Three Mexican Top Cops Assassinated

Last Saturday, Carlos Bowser Miret, the Director of Public Safety for the resort city of Rosarito, Baja California, was assassinated near his home a few blocks from police headquarters. Miret was only six months into his job as the city's head of law enforcement and had vowed to eliminate drug houses and restructure the police department. A vehicle and spent cartridges were found at the murder scene. The unknown killers are at large.

Xinhua reports on another Baja California killing:

Unknown perpetrators Tuesday shot dead the director of a state jail in Mexico, prosecutors said.

Eduardo Villalobos, head of the jail of the northwestern Baja California state, was shot when heading for his office in an official vehicle, prosecutors said.

Villalobos was also Baja California's attorney general and director of the Special Anti-Organized Crime Unit of the state.

Nine-millimeter bullet shells which could have been used by a Uzi sub-machine gun were found at the spot of the murder, prosecutors said.

Witnesses counted four gunmen.

And last week in the eastern part of Mexico on the Rio Grande border, Nuevo Laredo Police Captain Juan Sergio Montes was killed by gunmen believed to be linked to drug traffickers. Montes was on routine patrol with a partner, Elvira Perez Corona, when his vehicle was ambushed and sprayed with automatic weapons. Corona was wounded and remains hospitalized with a bullet in the back.

To summarize, in less than a week, three high-level Mexican law enforcement officials have been murdered with strong indications that all were committed by organized drug traffickers. Thus far, no killers have been identified, much less apprehended. The criminals are killing cops with impunity. It's one helluva lousy trend.

Companion post at Conservative Thinking.

Another Church Sex Cult Arrest

(Hammond, Louisiana) A ninth person has been arrested in the Hosanna Church sex cult case. Patricia "Trish" Pierson, 54, was taken into custody as a fugitive by FBI agents and Baton Rouge police when she arrived at Baton Rouge Airport. She was transferred to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff and booked on a charge of sexual battery. Trish Pierson is the wife of Allen Pierson who was previously arrested.

Of the others arrested, only Lois Ann Mowbray has bonded out of jail. The other people are being held without bond since they are charged with capital crimes. In Louisiana, rape of a child can result in the death sentence. Police are continuing the investigation and there may be more arrests.

Shooting Swans Authorized

(Indianapolis, Indiana) Property owners can now obtain a free permit to shoot gentle and graceful mute swans out of the air. Apply for the permit at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. There is apparently no actual hunting season nor bag limit. It just has to be determined that the swans are a health or safety concern or that they cause or they threaten to cause damage to property. Seems to me that every single mute swan in the state of Indiana meets that criteria. So, get a permit and load up. You can expect the carcasses to weigh in around six to eight pounds -- fine for Sunday dinner. And, they go so well with an orange-mint sauce.

The Filibuster Deal

If I thought it would help, I'd call the FBI and ask for a criminal investigation. Somewhere along the travel-path from Ohio to Washington, D.C., there is an outlaw medical practice that is performing surgery on Republicans. They all arrive with backbones removed and honorary memberships in the Democratic Party.

I'm angry and I feel personally betrayed by the Ohio Republican Senators. Before Mike DeWine and George Voinovich were exposed to be closet Democrats, they had my vote.

Never again.

Mike DeWine for this filibuster fiasco, (By the way, did you see him acting like an idol-worshipping groupie when McCain spoke at last night's press conference?) and George Voinovich for his Testosterone Monologue trashing John Bolton. Who are these people? The people I voted for were advertised as conservative, as loyal Republicans, but when it came time to show their conservatism, it wasn't there. Sure, I'm part blame because I voted for them. That was then.

Never again.

Dr. Moonda Murder Case

The plot thickens in the Dr. Moonda murder mystery. It seems that Donna Moonda was having an affair with a man she met at a drug rehab center. The man, Damian Bradford, 23, has been arrested for unrelated drug charges, but he is considered a person of interest in the Moonda murder.

 
Moonda & Bradford
Bradford is in the Beaver County jail on charges of possessing drug paraphernalia and violating probation from a sentence for receiving stolen property. Bond has been set at $50,000.

Notably, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that a confidential informant told police that "Donna Moonda and a man named Damian were in drug rehabilitation together and that she is paying for his apartment."


[Update 07/06/07]

Donna Moonda found guilty of murder.


[Update 09/21/07]

Moonda gets life in prison.

Drug Dogs Taught to Detect Talcum

(Canberra, Australia) Someone had switched the test package of cocaine with talcum powder at the beginning of the three month drug dog training program and nobody noticed. Consequently, seven police drug-sniffing dogs became proficient at finding talcum powder. According to Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Evans, they will have to be retrained even though they have "very soft, nice smelling noses at the moment."

My thoughts are that the dogs could have produced some very embarrassing moments if deployed screening passengers at the airport. Just think of the places people normally have talcum powder on their bodies. [Uh ... Ma'am ... We have to ask you to remove your underwear. Fido picked up on something.]

NY Republican Announces Candidacy

7Online.com:

(White Plains-WABC, May 23, 2005) -- Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Monday that she will not run for re-election this year. Instead, she's going bigger, and will run for statewide office in 2006.

Pirro told The Associated Press that she has not decided which office to seek. But she mentioned three possibilities: state attorney general, the office being vacated by Democrat Eliot Spitzer; the Senate; and governor, if Republican George Pataki decides against another term.

Asked if she thought she could beat Clinton, Pirro refused to answer directly but said, "I have never been afraid of challenges, no matter how daunting. I have really been a person who actually seeks out challenges. The more you say I can't do something, the more I want to do it. ... Whatever office I run for, I will run to win and for no other reason."

You just have to admire her confidence. It doesn't hurt that she's also a favorite of the White House political wizards.

She mentioned that she wasn't seeking re-election because she didn't want to deceive her supporters into voting for her, only to do an about-face a week later and run for another office. Someone needs to remind Pirro that honesty in New York politics is usually a losing combination. But, then again, there's always the remote possibility that it will work.

Endangered Koala Sterilization Program

From ABC News Online:

The South Australian Government has allocated an extra $4 million in Thursday's Budget to control koala numbers on Kangaroo Island.

The money will be used to step up the sterilisation program and to transport the animals to several spots in the state's south-east.

Premier Mike Rann says the campaign will avert an environmental disaster, but he has ruled out the possibility of a cull.

Being too cute to actually kill, the koalas will undergo a $160 operation to sterilize them. Notably, the koala sterilization program has been ongoing since 1996, so the practice is not new. However, with the new funds allocated, the story gets rerun on the front page.

The koalas being targeted live on predator-free Kangaroo Island, about 30 miles off the coast of South Australia, and there are too many for the environment to sustain. On the mainland, koalas have natural predators and human pressures to control the population. They also suffer from widespread infectious chlamydia which causes infertility in females.

Oddly, attempts to limit the population of koalas would be illegal in the U.S. since they are listed as an endangered species. This is despite the fact that the Australian government "sees no scientific evidence that it [the koala] is likely to become endangered anytime soon." Here's today's pop quiz. Since there are no indigenous koalas running wild in the U.S. and since, in Australia where they do run wild, the government sees no reason to believe that they will become endangered in the foreseeable future, then why would the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service place them on the Endangered Species List?

Interestingly, in a closely related story the House Resources Committee recently announced the results of a review of the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act. According to Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo,

"The ESA has not achieved its original intent of recovering species," the California Republican said. "In fact, there is little evidence of progress in the law's 30-year history."

