Women With Troubles - July 2011

Reported in news stories during July 2011, here is a compilation of women with troubles. Each name is linked to an Interested-Participant blog entry displaying details.

For a more comprehensive listing, check the Women With Troubles category link. Links to month-by-month compilations are displayed on the navigation bar at left.

(AZ) Stephanie Edwards, 35,
neighbor - Guilty of child sex crimes. Sentencing in August,

(CA) Catherine Kieu Becker, 48,
neighbor - Arrested for whacking off husband's penis,

(CA) Alanna Reichle, 33,
youth leader - Accused of sex with boy, 16,

(CA) Christa Rene Tharp, 33,
softball coach - Accused of ongoing sex with juvenile,

(CA) Tanya Thienngern, 38,
teacher - Sex crimes charges dismissed after being hit by taxi. Has serious injuries,

(CT) Loni Bouchard, 19,
babysitter - Accused of engaging in sex with boy, 14, she was babysitting,

(FL) Tanya Andrews, 31,
neighbor - Accused of sex with boy under age 16,

(FL) Ana Celly Rodriguez De Jesus, 22,
neighbor - Accused of attacking ex-boyfriend with machete,

(FL) Raquel Wright, 37,
teacher - Guilty of selling drugs to undercover officer. Sentencing on August 30,

(GA) Crystal Doolittle, 27,
teacher - Arrested of being disturbingly drunk in public,

(GA) Jamie Garfield, 36,
treasurer - Accused of stealing more than $7,000 from PTO,

(GA) Shakeia Green,
neighbor - Accused of engaging in sex with three boys under age 16,

(GA) Amy Bass Jackson, 35,
teacher - Accused of engaging in sex with student, 14,

(GA) Brandi Lenox, 30,
prostitute - Arrested in undercover sting,

(ID) Zenna Galeria, 23,
teacher - Accused of engaging in sex with male student, 17,

(IN) Sara Kifer, 26,
teacher - Arrested for felony stalking of male high school student,

(IN) Shannon J. Woodson, 36,
teacher - Accused of engaging in sex with male student, 17,

(KY) Mary Dennis, 39,
neighbor - Gets night-jail/day-work sentence for sex with 7 boys,

(ME) Michelle Marie Bahrynowski,
neighbor - Arrested for border crossing attempt with undeclared merchandise,

(ME) Carrie Anne Sadler,
neighbor - Arrested for border crossing attempt with undeclared merchandise,

(MI) Leslie Buscher, 37,
teacher - Caught drunk with kids in car,

(MI) April Patzkowsky, 32
teacher's aide - Accused of criminal sex with boy, 14,

(MS) Amber Nicole Huddleston, 20,
neighbor - Accused of raping boy, 14,

(MS) Katryna L. Martin, 30,
teacher - Gets 7 years prison for sex with female student, 14,

(NC) Teresa Ashworth Page, 41,
neighbor - Accused of conspiracy and rape of girl, 15,

(NC) Tina Leigh Tucker, 23,
neighbor - Accused of selling girl, 15, for sex,

(NM) Melanie Maya Freeman, 19,
neighbor - Faces child sex & weapons charges,

(NM) Brenda Ray, 40,
teacher - Accused of sex with male student, 16,

(NV) Marie Fisher, 21,
teacher's aide - Gets 32 months prison for sex with boy, 15,

(NV) Mamie Hubbard-Washington, 67,
teacher - Gets 60 days for child abuse of autistic students,

(NY) Ashley Marie Nesbitt, 19,
neighbor - Accused of aggravated harassment of girl, 13,

(NY) Christine Williams, 42,
teacher - Gets 90 days jail for sex with boy, 15,

(OH) Tranace & Richard Morris, 23 & 28,
neighbors - Arrested for harboring and having sex with female runaway, 15,

(OH) Pearline Richardson, 40,
neighbor - Arrested on sex trafficking charges,

(OH) Mary Schnell, 24,
teacher - Accused of sex with male student, 16,

(OH) Stacy Schuler, 33,
health/gym teacher - Accused of child sex involving male students. Claims insanity,

(OK) Asusena Marie Gonzalez, 31,
neighbor - Arrested for child abuse and neglect,

(PA) Anna Ackerman, 44,
neighbor - Guilty of sex with boy, 15. Sentencing TBD,

(PA) Shannon Burton, 40,
neighbor - Violates probation sentence from child sex conviction,

(PA) Jacqueline Lewis, 32,
neighbor - Gets 4 to 9 years prison for child sex assault,

(PA) Nattale Turner, 34,
neighbor - Arrested for engaging in sex with boy, 14,

(RI) Crystal and Curtis Rogers, 29 and 37
neighbors - Accused of molesting multiple youths, ages 12 through 17,

(SC) Kayla Ann Taylor, 18,
neighbor - Accused of sex with boy, 12,

(TX) Kaci S. Pomerenke, 31,
teacher - Accused of engaging in sex with male student, 14,

(TX) Elizabeth Proctor,
teacher - Gets probation for sex with boy, 15,

(WA) Barbara Jeanne Anderson, 37,
teacher - Guilty of sex with male student, 17. Sentencing on September 9,

(WA) Heidi Lynn Knowles, 36,
neighbor - Accused of trying to sell her three-day-old baby,

(WI) Amelia K. Fay, 37,
neighbor - Accused of sex with a child,

(WI) Lynne A. Nelson, 61,
teacher - Accused of felony child abuse,

*******************************

(MY) Ashraf Hafiz Abdul Aziz, 26,
trans woman - Ruled to be a man despite sex reassignment surgery,

(PK) Shahnaz Bibi,
neighbor - Legs chopped off by brother for returning home after leaving husband,

(UK) Suzanne Harrison, 38,
teacher - Accused of intimate relations with girl, 15.

Thanks to the tipsters.

Carolina Woman Accused of Sex with Boy, 12

(Spartanburg County, South Carolina) An 18-year-old local female, Kayla Ann Taylor, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 12-year-old boy.

She faces a charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor between the age of 11 and 14.

According to an arrest warrant, between May 2 and June 26, Taylor “did engage in sexual battery by having sexual intercourse with the victim.”

Taylor was booked into custody and subsequently released on $15,000 bond.

Vegas Strip Clubs Offering Discounts

(Las Vegas, Neveda) Good news for bargain hunters!

Las Vegas strip clubs are doing their part to alleviate discomfort from a gasping economy by offering cut-rate drinks, free food and two-for-one lap dances.

"For years, Las Vegas has pretended like the adult community doesn't exist," says Wayne Bridge, CEO of the Sin City Chamber of Commerce, an alliance of adult-oriented businesses. "It's a huge part of the economy and it's really helping to carry a lot of people.''

At last count, there are 32 active strip clubs and between 30,000 and 40,000 registered exotic dancers in the Las Vegas Valley. On weeknights, some 1,500 women bump and grind at clubs here; weekends, that number doubles or triples.

Heh.

Iranian Eye for an Eye Case - Updated

(Tehran, Iran) Ameneh Bahrami, 33, has pardoned her attacker, Majid Movahedi.

An Iranian man convicted of throwing acid in the face of a female student who was to have been blinded himself on Sunday in retribution was pardoned by his victim, the state-run television website said.

"With the request of Ameneh Bahrami, the acid attack victim, Majid (Movahedi) who was sentenced for 'qesas' ('eye for an eye'-style justice) was pardoned at the last minute" after she decided to forgo her right, it said.[…]

Bahrami told the ISNA news agency she pardoned her attacker because "God talks about 'qesas' in the Koran but he also recommends pardon since pardon is greater than 'qesas'."

"I struggled for seven years for this verdict to prove to people that the person who hurls acid should be punished through 'qesas,' but today I pardoned him because it was my right.

"I did it for my country, since all other countries were looking to see what we would do," she added.

Did it "for my country," eh? It's probably reasonable to suspect that Bahrami was subjected to a bit of arm-twisting.

* * * * *
Iranian Eye for an Eye Case
[Previous 5/15/11 post]
(Tehran, Iran) In 2004, a male university student, Majid Movahedi, threw acid into the face of a female engineering student, Ameneh Bahrami, who had spurned his amorous advances.

Bahrami was blinded.

In November 2008, a criminal court ordered qisas (retribution) on Movahedi after he admitted throwing acid at Bahrami. The punishment allows Bahrami to blind Movahedi with acid.

