No Salami in Festivus

(Orange County, California) The attorney for an inmate Malcolm Alarmo King at the county jail convinced Superior Court Judge Derek G. Johnson that Festivus is a legitimate religion which allowed King to receive a 'kosher diet' of double portions without salami.

[For those who may not know, Festivus was created by the writing staff of the Seinfeld television program for a show about an alternative to celebrating Christmas.]

According to defense attorney Fred Thiagarajah, when King was prosecuted for a felony controlled substance charge, he said eating salami was against his religion.

Judge Johnson pulled King’s lawyer and the prosecutor aside and said he needed a religion to put down on the order to make it stick, explained Thiagarajah.

“I said Festivus,” said Thiagarajah. The order was granted – three non-salami meals a day.

It all sounds silly but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Festivus churches soon. Probably all that's needed is for some "prophet" to write the Book of Festivus. Amen.

"Racist" cupcakes?



We read:

"Bakery goods maker Duncan Hines has decided to open up its marketing doors to just about anyone these days. In their new website and YouTube promotion they’re giving various artists and directors the chance to create Duncan Hines commercials which will be promoted and sent out online. If their first ad is any indicator I won’t be buying Duncan Hines products for a long time.

The first ad, by director Josh Binder, is called “Hip-Hop Cupcakes" and features a bunch of plain cupcakes that suddenly start to sing and beat-box once the chocolate glaze is poured on top of them…. That’s right. Chocolate glaze makes the cupcakes rap-stars. The problems with this ad are almost too numerous to point out ....

Finally the racial component can’t be overlooked. It doesn’t matter that they’re cupcakes; the fact that they start rapping isn’t too far a stretch from making them in blackface. If the icing was in different flavors, or the lips weren’t so big and pink maybe we could give the ad a pass, but as it stands it’s a pretty poorly constructed and potentially racist

Source

Commentary and video here. I would have thought that red lips were more likely to indicate Jews than blacks. Silly me!

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

Red tape must go to get Americans back to work

Mark R. Warner

If Washington expects to partner with the private sector to lead the effort toward economic recovery, we must address the regulatory uncertainty felt by many of our small and large businesses.

Britain has been working on regulatory reform since 2005, and officials there have posted some impressive results in developing an inventory of regulations as well as setting ambitious targets for reducing red tape.

Now, no one is seriously questioning the need for common-sense rules of the road to protect American consumers, public health and our environment, especially in the wake of the BP oil-rig blowout in the Gulf of Mexico and the 2008 near-meltdown of several of our nation's leading financial firms.

But our current regulatory framework actually favors those federal agencies that consistently churn out new red tape. In this town, expanded regulatory authority typically is rewarded with additional resources and a higher bureaucratic profile, and there is no process or incentive for an agency to eliminate or clean up old regulations.

As a former CEO, I think the best option is to adopt a regulatory "pay as you go" system. I am drafting legislation that would require federal agencies to identify and eliminate one existing regulation for each new regulation they want to add.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the estimated annual cost of federal regulations in 2008 exceeded $1.75 trillion. The Office of Management and Budget says that the federal government has issued more than 132,000 final rules since 1981, and over 1,200 of those rules have an estimated economic impact of greater than $100 million each.

More HERE

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

Proof that liberals are sheep

My heading above is mainly spin. I put it up to counter the Leftist spin that has been put on the findings below. Several interpretations are possible but by far the safest conclusion is that it needs much more research before we do ANY generalizing from the admittedly rather striking set of findings below. There is a considerable history of perceptual findings such as those below not generalizing at all, the research on perceptual "rigidity", for instance

It goes without saying that conservatives and liberals don't see the world in the same way. Now, research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests that is exactly, and quite literally, the case.

In a new study, UNL researchers measured both liberals' and conservatives' reaction to "gaze cues" -- a person's tendency to shift attention in a direction consistent with another person's eye movements, even if it's irrelevant to their current task -- and found big differences between the two groups.

Liberals responded strongly to the prompts, consistently moving their attention in the direction suggested to them by a face on a computer screen. Conservatives, on the other hand, did not.

Why? Researchers suggested that conservatives' value on personal autonomy might make them less likely to be influenced by others, and therefore less responsive to the visual prompts.

"We thought that political temperament may moderate the magnitude of gaze-cuing effects, but we did not expect conservatives to be completely immune to these cues," said Michael Dodd, a UNL assistant professor of psychology and the lead author of the study.

Liberals may have followed the "gaze cues," meanwhile, because they tend to be more responsive to others, the study suggests.

"This study basically provides one more piece of evidence that liberals and conservatives perceive the world, and process information taken in from that world, in different ways," said Kevin Smith, UNL professor of political science and one of the study's authors.

"Understanding exactly why people have such different political perspectives and where those differences come from may help us better understand the roots of a lot of political conflict."

The study involved 72 people who sat in front of a white computer screen and were told to fixate on a small black cross in its center. The cross then disappeared and was replaced by a drawing of a face, but with eyes missing their pupils. Then, pupils appeared in the eyes, looking either left or right. Finally, a small, round target would appear either on the left or right side of the face drawing.

Dodd said the participants were told that the gaze cues in the study did not predict where the target would appear, so there was no reason for participants to attend to them. "But the nature of social interaction tends to make it very difficult to ignore the cues, even when they're meaningless," he said.

SOURCE

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

Top-Level Internet Porn Domain

It is still controversial.

The bid to create .xxx – a top-level domain just for web porn – will be tied up in red tape for at least a few more months after national governments pressured ICANN to block its approval.

At this week's ICANN 39 meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, ICANN's board of directors signalled its intent to approve ICM Registry's .xxx domain, but said it would first have to confront government objections.

So, the governments, via the Government Advisory Council, and ICANN are at odds and ICANN is leaning toward just ignoring the GAC.

Note that opposition to the .xxx domain designation comes from (1) religious groups fearing more and more porn and from (2) porn producers fearing government regulation and censorship.

Frankly, I would suggest that there doesn't seem to be a real need for a designated-porn domain. It's not like anyone has to search very hard to find x-rated websites. In fact, porn sometimes appears on computers totally out of the blue.

Stockholm Terrorist Bombing



(Stockholm, Sweden) Regarding the suicide bombing last Saturday in Stockholm, a Yemeni Islamist website, Shumukh al-Islam, names the bomber as Taymour Abdel Wahab, 29.

Meanwhile, another report indicates that there was a forewarning to the attack.

A Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) employee warned an acquaintance to stay clear of an area in central Stockholm on Saturday where, several hours later, two explosions went off in what is being called a terrorist attack.

“If you can, avoid Drottninggatan today. A lot can happen there…just so you know,” the message said, according to the TT news agency.

The Swedish security service, Säpo, is investigating.

See The Jawa Report for a detailed treatment of the bombing attack.

Suicides Among Female Military Veterans

According to a study of female suicides by researcher Mark Kaplan of Portland State University, the rate of female U.S. military veterans taking their own lives is significantly higher than the suicide rate among civilian peers.

"Female veterans — age 18 to 34 — are three times as likely as their civilian peers to die by suicide," he said.

That's a very big difference. Because historically there have been many more men than women in the military, the problem of female suicide hasn't received much attention. But the armed forces are integrating: In the current wars, women are on increasingly on the frontlines.

Kaplan says he wants people to take suicide among female vets more seriously.

"When we think of suicide, and suicide completion, I don't think we often think of women enough," he said.

Reasons given for the high rate of suicide are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and military sexual trauma, which covers everything from sexual assault to sexual harassment.

The Veterans Administration screens for military sexual trauma among female veterans, reportedly identifying tens of thousands of cases yearly.

Beauty Queen Gets Prison for Kidnap/Torture - Updated

(Tucson, Arizona) Former Miss Pima County 2005 and Miss Desert Sun 2006, Kumari Fulbright, pleaded guilty in accordance with a plea agreement to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and aggravated assault.

The charges stemmed from the abduction and torture of her boyfriend in 2007.

In exchange for her plea, Fulbright received two years in prison and six years of probation.

The prosecution argued Fulbright to this day, doesn't understand or show remorse for what she did - taking part in the kidnapping, robbery and assault of a former boyfriend.

