Vodka Tampons

(Germany) German teens have developed a new and creative method of consuming alcohol.

Vodka-soaked tampons are inserted vaginally and anally.

Police in the Baden-Württemburg city of Tuttlingen responded Tuesday to growing online chatter among teenagers that they could become intoxicated using the vodka tampons without having alcohol on their breath.

This is not true, police said, denying that it was an effective way to get drunk. They also warned girls that the alcohol could damage vaginal walls and increase the risk of infection. Boys have reportedly also been using tampons anally.

“I believe this is very dangerous,” head of a children’s clinic in Singen told southern German paper Südkurier last week. “For us this is a new thing.”

In early March a 14-year-old girl collapsed during a street festival in Konstanz, apparently highly intoxicated from using a vodka tampon, the paper reported.

Teens believe that vodka tampons hide the smell of alcohol consumption. I'd suggest the smell of alcohol is still noticeable if the right place is sniffed.

Security Incident at Camp Pendleton

(San Diego, California) An Afghan and two Iranians suspiciously attempted to enter Camp Pendleton last weekend after reportedly making threats against U.S. Marines at a local gas station.




The three men are 40-year-old Afghan Ahmad Rahmani Naeem, 41-year-old Iranian Vahik Petrossian and 27-year-old Iranian Sengekdi Norvik Avanosian.

According to the alert, shortly after midnight Sunday, a rented silver Toyota Corolla driven by Naeem attempted to enter Camp Pendleton through the main gate. As it was being searched, Petrossian and Avanosian drove up in a black Mercedes, but were told to wait. Instead, they continued past the gate and onto the base. Following a short pursuit, the Mercedes was stopped and searched.

No weapons or contraband were found in the Mercedes, but base security noticed the air bag in the steering wheel of the Mercedes had been pulled out and re-attached with duct tape and had wires hanging free, the alert said.

According to the alert, Naaem told base security he was lost and was trying to go to Glendale. When interviewed, Petrossian and Avanosian said they were lost and trying to go to Glendale. The three men claimed not to know each other, the alert said.

The three were photographed and released. It's been suggested that the three were conducting a dry run for a future attack.

Keyloggers on Samsung Laptops?

Shocker! Sorta.

Security consultant Mohamed Hassan made a shocking discovery when he bought a Samsung laptop last month: Pre-installed software was recording his every keystroke.

Pre-installed snooping, eh?

Hassan says he discovered the key-logging software, called Starlogger, on a Samsung R525 laptop after running a full system scan with commercial security software, and before installing anything else on the computer.

Starlogger captures all text entry, including passwords and emails, and can even take screenshots. The software then discretely transmits its findings by e-mail.

Hassan found the same software on a different Samsung laptop from a different retailer and complained to the company. A Samsung support team supervisor confirmed the existence of Starlogger, saying it was installed "to monitor the performance of the machine and to find out how it is being used."

Meanwhile, a strong denial has been issued by Samsung

The statements that Samsung installs keylogger on R525 and R540 laptop computers are false.

Our findings indicate that the person mentioned in the article used a security program called VIPRE that mistook a folder created by Microsoft’s Live Application for a key logging software, during a virus scan.

The confusion arose because VIPRE mistook Microsoft's Live Application multi-language support folder, "SL" folder, as StarLogger.

Typical customers may need more convincing.

President Obama's Most Amazing Libyan Achievements have been in America

Proof that Democrats have no principles -- only tribal loyalties

By bombing Libya, President Obama accomplished some things once thought absolutely impossible in America:

a) War-mongering liberals. Liberals are now chest-thumping about military "progress" in Libya. Even liberal television and radio cite ingenious reasons why an optional, preemptive American intervention in an oil-producing Arab country, without prior congressional approval or majority public support -- and at a time of soaring deficits -- is well worth supporting, in a sort of "my president, right or wrong" fashion. Apparently liberal foreign policy is returning to the pre-Vietnam days of the hawkish "best and brightest."

b) Europe first. Many Americans have long complained about the opportunistic, utopian Europeans. Under the protective U.S. defense shield, they often privately urged us to deal with dangerous foreign dictators -- while staying above the fray to criticize America, at the same time seeking trade advantages and positive global PR. But now the wily Obama has out-waited even the French. He has managed to shame them into acting with a new possum-like U.S. strategy of playing dead until finally even Europe was exasperated -- almost as if the president were warning them, "We don't mind the Gadhafi bloodletting if you, who are much closer to it, don't mind." The British Guardian and French Le Monde will be too knee-deep in the Libyan war, busy chalking up Anglo-French "wins" and worrying about European oil concessions, to charge America with the usual imperialism, colonialism and militarism. We are almost back to the 1956 world of the Suez crisis.

c) Iraq was just a Libyan prequel. Conservatives have complained that past opposition -- especially in the cases of then-Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden -- to George W. Bush's antiterrorism policies and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was more partisan than principled. Obama ended that debate by showing that not only can he embrace -- or, on occasion, expand -- the Bush-Cheney tribunals, preventative detentions, renditions, Predator attacks, intercepts and wiretaps, and Guantanamo Bay, but now preemptively attack an Arab oil-exporting country without fear of Hollywood, congressional cutoffs, Moveon.org "General Betray Us"-type ads, Cindy Sheehan on the evening news, or "Checkpoint"-like novels. In short, Obama has ensured that the exasperated antiwar movement will never be quite the same.

d) Monster-in-recovery. The Gadhafi clan has been wooing Westerners through oil money and multicultural gobbledy-gook. In the last few years, the British released the Lockerbie bomber, a native of Libya; Saif Gadhafi, the would-be artist and scholar and the son of Col. Muammar Gadhafi, essentially bought a Ph.D. from the prestigious London School of Economics; the creepy Harvard-connected Monitor Group hired out cash-hungry "scholars" to write on-spec tributes to Gadhafi's achievements; and singers Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Beyoncé and other entertainers earned a pile of petro-dollars for crooning before the Gadhafis. Then, suddenly, Obama spoiled the fun and profits by turning Gadhafi from a rehabilitated monster back into Ronald Reagan's old "Mad Dog of the Middle East."

e) Stuff happens. Many supporters of the Iraq war condemned Abu Ghraib as the poorly supervised, out-of-control prison it was. Lax American oversight resulted in the sexual humiliation of detained Iraqi insurgents. It was a deplorable episode in which, nonetheless, no one was killed, and yet it took an enormous toll on the credibility of administration officials. But while the media covered the Libyan bombing and the Middle East uprisings, a number of Afghan civilians allegedly were executed by a few rogue American soldiers. That was a far worse transgression than anything that happened at Abu Ghraib under Bush's tenure -- but apparently an incident that in the new media climate, can legitimately be ignored. Obama made "stuff happens" a legitimate defense for those doing their best to run a war from Washington.

f) War really is tiring. The media serially blamed a supposedly lazy Ronald Reagan for napping during military operations abroad. George W. Bush was criticized for cutting brush at his Texas ranch while soldiers fought and died in Iraq. Obama rendered all such presidential criticism as mere nitpicking when he started aerial bombardment in the midst of golfing, handicapping the NCAA basketball tournament and taking his family to Rio de Janeiro.

g) The road to Damascus? After Bush's interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, many war-weary Americans believed that we would never again get involved in a Middle East war. But now, with Obama's preemptive bombing of Libya, giddy American interventionists are again eyeing Iran, Syria -- and beyond!

In short, Obama turned America upside down when he bombed Libya -- and in ways we could have scarcely imagined.

SOURCE

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

Jihadists Smuggled Across US-Mexico Border

(Brownsville, Texas) Arrested in 2008 on immigration charges, 24-year-old Somalia national Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane has pleaded guilty to making false statements about his association with two terrorist organizations.

According top the Justice Department, Dhakane helped "violent jihadists" sneak across the US-Mexico border.

Locations of the jihadists are unknown but the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force tracked Dhakane's movements and contacts in an effort to find the Islamists.