Iranian media have reported that Movahedi will be blinded in both eyes but Bahrami, in an interview in 2009, said that the man would be blinded only in one eye because "each man is worth two women" under Iranian law.

The dropping of acid in Movahedi's eyes was scheduled for yesterday, but the imposition of the sentence was postponed due to mounting outrage expressed both inside and outside Iran.

Much of the public outcry in Iranian media, news websites, and blogs, surrounds the Iranian legal system, which produces such verdicts by practising an 'eye for an eye' approach to justice based on seventh century Islamic jurisprudence.

These principles effectively offer victims of violent crime two legal choices, forgiveness or qesas, analogous retribution. "Bahrami must sit in the place of the judge and either forgive her attacker or take revenge" says Asieh Amini, an Iranian women's rights activist living in Europe.[…]

Speaking on the interactive television program Saturday, Bahrami said she favored a more modern course, suing for damages. "I want him to be punished foremost. But if there are human rights considerations, then I'll accept two million Euros and his life imprisonment," she said.

Word has it that the government only acted to postpone the sentence because of the passionate internal Iranian outcry and it had nothing to do with international outrage.

Latina Accused in Machete Attack

(Palm Beach County, Florida) A 22-year-old local woman, Ana Celly Rodriguez De Jesus, was arrested this week for allegedly attacking her ex-boyfriend with a deadly weapon, a machete, during a domestic dispute.

Rodriguez De Jesus faces a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

When the deputy arrived, a 20-year-old man said that he had been involved in a verbal and physical argument with his ex-girlfriend, Rodriguez, over money. He said that Rodriguez had hit him with a wooden stick, scratched his face and bit his arm, the report stated.

He then said that Rodriguez grabbed a machete and chased him outside, where she cut his arm. The deputy noted that man had scratches to his face, a bite mark on his arm and a 3-inch cut where he claimed to have been struck with the machete.

Rodriguez De Jesus was booked into custody at the Palm Beach County Jail without bond.

Criticizing lawyers is hate speech?

We read:

"When you criticize lawyers or the legal system, thin-skinned lawyers get indignant. The head of the State Bar of California, Harvey Saferstein, called for a crackdown on jokes at lawyers’ expense: “Comparing jokes against attorneys to hate speech against African-Americans and women, Saferstein said he favors classifying such comments as hate crimes.”

Saferstein, a leading liberal lawyer, said that “Crimes against attorneys should rate special penalties — similar to crimes against police, judges and political officeholders — because lawyers are representatives of the court and their work is essential to the country’s justice system.”

Source

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

Woman Accused of Theft from PTO

(Forsyth County, Georgia) A Cumming Elementary School former treasurer, Jamie Garfield, 36, has been accused of stealing more than $7,000 from the school's PTO.

Garfield faces a charge of theft.

While Garfield is accused of taking $7,911.82, police spokesman Sgt. Bryan Zimbardi said thousands of dollars more has been reported missing and additional charges may be added.

Last Aug. 5, PTO board members discovered that one of the group’s bank accounts was overdrawn and requested a criminal investigation. The thefts occurred over a 21-month period, police say.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department is looking for Garfield to arrest her. She apparently has made herself quite scarce.

Sex Charges Against Teacher Dismissed - Updated

(Santa Cruz, California) In June 2010, Pajaro Valley High School teacher Tanya Thienngern was arrested for multiple sex crimes involving male students.

In September, teacher Tanya Thienngern was hit by a taxi while walking in San Francisco, sustaining serious injuries.

This week, all charges against Thienngern were dismissed.

Prosecutor Andrew Isaac said the District Attorney's Office checked with her physicians and others and believes it is unlikely she will be able to face the charges. Plus, he said, the young man who allegedly had the affair with her didn't want to come to court.

"As the court pointed out, essentially, what's been done to her is far out of proportion to the allegations," Isaac said. "There is no reason for it to sit on the court's calendar. She's in God's hands now." If she does have a medical turnaround, the charges could be filed again, he added.

Therefore, at some ill-defined level of infirmity, people become non-prosecutable.

* * * * *
CA Teacher Accused of Ongoing Sex with Male Student
[Previous 6/10/10 post]
(Watsonville, California) A 37-year-old teacher at Pajaro Valley High School, Tanya Thienngern, was arrested yesterday for allegedly engaging in sex with and providing alcohol to a 17-year-old student.

Thienngern has been charged with unlawful sexual intercourse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and degrading and immoral drunkenness in the presence of children.

Police say that during the investigation they discovered that Thienngern was having sexual contact with multiple students both on and off campus. Thienngern is also accused of providing alcohol to students on and off of the school campus.

Thienngern was booked into custody and later released on $25,000 bond.

Honor Killings - 6 Girls, 1 Family

(Faisalabad, Pakistan) This week a 40-year-old father of six girls, Arif Mubashir, called the daughters into his room and then fatally shot the brood while the rest of the family, presumably horrified, watched.

Mubashir claimed that his daughters had dishonored the family by cozying up to boys and he boasted of his deed when taken into custody. He said he'd do it again if he had to.

There are no expectations of a just and fair punishment for Mubashir. It's Pakistan! Women are brutally murdered for honor on a regular basis.

Leftists DON'T condemn terrorism

Most terrorism is OK to them. They only condemn it when it hits them. Fundamentalist Islam is by far the chief source of terrorism in the world today but Leftists go to great length to cover up and excuse that -- and nowhere is that permissiveness towards Islamic terrorism more pronounced than in Norway

Breivik's manifesto has become the center of the international discussion of his actions largely as a result of the sources he cited.

Kaczynski, like his fellow eco-terrorist Jason Jay Lee, who took several people hostage at the Discovery Channel in Maryland last September, was influenced by the writings of former US vice president Al Gore. A well worn copy of Gore's book Earth in the Balance was reportedly found by federal agents when they searched Kaczynski's cabin in Montana in 1996. Lee claimed that he was "awakened" to the need to commit terrorism to save the environment after he watched Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth."

Aside from Kaczynski, (whom he plagiarized without naming), certain parts of Breivik's manifesto read like a source guide to leading conservative writers and bloggers in the Western world. And this is unprecedented. Never before has a terrorist cited so many conservatives to justify his positions.

Breivik particularly noted writers who focus on critical examinations of multiculturalism and the dangers emanating from jihadists and the cause of global jihad. He also cited the work of earlier political philosophers and writers including John Stuart Mill, George Orwell, John Locke, Edmund Burke, Winston Churchill and Thomas Jefferson.

Breivik's citation of conservative writers, (including myself and many of my friends and colleagues in the US and Europe), has dominated the public discussion of his actions. The leftist dominated Western media - most notably the New York Times -- and the left wing of the blogosphere have used his reliance on their ideological opponents' arguments as a means of blaming the ideas propounded by conservative thinkers and the thinkers themselves for Breivik's heinous acts of murder.

For instance, a front page news story in the Times on Monday claimed, "The man accused of the killing spree in Norway was deeply influenced by a small group of American bloggers and writers who have warned for years about the threat from Islam."

The reporter, Scott Shane named several popular anti-jihadist blogs that Breivik mentioned in his manifesto. Shane then quoted left-leaning terrorism expert Marc Sageman who alleged that that the writings of anti-jihad authors "are the infrastructure from which Breivik emerged."

That is, Shane quoted Sageman accusing these writers of responsibility for Breivik's acts of murder.

Before considering the veracity of Sageman's claim, it is worth noting that no similar allegations were leveled by the media or their favored terror experts against Gore in the wake of Lee's hostage taking last year, or in the aftermath of Kaczynski's arrest in 1996. Moreover, Noam Chomsky, Michael Scheuer, Stephen Walt and John Mearshimer, whose writings were endorsed by Osama Bin Laden, have not been accused of responsibility for al Qaeda terrorism.

That is, leftist writers whose works have been admired by terrorists have not been held accountable for the acts of terrorism conducted by their readers.

Nor should they have been. And to understand why this sort of guilt-by-readership is wrong, it is worth considering what separates liberal democracies from what the great Israeli historian Jacob Talmon referred to as totalitarian democracies. Liberal democracies are founded on the notion that it is not simply acceptable for citizens to participate in debates about the issues facing their societies. It is admirable for citizens in democracies to participate in debates - even heated ones -- about their government's policies as well as their societies' cultural and moral direction. A citizenry unengaged is a citizenry that is in danger of losing its freedom.

