Following Entry Posted 1/31/2011 11:33:00 AM

China Steals Movie Footage for Fighter Jet Showcase

Last week, the Chinese government showed some air-to-air combat footage on state-sponsored television to showcase the ChiCom jet fighter, the J-10.

However, instead of using video footage of the actual J-10 fighter, the Chinese used a scene stolen from the popular Tom Cruise movie Top Gun.

Internet message boards immediately picked up on the similarities. China Central Television (CCTV) then promptly removed the footage but not before it was copied.




Neither CCTV nor the Chinese government has acknowledged their obvious fraud. Apparently, the ChiComs are inscrutably embarrassed. Heh.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/31/2011 07:26:00 AM

Egypt may be worse without Mubarak

Sayyid Qutb. Remember that name. You'll hear it often in coming months and years. Indeed, he may end up being the most influential person of the 21st century. He's been dead 46 years. But Karl Marx was the person who most influenced the 20th century he did not live to see.

Qutb's influence is more menacing than Marx. The radicals of the Muslim Brotherhood that are these days inspired by his manifesto, In The Shade of The Koran, will be central to the riots and violent chaos in Cairo.

It has always been the ultimate aim of the likes of Qutb and the Koran-quoting assassins he inspires to die advancing the cause of Islam. It goes without saying that an Egypt led by Islamic theocrats would attack Israel, unleashing god knows what.

The world understands Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak corruptly keeps government and that some of his people are illegally repressed. But that draconian rule has kept Egypt stable and its Islamic core under control. After losing wars with Israel, it decided to join the modern world in accepting that country's right to exist, even if Egyptian Muslims still see it as an enemy.

Under Mubarak, Egypt has helped keep the peace first won by his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, and Israel's Menachem Begin in 1979. For daring to barter peace with Israel, the Muslim Brotherhood assassinated Sadat in 1981. Mubarak that day bravely took on the leadership, and pledged to recognise all treaties with Israel, and they have been trying to kill him ever since.

While these days some are inclined to smile at some of the absurdities uttered by Qutb -- he once wrote that jazz was "music that the Negroes invented to satisfy their primitive inclinations, as well as their desire to be noisy" -- his influence is on enemies of ours who mean business. Al-Qaida for one.

Qutb was hanged with Brotherhood mates who'd been planning to assassinate Egyptian leaders. That's the good news. The bad is he is a hero to people who plan to hurt us.

SOURCE

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/31/2011 06:15:00 AM

Florida Woman Faces Drug Charges

(Port Charlotte, Florida) A 21-year-old local woman, Gwendolyn Kathleen Hanisch, was arrested during a traffic stop when drugs were found by Charlotte County Sheriff's deputies.

On the way to the police station, Hanisch revealed to officers that she also had drugs "in her."

"She produced two sandwich bags of marijuana out of her vagina," said Bob Carpenter, with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.

"The third item, which sounds awful, is crumbled up aluminum foil with LSD inside of it."

I'd suggest caution to anyone invited to go on a picnic with Ms. Hanisch when she offers to bring the sandwiches.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/31/2011 05:17:00 AM

Booty Face-Planting Case - Updated

(Seattle, Washington) The suspected Seattle face-planter, Duane Starkenburg, has bonded out of jail and denies all allegations of booty face-planting. Here's a video of Starkenburg outside the jail.




Starkenburg claims that the entire episode is merely a misunderstanding and any curious planting of his face in the buttocks of female joggers must be considered an accident.

Nevertheless, 46-year-old Starkenburg faces two counts of indecent liberties and one count of misdemeanor assault. The indecent liberties charges stem from incidents in August and December 2010.

* * * * *
Face-Planting in Buttocks Alleged
[Previous 1/28/11 post]
(Seattle, Washington) A local man, Duane Starkenburg, has been accused of intentionally grabbing women from behind and planting his face in their buttocks.

The woman runner, who had been resting when the man first talked to her, thought it was odd the man said he was injured after jogging. He said he was injured while walking up stairs.

When they reached a flat area, the man got behind her. He slid down the woman's legs to grab her ankles, then went face first onto the ground. The woman reasoned that if he'd fallen, the man would have put his hands out to catch himself, but that didn't happen, according to court documents. She told police she thought the man was trying to get on top of her.

"His nose went up in my butt," she told police. "I was very shocked."[…]

In the Aug. 11 case, another woman said she was running with her whippet dog in Lincoln Park about 9 a.m. when a man stopped to let her pass. When they were near the bottom of a trail on a downgrade, the man fell and planted his face in her buttocks.

Starkenburg was booked on misdemeanor assault and released on $150,000 bond.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/31/2011 12:11:00 AM

Lack of Benefits Causes Crime

(Worcester, England) An homeless illegal alien from Sierra Leone was arrested for stealing copper piping from a location under renovation.

Twenty-five-year-old Amadou Bah was convicted of the theft and sentenced to 10 weeks in prison.

Bah was arrested and in interview said he had broken into the house to look for anything he could sell to pay for food.

He pleaded guilty to burglary and breaching a conditional discharge when he appeared at Worcester Magistrates Court. Rob Macrory, defending, told magistrates Bah was unable to gain employment and was ineligible for state benefits.

According to defense counsel McCrory, “He is an example of what happens if you do not give benefits to illegal immigrants."
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       Following Entry Posted 1/30/2011 09:06:00 AM

Montana Woman Accused of Sex with Inmate

(Cascade County, Montana) Earlier this month, a food service worker at the Cascade County Detention Center, Becky Pfeifle, was arrested for allegedly engaging in illegal sex with an inmate.

This week, Pfeifle appeared in court.

Pfeifle entered a not guilty plea to the charges against her.

Pfeifle is accused of engaging in sexual activity with a single inmate on five different occasions.

By law, an inmate cannot consent to sexual activity.

Pfeifle remains free on bond.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/30/2011 05:23:00 AM

Arkansas Teacher's Aide Accused in Sex Case

(Bentonville, Arkansas) A teacher's aide at Bentonville High School, Mandy Flynn, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct with a special needs student.

Mandy Flynn was accused of having inappropriate relations with one of her 17-year-old special needs students that started just before the first of the year.

Flynn faces a charge of first-degree sexual assault.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/30/2011 04:36:00 AM

Kansas Woman Gets Prison for Child Sex Crimes

(Wellington, Kansas) In June 2010, a couple from Mulvane, John and Stephanie Carr, were charged with committing sex crimes against a child.

Reportedly, the Carrs coerced a child into oral-genital contact for the purpose of making and distributing photos.

This week, 28-year-old Stephanie Dawn Carr pleaded guilty and was sentenced on two counts of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child.

Carr appeared at the courthouse with her court-appointed attorney Elaine Esparza.

After being sentenced by Judge William Mott to 136 months, or just over 11 years, in prison, Carr began to cry and ring her hands at the podium. An upward departure motion was presented by Sumner County District Attorney Evan Watson and accepted by Mott.

In the motion, filed at the courthouse, Watson requested the departure from sentencing standards based on the “fiduciary relationship between victim and defendant.”

John Wayne Carr, 31, was sentenced in December to life in prison.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/30/2011 02:25:00 AM

Go girl!

Palin issues scathing response to Obama speech

Sarah Palin has issued a scathing response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, attacking his economic policies and "recycled rhetoric," which she says no longer inspires hope.

In a lengthy missive on Facebook, Palin didn't mention the call for unity that Obama made in his speech Tuesday.

Rather, she focused her attention on his economic proposals, calling his ideas for investments in areas like high-speed rail "half-baked." She says they'd put the nation on a "bullet train to bankruptcy." She also said Obama doesn't understand that debt is the biggest problem facing the nation.

She noted the speech was dubbed "Winning the Future," and suggested that the acronym of that title, "WTF," is an apt way to describe the speech.

SOURCE. Read the whole thing here. She really nails it.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/29/2011 06:46:00 AM

Rabbis protest Fox host’s use of Holocaust imagery

Jews have a monopoly on mention of Hitler & Co.? A lot of non-Jewish Americans died to defeat Hitler. Does that not give all Americans the right to talk about it?

"Four hundred rabbis will publish a letter on Thursday calling on Fox News to sanction host Glenn Beck for repeated use of Nazi and Holocaust imagery and for airing attacks on World War Two survivor George Soros.

In an open letter to Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp, which owns Fox, the rabbis also demand an apology from Fox News chief Roger Ailes for characterizing Beck's Jewish critics as nothing more than 'left-wing rabbis.'"