Prosecutors allege that Dhakane failed to disclose that he was a member or associate of the al-Barakat financial transfer network and Al-Ittihad al-Islami, or the Islamic Union, which wants to impose Islamic law in Somalia. Both are on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of global terrorist groups with links to al-Qaida, according to the indictment.

The indictment also said Dhakane lied about his movements before entering the U.S. in March 2008. It says he "participated in and later ran a large-scale smuggling enterprise out of Brazil" that smuggled hundreds of people, mostly East Africans, into the U.S.

Among those smuggled were several Somalis affiliated with Al-Ittihad al-Islami, according to the indictment.

Large-scale smuggling enterprise out of Brazil, eh? Just marvelous.

Nevada Teacher Accused of Abusing Disabled Student

(Las Vegas, Nevada) A 41-year-old special education teacher at the West Prep Academy, Margaret Boyett, has been accused of abusing a disabled student.

Police say 41-year-old Margaret Boyett abused her authority by abusing one of her students in front of others last month.

According to court documents obtained by 8 News NOW, Boyett grabbed the wrist of a disabled student and used his own fist against him, hitting him as many as eight times.

Police say Boyett was trying to make the child apologize for something.

A teacher's assistant reportedly intervened to protect the child.

Korean Woman Marries an American

(Seoul, South Korea) A Korean woman named Kim married an American man and noticed stark cultural differences. Kim complains.

"I worry that there’s a one-in-five chance that I married someone who - in Korea - might be classed as mentally retarded and properly hidden away from society afterwards.

“In America, it seems that they celebrate intellectual sub-normalcy, and let them out into society with no way of warning people.”

Kim says that next time she plans to marry a Canadian.

Inexplicably, she seems to have no interest in marrying a Korean.

Tip: Marmot's Hole

Florida Teacher Severely Beats Boy

(Deltona, Florida) A 44-year-old teacher at Trinity Christian Academy, Carmen Rivera-Diaz, has been accused of severely beating a 12-year-old boy.

Rivera-Diaz has been charged with aggravated child abuse.

According to a charging affidavit, a deputy was dispatched to Rivera-Diaz's Kendall Court home at 5 p.m. Monday after someone from California called to report the child had been beaten with a broomstick. The relationship of the child to the suspect was blacked out in the report.

Investigators found the boy nervous and shaken at the home. He said Rivera-Diaz struck him several times on his body with the broomstick. The stick was 24 inches long and had rusty and jagged ends, the deputy wrote in his report.

The boy had cuts on his right shoulder. A 3-inch cut appears to have been caused by the broomstick, the report shows.

Rivera-Diaz told deputies she became enraged when she returned home from work Monday and discovered the boy had opened the door to the person who was repossessing her car. She said she disciplined the child with a stick, the report states.

Rivera-Diaz was booked and released under a pre-trial release program.

More on the antiquity of Judaism

I love my Jewish readers. When I post something about Jews and Judaism, I always get ten times the response to what I get on any other topic -- and all well-reasoned responses too, unlike the tantrums from Leftists.

I posted a couple of days ago a provocative article that did something very naughty. I questioned the continuity between the Judaism of Old Testament times and the Jews of today. It is a tribute to Jewish good manners that my post was greeted with some politeness, albeit with great disagreement.

And, of course, it is all a matter of degree. It is probably safe to say that all religions change all the time. Nonetheless I think there is a step-change after the destruction of Herod's temple. For instance, Jews no longer put homosexuals to death (as the Torah requires) and no longer burn animals on an altar in the belief that so doing will ingratiate themselves with their god.

How often Jews did those things is beside the point. The point is that their religion required those things, whereas now it does not.

It is true that the diaspora started long before the Roman onslaught and that Jews outside Israel had already abandoned the two practices I mentioned. But the temple was still there and its centrality to Jewish practice and belief cannot be doubted by any reader of the Hebrew scriptures. Jews abroad were still in a position to feel that all the requirements of their religion were being met where that mattered: In Israel.

So it is still my conclusion that post-temple Judaism and Christianity are two different and contemporaneous adaptations of the original Hebrew belief system. And we call Christianity a different religion, so why not present-day Judaism?

A point that may have slid past some of my Jewish readers is that Jesus did a very good job of rooting his teachings in the Torah. He quoted it repeatedly and insisted that he did not question it. He was a good Israelite of his times and his adaptation of the traditional teachings provided a good foundation for what later became known as Christianity to be likewise rooted. Which is why the Hebrew scriptures are an important part of Christianity to this day.

Update: In case it is not already clear, I should perhaps note that I am speaking of Jewish RELIGION. There is also of course a substantial claim that modern Jews are RACIALLY related to the ancient Hebrews.

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

Free Gun Offer

(Hamilton, Montana) Free gun offered to each new Dish Network customer.




For those who cannot pass a background check, free pizza is offered.

Virginia Woman Accused of Sex with Boy

(Woodbridge, Virginia) A 30-year-old local woman, Lacy Dashiell Hill, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy.

Hill faces two counts of carnal knowledge.

On March 9, police responded to the 5500 block of Spangler Lane in Woodbridge to investigate an alleged sexual assault.

The investigation revealed that Hill knew the boy and had sex with him since October of 2009.

Hill was booked into custody without bond.

NC Woman Accused of Sex with Boy

(Shelby, North Carolina) A 23-year-old Old Fort woman, Whitney Allison, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy.

She faces charges of statutory rape and indecent liberties with a child.

According to the arrest report and police, Allison was a friend of the victim's family.

The alleged sexual acts took place six times between late December and mid February at a house in Shelby, police say.

Allison was booked into custody and released on bond.

Not-Gay Masseur Accused of Sexual Contact

(Jersey City, New Jersey) A 30-year-old masseur has been accused of criminal sexual contact for massaging the breasts and buttocks of a 20-year-old woman at the Club H Fitness center.

Apparently the woman thought the masseur was a homosexual so when he asked if she wanted her breasts and glutes massaged, she said yes. Later she discovered that the masseur had a girlfriend and he wasn't homosexual.

Realizing she had been touched in all her naughty bits by a straight man, she filed a complaint and a warrant was issued for the masseur's arrest.

The masseur was shocked. He never claimed to be gay and he had asked and received her permission.

Nevertheless, he was booked and subsequently released on his own recognizance. He awaits notification of his next court date.

Minnesota Teacher Gets Probation in Sex Case - Updated

(St. Paul, Minnesota) In accordance with a plea agreement, former teacher and coach Gail Gagne, 28, was found guilty and sentenced yesterday for engaging in sex with a student.

Gagne waived her right to a jury trial last month, letting a judge determine her fate, and admitted she had sex with a student who was 16 at the time while she was working as a weight room supervisor at Cretin Durham Hall in 2008.

In exchange, the judge found her guilty of a reduced charge of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct -- a gross misdemeanor -- and dropped a felony charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Gagne has credit for one day served, paid a $300 fine, and will be on probation for two years.

Notably, Gail Gagne comes from a family of professional wrestlers, grandfather Verne Gagne and father Greg Gagne.

* * * * *
Minnesota Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Student
[Previous 12/4/09 post]
(St. Paul, Minnesota) A 27-year-old teacher formerly at Cretin-Derham Hall High School, Gail Gagne, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 16-year-old male student in the summer of 2008. Gagne faces two counts of third-degree felony criminal sexual conduct.

A criminal complaint was filed on Wednesday (12/2/09) in Hennepin County District Court and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

In summer 2008, the student was completing a work-study job in the athletic weight room at Cretin-Derham Hall. He was a student athlete and also used the weight room. He "became acquainted" with Gagne because she was the weight room supervisor, the complaint said.

Gagne took the student out for meals that summer and gave him rides home from the school. He reported "that on several occasions," Gail Gagne "engaged in sexual conduct with him," the complaint said.

At the time, Gagne lived in Bloomington and she brought the student to her home "and engaged in oral sexual penetration with him," the student told police, according to the complaint said.

Later, the student said Gagne took him to a hotel near the Mall of America. They spent the night and had sex, the student said.

Defense attorney Earl Gray said Gagne would plead not guilty and go to trial.