One of the reasons that argument and debate are the foundations of a liberal democratic order is because the more engaged citizens feel in the life of their societies, the less likely they will be to reject the rules governing their society and turn to violence to get their way. As a rule, liberal democracies reject the resort to violence as a means of winning an argument. This is why, for liberal democracies, terrorism in all forms is absolutely unacceptable.

Whether or not one agrees with the ideological self-justifications of a terrorist, as a member of a liberal democratic society, one is expected to abhor his act of terrorism. Because by resorting to violence to achieve his aims, the terrorist is acting in a manner that fundamentally undermines the liberal democratic order.

Liberal democracies are always works in progress. Their citizens do not expect for a day to come when the debaters fall silent because everyone agrees with one another as all are convinced of the rightness of one side. This is because liberal democracies are not founded on messianic aspirations to create a perfect society.

In contrast, totalitarian democracies - and totalitarian democrats -- do have a messianic temperament and a utopian mission to create a perfect society. And so its members do have hopes of ending debate and argument once and for all.

As Talmon explained in his 1952 classic, The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy, the totalitarian democratic model was envisioned by Jean Jacques Rousseau the philosophical godfather of the French Revolution. Rousseau believed that a group of anointed leaders could push a society towards perfection by essentially coercing the people to accept their view of right and wrong. Talmon drew a direct line between Rousseau and the totalitarian movements of the twentieth century - Nazism, fascism and communism.

Today, those who seek to silence conservative thinkers by making a criminal connection between our writings and the acts of a terrorist are doing so in pursuit of patently illiberal ends to say the least. If they can convince the public that our ideas cause the mass murder of children, then our voices will be silenced.

Another aspect of the same anti-liberal behavior is the tendency by many to pick and choose which sorts of terrorism are acceptable and which are unacceptable in accordance with the ideological justifications the terrorists give for their actions. The most recent notable example of this behavior is an interview that Norwegian Ambassador Svein Sevje gave to Maariv on Tuesday. Maariv asked Sevje whether in the wake of Breivik's terrorist attack Norwegians would be more sympathetic to the victimization of innocent Israelis by Palestinian terrorists.

Sevje said no, and explained, "We Norwegians view the occupation as the reason for terror against Israel. Many Norwegians still see the occupation as the reason for attacks against Israel. Whoever thinks this way, will not change his mind as a result of the attack in Oslo."

So in the mind of the illiberal Norwegians, terrorism is justified if the ideology behind it is considered justified. For them it is unacceptable for Breivik to murder Norwegian children because his ideology is wrong. But it is acceptable for Palestinians to murder Israeli children because their ideology is right.

More here

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

Polar Bear Biologist Benched

(Juneau, Alaska) Several years ago, wildlife scientist Charles Monnett made news by raising alarms regarding polar bears.

Now, the wildlife biologist is on administrative leave and facing accusations of scientific misconduct.

The federal agency where he works told him he was on leave pending the results of an investigation into "integrity issues." A watchdog group believes it has to do with the 2006 journal article about the bear, but a source familiar with the investigation said late Thursday that placing Monnett on leave had nothing to with scientific integrity or the article.

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation, wouldn't comment further.

The watchdog, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, filed a complaint on Monnett's behalf Thursday with the agency, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

Investigators have not yet told Monnett of the specific charges or questions related to the scientific integrity of his work, said Jeff Ruch, the watchdog group's executive director.

We'll just have to wait and see what comprises the "integrity issues" alleged.

Tip: slwlion

Obtaining Voter ID in Wisconsin

Check out this video where it appears that applicants for a voter ID need a bank account with sufficient "activity" before approval.




Something seems fishy in the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles. Readers can decide.

"Psycho-analysing" terrorist Breivik

There are by now innumerable psychological assessments of Breivik online. Practically every publication you log on to has one. And they are all rather laughable when one looks at the things upon which the various diagnoses are based:

Breivik played violent computer games. So do a billion other men. Breivik did not relate well to women. That's also true of millions of American men -- particularly if you ask American women. Breivik lived with his mother well into adulthood. That too is common these days. It's almost the norm in Italy and Japan. He liked dressing up and giving himself titles. So do the freemasons. And so it goes: Things that do not cause terrorism in millions of others suddenly caused terrorism in Breivik? What a heap of nonsense!

My Ph.D. is in psychology, my academic specialty is political psychology and I have had over 100 papers in that field published in the academic journals -- including papers on what would seem to be relevant phenomena, such as neo-Nazism and psychopathy. So can I do better? Perhaps. To make any diagnosis when you have never even met the person is a very bad start but I will try.

So, for starters, is Breivik mad? Is he insane? There is general agreement that he is not and I agree with that. He shows no signs of delusions and has normal reality contact. He is not psychotic.

The one glaringly salient fact about Breivik is that he is a one-off. People with broadly conservative views are almost never terrorists. Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh is the nearest comparable case and there are considerable differences beteeen him and Breivik. Breivik is much more intellectual, for a start.

And that one salient fact is in my view the key to Breivik. Terrorism is not the product of personality. It is ideologically motivated. Personality plays some part but ideology is the overwhelming influence behind terrorist deeds. Nearly two years ago, U.S. army Major Nidal Hasan stood up at Ft. Hood shouting "Allahu Akbar" - Arabic for "God is great" -- before opening fire methodically from two handguns, killing 13 and wounding 32. Very similar behaviour to Breivik and with the motive being clearly ideological, in his case the ideology of fundamentalist Islam.

And there is no denying where Breivik got most of his ideas. He got them from fairly mainstream conservative sources. What he says in his manifesto about the Left and about Islam could be duplicated from many mainstream conservative sources. Indeed, he quotes such sources at length in his manifesto.

So how come hundreds of millions of conservatives have ideas similar to Breivik but only Breivik used them as a basis for a terrorist attack?

To answer that we have to move from ideology to sociology. I taught sociology for some years in a major Australian university so perhaps I have a few ideas in that department too.

And what seems to be the key sociological context is Norwegian society itself. Norwegians are very self-righteous and politically correct and one result of that is that Norway's penal code (Straffeloven, section 135 a) prohibits "hate speech" and defines it as publicly making statements that threaten or ridicule someone or that incite hatred, persecution or contempt for someone due to their skin colour, ethnic origin, homosexual life style or orientation or, religion or philosophy of life. So criticism of Muslims is illegal in Norway.

And yet, of all Western countries, Muslim aggression against the host country would seem to be at its peak in Norway and Sweden, two of the world's most permissive countries. Permissiveness is NOT the key to restraint and as the old proverb has it: "Give them an inch and they will take a mile". Because Norway and Sweden not only put up with Muslim lawlessness but actually protect it from view, the misbehaviour has escalated in those countries to quite appalling levels. Rapes in those countries in recent years have almost entirely been the doing of Muslims, for instance.

And the average Norwegian is not oblivious to that, for all the clampdown on mentioning it by Norway's Leftist government. Norwegian experts say that Breivik's attitude to Muslims is in fact common among ordinary Norwegians. Leftist reality denial doesn't work for long.

So the pressure towards retaliation against Muslims is in proportion to the Muslim outrages committed. Muslim behavior is at a peak of unacceptability in Norway and that generates a peak head of steam for retaliation against Muslims. Muslims are not as indulgently treated in other countries (even Britain locks some Muslim haters up) so their behaviour is better and that in turn means that resentment against them does not build up so much.

So Breivik was simply the point at which the Norwegian dam burst. When any dam bursts it is always possible in retrospect to say where the weak point was but that is rarely apparent in advance. The point at which the dam bursts can be essentially random.

So we come back to the question: Why was Breivik the weak point? I think it was essentially random. Other Norwegians would have eventually done something similar if Breivik had not.

One thing that I do notice, however, is that a lot of his mental characteristics seem rather adolescent. So we have adolescent mental characteristics combined with a very capable adult brain. And adolescents make great warriors, warriors who are largely heedless of their own wellbeing in fighting for what they are told is the common good. The undoubted heroism of the Hitler Youth in the closing stages of WWII is an obvious example of that and armies generally do recruit heavily from teenagers.

