Women With Troubles - March 2013

Here is a compilation of women with troubles reported in news stories during March 2013. Each name is linked to an Interested-Participant blog entry displaying details.

For a more comprehensive listing, check the Women With Troubles category link.

(AL) Natasha Jean Bridges, 29,
neighbor - Accused of sexting and rape of boy, 15,

(AL) Cassandra "Sandi" Sue Scott, 41,
teacher - Accused of possessing illegal drugs,

(AZ) Rickesha Jovani Burns, 21,
neighbor - Accused of sexual conduct and child abuse of 2-year-old son,

(AZ) Nicole Renee Wooten, 36,
teacher - Accused of sexual conduct with girl, 12,

(CA) Deborah Gratz, 59,
teacher - Accused of putting sleep medicine in toddlers' drink cups,

(CA) Melody Carter McCabe, 27,
teacher - Gets five months jail for sex with male student, 15,

(CA) Tatiana Nedeljovic, 43,
neighbor - Arrested on drug and child endangerment charges,

(CO) Wendy Crowell, 36,
neighbor - Accused of sex with son's friend, 15 or 16,

(CO) Rhonda Eisenberg, 44,
teacher - Gets 90 days jail for sex with student, 17,

(CO) Erin Nicole Jackson, 31,
teacher - Accused of hit-and-run, injuring brain of girl, 16,

(CO) Donna Kaiser-Anderson, 52,
neighbor - Accused of fatally shooting 19 bullets into husband, 51,

(CT) Christine Powell, 40,
teacher - Guilty of sex with middle school boy, sentencing in June,

(DE) Melissa King, 18,
Miss Delaware Teen/porn star - Accused of theft and minor in possession of alcohol,

(DE) Zuikira Williams, 24,
teacher - Arrested on drug and weapons charges,

(FL) Sarah Adleta, 28,
neighbor - Faces child sex abuse and child porn charges,

(FL) Leah Deyoung, 37,
teacher - Collared for DUI with her two small children in car,

(FL) Melanie Jo Fox, 44,
teacher - Accused of child abuse,

(FL) Dorothy Kelly, 48,
teacher - Accused of child abuse and false imprisonment of girl under 13,

(FL) Antonia Marino, 43,
teacher - Accused of contributing to delinquency for underage booze party,

(FL) Jody Teressa Onorato, 43,
school employee - Accused of sending nude photos of herself to students,

(FL) Leslie Rainer, 46,
teacher - Accused of non-diverse conduct toward Haitian student,

(FL) Melissa Kay Townsend, 27,
neighbor - Arrested for calling 911 to scare her kids,

(FL) Destiny Ruth Witte, 32,
neighbor - Sentenced to community control and probation for sex with boy, 14,

(GA) Dana Marie Adams, 33,
neighbor - Gets 25+ years in prison for aggravated child molestation,

(GA) Emily Smith, 37,
teacher - Accused of arranging a drug deal for teen who died the next day,

(IA) Heather Adams, 42,
teacher - Gets no jail for sex with student,

(IA) Samantha Sanders, 23,
neighbor - Accused of multiple felony drug offenses,

(ID) Amanda R. Sheets, 27,
neighbor - Accused of sexual battery of a minor,

(IN) Juanita Fisher, 34,
neighbor - Faces child molestation and incest charges,

(IN) Natisha Hillard, 24,
neighbor - Accused of selling her daughter for child pornography,

(KS) Traci E. Goldsberry, 21,
neighbor - Gets eight years prison for rape of boy, 13,

(LA) Renee E. Broussard, 41,
neighbor - Accused of engaging in repeated sex with boy, 16,

(MD) Erin Nicole Thorne, 28,
teacher - Accused of sex relations with student,

(ME) Sarah Lawler-Stoddard, 32,
teacher - Accused of liquoring up and smoking dope with students,

(ME) Alexis Wright, 30,
Zumba instructor - Gets 10 months jail for theft, tax evasion and prostitution,

(MI) Taryn Johnson with Vinson Alexander, 27 and 30,
neighbors - Accused of human trafficking,

(MN) Terina (Terrina) Ann Parr, 44,
teacher's aide - Accused of sexual conduct with male student,

(MS) Leslie Danielle Dewitt, 31,
teacher - Accused of sex with girl, 16,

(NC) Michelle Yvonne Currie, 43,
neighbor - Accused of sex with boy, 15,

(NC) Tonya Long Keebaugh,
USArmy soldier - Gets five years in prison for smuggling $1 million out of Afghanistan,

(NC) Shayla M. Benton Roberts, 35,
neighbor - Gets suspended sentence, probation and 90-day split sentence for allowing sex on daughter, 12,

(NE) Michelle Almonte-DeJesus, 27,
neighbor - Guilty of sexual assault for jiggy-jiggy with stepson, 16,

(NJ) Lisa Silva, 42,
neighbor - Accused of traveling to Florida for sex with boy, 16,

(NM) Jaimie Dominy Page, 25,
teacher - Accused of sex with one of her students,

(NY) Lisa M. Franklin, 44,
teacher - Accused of sex with boy, 12,

(NY) Jennifer Kennard, 46,
teacher's aide - Accused of sex with middle schooler,

(OK) Kimberly Crain, 50,
teacher - Gets 45 years in prison for child exploitation,

(OK) Christie Dawn Harris, 28,
neighbor - Faces weapons and narcotics charges after finding gun and meth in body cavities,

(OK) Regina K. Sanders, 46,
neighbor - Accused of 911 abuse,

(OK) Susan Elizabeth “Beth” Spaulding, 38,
teacher - Gets no jail for embezzling more than $142K from school,

(OK) Misty VanHorn, 22,
neighbor - Accused of attempting to sell her two children,

(OR) Nikki N. Robinson, 45,
PTO president - Indicted for theft from Parent Teacher Organization,

(PA) Kimberly Eiden, 40,
neighbor - Accused of having sex with two boys, 13 and 14,

(PA) Carol Hann, 45, with husband Robert Caravella, 53,
neighbor - Gets 20 to 41 years for rape of child, now 14,

(SC) Lawanda Ann Cummings, 42,
cafeteria worker - Accused of sex with male student,

(TN) Elizabeth Leigh Garner, 42,
cheerleader - Indicted for sexual battery and solicitation of 12-year-old boy,

(TN) Lindsey Brooke Lowe, 26,
neighbor - Gets life sentence for murder of newborn twin boys,

(TN) Angela Gay Masingo, 39,
teacher - Accused of sexual solicitation of student,

(TN) Hannah Steiner, 18,
neighbor - Accused of raping boy, 13,

(TX) Maria Calvillo, 38,
school nurse's aide - Accused of sex with student at school,

(TX) Cameron Elizabeth Crist-Mitchel, 27,
teacher - Accused of improper relationship with a student, 17,

(TX) Kathanna Culp, 28,
teacher - Accused of improper relationship with student,

(TX) Yuishea Davis, 25,
neighbor - Accused of sex assault on girl under age 10,

(TX) Jordann Depascalis, 21,
neighbor - Accused of luring two girls into prostitution,

(TX) Amanda Michelle Feenstra, 30,
dance teacher - Accused of extended-term sex with a female student, 17,

(TX) Lisa Flores, 36,
teacher - Accused of aggravated assault for driving over police officer,

(TX) Katherine Alana Gricar, 24,
teacher's aide - Accused of sex with female student, 18,

(TX) Roni Catherine Lisenbe, 33,
neighbor - Accused of fatally shooting her boyfriend,

(TX) Michelle Lopez, 39,
neighbor - Arrested for theft of $250K from local business,

(TX) Sheila Loven, 47,
marriage counselor - Gets probation for sexually assaulting a client,

(TX) Caryn Millan,
teacher - Accused of improper relations with student,

(UT) Jamie Waite, 37,
swim coach - Guilty of forcible sexual abuse of male, 17,

(VA) Nukia Shaneece Barnes, 18,
neighbor - Accused of molesting boy, 9,

(VA) Patience Perez, 22,
school security worker - Accused of sex with student, 15, and conspiracy to commit murder,

(WI) Paula M. George, 41,
neighbor - Gets probation for sexual assault of boy, child abuse of girl, ages 14 and 13.