A Warmist response to "hide the decline"

Here it is. Rebuttal follows:

What does "hide the decline" refer to?

Phil Jones' email is often cited as evidence of an attempt to "hide the decline in global temperatures". This is incorrect. The decline actually refers to a decline in tree-ring density at certain high-latitude locations since 1960. However, Muller doesn't make this error - he clearly understands that global temperatures have been rising in recent decades as indicated by the instrumental record.

Tree-ring growth has been found to match well with temperature, and hence tree-ring width and density is used to plot temperature going back hundreds of years. However, tree-rings in some high-latitude locations diverge from modern instrumental temperature records after 1960. This is known as the "divergence problem". Consequently, tree-ring data in these high-latitude locations are not considered reliable after 1960 and should not be used to represent temperature in recent decades.

The expected deception above:

1). MOST if not all, the tree ring data used by Briffa and Jones was from "certain high-latitude locations". The impression created above that those records were of minor importance is therefore the reverse of the truth. They were central to the entire temperature reconstruction.

2). If the tree ring data diverge totally from the thermometer data over one time period, how do we know that they are a valid measure of temperature at all? We do not. They could well have diverged in earlier periods too. Yet it is precisely tree rings that Jones & Briffa rely on to portray earlier temperatures.

The "decline" did desperately need to be hidden -- as it shows that the entire temperature record for pre-thermometer days is based on an invalid measuring instrument and may therefore in fact be no record of pre-thermometer temperatures at all. And given the clash between Mann's hockeystick and known history, that doubt firms into a certainty.

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

The meaning of "soul" in the Bible

Jesus said: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8: 36).

How can you lose your soul? Is not your soul YOU? Is it not your immortal essence? Sadly, although the idea that we have an immortal soul in us is an old pagan one, it is not Biblical -- as the text shows.

The Bible in fact mentions nothing like an immortal soul. The word "soul" does appear in most translations of the Bible but it does not mean what Christians assume it to mean. In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word used in Mark 8: 36 and elsewhere is "psyche", the basic meaning of which (according to the authoritative Liddell & Scott Greek Lexicon) is "breath", or, metaphorically, "life".

So when you're dead, you're dead, brother -- as Ecclesiastes chapter 9 tells you so emphatically. Your only hope is to be resurrected at the coming of the Messiah.

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

Brit Teacher Faces Possible Beheading

(Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) A 41-year-old British teacher, Andrew Cannon, has been accused of murdering a fellow teacher during a heavy drinking session.

The fellow teacher, Robert Colman, 57, never recovered after being hit on the head with a chair.

Cannon faces mandatory beheading in Saudi Arabia if convicted of murder. Reportedly, no Westerner has ever been executed in Saudi Arabia.

It's reported that Cannon may receive leniency since he is a Muslim convert. He converted to Islam to marry a Turkish woman.

Saturn's Mixed Radio Waves

Scientists have published some interesting data about Saturn.




Astronomy fascinates me.

Woman Caught Wearing Cocaine-Packed Diaper

(Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts) A 22-year-old East Boston woman, Karen Morla Ramos, was arrested yesterday by customs agents after disembarking from a flight from the Dominican Republic.

A search allegedly found that Ramos was wearing a diaper infused with more than a kilogram of cocaine.

Ramops was booked into custody with bond set at $100,000.

CRKP - New Deadly Superbug

A relatively-new and important public health problem has been reported in 35 states.

It's a superbug known as CRKP (carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae) which isn't challenged by conventional antibiotics. Reportedly, 40% of those affected die quickly.




CRKP has become prominent in New York City region and Southern California. Puerto Rico has also experienced a cluster of CRKP cases.

The most susceptible to infection are the elderly and infirmed with transmission being via health care workers from patient to patient. Washing of hands by medical staff is paramount in reducing infection.

Hospitals and nursing homes may want to specifically test for the CRKP bacteria, an enterobacterium like salmonella and E. coli.

The Centers for Disease Control has published a map identifying the U.S. locations where cases of CRKP have been confirmed.

How ancient is Judaism?

At some risk to my "Goy" self, I occasionally write something about Jews and Judaism. So far, however, I have escaped unscathed (I think) so here goes another foray:

It is a common and proud claim among Israelis that they are still living in the same place and speaking the same language and (sort of) following the same religion as they did 3,000 years ago. That thought gives them great pride and helps make up in some way for the horrendous travail Jews have had to go through to get to today.

But, to be blunt, it is nonsense. After the Roman triumph and the expulsion of most Jews from Israel, Jews had to change their religion radically. Judaism had been a temple-focused religion -- so once the temple was gone, huge changes in thinking and custom were needed.

And the changes took two forms: Those who accepted the ideas of the greatest rabbi (Jesus Christ) and those who laboured to stick more closely to traditional ideas. Even among the latter group, however, the surrounding pagan culture took over to a degree. The modern form of the seder, for instance, is said to be strongly influenced by the form of the Hellenistic symposium.

So Judaism as we know it today is in fact no older than Christianity. They are two branches that had to put out fresh growth after the original tree was cut down. And just as Christian thinking underwent all sorts of disputes in its development (e.g. the Arian/Athanasian controversy) so Jews waited a long while for their new ideas to coalesce -- in the form of teachings by great rabbis such as Rashi and Maimonides.

Christian thought in fact probably coalesced more rapidly that did post-temple Jewish thought. Rashi and Maimonides both wrote over 1,000 years after the fall of the temple but have been immensely influential. And by the time they wrote, they lived in a Christian world so were undoubtedly influenced in various ways by Christian ideas -- and Christianity had itself taken on a pretty heavy load of pagan ideas by that time. So I am sure that the Christian/Egyptian concept of the triune God was the subject of much private hilarity among Jews.

So we in fact have two religions of ancient Jewish origins that are quite contemporaneous -- with the Christian variant more successful in most ways. And while Christianity/Judaism precede Islam, Sikhism and Bahai, they are themselves preceded by Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto. And I'm inclined to think that Shinto has the best hats -- despite formidable competition from the gold crowns of Russian Orthodoxy and the shtreimel of orthodox Judaism.

I guess I'll get a few zingers over all that! I'll hear about the Talmud and the Midrash and so on. As an atheist who is sympathetic to religion, however, I may be in a position to be more impartial than most.

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

Snake News

(New York City) Be advised that the Reptile House at the Bronx Zoo has been closed until further notice. It's reported that a poisonous Egyptian cobra has disappeared from its enclosure.

Meanwhile, in Jakarta, Indonesia, two Kuwaiti men were apprehended yesterday at the airport while trying to board a plane with 40 pythons.

And lastly, there's this.




Flying snakes, eh? Just lovely.

Dr. Goebbels would be proud

New ad portrays GOP attack on EPA as assault on babies



So opposition to regulation of the gas we all breathe out is equivalent to feeding babies arsenic. There is no lie the Warmists will not sink to. But their entire case is built on dishonesty so we should not be too surprised. Global warming has long ceased to be a scientific debate. It is now just a Fascist lunge for power on the part of the Green/Left -- JR

With several key votes set for next week on the GOP’s ongoing assault on the Environmental Protection Agency, this new ad gives us a hint on how the left intends to respond — by portraying the GOP push as an assault on children.

The Senate is set to vote next week on a GOP proposal — strongly opposed by the White House — to revoke the E.P.A.’s authority to regulate greenhouse gasses. The new spot from American Family Voices, an organization that advocates for lower-income and middle-income families on economic, health care and consumer issues, goes directly for the heartstrings with images of babies and baby food jars, claiming the GOP initiative would endanger their lives:

The ad will run for a week on D.C. cable, suggesting the target audience is Beltway elites and that its goal is to frame the Dem response in Congress.

“The Clean Air Act prevented 160,000 early deaths last year, including 230 infants, yet Congress is busy working to prevent the EPA from updating and enforcing standards that would limit toxic pollutants that endanger the public health,” Mike Lux, President of American Family Voices, says. “If we don’t curb those pollutants, they’ll end up in our air, water and food and eventually in our children. Congress needs to let the EPA do its job to protect public health.”