The ESA was also faulted for containing a "wealth of erroneous data" on some species that has led to millions and millions of public and private dollars being wasted. One glaring example is the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse. Disregarding the fact that the vermin was obviously named by an Earth-Is-My-Mother biologist, the Preble's mouse was listed as "threatened" and millions of dollars were spent on stalled and canceled projects and creation of a protected habitat. After a second look it was discovered that the Preble's mouse was no different than any other grub-eating, burrowing, and hanta virus carrying field mouse. OOPS!

In summary, the Australian Tree-Killing Koala population is being reduced while the, rarer-than-Sasquatch, American Cuddly Soft Koala population is protected just in case they sprout wings and fly to the United States.

Sex Offenders Get Viagra Paid by Medicaid

(Albany, New York) According to Alan Hevesi, the New York State Comptroller, during an audit, the names on the state's sex offender registry were compared to the names listed as receiving Medicaid-paid Viagra. Results of the review indicate that almost 200 sex offenders, including child rapists, had received taxpayer-funded Viagra between 2000 and 2005.

Well, it didn't take long for the politicians to make a statement. Senator Hillary Clinton said that the news was "deeply disturbing" and that she would explore possible legislative action. Senator Chuck Shumer said he didn't think that giving sex offenders Viagra was done intentionally and, if necessary, he's prepared to introduce legislation to correct the situation.

It's certain that this story will get a lot of coverage and it should. The last thing society needs is to be the free-of-charge enabler for sex offenders to easily grow and sustain an erection. It's like putting gasoline on a fire.

In closing, it's noteworthy that this episode has demonstrated at least one unforeseen benefit of maintaining a sex offender registry.

Romanian Hostages Freed

(Baghdad, Iraq) Kidnapped in March, Prima TV reporter Marie Jeanne Ion, cameraman Sorin Miscoci, reporter Ovidiu Ohanesian, and translator Mohamad Munaf have been released by their captors. It still not clear who the hostage-takers were but, apparently, Romanian officials have been in contact with them for several weeks. Negotiations with the Romanian government, along with appeals from Romanian and Iraqi Islamic groups, are believed to have prompted the release of the journalists.

It's being reported that the Romanian government adamantly refused to negotiate foreign policy with the kidnappers nor would they pay a ransom. Bravo! However, I'm still a bit skeptical about whether we are getting the whole story on the kidnapping and release. Maybe it's because kidnappers are frequently proud of their hostage-taking and take credit. In this case, the kidnappers haven't been identified at all.

(via In The Bullpen)

Scholars Demand Islamic Trial for Koran Abusers

Gulf Times:

RIYADH: Eighteen Saudi Muslim scholars and thinkers demanded yesterday that those involved in the alleged desecration of the Holy Qur'an at the US detention facility of Guantanamo Bay be tried by an Islamic court.

"It won't do any good if the State Department (eventually) apologises or if it rejects this act, or if its authors are tried," they said in a statement.

"That would amount to throwing dust in the eyes as was the case in the trials of those who committed the crimes (of abusing prisoners at Iraq's) Abu Ghraib jail ... The Islamic nation will not settle for less than the trial (of the Guantanamo culprits) by an Islamic court," said the signatories.

So, it really doesn't matter at all if the allegations were true or not. The eighteen "Muslim scholars and thinkers" want heads to roll. Apparently, they won't be satisfied until the actual people responsible for what didn't occur are punished.

In all honestly, when the Muslim "scholars and thinkers" want to prosecute an offense that didn't happen, it becomes a little easier to understand why the everyday lay followers of Islam are exceedingly intolerant towards differing viewpoints. They are going to believe and will believe what they desire to believe. The truth and facts merely set the stage for their manufactured vision of reality.

Navajos to Regulate Power Plants

(Farmington, New Mexico) According to this report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is transferring regulatory authority governing emissions from a coal-fired generating facility, the Four Corners Power Plant, to the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency (NNEPA). A signed agreement specifies that the Navajo Nation will monitor air-quality emissions only and the U.S. government will retain other regulatory authority.

Situated on the Navajo Reservation, the Four Corners Power Plant continuously generates over 2,000 megawatts of electricity by burning 28,000 tons of coal daily. Burning that amount of coal obviously creates a huge amount of effluent smoke and gases which are released to the atmosphere through the smokestacks. According to the agreement with the U.S. EPA, the Navajo Nation will be responsible for monitoring emissions from the facility to assure compliance with federal standards until the Navajo environmental agency establishes its own standards. At that time, the Navajo Nation will be the permit issuing agency for the power plants.

At first glance, this change seems fine except that it places a Native American tribe in an odd political position between the environmental extremists and the large corporations. Typically, Native Americans line up with the environmentalists so it will be a challenge for them to be in the middle. Of course, although it's not often mentioned, Native Americans have historically, traditionally, even spiritually, been pro-smoke. Think about it. The peace pipes, smoke signals, and tribal dances around a smoky bonfire provide a basis that suggests it's a good fit for the Navajo to be in charge of the smoke emissions from the power plants. However, their historical affinity toward smoke may portend less restrictive emissions requirements in the future.

Joking aside, the actual agreement signed by the Navajo leaders specifies that they will administer and enforce applicable provisions of the Clean Air Act and Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Also, the NNEPA operates on grant funds from the federal government so it will function more as a subcontractor than an independent body. All in all, it appears that the whole scheme just removes a chunk of work from the purview of Washington and sends it to a local group, the Navajo Nation.

Blogger on Flight Diverted Due to Terrorist Threat

I apologize for being late in relaying this story but, late or not, it's an interesting read. Nick Genes of Blogborygmi was aboard the trans-Atlantic flight last week that was diverted from its intended destination of Boston to Bangor, Maine, because one passenger had been identified as a possible terrorist threat. A man was escorted off the plane at Bangor and Alitalia Flight 618 continued on to Boston. The FBI said later that the man was not a suspected terrorist. [ed. note: He was for a while.]

Nick's post relays the sense of apprehension he and others experienced during the entire episode and cites some valid concerns about the way the situation was handled. As I mentioned, it's a worthwhile read. Be sure to visit.

Fred Flintstone's Voice

(Los Angeles, California) Veteran character actor and voice-over artist Henry Corden has died at the age of 85 from complications of emphysema. Corden was known for providing the voice of Fred Flintstone.

Teacher Has Sex With Mentally Disabled Student

(Logan County, Colorado) Donna Sue Lopus, 39, was working at a video store because she was fired from her teaching job at Merino Elementary School. School officials suspected that something inappropriate was occurring, but they couldn't prove it. Fortunately, the prosecutor thinks he can. Specifically, the prosecutor aims to prove that Lopus was sexually assaulting a mentally disabled student throughout 2004.


Donna Sue Lopus
Lopus is charged with sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. The alleged assault began in her classroom, behind a bookshelf, with groping and kissing when the 16-year-old came to her for homework help. It became more serious and advanced to late-night rides in her car, sex in the back seat, and sleeping together.

Interestingly, Lopus blames the boy for "coming onto her." Presumably, she found the magnetic charms of a 16-year-old mentally disabled boy (in elementary school, no less) to be irresistible. She also blames the boy for lying to her about his age. The boy, however, indicated that Lopus was the aggressor in the relationship. He told investigators that Lopus arrived in class once without underwear and placed his hands under her dress. Holy-moly! Not only are normal everyday kids at the mercy of sexual offenders and predators, but, with special education teachers like Lopus (assuming she's convicted), the mentally disabled are also at risk.

Lopus is being held without bond, probably to keep her from doing something even more stupid than she already has. Her husband hasn't weighed in on the situation thus far.


[Update 07/05/06]

Lopus sentenced to two years in jail.