Prosecutor Michael Jette had harsh words for the defendant, "She still thinks it's about her. She still thinks it's about her stolen jewelry. She still thinks it's about her being in custody, not the torture and kidnapping and abuse she incurred on Josh Conway."

Fulbright's lawyer Steve Sherick contended she was a good person, a law student at the University of Arizona, who got involved with the wrong people.

Fulbright was also ordered to pay restitution of $15,000.

* * * * *
Pinup Babe Pinched in Kidnap Plot
[Previous 1/1/08 post]
To start 2008, here's a shocking beauty queen story out of the southwest.

(Tucson, Arizona) A 25-year-old beauty queen, Kumari Fulbright, has been accused in the alleged kidnap and torture of her former boyfriend.

Fulbright was Miss Pima County 2005 and Miss Desert Sun 2006 and later a law student at the University of Arizona, clerking with U.S. District Court Judge Raner Collins.

Fulbright has been indicted on charges of armed robbery, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to court documents, Fulbright and three men used plastic cable ties and duct tape to tie up a 24-year-old man on Dec. 8 and held him captive at two residences, one on the North Side and the other in Midtown.

The four suspects pointed pistols at the man, threatened his life and stole his wallet, cell phone, briefcase and between $500 and $600 in cash, court documents state.

"(Fulbright) specifically bit him several times while he was bound, stuck a butcher knife in his ear and said she was going to kill him, pointed a pistol at him," the documents state.

Fulbright was booked into custody at the Pima County Jail and later released on $50,000 bail.

Interestingly, Kumari Fulbright will be featured as Miss May in the 2008 Subguns.com calendar. In the pinup photo, she is wearing a bikini and holding an automatic weapon. Heh.

Tip: Matt Hurley


[Update 01/03/08]

Added mugshot.

Sweden's reward for pandering to Muslims

Suspected suicide bomb in central Stockholm injures two and panics shoppers

A suspected terrorist blew himself up in an apparent suicide bomb attack in central Stockholm which left two injured and caused panic among Christmas shoppers. Two explosions rocked the busy shopping street of Drottninggatan among the afternoon crowds.

A Swedish news agency said it had received messages about 10 minutes before the blasts in Arabic and Swedish, warning of unspecified “action”. The email warning, 10 minutes before the bombs, protested about the country’s presence in Afghanistan, where it has a force of 500 soldiers, mainly in the north of the country.

“Our acts will speak for themselves,” the agency quoted the message as saying. “Now your children, your daughters and your sisters will die as our brothers, our sisters and our children are dying.” The email had sound files in Swedish and Arabic.

The agency said the warning, which was also sent to Sweden’s Security Police (SAPO), also referred to caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed by the Swedish artist Lars Vilks.

Petra Sjolander, a police spokesman, said the first explosion was in a car containing gas canisters. The dead man was found at the site of the second blast about 300 yards away.

According to reports, the man was carrying pipe bombs, as well as a backpack full of nails. He shouted Arabic slogans before setting off the explosion.

Police were last night investigating whether other, unexploded bombs were on the scene.

Police spokesman Ulf Johansson said: “We need more investigation and of course we need more witnesses. The car exploded with a series of minor explosions and there was also some kind of explosion close up to where we found the dead man.”

SOURCE

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

New Jersey Bears

The New Jersey black bear hunt ends today. An estimated 500 to 700 bears will be killed during the six-day hunt authorized by the New Jersey Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy.

In opposition, animal rights groups and advocates have expressed their usual outrage. They urge the people to learn to live with bears in their back yards.

Navy Captain and XO Ousted for Unduliness

(San Diego, California) A U.S. Navy male captain and female executive officer of an 80-person mine countermeasures crew named Constant have been fired.

Lt. Cmdr. James Rushton and his second-in-command, Lt. Cmdr. Anne Laird, were relieved of duty for what the Navy is calling an “unduly familiar relationship” with each other.

Duly noted.

The Professor and His Daughter

(New York City) A 46-year-old political science professor at Columbia University, David Epstein, has been accused of engaging in a three-year incestuous relationship with his 24-year-old daughter.

David Epstein was arraigned before a judge in Manhattan on a single felony count of incest. He was released on his own recognizance and faces up to four years in jail if he is convicted.

Sources indicate the victim was over 18 years old when the relationship started in 2006.

David Epstein taught at Stanford, Harvard and blogged on The Huffington Post.

Epstein reportedly is extremely liberal in his political beliefs and, allegedly, also in his personal sexual practices.

Tip: Charles Nestor

Must not yodel near Muslims

If an Austrian cannot yodel in Austria...

"Helmut G. was busy on Friday afternoon, mowing his grass. “And because I was just in such a good mood, I yodeled along with it and sang a few songs,” says the retiree, speaking to the Styrian Crown. That was not all right with his neighbors — believing Muslims. They had gathered in their house at prayer hour, which was also broadcast into their yard by loudspeaker.

Consequently, several of them felt disturbed in their religious exercises by the grass-mowing 63-year old — and promptly reported him to the police. “In the statement it said that my yodeling sounded like the call of the muezzin,” Helmut G. shook his head, bewildered. “It was definitely not my intention to imitate him,” the Graz native assures us.

The court did not believe him and sentenced him to a fat fine. On Friday, the correlating confirmation trickled in. Helmut G.: “The Muslims pay no attention to any rules. We neighbors constantly have problems…”

Source

No freedom to yodel in the home of yodelling, obviously

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

Medicinal Coca-Cola



Persimmon Bezoar
A bezoar is a rock-hard mass that develops, usually in the stomach, and fails to pass through to the intestines. Several conditions lead to the formation of a bezoar. One is the consumption of unripened persimmons.

Interestingly, evidence shows that persimmon bezoars can be treated with the oral administration of a liter of Coca-Cola before each meal. Logically, 1000 milliliters of Coke would also likely suppress one's appetite.

In times past, bezoars were thought to have magical powers as a universal antidote for any poison. Typically, the king with a bezoar in his drinking glass didn't need to have one of his subjects test his beverage before taking a royal drink.

In any event, since Coca-Cola is being used as medicine, it should no longer be classified as merely a sugary soft drink subject to the taxes and prohibitions sought by political special interests. It's medicinal.

MSNBC ignoramus fails to realize that C.S. Lewis is a noted Christian author

First they mock her for not telling them what she reads. Now they mock her for telling them exactly what she reads.

But the fact that C.S. Lewis’ works have not-so-subtle Christian undertones is apparently lost on MSNBC commentator Richard Wolffe who mocks former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for claiming his books were a source of “divine inspiration.”

Appearing on MSNBC’s “Hardball” with Chris Matthews, Wolffe expressed incredulity, noting that Lewis wrote “a series of kids’ books.”

Matthews interrupted Wolffe: “I wouldn’t put down C.S. Lewis.”

“I’m not putting him down,” Wollfe responded. “But you know divine inspiration? There are things she could’ve said to divine inspiration. Choosing C.S. Lewis is an interesting one.”

Note to Richard Wolffe: Lewis wrote much more than “a series of kids’ books.” I suggest you read some of them sometime.

SOURCE. (See the original for links & video)

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

Russia Wants Assange for Nobel Peace Prize

Russian officials inside the Kremlin today called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to get the Nobel Peace Prize while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lashed out at the United States.

Putin is outraged that the U.S. is preaching to Russia about democracy.

When asked about cables which cast him as Russia's 'alpha-dog' ruler of a corrupt and undemocratic bureaucracy, Putin snapped: 'Do you think the American diplomatic service is a crystal clean source of information? Do you think so?'

He then went on to criticise the West over the arrest of Assange, who turned himself in to the authorities in Britain this week.

'If it is full democracy, then why have they hidden Mr Assange in prison? That's what, democracy?' Putin said.

'So, you know, as they say in the countryside, some people's cows can moo, but yours should keep quiet. So I would like to shoot the puck back at our American colleagues,' Putin said at a briefing with his French counterpart Francois Fillon.

The phrase is a colloquial term which is a Russian equivalent of 'the pot calling the kettle black'.

The leaked U.S. cables cast Putin as a ruler who allows a venal elite of corrupt officials and crooked spies to siphon off cash from the world's biggest energy producer.