Thanks to the tipsters.

Climate "wisdom" from  Eugene Robinson



Some excerpts from his half-digested "facts" below.  Even if he has got all of the facts concerned exactly right, however, NONE of them can reflect global warming.  Why?  Because even Jim Hansen and Rajendra Pauchauri now concede that there has been NO global warming for over 15 years.  Something that does not exist cannot cause anything!  Is that too profound for Mr. Robinson?

So what is wrong with Mr Robinson?  Why is he purveying a totally wrong picture of global climate?  I am going to  be charitable.  I don't think he is a crook who set out to mislead.  I think he is just dumb

All right, now can we talk about climate change? After a year when the lower 48 states suffered the warmest temperatures, and the second-craziest weather, since record-keeping began?

Apparently not. The climate-change denialists — especially those who manipulate the data in transparently bogus ways to claim that warming has halted or even reversed course — have been silent, as one might expect. Sensible people accept the fact of warming, but many doubt that our dysfunctional political system can respond in any meaningful way.

And Sandy was part of a pattern. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2012 was “the second most extreme year on record,” with 11 weather-related disasters including hurricanes Sandy and Isaac as well as swarms of killer tornadoes across the Great Plains and the Ohio Valley.

The year was also exceptionally dry; by July, about 61 percent of the country was experiencing conditions that qualify as “drought.” On a cheery note, the situation was not as bad as the Dust Bowl droughts of the 1930s. Less happily, the lack of rainfall in 2012 exacerbated wildfire activity. “The Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs, Colo., destroyed nearly 350 homes and was the most destructive fire on record for the state,” NOAA reported.

Hurricanes striking where they don’t usually strike, fires burning where they don’t usually burn, drought everywhere — these anomalies begin to add up. Scientists have long told us that one impact of climate change will be increased volatility, and unpredictability, in weather events. This appears to be what we’re getting.

SOURCE


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

Kansas Woman Gets Prison in Sex Case



Traci E. Goldsberry
(Salina, Kansas) A 21-year-old local woman, Traci E. Goldsberry, pleaded no contest this week to raping a 13-year-old boy.

As a result, District Court Judge Jared Johnson sentenced Goldsberry to eight years in prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender.

Attorney Mark Dinkel, who represented Goldsberry, argued that a lifetime registration requirement and post-release supervision would amount to a life prison sentence for his client, who has Asperger’s syndrome and would not be able to be consistent about meeting the state’s requirements.

However, prosecutor Christina Trocheck, an assistant county attorney, argued that Goldsberry would do well with supervision and her crimes demanded it.

After an acquaintance reported the situation to police, Goldsberry told investigators she knew what she was doing was wrong, but she and the boy were in love, Trocheck said. Goldsberry’s sexual contact with the boy took place in January 2012.

Sad case.

Pennsylvania Woman Accused of Molesting Boys

(Moosic, Pennsylvania) A 40-year-old local woman, Kimberly Eiden, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with two boys, ages 13 and 14.

Eiden faces charges of rape, aggravated indecent assault, and corruption of minors.

Prosecutors say Eiden acted as a textbook pedophile, first buying the boys chewing tobacco and alcohol. One boy said Eiden gave him beer before forcing him to have sex. Eiden’s attorney says Eiden doesn’t deny having sex with the boy but says she’s not in control of her actions.

“She’s a mentally ill person and she needs help, she needs psychiatric help. She’s needed it for a while and that’s an answer to this case,” Eiden’s attorney Paul Walker said.

Eiden was booked into custody at the Lackawanna County prison with bail set at $50,000.

Mystery Meat Found in Take-Out Meals



(London, England)

Europe's horsemeat scandal took a new turn when a mystery meat was found in some Indian takeaway dishes here, which could be even of 'dog or cat'. 'Horsemeat Banquet', a BBC documentary revealed that even scientists were baffled after tests on an Indian lamb curry showed no trace of lamb, chicken, pork, mutton, beef or even horsemeat.

It was, however, ruled out as being human flesh.

Experts examined a range of takeaway meals in London as part of the documentary aired in London on Friday.

When the presenter, Rick Edwards suggested that the unknown meat found in Indian dishes could be of cat or dog, nutritionist Surinder Phull said that "any animal with flesh similar to lamb" could have been used.

"At this moment, the lab is unable to identify exactly which animal this meat came from," a spokesperson for the show said.

Other tests revealed that so-called "beef" in some popular Chinese dishes was actually made entirely from chicken blood and a little chicken.

I seriously suspect that some of the Chinese dishes are actually "Chinese Magic Chicken."

Good Friday

I usually try to get along to church on Good Friday and I did so this year too  -- but to a different church.  I went to St. John's Presbyterian at Annerley. I normally go to Ann St. Presbyterian in the city.

I "discovered" St. John's only recently, when I was driving in the area and took a wrong turn.  As I was driving down the "wrong" street, however, I noticed a very well-maintained and attractive church in it.  So I went along to the 8.30am service there today to find out a little more about it.

It is built in a Queensland 1920's style, with an exterior of both weatherboards and stucco.  The stucco is painted cream and the weatherboards maroon.  The overall effect is very pleasant.  See below



The interior was quite impressive, with  hammerbeam ceiling supports and NO GRAVEN IMAGES.  There was very attractive leadlight coloured glass in the casement windows but no stained glass, no pictures.  And there was neither a crucifix nor a cross in sight.  Presbyterians of old were quite iconoclastic and this congregation was obviously happy to continue that.  The second picture below -- looking towards the entrance of the church -- gives you some idea of it.



Note the steel bracing for the ceiling.  That was a custom in the 1920s for giving structural strength to large open spaces.  Schools used it too.  I grew up in such spaces so felt at home with it.

The congregation tended to be elderly as usual but filled up most of the back of the church.  I would say the church was about two thirds full, so that is quite creditable.

An interesting custom among the congregation is that they nearly all followed the Bible readings in the pew Bible.  The pew Bible was a very fine one:  A NKJ version with references, concordance  and a good clear black font well adapted to being read by old eyes.

The minister was VERY elderly, walking with the help of a stick, and his message was a very traditional one, focusing on salvation  -- which is of course entirely appropriate at Easter.

So it was a pleasant way to reconnect with my Presbyterian background.  Anne enjoyed it too.  I never have to twist her arm to get her to church  -- JR


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

Poople Maps Documents Doo-Doo



(Paris, France)

Freshly launched, Poople Maps has a growing following of mostly Parisian users who are fed up with the ubiquity of what the French call "étrons" on their streets.

For the moment the application, which lets users "geolocalise" individual dog messes, is only accessible through a smartphone browser, rather than as a downloaded app. It can be accessed from "flashing" a bar code or going directly to the website.