And it is clear that Breivik saw himself as self-sacrificing in what he did. He acted for what he saw as the general wellbeing by attacking the protectors of Muslims at their weakest point: Their children.

And I see no reason to doubt the account Breivik gives of his motivation: It was self-sacrifice for the common good, a very Norwegian motivation. He wanted Norwegians freed from the very real oppressive burden of their Muslim minority.

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

Are Testicles Obscene?

(Bonneau, South Carolina) A local truck owner, Virginia Tice, was issued a ticket for violating the state obscene bumper sticker law for decorating her truck with a pair of red replica testicles.

Tice decided to contest the $445 citation, sparking a local controversy.

It's a bigger issue now because of Bonneau Chief of Police Franco Fuda ticketing Tice for what he says the law defines as obscene.

"Genitalia is offensive," says Chief Fuda. "As a law enforcement officer, I'll advise that person if it warrants a citation I'll issue a citation. As a father, I wouldn't want my daughter looking at it."

The South Carolina code of laws says "a sticker, decal or emblem is indecent when it describes, in a patently offensive way... sexual acts, excretory functions or parts of the human body."

A jury trial will scheduled, possibly for August.

This case revisits a perennial problem for the legal system -- defining obscenity.

Tip: slwlion

Girl in Closet

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) A 31-year-old woman, Asusena Marie Gonzalez, has been accused of child abuse and neglect for allegedly forcing a five-year-old girl to live in a closet.

Police went to the home July 18 at about 10:52 a.m. in response to a call from an Oklahoma Department of Human Services worker asking for several children who were victims of neglect to be picked up.

According to police, the DHS worker was investigating a referral at the address where a girl was made to "stay in a closet and was given a cup to urinate and defecate in."

The girl was also malnourished and beaten, police said. According to the report, the girl weighed 19.8 pounds when she was admitted to a local hospital.

Gonzalez was booked into custody with bond set at $20,000.

AZ Woman Guilty in Child Sex Case - Updated

(Prescott, Arizona) Northern Arizona woman Stephanie Edwards, 35, pleaded guilty yesterday to reduced charges in hopes of avoiding prison time.

Edwards admitted to two counts of attempted sexual abuse with a minor under 15 and one count of child abuse.

Her attorney, Matthew Cochran, said she had participated in a "dogpiling" activity with several children, which led to the child abuse charge. Deputy County Attorney Jeff Paupore said that, during that activity, she rubbed her genital area on the boys through their clothes.

Cochran also said she touched the genitals of two young boys on another occasion.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 31.

* * * * *
AZ Woman Accused of Child Sex Gaming
[Previous 1/16/11 post]
(Prescott, Arizona) A 35-year-old northern Arizona woman, Stephanie Jean Edwards, was arrested last week for the alleged sexual exploitation of two young boys.

She was arrested Monday on three counts of child abuse and three counts of luring a minor for sexual exploitation.

Authorities say two boys - ages 13 and 14 - told them they had engaged in sexual-based games at Edwards' trailer park home in Mayer.

Sheriff's investigators interviewed Edwards and they say she admitted to the behavior with the boys and called her actions "normal."

Edwards was booked into custody at the Camp Verde Detention Center with bond set at $12,500.

Circumcision Ban Removed from Ballot

(San Francisco, California) It appears there will be no vote on circumcision this year.

A measure to ban circumcision in San Francisco must be removed from the November ballot because it would regulate a medical procedure, a California judge ruled.

Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi in San Francisco today made final yesterday’s tentative ruling, saying it would serve no legitimate purpose to allow an invalid measure to remain on the ballot. Giorgi said the measure is prohibited by California’s Business and Professions Code.

Supporters of the measure are considering an appeal.

Vietnam Vet Stripped of Silver Star




Vietnam veteran Wade Sanders has been stripped of his Silver Star by the Navy.

A Vietnam veteran who defended Sen. John Kerry against "Swift Boat" attacks in the 2004 presidential race has been stripped of his Silver Star by the Navy -- more than a year after he was sentenced to prison on a child pornography charge.

But the Silver Star wasn't stripped from Wade Sanders because of the child porn conviction, per se.

Military officials told Fox News the medal was revoked in 2010 after Navy investigators looked into his record and found administrative errors surrounding how the award was created.

Administrative errors? Erroneously heroic due to typos? Heh.

Tip: slwlion

People from the higher latitudes of the world have bigger brains

I reproduce below the results of a small study of an old skull collection. Given the limits of the basic data, the generalizability of the findings is uncertain but they are interesting nonetheless -- in that they confirm other findings about the effect of latitude on IQ.

The authors were apparently rather embarrassed by their findings so they have presented their findings in a very politically correct way. A lot of the presentation is blatantly speculative and certainly over-interpreted. They talk, for instance, about Arctic brains in blithe indifference to the fact that they had zero data on Arctic brains! So I reproduce below only the more factual bits.

The finding that eyes are bigger in Northern latitudes is a genuine contribution to knowledge but saying that bigger eyes lie behind larger brain size is tendentious. The larger brain of the North is much more likely to be a result of the generally greater survival challenge in Northern latitudes.

In support of that it may be noted that the spectacular visual acuity of Australian Aborigines is found among a people who tend to have somewhat smaller brains than Europeans.

It should be noted that the present "native" population of the British Isles is of peri-Baltic origin (North German and Scandinavian) so should be at the high end of brain size. The authors below deny that greater brain size indicates greater intelligence but ignore most of the literature on the subject in doing so. Most research indicates a positive correlation of .30+

Students of ancient history will also be aware that Northerners have been invading the South for a very long time -- and usually leaving some genes behind. Germans have been invading Italy since the days of the Roman Republic (i.e. before the Roman empire) so Teutonic genes are undoubtedly widely spread throughout Europe today. So Northern brains too are undoubtably to be found throughout Europe these days.

People who live in high latitude regions have bigger eyeballs and brains than other individuals, according to new research.

The increase in brain and eye size allows people to see better in places that receive less light than areas closer to the equator, according to the new study, published in the latest issue of the journal Royal Society Biology Letters.

"People living at high latitudes have greater visual acuity than those who live at the equator," added Dunbar, who is head of the Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford.

"The whole point is that they need to have better vision to compensate for the lower light levels at high latitudes, as indicated by the evidence we provide that visual acuity under ambient/natural light conditions remains constant with latitude."

For the study, Dunbar and colleague Eiluned Pearce measured the skulls of 55 individuals from 12 different populations, focusing on the dimensions for orbital volume and cranial capacity. The people lived about 200 years ago. Their skulls are now part of collections housed at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the University of Cambridge's Duckworth Collection.

The researchers found significant positive relationships between absolute latitude, orbital volume and brain size. Eyeballs varied in size from around a quarter to a third of an ounce in volume.

The brains, in turn, ranged from about 40.6 ounces for Micronesians, on the low end of the size spectrum, and 50.2 ounces for Scandinavians on the high end.

As for the larger eyeballs, they permit smaller proportions of images to fall upon each photoreceptor field so that more details can be distinguished. The amount of light hitting Earth's surface as well as minimum day length decrease with increasing absolute latitude, so people living in such areas need the visual boost.

SOURCE

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

Wisconsin Teacher Accused of Child Abuse

(Portage, Wisconsin) A 61-year-old substitute teacher with the Cambria-Friesland School District, Lynne A. Nelson, has been accused of grabbing a student by the neck and swearing at him during class.

Nelson faces a charge of felony physical abuse of a child intentionally causing bodily harm. Reportedly, the student "suffered" a red mark on his left shoulder and neck.

Investigators with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office said they responded to a report May 3 of a substitute teacher who had caused a red mark on the shoulder and neck of a 10-year-old student and who swore at the student.

Nelson faces a pretrial conference on August 22 and a court appearance is scheduled for September 23.

Mississippi Woman Accused of Rape

(Colbert County, Mississippi) A 20-year-old woman, Amber Nicole Huddleston, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy.

Huddleston faces a charge of second-degree rape.

Officials said another juvenile who was at the residence saw what was going on and contacted the victim's parents who then confronted the boy.

She was booked into custody and released on $10,000 bail.

Georgia Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy

(Bulloch County, Georgia) A 35-year-old language arts teacher at William James Middle School, Amy Bass Jackson, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 14-year-old former student.