Source

Truth hurts. Once again Jews are antagonizing their only real friends: Conservatives. Their Leftism rots their minds.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/29/2011 12:31:00 AM

Egyptian Revolution

(Cairo, Egypt) Check out this dramatic video of the violent protests in Egypt.



Quote at 0:45 from a protester:

"We will not be silenced, whether you're a Christian, whether you're a Muslim , whether you're an atheist, you will demand you goddamn rights, and we will have our rights, one way or the other! We will never be silenced!"

It will be a while before calm returns to Egypt.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/28/2011 11:21:00 PM

Michigan Teacher Accused of Sex with Student

(Grand Blanc, Michigan) A 39-year-old special education teacher at Grand Blanc High School, Tracy Jean Stimac, has been accused of engaging in sex with one of her special needs students.

Stimac is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Prosecutor David Leyton accuses Stimac of having sex with an 18 year old student in a vehicle at a Grand Blanc Township apartment complex parking lot on January 13, 2011.

Defense Attorney Frank Manley entered a not guilty plea Friday morning.

Stimac has a pretrial hearing scheduled for February 4.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/28/2011 06:57:00 AM

"This rather odd little German dynasty"

That is the extraordinary description that Christopher Hitchens gives to the British Royal family. Clearly he retains a lot of hatred from his Leftist days. Sad that a man with only a little longer to live is trying his best to be remembered as a shrill abuser. Most of us mellow with age.

His rage arises from the success of the British movie, "The King's Speech". He resents that the movie is a feelgood story rather than meticulous history. He points out ways in which the movie glosses over the rough edges of the times it describes. Hitchens calumniates Edward VIII, George VI, Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain. His central point is that they were all nicer to Hitler than he, with the wisdom of hindsight, would have been.

Hitchens is of course partly right in that Edward VIII was very weak character and Chamberlain was very badly mistaken. But the first thing that Hitchens completely and quite dishonestly ignores is the tenor of the times in which all four moved. Hitler and the Fascists were at the time widely admired outside Germany, particularly among the political Left. The description of Mussolini by FDR as "that admirable Italian gentleman" perhaps best captures the mood of the times. Harvard, too, was pro-Nazi. Churchill was one of the few who stood against that mood.

Secondly, Hitchens fails to remark the vast public antipathy towards war that prevailed in England at the time. After the horrors of WWI, almost every living soul in Britain considered another European war unthinkable and wished that no stone be left unturned to avoid such a war. In his policy of appeasement Chamberlain was simply representing the nation that he led.

So Edward VIII's undoubted enchantment with Hitler and George VI's support for Chamberlain were well within the normal range of opinion for the times. Neither man had Hitchens' luxury of seeing events from the vantage point of the year 2011.

Hitchens is also enraged that Churchill supported Edward VIII for a time. But Churchill was by that time quite conservative and in a monarchy support for the King is simply normal conservative practice.

Hitchens accuses the makers a popular movie of distorting history but it is Hitchens the historian who is the biggest distorter of all -- JR

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/28/2011 12:22:00 AM

Communists and Democrats

Likely one of few individuals to have Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Barack Obama and Hu Jintao on his speed dial, Sam Webb, the top comrade in the Communist Party USA, urges his supporters to unite with allies in the Democrat Party and the Obama administration.

The Communist Party's efforts to create a "One Nation" police state are being impeded and assaulted by right-wing extremists promoting freedom and liberty. Coupling with Democrats is strategically and tactically necessary to slow down and reverse the conservative assault.

Sadly, Mr. Webb's guidance for Communists and Democrats to become bedfellows comes as no surprise. Arguably, a certain interchangeability already exists.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/27/2011 11:36:00 PM

Ugandan Gay Activist Murdered

(Kampala, Uganda) A gay rights campaigner, David Kato, has been beaten to death after a newspaper outed him as a homosexual. Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda.

Police have confirmed the death and say they have arrested one suspect.

Uganda's Rolling Stone newspaper published the photographs of several people it said were gay, including Mr Kato, with the headline "Hang them".[…]

It is unclear whether the death is linked to the Rolling Stone campaign but police have said there is no connection between Mr Kato's activism and his death.

The police say that though they have arrested one suspect, the main suspect - who they say lived with Mr Kato - remains on the run.

Being beaten with pieces of metal - called iron-bar killing - is a familiar form of deadly assault in Uganda, dating back to the days of Idi Amin.

Interestingly, Rolling Stone editor Giles Muhame condemned the murder while stating, "We want the government to hang people who promote homosexuality, not for the public to attack them."
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       Following Entry Posted 1/27/2011 10:23:00 PM

Florida Woman Gets Life in Sex Case

(Manatee County, Florida) Earlier today, a 31-year-old Bradenton woman, Tabatha Crawford, was convicted by a jury of performing a sex act on a five-year-old boy and taking a picture of it.

Crawford was convicted of capital sexual battery and sexual performance by a child.

Crawford was arrested in December 2009 after investigators found a photograph on her computer showing the assault.

Authorities had been investigating her husband on similar charges when they found the image, according to the sheriff’s office.

Crawford was sentenced to life in prison. She will not be eligible for parole.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/27/2011 06:58:00 PM

Texas Teacher Allegedly Sends Death Threats

(Bay City, Texas) A 41-year-old substitute teacher for the Bay City ISD, Paul Nolen May, was arrested for allegedly sending messages to the school district threatening to kill students.

Nolen has been charged with 12 counts of felony making terroristic threats.

The threats began on December 28 when the district received a hand-written, profanity-laced letter, purportedly from the parent of a student.

In the letter, the sender expressed anger over their child being disciplined at school. The letter detailed new "rules" for the school to follow regarding discipline and threatened to "kill a random student" if the demands were not met.

About a week later, a second threat was sent via text message.

May was booked into custody at the Matagordo County Jail with bond set at $240,000.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/27/2011 06:32:00 AM

"Sexist" comments a just cause for firing of British TV commentator?

Must not discuss either the competence or the appearance of a female? The comments were made privately but were overheard and recorded.

"One of British football's leading television commentators, Andy Gray, has been fired, a day after being taken off the air for making sexist remarks about a female match official.

Gray, who has been the face of Sky Sports' football coverage for the past two decades, was dismissed by the broadcaster with immediate effect after "new evidence of unacceptable and offensive behaviour" in an off-air incident last month came to light.

Gray, 55, was broadcasting the Premier League match between Wolverhampton and Liverpool on Saturday when he and Keys make disparaging remarks about Massey, who was officiating the game.

Gray questioned whether Massey knew the offside rule, widely seen as a barometer of basic football knowledge, and made an abusive reference to Toms, saying she had been "hopeless" as a lineswoman.

Further footage which compromised Gray and another member of Sky Sports' commentary team - Andy Burton - was also passed to the media. Burton was taken off air yesterday.

In that incident, Burton was talking to Gray off-air on the touchline at Molineux prior to kickoff on Saturday and said: "Apparently a female lino today, bit of a looker."

Continuing to remark on Massey's appearance, Burton added that another member of the Sky Sports crew said Massey was "all right," adding: "Now, I don't know if I should trust his judgment on that?"

Gray then said: "No, I wouldn't. I definitely wouldn't ... I can see her from here," before swearing and adding: "What do women know about the offside rule?"

Source

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/27/2011 05:53:00 AM

Pierced Gay Man Patted-Down

(San Francisco International Airport) An interior designer was found to have multiple crotch piercings during a full-body scan so he was pulled aside for a TSA frisking.

The frisking produced arousal.

Readers can use their imaginations for the rest of the story.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/27/2011 05:20:00 AM

FBI Spy Among Anti-War Activists

(Minneapolis, Minnesota) On January 12, anti-war activists held a press conference to complain and express outrage regarding the fact that the FBI had stationed a spy inside their organization.

According to activist Joe Iosbaker,

“There was a law enforcement agent who infiltrated the Anti-War Committee of the Twin Cities, in order to spy on and disrupt the plans for the protests at the Republican National Convention.”

“That person, who went by the name of Karen Sullivan, stuck around and eventually was in place as a spy for two and a half years,” he said, “causing a number of legal problems and expenses in order for those who had engaged in perfectly legal, Constitutionally protected activities to clear themselves of trumped-up charges,” Mr. Iosbaker said.