The creators say Poople Maps will soon be available to download through Google's Play Store and Apple Store. They intend to improve it to allow users to "personalise" photos of their finds, share them on social networks and earn virtual badges of honour via a points system.

In summary, it appears the French have created a way to put dogshit on the Internet.

Tennessee Woman Gets Life for Killing Newborns



Lindsey Brooke Lowe
(Hendersonville, Tennessee) Local Sumner County woman, Lindsey Brooke Lowe, 26, has been convicted by a jury of murdering her newborn twin sons.

Lowe was found guilty on two counts each of first-degree murder, first-degree pre-meditated murder and aggravated child abuse.

On September 11, 2011, the 25-year-old woman gave birth to twins while sitting on a toilet in the bathroom of her parents’ home. When the first baby arrived, he cried. Since her parents didn’t know she was pregnant, she didn’t want them to hear and learn the truth. So she placed a hand over the infant’s mouth and nose and, looking away, held it there until the little boy smothered.

When the second child was born, she repeated the same action and then hid both of the bodies in a laundry basket in her bedroom and covered them with a blanket.

Two days later, Lindsey’s father called the police to report the discovery of a newborn baby in his daughter’s room. Investigators arrived and the second dead infant was uncovered in the same basket.

The murder charges carry an automatic life sentence. She must serve at least 51 years before she's eligible for parole.

Post-Birth Abortion



Alisa LaPolt Snow
(Tallahassee, Florida)

Florida legislators considering a bill to require abortionists to provide medical care to an infant who survives an abortion were shocked during a committee hearing this week when a Planned Parenthood official endorsed a right to post-birth abortion.

Alisa LaPolt Snow, the lobbyist representing the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, testified that her organization believes the decision to kill an infant who survives a failed abortion should be left up to the woman seeking an abortion and her abortion doctor.

"So, um, it is just really hard for me to even ask you this question because I’m almost in disbelief," said Rep. Jim Boyd. "If a baby is born on a table as a result of a botched abortion, what would Planned Parenthood want to have happen to that child that is struggling for life?”

"We believe that any decision that's made should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician," said Planned Parenthood lobbyist Snow.

Excluding the details of the circumstances, it appears that Planned Parenthood is seeking the right to murder.

I contend the child should at least be afforded the opportunity for due process and representation in a court of law before being summarily executed. Probably a civil court since surviving an abortion hasn't yet been declared a crime.

Sexual Jihad in Syria

In response to an allegedly anonymous fatwa circulated online, young patriotic Tunisian girls are traveling to Syrian battlefields to engage in 'sexual jihad' with opposition forces. Check the video - 58 sec.




The Tunisian Minister of Religious Affairs said Tunisian citizens are not obligated to obey the fatwa. However, it has been reported that at least 13 Tunisian girls have responded to the call.

Texas Teacher's Aide Accused of Sex with Student

(Houston, Texas) A 24-year-old teacher's aide at Smith Elementary School, Katherine Alana Gricar, has been accused of engaging in sex with an 18-year-old female Spring High School student.

Gricar faces a charge of improper relationship with a student.

Gricar was employed by Spring ISD and held a Texas Teachers Aide Certification. She originally met the mother of the high school student at Smith Elementary School, where they both worked. Because the two were friends, the teacher allowed Gricar to move into her home to help her 18-year-old daughter with school.

Investigators said the student's mother had discovered the two had kissed and had caught the women alone with each other while they were locked in her daughter's bedroom.

An investigation began into the improper relationship on March 18 when a Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputy was called to the house because of a disturbance caused when the high school student told her mother she planned to leave home and live with Gricar.

Gricar was booked and released on $30,000.

The cancer clusters that weren’t

A recent post in ACSH Dispatch examines an interesting question: How likely is it that some U.S. communities have elevated cancer rates, a.k.a, “cancer clusters,” because of chemical pollution? The answer: not very.

ACSH points to an enlightening article published in Slate by George Johnson, who notes:

    "Time after time, the clusters have turned out to be statistical illusions—artifacts of chance. … The Erin Brockovich incident, one of the most famous, is among the many that have been debunked. Hexavalent chromium in the water supply of a small California town was blamed for causing cancer, resulting in a $333 million legal settlement and a movie starring Julia Roberts. But an epidemiological study ultimately showed that the cancer rate was no greater than that of the general population. The rate was actually slightly less."


Erin Brockovich, the loud-mouthed extrovert who got it totally wrong  -- at huge expense to others

Johnson also discusses the alleged cancer cluster in Toms River, N.J., which is the subject of a new book: Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, by Dan Fagin. But contrary to Fagin’s book, Johnson concludes: “… no matter how hard I squinted at the numbers, I found it hard to be convinced that there had been a cancer problem in Toms River.”

It is true that chemicals cause cancers where people are exposed for long periods of time to very high levels. For example, populations in Taiwan whose drinking water was contaminated with extremely high levels of arsenic for many decades experienced elevated rates of skin cancer. Is that a cluster? Surely it is. Does it convey information about the risks to populations exposed to much lower concentrations? Not particularly.

Yet activists focus on relatively low-level exposures to generate headlines and push regulations, and trial lawyers bring cases to extort large settlements because no one can prove their claims wrong — or right. Ironically, there’s evidence that low-level and long-term exposures to chemicals may have benefits, an effect that scientists refer to as hormesis.

Hollywood has sensationalized “cancer cluster” allegations, producing two major motion pictures – A Civil Action and Erin Brockovich – on the alleged effects of chemicals on various communities. In both cases, tort lawyers claimed that drinking water contaminated by industrial facilities caused cancers in nearby areas. Despite the ability of trial lawyers to win such cases, it is nearly impossible to pin down the causes of such clusters. In 1990, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on 22 years of studies that covered clusters in 29 states and five foreign countries. They could not establish a clear cause for any cluster.

Part of the problem is that clusters occur by mere chance. Raymond R. Neutra of the California Department of Health Services finds that we can expect nearly 5,000 such random cancer clusters to exist in any given decade in the United States (Scientific American 275, no. 3 (1996): 85–86.).

The risks of cancer clusters resulting from low-level exposures to chemicals in the environment are simply too low to detect. But allegations about such clusters are good fodder for trial lawyers looking to make a buck, and they serve the agenda of activists who want to pass regulations on chemicals.

SOURCE


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

Urinal Video Game




(Allentown, Pennsylvania) The local minor league baseball franchise, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, has announced that a urine-controlled video gaming system will be operating in the men's rooms of its home field when the season starts next month.

The system functions as follows:

First, a male baseball fan walks into any of Coca-Cola Park's many men's rooms. He swaggers up to his urinal of choice, noticing a video monitor mounted near eye level on the wall, above. As he gets close, "the video console flips into gaming mode, using patented technology that detects both his presence and stream," according to the IronPigs' press release.

Then "algorithms" take over from there, letting "the user engage with the screen by aiming in different directions to test their agility and knowledge."

After wrapping up, urinators/users are presented with a final score and an online access code to look up where they rank against other fans at the game. High scores will also be posted to Coca-Cola Park video boards.

A rotating variety of games will be available.

Delaware Woman Busted for Gun, Drugs



Zuikira Williams
(Wilmington, Delaware) A 24-year-old local woman, Zuikira Williams, has been arrested for possession of drugs and a gun. She was arrested last Saturday night by Wilmington's Gun Squad.