Senate Democrats are plotting a strategic response to the GOP’s push. For instance, they may introduce an amendment that would exempt small industrial facilities and agricultural facilities from climate regulations, which would give moderate Dems in farm and heavy manufacturing states a way to go on record favoring curbs on EPA regulations without supporting the GOP’s drive to gut the EPA’s reglatory role completely.

But by and large, this fight is going to break down mostly along partisan lines, and this ad gives you a sense of how fraught the war over EPA’s fate could get.

SOURCE

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

Texas Teacher Accused of Indecency with Boy

(Mercedes, Texas) A 32-year-old teacher at Veterans Middle School in Rio Grande City, Michelle Falcon Garza, was arrested yesterday for allegedly touching a 16-year-old boy inappropriately. The boy's mother said that Garza was a family friend.

Garza faces charges of indecency with a child by contact and providing alcohol to a minor.

The mother said Garza is a teacher at Rio Grande City's Veterans Middle School and was competing in the rodeo earlier this month.

School district officials could not be reached for comment on Friday evening.

According to the teen's mother, Garza was camping at the rodeo in a trailer.

The 16-year-old's mother said Garza allegedly lured the boy into her trailer and plied him with alcohol.

The mother later discovered what had happened and contacted police.

Garza was booked into the Hidalgo County Jail with bond set at $55,000.

Feminist harpies turned on by stockings



Apparently:

"A family clothing chain that used the image of a dead woman lying under a couch on the cover of its latest catalogue has been accused of sexualising violence against women.

The front page of the Rivers catalogue features a dead woman wearing high heels and fishnet stockings and bears the title "10 Deadly Deals", the Herald Sun reported.

Feminist group Collective Shout, who campaign against the objectification of women in advertising, have called for a boycott of the popular chain.

The group has also complained to the Advertising Standards bureau about a previous cover which featured a naked young women crouching in knee-high stockings with the headline "Get Excited".

"The fishnet tights and high heels and the dead woman under the couch, they're all cues to sexualise an act of violence," Ms Liszewski said.

In a statement, Rivers said their female marketing director had chosen the image. "All of our staff are scratching our heads and wondering how on earth the website in question manages to conjure up such weird and draconian interpretations of our catalogue covers," it read.

Source

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

Florida Woman Accused of Child Abuse

(Daytona Beach, Florida) A 24-year-old local mother-of-two, Deeanna Murray, has been accused of felony child abuse. She reportedly exposed her children, ages two and three, to a threat by allegedly living with a convicted sex offender, Phillip Heidt, 20.


 
Murray - Heidt
Additionally, when authorities came to check on the living situation in response to a complaint, Murray was caught attempting to hide her children by dangling them out a window onto a ledge.

According to Daytona Beach Shores police Sgt. Mike Fowler:

When police arrived, Heidt said he was alone with Murray but officers became suspicious when Murray refused to come out of the bathroom. Heidt said something inaudible to Murray and then officers heard the cries of a child coming from the bathroom, Fowler said.

An officer entered the bathroom and saw Murray lowering a little boy out a window to a narrow flat roof. The officer ordered Murray to pull back the child, which she did. Murray planned to lower the small girl next, Fowler said.

Murray said Heidt told her to lower the children out of the window, police said.

For violation of probation, Heidt was booked into custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail without bail. Murray was jailed with bail set at $1,000.

Man Gets Life For Impregnating Girl, 9

(Lantana, Florida) A 33-year-old local man, Fede Datilus, was convicted this week of sexual battery on a child and impregnation of a child stemming from relations with a nine-year-old girl.

The victim's father learned of her pregnancy when he took her to a clinic on March 18, 2009.

She reluctantly identified Datilus as the man who impregnated her during questioning by investigators and counselors through a Creole translator, according to court records.

Conviction of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age is punishable by a possible life sentence. Conviction for impregnation of a child is punishable by five years in prison. Datilus was sentenced to the maximum on both convictions, life plus five years.

Tip: slwlion

Carter Going to North Korea

Former President Jimmy Carter is planning a visit to North Korea in about a month. Discussions with the North Korean mission in New York are in progress.

Reportedly, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other prominent figures will tag along.

Meanwhile, an open plea has been published for Kim Jong-il to offer all incentives necessary to convince Carter to stay permanently in North Korea.

Heh.

There are still "Samurai" in Japan

Hideaki Akaiwa is one of them, an unassuming hero. When his home town of of Ishinomaki in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture was flooded by the tsunami, he set out with great courage to rescue his wife and mother from the waves. There are several versions of the story in the news so it appears to be a true account. Some versions of the story say that he used scuba gear in his efforts but apparently he only used a wetsuit. He is an experienced surfer. In good Japanese style, he rejects personal publicity and has given only a few monosyllabic replies to questions. I have modified the account below to remove profane language



Hideaki's wife of twenty years was still buried inside the lake somewhere. She hadn't gotten out. She wasn't answering her phone. The water was still rising, the sun was setting, cars and were swooshing past on a river of sea water, and and rescue workers told him there was nothing that could be done - the only thing left was to sit back, wait for the military to arrive, and hope that they can get in there and rescue the survivors before it's too late. With 10,000 citizens of Ishinomaki still missing and unaccounted for, the odds weren't great that Hideaki would ever see his wife again.

For most of us regular folks, this is the sort of that would make us throw up our hands, swear loudly, and resign ourselves to a lifetime of hopeless misery. But Hideaki Akaiwa isn't a regular guy. He's an insane hero, and he wasn't going to sit back and just let his wife die alone, freezing to death in a miserable water-filled tomb. He was going after her. No matter what.

Hideaki wasn't going to let a pair of soul-crushing natural disasters deter him from doing awesome things and saving his family. He dove down into the water in the freezing cold, pitch black rushing current on all sides, and started swimming through the ruins of his former hometown.

Surrounded by incredible hazards on all sides, ranging from obscene currents capable of dislodging houses from their moorings, sharp twisted metal and giant cars careening through the water like toys, he pressed on. Past broken glass, past destroyed houses, past downed power lines arcing with electrical current, through undertow that could have dragged him out to sea never to be heard from again, he searched.

Hideaki maintained his composure and navigated his way through the submerged city, finally tracking down his old house. He quickly swam through to find his totally-freaked-out wife, alone and stranded on the upper level of their house, barely keeping her head above water. He grabbed her tight and dragged her out of the wreckage to safety. She survived.

But Hideaki Akaiwa still wasn't done yet.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering what the hell is more intense than face-punching a tsunami and dragging your wife of two decades out of the flooded wreckage of your home, but it gets even better. You see, Hideaki's mother also lived in Ishinomaki, and she was still unaccounted for. I think you all know where this is going.

First, Hideaki searched around the evacuation shelters and other areas, looking for his mom among the ragtag groups of survivors who had been lucky enough to flee to higher ground. She might have escaped, and he needed to find her. Now. He ran through the city like some post-apocalyptic action hero, desperately trying to track her down, but when a couple of days went by without any sign of her, he knew what he had to do. The water had only receded a few inches by this point, the rescue teams weren't working quickly enough for his tastes, and Hideaki Akaiwa once again took matters into his own hands - rushing back into the waterlogged city looking for his mom.

So, once again Hideaki navigated his way through the Atlantean city, picking his way through crumbling wreckage, splintered wood, and shredded metal to find his elderly mother. After another grueling trek, he tracked her down on the upper levels of a house - she'd been stranded there for four days, and would almost certainly have died without the timely aid of her son. He brought her to safety somehow as well, as you might expect at this point.

Now, while most people would have been content in the knowledge that their family was safe, Hideaki Akaiwa isn't the sort of hero who's going to hang up his flippers and quit just because he'd taken care of his own personal business - this guy made an oath to keep going back into the wreckage on his own to find people and help them to safety. Today this 43 year-old Japanese hero rides out every single day, multiple times a day, riding around on a bicycle with his legs wrapped in plastic to keep himself dry. His only equipment - a pocketknife, a canteen, a flashlight, a change of clothes, and a set of aviator sunglasses - packed into a trusty trio of backpacks, he rides out in search of people needing rescue, a modern-day, real-life action hero.