Terrorist Dies in Custody From Self-Inflicted Wounds

ABC Online:

The suspected leader of a cell that attacked tourists in Egypt last month has died after sustaining self-inflicted injuries while in police custody, the prosecutor general's office said on Saturday.

The Interior Ministry had identified Ashraf Said Youssef as the man who recruited a suicide bomber who killed two French people and an American man in a Cairo bazaar blast on April 7.

"On the evening of May 19, the prosecutor was informed by a police report of the death of the accused Ashraf Said Youssef," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

A security source said Youssef died on Thursday, May 19.

"The prosecutor general's office was informed by a police report that the accused Ashraf Said Youssef was afflicted, while in the room he was detained in, by a state of agitation, during which he purposefully hit his head on the wall of the room," the statement said.

It's generally known that torture is used in Egyptian prisons. However, this story won't get much coverage because the U.S. wasn't to blame. I should be careful with my assertions, though, because the MSM may be able to figure a way to point a finger at President Bush. Nevertheless, the fact that the world has one less terrorist because he banged his head against the wall (or someone banged it for him) is good news.

Louisiana Church Sex Cult Arrests

(Ponchatoula, Louisiana) The FBI, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office, the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, and the Ponchatoula Police Department are investigating allegations of cult-like deviant practices, including sex with children and animals, by members of the Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula. Thus far, the following eight people have been arrested and charged.

Austin Bernard III, 36, was charged with allegedly forcing a girl under the age of 13 to perform a sex act and admitted to knowing about alleged sexual acts involving children, dogs and cats that occurred at Hosanna Church.

Nicole Bernard, 36, was charged with aggravated rape of a juvenile under the age of 13

Paul Fontenot, 21, was charged with aggravated rape of a juvenile under the age of 13.

Deputy Christopher Labat, 24, was charged on one count of aggravated rape, one count of crime against nature, and one count of malfeasance in office. Being a law officer, Labat was not put with the general prisoner population. He is, however, on suicide watch.

Louis Lamonica, 45, was charged with two counts of aggravated rape and one count of crime against nature after he confessed that he had sex with children and animals. The entire sex cult case broke wide open when Lamonica walked into the Sheriff's office and confessed. He is the former pastor of the Hosanna Church.

Robbin D. Lamonica, 45, was charged with one count of aggravated rape after a male victim told deputies that he had been having sex with Robbin Lamonica from the time he was 4 years of age until he was 13.

Lois Ann Mowbray, 54, was charged with obstruction of justice, failure to report a felony, and accessory after the fact to aggravated rape.

Allen R. Pierson, 46, was charged with one count of aggravated rape for allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse with a girl who was 9 or 10-years-old at the time. The victim is now 13.

The investigation continues and authorities believe there may be dozens of victims ranging in age from infancy to adolescence. Computers were seized and the crime lab expects to find pictures of sex acts involving children and animals.

Notably, the laws of Louisiana consider sex with young children a capital crime punishable by death. If the evidence is sufficient, Scott Perrilloux, the 21st Judicial District Attorney, may seek the death penalty. Execution shouldn't be inconceivable. The enormity of the alleged crimes is bewildering.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Nicole Pomerleau Sentenced for Indecency with Boy

(Charlotte, North Carolina) Last February, it was reported that former Olympic High School English teacher Nicole Pomerleau, 31, pleaded guilty to taking indecent liberties with a 16-year-old student. She walked away with essentially a hand slap, some finger pointing, and a few tsk-tsks.


Nicole Pomerleau
Anyway, that's old news. However, I think something else must have happened and, for the life of me, I haven't been able to find out what. I base my assumption on the fact that I've received a rash of search engine hits in the last two days for Nicole Pomerleau. If anyone knows something fresh about her, please leave a comment.

Nine Die in Cleveland Fire

(Cleveland, Ohio) Nine people, including seven children, died in an early morning fire on Cleveland's east side. Eleven people were in the East 87th Street house at 3am when the fire started. Many of the children were there on a sleepover. One survivor is in critical condition at MetroHealth Medical Center.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Sexual Seduction Case

(Wrentham, Massachusetts) About a week ago, FBI agents and local police arrested Jennifer L. Marshall, 34, for allegedly performing oral sex on a 15-year-old boy in Nevada. Las Vegas Metro Police plan to charge Marshall with statutory sexual seduction. In an updated report, Marshall pleaded innocent to a fugitive from justice charge and was released on $500 bail. Another court appearance is scheduled for June 8.

Interestingly, it's been disclosed that Marshall at one time accused former New England Patriot football player Ben Coates of assaulting her in a domestic dispute. The alleged assault case obviously isn't related to Marshall's current legal problems, but it's worth noting.

Student Newspaper Shut Down

(Marietta, Georgia) Principal Randolph Bynum of Pebblebrook High School in Cobb County has eliminated the school's journalism class and the student newspaper citing a "teacher shortage and the need to keep more popular courses like cosmetology." Bynum also admits to criticizing the paper for content that's unfavorable to the school.

Newspaper staffers believe that the shutdown decision was made to censor student opinion. As such, they approached the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va., with their complaint. Mark Goodman, the executive director, said they would be happy to pursue the case.

Developing ....

EU Officials Expelled From Cuba

(Havana, Cuba) According to this report, two European Union politicians visited Havana to speak at a pro-democracy conference but, instead, they were seized Thursday by police, driven to the airport, and expelled from the country. Czech Senator Karl Schwarzenberg and German MP Arnold Vaatz had arrived to address dissidents opposed to the Communist rule of Cuban President Fidel Castro. Two former Spanish senators and a legislator were also expelled on Thursday and two Polish members of the European Parliament, Boguslav Sonik and Jacek Protasiewicz, were denied entry. Four journalists were taken into custody, three from Poland and one from Italy.

Notably, the Spanish Socialist government encouraged the European Union to upgrade its relations with Cuba and it did so in January. Consequently, Europeans show up in Cuba to develop and foster a closer relationship with the government and people of Cuba. Unfortunately, it seems nobody cleared the upgraded relationship with Castro and he's not having anything to do with it.

There's currently a flurry of jabbering in European diplomatic circles with lots of complaints and official protests, but you know that nothing will happen unless Castro says it will or dies. The intentions and initiatives of the European Union are meaningless as long as Cuba is under the murderous iron fist of communism.

The dissident rally was held as planned with a reported 200 people attending. Organizers believe a number of people stayed away for fear of being arrested. Interested-Participant applauds those bold and brave souls who attended with three words of caution -- watch your back.

Female Afghan 'Veejay' Murdered

(Kabul, Afghanistan) After the fall of the Taliban, Shaima Rezayee, 24, immediately discarded her burkha and became a 'veejay' (video journalist) for Kabul's answer to MTV. In this capacity, she hosted an hour-long music and chat show airing videos of Western singers which outraged conservative Muslims. Two months ago, Rezayee was fired due to pressure from Islamic mullahs. This week, she was murdered in her home by an unknown assailant. The killing is believed to be linked to her time as a veejay.

Obviously, living in a democracy doesn't automatically guarantee freedom of expression.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

[Update] The Gateway Pundit has a photo of Rezayee. Also, there's reason to believe that her family was instrumental in her death.

MS-13 Gang Member Arrested in Columbus

(Columbus, Ohio) Today, it's expected that a member of the dangerous El Salvadoran MS-13 gang will appear in federal court. David Henriques was apprehended in April after a chase during which he ditched a 9 mm AB-10, known as a "gang-banger" gun.