Sadly, we are only seeing the beginning of turmoil from the WikiLeaks release of classified data. I suggest that things will worsen.

Miss Baghdad Beauty Pageant

(Baghdad, Iraq) During the three decades of Ba'ath Party rule in Iraq, there was no beauty pageant. Now there is. Video runs 2:49.



Pretty girls, eh?

The contest was held at the Hunting Club, a members-only establishment for Baghdad's elite.

Many of those gathered, such as Samara Mohammed, 23, a secretary and contestant who had fled the country to live in Germany, only returned in May this year.

"The security has improved and we hope it will get more and more. It's a nice thing that I am here. All my friends and family are supporting me," she said.

The five judges, who would vote for Miss Hunting Club, included a cigar smoking Tony Soprano-type and a chain-smoking female MP. They quizzed the contestants on their education and employment. In a scene unthinkable just a year ago, Shamss Tallal, an elfin 18-year-old, drew whistles of approval from the audience during the question and answer stage.

"She is very beautiful," said 20-year-old Salwan, his friend Hussain, also 20, red-faced with excitement. He clutched his chest and mimed his heart beating faster, as he looked at her longingly.

"I don't know her, but she is the most popular," a third friend, Ahmad, 19, said.

Miss Talla later won the contest, with a straw poll of audience members revealing she was also the people's choice.

In attendance was the popular Iraqi singer, Kassim Al-Sultan, who just recently returned to Iraq from exile.

"Iraq is like a person who has undergone surgery and is now recovering," he said.

The Hunting Club was a favorite party place for Saddam Hussein's son Uday, who liked to steal other men's wives there. Uday also reportedly murdered people at the Hunting Club if they upset him.

Bomb House to Burn Today - Updated



(Escondido, California) A 54-year-old unemployed software consultant, George Jakubec, pleaded not guilty Monday to eight federal charges related to making explosives and robbing banks.

Prosecutors say Serbian-born George Jakubec quietly packed the home with the largest amount of homemade explosives ever found in one location in the U.S. and was running a virtual bomb-making factory in his suburban neighborhood.

How the alleged bank robber obtained the chemicals and what he planned to do with them remain mysteries. [my bold]

Now authorities face the risky task of getting rid of the explosives. The property is so dangerous and volatile that that they have no choice but to burn the home to the ground this week in a highly controlled operation involving dozens of firefighters, scientists and hazardous material and pollution experts.

Authorities went into the home after Jakubec was arrested, but encountered a maze of floor-to-ceiling junk and explosives that included 13 unfinished shrapnel grenades.

Bomb experts pulled out about nine pounds of explosive material and detonated it, but they soon realized it was too dangerous to continue given the quantity of hazardous substances. A bomb-disposing robot was ruled out because of the obstacle of all the junk Jakubec hoarded.

That left only one option — burn the home down.

The burn is scheduled for later this morning. About a half-mile radius around the house will be evacuated. Meanwhile, Mr. Jakubec is in jail on $5 million bond.

* * * * *
Here's the after picture.



Reportedly, everything went off without any problems.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Nebraska Woman Gets Prison in Child Sex Case

(Omaha, Nebraska) Earlier today, a 24-year-old local woman, Linda Duncan, pleaded no contest to a charge of sexual assault of a child.

The conviction stemmed from relations Duncan had with a four-year-old boy between August and November 2008. The boy is now seven years old.

Duncan was sentenced immediately after her plea and received three years in prison. She was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

Official Utah State Gun Proposed



Browning Model 1911 .45-Cal Automatic
(Salt Lake City, Utah) In March 1911, the Colt .45-cal automatic was selected after rigorous testing as the official sidearm of the U.S. military. Designed by legendary firearms genius John M. Browning of Utah, the pistol is still in service worldwide.

To commemorate the 100 years of reliable service and powerful durability of the Browning Model 1911 .45-caliber automatic pistol, Utah State Representative Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, has proposed declaring it the state gun.

Support for the proposal is not unanimous. In fact, some believe that merely having a state gun is disturbing because a gun is used to kill.

Not necessarily. Police officers carry guns and their motto is "To Serve and Protect," not "To Serve and Kill."

Also: GunWatch

Oprah's handlers tell Australian doll shop to remove golliwog



I had a Golliwog myself when I was a little kid. They were always popular in Australia and Britain as a child's soft toy. The explanation of their origin given below is absurd. See my previous post on the matter

"A Melbourne doll shop has withdrawn a golliwog from its display to avoid offending the Oprah Winfrey roadshow. The store removed the "Mamee" washer woman dolls after a visit by Oprah's production company.

But the Dafel Dolls and Bears shop in Block Arcade - where 110 of Oprah's guests will attend a cocktail party tomorrow night - will continue to display other golliwogs. Golliwogs are deeply offensive to Americans because of their perceived links to slavery and racism.

The store owner declined to comment because she had signed a confidentiality agreement with Harpo productions, but confirmed a meeting had taken place. "Oprah's people came ... and yes it was discussed," a source familiar with the agreement told the Herald Sun. "As a result, they won't have that particular doll on display. But there will be plenty of other gollies when they come through."

The golliwogs still on display at Dafel's have an explanatory note on the origins of the black dolls, a throwback to the toys enjoyed by Egyptian children when British troops occupied the country in the late 1800s.

Dafel's has sold dolls and toys, including golliwogs, in the Block Arcade since 1945.

Last year Australia faced international condemnation when American singer Harry Connick Jr expressed his shock at Hey Hey It's Saturday for broadcasting a minstrel sketch and asking him to judge the performance. [LOL!]

UK publishing company Macdonalds, which put out the Noddy books featuring a gang of golliwogs, decided in 1987 the dolls were racially derogatory.

But golliwog defenders say they have nothing to do with racism and are seen by children as just bright and friendly dolls.

A spokeswoman for Oprah's Ultimate Adventure declined to comment on the Block Arcade golliwogs.

The talk show queen jetted into Cairns and then on to Hamilton Island yesterday on the first leg of her Oprah Down Under tour.

SOURCE

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

Location of WikiLeaks Files



Pionen High-Security Computer Storage Facility
(Stockholm, Sweden) In a former Cold War nuclear bunker 100 feet underneath Stockholm is the Pionen data center containing dozens of computer servers used for storage by many companies.

One of those companies is WikiLeaks.

Ironically, the place looks like something one would expect to see in a James Bond film. All it needs is a seated evil villain stroking a white cat.

[Add.] Meanwhile, the face of WikiLeaks, 39-year-old Julian Assange, considered it to be advantageous to use the Pionen facility to secure his files when being pursued by Swedish police.

WikiLeaks was hosted by internet retailer Amazon but it was kicked off its website following intense pressure from American politicians.

Assange then used a French firm before being expelled from there as well.

As a result, WikiLeaks has set up numerous 'domain names' in dozens of countries, each linked to one that keeps copies of the original files.

Assange has turned to Sweden because the country's laws are some of the best in the world for protecting the work of freedom of speech campaigners.

Under Swedish law, WikiLeaks cannot be prosecuted and neither can the people who pass it information.

In other developments, Assange surrendered to British authorities and he is reportedly going to fight extradition to Sweden.

Also, supporters of Assange have launched a campaign of hacking into computer systems on the Internet, targeting government, business and some personal websites. Called "Operation Avenge Assange," the hacking effort is directed toward those who are suspected to be enemies of WikiLeaks.

Companion post at TJR.

Woman Allegedly Bites Off Husband's Tongue

(Sheboygan, Wisconsin) A 57-year-old local woman, Karen Lueders, was arrested Monday for allegedly biting off her husband's tongue. She faces possible charges of mayhem and domestic violence.

Willard Lueders, 79, called 9-1-1 for help but he couldn't be understood by the dispatcher. Nonetheless, an ambulance was sent.

Investigators believe as Lueders waited for help, his wife sung Christmas carols, spoke and yelled incoherently.

Police say when they arrived, the were greeted by Karen who had a horn in her hand and was singing outdoors.

Karen Lueders is in custody and is set to undergo a mental health evaluation. Willard was taken to Froedtert Hospital where doctors hoped to reattach his tongue.

Willard was discharged from the hospital. So far, there is no reported update on his status.