“At the Republican National Convention, the local police and joint-terrorism task force, in the days before the convention in August of 2008, raided, arrested and disrupted the activities of one of the coalitions—the RNC Welcoming Committee—and they charged eight persons with domestic terrorism charges. Eventually, those were all dropped, but it took those people involved in that two and a half years to defeat those charges in court,” he continued.

“In hindsight, she was a very good liar. Not only did she become a regular activist in the movement, she actually became a leader. She was speaking at rallies, speaking at educational programs about U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. She was speaking at programs about the U.S. funding for the brutal military and the brutal regime of Colombia, and she even facilitated workshops at the protests and conferences at the School of the Americas and at the U.S. Social Forum,” Mr. Iosbaker said.

Karen Sullivan
Needless to say, the anti-war activists are really pissed that they were infiltrated by the FBI. Right now, it appears that they will be organizing protests against the FBI.

Companion post at TJR.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/27/2011 12:38:00 AM

Alabama Teacher Arrested for Pot

(Escambia County, Alabama) A 54-year-old teacher at Escambia (Ala.) Alternative School in Flomaton, Jill A. Coulter, was arrested yesterday for allegedly possessing drugs after a K-9 search dog alerted on her car and marijuana was found.

Deputies searched the car and found a small amount of what deputies believed to be marijuana and rolling papers inside her purse.

Coulter was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Coulter faces a charge of drug possession.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/26/2011 11:47:00 PM

Bay State Teacher Gets Probation for Child Rape - Updated

(Springfield, Massachusetts) Although the prosecution had asked for three to five years in prison for teacher Lisa Lavoie, Hampden Superior Court Judge Cornelius Moriarty generously sentenced the convicted child rapist to probation for five years.

Moriarty said he thinks Lavoie's "interest and concern for (the boy's) emotional well-being was what originally began this episode," which he said "was originally well-intended." He said it appears Lavoie's kindness toward the boy was what led to his sexual interest in her.

"There are those who perhaps will say this sentence is too lenient," Moriarty said.

"This too shall pass," he told Lavoie.

According to District Attorney Mark Mastroianni, there exists no obvious reason for such a lenient sentence. Frankly, I'd suggest that Judge Moriarty could not have sentenced his own daughter to a more lenient sentence.

So, schoolteacher Lisa Lavoie runs off with a 15-year-old student, crosses several state lines and, after a nationwide search, is found jumping the boy's bones in a motel in West Virginia. She's convicted of rape and sentenced to go home and behave. Yeah, that's justice.

* * * * *
Massachusetts Teacher Guilty in Rape Case - Updated
[Previous 12/16/10 post]
(Springfield, Massachusetts) Former teacher at Maurice Donahue Elementary School in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Lisa LaVoie, has pleaded guilty to three counts of statutory rape stemming from a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy.

The District Attorney's office is recommending Lavoie serve three to five years in state prison. The maximum penalty she's facing is three consecutive life sentences.

Sabbs says "This is a crime that will not be taken lightly. The District Attorney's office took this very seriously and we recommended a state prison sentence for what she did and we stand by that at this time."

Lavoie was released on personal recognizance and is not to have any contact the victim or his family.

Sentencing has been scheduled for January 26.

* * * * *
Massachusetts Teacher and Runaway Student Caught in WV
[Previous 2/24/09 post]
(Morgantown, West Virginia) A 24-year-old teacher at Maurice Donahue Elementary School in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Lisa LaVoie, has been arrested in Morgantown for allegedly running off with a 15-year-old student.

The boy's parents notified authorities on February 13 and, on February 16, a search was launched. West Virginia troopers caught LaVoie and the boy earlier today at a Super 8 Motel.

LaVoie is being held on charges of child endangerment. She was booked into custody at the North Central Regional Jail without bond.

Arrangements are underway to return the boy to Massachusetts.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/26/2011 06:41:00 PM

Government Work

(Tampa, Florida) According to U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr., the window frames in Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse were installed backwards and they are being fixed at a cost of $20 million.

The General Services Administration, which supervised construction of the incorrectly installed window frames, reluctantly acknowledges "installation defects."

Interestingly, the Gibbons Courthouse also experienced problems in the construction of judges' benches. The benches were made too low and had to be raised six inches at a cost of $1 million.

Even though the construction errors cost the taxpayers over $20 million, it's logically presumed that no government worker was fired.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/26/2011 09:01:00 AM

Missouri Woman Accused of Rape

(Jefferson City, Missouri) Last month, a 28-year-old local woman, Amy Wallendorf, was arrested for allegedly engaging in sexual relations with male juveniles. Wallendorf faces counts of second-degree rape.

In interviews with authorities, one victim said he met Wallendorf through friends and began having sexual intercourse with her in February when he was 15.[…]

The victim said Wallendorf supplied him with different kinds of drugs and alcohol, including but not limited to ecstasy, Vicodin and Wallendorf’s prescription Adderall.

The victim’s phone was forensically examined. A video taken by the victim was recovered depicting a topless Wallendorf lying in bed with the victim, therefore corroborating their relationship.

The victim’s mother provided authorities with copies of Facebook messages she had printed from Wallendorf to the victim. These messages indicate Wallendorf picking the victim up from school and his neighborhood. Wallendorf refers to the victim as “snuggle bunny” in these messages, as well as telling him she loves him.

A second victim allegedly had a similar experience with Wallendorf. She was booked into custody at the Cole County Jail with bond set at $100,000.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/26/2011 07:28:00 AM

Woman Gets Prison in Nebraska Sex Case - Updated

(North Platte, Nebraska) On Monday, 37-year-old Bella Barrera was sentenced to 18 to 36 months in prison for engaging in sex with a 13-year-old boy.

* * * * *
No Contest Plea in Nebraska Sex Case - Updated
[Previous 12/15/10 post]
(North Platte, Nebraska) Former Salvation Army staff worker Bella A. Barrera appeared in Lincoln County District Court this week and pleaded no contest to felony child abuse stemming from an alleged sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy.

North Platte television station KNOP says 36-year-old Bella Barrera, of North Platte, changed her plea after prosecutors dropped a charge of sexually assaulting a child.

Police say Barrera began a sexual relationship with the boy in 2007 when she worked at the Wilcox Youth Facility.

No news is available regarding the allegations that the boy fathered Barrera's two-year-old daughter. In other words, there's no confirmation that the boy is the father. In any event, the child's future is a question mark.

Barrera's sentencing has been scheduled for January 24.

* * * * *
Salvation Army Staffer Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 6/8/10 post]
(North Platte, Nebraska) A 36-year-old former Salvation Army staff worker, Bella A. Barrera, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old boy, a state ward at the Quinn Wilcox House.

Barrera was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and false reporting in 2008 after helping the boy escape from the home. She was sentenced to probation for those crimes.

Officials suspected Barrera might have been sexually involved with the boy at the time but he denied it, according to an arrest affidavit.

On April 15, the boy, now 16, admitted to his Health and Human Services social worker that he had, indeed, been involved sexually with Barrera while living at the Wilcox House. He told investigators that he had a single room without a roommate and Barrera would awaken him at night after the other residents were asleep and have intercourse with him.

The boy also told the social worker that Barrera had become pregnant as a result of their relationship. The boy said he was the father of Barrera's 23-month-old daughter, the affidavit said. The boy said Barrera warned him not to disclose that he was the child's father, the affidavit said.

Barrera's trial is scheduled for August 24.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/26/2011 07:11:00 AM

The Biggest Lie in American Politics

Ben Shapiro

For decades, liberals have used "big business" as a bugaboo. Leftists say corporations are mean, heartless and cruel -- and what's more, they're inherently capitalist and conservative. When the economy tanks, liberals blame right-wing corporations; when the regulatory state fails, liberals claim that corporations have perverted the system.

In reality, corporations aren't conservative. They aren't capitalist. They're after the nearest buck. And when the nearest buck can be obtained simply by playing footsie with the federal government, big business becomes an emissary of the government.

To achieve its ends, the federal government employs two methods: the carrot and the stick. The carrot is special regulation and legislation benefitting certain businesses; the stick is heavy regulation designed to threaten businesses into compliance with federal mandates.

This last week provided proof in spades that big business has become a tool of the state. On Jan. 18, the Federal Communications Commission OK'ed the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal. In order to obtain permission for that merger, however, the FCC required that Comcast fulfill certain conditions: NBC and Telemundo will need to add 1,000 hours of local news; Comcast must subsidize low-income Internet access to the tune of $10 per month for 2.5 million low-income households; and most egregiously, Comcast must increase Spanish-language programming.