David Henriques
It's believed that Henriques will face multiple charges tied to murder, drugs, and possible terrorism. Notably, Henriques is the second MS-13 member arrested in Columbus this year. In January, it was reported that El Salvadoran Nelson Flores, 34, was arrested after a minor traffic accident. Flores is a violent, previously deported felon MS-13 gang leader who had been convicted of participating in a drive-by shooting in Nevada. Ominously, police said that there are upwards of a dozen other MS-13 gang members in the Columbus area.

Companion post at Diggers Realm.

Teaching Too Much Blamed for Dropout Rate

(Toronto, Canada) When students don't learn enough to pass required tests, what can educators do? Well, they can follow the example of the Arizona School System and arbitrarily lower the minimum grade required to pass. Alternatively, they can dramatically decrease the amount of subject material the student is required to learn which is the option that Canada has decided to pursue.

Toronto Star (Reg. req'd):

Ontario has unveiled a kinder, gentler math curriculum it hopes will stem the rising tide of high school dropouts.

The government has made sweeping changes to Grade 9 math, in the more hands-on applied stream where staggering failure rates have been linked to a growing number of dropouts since the tough new four-year high school program began in 1999.

Starting this fall, Grade 9 students in applied math will be expected to master nearly one-third less material while getting more practical lessons. As well, teachers will get more tips on how to make math relevant to teens.

Gone are subjects teachers deemed too abstract for many Grade 9 applied students, such as analytical geometry, the study of the steepness of "slopes" and lessons on the algebra needed to plot a parabolic curve.

When marking, teachers will be encouraged to give more weight to a student's overall comprehension of math concepts, rather than simply follow a lengthy checklist of individual skills.

According to Stewart Craven, Toronto District School Board math expert, the reduction in content is "a phenomenal improvement." Students' learning will be enriched because the "clutter of abstract concepts" is removed and, instead, new Grade 9 students will learn about how math applies to cellphone bills and video rental charges. And, even though course content has been reduced by one-third, it hasn't been "dumbed down." Rather, the changes have removed the "biggest roadblock to graduation for Ontario teens."

One could say that Ontario is spearheading toward education by osmosis. All that's necessary is to reduce course content to a low-enough level whereby a half-asleep student can still absorb enough knowledge to pass the final exam. Interestingly, in addition to removing course content, the teachers are given guidance to forget about giving marks based on a student's skills and pay attention to math concepts. But wait, didn't math expert Stewart Craven state that the clutter of concepts was removed? I'm confused.

With respect to whether the system is "dumbing down," you make the call. Eh?

Debra Lafave Pretrial Hearing

(Tampa, Florida) According to this report, the state's psychologist has determined that Debra Lafave was legally sane when she allegedly adjusted the horns of a 14-year-old student on several occasions in her home, in the classroom, and in her private vehicle. This finding is contrary to the defense's assertion last December when it was claimed that Debra was crazy during sex.


Nonetheless, Lafave's attorney John Fitzgibbons plans to continue pursuing the insanity defense against the charges of lewd and lascivious battery. Fitzgibbons is apparently relying upon an evaluation conducted by his own psychologist who determined that Lafave has "issues."

 
She obviously does, but that doesn't mean she's crazy. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman has scheduled another pretrial hearing for June 16. I fully expect that the defense will offer to plea either before or at that time. Nobody really wants Lafave to be tried before a jury and Prosecutor Mike Sinacore has indicated a willingness to find a "resolution" in the case. However, if no plea agreement is reached, a tentative trial date has been scheduled for July 18.


[Update 11/22/05]

Debra Lafave pleads guilty and gets no jail.

Dr. Moonda Murder

An update has been posted.

No Coke! Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi!

(Gainesville, Florida) The University of Florida has signed an exclusive deal with Pepsi to have its products in campus drink machines for the next ten years. Coca-Cola products will disappear from dormitory cafeterias, university hospitals, sporting events, and vending machines.

So, where are the obesity and food police? How come they haven't weighed in?

Boy Dies in Tank of Hog Manure

(New Madison, Ohio) According to the Dayton Daily News, four-year-old Chase Neanen slipped into a 10-foot-deep hog manure tank on Wednesday night and drowned. After a few minutes, his family noticed he was missing and started a search. A new Madison firefighter found the boy while stirring the manure tank. He was taken by helicopter to Children's Medical Center and pronounced dead about an hour later.

Man Throws Kittens From Car

(Lorain, Ohio) While driving around the countryside, part-time police officer Derrick Wilhelm, 26, decided to throw kittens out the window of his moving vehicle. Somebody saw him. He was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. I wonder if he would have been arrested if he had thrown cockroaches or mice or geckos out of his car.

Media Union Prez Says U.S. Killing Journalists

Following in the soiled footprints of Eason Jordan who, without any evidence, accused U.S. Forces of intentionally targeting and killing journalists, the President of Communications Workers of America, Linda Foley, said the following:

"Journalists, by the way, are not just being targeted verbally or …ah, or… ah, politically. They are also being targeted for real, um…in places like Iraq. What outrages me as a representative of journalists is that there's not more outrage about the number, and the brutality, and the cavalier nature of the U.S. military toward the killing of journalists in Iraq."

"They target and kill journalists…uh, from other countries, particularly Arab countries like Al -, like Arab news services like Al-Jazeera, for example. They actually target them and blow up their studios with impunity…"

Obviously, Foley is just irresponsibly shooting her mouth off without adequate basis. And she has no evidence because it's not happening.

The JunkYardBlog has the whole story. Go visit.

Other coverage:

In The Bullpen
The Blue State Conservatives
RightPundit
Say Anything
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
OpinionBug
The Dread Pundit Bluto
This Isn't Writing, It's Typing.
La Shawn Barber's Corner
Wizbang

In a way, the mainstream media reminds me of the unpopular kids I remember from elementary school. They constantly made up outrageous stories to get the other kids to like them. When that didn't work, they tripped the fire alarm. I think the MSM are stuck in a do-loop between the outrageous story and the fire alarm, apparently having abandoned any intentions of objectively reporting the news.

(Hat tip: The Jawa Report)

Husband Makes Wife Have Sex With Boy

(Norristown, Pennsylvania) This is an odd story. A man, David S. Knoble, 37, conspires with his wife, Tina Knoble, 35, for her to have 'involuntary deviate' sex with a 14-year-old boy. They both blame alcohol addiction. So, is everybody clear on this? I'm not. It all seems somewhat contradictory to me, but that's what is being reported.

Tina Knoble was sentenced last Friday to five to 15 years in state prison after being convicted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and corruption of a minor.

For pleading guilty to conspiring to commit statutory sexual assault, corruption of a minor, and endangering the welfare of a child, David Knoble was sentenced yesterday to one to two years in prison, four years probation, $2,000 in fines and court costs, and 200 hours of community service.

Encapsulated, it appears that David and Tina tied one on and then he told her to molest the boy which she did. Based upon the list of crimes, Tina molested the boy in a big way and, as a result, the 14-year-old became traumatized. It's assumed that David just watched while the molestation occurred.

And, there's more. It seems that David Knoble is also awaiting trial in a separate case involving the rape of an 11-year-old girl. He is charged with two counts each of rape of a child, statutory rape, sexual assault, and indecent assault. You know, it seems that some people just beg to have the book thrown at them.

In closing, I have to admit that the concept of "involuntary sexual assault" has my head spinning. Is there also a crime of "involuntary bank robbery?" I don't think so.

And, a final thought, isn't it interesting that the Knobles blamed their troubles on alcohol? We're seeing one of the few instances in the recent past that a crime wasn't blamed on President Bush.

Companion post at Conservative Thinking.