SOURCE. Another account here.

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

Texas Woman Accused of Sex with Stepson

(Brownsville, Texas) A 39-year-old local woman, Flora Christina Martinez, has been accused of engaging in an extended-term sexual relationship with her 14-year-old stepson.

Martinez faces one count of continuous sexual assault of a child and one count of sexual assault of a child.

Police said the boy told his mother and his aunt about the abuse that took place over the past couple of months. The family then called the police.

Martinez was booked into custody with bail set at $80,000.

Kids Playing "Suicide Bomber"




So sad.

U.S. Troops in Europe - No Uniforms in Public

(Stuttgart, Germany) U.S. service members in Europe are now prohibited from wearing their uniforms in public.

The new policy, which comes three weeks after a deadly shooting outside Frankfurt Airport that left two airmen dead and two badly wounded, takes effect immediately.

The EUCOM mandate affects all soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving in the European theater.

The rule also takes effect as U.S. forces engage Libya in a high-profile operation being commanded from U.S. Africa Command headquarters in Stuttgart and could bring added attention to U.S. troops here.

“The directive specifically forbids the wear of uniforms for travel between duty and domicile, short convenience stops, conduct of physical fitness, travel between installations, and off post messing,” according to a EUCOM message broadcast Wednesday on American Forces Network - Europe.

Heh.

Florida Woman Accused of Sex with Minor

(Brooksville, Florida) A 49-year-old local woman, Elizabeth Marie Mills, was arrested yesterday for allegedly engaging in sex with a 16- or 17-year-old boy.

Mills faces a charge of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.

Mills and the boy met during a group therapy session in North Carolina in 2008 when he was 15.

After the teenager's family moved to Florida in 2009, authorities said, Mills moved in with the family in September 2010. The boy's mother, the report said, allowed him and Mills to share a bedroom.

Investigators said Mills admitted to beginning a romantic relationship with the boy in March 2010, adding that the two had sex several times.

Mills was booked into custody with bond set at $5,000.

Aussie School Mistress Gets Prison in Sex Case

(New South Wales, Australia) In December 2010, a 42-year-old school mistress, Cassandra Leigh Johnson, was convicted of multiple sex offenses involving 11- and 12-year-old boys. Sexual episodes reportedly occurred at school, at Johnson's home and on camping trips.

This week, Johnson was sentenced by NSW District Court Judge Anthony Garling to five years in prison.

"She did it obviously for her own sexual gratification," he said, before setting a maximum term of eight years.

Last December, the judge rejected Johnson's defence of mental illness and found her guilty of 21 sex offences carried out over a five-month period in 2009.

They included fellatio and penile vaginal penetration, at sites including the school sick bay, in her flat and on camping trips.

In one incident when five boys were in a tent, Johnson was naked and asked: "Does anyone want a blow job?".

One victim later said the woman had pressured the boys, saying: "Come on, let's go, don't be a puss", and he had "felt like a wimp" until he agreed to oral sex.

Johnson will be eligible for parole in March 2016.

Tip: JR

Japan can do it

They're an example to us all -- and show what could be done everywhere



The picture of gaping chasms in a Japanese highway demonstrated the power of the March 11 earthquake. Now the astonishing speed of reconstruction is being used to highlight the nation’s ability to get back on its feet.

Work began on March 17 and six days later the cratered section of the Great Kanto Highway in Naka was as good as new. It was ready to re-open to traffic last night.

Many workers returned to their jobs the day after the quake and subsequent tsunami and some businesses in the worst-hit regions have already reopened.

The Japanese recovery has prompted some investors, including American Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest men, to declare that the disaster which has left 23,000 dead or missing represents a ‘buying opportunity’ in the money markets.

More HERE

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

Woman Popped for Prostitution, Child Neglect

(Nashville, Tennessee) A 25-year-old Texas woman, Melissa Dillon, has been accused of prostitution and child neglect after being caught in an undercover sting while leaving her toddler son in an adjacent motel room.

After responding to Dillon's Internet ad, cops negotiated to pay $200 for sex and arrested her. Then motel management said Dillon had rented two rooms.

When officers went to the room, they heard a 20-month-old boy crying.

Police went into the room and found Dillon's son by himself in a playpen with the television on cartoons. Dillon told police she left the boy to conduct business.

Dillon was booked into custody with bond set at $12,500. The toddler is now in the custody of the Department of Children's Services.

Muslim Teacher Accused in Sodomy Case

(Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) A 30-year-old teacher at Madrassa Islamia Ahle Sunnat in Inayatnagar, Hafiz Saqib Khan, has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and sodomizing a 13-year-old boy for three days.

According to Station House Officer (SHO) Akhilesh Pandey,

"Locals along with some other students of the madrassa have lodged complaint against Hafiz Saqib Khan... Acting on the compliant, we carried out a preliminary inquiry following which the teacher was arrested," he said.

The incident came into light last evening when the victim escaped from the teacher's room and informed his ordeal to some locals and other students of madrassa.

"A detailed inquiry is under way to check if other students in the seminary were also being harassed by the teacher," Pandey said.

Interesting. The boy was kidnapped, sodomized for three days and the police categorize it all as harassment.

California Mom Accused of Sex with Boy

(Antioch, California) A 30-year-old local woman, Nicole Bradburn, was arrested last Thursday for allegedly engaging in an extended-term sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy.

Bradburn faces 27 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

According to Antioch acting Lt. Diane Aguinaga,

The arrest capped an investigation that began in January when the boys' parents went to police with concerns about the relationship their son was having with Bradburn. But the boy initially refused to admit the nature of the relationship, Aguinaga said.

"It was difficult, because if he's unwilling to admit anything, then there was very little we could do," she said.

Bradburn, who had met the boy through her teenage daughter, was spending an inordinate amount of time with him -- even occasionally picking him up from school -- and the boy's parents obtained a restraining order against her, authorities said.

Bradburn was booked into custody at the county jail with bail set at $1.7 million.

CA: The Orange County Human Relations Commission

We read: "OC Human Relations is a non-profit agency whose mission is to foster mutual understanding among residents and eliminate prejudice, intolerance and discrimination in order to make Orange County a better place for ALL people to live, work and do business."

That sure sounds reasonable but they have a funny way of going about it. Because they have no power other than making statements, they behave in a very non-judicial way and are in fact very bigoted themselves. As you might expect, Muslims can do no wrong and criticism of Muslims is hate speech.

Attorney Karen Lugo takes up the story:

Most stunning is the commission’s ability to hear complaints, consider a sanction, and indict a speaker without even notifying the subject that there is a complaint; one that may result in a public condemnation of his actions. Our Constitution provides protection from governmental deprivation of life, liberty, and property without something called due process.

Reputation is legally considered to be one’s property. One of the important requirements of legal due process is notice that an official decision is being considered that may result in an adverse ruling. Another important constitutional provision is the Fifth Amendment right to face one’s accuser. But these busybody organizations operate outside these constitutional parameters and have the power to sanction and condemn without notice, process, or diligent inquiry. Left unchecked these governmental, but unaccountable, bodies represent a grave threat to protected American freedoms and individual rights.

The latest caper of the OCHRC is to glad-hand a rally of Muslim extremists and decry protests against Muslim extremism. I referred to the rally previously . And it is that which has fired up Karen Lugo (above). Her full post has more details and there are other comments here and here

The lack of impartiality on the part of the OCHRC is a threat to free speech, even though making misleading statements to the media is all they can do. The media, of course, tend to lap such statements up, tending to give the impression that the OCHRC is an impartial body.

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

Illegals Dressed as U.S. Marines

(Pine Valley, California) Last week, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 13 illegal aliens dressed as U.S. Marines at a checkpoint on Interstate-8 near Pine Valley.

After the suspicious white van was subjected to secondary inspection, it was determined that the driver of the vehicle and its front seat passenger were U.S. citizens who were attempting to smuggle 13 illegal immigrants into the United States.

All of the vehicle's occupants wore U.S. Marine uniforms, reportedly emblazoned with the name "Perez."