Russian Planes Buzz US-Japanese War Games

(Tokyo, Japan) According to a spokesman for Russia's Pacific Ocean Fleet, Roman Martov, Russian warplanes buzzed the U.S.-Japanese military drills held this week in the Sea of Japan.

"They carried out their planned flights in the region of regular activity of (Russia's) fleet".

"There were no violations of international rules of the use of airspace or flight rules on the Russian side," Martov said.

He said Ilyushin-38 airplanes, a maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft, had made the flights.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku confirmed that the Russian planes had entered the airspace on Monday but did not give details.

The Russsians were just nosing around to collect intelligence, I figure. Not a big deal.

ALERT: New Malware

Heads up!

A new worm full of malware hit Twitter late last night, and it has people on alert today. This new malware attack uses Goo.gl links to spread, and it is hitting mobile Twitter users!

The two first links to pop up and hit users were http://goo.gl/od0az and http://goo.gl/R7f68.

However, other links carrying the malware threat have popped up since the initial attack began. A new link that reads “Just found the easiest way to track who follows and unfollows you – http://goo.gl/kLE5M” is now one to look out for.

Heh.

Facebook, Twitter Affect Search Engine Results

News to me.

Bing and Google both confirmed that links shared on Facebook and Twitter will affect SEO ranking.

This is something that has been suspected for some time in the SEO community, but this week’s confirmation means much more certainty for web marketers and social media optimizers going forward.

Maybe I should quit ignoring my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Heh.

SPLC Hate Group List

It appears that mere disagreement with the values expressed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is sufficient reason to be included on the SPLC hate group list.

I contend that this practice is wrong and it directs attention away from the substance of the disagreement.

Just because one disagrees with a policy doesn't necessarily mean that one hates.

Ma and Grandma Accused of Child Neglect

(Coeur D'Alene, Idaho) Elizabeth C. Crossley and Ruth K. Cassidy, mother and grandmother of twin toddlers, have been accused of child neglect after a welfare worker found the children naked and living in filth.



Elizabeth Crossley -- Ruth Cassidy
The welfare worker, Anthony Brown, saw the children sleeping naked on the floor in dirty conditions.

The police report said conditions inside the apartment were horrific, every wall appearing to have fecal matter on it. The carpet also appeared to be soaked with urine and feces. The officer reported there was also exposed heaters and electrical outlets.

The officer observed a large number of cats and two dogs in the residence. He said the apartment was dirty with clutter strewn about and rotten food in the kitchen.

The officer viewed Crossley’s and Cassidy’s bedroom and saw beds in both rooms appeared relatively clean. The officer said he asked to see the children but both women tried to keep them from doing so.

The police report states the officer was met with a strong order of fecal matter when opening a bedroom door with the girls inside. The smell was overwhelming to the point he officer had to step outside the door.

The officer immediately removed the girls from the room and placed them into protective custody. He observed injuries on both children; bruising on various parts of their bodies and open sores.

Both girls had dried fecal matter caked on their heads, arms, legs, hands, and feet.

The grandmother could not identify which child was which without looking at their injuries. The children are now in protective custody.

Nearly half of Democrats support Fascist economics

Democratic politicians have repeatedly stressed to the public that they are not socialists and do not believe in socialism. They may want to have a few words with some of their voters, according to a poll released over the weekend by Rasmussen Reports.

In that survey of 1,000 adults, nearly half of all Democrats, 42 percent, indicated that they believe the government should "manage the economy completely."

That viewpoint is not exactly socialism—there's a different between managing and owning after all—but it's a far cry from the free market ideology that non-Democrats favored in the poll. Just under 25 percent of independents favored government completely managing the economy.

(The Rasmussen release about the poll does not mention Republican views about this but one has to assume they're very low considering that 38 of Republicans believe government should "stay out of economic decisions.")

In total, according to the poll, just 27 percent of Americans believe government should manage the conomy. Democrats would do well to note that this small number is not possible to spin into the kind of long-term majority liberal demographers insisted was coming with the election of President Obama.

That Obama's base has such extremely high (and unreal) confidence in the ability of government to command and control the economy may also explain why some Democrats are being to sour on him.

SOURCE

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

TSA Body Scan Complaint



Donna D’Errico
Former Playboy model Donna D’Errico was singled out for a "nude" security scan even though she contends that her boyfriend looks like a terrorist.

Miss D’Errico said she felt ‘overexposed’ at being chosen to go through the scanner.

She said she asked why she had been chosen from a long line of passengers. ‘In a very sarcastic tone, and still holding me by the elbow, the agent responded, “Because you caught my eye, and they didn’t”.’

Miss D'Errico has a valid complaint. It's outrageous that she was selected for further scrutiny.

Nevertheless, I understand.

Remember the Heroes



December 7, 1941
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
God Bless America.

Making Students Behave

A Marine was retired from the Corps due to wounds he received in battle. He found work as a high school history teacher.

On his first day- still in a full chest cast covered by his shirt- he found he had the toughest group of teenagers in the school as his pupils.

He walked into the classroom and opened the window. The resulting breeze began to flap his tie around a bit, so he grabbed a staple gun and nailed it to his chest.

He didn't have a bit of trouble the entire school year.

Source

Don Meredith, b.1938 - d.2010



Don Meredith
(Sante Fe, New Mexico) Former Dallas Cowboys QB and sports broadcaster 'Dandy' Don Meredith died Sunday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 72.

Rest in peace, Pard. You always could make me chuckle.

OK Teacher Accused of Murder

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) An English teacher at Douglass High School, Seidah Muhammad Vaughn, was arrested yesterday on a first-degree murder warrant out of Cedar Hill, Texas.

Vaughn is accused of shooting and killing her roommate, Judy Bell, in February 2008.

Judy Bell was fatally shot inside a home she shared with Vaughn in Cedar Hill, Texas, on Feb. 29, 2008, Cedar Hill police spokesman Corky Brown said.

Vaughn claimed that a burglar had come into the home, shot Bell and then left, Brown said.

“Our officers had a little trouble with that story since there was no sign of forced entry. She (Vaughn) has been a suspect since the very beginning,” Brown said.

Vaughn was booked into custody at the Oklahoma County Jail without bail.

Net job impact of Obama's "stimulus" zero, says study by Federal Reserve

With unemployment now higher than ever -- at 9.8% -- that could be seen as obvious

A study by Daniel J. Wilson of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, suggests that the net job creation from the $814 billion stimulus bill passed in February, 2009, was zero by August 2010. In the first year, the stimulus "saved or created" 2 million jobs (not 4 million as repeatedly claimed by the Administration), but this number proved to be short lived, paying for temporary jobs, at a very high cost of $400,000 per job "saved or created."

By August, 2010, the impact of the stimulus on net job creation had disappeared. This is an astounding result, which destroys the Paul Krugman argument that the economy would be so much better right now, if only Congress had approved much more spending in February 2009. Double the initial spending, double the number of temporary jobs, with likely the same net result by this point in time, or a trivial number of "permanent jobs created . In fact, the unemployment rate is at a substantially higher percentage rate today at 9.8% than when the stimulus bill was passed. The E21 team concludes

"The results suggest that though the program did result in 2 million jobs "created or saved" by March 2010, net job creation was statistically indistinguishable from zero by August of this year. Taken at face value, this would suggest that the stimulus program (with an overall cost of $814 billion) worked only to generate temporary jobs at a cost of over $400,000 per worker. Even if the stimulus had in fact generated this level of employment as a durable outcome, it would still have been an extremely expensive way to generate employment.

SOURCE

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

Mexican Salamander Regenerates Body Parts



Axolotl - Ambystoma mexicanum
(Hanover, Germany) An unusual salamander has abilities that scientists want to understand.

The axolotl is one of a kind in nature: It can regenerate severed limbs, organs and even grow back its spinal column after injuries. At a new research center in Hanover, Germany, researchers are trying to unlock the Mexican salamander's secrets -- and whether they can be applied to humans.

They appear to be quite content. Around 100 salamanders are bobbing around in the aquarium at the Hanover Medical School in Germany. Their brachial gills sprout like hair from their heads and their tiny mouths seem to smile as they press their tiny front feet against the sides of the aquarium.