Wal-Mart Opens Supercenter in Amish Country

(Middlefield, Ohio) Yesterday was opening day and upwards of 5,000 people visited Geauga County's first Wal-Mart Supercenter, right in the center of a rural Amish region. Notably, the Middlefield store provides special parking for Amish buggies. Employing 350 people, the store is one of 25 new Wal-Marts inaugurated Wednesday, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien. Other new Supercenters include ones in Kenton, west of Mansfield, and Oxford, southwest of Dayton.

Additionally, according to Lyndhurst developer Mitchell Schneider, the planned Wal-Mart Supercenter for the $90 million Steelyard Commons Shopping Center southwest of downtown Cleveland has been given the go ahead. When opened, it will be Cleveland's first Wal-Mart. Inexplicably, the unions haven't weighed in yet. It's certain that they will have some comments about non-union Wal-Mart entering an area largely populated by union supporters. I expect some protest.

Teacher Charged in Student Sex Case

(Hanford, California) Arrested last month, former teacher Elisa Kawasaki has been charged with having sex with a 16-year-old student.


Elisa Kawasaki
Kawasaki faces counts of unlawful sex with a minor and child molestation. She remains free on bail.

[Update 5/25/05] This past week, prosecutors in Kings County filed statutory rape charges against 25-year-old Kawasaki. Specifically, she faces one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and one count of annoying or molesting a child younger than 18. Under consideration is the possibility that charges will also be filed in Madera County since it's where most of the sexual encounters between Kawasaki and the boy occurred.

An odd aspect of this case is that Kawasaki started as a first-year teacher only last January and by April she had acquired an arrest record for molestation of a student. During her short tenure, she and the student scratched each other's itches on 15 to 20 different occasions. Consequently, it doesn't appear that her relationship with the boy matured slowly to intimacy over time. Kawasaki probably cut her colt from the herd and had him mounted within the first couple of weeks of class.

Blogwarming

Conservative Thinking has been launched. Readers are encouraged to stop by and kick the tires.

Deserter Pablo Paredes Sentenced

(San Diego, California) Pablo Paredes, who refused to deploy on the USS Bonhomme Richard on December 6, 2004, was convicted and sentenced this past week. According to this report:

A Navy judge in San Diego, California on Thursday sentenced Pablo Paredes, a 23-year-old US Navy sailor, to three months of hard labor for refusing to board a military ship headed to Iraq last December. The judge also demoted Paredes, who was convicted Wednesday of "missing movement" with his unit, from petty officer third class to seaman recruit, the lowest rank in the Navy, which reduces his pay.

The sentence handed down by Navy Lieutenant Commander Robert Klant was not as harsh as the maximum penalty Paredes could have received: one year in prison, a bad conduct discharge and the loss of two-thirds of his pay. Paredes' attorney, Jeremy Warren, said he was pleased with the lesser sentence.

So, he gets demoted from E-4 to E-1, gets sent to the brig for three months of hard labor, and, apparently, continues on as a sailor until his obligation is satisfied. The sentence handed down seems to be giving Paredes the chance to redeem himself by completing all his obligations and getting an Honorable Discharge. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Paredes deserted, wants out of the military, and even joined up and protested with anti-military elements in society. Why keep him in?

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

(Frederick, Maryland) Two Gov. Thomas Johnson High School girls were quoted in the local newspaper, The Frederick News-Post, as saying they were going drinking after this year's prom. Their principal saw the article and barred them from attending the prom. The girls say the newspaper misquoted them, but the newspaper stands by its story.

Consequently, Shawnda Lawson and Nicole Taylor, both 18, will be able to get an earlier start on tossing down the prom night liquor than originally anticipated. Interestingly, according to another report, Shawnda doesn't believe that she did anything inappropriate and that she's just being treated unfairly.

The saddest part of this story is the simple realization that Shawnda is old enough to vote.

Marketing the 'Runaway Bride'

Unlike the real-life Jennifer, who would leave you standing at the altar, moaning "Oh, Jennifer!" this stuff:


Jennifer's High Tailin' Hot Sauce
Will likely have you sitting on the throne, screaming "Oh, Jiminy!" On the back of the bottle is a warning which states, "This sauce may cause you to seek intense professional help ... voluntarily" -- an obvious dig at Jennifer Wilbanks' decision to seek therapy. Available from PappysPeppers.com.

There is also a RUNAWAY BRIDE 12" Action Figure with towel and CROP TOP VEGAS BABY Jogging T-Shirt for only $24.95 available at Herobuilders.com.

Don't you just love capitalism?

Teacher's Aide Suzanne Eble Sentenced

(Canton Township, Michigan) Updating a previous report, 35-year-old teacher's aide Suzanne (Susanne) Eble pleaded no contest in Wayne County Circuit Court to three counts of third-degree and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for having sexual relations with a 14-year-old boy. Eble was sentenced Monday to not less than 15 months and not more than 15 years in prison.

My prediction is that she won't even spend six months in jail, if that. Now, if a 35-year-old man were looking at the punishment for felony criminal sexual conduct with a 14-year-old girl, the scenario would likely have a completely different outcome.

Personally, I don't think Eble's motivation for having sex with a boy was adequately explored in the investigation. I mean, is she a pedophile? Or, was she distraught or drugged and the temptation of forbidden sex was too alluring to resist? Did her dog die? Is she stupid? Hell! We just don't know, do we? And she's going to lead the rest of her life, raising her two children, being around her two children's friends, and nobody knows exactly what kind of threat she'll be.

Obviously, I believe that, across the board, sexual offenders are treated with dangerous lenience, male and female both. In the case of Eble, she was a teacher's aide when the sex occurred but, and the court made special note of this fact, she didn't meet the boy at school. Somehow, this mitigates the severity of her crime in the court's eyes which, apparently, justifies her light sentence. I don't see it that way. If she didn't meet the kid in school, so what? Obviously then, she must have met him while cruising the neighborhood or by luring him into her gingerbread house. What difference does it make? Seems the same to me.

In any event, there's no mention of registration as a sex offender nor is it known whether she'll continue to be allowed to teach. As for corrective action to preclude future criminal behavior? I guess society will just have to hope that her husband keeps an eye on her.

Bottle Bomb Explodes at Cleveland High School

(Cleveland, Ohio) Yesterday at Collinwood High School a homemade bottle bomb comprised of cleaning solution and aluminum exploded. The school was evacuated and one student was briefly hospitalized. Two students, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, were arrested and charged with aggravated arson, arson, possession of a dangerous ordnance in school safety zone, and unlawful possession of deadly ordnance.

The bombing appears to be nothing more than a prank, however, Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek took the opportunity to sharply criticize school CEO Barbara Byrd Bennett for not rushing to the scene and for not establishing a zero tolerance policy regarding violence.

My take is that, if you take away the media exposure and the political opportunism, the bottle bomb event was an isolated incident and fairly minor in significance. It's been reported that the student who went to the hospital had a minor hearing problem due to the loud noise.

French Court Jails Terrorists

CNN.com is reporting that a French court has sentenced five Islamic 'militants' to prison terms ranging from two to seven years. They were convicted of "providing logistic support to the killers of Afghan anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Massood or for recruiting young Muslims to Afghan training camps."

The names of the convicts are Abderrahmane Ameuroud, Merhez Azouz, Khellaf Hama, Adel Tebourski, and Youcef el-Aouni. All are terrorists that have been involved in deadly conspiracies and all were let off with very light sentences. After they serve their two years or five years or whatever, they'll be back plotting to kill.

It's hard to understand why these guys weren't treated more harshly by the judicial system.