Fifteen U.S. Marines named Perez just crossed the border, eh? Nah, nothing suspicious here.

Florida Woman Denied Kiss

(Marion County, Florida) A 92-year-old local woman, Helen Staudinger, was arrested Monday for firing several gunshots into her neighbor's house. She faces charges of aggravated assault and shooting into an occupied dwelling.

Staudinger reportedly claimed that the neighbor, 53-year-old Dwight Bettner, wouldn't give her a kiss so she retrieved a .380 semi-automatic handgun and popped a few caps.

"I told her I'm in a relationship," Bettner said. "She has this idea I'm supposed to be her man."

Bettner said the elderly woman has also cursed at him and attempted to strangle another woman with whom she thought he was having an affair.

Heh.

Tipped by slwlion and K. Solomon

NY Woman Accused of Sex with Boy

(Ithaca, New York) A 29-year-old local woman, Laura B. Watkins, has been accused of engaging in sex with a boy younger than 15 years old. She faces a charge of second-degree rape.

Watkins was arrested and subsequently arraigned in Groton Town court. She has been booked into custody at the Tompkins County Jail with bail set at $50,000 or $100,000 bond.

A court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.

Just a tribal war in Libya

In Libya and Yemen and Bahrain, as with Egypt, there is a LOT being published in the media, a LOT of commentary on-line, and a LOT of screaming back and forth about the wonderful revolt or rebellion and how it includes all the “lost” segments of Islamic society (women, homosexuals, atheists, etc.). Balderdash! All this indicates that people do NOT understand either tyranny, dictatorship, nor the history and current situation in the Arab and Islamic worlds.

Look first at Libya. Libya is a tribal society, and has been since the Arabs overran this part of the Roman empire in the 7th Century, including the Visigothic regime which had conquered this portion of the empire. The country doesn’t even have a constitution.

Gaddafi “overthrew” the old Islamist monarchy in 1969, but only because his tribe joined an alliance of other key tribes which did not want to remain under the tribe to which the monarchs had belonged from 1951 to 1969, and he was in front. He is not a figurehead, but the dominant personality and leader of a coalition of tribes in a bewildering array of committees and councils and even mixed tribal military and militia units. The national military is a cesspool of competing tribal interests. The “rebels” are not really rebels: they are tribes that have withdrawn from the various coalitions: often they are the majority, and the “government forces” are definitely in the minority: the tribes who still want to keep the current (or former) regime.

Some tribes have been very resistant to Gaddafi’s (and his tribe’s and their allies’) brand of government and Islam: they want to return to the Islamic tribal system, and have been under pressure from the more “secular” tribes and Gaddafi for decades (one reason Al Qaeda has so many Libyans in its ranks.) Other tribes just want to be in the driver’s seat. Though the current uprising has some popular roots, it is taking place and continuing because it is allowed and supported by several of the tribes which have decided to no longer participate in the shared power structure, either because THEY want to be boss, or because they are tired of the brutality used to enforce the “code of honor” that the tribes have used to resolve their conflicts.

Gaddafi (and his tribe) are in a bad position: his tribe was not a large one, and his personal influence, though built on his tribe, actually has supported and protected his tribe. Enough others have, until now, agreed with what he has done so that he has been in power for 42 years. But now enough tribes (and people) have withdrawn their support that it has collapsed into civil war. The protesters and the mobs are as much the tools of the tribes and power brokers as they are any kind of independent force for change.

The uprising and civil war is very VERY unlikely to lead to any “democratic” state - just a reordering of tribal power – even if the EU, NATO, or the US intervene. This is NOT a situation in which individual liberty is likely to increase - indeed, just the opposite. And in the chaos, the various small tribes and political groups, from Al Qaeda to the local branches of every possible group you can imagine, see this as the perfect opportunity to strike out at their enemies - but at the same time, they are better targets than ever for their own enemies.

As long as Arabs, Persians, and others are enslaved spiritually by their religion, Islam or “Submission”, and enslaved mentally by their tribal culture and society, there will be no “democratic” OR “republican” revolution on Arab Street, no individual liberty with personal responsibility, and no peace in the “Lands of Peace.” And if we do not understand that, we will continue to find OUR liberty and freedoms threatened by Islam and Arabs and their ilk two centuries from now.

More HERE

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

Erection News




Usually it's considered an intimate and personal subject. It's beyond extraordinary for someone to put it on a billboard.

From here.

California Teacher Gets Jail in Sex Case - Updated

(Yuba County, California) Last Friday, former teacher's aide Elizabeth Colleen Wallis was sentenced by Yuba County Superior Court Judge Julia Scrogin to four months in jail and ordered to register as a sex offender.

"She is a sex offender as far as I'm concerned," Scrogin said, who included a three-year treatment program for such offenders as part of Wallis' sentence. Probation conditions also prohibit her going near where children gather, including schools, parks and playgrounds.

"She's not going near other kids," Scrogin said.

When asked about Wallis taking her children to school, the judge said, "I guess her husband will be dropping off the kids."

"I don't want her at the school," Scrogin said. "My goal here is to make sure this does not happen again."

During the proceeding, the mother of the victim expressed raw anger at Wallis, accusing her of inflicting "real scars, deep scars."

Subsequently, Wallis was escorted to the Yuba County Jail to start serving her four months.

* * * * *
California Teacher Pleads in Student Sex Case - Updated
[Previous 1/31/11 post bumped]
(Yuba County, California) Earlier today, former teacher's aide Elizabeth Colleen Wallis pleaded no contest in accordance with an agreement to engaging in sex with a 17-year-old student.

Per the plea deal, Wallis will receive 90 days in jail when sentenced on March 18.

Judge Julia Scrogin said in court that the prosecution is not seeking a requirement that Wallis register as a sex offender.

Scrogin said she has limited knowledge of the case and that she will decide on the 90-day sentence referred to in the plea agreement after reading the probation report about Wallis.

"I may agree," Scrogin said. "I may not."

The victim's mother was perturbed.

"If she were a man, she would get the book thrown at her," the mother said. "If she were a man, it would be a different story."

"It's all bull," the mother said.

No disagreement here.

* * * * *
Female Teacher and Special Needs Student
[Previous 11/3/10 post]
(Olivehurst, California) A 35-year-old teacher's aide at Yuba Gardens School, Elizabeth Wallis, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in an off-campus sexual relationship with a 17-year-old special needs student.

Wallis has been charged with unlawful intercourse with a minor and other charges.

Carolina Couple Accused of Child Sex Crimes

(Jacksonville, North Carolina) A 27-year-old Richlands woman, Cristen Marshburn Melton, has been accused of engaging in oral sex with a nine-year-old girl.

Melton faces two counts of crimes against nature, two counts of first-degree sex offense and four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Note that Cristen Melton's husband, Benny Dean Melton, 26, was charged earlier this month with multiple child sex offenses

Cristen Melton was booked into custody at the Onslow County Jail with bond set at $150,000.

Minnesota Woman Gets Prison for Sex with Boy

(Prior Lake, Minnesota) In March 2010, a local wife and mother-of-five, Holly Kathleen Aho, was accused of engaging in repeated sexual relations with her son's teen friend, a 15-year-old boy.

The alleged victim came from a distressed situation and was living with the Aho family.

In September 2010, Holly Aho pleaded guilty to felony criminal sexual conduct by a person in a position of authority.

Scott County District Court Judge William E. Macklin sentenced Aho to the mandatory minimum – 12 years – last Friday (March 18).

She was ordered to serve eight years in the Minnesota Correctional Facility and then spend the remaining four years on supervised release.

She also will spend 10 years on conditional release and must register as a sex offender.

Aho and the boy engaged in sex a reported 10 to 20 times.

Ohio Student Teacher Gets House Arrest - Updated

(Portage County, Ohio) In December 2010, former Southeast High School student teacher Melanie K. Yusko, 23, was sentenced to 300 days in jail and five years of probation.

Yusko was also ordered to register as a Tier II sex offender.