Williams is a convicted drug offender and felon.

During a search of Williams’ home, police found a .32 caliber revolver, 1,053 bags of heroin and one gram of marijuana.

The heroin is valued at $10,500.

Williams was booked into custody at Delores J. Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution.

Smart Electricity Meters and Privacy



(Naperville, Illinois)

A Chicago suburb's installation of smart meters that broadcast residents' electricity use throughout the day does not violate privacy, a federal judge ruled.

Naperville Smart Meter Awareness, a nonprofit, sued Naperville in 2012, claiming the city rushed to install smart meters that wirelessly broadcast information about consumers' electricity.

"Smart meters provide rich knowledge about intimate details of a customer's life and serious concerns exist regarding access to personal data gleaned from the devices," the complaint says.

If the federal court ruling stands, the government will be able to monitor individual's electricity usage by recording date, time, and amount. I believe smart meters invade privacy.

Colorado Teacher Gets 90 Days Jail in Sex Case - Update

(Greeley, Colorado) Former Northridge High School Spanish teacher Rhonda Eisenberg was formally sentenced yesterday to 90 days in jail and four years of sex offender probation.

Eisenberg cried.

* * * * *
Colorado Teacher Gets 90 Days Jail in Sex Case - Update
[Previous 2/1/13 post]
(Greeley, Colorado) In accordance with a plea deal, former Spanish teacher Rhonda Eisenberg admitted to engaging in sex with a student and giving birth to his child.

Prosecutors said Eisenberg was a teacher at Northridge High School at the time, and the student was living under her care.

Eisenberg later gave birth to a child as a result of the relationship, prosecutors said.

Under a plea agreement, Eisenberg pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, a class-five felony.

Per her plea deal, Eisenberg will be sentenced in March to 90 days in jail.

* * * * *
Colorado Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 7/18/12 post]
(Greeley, Colorado) A 44-year-old Spanish teacher at Northridge High School, Rhonda Eisenberg, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 17-year-old student and having a child as a result.

Eisenberg faces two counts of sexual assault on a child, one involving a pattern of abuse, and the other involving being in a position of trust.

According to Greeley Police Lt. Carl Alm:

The alleged victim is now 19, and police will not name him because he was a juvenile at the time of the alleged assaults, which were alleged between June 2010 and September 2010.

“She admitted to sexual intercourse with the victim multiple times before he moved out in September 2010,” Alm said. “The victim is the father of her baby.”

Eisenberg had guardianship over the boy, whose parents lived in Mexico at the time, Alm said. She is now on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, reported Roger Fiedler, spokesman for the school district.

Eisenberg was booked into custody at the Weld County Jail.

US Marine Urination Case

(Washington D.C.)

The investigating officer from the recent Article 32 hearing for a Marine accused of urinating on the corpse of a dead Taliban fighter has recommended the sergeant be tried by special court-martial.

However, Lt. Gen. Richard Mills, commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, must still determine whether to refer the case to court-martial, suggest nonjudicial punishment or dismiss the case altogether.

The prosecution of Roberts and others all started after someone posted a video on the web of Marines in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the Marines were taking a piss on a dead enemy combatant when the images were captured.

In any event, Sgt. Roberts' fate now resides with General Mills.

No Comment



From here.

Tennessee Mop Sink Controversy



Tennessee Mop Sink
(Nashville, Tennessee) There's a bit of controversy in the Volunteer State.

Building managers and legislative staffers have sought to reassure some concerned Tennessee lawmakers that recent renovations at the state Capitol did not install special facilities for Muslims to wash their feet before praying.

"I confirmed with the facility administrator for the State Capitol Complex that the floor-level sink installed in the men's restroom outside the House Chamber is for housekeeping use," Legislative Administration Director Connie Ridley wrote in an email.

"It is, in layman's terms, a mop sink."

For comparison, Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti installed a footbath at the student center to accommodate Muslim students. Functionally, it is not dissimilar to the reported mop sink at the Tennessee Capitol.



Muslim Footbath

Mop sink or Muslim footbath? Readers can decide.

Devout Jews detained for attempted animal sacrifice

This is thoroughly obnoxious.  By what strange logic are Jews to be denied equal rights in Israel? Muslims can do whatever they like on the temple mount.  Animal sacrifice is clearly commanded in the Torah.  Is the Bible the book of the Jews or is it not?  If Jews renounce continuity with the Israelites of old, their entitlement to the land of Israel becomes very shaky



A lamb and two humans were detained by police in Jerusalem on Monday as they were making their way to the Temple Mount.

The humans, hard-right political and religious activists Noam Federman and Arye Sunnenberg, intended to go to the Temple Mount and carry out the Jewish ritual of the Passover Sacrifice, involving the slaughter of a lamb.

The sacrifice is an important commandment within Jewish law, which some religious authorities argues does not require the existence of a Temple for its performance.  It must, however, be conducted on the Temple Mount.

Federman and Sunnenberg are both associated with several Temple Mount organizations that insist on the right to Jewish prayer and worship at the holy site.

Both men were released a short time later although as of Tuesday night, the lamb remained in police custody.

Federman was stopped by the police close to the city center with the lamb in his car.

He said that since he had not been conducting any criminal activity, the police had detained him for infracting an Agriculture Ministry ordinance prohibiting the transport of livestock without a permit from a veterinarian.

Federman claimed that since he had made public his intentions to perform a Passover Sacrifice on the Temple Mount, the police had conducted a search in the city for his vehicle.

The Joint Association of Temple Organizations said it was concerned that the police intended to keep the lamb in administrative detention for another month, to prevent it from being brought as a sacrifice at the latest possible date, a month after the first day of Passover.

Although the Supreme Court has upheld Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount, the court allows the police to prevent prayer and other forms of worship if they believe that such activity will cause a disturbance of the public order.

The Wakf Muslim religious trust which administers the Temple Mount is fiercely opposed to any non-Muslim prayer there.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Federman said that for the police to prevent Jews from carrying out a central Jewish commandment like the Passover Sacrifice was extremely troubling.

“It’s unbelievable that Arabs are allowed to do whatever they feel like on the Temple Mount, yet Jews are forbidden from doing a mitzva which, according to Jewish law, if someone doesn’t perform incurs the punishment of spiritual excommunication,” he said.

Yehuda Glick, the association spokesman, said the Temple Mount organizations felt that that there needed to be some kind of protest at the infringement of the freedom of religion that prohibiting the performance of the Passover Sacrifice constitutes.

Asked whether the concern for public disturbance was reasonable given Muslim sensitivities, Glick said that the police exaggerate the threat and impose a de facto blanket ban on prayer and worship regardless of the situation.

He added that the police considerations should not come at the expense of freedom of religion.

SOURCE

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

Virginia Teacher Accused of Molesting Boy, 9

(Newport News, Virginia) An 18-year-old local woman, Nukia Shaneece Barnes, has been accused of molesting a 9-year-old boy in her home.

Barnes has been charged with aggravated sexual battery, forcible sodomy and crimes against nature.

Police say it happened in February, but the boy didn't tell his mother until recently.

The boy said Nukia Shaneece Barnes invited him into her residence and then sexually assaulted him, said police spokeswoman Holly McPherson.

Barns was arrested last Saturday. Details on booking are unavailable.

Massive Energy Skyscraper



(US-Mexico Border)

A Maryland energy company is planning to deliver 500 megawatts of power to the electrical grid from a giant hollow tower on the Arizona-Mexico border that would be the second-tallest structure ever built.