They don't all look the same, however: Some are missing an arm or a leg; others have a stump where a limb is in the process of growing back.

These are no ordinary amphibians. Many have had flaps of skin removed or parts of their limbs cut off -- under sedation of course -- by scientists investigating their regenerative capabilities.

Cute little thing, ain't it?

Idaho Woman Gets Prison in Sex Case - Updated

(Nampa, Idaho) For enticing a young boy over the Internet, 33-year-old local woman Ruth Alvarez was sentenced earlier today to seven years in prison.

Police say the boy's mother notified them when she found a questionable letter sent to the teen by Alvarez.

An undercover officer then posed as the teen during online chats with Alvarez, during which time the police say she made sexual comments to who she thought was the 13-year-old.

Alvarez must also register as a sex offender.

* * * * *
Idaho Woman Guilty of Enticing Boy - Updated
[Previous 9/9/10 post]
(Boise, Idaho) Thirty-three-year-old Ruth Alvarez pleaded guilty before Third District Judge Renae Hoff to felony enticement.

The judge ordered a psychosexual evaluation and scheduled sentencing for December 6.

* * * * *
Idaho Woman Accused of Enticing Boy
[Previous 5/7/10 post]
(Caldwell, Idaho) A 33-year-old Nampa woman, Ruth Z. Alvarez, has been accused of attempting to seduce a 13-year-old boy over the Internet. She faces a charge of child enticement.

According to court documents, the mother of the 13-year-old told police Ruth Z. Alvarez, a family friend, had written her son a letter expressing her sexual interest. Alvarez reportedly requested the boy add her as a friend on the social networking website MySpace.

A Nampa Police Department detective logged onto the boy's MySpace account with his permission. He initiated online chats with Alvarez after she attempted to message the boy, during which she allegedly made comments regarding her desire to have sex with the 13-year-old, the document states.

With respect to engaging in sex with the 13-year-old, Alvarez told police she woulda if she coulda.

NC Woman Arrested for Sex with Boy

(Wentworth, North Carolina) A 23-year-old local woman, Courtney Alisha Moore, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy.

Moore faces four counts of statutory rape of a child and one count of statutory sex offense.

Deputies said Moore was a "friend" of the victim's family, and Moore would pick up the victim from various summer activities.

All the alleged activity took place over the summer, deputies said.

Moore was booked into custody with bond set at $1 million.

Sex and Meat Lecture

(East Lansing, Michigan) Feminist and animal rights extremist Carol B. Adams gave a lecture on sexual and meat politics last Thursday to students at Michigan State University.

She used a slideshow with pictures of advertisements and images from her books to supplement her lecture.

Adams said in the U.S., advertising represents public attitudes about meat and the female body.

“I think (images and advertisements are) a way now of hiding misogyny and making it safe to be misogynistic in a culture where sexual assault is illegal,” she said. “The problem is attitude.”

According to Mitch Goldsmith, president of Students Promoting Animal Rights (SPAR), the lecture was an educational experience.

The oppression of women and animals is interconnected on campus as well, Goldsmith said.

“When we do a vegan outreach and we see men that (say) they love the way meat tastes and they love chicken breasts and legs, (we) see the way they regard animals’ body parts in a sexual way,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been grappling with for quite a while (on campus).”

Therefore, if a man enjoys eating chicken breasts and legs, he is actually satisfying his urge to sexually assault women. I suspect that's what Ms. Adams means -- linking the consumption of meat to the sexual assault of women.

Frankly, though, I'm somewhat confused since Adams didn't mention what it means when a woman enjoys eating chicken.

Opposition to Same Sex Marriage as hate speech

We read:

"Apple has pulled the Manhattan Declaration app from its App Store, apparently in response to customer complaints that the declaration amounts to hate speech. Is this part of a broader trend? See, for example, the Southern Poverty Law Center's recent report, "18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda," in which the National Organization for Marriage is included as one of "a hard core of smaller groups, most of them religiously motivated, [which] have continued to pump out demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities."

To be clear, I do consider some of the rhetoric employed in opposition to SSM to amount to hate speech (under virtually any imaginable definition of "hate speech"), but I fear that we're approaching the point where opposition to SSM itself is considered hate speech, regardless of the rhetoric employed.

Source

Apple is entitled to sell what it wants from its shop but the fact that a large business like Apple can be persuaded to cease making Christian views available is ominous.

The app was dropped in response to a petition from Leftists but a counter petition to reinstate it is already up. Since the "counter" petition has already got many more signatures than the original, it will be interesting to see what happens. If nothing happens, Christians might well get the word out to boycott Apple. There are plenty of rival products to Apple's gadgets.

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

Eight Cyclists Killed in Crash



Deadly crash scene
(Southern Italy) Visibility and driving conditions were good at the time of the deadly crash.

A SPEEDING car has plowed head-on into a group of cyclists in southern Italy, killing eight of them.

The driver had been smoking marijuana, police said.

Bent, mangled bikes were strewn about the scene, and the sheet-draped corpses dotted the two-lane road near Lamezia Terme, in the Calabrian "toe" of boot-shaped Italy where the accident occurred on Sunday morning local time.

High on dope on a Sunday morning, the driver is a Moroccan national.

Oops! on Rising Sea Levels

(London, England) The British Met Office conducted a study which found that the predicted catastrophic sea level rise of six feet in the next century due to global warming "was wrong."

The forecast made by the influential 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which would have seen cities around the world submerged by water, now looks ‘unlikely’.

Apparently, there's discord in the Doomsday Clubhouse.

Huh?

"Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez said capitalism is to blame for flooding and landslides caused by torrential rains that that have killed at least 32 and forced more than 90,000 to seek refuge in government shelters."

The question to be asked is, "Who believes Chavez's hooey?"

Showing Love

(Los Angeles, California) Twenty-two-year-old Francisco Hernandez was arrested last month for attempting to run over his ex-girlfriend with his car because she rejected his proposal for marriage.

A bit out of the ordinary, eh? Usually a guy wants to run over his lady after they get married, not before.

Tip: slwlion

Florida Teacher Cleared - Updated

(Orlando, Florida) According to the Orlando Police Department, allegations of misconduct against teacher Amber Elery are unfounded and based solely on school rumors. The investigation is closed.

* * * * *
Florida Teacher Suspended on Sex Allegations
[Previous 11/16/10 post]
(Orlando, Florida) A 28-year-old 10th-grade English teacher at Edgewater High School, Amber Elery, has been accused of engaging in sexual relationships with as many as three male students under the age of 18.

Orange County school officials suspended Elery with pay.

Department of Children and Families investigators said they received a report on Friday of a teacher having a sexual relationship with a student, but when they arrived, the teacher had already been removed from the school.

Thus far, Elery has not been charged with a crime.

Warmism serves a lot of personal needs

"Man marries Earth in Rare Ceremony"

On December 4, 2010, [Danny Bloom] married his longtime companion and love of his life -- Earth!

The festive ceremony was an internet-enabled weddiing, online and in real time, in which the groom, 61, married his longtime companion and love of his life -- Earth!

The festive ceremony was an internet-enabled weddiing, online and in real time, in which Bloom, a Boston native, recited previously keyed-in vows declaring that he would "love and cherish his beloved, Earth, -- 4,000,000,010 years old but still beautiful and comely in her white aura of cloud cover -- for the rest of his life or "until death do him part."

Bloom, who was never married previously, told news reporters lurking online that he was "more than happy to have finally tied the knot with the one I love."

An online justice of the peace officiated at the one of a kind ceremony. Earth, for her part, said: "We're soulmates now. We always were, but now it's on paper. I've married the man I created! I've married the world I love."

Bloom asked that instead of gifts, guests and other interested parties donate funds to global warming awareness campaigns in their respective countries.

After the wedding was over, symbolized by a long green fern wrapped around his balding head, Bloom kissed his bride one more time, saying to everyone within earshot: "Fly me to the moon! To Jupiter and Mars!. This is the most wonderful day of my life!"

Earth, as beautiful as ever, added: "He always says things like that! For my part, today marks the beginning of a new conciousness among humans, and if our little private ceremony has been able to help raise awareness about the problems of global warming and climate change, then I am one happy planet!"

SOURCE

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

Snorting Ibuprofen

(Fort Myers, Florida) Kids do the dumbest things.