In January 2011, the jail sentence was revised, possibly due to jail overcrowding and reports that Yusko was suffering from bouts of depression.

Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman ordered Yusko’s jail sentence terminated and that she be placed on electronically monitored house arrest in lieu of 300 days in jail.

Pittman wrote that her reasons for the modified sentence included Yusko’s lack of a prior criminal record, mental health professionals finding that she “poses no risk to the community,” and was on house arrest, pending trial, from May 12 to Sept. 27, 2010 “without incident.”

“The court further finds that continued incarceration would not benefit the defendant or the community,” Pittman wrote.

Yusko's aspirations to be a teacher have been snuffed by her conviction.

* * * * *
Student Teacher Guilty in Sex Case - Updated
[Previous 10/13/10 post]
(Portage County, Ohio) Yesterday, 22-year-old former student teacher at Southeast High School, Melanie K. Yusko, pleaded guilty in accordance with a plea agreement to a reduced charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman accepted the plea.

Pittman said prosecutors and defense attorney Kenneth Bossin would be allowed to argue Yusko’s sentence at a future hearing, following a pre-sentence investigation by the Portage County Adult Probation Department. She said there is no agreed-upon sentence, and Yusko faces a maximum of 18 months in prison.[…]

In court filings, Bossin argued his client was unable to overcome the student’s advances because she “felt bad” for him. She had given the student extra help studying and he managed — not by her actions, Bossin said — to get her cell phone number and began sending her text messages.

The two later met for two hours at his home during the district’s spring break, which is when the sexual contact took place, according to court documents.

Notably, the plea deal requires that Yusko register as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

* * * * *
Ohio Teacher Indicted for Sex with Student
[Previous 5/16/10 post]
(Portage County, Ohio) A 22-year-old student teacher formerly at Southeast High School, Melanie K. Yusko, was arrested this week for allegedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old student. She has been indicted on one count of sexual battery, a third-degree felony.

According to Portage County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Greg Johnson, only one episode of sex occurred "to the best of our knowledge."

The encounter took place on April 7, according to the indictment. It did not take place on school property, Johnson said.

Yusko, who has no prior criminal record, had been working as a student teacher at the high school since January.

Yusko was booked into custody and later released on $50,000 personal recognizance bond. Yusko was supposed to graduate from Kent State University yesterday.

Massive Pedophile Ring Busted

A Europol spokesman said it was the biggest pedophile takedown ever seen. Arrested are 184 pedophile suspects while 230 children have been rescued.



The pedophile suspects represent the entire spectrum of ages and walks of life.

Regime Change in Yemen?

There's upheaval on the southern part of the Arabian peninsula.

Lots of defections today including NW zone commander Ali Mohsen Al Ahmar, eastern zone commander Mohammed Ali Mohsen, and the 301st armored division, Hameed Al-Qushaibi.

The Aden governor Ahmed Qaatabi and the Yemeni ambassador in Amman, Jordan Shaia Muhsen defected, as well as the Yemeni ambassador in Damascus , Syria Abdul-Wahab Tawwaf, and deputy parliament speaker, Hemyar al-Ahmar.

Tribal leaders joined the protesters as well as opposition party leaders. These defections followed the blood bath in Sanaa on Friday when 53 were killed by sniper fire and another 250 were wounded by gunshots. Half the government had resigned before that and Saleh declared a state of emergency Friday and dissolved the government Sunday.

Lets see if Saleh has the brains to leave quietly without another blood bath. Ali Mohsen al Ahmar is himself a war criminal and smuggler and many of these defectors are presidential relatives and will have to be politically neutralized, but all Saleh has left from the military are (his son’s commands) the Republican Guard and the Special Forces who are guarding the palace in Sanaa.

It is the beginning of the post-Saleh era when he recognizes it or not.

Jane Novak expertly details the conflict at Armies of Liberation.

At the Zoo



Knut
Word is that Knut, the cute polar bear of international fame, has died at the Berlin Zoo.

Preliminary determination is that the animal suffered a heart attack. A medical examination is planned since Knut was only four years old and polar bears in captivity typically live to be 25.

Meanwhile, something strange happened at the San Francisco Zoo.



Check the link. Arguably, it's indescribable and unforgettable. Heh.

Reason for U.S. Decision to Attack Libya

If one considers that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for world-changing peaceful actions that were anticipated to occur, it seems incongruent that he would favor having the United States enter into a military conflict with Libya. Several of Obama's liberal friends have openly expressed outrage.

With the launching of more than 100 cruise missiles, arguments for and against U.S. involvement in the Libyan crisis are moot. Americans are involved.

But the question regarding Obama's apparent turnaround on U.S. military engagement overseas seemingly goes unanswered. Obama's reasoning hasn't been fully explained.

Are we supporting the furtherance of democracy or are we engaging in a humanitarian effort to stop genocide? Many people are wondering why the U.S. is joining the coalition, led by France and Britain, at all. Simply put, what are the specific U.S. interests?

One idea is that there is a personal element. An acquaintance suggested to me that the real reason Obama seemingly switched positions on being peace-loving was that he was tired of being elbowed in the ribs by the First Lady.

It's believed that Michelle Obama is royally pissed that the President of the United States and family are not invited to next month's nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton and, as a consequence, day in and day out husband Barack is being harangued, poked incessantly.

"Wake up! You need to do something."

"Huh? Michelle, it's 2 AM. What do you want?"

"I want an invitation to the royal wedding, dammit! You need to do something."

"What do you want me to do? The Brits are mad at us. The Queen thinks we dissed her."

"Do something that will make them like us. Think of something."

[zzz … zzz … zzz]

[poke, poke, poke] "Wake up, Barack, and think of something. Time is running out."

"Okay, okay. OKAY!"

So, the theory is that President Obama only became allied with France and, more importantly, Britain to grease the skids for a reversal of negative feelings about the U.S. in Britain and, thereby, put a stop to pokes in the ribs from his wife.

Frankly, I'm not convinced but it's arguably as good as any of the other justifications offered for military action in Libya. For exercise, consider this justification. Gaddafi is a thug dictator who has put a bulls-eye on himself. Saddam Hussein did the same thing and look where he is.

Sarkozy's Poll Numbers

(Paris, France) Inside France's political circles, it's being suggested that President Nicolas Sarkozy is using the Libya crisis to improve his popularity at home.

It would surely be poor taste to accuse Nicolas Sarkozy of leading France into combat for purely selfish political reasons – but that won't stop some in the president's inner circle wondering if Operation Odyssey Dawn might just save the skin of a man who, a matter of days ago, seemed destined for electoral humiliation.

Ever so discreetly, they will be hoping Libya can do for Sarkozy what the Falklands did for Margaret Thatcher – anoint a successful war leader deserving of re-election.

"The French do like to have their president play world statesman," mused one diplomat in Paris last week, before France's Mirage and Rafale fighter planes had taken to the skies. "A good crisis," he added, might be just what Sarkozy needs.

He certainly needs something. A week ago he was staring at polls so ominous some analysts wondered if he'd even make it into second place in next year's presidential contest.

Ominous poll numbers leading to warlike decision-making? Sacré bleu! Say it isn't so.

Florida Teacher Faces Drug Charges

(Volusia County, Florida) A 23-year-old teacher's aide at Pinecrest Elementary School in Sanford, Alyson Alexander, has been accused of multiple drug offenses.

Alexander faces charges of possession of marijuana under 20 grams and possession and use of drug paraphernalia.

On Feb. 25, Alexander drove to the Walmart at 101 Howland Blvd., and picked up her ex-boyfirend, William MacGregor, 36, who was running to get away from a store security employee trying to stop him after he stole pants and a razor blade, sheriff's reports show.

While looking out for the getaway car, a deputy spotted it and watched it pull into the driveway of Alexander's Brayton Circle home. Alexander said her ex-boyfriend had called her and asked for a ride, reports indicate.

During a search of Alexander's vehicle, deputies found a partly smoked marijuana cigarette, three hyperdermic needles and a red smoking device with marijuana residue, reports state.

Alexander said a white powdery substance deputies found were crushed percocet pills, investigators said.