Known as a downdraft tower, the project by Solar Wind Energy, Inc., is an untested and hugely ambitious endeavor.[…]

The tower is based on a novel energy technology invented in Israel in the 1970s. Intended for hot, dry climates, the tower is essentially a hollow cylinder, open at the top. Water is sprayed into the opening, making the uppermost air humid and heavy. That heavy air sinks and accelerates, reaching speeds of 50 miles an hour before escaping at the base via 52 tunnels, where the rushing air spins turbines and create electricity.

Two towers are planned, each 2,250 feet tall and costing more than $1 billion. The technology is untested.

Texas Teacher Accused of Sex with Student

(Houston, Texas) A 28-year-old teacher with the Spring Branch ISD, Kathanna Culp, has been accused of engaging in sex with a student and hosting pot parties for teens. She taught at Northbrook High School.

Ironically, Culp has a law degree and has been trained as a child advocate.

Culp faces a charge of improper relationship with a student.

According to court documents, in March 2012, she began having a sexual relationship with a student who then graduated during May 2012. Culp and the boy reportedly continued the relationship until November 2012.

In December, Culp reportedly went to the school's principal in tears, saying the while she tried to end the relationship, the boy didn't want to break up, and threatened to go public with the relationship.

The former student told Spring Branch ISD police that Culp hosted parties for underage teens, providing them with liquor, beer and marijuana, once including children as young as age 10. He added that Culp had sent him provocative photos of herself via cell phone.

Culp, whose employment with the district was terminated in December 2012, was arrested on Wednesday, March 20.

Details on booking are unavailable. Speculative details on Culp's future are unattractive.

Arizona Woman Accused of Abusing Her Child

(Phoenix, Arizona) A 21-year-old local woman, Rickesha Jovani Burns, has been arrested for allegedly abusing her 2-year-old son.

Burns faces charges of sexual conduct with a minor and child abuse. Police were alerted about 8PM Sunday.

They say the child was crying and bleeding and was immediately transported to a Phoenix hospital.

Police say Burns told them her son had been playing with a 12-year-old boy at a park and he had done something to the child.

Doctors say the child had injuries around his rectal area and he needed surgery to remove a foreign object.

Details on booking are unavailable.

Bipartisanship

I have received a mailout from the Boston Globe asking me to comment on one of their articles ("A lesson for Bob Dole: old rules no longer apply"  by  Michael Kranish).  I am not quite sure why I deserved that honor but I do indeed have something to say about the article concerned.

The article claims, rightly I think, that Congress has become intractably polarized.   It goes on to give an example. It says that the Senate recently refused to ratify an international treaty  giving rights to the disabled.  All the votes against were cast by Republicans.  A two thirds majority is needed to ratify treaties.

The article portrays the GOP opposition to ratification as irrational.   It was not.  Once ratified, a treaty becomes legally binding.  And once you've got a law it is in the hands of the courts.  And it is an old, old, strategy in America to get the courts to impose what no legislature would.

If America's legal system were simply judicial and not political it might have been reasonable to give the courts a new set of rights to chew on but America's courts are an abomination right from the Supreme Court down.  SCOTUS has "found" rights in the constitution that are not even mentioned there (a right to abortion) and denied rights that are explicitly set out in the constitution (allowed "affirmative action" despite the 14th amendment requirement for equal treatment).  The GOP senators were right to be leery.

A bigger question, however, is why there is little or no bipartisanship in Congress these days.  The article I am discussing is persuasive that in the not too distant past there was substantial bipartisanship.

I think much of the fault lies with Obama and his Senate henchman, Harry Reid.  Obama came to power floating on a promise of bipartisanship and "reaching across the aisle".  It was soft-soap.  He has done the opposite.  His idea of compromise is getting people to agree with him.  The GOP have got nothing from him.

And Obamacare exemplifies the Reid/Obama axis of intransigence.  They got that legislation though without a single Replublican vote and by way of gigantic arm-twisting of their own congressmen.  The small group of anti-abortion Democrats that stood in the way were bought off by a meaningless promise from Obama that has been breached virtually from the get-go.  The fear that Obamacare would affect the rights of abortion opponents has been amply justified, with a ruling that church bodies and others must pay for health insurance that includes a right to abortion. Catholics are particularly affected and are in court trying to get the ruling overturned.

So when the Donk establishment will go to any length to get its way, they have got to expect the GOP to dig in its heels too.  It takes two to tango.


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

California Teacher Gets Jail for Sex with Student - Update

(Merced County, California) Yesterday morning, 27-year-old teacher formerly at Livingston High School, Melody Carter McCabe, pleaded no contest to the crime of engaging in sex with a student.

As a result, McCabe is being sent to jail.

A judge sentenced the former Livingston High School teacher to five months in the Merced County jail.

McCabe will also serve five years felony probation but won't have to register as a sex offender.

McCabe is scheduled to report to jail on May 28th.

* * * * *
California Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Student
[Previous 6/4/12 post bumped]
(Merced County, California) A 27-year-old agriculture teacher at Livingston High School, Melody Carter-McCabe, has been accused of engaging in a year-long sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male student.

Carter-McCabe faces nine felony counts of unlawful sex with a student.

According to the sheriff’s report, Carter-McCabe was the boy's mentor in Future Farmers of America. The prosecution maintains the friendship between the suspect and the boy eventually became sexual.

According to the sheriff’s report, the boy, who is now 17 years old, frequented the suspect's home and claimed they had sex more than 50 times.

[Chief Deputy District Attorney Rob Carroll] said the evidence against Carter-McCabe includes photographs and various correspondence between the teacher and victim.[…]

During his statements to detectives, the boy said the defendant had a purple vibrator, and she offered to allow him to use it on her. Detectives served search warrants at the defendant's home and found it wrapped in a white sock in the defendant's nightstand.

The boy was also able to describe to detectives certain features about the defendant's body, such as Japanese water symbol tattoo on her ankle. The teen also had pictures on his cell phone of a woman in her panties.

Carter-McCabe was booked into custody with bail set at $250,000.

Florida Teacher Accused of Child Abuse

(West Palm Beach, Florida) A 48-year-old Head Start teacher, Dorothy Kelly, has been accused of child abuse and false imprisonment of a child under 13.

A parent went to the Head Start Center to alert school administrators after noticing bruises on a girl's legs.

While there, administrators reviewed video that showed Kelly "forcefully" placing the girl in the bathroom alone, and blocking her from leaving. The report said Kelly left the child in the dark bathroom for 51 minutes.

The report said another video showed Kelly leaving the child in the bathroom alone an hour and 20 minutes. No other children were videotaped being placed in the bathroom.

Kelly surrendered to authorities on Sunday.

Ford Advertising in India



(India) Ford Figo advertising in India carries the tagline "Leave Your Worries Behind."

Ford has come under fire for a new series of print advertisements — featuring bound-and-gagged celebs stuffed into a hatchback's boot — promoting the Figo in India.

The Indian press has blasted the adverts, with at two of them being branded outright sexist. And the timing couldn't have been worse... it's been just days since new anti-rape legislation was passed by the Indian parliament.

One of the adverts shows former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi holding three barely clad women hostage. Another shows Paris Hilton seemingly kidnapping three of the Kardashians. The final print commercial depicts F1 legend Michael Schumacher snatching Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Ford has apologized.