Two Bonita Springs Middle School students were arrested Thursday after being busted snorting prescription-grade Ibuprofen.

The two students were caught passing a black pen back and forth and when teacher Sandra Andrews took the pen, she found a white residue inside.

The students were then sent to the principal’s office where they met with school resource officer and Lee County deputy Angel Queipo.

Queipo then discovered white residue inside the two boys’ noses.

The boys were arrested and booked.

Converts to Christianity Arrested

(Algiers, Algeria) Here's some news from the religion of peace and tolerance.

Algerian prosecutors have asked a court, last Sunday, to sentence four Algerian converts to Christianity to one year in jail each for opening a church without permission, their lawyer said.

The defendants, aged between 35 and 45 years, are accused of opening a Protestant church 90 miles east of the capital Algiers.

One of them has also been charged with accommodating a French pastor who had travelled to Algeria to address a Christian community, the defense lawyer said.

The practice of religion in Algeria, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, requires authorities to authorize the place of worship.

Over the past months, several trials have opened in Algeria, where Islam is the state religion, for violation of Islamic precepts and converting to Christianity.

There is no freedom of religion in Algeria.

Woman, 24, and Girl, 15

(Halifax, Nova Scotia) In November 2009, Madeline Selma Gosselin was accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. She was charged with sexual assault and sexual interference.

In August 2010, Gosselin pleaded guilty and this week she was sentenced by Judge Ted Tax to 90 days in jail.

Court was told that Gosselin was 23 and living in Newfoundland and Labrador when she began chatting online with the complainant, a 14-year-old from the Dartmouth area, in May 2009.

The girl lied to Gosselin about her age at the start, saying she was "16 going on 17, Crown attorney Perry Borden said.

Gosselin learned the girl was only 14 but continued to communicate with her, the prosecutor said. The woman moved to the Halifax area and the relationship became sexual after the girl turned 15 in June 2009.

They continued to get together until that September, when the girl told a guidance counsellor about the relationship.

Apparently, the victim has been psychologically traumatized by the relationship and needs counseling.

In addition to 90 days in jail, Gosselin will be on probation for 18 months.

Tip: Lame

Idaho Woman Gets Jail for Online Sex with Boy

(Boise, Idaho) In February 2010, a 23-year-old local woman, Ann M. Miller, was arrested for alleged Internet enticement of a Canadian boy under the age of 16.

Police say Johnson met the teenage boy over the Internet last year and began engaging in unspecified lewd acts, which were broadcast to each other via a web cam, beginning in June 2009, according to police reports.

Boise police were tipped off about the case by the Internet Crimes Against Children task force late last year. Police investigated the case and passed the information on to Ada County prosecutors, who issued an arrest warrant for Johnson.

Reported this week, Ann Johnson was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the conviction on one count of felony child enticement over the Internet.

Johnson was also sentenced to 10 years of probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.

New Jersey Woman Gets Prison in Sex Case - Updated

(Hackensack, New Jersey) In accordance with a plea agreement, 42-year-old soccer mom was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison for engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy.

“I just want to apologize to the family of the victim,” a tearful Corrin Tempio said at her sentencing in Superior Court in Hackensack. “I also want to apologize to my husband and my family for putting them through this.”

Rejecting Tempio’s statements of remorse, Judge Eugene H. Austin gave her the maximum sentence allowed under a plea agreement in which she admitted that she engaged in sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old boy.

“These are despicable acts,” the judge said. “They cannot and must not be condoned by the court.”

The judge told Tempio that he would have given her a much stiffer sentence if he weren’t bound by the plea agreement.

Tempio was also ordered to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law.

* * * * *
New Jersey Woman Guilty of Sex with Boy - Updated
[Previous 6/10/10 post]
(Hackensack, New Jersey) Corrin Tempio, now 42, appeared in court yesterday and pleaded guilty to engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy, not a 16-year-old as previously reported.

At sentencing, Tempio faces a possible four years in prison, lifelong parole upon release and registration as a sex offender in accordance with Megan's Law.

Tempio said at a hearing in Superior Court in Hackensack that she had intercourse with the boy one time.

Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor David Calviello said Tempio sent a text message to the boy after the incident. The boy’s mother found out about the text message and contacted authorities, triggering the investigation, he said.

Sentencing has been scheduled for September 10.

* * * * *
New Jersey Woman, 41, and Boy, 16
[Previous 2/9/10 post]
(Hackensack, New Jersey) A 41-year-old local married mother, Corrin Zenda Tempio, was arrested last Friday for allegedly engaging in sex with a 16-year-old boy.

Tempio has been charged with sexual assault and child endangerment. She was booked into custody and subsequently released on $100,000 bond.

A court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday in Hackensack Central Municipal Court.

Illinois Teacher Gets Probation in Sex Case - Updated

(Skokie, Illinois) Former science and special education teacher at Maine East High School, Jennifer Espinosa, has been sentenced.

Espinosa, a married mother of two girls and former Maine East soccer coach, told police she loves the boy, a gang member who was expelled from the school in September 2008, investigators said.

Espinosa was initially charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, authorities said.

On Thursday, Judge Larry Axelrood sentenced Espinosa to 30 months probation after she pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery, Cook County State's Attorney's office spokesman Andy Conklin said.

Judge Axelrood also ordered Espinosa to surrender her teacher's license, Conklin said.

Some time in prison might have been warranted. Heh.

* * * * *
Illinois Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Student
[Previous 5/25/09 post]
(Skokie, Illinois) A 38-year-old science and special education teacher at Maine East High School, Jennifer Espinosa, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 16-year-old male student.

Reportedly, Espinosa had an eight-month affair with the boy, her former student. A married mother-of-two, Espinosa faces charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Espinosa was taken in for questioning by Sheriff's police on Saturday night near the Golf Terrace Apartments, 9644 N. Golf Terrace, after police smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from behind Espinosa's 2009 Honda Pilot, the release said.

As police curbed the car and noticed the windows were rolled down, they noticed one person moving quickly to a back seat. All people in the car were ordered out and Espinosa immediately told police she was a Maine East teacher, the release said.

Officer recognized the 16-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man as known gang members.

Police searched the car and recovered a bag of suspected marijuana. Alejandro Landi, 22, of Niles, was charged with misdemeanor drug possession.

Upon questioning of the suspects in the vehicle, Espinosa told investigators she was a teacher and mentor to the boy until he was expelled. She said their relationship began after his expulsion, the release said.

Espinosa was booked into custody with bond set at $50,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 29.

Stolen Items Allegedly Hidden in Rolls of Fat

(Edmund, Oklahoma) Two local women have been arrested for alleged shoplifting in a scheme where they stuffed $2,600-worth of stolen items between rolls of fat underneath their breasts and arms.

Police arrested 28-year-old Ailene Brown and 37-year-old Shmeco Thomas after loss prevention officers at TJ Maxx allegedly discovered the crime.

"These two individuals were actually concealing them in areas of their body where excess skin was -- under neath their chest area, up around the armpits and things of that nature. They were concealing large items."

Some of those items included a wallet and gloves as well as three pairs of jeans and four pairs of boots!

It's suspected that the women are corpulent and weigh "somewhere in the vicinity of a 1977 Oldsmobile."

Tip: slwlion

NY Woman Accused of Beating Stepdaughter

(Rochester, New York) A local woman, Deester "Dee" Gilley, has been accused of laying a severe beating on her 9-year-old stepdaughter.

Gilley allegedly used a belt and extension cord leaving noticeable welts, abrasions and bruises. She faces charges of felony second-degree assault and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.

A city maintenance worker initially saw the girl running down the street.

"She was wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of underwear on a day that was in the 30's temperature wise," Jimmie Junious, 60, wrote in a statement to police.

Junious said the girl was bleeding from her nose, mouth, face and legs. "I noticed that her legs were bruised and busted open and it looked like a bleeding bite mark on her right cheek," he said.

Junious told his dispatch to call 911, and pulled over to ask if the girl was okay. "She said she was afraid," he wrote. "She said 'my mother beat me up,' then said 'I don't want to go back there, please don't take me back."

Gilley was booked into custody and subsequently released on $5,000 bail.

