged with grooming and indecent solicitation of a child stemming from actions in July. She pleaded not guilty Monday.

According to state law, grooming is the use of computer or Internet services, or other electronic devices, to seduce or attempt to lure a child into a sex act. The law took effect Jan. 1, 2009.

According to State's Attorney Jamie Boyd, List is the first person prosecuted under the grooming law.

Gun Buckle




(Berlin, Germany) This nifty little gun in a belt buckle was confiscated by Berlin Police during a recent raid. A total of 77 firearms and 15,000 rounds of ammunition were seized.

Col. Russell Williams, Canadian Air Force



(Belleville, Ontario) The 47-year-old former commander of Canada's largest military air base, Colonel Russell Williams, pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of sexual assault and 82 counts of breaking and entering.

A highly-decorated military pilot, Col. Williams was originally charged in February in the sexual assaults and gruesome deaths of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38.


 
Jessica Lloyd -- Marie-France Comeau
Undoubtedly a homicidal sexual pervert, Col. Williams has a fetish for women's underwear which led to break-ins at women's homes and physical assaults. He would then bind the women with duct tape and rope and repeatedly rape them before killing them. The entire criminal episodes were documented by Col. Williams on videotape and photographs.

Reportedly, Williams used his position as commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton to learn where his victim lived and when she was home. Then he would break in and hide until she arrived.

At some point in his campaign of perversion, Williams pranced around in front of a camera while wearing women's underwear.

Williams remains in custody where he has reportedly attempted suicide. Sentencing information hasn't been disclosed.

Must not video homosexuals

That seems to be the main gripe below, leading to calls for the guy's resignation. It's really cool for homosexual, Leftist and Islamic students to disrupt violently conservative speakers who come to address campus audiences but just videoing anything adverse to campus homosexuals is not on, apparently

"Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell recently took a leave of absence after drawing national attention to his blog, Chris Armstrong Watch. The blog, which is now only available to "invited readers," monitored University of Michigan student body president Chris Armstrong, who is gay.

In one blog post, Shirvell posted a video of the police breaking up a party hosted by Armstrong. He'd recorded it at 1:30 a.m., while camping in front of Armstrong's house. Called, "Ann Arbor Police Raid Chris Armstrong's ‘Gay Rush' Welcome Week Party, 9-5-10," the YouTube video was just one demonstration of Shirvell's obsession. In another post, he drew a swastika on a photo of Armstrong and accused him repeatedly of being a "racist elitist" promoting a "radical homosexual agenda."

Source

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

Chinese Missile Drill Targets F-22 Raptor

(Hong Kong, China) Early this month, Apple Daily reported that Japan and the U.S. would hold military exercises in November where China was the enemy in a scenario to recapture disputed islands after a Chinese surprise attack.

The war games will include participation of the USS George Washington nuclear aircraft carrier and F-22 stealth fighter jets.

Less than a week later, the Chinese People's Liberation Army responded with a related missile drill.

On Oct. 8, five days after the report, a Chinese Air Force brigade in the Chengdu military district practiced firing a Hong Qi No. 9 missile, China's newest ground-to-air missile, to hit a target assumed to be an F-22, the Apple Daily said.



Hong Qi No. 9 Missile
The Science and Technology Daily, published in Beijing, wrote a story about the drill. "Right after the radar sent the information on the location of the stealth fighter to the missile launch team, the Hong Qi No. 9 missile flew into the clouds and an explosion was heard only 40 seconds later.

Meanwhile, on the same day of the successful Chinese missile exercise, President Barack Obama sent a letter to Congress proposing an end to the embargo on the export of military C-130 cargo planes to China.

Strangely, while the Pentagon prepares for a shooting war with the Chinese, the Obama administration acts to help the Chinese get adequate military equipment. I must be missing some sort of diplomatic nuance here.

The land of the free again: Two wars but no conscription

In war as in life, what doesn't happen is often as significant as what does. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with their setbacks, victories and casualties, have many things in common with past American wars. But there is one big thing missing this time: the draft.

Hendrik Hertzberg noted recently in The New Yorker magazine that "for the first time in a century, America is fighting a long war -- indeed, two long wars, each longer than our participation in both World Wars put together -- without conscription."

That change represents a sort of throwback to the early days of the republic. When President James Madison proposed conscription for the War of 1812, New Hampshire's Daniel Webster rose on the House floor in eloquent opposition.

"Where is it written in the Constitution, in what article or section is it contained, that you may take children from their parents, and parents from their children, and compel them to fight the battles of any war in which the folly or wickedness of government may engage it?" he demanded. That was the end of that idea, until the Civil War.

It's not just that no one wants to bring back the bitter divisions and organized resistance the draft produced in the 1960s. It's also that we have established the clear superiority of a military composed of men and women who choose to serve.

No one would imagine you could run a private business with employees who are forced to take jobs there against their will. Imagine the difficulty of motivating them. Yet we used to run the Army that way.

There is no doubt that the current wars have put exceptional burdens on the active duty force as well as reservists -- burdens far greater than they expected when they signed up. But future soldiers will have no illusions about what to expect, and they will adjust their choices to fit the new reality.

Thanks to the abolition of the draft, if Americans want to keep making such heavy demands on the military, they will have to pay generously enough to get people to enlist and re-enlist.

It was once a novel experiment: fielding a force to protect freedom without grossly violating freedom by dragooning young men to serve. But it's worked so well we've almost forgotten there's an alternative.

SOURCE

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

International Hot Pants Advisory

(Asian Pacific Rim) A controversial cultural phenomenon in East Asian countries is prompting mixed but loud reactions. It's the influence of pretty young Korean girls in hot pants.




Scantily-clad Korean girl singing groups perform and are imitated throughout the Far East. They have been criticized as too young, too revealing, too suggestive and blamed for the spread of dengue fever, a potentially-fatal disease.

With the immense popularity of Korean girl groups, the fashion style of wearing hot pants is being widely imitated by girls in Thailand, but the Thai government said soaring popularity of hot pants is one of the reasons behind the spread of dengue fever.

This year alone, 90,000 cases of dengue fever have been reported in Thailand. As the disease is spread by virus-carrying mosquitoes, exposing legs to their bite can be dangerous, it said.

Frankly, I suggest it's a stretch to blame the spread of dengue fever on hot pants in a tropical nation.

Obama: "The Empire is Striking Back!"




From Sunday in Ohio comes this clip, courtesy of RedState. Analysis added. Follow the link.