Phil's Flawed Forecast



Punxsutawney Phil
Hereabouts forecasters have correctly predicted snowy winter weather, contrary to the February 2nd prognostication by Punxsutawney Phil. The animal had incorrectly "predicted" an early spring.

The weather has been blustery. Nasty cold bouts with snowfall even prompted an Ohio prosecutor to file a "criminal indictment against the famous Pennsylvania groundhog." However, Phil has now been exonerated.

That's right, Bill Deeley, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, on Monday told The Associated Press that the animal rightly predicted six more weeks of winter last month, but Deeley mistakenly announced an early spring because he failed to correctly interpret Phil's "groundhog-ese."

So miscommunication is at fault. Heh.

The double standards never stop





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

Texas Woman Accused of Compelling Prostitution

(San Antonio, Texas) A 21-year-old local woman, Jordann Depascalis, has been accused of luring two young girls into prostitution.

Based on the results of an undercover investigation, Depascalis has been charged with compelling prostitution.

According to an arrest affidavit, a girl who was 16 at the time told police how she became friends with 21-year-old Jordann Depascalis. The teen told police Depascalis taught her and another 13-year-old girl how to be a prostitute.

The 16-year-old victim, who was a reported runaway, told police Depascalis was already working as a prostitute. The affidavit states Depascalis advised the girls how much money to charge and where to advertise for sex.

Details on booking are unavailable.

Copyright Alert System

(Washington, D.C.)

The Copyright Alert System, organized by the recording and film industry, is being activated this week to target consumers using peer-to-peer software.

Under the new system, complaints will prompt an Internet service provider — such as Verizon or AT&T — to notify a customer whose Internet address has been detected sharing files illegally. A person will be given up to six opportunities to stop before the Internet provider will take more drastic steps, such as temporarily slowing their connection, or redirecting Internet traffic until they acknowledge they received a notice or review educational materials about copyright law.

Consumers who maintain they have been wrongly accused would be forced to pay $35 to appeal the decision.

The $35 fee will be returned if no copyright infringement is found.

Missing Virus

(Galveston, Texas)

A vial containing a potentially harmful virus has gone missing from a laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch, officials said.

The missing vial, which contains less than a quarter of a teaspoon an infectious disease, had been stored in a locked freezer, designed to handle biological material safely, within the Galveston National Laboratory on UTMB's campus, officials said. During a routine internal inspection last week, UTMB officials realized one vial of a virus called Guanarito was not accounted for at the facility.

Scott Weaver, the laboratory's scientific director, said Guanarito is an emerging disease that has caused deadly diseases in Venezuela. The federal government prioritizes it for research because it has the potential to be used a weapon for terrorists.

On Tuesday, an investigator discovered that only four out of five vials were stored of the virus in the grid system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was notified immediately.

Lab officials searched but has not been able to locate the other vial.

Sounds like the plot of a dramatic movie.

Dead Pigs and Ducks in Chinese Rivers - Update

(Shanghai, China) Still a mystery.

The number of dead pigs found in Chinese rivers has risen to 16,000 as of this week, and 1,000 ducks have now been found floating down the South River in Pengshan county.

First pigs then ducks. What's next?

* * * * *
Dead Pigs in the River
[Previous 3/10/13 post]



(Shanghai, China) Over 900 dead pigs were found floating in the Songjiang River near Shanghai Saturday afternoon. It's a mystery.

Perhaps even more alarming, local officials seem at a loss as to what killed the pigs, or even where they came from.

The dead pigs were found in the Songjiang River. While the river does provide drinking water for Shanghai, officials have said they don't believe the water quality has been effected.

Rotting pig carcasses won't affect the drinking water sounds like hooey to me.

Hate speech prosecutions now more difficult in Canada


After the failure of prosecutions under Human Rights law, hate speech prosecutions must now be brought under the criminal code.  Such prosecutions are at the discretion of the provincial attorney general

Among the loudest critics of anti-hate human rights laws was Ezra Levant of Sun News Network. He mocked a group of Muslims who complained to the federal as well as three provincial human rights commissions about what they thought was a hateful tirade against all Muslims in Maclean’s magazine. That complaint was rejected but the campaign by Levant and Co. continued.

Last fall, Levant did an on-air rant against the Roma. Theirs was “a culture synonymous with swindlers,” he said, while commenting on a crime ring operating in the Durham region involving some Roma.

“One of the central characteristics of that culture is that their chief economy is theft and begging ... The phrase ‘gypsy’ and ‘cheater’ have been so interchangeable historically that the word has been entered into the English language as a verb: he gypped me. Well, the gypsies have gypped us. Too many have come here as false refugees.” And so on.

Gina Csanyi-Robah of the Roma Community Centre filed complaints with the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, the Alberta Bar Association and also the hate crimes unit of the Toronto police.

The two broadcast regulatory bodies wrote to say they would await the outcome of the police probe. The bar association, of which Levant is a member, asked whether they could defer their investigation until after police had done their work, she said.

On March 11, Csanyi-Robah says police informed her that they found more than enough evidence to charge Levant under the Criminal Code, and the Crown attorney agreed. But then permission from the Ontario attorney general was not forthcoming, she says, adding that two detectives told her that was highly unusual — they had never seen such a rejection.

She was called to a meeting March 14 with Patrick Monahan, deputy attorney general. The detectives and the Crown attorney were there. So was Mark Freiman, lawyer for the Roma Centre, and two of its board members.

She recalled — and another person corroborated — that Monahan said there was evidence to proceed with the charge but that it could be “a challenging case.” Told that most anti-hate cases can be challenging, he said that Levant was a bully and that he’d turn it into “a bit of circus,” she says.

“They were intimidated about what he’d come out and say on the air,” she told me.

Four days later, Levant issued a rare on-air apology. He said he was wrong to have equated the actions of some individuals with an entire ethnic group. “I must admit that I did more than just attack a crime or immigration fraud problem. I attacked a particular group, and painted them all with the same brush.”

Csanyi-Robah found the apology insincere.

Source

What Levant said about Gypsies is perfectly correct.  They are in general a plague on any community.  But there are exceptions to most rules.  Some Gypsies are no doubt decent.  The exceptions should not however stop us from making  broadly accurate generalizations.  Being aware of probable Gypsy behaviour is some armour against being ripped off by them.


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

Texas Woman Arrested for Theft of $250K

(Sante Fe, Texas) A 39-year-old woman, Michelle Lopez, has been arrested for theft of more than $250,000 from Bolivar Barge Cleaning Services, a Sante Fe business.

Lopez faces a charge of theft over $200,000. Interestingly, Lopez is currently on probation for an similar offense committed in 2005.

Authorities said Lopez is accused of forging numerous business checks and depositing them to her personal account. The proceeds of the theft were used by Lopez for “extravagant purchases.”

The search warrant executed at her home in the 1700 block of Cranston Grove Drive in Dickinson resulted in the recovery of a 2013 Dodge Challenger, several pieces of expensive jewelry, and numerous designer items.

Lopez was booked into custody with bond set at $500,000.

California Woman Collared for Drugs

(Temecula, California) A 43-year-old local mom, Tatiana Nedeljovic, was arrested this week on drug and child endangerment charges.

Nedeljovic faces counts of possession of heroin for sale, child endangerment and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Deputies went to a residence at 3:45 p.m., Wednesday March 20 located in the 27000 block of Stanford Drive in Temecula.