Jackson faces charges of aggravated child molestation, child molestation, statutory rape, enticing a child for indecent purposes, sexual assault by person with supervisory authority, computer or electronic child exploitation and furnishing harmful material to minors.

In a statement released this afternoon, Superintendent Dr. Lewis Holloway said, "We regret the impact this isolated incident will have on the affected parties and will continue to support them in their efforts to heal. Counselors will be available to students if needed. The School District will continue its efforts to educate every student with rigor, relevance and responsibility."

Furthermore, Dr. Holloway said that the encounters happened off-campus.

Jackson was booked into custody at the Bulloch County Jail without bond.

Quote of the Week




Tip: GW

Mountain Lion Killed in Connecticut




(Hartford, Connecticut) Last month, a 140-pound mountain lion was killed by a car on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford. It was the first confirmed sighting of a cougar in the state since the 1880s.

Genetic testing revealed that the big cat came from a wild breeding population of about 250 mountain lions in the southwest corner of South Dakota, the Black Hills area, results released Tuesday afternoon revealed.

No one knows why the animal — a lean, 140-pound male between 2 and 4 years old — undertook a journey across the continent. But its travels were documented through Minnesota and Wisconsin, and biologists speculate that the cat then wandered through southern Ontario and New York before reaching Connecticut.

Reportedly, recent mountain lion sightings in Minnesota and Wisconsin have been positively linked to the Connecticut animal and it's believed that the big cat traveled through Ontario and New York rather than going through the populated areas south of the Great Lakes on its way to the east coast. Frankly, I'm not convinced.

The passage from Wisconsin to Ontario would require crossing a bridge or swimming across Lake Huron and either is seemingly unlikely. Traveling into New York would require crossing either the Niagara River or the St. Lawrence Seaway and both are formidable obstacles.

Interestingly, if the cat went south of the Great Lakes, he likely traveled through or close to my area.

Companion posts at TJR & AWH

Mississippi Teacher Gets Prison - Updated

(Gulfport, Mississippi) Former grade school teacher Katryna L. Martin pleaded guilty yesterday to engaging in sex with a 14-year-old female student she was tutoring in her home.

Martin was convicted on charges of sexual battery, touching of a child for lustful purposes and two counts of exploitation.

Circuit Judge Roger Clark gave her a total of 20 years and suspended 13 years, leaving seven to serve, followed by five years of probation.

Assistant District Attorney Joel Smith said Martin must serve the seven years day-for-day without eligibility for early release because of the nature of the crimes.

Upon release from prison, Martin must register as a sex offender for life.

* * * * *
Gunfire-Involved Teacher-Sex Case - Updated
[Previous 6/11/10 post]
(Gulfport, Mississippi) Arrested and charged last year for allegedly engaging in sex with both a teen girl and a teen boy, 29-year-old Katryna (aka Catryna) Martin has been arrested again.

Officers were tipped off that Martin was attempting to meet the girl she had already been accused of raping.

When officers arrived, they tried to arrest Martin, but she jumped in her car and sped toward them.

A Harrison County investigator who was assisting in the investigation fired one round, which was enough to bring Martin to a stop.

Martin has been charged with one count of exploitation of a child and one count of aggravated assault. She was booked into custody at the Harrison County Adult Detention Center with bond set at $1 million.

Assuming that it's happened somewhere before, a gunfire-involved teacher-sex case is nevertheless exceedingly rare. It's the first for this blog.

* * * * *
Mississippi Teacher Accused of New Sex Offense
[Previous 3/5/09 post]
(Gulfport, Mississippi) For the second time in three weeks, 28-year-old teacher Katryna (aka Catryna) Martin has been charged with allegedly engaging in sex with an underage youth.

Gulfport police officials say Katryna Martin has been charged with statutory rape for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old male. Police say the crime occurred at her home. [...]

In February, Martin was charged with having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old female, also at her home. At that time, she was booked and released on a $1 million bond.

Martin was booked into custody at the Harrison County Jail with bond set at $500,000.

Interesting, sex with girl nets a bond amount twice as much as sex with boy.

* * * * *
Mississippi Teacher Accused of Sex with Girl
[Previous 2/14/09 post]
(Gulfport, Mississippi) A 28-year-old science teacher at North Gulfport Grade School, Catryna L. Martin, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a 14-year-old female, a former student.

Martin has been charged with one count of sexual battery and one count of molestation.


[Update 2/16/09]

Martin was released from custody on Saturday after posting $1 million bond. According to Harrison County School Superintendent Henry Arledge, Martin has been suspended from her teaching position.

Uh -- just wondering, how does a teacher come up with funds to cover $1 million in bond?

Man Dies in Meat Grinder

[Rev. to post] Previously-embedded video now located here.

(Lawton, Oklahoma) Last week, 26-year-old Michael Raper was cleaning a meat grinder at the BarS Food plant when he accidentally fell in. He didn't survive.

Norway shooting: Glenn Beck compares dead teenagers to Hitler youth

Hitler's national socialists and Norway's present-day socialists are certainly not the same but they were/are nonetheless both authoritarian socialists who muzzle debate. Norway's penal code (Straffeloven, section 135 a) prohibits "hate speech" and defines it as publicly making statements that threaten or ridicule someone or that incite hatred, persecution or contempt for someone due to their skin colour, ethnic origin, homosexual life style or orientation or, religion or philosophy of life. So criticism of Muslims is illegal.

And we read here how the island had long been a training ground for Norway's Leftist leadership. So Beck is right to point out similarities. Leftists always go into paroxysms of rage in response to any criticism so their rage against Beck in this case is just routine

Glenn Beck, the leading Right-wing American broadcaster, has prompted outrage after comparing the teenage victims of the Utoya Island massacre to the Hitler Youth. Beck said that the Labour party youth camp on the island, where 68 people were murdered, bore "disturbing" similarities to the Nazi party's notorious juvenile wing.

Beck, a multimillionaire darling of the Tea Party movement, said on his nationally-syndicated radio show: "There was a shooting at a political camp, which sounds a little like, you know, the Hitler youth. I mean, who does a camp for kids that's all about politics? Disturbing."

Torbjørn Eriksen, a former press secretary to Jens Stoltenberg, Norway's prime minister, described the comment as "a new low" for the broadcaster, who has frequently been forced to apologise for offensive remarks. "Young political activists have gathered at Utoya for over 60 years to learn about and be part of democracy, the very opposite of what the Hitler Youth was about," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Glenn Beck's comments are ignorant, incorrect and extremely hurtful."

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, a Washington-based campaign group, said the remark by Beck, a free agent after being forced out of the Fox News channel earlier this year, was "absolutely disgusting".

Beck's controversial statements and conspiracy-filled rants have made him one of the most divisive figures in US politics and media in recent years. Last year he said he regretted calling Barack Obama a "racist" with a "deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture". He later apologised for mocking Mr Obama's young daughter Malia.

In February he apologised to Reform Judaism, a group that campaigns for the modernisation of the Jewish faith, after comparing them to "radicalised Islam".

But he refused to apologise in May after mock-vomiting on his live TV show following a cancer-awareness advert starring a nude Meghan McCain, the daughter of Senator John McCain. Beck said that Miss McMcCain, whose father survived cancer before running for the US presidency, should "wear a burka" because she was apparently unattractive.

Despite Beck expressing surprise that political movements would hold camps for children, followers of his 9/12 Project – which aims to "recapture the spirit of the day after America was attacked" – have this summer been doing just that.

Organisers of the "vacation liberty schools" in several states told the Daily Telegraph how they taught children as young as eight a Tea Party-endorsed curriculum spanning religion, economics and political principles.

SOURCE

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

UK Electric Cars Not Selling



According to the WWF and the Committee on Climate Change,

"… at least 1.7 million electric cars need to be on the UK's streets by 2020, and 6.6 million a decade later, if the country is to meet its climate change targets.

To achieve the desired number of vehicles on the road, electric cars need to be sold at a rate of 200,000 a year (16,000 per month) from now until 2020 and 490,000 a year (41,000 per month) from 2020 to 2030.

In a nutshell, climate change targets require tens of thousands of vehicles be sold monthly. Unfortunately, it's not happening. Current sales figures are dismal.

Only 680 electric cars were sold in the UK in the first six months of 2011, averaging 113 vehicles each month.

Given that the government subsidizes each electric car sale by paying the first £5,000 (USD $8,170), the public enjoys a substantial incentive to purchase.