Comcast, seeking to confirm the $30 billion deal, went along with the regulatory blackmail. And so Comcast became an active part of the liberal program to reach out to Hispanics, the poor, and a news media that desperately needs government interventionism in order to survive.

In the same vein, Republican entrepreneur Donald Trump caved in to Democrats this week in an attempt to protect his business interests. While The Donald is no fan of President Obama -- he says that China is "laughing at our leadership" and that Obama is letting China "get away with murder" -- he willingly forked over a $50,000 check to Rahm Emanuel's Chicago mayoral campaign. No doubt Trump's Chicago real estate holdings had something to do with the contribution.

When the government isn't taking away, it's giving. This week, President Obama conferred knighthood on Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, by appointing him to head his Economic Advisory Panel. In the recent past, Immelt has vacillated between criticism and praise of the Obama administration -- last July, he said that Obama was anti-business, while in December, Immelt praised Obama's outreach to business. Immelt's wild swings between antipathy and peonage to the Obama administration closely mirror the administration's treatment of GE: In general, when GE gets a handout, Immelt is a happy camper.

This relationship has worked beautifully for the government. GE has utterly abandoned its capitalistic, entrepreneurial past. Instead, it has embraced the roller coaster ups-and-downs of government subsidization. Immelt doesn't believe that the main job of government is to keep the hell out of a company's way -- he believes instead that government should become a "partner" in crime. According to Washington Examiner columnist Timothy Carney, GE has spent $65.7 million on lobbying, outpacing its competition by leaps and bounds.

GE and Comcast aren't alone in their desire to cozy up to the federal government. Google, once an entrepreneurial superstar, now links arms with the Obama administration by pushing "net neutrality," a scheme designed to run its competitors out of business via government regulation. Like GE, Google has one of its own inside the Obama administration -- Andrew McLaughlin, Google's former top policy executive, is currently deputy chief technology officer of the Obama administration. He has already been called on the carpet for asking Google to use its power to help out his new White House buddies.

Welcome to today's corporate America, where business takes a back seat to politics. The stock market now swings wildly based on Ben Bernanke's moods; the banking system teeters each time Barney Frank sneezes; titans of American industry scrape and bow for the scraps from Obama's dinner plate. Corporations are no longer capitalist but statist. Next time liberals cite the misdeeds of big business to complain about the ills of capitalism, inform them that big business is more a representative of government than it is of the free market.

SOURCE

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/25/2011 05:46:00 PM

Kentucky Woman Accused in Child Porn Case

(Morehead, Kentucky) A 21-year-old local woman, Brittany Henson, has been arrested for multiple sex offenses involving a 12-year-old boy. Henson faces charges of sodomy with a child under 12 years old, promoting child porn and distributing child porn.

Photographs depicting Henson and a child in sexual performances were discovered after her computer was examined at the Kentucky State Police Crime Lab, according to the MPD.

Police said Henson later confessed to sodomy, taking photographs of the crime and distributing the photos on the Internet, after being confronted with the evidence.

Henson was booked into custody at the Rowan County Detention Center with bond set at $100,000.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/25/2011 04:50:00 PM

How to Look Marvelous Dieting Tip



Kim Kardashian
For those who strive to keep weight under control, here's a celebrity tip.

In recent news, Kim Kardashian admitted to spraying Windex on her food to prevent herself from eating it.

She also confessed to Ryan Seacrest that she’ll pour soda over her food to make it soggy and inedible if a bottle of Windex isn’t handy.

You're welcome.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/25/2011 02:06:00 AM

The Assassination Attempt You Have Not Heard Of

The American Thinker brings us word of an attempted assassination you probably have never heard of.

It happened in September of 2010 in Missouri. A 22 year old named Casey Brezik, wearing a bullet proof vest, charged toward Missouri’s Democratic Governor Jay Nixon with a knife and attempted to slash his throat.

In light of the media’s race to talk about the right’s climate of hateful rhetoric, you have probably guessed by now that Casey Brezik was an anti-Christian, anti-capitalist Leftist who participated in a number of leftwing protests. He was also a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic.

Luckily for all involved, Brezik was high on pot at the time and got confused. Instead of slashing the Governor’s throat, he slashed the throat of a community college dean he took for the Governor. Jack Cashill, writing at the American Thinker, notes:

In his “About Me” box on Facebook, Brezik listed as his favorite quotation one from progressive poster boy, Che Guevara. The quote begins “Our every action is a battle cry against imperialism” and gets more belligerent from there.

On his wall postings, Brezik ranted, “How are we the radical(s) (left) to confront the NEW RIGHT, if we avoid confrontation all together?”

As good as his word, Brezik marched on Toronto in June 2010 to protest the G20 Summit, where he was arrested, charged, and deported. “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED,” he boasted.

Given what we have seen come out of Arizona, we can establish two things as fact. First, had Governor Nixon been harmed in any way, the media would have immediately begun lamenting the tea party movement and “political rhetoric.” Second, had the injuries been as they were, but Brezik had listed himself as a Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh fan on his Facebook wall, the media would have covered this exactly as they covered Arizona.

SOURCE

Conservatives have long regarded the US media as biased, but this revelation establishes that it is wholly corrupt. There's no longer any question

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/25/2011 12:27:00 AM

Illinois Mom Gets 10 Years Prison in Sex Case - Updated

(Cook County, Illinois) Last Friday, 40-year-old Cathleen M. Miller pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual abuse stemming from seducing and molesting four teenage boys.

The 40-year-old woman held parties at her home between Feb. and June and allegedly provided teens with alcohol and marijuana.

Prosecutors say Miller had intercourse with two of the teens, had oral sex with a third and fondled a fourth. Police say the four victims were all between the ages of 14 and 15.

As a consequence, Miller has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

* * * * *
Mom Accused of Sex with Daughter's Friends
[Previous 7/15/10 post]
(Chicago Ridge, Illinois) A 40-year-old local mother-of-three, Cathleen M. Miller, has been accused of holding parties and molesting her teen daughter's 14- and 15-year-old male friends after plying them with marijuana and alcohol.

Miller has been charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual abuse.

Police said the victims were four boys between the ages of 14 and 15.

Between Feb. 1 and June 1, Miller held parties at her home at which she would provide teens with alcohol and marijuana, according to court records.

Miller had intercourse with two of the teens, oral sex with a third and fondled a fourth, according to prosecutors, who said the boys were friends with Miller's teenage daughter.

The parents of another teen who had attended the parties figured out what was going on and contacted authorities, court records indicate. That teen was not considered a victim.

Miller was booked into custody with bond set at $900,000.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/24/2011 11:53:00 PM

Man Eaten by Tortilla Machine

(Brooklyn, New York) A 22-year-old Guatemalan man, Juan Baten, was sucked into a tortilla mixer Monday morning and crushed to death.

Baten's co-workers, including his cousin, Hector Baten, think he may have been listening to music just before the accident and dropped his earphones into the dough.[…]

On surveillance video at the factory, police sources say, Baten can be seen putting his hand into the waist-high mixer, as though he were trying to help the dough along, when he was dragged in head first.

Rest in peace. Condolences to the family.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/24/2011 11:17:00 PM

Stitched Anus Case

(Shenzhen City, China) In July 2010, a local woman, Lin, accused a nurse midwife, Ms. Zhang, of sewing up her anus after childbirth as retaliation for not receiving a sufficient tip in the customary "red packet." The Luohu Court in Shenzhen heard testimony with photographic evidence.

Ms. Zhang contended that she actually ligated Lin's hemorrhoids and didn't stitch up her anus.

At the news briefing, the journalists were shown a picture of the piles and they asked the experts on site whether it’s ligation or sewing up. The experts demonstrated the difference between ligation and sewing up but could not exactly judge the case only on basis of the photographs.

In August, Lin's husband, Mr. Chen, presented new evidence which he said showed "black thread transfixion" indicating that sewing was indeed done to his wife's anus.

“I have assigned/ employed people of special knowledge to examine and identify the wound of my wife. The identification opinion is that circular hemorrhoids could be seen around the anal opening of Lin, which is at nine o’clock direction. Black thread for transfixion could be seen and no bruise is seen on the around skin.”

This week, the Luowu Court ruled on the stitched anus case.

The Luowu Court believed that this was a case of defamation. According to an investigation by the authoritative Shenzhen department, there is no evidence that Ms. Zhang sewed up this woman's anus.