Tatiana Nedeljovic, 34, showed obvious signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance when she answered the door, Sgt. Geoff Green said in a Riverside County Sheriff’s press release.

A probation search of the residence led to the drugs being found which was in reach of three children at the home.

Nedeljovic was booked into custody at the Southwest Detention Center.

Fiction that will unfortunately be remembered as fact

Thirteen minutes into the Oscar-winning movie "Argo," CIA agent Tony Mendez asks supervisor Jack O'Donnell what happened to a group of Americans when the U.S. Embassy was stormed in Tehran.

"The six of them went out a back exit," O'Donnell tells Mendez, played by Ben Affleck. "Brits turned them away. Kiwis turned them away. Canadians took them in."

That passing reference to New Zealand is rankling Kiwis five months after "Argo" was released in the South Pacific nation. Even Parliament has expressed its dismay, passing a motion stating that Affleck, who also directed the film, "saw fit to mislead the world about what actually happened."

New Zealand joins other countries, including Iran and Canada, that have felt offended by the fictionalized account of how the six Americans were sheltered and secreted out of Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Some in New Zealand have taken those words — "Kiwis turned them away" — as implying the country did nothing to help.

In fact, a U.S. State Department document dated Feb. 6, 1980, says "four Embassies — Canadians, British, Swedish and New Zealand — were involved in their protection and escape." The document was posted online last fall by the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.

And published interviews indicate diplomats from Britain and New Zealand did help by briefly sheltering the Americans, visiting them and bringing them food, even driving them to the airport when they left.

Yet those interviews also indicate that both countries considered it too risky to shelter the Americans for long. That left the Canadians shouldering the biggest risk by taking them in.

Lawmaker Winston Peters, who brought last week's uncontested motion before Parliament, said New Zealanders are unfairly portrayed as "a bunch of cowards," an impression that would be given to millions who watch the movie.

"It's a diabolical misrepresentation of the acts of courage and bravery, done at significant risk to themselves, by New Zealand diplomats," he said.

Affleck could not be reached for comment this week.

During Oscar media interviews last month, Affleck told reporters: "Let me just start by saying I love New Zealand, and I love New Zealanders." He added that "I think that it's tricky. You walk a fine line. You are doing a historical movie and naturally you have to make some creative choices about how you are going to condense this into a three-act structure."

But Affleck and his screenwriter, Chris Terrio, who won the adapted screenplay Oscar, did catch some flak from critics for taking major liberties, especially a heart-stopping — but fictional — airport finale that had gun-wielding Iranian Revolutionary Guards chasing the Swissair plane down the tarmac, with the plane lifting off just in the nick of time. (In reality, the airport exit went smoothly.)

And after the film was made, Affleck took the step of changing the film's postscript, the Toronto Star reported, to more generously credit Canada and its ambassador at the time, Ken Taylor, who protected the Americans at huge personal risk and was uncomfortable with some details in the film.

SOURCE


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

PETA - The Shelter of Last Resort

Documents released from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services show that PETA, the organization famous for ruining perfectly good fur coats, euthanized almost 90% of the animals it housed in a shelter at its Virginia headquarters.

The vast majority of animals to the brought to the shelter were ‘surrendered by owner’.

According to the document, PETA only managed to get 23 of the animals in its care adopted, while euthanizing the other 1,675.

So, animals killed were in the thousands. Heh. I'd suggest that PETA has expanded the definition of 'ethical treatment' to include killing.

Oklahoma Child Exploitation Case - Updated

(Shawnee, Oklahoma)

A former Oklahoma schoolteacher who pleaded no contest to child pornography and exploitation charges changed her plea to guilty Friday and agreed to accept a 45-year prison sentence.

Former third-grade teacher Kimberly Crain, 50, pleaded guilty midway through a sentencing hearing in which she could have been sentenced to life in prison on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child under 12 and possession of juvenile pornography, plus separate counts of conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation and lewd molestation.

Crain tearfully apologized to members of her family, friends and the parents and other family members of more than a dozen former students.[…]

Earlier, the judge accepted Crain's guilty pleas to 31 felony counts, including 18 counts of sexual exploitation that will require her to serve 85 percent of her 45-year sentence, or 37 years and three months, before she is eligible for parole.

District Attorney Richard Smothermon said 45 years is effectively a life sentence. I'll say.

* * * * * Exploitation of Girls in Bras and Panties - Updated
[Previous 1/11/13 post]
(Shawnee, Oklahoma) Former third-grade teacher at McLoud Elementary School, Kimberly Crain, 49, has admitted to taking lewd photos of pre-teen girls (9 to 11 years old) during pizza parties she hosted in her home. Hidden video also captured the girls naked.

The photos and video were shared with Gary Doby, 67, a retired Bloomsburg University professor of early childhood development. Doby pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges this week and was sentenced to life in prison.

Crain pleaded no contest to child exploitation and pornography charges. Judge John Canavan Jr. ordered a pre-sentence evaluation prior to Crain's sentencing scheduled for March 22.

The judge told Crain, 49, that she faces a minimum of 25 years, but the prosecutor said he'll seek the maximum.

"He (Doby) stood up and took responsibility. She didn't," District Attorney Richard Smothermon said outside court. "The only way justice is done is that they never get out prison."

Crain's voice quivered, and she appeared to tear up as she stood before the judge dressed in an orange, jail-issued jumpsuit and shackled by the wrists.

Reportedly, the child exploitation scheme transpired for two years before authorities were notified.

Note that Gary Doby is logically the previously-mentioned "Uncle G."

* * * * *Teacher Took Photos of Girls in Bras and Panties
[Previous 12/1/11 post]
(Shawnee, Oklahoma) A 48-year-old third-grade teacher at McLoud Elementary School, Kimberly Crain, has resigned her teaching position ostensibly due to an investigation regarding alleged inappropriate behavior with students.

The investigation of Crain began earlier this month when a parent told police that her daughter had been invited--along with other girls--to Crain’s residence for a pizza party. The child told her parents that “they dressed up in bras and panties and decorated the tree and ate pizza.”

Under questioning by her parents, the girl revealed that Crain “took photos of her and her friends decorating the tree,” and that some of the girls “made up a cheer dance and did it in the bra and panties while Crain videotaped them.”

According to a search warrant affidavit, Crain told the girls that, “she had something for them to change into” at her home. The bras and panties--imprinted with phrases like “Ho! Ho!”--were on a bed, and “Crain had all of the girls into the bedroom, one by one, and change into the bras and panties.”

Two girls did not want to change into the bras, so they just wore a t-shirt with the panties, according to the affidavit. But “Crain told them that they needed to go put the bras on,” police reported.

A detective secured the warrant to search Crain’s residence for computer equipment, cell phones, digital storage devices, and other material.

Reportedly, Crain also had girls interact online with an older man named "Uncle G." Suspicious? I think so. (More….)

'Google Alerts' Reportedly Broken

From VentureBeat:

The Internet is a massive, tangled, churning web of content, and for a long time, Google Alerts was a key navigational tool that kept users on top of things that were relevant specifically to them.

However over recent months, a series of reports have surfaced that indicate Google Alerts is no longer working as it should.

People on online forums, publications, and blogs say their Google Alerts have dwindled to the point of uselessness. Trade publication The Financial Brand reported that its Google Alerts have slowed to a “trickle,” with the volume decreasing by at least 80% and dropping from 20-35 emails per day with 4- 12 results down to 4-8 emails per day with 1-3 results each. Furthermore, “the results are crummier than ever.”