But it doesn't seem to be working.

Penis Enhancement Maker Fined $1.75 Million




Despite claims in advertising, ExtenZe doesn't increase penis size. As a result, the maker of the product, Biotab Nutraceuticals, has been fined $1.75 million for violating consumer protection laws.

Meth Forces School Closing - Updated

(Boone County, West Virginia) Earlier today, School Superintendent John Hudson announced the closing until further notice of Boone County Career and Technical Center due to positive tests for meth residue.

Boone County Assistant Superintendent Jeff Huffman says the closure will impact a few dozen students this summer.

"We do have some adult classes that have been in session this summer and those are temporarily suspended,” Huffman said.

The closure all stems from two arrests made back in May. The principal of the center at the time, Keith Phipps, and teacher Jack Turley were arrested after allegedly smoking meth in Phipps' office. They've both been arraigned and charged with illegal purchase of pseudoephedrine. They've also faced a county magistrate for a preliminary hearing.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources suggested that the entire facility be tested for methamphetamine residue. Those tests came up positive.

Contingency plans are being considered for the upcoming regular school year.

* * * * *
Meth at School
[Previous 5/21/11 post]
(Boone County, West Virginia) Principal Keith Phipps and teacher Jack Turley at Boone County Career and Technical Center have been arrested for allegedly buying methamphetamine and smoking it in the principal's office.

Peace College Going Coed

(Raleigh, North Carolina) Peace College, a women-only school more than a century old, has announced it will now accept men. Reportedly, the change is being made to bolster enrollment and shore up the institution's finances.

The four-year college is also changing its name to William Peace University to more accurately acknowledge the founder.

Meanwhile, there have been objections. About 200 protesters gathered Sunday to express sharp criticism of the change.

GE Unit Moving to China

Due to uncertainty in the marketplace, American companies are not investing earnings to create growth and more jobs. The Obama administration has even complained that companies are just sitting on piles of cash and contributing to the economic doldrums of the U.S.

Meanwhile, there appears to be little concern that a General Electric Co. unit is moving its business from Wisconsin to China with plans on investing $2 billion and creating jobs.

GE Healthcare, a maker of diagnostic imaging equipment, said Monday it is moving its X-ray global headquarters from the United States to Beijing as it seeks to tap China and other emerging markets.

The General Electric Co. unit is the first business of the industrial and financial giant to relocate to China.

Anne LeGrand, vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare Global X-Ray, told a news conference that the decision to move from Waukesha, Wisconsin, was made two years ago and will be completed by early fall.[…]

The move follows an announcement last year that GE plans to invest $2 billion in China, including $500 million in six research centers, one of which GE X-ray is developing in Chengdu in central China. The company has already hired "close to 100 engineers" for the center in Chengdu, LeGrand said.

Despite the criticism, not all American companies shun investing their earnings to create jobs. It's just not being done in the United States.

The success of Anders Behring Breivik

It looks like Anders Behring Breivik may have achieved his goal. We see already in the media (e.g. here) a recognition that failure to hold full and fair discussions of immigration issues has been a mistake and some view that more openness might have prevented the massacre

For many years, the USA, Australia, Britain, Norway and many other advanced countries were perfectly at ease with immigration but when some groups started arriving that caused problems for the existing population, the public rightly expected their governments to do something about it. But governments instead tried to suppress debate about the issues concerned. One result of that policy is Anders Behring Breivik -- and his clear and very loud message that the Leftist elite have got it wrong. He killed nearly 90 of their children.

He will go to one of Norway's humane jails for 10 years and make many converts whilst there. To be in a Norwegian jail you have to have shown considerable disrespect for society's rules and most probably an inclination to violence. So as his fellow prisoners complete their terms and get out of jail we could well see a stream of deaths among the children of pro-immigration politicians.

So if the recent massacre has not done so it seems highly likely that some crackdown on the menace that Muslims pose to Norwegian society will eventually be initiated. I am confident that the Norwegian police could rapidly curb Muslim lawnessness once given the go-ahead by the politicians.

One of many reports here about the mayhem Muslim "refugees" have inflicted on Norwegian society.

And it does seem that the more permissive and "progressive" a country is, the worse the Muslim behaviour becomes. So that a reaction against those who foster Muslim immigration should come from one of the Scandinavian countries was in retrospect to be expected. Muslim aggression against the rest of the population certainly seems to be at a peak in Norway and Sweden. And Viking ancestry probably helped Breivik along too. The Vikings were not notable humanitarians.

I have read or skimmed most of Breivik's manifesto and find it exceptionally rational and well-informed. His extensive survey of Muslim history is a horror story but is to my knowledge perfectly accurate. I get the impression that his lengthy exploration of the horrors that Muslims have inflicted on others may have been the spark that spurred him into action.

And the action that he took also follows easily from a close study of Muslims. Violence and threats of violence have served Muslims in Western countries very well in recent years. It was surely inevitable that some non-Muslims would learn from that.

And Breivik's one/two punch -- a bomb in the city centre followed by an attack on an outlying island -- was pure Al Qaida

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

Deadly Train Collision in China




(Wenzhou, China) A deadly high-speed train collision on Saturday night resulted in at least 40 deaths and more than 200 injuries. One train struck another from behind. Six cars derailed and four cars fell off a viaduct.

Early Sunday, the government announced the firing of three top officials in the Railway Ministry.

Blame is being directed toward inadequate safety standards which is a common complaint about public transportation throughout the nation. Safety standards continually lag behind rapid building, expansion and modernization of structures and systems.

Iranian Nuclear Scientist Murdered

(Tehran, Iran) A 35-year-old nuclear scientist, Darioush Rezaie, was killed earlier today by a gunman riding by his house on a motorcycle.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Several nuclear scientists have been assassinated in Iran in the past few years, and in November one Iranian scientist was killed and one was wounded in Tehran.

Iranian officials and media have blamed Israel, which Tehran calls "the Zionist regime", and the United States for the killings.

Rezaie's wife was wounded during the attack.

Texas Teacher Gets Probation in Sex Case - Updated

(Abilene, Texas) Former Cooper High School teacher and coach Elizabeth Proctor was sentenced on Friday to probation for engaging in an improper relationship with a 15-year-old male student.

Proctor agreed to a plea deal that places her on probation for seven years and requires that she surrender her teaching license. As part of the plea agreement for an improper relationship between an educator and a student, Proctor will not have to register as a sex offender.

She was sentenced under the deferred adjudication rule, meaning that if she doesn't have her probation revoked, her record will be cleared at the end of seven years.

No jail and no sex offender registration for a second-degree felony sex crime? Pretty sweet deal, eh?

* * * * *
Texas Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Student
[Previous 2/8/11 post]
(Abilene, Texas) An English teacher and coach at Cooper High School, Elizabeth Proctor, has been accused of engaging in sex with male student in December 2009.

Proctor faces a charge of second-degree improper relationship between an educator and a student.

Proctor was placed on paid administrative leave by the Abilene Independent School District as district officials and police investigated the allegation of an improper relationship made by the student.

She resigned Jan. 27.

Proctor was booked into custody at the Taylor County Jail and released Monday afternoon on $7,500 bond.

Teacher's Aide Gets Probation in Sex Case - Updated

(Reno, Nevada) Former teacher's aide Marie Fisher has been sentenced for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male student.

Washoe County District Judge Robert Perry sentenced Fisher to 32 months in Nevada State Prison, with parole eligibility after 12 months, but suspended it and put her on probation.

Fisher was also ordered to pay fees totaling more than $1,000, her lawyer Shelly O'Neill said.

Mitigating Fisher's punishment was the victim's parents' desire for Fisher not to go to prison and the fact that it was Fisher's first offense.

Additionally, defense attorney O'Neill claimed the court should be sensitive and consider that Fisher was adopted, has ADHD and the victim's parents were not watchful, essentially contending that Fisher's crime was not all her fault.

* * * * *
Nevada Teacher's Aide Guilty of Sex with Boy - Updated
[Previous 5/14/11 post]
(Reno, Nevada) Yesterday in Washoe County District Court, 21-year-old special education teacher's aide Marie L. Fisher pleaded guilty to engaging in sex with a 15-year-old male student.

She faces from probation to five years in prison for her guilty plea to a felony charge of sexual conduct between a school employee and a pupil.