As such, Mr. Chen must buy a newspaper advertisement to apologize to Ms. Zhang in addition to paying her 30,000 yuan for mental anguish. Mr. Chen says that he will appeal the decision.

Heh.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/24/2011 06:17:00 PM

ChiCom Annual Propaganda Meeting



Chen Kuiyuan -- Li Changchun -- Liu Yunshan
Chinese Propaganda Ministers
(Beijing, China) The annual meeting of China's propaganda ministers was held earlier this month and tersely reported by Xinhua News Agency. Three leaders attended --- Communist Politburo Member Li Changchun, Propaganda Department Minister Liu Yunshan and Dean of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Chen Kuiyuan.

Notably, the attendance of Chen Kuiyuan was unusual since he is not a regular participant in formal propaganda proceedings.

Chen Kuiyuan is strongly associated with China’s hardline left, and his presence in the official news photo from Xinhua is for media insiders in China a tangible sign — a flesh-and-blood cautionary note about the need for media to fall into line in 2011.

It was this same Chen Kuiyuan who wrote an influential essay in the People’s Daily in August 2004 arguing that the greatest legacy left by Deng Xiaoping (邓小平), the architect of China’s opening and reform policy, was not reform itself but the so-called “Four Basic Principles, or si xiang jiben yuanze (四项基本原则). A favored political buzzword of China’s conservative left, the Four Basic Principles — sometimes referred to as the “Four Cardinal Principles” — are as follows:

1. We must cleave to the road of socialism

2. We must uphold the dictatorship of the proletariat

3. We must uphold the leadership of the Communist Party

4. We must uphold Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought

The prominent presence of Chen Kuiyuan lends additional credence to the suggestion that the recent national meeting of top propaganda ministers was meant to send a stronger signal to Chinese news media and local Party-governments that they must adhere strictly to “propaganda discipline” (宣传纪律), avoiding coverage of sensitive stories and issues.

So, instead of having a freer press in China, a strong signal has been sent to the media that the government is going to crack down harder.

There's more at the link, including the unofficial specifics of the Central Propaganda Department's Ten-Points Bulletin. It's lengthy but can be rendered down to two words - "Shut up."

Companion post at TJR.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/24/2011 06:41:00 AM

High-speed rail is a fast way to waste taxpayer money

Where can the new Congress start cutting spending? Here's one obvious answer: high-speed rail. The Obama administration is sending billions of stimulus dollars around the country for rail projects that make no sense and that, if they are ever built, will be a drag on taxpayers indefinitely.

When incoming Govs. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Kasich of Ohio canceled high-speed rail projects, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood refused to let them spend the dollars on other forms of transportation and sent the funds instead to California and other states.

Walker argued that Wisconsin didn't need $810 billion for a 78-mile line between Madison and Milwaukee because there's already a transportation artery -- Interstate 94 -- that enables people to get from one city to the other in a little more than an hour (I once drove that route to have dinner in Milwaukee).

Kasich's rationale? "They tried to give us $400 million to build a high-speed train that goes 39 miles an hour." Train boosters countered that its top speed was 79 miles per hour -- about the same as many drivers on Interstate 71.

High-speed rail may sound like a good idea. It works, and reportedly even makes a profit, in Japan and France. If they can do it, why can't we?

A look at some proposed projects gives the answer. Take the $2.7 billion, 84-mile line connecting Orlando and Tampa that incoming Florida Gov. Rick Scott is mulling over.

It would connect two highly decentralized metro areas that are already connected by Interstate 4. Urban scholar Wendell Cox, writing for the Reason Foundation, found that just about any door-to-door trip between the two metro areas would actually take longer by train than by auto, and would cost more. Why would any business traveler take the train?

Much more HERE

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/24/2011 04:14:00 AM

Bedbugs Found on Swedish Trains

Visitors to Sweden should be on alert for bedbugs on Swedish trains.

A passenger on an overnight train traveling to Gothenburg from northern Sweden was shocked to discover some unexpected company in his bunk.

"When I turned off the light to sleep, I felt it starting to itch after a few minutes. I turned on the light and saw a bunch of bedbugs on my pillow," passenger Muhammad Arsalan told the local Norrländska Socialdemokraten newspaper.[…]

However, Jan Jungerstam, a biologist with extermination company Anticimex, explained that the incident wasn't the first time that bedbugs have taken a trip as non-paying passengers on Swedish trains.

Trains, eh? They're everywhere.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/23/2011 11:37:00 PM

Artist Creates Anti-Burqa Mural



Artist Sergio Redegalli with anti-burqa mural
(Sydney, Australia) A local artist, Sergio Redegalli, has attempted to spark public debate by creating an anti-burqa mural to convey his belief that the burqa is a symbol of repression and violent extremism.

Newtown glass sculptor Sergio Redegalli has this week restored the mural painted outside his studio for more than the 40th time after dozens of graffiti and paint-bomb attacks by protesters who say it is racist and inflammatory.

In the latest incident last Sunday, a crowd of 50 activists hurled paint at the mural and then turned on police who had to call in reinforcements to restore order.

Seven men were arrested and charged with offences including resisting police, assaulting police and destroying or damaging property.

Redegalli believes the protesters are left-wingers rather than Muslim activists.

From A Western Heart
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       Following Entry Posted 1/23/2011 09:27:00 PM

Undercover Sex

(London, England) This is different.

Undercover police officers routinely adopted a tactic of "promiscuity" with the blessing of senior commanders, according to a former agent who worked in a secretive unit of the Metropolitan police for four years.

The former undercover policeman claims that sexual relationships with activists were sanctioned for both men and women officers infiltrating anarchist, leftwing and environmental groups.

Sex was a tool to help officers blend in, the officer claimed, and was widely used as a technique to glean intelligence. His comments contradict claims last week from the Association of Chief Police Officers that operatives were absolutely forbidden to sleep with activists.

The one stipulation, according to the officer from the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), a secret unit formed to prevent violent disorder on the streets of London, was that falling in love was considered highly unprofessional because it might compromise an investigation. He said undercover officers, particularly those infiltrating environmental and leftwing groups, viewed having sex with a large number of partners "as part of the job".

"Large number of partners," eh? Kind of makes one wonder if this will have an effect on recruiting of undercover cops.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/23/2011 07:53:00 PM

China Stationing Troops in North Korea



North Korea
(Rason, North Korea) China has invested $2 billion in the planned tourist zone of Rason (once known as Rajin and Sonbong) in northeast North Korea.

To protect its investment, which includes port facilities open to the Sea of Japan, a large high-class casino and a four-star hotel, China will station troops at Rason.

Beijing and Pyongyang recently discussed details of stationing Chinese soldiers in the North’s northeastern city of Rason.

The official said the soldiers would protect Chinese port facilities, but the location also gives access to the Sea of Japan (East Sea), while a senior security official was quoted as saying it would allow China to intervene in case of North Korean instability.

Frankly, it's not really clear who represents a threat to Rason. It seems unlikely that any foreign nation would make a move against Rason and it would arguably be suicidal for the North Koreans to make a move against Chinese interests. Therefore, the need for stationing Chinese troops in Rason seems weak.

In any event, I suggest that sailing in the Sea of Japan will get more interesting now that China can claim a base there.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/23/2011 07:18:00 AM

Des Forces Spéciales Libanaises

Caution: These guys eat snakes.



I'd guess the vegetarian crowd wouldn't approve.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/23/2011 06:46:00 AM

Porn Star Dies from Boob Job



Carolin Berger
(Hamburg, Germany) A 23-year-old porn star, Carolin Berger aka Cora, died Friday following complications from elective breast enhancement surgery, her sixth. She had been in a coma for nine days before she expired.

The 23-year-old had gone under the knife to boost her bust from a 34F to a 34G.

The clinic in Germany where she had the enhancement is now being investigated.

Her family were called to the hospital where they were told that Cora had been without oxygen during the op for 15 minutes and was in 'serious condition'.

The surgeon and anaesthesiologist are being investigated for suspicion of negligent homicide.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/23/2011 03:16:00 AM

An interwar German novel was the forerunner of a great Leftist lie

Probably the most influential piece of anthropological writing in the 20th century was Coming of age in Samoa, written in 1928 by Margaret Mead. I read it myself in my long-gone teens. After the work of Derek Freeman, however, there is no doubt that it is a pack of lies.