Mr. MacGregor faces theft charges. Alexander has been suspended without pay from her teaching position and is expected to be canned at the next school board meeting.

Greenies hit the weak first

An Australian victim of the Greenie pressure on electricity prices below. Maureen Mullins, a 79-year-old pensioner, can't afford her power bills and fears she will no longer be able to pay for oxygen machine that keeps her alive. I wonder if she is glad about all the useless windmills she helps subsidize

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

New York Woman Guilty in Boy Sex Case - Updated

(Fort Edward, New York) In accordance with a plea agreement, 25-year-old Veronica M. Allen pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree criminal sexual act stemming from engaging in sex with a 12-year-old boy last November.

Allen agreed to a plea deal that will result in a 5-year state prison sentence followed by 20 years on parole when she is sentenced next month.

She was arrested by Fort Edward Police in November after the boy, who was acquainted with Allen, told relatives that the two had sex on two occasions, officials said.

In exchange for the guilty plea, a charge of first-degree rape was dropped.

Formal sentencing is scheduled for next month in Washington County Court.

* * * * *
New York Woman, 25, and Boy, 12
[Previous 11/19/10 post]
(Fort Edward, New York) A 25-year-old local woman, Veronica Allen, was arrested yesterday for allegedly engaging in sex with a 12-year-old boy.

She has been charged with two counts of rape and one count of criminal sexual act.

Reportedly, the boy told his family about the sex and police were alerted.

Allen was booked into custody at the Washington County Correctional Facility with bond set at $50,000.

Arrogant and Childish

(Qingdao, China) A Chinese businessman, Han Nan, achieved success and wealth in the wholesale lighting business and decided to treat himself to an expensive Italian sports car. He purchased a Lamborghini Gallardo worth about $750,000.



Lamborghini Gallardo
Unfortunately, due to a dispute with the dealer regarding an engine malfunction, Han Nan threw a fit and demolished the car. Obviously, he has a hell of a lot more money than brains.



Coincidentally, the car was demolished on World Consumer Rights Day whatever that is. Somehow, the destruction of the car was done to recognize consumer rights. I don't get it.

In any event, Han Nan's little arrogant and childish tantrum produced nothing but waste. He could have sold the car and donated the money to a worthy cause such as tsunami relief or war refugees.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Christian symbols have a win in Italy

We read:

"The Vatican has welcomed as "historic" a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that said displaying crucifixes in schools in Italy does not breach the rights of non-Catholics.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that displaying crucifixes in schools in Italy did not breach the rights of non-Catholic families, overturning a previous decision.

The Strasbourg, France-based court initially ruled in November 2009 that displaying crucifixes in schools across Italy breached the rights of non-Catholics, drawing howls of anger from Church and political leaders in the staunchly Roman Catholic country.

In its new ruling, passed by 15 votes to two, the court said: "While the crucifix was above all a religious symbol, there was no evidence before the court that the display of such a symbol on classroom walls might have an influence on pupils."

Source

The court may have realized that Italians would have defied a ban anyway. Italians are very attached to their statuary.

Instead of "statuary", I originally wrote "graven images" above. My fundamentalist Presbyterian background does show at times.

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

Teacher Gets Jail in Lewd Message Case - Updated

(Napa, California) In January 2011, former substitute teacher at Napa High School, Linda Antanina Vass, 41, pleaded no contest to distributing lewd material to a minor.

Charges of having lewd contact with a minor and annoying a child under 18 were dropped.

As a result of the conviction, Vass was sentenced by Napa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Kroyer to 90 days in jail followed by three years of probation.

Kroyer, who received two dozen letters in support of Vass, also ordered her to stay away from Napa High School and other schools other than to transport a relative and not to communicate with any male under the age of 18 in a sexual manner through phone, e-mail or texting.

Defense Attorney Doug Pharr said his client was remorseful. “She can’t forgive herself for this,” he told the judge.

But Prosecutor Allison Haley argued that Vass should spend 180 days in jail, as her probation report had recommended. “She knew what was going on was wrong,” she said. After the hearing, Haley did not hide her disappointment.

During the sentencing, Vass sobbed and said she was sorry. She reports to the county jail on April 18.

* * * * *
California Teacher Accused in Lewd Message Case
[Previous 11/8/10 post]
(Napa, California) A 41-year-old substitute teacher at Napa High School, Linda Antanina Vass, was arrested this week for allegedly sending sexually-explicit materials to a 15-year-old boy. The boy's family alerted the authorities.

Vass faces charges of annoying or molesting a child under age 18, sending harmful matter with intent to seduce a minor, and contacting a minor with intent to commit sexual offenses.

Vass was booked into custody at the Napa County Jail.

Oklahoma Teacher Gets Prison in Rape Case - Updated

(Sequoyah County, Oklahoma) On Wednesday, Stephanie Diane Harris, 29, of Sallisaw was sentenced to five years in prison.

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Oklahoma Teacher Guilty of Rape - Updated
[Previous 11/19/10 post]
(Sequoyah County, Oklahoma) Former eighth-grade computer teacher Stephanie Diane Harris, 29, pleaded "no contest" to raping a 13-year-old male student. Sentencing is scheduled for February 16, 2011.

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Oklahoma Teacher's Rape Trial Scheduled - Updated
[Previous 5/11/09 post]
(Sallisaw, Oklahoma) Twenty-eight-year-old former teacher Stephanie Diane Harris appeared before Sequoyah County District Court Judge Jeff Payton last week to discuss her rape trial date.

Harris faces charges of first-degree rape and three counts of soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology.

Payton announced there would be no June docket because of statewide cut backs, so Harris’ next court appearance will be July 23, and the jury trial date will be held on Aug. 10. [...]

On June 24, Harris allegedly asked the juvenile in a text message if he (the boy) would have sex with her. The boy told police that Harris picked him up in her vehicle while he was walking down the road and took him to her home, where the two allegedly had sex.

If convicted, Harris faces a possible lengthy term in prison.

* * * * *
Oklahoma Teacher Accused of Sex with Student
[Previous 9/11/08 post]
(Marble City, Oklahoma) A 27-year-old former teacher at Marble City Schools, Stephanie Harris, was arrested by Sequoyah County Sheriff's deputies for allegedly engaging in sexual relations with a 13-year-old student. She faces felony rape charges.

According to a court affidavit, Harris sent nude pictures of herself to the victim via text messaging.

Marble City School's attorney Rex Starr says Harris has officially resigned after she had been suspended. He says the alleged sexual activity did not occur on school property.

Starr says, "The activity that was being alleged did not occur at the school. The info was that it had taken place during the month of June during the school recess."

Harris was booked into custody with bond set at $35,000.

Church Lady Gets 60 Days for Sex with Boy

(Freeport, Illinois) In June 2010, a 34-year-old church worker at Park Hills Evangelical Free Church, Rebecca L. Boerman, was arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a 13- to 17-year-old boy.

The sexual relations reportedly occurred in the 2007-2008 time frame.

Last week, Boerman pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse before Circuit Judge Michael Bald in Stephenson County Circuit Court. As a result of the plea agreement with the prosecution, Boerman was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 30 months of probation.

Debra Schafer, Boerman’s attorney, said her client did not want to put the victim’s family or her own family through a trial.

“Becky is very remorseful about what occurred and was anxious to take responsibility and put this behind her,” Schafer said of Boerman’s guilty plea.

Boerman was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Guitar Shotgun



Guitar Shotgun
(Luleå, Sweden) After receiving a tip, police conducted a search of a home looking for unlicensed weapons. An arsenal was found including ammunition and a wall-mounted guitar with a built-in shotgun.

The neck of the guitar has been hollowed out and equipped with two shotgun barrels, while the body of the string instrument contained the beginnings of trigger mechanism.

In police interviews the man described the home made musical weapon as "a fun thing that was not finished".

Police found a further six weapons including a sawn off shotgun, a home made sub-machine gun, a Mauser rifle, two revolvers and a walking stick adapted to function as a rifle.

The 54-year-old occupant of the dwelling faces aggravated weapons charges.