The 21-year-old Fisher was arrested in March on suspicion of having sex with the boy at his Sparks home.

Sentencing has been scheduled for July 22.

* * * * *
Nevada Teacher's Aide Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 3/2/11 post]
(Reno, Nevada) A 21-year-old teacher's aide at Reed High School, Marie Fisher, was arrested yesterday for allegedly seducing and engaging in sex with a 15-year-old male student.

Fisher faces charges of sexual misconduct and seduction of a male student under the age of 16.

School officials learned about a possible relationship between Fisher and a 15-year-old male student and began an investigation, WCSD Police Chief Mike Mieras said.

Authorities learned that there had been sexual contact between the two within the past eight days, he said.

Fisher was booked into custody at the Washoe County Jail with bail set at $7,000.

Does religion rot your intelligence?

The article below makes some useful observations but I believe that the case for the "No" answer can be put even more simply:

There are two large and important nations with high levels of Christian belief where about 40% of the population are regular churchgoers: Russia and the USA. Lying geographically in between them, however, is another large group of important nations where religious observance is very low: England and Western Europe. Yet from the USA to Russia and in between IQ levels are virtually the same: About 100. That sounds like a zero correlation between belief and IQ to me.

And given the very different histories of the two countries, attempts to explain why America is different collapse into absurdity if one attempts to apply such explanations to Russia.

Another rather obvious point that often seems to be overlooked is that religion and church affiliation are not at all the same thing. I did many random surveys of various populations in my 20 year research career and religion was often one thing I asked about in my surveys. And, being a psychometrician, I exercised great care about how I asked the religion question. I always provided a considerable list from which people could choose in order to specify what their religious views were. And an option often chosen (by up to 20% of the respondents) was: "Belief in God only".

And that is a very reasonable choice. One hardly needs to refer to the sexual misconduct scandals that have engulfed the Catholic and Anglican churches to understand why many people would feel that the churches know no more about God than anybody else. The very multiplicity of denominations and faiths also suggests that conclusion. So questions about church affiliation could yield very different correlations from questions about religious belief. And there seems to be very little data on the latter.

A more cogent explanation for national differences in religious committment is that the key ingredient is not IQ but rather the presence or absence of a welfare State. Where the State provides you with cradle-to-grave security, you have less need for God. And that indeed is a stronger correlation. England and Western Europe do have much more pervasive welfare provisions than do the USA and Russia.

From a Christian viewpoint, however, welfare States could be seen as delusions of the Devil. As one writer says:

"Charles Murray, among others, has shown that welfare programs often end up being a remedy more deadly than the malady by creating the very situations they profess to cure. The simple reason for this was identified by the insightful economist Walter Williams, who said, “What you subsidize (poverty) you get more of; what you penalize (prosperity), you get less of.” Nor has the welfare state reduced crime, because crime is not primarily rooted in economic causes. It is rooted in moral causes."

So while the Devil may have deluded people into thinking that they have no need for God, that delusion will have the harmful results that one would expect from the Devil.

But from both a social science and a Christian viewpoint the idea that people most turn to God when they are most in need of him is quite uncontroversial I would think. It says nothing about God but much about people.

There are some not wholly convincing dismissals of the welfare/belief correlation here

Disclosure: (for those who are not already aware of it) I am myself an utter atheist -- JR

"Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the IQ. Academics have higher IQs than the general population," says Ulster University academic Richard Lynn. "Several Gallup poll studies of the general population have shown that those with higher IQs tend not to believe in God."

Hmmm. What are we to make of this? Professor Lynn and colleagues wrote a paper in 2008 in the journal Intelligence which has been widely discussed. Here is a summary of its claims:

"Evidence is reviewed pointing to a negative relationship between intelligence and religious belief in the United States and Europe. It is shown that intelligence measured as psychometric g is negatively related to religious belief. We also examine whether this negative relationship between intelligence and religious belief is present between nations. We find that in a sample of 137 countries the correlation between national IQ and disbelief in God is 0.60 [a high correlation]."

The highlight of the paper is the chart of 137 nations. And it looks pretty convincing until you study it carefully. Then, picturing the data is a cart for the theory, wheels start wobbling.

I first became suspicious when Lynn et al. tried to explain why the United States is anomalous “in having an unusually low percentage of its population disbelieving in God (10.5 percent) for a high IQ country [98].”

"One factor that could provide a possible explanation for this is that many Americans are Catholics, and the percentage of believers in Catholic countries in Europe is generally much higher than in Protestant countries (e.g. Italy, 6 percent; Ireland, 5 percent; Poland, 3 percent; Portugal, 4 percent; Spain, 15 percent). Another possible contribution to this has been continued high immigration of those holding religious beliefs. A further possible factor might be that a number of emigrants from Europe went to the United States because of their strong religious beliefs, so it may be that these beliefs have been transmitted as a cultural and even genetic legacy to subsequent generations. Parent–child correlations for religious belief are quite high at 0.64 (fathers–sons) and 0.69 (mothers–daughters) (Newcomb & Svehla, 1937). It has been found that religious belief has a significant heritability of around 0.40–0.50 (Koenig, McGrue, Krueger & Bouchard, 2005), so it could be that a number of religious emigrants from Europe had the genetic disposition for religious belief and this has been transmitted to much of the present population."

Good thing it’s easy to test that one. Canada has a similar history, and features average IQ 99, with 22 percent not believing in God. So twice as many Canadians don’t believe in God but exhibit no statistically significant reward in IQ. That’s one wheel off - but it’s still a tricycle.

Looking at the chart closely, I noticed another anomaly: The Czech Republic and Slovakia split on January 1, 1993. In 2008, the Czech republic clocked IQ 98, 61 percent disbelieving in God, and Slovakia at IQ 96, with only 17 percent disbelieving in God. The difference is obviously cultural. Second wheel gone. We now have a bicycle.

The third wobbly wheel was the fact that Israel and Portugal -with very different culture and histories - both feature IQ 95. But in Israel 15 percent disbelieve and in Portugal 4 percent. So tripling or quadrupling the number of atheists did nothing for IQ when culture and history are different.

More HERE

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

South Vietnam Leader Nguyen Cao Ky Dies

(Kuala Lumper, Malaysia) Former vice president and prime minister of the country of South Vietnam, Nguyen Cao Ky, died yesterday at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. He was 81.

Reportedly, Ky was in the hospital for treatment of a respiratory complication.

Ky served as prime minister and air force commander of US-backed South Vietnamese regime from 1965 to 1967 and then as vice president under Nguyen Van Thieu until 1971.

When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, Ky fled by piloting a helicopter to a US Navy ship. He and his family eventually settled in the United States.

Those of us who were around back in the 1960s and 70s remember Ky very well. He was prominent in news reports of the Vietnam War.

Female Child Sex Predator Gets Prison

(Montrose, Pennsylvania) A 32-year-old local woman, Jacqueline Lewis, has been sentenced to four to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting a young boy and a seven-year-old girl multiple times over the course of about three years.

The charges stemmed from separate incidents that occurred in Liberty Twp. in Susquehanna County from 2005 to 2008.

In Susquehanna County Court on Thursday, Ms. Lewis admitted to being a sexually violent predator.

Following prison, Lewis will serve 10 years of supervised probation.

Florida Teacher Guilty of Trafficking Drugs - Updated

(Vero Beach, Florida) Middle school teacher Raquel Wright, 37, has been convicted by a jury of selling 70 oxycodone tablets to an undercover officer.

The jury spent about 40 minutes deliberating on the trafficking conviction. Authorities said the crime happened on July 23, 2010.

Wright testified and tearfully told jurors that in her mind, her only role was introducing the informant to a friend who had drugs. And that, she said, was because the informant repeatedly called her.

"I just wanted him to stop calling," she said. "I never knew I was going to get involved in a drug transaction."

Sentencing is scheduled for August 30 when Wright faces a mandatory three years in prison.

* * * * *
Florida Teacher Accused of Trafficking Drugs
[Previous 7/26/10 post]
(Vero Beach, Florida) A 36-year-old language arts teacher at Oslo Middle School, Raquel Wright, was arrested Friday for allegedly trafficking in prescription drugs.

About 6:30 p.m. Friday, Wright sold 70 oxycodone pills to an undercover police officer for $1,000, the arrest report states.