Those lies were however influential. Like most anthropologists, Mead was strongly Leftist and one of the great "achievements" of the 20th century Left was to tear down morality. Mead was central to that enterprise. Her book purported to show that there was no restrictive sexual morality in Samoa and that free love was normal there. And Samoan society in general was presented as some sort of Garden of Eden. The take-home message, therefore was: "If the Samoans can do it, so can we". So Mead gave pseudo-scientific justification to Leftist rejection of existing standards and helped portray defenders of moral standards as ignoramuses.

The entire controversy is now old hat, of course, though some anthropologists still make excuses for Mead and continue to praise her. Some, such as Hiram Caton, carry their denial to the point of claiming that Freeman was mad, in the usual Leftist ad hominem way. I myself had an exchange with Caton over that. See here and here.

I write this post, however, to point out something I have recently discovered: Mead was not the first to use Samoans to make totally fictional propaganda points. I refer to The Papalagi (Der Papalagi), a book by Erich Scheurmann published in Germany in 1920, which contains descriptions of European life, supposedly as seen through the eyes of a Samoan chief named Tuiavii. As an anthropologist, Mead could well have heard of it.

The book is a patent fiction but not everyone wants to believe that. It has been popular among Greenies and their ilk even in recent times. Scheurmann depicted Samoa as a primitive Garden of Eden too. The return to a romanticised rural past was of course a well known feature of German National Socialist (Nazi) thought so it should be no surprise that Scheurmann was well-regarded by the Nazis and wrote propaganda for them.

Some desire for a simpler life and an addled rejection of modernity is also at the core of the modern-day Green/Left. It is remarkable how little the Left has changed in that regard. That a book by a Nazi sympathizer should be at least the forerunner, if not the inspiration, of a great Leftist lie should surprise no-one who knows how "Green" the Nazis were or how misanthropic modern-day Greenies are.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/23/2011 01:07:00 AM

California Teacher Suspended on Sex Allegations

(Oakland, California) Outrageous sex allegations involving a teacher and her second-grade students have surfaced at Markham Elementary School. Reportedly, students performed sex acts in class with the teacher present.

According to Oakland Unified School District spokesman Troy Flint, everyone is shocked by the incident.

Flint said the sex acts incident was one of two separate cases under investigation involving the teacher; both incidents occurred last week in the same classroom but he said they didn’t come to the attention of school officials until Wednesday.

In one case, several students apparently took off their clothes and were naked in the classroom. In the second incident, a boy and girl reportedly engaged in oral sex in front of their classmates.

Flint indicated that the suspended teacher, whose name was not released by the school district, was present for both of the incidents.

The investigation continues. There's video at the link.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 1/22/2011 10:20:00 PM

Texas Teacher's Aide Accused of Improper Student Relations

(Godley, Texas) A 27-year-old teacher's aide at Godley High School, Ashley E. Applegate Coleman, was arrested this week for an alleged improper relationship with a 17-year-old student.

Coleman allegedly sent text messages with sexual overtones and nude photos to the student.

Godley Police Chief James Healy said investigators have also identified a former student who claims Coleman sent him a nude photograph last year.

"There's no evidence to indicate there was actually any physical contact with students from this year or last year," Healy said. "Obviously, the case remains open. Once this [goes public], I'm sure there could be other possible students that come forward with allegations."

Coleman, a married mother of three, was booked into custody with bail set at $50,000.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/22/2011 07:11:00 AM

Old school teaching better for retaining knowledge

Old-fashioned teaching exercises like reciting times tables and verb conjugations are better than trendy new teaching methods, a study suggests.

Researchers believe that reciting facts shortly after learning them is better than many new-style educational methods. The "simple recall" seems to cement the knowledge "in memory" so it is more permanently embedded for use later.

Many modern teachers rely heavily on learning techniques like concept or mind mapping to help students retain the most from the texts they read, the study said. This involves drawing elaborate diagrams to represent relationship between words, ideas and tasks.

But two experiments, carried out by Dr Jeffrey Karpicke at Purdue University, Indiana, concluded that this was less effective than constant informal testing and reciting.

Dr Karpicke asked around 100 college students to recall in writing, in no particular order, as much as they could from what they had just read from science material.

Although most students expected to learn more from the mapping approach, the retrieval exercise actually worked much better to strengthen both short-term and long-term memory.

The results support the idea that retrieval is not merely scouring for and spilling out the knowledge stored in one’s mind — the act of reconstructing knowledge itself is a powerful tool that enhances learning about science.

SOURCE

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/21/2011 06:54:00 PM

American Priest Found Dead in Brazil

(Sao Paulo, Brazil) A 72-year-old U.S. Jesuit priest, Ferdinand Azevedo, was found dead Monday at a spiritual retreat near Recife.

According to police inspector Morgana Alves, Azevedo committed suicide or was killed.

Alves was one of the first police officers to enter the room where Azevedo's body was found, in a kneeling position and in an advanced state of decomposition.

Azevedo's left hand was tied behind his back with a cord that went around his waist, she said in a telephone interview. A metal chain was wrapped around his neck. The body showed no signs of violence and nothing was stolen from Azevedo's room. Authorities are conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

"At this stage, we cannot rule out anything," Alves said. "Suicide is a possibility, but so is homicide."

Azevedo had been teaching history at the Catholic University of Pernambuco for 35 years.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/21/2011 06:27:00 PM

ChiCom Media Rules

(Beijing, China) Be advised.

China's Communist Party has issued directives to the nation's media for 2011 ordering them to downplay controversial issues and ensure reporting casts the party in a favourable light, rights groups say.

The 10-point list of orders was issued earlier this month by propaganda chief Li Changchun, according to a report on Boxun.com, an overseas-based website focussing on China human rights issues.

The rules advise the nation's media to tread lightly on hot-button issues such as land prices, political reform and deadly disasters or accidents.

Surging land prices have become a focus of public and government concern in China, and there have been numerous cases of government officials and businesses seeking to cash in by seizing land for real estate developments.

The guidelines order media not to fan public debate about high prices or report on cases of violent land seizures and subsequent public protests, the report says.

Reports about the thousands of large-scale protests and other social disturbances seen each year in China over a range of grievances must "ensure that the party and government do not become the targets or focus of criticism".

Media also must not mention the subject of political reform in a way that casts a negative light on the government.

Reporters Without Borders expressed "shock" at the directives.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/21/2011 09:58:00 AM

May - December Marriage



Clive Richards and Jess Anderson
(UK) A retired religious education teacher, Clive Richards, 52, has married his former student, Jessica Anderson, 18, a 34-year age difference.

Anderson's parents don't approve and Richards' third wife, Julia, considers the bond to be morally wrong. It's quite the scandal.

Of course, it's worth mentioning that on the U.S. side of the Atlantic, the fact that 84-year-old Hugh Hefner recently got engaged to 24-year-old Crystal Harris is not deemed scandalous, even though the age difference is 60 years.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/21/2011 05:53:00 AM

Democrat Congressman: Republicans Like Nazis For Opposing Obamacare

Rep Cohen was talking to an empty chamber so even his fellow Democrats presumably see him as of no account -- one of their few wise judgments. They might want to ask him about where that "civility" has gone though.




His comments of course have no resemblance to the truth. Hitler was a socialist who SUPPORTED the expansion of the State into all services. If there is any historically accurate comparison to be made, it is the Democrats who are like Hitler in their policies

Note that the video editors have added on to the end of the video a scene that looks remarkably like the culmination of one of Hitler's Nuremberg rallies in the 1930s. One comparison deserves another.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/20/2011 10:16:00 PM

Oops! Drug Dealer Gets Job at Doctor's Office

Okay, to those who don 't know where this story is going, I recommend seeking professional help.



Kami Purvis
(Staten Island, New York) A 42-year-old convicted drug dealer on probation, Kami Purvis, was hired as a clerk in charge of the prescription pads in a doctor's office.

Blah, blah, blah, … jail.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/20/2011 02:40:00 PM

Oregon Woman Accused of Outrageous Child Sex Abuse

(Portland, Oregon) A 24-year-old local woman, Inez Lambert, has been accused of engaging in repeated videotaped sex acts with a one-year-old boy. State and federal investigators are on the case.

Lambert faces a flood of charges including child sex abuse, sodomy and using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct.

Prosecutors say the videos show Lambert performing a sex act on the child. Lambert forwarded the videos to her boyfriend who is overseas in the military, according to police.

The cell phone videos were described by members of the Multnomah County Child Abuse Team as very disturbing.

Because Lambert previously worked at two gyms, police are concerned there might be more victims.