Delaware Woman Accused of Sex with Boy

(Millsboro, Delaware) A 30-year-old local woman, Sunday L. Mifflin, was arrested this week for allegedly engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy and sending him graphic emails.

Mifflin developed a friendship with the boy that grew to a sexual relationship last month, police said.

During an interview at the Child Advocacy Center, the boy disclosed Tuesday that he developed contact with the woman through text messages and on social networking sites, according to court records.

The boy's mother provided investigators with printed copies of the e-mail messages that were sent to the victim from Mifflin's Facebook page, police said in court records.

Police said the messages referenced "graphic details involving sexual activity between Mifflin and the victim."

Mifflin was booked into custody at Sussex Correctional Institution with bail set at $12,000.

More on Homeland Security power grab over the internet

From a law professor:

"Some of you may recall that a month ago or so, I posted a comment here about a bill making its way through the Senate, the Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act (“COICA”), that would allow US courts to “seize” domain names belonging to US or foreign websites simply upon a charge, by the Attorney General, that the site was “primarily devoted” to infringing activities.

I was the author of a law professors’ “Letter in Opposition” to the bill, which garnered around 50 co-signatories, based largely on the grounds that these seizures would represent “prior restraints on speech” under the First Amendment, and were blatantly unconstitutional.

Whether the Letter had any effect is not clear — but the bill, which passed through the Judiciary Committee without opposition, has been stalled by Senator Wyden of Oregon, who has put a “hold” on it.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the US government apparently believes it has the power to do what COICA purported to authorize it to do even without new statutory authority. Over the past weekend, as many news outlets have reported, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) — a division of the Department of Homeland Security — seized over 80 domain names being used by websites involved in online file-sharing (such as torrentfinder.com, a site pointing to other sites enabling use of the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol) and sale of allegedly counterfiet goods (e.g., louisvuittonoutlet.com, scarfsonline.com).

The warrants were apparently served on Verisign, the “registry” for several top-level domains (including .com and .net), ordering Verisign to transfer the domain names in question to the US government.

It’s an outrage. To begin with, there’s the bizarre spectacle of the Department of Homeland Security – which, last I looked, had some important issues before it that actually relate to “homeland security” — expending time and resources to protect purely private interests (of. e.g., the Louis Vuitton handbag manufacturers and Warner Brothers’ Records).

And the operation perfectly illustrates the objections we raised in the COICA Letter: 80 websites — many of them operating overseas — have now been prevented from speaking to US citizens even though the website operators, whose domains were seized, had no notice or opportunity to respond to the charges against them (and to argue, for instance, that they are NOT infringing copyrights or trademarks), no adversary hearing, and certainly no adjudication before a neutral, that anything unlawful is going on at these sites, only an affidavit to that effect submitted by the ICE.

I’m no expert in forfeiture law, to be sure — but the notion that the government can seize property before there’s been anything like a true hearing on the matter of unlawfulness of conduct strikes me as truly appalling. As I wrote in that COICA Letter:

Our ability to defend the principle of the single global Internet – the Internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas, the Internet that looks the same to, and allows free and unfettered communication between, users located in Shanghai and Seattle and Santiago, free of locally imposed censorship regimes – will be deeply compromised by [seizures of this kind], which would enshrine in U.S. law for the first time the contrary principle: that all countries have a right to insist on the removal of content, wherever located, from the global Internet in service of the exigencies of local law.

Nothing limits the application of this principle to copyright or trademark infringement, and nothing limits the application of this principle to actions by the United States; when all countries exercise this prerogative in support of their local legal regimes, as they surely will, we will have lost – or, more properly speaking, we will have destroyed – the single global interconnected communications platform that we have built over the past several decades and that holds out so much promise for the improvement of human society across the globe.

Source

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

Teacher Asks to be Castrated

(Hartford, Connecticut) A 46-year-old teacher formerly at the Capitol Theater Magnet School, Adam Friedman, has pleaded guilty to sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and possession of child pornography stemming from a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old female student.

Friedman pleaded with Superior Court Judge Elliot N. Solomon for no prison time. Instead, Friedman asked for castration.

Solomon didn't take the offer, sentencing Friedman to 13 years. "My hope is that this sentence finds its was to every school in our state," Judge Solomon said. "So every teacher knows, if you touch a student, you're going to jail, and you're going for a long, long time."

After release, Friedman must serve 10 years as a registered sex offender.

Worth Saying and Well Said

A political movement as a religion, eh? There's a lot of that going around.

Source

Tennessee Woman and Boys

(Clarksville, Tennessee) A 36-year-old local woman, Desiree Roth Moore, has been accused of raping two boys, ages 14 and 17, while providing them with alcohol and cigarettes.

Moore faces two counts of aggravated statutory rape and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The 14-year-old said he took a bath with Moore and then went into her bedroom where they allegedly had sex.

The 17-year-old watched her have sex with the 14-year-old, the warrant said.

Moore also allegedly has sex with the 17-year-old while the 14 year old watched, the warrant said.

Moore was booked into custody with bond set at $102,000.

Must not laugh at Leftist comedians

We read:

"We all shared a good laugh at the expense of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert fans shortly after the comedians’ “Restoring Sanity and/or Fear” rally when a video of rally-goers berating an “Obama = Keynesian” sign surfaced online. We first noticed the video when Politico’s Ben Smith posted it on his blog, as produced by The Partisans of Second City Network — a comedic enterprise headquartered in Chicago.

The video has been wildly popular on The Blaze (over 130,000 views). Glenn Beck talked about it extensively on radio and TV.

But now Second City seems to have removed the video from their YouTube channel. The version embedded on Ben Smith’s blog is now marked “private.”

Source

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

Duck and Cover II?

(Moscow, Russia) A plan to build 5,000 bomb shelters in Moscow has been announced.




This story broke a few weeks ago and so far I haven't seen it in the elite media. It's curious that the Russians see a need for bomb shelters and, based upon media interest, it apparently isn't a big deal.

Female Police Chief Murdered

(Chihuahua, Mexico) A female police chief in the town of Meoqui, Hermila Garcia, was gunned down by drug cartel assassins this week as she drove herself to work.

Garcia had been on the job for a mere two months. She was 38.

One of a small number of women who have had the bravery to take on the drug cartels, she was gunned down at 7.20am on Monday.

She was attacked as she drove to work by herself.

Garcia, a lawyer by profession and single with no children, was one of a handful of women who have taken leadership roles in police departments in towns where men have stayed away because of fear.

Ms. Garcia's murder is considered a warning to the 20-year-old female police chief of Praxedis, Marisol Valles Garcia.

Rest in peace, Ms. Garcia. Mexico needs more brave people like you.

Woman with Three Husbands

(Benton, Louisiana) A 35-year-old Bossier City woman, Bridget Mize, has been accused of having three husbands at the same time. She faces two counts of bigamy.

Bossier Parish sheriff's deputies said Mize never got a divorce but never lived with any of her husbands at the same time, either.

"She admitted she knew she was not divorced from these first two men," sheriff's Lt. Ed Baswell said. "One of the reasons she didn't get a divorce was at the particular time she didn't have the money -- plus she just didn't take care of her business."

Marriage licenses show Mize was married in Dallas in 1993; in Caddo Parish in 2005; and in Columbia County, Ark., in 2007. The third marriage happened while her second husband was serving a DWI sentence in Bossier Parish, court records show.

Mize was booked into custody and subsequently released on $2,500.

Feds still trying to control the internet

With the BEST of intentions, of course

"The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission plans to announce Wednesday a controversial proposal that would prohibit Internet providers from favoring or discriminating against any traffic that goes over their networks.

He would do so, however, without resorting to the more drastic step of changing the way the FCC regulates broadband providers, a move that would have more clearly asserted the government's authority over Internet access.

Source

Odd that the internet seems to be working just fine as it is!

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

Woman Accused of Child Endangerment

(York, Pennsylvania) A 33-year-old local woman and her 45-year-old boyfriend were arrested after authorities found that the couple had five children they hid from society. A sixth child was born earlier this week.

Both Louann E. Bowers and her boyfriend, Sinhue A. Johnson, face five counts of child endangerment.

The children range from two to 13 years of age and they are reportedly doing well in foster care.