My experience is consistent with the complaints in the linked article. Meanwhile, thus far no explanation has been voiced by anyone representing Google.

Image: bigstockphoto

Minnesota Teacher's Aide Accused of Sex Crime

(Fertile, Minnesota) A 44-year-old teacher's aide at Fertile-Beltrami High School, Terina (Terrina) Ann Parr, has been accused of criminal sexual conduct with a male student.

Parr faces a charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

The charge alleges she was in a position of authority over the student, who was at least 16 but younger than 18.

The maximum sentence is 10 years if she were to be convicted.

Polk County Deputy Michael Norland said in a probable cause statement that Deputy Randy Lee spoke to Principal Hillary Horner on March 7, who told him Parr had “behaved inappropriately with a student,” and that there was reportedly a video of it.

Deputy Lee said the student told him that Parr kissed him on the lips, then a month later put her hands “inside his pants and touched his privates.”

The student said in early March he used his cell phone to record a video of himself touching Parr’s breasts “so that he would have proof,” according to the court complaint.

Details on booking are unavailable.

Florida Teacher Accused of Roughing Up Students

(Clearwater, Florida) A 44-year-old special needs teacher at Skycrest Elementary School, Melanie Jo Fox, has been accused of smacking around two students she teaches.

Fox was arrested by Clearwater Police to face two counts of child abuse.

"The teacher did admit to some allegations, and was arrested on two counts of child abuse of a six and and eight-year-old, both with special needs," said Clearwater spokesperson Joelle Castelli.

Fox is accused of binding the hands and pulling the hair of the six-year-old girl, and pushing down the eight-year-old boy.

Details on booking are unavailable.

Georgia Woman Gets Prison for Sex with Boy, 13

(Augusta, Georgia) A 33-year-old local woman, Dana Marie Adams, has been convicted of molesting a 13-year-old boy.

A jury deliberated for seven hours before finding Adams guilty of aggravated child molestation, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and child neglect.

Adams begged the judge not to send her to prison, but the judge explained that he had no choice.

The mandatory minimum sentence for child molestation is 25 years in prison. He imposed that and added two additional years’ incarceration for the misdemeanors.

Interestingly, Adams rejected a plea deal offer which would have dropped the aggravated child molestation charge along with mandatory incarceration. Chances are she would have only been sentenced to two years.

Chinese Concrete Problems



(Shenzhen, China)

A sand scandal is brewing in China, with concerns that low-quality concrete has been used in the construction of many of the country's largest buildings -- putting them at risk of collapse.

The recipe to make concrete is pretty simple -- cement, aggregate and water -- but the strength of the final batch can vary wildly depending on the kinds of aggregate and cement used and the proportions they're mixed in. Commonly the aggregate used in many modern buildings projects consists of crushed gravel or other rock, including sand, and that's the cause of so much distress in the Chinese construction industry at the moment. Inspections by state officials have found raw, unprocessed sea sand in at least 15 buildings under construction in Shenzhen, including a building which, when finished, was set to become China's tallest.

Sea sand contains salt which is corrosive to steel reinforcing bars. So, given time, the concrete structures will weaken and likely fail.

Iowa Woman Pinched for Meth, Child Endangerment

(Marshall County, Iowa) A 23-year-old local woman, Samantha Sanders, has been accused of multiple felony drug offenses reportedly committed in the presence of children.

Sanders faces counts of ongoing criminal conduct, neglect of a dependent person, possession of meth with intent to deliver, possession of alprazolam, possession of a prescription drug without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. According to Chief Jailer Steve Hoffman,

Although Hoffman would not disclose the amount of meth Sanders is charged with attempting to traffic, court reports indicate it was less than five grams. Typically, trafficking charges arise if the amount of drug seized is over five grams or the drugs are packaged for sale.

Hoffman said police recovered various scales and other items that indicated Sanders intended to move the drugs on the street.

Sanders was booked into custody with bond set at $25,000.

Idaho Woman Accused of Sexual Battery of Minor

(Boise, Idaho) A 27-year-old local woman, Amanda R. Sheets, has been accused of engaging in sex with a teenager in January 2012.

Sheets faces a charge of sexual battery of a minor between the ages of 16-to-17.

Boise police began their investigation into the 27-year-old Sheets after getting a call from a third party on Feb 29. Police say Sheets and the teen are known to each other.

Police turned over the results of that investigation to Ada County prosecutors, who issued an arrest warrant for Sheets earlier this month.

Sheets was booked into custody Tuesday evening.

Anti-Semitism is a light sleeper. Look at Agatha Christie

I agree that antisemitism is a light sleeper.  It suffuses the British Left to this day. See  here (scroll down) and here and here and here and here and here.  But I don't think there is anything significant in the antisemitism of Agatha Christie.  She was simply a person of her time.  And the whole world (more or less) was antisemitic before WWII.  Do I have to refer to FDR sending Jewish refugees from Hitler back to Germany?  Christie didn't know any better.  The modern-day Left should

It should also be remarked that not all antisemitism is the same.  At the height of the British Empire there were laws in Britain restricting what Jews could do.  And Britons generally at that time thought that the British were clearly a superior race.  Yet the British Conservative party elected as their leader a man most unapologetic about his "Hebrew" origins -- Disraeli.  And Disraeli had a most distinguished subsequent career as British Prime Minister.  As Bismarck said:  "Der alte Jude.  Das ist der Mann". ("The old Jew.  That's the man").

So compare antisemitism among conservatives with the antisemitism of the socialist Hitler. Anybody who can't see a huge difference isn't thinking.  It's the hate that makes the difference and hate is what makes you a Leftist -- JR

In reflections on Perspectives: The Mystery of Agatha Christie – in which David Suchet, the most popular of all Hercule Poirots, looked at her famous disappearance in 1926 – Matthew Sweet wonders why Christie’s work is so unexamined.  She was always pretty political in her way. As a child I was perplexed by the intrusion into her later books of her burning resentment of high taxes.  And because my parents deplored anti-Semitism, I noticed jarring anti-Jewish references in some of those she published pre-war.

Christie’s anti-Semitism was not eradicated by the horrors of the Holocaust, though it no longer disfigured her books. Sweet recalls Christopher Hitchens describing dinner chez Christie in the 1960s, when "the anti-Jewish flavour of the talk was not to be ignored or overlooked, or put down to heavy humour or generational prejudice. It was vividly unpleasant."

She was, of course, by no means alone.  I’ve been reading the canon of that fine crime-writer, Cyril Hare, a judge whose Tragedy at Law is both a superb puzzle and a marvellous guide to the almost unbelievable pomposity of an untrammelled bench. It’s the casual anti-Semitism in dialogue that gets one, eg, the throw-away description of someone as a "sub-Aryan". Yet Christie and Hare were decent, civilised, well-read people who abhorred cruelty.

I’ve three thoughts on this. Firstly, looking at the anti-Semitism that so often  lurks under the guise of anti-Zionism, we should remember Conor Cruise-O’Brien’s description of anti-Semitism as “a light sleeper”.  The language may have changed, but the instincts remain.

Secondly, is it because of the contempt of the intelligentsia for crime writers that so little attention has been paid to the politics of so important and influential a writer as Christie?
And, thirdly, the call for retrospective censorship is always stupid: there’s no better way to understand the fears and prejudices of any period than by reading its unexpurgated fiction.

SOURCE


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