Lambert was booked into custody at the Multnomah County Jail with bail set at more than $5 million.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/20/2011 02:19:00 PM

Snorting Cremains

(Marion County, Florida) In December, five teenage burglars broke into a home on Locust Lane in the Silver Springs Shores area and stole two containers of cremated remains, one of the homeowner's father and the other of two family dogs.

The burglars thought they had boosted a stash of cocaine.

Back at the hideout, the burglars commenced laying out lines and snorting the cremains. While waiting patiently for a buzz, someone turned on the television as their heist of the cremated remains of a man and two dogs was reported.

Oh, darn, each gulped. Reportedly, they then went to a lake and disposed of their loot.

A month later, the gang gets arrested for a robbery attempt and the details of what happened to the cremated remains surfaces.

Tip: slwlion
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       Following Entry Posted 1/20/2011 08:01:00 AM

Smartphone searches, encryption, and the Constitution

Privacy severely threatened

The smartphone is arguably one of the most empowering and revolutionary technologies of the modern era. By putting the processing power of a personal computer and the speed of a broadband connection into a device that fits in a pocket, smartphones have revolutionized how we communicate, travel, learn, game, shop, and more.

Yet smartphones have an oft-overlooked downside: when they end up in the wrong hands, they offer overreaching agents of the state, thieves, hackers, and other wrongdoers an unparalleled avenue for uncovering and abusing the volumes of sensitive personal information we increasingly store on our mobile phones.

Over on Ars Technica, I have a long feature story that examines the constitutional and technical issues surrounding police searches of mobile phones:

Last week, California’s Supreme Court reached a controversial 5-2 decision in People v. Diaz (PDF), holding that police officers may lawfully search mobile phones found on arrested individuals’ persons without first obtaining a search warrant. The court reasoned that mobile phones, like cigarette packs and wallets, fall under the search incident to arrest exception to the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

California’s opinion in Diaz is the latest of several recent court rulings upholding warrantless searches of mobile phones incident to arrest. While this precedent is troubling for civil liberties, it’s not a death knell for mobile phone privacy. If you follow a few basic guidelines, you can protect your mobile device from unreasonable search and seizure, even in the event of arrest. In this article, we will discuss the rationale for allowing police to conduct warrantless searches of arrestees, your right to remain silent during police interrogation, and the state of mobile phone security.

You can read the full essay on Ars Technica here. And while you’re at it, I highly recommend watching this informative YouTube video that explains why it’s not a good idea to talk to police:

SOURCE. (See the original for links)

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/20/2011 04:53:00 AM

Musicians Murdered in Mexico

(Guadalajara, Mexico) The level of lawlessness in Mexico seems beyond exaggeration.

Two musicians of the local group La Excelencia were blasted dead by audience members who were angry that they wouldn't do an encore.

Jonathan Martinez, 22, and Gustavo Alejandro, 35, were killed.

When La Excelencia's performance came to an end around 4 a.m. local time, four reportedly intoxicated and aggressive audience members demanded the musicians continue playing. Sensing trouble, the group extended its set by two songs, but was eventually forced to pull the plug by the bar's owner, according to El Occidental.

Out of nowhere, one of the instigators threw a grenade at the stage. The explosion injured one person and had panicked customers running for the exits.

Martinez and Alejandro were among those who fled the bar, but they were met at the front door by a hail of bullets, presumably from the same four men who had harassed them earlier.

The killers escaped.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/20/2011 12:23:00 AM

Virginia Teacher Busted for Drugs

(Prince William County, Virginia) A 33-year-old teacher at Graham Park Middle School, Rachel Byrne Domina, has been accused of possession with intent to distribute prescription drugs as part of an alleged crime ring which included four other people.

Also arrested and charged in the case were Dumfries residents Meghan Elizabeth Anderson, 28, and Edwin Hofer, 28, both of of the 12600 block of Terranova Lane; Taryn Lynne Francescon, 29, of the 15900 block of Kensington Place; and Ryan James Jones, 30, of the 15700 block of Cranberry Court.

Domina and the others have court appearances scheduled for March 7.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/19/2011 02:19:00 PM

George Washington Offensive to NAACP



(Columbia, South Carolina) At a NAACP-hosted Martin Luther King Day rally on the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse, the statue of George Washington was boxed on three sides to hide it from view.

Reportedly, the NAACP "didn't want to offend anyone."

Well, they failed. I'm offended.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/19/2011 12:40:00 PM

Ohio Drink Data

According to the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, the top selling brands in 2010 were:

1) Kamchatka Vodka
2) Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
3) Bacardi Superior Light Rum
4) Smirnoff Vodka
5) Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
6) Absolut Vodka
7) Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey
8) Jagermeister
9) Korski Vodka
10) Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey

Cheers!
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       Following Entry Posted 1/19/2011 11:52:00 AM

Obama Birth Controversy

(Honolulu, Hawaii) Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie conducted a search for unimpeachable vital records which prove that President Obama was born in Hawaii. His goal is to put the controversy to rest and force the naysayers to shut up.

Thus far, Gov. Abercrombie and his staff have been unsuccessful. It's not known whether the search continues.

Interestingly, the very fact that Gov. Abercrombie is looking for vital records would seem to indicate that absolute proof of Obama's time and place of birth still hasn't been produced. It would also seem to indicate that Abercrombie sort of agrees.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/19/2011 10:12:00 AM

Human Traffickers Guilty



Bogdan 'Uncle' Nejloveanu and Marius 'Mario' Nejloveanu
(Manchester, England) A father and son team, Bogdan and Marius Nejloveanu, has been convicted in Manchester Crown Court of running a human trafficking operation where Romanian women were taken to the UK with promises of jobs and forced into prostitution.

Bogdan, 51, and his son Marius, 23, targeted the women, all Romanians aged between 19 and 27, because they were young or vulnerable. Marius raped most of the women himself, beat and threatened them with a knife if they refused to co-operate, while the father gave his son practical help and advice so he could set up his own prostitutes business.

The victims were forced to work six or seven days a week, sometimes having sex with as many as eight or 10 men a night. It is estimated that every 'client' paid the girls about £40 - half of which went to Marius or his father and the other half to the brothels where they worked in Manchester.

The women were rescued after a tip-off to police, who tracked down the father and son.

Also convicted was brothel 'receptionist' Juanita Huntington, 51. The three will be sentenced on January 26.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/19/2011 04:55:00 AM

Don Surber tells it like it is

We read:

"I do not want civil discourse

For a decade, from the election of Bush 43 forward, the Left has lied and cheated as it tried to return to power. Al Gore made a mockery out of the American electoral system by being a spoilsport over Florida, which Bush indeed won by 537 votes.

Dan Rather forged a document to try to derail Bush’s re-election. Twice Democrats stole U.S. senators from the Republicans. After voting to support the war to get by the 2002 election, many Democrats quickly soured on the war.

The profane protests were cheered by liberals who misattributed “dissent is the highest form of patriotism”to Thomas Jefferson; the words belong to the late historian Howard Zinn.

Once in power, liberals were the opposite of gracious. For two years now, I have been called ignorant, racist, angry and violent by the left. The very foul-mouthed protesters of Bush dare to now label my words as “hate speech.”

Last week, the left quickly blamed the right for the national tragedy of a shooting spree by a madman who never watched Fox News, never listened to Rush Limbaugh and likely did not know who Sarah Palin is. Fortunately, the American public rejected out of hand that idiotic notion that the right was responsible.

Rather than apologize, the left wants to change the tone of the political debate. The left suddenly wants civil discourse.

Bite me.

The left wants to play games of semantics.

Bite me.

The left wants us to be civil — after being so uncivil for a decade.

Bite me.

There is grown-up work to do now. Liberals ran up the federal credit card, destroyed the American medical system and undermined the rule of law — which is the foundation of capitalism — with a bunch of unconstitutional fiats from the president and his bureaucracy.

The economy is a mess. The president “inherited” a 7.6% unemployment rate. It’s now 9.4% — after we spent a record $787 billion on a stimulus.

I was not consulted on that stimulus. I had a very good argument against it. I said the money supply was too large and printing more money would fail. I said let the economic downturn run its course. Lefties were too busy celebrating the 2008 election to listen.

When people protested lefties made vulgar remarks about tea-bagging and giggled. So screw you and your civil discourse. I don’t want to hear it. I have been screamed at for 10 years.

It’s my turn now. I am not going to scream back. But I refuse to allow anyone to dictate what I say or how I say it. I refuse to allow the same foul-mouthed, foul-spirited foul people who dumped on me to now try to tell me what I may or may not say.