Wright was booked into custody and released on $150,000 bail.

Backlash against African influx in Melbourne

A faint Australian echo of events in Norway: In the last few years in Melbourne, there have been a lot of attacks on commuters and others by "refugee" African youths. That has obviously aroused resentment of Africans and legitimized pushback by those with violent inclinations.

It should be noted that the attack in Norway was on the youth wing of Norway's major Leftist party -- a party very sympathetic to Muslim immigration. The attacker was a known member of anti-immigrant groups. Killing 90 of their children was a clearly a warning for Norway's Leftists to rethink

A HEAVILY armed racist gang is terrorising communities across the northwest suburbs of Melbourne. The brutal thugs - who call themselves Bros Over Hoes or BOH - have been involved in drive-by shootings, home invasions and bloody clashes with African refugees.

Chilling photos of masked young men brandishing an arsenal of weapons including guns, machetes and a chainsaw have also been uncovered in a special investigation by the Sunday Herald Sun.

Ten frightened African families have fled the area and others, without the finances to move, remain in fear of their lives.

The Sunday Herald Sun has handed 25 photos of the Melton-based gang to Victoria Police. It shows them brazenly posing with guns, knives, spears, a bow and arrow and a chainsaw. There are also videos online of them taking drugs and bashing women, including stamping on one girl's head. Some are pictured in front of the Australian flag.

Supt Graham Kent said he was aware of the pictures and that many of the men were "well known" to police. "I don't like it (the pictures) but there is not much we can do about it," Supt Kent said.

"Many of these men are well known to us and anyone who comes to our attention we will deal with. Our understanding is that these men have a loose association. "They are not organised criminals but unsophisticated and the pictures are of them strutting their stuff."

He said some pictures had been online for a long time and that some men were in prison, or had been punished for a range of crimes.

A community leader has also told how ethnic minorities do not walk the streets of Melton alone, refuse to go out after dark and do not use public transport in an attempt to avoid horrifying, unprovoked attacks.

"We came here thinking Australia was a lawful country where everyone is protected, but that is not the case here," said Abraham Jongroor, a father of two. "Those who can, have moved away, but the rest of us are living here in fear of our lives. "Racist gangs have fired guns at our houses, nearly killing a family. "A boy they wanted dead was hit by a four-wheel-drive car, which had mounted the nature strip to get him.

"The gangs chase us with baseball bats and iron bars, physically beat us, throw rocks and eggs, smash our cars and windows of our houses and shout racist abuse, telling us to 'go home' and threatening to kill us if we stay. "We used to go to the police all the time but nothing ever happens. Our cases are never solved and we do not get updated with what is happening."

One woman was the victim of a home invasion in which eight youths smashed all the front windows of her home, then used a large wooden plank to break down the front door. The young men stormed into the house and stopped only when they were confronted by a grandmother who was protectively clutching her six-month-old grandchild. They demanded a young Sudanese boy fight them, but he was not there and they eventually left after spitting abuse at the terrified elderly woman.

Mr Jongroor said the situation had gradually improved since December when he warned police if they did not start clamping down, the African community would start fighting back. "I gave them a list of trouble spots across Melton and Kurunjang. I said if anyone calls from these areas, they must act quickly. "They know where we are from. If they do not protect us, we'll start protecting ourselves."

Don Nardella, MP for Melton, commissioned a report on the issues affecting the African community. The damning 19-page document lists a catalogue of "racial intolerance". "One respondent was forced from their new rental property by neighbours determined to stop their entry into the neighbourhood," the Bridging The Gap report states.

"The event involved police and came close to being violent. Indeed, the tension and anger displayed was so high that he claimed one neighbour shouted at the family, 'Get your f------ black a--- out of here or we will shoot you one by one'. "Racist graffiti has also been utilised by local racist gangs.

"It is believed that two 'anti-black' youth gangs are operating in Melton. One interviewee estimated membership of these gangs to be about 60-70. "He claimed gangs harassed and co-ordinated bashings of Africans, often driving their membership to predetermined locations."

More here

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

Amy Winehouse b.1983 - d.2011

English singer-songwriter Amy Jade Winehouse, 27, was found dead in her London home earlier today. A cause of death has yet to be reported.

Former NFL Linebacker Accused of Sex with Girl, 15

(Cincinnati, Ohio) Former professional football player Nate Webster, 33, was arrested this week for allegedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old girl. The girl was Webster's babysitter and the daughter of a friend.

Webster faces charges of gross sexual imposition, sexual battery and unlawful sex with a minor with gun specifications. He pleaded not guilty.

According to an indictment unsealed Thursday, Webster used guns to intimidate the girl into keeping their relationship quiet. The girl said he told her if she revealed the relationship, he would kill her and her family, Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said.

Sometimes when they had sex in Webster's car, the girl told police, Webster had a gun in clear sight. Deters added she did not tell her father until he took another job.

"It's a disgusting thing to live under the threat of this," Deters said. "This conduct occurred dozens of times. In his car, his home, a park nearby."

Webster was booked into custody where he is being held on $1 million bond.

Has your bank used your money to buy worthless European bonds?

You must not be told say European regulators. Apparently you have to wait for it to go bust before you find out

"A House of Lords Committee has lambasted European plans to ban credit ratings of sovereign debt as a "wholly impractical" idea that "smacks of censorship".

The Lords European Union Economic Affairs Committee said politicians were wrong to extend the criticism of credit rating agencies before 2008 to the European debt problems.

The ratings downgrades, some of which have caused turmoil in the markets, have been accurate warnings, not mistakes, said the Lords. The Committee, which conducted a four-month investigation into the role of the agencies in Europe, found that they did "not challenge rigorously enough the assumptions on which they based their assessments of Member States' sovereign debt".

But, in its report published on Wednesday, the Committee said: "Commissioner [Michel] Barnier's proposal that sovereign debt ratings be suspended for countries in international financial assistance programmes is wholly impractical and smacks of censorship."

Lord Harrison, chairman of the Committee, added that the agencies' "recent downgrades merely reflect the seriousness of the problems facing countries such as Ireland, Portugal and Greece".

Source

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

Wine Catastrophe


(Australia) While loading more than $1 million-worth of wine for export to the United States, a forklift malfunction resulted in 462 cases of the wine falling more than 18 feet to the ground. Breakage was massive.

Winemaker Sparky Marquis called his insurance agent.

Florida Woman Accused of Sex with Boy

(Fort Myers, Florida) A 31-year-old Punta Gorda woman, Tanya Andrews, was arrested Wednesday for engaging in sex with a boy under age 16.

The boy's mother caught Andrews and the boy in flagrante delicto and alerted authorities.

Tanya Andrews allegedly had sex with the victim multiple times in the victim’s bedroom, the living room of his home, a mattress on the front porch, the bathroom of the home and in Andrews’ truck.

Andrews was arrested for two counts of lewd or lascivious behavior against a victim age 12 to 16.

Andrews was booked into custody at the Lee County Jail. Details on bond are not available.

Las Vegas Teacher Gets Jail in Abuse Case - Updated

(Las Vegas, Nevada) Mamie Hubbard-Washington was sentenced yesterday to 60 days in jail and three years probation.

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Las Vegas Teacher Guilty of Child Abuse - Updated
[Previous 2/11/11 post]
(Las Vegas, Nevada) This week, former special education teacher at Doris Reed Elementary School, Mamie Hubbard-Washington, 67, was found guilty by a jury of abusing autistic children.

Mamie Hubbard-Washington could face up to 30 years in state prison following her conviction Wednesday on five felony child abuse and neglect charges.

Sentencing by Clark County District Court Judge Abbi Silver is scheduled for June 16.

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Las Vegas Teacher Accused of Child Abuse
[Previous 11/7/07 post]
(Las Vegas, Nevada) A 64-year-old special education teacher at Doris Reed Elementary School, Mamie Hubbard-Washington, has been accused of child abuse of autistic children, ages 6 through 8, during 2006 and 2007.

Witnesses said that Hubbard-Washington hit, force-fed, pinched, scratched and insulted the kids. In one incident, a child was left with a chipped tooth and a bloody lip.

Yesterday, a judge ruled that Hubbard-Washington will stand trial on five felony counts of child abuse. No date for trial was disclosed.

Hubbard-Washington no longer works for the Clark County School District.