Reconstituted Iraqi Army Opens Headquarters

(Baghdad, Iraq) The Iraqi Ground Forces Headquarters was inaugurated yesterday in a ceremony attended by "a small group" of Iraqi and Coalition dignitaries. The location has not been revealed, obviously for security reasons. According to a statement from Iraqi Ground Forces commander Gen. Abdul Qadir Jassim,

"We are celebrating today a historical event and the rebuilding of the Iraqi army. Having the headquarters of our ground forces here is an indication of the Iraqi army controlling its own destiny."

"Our streets have been covered in blood, and we want to clean this place with the help of our friends the Americans."

In response, Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq, stated,

"As soon as you feel you are ready, we will hand over operations. And the coalition will return to their own countries."

This is the first somewhat formal declaration of an exit point -- when the Iraqi commander believes his army can do the job -- for the Coalition Forces go home.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Chief Wahoo Protesters Snubbed by SCOTUS

(Cleveland, Ohio) Every year, it seems the same handful or so of Native American protesters stand outside of Jacobs Field on Opening Day with placards saying that the symbol of the Cleveland Indians, Chief Wahoo, is racist. Typically, they are ignored by all except the media. It can be comical. For instance, I remember one year seeing eight or nine television and newspaper people surrounding no more than six protesters. And, of course, it was played up on the 6pm and 11pm news as a major story.

Anyway, in 1998 the protesters decided to set fire to a three-foot effigy to get attention. In the interest of public safety, the police arrested five protesters (probably all that were there). The case was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court on the basis that the protesters were denied their freedom of expression.

Without comment, SCOTUS declined to review the case.

Good.

Outsourcing News Production

Newsday.com:

Union employees at Reuters are stepping up their campaign against the wire service's outsourcing of U.S. jobs, most recently transferring the editing and caption writing of photos to its Singapore office and some Internet work to Toronto.

Members of the Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America have distributed leaflets outside Reuters' office in Times Square. Critical ads also have been placed in Investor's Business Daily and the Columbia Journalism Review, and more are planned for the Web.

The union complains that the quality and accuracy of the news suffers. Reuters says there is no unacceptable departure from company standards and it's cheaper to outsource certain functions. In any event, there's nothing to prevent the company from sending work to outsiders and it's a prudent business move. Reuters is believed to be the first in the media world to outsource news production and it's suspected that others will soon follow.

[Update] A reader has mentioned that the actual quality of the news produced may suffer due to language differences between the U.S. and Asian countries. Notably, the outsourced production work is performed by people who have only second-language knowledge of English and, therefore, may not comprehend all its subtleties. As a result, final news reports may be nuanced unintentionally or miss a desired slant.

We know that criticism is occasionally and deservedly leveled at Asian call centers because of language differences, but the criticism concerns voice communication. With respect to outsourcing news production, it's print communication which, to my knowledge, has not been a source of concern. Since the Reuters outsourcing plan is the first to be tried for the print media, we'll just have to wait and see if something is lost in translation. My guess would be that the scheme will work fine for Reuters, although its employees may experience some stress.

The 'Russ' Tradition and Teen Stripping

The russ tradition is at least fifty years old and has provided students with a period for letting off steam before final exams. It started simply enough. All that was needed was a Coca-Cola and a car.


Old 'Russ' Tradition - circa 1960
But times change. Aftenposten:

Antics by Norway's 'russ', reveling high-school students who celebrate impending final exams with often unbridled debauchery, have caused a new controversy after a stripping stunt was filmed and publicized via the Internet.

A 19-year-old girl promoted her campaign to be the local russ president by stripping naked at a student assembly at Atlanten High School in Kristiansund two weeks ago.

This received a new wave of publicity when someone posted a video of the performance online and Norwegian news site TV 2 Nettavisen made the controversial decision to provide a link to the video on their site.

Forget the cola and forget the car. Now, it's a bus and beer.


New 'Russ' Tradition
Obviously, it's not news that young people like to party and do so quite often, but it's certainly not the best way to prepare for final exams. Although I personally would have preferred to party, there is no way I could have afforded to neglect the books prior to finals. With regard to the 19-year-old Norwegian girl stripping, it's disgusting. Here's a link for the video. Also, a steamy hot video capture is here. (Warning: NSFW)

Sex Merit Badge

The Swedish-Norwegian sex education group RFSU offers students the opportunity to earn a sex merit badge this summer. The sex badge is modeled after a recognized swimming merit badge and is awarded for answering 10 of 13 questions about sex. RFSU (Swedish Association for Sexuality Education) specializes in campaigns promoting safe sex and, coincidentally, is also the main producer and importer of condoms.

Imagine that.

Toyota Prius Has Stalling Problem

ABC7news.com:

Toyota is blaming a software glitch for a potentially dangerous problem with its popular Prius.

There are at least 13 reports of the hybrid car suddenly stalling at freeway speeds.

That's interesting. I thought "stall" was one of its gears.

Kylie Minogue Has Breast Cancer

The Australian:

KYLIE Minogue had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had cancelled her Australian tour, the Frontier Touring company said today.

Her management said that while at home in Melbourne with her family this week befor her Australian Showgirl Tour, Minogue was diagnosed with early breast cancer.

She would undergo immediate treatment and consequently her Australian tour would not be able to proceed as planned.

Kylie Minogue
Ironically, Minogue has been active in breast cancer awareness campaigns. She once donated an article of her own underwear for an auction to raise money for breast cancer awareness. It was a skimpy black mesh bra with pink straps which sold for $6,880.

Kylie Minogue, 36, is arguably the most popular female singer in both Europe and Australia while also being a lingerie designer, actress, and businesswoman.

Woman and Young Boys

(Brewton, Alabama) The town is abuzz from what happened at a Field Day event on April 29 for the students of W.S. Neal Middle School. Sarah Louise Nelson, 41, allegedly approached several young boys and made sexually explicit remarks to them and tried to get one of the young boys to go into the bathroom with her. She was arrested and charged with misdemeanor sexual abuse and with enticing a child to enter a building for immoral purposes, a felony. She has denied the accusations, calling them "just kids' stories."

Nelson remains free on $50,000 bond. No date has been set for court.

Rebecca Ann Boicelli Update

(Redwood City, California) Updating a previous post, former teacher Rebecca Ann Boicelli, 33, pleaded not guilty to charges of lewd acts upon a child and unlawful intercourse with a minor. She is scheduled to be tried before a jury on June 27.


Rebecca Ann Boicelli
To refresh the memory, Boicelli was investigated for a long period of time due to suspicions by fellow teachers and students. She was arrested only after it was confirmed through paternity testing that the child she bore was fathered by a 16-year-old boy, a former student. According to this report, she faces a possible six years in prison if convicted.

Women's Rights Proposed in Kuwait

(Kuwait City, Kuwait) Woo-hoo! It may almost be time for the Arab equivalent of opening a bottle of champagne. From the Khaleej Times:

In a surprise move, Kuwait's Cabinet asked parliament on Monday to debate and vote on a bill giving women full political rights. The all-male house approved the request despite opposition from fundamentalist lawmakers and was expected to vote on the bill later Monday.

Women activists have for years been pushing for their right to vote and run for parliament. A draft bill giving women their full political rights was defeated in the house last year and women activists this month made it clear that they were fed up with a drawn out debate on a bill widely viewed as a compromise that would allow women only the right to run and vote in municipal elections.

[ ... ]

Although Kuwaiti women have reached high positions in oil, education and the diplomatic corps, the country's 1962 election law limits political rights to men. With only men over 21 who are not members of the police or the military allowed to vote, just over 139,000 are registered to cast ballots out 960,000 Kuwaitis. If the door for women is opened, the figure could reach 339,000.

In those Middle Eastern nations that hold elections, women can vote in all except Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Obviously, passage of the Kuwaiti measure would put pressure on Saudi Arabia.