My free speech matters more than the feelings of anyone on the left. You don’t like what I say? Tough.

I will not allow people to label my words Hate Speech or try to lecture me on civility. I saw the lefty signs. The left’s definition of civil discourse is surreal.

We have a terribly unfit president who has expanded government control beyond not only what is constitutional but what is healthy for our freedom.

Indeed, this call for civil discourse is itself a direct threat to my free speech. So screw you. You don’t like my words? You don’t like my tone? You feel threatened?

Too bad. No. Actually, that is what I want. I want the lefties to feel bad. I want them to feel hurt. I want them to cry to their mommies.

That way the field will be cleared so we grown-ups can fix the nation and the economy. If you can’t put up with a little excrement, get the hell out of the barn.

Source

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/19/2011 12:13:00 AM

Woman Accused of Stashing Coat in Underwear

(Bloomington, Minnesota) On New Years Eve, a 46-year-old woman, Stephanie Travetta Moreland, was accused of felony theft of a $6,500 mink coat. She had stuffed the coat in her underwear.

The gambit didn't work, and an employee asked Moreland what she thought she was doing.

Moreland's response was to hike up her dress and give the employee an eyeful of her bare bottom - but no fur coat.

With the employee suitably dazed and confused, Moreland and her accomplice drove off with a third person. They were pulled over later that day near the Mall of America, arrested and brought in for questioning. Stehlik said Moreland admitted to stealing the coat, but denied that she still had it in her possession.

Moreland was given a pat-down search and submitted to a metal detector test, and then put in a holding cell in her street clothes; standard operating procedure, Stehlik says. There were no female officers on duty at the time, so Moreland, who tips the scales at 270 pounds on a 5 feet 6 inch frame, dodged a more intimate search.

And there the 46-year-old Brooklyn Park woman sat for the holiday weekend, eating, sleeping and visiting the bathroom with the fur coat in her underpants.

On Monday morning, she was interviewed again, and still insisted she didn't know where the coat was. But when the detective told Moreland she'd have to go downtown to Minneapolis to face charges in Hennepin County Court, she came clean. Moreland hiked up her dress and whipped out the coat.

Stehlik was impressed with her ingenuity. The woman had modified her underwear so that, from behind, it didn't look like she was wearing any. The coat, meanwhile, was stuffed in front.

Moreland was booked and released on $10,000 bond.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/18/2011 11:22:00 PM

Texas Teacher's Aide Gets Jail

(White Deer, Texas) Earlier this month, a 38-year-old teacher's aide formerly at White Deer High School, Kovette Renee Bradley, was arrested for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a student.

Yesterday, Bradley pleaded guilty in accordance with a plea agreement to second-degree felony offense of improper relationship between an educator and a student.

Consequently, Bradley was sentenced to 30 days in the Carson County Jail and 10 years of probation.

Additionally, Bradley was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine and complete 300 hours of community service. She is also prohibited from having any contact with the victim.

Labels: Women With Troubles

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       Following Entry Posted 1/18/2011 05:00:00 PM

German CEO Dumped over Wikileak

OHB-System AG, the company building the European satellite navigation system Galileo, has fired its chief executive officer.

Wikileaks released a cable in which CEO Berry Smutny said that Galileo was "a stupid idea." As a result, the company's supervisory board decided it was time to boot Smutny.

Smutny has likely removed Julian Assange's name from his Christmas list.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/18/2011 10:06:00 AM

Royals Snub Obamas

In an obvious slight by the royal family, President and Mrs. Obama are not invited to the April wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Reportedly, Michelle Obama is livid and neither Obama seems to understand the frosty attitude, apparently forgetting their own dismissiveness of prior British gestures of friendship.

It appears that Prince William personally told the wedding planners to strike the Obamas from the guest list. He apparently stated, "He did not want Michelle Obama trying to pull her center of attention ploy trying to upstage Kate on Kate’s wedding day".

Sources reveal that William states, "She may run Obama, but she doesn’t run him or England". The Democrats and Obama would like to play the race card as they have done so many times in America, but it is difficult when other black heads of states are invited to the wedding and will be warmly received.

What goes around comes around, eh?

(More….)
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       Following Entry Posted 1/18/2011 09:15:00 AM

Riding While Drunk

(Helena, Montana) Is it legal to ride a horse while under the influence? In Montana, yes.



Under Montana law, a horse is not defined as a vehicle so it's legal to be drunk while riding. It also appears that it's legal to be drunk while riding a horse within the city limits of the state's capital, Helena.

There's no confirmation, but it's believed that riding a drunk horse is also legal, even when the rider is drunk.

Companion post at A Western Heart.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/18/2011 06:50:00 AM

Texas Tech Pisses Off Illegals Again With 'Catch An Illegal Immigrant' Game

We read:

""ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT" read the T-shirts' fronts. "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN" read the backs.

Students in the Texas Tech chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas wore the T-shirts on campus one day as part of a game, "Catch the Illegal Immigrant."

Although the game goes against the university's mission to build a diverse and welcoming atmosphere, the students have a right to play it, Tech President Jon Whitmore wrote in a response letter Wednesday to two students who were deeply offended by the game.

"All members of our university community have a right to express themselves, even when you and I or others disagree with them," his letter reads.

Two students informed the university's president of the event in a protest letter dated April 11 and endorsed by 15 faculty members and six student organizations. The game promotes violence toward not only illegal immigrants, but all foreigners, their letter reads. [How, exactly?]

Source

Hmm that's funny, I don't remember them calling it "Catch and Beat an Illegal Alien" or "Catch and Kill A Foreigner". The fact that 15 faculty members would chose to limit free speech and expression should bring into question their capabilities to teach.

If any of these faculty members are teaching on the issue of history of the United States or the Constitution, their teaching credentials for those subjects should be revoked immediately for they have proven that they cannot even understand the first amendment.

I guess being diverse means you have to accept illegal aliens among your group, it's not good enough that you have just regular old legal Hispanics, Indians, Blacks, Whites, Asian etc... YOU HAVE TO HAVE ILLEGAL ALIENS as well or you simply aren't accepting of diversity.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
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       Following Entry Posted 1/17/2011 10:11:00 PM

Strip Club Age Discrimination



(Houston, Texas) A worker in the adult entertainment business, Mary Bassi, was fired at age 56 after management started hiring younger women.

Consequently, she filed an age discrimination lawsuit against her bosses, claiming she was called "old" and harassed about going through menopause and having Alzheimer's disease.

Bassi, now 60, settled with the Houston-area club for the $60,000 figure after the club believed it was in violation of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission bylaws.

Bassi’s attorney said she was fired without any disciplinary warnings or action on her record.

So, strip clubs can get into trouble not only for hiring females who are too young, but also for firing females who are believed to be too old.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/17/2011 04:53:00 PM

Walmart Going to Africa



unrelated news clipping
(Johannesburg, South Africa) Trade unions are not pleased that non-union Walmart is entering Africa.

A South African chain's shareholders have overwhelmingly accepted Wal-Mart's offer to buy 51 percent of their company, the chief executive said Monday, paving the way for the giant U.S.-based retailer to enter Africa.

Massmart said the proposal was approved by 97 percent of shareholders who voted Monday - 75 percent had been needed. Wal-Mart offered 148 rand (about $20) per share in a 17 billion rand (about $2 billion) deal.

The deal will have to be approved by South Africa's anti-monopoly regulators.

Massmart operates about 290 stores in 14 African countries.
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       Following Entry Posted 1/17/2011 05:38:00 AM

Maine governor to NAACP: “Kiss my butt”

We read:

"Why would a man engage in such undiplomatic language? My theory: After a week of incendiary and irresponsible rhetoric from the left over the Arizona shootings, his nerves were frayed by the “climate of hate” and he just snapped. Granted, I have zero proof, but it pleases my partisan sensibilities to believe it, and besides, it’s a fittingly idiotic note on which to end a week of pure political insanity. So congratulations, liberals — you drove him to this.

Slublog has all the background you need on what inspired this dastardly act of speech-hate, including a reminder of the NAACP’s own Krugman-esque regard for tea partiers. The man’s either (a) the next Chris Christie or (b) obviously a violent racist. Perhaps we should ask his adopted son from Jamaica which it is?




Source

I liked the comment that the Left drove the governor to his remark. It refers of course to the absurd Leftist allegation that Sarah Palin drove the Tucson gunman to murder.

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