Court documents state the children aren't at their expected education levels and there are possible mental-health issues with some of them.

No records: They have no birth certificates, were never enrolled in school, never received medical care or vaccinations and had no documentation to prove they existed, police said; no records of home-schooling exist either.

For years, they lived in squalor at 734 S. Duke St. with no heat, no electric service, no water, no functioning toilet and a leaky roof, documents state.

Bowers has been classified as a missing person since 1993 when she allegedly ran away with Johnson, her uncle by marriage. Doing the math, she was 16 and he was 28 at the time.

Guns on Trains

By direction of the U.S. Congress and the Department of Homeland Security, Amtrak will soon allow passengers to take guns on trains as long as security protocols are followed.

Under the policy, beginning Dec. 15, guns can be brought aboard trains that have checked baggage service.

Gun owners must inform Amtrak officials 24 hours ahead of departure.

Unloaded firearms must be packed in hard-sided containers, and will be stored in train lockers.

Amtrak officials said the federally funded train system is retrofitting train cars for gun storage, but said they have no idea how many people will travel with firearms.

Good.

WV Woman Accused of Assault and Weapons Charges

(Jackson County, West Virginia) A 41-year-old woman, Melissa Lee Williams, has been accused of weapons and assault charges for allegedly waving a knife at two men who declined her demands to engage in sexual conduct at a motor inn.

According to investigators, Williams--who lives four doors down from her estranged husband at the 77 Motor Inn--showed up at his door and asked Danny Williams and another man to “eat my p***y.”

At this point, Williams, pictured in the mug shot at right, “commenced to undress herself,” reported Deputy Ross Mellinger.

While Danny Williams “declined said invitation,” the other man, Adam Watson, told cops that he “agreed to perform at her request.”

However, as Watson approached Williams, “he became overwhelmed by horrible vaginal odor emitting from Melissa Williams.” Watson, understandably, “declined to proceed any further.”

This is when Melissa Williams allegedly “produced a lock-back folding knife,” opened it, and pointed the weapon at her estranged husband.

She then reportedly uttered a line never before memorialized in a police report: “Somebody is going to eat my p***y or I’m going to cut your f***ing throat.”

The actual police report can be viewed at this link.

Williams was booked into custody and subsequently released on $3,000 bond.

Tip: slwlion

Legalization of Child Pornography Proposed

(Honolulu, Hawaii) Based upon studies from Denmark, Japan and the Czech Republic, an academic at the University of Hawaii proposes that child pornography be legalized in the U.S.

Professor Milton Diamond and his research team contend that the availability of legal child pornography will result in a decrease in the number of child abuse cases.

The researchers say: ‘As with adult pornography appearing to substitute for sexual aggression everywhere it has been investigated, we believe the availability of child porn does similarly.’

So, it appears that we must legalize child porn to protect the children. Heh.

Killer Beet Movie

(San Francisco, California) Speculation has been snuffed about a movie called "Giant Killer Beets Attack San Francisco" or something equally silly pertaining to genetically-modified beets.

A federal judge has ordered the destruction of all genetically engineered sugar beets that seed companies planted in September.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco found that the U.S. Department of Agricultural improperly granted permission for the plantings without a detailed environmental review.

Heh.

Florida Cop Freed After Conviction in Sex Case - Updated

(Daytona Beach, Florida) Former Port Orange police officer Roberto Rosario was sentenced to six years in prison and then the judge threw out the verdict and the sentence because his instructions to the jury were flawed.

Circuit Judge William Kennedy set aside that verdict and sentence because of an error in the jury instructions, according to his order, and because of how he read the law.

In his ruling, the judge said, penetration rather than "union with" a victim's sex organ was required to support the sexual battery conviction a jury reached on Sept. 17.

Kennedy last week found the evidence presented made Rosario guilty, instead, of misdemeanor battery. The judge sentenced Rosario to 68 days in jail, time he already served. Rosario was freed Nov. 22.

With the judge's signature, Rosario's felony conviction and chance of being designated as a sexual predator was wiped away. Prosecutors say they are questioning whether the judge had jurisdiction to make the decision.

Prosecutors asked Judge Kennedy to reconsider but he declined. It's unknown whether there will be an appeal.

* * * * *
Florida Cop Faces Possible 30 Years in Sex Case
[Previous 9/18/10 post]
(Port Orange, Florida) A local police officer, Roberto Rosario, 34, was found guilty by a jury yesterday of first-degree sexual battery on a helpless person stemming from an incident where he performed unwelcome oral sex on an inebriated and unconscious female acquaintance.

Understandably, the female victim bolted to consciousness as a result of Rosario's hoovering. Her immediate reaction hasn't been reported but she subsequently filed a criminal complaint with the Port Orange Police Department.

According to Assistant State Attorney Christopher Kelly, Rosario will be sentenced by Circuit Judge Patrick Kennedy next month when he faces a possible term of 30 years in prison.

Tip: slwlion

I have become a victim of a hate crime

And I'm "all shook up", as Elvis Presley used to say.

As most readers of this blog will be well aware, there are a lot of America-haters in America. The further Left you go, the more of them you meet. Even low-lifes like the Palestinians are seen as better than America by some Americans.

So it should be no surprise that there are a lot of America-haters in other countries too. And Australia, where I live, is one such country.

I fly various flags from the flagpole in front of my house, depending on what is happening at the time. Last Thanksgiving, I ran up Old Glory in honour of that occasion. When I run up a flag, however, I tend to leave it there until something else crops up. So Old Glory was still flying at midnight on Monday.

Some young bigot didn't like that, however, so at midnight on Monday dumped a big rubbish bin full of domestic rubbish in my driveway. When I went out to see what the noise was, he went into a rant about what a dreadful place America is and what a bad person I must be to fly the American flag. He then strolled off down the street with his empty garbage bin.

Our bigot was not too bright, however. Among his garbage was something that probably identified him so I spent most of the next morning endeavouring to interest the police in what they saw as a trivial matter. I did manage to get them moving so I await developments.

If they catch him, I will try to have him prosecuted under State hate crime laws. That could be interesting. Such laws are very rarely used here but to have them used against a genuine hate crime would be good.

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

Texas Woman Gets Prison in Sex Case

(Lufkin, Texas) In January 2009, a local woman, Trishana Broussard, was arrested for allegedly engaging in oral sex with three teenage boys.

In February 2010, Broussard was indicted on three counts of sexual assault of a child.

Earlier this month, Broussard pleaded no-contest to sexual assault of a child.

On Monday, she was sentenced by Judge Gerald Goodwin to three six-year prison terms, apparently to be served concurrently.

"Just relieved," one of the victim's family members said.

"I'm relieved that it's over, I'm glad that justice has finally been served and she's where she belongs now where she can't hurt children anymore."

Broussard will be eligible for parole in about three years.

Judge Goodwin also ordered Broussard to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.

Virginia Jail Guard Sentenced in Sex Case

(Williamsburg, Virginia) In September 2010, a 41-year-old guard at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail, Letica Dina Stagg, was convicted by a jury on one count of felony sex with an inmate.

The jury recommended a $25 fine as punishment.

Circuit Court Judge Samuel Powell on Tuesday upheld the $25 fine, but reduced the felony count to a misdemeanor, saying "she has gone through enough."

Defense lawyer Gordon Klugh said, "It was a matter of the heart she could not deny."

Females Told to Wear Red Bracelets During Periods

(Oslo, Norway) To explain frequent visits to the toilet due to menstruation, female workers have been ordered by their Norwegian boss to wear red bracelets during their periods.

The astonishing demand was revealed in report by a workers' union into 'tyrannical' toilet rules in Norwegian companies.

The study claimed businesses were becoming obsessed with lost productivity due to employees spending too much time answering the call of nature.[…]

The report, which did not name the firm imposing red bracelets on female staff, has now been passed on to Norway's chief comsuner ombudsman Bjorn Erik Thon.

He said: 'These are extreme cases of workplace monitoring, but they are real.

'Toilet Codes relating to mentrual cycles are clear violations of privacy and is very insulting to the people concerned.'

I can only imagine the outrage of the American public if someone tried to mandate the red bracelet scheme in the U.S. It would never happen.