[Update] By a vote of 35 for, 23 against, and one abstention, the Kuwait Parliament voted to give women the right to vote. Women will also be allowed to run for municipal office and parliament. (via In The Bullpen)

Black Panther Party Reunion

(Seattle, Washington) About 400 people attended a reunion of Black Panther Party members this past weekend at Seattle Central Community College, Seattle University, and Garfield Community Center. They came to participate in teach-ins, hear speeches, watch films, and listen to music. Members and former members came to trade war stories, to proudly glorify their violent history, and to keep the 'movement' alive. Shamseddin Williams, the son of a Seattle party member, and Sylva Jones, a legal-aid worker, organized the event with thinly-veiled intentions of recruiting impressionable youngsters.

Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Panthers, was there and called the Seattle chapter of the party "probably the most dynamic and most profound" because of its humanitarian work. He cited examples including: founding a food and clothing bank; giving free rides for inmate visitation; providing summer schools for revolutionary thought and black struggles; and training themselves to use pesticides to kill roaches. Seale also praised the 1999 riots in Seattle against the World Trade Organization, stating:

"I was hoping this new movement would start. That's what we need. We need another high-profile, progressive movement."

Unfortunately, Seale didn't compare notes with former Panther party captain Aaron Dixon, who stated,

"We are not here to reorganize the Black Panthers, let's be clear about this -- we're too old and don't have the energy," said Dixon, 56, a father of four girls. "We're here to share our knowledge and our methodology and with your exuberance, we can then look forward."

Nonetheless, they are hoping that young people get mentored and tutored in anti-colonialism, the Civil War, and slave revolts.

With respect to the violent past of the Black Panthers, former captain Dixon stated that the reason the Panthers shot up police/fire stations and committed arson was to prevent race riots. By "ambushing" the police and fire departments, individual white people were not attacked so a race riot was prevented. Apparently, there are those that believe, through this odd rationalization, that the Black Panthers were doing a public service.

My take is that the Black Panthers are in an alternate universe. Teaching the young about slave revolts while justifying attacks on police and fire stations as a public service will probably not benefit society.

Companion post at Diggers Realm.

Arrest Made in Medical Records Theft

(San Jose, California) Last month, it was reported that a burglary of two computers from the San Jose Medical Group resulted in the loss of the names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and billing codes for as many as 185,000 patients. Besides the obvious crime of burglary, I commented that the perpetrators could be liable for penalties under the provisions of the federal Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Well, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, HIPAA penalties are probably the least of the concerns for the burglar.

A former branch manager at a San Jose medical group has been charged with stealing the confidential records of nearly 185,000 patients -- mostly South Bay residents, authorities reported.

The San Jose incident is one of the nation's largest cases of personal data theft, even bigger than the highly publicized case of ChoicePoint, in which the personal information of 145,000 people was sold to an identity theft ring posing as a legitimate business in September 2004.

The U.S. attorney's office charged Joseph Nathaniel Harris on Friday with stealing two computers and a compact disc that contained patient records from the San Jose Medical Group on March 28, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose.

It seems that Harris has a history of being a thief who likes to steal computers. He is suspected of offering the stolen computers for sale on Craigslist. The San Jose Medical Group case broke after Harris was arrested in Campbell, California, on April 15 for auto theft and decided to barter his way to freedom by offering to tell the police about the missing medical data.

Companion post at Diggers Realm.

Woman Feeds Raw Meat to Baby

(Brownsville, Texas) Nineteen-year-old Veronica Martinez pleaded guilty in Cameron County Court to charges of injury to a child and attempted injury to a child. Martinez and her boyfriend, Brian Martin, 20, fed raw meat to their six-month-old baby in an attempt to cause a fatal E. coli infection. According to court records, Martinez wanted the baby dead because the child "ruined her life."

This is an outrage. Martinez and her boyfriend should be charged with attempted murder, not attempted injury. You watch, they'll probably get sentenced to hand slaps and no lessons will be learned. The baby is currently in the custody of Child Protective Services, although, it wouldn't surprise me if they gave the baby back to Martinez. If so, she would have another chance to kill the child.

LeBron James Shoes

(Shaker Heights, Ohio) People flocked from around the country to Shaker Heights to buy custom, limited-edition Lebron James Chamber of Fear shoes. The shoes are a combination of black patent, white and green leathers and they can only be found at "Next Urban Apparel" in Shaker Square. Only 300 pairs will be sold for an anticipated $400 each. Speculators expect to sell them on eBay for thousands.

Bank Robber Leaves Name and Address

(Columbus, Ohio) Investigators of a National City Bank robbery last Tuesday found that the perpetrator left behind his name, address, and Social Security number by virtue of dropping his checkbook while fleeing. The FBI identified Stephen Ray Brumfield as the robber after witnesses confirmed that his picture matches a bank surveillance photo. Brumfield is at large and believed to be in the Columbus area. Information on his whereabouts should be relayed to the Columbus police at (614) 645-4665.

Disaster Aid Mismanagement and Fraud

Nearly five months after the devastating Christmas tsunami in Indonesia, survivors in South Asia are still suffering. They are being denied the benefits of millions and million of donated dollars through widespread fraud, theft, and waste. Graham Johnson reports on conditions in Sri Lanka for the Sunday Mirror:

An estimated 50 per cent of food and health aid donated to the worst affected areas in Sri Lanka is ending up on the black market.

Not one of the million refugees left homeless has been rehoused.

Warehouses are full of clothes, food and medical supplies - which the Sri Lankan government has decided NOT to give its people. It believes giving these to survivors would affect local businesses and hinder the country's rebuilding efforts.

Victims are still living in tents in rat-infested camps where illness is rife and food deliveries patchy - while relief workers lounge in luxury air-conditioned villas and eat at fine restaurants.

Tsunami victim and former UN aid worker Kamal Ratha Malli said: "We know that the British people have been very generous - even David Beckham helped us - but where is the money?"

A major complaint is that some aid workers arrived to help, but they do little. Aid money sits in the bank likely to be drained away to the black market or to be given to unscrupulous agencies which then quit helping and move away to fancy offices. According to Preshan Dissanayake, chairman of an aid group in Sri Lanka,

"A lot of the aid workers are here to party and have a good time, to save money from their high wages and go home."

[ ... ]

"I know of medical agencies that spent millions of pounds on drugs that we can get for five per cent of the cost. It's a rip-off."

Of course, lured by mountains of donated cash, the world's most adept opportunists, speculators, thieves, and price gougers abound. Examples are: local charities producing phony receipts to scam thousands from disaster relief; landowners doubling rent fees; local officials and aid bosses simply stealing disaster funds; and, sadly, undertakers quadrupling the price of aid-funded burials. All in all, the refugees are left with rotting food, no housing, and little hope. As a result, everything they do receive goes to numbing the pain, spent on whisky, cannabis, and heroin.

Graham Johnson's report deals with conditions in Sri Lanka, but it's not a stretch to imagine that similar incompetence and criminality exists in the other nations affected by the tsunami. Historically, the only certainty to giving relief aid to impoverished regions prone to corruption is that the aid accounts will likely be bled dry by thieves and incompetence, long before any baby gets one drop of milk. It happened in Somalia in the 1990s when the U.S. military was sent in to keep the aid from being stolen by warlords. The thieving frenzy is predictable and exactly as Graham Johnson observed in Sri Lanka.

My guess would be that only a very small percentage of donated aid funds is actually allocated to the intended purpose. The balance, along with the good intentions of many donors, is stolen or wasted.

Global Warming Alarmism

(Knoydart, Scotland) At a conference of renewable energy advocates, Dr. Jim Hunter, former chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), a sustainable environment advocacy, discussed the need for wind farms and said that global warming is a greater threat to Scotland than Hitler in the 1940s. He said:

"Global warming is a more insidious and longer-term danger than Hitlerism, but it’s one that could be far more deadly. Ultimately, it might extinguish humanity itself."

Scottish communities will be obliterated in two generations from climate change, according to Dr. Hunter who is a well-known historian, freelance author, and broadcaster with a particular focus on social change.

Dr. Hunter's assertions mirror those of Sir David King, the government’s chief environmental zealot, who believes that climate change is a greater problem than the threat of terrorism.

It's just more end-of-the-world alarmism from the environmental wackos.

Deadly Shooting on Ohio Turnpike (UPDATED)

(North Royalton, Ohio) According to police, Dr. Gulam Moonda, his wife and mother-in-law were traveling on the Ohio Turnpike toward Toledo when they pulled over in the emergency parking area in North Royalton to switch drivers. That’s when a man in a black mini van pulled in behind them, got out with a gun, and shot Doctor Moonda after taking his wallet. The gunman is described as a black male, about 5' 6" tall, driving a black mini van.

Although there was a theft, there's no explanation for why there was a killing. It seems like a random, faceless and totally unnecessary murder.

Scary.

[Update 5/20/05] There is new information in the case of Dr. Moonda's death. His wife, Donna Moonda, has been found to have a criminal record.


Donna Moonda
According to this report, court documents indicate that Donna Moonda pleaded no contest to a charge of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud. Apparently, on two occasions within the past three years, she has been fired from jobs (at Sharon Medical Center and at Greenville Hospital) as a nurse anesthetist for stealing Fentanyl. Fentanyl produces the same biological effects as heroin, except it's much stronger. Donna Moonda told investigators that she has a problem.

Undoubtedly, and I cannot help but wonder if her drug addiction ties in with her husband's murder. Stranger things have happened.

Oddly, the news of her drug involvement comes right on the heels of her appearance on local television to plead for help in finding her husband's murderer. It's been mentioned that she seemed somewhat disingenuous on camera. All in all, Donna Moonda is gathering a cloud of suspicion around her.


[Update 07/26/06]

Case solved.


[Update 07/06/07]

Donna Moonda convicted of murder.


[Update 09/21/07]

Moonda gets life in prison.

Man Brutally Beats Eight-Year-Old

(Sheffield Lake, Ohio) A 36-year-old man brutally beat an eight-year-old boy while on a drunken rampage. Apparently the outburst was triggered because the boy neglected to put his bicycle away. Police arrested James Sadler and charged him with domestic violence and child endangerment. Since Sadler has no history of committing serious crimes, police believe he'll be released on probation.

Let the time bomb tick.

Topless Sunbathing

(Topsail Beach, North Carolina) According to this report, women are legally sunbathing topless in Topsail Beach. Coming from the south, you'll want to take I-95 to Exit 20 and go east on State Route 211 to U.S. Route 74/76 and then go east to Wilmington. From Wilmington, you'll take U.S. Route 17 north to Holly Ridge, then right on State Route 50 which takes right into Topsail Beach.

Coming from the north, take I-95 south to I-40 and go east to Wilmington, then follow instructions outlined above.

Trackback to COTT XI.

Uzbek Violence

(Andijan, Uzbekistan) Yesterday, Muslim demonstrators calling for "economic freedom" seized the Andijan's administration building and stormed the jail to free 23 men accused of Islamic extremism. About 2,000 inmates escaped along with the 23 defendants. One of the defendants, Abduvosid Egomov, proclaimed:

"We are not going to overthrow the government. We demand economic freedom," a pale and thin Egomov said.

"If the army is going to storm, if they're going to shoot, we are ready to die instead of living as we are living now. The Uzbek people have been reduced to living like dirt," he said.

Protest leader Kabuljon Parpiyev talked to Interior Minister Zakir Almatov by telephone who rejected the demonstrators' demands.

"He said, 'We don't care if 200, 300 or 400 people die. We have force and we will chuck you out of there anyway,'" Parpiyev quoted the interior minister as saying.

Soldiers were mobilized and surrounded about 4,000 demonstrators in the streets and opened fire with automatic weapons. According to Parpiyev, as many as fifty people were killed. At this point, it's not clear that the government has control of the city. Reporting is sketchy. President Islam Karimov has blocked foreign news reporting.

Uzbekistan is a key US ally in the war on terrorism, providing an air base to support military operations in neighboring Afghanistan. But ties with Washington have drawn international attention to human rights abuses, the Uzbek government is one of the most repressive in the region. Andijan, Uzbekistan's fourth-largest city with 350,000 residents, is in the impoverished Fergana Valley with many Muslims provoking tensions with the secular government.

Linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan fought for establishment of an Islamic state in the Fergana Valley in the late 1990s. Concerns are high that Fergana could be a flashpoint for destabilizing much of ex-Soviet Central Asia. (Source: The Frontier Post)

More coverage is at The Argus by Nathan Hamm. He's getting information from throughout Central Asia, including detailed reports from people on the scene. Some of Nathan's material needs to be translated from Russian, Uzbek, etc. so it necessarily trickles in, but I believe it to be quite accurate.

[Update 0945EDT]

Other coverage from Lyndon at Scraps of Moscow includes a link to a the above screen shot from Russian television. He also has the translated statement of the "Islomii Zhikhod" organization which appears to have declared war on the Karimov government. It's signed by Amir of the "Islamic Jihad" organization, Mukhammad Fotekh Bukhorii. Lyndon notes with suspicion that this message plays into Karimov's hand by indicating the Islamists want to take over the government. It would understandably force international support for his authoritarian government.

Go to Gateway Pundit for a video of the uprising.

Al Qaeda Bomb Expert Taken Out

(via The Jawa Report) Intelligence gathered recently from the capture of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, purportedly al-Qaeda's No.3 man, has led to the demise of a senior terrorist operative. Haitham al-Yemeni, a known expert bomb maker, is with the virgins thanks to a missile fired from a CIA Predator aircraft.

Woo-hoo!

This is at least the third time that a senior enemy operative has been eliminated by a Predator-fired missile. Ali Qaed Sinan al-Harthi, linked to the USS Cole bombing, was killed along with five associates by a Predator missile in November 2002. In June 2004, Nek Muhammad, 27, a prominent tribal leader of South Waziristan who liked to give satellite telephone interviews to the BBC, was killed with five others by a missile concurrent with his last media gig.

More coverage:

Ramblings' Journal (w/ nice pic of Predator)
Vince Aut Morire (while coining "Anonyblogger")
Media Lies

It seems the investment in unmanned aircraft technology is paying tangible and valuable dividends.

Germans Drinking Less Beer

Who could have predicted that German breweries would ever be worried about losing customers. Not me. When you think of beer, arguably German is the best for variety and flavor. Nonetheless, according to a survey by auditing firm KPMG, virtually all German breweries are expecting declining or stagnating beer sales in the near future. This follows the trend of the past decade where consumption of beer by Germans has decreased by 11 percent. Strangely, the consumption of wine during the same period has increased by 17 percent. Therefore, it appears that Germans are not drinking less alcohol in total. In fact, given the increase in wine consumption, they may be drinking more.

Two reasons are cited to explain the decrease in beer consumption. One is that the number of young people as a percentage of the population has declined and the other is a change in drink preferences. Instead of just beer, people are ordering mixed drinks such as beer with lemonade and beer with cola.

Beer with lemonade????? Um ... no thanks.